Back to School Annual Bonfire Reunion by La Martiniere, in association with The Telegraph, was a fun-filled evening spent reminiscing school days by the Martinians. Hosted last month at La Martiniere for Girls’ campus, the traditional annual event was all about reuniting with old buddies and catching up over music and food. Graduates from different batches, faculty members and staff gathered on the school grounds to honour achievements by fellow Martinians, followed by a music performance by Wagah Road and dinner. A joyous mood defined the ambience filled with zest, where the former students made new memories with old friends.
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Wagah Road enlivened the evening for the Martinians with English retro classics from John Denver to The Beatles. Songs like Roadhouse Blues and Crazy Little Thing Called Love got Martinians on the dance floor.
“I’m very happy that my boys and girls are back to school for their reunion. It is a very special annual event especially after Covid. So, they travelled from all over the world to be here. For a school like La Martiniere with such stupendous heritage and legacy, we consider them our ambassadors,” said Rupkatha Sarkar, principal, La Martiniere for Girls.
Olympian and tennis star Leander Paes, a 1992 alumnus, was felicitated by ALMA. “To come back to Kolkata and to La Martiniere school during the time of Christmas and New Year is probably the best place to be in the world. It is great to be back in school. The bonfire celebration is part of our tradition. It is wonderful to come and meet old pals. There are some friends I’ve not met in the past 25 years! Even after so many years of leaving school some of my best friends are still from La Martiniere. It is a real privilege to have grown up here because of the values that were instilled in us by our teachers, principals and our play masters. I’m very grateful to La Martiniere and it is wonderful to be back home,” he said.
It was a batch reunion for the 2002 batch that celebrated the evening by reminiscing and making a lot of fun memories.
The bonfire added to the warmth of the spirit of a reunion, friends gathered in every corner for groufies. Age was just a number and there was never an an empty spot on the dance floor.
The Organising Committee, ALMA — (l-r) Jaydeep Chitlangia, Anil Vaswani, Shelly Desai, secretary Payal Chitlangia, Priyanka Bhattacharya, Romi Bhandari, assistant treasurer Isha Jain, Nikhil Bhatia, president Vishal Jhajharia (fourth from right), Tejvinder Singh, vice president Jayajit Biswas and Ashish Jhunjhunwala with felicitated alumnus Leander Paes (fifth from right) — posed for The Telegraph. “This time after three years we have come back to school. It feels great to be back as alumni from around the world came together to spend the bonfire night together. We’ve about 650 alumni joining us this evening,” said Vishal Jhajharia, president of ALMA. Vice president Jayajit Biswas said: “Bonding of alumni of different age groups proves that age is just a number. Great time for nostalgia, camaraderie and a pleasure to see genuine smiles, hugs and friendship when Martinians across batches meet with laughter in their hearts. ‘Back to school’ for all Martinians is nostalgia revisited! We make the clock go backwards. That’s what a reunion is all about, besides good food and great music.”
“So everytime I come back to Kolkata, I look forward to coming here. This is the highlight of my trip. It is a great opportunity to connect with my seniors and juniors and also make new friends who I’m connected with in London now,” said Mariam Zaki, a student of the 2014 batch.
“Both of us are alumni, she passed out in 2020 I passed out in 1991. It is great to be back for the first time with my daughter. It is a feeling which can’t be described,” said businessman and investor Prashant Jalan, who attended with his daughter Ananyashree, a hospitality student at Les Roches, Switzerland.
A delicious spread of appetisers and an array of options in the main course were catered by The Erwin Bart. The guests also had multiple options to satisfy their sweet tooth with yummy desserts from Banchharam’s.