Mumbai: At Sydenham College's first ever reunion, a wishlist from alums

Mumbai: 109-year-old Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics, which got its alumni club six months ago, conducted its first-ever reunion on December 23 at Willingdon Sports Club Lawns in Mumbai.

Over 200 alumni members participated in the reunion, which included dignitaries such as CEO and Vice Chairman of HDFC Keki Mistry, renowned Chartered and Cost Accountant Shailesh Haribhakti, Marico Chairman Harsh Mariwala, CA Bansi Mehta, and many more. Dr. Homi Bhabha State University VC Dr. Rajanish Kamalakar Kamat, and Sydenham Principal Dr. Madhuri Kagalkar were also present at the reunion.

The reunion ceremony, which is the first step towards bringing back Sydenham’s legacy, was open to alums from all the batches.

Veteran Bansi Mehta wishes for an autonomous Sydenham

Bansi Mehta worked as a teacher at Sydenham College for 30 years from 1960-1990 and taught the likes of actors Vinod Khanna and Juhi Chawla and the memories remain vivid to him, while hope persists.

“Today teaching is absent from Sydenham College,” lamented Mehta, the man behind CA firm Bansi S. Mehta and Co, who wants the college to regain its status as an autonomous institute.

“Sydenham has the potential to be London School of Economics and Political Science. The institute is significant both for the past and future. I have been fighting with others for the last 7 years in the efforts to make the college autonomous,” Mehta said in his speech to the distinguished audience

While highlighting that it’s easy to destroy an institution, Mehta stated that the government is also partly to blame for the state Sydenham is in.

“In such situations, you cannot look at the government to help you and should take matters into your own hands,” Mehta, who has also served as the president of ICAI, told the Free Press Journal.

Finance bigwigs make their presence felt at college reunion

Others believe the reunion has opened up the possibility for improvements in Sydenham in the future and reviving its lost glory.

“We had a nice event today. It’s good to have such an occasion every year. We hope to have more and more such events in the future and will offer any support required to the institute,” stated HDFC CEO Keki Mistry.

Shailesh Haribhakti urged the alumni to take charge of developing Sydenham while signifying its partnership with Homi Bhabha University.

More initiatives aim to help Sydenham

The plans to arrange the reunion go back to February 2022, when the alums joined forces with Sydenham to work on improving the institute’s infrastructure something that was highlighted by Ajit Lalvani, the Founder Director of the SydAlumni Association when he talked about new plans for Sydenham’s courses and its collaborations with foreign institutes.

To make Sydenham a student favourite all over again, internships and training sessions with the star-studded alum association are in the making. The association would aim to ensure that the current Sydenham students recognize their skills and receive an opportunity to hone them at big firms. Encouraging sports amongst the college youth and focusing on women's empowerment also top the association’s agenda.