On 20th November 2019, the Humanities students of grade XI and XII set out for a Heritage Walk in the area of Lal Dighi in the supposedly ‘White’ City of Calcutta. The purpose behind the Heritage Walk was to instil a sense of pride regarding Kolkata. It was organized for us by the Calcutta Heritage Society, to commemorate Heritage Week.

The students reached St. John’s Church in Dalhousie Square. The first stop was at the site of the Old Fort William and the infamous ‘Black Hole’ tragedy was explained to the students. Then they moved to see “Writer’s Building”, which was a seat of power from 1858 to 2016 and is currently being repaired. Then they saw the Government Mint, the current BSNL Office and discovered that these were both a century old, and still in use. The walk terminated on reaching the Raj Bhavan. The students then returned to St. John’s Church, where they learnt about the Jews in Calcutta. They also discovered that each and every Jewish family in the World can trace it’s roots to our very own city, which, at the present date, shockingly houses only 20 Jews!

After seeing the grave of Sir Job Charnock ( Siré Jobus Charnocke, as was mentioned in Latin), whose vision and thought led to the emergence and evolution of such a grand and eccentric city, the students took a pledge that no matter wherever they be in the coming years, they will never forget their roots and ‘Calcutta, The City of Joy’.