Mangalore: Aravind Adiga Donates Part of the Award Amount to St Aloysius College
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (GA)
Mangalore, Nov 6: In his mail to Fr Denzil Lobo SJ, director, AIBA and AICS, St Aloysius College, Aravind Adiga, the winner of the Man booker prize for his novel, “The White Tiger” expressed his desire to donate part of the award money to St Aloysius College, Mangalore, his alma mater.
In his own words:
"I have donated a part of my prize money for winning the Man Booker Prize for 2008 to my old school, St. Aloysius College of Mangalore, in gratitude for the fine education I received there. I wish to donate the money in the name of the late Father Victor D'Souza, a great teacher of physics and chemistry, who also always reminded his students of their responsibility to help and defend the poor and underprivileged. St. Aloysius is one of the gems of Mangalore and I hope it will continue to shine brightly in the years to come, as it has done for over 100 years. Lucet et Ardet."
Adiga has already sent Rs 15 lac to the Rector of St Aloysius College. According to his expressed wish the amount will be used to start a special scholarship fund for the higher education of the under-privileged children residing at Aloysian Boys Home, Kotekar, Ullal. This home for the delinquent children was started by St Aloysius College to commemorate the centenary of the College back in 1981. There are about a hundred and twenty children looked after by the college through the generous contributions of friends and alumni of the college. Fr Leo D’Souza Sj, former principal and Rector, St Aloysius College is the director of this project and Sisters of Charity, Mangalore, look after the day-to-day running of this institution.
Adiga wants this scholarship to be named after his teacher and mentor the late Fr Victor D’Souza, who was a science teacher in St Aloysius High School since 1977 till he retired in 1990. Fr Victor was an excellent science teacher and his students remember him not only for his interesting classes and the lessons he taught, but also for the values he inculcated in them, especially love for the poor. This has inspired Aravind Adiga, to donate 15 lac to institute this fund to help the higher education of these children of Aloysian Boys Home.
St Aloysius College will be honouring Adiga for winning the Booker Prize on Sunday January 4, 2009 during the Aloysian Conclave which will be attended by Aloysian alumni from all over the world. He will also be delivering a special lecture to commemorate this event. Aloysian Conclave is an annual event wherein some of the distinguished alumni are honoured for their meritorious service to mankind in various fields. Last year the programme was held on January 12 and seven alumni were honoured.
Adiga is also expected to be the chief guest for the St Aloysius High School annual day on Saturday January 3, 2009.
St Aloysius College, which has grown by leaps and bounds during the last ten years, and now an autonomous college has already started work on the new campus for management and information technology at Beeri, Ullal. This new campus will have excellent facilities on par with international standards. Some of the prominent Aloysians like Victor Pais have come forward to assist in setting up the new campus. Aravind Adiaga has also promised to help in raising funds for this Rs 60 crore project, the first phase of which will be ready in May 2009, and the classes are expected to begin in July 2009. The aim of the college is to make this Institute for Management & IT, one of the very best in India.
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