Aloysius -Rock & Star! Why should ‘St Aloysius College Road’ Name be RETAINED as It Is ?  

By
Alfie Dsouza, Team Mangalorean.
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Aloysius -Rock & Star! Why should ‘St Aloysius College Road’ Name be RETAINED as It Is? To discuss the future course of action of retaining the road name as ‘St Aloysius College Road’ the St Aloysius College Alumni Association (SACAA ) has called for a meeting inviting the ‘ALUMNUS’ of St Aloysius Institutions on Monday 12 October 2020 at 5.30 pm in the College Auditorium (Gelge Hall). Kindly be present and give your opinion

Mangaluru: On the outset before going further into my article, I as a Alumnus of St Aloysius Institutions would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to Fr Joachim D’souza, for even though being a Capuchin priest has shown his love towards the Jesuit priests by contributing the article on ‘St Aloysius’- naming Him as the Rock and Star! (Ref: ‘ALOYSIUS’ – ROCK AND STAR ).

Here is a letter to all the Alumni of St Aloysius Institutions from the President of SACAA’ Santhosh Kumar Kadri –

Dear Alumni of St Aloysius Institutions,

Greetings from St Aloysius College Alumni Association (SACAA). We are all aware of the recent renaming of the road leading to our College. SACAA would like to take up this issue further in consultation with the alumni. We have procured the following evidences from the available records for your kind attention-

– The College Annual of 1976 has a write up on the road being named as St Aloysius College Road by the then Municipal Corporation

– A plaque of St Aloysius College Road is still found on the wall of erstwhile Syndicate Bank facing this road

– In the letter head of MCC bank situated on this road, the bank address mentions ‘St Aloysius College Road’.

– St Aloysius College was the Imp-leading respondent in the High Court proceedings on the road issue

To discuss the future course of action, SACAA has called for a meeting on Monday 12 October 2020 at 5.30 pm in the College Auditorium (Gelge Hall). Kindly be present and give your opinion .Thank you, Santhosh Kumar Kadri, President, SACAA


As the saying goes for all of us who studied at the prestigious institution in Mangaluru-St Aloysius Institutions/College, ‘Once an Aloysian, Always an Aloysian” remains true, for the fact, we Aloysians no matter which part of the world we are, always remember and keep our bond of our good old college days at St Aloysius Institution. And for what I am now, I owe my sincere gratitude to my Alma Mater -St Aloysius Institutions, and to the Jesuit priests, teachers and staff for moulding us to be responsible persons of this country and the globe. Thank You, St Aloysius College!

Sources reveal that there is a Protocol for renaming roads- Every time a road or an area is renamed, questions are raised over the procedure and logic behind the process. Names can be mooted by anyone, either the public or the MCC council. The proposal for renaming is then published in newspapers and objections are invited. On receiving objections, they are discussed in the council for approval. In the absence of a council, the administrator takes a decision. The approved resolution is moved to theUrban Development Department, Government of Karnataka which renames places in the city, an official said. After this, an intimation about the same is sent to the Department of Posts. Is the protocol followed in this case?

Now the management of St Aloysius Institution had expressed its dismay and pain that the road from Catholic Club, Hampanakatta to Ambedkar Circle is renamed as Mulki Sundararama Shetty Road by Mangalore City Corporation as per the Government Order. It is stated that Mangalore City Corporation has taken the decision after getting the consent of several secular organizations. But, St Aloysius College has no intention of creating a controversy about the services rendered by Mulky Sundararama Shetty. The college has high regards towards him. However, there have been several roads and buildings named after him in the state. One of the major landmarks in the said road is St Aloysius College. This road was earlier known as Light House Hill road and later it was named as St Aloysius College road on the request of the college. The name board still exists. (See photo in the report). So what was the need of changing the name of the road at this juncture.

As an alumni of this prestigious institution, I can say that the contribution of the college to the society and the nation is very unique. Apart from maintaining high academic standards, the college has been striving after value based education and training to prepare the students as responsible citizens of the nation. Needless to say that the institution is established and managed by Jesuit Fathers who are known all over the world for their self-less services in education, healthcare and social services. St Aloysius College has immensely contributed in making Dakshina Kannada an educational hub. St Aloysius College is the pride of Mangaluru. The College, having a glorious history of 140 years of its existence, has rendered outstanding service to the society. It is to be noted that the famous Fr Muller Hospital was established by Jesuits. The services of Fr.Muller Hospital have been recognized by naming the main road after it. In this context the least we could do to appreciate the services of St Aloysius College is to retain the name of the said road as St Aloysius College road.

There is a long list of eminent personalities of the nation who emerged from this campus. It is a very difficult task to name all the achievers. However, a few outstanding persons are worth mentioning. Dr TMA Pai, a visionary educationist who established world famous educational center at Manipal and a person who started Syndicate bank; KS Hegde, Supreme Court judge and former Speaker of Loksabha; Vinay Hegde, Founder of Nitte Educational Institutions; Justice Santosh Hegde, the former Lokayukta; George Fernandes, illustrious politician; Anantha krishan, Jayarm Bhat, Mahabaleshwar Bhat, Chairman of Karnataka Bank Ltd; Allan Pereira, Former Chairman of Syndicate Bank; K.V.Kamath, Chairman BRICS Bank (Formerly Chairman of ICICI Bank).

Dr K.V Rao, renowned scientist; Ullas Karanth, famous environmentalist; Aravind Adiga, Man Booker prize winner; Padmashree Anantha Agarwal; Yenepoya Abdulla Knuhi, the founder of Yenepoya Institutions; V. G. Siddhartha -Founder, Café Coffee Day; Sudhir Shetty, CEO, UAE Exchange; K.L. Rahul, Test cricketer; Gurukiran- popular music director; Dr Deviprasad Shetty, world famous Heart Surgeon; Dr Shantaram Shetty- , Orthopaedician, Sri Venugopal- Highly respected Supreme court Advocate, and many other well-known advocates, Blazius D’Souza, Subbaiah Shetty and other contemporary politicians like Janardhan Poojary, U.T.Khader, Ivan D’Souza, Yogish Bhat, Nagaraj Sheety and innumerable number of other former students who have made names in the fields of education, industry, politics, medicine, judiciary, sport, literature, cinema, music, environment, social work, journalism and spiritual fields.

Sources reveal that Two illustrious Presidents of India, one Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy and the other, most popular Dr APJ Abdul Kalaam visited the college and spoke very highly of the services of Jesuits in Education, healthcare and social service. At present there are nearly 14000 students in SAC campus. Many eminent teachers and academicians of high caliber have served in this college. The former students keep speaking very high of their great teachers whenever they come back to their Alma mater. St Aloysius College Chapel is attracting tourists from all over the Globe for its world famous rare paintings. The Chapel is a recognized tourist destination and has made Mangaloreans proud of it. Therefore, Mangalore City Corporation and Government of Karnataka should re-validate the name “St Aloysius College Road”. 

File Photos

The ‘Aloysius College Road’ marker was put in place 15 years ago on St Aloysius College request. Now all of a sudden, the process of the name being changed to Mulki Sundararama Shetty Road, is underway. When the college management asked for clarification at the MCC, they came to know about the formalities in place. Needless to say that the institution is established and managed by Jesuit Fathers who are known all over the world for their selfless services in education, healthcare and social services. Tourists flock to see the chapel here, which is one of the few attractions in the city. This is a 140-year-old Jesuit institute, much older than Fr Muller Hospital which has a road to its name. Hope the concerned authorities in the district administration and MCC will change their mind, and retain the ‘St Aloysius College Road’ marker as it is!

File Photo

In conclusion, in order to avoid future controversy in this regard, MCC should change its decision in renaming the said street. Why did MCC bother to change “St Aloysius College Road” marker to Mulki Sundararama Shetty Road”- why couldn’t they find some other street/road and name it after him. Or build a new monument or a park, and name it after M S Shetty. There is already a Circle in the City named as “A B Shetty Circle” after Attavara Balakrishna Shetty- the founder chairman of Vijaya Bank. For that matter, why is Vijaya Bank Head Office located in Bangalore-they should have retained it in Mangaluru, when most of its clients are Mangaloreans. They are also in the process of changing their logo.

File Photo

But if you compare the contribution done by St Aloysius Institution and Mulky Sundararama Shetty, definitely the former has done much more contribution/service than the latter- so it is befitting to retain the name after St Aloysius College/Institution. The Jesuits still have respect for MSR Shetty, but they don’t want to give up a street name that has been named after the institution decades ago. Although the Jesuit priests didn’t rename the street in a systematic way, by not registering it with the Municipality then- don’t we all make mistakes- but later we learn to do the right way from our mistakes. Similarly is the situation in this case.

The Jesuit priests are making a humble request without stepping into protests or any warnings, so MCC considering this should retain the old road marker as it is. I am not blaming anyone nor I am against MS Shetty- but being an alumni of this prestigious institution and in the interest of other old students of SAC and citizens of Mangaluru, I feel however its not a fitting tribute to MS Shetty by changing the name of a road, which has existed and associated for years with ” St. Aloysius College”. The MCC can think of a “better idea” in finding a “Better Road or a Place” to be named after MS Shetty, rather than get into all these hassles and controversy.
I end this column with the thought-provoking words of Capuchin Fr Joachim D’souza in his article : “ALOYSIUS- THE ROCK & STAR” :

Rain or shine showers or stream you are divine blissful

Standing on the rock pebble rubble like a star delightful

140 years old still natural fresh and fragrance aroma aura

Nobody touch nothing extinguish flow millions around area

Road or lane route or track does not matter skill savvy cover

Studied reached to the height crest under your auspicious shelter

How can I ditch and chase and race you, alter from behind matter

You are high and huge rocking star our shiny silvery class whisper

Students have reached got their name and fame signature and bliss

Not because of the road or rod, stalk and strip, but you St. Aloysius

Connection and junction attachment attraction we have our only sight

Visible vision powerful perception godly providence sparklingly bright

Naming, renaming and blaming is nothing unique but political polity trust

Today the nameplate neat spotless clean but sometimes after full of dust

Why worry about passing fleeting thing but be on your guard to safe badge

Intercede St. Aloysius your little student come to seek acumen wisdom pledge

The need of the hour a decent road broad footpath graceful grand flower ration

Control of COVID-19, healthy market, smooth flow of traffic, pollution-free station

Clean water, sincere officers, friendly atmosphere, human touch career rotation

If not, what is the use of naming, framing, deforming , degrading, denouncing anybody?

St. Aloysius you are the Rock and the star nobody can eclipse potency efficacy

Long live curb mendacious perilous hazard bless your pupil happiness decency

Aloysius name means fame warrior continue to bring peace tranquility fraternity

Rules and regulations for discipline but more relevant vital Let live humanity

 

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