Christovan Cardozo PINGULI, SEPTEMBER 18, 2008: September has been a busy month for us at Pinguli. We were all busy preparing notice-boards, entertainment items, backdrops and arranging places for various celebrations. Two major occasions - Teachers’ Day and the Jesus-and-Mary Evening - are already over, but there are other big occasions yet to come. Teachers’ Day Celebration: Our celebration was delayed by five days on account of the Ganesh festival. Yet, there was plenty of eagerness and enthusiasm on the part of the students. The programme began with a short prayer service. Then there were two skits presented by the PNC and ITI students, a puppet show, speeches and the presentation of gifts to the Salesians and ITI teachers… all on the initiative of the students. The items were a fine testimonial of the esteem, love and gratitude of all the students towards their teachers. The teachers too sprang up a surprise when Fr. Kenneth (violin) and Bro. Jason (keyboard) played for us two Hindi songs with an apt message for the occasion. In his vote of thanks, Mr. Rixon (one of the ITI staff) remarked with obvious satisfaction, that this was the first time in Pinguli that the ITI and PNC students had worked in tandem for such a family-style celebration of Teachers’ Day. We too cherish the memory of this occasion in our hearts and minds. Jesus-and-Mary Evening. The organizers (under the leadership of Bro. Jason) must have spent sleepless nights preparing for this event. It was truly a memorable occasion. We (the boarders and pre-novices of Pinguli) were joined for the occasion by a group of 24 lively youngsters from Panjim belonging to the Friends of Dominic Savio. They trooped into Pinguli on Saturday, September 13, at 4:45 pm, accompanied by Fr. Edwin Baracho, and stayed with us overnight. The programme began at 5:30 pm sharp with a procession from the house entrance to the hall, followed by a short prayer service. Then came a volley of ‘holy’ games that we played in six teams. These games challenged us to put on our thinking caps as well as our sprinting shoes. There were also items to harness our creativity: put-your-own-tune and create-your-own-ad. At 8:30 pm we were treated to a solemn supper… a good occasion for us to interact with our guests in a more relaxed mood. Then followed a game of Scriptural Housie, and finally prize distribution… in which every team received something to munch (with the biggest share for the winners, of course). All in all, this was a lovely occasion that has left sweet memories in our minds. It was a nice opportunity to make new friends and exchange ideas with them. Our guests from Panjim also carried away sweet memories of their overnight outing to Pinguli.