Mamata Banerjee spent half an hour at a Christmas get-together organised by the St Xavier’s College alumni on Sunday evening, enquiring about the health of aged teachers, listing her favourite Christmas songs and requesting the band to play her a carol after it had packed up.
“I like to listen to Bengali songs even at this time of the year. But right now I feel like listening to an English song,” the railway minister told principal Fr Felix Raj as the band, Violin Brothers String Orchestra, reassembled their instruments on the dais on the Xavier’s playground to perform her choice: Silent Night, Holy Night.
Song over, Mamata proceeded to enumerate to the principal her playlist for the season. “I like Vishwapita tumi hey prabhu and Mangaldeep jwele. Yesterday, in the car, I was asking Derek (O’Brien) to give me a list of songs they sing on Christmas. He said he would give me a CD today but hasn’t kept his word,” smiled the Trinamul chief.
She refused to eat but insisted that the St Xavier’s fathers begin their dinner while she kept them company. After much coaxing, Mamata agreed to a cup of coffee.
When an alumni member asked her if she would like her coffee black, without sugar, she feigned anger and said: “Kalo coffee khabo keno? Khachhi jokhon sadai khabo, puro sada, dudh diye, chinio diye, kintu chinita ektu kom (Why will I have black coffee? Since I am having coffee, I might as well have it with milk and sugar, though not much of sugar). ”
Then it was her turn to be introduced to members of the alumni and some teachers, including the oldest, M.M. Rehman of the commerce section, who has been teaching for 51 years.
While being introduced to Fr Xavier, who teaches environmental science, Mamata quipped: “We’ve got a lot to learn from you. You must teach us sometimes too,” to a roar of appreciative laughter from those around.
When Rehman asked her if she was feeling nervous sitting amidst so many teachers, pat came the reply, punctuated with a smile: “No, I am not feeling nervous. I have a lot of respect for all of you and am wondering how to express it.”
Before leaving, Mamata did not forget to apologise for reaching the programme, to which many eminent Calcuttans had been invited, late. “I got delayed at a prize distribution ceremony. They had any number of prizes and wouldn’t let me leave until I had distributed all of them even though I was fretting about getting late here.”
When she was preparing to leave the campus around 9.30pm, mayor Sovan Chatterjee and party leaders like Madan Mitra in tow, Fr Felix Raj wanted to escort her to the gate but she would have none of it.
“Apni khub senior. Apni ashben na. Ami ek doure chole jabo (You are such a senior person. You don’t have to come. I will run along),” she said and set off on her customary brisk walk across the playground towards the Park Street gate of the college.
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