Bong Connection

Two years ago, when I first came to Mumbai, life was not simple as it used to be in my hometown. I had to cope with many things at the same time --terribly fast life, work pressure and finally staying away from family, which amounted to loneliness. It was then that my colleague-cum-college senior came to my rescue and he introduced me to my college alumni group, ‘Presidency College (Calcutta) Alumni Association Mumbai (PCAAM)'.

This weekend, the association celebrated its annual cultural festival, the 14th Banga Sanskriti Samelan. This is a three-day-long festival, which is celebrated each year at Rabindra Natya Mandir, Prabhadevi. Renowned artistes from Kolkata and Bangladesh fly down to perform at this cultural programme. Wide varieties of programmes are placed on the palette, from dances to songs, dramatics to band performances, which are mainly kept to cater to the taste of the youth.

Going back to the history, Presidency College was established in 1817 in Calcutta. It is the oldest institution founded by Raja Ram Mohan Roy. PCAAM was established in 1992 with a membership of 20 and over the years, the numbers have increased by leaps and bounds.

The best part about this association is that it attempts to bring together the entire alumni who are settled in Mumbai. The camaraderie is something worth noticing and people in the age group of 20-80 can be seen sharing light moments and pulling each other’s leg often. The General Secretary of this Association is a 63-year-old man who prefers to be referred as ‘dada’ (brother) and not ‘kaku’ (uncle) by youngsters.

The main purpose of arranging the cultural function here in Mumbai is to keep up the name and the rich heritage of the premier institute. It is also an initiative to enable people take time out of their busy schedules and socialize with people who share the same roots.

For the success of such a grand function, general body meetings take place where roles are assigned to those members who are willing to contribute their time and effort. All the members are informed about the event through emails and personal calls. Each member is made special by making him or her contribute in a small way, be it the duty at the reception or at the backstage. Huge sponsorships are arranged for the funding of the function.

Some of the other programmes that are organized for the members are yearly picnics, Bengali Naboborsho (14th April, Bengali New Year), Bijaya Samelan (after Durga puja), and the frequent get-togethers at each other’s place.

Being the youngest member in this association, I personally enjoy a lot of attention and love. It’s like my first family here in Mumbai as I can reach and discuss my professional and personal problems with them any time. There is so much of warmth inside the group which can be felt even by outsiders. All I can say is that now I realise why we used to say 'Once a Presidencian, always a Presidencian'.

Some of the famous alumni of Presidency College are:

Swami Vivekananda

Henry Louis Vivian Derozio

Rabindranath Tagore

Dr Rajendra Prasad

Subhash Chandra Bose

Jagdish Chandra Bose

MJ Akbar

Satyajit Ray

Amartya Sen

Aparna Sen

Ashok Kumar

Buddhadeb Bhattacharya

Jyoti Basu

Somenath Chatterjee