St. Xavier’s College (Calcutta) Alumni Association (SXCCAA) presents Beyond Boundaries Chapter VII, in association with The Telegraph, was a grand affair for alumni members of the esteemed Kolkata institution. Hosted in London in the UK, the five-day international meet was attended by alumni members from various chapters all over the world. Around 70 members from the Kolkata chapter travelled to the UK earlier this month to make the event a success along with members from other chapters. The fund-raising, fellowship and networking event, an initiative by the alumni association of the college, was made into a fun-filled affair with sightseeing of various places in the UK, cultural programmes, award function to recognise the achievements of fellow Xaverians, celebrity talk show and a fashion show included in its five-day schedule. Snapshots:
Arun Bhatter (left) and Umesh Goenka, conveners of Beyond Boundaries Chapter VII in London.
DAY 1
The Day 1 sightseeing included the Oxford University Tour and the Windsor Castle Tour. Starting from Charles Street, the tour guide took the team around showing some of the colleges of the Oxford University out of its 39 colleges, explaining the structure of each college and the system of education followed in these University colleges. Stopping at Jesus College, Trinity College and Exeter College on the way, the tour guide shared stories of famous Oxford students like C.S. Lewis, Lewis Carol and J.R.R. Tolkien. Stopping at the centre of the heart of the university with the Radcliffe Camera building and the library building at the backdrop on either side, the guide narrated to Xaverians the stories behind the architecture of the Tower of the Five Orders, the library with millions of books stored underground, the famous shoot spot for Bollywood and Hollywood films at Radcliffe Square and ended it with a visit to the Divinity School building, where scenes from the Harry Potter movies were shot. This tour was followed by a self-guided audio tour of the Windsor Castle. (Clockwise in picture above left) Father Johnson Padiyara, Father Joseph Kulandai, Father Jeyaraj Veluswamy, Father Dominic Savio and Father Peter Arockiam posed in front of the Tower of the Five Orders.
Felicitation Of Father Dominic Savio
(L-R) Alumni members from the Kolkata Chapter, Firdausul Hasan and Sanjib Koner (extreme right) along with London chapter head Manik Dey (second from right) felicitated Father Dominic Savio, principal of St. Xavier’s College Kolkata and the president of the St. Xavier’s College Calcutta Alumni Association, at the Chapter Meet session of the alumni members at Copthrone Tara Hotel.
The alumni members from the London Chapter felicitated Father Dominic Savio with a blazer. “It was heartening as the president of the association and as an educationist to see hundreds of Xaverians from across the globe and specially the alumni members from Kolkata and the UK bond and arrange so meticulously for the Beyond Boundaries VII, in London. We conferred the Global Xaverian Award upon three distinguished alumnus. The SXCCAA presented a citation to Mr (L.N.) Mittal, for his exemplary contribution towards his alma mater and it was extremely kind of him to arrange for the event in his own residence in London. It is truly said that the alumni members are like a family. I am very hopeful and happy with the way in which the alumni association of the college is working towards taking their alma mater to greater heights,” said Father Dominic Savio.
(L-R) SXCCAA honorary secretary, Firdausul Hasan; chairman and managing director of PCM Group, Kamal Kumar Mittal; founder and chief mentor of IIHM, Suborno Bose; Father Jeyaraj Veluswamy; Father Dominic Savio; former cricketer Dilip Rasiklal Doshi; London chapter head, Manik Dey; Father Johnson Padiyara; Father Peter Arockiam; and Father Joseph Kulandai at the award show. “This chapter of Beyond Boundaries was held after a gap of six years. The participation of the members in large numbers, the excellent line-up of meaningful events and the friendship, fun and bonding we witnessed among the chapter members clearly showed how much it had been missed. What touched us was that this time there are quite a few young Xaverians who have joined the movement. Such international conventions add momentum to the movement that the alumni association of St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata has now become. As the honorary secretary, I feel that each and every member of SXCCAA does their bit for the association and each of them are equally important and that is what sets the SXCCAA apart from all other alumni associations. Such events, under the leadership of our president, Rev. Fr. Dominic Savio, will help the Xaverians to contribute in taking our alma mater to greater heights,” said Firdausul Hasan, honorary secretary, SXCCAA.
Kamal Kumar Mittal from the batch of 1977 received the Global Xaverian Award. “The most important lesson that I learnt during my days in Xavier’s is that we must have principle and integrity. Then nobody can stop us from growing and achieving our dreams. For me it is an extremely emotional moment to receive this award. If Father Joris had not given me admission I could have never come this far and do the business that I am doing all over the world coming from a small town,” said Mittal to The Telegraph.
Dilip Rasiklal Doshi, from the batch of 1969, received the Xaverian Award of Eminence (Sports). “College was a great ground for learning and encouragement and gave me the opportunity to play at a representative level that created the grounding for me. Father Joris and Father Leeming really loved the sport and rekindled a lot of things that I did not realise college could offer. The young India now booming with confidence economically, socially and aesthetically was absent then. The cricket game was largely ruled by Delhi, Mumbai, Punjab and South India, too, to some extent. Cricket from the East zone had no chance. If MS Dhoni was playing in those days, he practically had no chance. They would not even look at Bengal. Sourav Ganguly, who is also a Xaverian, is the first captain to bring Indianness into the Indian cricket team. Bengal has led the way many times and this wasn’t an exception. I have enjoyed my business career, too, with my background in economics from Xavier’s. I look back with great pride, satisfaction and honour,” said Doshi.
Suborno Bose, chairman and chief mentor of IIHM, received the Global Xaverian Award. “Awards come and go but this is so special because it comes from a place that made me who I am. I will keep this award not in my pride of place but in my heart. I take this opportunity to share with my friends and fellow Xaverians something I am passionate about. We at IIHM and Indismart are fiercely committed to sustainability. Without commitment to the UN SDGs, the world will come to an end before we can imagine. It is not a luxury to say these words now. It is for common people, who need to inculcate the values amongst themselves. We need to embrace, practice and demonstrate the SDGs. Without sustainability our world will perish,” said Bose.
Mumtaz, an Indian cuisine restaurant established in 1960, was the chosen spot for dinner and lunch over the five days of the trip.
A musical programme at the end of the award show allowed Xaverians to let their hair down for a while, matching steps to yesteryear Bollywood and English retro songs.
DAY 2
The second day of the UK sightseeing included a day-long city tour of London by bus, catching a glimpse of Hyde Park, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, House of Parliament, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, Tower Bridge, River Thames and the Buckingham Palace on the way and getting to know facts about these places with a live commentary from a city guide. The Xaverians made most of the photo opportunities at The Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge and Westminster Abbey, while going around these places on foot and making memories of a lifetime.
The Telegraph indulged in this fun moment of capturing Father Dominic Savio stopping by at an iconic red telephone booth on the streets of London to pose for a picture during a walking trip.
The celebrity talk show on the second day had the legendary English cricketer Sir Geoffrey Boycott talk about cricket in England, being a rebel, Indian cricketers and fighting cancer. “When you play cricket you should play with passion. That’s why we play… passion is everything. You should show passion, it means you care and you are interested. There are always going to be moments when you fail, that is what sports is about but you have to pick yourself up,” said Sir Geoffrey, recalling Sourav Ganguly’s historic winning moment at the Lord’s. Taking the conversation forward talking about the players of England, his palatial house in Yorkshire and the few people who have visited his house, he recalled Zaheer Khan and the Test match where India scored 900 runs. “You have to ball with discipline, patience and concentration. Dravid got 120 in that match…,” he recalled. Offering the audience interesting nuggets of information regarding various incidents from his cricket career, the talk was sprinkled with a light-hearted moment of humour and laughter when Sir Geoffrey mentioned his liking for actress Shilpa Shetty and recalled an incident of meeting her and watching her perform. “She is a great dancer and above all a nice person,” he added. Speaking of Sourav Ganguly, he said, “He was a good batsman but a great captain. Sourav gave confidence to his team to stand up to teams like Australia. He gave the Indian team confidence and conviction to stand up to them.”
He also shared the story of the sensational incident of giving testimony for Imran Khan in a court case in England and spoke further about ball tampering. “Truth is the truth. I am a Libran,” he said. In his conversation, he also recalled the days of getting Sachin to play at Yorkshire. “You had to be born in Yokshire. It took a long time to convince them. It was not a racial thing,” he added, talking about the incident. Talking about Sunil Gavaskar, he spoke about the games they played and the friendship they later shared. “I told Sunil you were great, you were a wonderful player, fantastic patience, great concentration and I was just half a per cent better,” he laughed.
While sharing many known and unknown stories about the cricket world, he shared with the audience his experience of the tough days of battling cancer, too. “I was given only three months to live. It is quite a shock. Certain moments you break down and cry. But after two or three days I told myself that I had to put myself together. If I sit and cry, I would definitely die. The hardest thing to do is to say yourself to stay positive because even after all the treatment you could die,” said Sir Geoffrey and mentioned how his mother had lost her life to cancer. He shared with the audience the emotional moment of when he found out about it right after he had scored his first 100.
Father Dominic Savio, principal, St. Xavier’s College (autonomous) and the president of the Alumni Association, and honorary secretary Firdausul Hasan presented a citation to Xaverian L.N. Mittal, the steel baron, to express gratitude for his generous contribution towards taking his alma mater to greater heights. The event was held at the Mittal residence on the occasion of Beyond Boundaries VII.
Designer Abhishek Dutta presented a fashion show at Copthrone Tara Hotel showcasing outfits from his recent collections. His outfits were donned by the Xaverian alumni members of both the Kolkata and London chapter for the walk.
The highlight of the event was Father Peter Arockiam (in picture above) giving in to the requests of the Xaverians and the designer to join them in the walk. He donned a bandhgala and cotton chequered dhoti from Abhishek’s collection and walked with confidence, receiving a round of applause from the Xaverians in the audience. “For the Beyond Boundaries show, I showcased my latest fall/winter collection Paradoxical as well as a capsule collection taking inspiration from Satyajit Ray’s works. I mostly showcased cape jackets, skirts and pre-pleated concept saris and for guys bandhgalas, bomber jackets and kurtas, which have an Indian touch but a global appeal,” said Abhishek.
Pictures: Pabitra Das
