SJBHS OBA Connect - Kerala 2018

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Our school St Joseph's Boys' High School, Bangalore is celebrating 160 years of providing a well-rounded education to students of all sections of society, while our alumni association - known as the Old Boys' Association - is celebrating a 100 years of camaraderie, networking and giving back to our Alma Mater.

The Brunton Boatyard in Fort Kochi draws inspiration from its heritage to reflect a historical and glorious past. A fitting venue for Josephites to 'Connect', representing an alumni network that represents a hundred glorious years of remarkable growth and vitality. The SJBHS OBA initiated the series of reunions known as 'Connects' in 2010. These reunions - filled with nostalgia as well as sense of vitality - have been held at picturesque locations in India and overseas since then. 

Several Old Boys and their families reached Brunton Boatyard during the afternoon of Saturday, May 19. After registration and a warm welcome, we were treated to welcome tea, coffee and biscuits. Brunton Boatyard is located on the shores of the Vembanad Lake, the longest lake in India and perhaps the largest in area. At about 4pm, it was then time for a relaxed boat ride along the placid waters of the lake that leads to the Arabian Sea.

Almost 50 Old Boys from Bangalore and Kerala, and many families, participated. Thommen Karimpanal ’55 was the oldest while Jay Prabhu ‘99 (“Somshekar”) was the youngest Old Boy. Prayer and introductions on the evening of Sat, May 19 were followed by a sumptuous dinner covering a wide range of Kerala cuisine.

A three-piece band entertained the gathering till late in the evening. 

Four representatives from the Batch of 1975 had gathered, from Bangalore, Thrissur and Trivandrum.

The Josephites from the 1950s had retired relatively early. Here is a picture of Josephites from the 1960s.

Several batches from the 1970s...

Followed by batches from the 1980s and 1990s...

Strong participation from families made the Connect even more special. Thank you, all!

Toddy joined the 3-piece Band, and sang several Blues songs.

The agenda on Sun, May 20 was breakfast, a relaxed back waters cruise and a lavish lunch. 

A picture of the happy group just after the morning boat ride. 

The OBA thanks the Kerala Chapter for their outstanding hospitality – for the 9th year in a row!

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SJBHS OBA Day 2016

The OBA Day celebrations began with the Holy Mass in the School Chapel at 7AM on Sunday, September 4, 2016 followed by paying solemn tributes to Old Boy martyrs who laid down their lives fighting for the country in the great wars. The WW memorial in School is one of the few in Bangalore. Assembly, unfurling the School flag, and singing the School Song were followed by traditional breakfast, group photographs and the Annual General meeting of the OBA. 

The Old Boys’ team won the Hockey Match beating the current School team. The forever popular Biriyani feast was reserved for the end, with the fellowship winding up in the evening as the sun began to set, bringing the curtains down on another OBA year. OBA Day, the most prominent event of the year, once again produced the fellowship that is a result of Old Boys meeting across generations at the multi-purpose sports complex. 

The Batch of 1991 celebrated their 25th anniversary of passing out of school with great gusto over the weekend. 

Before OBA Day on Sunday, September 4, 2016 the Back to School Multi-Batch Reunion was held on Friday, Sept 2. 

The Back to School reunion for past batches (1956, 1966, 1976, 1986...) was held at the Concert Hall. All Old Boys are invited to attend, across all batches. The Batch of 1966 which celebrated 50 years of passing out of SJBHS was the largest batch with about 15 Old Boys participating. Most Old Boys met after years, perhaps decades, with many having flown down from overseas for the weekend. The Batch of 1956 deserves a special mention, with two Old Boys getting together to exchange old and joyful memories. 

A huge thank you from the OBA to David D’Costa for galvanizing the Batch of 1966 to come together and celebrate their 50th, and for setting up the Batch of 1966 Scholarship Fund. The OBA thanks the Batch of 1991 and Batch of 1992 for setting up corpus funds in the true spirit of giving back to the School.

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