Humanities
Ancient Indian Culture
This was truly an exuberant year
with a number of activities the
department of Ancient Indian Culture
proudly conducted. The department
indulged in educational activities that
encouraged internship opportunities
for all the five batches in both
undergraduate and post graduate
studies, in collaboration with the
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu
Sangrahalaya formerly known as the
Prince of Wales Museum. Our trips
explored the tenets of our cultural
heritage with zeal, to perceive its
endorsement through tourism,
museology, conservation, archaeology
and the collaborative study of World
Civilizations.
We began the academic year in
the spirit of our Noble Laureate,
Rabindranath Tagore whose collection
of paintings was on display at the
National Gallery of Modern Art
(NGMA). The inauguration of
Tagore for Teenagers on the 28th of
June witnessed a lecture delivered
by Mrs. Marina Dutta on the early
life of Tagore. Our students under
the leadership of Shraddha Jadhav
(TYBA) put up an enchanting dance
on his composition, while Dr. Anita
Rane Kothare captivated the audiences
with Tagore’s Short story of “The
Kabuliwala” and Pallavi Gupta (TYBA)
delighted the spectators with her
Rabindra Sangeet.
For the next event we ventured into
the Jurassic Age with our mascot
“Dinny: The Dinosaur” who was loved
and admired by children as a part of
the workshop on Paleontology held at
the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu
Sangrahalaya. A lecture was delivered
by Dr. Anita Rane Kothare on fossils
like the Keichousaurus and Ms. Nitya
Suryanarayanan (TYBA) conducted an
activity of making origami dinosaurs. .
Dr. Anita Rane-Kothare conducted
lectures on Indian culture and
organized a site visit to Mahakali
caves for various batches of exchange
students.
The Brazilian Film Week was
organized in collaboration with the
Brazilian Consulate, the Department
of Bachelors in Mass Media and the
Ancient Indian Culture Department of
St. Xavier’s College in the month of
August. At the end of the week, film
reviews were sent in by students and
the winners were given prizes by the
Brazilian Consulate.
The Department conducted the
event of Clay Ganesha on two such
occasions in the month of September
in collaboration with the Chhatrapati
Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya,
The Museum Society of Bombay and
The Times of India. The event was
organized at the Chhatrapati Shivaji
Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya wherein
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Mrs. Marina Dutta delivered a lecture
to students on the various depictions
of Ganesha that was illustrated for
the making of Clay Ganesha idols.
On the second day a lecture was
delivered by Dr. Anita Rane-Kothare
on the iconography of Ganesha and
the essence of the festival. The lecture
unfolded with the making of clay idols
of Ganesha by school children who
later proceeded to Gateway of India
for the Aarti followed by immersion.
In the month of October, the M.A. Part
I batch visited Matheran and studied
its historicity and its local culture.
They experienced the Toy Train ride
and stayed at the railway lodge, under
the supervision of Dr. Anita Rane
Kothare. A trip to the Railway Museum
at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus was
organized in collaboration with the
Central Railways and our department,
which opened its display to our
students. It housed working models of
the first steam engine in Bombay, along
with early tickets issued and models
with dioramas of railway routes.
The department, in collaboration
with Michigan University and Deccan
College Pune held two site seminars at
Ajanta Caves in the months of August
and January which was conducted for
our students by Emeritus Prof. Walter
Spink, Dr. Anita Rane -Kothare and
Dr. Shreekant Jadhav.
The Indian Art History Congress was
hosted by the Heras Institute at St.
Xavier’s College and under the section
of Iconography, papers were presented
by Dr. Anita Rane Kothare on “Hamsa
Mala”, and on “Andhakasurvadh” by
our student Vaishnavi Patil. Jason
Johns presented a paper on “Mary
Depicted in Church Window Art” and
Pallavi Gupta presented a paper on
“The Terracotta Figure of Mary” under
the section of Indo -Christian Art. Dr.
Radha Kumar was the coordinator of
the cultural program which illustrated
a ‘Gondhal’ dance performed by
Shraddha Jadhav (TYBA) under the
guidance of Dr. Anita Rane- Kothare
and Amarapali: a dance drama under
Humanities
the guidance of Dr. Radha Kumar.
A lecture was delivered by Dr. Anita
Rane Kothare who conducted a guided
tour to Elephanta for the delegates..
A workshop for children on
‘befriending Museums’ was organized
by the Department in collaboration
with the Museum Society of Bombay
and The Hill Springs School at the
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu
Sangrahalaya on the Indus Valley
Civilization in the month of October.
The film release “Govinda Sathi Vattel
Te” directed by Siddhesh Sawant on the
cultural importance of Dahi Handi in
the realm of its present politicization
was screened by the Department. Our
students participated in the making
of the movie by giving insights into
the cultural relevance of the festival.
The trip conducted during the Diwali
vacations by the Department to the
state of Madhya Pradesh explored
Indian culture and ethnicity. The
Khajuraho chain of temples, the
Orccha set of monuments, the Panna
National Park, the Pre-Historic Cave
Paintings and the Bhedaghat Marble
Rocks on the River Narmada explored
the diversity the state offered with its
historicity of cultures. The students
were on their toes experiencing the
wildlife, art, culture and geographic
rendezvous which re-define the aims
of our subject under study with its
interdisciplinary facets of learning.
Dr. Anita Rane- Kothare and Mr.
Jason Johns participated in a two day
conference on X-Ray Fluorescence by
the Museum Art Conservation Centre
(MACC) and Bruker International
wherein fossils belonging to the
department were examined by the
XRF machine.
The “Who of the Holocaust” was a
lecture cum exhibition in collaboration
with the Museum Society of Bombay
and the Department which was held
on the 12th of November at the
CSMVS. The lecture was delivered
by Dr. Inbal Kvity Ben-Dov who
moved the audience by defining each
group of individuals like the victims,
perpetrators and bystanders of the
Holocaust.
Islamic Republic of Iran.
A joint paper was presented by Dr.
Anita Rane-Kothare and Pallavi Gupta
at Aurangabad at the State Level
Conference of Local History on the
topic “Chakan: local history perceived
in the realm of tourism”. The said
paper was eventually published..
Dr. Anita Rane-Kothare along with
student participation helped in the
designing and execution of two
Tableaux for the Minority Cell and
Gramin Paryavaran at the Republic
Day Parade 2014 in Mumbai. The
TYBA students went on a fieldtrip to
the Karla, Bhaja, Bedsa and Kondane
caves in the month of March, led by
Dr. Anita Rane -Kothare.
The Heras Memorial Lecture during
its Golden Jubilee Session was
graced by Emeritus Prof. Dr. Romila
Thapar and was followed with an
interactive session with our students.
Our TYBA students received their
certificates pertaining to their Research
Methodology Workshop from Dr.
Romila Thapar. This year two of our
students, Pallavi Gupta and Vaishnavi
Patil were rewarded with a token
of appreciation for their excellence
during the Research Methodology
Programme. A few of our M.A Part
I students were given a certificate on
completion of their Modi Script course
at this event.
Our students also participated in
conducting guided tours for the
ongoing exhibition of the “Flemish
Masterpieces and Prints of Antwerp”
and the “Cyrus Cylinder” in the
CSMVS and the ‘No Parsi Is an
Island’ and “Across Oceans and flowing
Silks: From Canton to Bombay 18th
– 20th centuries’’ at National Gallery
of Modern Art (NGMA).
The department held its annual festival
cum exhibition, Vividha on the theme
“Persia: Sands of Time” on the 9th
and 10th January .The departmental
magazine RCA also on the same
theme, consisting of articles written
by students relating to ancient Persia
and the diaspora today, was released by
Fr. Frazer Mascarenhas and Mr.Mehdi
Hasankhhani, Director of Culture
House of the Islamic Republic of
Iran.Two lectures were delivered by Dr.
Ehsan Mohamedhoesseni on Ancient
Persian Art and Justice during the
festival.The festival showcased the art
and architecture of Ancient Persia and
Medieval-Modern Iran in the form of
models, charts and maps made by our
students along with artifacts loaned
to us by the Culture House of the
93
Under the guidance of Dr. Anita
Rane -Kothare and Dr. Joan Dias, the
students of M.A. Part I conducted their
assignment on surface exploration
and discovered many unknown facets
about the local history of Mumbai. The
M.A Part II batch had conducted the
same exploration and their findings
were published in the Bombay
Explorers.
The findings of the MA Part I
students were remarkable and it is
worth mentioning that Ms. Ashwini
Nawathe and her work on Sion helped
in recovering and notifying the ASI
about the importance of milestone IX
and preserving it. Heritage-walks were
held in collaboration with the BLHS to
Sion by Ms.Ashwini Nawathe, Haji Ali
and Ma-Haji Ali by Taykhoom Biviji.
Two interactive lectures and walks
to the Armenian Church, Meadows
Street with a focus on ritual, language,
vestments and history were conducted
in collaboration with the MSB and the
BLHS in the months of February and
June by Dr. Anita Rane-Kothare and
Mr. Jason Johns.
The department, in collaboration with
Mr. Anupam Sah, MACC, Chhatrapati
Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya
conducted a two –day practical paper
conservation workshop in the month
of April for our students.
Mr. Jason Johns (MA Part II student)
was invited to give a tour of Bhaja
Caves for a visiting scholar from Delhi.
Dr. Anita Rane-Kothare published
papers on “Sufi Saints in Mumbai”
(Explorer, BLHS), “Tourism and
Heritage Management” (Disha,
Thomas Cook Publication) and
“African Traditions in Indian Games”
Humanities
at a conference on Ancient Indian
Games.
long international online course
conducted by the University of
Stuttgart under the Department
of English, St Xavier’s College on
“Folk Traditions in India -influence
on culture.”
The following are Dr. Radha’s list of
research activities:
• Invited to deliver a lecture at
Nalanda Center of Performing Arts
on (8 March,2013) “Understanding
the essence of Philosophy through
Performing art tradition.
•
•
Invited to deliver a lecture at Gita
Nritya Vidyalaya- School of Dance
and Performing arts for the Sangit
Visharad Students ( B.Mus) Title
of my lecture was “Relevance of
Ancient Indian cultural study
to comprehend the history of
Performing arts. “
Delivered a lecture for the visiting
faculty and students of the week
•
Was invited to deliver a lecture
for Eumind programme (a
collaborative exchange programme
with St Xavier’s College and with
staff and students from colleges
in Belgium - “ Indian Culture- a
reflection of Unity in Diversity.”
Architecture on
behind structures.”
“Philosophy
•
Invited to deliver a lecture at Future
Group -” Disha- Understanding
Indian culture.”
•
Invited to deliver a lecture for the
International Board of Members
for Pfizer on “Understanding the
Philosophy behind Indian culture.”
•
Invited to deliver a lecture at
Deloitte on “ Indian culture and
holistic approach.”
•
Invited to deliver a lecture and
present a paper at the National
conference in Buddhism at Jnana
Pravaha Centre For Research In
Indian Culture- Kashi.
•
Invited to make a presentation
For the Harvard College In Asia
Programme-Mumbai Conference
on An introduction to Indian
Culture.”
•
Was invited to deliver a lecture
at Balwant Sheth school of
Dr. Anita Rane-Kothare
Head, Ancient Indian Culture
Nadifa Mohammed, a recipient of
the Granta Best of Young Novelists
Award and the Betty Trask Prize. She
spoke movingly about social issues
in Somalia as reflected in her novels
Black Mamba Boy and The Orchard
of Lost Souls, and her observations on
the politics of colonial histories and
postcolonial identities resonated with
the large audience. We are grateful
to the British Council, Mumbai for
facilitating this discussion.
This event was also the beginning
of Ithaka, the much-awaited annual
literary and dramatic festival of the
Department of English. This year
the Ithaka workforce had 7 main
departments consisting of about 200
students working on every aspect from
organization, marketing and publicity
to scripts, direction, technicals, and
props, costumes and set design, all
co-ordinated by the efficient and
seemingly tireless Co-Heads Garvi
Dhar and Anuja Mital. We also had
the highest footfall compared to
previous years, with a whopping 2500
audience members who attended the
events, plays and preludes. Among the
events was a poetry workshop, “Some
Like Poetry” (named after a poem
by Wislawa Szymborska), conducted
by Jane Bhandari who provided
feedback and tips delightfully laced
with humour. The Mime Workshop
highlighted a little-seen form of drama.
“Lege, wait for it” was a literary spinoff of the 90s show “Legends of the
Hidden Temple”, set in the land of
Mythica with mythology, puzzles, and
extempore challenges. We also had
an Open Mic Event, featuring the
popular stand-up comedian Sahil Shah
English
This was an unusually packed year
for the Department. Our activities
began in September with the screening
of Beats of Freedom. This riveting
documentary film traced the role of
popular music in inspiring young
people to galvanize protest movements
in Poland. The event was organized
with the support of Mr. Janusch Wach,
Consul General of Poland in Mumbai.
In November, we were proud to host
94
Humanities
followed by some of our students who
displayed their own stand up routines
along with other talents like singing,
rap, beat boxing.
Ithaka 2013 chose to pay tribute to
Shakespeare with an early celebration
of his 450th birthday. There were four
preludes: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
(written and directed by Kadambari
Shah and Raadhika Vishvesh), A
Fool’s Head (Rishi Thomas), Within
The Walls Of Our Minds (Neerja
Deodhar and Tushar Gidwani), and
A Chameleon (Pathikrit Ghosh). The
long plays were Much Ado About
Nothing (adapted and directed by
Anahita Kumar), a musical, Kiss
Me Kate (adapted and directed by
Siddharth Machado), and an original
play, I, Gandhi (written and directed
by Terence Fernandes). Shakespeare
was also the theme of our annual
department journal, Ithaka, which was
edited by Devika Karnad, assisted by
Kadambari Shah, Raadhika Vishvesh
and Nezhat Fouzdar.
November also marked the sixth year
of our online course, “In Conversation
With Globalization”. We began it
in 2008 in collaboration with the
University of Stuttgart (Germany); St.
Louis University (USA) joined in 2012,
and this year’s addition of Stellenbosch
University (South Africa) extended
the global co-operation still further.
Dr. Wolfgang Holtkamp, the dynamic
initiator of this programme, taught
two of the course modules, and Dr.
David Borgmeyer the third. We were
delighted to welcome them and their
students, along with Ms. Huba Boshoff
leading the group from Stellenbosch,
and Dr. Walter Goebel from Stuttgart,
in January. St. Xavier’s was represented
by Ms. Rashmi Lee George and 9
students from our department. The
theme of the course this year was
“Globalization and Mobility”, and
our week-long conference featured
lectures, outings and fieldwork by
the students, culminating in group
presentations. In May, 6 of the St.
Xavier’s students, accompanied by
Ms. Rashmi, visited Stuttgart, where
they worked on presentations and
attended talks.
In February we held a “Meet the
Author” event with Yasmeen Premji,
author of Days of Gold and Sepia,
in collaboration with the Department
of History. The novel is a fascinating
blend of imagined lives and history,
and the reading generated a spirited
discussion.
We were exceptionally privileged
to receive Tomson Highway, an
internationally renowned indigenous
C anadi an
w r iter-pl ay w r ig htperformance artist. He held the
audience spellbound with his
artless yet profound comical-serious
narratives of native Canadian life,
and electrified us with his virtuoso
performance on the piano (the
instrument was generously loaned to
us by Furtado’s). We are indebted to
Dr. Coomi Vevaina and the storytellers’
organization Wordfully Yours, and
to the Consulate General of Canada
for enabling us to organize this
unforgettable event.
The second year students observed
Black History month with a class visit
to the American Library, Mumbai.
After a brief talk, we watched a stirring
documentary on the music of the Civil
Rights movement. Our gratitude to
the librarians at the American Library,
both for the invitation and for their
warm hospitality.
Our department seminar at Khandala
included sessions on postmodern
fiction, avenues of research, with Ms.
Pearl Pastakia and Ms. Rashmi Lee
George each talking about their own
doctoral work, and finally, as a quality
mechanism for the department, an
extensive feedback session. And of
course we enjoyed the camaraderie
and fun which are such a memorable
part of every seminar.
Our last activity for the year was in
April, a workshop on haiku conducted
by Rohini Gupta.
95
At the graduation ceremony in June,
we witnessed the fruition of all our
efforts last year. It was a proud moment
to see our students come up on stage,
led by the toppers Devika Karnad (full
majors) and Garvi Dhar (part majors).
We wish all of them a successful and
satisfying future.
Our Board of Studies meeting
was held on September 27, 2013.
It was gratifying to find that the
members were both appreciative and
supportive of our endeavours to create
a stimulating and challenging syllabus
and construct appropriate assessments.
In faculty news, Dr. Shefali-BalsariShah made a presentation “Religion
and Plurality in Popular Hindi
Cinema” for a group of visiting
Fulbright scholars last June. In August,
she attended a conference in Japan,
organized by the Global Next Leaders
Forum on the theme “Education and
the Elite”.
Ms. Rashmi Lee George was invited
to visit the University of Stuttgart in
May. She made two presentations, on
“The City of Dreams & God’s own
Country – Mumbai and Kerala” and
“Issues of identity and space in Native
American Fiction from 1990 onwards:
An Ecocritical Approach ”.
Ms. Pearl Pastakia resumed active
service after her FIP leave. Ms. Tuhina
Bose’s appointment ended with the
academic year, and the department
would like to thank her for her services.
Finally, I would like to thank all those
students who, with their enthusiasm
and energy, have contributed to the
activities of our department, and
those whose insistent expectations
have stretched us to keep raising our
academic standards. I would also like
to place on record my deep gratitude
for the generous and unfaltering
contribution of Ms. Rashmi Lee
George to the smooth functioning
of the department.
Dr. Shefali Balsari-Shah
Head, Department of English
Humanities
French
The Department of French was fraught
with various activities to help the
students appreciate the French language and culture.
The year began with the 14th of
July celebration, both by the Senior
as well as the Junior College. It
commemorated the storming of
the Bastille with a poster-making
competition, presentations on the
French Revolution, and a screening
of the movie ‘Les Misérables’. TYBMS
students Arnaud Mentenier and
Alexander Lopis discussed the French
education system with the Junior
College students. Forty students from
the Saint-Genevieve school, Versailles,
France accompanied by M. Charles
Henvieux, interacted with the Junior
College students in July 2013. Both
the FYJC and SYJC classes participated
in the French Festival organised at St.
Andrew’s College in September 2013.
As a member of the Maharashtra
State Board Secondary and Higher
Education for SSC and HSC text
books, Ms. Anjali Lokur organised a
workshop for school teachers on the
new textbook ‘Le Français c’est un
passe partout’. Mme. Odile Caron,
Principal of Lycée Notre Dame de la
Tillaye, Compiège and coordinator
Cecile Cortes visited our college
to discuss an exchange programme
which will comprise academic as well
as cultural aspects. The first group,
consisting of twenty students visited
for a 15-day programme in May 2014
accompanied by Ms Anjali Lokur and
Ms. Debjani Chavan.
A workshop was conducted for SYBA
students on “Améliorer la phonétique
des idées ludiques” by Dr. Vasumathi
Badrinathan, Head of Department,
Ramnarain Ruia College in July 2013.
Jean Luc Maze and Florence Petite,
who are visiting faculty from a school
in Morlain, Brittany, France presented
and spoke to our students on various
topics such as ‘La crise économique en
France’, ‘Les années Sarkozy et Holland’,
and ‘La Révoulution Française’ in
August 2013.
Winners of All India Spelling Bee Contest(Concours d'Orthographe) held at St Xavier's
in Dec 2013 with Ms.Anjali Lokur
As the Vice President of the Indian
Association of Teachers of French
(IATF), Ms. Anjali Lokur arranged
a meeting with the President of
IATF, Ms. Amrita Raghunandan at
Ramnarain Ruia College in order to
discuss association activities in August
2013. The meeting was followed by a
workshop conducted by M. Christian
Rodier, in-charge of education at the
French Consulate, which was attended
by Ms. Alpana Palkhiwale and Ms.
Anjali Lokur. M. Christian Rodier
visited our college to discuss plans with
the department for the upcoming year.
In the month of December, the French
Spelling Bee contest finals for the city
of Mumbai were held in St. Xavier’s
College (Autonomous), Mumbai.
Thirteen institutions participated in
the event. The winners of Mumbai
for all the three levels were from
our college – Aneri Vora of FYBA
(elementary level), Parizad Irani of
SYBA (intermediary level) and Neha
Sethi of TYBA (advanced level). The
All India Finals were held at Chennai
in January 2014, where Aneri Vora
and Parizad Irani won the first place.
In February 2014, the annual cultural
festival ‘Frénésie’ was organised by
the students of the Department.
An Inter collegiate Quiz on France
was conducted in collaboration with
Alliance Française, the quiz master
of which was Mr. David Cordina,
Director pédagogique of Alliance
Française. The first place was won
by Priyanka Barve and Sanaee Naik
96
of TYBA. The event was a grand
success, with participation of students
from various colleges and Alliance
Française. The Festival also had the
French Cuisine competition, where
various French dishes were prepared
and put up for sale. The French
Newsletter ‘A la française’ was released
in February 2014, the theme this year
being ‘La Mort’(Death). It provided a
platform for the students to express
their creativity in the French language.
Ms. Anjali Lokur and Ms. Alpana
Palkhiwale attended the International
Congress for Latin America and the
Caribbean Region, organised by the
International Federation of French
at Heredia, Costa Rica from 4th to
7th February 2014. Ms. Anjali Lokur
presented a paper on “Le thème de
l’environnement dans l’élaboration des
manuels du FLE’, and Ms. Alpana
Palkhiwale presented a paper on
‘L’Image de la femme dans l’écriture
francophone de l’Afrique noire et dans
l’écriture féminine contemporaine en
Inde’(Image of the woman in African
and Indian writings) here. Thus, this
year we had a plethora of events, all
of which gave impetus to our students
to express their creativity and enhance
their language skills.
Ms.Alpana Palkhiwale
(Professor in charge)
Humanities
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Hindi Seminar - Ms. Hide Merry
from Germany, Dr.Induprakash Pandey and Dr.
Asha Naithani dayama.
History
The academic year of 2013-2014 began
on an inspiring note as the class of
2013 (the first batch of students under
the Autonomous system) graduated
in June with Kaizeen Jehangir and
Mrunmayee Satam being declared the
subject toppers.
As always, a flurry of activity marked
the academic year 2013-14. As part of
the TYBA History course for Semester
V on Museum Studies, the TY history
class visited a number of museums
during the year. This began with a visit
to our college’s own Science museum
the Blatter Herbarium, on 20th June,
2013. The class was shown some of
the museum’s prized plant specimens
gathered from the world over as well
as the copy of the first book printed in
India in 1563 - Colóquios dos simples
e drogas da India by Garcia de Orta
– in the attached library. Our special
thanks to Dr. Bapat, Head, department
of Botany and Mr. Praveen Kale.
On 21st June, 2013, the class,
accompanied by the students of the
Berkeley Summer School attended two
talks at Mani Bhavan on ‘Hind Swaraj’
by Dr. Rudi Heredia and Dr. Usha
Thakkar. This visit also provided the
students an opportunity to understand
the life of Mahatma Gandhi through
the original photographs and letters
displayed at the museum. The class
also visited the RBI Monetary Museum
on 10th July, 2013, and received
an informative guided tour by the
museum’s curator, Dr. Radhakrishnan.
An enriching talk by the eminent
Dr. Romila Thapar, ‘Questioning
the Past’, held at the Tata Institute of
Fundamental Research on its Founders
Day Programme on 10th July, 2013,
was attended by few students of the
Department of History.
On 15th and 16th July, 2013, a few
students from the Department and
97
Dr. Fleur D’Souza attended the 36th
Historians’ Workshop organized by
the Heras Institute of Indian History
and Culture given by Dr. Kanchana
Mahadevan and Dr. Ruchira Banerjee.
15th July was also a joyous day for
the Department as two of the former
History students appeared on the merit
list for the post graduate programme
at the Jawaharlal Nehru University,
New Delhi. Kaizeen Jehangir and Rohit
Tayade made the Department proud
by receiving this honour for their hard
work and dedication to the subject.
The TY class visited the Chhatrapati
Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya
(CSMVS) on 8th August, 2013. Here
the Educational Officer Ms. Bilwa
Humanities
Kulkarni introduced the TY class to the
history of the museum and its various
galleries, after which, the students
explored the galleries and studied the
display techniques.
The visit to the Bhau Daji Lad museum
on 12th November, 2013, gave the TY
class invaluable information on two
courses for the Third Year programme
– Museum Studies and Urban Heritage.
Alisha Sadikot guided the class through
the museum as she explained the
history of Mumbai.
Several students from the Department
attended the 50th Heras Memorial
Lectures on 12th and 13th December,
2013, in the College Hall. The
distinguished speaker was Dr. Romila
Thapar who focused on the themes of
‘Recognizing a Sense of History’ and
‘Constructing Historical Traditions’.
The 50th volume of Indica, the journal
of the Heras Institute, was released at
the event. The following day, Dr. Thapar
spent two hours with enthusiastic
students of various departments and
engaged willingly in a special freewheeling question - answer session. Dr.
Joan Dias facilitated this meeting.
On 13th December, the Department
of History was privileged to organize
a session with Dr. Sam Wineburg from
Stanford University for Professors and
aspiring teachers of History and the
Social Sciences on ‘Interactive Teaching
Methodologies in History’.
As part of the paper on Urban Heritage,
the Department invited Prof. Rashna
Poncha from Sophia College, who
enlightened the TY History class on the
Parsis of Bombay on 6th January, 2014.
This talk was followed up by a visit that
afternoon to the NGMA exhibition
on ‘Across Oceans and Flowing
Silks: from Canton to Bombay 18th20th Centuries’ which further enriched
the students’ knowledge on the Parsi
Community.
The annual TY seminar was held at
Khandala at St. Mary’s Villa from
27th January, 2014 to 29th January,
2014. Almost every student presented
a paper at the seminar on the theme
of “Religion, Society and Culture of
Medieval India”.
On 30th January, 2014, the department
commemorated the death anniversary
of Gandhiji as Communal Harmony
Day with a talk by Dr. Ram Puniyani,
who was a Professor of Biomedical
Engineering at the Indian Institute of
Technology, Bombay. He gave a special
address on the role of Gandhiji in
national integration.
Noted Indian conservation architect,
Ratish Nanda who headed the team
that worked on the restoration of
Humayun’s Tomb, spoke to the TY
class on 31st January, 2014, on the topic
of conservation of heritage structures.
In collaboration with the Department
of English, a book reading by author
Yasmeen Premji for her first novel ‘Days
of Gold and Sepia’ was organized on
the 4th February, 2014. Many students
from both the departments as well as
the Department of Sociology attended
this reading.
On 6th February, 2014, a student
-seminar was organized at R.J
Jhunjhunwala College on the theme
“Traversing Borders: a journey through
the History and Politics of South
Asia.” Deepti Anand, Wesley Joseph,
Aishwaraya Iyer, Pankti Dalal, Jibran
Setalvad, Trisha George and Teena
Kunjukutty from the Department
of History presented papers at this
seminar. Trisha George, Pankti Dalal
and Jibran Setalvad won prizes in their
respective sections for the papers they
presented.
As part of the ongoing class discussions
during the sixth semester on the
communities of Mumbai, Sameera
Khan, a journalist and writer, spoke
to the TY class about the Muslim
Communities in the city on 18th
February,
2014.
Another
very
interesting lecture on the Colonial
Architecture of Bombay by a heritage
architect Vikas Dilawari was held on
22nd February, 2014 for the TY class.
A panel discussion titled ‘Rise Up!’ was
organized by the Department of History
on 21st February, 2014. The department
invited three prominent activists, Mr
Shailesh Gandhi, Mr Samir Zaveri and
Mr. Jain, who engaged the students
in an interactive discussion about the
98
system, corruption, the problems faced
and their solutions.
On 25th February, 2014, the TYBA
students literally made the streets their
laboratory and an antique bungalow
their classroom! The day began with
a visit to a 100 year old Iranian café,
Merwans, where the students enjoyed
a “Bambaiyya” breakfast of chai and
bun-maska. The class then visited the
heritage precinct of Khotachiwadi
where Krutuja Dere and Andre Baptista
guided the students along the streets.
They spoke about the East Indian
Community that makes up the core of
this heritage village as well as the style
of architecture incorporated in the still
existing old houses. James Ferreira a
long-time resident of Khotachiwadi
also spoke to the students. The students
also got to see a live example of the
slowly changing skyline of Mumbai.
An excellent job was done by Pankti
Dalal, Moumita Mukherjee, Ann,
Anagha (F.Y.B.A), and Anusha D’Souza
from the History class of SYBA, who
were guides at the special exhibition
on the Cyrus Cylinder organized at
the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu
Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) which came to
an end on 25th February, 2014.
A number of students also took up
internships at various organizations
during the summer of 2013. Trisha
George, Rinu Boban and Teena
Kunjukutty successfully completed
their internship at the Bhau Daji Lad
Museum. Roxanne Godinho completed
her internship at Godrej Archives. The
academic year of 2013-2014 definitely
saw a lot of productive activity, from
lectures, seminars as well and field
trips.
Faculty News
Dr. Fleur D’Souza
Publications:
Release of two publications that have
research articles “The East Indians of
Mumbai: Identity, Icons, Issues” in
Anila Verghese, Swarupa Kamat and
Rashna Poncha (eds.), Mumbai – SocioCultural Perspectives: contribution of
Ethnic groups and Communities, Sophia
College for Women, Mumbai 2013.
ISBN 978-93-5137-871-6
Humanities
“Educational Practice of the Early
Jesuits in Mumbai” in Myron J. Periera
s.j (ed.), The Early Jesuits of the ‘Province
of the North’ Vasai, Salsette, Mumbai
1548-1739, Mumbai, The Provincial of
Bombay, 2014. ISBN 987 806 342 22 1
Research Papers:
18th November – 19th November, 2013:
Presented a paper at the inaugural
conference of the ORAL HISTORY
ASSOCIATION OF INDIA (OHAI)
at the United Theological College,
Bangalore. The theme of the seminar
was Oral history in our times. The
paper presented was entitled “Hesitant
Explorations in Oral History: the
Pawaras of Shirpur, history, identity,
and relationship with the forest.”
Panel Discussions/Talks:
30th August, 2013: Invited to be on a
Round Table on Migration and Identity
at St. Xavier’s College with the Staff of
Trinity College, Dublin and Dept. of
Sociology, St. Xavier’s College.
10th October, 2013: Invited to sum
up the lecture of Dr. Mariam Dossal
entitled “Touched by the winds of
many seas: Lakhpat” at the Monsoon
Lectures of the Maritime History
Society, Mumbai.
18th October, 2013: Panelist at a book
discussion at the Nehru Science Centre.
“Prince Alexei Saltykov’s Journey across
India” with Dr. Mariam Dossal and
the translator of the book Ms. Ferina
Duggan-Polichtchouk and Tasneeem
Zakaria Mehta.
17th December, 2013: Talk on the
History of Thane as part of the Lecture
series at Kamala Raheja College of
Architecture, Juhu and conducted a
workshop for the students.
March 10, 2014, Talk to visiting
students from St. Joseph’s University
in Philadelphia and the BMS of St.
Xavier’s College. Theme “The Jesuits in
India”
Other activities:
25th – 27th October, 2013: On the
organizing team for the 22nd session of
the Indian Art History Congress at St.
Xavier’s College, Mumbai.
27th July, 2013: Invited by the CSMVS
to attend a review meeting of the
Museum.
Conferences/Seminars Attended:
Attended the 36th Historians Workshop
delivered by Dr. Kanchana Mahadevan
and Dr. Ruchira Banerjee.
Attended a seminar on Stained Glass by
noted conservator Swati Chagatkar.
January,
2014:
International
Conference “Connections between
India and Iran” at the CSMVS
16th January, 2014: Attended a talk by
Homi Bhabha entitled Treading water:
reflections on an intemperate medium
at the 16th Vasant Sheth Memorial
lecture at the CSMVS, Mumbai.
Mr. Avkash.Jadhav
1. Invited to Tata Institute of Social
Sciences (TISS), Mumbai as a
Resource person by ‘The Nodal
Centre of Excellence for Human
Rights Education (NCEHRE)
to speak on the “Role and
Participation of Civil Society in
Local Governance. On 5th October,
2013.
2. Invited to Dr.V.N. Bedekar Institute
of Management Studies for “Second
Management
Development
Conference” as a Resource person
to speak on “Education System in
India” on 5th October, 2013.
3. Invited for One hour Live
Interview on Doordarshan for
a Live Programme on Sakhi
Sahyadri on the theme “Role of
Teacher Outside Classrooms”, on
28th November, 2013.
4. Awarded
“Bhagwan
Buddha
National
Fellowship
Award
for 2013” by Bharatiya Dalit
Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi in
Decemeber, 2013.
5. Successfully completed UGC
Sponsored One Week Short Term
Course on “Strategy of Governance
and
Excellence
in
Higher
Education” from RDV, Jabalpur,
M.P from 27th January,2014 to 1st
February, 2014 with Grade ‘A ‘.
6. Invited as a Resource by the
99
‘Apostolic Carmel High School &
Junior College, Bandra to conduct
training session for teachers on
“How to Teach History Effectively”
on 29th April, 2014.
7. Invited as a Subject Expert to the
Censor Board of India in 2013 and
2014.
8. Invited as a Visiting Faculty to
IDOL, to conduct lectures for the
Post Graduate Courses in History
(M.A Part I and M.A. Part II).
9. Invited by the NGO, Money Life
Foundation (MLF) for panel
discussion on the “Role of Activists
in the System”, March,2014
10. Successfully completed Two years
as Nominated Councillor in the
BMC.
11. Conducted Training Sessions for
the Orientation Programme at
Academic Staff College of RDV,
Jabalpur, M.P in March,2014.
12. Conducted a Workshop at RDV
Management Institute, Jabalpur on
the “Interview Techniques” for the
MBA students in March,2014.
13. Invited by the Rotary Club of
Kandivli East to deliver a talk on”
Citizens Participation in Local
Governance” on 23rd June,2014
14. Invited to conduct session for
the Orientation course at RDV,
Jabalpur on 21st July to 22nd
July,2014.
Publications:
1) Publication of a research article
“The Scope and Challenges
of
Regional
Historiography”
in the Journal of ‘History Past
and Present, Commemoration
Volume, Vol-5 (2012), University
Department of History, Magadh
University,Bodh Gaya, ISSN:22313893.
2) Co-Authored Textbook for History
and Political Science for the
Students of Xth Std, Recommended
by the Goa Board of Secondary
and Higher Secondary Education,
Published by Sheth Publishers.
ISBN-978-93-83681-98-3
Dr. Fleur D’Souza
Head, Department of History
Social Sciences
Economics-Commerce
Dr. Anvita Raguvanshi (Department
of Commerce)
• Dr.
Anvita
R aghuvanshi
and Abhishek Raghuvanshi,
‘Determinants of Shareholder
Gains in Acquisitions: An
Empirical Study of Indian
Corporate Sector’, selected for
publication in Indian Journal of
Finance, 2014 (ISSN 0973 – 8711).
Paper Presentations
Dr. Aditi Sawant
Ms.. Hermione cutting a cake on the day of Farewell
Tribute to Ms. Hermione Salazar
The Department of Economics pays
tribute to Ms. Hermione Salazar (ExHead of the Department) for her
tireless and dedicated service to the
college. Ms. Hermione retired from
33 years of dedicated service on April
30, 2014.
Minor Research Project
Dr. Agnelo Menezes (2013-14)
• ‘A Study of the Current Two
Wheeler Boom in Urban
Spaces: Conspicuous or
Necessary Consumption?’
This project was sanctioned by
the University of Mumbai with
co-researcher Ms. Annapurna
(Department of Statistics).
Papers Publication
Dr. Aditi Sawant
• `Food versus Biofuel: Implications
for Food Security’ in the National
Conference on ` Emerging
Challenges, Opportunities and
Issues Related to WTO and Indian
Agriculture Sector held during
21-22 November, 2013 at New
Delhi by Centre of WTO Studies,
Indian Institute of Foreign Trade,.
(Communicated for Publication).
• ‘An Analysis of Pattern and
Trend of FDI and its Impact
on India’s Services Sector during
Pre and Post-global Crisis (200809) Period’, Cambridge Scholars
Publication. (Accepted for
publication).
• `Strength and Weaknesses
of Indian Agriculture Sector
in the Era of Globalization,
Procedia’ -Social and Behavioural
Sciences, Elsevier. (Accepted for
publication).
Dr. Agnelo Menezes
• ‘The Urban Poor’s Food Insecurity’,
Xplore St. Xavier’s College,
Mumbai, Publication, December
2010; Ruia College Journal 2014
(Due)
• ‘An Impact Audit of Urbanization
in Emerging Economies’, Xplore
St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai,
Publication, December 2011,
Glocal University Publication,
March 2014 (Due)
• ‘An Economic Analysis of CSR
Consulting Firms’, SIES (Nerul)
College of Arts, Science and
Commerce Journal, Mumbai,
February 2014 (Due)
• ‘Managing Microfinance for the
Poor’, Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of
Management Studies Research
Journal, March 2014 (Due)
100
• `Foreign Direct Investment
in Indian Higher Education
System’, presented in CESI
A n nu a l
Int e r n at i on a l
Conference during December
28-30, 2013, organised by
Department of Economics,
University of Calcutta,
Calcutta.
• `Food versus Biofuel:
Implications for Food
Security’ in the National
Conference on ` Emerging
Challenges, Opportunities and
Issues Related to WTO and
Indian Agriculture Sector’
held during 21-22 November,
2013 at New Delhi by Centre
of WTO Studies, Indian
Institute of Foreign Trade,
New Delhi.
• `An Analysis of pattern and
trend of FDI and its impact
on India’s services sector in
the pre and post crisis period’
in the national conference on
`Trade in services in India and
Inclusive Growth Paradigm:
Emerging Opportunities
and Future Challenges’, held
during 22-23 August, 2013
at Centre for WTO studies,
IIFT, New Delhi.
Dr. Agnelo Menezes
• ‘Food Security in India’,
Nat iona l
Economics
Conference, Ruia College,
Mumbai, January 2014.
Social Sciences
Winners of Econondrum Festival
Festival of
Economics
Students on Industrial visit to Kisanvir Sugar Factory, District- Satara
• Paper presentation: ‘An
Economic Analysis of CSR
Consulting Firms’, National
Business
Economics
Conference, SIES (Nerul)
College of Arts, Science
and Commerce, Mumbai,
February 2014.
• `Strength and Weaknesses
of Indian Agriculture Sector
in the Era of Globalization’,
presented in International
Conference on Trade, Markets
and Sustainability’ on 22-23
February, 2013 at Symbiosis
Institute of International
Business, A constituent of
Symboisis International
University, Pune.
Research Guide
Ms. Hermione Salazar
Committee (Board of Studies)
Dr. Aditi Sawant
• Syllabus Committee for
Corporate Finance, TYBA,
Board of Studies, University
of Mumbai (2013)
Dr. Agnelo Menezes
• Syllabus Committee for
Econometrics, TYBA, Board
of Studies, University of
Mumbai (2013)
Programmes organised for
Department of Economics
• Industrial Visit to Kisanvir
Sugar Factury at Vai,
District Satara and Food
Processing Unit at Mapro,
Mahabaleshwar on 21-22nd
February, 2014.
• Faculty Coordinator and
Research Guide of a FulbrightNehru Senior Research
scholar- Mr. Abhay Ghiara
By The United States – India
Educational Foundation
(USIEF) in 2012-2014.
• Industrial Visit to Alok Textile
Industries, Sylvassa, DivDaman Union Territory on
18th February, 2013.
Summer School
• The Summer School for
the year 2013-14 was based
upon the theme of `Informal
Economy’.
• Organized visit at BSE for
TYBA (Eco-Com) students
on 15th Jan. 2013 on topic
“Indian Economy and
Financial Markets”, Lecture
by Dr. Aditya Srinivas, COO
at BSE.
University Syllabus
Econundrum : Intercollegiate
Dr. Agnelo Menezes
• Academic visit to NSE,
Bandra-Kurla Complex on
4th February, 2013.
101
Department
of
In Econundrum (2013-14),
participation included 9 colleges
in all besides some independent
entries without a contingent OTSE (On the Spot Entries). The
basic purpose of Econundrum
is to encourage students for
theoretical and analytical thinking,
intellectual stimulation and
interact with students from all
over the country.
External Speakers for
Economics Hounors Program
(2013-14)
1)
S .P Jain (Management
Institute) – Decision Making
2)
Mr.
Deepak
Mohanty
(Executive Director - RBI) –
Food Inflation
3)Mr. Gaurav Gupta (Dalberg’s
Regional Director for Asia) Morality, Rational Choice and
Human Development
4)Mr. Luis Miranda (CEO and
president of IDFC Private
Equity) - Public Choice and
Collective Action
5)Dr. Satoshi Miyamura (Soas
University, London) - Labour
Economics
6)Mr. Kabira N. (World Bank)
- Game Theory, Political
Economy of Africa
Dr. Aditi Sawant
Head, Department of Economics
and Commerce
Social Sciences
bachelor of Mass Media
The objectives of the curricular and
co-curricular activities highlight the
need to develop an understanding
in students about the importance
of socio-political, cultural, economic,
historical and geographical fields for
any meaningful communication to take
place. Identifying that a knowledge of
science and art is equally important
for meaningful communication, the
following activities were undertaken
and executed by the BMM department.
(a)The North East EncounterKnow your country
The prince of Tripura, Pradyut Bikram
Deb Barman spoke on the importance
of communication between people of
the North East and rest of India. He
explained that by simply spreading
more information about common
people from the NE states (Mary Kom,
Baichung Bhutia, Danny Denzongpa),
the curiosity of the Indian psyche
could be tapped and this curiosity in
homes across India could be turned
into a surge for political peace in the
region – an interaction that enthralled
and awakened the media professional
within each student.
(b) Bartholomew, Highway
on my plate, Entrepreneurs
& P.Sainath- Zeitgiest
Conference
Zeitgiest - meaning ‘spirit of the ages’
is a media conference conducted by
the students. This is the 4th year
of the conference. The objective
is to listen to sound bites from
achievers and media leaders on how
communication is a key to setting
growth objectives for a nation, and
how it can also be used to untangle
the convoluted understanding
surrrounding complicated issues.
The guest speakers invited were a
melange of social and commercial
entrepreneurs,
internationally
recognised photographers, journalists
and advertisers.
(c)Barefoot College,
Ahmedabad and Karnala
Sorties - Study Tours During
Diwali Vacations
The first year students visited Bunker
Roy’s Barefoot College in Jaipur,
Rajastan. Here, the wealth of localized
wisdom is employed in developing
and implementing environmentally
sustainable technology. The local
community of artisans and crafts
men/women design and develop solar
power generation equipment and train
indigenous people of other nations in
the same. This community is housed
in a facility that has been entirely
built with local material and local
construction techniques and is the
recipient of the Agha Khan award for
structural excellence.
The second year students visited
Sindhudurg district and conducted
environmental conservation (turtle
conservation) workshops for school
children.
The third year students visited Amul
Dairy Cooperative to understand
their marketing strategies, MICA
for a campus orientation, NID for
an orientation in higher studies
opportunities in Design and Gandhi
Ashram in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
(d)Eat Music, Live digital,
and Get Passionate
A lecture series was organized and
was conducted by Animesh Das,
102
our Media department Alumni and
currently our Radio & TV instructor.
Key professionals from the industry
conducted interactive sessions.
As part of the Summer School,
comprehensive modules on Public
Policy, Understanding Culture through
Art and Digital Media were conducted
by professionals in April 2014. These
were offered as part of the honors
program as well as certificate courses
for non-honors students.
(e) Hosting a Fulbright
Scholar
The Media department hosted Dr.
Karen Jacobs, a Fulbright Scholar from
the department of Native American
Studies, University of Berkeley for
a month from November 10 to
December 10, 2013.
Dr. Karen conducted a month long
program with our students on the
importance of systematically recording
the various facets of indigenous
cultures. Case studies through archival
films were used to understand how
such material had been used to secure
the rights of Native Americans. Ideas
and project proposals on applying this
knowledge in India were discussed.
(f)Learning Hindi
In association with Hindi Prachar
Social Sciences
Sabha, Mumbai, certificate courses
in basic Hindi were conducted
by the department for interested
students as a working knowledge of
regional languages is necessary for
understanding regional issues,
The department acknowledges that in
their endeavour to equip the students
with relevant skills for their growth,
they have themselves been enriched.
Interactions with students keep the
mind agile, keep spirits young and
offer updated knowledge.
support, their valuable inputs and
the precious time they have invested
in helping us shape the course and
keeping it dynamic.
With gratitude, we thank the members
of the Board of Studies for their
earnest chiding; their unconditional
Ms. Perrie Subramaniam
Co-ordinator,
Bachelor of Mass Media
Master in Public policy
As Public Policy is an integral aspect of
governance, it has become imperative
for the academic world to engage with
it to ensure efficient governance and
the establishment of a just society. On
this count, in 2013-14, the College
launched an autonomous Master in
Public Policy programme, recognized
by the University of Mumbai. The first
batch consisted of 25 students who
were chosen through an interview
process. These students completed
their graduation through various
disciplines – the student configuration
consisted of a journalist, a banker, a
media graduate, commerce graduates
but the majority were from the arts
/ humanities background. Apart from
the holistic syllabus, the students
had to intern with various policy
making bodies and think-tanks. In the
course of the third semester, a viva
voce is conducted to evaluate these
internships. The holistic nature of this
course has been appreciated by many
from across the academic sphere.
Dr. Agnelo Menezes
MPP Course Co-ordinator
Political Science
The inception of the St. Xavier's
Political Science Association can be
traced back to about 60 years. The
first foray of the Association was to
politically enlighten students thereby
seeking to contribute towards ‘Civil
Society Organizations’, by serving
the society .However it has evolved
manifold since its nascent stage. Over
the years the Association has grown
exponentially. Some of the activities
undertaken by the Association this
year were the following:
•
Displaying the Records as
required by the National
Assessment and Accreditation
Council (NAAC) team in the
month of July.
• Visit to the Vidhan Bhavan
during the Monsoon Session by
the Third Year students and a
brief interaction thereafter with
Smt. Vidyatai Chavan – MLC from
the Nationalist Congress Party,
in order to augment empirical
understanding of the distinction
between normative and positive
political theory and to understand
better the concepts related to
partisan politics.
• Vari ous
S eminars
and
Workshops attended by the
students. notable among which are
Seminars on topics such as ‘Public
Policy’ at Mumbai University and
‘Taking India Forward’ and the ‘
Jammu and Kashmir’ Workshop
by the Jammu and Kashmir Study
Centre.
• The
Essay
Competition,
organized on a national scale,
inculcates among the students the
ability to frame organized and well
sustained arguments. The topics
for this year were as follows:
a)PPP - Public Private
Partnership or Partners in
Plunder
b) Food Security Bill - a half
baked scheme
c) T h e
Un s u s t a i n a b l e
Development in India
• The Annual Seminar at Khandala
from 9th – 11th January, 2014
aimed at sensitizing the third
year students majoring in Political
Science towards topics related to
103
the rights of the marginalized
i.e. women, children, Dalits,
tribals and also those affected by
displacement, - proponents of the
Narmada Bachao Andolan and the
Kashmiri Pandits.
• ‘ T h e
X av i e r ’s
Br i t i s h
Parliamentary Debate’ (XBPD)
hosted from 17th – 20th January,
2014 is the flagship event of
the XPSA. The main purpose
of this event was to augment
student, skills, such as oration,
formulating and critiquing
policies and providing sustained
arguments - all of these at a
time when we truly need to
better understand public-policy,
transparent administration and
clean corporate governance. The
event saw the participation of 28
teams from a wide array of colleges
and diverse academic disciplines,
from across India-, These included
the National Law School, IIT Bombay, National University of
Juridical Sciences, Narsee Monjee
Institute of Management Studies
and St. Xavier’s College- Mumbai.
We express our sincere gratitude
Social Sciences
to our sponsors, Parimal K. Shroff
& Co: Advocates, Solicitors &
Notary, and Enhance- a prominent
cosmetic treatment service
provider.
• Issuing the ‘Vox Populi’, the
annual magazine of the XPSA.
It mainly comprises of research
papers, articles, reports, accounts,
anecdotes and case study analysis
of political phenomena, which are
commensurate with a particular
theme. The theme this year was
‘Of Politics and Good Hope.’
This is just a microcosmic view of the
activities of the XPSA. In actuality, it
is a hub of highly sensitized, aware,
likeminded, cohesive group of students
and teachers, who voluntarily put in
an immense amount of effort to make
all the activities of this Association
possible.
As the name suggests, the Association
is run by an elected panel of students.
The members of the panel for the
academic year 2013-2014 were
Aastha Dalal (Chairperson), Diana
Frenchman (Treasurer), Nikita
Tilwani, Pratiksha Tripathi, Crislin
Rozario, Mansa Shukla, Rishab
Devnani and Varun Mittal. I take
this opportunity to thank the editorial
board of the Vox Populi.
Ms. Aruna Sundresh
Head, Department of
Political Science
Psychology
This year’s report on the activities
and achievements of the Psychology
Department (2013-2014), takes the
reader on a journey through the
levels of the ‘Hieracrchy of Needs’.
To enlighten those who have never
encountered this theory, depicted
diagrammatically by a pyramid, it is
basically a conceptualization of human
motivation, proposed by Abraham
Maslow (1908-1970), a pioneer of
Humanistic Psychology. Maslow
proposed that human needs form
a hierarchy that proceed from the
most basic level of physiological needs
through intermediate levels, to the
highest level of self-actualization and
transcendence (which is more than
a complicated movie starring Johnny
Depp). Our department activities, both
curricular and co-curricular, have been
intended to satisfy our students’ needs
at these varying levels. As we leave
one level, and step up to the next,
we shall take along a pearl of wisdom
from Maslow himself.
Physiological Needs
Lectures,
tests,
assignments,
presentations - our students went
through the gamut of all these
fundamental processes to learn
the basics of psychology. Although
these activities are available for all
our students every year, it must be
recognized that in phenomenological
terminology,, the learning experience
of each student in any one year and
across different years is varied. For
instance, the SY students of social
psychology who choose to conduct an
observational study on Interpersonal
Attraction, learnt about the process
of research and about different
aspects of attraction. Our annual
magazine- Uncommon Sense, another
department staple, although published
annually, has a different theme each
time. This year, the focus was on
Cyberpsychology.
This level of needs, though basic, is
extremely prepotent and should not
be dismissed as trivial.
‘The sacred is in the ordinary…it is to
be found in one’s neighbours, friends
and family, in one’s own backyard…
this lesson can be easily lost.
To be looking elsewhere for miracles is
to me, a sure sign of ignorance that
everything is miraculous.’
Safety & Security Needs
Although our students need novelty
and excitement in their college lives,
there is also a strong need for stability.
For many of them, the stress that comes
from uncertainties in their lives can
be magnified by catastrophic thinking,
to the level of a crisis. In September
2013, we organized a workshop on
Crisis Management, conducted by Ms.
Ruchi Brahmachari. The participants
learned that although a crisis can
spell imminent danger, it is also an
opportunity for personal growth.
‘One can choose to go back toward safety
or forward toward growth. Growth must
104
be chosen again and again. Fear must
be overcome, again and again.’
Love and Belongingness Needs
One of the most effective vehicles
for personal growth is actually
interpersonal experiences. The need
for affiliation (the need to belong) is a
strong motivator for college students.
The workshop by Ms. Sindhura
Tamanna on Interpersonal and
Intrapersonal Effectiveness, gave our
students improved communication/
social skills, self-insight/ self awareness
and self confidence.
‘The fact is that people are good, give
people affection and security and they
will give affection and be secure in
their feelings and behaviour.’
Esteem Needs
As students encounter challenges
and find ways to cope, they develop
confidence in their own resilience.
Also, as they achieve the targets they
set for themselves in academic and
personal domains, they build a healthy
sense of self worth, based on deserved
self-respect, rather than external
fame or unwarranted adulation.
Our students who signed up for the
workshop on Transactional Analysis,
conducted in February 2014, by Ms.
Khushnam Engineer, learned to respect
themselves and others through the
process of interpersonal transactions,
so that the scripts they live by, can
fulfill their need for esteem from self
and from others.
Social Sciences
‘We fear to know the fearsome and
unsavory aspects of ourselves, but we
fear even more to know the Godlike
in ourselves.’
Cognitive Needs
In addition to the inbuilt cognitive
challenge of the psychology syllabus
designed under the autonomous
system for our students, the workshop
on Research Operations by Ms
Hansika Kapoor provided further
cognitive stimulation by helping our
students understand the processes
of conducting and publishing
research in psychology. While not
all students desire programs at this
level of complexity, those who possess
both the aptitude and the curiosity
for research, enjoyed the learning
experience at this workshop. Research
without sound statistical knowledge
is like bread without butter and so
our TY students were given intensive
training in inferential statistics through
a series of guest lectures by Prof. Felix
Almeida, ex-head of the Mathematics
Dept. of our college.
‘I was awfully curious to find out why
I didn’t go insane.’
Aesthetic Needs
Students are faced with a range
of situations wherein they need to
make decisions and find solutions to
problems. What gives our students the
edge is the capacity to think divergently
so that the solution is not just effective,
but also aesthetically pleasing. The
workshop by Ms. Benaaz Irani & Ms.
Riddhi Padhya on Problem Solving &
Creative Thinking, helped satisfy this
level of needs. Given the tendency of
many to be content with mediocre task
performance, this kind of workshop
took thinking and problem solving,
out of the proverbial box, and a step
closer to excellence.
‘A first-rate soup is more creative than
a second-rate painting.’
Self-Actualization Needs
Our students make various
presentations in their course work
but come into their own when
preparing and presenting a seminar
paper, at our annual departmental
seminar in Khandala. This year’s theme
was particularly challenging, i.e The
Biological, Physiological, Neurological
Approach to Psychology. A total of
16 papers were presented on various
topics under this theme with about a
100 students attending the seminar.
The students who took up the challenge
of researching and presenting a paper
were clearly those who were able to
realize their potential.
‘If you plan on being anything less
than you are capable of being, you
will probably be unhappy all the days
of your life.’
Transcendence
The final level in this hierarchy
focuses on the achievement of our
TY students who have transcended
the graduate level of education, and
moved beyond our classrooms, into
the lives and careers they have chosen.
We commend out TY class of 2014,
on their hard- earned cumulative
grade points- CGPA ( that are far
from average). A special mention of
our two exceptional students who
achieved the 1st and 2nd ranks in the
entire Arts faculty. Kudos to Juhi Modi
(CGPA of 3.83) and Sushree Sahu (
CGPA of 3.81), on their outstanding
performance that reflect their sincere
effort, consistent quality of work,
attention to detail and a positive sense
of self efficacy- a powerful forces in
their lives. Also noteworthy was the
performance of Urvi Paralkar, who
stood 5th in the Arts faculty (CGPA
of 3.77). Congratulations to Sharlene
Fernandes for topping the Psychology
Majors, based on achieving the highest
total in all the nine psychology papers
of our 3 year undergraduate program.
‘What is necessary to change a person,
is to change his awareness of himself.’
I’d like to conclude by acknowledging
the commitment, the dedicated, highquality work, and the sincerity of
my department colleagues, Prof.
Ruby Pavri and Prof. Linda Dhakul,
in ensuring that our students meet
their varying needs, and continue to
maintain high academic standards,
despite the everyday irritations,
problems and often chaotic whirlpool
of CIAs, retests, additional exams, etc.
Special thanks to Prof. Ruby for her
contribution in transforming her idea
of a Maslowian framework for this
department report into reality.
Ms. Maureen Almeida
Head, Department of Psychology
Sociology and Anthropology
The academic year 2013-2014 was
a crucial year for the Sociology
and Anthropology Department.
Ms. Pranoti Chirmuley joined the
department as a full time Assistant
Professor, and we are happy to report
that she has been awarded a Doctorate
by the Jawaharlal Nehru University,
New Delhi in December 2013 for her
thesis entitled “A Sociological Study
of the Parsi Community: Questions
of Ethnicity, Identity and Change”,
submitted in July 2012.
In July 2013, delegates of the National
Assessment and Accreditation Council
(NAAC) visited the college. The
NAAC team was impressed with every
aspect of our department– right from
the ambience, the courses that the
department offers, the syllabus framed
for every course, the Honours activities
and student achievements.
105
The Annual Department Seminar was
held on the 5th, 6th and 7th of
September 2013 at Khandala. The
students of the Sociology Academy
helped in organising the seminar.
Students presented papers based on
the running theme of the department:
Religion in Contemporary Times.
The Sociology Academy organised a
screening of the documentary film
‘Reading Between the Lines’ on 23rd
Social Sciences
August 2013. Produced by Ms. Sayalee
Karkare, an alumna of St. Xavier’s,
the film examines the reading culture
in Mumbai and the spaces (physical
and imagined) associated with it. The
documentary very beautifully captures
where, when and how people read in
our city.
In the second semester, the Academy
organised a Career Workshop for all
students on the 21st and 22nd of
January 2014, highlighting a number
of fields open to students with a
background in Sociology. Most of
the resource persons were ex-students
of the department. A focal point
of this workshop was the presence
of Mrs. Radhika Vivek, Executive
Director with Sheffield Haworth, who
enlightened students on the scope of
Human Resources available to students
with a background in Humanities.
The Honours Programme, of which
Ms. Vinita Bhatia is in charge, offered
the following courses to the students:
• Winter Seminar on Environmental
Justice by Ms. Janjri Jasani and Ms.
Edel Monteiro. The course ended
with an action project wherein the
students participated in a beach
clean-up drive after the festival
of Ganesh Chaturthi.
• Sustainable Development by Ms.
Denise Fernandes, an alumna of
the college. As a final project,
participants conducted fieldwork
research on varied topics of their
choice.
• Anthropology of Photography by
Ms. Suryanandini Narain held in
November.
Notably, the NAAC delegates expressed
their pleasure at the functioning of
the Honours Programme during an
interactive session with the students.
The consolidated efforts of Ms.
Vinita Bhatia, Honours Program Coordinator, and her volunteers of the
Honours Programme have always kept
pace with the changing times.
The Department Faculty also made a
few noteworthy contributions:
Dr. Sam Taraporevala
• Facilitated the Demystifying
Disabilities Workshop at the
Summer School 2013 with
students from the University of
California (Berkeley, USA) and
St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous),
Mumbai. It was entitled
‘Economics and Development in
Indian Society’, at which students
of both the institutions were
introduced to the lives of people
with visual impairment. This was
held on the 28th of June 2013.
• Was keynote speaker at the statelevel seminar on Educational and
Career Guidance for the Visually
Challenged held on 29th June,
2013 at the Blind Students’
Learning Centre, Department
of Education and Extension in
association with the Office of
Student Welfare, University of
Pune. He also presented on the
theme ‘Careers in the Social
Sciences’.
• Participated in a stakeholders’
meeting called by the Copyright
Office Ministry of HRD,
Government of India to plan
India’s stand on the draft clauses
as developed by the standing
committee on Copyright and
Related Rights (SCCR) of the
World Intellectual Property
Rights Organization (WIPO). The
meeting was held in New Delhi.
• Was appointed as Research
Collaborator and Technical
Consultant by the K. J. Somaiya
Comprehensive College of
Education, Training & Research
106
on a major ICSSR-funded research
project.
• Co-published a journal article
entitled ‘The Disability Exception
and the Triumph of New Rights
Advocacy’ in the National
University Juridical Sciences Law
Review evaluating the copyright
exemption from a legal and social
movement dimension.
• Was the lead plenary speaker
at a national conference
‘Harnessing Technology for the
Empowerment of Persons with
Visual Impairment’ on the theme
‘Accessing Banking Services–A
Retrospect
and
Prospect’
organised by the National Institute
of the Visually Handicapped in
New Delhi.
• Gave the inaugural address at a
seminar on Disability at Miranda
House, Delhi.
• Jointly presented a paper on
‘Numbers and Reactions’ at
Techshare, New Delhi.
• Was involved as Research Director
in the publication of “Numbers
and Reactions—A Report on
Mathematics and Science Access
for the Visually Challenged”(ISBN:
978-81-929012-0-6), which took a
socio-technical perspective on the
issue.
Ms. Madhuri Raijada
• Facilitated a session on Regional
Disparities in Economic Growth
– A Sociological
Analysis of the Informal Sector in
India at the Summer School 2013
with students from the University
Social Sciences
of California (Berkeley, USA) and
St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous),
Mumbai entitled ‘Economics and
Development in Indian Society’
on the 5th of July 2013.
• Presented
a
paper
on
“Middle Class: Historical
Mo o r i n g s
(C ontinuities
and Discontinuities)” at an
international conference ‘Tracking
the Growth of India’s Middle Class’,
which was held at Baroda from
27th November 2013 to 29th
November 2013.
Ms. Vinita Bhatia
• Presented at a National Seminar
on ‘Genders, Feminisms and
Sociologies: Towards a State of
Alteredness’, on Conceptualising
Popular Culture, organised by
the Department of Sociology,
University of Mumbai from 29th
to 31st January, 2014.
• Students of the department
together with Ms. Vinita Bhatia
attended the "Seventeenth
Gulistan and Rustom Billimoria
Endowment Seminar" on 22nd
February at the Asiatic Society.
The theme of the seminar was
"Debating 377 of the IPC".
Dr. Arun de Souza
• Facilitated a session on Regional
Disparities
in
Economic
Growth– “Rural Fantasies,
Urban Dreamscapes: The Story
of Maharashtra’s Regional
Disparities” at the Summer School
2013 with students from the
University of California (Berkeley,
USA) and St. Xavier’s College
(Autonomous), Mumbai, entitled
‘Economics and Development in
Indian Society’ on the 5th of July
2013.
• Presented a paper on “The
Sociology of Contemporary
Vocations to Religious Life” at
Ashirwad, Bangalore on the 3rd
of October 2013.
• Presented a paper on “The
Sociological Context of the
Suppression of the Society of Jesus
in 1773 AD” at St. Xavier’s, Delhi
on 21st October 2013.
• Attended a UGC Refresher Course
on "Sociology" at Academic Staff
College, Kumaun University,
Nainital from 3rd to 23rd
December 2013.
• Presented a paper entitled,
"Changing
Tr e n d s
in
Environmental Thought in
Contemporary India," at the
National Seminar, "Changing
Trends in Indian Society,"
organised by UGC-Academic
Staff College, Kumaun University,
Nainital on 19th December 2013.
Dr. Pranoti Chirmuley
• Presented a paper entitled: “Parsi
Zoroastrians Abroad: Questions of
Migration, Change and Identity”
at the Trinity College Round
Table Discussion on the theme
of Identity and Migration on the
30th of August, 2013.
• Presented at the International
conference with students and
faculty of the University of
Stuttgart (Germany), St. Louis
University (USA), Stellenbosch
University (South Africa) and St.
Xavier’s College (Autonomous) on
‘Globalisation and Mobility’ held
in January 2014 at the college. She
spoke on ‘Parsis, Diaspora and
Questions of Identity Preservation’.
In an effort to go beyond the syllabus,
the department organised a number
of guest lectures during the course of
the academic year:
• Mr.Milind Ranade, General
Secretary of the National Trade
Union of India held a lecture
on trade unionism in India for
TYBA students of the work and
management course.
• Suryanandini Narain held a lecture
on ‘writing in Social Sciences’
focussing on assignment and
presentation skills for TYBA
students of the work and
management course on 12th
107
and 13th
December
2014.
• A
discussion
was held by
Ms. Shilpi
Gulati and
Divya, on
the Film
“Deva to Delhi: Punjab Migrants”
for SYBA ethnography students on
28th January 2014.
• Ms Meera Khokani, an ex-student,
held a lecture on Media and Social
Extremism (Twitter) for FYBA
students on 4th February 2014.
Our students did well on the academic
front too—Sadia Zafar got the 3rd
place overall in the Arts stream
and also topped in Sociology, while
Sharmishta Bose came second with
a full Sociology major.
The academic year 2013-2014 ended
with a number of fun-filled and
educational activities. They are as
follows:
• Field trip for the students of TY
to the Polyester plant of Reliance
Industries Ltd at Patalganga on
11th January 2014.
• A nt h rop o l o g y
E x h i bit i on
organised by FYBA anthropology
students on 1st February 2014.
This was their second CIA.
• Field trip to the Govardhan Cheese
Factory on the outskirts of Pune
city to see the processes involved in
cheese-making. This was organised
on 19th February 2014 for the TY
students.
Finally, we would like to say a sincere
thank you to all the students of the
SYBA for organising a farewell for the
TYBA students.
As always, the Department looks
forward to a great deal of academic
fervour and involvement in the future.
Dr. Sam Taraporevala
Head, Department of
Sociology and Anthropology
Biological Sciences
Biotechnology
Biotechnology as a subject has farreaching effects and benefits on
all strata of human society, such
as biotechnological advances in
pharmaceuticals, agriculture, food and
diagnostics, to name a few. The objective
of our department is to inculcate values
and impart state-of-the-art training to
budding biotechnologists.
Results of the MSc-II 2013
Batch
Distinction- 16, First Class- 8, Second
class- 2
Four of the students were offered and
have accepted admission into the PhD
program of the National University of
Singapore with research scholarships.
This was facilitated through a meeting
arranged by the department.
Rajasthan, from the 26th of January to
the 1st of February, 2014. They visited
five industries relevant to our field of
study– Morarka Organic Foods Ltd.,
Jaipur Municipal Corporation Sewage
Treatment Plant, and Birla Institute of
Scientific Research in the city of Jaipur;
Maharana Pratap Agricultural Institute
and Saras Dairy in the city of Udaipur.
These industries provided invaluable
insight into the various avenues of
Biotechnology, and students were able
to obtain a first-hand experience of
processes right from sludge treatment
and bioremediation, to mushroom
cultivation and plant tissue culture.
Dr.Shiney Peter, Ms.Norine Dsouza
and Dr. Biswa Chatterji accompanied
the students on the visit.
A few of the projects completed by
M.Sc. Part II students:
Palindrome 2014
Students completed 4-5 month-long
internships at reputed research centres
like ACTREC, BARC- Mumbai,
National Institute of Virology-Pune,
National Institute of OceanographyGoa,
and
National
Chemical
Laboratories- Pune. Some of the
research projects completed are:
Industrial Trip to Rajasthan
The M.Sc. Part I students undertook
the annual industrial visit to the state of
•
•
In silico analysis of differences in gut
microbiota among monozygotic
and dizygotic twin pairs from two
continents.
•
To evaluate the effect of prolonged
darkness on the development of
marine diatom biofilms.
•
Structural studies on atypical Rho
GTPase: Rho H.
•
Determining the role of p38α
MAPK signalling pathway in
regulating tumorogenesis observed
upon plakophilin 3 loss.
Publications by the
Department:
•
Gulshanara
Shaikh,
Norine
Dsouza, Hoshang Master, Madhuri
Hambarde: Cytotoxicity of Novel
Pyrazoline derived compounds in
108
Nikhil Bardeskar, Nikhil Thangiah,
Sharang
Kolwalkar,
Norine
D’Souza, John Cyriac, Vivien
Amonkar:
Quantification
of
cadmium tolerance of soil isolates
by atomic absorption spectroscopy
(AAS). Conference Proceedings
DBT
sponsored
National
Conference on “Modern Analytical
Techniques in Microbiology”
conducted by the Department of
Microbiology, Fergusson College,
Pune. ISBN number 081-26179675
Oral presentations:
•
Aakanksha Sawant, Akanksha
Mhatre, Arokia Rani, Krupa
Vyas, Mayuri Mhatre, Rachana
Vaidya, Sayali Jadhav, Sheena
Varghese, Norine D’Souza, Vivien
Amonkar: Using Biowastes for
Enhancing PHB Production by a
Soil Isolate, at the DBT sponsored
National seminar on “Trends in
Environmental
Biotechnology
and its Applications”, St. Aloysius
College, Mangalore, in December
2013.
•
Aakanksha Sawant, Akanksha
Mhatre, Arokia Rani, Krupa Vyas,
Mayuri Mhatre, Rachana Vaidya,
Sayali Jadhav, Sheena Varghese,
Norine D’Souza, Vivien Amonkar:
Optimising the Production of
Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) by
a Soil Isolate and Analysing its
Properties, at the International
Conference on Chemistry “Cutting
Edge: Nano, Green and Beyond”,
St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai in
January 2014.
•
Nikhil
Bardeskar,
Nikhil
Thangiah, Sharang Kolwalkar,
Norine D’Souza, John Cyriac,
Vivien
Amonkar
presented
on Quantification of cadmium
tolerance of soil isolates by atomic
absorption spectroscopy (AAS),
at the DBT sponsored National
Conference on “Modern Analytical
Techniques in Microbiology”,
External Research projects:
The following activities were conducted
during the year 2013-14:
Palindrome
is
the
annual
Biotechnology festival of St. Xavier’s
College, organised by the M.Sc.
Biotechology students in an attempt
to merge concepts of the subject along
with the spirit of competition. This
year, Palindrome was held on 15th
January 2014 and had a footfall of
250 students from all over Mumbai,
participating in 9 Biotechnology-based
events taking place over the course
of the day. The major sponsor for the
entire event was Lupin Limited. The
“Palindrome 2014” overall trophy
was won by K.C. College. Every year
Palindrome associates with a social
cause, to do something constructive
for the society and help those in need.
Our social cause for the year 2013-2014
was “REAP – Reach Education Action
Programme”, which works towards
educating slum dwellers from various
parts of Mumbai and empowers women
by encouraging cottage industries for
their self-sustenance.
Int J. Chem Vol2(4) Oct -Dec 2013.
Biological Sciences
Fergusson college, Pune in January
2014.
•
Josna Jacob, Jyoti Rawat, Jyoti
Bharti, Sayal Jadhav Varsha Bodke,
Yamini Nair, Vivien Amonkar,
Norine Dsouza presented on
Analytical inter-relation between
saturation levels, storage and deep
frying of household oils using
Iodometry and UV absorption
as a public health benefit at the
International
Conference
on
Chemistry “Cutting Edge: Nano,
Green and Beyond”, St. Xavier’s
College, Mumbai in January 2014.
Gulshanara
Shaikh,
Norine
Dsouza,
Hoshang
Master,
Madhuri Hambarde presented
on Cytotoxic evaluation of few
novel 2 –Pyrazoline Derivatives at
the International Conference on
Chemistry “Cutting Edge: Nano,
Green and Beyond”, St. Xavier’s
College, Mumbai in January 2014.
Poster presentations:
•
•
•
Anju James, Cristabelle De’souza,
Josna Jacob, Jyoti Rawat, Jyoti
Bharti, Varsha Bodke,Yamini
Nair, Norine Dsouza, John Cyriac
presented on Green synthesis
of pigments using microflora in
biocompost samples and their
industrial applications at the
Sajjan Gupta Konark memorial
award, S.I.E.S College, Mumbai in
December 2013.
Aakanksha Sawant, Akanksha
Mhatre, Arokia, Krupa Vyas,
Mayuri Mhatre, Rachana Vaidya,
Sayali Jadhav, Sheena Varghese,
Norine D’Souza, Vivien Amonkar
presented on The use of biowaste
medium for microbial production
of Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), a
constituent of Eco-friendly Plastic at
the Sajjan Gupta Konark memorial
award, S.I.E.S College, Mumbai in
December 2013.
Anju James, Cristabelle De’souza,
Mumbai in September 2013.
Ms. Norine Dsouza
•
2 day DBT sponsored National
seminar
on
“Trends
in
Environmental
Biotechnology
and its Applications”, St. Aloysius
College, Mangalore in December
2013.
•
2 day International Conference on
Chemistry “Cutting Edge: Nano,
Green and Beyond”, St. Xavier’s
College, Mumbai in January 2014.
•
2 day DBT sponsored National
Conference on “Modern Analytical
Techniques in Microbiology”,
Fergusson college, Pune in January
2014.
Students attended:
•
•
The Indian Science Academies’
Lecture Workshop on “Biowaves:
The Pulse of Biology” organised
by the Department of Life Science
and Biochemistry on November
29th and 30th, 2013 at St. Xavier’s
College, Mumbai.
National Seminar at the Tata
Memorial Hospital, Radiation
Medicine Centre which was
organised by BARC for student
exposure and understanding in
the current delves of radiation
medicine being used for treatment
of cancer.
Faculty Attended:
Dr. Shiney Peter
2 day Symposium and Workshop
on Pluripotent Stem Cells in
Adult Mammalian Gonads at the
National Institute for Research in
Reproductive Health (NIRRH),
Guest Lectures organised:
1. Dr. Jos V.M. Welie, Professor,
Center
for
Health
Policy
and Ethics, Creighton University,
USA gave a lecture on ‘Biomedical
Technologies, Human Nature,
and the Sanctity of Life– an
Ethical Analysis’ for Postgraduate
Bioscience Students on 25th
November, 2013.
2. Richard Noronha, Food Safety
Officer, TUV India, Pune gave a
lecture on ‘Quality Control and
Assurance and Career options in
Food Technology’ in January 2014.
Dr. Vivien Amonkar
Head, Department of Biotechnology
Botany
The Department of Botany continued
to be vibrant with various activities.
Ph.D degree
Prof. Kanchi Gandhi, Curator of
Nomenclature at The Harvard
Herbaria, Harvard University, Boston,
USA delivered a lecture on 22nd
February, 2014.
Mr. Kalpit Mhatre, who worked for
his Ph. D. degree under the guidance
of Dr. Shinde, was awarded a Ph. D.
degree in Botany in January, 2014. His
thesis is titled “Taxonomic studies on
medicinal plants of Raigad district,
Maharashtra – with special reference
to Ethnobotanical Aspects”.
Prof. M. Sabu, from University of
Calicut, delivered a lecture on ‘Gingers
of India’ on February 16th, 2014.
All the teachers of the department
attended a workshop on “Biowaves:
The Pulse of Biology” organised by
Guest Lectures
109
St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous),
Mumbai on behalf of Indian Science
Academy, Mumbai on November 29th
and 30th 2013,
They also attended the International
Conference on Chemistry “Cutting
Edge: Nano, Green and Beyond”
organised by the Department of
Chemisty of St. Xavier’s College on
the 6th and 7th of January 2014.
Dr. Rajendra Shinde
Biological Sciences
• attended the DBT-sponsored,
two day- National Workshop
on “Chemoprofiling of Some
Therapeutically Important Plants
using Sophisticated Instruments –
HPTLC and HPLC” on February
4th and 5th, 2014 at Ruia College,
Mumbai.
• attended a one day workshop
on “Understanding Academic
Performance Indicators” organised
by Gurunanak College of Arts,
Science and Commerce on
25th January 2014, as well
as a workshop on “Career
Advancement Under UGC
Regulations 2010” arranged by
Bombay University and College
Teachers Union on October 4th
at Vidyapeet Vidyarthi Bhavan,
Mumbai.
• was present at a workshop on
“Phylogenetics” conducted by
the Department of Botany, Goa
University on 24th and 25th
August, 2013. conducted lectures
for M.Sc. Herbal Science at Ruia
College and for M.Sc. Taxonomy
students at Dapoli Urban Bank
Senior Science College, Dapoli.
• attended a course on “Soft Skills
Development” organised by
Academic Staff College, University
of Mumbai, from 5th to 11th
March, 2014.
• was invited by the University of
Pune to evaluate and conduct
the Ph.D. degree Viva-voce
examination. He judged the “Zonal
Level Science Exhibition 2013-14”
at D.S. High School, Mumbai,
• was requested to join the
meeting of the Collaborative
Undergraduate Research and
Education (CURE) Programme
held at Homi Bhabha Centre for
Science Education, TIFR, Mumbai
in June 2013.
• attended a meeting organised
for the coordinators of the Star
College Scheme at Ruia College,
Mumbai in August 2013.
Poster presentations:
• Rajendra Shinde, Rajdeo Singh,
Sweedle Cerejo and Mhatre Kalpit
(2014) presented ‘Alternative
Medicines from Plants – Green
Chemistry in Action with
special reference to the plants
from Mumbai, Thane and Raigad
districts’ at the International
Conference on Chemistry “Cutting
Edge: Nano, Green and Beyond”
organised by St. Xavier’s College
(Autonomous).
• Rajendra Shinde and Rajdeo Singh
(2013) presented “Digitization and
quantitative Assessment of some
medicinal plants species from
Thane District, Maharashtra” at
the XXIII Annual Conference
of Indian Association for
Angiosperm Taxonomy and
National Seminar on “Recent
Advances in Plant Taxonomy
Research” organised by the PG
Department of Botany at RTM
Nagpur University.
Publications:
1.Kalpit Mhatre, Rajdeo Singh,
Sweedle Cerejo and Rajendra
Shinde (2013): ‘Diversity of
Mangroves in Raigad District,
Maharashtra and need for their
conservation’ Int. J. Environmental
Sciences, Vol 2 (04): 205-209.
(ISSN: 2249-2127)
2.
Nandikar M., Rajdeo Singh,
R. Gurav and Rajendra Shinde
(2013):
‘L e c totypif icat ion
and Notes on the identity
of
C hr i stin s oni acal carata
(Orobanchaceae), Rheedea,Vol 23.
(ISSN: 0971-2313).
Dr. Ujwala Bapat
Head, Department of Botany
Life Sciences and Biochemistry
Department Activities:
•
•
A Board of Studies meeting was
convened in October 2013, with
the agenda of ratifying changes
made to the UG (Life Science
and Biochemistry) and MSc (Life
Science) syllabi.
The department organized a
Science Academies’ Lecture
Workshop entitled “Biowaves
– The Pulse of Biology” on the
29th and 30th of November 2013.
It garnered a very good response
from colleges across Mumbai, with
11th - 13th January 2014. Mrs.
Meera Pinto, professional softskills trainer conducted a session
on ‘Speech etiquette’ for the TYBSc
and MSc students, while the
SYBSc students made their CIA-II
presentations at Khandala.
over 230 participants. Select TYBSc
and MSc students introduced the
speakers and proposed the vote of
thanks.
The Department of Life Science &
Biochemistry had numerous highlights
in the academic year 2013-14.
•
•
The second volume of ‘Lignum
Vitae’, the annual magazine of
the Department was launched
by Dr. Tarla Nandedkar and Dr.
Fr. Frazer Mascarenhas, SJ, on
the 29th of November 2013, at
the inauguration of the Lecture
Workshop series. The editorial
board comprised of 8 Life Science
students from FYBSc and SYBSc.
An
academic
seminar
was conducted for SYBSc,
TYBSc and MSc students at
St. Xavier’s Villa, Khandala, from
110
•
The TYBSc and MSc farewell was
held on 14th February 2014 in the
College Hall.
•
The Life Science department, in
collaboration with the biological
science departments of the
college organized a Hands-On
Practical Training Workshop on
‘Research Methods in Biology’ for
selected SYBSc students from the
biological science faculties, from
Biological Sciences
•
6. Dr. Nishigandha Naik, Haffkine
Institute, Mumbai - ‘In vivo
Imaging Systems’
Four new faculty joined the
department this year:
Competitive exams:
Internships and Research Experience:
TYBSc students Mr. Ashwin D’Souza,
Ms. Natasha Lewis and Ms. Zeba
Khatri were selected for MSc/Int-PhD
programs in TIFR, Mumbai.
Second year MSc students of the
department interned at KEM/Breach
Candy hospitals, or NIRRH, Parel, as
part of their Clinical Microbiology
lab. First year MSc students interned
for one day every week for the second
semester at the TIFR or NIRRH as part
of a collaborative experiential learning
programme.
Dr. Manasi Kanuga (PhD in
Biology, University of Idaho, USA);
Dr. Maya Murdeshwar (PhD in
Biophysics,
IISc,
Bangalore),
Dr. Sheeja Vasudevan (PhD in
Biophysics, IIT-Bombay, Mumbai),
Ms. Pampi Chakraborty (PhD in
Life Science, BARC, Mumbai)
•
Ms. Sheetal Fernandes and Ms.
Girija Venkatesh resigned from the
department.
Guest Lectures In The
Department:
•
•
Dr. Ajit Varki, Glycobiology
Research and Training Center,
UCSD, USA. ‘Adventures in
Anthropogeny: ‘What makes us
Human?’ As part of The Wellcome
Trust – DBT India Alliance: Public
Lecture Series – 2013: Evolution of
the Human Mind.
Dr. Pavitra Rao, Weiss-Cornell
University, USA. (ex-student of the
department)
‘Characterization of cpw-wpc
proteins in malarial parasite P.
falciparum’
•
Workshop on ‘Research Methods
in Biology’ in April 2014.
15th – 17th April 2014. Dr. Priya
Sundarrajan, Dr. Radiya Pacha
Gupta, Dr. Maya Murdeshwar,
Dr. Radhika Tendulkar and
Dr. Sheeja Vasudevan were the
resource persons for the workshop
and conducted various scientific
sessions for the students.
•
3. Dr. Bhaskar Saha (NCCS),
Pune - ‘Reciprocity in Biological
Regulation’
4. Dr. Satyajith Rath, (NII), New
Delhi -‘Immune system- Past,
Present and Future’
5. Dr. Smita Mahale, (NIRRH),
Mumbai - Signal transduction
•
Student Activities:
Ms. Nicole D’Souza (MSc) qualified
for the GATE examination with a high
percentile rank.
Summer programmes/ Scholarships:
Ms. Ninoshka D’Souza, TYBSc, was
awarded a full scholarship for the 1 year
program at York University, Canada,
under the Ontario – Maharashtra –
Goa scheme.
Ms. Aishwarya Acharya, SYBSc,
was awarded a scholarship by Yale
University, USA, for their Summer
Program between May – June, 2014.
Publications in Science Magazine:
Chaudhari K and Fernandes A. (2013)
Zebrafish – Irrefutably earning their
stripes. LignumVitae. 2:29-31.
Conference/ Seminars/Workshops:
Undergraduate and post-graduate
students of the department participated
in:
•
Science Academies’ Lecture
Workshop: ‘Biowaves – The Pulse
of Biology’
1. Dr. Jayesh Bellare, IIT-Bombay,
MumbaiNanotechnology
2. Dr. Shobona Sharma, TIFR,
Mumbai- Parasitology & Cell
Biology
Dr. Autar Mattoo, US Department
of Agriculture, Bettsville, USAPlant Biochemistry
Science
Academies
Lecture
workshop ‘Biowaves – The Pulse
of Biology’ organized by the
department during November
2013.
•
International
Conference
‘Chemistry Cutting Edge – Nano,
Green and Beyond’ organized by
the Department of Chemistry, St.
Xavier’s College (Autonomous),
Mumbai, on 6th and 7th January
2014. Students presented posters
at the conference.
•
MSc students attended the
12th Sophia Nobel Oration in
January2014 at Sophia College,
Mumbai.
•
SYBSc students participated in
the Hands-On Practical Training
111
Students also volunteered at
‘Antarchakshu’, organized by the
XRCVC, Malhar and Janfest, and
participated in various activities
of the Social Involvement
Programme (SIP).
Student projects:
TYBSc projects were conducted in
groups, with 2-8 students per project.
Six projects were undertaken by the Life
Science (6U) students and 8 projects by
the Biochemistry students.
MSc projects: 3 projects consisting of
2 students per project were carried out
under the guidance of Dr. R. Tendulkar,
Dr. S. Das and Dr. R. Pacha Gupta, Dr.
P. Sundarrajan and Ms. S. Shetty.
College Rankers:
YEAR CLASS
2012-13 FYBSc
SYBSc
STUDENT
Ms. Aishwarya Acharya
Mr. Clinton Savio
Alwyn Fernandes
TYBSc (3U) Mr. Joshua Miranda
TYBSc (6U) Ms. Janice D’mello
MSc I
Ms. Karina Chaudhari
MSc II
Mr. Vaibhav Mhatre
Staff Activities:
Awards: Ms. S. Shetty and Dr. P.
Sundarrajan won 2nd prize and
Dr. R. Tendulkar won the 3rd prize
for poster presentation at the
International Chemistry Conference
on “Cutting Edge – Nano, Green and
Beyond”, organized by the Department
of Chemistry, St. Xavier’s College Autonomous, Mumbai on 6th and 7th of
January 2014.
Poster / Paper Presentations:
•
Dr. R. Pacha Gupta- Poster
presentation at ‘Integrating Basic
and Translational Research in
Modern Biology’ conference
Biological Sciences
of International Programmes, St.
Xavier’s College (Autonomous),
Mumbai, from May 2013. She was
invited to give a talk on ‘Genetics’
at Elphinstone College, Mumbai,
in September 2013, as part of
the DST – INSPIRE mentorship
programme. She was also invited
to give a seminar to faculty and
Ph.D students of NIRRH, Mumbai
on May 5th, 2014 on “Nobel Prize
winning work in Immunology”
organized by the Department of
Microbiology, Maharaja Sayaji
University of Baroda, December
2013.
•
•
Ms. S. Shetty and Dr. P.Sundarrajan,
Dr. R. Tendulkar, Dr. S.Das and
Dr. R. Pacha Gupta - Poster
presentations at the International
Chemistry Conference on ‘Cutting
Edge – Nano, Green and Beyond’,
January 2014.
Dr. M. Murdeshwar- Paper
presentation at the National
Conference on Frontiers in
Biotechnology and Bioinformatics
(NCFIBB) – ‘Macromolecular
Interactions
in
Biology’,
organized by the Department of
Biotechnology and Bioinformatics,
Padmashree Dr. D Y Patil
University, Navi Mumbai, January
2014.
•
Mr. P. Ratnaparkhi was elected as
the Chairman of the Staff Council
for 2014-17.
•
Dr. M. Kanuga was invited to be a
part of a team developing the syllabi
for the Certificate Programme for
Teaching of Elementary School
Science by the Department
of Education in Science and
Mathematics, NCERT, New Delhi.
She attended the review workshop
for the same in July 2013.
•
Dr. S. Das served as an external
examiner in Life Science at
the University of Mumbai
examinations held in October
2013.
•
Dr. N. Mangalore, Dr. R.
Pacha Gupta, Dr. S. Das, Dr. P.
Sundarrajan, Mr. P. Ratnaparkhi,
Ms. S. Shetty and Dr. R. Tendulkar
attended the ‘Tree of Life’ lectureworkshop series at Jai Hind
College, Mumbai, in December
2013, and the Science Academies’
lecture-workshop series ‘Sense and
Sensibility’ at Sophia College for
Extension Activities:
•
Dr. Seema Das, Dr. Priya
Sundarrajan and Dr. Maya
Murdeshwar, in collaboration
with Mr. Herman Rodriguez,
were involved in soil testing and
biodiversity studies in the tribal
areas of Wada near Pune, with
the objective of helping the tribals
understand and utilize the available
natural resources to enhance
their produce in a meaningful,
sustainable fashion.
Other Activities:
•
Dr. R. Pacha Gupta was
appointed the Director, Council
Women, Mumbai, in January 2014.
•
Dr. P. Sundarrajan, Ms. S. Shetty
and Dr. M. Murdeshwar attended
the ‘Bioinformatics Workshop
on Biomolecular Interactions’
organized by the Department of
Biotechnology and Bioinformatics,
Dr. D Y Patil University, Navi
Mumbai, in January 2014.
•
Dr N. Mangalore conducted a
session on ‘Evaluation’ for college
teachers at the Academic Staff
College, University of Mumbai, in
February 2014.
•
Dr. R. Tendulkar was an external
examiner for the Diploma Course
in Bioinformatics at the Sophia
College for Women, Mumbai
in June 2013. She was invited to
deliver lectures for MSc students
at NMIMS SOS, Mumbai, on
Anatomy and Physiology between
November 2013 – January 2014,
and Neurobiology in April 2014.
She also delivered Neurobiology
lectures at the Sophia College
for Women, Mumbai, between
January – March 2014. Dr. Radhika
was also invited as a resource
person for a faculty seminar on
Neuroscience, held in St. Xavier’s
College, March 2014.
The enthusiasm of all the members of
the department contributed in making
this year a fruitful one.
Dr. Nandita Mangalore
Head, Department of Life Sciences and
Biochemistry
Microbiology
In the academic year 2013-14, the
Department of Microbiology was
involved in autonomous
courses for all three undergraduate
and two postgraduate years, which is
a first. Faculty and students continued
to strive for excellence. To modify
Vincent Lombard’s quote: “The quality
of a department is in direct proportion
to its commitment to excellence”.
We were joined by some new faculty
this year, namely Dr. Priyadarshan
Keluskar, Dr. Aparna Talekar, and Ms.
Smita Wadekar.
Student Activities
• The annual Department exhibition
‘Micro Buzz’, which has been
conducted without a break
since 1989, saw its 25th year. The
exhibition was presented by the
SY students in July and was greatly
appreciated for the quality of
content, creativity and presentation
it brought forth. It served as both,
an introduction to the varied
advances in Microbiology, and a
welcome into the Microbiology
department.
Undergraduate
• Internships:
Results
B.Sc. results- May 2013: Distinction
44%, First Class 40%
Only one student completed the last
non-autonomous M.Sc. program
conducted by the department. She
secured a first class and an admission
into the PhD program in Molecular
Biology in the University of Utah, USA.
112
SYB.Sc.
students
Biological Sciences
completed summer internships in
the fields of Food Microbiology at
ITC Maratha Hotel, Sky Gourmet
(Flight Kitchen); and Medical
Microbiology
at
Kokilaben
Dhirubhai
Ambani
Hospital
and
Sunflower
Laboratory
and Diagnostic Centre. These
internships helped the students
gain valuable experience.
•
•
•
Project based learning: TY students
completed Industrial Microbiology
based projects under the guidance
of Ms.. Sangeetha Chavan and
Ms. Miriam Stewart, while the
SYs researched several aspects
of the “Microbial biodiversity
of mangrove soil”. Their work
was presented through posters.
Furthermore,
SY
students
researched the ‘Microbial diversity
of pesticide degraders in Mumbai
soil’ as part of a collaborative study
with the University of Houston.
They were supervised by Ms.
Karuna Gokarn and Dr. Ms. Vivien
Amonkar.
Honours Programme: activities
this year included two technique
workshops for the FYs–Plasmid
isolation and Study of antibacterial
effects of plants. . A self study
guided programme in Basic
Statistics was held for SY and
TY students - they attended
specific online lectures and solved
problems based on the different
topics covered. It was coordinated
by Ms. Sangeetha Chavan.
TYs in February. The activities
were coordinated by Ms. Karuna
Gokarn.
Postgraduate
•
The M.Sc. Part II students
completed a 3-4 month long
external project in several
departments of research institutes,
such as Radiation Biology and
Health
Safety
Department,
Molecular Biology Division, Food
Technology Division, Immunology
Section at BARC; Department
of Biological Sciences at TIFR;
Department of Infectious disease
Biology, Department of Structural
Biology,
Genetics
Research
Centre, Department of Molecular
Endocrinology at NIRRH; NIO,
Goa; ACTREC, Kharghar; The
Foundation for Medical Research,
Mumbai.
Conference Proceedings as full
paper
Deeksha M Shetty, Sheetal
Uppal, and Narendra
Jawali
presented ‘Purification of histidine
tagged cyclic AMP Receptor
Protein (CRP) in Escherichia
coli using Low Pressure Liquid
Chromatography’ at the DBT
sponsored National Conference
on “Modern Analytical Techniques
in Microbiology” conducted by
the Department of Microbiology,
Fergusson College, Pune. ISBN
number 011-2617-9675.
Oral Presentations
“Using radioisotopes to study
change in protein profile of ‘A549’
cell line after Mycobacterium
tuberculosis infection.”
Zina
Fernandes,
Alston
Jonathan Fernandes presented
on ‘Comparison of traditional
and rapid methods for microbial
detection in a pharmaceutical
product’ at DBT sponsored
National Conference on “Modern
Analytical
Techniques
in
Microbiology” held in Fergusson
College, Pune in January 2014.
“Construction of a suitable
recombinant plasmid vector for
heterologous
over-expression
of protein Peroxiredoxin for
Anabaena to E.coli.”
•
Internal Projects
Like the SY students, the M.Sc.
Part II students completed group
research projects on the ‘Microbial
diversity of mangrove soil’. but
their focus was mainly on the
application aspects.
Thus they studied the potential
of mangrove derived microorganisms in bioremediation of
crude oil, azo dyes and heavy
metals, in the biosynthesis of
asparaginase, in waste treatment
and as biofertilizers. They were
guided by Dr. Aparna Talekar and
Dr. Ms. Vivien Amonkar.
Industrial visit to the Bhandup
Water Purification Plant.
The SY & the FY students’
organised a grand farewell to the
Sheetal
Uppal, Deeksha
M
Shetty, and Narendra Jawali (2014)
published ‘Cyclic AMP receptor
protein(CRP) regulates cspD, a
bacterial toxin gene in Escherichia
coli.’ in the Journal of Bacteriology
196: 1596-77 IMPACT FACTOR:
3.177.
Examples of projects:
UMAX activities:
Water Potability testing of college
drinking water supplies was
carried out this year, too. Water
from the different drinking sources
was microbiologically analyzed
every month and a report was
submitted to the Principal and
the Administrator to ensure safe
drinking water in college.
External Projects
Journal Publication
•
Research Output
113
Deeksha M Shetty, Sheetal
Uppal, and Narendra
Jawali
gave an oral presentation on
‘Purification of histidine tagged
cyclic AMP Receptor Protein
(CRP) in Escherichia coli using Low
Pressure Liquid Chromatography’
at the DBT sponsored National
Conference on “Modern Analytical
Techniques in Microbiology” held
in Fergusson College, Pune in
January, 2014.
Deeksha won a prize for the best
oral presentation for the above.
Poster Presentation
Tasneem Ginwala, Maria Judith
Gonsalves presented posters on
Biological Sciences
‘Bioremediation of Heavy metals
by Bacterial Isolates’ at the DBT
sponsored National Conference on
“Modern Analytical Techniques in
Microbiology” held in Fergusson
College, Pune in January, 2014.
•
•
Faculty Activities
Dr. Ms. Vivien Amonkar
•
•
•
•
•
•
Presented conference proceedings
as full paper called Quality
Benchmarks in Autonomy at the
NAAC sponsored State level
conference on “Autonomy to
Colleges and role of IQAC” held
in Fergusson College, Pune on 11th
September, 2013. ISBN No. 97893-5126-825-3.
•
Supported Dr. Frazer Mascarenhas
SJ in conducting a 2-day Faculty
•
Enrichment
Programme
“Understanding
Autonomy
in Higher Education Today: Perspectives and Concerns” at St.
Xavier’s College of Arts, Science &
•
Commerce, Mapusa, Goa on the
28th and 29th of March, 2014. She
presented two sessions– Quality
Systems under Autonomy and
Teaching-Learning Pedagogy.
Gave a Keynote address Education
for the Future - Novel Curriculum at
the 5th National Conference on
‘New Paradigms in Academic
Improvement’ at KristuJayanti
College, Autonomous, Bangalore;
8th May, 2014.
Invited by Deccan College, Pune
to a discussion with the Steering
Committee of the university
regarding the preparation for
assessment by NAAC and for a
presentation Identifying Quality
Benchmarks to the faculty of the
College on 12th May, 2014.
Member of the ASM Journal of
Microbiology & Biology Education
(JMBE) Editorial Board as reviewer.
Was invited to participate at
the workshop on ‘Training for
leadership through collaboration’
at Vinalaya, Andheri on 21st & 22nd
September, 2013.
Was invited to participate at the
Meeting on ‘Intellectual Apostolate’
at Curia, Rome from 12th to 14th
December, 2014.
Dr. Priyadarshan Keluskar
meet” organised by the British
Council at IISER Pune on 13th
and14th March, 2014.
•
Co-organisation of a Three Day
Hands on Workshop for Biology
Students on “Research Methods in
Biology” held on 15th, 16th and 17th
April, 2014 with all the Bioscience
departments and the Caius
Laboratory for Interdisciplinary
Research.
•
MOUs signed
• Attended the DBT sponsored
National Conference on “Modern
Analytical
Techniques
in
Invited
Participant
in
the
Microbiology” held in Fergusson
“International Workshop on College, Pune in January, 2014.
Collaboration, Leadership and
Other Department activities
Mission” at St. Xavier’s College,
Ahmedabad, and was a Relator
• Organisation of a lecture by Dr.
for the session ‘Designing an
Ms. Momna Hejmadi, Director
Ignatian Programme’.She was also
of Studies: M.Sc Programmes,
a member of the panel discussion
Dept. of Biology & Biochemistry,
‘Summing up the main issues’ :24th
University of Bath, UK on “Life in
to 28th February, 2014.
the Extremes : Neurodegeneration
and DNA Repair” on the 8th of July,
Invited participant at “Knowledge
2013.
Economy Partnership All India
Member
of
the
Advisory
Committee of the DBT sponsored
National conference on “Modern
analytical
techniques
in
Microbiology”.
Presented “Review of how St.
Xavier’s achieved ‘Autonomous’
status’” at the workshop organised
for faculty and students of New
York University, Steinhardt for
Higher Education Policy, USA,
during their visit to St. Xavier’s
College in January 2014.
With University of Houston for 5
years.
Completed Industrial Project on
Dextran Fermentation with Swati
Spentose Pvt. Ltd. for 3 years 20112014.
• Member of the LCRD (Loyola
Centre
for
Research
and
Development) Research Advisory
Board, Ahmedabad.
Gratitude to Alumni
Ms. Miriam Stewart & Dr. Ms. Vivien
Amonkar
• Dr. Foster Gonsalves who leads
Product Development at a New
York City based biotechnology
start-up company that focuses
on oncology drug development
presented Personal Experience of
Entrepreneurship on 7th January,
2014.
• Attended the National Conference
on “ Microbiology Horizons In
Biomedical Sciences” organised
by Department of Microbiology,
Karmaveer Bhaurao Patil College,
Vashi, New Mumbai on 27th and
28th September, 2013.
Ms. Karuna Gokarn
• Resource Person for “Plasmid
Isolation and Transformation”
during the Three Day Hands
on Workshop for Biology
Students on Research Methods in
Biology, April, 2014.
114
The department is extremely grateful to
alumni for their academic and financial
contributions.
• Dr.
Jayant
Bhanushali,
Director
&
Owner,
Amar
Immunodiagnostics Pvt.
Ltd.,
Hyderabad presented Different
types of ELISA kit development
for undergraduate students and
“Hands on” in development of
hybridomas for postgraduate
Biological Sciences
students on 25th January, 2014.
• Dr. Jayant Bhanushali also donated
a large number of ELISA kits
which enabled us to include the
technique for all the students of
the department, with increasing
complexity according to the year of
study.
late brother, Kevin Rasquinha
towards the upgradation of the PG
Microbiology laboratory facilities.
• Dr. Caroline Pai
donated
20,000 USD in the name of her
Dr. Ms. Vivien Amonkar
Head, Department of Microbiology.
Zoology
•
Participated in a lecture-workshop
titled “Sense and Sensibility” held
at Sophia College Mumbai on 20th
and 21st December 2013.
Participated in a lecture workshop
titled “Sense and Sensibility” held
at Sophia College Mumbai on 20th
and 21st December 2013.
•
Dr. Mehul Vora delivered a lecture
on ‘Ageing using C.elegans as a
model’ on 9th December 2013.
Dr Sujata was also invited to deliver
lectures
She
received
a
University
Research Grant for a project on
Nanosynthesis.
•
•
Dr. Leon Pereira gave a lecture on
Conservation of snakes in the 21st
January 2014.
On the“Sociobiology of Wasps”:
On 21st – 23rd Aug 2013 and 23rd
– 25th Oct 2013,
•
As a Master resource person for
Teachers’ Training Programme
on ‘Social Insects’ organized by
The Society for Environment &
Development (SED), New Delhi
She participated and presented
a paper at the UGC sponsored
International
conference
“Chemistry cutting edge : Nano,
Green and Beyond” organised by
the Department of Chemistry, St.
Xavier’s College Mumbai on 6th
and 7th January 2014.
•
Attended the UGC sponsored
workshop on “Hands on training
for Biological Sciences’ from 10th
to 15th March 2014.
•
Re-appointed Chair-person Adhoc
Board of studies, Zoology at SNDT
University, Mumbai from March
2014 to March 2016.
The Zoology department had many
interesting activities for the year 201314
Guest lectures
•
•
•
Hans Dalal gave a lecture on
‘Tiger Conservation and Poacher
Rehabilitation’ on 3rd July 2013
at St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai on
29th and 30thNovember 2013.
•
Workshop
•
Dr.
Surendra
Ghaskadbi
conducted a workshop on
‘Regeneration in Hydra and stem
cell therapy’ on 11th January 2014
•
Field Trips
•
•
•
•
A Departmental Excursion was
organized to Kaziranga National
Park for the TYBSc and SYBSc
students from 30th October to 9th
November 2013.
Mr. Conrad Cabral
•
Attended a seminar “BIOWAVES
“conducted by the Department of
Life Sciences, St. Xavier’s College
in November 2013.
FYBSc students went on a field trip
to Vishnu Baug, Badlapur on 18th
August 2013. •
TYBSc students were taken to
Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth Dapoli
on 19th-20th January 2014.
He attended a Staff seminar on
‘Flipped classroom’ by Tim Savage
at St. Xaviers College.
•
Became Visiting faculty for MSc
Part I Dept of Life Sciences and for
the Diploma in Bioinformatics at
Sophia College.
•
Completed
the
Orientation
Program with an A grade at the
UGC Academic Staff College
Kalina from 25 Oct to 24 Nov 2013.
•
Was staff in-charge of the college
fest ‘Malhar’
Cross faculty course and TYBSc
students were taken to Katraj Zoo
and Central Bee Research Institute
on 16th January 2014.
Staff activities
Dr. Sujata Deshpande
•
On NCSTC. “Astrobiology” :
On 9th Feb 2014, Department of
Extramural Studies, University of
Mumbai.
Attended “Biowaves: The Pulse of
Biology”: A Science Academies’Sponsored lecture -workshop held
Dr. Pushpa Sinkar
115
Dr. Madhuri Hambarde
•
Received a University Research
Grant for a project on ‘Antioxidant
Activity of Tea’.
•
She
co-authored
a
paper
presentation at the UGC sponsored
International
conference
“Chemistry cutting edge : Nano,
Green and Beyond” organised by
the Department of Chemistry, St.
Xavier’s College Mumbai on 6th
and 7th January 2014.
•
Has a publication to her credit
in The International Journal of
Chemistry. Dr. Madhuri was
examiner for semester V and VI
Zoology (old and new course) at
University of Mumbai.
•
She is a member of staff placement
Biological Sciences
committee and Secretary of
Institutional
Animal
Ethics
committee.
Jhunjhunwala College.
•
She was Convenor of Library
committee of the college and
was Chairperson of Institutional
Animal Ethics committee.
This academic year saw the department
receive grants from Star College and
DST FIST in service of upgrades to
laboratories and courses.
•
She was the subject expert for
the CAS promotions at Wilson
College, Chowpatty and Sophia
Dr. Smita Krishnan
Head, Department of Zoology
of the Indian Justice - delivery system
from ‘crime scene to courtroom’.
Microbiology, St. Xavier’s College. The
workshop was attended by students
from all over Mumbai and the session
was tremendously successful in
spreading awareness about Forensics.
It gave the participants an opportunity
to understand the contemporary
analytical methods used in Forensic
labs.
Dr. Smita Krishnan
•
Attended UGC sponsored National
Level seminar on “Dynamics of
Mangroves” on 29th and 30th
November 2013 at Ramniranjan
College Mumbai.
Forensic Science
In the academic year 2013-14, the
Certificate Program in Forensic Science
course had 35 new students enrolled
for the program, many of whom are
professionals from the field of Law and
Education.
The students, over the course of the
program, were exposed to different
areas of forensic practices that are
relevant today. Equipped with their
basic knowledge in the field, and
practical exposure, they researched
and prepared extensive Crime Scene
Reports in the form of ‘Mock ChargeSheets’ which were then presented
before professionals in the field in the
form of a ‘Moot Court’. This experience
gave the students an overview, with
practical experience, of the process
In October 2013, Ms. Riva Pocha and
Ms. C Samyukta collaborated with the
Pravin Gandhi College of Law, Mithibai
College in drafting the Trial Advocacy
Problem for a National Level Trial
Advocacy Competition conducted at
Mithibai College. The problem was
designed to be contemporary, with
regard to the changing face of crime as
witnessed in the country today.
In January 2014, Ms. Riva Pocha
and Ms. Sejal Gupta with the help of
ex-student of the programme, Ms.
Aloki Doshi conducted a Forensic
Workshop at Palindrome, the Annual
departmental festival organized by the
M.Sc students of the Department of
In January 2014, Ms. Riva Pocha and
Ms. Sejal Gupta were invited to conduct
a series of lectures on Forensic Science
for the MSc Applied Medical Sciences
program conducted through the Life
Science Department of the college.
Dr. Pushpa Sinkar
Co-ordinator
Forensic Science Program
“It is quite possible
overwhelmingly probable, one might guess
that we will always learn more about human life and personality from
novels than from scientific psychology”
― Noam Chomsky
116
Non-Biological Sciences
BSc-IT
The academic year 2013-14 marked
the successful completion of the
second autonomous T.Y.B.Sc.IT batch
graduating under Dr. Jyoti Singh as
co-ordinator.
Honours Programme:
The department completed its sixth
year of the honours programme, with
Mr. Subhash Kumar taking over as the
coordinator of the course. Five students
of TYBSc.IT participated in the two
credit course of Project Management
using Agile and Design Patterns.
TY BSc. IT Projects:
The TY students developed projects
as part of their curriculum. The
faculty members in the Department
functioned as their project guides. The
projects covered a range of domains
like hardware, web-based projects,
medical diagnosis utilizing AI, android
based application projects, and so on.
Some further examples are:
• “NFC smart cards” an innovative
project by Mr. Aaron Johns
demonstrated how NFC smart
cards can be used to automate
processes.
• A white line sensing robot was
developed by Ms. Shraddha
Pandya and Ms. Blossom Coelho.
The project was completed in coordination of rules and regulations
laid out by IIT Mumbai.
• “Game of CrissCross” was
developed by Mr. Kevin Vaz
and Ms. Deepika Vadera using
Artificial Intelligence and LAN
Gaming for Android Mobile
Devices and Windows Phone
Devices.
Job placements
Through the academic year 2013-14,
18 students were placed in different
IT companies through campus
placements. Mr. Roy Thomas was in
charge of placements. Some of the
prominent companies that showed
interest in our BSc.IT students were
Khandala Seminar 2013-14
the likes of Price Water Cooper
House, Bristlecom, and Mphasis. This
was truly a great achievement for
the students and certainly a feather
in the department’s cap that our
students were hired during the campus
interviews itself.
Khandala Seminar - cum Presentation
The department of BSc.IT left for
its very first successful Khandala
seminar conducted mainly for the
sixth semester students. The group
comprised of 53 students. The Faculty
members accompanying them were
Mr. Roy Thomas, Mr. Subhash Kumar
and Ms. Lydia Fernandes. It was a
three-day seminar and was held at
St. Xavier’s Villa, Khandala from 29th
to the -31st January 2014. Academic
activities included laptop presentations
and written blackboard-chalk and talk
demonstrations in three different
courses, namely, Data Warehousing
and Mining (DW&M), Advanced Java
(Adv.Java.) and Enterprise Resource
Planning (ERP) . Some of the topics
well presented at the seminar were:
Decision Making algorithms, Bayesian
Classification in DW&M, Struts, and
Six Sigma concept in the subject of
ERP.
IT Society:
An enthusiastic group of students came
up with the idea of an IT Society for
117
the year 2013-14. Several activities
were conducted by the IT Society
in co-ordination with the members
of the staff. Mr. Subhash Kumar was
the convener of the committee and
Mr. Attray Agrawal was the student;s’
representative . The following is the
list of presentations, seminars and
discussions held under the IT society
1.Changing Trends in IT – a
presentation by Mr.. Kevin D’Cruz
2.Study options Abroad – Ms.
Rashida Haidermota
3.Basics of Python Language, a
programming language - Mr.
Kedar Deore (SYBSc )
4.Stories by Professionals of the
Trade - Ms. Dipika Singh and
Mr. Utkarsh Patkar
Workshops:
A 3 hour android - workshop was
conducted for the students of SYBSc
and TYBSc. by Mr. Dhanesh Malviya,
who offered interesting insights on
the topic and offered important
basics on the life-cycle of an android
application, right from its inception
to its deployment. He also spent
time interacting with the students
on various topics that could be used
as a base for their android projects.
Dr. Jyoti Singh
Co-ordinator, BSc.IT
Non-Biological Sciences
Chemistry
10TH June 2013 – The Dawn of a
New Academic Year 2013-2014:
The Department of Chemistry was
enthusiastically looking forward to
two events scheduled to be held during
the academic year – a visit from the
NAAC team from 19th-21st July, 2013,
and the International Conference in
Chemistry on 6th and 7th January, 2014.
The NAAC team visited the Department
on 20th July, 2013 during which the
latter presented an objective list of
its achievements. The Department is
proud to mention that the Chairman
of the NAAC committee honoured
the Chemistry Department for its
unparalleled accomplishments and
exceptional performance during the
period 2007-2013.
Eminent scientists from both India
and abroad were part of the two-day
International Conference, “Chemistry
Cutting Edge: Nano, Green and
Beyond’, hosted by the Department
Of Chemistry in association with
the Nadkarny – Sacasa Research
Laboratory. The conference was
graced by the attendance of renowned
speakers such as Dr. Paul Jelliss, St.
Louis University, USA, Dr. Wolfgang
Kaim, Stuttgart University, Germany
and Dr. Narayan Hosmane, Northern
Illinois University, USA.
Approximately 170 delegates from
India as well as from abroad attended
the Conference, which aimed at
promoting research and encouraging
collaboration
between
industry
academia.
World-renowned
and
Neurologist and Padma Bhushan
recipient Dr V.S. Ramachandran
delivered the Valedictory speech. Dr
Ramachandran is best known for his
contribution to the field of Behavioural
Neurology and Psychophysics. He
addressed the congregation on the
subject matter of ‘What Neuroscience
tells us about the Mind’.
The Department Of Chemistry is
proud to announce that Mr. Sandeep
Burudkar and Mr. Azad Kumar
Sharma, under the guidance of Dr.
Freddy H. Havaldar, have been
awarded Ph.D. degrees in Chemistry by
the University Of Mumbai.
analytical instruments and were
each awarded a Certificate of
Participation.
Ms. Gulshan Shaikh has been awarded
the Ph.D. degree in Chemistry under
the guidance of Dr. Hoshang Master.
3. Dr. Abhilasha Jain, Dr. Ashma
Aggarwal and Mr. Marazban Kotwal
conducted an Honours Programme
for FY, SY and TY students. Students
engaged in a Library Project, Book
Review and a Research Project
titled, “Expedient Photo – Fenton
Degradation of Dyes in Presence of
Organic Additives”.
The Chemistry Department is
exceptionally pleased to announce
that the First TY Batch under the
Autonomous system have cleared their
examinations with flying colours.
Guest Lecture:
Dr. James Wilton–Ely, a Senior
Lecturer in Green Chemistry at the
Imperial College, London was invited
for a guest lecture on “Organometallic
Chemistry”. His extensive experience
in the area of Co-ordination and
Organometallic Chemistry provided
great insight about the subject, and the
session was truly an enriching learning
session for Chemistry students.
Academic and Industrial Visits:
1. The Department of Chemistry
organized a six - day Industrial
Visit for FY, SY and TY students
to Jaipur and Jodhpur during the
Diwali vacations. The visit was a
grand success with 115 students
and 4 Department faculties
participating in this visit.
2. A three–day workshop and a one
- day Orientation Programme on
‘Instrumentation in Analytical
Chemistry’ was arranged for our
Chemistry Honours students at
P.S.Ramanathan Instrumentation
Laboratory, Ruia College by Dr.
Pralhad Rege. The programmes
were held on the 26th – 28th
December, 2013 and on the 19th
February,
2014
respectively.
Students were acquainted with the
working of various sophisticated
118
4. Four TY students appeared for an
Aptitude Test conducted by the
Indian Chemical Society and one
student, Mr. Clinton Fernandes
was awarded a certificate.
5. Two TY students, Mr. Clinton
Fernandes and Ms. Soniya Rupani
participated in “WHAT THE FUN
RASAYANAM 2014” organized
by the Department of Chemistry,
Institute of Chemical Technology,
Mumbai and were awarded the
first prize.
Activities of The Faculty:
Dr. Freddy H. Havaldar and his
Doctorate students published three
research papers during this academic
year in both National as well as
International Journals.
Dr. Freddy Havaldar
• Microwave-promoted synthesis of
some novel 4-(4-methyl- phenyl)substituted
phthalazin-1-one
derivatives published in “synthetic
communications” (london), vol.43
(8), 1127-1137 (2013).
•
Syntheses
of
some
novel
1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives and
their potential biological activity.
Published in “asian journal of
research in chemistry”, vol.6 (2),
97-100 (2013).
Non-Biological Sciences
•
Microwave promoted one-pot
synthesis of some novel n-aryl
isoquinoline derivatives. Published in
“journal of heterocyclic chemistry”,
vol.50 (4), 828-837 (2013).
•
Comparative study of c-alkylation,
n-alkylation and o-alkylation
reactions
under
microwave
irradiation and phase transfer
catalysts
employing
nonconventional alkylating agents.
Published in “international journal
of chemistry”, vol.2 (3), 318-323
(2013).
•
Mr. Marazban Kotwal, Dr. Ashma
Aggarwal and Dr. Abhilasha Jain
published two research papers
during this academic year in
National as well as in International
Journals.
Dr. Pralhad Rege published one
research paper titled Simultaneous
determination
of
norfloxacin
and metronidazole in combined
drug formulation by a simple
electroanalytical technique.Published
in international journal of pharma
research and development, 2013; vol
5(04): june-2013 (064 – 070)
Dr. Abhilasha Jain published two
Chapters in a book entitled, “Green
ChemistryFundamentals
and
Applications” and three Chapters in a
book entitled, “Microwave – Assisted
Organic Synthesis – A Green Chemical
Approach”.
Dr. Abhilasha Jain, Mr. Marazban
Kotwal and Dr. Ashma Aggarwal
published a paper titled Effective
Photo-Fenton Degradation Of Dye
Methyl Green In Presence Of Organic
Additive, in International Journal
Of Pure And Appl. Chem., Volume.
8(2),2013 ,153-161. They also published
a paper called ‘Expedient Degradation
Of Dye Methyl Green By Enhanced
Photo – Fenton Process : A Green
Chemical Approach’, in Journal Of
Applied Chemistry. Volume.2(1),2014.
Dr. Gulshanara Shaikh published
in the International Journal of
Chemistry, Vol. 2(4), 453-459, (2013) a
paper titled Synthesis, Characterization
and cytotoxic evaluation of some novel
2- Pyrazoline Derivatives.
•
Dr. Ashma Aggarwal attended a
Refresher Course in Chemistry
conducted by the Academic Staff
College, University Of Mumbai.
•
Ms. Gulshan Shaikh, Dr. Roy
Pereira, S.J., Mr. Marazban
Kotwal, Dr. Ashma Aggarwal
and Dr. Abhilasha Jain attended
National Symposium on “New
Vistas in Chemistry” organized
by Department of Chemistry and
Royal Society Of Chemistry at
Wilson College, Mumbai.
•
Dr. Geeta Kotian and Ms.
Saima Khan attended a one–day
workshop on “Green Chemistry”
conducted by American Chemical
Society.
•
Mr. Marazban Kotwal, Dr. Ashma
Aggarwal, Dr. Abhilasha Jain
and Dr. Pralhad Rege attended a
“Laboratory and Health & Safety
Workshop” at ICT, Mumbai.
•
University of Mumbai Minor
Research Grant awarded to Dr.
Roy Pereira, S.J. for the project
“Developing a novel route for the
synthesis of impurities in active
pharmaceutical ingredients”.
•
Dr. Roy Pereira, S.J. presented
papers at numerous National
and
International
Seminars/
Conferences during this academic
year.
•
Presented a paper, “Putting
the Mind back into Medicine:
Neuroscientific evidence for the
role of the Chemistry of Attention
in Health Outcomes” at the
CTNS Colloquium, University of
California, Berkeley, USA on 24th
May, 2013.
•
•
Presented
a
paper,
“Internationalization of Higher
Education” at the National
Conference, Higher Education:
Policy, Leadership & Practices
(CCCK Conference) at Christ
University, Bangalore from 22nd to
23rd November, 20 13.
•
Participated in the International
century
Conference
“21st
Universities: The Future of
Higher Education in South Asia.”
organized by the British Council
on 27th & 28th November, 2013 in
Dubai, UAE.
•
Presented a paper, “Has Science
and Technology eliminated God...?
A look into the Findings from
Neuroscience” at the International
Conference
on
Science,
Technology and Values organized
by Jnanadeepa Vidyapeeth, Pune
on 2nd February, 2014.
•
University of Mumbai Minor
Research Grant has been awarded
to Dr. Roy Pereira,
•
S.J. for the project “Developing
a novel route for the synthesis of
impurities in active pharmaceutical
ingredients”.
•
Dr. Roy Pereira, S.J. was the Expert
on the Selection Committee,
Department of Chemistry, Swami
Vivekanand College, Mumbai
on 2nd December, 2014. He is
also on the Academic Board of
Campion School, Mumbai. He
also serves on the Academic
Council, Management Board and
the Governing Body of St. Xavier’s
College, Mumbai along with his
duties as Provost / Vice-Principal
(Academics).
Mr. Marazban Kotwal attended
a one-week Soft Skills Course
conducted by Academic Staff
College, University Of Mumbai.
Dr. Roy Pereira, S.J. attended a one week
course, “Contemporary Strategies
for teaching and Evaluation.” at the
Academic Staff College, University
of Mumbai from 14th to 21st March,
2014.
•
Postgraduate students of Loyola
College, University of Chennai,
“Biochemistry of the Brain and
Questions raised by Neuroscience”
on 26th August, 2013.
Invited
guest
119
speaker
to
We now look forward to our Third TY
batch under the Autonomous system to
soar to new heights in the coming year.
Dr. Freddy H. Havaldar
Head, Department Of Chemistry
Non-Biological Sciences
Geology
The academic year 2013-14 for the
geology department was, as in the
past very eventful and with many
success stories. On the student front,
we had the first batch of M.Sc under
autonomy, graduating. This batch
brought laurels for the department
through their academic as well as
extra- curricular activities.
The following M.Sc students qualified
the
successfully completed internships at
ONGC, Tata-Petrodyne and ICS.
CSIR-UGC JRF/ Lecturership
examination -
The department also bagged the
'Nebula' Intercollegiate Geology
Festival Trophy 2013 held in Parvatibai
Chowgule College of Arts & Science,
Gogol-Margao, Goa.
December 2013
1. Prathamesh Samant
2. Christer Pereira
3. John D'souza
4. Bijal Chudasama
5. Arnold
The first TERRA Festival: Our own
Intercollegiate Geology Festival TERRA was held between the 12th and
13 of December and seven institutions
from across the country participated.
The overall best trophy was bagged
by: Parvatibai Chowgule College of
Arts & Science, Gogol-Margao, Goa
June 2013
1. Angana Chaudhuri
2. Tanzil Deshmukh
UPSC GSI EXAM 2013
1. Gyzel Rodrigues
Four of our third year students secured
ranks in the first 20 in the all India
- Joint Admission Test for Masters
(JAM) bagging the 1st, 2nd 7th and
15th ranks. Nine students from this
batch have bagged seats in the IITs and
ISM for their post graduate studies.
BSc Students:
JAM EXAM for admission to IIT
in MSc
1. Rashesh Saraiya (AIR 1)
2. Surya Subryamanyam (AIR 2)
3. Abaan Ahmed Momin (AIR 7)
4. Denzil (AIR 14)
5. Siddharth Kshatriya (AIR 23)
6. Tahani Aziz (AIR 58)
7. Vandit Vyas (AIR 88)
8. Lian Yang (AIR 90)
9. Reuben Fernandes (AIR 91)
10. Aurpita Saha (AIR 108)
Admitted to the Indian School of
Mines University
1. Vandit Vyas
2. Reuben Fernandes
Our
post-graduate
students
On the ocassion of TERRA lectures
were delivered by : Dr. M.D. Sastry,
Head, Research and Development at
Gemmological Institute of India on
'Diamonds - Origin and evaluation'
and by Mr. Sudipta Basu, Reliance
Petroleum on "Petroleum Systems
Analysis - A Key Hydrocarbon
Exploration Tool”,
The departmental magazine TERRA
- was also released on this occasion.
The Magazine is now registered under
ISSN and the TERRA is a registered
trademark.
Faculty Member achievements:
The department faculty members along
with their regular teaching have been
active in the field of research and
consultancy.
Mr. Ashwin Pundalik participated
in the 30th Convention of Indian
Association of Sedimentologists" 2830 November, 2013 at Department
of Geology, Manipur University,
Imphal and presented a paper ‘Quaternary Sedimentation History
120
from Bharkacch-Bari-Bareli-Sohagpur
area of Central Narmada Basin,
Hoshangabad and Raisen Districts,
M.P’ .
Mr. Vikram Pratap Singh participated
in the 24th Indian Colloquium on
Micropaleontology and Stratigraphy
held at Wadia Institute of Himalayan
Geology, Dehradun, 18-20 November
and made an oral presentation – ‘Late
Quaternary Oceanographic Changes
in Sulu Sea: Planktic Foraminiferal
Evidences. 24th Indian Colloquium on
Micropaleontology and Stratigraphy.
He has also contributed a chapter
in a book : Holocene: definition
and current status in the Geological
Time Scale; Holocene: Perspectives,
Environmental Dynamics and Impact
Events, (Ed.) B.S. Kotlia, ISBN 978-162257-722-4; Nova Science Publishers
USA. Published: 2013.’
Mr. Bobby Mathew, presently working
towards the completion of his doctoral
thesis through the UGC - FIP,
presented a paper in: International
Conference On “Water, Wastewater
& Isotope Hydrology” Ic-Wwish-2013,
25- 27th July 2013, Bangalore.
Mr. Prathmesh Samant qualified the
CSIR/UGC NET, State Eligibility Test
(SET) - 1st Rank, Ph.D Entrance Test
(PET- Mumbai University), GATE
2014, setting an example for students
as well as faculty members.
Dr. Goutam Bandyopadhyay and
Dr. Pravin Henriques were invited to
present their research work at the Fifth
National Seminar on “Gemmology”
organized by the Dept. of Geology,
Govt. Motilal Vigyan Mahavidyalaya,
Bhopal (M.P) under the aegis of:
Madhya Pradesh Council of Science
Non-Biological Sciences
and Technology, Bhopal (M.P), South
Asian Association Of Economic
Geologist (SAAEG) and Indian
Science Congress Association Bhopal
Chapter and Indian Science Congress
Association (ISCA), Bhopal Chapter.
The following were the contributions :
Goutam Bandyopadhyay 2014:Gold
Occurrences in Sudan' (Abstract)
Dr.Henriques P.J: Basic gem
identification techniques versus
modern day high tech instrumentation
methods. (Abstract) and Ultraviolet
light: its application and use in gem
identification. (Abstract)
Dr. Henriques P.J presented his
research work ‘Back to the basics:
Reviving the art of preliminary
gem identification’ at the National
Symposium on “Challenges of Mineral
Development in Central India,
Problems and Prospects” organized by
South Asian Association Of Economic
Geologist (SAAEG) Jabalpur Chapter
and Mahakousal Institute of Gem
Testing & Research Centre. Jabalpur.
Madhya Pradesh. (Abstract).
Sayandeep Banerjee published an
article. The details are as follows: Biswas
.A; Majumdar. D D and Banerjee
.S (2014) Morphometry governs the
dynamics of a drainage basin: analysis
& its implications., Geography Journal;
Hindawi Publishing Corporation,
Volume 2014, Article ID 927176 http://
dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/927176 ISSN:
2314-4203.
Dr. Hrishikesh Samant was invited to
attend the Geospatial World Forum
- 5th -9th May 2014 in Geneva,
Switzerland where he presented the
work done by his research scholars
- Mr. Bobby Mathew( 'Impact of
Spatial Orientation of Basic Dykes on
Hydrogeology in the North Western
Part of Maharashtra State, India'.) (Poster presentation) and Ms. Farjana
Birajdar ('Glacier changes in the Bhaga
Basin of Western Himalaya during
the Past 50 Years based on Temporal
Analysis of Remotely Sensed Data'.) –
(Poster presentation) . He was also the
coordinating Judge for the Geospatial
World Awards 2014.
As a part of the extension activities
of the department, the faculty
members have been invited for guest
lectures. Dr. Samant continues to be
a resource person for the Academic
Staff College, University of Mumbai.
He delivered a guest lecture in
B.N. Bandodkar College - Refresher
Course in Environmental Sciences:
lecture- "Erosion Control and Water
Conservation Techniques" on 11th
February 2014. He was also invited
by the Association of Petroleum
Geologists as a Resource Person during
their two day field excursion to Nashik
on 8th -9th March 2014.
Mr. Ashwin Pundalik and Mr. Vikram
Pratap Singh conducted popular
science (geology) talks for the Teach
For India affiliated schools, with an
aim to introduce the fascinating subject
of geology to under-privileged school
students.
Dr. Goutam has been instrumental in
generating revenue for the department
and college through his consultancy in
petrography for Godrej and Rio Tinto.
Dr. Pravin continues to be a consultant
and in-charge of the Diploma and
Certificate courses in Gemmology.
Lecture Series: To gain from the
expertise of professionals in geology
and allied domains, the department
invited external speakers as a part of
the TERRA - Prof. Sukeswala memorial
Lecture series. We had:
23rd January 2014:Lecture " Well
Site Selection and Oil Well Drilling
Operations" Prof. A.B. Thakore
(ONGC Chair Professor), M.S.
University of Baroda.
23rd September 2013: Lecture: Core
Analysis by Mr. Atul Godbole, CEO
of Integrated Consultancy Services
28th August 2013: Lecture: 'Meteorites
- Their Collection, Analysis and
Evidences About Evolution of Our
Solar System'. by Ms. Prajkta Mane,
Research Fellow, Arizona State
University, Tempe, USA.
Infrastructure Upgradation
As a part of the infrastructure up
gradation, we acquired new stereozoom microscopes for micro-
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paleontological studies, Student
petrological microscopes for regular
undergraduate training, hand held
GPS units for field mapping and
Electrical Soil Resistivity equipment
for geophysical surveys. The funds for
this equipment were made available
through the DST-FIST grant.
Field work:
Field work is an integral part of
our subject and this year too our
students were trained by our faculty
in various aspects of field geology
and geological mapping. short
duration field visits were organised
to places around Mumbai city. The
first year students visited the UtanDongri -Gorai area also the Elephanta
Island to understand local geology.
The second year students visited the
Khandala-Lonavala-Pune area for
understanding the nuances of Deccan
Flood Basalts and typical landforms
and structures exhibited by them. The
annual geological field mapping camp
was held in Bhuj, Kutch district of
Gujarat where our third year students
were rigorously trained for a period
of ten days in techniques of geological
mapping.
New faculty members:
This academic year also witnessed
new faculty members joining and
some proceeding for other venues.
Mr. Sayandeep Banerjee joined the
department and his specialisation
as a structural geologist has further
strengthened our academic setup.
Mr. Prathamesh Samant and Ms.
Debarati Das, both alumnus joined
the department on a short term
teaching assignment. Ms. Debarati
was awarded the MEXT scholarship
by the Government of Japan and
has joined to the Pheasant Memorial
Laboratory, Okayama University, Japan
for a doctoral program. Mr. Prathmesh
Samant will be joining the Atomic
Minerals Division, Department of
Atomic Energy, Govt. of India as
Geologist. Mr. Deepak Sahu who
taught during the academic year and
has proceeded for another teaching
assignment.
Dr. Hrishikesh Samant
Head, Department of Geology
Non-Biological Sciences
Mathematics
The academic year began with the
graduation ceremony for our third
year students who graduated in 2013.
One of our students, Saumya Gandhi
was the topper in the Bachelor of
Science programme. She later went
to the University of Oxford to study
Financial Mathematics. Similarly, Alan
D’Souza of the same class is pursuing
post graduation in Mathematics at
the prestigious Ecole Polytechnique
in Paris.
The rest of the academic year was busy
and eventful with several activities
being organized which witnessed
active participation from teachers and
students alike.
Dr. Mangala Gurjar continued as
the Coordinator of the Mumbai
region for the ‘Madhava Mathematics
Competition’ (MMC), held nationwide
on 5th January 2014. This is the
5th year of the competition which
initially saw participation only from
the Mumbai and Pune regions, but
now extends nationally to include
Kolkata, Goa, Hyderabad, Varanasi,
Bhubaneshwar, and Kerala. MMC is
conducted by HBCSE under the aegis
of NBHM. The aim of this competition
is to motivate undergraduate students
to study Mathematics. In order to
prepare the students of the Mumbai
region for this competition, Dr. Gurjar
organized a one-day workshop at
three different colleges; RJ, St. Xavier’s
and CHM on 30th November 2013.
She worked as a resource person for
a workshop at St. Xavier’s College
along with Dr. Anuradha Garge of
Mumbai University. Students from
Ruia, Ruparel, KC and other colleges
attended the workshop, along with
our students. Dr. Mangala Gurjar
also presented a paper on “Practical
Applications of Abstract Algebra” at
the National Conference on Pure
and Applied Mathematics held at the
College of Engineering, Pune, from
17-19th December 2013.
Mr. Ashok Bingi attended a workshop
at Khalsa College on the “New Syllabus
in Applied Component” on 5th July,
2013. Along with Ms. Meenal Kolkar,
he also attended a week-long workshop
at TIFR on “Multivariable Calculus”
from 15th to 20th November 2013.
Mr. Ashok has applied for FIP and
his research paper “An Element Prime
to and Primary to Another Element
in Lattice Modules” is accepted for
publication by the International
Mathematical Forum, Hikari Ltd.
Ms. Meenal Kolkar attended a one
week workshop on “Soft Skills
Development” from 5-11th March
2014. Ms. P. Sarada Devi from
the Junior College participated in
TIME (sixth national conference on
Technology & Innovations in Math
Education jointly with ATCM) from
7th to 11th December, 2013 at
the Indian Institute of Technology,
Mumbai. She along with Ms. Meenal
Kolkar also attended a UGC Sponsored
two-day state seminar on the “Impact
of Indian Mathematicians on the
World of Mathematics”, at PatkarVarde College, Goregaon, Mumbai in
January 2014.
As always, our students participated
in many co-curricular activities.
Shubham Joshi of the S.Y. B. Sc.
was selected for a four week MTTS
program to be conducted in May-June
2014 in Goa. Neil Vaz of the S.Y. B.Sc.
attended a three-week NPDE (National
Program on Differential Equations)
which was scheduled to be conducted
at the Maulana Azad National Institute
of Technology, Bhopal, from May
26th - June 14th, 2014. Two other
students - Heather Fonseka and Fiona
Rodrigues of S.Y.B.Sc were selected for
a Mini-MTTS program conducted at
Ruia College from 7th to 12th April
2014.
This was a challenging academic year
for the Mathematics department. Prof.
Divya Revankar resigned in the month
of January2014. We are thankful to
Prof. J. Shridhar of Siddharth College
for his help as visiting faculty.
Dr. Mangala Gurjar
Head, Department of Mathematics
Physics
The year 2013-14 started with a
challenge of greater number of students
at SY as well as TY level.A great
advantage was that a new teacher was
appointed. With great enthusiasm, we
aimed to improve our results at TY
level, as Physics was the first choice
of most of the students. .
From the previous batch(2012-2013),
our students got admissions for further
studies at the following institutes
1.Mr. Sambit Mitra: M.Sc. from
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology,
Solar Project of Thermax at Shivegaon
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Non-Biological Sciences
Germany
2.Ms. Neekita Sharma: M.Sc Physics
from Manipal University.
3.
Mr. L. Chaitanya: M.Sc in
applied Mathematics from Ecole
Polytechnic, France.
4.Mr. Rakshit Joshi: M.Sc Physics
5.
Mr. Atir Tahir Rehamatpure:
M.Sc Physics from University of
Mumbai
6.Ms. Swati Muralidharan: M.Sc
Physics from University of
Mumbai
7.Ms. Sanwar Silas: joined aviation
course at Bangaluru
The year started with our regular
activity : ‘the Physics Exhibition’ in the
month of July. This was to welcome
our new students and show them the
presence of physics in the every day
and the capacity of physics to interest
and amaze.. On the same day we also
inaugurated the department magazine
‘CELERITAS’.
This year we took the TY students
for a field trip. They visited GMRT
observatory at Khodad, the solar
energy plant of Thermax at Shivegaon
and the wind mills on the hills near
Shivegaon. Our FY students enjoyed
a study tour to HBCSE and became
more passionate to take up projects
in physics.
The Physics circle, managed by SY
students, arranged two guest lectures d
on “Astronomy” by eminent speakers:
Dr Jaydeep Mukharjee, Director NASA
and Dr. Alek Boksenberg, Professor
at Cambridge Univ and fellow of the
Royal Soc.
Wind Mills near Shivegaon
Honour’s programme activities. 70
students enrolled in the beginning
out of which 30 students successfully
acquired the credits . Dr. Bodhane,
Dr.Vedasankari, Dr. Jyoti Singh, Mr.
Ajay Yadav and Dr. Leena Joshi guided
the students through various projects.
During the year our teachers also
took part in some activities outside
the college:
Dr. Vedasankari: (i)Attended a one day
workshop on revised syllabus of MSc
part II in Physics in K. J. Somaiya
College of Science and Commerce in
July, 2013. (ii)Conducted MSc part –II
lectures in K. J. Somaiya College of
Science and Commerce in Semester
III and B. N. Bandodkar College in
Semester IV. (iii)Conducted MSc part
I lectures in B. N. Bandodkar College
in Semester I. (iv) was appointed as
a paper setter for MSc in Mumbai
University.
Dr. Bodhane and Dr.Rohan Jadhav:
Attended a refresher course organized
by Indian Academy of Sciences in
collaboration with University of
Mumbai on Statistical and thermal
physics.
Dr. Jyoti Singh: Attended One day
workshop in HBCSE, Mumbai for
FYBSc (Mumbai University) revised
syllabus discussion.
Mr. Ajay Yadav: (i) Attended an
Orientation program of Mumbai
University from 25th Sept. to 24th
October 2014. (ii)Attended One day
workshop in HBCSE, Mumbai for
FYBSc (Mumbai University) revised
syllabus discussion.
Dr. Leena Joshi: (i)Worked as a
resource person for orientation-cumselection camp (OCSC) at the Homi
Bhabha centre for science education
from April 10 – 21, 2014 (for
selecting a team of 5 most meritorious
students to represent the country at
the International Physics Olympiad
which is going to be held at Astana,
Kazakhstan from July 13 to 21, 2014.)
Dr. Shyamala Bodhane
Head, Department of Physics
A lecture by Dr. Bal Phondke was
organized on Scientific communication
skills for SY students. He elaborated
on the different skills required while
communicating “science” to different
groups in the society. He also explained
the skillful use of various modes of
communication.
After a gap of two years our
department once again started the
Radio Telescope at Khodad
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Non-Biological Sciences
Statistics
The academic year, 2013 – 2014 began
on a happy and enthusiastic note for
all of us because of the excellent results
produced by our students in the college
exams. Abhimanyu Singh and Karthik
Verma who topped the TYBSc Statistics
exams also secured the overall second
and third ranks respectively in the
college exams. Amrita Ghare topped
the TYBA exams in Statistics.
Student-oriented activities
The department tailored its activities
to move beyond the realm of mere
academics. Hence the students were
actively involved in various extracurricular and co-curricular activities.
• At the onset of the academic
year, our ex-student Abhay Mittal
addressed the TYBA class and
gave insights into the relevance of
Statistics.
• Ex-students Nainjeet Juneja and
Rohit Jain conducted a course in
EXCEL for our TYB. Sc students.
Research projects were organized
for the Third-year students
under the guidance of Dr. Anjali
Panigrahi. During this programme,
the students were familiarized with
the process of writing a research
proposal, collecting of data,
analyzing and writing a research
paper.
• An ex-student of our college, Mr.
Nobby Pariyavam who is presently
doing his MSc Finance at Jamnalal
Bajaj addressed the current TYBA
students regarding future careeroptions for students.
• Ms. Zankruti Doshi Mehta,Senior
Researcher in Ipsos India Pvt Ltd
conducted a Market Research
Programme for the First Year BA
students.
• Mr. Pradeep Nair, Consumer
Insights Executive, General Mills,
conducted a Market Research
Programme for the First Year B.Sc
students.
Faculty-action
The members of the department apart
from their regular teaching participated
in the various activities of the college.
• Ms. Pooja H. Ochaney was invited
in June, to be on the panel,to
interview students for selection to
the BMS course for 2013-14 and
later on in October, she was on
the panel to interview students for
International programs.
• Ms. Myrtle Fernandes went on an
Industrial visit with the Sociology
students to Govardhan Dairy.
• Ms. S. Annapurna and Ms. Piyali
Unnikrishnan conducted a course
on ‘ Basic Course in R’ for the TY
BA & TY B.Sc students.
• Ms. Pooja Ochaney, Ms.Myrtle
Fernandes, Ms.Ayesha Dias, Mr.
Saju George and Ms.S. Annapurna
attended a UGC sponsored
National seminar titled ‘Recent
Developments in Decision Making
using Statistical Techniques’ held
at S.I.E.S college in August, 2013.
• This year Ms.S. Annapurna was
invited as special invitee to attend
the Board of Studies meeting on
23rd July, 2013 at the Department
of Statistics, University of Mumbai.
• Ms.S. Annapurna attended a
one-week workshop conducted
by Maharshi Dayanand College
on ‘Research Methodology and
Computer Applications in Social
Sciences’ organized by IQAC.
• Ms. S. Annapurna and Ms. Piyali
Unnikrishnan attended a seminar
on ‘Application of Statistics in
124
Industry’ in Mumbai University in
March 2014.
• At the end of the academic year Ms.
Piyali attended the 7-day workshop
conducted by the Academic
Staff College on ‘Contemporary
Strategies for teaching and
evaluation’
Stats-Society
The Stats – Society is the student body
of the Statistics department which
conducts a host of activities for the
students.
This year the staff – office – bearers
of the Stats-Society were Ms. Ayesha
Dias and Mr. Saju V George – as the
staff coordinator and the staff Treasurer
respectively.
The seminar organized by the Stats –
Society in Khandala on the 1st and 2nd
of December, 2013, was a grand success.
Many papers on various interesting
topics were presented by the students.
The Stats-Society also organized X-S
an intra-collegiate festival on 12th
and 13th of February in which several
interesting events were organized.
The Plot
Finally on the 11th of March, 2013 - the
year ended with the launching of the
magazine of the department – The Plot.
The Department has had a hectic but
enriching year and as this academic year
comes to a close we look forward to
the new challenges in the coming year.
Ms. Pooja Ochaney
Head – Department of Statistics
Commerce
bachelor of management studies
The second batch of students under the
autonomous programme graduated
this year and the faculty felt a sense
of great accomplishment. The changes
incorporated in the syllabi and the
teaching –learning mechanism had
been effectively implemented. This has
motivated us to create, with confidence,
a knowledge centred environment
coupled with effective learning. We are
firm believers that both teachers and
students are learners and in a subject
like Management where the means,
processes and crisis- management
defines the end result, the inputs from
young minds is extremely crucial. The
information and knowledge generated
through discussions, including case
studies has been the focal point this
year, evidently causing a perceptible
difference in interest of students,
spurring more participation.
The aim of the BMS course was to
foster the spirit of Entrepreneurship
among the students and every year the
E- Cell tries to achieve this aim through
the various workshops, idea generation
seminars and competitions. This
has resulted in some students taking
first steps towards entrepreneurship..
The theme for the department was
Entrepreneurship, so the Department
festival Zephyrus, was dedicated to
encourage the same. The 3-day festival
took place on 16th, 17th& 18th. January
2014. The eleven events were in keeping
with the theme, ‘Innovation in Young
India’.
Reliance Money and current MD and
CEO of Destimoney and Mr. Nachiket
Kelkar, Assistant Editor of Hindustan
Times; with a bid to give the audience
a fresh perspective on the economic,
social and cultural aspect of elections
and predict influence of domestic and
foreign players on Indian markets.
The festival saw 400 participants
from 20 colleges across Mumbai
participating in eleven spectacularlycrafted events, ranging from a
stimulated
stock
exchange,
to
managing and customizing a football
team à la FIFA; as well as for a plethora
of talks conducted by a brilliant line
-up of speakers like TEDx Speaker and
Co-founder of the World’s first fully
featured Android Smartwatch- Mr.
Siddhant Vats, Dr. Pawan AgrawalManagement guru and speaker at
Microsoft, VOLVO, HCL India . Mr.
Ashishkumar Chauhan- CEO and MD
of the Bombay Stock Exchange also had
a session on finance.
Zephyrus ’14 brought out its Greek
meaning(The Winds of Change), by
delivering innovative ideas through
discussions on business scenario in
India.
Zephyrus ’14 also hosted a
panel discussion on the General
Elections with panelists: Mr.Sudip
Bandyopadhyay erstwhile MD of
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The Board of Studies played a crucial
role in the last academic year by
upgrading the syllabi and in auditing
the entire course curriculum and the
evaluation mechanisms.
Our association with CII and their
youth wing Yi has been a way of
helping our students to understand and
experience the realities of corporate life.
Young Indians (Yi) being a subset of
the confederations of Indian Industries
(CII) aims to reach out to India’s
youth through social development
programmes. The BMS department
collaborated with Yi to host various
events getting a great response from our
Commerce
students including other departments.
This was encouraging for the team
to scale greater heights in future. The
BMS department – Yi association is a
perfect intersection of socially driven
entrepreneurial students.
The Honours programme this year was
a series of workshops and interactive
sessions aimed at improving the
decision making ability of the students.
The resource people were both
academicians and industry personnel.
Lessons learnt beyond the classroom
are as crucial as those acquired
in one,making an industrial visit
important, as it enables students to
acquire an insight into the working
reality of an industry.
The Students of the Department
of Management Studies (including
Second as well as Third Years)were
fortunate to visit Bangalore and Mysore
in the month of October 2013 as part
of their Annual Industrial visit. . The
students were taken to the bottling
plant of Bisleri and to one of the major
breweries of the UB Group, where they
were given a live demo of the processes
involved in the production of their
products, including minute details of
collection of water from the bore wells
to its final packaging and distribution
This enabled the students to get a
firsthand experience of the functioning
of a factory.
students of the college.
Under the Cross Faculty paper the
department now offers a paper in
the field of Financial Management:
“Management
Accounting
and
Investment &Portfolio management”
This course is open to the Science
It was by the grace of God that our
efforts and endeavours were successful
and we strive to raise the bar higher
every year.
year, it was organized on 20th and 21st
June 2013. Various activities were
conducted to familiarise students with
their classmates and the topography
of the College. The Ethos of the Jesuits
was also brought out and students were
exhorted to strive for the “Magis” which
is a Latin term for ‘greater, braver,
higher, faster” and which also means
not being content with the status quo,
but to strive for excellence in what they
do. They were also encouraged to strive
to become men and women for others.
the Commerce Section participated
and did their best at intercollegiate
sports events as well. A Cricket
match on 23rd December 2013 and a
Volleyball match on 18th January 2014
was organized between student and
faculty to showcase camaraderie and
solidarity which is an integral part of
the ethos of the Commerce Section.
This year we also introduced the Book
Club called “ The Page Turners” where
a series of sessions by various authors
were held. This club is open to all
the departments and we got a great
response.
Out of the 80% final year students that
registered for placements, 90% got
placed by June 2014.The remaining
20% of the students who did not
register with the placements will be
pursuing their post graduate degrees in
Management.
Soni George Tharakan
Co-ordinator, BMS
Commerce
The Commerce Section of St. Xavier’s
College has been providing quality and
all round development and education
to working students for the last 26
years. The focus is mainly on working
students who desire to learn after a
hard day’s work. In order to develop
the overall personality of the students
and in keeping with its tradition, the
Commerce Section organized various
activities during the Academic Year
2013-14.
All Faith Prayer Service: The
Commerce Section conducts an interreligious prayer service every year
on the day when the FYBCom mark
the start of their academic year. In
the academic year 2013-14, it was
organized on 20th June 2013 where
students from FY to TY offered prayers
and by that strengthened the solidarity
that is already present and visible. We
asked for God’s blessings and grace on
all, during the year.
Orientation for the First Year
Students: Every year the Commerce
Section organizes an Orientation
Programme for the newly admitted
First Year students. In the academic
Cultural Programmes: On the feast
of St. Ignatius (the founder of the
Society of Jesus) on 31st July 2013 and
that of St. Xavier’s Feast (the Patron of
the College) on 3rd December 2013,
various cultural programmes were
organized. Through these programmes,
the students displayed enormous talent
and ability. Each of these programmes
had a theme and the overarching theme
is always Unity even in Diversity.
Sports: The Commerce Section
organized various Inter-Class Sports
events. These were in the field of
Volleyball, Football, Cricket, Carrom,
Chess and Basketball. The students of
126
Guest Lectures: Guest Lectures were
organized on the topic “Meditation and
Listening Practices” by Mr. Raj Singh
on 6th December 2013 and “How to
increase concentration level and how
to become successful” by Mr. Shyam
Vijaykumar Lilani, Faculty at CHM
The Students of the St. Vincent College,
Pune along with Principal Fr. Frazer,
Vice-Principal Fr. Errol and Manager of
St. Vincent College Fr. James with Best
College Trophy at Sitare-2013.
Commerce
Section conducted its first two day
National Level Conference on the
theme of “Dynamics of Commerce in
the Contemporary Business Scenario
in India” on 27th and 28th September,
2013. A total of 150 researchers from
different States of India wrote research
papers and presented them at the
Conference.
National Level Conference on the theme of “Dynamics of Commerce in the
Contemporary Business Scenario in India” on 27th and 28th September, 2013.
College, Ulhasnagar on 31st January
2014.
Industrial Visits: The students of
the Commerce Section visited the
Bombay Stock Exchange (B.S.E.) on
13th, 19th and 26th November 2013
to study the operations of Capital
Markets and Workings of the B.S.E and
M.S.M.E and on 17th and 19th January
2014 to participate in the National
Vendor Development Exhibition to
gain insights into Entrepreneurship
Development and Promotion.
Lonavla Outdoor Seminar: In
moving beyond classroom teaching
the Commerce Section organizes
an Outdoor Seminar for TYBCOM
students at Lonavla or Khandala. In
the academic year 2013-14, it was
organized for two days on 14th and 15th
December 2013, at Lonavla. Various
sessions were conducted on Personality
Development and Learning for Life
along with fun and entertainment.
English Speaking Classes: As part of
enhancing the performance of students
in English and Public speaking, the
Commerce Section conducts English
Speaking Classes every year. Many of
the students who join the Commerce
Section are from Non-English
backgrounds and these classes are a
great help to them. In the academic year
2013-14, these classes were conducted,
throughout the year between 5.05 and
5.50pm.
Information and Technology (IT)
Workshop: To expose students to
the wonders of Technology and its
enormous advantages, the Commerce
Section conducts special Information
and Technology Workshops every
year. In the academic year 2013-14, it
was conducted every Tuesday. Special
workshops and hands-on training in
Accounts programmes like Tally and
Advanced EXCEL was offered during
the Diwali vacations.
Student
Exchange
Programme:
As part of the Students’ Exchange
Prorgramme, in the academic year
2013-14, Mr. Rawson Gonsalves, a
student of TYBCom got an opportunity
to visit Stern University (U.S.A.).
Alumni Meet: The alumni meet of the
Commerce Section was organized on
15th February 2014 between 6.00pm
and 9.30pm at the College Hall and was
graced by more than 175 alumni.
UGC sponsored National Level
Conference: In commemoration
of its silver jubilee, the Commerce
The participants presented their papers
through power-point presentations at
the six different presentation sessions
conducted simultaneously at various
venues on Banking, Accounting and
Finance, Marketing, Human Resource
Management, Legal issues relating to
business, Economic policies related to
business, and Information Technology
and Communication aspects related to
business.
The conference was graced by nationally
recognized leading academicians
Principal Dr. P. G. Gopalkrishnan,
Principal Dr. K. S. Cheema, Principal
Dr. Y. D. Venkatesh, Principal Dr. Anil
Adsule, Principal Dr. Minu Thomas,
Principal Dr. K. Y. Shinde, retired I/c
Principal Rajam Rajgopalan, VicePrincipal Dr. Mahesh Bhiwandikar,
Vice-Principal Dr. Gopal Kalkoti, VicePrincipal Allan D’souza, Dr. Sanjay S.
Kaptan, Dr. Ram Sable, Dr. C.V. Hari
Narayanan, Dr. Mohammad Moghees,
Dr. Paras Jain, Dr. G. Syamala, Dr. Sunita
Magre, Prof. Sudhakar Solomonraj,
Mrs. Deepalakshmi Kaptan, and Mr.
Aranha Roy. Dr. Arvind Dhond was the
convener of the seminar.
Sitare-2013: The Commerce Section
has been organising a National level
Dr. Arvind Dhond along with students at BSE.
127
Commerce
College of Commerce, Pune
3rd Prize: Paresh .R. Dhapsi, Prakash
Night College, Goregaon
Solo Dance (Folk)
Competition:
Prize:
Wagmare
Ankush,
1st
Chhatrapati Shivaji Night College of
Arts and Commerce, Solapur
2nd Prize: Harshada Sonawane, Vidya
Vikas Edu. Society Night College,
Vikhroli (E)
3rd Prize: Ajit Satam, Dr.T. K. Tope Arts
and Commerce Night College, Parel
Fr. Errol with Alumni and their kids at Alumni Meet on 15th February 2014.
Inter-Collegiate competition since
2010 for night college students on
5th September every year. From
the academic year 2013-14, this
competition was named “Sitare: Stars of
the Night”. Sitare-2013 was organised
on 5th September 2013 for events like
Elocution, Power Point Presentation,
Quiz, Solo Singing (Bollywood), Solo
Dance (Folk), Carrom (Single) and
Chess (Double) in which 22 degree
night colleges and 52 Junior colleges
participated. St. Vincent College, Pune
won the Best College trophy. The results
of Sitare - 2013:
Elocution Competition:
1st Prize: Rashmi More, St. Vincent
College of Commerce, Pune
2nd
Prize: Celeste Pais, St.Xavier’s
College, Commerce Section, Mumbai
3rd Prize: Christopher, St. Joseph’s
Evening College, Bangalore, Karnataka
3rd Prize: Bhagare Umesh Sambhaji,
Chhatrapati Shivaji Night College,
Solapur
Power Point Presentation
Competition:
1st Prize: Akansha Jain and Ashkey
Nathan, St. Vincent College of
Commerce, Pune
2nd Prize: Johnson and Clive D’sa,
St.Xavier’s College, Commerce Section,
Mumbai
3rd Prize: Varun and Christopher, St.
Joseph’s Evening College, Bangalore,
Karnataka
3rd Prize: Manohar Katale and Akshay
Tirlotkar, Saraswati Mandir Night
College, Pune
Quiz Competition:
1st Prize: Aigale Daryappa Shivappa,
Night College, Ichalkaranji, Dist:
Kolhapur
Solo Singing (Bollywood)
Competition:
1st Prize: Srikant Jadhav, Public Night
Degree College, Santacruz (E)
2nd Prize: Rainy Pagare, St. Vincent
College of Commerce, Pune
3rd Prize: Jani Bipin N, Gujarat Arts
and Commerce College (Evening),
Ahmedabad, Gujrat
Solo Dance (Folk) Competition
(Junior Category):
2nd
1st Prize: Pillai Vidya Murali, St Xavier’s
Junior College, Bhandup West
3rd
2nd Prize: Panchbhai Sanika M, S.I.A
Junior College, Dombivali
Prize: Ronney Paul, St.Xavier’s
College, Commerce Section, Mumbai
Prize: Prakash Parthe, Mahatma
Jyotiba Phule Edu. Society’s Arts &
Com. College, Parel
Carrom (Double) Competition:
1st Prize: Sandeep Palve and Digambar
Sutar, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Edu. Soc.
College, Parel
2nd Prize: Anand G and Shawn Dias,
St.Xavier’s College, Commerce Section,
Mumbai
3rd Prize: Harshal Sathe and Sylvester
Francis, St. Vincent College of
Commerce, Pune
Chess (Double) Competition:
1st Prize: Honkatti Shailesh Subhash,
Night College, Ichalkaranji, Dist:
Kolhapur
2nd Prize: Kadir Shaikh, St. Vincent
128
3rd Prize: Shinde Chandrakant, Night
College of Arts & Commerce, Kolhapur
Solo Singing (Bollywood)
Competition (Junior Category):
1st Prize: Pushkraj Samant, Royal Junior
College, Dombivali
2nd Prize: Razik Mujawar, St. Vincent
College of Commerce, Pune
3rd Prize: Abeed Alim Shaikh, Bharat
Junior College of Commerce, Thane
SUC Day Celebration: SUC day was
celebrated on 18th January 2014 by
organizing inter-class competitions
in various events like book mark
preparation, best out of waste, chalk
carving, calligraphy, candle carving,
coin & note collection, caricature,
cultural dress, drawing, doll making,
Commerce
egg shell painting, essay writing,
extempore speech, extempore acting,
fashion show, fruit carving, ghost
get-up (face painting), greeting card
preparation, hair styling, handwriting, housie, instrumental talent,
just-a-minute performance, love letter
writing, mehendi, mimicry, nail art,
paper bag making, personality contest,
photography, pen your imagination,
poetry composing & writing, painting,
pot painting, rangoli, salad dressing,
shaiyari composing & writing,
signature, SMS composing, stamp
collection & display, story writing,
sketching, t-shirt painting, tug-of-war,
toy making, tattoo preparation, voice
modulation, and videography. Mr.
Lionel Mathias and Miss Delna Veigas
won the Mr. Xavier’s and Miss Xavier’s
of the Commerce Section respectively.
By winning maximum prizes, SYBCom
‘A’ won SUC overall best class prize.
Inter-Collegiate
Competition
Achievements: The students are
encouraged to participate in various
Inter-Collegiate Competitions and
have done so with distinction and
aplomb. The following are some of the
highlights:
•
Rawson Gonsalves and Johnson
won the Consolation prize for
Power Point Presentation and
Kallupalathin Jerin and Peter
Alvares won Consolation prize
for Carrom at the intercollegiate
competition organized by St.
Vincent College, Pune.
•
Punit Acharya and Johnson won
the 3rd prize for Research Paper
and Power Point Presentation
Competition
at
Drishti,
intercollegiate festival of N. M.
College, Vile Parle.
•
Jitendra Mhadik won 1st prize for
painting, Malcolm Roderigues,
Deeksha Sharma and Shashikala
Yadav won 2nd prize for Business
Planning, Celeste Pais won 2nd prize
for Essay Writing and Consolation
for Elocution at Utkhanta, an intercollegiate competition organized
by Sonopant Dandekar College,
Palghar.
•
Shashank Dahatonde, Denis Lara
D’souza and Group won 2nd prize
Let us have but one end
in view, the welfare of
humanity; and let us put
aside all selfishness
in consideration of
language, nationality, or
religion.
- John Comenius,
17th century philosopher
129
for Group Dance at Mantra, an
inter-collegiate feast organized by
N. E. S. Ratnam College, Bhandup.
•
Denis Lara Dsouza won 2nd
prize for T-shirt painting at
an intercollegiate competition
organized by Shroff College,
Malad.
•
Ronnipaul and group won a
consolation prize for Street Play at
Metanoia-2014, an inter-collegiate
competition organized by Aditya
Institute of Management Studies
and Research, Borivali.
•
The Football Team of the
Commerce Section won the
tournament at Sydenham College,
Churchgate.
In keeping with its age old tradition, the
Commerce Section, in the academic
year 2013-14 also tried to provide
quality education to assist the overall
development of the personality of its
students.
Fr. Errol Fernandes S.J.
Vice-Principal, Commerce Section