ABOUT US

26th April 2003 was a special occasion for the family of Shri Shikshayatan College- it Commemorated the grand re-union of the ex-students of this institution by the revival of the Alumni Association of the college after a long time. The staff room was teeming with the enthusiastic ex-students who are today, successful personalities in their own sphere. It was a grandiose event and among much rejoicing the Executive Council of the Alumni was formed. The office bearers of the Association were:

President :	Smt. Susmita Gupta (nee Singhi)
Vice president :	Dr. Maya Garani
Secretary :	Smt. Debjani Nag
Asst. Secretary :	Smt. Alakananda Dutta
Treasurer :	Dr. Rupa G. Barwani
Members :	Kiran Siphani, Vijay Laxmi Mishra, Pratibha Lakhmara, Ivy De, Mahasweta Roy, Gita Dubey,   Nilanjana Mukherjee, Annu Gupta, Amrita Jhunjhunwala, Susmita Dutta Chowdhury, Urmi Gupta, Gargi Mitter, Alpana Nayak and Dr. Elizabeth Dey.

The ex-students enjoyed themselves going down memory lane and reliving their days in this college with their old teachers (many ex-teachers were present) over tea and refreshments. They were equally delighted to be introduced to the new faculty members they had not met in their college days. The interaction between ex-students, ex-teachers and the present teachers of the college, some of whom were also ex-students of this college, marked a special occasion. Among the present faculty who are alumni of this college are Smt. Debjani Nag, Dr. Rupa G. Barwani, Smt. Mahasweta Sen, Smt. Susmita Dutta Chowdhury, Smt. Gargi Mitter, Smt. Madhumati Patra, Dr. Elizabeth Dey, Smt. Urmi Gupta, Smt. Alpana Nayak and Dr. Priti Singhi. Other ex-students who have served as faculty members in their alma mater and have now retired are Dr. Sukrita Ajmani, Dr. Phulwant Kaur and Dr. Maya Garani.

             The evening’s itinerary included the much-awaited panel discussion, “Thanks to popular media violence is glamourized today”, with well-known personalities of Calcutta. The luminaries on the dias were successful, seasoned veterans from diverse fields of cinema, academics, politics and the print media expounding their views (greatly enriched by the witticisms of the moderator, Mr. Rahman. The speakers included Samik Bandopadhay, Swapan Mullick, Anjan Dutta, Arjun Chakraborty, Malini Bhattacharya, Sougata Roy and Joyobroto Chatterjee). Apart from this, the alumni started social service at ‘Parivarikee”, an organization in Lake gardens for under-privileged children.

             In 2004, too, on 26th April, the 2nd Annual general meeting of the Alumni was held. The day was celebrated with great enthusiasm and fanfare, a magnificient event including the ex-students, former teachers mingling with the present faculty members and students. All members of the Alumni pitched in, with great effort and enthusiasm in the preparation of the day’s celebrations. The evening’s itinerary was well planned, with the executive committee having decided to invite Ms. Ritika Sahani, our alumni who is a famous singer based in Mumbai, to perform for the evening.

             The purpose of our alumni meetings is not just entertainment or happy socializing, but a positive and constructive effort for the well-being of the Association, the college as well as the community at large. We rendered a little welfare service in this year too. From Alumni funds we helped one of our former students (Education Honours batch 1996-1999) to pay her admission fees for the B.Ed course of the college on 1st June 2004.

             The 3rd general meeting of the Alumni was held on 26th April 2005 amidst great celebration. We all have fond memories of our alma mater, so such meetings provide an invaluable opportunity for past pupils to retain a point of contact with the institution that has been instrumental in shaping our personalities. The get-together was followed by “Kathak Creations” by the internationally renowned danseuse Smt. Amita Dutta, Smt. Dutta, Uday Shankar, Professor and former Head of the Department of Dance at Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata has been serving the world of Indian dance for more than two decades.

             We feel proud to have contributed to the admirable rank the college received from NAAC through various social services on our part. We have made a humble contribution of Rs. 10,000 to the millions of lives wrecked by the Tsunami on 26th December 2004, and our contribution was acknowledged in the Telegraph and Ananda Bazar Patrika.

             We have tried to help the college periodically. The donation of a wheelchair and stretcher for the medical unit of the college has proved helpful. We have made a humble contribution of Rs. 5000 to the social welfare committee of the college on 8th July, 2004, our college foundation day. A contribution of Rs. 4000 was made by our Association towards a state- level seminar held in our college on 22nd March, 2005.

             On 21st April 2006, the 4th Annual general meeting of our Association was held (held earlier because of elections). After 3 years a new executive committee was formed with Smt. Usha Ganguly of Rangakarmee as President. Other office Bearers were also elected on the same day.

President :	Dr. Usha Ganguly
Vice president :	Smt. Simi Rehani
Secretary :	Smt. Sunita Dubey
Asst. Secretary :	Smt. Prasita Mukherjee
Treasurer :	Smt. Monlina Bhattacharya
Members :	Debjani Nag, Rupa G. Barwani, M Sen, E dey, Alpana N, Madhumati

The evening concluded  with a choir presentation by “Calcutta Ensemble”. In this year we sponsored a programme by SPICMACAY at the college. Rs. 10,000 was also given by us to sponsor the debate during ‘Srijan’, the annual inter college fest of our college.

           The 5th Annual general meeting was held on 26th April 2007. The students’ reunion was an informal gala affair in which old friends met after years and remembered the golden days spent together. The reunion was attended by Dr. Usha Ganguly.

             Our next Annual general meet and reunion was held on 26th April 2008. Going down memory lane and reliving their days in the college, the students enjoyed themselves with their old teachers over soft drinks and sumptuous refreshments. Our Association works throughout the year in its own way in various social welfare activities and at times, when need arises, offering financial assistance to the college. The Association made a financial contribution in the arrangement of Hindi Divas, hosted by the college on 1st October 2007. The Association set up wall clocks in every classroom, college office and staff rooms! A workshop on Dyslexia was co-sponsored by us with the Department of Education of the College on 28th March 2008. The workshop was conducted by Smt. Arundhati Sarkar, an alumna of the Department of Education. In April 2008 we gifted 23 books to the College library. In the 6th year of the new Association, on the suggestion of the College Principal Dr. Jayasri Ray, it has been unanimously decided to shift the date of the general meeting from 26th April to 30th January. So in 2009, on 30th January we had our 7th Annual General meeting and reunion. On this day we also formed a new executive committee with Dr. Srilekha Mazumder as the President. Other members are:

President :	Dr. Srilekha Mazumder
Vice president :	Dr. Mita Banerjee
Secretary :	Smt. Debjani Nag
Asst. Secretary :	Smt. Sheila Mohan (nee Mani)
Treasurer :	Dr. Rupa G. Barwani
Members :	Smt. Manju Sen, Smt. Mahasweta Sen, Smt. G. Sugandha, Smt. Madhumati Patra, Smt. Gargi Mitter, Smt. Urmi Gupta, Dr. Elizabeth Dey and Dr. Priti Singhi.

The Alumni Association initiated with the noble purpose of helping and interacting not only with the alumni, but also the society at large, has progressed, making its presence felt by pursuing various welfare commitments, and in future, hopes to continue in its mission of educational, cultural and social enhancement of society. But all this will become reality only when all of us join hands to come together for a common cause.