FROM THE PRESIDENT'S DESK
 

Dear Members

With the festive season round the corner, it gives me great pleasure to inform you and your family that Durga Puja celebrations will commence from September 24,2009.

During the same evening, we are looking forward to an exciting Ananda Mela laced with an imaginative culinary experience, when mouth watering innovative dishes will be spread out for you to savour on the food court adjoining the pandal. We are expecting a big turn out. A word of cheer to the family members who are making this happen.

The week long Durga Puja festival will be filled with cultural programmes ,drama, quiz competition etc. The agenda has been carefully drawn up by our several in-house committees. There would be all the time for you , your family and friends to participate , enjoy and take the celebrations to a crescendo! We would request you to join us, one and all, and add to mirth and merriment.

This year was very eventful , filled with cultural activities of various hues. In our midst we had cinema and drama icons Soumitra Chatterjee and Lily Chakraborty who staged a play . We had invited Soumitra once earlier to have a tête-à-tête with his admirers. This was a roaring success. In the same vein, we had invited Samaresh Majumdar , an eminent litterateur, for sharing the world we live in, and his literary views with us . We had organised a Bangla Mela with stalls displaying a wide array of products ranging from ethnic wares, village crafts, books, saris, to eating joints. Audience was regaled with Chhau dance numbers During the year, we staged an in-house choreographed children’s drama and an enthralling classical dance programme on Nataraja by our in house talent. As I pen this para , we are in the midst of Satyajit Ray’s retrospectives in the Epicentre, which is taking us through the memory lane, as we unwittingly transit through the poignant roads of Pather Panchali to the imaginative world of Hirak Rajar Deshey!

In our continuous quest for bringing all of us closer, we have also carved out a detailed programme schedule for you all to participate and enjoy. To cite a few, we are planning to take our family out for an enjoyable get together in November.. On January 19 & 20, 2010, we will celebrate Saraswati Puja followed by a Mela interspersed with cultural programmes , stalls and a dinner to follow. We are also planning to have a couple of theatrical and musical performances. Between February and May 2010, we are planning to have a few theatrical, music performances and film shows.

We are very happy to announce that this year we have a home of our own, a Society House, at 2405 DLF Phase2 Gurgaon, A feather in our cap, this has been a result of the tireless work undertaken over the years by all our past and the present Committee. The last mile problem was clinched this year in close cooperation with the State Govt of Haryana. The spin offs now are many .The Executive committee meetings are being held here as a regular measure. The attendant infrastructure has already been upgraded and spruced up for holding future get together over a cup of tea. We have since then opened a library for the benefit of our members and their family. In fact, the new venue has been the centre of activities like rehearsals etc., for the proposed cultural shows to be held during Durga Puja festival.

Our achievements highlighted have been the result of unstinted cooperation and encouragement from Members, their families, well wishers and friends... In spite of constraints associated with the humdrum of our daily existence, it has been possible for all our Committee members and their families to carve out a niche portal for making right things happen in close collaboration with you all. Quietly and steadily these tireless mortals have made things happen. We are indeed indebted to all of them.

With my dedicated team plodding their way to make things possible, I am confident that in the days to come, we would continue to strive for excellence with your cooperation.

With regards,

Dr Ujjal Sen
President