Saligao Serenade

[Fr Nascimento says: At the time of the Golden Jubilee of the foundation of the Instituto de Saligao (1979), Professor J Patrocinio de Souza, a Mollebhattkar, wrote an article giving his impressions on why this Institute was established by the prominent and wise men of Saligao - namely, Antonio Jose Souza Cordeiro, Vitorino Saldanha and Dr Rudolfo de Melo - at Arrarim and not in another place in the village, though there were quite a few who aired their differences at the time.]

by Prof J Patrocinio de Souza

The Golden Jubilee Celebrations of the Saligao Institute evoke in my mind nostalgic memories of our beautiful village and of its unforgettable Institute. I lived in Saligao during the first critical quinquennium of the history of the Institute. Its image is indelibly stamped on my mind, for on my way to and from Mater Dei I could not help passing by the Institute four times on every school day. Read the rest of this entry »

[Fr Nascimento Mascarenhas says: As I had misplaced the book Profiles of Eminent People of Saligao by C Hubert de Souza given to me by the author himself in 1973, his son Rev Fr Desmond de Souza CSsR offered me his own copy in 2008 when I was interned in the Clergy Home, Alto Porvorim, giving me permission to use the material from the book Floreat Saligao (May Saligao Flourish) from where this profile of Durante D'Souza is taken from.]   

The life story of Durante F D’Souza reads almost like a fairy tale, of failures followed eventually by phenomenal success.

Durante D’Souza was born in 1881 and came from a well-known family of Nigvaddo de Arrarim, Saligao. He studied for some years at St. Xavier’s High School, Bombay. But, though not highly educated, he was gifted with a fluent tongue, a facile pen, a methodical mind, a love for music and an aptitude for sports. Equipped with these gifts, he set out to win the favour of Dame Fortune. For the greater part of his life, however, this fickle lady kept frowning upon him. Read the rest of this entry »