KolKata: The marble hall of St Anthony’s High School reverberated with carol tunes as an all-clergy band belted out ‘Joy To the World’, ‘A Ray of Hope’, ‘Merry Christmas’ and ‘Shorger Shinri’ on Thursday evening. The sombre school building was transformed into a cozy fesive venue as the band comprising St Anthony’s principal Fr Devraj, Don Bosco School principal Fr Bikash, Vailankanni parish priest Fr Gregory and St Mary’s School principal Fr Neethi, took the microphone and started singing the city’s favourite carols.
The band brought the festive season alive during an event, ‘The Herald Catholic of the Year — Honours Gala 2017’, organised by the Archdiocese of Calcutta and The Herald. “The idea is to celebrate the Catholic community members who do outstanding work for their parish community, rendering years of service, often without any reward,” explained The Herald editor Fr Devraj, minutes before his band ‘The Blessed’ was introduced by pop queen Usha Uthup.
The priests rehearsed in their baritone for the last two days. “It was a special evening for me. We performed some old carols which everyone knows,” said Fr Neethi.
Organiser Angelina Jasnani said, “The Fathers performed beautifully spreading the Christmas cheer.” Fellow organiser Farrell Shah added, “You don’t get to hear priests perform everyday.”
The band, however, didn’t ring in the Yuletide spirit alone as the evening opened with the Armenian Church Choir. And the ‘Catholic of the Year’ award went to Charles Mantosh, who’s been working for Kolkata’s churches since 1971 — participating in historic events, including Mother Teresa’s beatification and Pope John Paul’s visit.
The guests enjoyed dinner, sitting below the stars in the garden, listening to classic — ‘Silent Night’ and other popular carols by Shayne, Chris Lobo and Savita.
(Source: The Times of India)