From 10 -15 August 2015, at Aspirantate Barasat the postulants and aspirants began a Bosco week to prepare themselves for the Bicentenary celebration of the Birth of Don Bosco. The Bosco week was a stunning event beginning with a prayer dance and un- veiling of Don Bosco’s image by superior Sr. Leelamma. The study of the candidate were presented through Mime, Self composed Poem, song and Dance Drama. It was a wonderful and enlightening experience and presented their items in an original way. Every day the Morning Prayer was prepared based on the life of Don Bosco.

On 16^th August, the aspirantate community together with the school community celebrated the Bicentenary of the birth of Don Bosco. The day began with a well prepared morning prayer. The grant ceremony started with a solemn procession in which the statue of Don Bosco was carried by our sisters.  The neighbourhood religious from RNDM, Bethany novitiate and cottage, Jesuit brothers and also the lay people were present. Each one of us carried the flag of Don Bosco accompanied by the hymn ‘ Father of many youngsters’. The entrance dance of the aspirants made the Holy Eucharist more solemn. Fr. Aloysius Carvalo SJ was the main celebrant. In his homily he highlighted the life sketch of Don Bosco. He brought forth the work of Don Bosco for the poor and marginalized young people and his zeal to lead all souls to God. The birthday party of Don Bosco was at 12.30 noon. Both the communities shared their lunch together followed by the games organized by the sisters for the aspirants, boarders and house staff.

In the evening the aspirants and boarders paid homage to our father and founder Don Bosco through a stage programme. We concluded the day with a prayer service and taking blessing from Don Bosco.

Aspirantate Community

16^th August 2015 was the most jubilant occasion to celebrate the birthday of Don Bosco, the father and founder of Salesian Congregation after 200 years. ‘The Man’ who has mobilised the world of youth for almost two centuries obviously draws the hearts of every one to rejoice and commemorate the great event. As the celebration went on for one year in various ways, indeed the culmination of the celebration was something distinctive. Being Sunday the other religious communities of Barasat were here for the Mass, so all joined for the significant celebration. All were given a flag and so taking the flag in their hands entered the chapel in procession singing “Father of many youngsters ……”. Two sisters carried Don Bosco’s statue and placed on the niche specially decorated for the occasion in pink and blue. The aspirants welcomed the gathering through entrance dance.During his sermon Rev. Fr. Aloysius Carvlho SJ highlighted on the advent of Salesians to India and the great contribution made towards the growth and development of the Church in our Mother land. He repeatedly spoke about Bishop Matthias  , the one who  worked a lot to shape the CBCI at that time. He  was instrumental in bringing  to the notice of Vatican II the need to train the laity as Catechists in the parish and village for  local evangelisation. It was the initiative of Bishop Matthias to spread the health ministry in various parts of our country.Rev. Fr.Calvalho emphasized d that the credit of evangelisation in North East and many other achievements is due to the Salesians in India. Everyone’s hearts were overwhelming with gratitude to God for Don Bosco and his legacy to the world. The celebrant invited the gathering repeatedly to thank God for this great saint. The boarders through their melodious singing made the mass more participatory and solemn.

The delicious meal was the binding force between the two communitiesas they shared the lunch together.Then the games for aspirants, boarders, and office and house staff were surprising and the most amusing event of the day. All of them worked in their team to win prizes by taking active part in all the indoor games.  The celebration continued till evening and ended with adoration to the Blessed Sacrament. The bicentenary celebration is over but the memory of this celebration will linger in the minds and hearts of all of us especially the elderly people who will continue to get little support as ration in the name of Don Bosco from Auxilium Convent Barasat.

Reported by Sr. Stella P.

Pope Francis through his continuous teachings and his own personal example has propelled all to leave our cosy comfortable zones to venture out to the peripheries. The spark had lit in the hearts of the sisters of Barasat a flame and took the opportunity of the bicentenary to launch the first venture to  reach out to the poor of the neighbourhood.  Networking with the local leaders the sisters managed to identify about 20 old and infirm persons.  On August 16 , 2015  they were invited to the feast and they were welcomed into the hall.  Sr. Stella the animator in her inaugural speech spoke of Don Bosco and his mission among the young and the needy.  The aspirants and the boarders entertained our guests with dances, skit and the dream at the age of nine.  After the function the ladies were provided with a box of snacks, 2 kg of rice, dhal and eggs. This good work initiated today will continue every Saturday with the additional deserving people.  The sisters were able to see a gleam of smile on their faces.  May Don Bosco from heaven in whose memory we have started to work help us reach out to more in the periphery through other works of mercy and love.

By Sr. Stella P.

August 14^th will remain an undeletable day in the memories of the auxilians  as the yearlong celebration of bicentennial of Don Bosco’s birth had its culmination with the closing ceremony spearheaded  by red house who had inaugurated it as well. The solemn ceremonial was  launched with a slow parade led by the school captain, vice captain and the four captains with the portrait of Don Bosco with an entourage of little girls showering rose petals on the portrait giving a sort of heavenly reverie.  Sr. Stella garlanded the picture and Sr. Rosy Veliyan the principal lit a candle giving a spiritual aura where a couple of prayers and self-composed poem was rendered.  A group of primary class students arrayed in dance to honour the saint of the young.  Three boys depicting the nine year old, teenager and grownup Don Bosco conveyed that  his presence is required to bring solace to the chaotic world of the young even today.  The maxims of Don Bosco  was made a living reality by taking them as an oath by the students.  The celebration concluded with the concluding speech of Sr. Stella which was poem illustrating the multifaceted personality and the greatness of Don Bosco.

The great celebration also included the “BOSC – O- QUIZZARD” in which Green House bagged the first prize along with all the other houses performing wonderfully well. The tiny toddlers made the stage more colourful with their “RAMP SHOW” Portraying their love for their favourite Bollywood stars. The final closure was marked by folding and handing over the bicentennial flag as a symbol of the students good will in preserving the values  which were  which they learned from the multitalented maestro, Don Bosco.

“LONG LIVE DON BOSCO”!!!“LONG LIVE HIS WORKS”!!!

(Debasree Pal and AsmitaHobisyashi)ACS, Barasat

Pledge taken at  Bicentenaryclsing ceremony

We the students of the Salesian School, promise that we will try our best to exemplify the principle that we have learnt from our school, respect and commit ourselves to uphold, respect and follow the standards set out by our school.

Following the example of Don Bosco, we pledge ourselves to live as one family, regardless of our race, language and religion to build a nation that respects each & every individual.

We further promise that we will give our best and strive constantly for excellence, preserving our academic integrity by maintaining the highest ethical standard in our studies and valuing the relationship with the management teachers and among ourselves, In every instance we will prove ourselves as Salesian pupils following the footsteps of Don Bosco.

On 16^th August 2015 the children of Snehalaya celebrated the birth of Don Bosco with grandeur. The day began with the animated Morning Prayer through power point presentation and followed by Eucharistic celebration. Whole day was dedicated to Don Bosco our Father and friend of youth.

In the evening at 7.00 p.m. children paid homage to St. John Bosco through songs, dance and skit. Rev. Fr. Swanoop Choudhury the Rector of Ashalayam and one of his friends Mr. Francis were present for the festa.  The programe was concluded with the distribution of gifts.

Boarders  were also part of the celebration of the  Past pupils of Don  Bosco technical school, Okhla to mark the celebration of the bicentenary of Don Bosco’s birth.

Sr. Anima Xalxo

The Past Pupils of Auxilium Dum Dum Unit celebrated Don Bosco Jayanti 200, on 16^th August 2015. The participants of the event were 50 evening school children, 60 senior citizens and 15 past pupils.

The celebration started with an opening speech from Sr. Dominica. She enlightened everyone about the importance of bicentenary celebration of Don Bosco. Sanghamitra Bhattacharya, Secretary of the Dum Dum Unit narrated some memorable events from the life of Don Bosco and urged the little children to follow the footsteps of Don Bosco. It was followed by hoisting of the flag as a mark of respect for Don Bosco and singing a hymn to Don Bosco by the past pupils. A beautiful and energetic cultural event of the children added a spark to the day and mesmerized the audience.

The programme concluded with a vote of thanks delivered by Ajanta Dutta, Vice President of the Dum Dum Unit. Thereafter the past pupils distributed biscuits, sweets and potatoes to all the senior citizens and the evening school children.

It was indeed a great moment of pride for the past pupils in being able to do their bit towards the bicentenary celebration of Don Bosco.

Sanghamitra Bhattacharya

 2014 – 2015 was a great and memorable year in the Salesian Diary. It marked the celebration of the Bicentenary of the birth of our Founder and Father Don Bosco. All over the world the Salesians held various programmes to honour this great Saint who worked tirelessly for the young and abandoned youth.

At  Holy Child Auxilium ,R.K.Puram too, various activities were held to mark the 200^th birth anniversary of Don Bosco.   Every  class was assigned the task of conducting  the morning assembly . The children recited poems, read out thoughts, chanted slogans and sang songs in honour of the great saint.

A poster competition for the students of Class III, IV & V  and a colouring competition for Nursery, K.G , Class I  & II was organized . The children had to surf the internet and find out more about Don Bosco and draw or stick pictures of the saint. The best posters and art work were awarded certificates.

To culminate this great event a two day programme was planned out.  31^st July, 2015  was set aside for a prayer service, remembering what Don Bosco said, ‘All armies are useless unless assisted by God’ . A fun day for the tiny tots of Nursery  and K.G  was also held on this day.

The prayer service began with the lighting of the lamp by Sr.Lily P. the Superior, Sr. Asha  Kerketta the Headmistress and Sr. Alphonsa  the Adminstrator. The students of Class V then walked in dressed in their white uniform with colourful scarves which bore the Bicentenary Logo. They carried artistically designed paper candles to depict and portray the light of Don Bosco throughout the world. The children enacted the song “Carry Your Candle”. The children then offered their prayers to the Lord and invoked His blessings on all. This was followed by a well synchronized prayer dance to the tune of “Here I come to worship”.

A well decorated board depicting the Bicentenary Logo and thoughts of Don Bosco also adorned the ground.

Finally to end the Prayer service a vibrant celebration dance was performed by the children holding colourful pompoms. They danced to the tune of “We are the children of Don Bosco”.

Sr. Superior then spoke to the children thanking them for the marvellous performance and exhorted them to walk in the footsteps of our Great Founder.

The second day , 1^st August was a day of fun and frolic as the children were geared up for the much awaited “Don Bosco Mela” at the Junior school grounds.

An innovative venture by our Principal, Sr.Celine, to bring the Junior and Senior school together to organize and conduct various activities , bore fruit on this day as the teachers of both the schools collaborated to make the “Don Bosco mela” a grand success.

To begin with, the students of the Senior school presented a beautiful rendition of the song “ We are the World”.It was a joy to see the talent of the students as they played various instruments and sang melodiously, telling us that we have to make the world a better place by being sensitive to the poor and sick and helping those in need just as Our Founder, Don Bosco did.

Following this,  a spectacular enactment of one of the dreams of Don Bosco was made by the students of Class XI. The students of the Junior school watched with rapt attention as the dream unfolded beautifully.

This dreams showcased the love Don Bosco had for his Heavenly Mother and how every moment of his life, our Lady played a stellar role in driving Don Bosco towards the realization of his dream.

Sr.Lily then thanked the Senior School Teachers and Students for their wonderful performance and then formally declared the “Don Bosco Mela” open.

The mela had many stalls which dished out tasty and yummy food for the little ones . Game stalls were also put up where the children tested their skills and won prizes. The lucky dip and the accessories stall was also a crowd puller. After enjoying the eats the children cooled themselves at the ice cream stall. There was also a Dance floor where the children danced to their heart’s content to various English and Bollywood tunes.

The day was enjoyed thoroughly by the sisters, teachers and students.

Indeed it was a celebration which made the bicentenary of our founder a memorable one. And with this grand finale, Holy Child Auxilium, R.K.Puram drew the curtains to the celebrations of the Bicentenary of the birth of Don Bosco keeping in mind his precious message, “Jump, play, run, shout but do not sin”.

Ms.Paula Fernandes