"When Sir George Mallory was asked by the media why he wanted to climb Mt. Everest, he replied,’Because it is there’ " was the striking statement with which Dr. Chatterjee began his speech.
Don Bosco School, Liluah started its academic session 2009-2010 on the 1st of April, 2009. We were privileged to have Dr. Sandip Chatterjee, a renowned neuro-surgeon as our guest-speaker at the inaugural ceremony. It commenced with a short prayer service. The lighting of the lamp, to invoke God’s blessings upon the school during the year, was followed by a reading from the Holy Bible by Fr. Rector. A recitation of Psalm 33 from the Bible followed and then we placed our needs before God in the Prayers of Intercession. The prayer session concluded with the chanting of the ’Guru Vandana.’
Rev. Fr. Joseph Pathickal gave us the welcome address, greeting both students and teachers. He congratulated all of us for having entered into a new class, another step up the stairs of learning and introduced our guest, Dr. Sandip Chatterjee inviting him on the stage, to give the keynote address.
Dr. Chatterjee began on a humorous note, mentioning the fact that 1st of April was also the All Fool’s Day. He related an anecdote about the chicken who wanted to climb to the top of the tree too quickly and was shot dead by a farmer, when it reached the top. Then followed the story of Sir George Mallory and finally he gave us an example about his very own son and how he proved that a child’s brain is more logical than the mind of a parent or a teacher
Through his 25 min. speech he told us to remove the negative Ds from our lives - the Ds of Disturbance, Deceit, Disruption and so forth. He commented that while we get frustrated with the stiff competition all around us, the top of the ladder of any profession is always empty. It’s only the bottom which is crowded and people reach to the middle and then fall off. For the person who wants to excel there is no one to stop. He spoke to us about the importance of ambition in our lives - aim to climb Everest and you shall climb Kanchenjangha, but if you aim for Kanchnjangha itself you may be able to reach only to its foot. At the same time he mentioned that ambition should not be mixed with scorn for those below us. A man is not known for the Mercedes Benz he rides; rather he is known by the fact that he helped an old woman cross the street, after he climbed down from his Mercedes Benz. It was not a lecture given by a professor or a pre-written speech. It was a message that he gave us from the core of his heart and we are grateful to him for his kind words.
Rev. Fr. Biji Thomas, while delivering his vote of thanks, reminded the students that there was plenty of room at the top for all those who desired to reach there. The ceremony ended with the singing of the School Anthem after which the students dispersed for the day.
Dr. Chatterjee’s address to the teachers, an hour later, was a different scenario altogether. Gone were the quips and anecdotes that were his forte, as he spoke to the boys. With extreme sensitivity, the doctor urged the teachers, to follow Mother Teresa’s vocation of love in their dealings with young souls.
The doctor, a successful neurosurgeon, a professor of neurosurgery for post graduation medical students, a good debater and thus armed with the gift of multi-tasking, led the teachers through his various experiences, that were so humbling, urging them to shed the arrogance of their adulthood, as they went to the boys to teach them, to prepare them for life.
Recalling the universal prayer to the Lord, to grant us the wisdom to change what we can, the serenity to accept what we cannot change and the grace to accept the difference, Dr. Chatterjee informed us that the size of everybody’s brain was the same. Using the analogy of a lamp, he said, each child’s mind was like a lamp, waiting to glow. Some matchsticks needed to be struck once, some twice and others many more times, to help the lamp shine - but finally the light the lamp shed was the same. He cautioned the teachers about the need to delve into the psyche of the child and the importance given to E.Q. over I.Q., in the modern era.
We thank you Doctor, for giving us an insight into the child’s requirements through your immense experience, salute you for your advice and promise to lead our boys into being emotionally stable, principled individuals, with integrity - young people, who plan their future and their lives as responsible citizens.
... Sayan Samanta 12 C & Ms. Tanima Chaudhury
