August 16, 2008
Soft Golden Jubilee Celebrations held successfully
The Soft Golden Jubilee Celebrations of Public School, Karachi Cantt were held successfully at the school grounds today. Almost 200 people participated in the event, which included some of our honorable teachers, students, and their spouses. The event was kicked off by introductory remarks by Javed Jabbar giving the background to the event and outlining plans. To view Javed Jabbar's introductory remarks, please click here or scroll down.
Comments by and pictures of the event are posted on the website. To view the comments, please scroll down and to view these pictures, click on one of the Library Buttons below.
Comments by Old Publicans
Following comments have been sent by Old Publicans on the Soft Golden Jubilee Celebrations. To view a comment, please click on the list given below, or scroll down to read all comments.
What a Party (by Mirza Naseeruddin)
The Golden Jubilee GT (by Raju Jamil)
Salute to the team (by Farooq Nadeem)
A Soft Golden Evening marks our 50th Anniversary (by Javed Jabbar)
Congratulations (by Riaz Khan)
Accolades to the organizers (by Shahid Akhtar)
Congratulations and a job well done (by Qamar Kazmi)
Wonderful efforts (by Asefa Qayyum)
What a Party (by Mirza Naseeruddin)
I am proud to be a participant of the Soft Launch of our Golden Jubilee Celeb held on 16-08-2008 at school premises where the 'Dome' once stood. My salutatations to the Organizing Team.
The Golden Jubilee GT (by Raju Jamil)
The Soft Celebration For Proceeding Towards The 21St Dec Grand Reunion Planned For Golden Jubilee Of CPSK.....Took Place On 16Th August evening At The Ground Zero...Of CPSK Nearby Our Lost Dome Site....Where School Mates From 1959 Through 1979 Were Present And With Nighat (Qazi) Mir, Khalid Zaki As Master Of Ceremony....And Javed Jabbar, Zaffar Khan, Shahid Malik (All The Way From India...Our Envoy There) And Wasim Bari, Shirley Hyder, Farzana Faruqi, Seema, Sheba, Perveen Amjad.... And Everyone You Can Think Of From Your Batch......Were There In Person, In Thoughts, In Mind...With Miss Musharraf, Sir Siddiq Sindhu .....Zafar Saheb....And The Current Faculty Of CPSK Now Known As Federal Govt Public School.
Jayjay, Zaffar Bhai And A Rep From Each Batch....Made Speeches And Remembered Their Batch Mates. I Represented 1967 Batch And Wreaked Out Some Merry Moments. Shirley Hyder Was The Pick Of The Function...When She Spoke Of How CPSK Came Into Being And What She Saw When Her Dad Was Making CPSK.........
There Was A Full Video Coverage Alongside Music And Songs Of Our Days Obn Which Jayjay, Farzana, Khawaja Farid, Zaffar Bhai, Shirley And Myself Danced On Stage.....'Lets Twist Again' And 'Lipstick On Your Collar' Shook Us And Took Us Back To 60'S.
Facebook Group Has The Video Coverage I Did. The Original Video And Official Photographs Will Be Posted To Those Who Require Them
Alongside Video Copy.
21St Dec Function Is Being Planned Big Way And We Expect A Huge Turn Out.....Where We Plan For More Events And Skits And Wreaking Out Memories Of Yesteryears...
Allah Aap Subb Ko Khush O Khurrum Rakhay.....
Salute to the team (by Farooq Nadeem)
Salute to you and your team who made the evening a wonderful evening. I entered Cantt Public School in 1959 and passed out in 1964.I did my engineering from NED college and running my own engineering company. I attended one meeting of old publicans and would like to do something for my school. If you think appropriate do include my name as one of the volunteer and let's build the dome again at least. If we are successful in building the dome we can build one arm of that octopus and can bring school to its original shape which is my dream.
You can see my photograph in the library one and it's the fifth picture, having white hair and glasses and moustaches. My cell number
is 0300-2023041, 588418/5884246.My email address is farooq.22@gmail.com. I was introduced by Mr. Khalid Zaki, who also passed out in 1964 from Cantt Public school.
Once again I congratulate everyone for such a lovely event.
A Soft Golden Evening marks our 50th Anniversary (by Javed Jabbar)
School premises in Karachi became an evening that exceeded the expectations of the organizers in:
1. The scale of participation (over 225 chairs occupied, instead of the original estimate of 175).
2. The pleasure of each other's company.
3. A programme that unfolded gently.
4. Lilting, swinging old Urdu & English songs, dances - and enjoyment!
5. A charming ambience - and good food.
Publicans who were not present, whether they reside in Pakistan or overseas, were deeply missed.
The site was approximately the same historic place where our unique dome used to be.
The canopy, the seating, the lighting, the stage and the lay-out were aesthetic and spacious. There was the unique, pleasant, light Karachi evening breeze.
At the outset, we rendered Fateha and observed silence with respect for all those who have departed from this life for the next one.
The programme proceeded, more or less on schedule, with only minor variations. And only one major omission: due to an equipment glitch, the power-point presentation could not be made.
From our first batch of 1958-1961, Shahnaz Farooqui and Shirley Haider recalled our times. Shirley gave an interesting background to how her esteemed father, the late Mr.M.E. Haider visualized the concept of the School's architecture and its relationship to learning and knowledge.
Each Publican who spoke shared pleasant memories, evoked the beautiful days gone by, identified most class-mates present: some were left out by unintentional oversight!
Spouses participated in the event with remarkable enthusiasm - and patience. They added their own special charm to the gathering.
Even though only four senior teachers were present i.e. Mr. Siddiqui Sindhu, Mrs. Rani Rafi, Mr. Zaffar and Ms. Shameem Qayyum: they well-represented all our beloved teachers. Mrs. Rani Rafi spoke briefly and gracefully on behalf of all teachers.
We also welcomed the Principals and staff from the successor schools to our original School.
3 Publicans i.e. Zakir Mehmood (HBL), Tahir Sadiq (HSBC) and Raju Jamil (UBL) secured sponsored signs for display at the event to offset part of the cost. Shahid Zaki (Philips) arranged LCD screens.
A modest admission fee of Rs.500/- per person (excluding past and present teachers) ensured that the event was virtually self-financed.
Whether they were the faces we saw, the voices we heard, the images remembered, the songs replayed, the brief dances rendered on stage: the whole evening became a little magical - and quite memorable.
In the wide range of professions represented by Publicans present, their extra-ordinary achievements on international and national levels, or their quiet, solid work as family-builders and skilled specialists: by such criteria, all Publicans can take humble pride in having made notable contributions to the world around them.
Compliments to each Publican who worked with exceptional commitment and devotion to make this event possible. Their names are recorded here: Khawaja Fariduddin, Zaffar A. Khan, Khalid Zaki, Shahid Zaki, Nighat Mir, Tahir Sadiq, Ashraf Kapadia, Saeed Khalid, S. M. Babar, Javed Iqbal, Raju Jamil, Atiq-ur-Rehman, Shamim Riaz
Several others also helped. For example, each person who spoke on behalf of a batch.
Note: any omissions of names are entirely inadvertent and are regretted. Please correct and add as per the facts!
Earlier, about 20 Publicans have contributed sums ranging from Rs.5,000/- to Rs.50,000/- each to create a total of about Rs.300,000/- for a Publicans Golden Jubilee Fund To Support Education in a purposeful way. Contributions from other Publicans and other sources are invited to achieve a sizeable sum i.e. at least Rs.5 million to Rs.10 million by November-December 2008.
The 16th August celebration has set up a new challenge for us to ensure optimal participation on Sunday, 21st December 2008 and to ensure that we use the next four months to prepare meticulously for the main event.
Congratulations (by Riaz Khan)
Congratulations on arranging the program at Karachi Cantonment High School premises! I wish if I would have been in Pakistan so as I could have participated. Credit goes to JJ, Raju and others. Keep up the good work.
Accolades to the organizers (by Shahid Akhtar)
I just read with great interest the full account of August 16th soft celebrations, my accolades go to the organizers and all the participants. We, the overseas Publicans, envy all of you, and it is at times like these that we miss our beloved homeland even more. I am glad that the minutes were recorded so it will show how much we appreciate our teachers and upbringing and we owe a lot to them. What we are today, and our achievements, basically reflect what we learnt in those days and went on to build on it, and we all are indebted to our teachers.
Congratulations for putting up a good show/program and good luck in planning the Grand Celebrations in December.
Congratulations and a job well done (by Qamar Kazmi)
Congratulations and a job well done. I am so glad to learn that several of our teachers were able to attend. By all measures, it seems to have been a great success.
The suggestions about the funds for educational purposes are all excellent and should be discussed and decided on. It seems we have to do some work yet on fund raising. We are hoping to have a get together in Washington simultaneously with the Karachi Celebration in December. I am hopeful that we will be able to raise some additional funds by then.
Wonderful efforts (by Asefa Qayyum)
I hope to visit Karachi for a wedding and will Inshaallah attend the school function. I would like to make a suggestion. I am not sure if I am doing the right thing . But for memories sake I would like to sing the Tarana which I use to do with Rukhsana Ilyas every morning at the assembly. I hope I will be able to undertake this and would be glad if you can track Rukhsana Ilyas. I would like to email her or phone her. Then we could arrange the Tarana we could both sing again as we did in the days gone by.
I have read with interest the great evening you all had at Public School and JJ's speech. I will write to him separately.
I would like to thank all of you for the wonderful efforts.
Introductory Remarks by Javed Jabbar
Bismillah.
Respected teachers, fellow Publicans, spouses:
Salaams and welcome.
A pleasure to see you all here: what refreshingly vibrant faces and personalities. Your spouses make you look even better! What a range of characters, personalities, professions, achievements.
We miss today those Publicans who are overseas and who have done so well for Pakistan in foreign countries - but they are here with us via the Internet!
We deeply grieve for those Publicans, Principals, teachers, staff and students who have left this mortal abode for another.
I salute Publicans for trying to fulfill the School motto: "Carve thy destiny and know thyself".
You have done it! You are continuing to do it!
This is why our theme for this celebration is: "celebrating 50 years of shared memories, values and ideals".
We - you! - Publicans can justifiably take pride in contributing our own individual respective humble and yet vital shares to excellence in a wide range of sectors and to Pakistan. The work of many of us is known to people at large. But the work of many more, even though it is not known as widely, is equally, if not more valuable! By doing good work, by building families, parenting children, and being decent citizens, each Publican has made a small yet crucial difference to the world in which we live.
I salute our respected teachers who are present with us here today. Each of them is a source of wisdom and guidance.
We also pray for those who have gone away, but have left us with priceless treasures of learning.
We have gathered today at a place that is like a sacred place: a very special place.
But is this the same place?!
Yes, monuments do not endure - but the earth does!
It is the same place, the same earth - even without the dome!
We came here as children - and left as adolescents. Some of us came here as primary kids - and left as puberts!
We discovered new aspects of our minds, our hearts, our bodies, our feelings in this very place.
There are imperishable bonds with this part of our earth.
Yet, we have remained distant observers, silent witnesses to all the changes made to the original campus - and the disappearance of the original School structure.
We share responsibility for our collective inaction.
Is there a symbolism and a connection between the original Pakistan - and the original Public School?
1958 to 1971: 13 years of a Public School in a united Pakistan.
Followed by the disintegration of Pakistan - and the disintegration of Public School: no longer co-educational, no longer a single campus School!
The deterioration and the eventual demolition of the dome and the other structures, the corridors, the construction of housing schemes, the division into different plots, sub-plots.
All these are pertinent concerns at what happened yesterday.
But we are alive today in 2008: and it is the present and the future with which we now need to engage - even as our country is poised: once again in a critical phase!
There are 5 aims of this celebration.
1. To mark a unique milestone which occurs only once in a life-time.
2. To share memories, values and ideals.
3. To honor our teachers who are with us today, to thank them and to pray for and honor our past Principals, teachers, staff and students.
4. To discuss, and agree upon how to support quality education for the disadvantaged and/or for those who now study in this place.
5. To prepare for the main celebration of this golden anniversary on 21st December 2008.
Thank you for your presence here today.