BENGALURU: Mount Carmel College (MCC) recently turned 75. A place that many girls called their second home... A place that many women felt prepared them to face the world. It was homecoming for some Carmelites when the college felicitated 75 alumni who have been achievers and society’s torch-bearers.
Some of the personalities who were felicitated as part of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations include thespian Arundhati Raja, marketing leader Malavika Harita and international badminton player Ashwini Ponnappa to name a few.
Scribes, sportspeople, singers, dancers... the celebrations saw ex-students from different walks of life stride into the auditorium, thankful for the education the college had provided them. One such was Nirupama Rao, former Indian Foreign Service officer from the 1973 batch of MCC. She served as India’s Foreign Secretary from 2009 to 2011, as well as being India’s Ambassador to the United States, China and Sri Lanka (high commissioner) during her career. “The college played a significant role in shaping my career choice to join the Indian Foreign Service and in teaching me the courage of conviction,” says Rao, who completed her BA (Honours) in English from the college in 1970.
For ex-Carmalite, dancer and choreographer Madhu Nataraj, it was emotional for her to meet the sisters from college. “When I walk up the drive, I still wonder if I have finished my accountancy homework,” she mentions with a laugh. “The college shaped my personality in a way that I cannot fathom. I had just moved from Delhi to Bengaluru, from a co-ed school to an all-girls’ college but within two weeks of being there, I realised how much more liberated I felt being in a space with so many powerful women. Very early on, I realised that women need to support each other. If I look back, Mounts was a germination board for a whole lot of possibilities,” says Nataraj.
Singer Vasundhara Das, who passed out in 1998, agrees. Though Das has been a frequent visitor to college to guide present students, going there as one of the 75 students to be felicitated on the Platinum Jubilee celebrations was special. The singer gives full credit to the college for shaping her personality. “The focus is on all-round development. The teachers and staff have a very positive outlook. They train girls to be multi-faceted. That works well for those who want to do well beyond academics. After all, life is
more than just exams,” concludes Das.