From a New Old Place
We are our memories and more than memories; We are in our Time Zone; We are what we are due to the teamwork that created the ambiance of our upbringing: These are few of the thoughts that reverberate having completed reading the final draft of this month’s newsletter.
So much of what we are is also due to the places we have inhabited. As David reminds: not only actors make the stage but a stage to makes the actor/actress. We are made by the places even as we add to change the quality of the spaces we occupy. I write these few lines sitting in the office corner and looking out on one side to the town of Sonada and on the other side, if I stand and peep through the open door and over the window of the lobby, I can see the Kurseong town and the meandering mountain slopes and the Balasun river basin in the plains. The serenity and beauty of the hills with its mists and sunshine alternating, giving a view of the valley now and hiding them at the next moment enchants and reinforces this thought that we are also because of where we are placed or planted to bloom.
The stark contrast in the shifts of days from the monsoon feel of the wet and watery nature to the bright and warm days in such a short span of hours is indicative of the climate change for sure. No one can dare to contest it as a mere fiction of the greenies. This realization dawns on those who are on Siliguri campus even more with the near visibility of the waste dumps calling for attention to waste management even as every breeze that wafts across brings urgent reminders of impending hazards and the necessity of action.
One of the contributions the present Alumni President, Mr. Chanchal made as a first-year student, with just the reminder of a morning talk was to bring in placards that were displayed across the campus that stated ‘Don’t Litter’! This year, thanks to the United Board, we will carry forward this campaign to ‘segregate waste’ from the college campus to the homes of over 1000 students. Making a city clean, green, and beautiful does not happen overnight, but one can’t stop dreaming that t can happen.
Warmly,
Fr George Thadathil sdb
Principal
Salesian College Sonada and Siliguri
