Sight for proud eyes: Howrah bridge, minus eye-sore advertisements. A Telegraph picture

The report “Twin icons are gone”, June 1, reminded me of my years as a commerce student at St Xavier’s College between 1979 and 1982.

I had a really tough time attending morning classes from far-off Ramrajatala. I used to take the state bus on route no. 8 from Howrah station and get down at Bata Wellesley crossing. Some of my classmates and I used to walk down to college from there.

Arunda used to be our companion every day. The college canteen opened at 8am, so he would come early to start cooking with the other canteen employees. Occasionally, the bus conductor would take the 45-year-old to be a student!

The green benches used to be occupied by the mothers of St Xavier’s School students then.

At the canteen, Arunda enjoyed the company of the students and used to laugh with them. But at the same time he never failed to stop a student who tried to slip out without paying.

I saw Sanjiv Goenka having singara with his B.Com topper friend Sanjay Mundra. Sanjay Budhia was a senior. We often saw him having soft drinks with classmates in the canteen.

I was hurt by Arunda’s behaviour once. I had no money on me that day, but was terribly hungry. I asked Arunda if he could give me a singara and a cup of tea on credit. He refused flatly.

I returned home on an empty stomach that day. I don’t know whether Arunda started accepting credit cards later.

Samir Chakrabarty,
Ramrajatala, Howrah

The two recent developments at St Xavier’s College brought back fond memories. I was a student of B.Com in the late Seventies. I remember the numerous adda sessions we had on the green benches. It is sad that the bench will be removed to make way for a building.

The departure of Arunda from the canteen is even more sad. His ever-smiling face and affectionate voice will always be cherished by old Xaverians like me. Thanks for the touching tribute to Arunda, who was as revered by us as Father Joris was. I wish him a happy and peaceful retired life with his family.

Alok Kumar De,
Ramrajatala, Howrah

Was removing the green benches really necessary? Will the St Xavier’s authorities do a rethink on the issue? Arunda’s retirement is also sad. He had taken care of so many students, including Sourav Ganguly.

T.R. Anand,
Budge Budge

Apropos the report “Billboard bane of bridge”, June 5, it is disheartening that two gigantic billboards are defacing a Calcutta icon. The billboards betray the lack of taste of the advertisers. The lackadaisical attitude of the port authorities portrays them in bad light. They have failed to protect a much-loved landmark.

Sunil Banerjee,
VIP Road

It is distressing that the 64-year-old Howrah bridge is under the shadow of two giant billboards. Since the bridge is part of the heritage of both Calcutta and Howrah, the mayors of the two cities and the port authorities should bring down the billboards and even consider penalising the companies that had put them up.

Prahlad Agarwala,
Majdia, Nadia

Lawmaker role

The public works department must be commended for dismantling illegal billboards on VIP Road (Illegal billboards go under the axe, June 8). The illegal billboards in the the city proper should also be pulled down and the political leaders should not oppose such a move. Putting up illegal billboards takes time. It is strange that the law-enforcing agencies did not stop the process.

Dinabandhu Mukherjee,
Behala

Roadhog VIPs

Thanks for calling one of the so -called VIPs of India a “car-stopper” (Shekhawat who? The car-stopper, June 1). If traffic mismanagement, bad roads or water-logging do not waste the common man’s time and energy, movement of VIPs certainly will. A few days back, Calcutta had a tryst with none other than the First citizen. We found it hard to move with unending barricades and almost all the roads blocked. I wonder how people in Delhi go about their work with so many VIPs residing there.

Nikhil Agarwal,
Belur

It is well-known that hospitals and even nursing homes in the city do not provide proper treatment (What ails hospitals, June 8). What’s more depressing is that the hospitals and nursing homes don’t attend to dying patients citing lack of beds. However, a phone call from a political leader is all it takes to find empty beds.

Moumita Sengupta,
Behala

Clarification

Apropos the report “Held for hotel theft”, June 3, a cheque book of the managing director was stolen from the hotel. The arrested man forged the managing director’s signature and tried to encash a cheque. It was not a blank cheque signed by the managing director, as mentioned in the report. Also, the total value of the stolen goods was Rs 1.3 lakh.

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