A stirring silence spoke volumes of the unspoken grief and pervading the solidarity of those gathered at St Xavier’s College on Thursday to pay homage to the victims of last week’s terror attacks.
The packed auditorium prayed for Additional Commissioner of Police Ashok Kamte, an alumnus of the 1985 batch, Director General of Police Hemant Karkare — his daughter topped Political Science from St Xavier’s last year — and Vijay Banja, the husband of Farida who works at the Xavier Resource Centre for the visually-challenged.
“These people were closely related to the college,” said Principal Father Frazer Mascarenhas. “They laid down their lives so that we can live today.”
The memorial prayer service included short prayer recitations by students, hymns and a rendition of Ae Mere Watan Ke Logo, which left many teary eyed.
Mediaperson Rajdeep Sardesai, who was Kamte’s batchmate, said: “Kamte was a strong athlete and body-builder in college. He always wanted to serve people and do right, and that’s what he always did.”
The ceremony concluded with a small message from Kamte’s family, who could not make it as they are in Pune.
{{/usCountry}}The ceremony concluded with a small message from Kamte’s family, who could not make it as they are in Pune.
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