It is not an everyday phenomenon for an institution to stand the test of time and reach the enviable age of two hundred years. It is certainly much rarer when that institution is an educational one. Antonio De Souza (ANZA, from the first two and last two letters of the name) High School in South Mumbai (the Bombay of old) has achieved this glorious milestone, marking two centuries of existence—a feat worthy of applause.
The men and women who have shaped the destinies of this great institution, along with its management, staff, and students both past and present, deserve heartfelt congratulations. For ANZA, it has been an amazing, epochal journey, like an unfettered Colossus striding across two centuries.
The roots of ANZA trace back to the little island of Mazagaon in Bombay. In 1548, Captain Antonio Peso built a small private chapel dedicated to Nossa Senhora da Glória (Our Lady of Glories) within the precincts of his mansion. Later, in 1632, Gloria Church was constructed at the foot of Mazagaon hill. In 1795, a Goan merchant named Antonio De Souza gifted the church trustees the princely sum of Rs 40,000 to establish a free primary school for Catholic children in the area. The medium of instruction then was Portuguese and Latin, and the school was named Antonio De Souza High School after one of its original founders and principal donor. In 1911, both the school and Gloria Church were demolished and relocated to their present premises in Byculla, with reconstruction completed in 1913. The new ANZA School and the modern Gloria Church were built in the English Gothic Revival style and remain heritage landmarks of the city today.
Byculla, in South Bombay, is centrally located—a vibrant potpourri of cultures, traditions, religions, and ethnicities. Amid the labour areas of the Mumbai metropolis, the neighbourhood was once dotted with the chimneys of textile mills. Nearby lies the famed Jijamata Udyan (formerly Victoria Gardens), home to a botanical garden established in 1861, one of India’s oldest zoos from 1890, and a museum. In days past, Victoria Gardens was a popular spot for nature lovers, history enthusiasts, and ANZA boys who occasionally “bunked” school. Byculla also hosts the city’s major wholesale vegetable market. Interestingly, directly opposite Gloria Church stands a temple, with a mosque adjacent and a Parsi fire temple and Jewish synagogue not far away. ANZA is a short walk from Byculla railway station, and numerous BEST bus routes begin or pass through the area, connecting it easily to most parts of the vast city. The neighbourhood is alive with eateries catering to every palate.
ANZA has always represented—and continues to represent—the best of Byculla. Its students, past and present, embody the wealth and beauty of India’s diversity and pluralistic fabric: middle-class and lower-middle-class children of ordinary people, including Christians, Hindus, Muslims, Parsis, Jews, some of Chinese origin, and those from other faith traditions. Many were children of migrants who arrived in Bombay from other parts of India in search of work and made the cosmopolitan city their home. Their parents worked hard, often struggling, yet they aspired for their children to attend a good English-medium school—ANZA! Religion was never worn on sleeves; students went to school together, studied together, pranked together, and sometimes fought over seemingly trivial issues, yet a deep camaraderie and bonding developed during schooldays that endures for many alumni to this day. The spirit of ANZA lives on and will never die.
ANZA belongs to the Archdiocese of Bombay. Over the years, exemplary priests and outstanding educationists have guided its destiny as principals, managers, and teachers. The school has always had a deeply committed staff—teaching, administrative, and support. Thousands of students have passed through its portals in these two hundred years, many contributing significantly to the life of the city and the nation. Today, the school enrolls around three thousand students, with Fr. Sachin Lopes as Principal and Fr. Cajetan Pinto as Manager.
ANZA’s logo bears the Latin phrase “Per ardua ad astra,” meaning “through hardships to the stars”—a great motto for yesterday and profoundly relevant today. Despite many limitations over the years, ANZA has provided its students with a holistic education, mentoring, training, and motivating them to reach for the stars whatever the challenges. Notable ANZAites who have made a profound mark in the public domain include Raj Kapoor (legendary film actor, director, and producer), Trilok Gurtu (world-renowned percussionist and tabla virtuoso), Nissim Ezekiel (father of modern Indian English poetry), Libia Lobo Sardesai (freedom fighter), and R. M. Sawant (well-known jurist).
Despite lacking decent playgrounds of its own, ANZA has produced some of the finest sportspersons in the city and country, including Leo Pinto (gold medallist in hockey at the 1948 London Olympics), Gulam Abbas Moontasir (captain of the national basketball team), Nasir Khan (star hockey player and coach), Banoo Gazdar (top athlete and silver medallist at the 1951 Asian Games), and Pat Mendonca (champion sprinter and silver medallist at the 1951 Asian Games).
What is extraordinary about ANZA is its sheer ordinariness. It never boasted of or claimed the “elite school” tag associated with Bombay. Far from it—it has always been a school for the hoi polloi, not the elite. It carries an old-world charm yet remains ever new, vintage yet abreast of the times. It has endured tough times yet educated men—and women too—to face the challenges and vicissitudes of life.
The ANZA bicentenary celebrations, bringing together past and present students, staff, well-wishers, and benefactors, are being held on the school grounds: January 23 (Thanksgiving Mass, Multi-Faith Service, and Musical Performance), January 24 (ANZA Family Day), and January 25 (Gala Alumni Dinner). Further details of these programmes can be found on www.anzaites.org.
As one celebrates two hundred glorious years of this great institution, which believes in excellence in education, one cannot help but look back with deep gratitude and sing—with adaptations—the theme song from the immortal 1967 movie To Sir, With Love:
“ANZA who taught me right from wrong
And weak from strong
That's a lot to learn
What, what can I give you in return?
If you wanted the moon
I would try to make a start
But I would rather you let me give my heart
To ANZA, with love”
ANZA today, at 200 years, continues to reach for the stars!
---
Fr. Cedric Prakash is a Jesuit Priest of the Gujarat Province. He was a student of ANZA from 1957 to 1968. He is human rights, reconciliation, and peace activist and writer
Comments