Visit to St. Mary’s and SJC
Date: 7th December, 2024
JAAC Members: Ms. Ravneet Khurana, Chaitali Chakraborty Jain, Arpita Dutta and Belinda Dias Gomes
On the 7th of December, a few of our JAAC members made the familiar trip back to school with a dual purpose.
JAAC has been supporting the children of St. Mary’s for a few years now, which is now run under the administration of Sr. Gregory. We donated school bags to the children with the St. Mary’s logo printed on them.
Every year, when we visit them, they are eager to see what we have brought for them and this year was no different.
They accepted the bags gleefully and were even more delighted to receive biscuits, chocolates, croissants and juice from the visiting members.
It was heartwarming to interact with them and the teachers who have been dedicating their time to making these little buds blossom in such difficult circumstances.
JAAC handed over a total of 85 school bags.
Coincidentally, 7th December was also Sports Day for the seniors of SJC. The JAAC group of 4 – Ms. Ravneet Khurana, Chaitali Chakraborty Jai, Arpita Dutta and Belinda Dias Gomes were greeted by Sr. Anna Marie.
While the now ex-students relived their heyday and remembered many a won and missed medal, they achieved something quite important. JAAC is all about giving back something meaningful to the society and to our Alma Mater.
The Sports Day was a perfect opportunity for us to build that connection with the existing students. JAAC sponsored prizes in certain categories.
Miss Moitryee of SJC introduced JAAC to the students. Ms. Ravneet Khurana, VP JAAC, and Ms. Belinda Gomes, Chief Secretary handed over the prizes to the winners.
Visit to Antaranga
Date: 16 November, 2024
JAAC Members: Ms. Mandira Bose, Srilata De, Sanjita Das, Anindita Sengupta, Oindrilla Dasgupta, Sukanya Basu
16th November, 2024 was a happy day for the JAAC members. We set out for what has now become an annual visit to ‘Antaranga”, the primary school at Bolpur run by our ex-student Sucharita di.
As always, there was a purpose behind this trip. We had a bagful of goodies to celebrate Children’s Day with the children of “Antaranga” – a school close to their hearts and ours too.
We were carrying 100 made-to-order ITC Prestige notebooks specially designed to have the name of the school and the school’s photos printed on the covers . JAAC also sponsored a special lunch for the children that day to be topped off with chocolates.
What strikes you when you enter the abode of love and learning at Antaranga is the cleanliness, discipline and the obvious pride the children have in their school.
It was a pleasure to see their surprised faces when they saw the picture of their school on the notebook covers as we distributed them and an even greater fulfilment to watch them enjoy the sumptuous lunch of dal, rice, aloo bhaja, paneer, chicken, chutney and rasgulla.
There were even a few tiny tots, hardly 3-4 years old, who sat and ate with all till the end. How could anyone leave, they were all enjoying their meal that day. Their shy smiles melted our hearts. There is no greater joy and virtue than feeding others. JAAC was indeed blessed to have experienced it firsthand that day.
The children had a return gift for us too. They presented a little skit on a highly contemporary topic – global warming, deforestation and its impact on the animal kingdom. We were floored with their dialogue delivery in impeccable English and their confident portrayals. It was no less than the leading schools of Kolkata.
The teachers at Antaranga are doing a wonderful job. Their love and dedication to the school is commendable. There are quite a few 2nd generation kids studying here. Their parents were pass-outs of Antaranga.
We discovered that Antaranga carries its responsibility towards the children with exemplary commitment. The school ensures that all students continue their education in the nearby secondary school till the boards.
It is so heart-warming to see how Antaranga stands by the children from the needy families, who might have found it quite difficult to send them to school. Antaranga, does justice to it’s name, it is an extension of their family, it is their own.
As members of JAAC, we are doing our bit to spread some joy and help the upliftment of this school and its dear children.
Special Feature
A Story of Hope, Courage and Empathetic Support: Rajasi Chakraborty
‘Help me fight for my life’ – A brief, cutting, desperate cry for help from one of our own alumni. Rajasi Chakraborty from the batch of 2019, was pursuing a Master’s degree in Broadcasting and Mass Communication, when her life was put on hold by a rare neurological condition called Moya Moya. It was not the first time life threw a curveball at her. She had overcome cancer and lost her parents, all within the age of 23. Those of us who have known her or came to know her because of her grit and determination to make her life worthwhile despite such unimaginable setbacks were convinced that she was destiny’s child – a symbol of hope and resilience amongst the cruelest hardships. How could we stand by and watch life snuff out such brilliance?
She needed two brain surgeries to get her life back on track. The thought of having one’s head split open is enough to rattle our core, and here she was – faced with the reality of having to undergo not one but two such surgeries. While she tried to wrap her head around the diagnosis and treatment, she realized she didn’t have the financial means to see them through. The cost of a single surgery was around Rs. 7 – 8 lakhs. But she refused to give up. She had fought this hard and this far and she was determined to see the other side of it.
She reached out to Trisha Chaudhuri, a fellow JAAC member from the batch of 2009, and Trisha brought it to the attention of the JAAC governing body. Her first surgery was scheduled to be at the end of October and by mid-October JAAC started rallying for funds from its Facebook and Instagram followers and spread the word to friends and family. In less than a month, Rajasi was able to collect approximately Rs. 9 lakhs from friends, family and well-wishers that included her father’s ex-colleagues as well, which allowed her to go into surgery with peace of mind. Sudipta Mukherjee Mandal, another fellow JAAC member, based in Mumbai, reached out to Rajasi and visited her to show how much we were rooting for her. In the run-up to the first surgery, Rajasi felt the outpouring of love and support from her fellow alumni through Sudipta.
Her first surgery was a success. She has made the predicted recovery. She is now looking at the last stretch to help her regain her normal life. Her second surgery is due in February 2025 and she needs to raise the remaining funds. Once again, we stand by her and are praying hard for her – in true SJC spirit.
JANUARY
AGM 2023 held in Calcutta Rowing Club
On 23rd January, 2024 JAAC held its Annual General Meeting in Calcutta Rowing Club. This annual meeting is convened every year to give all its members the opportunity to take stock of activities that JAAC has conducted, adjust its governance and ideate its future charter.
The meeting was attended by JAAC members in Kolkata and online. After the meeting was called to order by the Secretary, Ms. Belinda Gomes, the oath of membership was taken. This was followed by a welcome message from Ms. Ravneet Khurana, the Vice President of JAAC. The President, Mrs. Mandira Bose, gave a round-up of the activities conducted so far and proposed changes to the governing body to make it more inclusive of all the cities where we have alumnae presence.
This was followed by the secretary, Ms. Belida Dias Gomes’ report which an account of the different meetings JAAC had had over the past year, their purpose and the activities that were undertaken as a result of proposals made in the meeting, namely school reunion, mental health sessions, self-dense workshop, support to the children of Antaranga and St. Mary’s and screening of a documentary by Jane Ritcher.
Ms. Moushumee Basu Ray, the Treasurer for JAAC, gave a detailed account of JAAC’s expenditure and balances. This was followed by Ms. Dona Sen’s vision of the future of JAAC.
She set the stage for the association to discuss the possibilities of retaining and attracting membership by conducting more online webinars for its members, topics for which could range from career to mental well-being. Plans to celebrate Internation Women’s Day were also discussed.
The meeting ended with the association singing the school anthem and committing to keep the spirit of JAAC alive through its philanthropic activities.
FEBRUARY
Scale-changing harmonium donation to Paripurnata
In January 2024, JAAC’s Treasurer Ms. Moushumee Basu Ray visited the halfway house of Paripurnata in Garia, Kolkata. This NGO looks after the rehabilitation needs of mentally challenged women, striving to re-integrate its inmates with mainstream society to restore their dignity and rights.
Paripurnata has several programs to help with rehabilitation and this includes pharmaco theray and psychological therapy, occupational therapy, cognitive therapy and socio-cultural therapy. All the programs constitute a comprehensive plan to allow its marginalized women lead as normal and self-sufficient a life as possible.
Towards this cause, JAAC donated a scale-changing harmonium worth Rs. 30,000 from Bina Flute in College Street. JAAC’s President, Ms. Mandira Bose and Treasurer, Ms. Moushumee Basu Ray handed over the harmonium on 18th February, 2024 to the Secretary. He was grateful for the donation believing it would make a positive change in the lives of its residents.
Donation of a telescope to Anweshan Bigyan Sanstha, Garia
Anweshan Bigyan Sanstha is voluntary, non-profitable science and welfare organization that was established in 2000. Its aim is to dispel superstition in society and grow awareness of the pervasiveness of science in our lives. To this end, they conduct various seminars, lectures, camps and exhibitions. Their goals aligned with JAAC’s charter of promoting literacy where little support exists.
After discussing how we could support them, they expressed the need for a telescope. Mrs. Mandira Bose and Ms. Moushumee Basu handed over the telescope to Answeshan Bigyan Sanstha, on the 18th February.
In the days that followed, the telescope was drew much attention on the Annual Science exhibition. Children were enthralled by it and it meant yet another gratifying gesture by JAAC.
JAAC and Sanved Kolkata Collab on 9th March, 2024
On 9th March, JAAC hosted Sanved Kolkata to demonstrate the healing powers of Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) in a virtual session. The session was open to all alumnae of St. Joseph’s Convent. When our friends and colleagues heard of it, they were eager to join, too. Ultimately, the JAAC-hosted session drew people from a cross-section of our lives. And we are so glad we chose the self-expression of movements to mark a crucial turning point for JAAC’s commitment to making our home-away-from-home community stronger and more powerful.
Sanved Kolkata leads in the rehabilitation of marginalized women, who have been pushed to the brink of survival. Through its liberating expressions and moves, Sanved’s DMT has pulled many women out of hopelessness and on the path of self-discovery and self-sustainment. We were given a glimpse into this world of vitality and healing and the experience was cathartic for many of us.
Little by little, through an ascending order of exercises and dance moves, we were drawn out of our shells and made to reconnect with our inner child – uninhibited and carefree. We heard the story of a DMT practitioner, whose life experiences had affected her emotional stability to such an extent that she was always on the verge of losing her cool. DMT calmed her, gave her a purpose, and now she takes joy and pride spreading its awareness through such sessions. She affirmed the belief that one needn’t be a ‘dancer’ to enjoy its benefits. Movement is as natural to us as breathing, we need to become aware of our moves, grow comfortable in them, and channelize their energy to sway to the music and express our emotions.
The concluding message was a powerful one that hit home. No one is as capable of loving us as we, ourselves. Therefore, we should consciously practice self-love and care. The lead DMT practitioner showed us three simple steps to remind ourselves that each of us is loveable and deserving of the life given to us. We should appreciate it, embrace it, and celebrate it proudly.
Here’s what some participants said about the session:
“It had a soothing effect on our mind.”
“It was very meditative yet full of energy.”
“It was enlightening. DMT IS not just a channel of expression and healing for women who have suffered extremities, but also therapeutic if integrated in our daily lives.”
“Very pertinent, well-timed and useful!”
“Relaxing and well coordinated by Kolkata Sanved”
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