There are many schools in Goa with strong alumni and the students of St Anthony’s High School,
Monte de Guirim are some of the best. Not only are they very active when it
comes to programs at the school but they still have their childlike enthusiasm
to work together, just like they did decades ago. For every student, especially
the boarders, the school was their home and just the name Monte De Guirim is
enough to take them back in time. It is no surprise that the school that boasts
of scholars and priests among their alumni also includes those who took
interest in writing about the school.
Two books, ‘Hail Monte! The Mount of
Ages!’ and ‘Yesterdays at Monte – jogging down Memory Lane’ were released
within a span of days but former students, writing about different aspects of
the hillock of memories. Fr John D’Silva from Saligao is the author of ‘Hail
Monte! The Mount of Ages!’, an all-encompassing book on the history of Monte de
Guirim. A student of the Monte 1975 batch, Fr John, formerly a Capuchin and now
a member of the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman, has fond memories of his time as
a student as well as a Friar at Monte in 1986. “My roots are deep in Monte and
I love St Francis. I wrote the book for posterity and with the hope that people
will read and learn about Monte. It will serve as a priceless memento of the
Alma Mater for the alumni of St Anthony High School and Boarding House,” says
Fr John. The 164-page book also features photographs in colour and black and
white. Fr John has also authored the books ‘St Anthony of Padua’ in English and
Konkani, ‘Punzail’li Girestkai’, ‘St Anne’ and ‘Saligao Vishoreat’.
Monte has an illustrious history that is now treasured in the
pages of ‘Hail Monte! The Mount of Ages!’, right from the first Franciscan
priests arriving in 1550s to when Fr Francisco Athaidade came to the centrally
located hillock with the Mae De Dues College from Corjuem to Fr Hippolito da
Luna taking over the school and boarding in the 1940s. The thoroughly
researched book required time. “I had to spend a lot of time at Central Library
and I had the benefit of meeting the old friars. Right from school, I had an
inquisitive and observing mind,” says Fr John. The book deals with the hidden
treasure of Monte like the Nunurkar tree, Monte de Guirim wine, the new
cemetery and the school. The book is printed by Anjoy Graphics, Pilerne and
will be available at Pauline Book & Media Centre, Panjim and Mapusa and
Lighthouse, Margao.
Edward de Lima has come out with the second edition of his book,
‘Yesterdays at Monte – jogging down Memory Lane’, which is an autobiographical
account of his school life before and after Liberation of Goa. Published by Vikram
Publications, Porvorim, the new edition has few anecdotes, feedback from the
readers, a section on reviews including a letter from the Archbishop and three
new illustrations, of which, one is of two Monte De Guirim boys holding the
shield. The illustrations are done by Justino Lobo and pictures by Sunoj
Raikar. The book is printed by Anjoy Graphics, Pilerne.
He reminisces, “I studied from Class 1 to 10 between 1953 and
1963 at Monte. I was a day scholar and I had to attend school from 9am to 12pm
and 2pm to 4.30pm, which included lunch at school. We used to come to school
barefoot. I had a pair of slippers but some boys kept throwing my slippers into
bushes and From then on, I decided to become one of them. They were all rough
boys but we had fun days in school. I used to walk nearly 3 kilometres from my
home in Lima Vaddo to the school. My mother requested the school canteen to
give me lunch by paying Rs 10 per month for rice, fish, curry and salted fish
or pickle. While walking home from school, we used to play football on the
narrow road that is now the highway at Guirim. There would be one ‘caminhao’
(old style bus) that would pass every 20 minutes and the traffic was only a few
cycles or bullock carts. We could spot the bus at Guirim itself through the
open fields.”
Dr
Edward was a professor at D M College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Assagao
for 35 years. As an author, he has previously written books in Konkani and
English. His last release was ‘Konknni Oparincho Kox’ – a book of Konkani
Proverbs. He is now working on a book of old stories dating back to the 1940s
and ‘50s based in Socorro and Porvorim. “While writing the book, even after all
these years, I still felt like a school boy as the memories are vivid. The
batch of 1968 recently had their reunion after 50 years and it felt like
nothing has changed,” says Dr Edward. ‘Yesterdays at Monte…’ will be available
at Singbal Book House, Panjim; Broadway Book Centre, Panjim and Golden Heart
Emporium Book Shop, Margao.