Xaverians Nostalgia ‘23, the SXCCAA West Zone Mega Meet held at Mumbai’s Hotel Sahara Star, on August 26, was a gala affair for the alumni members of the Calcutta and Mumbai chapters of St. Xavier’s College Calcutta Alumni Association. The daylong event featured panel discussions on various topics. There were non-Xaverians on the panel as well. Industry leaders, who call St. Xavier’s a ‘second home’, discussed business, investment, health, sports and more.
Celebrating Women’s Equality Day, two panels were dedicated to the inequality in different fields.
The alumni members also celebrated Xaverian Raj Kapoor’s birth centenary with a special panel.
The discussions were interspersed with question-answer rounds, promising exciting prizes for the winners. The Xaverians took these extremely seriously and their competitive spirit almost took them back to their classrooms, much to the delight of the audience. t2 was in the house.
The first panel featuring Priti Rathi Gupta, founder of LXME; Shubhra Saraf Sethi, executive VP of Disney Star; Ananya Mitra, head at Capex Finance Arcelor Mittal and Nippon Steel; and Anamika Mattey, head at MFD & Edge Learning and Nippon Mutual Fund, was moderated by author and business storyteller Sangita Marda Agarwal. The panel titled ‘Breaking Barriers & Women Leading with Impact’ discussed women’s conditioning regarding financial independence, money management, financial inclusion, barriers in climbing up the ladder, inequality and the importance of collaboration and networking.
Priti spoke about her journey that started with managing the family’s portfolio and then stepping down to form LXME. “I have lived my life like I am going to live a hundred years. For me, LXME is the legacy I am leaving,” said Priti. Ananya spoke about her story of becoming financially independent. “I wanted to do something bold and become financially independent. I wanted to get out of the city and it was not a norm in those days. My mother was my biggest pillar of support. I was the first woman in my family to step out and make a life for myself. When we were getting IPL rights, I realised I wanted to do that. I had to convince my company that I could do it… you have to stand up and take the responsibility,” said Ananya. Sangita added her experiences in the conversation, “Three years ago I stepped down from a company as director. I travelled to so many countries during my term and every time I went to sign a contract, everyone in the boardroom thought someone else from the company would come to sign the contract,” said Sangita.
Anamika recalled, “When I started with my articleship… poshest locality of Calcutta, 25 years back and 6,000sq ft of office space and no washroom for women. They used to ask us to go to a shopping mall. When I asked them, they used to say we didn’t want a woman. At the design level, the corporate didn’t think there would be a woman. We had to fight the perception which was not just about gender but what I can bring to the table. We always have to work a little more to get inside the door. But then when it comes to man management it is another critical thing. They wouldn’t listen to a lady at home and then again a lady in the office. Collaborative networking is very important for women to grow.”
“I am overwhelmed this morning because of the hospitality we have received since we arrived and I got to meet some of my old students, too. The effort everyone has put in shows you all love St. Xavier’s and so you all are here today. We are very proud of that. Every great work starts with God’s inspiration. We are very happy to be a part of this. The alumni association is becoming stronger and stronger,” said Father Dominic Savio SJ in his speech addressed to the alumni members.
Former Indian Test cricketer and Padma Shri awardee Diana Edulji was in conversation with anchor Hardik Vaidya for the Women in Sports fireside chat. Diana, a veteran cricketer, spoke about the inequalities and humiliating incidents she and her team had to face back in the day. Starting her chat by narrating the incidents associated with the formation of the Women’s Cricket Association, she shared stories of the T20 World Cup and her game of 2018. “After one match, they said we should be in the kitchen and that upset me a lot... I asked the chief guest to apologise first. Female cricketers used to always travel without reservations and we had to sleep near the toilets. For the 2009 T20 World Cup, we were travelling from Bangalore to London via Dubai. I asked for a lunch facility. BCCI said they can’t afford it. Men travelled business class but we travelled economy. MS Dhoni was a grounded person and he encouraged everyone. He asked us why he couldn’t spot us on the plane. When we told him, he said he would talk to the BCCI. The media was always on their side. When they left, the media came to take our news. Believe in yourself, believe in your talent and believe in your integrity. I can beat anybody based on my talent and integrity and that made me strong,” she said during her inspiring chat session.
Moods & Moments
Indian cinema's showman Raj Kapoor, who was also a Xaverian, was posthumously honoured by St. Xavier’s College with a memento that was sent to the Kapoor family after the event
