Date:28/07/2004 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2004/07/28/stories/2004072800980500.htm

Back `Will' spat excites South Point kids

Kohinoor Mandal
Nilanjan Dey

Students of the South Point run by the M.P. Birla Foundation in Kolkata coming out after the school hours. — Sushanta Patronobish

Kolkata , July 27

SOUTH Point High School may be miles away from Birla Buildings, but that is not stopping its students - or their parents - from talking feverishly about the ongoing spat between the Birlas and the Lodhas.

And the reason is not far to seek: The school's management had been recently taken over by the M.P. Birla Foundation.

It's been heady days for the young South Pointers, excited as they have been by media reports that have held forth extensively on what has already become a national talking point.

As some of the parents indicate, most of the kids have keenly followed the developments that have ranged from caveats filed in the Calcutta High Court to statements issued by lawyers.

The chitchat becomes louder during tiffin breaks and recesses, notes a parent who goes to the school to drop her daughter almost everyday.

"They are excited about what has been going on in the city's corporate circles. The matter, you will admit, is thrilling stuff for everyone, especially so for these young school goers who are ready to air their views," says the mother of the junior student.

May be, the students are emboldened by their school's motto — Courage To Know - to keep themselves updated on the Birla-Lodha fiasco!

It may be mentioned here that South Point, which had found a place in the Guinness Book of World Records between 1984 and 1992 for being the world's largest institution of its kind, was established way ago in 1954 by Mr Satikanta Guha, a leading city educationist.

The M.P. Birla Foundation runs nine schools and nearly half a dozen of healthcare units all over the country.

South Point, which happens to be the most important of this group's educational institutions, currently has 13,000 students.

Speculation on the future of the case comes easy for South Pointers and all of them are willing to bet on its possible `impact' on the school. "Will this be significant for us too?" is the question that is being heard.

Quite predictably, formally, the school has no comment to offer.

It is business as usual for the school office.