What Father Peixotto can teach us about true love | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Latest
  • Epaper
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Monday
June 16, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Latest
  • Epaper
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
MONDAY, JUNE 16, 2025
What Father Peixotto can teach us about true love

Thoughts

Mahmudul Islam
10 February, 2021, 12:55 pm
Last modified: 10 February, 2021, 12:57 pm

Related News

  • JU students teaching underprivileged children
  • True Love: John David Washington to collaborate with Godzilla director
  • You need empathy to teach well, not just skills and degrees
  • Ferrying the light of education at Tk 20 per day
  • 2020 should teach these democracies humility

What Father Peixotto can teach us about true love

He loved Bangladesh so much that he wished to die and be buried here

Mahmudul Islam
10 February, 2021, 12:55 pm
Last modified: 10 February, 2021, 12:57 pm
Mahmudul Islam, journalist. Sketch: TBS
Mahmudul Islam, journalist. Sketch: TBS

Standing on the dais in the classroom, he was doing mathematical drawings on the blackboard. The wooden compass he was using was a big one. It was something I had never seen before. 

He had his glasses on, was wearing a white shirt, and was giving a lecture on vectors, as far as I can remember. 

First, he addressed the class in English and continued for a while. Well, it was expected that he would speak English as it was an English medium class. But the problem was we, the 15-year-old Bangladeshi students, did not have adequate proficiency to fully comprehend a lecture in English.

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

And he was speaking impeccable English effortlessly. After all, he was a native American. But most of us in the class had our schooling in Bangla medium. Besides, we had probably never held a five-minute conversation fully in English with our friends or families, let alone follow a lecture in English in an academic setting. 

So, even though he was speaking flawless English and already had decades of experience as a science teacher, we were struggling to understand the lecture. The sense of discomfort among us was hard to miss. Perhaps he noticed that and suddenly said something in perfect Bangla. 

And that is when we were surprised as well as amused to know that Holy Cross Father Joseph Stephen Peixotto, popularly known as Father Peixotto among his students, spoke Bangla. His Bangla words quickly put us at ease. We expected him to give the full lecture in Bangla.    

That did not happen, but he did speak some more Bangla in the following days that included both general conversations and physics lessons. He was explaining momentum one day in English. At one point, he said, "Bhorbeg holo bhor ebong beg er gunfol" (Momentum is the product of mass and velocity). 

That was 18 years ago when I was a higher secondary student of Notre Dame College, but this particular sentence still resonates in my ears. He was our physics teacher for several weeks before Badrul sir took over. Suddenly, we started missing him.  

After that, I would occasionally see this tall, bald man walking along the corridor. He would always seem to be in a hurry, but I understood later that it was a manifestation of his dynamism. A smile was a permanent feature of his face.        

Father Joseph Stephen Peixotto. Photo: Collected
Father Joseph Stephen Peixotto. Photo: Collected

My teenage brain at the time did not fully understand what it meant to be a priest and what their roles were. I just had the idea that a priest dresses in a cassock, wears a cross of Jesus around the neck, devotes his life to religious activities, and never marries.

It was not until later in my life that I realised that apart from being a missionary, Father Peixotto had done something truly remarkable in Bangladesh's education sector. He not only worked in this sector; he devoted himself to improving our education. That was his passion.  

He made significant contributions to our education sector in various capacities, including as a teacher and an administrator, for nearly six decades. He came here in 1962, a year after his ordination. Bangladesh was East Pakistan at the time. 

Father Peixotto saw the birth of independent Bangladesh. Five years after independence, he became the principal of Notre Dame College, a duty he carried out for 22 years. He was the longest-serving principal in the history of this prestigious institution.

Notre Dame College has always made it a priority to embrace students of disadvantaged families. During a programme when I was a student there, then principal Father Benjamin Costa said, "We want to provide good education to underprivileged students so that they can also grow to make valuable contributions to society."  

Father Peixotto became the epitome of putting this motto into practice. He would help if someone sought financial assistance. He would offer free accommodations to boys coming from poor, rural families at Martin Hall on the college campus. He would also help those in need during calamities. A true humanist he was.  

He served this country by educating young minds for years after years. Selflessly. He loved Bangladesh. Deeply.   

His love for his adopted country was very intense. He was told to return home many times after his retirement, but he did not. Bangladesh became his home. 

He loved Bangladesh so much that he wished to die and be buried here even though he was not a citizen of this country. What else can embody true love? His love for Bangladesh teaches us that true love is unconditional, that it knows no borders, and that it promotes humanitarianism.  

Rest in peace, Father. I wrote this tribute because I feel your love. We love you the way you loved us and our country. 


The author works as a journalist at The Business Standard

Father Peixotto / teach / true love

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • A drone photo shows the damage over residential homes and a school at the impact site following a missile attack from Iran on Israel, in Bnei Brak, Israel June 16, 2025. REUTERS/Chen Kalifa
    Destruction mounts as Iran's missile strikes devastate central Israel
  • ACC Chairman Mohammad Abdul Momen at a press briefing on 16 June 2025. Photo: TBS
    If Tulip is innocent, why did she resign from UK ministerial post? ACC chairman asks
  • Former Bangladesh High Commissioner to the UK Saida Muna Tasneem. Photo: Collected
    ACC launches inquiry against ex-UK envoy Saida Muna, husband over laundering Tk2,000cr

MOST VIEWED

  • Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur. TBS Sketch
    Merger of 5 Islamic banks at final stage: BB governor
  • UCB launches Bangladesh's first microservices-based open API banking platform
    UCB launches Bangladesh's first microservices-based open API banking platform
  • Photo: Collected
    Pakistan rejects reports of missile supply to Iran
  • Infographic: TBS
    Non-performing loans surge by Tk74,570cr in Q1 as hidden rot exposed
  • Crore-taka bank accounts edge down by 719 in March quarter
    Crore-taka bank accounts edge down by 719 in March quarter
  • Nepal begins 38MW hydropower export to Bangladesh
    Nepal begins 38MW hydropower export to Bangladesh

Related News

  • JU students teaching underprivileged children
  • True Love: John David Washington to collaborate with Godzilla director
  • You need empathy to teach well, not just skills and degrees
  • Ferrying the light of education at Tk 20 per day
  • 2020 should teach these democracies humility

Features

The GLS600 overall has a curvaceous nature, with seamless blends across every panel. PHOTO: Arfin Kazi

Mercedes Maybach GLS600: Definitive Luxury

8h | Wheels
Renowned authors Imdadul Haque Milon, Mohit Kamal, and poet–children’s writer Rashed Rouf seen at Current Book Centre, alongside the store's proprietor, Shahin. Photo: Collected

From ‘Screen and Culture’ to ‘Current Book House’: Chattogram’s oldest surviving bookstore

1d | Panorama
Photos: Collected

Kurtis that make a great office wear

3d | Mode
Among pet birds in the country, lovebirds are the most common, and they are also the most numerous in the haat. Photo: Junayet Rashel

Where feathers meet fortune: How a small pigeon stall became Dhaka’s premiere bird market

5d | Panorama

More Videos from TBS

How powerful is the Israeli intelligence network?

How powerful is the Israeli intelligence network?

2h | TBS World
Delicious Korean Beef

Delicious Korean Beef

8m | TBS Programs
Advisor involved in corruption by appointing city corporation administrator: Ishraq

Advisor involved in corruption by appointing city corporation administrator: Ishraq

1h | TBS Today
MI6 appoints first female chief in 116-year history

MI6 appoints first female chief in 116-year history

2h | TBS World
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net