St Xavier’s, one of Mumbai’s best known colleges, has encapsulated the essence of its 140 years of existence in a 173-page coffee-table book that will be released on January 3 at its annual event for alumni.
Perhaps the first such book on the college, it captures even hitherto unseen corners of its premises and tells the stories behind the gargoyles integral to the college’s gothic architecture.
David D’Souza, photographer and alumnus, said it took him four months to capture the sights and moments and compile them for the book. Alumna Shabnam Minwala penned trivia about the institution.
“I went to each department of the college and asked staff to show me something that wouldn’t be seen anywhere else in Mumbai,” D’Souza said. “They said not just in Mumbai, we will show you what is seen nowhere in the world, and they did.”
At a meeting organised for some alumni on Thursday, ad industry veteran Roger Pereira, who passed out of St Xavier’s 50 years ago, said ex-students are aiming to doing their bit for the college by creating an endowment fund. “Our short-term target will be Rs25 crore and long-term will be Rs100 crore,” Pereira said. “We have already got our first crore.”
Father Frazer Mascarenhas, principal of the college, said that apart from faculty salaries that were delayed, the college also fell short of funds for structural repairs of the building. He said the corpus generated by the alumni will be used for this purpose.
‘Celebrating diversity since 1869’, the theme of the 140th year celebrations of the college, is captured by the book which is priced at Rs3,000. If booked before its release on January 3, it is available with the college for Rs2,500.
New plans
Principal Frazer Mascarenhas said that in March 2010, the college will become the first institute in Maharashtra to attain full autonomy.
Mascarenhas saidthat cross-disciplinary studies will be possible in the institute after it attains autonomy.
Tying up with noted foreign universities, the college aims to be an “inter-cultural experience”. The institute has been accredited with the A+ grade by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council.
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