Calcutta University Alumni Association

Minutes of the Meetings

September 15, 2009, 4:00-5:00 PM

Venue: Potomac community center, MD
Meeting Coordinator: Bidhan C. Bandyopadhyay

This 11^th Annual meeting was a great success and was the best one we ever had in the recent times. Bidhan Bandyopadhyay starts the meeting with welcome address & mentions the Meeting Agenda. In the welcome address, he presented a summary of the present status of the association and appealed to the members to renew their support in fund raising effort to help the economically challenged meritorious students of the University of Calcutta.

Our senior member Nitya Nath requested Anirudha Bhattacharyya, husband of our alumni Anjali Bhattacharyya for opening of the 1^st mini-magazine of CUAA “Praktoni”. Lokesh Bhattachryya as an editor of the magazine told the members about his experience in composing this magazine.

Bidhan Bandyopadhyay talked about his progress to overcome the logistic problem and revive the scholarship program for the incoming meritorious students to study at Calcutta University. He told about his meeting with the vice-chancellor, provice-chancellor, inspector of colleges and the Estate and Trust officer of the University of Calcutta during his recent visit to India. They assured him that there would be no logistic problem in implementing this program. Bidhan wanted to pursue the matter how to implement the program and ask our senior member Bratin Saha to propose a mechanism i.e. how to go for fund raising and implementation. Bratin Saha proposed to start with 10 scholarships in 10 major CU departments. These tentative departments are Physics, Applied Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Zoology, Botany, Physiology, Biochemistry, Statistics, and Economics. He said if we give $100.00 per student for 10 students (1 students per department) that will cost $1000.00 per year. We need to raise $10,000 that will generate about $1000 per year in fixed deposit Rupees Account operated by CU as per he understand from Bidhan. He sincerely requested the members for one time contribution of minimum $100. He learned from Bidhan that we have about 150 names in our directory list and this amount should be raised. Most of the alumni members convinced and support the idea of helping economically challenged meritorious students. Tarak Bhar and Nitya Nath discussed about their past experience and present perspective in supporting the students of CU. Dhruba Chattoraj discussed about the future activities of CUAA-DC and supported the young group to join the association. Significant massage from the alumni at the meeting was that the Association should contribute to some worthy cause.

Mintu Pal discussed about a proposal for the condolences on death of CU Alumni. Everyone supported him in his proposal in sending flower etc. to the remembrance gathering.

Jayasree Nath open the discussion for a New Core Committee as some of the interim committee members did not wanted to continue. Tarak Bhar received the names from the members and proposed the names of seven people before the audience for their support. They are Bidhan Bandyopadhyay, Ranjan Pati, Bimal Sinha, Lokesh Bhattachryya, Kashinath Ghosh, Supratim Choudhury, Rajat Biswas. Ranjan Pati and Supratim Choudhury were not present in the meeting. There was a name of 8^th member proposed by some members. They decided not to announce the name at that point since there is already seven members. Tarak Bhar took consent from the committee members present in the meeting. He mentioned that Bidhan Bandyopadhyay, coordinator of the previous committee would call a meeting among the new committee members for selection of President, Secretary and Treasurer. Everyone supports and welcome the new committee and this committee will continue for next two years.

People before the meeting enjoyed snacks and a great dinner after the meeting. The cultural program also was excellent and everyone enjoyed it. We thank all the interim committee members and other associates in making the meeting a success.

Bidhan Bandyopadhyay
On behalf of Calcutta University Alumni Association-DC Chapter

Minutes of the Meeting
August 2, 2009, 3:00-4:00 PM

Venue: Residence of Tarak Bhar, Mclean, VA.

Meeting Coordinator: Bidhan Bandyopadhyay
Attendees: Dilip Som, Bidhan Bandyopadhyay, Ranjan Pati, Ranjan Gupta, Lokesh Bhattacharya, Tarak Bhar and Bratin Saha. Sruti Chattoraj and Roopa Biswas could not attend.

Historical Overview: Tarak Bhar started off the meeting by providing a brief historical overview about CUAA:

CUAA started off as Science College Alumni Association (SCAA) in 1996 - the very first meeting during which the concept was introduced, was held at Pilgrim Hill Recreation Center in Silver Spring on Sunday, May 5th, 1996 with 42 attendees. SCAA was renamed as CUSCAA (Calcutta University Science College Alumni Association). Subsequent monthly CUSCAA meetings were then held at the NIH campus. The primary objectives were to foster Research and Education at Calcutta University (CU) through the alumni.
Starting from 1996, a Newsletter was published every November: Nov. '97, Vol1; Nov. '98, Vol. 2, and Nov. '99, Vol. 3.
In 1997, CUSCAA had a "meet and greet" session at the Banga Sammelan at the King of Prussia, near Philadelphia. It also had an article of incorporation in Maryland.
In 1998, a Calcutta-based Newspaper "Pratidin" featured an article on CUSCAA, written by Purabi Chakraborti.
CUSCAA was later renamed CUAA to include all other Departments of CU, besides the Science College. However it later became clear that organizations with the same name existed elsewhere in the U.S.; in particular, a letter was received from the CUAA of New York. To avoid conflicts, CUAA was renamed CUAA-DC.

Next, Bidhan Bandyopadhyay briefed the group about the current CUAA working committee. The Interim Committee will continue until a permanent committee is elected in November. Therefore, the primary responsibility of this committee is to organize the Annual Meeting of CUAA in November. He proposed three (3) main Subcommittees under the overarching working Committee, outlined their purposes, and suggested names for each subcommittee:

(1) Cultural Subcommittee
The main purpose of this subcommittee would be to draw up the agenda and to organize cultural programs for the Annual General Meeting (AGM) scheduled in November. The names of Lokesh Bhattacharya and Roopa Biswas were suggested as key members of this subcommittee. It was mentioned that Pramita Chatterjee who helped organize cultural program in the past woild be a great resource for help. Bidhan noted that Roopa would be an asset in accessing the Bengalis in the Baltimore area.

(2) Food & Refreshments Subcommittee
The main purpose of this subcommittee would be to organize and coordinate the food preparation for the November Annual Social. It was suggested that Sruti Chattoraj and Ranjan Pati would lead this subcommittee and that Mrs. Sikha Bhar would also assist in whatever capacity she could, but she did not want to be part of the subcommittee.

(3) Communications and Funds Subcommittee
The main purpose of this subcommittee would be outreach and management of CUAA funds.
Everyone agreed that CUAA membership had declined over the years and that there was even less interest in participation in CUAA activities by the younger Bengali residents of the MD/DC/VA community. Several members commented that among the younger alumni there is a general perception that CUAA is an organization comprised of senior CU alumni and that this perception needed to be changed, if CUAA is to survive in the upcoming years. The consensus was that there were many CU alumni in the greater Washington-Baltimore area who had not heard of CUAA or simply did not show interest and that there was a need to recruit new members from the region. The goal would be to spread the news using all modes of communication (phone, email, newsletter publication and words of mouth, on personal basis or at other Bengali events) and to create interest among the younger crowd, perhaps through a targeted announcement. The first and foremost action for outreach purposes would be to update the CUAA Contact Directory, starting with reference materials such as the Sanskriti Directory.

It was decided that the CUAA website need to be updated to make announcement of the Interim Committee, indicating its Subcommittees and the date and venue of the upcoming Annual Meeting.

Suggested key members of this subcommittee were Dilip Som, Ranjan Gupta, Ranjan Pati and Bidhan Bandyopadhyay. Ranjan Gupta noted that he would be happy to work behind the scenes and help with Secretariat functions but did not feel comfortable approaching people directly by phone or otherwise. Bratin Saha explained that this would not be a problem as different members of this subcommittee could play different roles to accomplish the goals. Others agreed.

Lokesh raised the question about having a newsletter at the time of CUAA AGM. Bratin Saha suggested a (fourth) Publication/Newsletter subcommittee. Bidhan proposed that newsletter should be part of the responsibility of the Cultural Subcommittee to which all committee members agreed. Dilip Som suggested a (fifth) "Etcetera" subcommittee that would be responsible for miscellaneous activities. No decision was taken about the "Etcetera" subcommittee.

All reached consensus that Bidhan Bandyopadhyay would serve as the coordinator for the CUAA Committee. Another decision was that Tarak Bhar and Bratin Saha would play advisory roles without taking any "formal" office position in the CUAA Committee.

Other Issues:

Non-Profit and Tax-Exemption Status for CUAA-DC -
Dilip Som argued that obtaining a "Non-Profit" status (501 C) for CUAA was not worth the application fee of $300; it would only be appropriate if many CUAA members were making large donations to the organization.

However, Lokesh Bhattacharya argued that obtaining a "Tax Exempt" status for CUAA from the IRS would be beneficial and could be done by submitting a simple application (Forms 1023/1024) to the US Treasury. Dilip Som agreed to file for the tax-exemption status.

Date and Venue for November 2009 CUAA Social
All agreed that the Potomac Community Center (PCC) remains a convenient venue for the November social and is easier to reserve than any school auditorium. Consensus was reached that this year the social would be held between 3PM-7PM on any of the following Sundays in November - 8, 15 or 22. For a trial run, Sunday was chosen, as people often have other commitments on Saturdays [Note - all previous socials were held on Saturday evenings]. Dilip Som would check the calendar regarding conflicts with any other major Bengali events (e.g., Jadavpur University Social) and make reservations, based on availability at the PCC.

Future Meetings and Resolutions:
There was discussion about having additional meetings is necessary while others thought that an electronic meeting would suffice - no conclusion was reached. In subsequent meetings the discussion would focus on actions of every subcommittee, recruitment of other members to each subcommittee, and additional goals of CUAA (e.g., charitable activities).

It was decided that the minutes of this meeting would be reviewed by all attendees and the final approved copy will be posted on the CUAA-DC website for public opinion.

The meeting was adjourned with thanks to Tarak Bhar and Bratin Saha for the illuminating historical information and valuable advice.

[Meeting Note Takers - Bidhan Bandyopadhyay and Ranjan Gupta]

Highlights of Annual Meeting

November 15, 2008

Annual reunion at Potomac Community Center, MD on November 15, 2008
The reunion was a great success in terms of attendance (more than 100 people),
highest so far in the history of this association. The attendees enjoyed a wonderful cultural program co-ordinated by Pramita Chatterjee with Rabindra Nath Tagore's Dance Drama, opening songs by Sambrita Basu, dance by Radha Dutta's daughter, Devi, recitations by Nandita Das Gupta and melodious songs by Mrs. Bidisha Ghosh accompanied at tabla by Asish Choudhury. People before the meeting enjoyed snacks and a great dinner after the meeting.

In the welcome address, Tapas Pradhan presented a summary of the present status of the association and appealed to the audience to renew the membership fees and some extra donations to help for the contributions to some worthy organizations in Calcutta. He also paid tributes to several well-known past alumni and Nobel Laureates from the University of Calcutta.

Dilip Som reported the present financial status and the bank balance for the association. Ranjan Gupta talked about his recent site-visit to some charitable organizations in Calcutta and asked the audience for their generous help.
There were some discussions on the floor how the Association can help towards
some good cause in the name of this Association- although the opinion was not
unanimous. Tarak Bhar and Bidhan Bandyopadhyay talked to revive the scholarship and award program for the incoming meritorious students to study at Calcutta University. Bidhan wanted to pursue the matter how to implement the program. Sankar Basu and other alumni opposed the scholarship program because the Association had to stop this few years ago due to some technical difficulties and logistic problems. Some people also remarked that the Association is now Calcutta University Alumni Association and not Science College only. However, the most significant message from the alumni at the meeting was that the Association should contribute to some worthy cause. Tapas Pradhan remarked that until the Association implement the scholarship program, they may donate some money from the membership fee and extra donations to some needy and worthy charitable organisations in Calcutta for this year.

The meeting ended after vote of thanks to all attendees and� volunteers.

Tapas Pradhan
on behalf of Calcutta University Alumni Association-DC Chapter

Highlights of Annual Meeting

November 11, 2007

CUAA-DC members held their annual meeting on November 11, 2007 at the Potomac Community Center, Potomac, MD. According to several members, this meeting was a great success in terms of attendance (75 people) and collections received for yearly memberships and other donations. The highlights are outlined below:

The meeting started with a welcome address and Bijoya greetings by Tapas Pradhan. He gave a brief review of the past activities and future plans for the Association. Several members from the floor voiced their opinion that the Association should charge $10.00 membership fee/person/year so that the organization may implement future donations to some charitable organizations. The membership fee was passed by almost unanimous vote.

Asok Pal and Bidhan Bandyopadhyay joined as new core members. Nandita Bagchi, Rina Dalal and Sanchita Ghosh wanted to help the Association as on needed basis.

Asok/Saswati Motayed contributed $200.00 for the Association's scholarship fund.
Pramita Chatterjee, Aparna Pradhan, Utpal Das Gupta and Indrani Dey contributed
to the Association for the singer, Dr. Sreekumar Chatterjee.

The Association presented a variety of cultural programs to the delight of the audience. Pramita Chatterjee organized the cultural program. Sikha Bhar was in charge of the food preparation.

The meeting ended after a vote of thanks by Tapas Pradhan.

With best wishes to all,
Tapas Pradhan

Minutes of the Meeting
February 4, 2006

CUAA members held a meeting on 2/4/06 at the Saraswati Pujo. The discussion revolved around formation of the Executive Committee for 2006. The minutes are outlined below:

Tapash Pradhan is the new President
Dilip Som will continue to be the Treasurer (a life-time appointment)
Ashoke Ganguli will continue as the Secretary (consent by phone)
Mihir Ghosh is a new member
Pramita Chatterjee will now be in the forefront, instead of her worse-half, Debu Chatterjee
Luna Basak will continue as a member (consent by phone)

Tapan Bera is not available this year

Sudeshna Basu is not available this year

Tarak Bhar and Bratin Saha stepped down to make room for new comers

Nitya Nath, Tarak Bhar and Bratin Saha will join a new cadre termed "member-at-large" (?)

Amongst the others present, Tanaji Mitra and Utpal Dasgupta were willing to extend hands when needed.

Jaysree Nath and Raka Saha did not appear to extend any hands

Shikha Bhar and Aparna Pradhan were conspicuously missing at the meeting

Three new names were proposed for the committee: Ranjan Gupta, Sutapa Ghosh, and Shweta Sen

Ranjan was at the meeting; he wished not to be included in the committee, but promised to help as needed.

I had a candid discussion with Sutapa and Shweta after the meeting. They too did not wish to join the committee, but promised to help as needed

Thus the current committee is somewhat lean (but not mean) and may wish to add some fat (especially unsaturated and trans fats)!

I am sending this memo to all parties named herein. Please contact me should you find any errors or omissions.

With best wishes to CUAA and you all,

Bratin Saha

Minutes of the Meeting
June 28, 2005

CUSCA/CUAA members (see below for the list of attendee) met at Tarak Bhar�s residence on May 27, 2005. The minutes are as follows:

1) Change of name from CUSCAA (Calcutta University Science College Alumni Association) to CUAA (Calcutta University Alumni Association) will considerably broaden the membership base and scope of the association

2) Change of CUSCAA to CUAA will require a new EIA number

3) A transition team (interim work group) consisting of 7 members (*) was formed to oversee CUAA functions till the next election

4) Three office bearers, President, Secretary, and Treasurer, were appointed from the work group

5) A committee of three members was also formed to organize the cultural program during the annual meeting

6) New office bearers will be elected/selected during the annual meeting

7) CUAA is neither a substitute, nor a competitor of Sanskriti

8) A booth will be set at the next Sanskriti-sponsored Durga Puja to disseminate the goals and purposes of CUAA, and enroll new members

9) Annual picnic will be held on July 23 (Saturday). Luna and Debashis Basak will arrange for a picnic shed at the Ridge Park. The picnic will start at 10:30 AM with breakfast of Moori, Ghugni, Jilipi, and Cha. The lunch menu and other events will be planned later. The suggested contribution is $7 per adult

10) The annual meeting will be held on November 12 or 19 at Briggs Chenny Elementary School. Dilip Som will confirm the date. The suggested contribution is $12 per adult

11) An annual membership due of $ 10 per person/15 per family was suggested. Students would be free. Membership dues are voluntary and the collection will be sent in its entirety to Calcutta University for student scholarships, etc.

The following persons/members/office bearers attended the meeting:

Debasis Basak
Luna Basak*
Sudeshna Basu* (Cultural Committee)
Tapan Bera*
Sikha Bhar
Tarak Bhar (Cultural Committee)
Asok Ganguly* (Secretary)
Ranjan Gupta (late arrival)
Tapas Pradhan* (consented by phone)
Bratin Saha* (President)
Raka Saha
Dilip Som* (Treasurer)
Promita Chatterjee (Cultural Committee, consented by phone)

Minutes of Previous Meeting

Working Committee Meeting
Feb. 21, 2004

A meeting of the CUSCAA Working Committee was held at the residence of Tarak and Shikha Bhar on Saturday, February 21st , 2-5 p.m. The attendees were:

Tarak/Shikha Bhar
Tapas Pradhan
Dilip Som
Ranjan Gupta
Kaushik/Sheela Ray
Parthasarathi Mitra

The agenda items discussed included:
1. Revisiting the topics discussed in the last Annual meeting.

It was decided that the Membership Fee of CUSCAA would be set at $10.00. This fee would be waived for temporary residents. Also, a new form of "live membership" would be introduced for a one-time fee of $100. Live members would not have to pay the annual dues but would be expected to pay the on-site fees charged for picnics/socials, etc.

2. Fixing the date and agenda for Picnic (Note: Sanskriti Picnic is set for June 19)

The date of the Annual Picnic was set for Saturday, July 17, 2004.

The venue suggested was Black Hill Regional Park. Free park benches may be available at this regional park, on a first come first serve basis. If free benches are available, the picnic goers would be notified in advance to meet at a specific shelter from where they would be directed to the spot chosen for the day. Kaushik Ray and Dilip Som will investigate further regarding availability of space.

Partha Mukherjee and Dilip Som will draft flyers and post at the CUSCAA website. CUSCAA members will be notified far in advance by email and these flyers will also be mailed to the members 3 weeks prior to the picnic.

Parthasarathi Mitra will provide all mailing addresses to Utpal Dasgupta, who will then print out adhesive mailing labels and send to Ranjan Gupta. Ranjan will download the online flyer, make copies and mail them out by the last week of June.

Kaushik will be in charge of the entertainment activities (such as sports for children and adults)

Food will be managed by Aparna Pradhan, Sheela Ray and Shikha Bhar.

3. Hosting CUSCAA-sponsored Calcutta University Reunion at Banga Sammelan 2004. The cost will be about $100. This would provide an opportunity to meet number of alumni from all around the US and Canada, and also to showcase CUSCAA activities.

It was decided that CUSCAA would sponsor a Calcutta University Reunion at Banga Sanmelan 2004. The format preferred would be to host a half-hour or one-hour mixer/reception in a specific room designated by the Sanmelan organizers. Dilip Som will check with the Sanmelan organizers regarding the possibility of displaying a poster announcement for this mixer in the hallway, in order to get maximum attention of the Sanmelan attendees.

4. CUSCAA Annual Meeting will be held on Saturday, November 6, 2004. Kaushik Ray will organize the Cultural Program.

5. Miscellaneous: The Working Committee also discussed the possibility of opening CUSCAA to all CU alumni. Dilip will send out an email to all CUSCAA members to solicit comments on this item.

Minutes of the Sixth CUSCAA Meeting
December 8, 2001

The sixth annual Calcutta University Science College Alumni Association (CUSCAA) meeting was held on December 8, 2001 at Robert Frost Middle School, Rockville, MD. In spite of inclement weather, the turnout was an overwhelming one and the event was a grand success. We had more than 60 people at the meeting.

The meeting was followed by a nice cultural program performed by Pritwish Dasgupta (disciple of Debabrata Biswas) and Mandira Sarkar (disciple of Chabi Banerjee). Enayet Rajjak played Tabla with both of them.

Dinner was served afterward. Both the cultural program and dinner was enjoyed by the members.

Topics discussed in the meeting:

Remembering late Ranjit Dasgupta and his contributions to CUSCAA.
Allocating $200/$250 from the CUSCAA fund to buy books for the Physics Dept, Science College in the memory of Ranjit Dasgupta. We can also raise money from individuals to add to this fund to make a bigger contribution.
Raise fund to contribute to the new Technology Campus of Calcutta University. Since CUSCAA is not a non-profit organization, our contributions will not be tax deductible. An idea came about that if we can redirect the money through Sanskriti, our local Bengali organization which happens to a non-profit organization. We need to find out if we can do this and still CUSCAA is recognized by the CU as the donor.
An Issue was raised whether to send any contribution for the new Tech Campus until we find out the actual status of the project. There has been some skepticism that after we send our contribution, the money might not be used in the near future.

Dilip Som
on behalf of the CUSCAA Executive Committee

Time: Aug 12, 2:30PM, 2001
Place: NIH, Bldg 31, Room 6C8 (Sixth floor, Conference room 8)

Direction: From the Wisconsin Avenue, enter NIH via North Drive. Building 31C (C Wing of Building 31. Drive a short distance. Veer left and the Building 31 will appear in front of you up on a hill. Park in the parking lot on the top of the hill.

There is a red phone on the right hand side of the Entrance to the Building. Ask the security to open the door to the conference room.

Time: April 8, 3PM, 2001
Place: NIH, Bldg 10, Room 9S235. (9th floor south section #235).

Please attend this very important meeting. If you absolutely cannot come to the meeting, please send me an email and confirm that you will take one of the positions or not.

The following names have been nominated for the CUSCAA BOD. I invite all of you to come to our next meeting.

Bula Ghosh
Deb Kumar Chatterjee
Dilip Som
Koushik Ray
Mintu Pal
Mukul Kundu
Pallabi Ghosh
Radharaman Ray
Ranjit Dasgupta
Sruti Chattoraj
Tapas Pradhan
Tarak Bhar
(I do not know whether the nominators had taken consents
from their nominees before giving me the names)

We have the following agenda:
1. Form the board of directors
2. Decide whether we will hold a meeting at the Banga Sammelan in Boston
3. Details on the picnic on June 9
4. Our next plan of action

a. Sending Books/Journals to Calcutta Univ. Science College.

b. Add list of US faculties on our web site who can help students from Calcutta to come here for further studies.

c. Advertise CUSCAA in Calcutta local newspaper.

Each new Board member is expected to serve a two-year term, starting July 1, 2001. We invite all CUSCAA members to either nominate themselves or other members, to join the Board for a two-year term. To be eligible, an individual must be a current member of CUSCAA in good standing. If you are nominating an Individual other than you, please make sure he/she is willing to serve in the Board for a two-year term. The new CUSCAA office bearers, namely President, Secretary, and Treasurer, will be elected directly by members of the new Board. There are also going to be 6 (six) other positions totaling 9 (nine) office Bearer positions all together.

Direction to NIH from 495:
I-495, take the exit for Old Georgetown Road (RT 187) and drive about a mile or so towards Bethesda. Turn left on Lincoln Drive to enter NIH (across Suburban Hospital). On the third stop sign, turn left to enter a Parking lot that faces Bldg. 10.

Direction to NIH from 355:
Turn right on Center Dr., left on South Dr. and then turn right to enter a parking lot that faces Bldg. 10.

Minutes of the Second CUSCAA Meeting
November 8, 1997

The second annual Calcutta University Science College Alumni Association (CUSCAA) meeting was held on November 8, 1997 at Briggs Chanev Middle School, Silver Spring, MD. In spite of inclement weather, the turnout was an overwhelming one and the event was a grand success.

Tarak Bhar welcomed the members with his opening remarks about the association's eventful success and the fruitful achievement so far. He remarked that CUSCAA already sent two books to the library of the Physics Dept� and some software programs to the Computer Center of the University, of Calcutta. He also reminded the members about the finalization of the CUSCAA brochure, the first beautiful publication of the newsletter and the creation of CUSCAA homepage.

Ranjit Dasgupta discussed that currently all our members are from the greater Washington area and we drastically need the out of area membership drive. He proposed $10 out of area membership fee and reduction of current $20 annual fee for local members in order to encourage the membership drive. However, after some discussions from the floor, it was decided to keep the annual membership fee at $20 per person for all members.

Jagadish Sharma discussed in details the guidelines of CUSCAA academic excellence award to the first year Science College students of the University of Calcutta. Manoj Banerjee raised an issue that the award should also be considered for the students of other universities too. After some discussions from the floor, it was suggested that 1) the award for the time being will be based on the highest scores in the B.Sc. (Hons.) Exam of the Calcutta University students 2) the amount of each award will be $100.00 3) the current fields under consideration are Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Zoology, Botany, Psychology, Physiology, and Statistics 4) the number of award to be given in a particular year will be determined at the annual CUSCAA meeting of the preceding year 5) the proposed award is due to start from 1998.

Tarak Bhar announced that the CUSCAA newsletter will be published at least once a year. He suggested that while the members are visiting Calcutta, they try to contact the respective departments and if possible, other departments too, to get some feedback from the Calcutta University staff. He urged all members to participate fully to make our organization a better and successful one.

We are extremely pleased that three members a) Deb Chatterjee (301-251-4732) b) Kalisankar Mallick (410-252-4865) and Utpal Mukhopadhyay (703-319-7710) agreed to serve in the present working committee.

The general meeting was followed by an exciting and truly enjoyable cultural programs like Rabindra Sangeet by Pramita Chattejee, recitation by Arun Chakrabarti, Nazrulgeeti and Bhajan by Namita Kundu, modern Hindi and Bengali songs by Mitali Saha and last but not least, Mime by Kamanashis Chakravorty and Jayanta Sarkar.

Finally, all the attendees enjoyed a very palatable and delicious dinner with varieties of foods and sweets. It was really an enjoyable and successful night to remember.

Tapas Pradhan, on behalf of the CUSCAA Working Committee