‘Mathare’ Ani ‘Ternate’ Alumnus of St Aloysius College Converge at SACAA Reunion Bash
‘Mathare’ Ani ‘Thernate’ (Old and Young) Alumnus of St Aloysius College Converge at St Aloysius College Alumni Association (SACAA) Reunion Bash on Friday, 13th January 2018 at St Aloysius High School Grounds, Mangaluru
Mangaluru: “Once an Aloysian, Always an Aloysian!”- that’s right. And on 12th January Every Year- ‘Same Date- Same Place’, the old “boys” of St Aloysius College- Mangaluru once who belonged to “Aloysian Boys Association”, later the name changed to St Aloysius College Alumni Association ” (SACAA) converge on their Alma Mater premises to join in the ‘St Aloysius College Alumni Association (SACAA) Reunion’ bash. And this year too nearly 600 SAC Alumna’s who either in their 80’s, 70’s, 60’s ,50’s, 40’s and 30’s, and a couple of old-timers using their walking-sticks to reach to the cocktail counter, joined in the fun and frolic, to relive the memories of yesteryears of School/college days. Most of all the crowd was predominately mixed, with young and old, gents and females, boys and girls, joined by a bevy of Jesuit priests in their best attire in formal slacks and shirts, which was hard to distinguish between “Rev. Fathers” or “Mr. Fathers”- but everyone had a jolly good time.
Yes, reunions-they can be excitedly anticipated or painfully dreaded. Either way, the first hour or so can be awkward as people shuffle in from all over. Reunions should include time for catching up and renewing old relationships. Getting past that awkward hour will get a little easier if there is lots of fun and easy reunion icebreaker games. And for that matter, the reunion bash of St Aloysius College Alumni/ae Association (SACAA) was organized in such a way that everyone had a good time, it was not boring and there were no complaints. Well organized with lots of fun and frolic, especially kudos to the compere Sumit Rao, a SAC alumnus who kept the evening live and entertaining, with his professionalism and witty punchlines.
Class Reunions or Alumnae Reunions are a chance to brag about what they may or may not of accomplished. In some, there is the fear of what has not been accomplished. And there are some, that are just interested in how far people have come. There is also a chance to look at the humorous side of things. Spending time looking at the fashion and the hair in old photos, and is also a chance to look back at some of the stupid things that were done while being classmates. January 12 every year-it is always a special day for all the old students of St Aloysius College. January 12, 2018 – It was a nostalgic journey down the memory lane for the school/college buddies who came together in large numbers for the Reunion Bash. The memoirs of yesteryears were once again rejuvenated as they shared their memories of those olden, youthful, cheerful days full of happiness and joy. To enliven the atmosphere there was not only live music but also few spot games, floor dance and lots of friendship cum fellowship, together with a sumptuous spread of food that added spice to the occasion.
Being an old student of St Aloysius High School/College during the 1980s, I had the immense pleasure of meeting many of the staff and students during that term. Some of my classmates and seniors have already turned grey, some look have colored their grey hair to look young and smart (Sshh…me being one of them?), some have gone bald, some have lost teeth, some have become rich and some are trying to become rich, some are still hanging around in Mangaluru involved in various profession, some entrepreneurs, while some are abroad, but come down during Christmas holidays. It was indeed fun to meet all of them, thereby interact and share our news and views over a glass of our favourite drink.
According to the organizers, they had worked tirelessly for the last few months to reach out as many past SAC students to attend the function, and they were lucky to get hold of few hundreds of alumnus who showed up for the event. The convener of the programme Archie Menezes welcomed the gathering, followed by a devotional prayer rendered by the Jesuit scholastics. Archie in his speech said, “SACAA in its 27th year after its inception has always been an imperative asset to the college. It has also been a highly appreciated organization in the annals of SAC, galvanizing the enthusiasm and energy of the alumni for the overall growth of the institution and the good of the present generation of students. Illustrious alumni have given of themselves without stinting to the growth and progress of the institution through the good offices of SACAA”.
The patron of SACAA and Rector of St Aloysius Institutions, Rev Fr Dionysius Vaz in his speech stressed the importance of Alumni Association in an educational institution and invited the members to strengthen SACAA further by actively participating in their activities. He said “The Jesuit tradition has imparted education and more than information, transforming men and women into leaders of tomorrow and living for others. The students are encouraged to shine and reach out to people with compassion. And the alumni are the face of our institutions and of our vision in the larger society. They are our goodwill ambassadors in the world. They are the brand ambassadors of St Aloysius not only by the top positions they hold in various spheres of life but also by being the role models while upholding ethical standards that they have received from this institution”.
He further said, “If someone asks me to describe an alumni, here is how I shall respond, “They are men and women for others, who having being transformed themselves will, in turn, transform the world. They will be like salt, like the leaven-who will take their place at the heart of the world, at the epicentre of the storm, in the thick of the battle, on the frontiers of every conflict, at the crossroads of ideologies. May the present SACAA members inspire many new members to carry forward the torch of the Alumni flame to the different parts of the world”. He also thanked SACAA for the support it has been providing to the institution particularly to the recent inaugurated State-of-the-art swimming pool complex, and other infrastructures of the institution.
A few alumnus were recognized for their contributions to the institution, and alumni Jeevan Saldanha, and also the former President of Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry was felicitated for recently being conferred the Sir M Visvesvaraya Manufacturing Excellence State Award 2017, for his business “Spectrum Industries” in Mangaluru. Few other donors were also felicitated for their support towards SACAA. Prizes for the highest number of batch mates were also given during the occasion, and the lucky coupon draw was also held. Earlier, Peter Oswald, the Convener briefed the audience about the programme and SACAA, while Sumit Rao compered the programme. Srinivas Kini took the crowd into the world of laughter through his jokes in Kannada and Tulu- and he also sang a few songs. Kishore D’silva also performed two songs. The vote of thanks was proposed by SACAA secretary Naveen Mascarenhas.
The Celebration incorporated various spot games, live music, skit, baila dance and lots of other goodies and fun. The audience were swayed to the melodious songs from Prem Lobo and his team, who rendered a few Konkani and Baila songs.The live band “Acoustica” comprising of three talented young musicians namely Warren, Stalin and Dickson transformed the atmosphere into a world of music through their rendition of oldies rock and pop, Konkani, Bollywood and of course, Baila numbers. Dj Jaya Prakash Rao aka “JP” as the Dj for the night belted out a few Bollywood and techno hits, for which the crowd shook their hips on the dance floor. With music, songs, dance and drinks in full swing the party raved till late night and the SAC alumni/ae finally reluctantly bid goodbye to each other, while specifically asking for more such reunions to be organized and draw plans to repay their Alma Mater in the best way possible.
As the sumptuous buffet spread was opened, the baila beat reverberated the atmosphere and those who could not resist dancing, both young and the old, had a gala time.To sum it up the SACAA Reunion 2018 will go unparalleled in history, while the snapshots incorporated along with the report here speak for themselves. Many exclaimed, “Oh what an awesome reunion it was!” I will keep January 12, 2019, marked on my calendar to be free that day and attend the next Reunion bash for sure! And “SACAA Reunion 2019” Same Date (12 January), Same Place (St Aloysius College Campus)- and “Thank God, It will be on a Saturday!- so that next day being a “Lazy Sunday” you can wake up late! So until then, “Stay Aloysian”- because ‘Once an Aloysian, Always an Aloysian!’