The Post Centenary Ruby Jubilee: Annual Athletic Meet and P.T. Display 2024 SJC

“Never say never, because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion.”- Michael Jordan

Prayagraj. Institutions may come and go but the germ of an idea by the Capuchin Friars in the eighteenth century fructifying into a citadel of learning boasting of nearly 7000 students, is certainly a testament to the enduring legacy of St. Joseph’s College, Prayagraj. 140 years of achievements and accolades aplenty make the College a mighty force to reckon with.

Is there any other day more exciting than the Annual Athletic Meet and P.T. Display of a citadel of learning? Continuing with the legacy of a lifetime, St. Joseph’s College, Prayagraj, organised the Post Centenary 40th Annual Athletic Meet and P.T. Display on 16th November 2024 celebrating 140 years of excellence, determination, and excellence.
The proceedings of the day commenced with the arrival of the Chief Guest, Mr. Anish Dayal Singh, I.P.S., the Director-General of C.R.P.F. and the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Allahabad, Most Rev. Dr. Louis Mascarenhas, the Golden Jubilee batch of 1974, and the Silver Jubilee batch of 1999. They were welcomed by the Principal, Rev. Fr. Walter D’Silva, the College Headmaster, Rev Fr. Melvin Pais, the Additional Administrator, Mr. A. McGowan, and the Staff Coordinator, Mr. Jyoti Dube.
The Special Guests were Justice Siddharth Varma, Justice Ajay Bhanot, Rev. Fr. Lawrence Fernandes, Rev. Fr. Vipin D’Souza, Rev. Fr. Ravi Joseph, Brig. Syed Ahmed Ali, Er. Harsh Vardhan Bajpai, Sister Sumita, along with former teachers, Mr. Shivaji Srivastava, Mr. S. N. Abbas Rizvi, Ms. G. French, Ms. Y. S. Naqvi, Ms. J. Roy, Mrs. D. Raj, and Dr. (Mrs.) N. Malviya.

To seek God’s humble blessings, the esteemed dignitaries were led to the College Prayer Room to officially begin the event with a special Opening Prayer and the Lighting of the Torch by the Bishop Most Rev. Louis Mascarenhas. Thereafter, the Bishop blessed the new addition to the College infrastructure, the floodlights. It should be noted that this generous gift was presented by the Silver Jubilee Batch of 1999, showing their never-dying love towards the College.

The venerated Guests were then escorted by the College Cabinet, the N.C.C. Pilots, the College Band and the various House Captains to the dais. Mr. Anish Dayal Singh I.P.S. was then formally introduced by Dr. Mrs.Linda Gaffney and florally welcomed.

Mr. Anish Dayal Singh is currently serving as the Director-General of C.R.P.F. He is a 1998 batch officer from the Indian Police Service, Manipur Cadre. His loyalty and dedication towards the country has earned him the Police Special Duty Medal twice, Police Medal for Meritorious Service twice, the President Police Service for Distinguished Service and Internal Security Service Medal.
The Bishop Most Rev. Louis Mascarenhas was further introduced by Mrs. Sumona Banerjee and florally welcomed by the Principal.
Rt. Rev. Bishop Louis Mascarenhas, currently serving as the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Allahabad has previously served as the Principal of St. Joseph’s College, Prayagraj, and the Director of Nazareth Hospital, Prayagraj. He is best known for his incredible efforts at ameliorating the plight of child labourers, flood victims, besides empowering rural women to become self-sufficient.

The grand opening ceremony by the students of Class 8 on the theme, ‘Igniting Young Minds Since 1884’, shed light on the journey of St. Joseph’s College, Prayagraj since its foundation in 1884. Just as a train ferries passengers and drops them off at various stations, similarly the school treats all students equally, letting them acquire multiple skills which help them shine in their chosen careers.
Following this, the March Past commenced, with the Chief Guests, Mr. A.D. Singh I.P.S. and the Bishop Most Rev. Louis Mascarenhas saluting the students. Subsequently, the esteemed Chief Guest hoisted the College flag, along with the singing of the College Anthem by the entire school. The Athletics Captain, Mayank Singh, then took the Athletics Oath on behalf of every student. The Athletics Torch, symbolising the spirit of sportsmanship, was thereafter passed from Kartikeya Anand, the Athletics Vice Captain, to Mayank Singh, the Athletics Captain, who in turn handed it over to the other National level athletes who have carried the name of our college to glory, namely, Amber Vishal and Athrava Srivastava.

The Chief Guest declared the Athletic Meet 2024 officially open.
The first race, 100-meter race for all divisions paved way for a vibrant P.T. Display by the students of class 3, centred around the theme, ‘Glittery Glitz’. The audience was all smiles as the youngest performers grooved to disco beats and spread cheer.
Shortly thereafter, the winners of the 100-meter race were presented with their medals followed by the Debi Prasad De Memorial Scholarship bagged by Mohd. Shawaiz Zaki.

The ‘Harvesting Dreams’ themed P.T. display by the students of class 4 dwelt on the outstanding efforts of the farmers and their contribution to the nation.
The 100-meter hurdle race, a fast-paced race full of action, was then conducted for the students of O and A divisions, followed by the presentation of the Fr. Rego Award by the Batch of 1974 to Kavya Kushwaha for scoring 98.60% in the ICSE examinations. Such is the admiration that Late Rev. Fr. Rego inspires in his former students that even after half a century, the present-day students get inspired by the aura of one of the most illustrious Headmasters of the school.
The subsequent P.T. display of the students of class 5 on the theme ‘Una Celebracion Mexicano,’ which translates to, ‘A Mexican Celebration,’ was a fiesta of joy and happiness, depicting the diverse and rich culture of Mexico.

The 200-meter race saw athletes from all divisions displaying their speed and endurance as they exploded through the curved track to the finish line, causing the crowd to erupt into cheers.
Prizes were given out to the winners of the 200 metres race as well as to the champion swimmers Yatharth Sinha and Stavya Agarwal who were adorned with the Nishith Dixit Award. Mayank Singh from the O Division broke the previous record in the 200-meters race, setting a record of 23.35 seconds. Similarly, Altmas Kabir from the F Division also broke the 200-meter race record setting 37.23 seconds as the new record.
The Inter-House 4 x 100-meter relay race took place next, for the students of the O division.
It requires tremendous drive and focus to ace both studies and extra-curricular activities. The best All-rounder for the session was Yuvraj Gupta successfully bagging the Achyut Ashok award along with a cash prize of 35 thousand rupees. The next event which was the P.T. display by the students of class 6, on the theme, ‘Save Earth, Save Life,’ gave a powerful message that reducing plastic will go a long way in saving Earth.

Academics is the bedrock of a student’s life hence The Lutfi Ali-Rushdi Ali Award given to the topper of ISC examinations holds a special significance. This year’s awardee was Aditya Upadhayay. Fast Cycle race is yet another spectacle for the audience, as the students of the O division really did put the pedal to the metal, racing round the track with sheer willpower and stamina. It is to be noted that this was the last time the Fast Cycle Race was held in the Annual Athletic Meet.
Subsequently, medals were distributed to the winners of the 100-meter hurdle and the fast cycle races.

Recognition of one’s efforts is of paramount importance hence the 1972 Batch felicitated Kavya Kushwaha, the ICSE topper of the academic session 2023-24. The audience was in for a thought-provoking and utterly engrossing spectacle as students of class 7 performed on the theme ‘Panch Koshiya Kaya Kalp,’ or ‘Five-celled Rejuvenation,’ demonstrating different yoga asanas and their myriad benefits.

The OBA races are a living proof of the love and the attachment that former Josephites have for their school. As a result, the OBA races always see enthusiastic participation from almost all the previous batches of students. Amping up the excitement further was the severe contest for physical and supremacy as displayed in the nail-biting tug-o-war. A battle of nerves, it saw both the Gold and the Blue Houses ceding not an inch as they pulled like one man.
In his ever-inspirational style of addressing the audience the Bishop congratulated everyone for organising this grand event and while addressing everyone, said that all deserve praise for guiding these youth in the right way. He said that we all are witnesses to the College’s progress in all aspects. He concluded by saying, the main slogan of this prestigious institute is, “Quality of education leads to all round development of the personality.”

As a token of appreciation and gratitude, he was presented a memento by the Principal. In a majestic display of perfect teamwork, the College lined up for the final march past. Awards were given to the Athletes and Fr. Syril Award for Best Teachers was given to Mrs. Meena Vincent along with the Best Teacher Award sponsored by the Stellar Sethi Memorial Trust given to Mr. N. B. Lawrence.

Post which the Chief Guest addressed the gathering. In his speech, Mr. Anish Dayal Singh, wished for the success of the programme. He especially appreciated the disciplined march past and the Band performance. Recalling his school days, he shared some of his special memories with everyone and concluded his speech by motivating the students to serve the country. Thereafter, a memento was presented to the Chief Guest by the Principal.
The Annual Sports Day at St. Joseph’s College is the talk of the town and the stupendous efforts of the seniormost PTI, Mr. Mohd. Shabi Rafiq, leading his team namely, Lt. Azhar Usmani, Mr. Danny Ekka, Mr. Zaheer Abbas, Mr. Shubham Chandra, Ms. Poonam Singh, Mr. Harshit Gladwin, Mr. Utkarsh Sharma, Mrs. Pratibha Shukla, Mrs. Sudha Gupta, Mrs. Shabbo, Mr. Yashwant Singh, Mr. Joel George, Mr. Asad Iqbal.

The College Captain Mohd. Sultan gave a comprehensive Vote of Thanks. He acknowledged the contributions of each and every person involved in the mega-event.

The event was brought alive by the superb anchoring skills of the Mistresses of Ceremony, namely, Mrs. L. Gaffney, Mrs. S. Banerjee, Mrs. A. Thomas.

The singing of the National Anthem brought the Annual Meet 2024 to its closure following which the Beating of the Retreat declared the Meet officially closed.

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