Skip to main content

President's Note

Across college, students have a slightly twisted impression of AICUF. Apparently, we AICUFers sit and sing hymns/pray in our free time. Now, I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. If that’s what you do, that’s fine! (Maybe you want to join our choir?). Hey, it’s not our fault we got an office under the Chapel (big thanks to Fr. Roy!). Just as Xavier's accepts students of all faiths we too welcome everyone regardless of their religious background. Even though we organize the choir for all the Feast Masses (boy, are we good! and yes, I’m tooting our own horn), spirituality isn't the only thing we focus on. We also focus on Social Outreach and the resulting Personality Development. AICUF is all that and much more.

To me, AICUF is not just about the social work, it’s about meeting other like minded individuals who share your passions and interests. It’s about interacting with famous and not-so-famous personalities, who have had the courage to fight for the marginalized and to stand up for what is right.


AICUF is more about making a difference, however small, in the lives of the less fortunate. It’s about being compassionate and empathetic, more than sympathetic (look up the difference). It’s about looking at others not merely as people but as human beings. It’s about feeling closer to humanity in this digital age of impersonalisation. It’s about seeing God (or any other entity you believe in,) in our fellow beings. AICUF helps you recognize the tremendous power you have, to change the world (for the better). It helps you to tap into this potential and gives you opportunities to use it. 

I’ve made us sound like Samaritans. Yea, we try to do some good work, but we also have our fun. We have days, when we have a truckload of work, sitting right there in the office and taunting us, but all we do is gossip and tease each other. Of course, the next day, we have double the work to do. But, it’s all good. Each of these instances and experiences is what shapes an AICUFer to be the best he/she can be. 


AICUF is family. AICUF is me. I am an AICUFer.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Street Art - The Voice of Mumbai's Urbanity

“Art imitates life.”  Art is a mirror showing the beautiful and grotesque face of our world. Through time, all forms of art have been windows into social structures, lifestyles, and beliefs of civilizations. Transformative art has evolved over centuries as the voice of people of their times, inspiring change from a shift in social norms to war revolutions.  ["Humanity" at Sassoon Docks. Photo Credit: Special Arrangement, The Hindu] A tedious train ride in the mornings, the stationary traffic in the evenings, in the gray monotonous life of Mumbai, some days my eyes find the gorgeous colors on mossy walls and railway bridges, across old complexes and abandoned warehouses. The Street Art of Mumbai - present everywhere, unnoticed yet leaving its mark.   From the cultural abundance of the city we inhabit to the push for human rights and protest against climate change, from promoting harmony to lauding the unsung heroes, street art does more than beautify the concrete forest we...

Drizzles and Downpours: An Outsider's Look Into Mumbai's Monsoons

Rivulets of water streaming down green leaves. Tiny paper boats floating around in muddy puddles. The sharp rat-tat-tat of droplets against tin roofs and the scent of sweet jasmine rising through the air.  Back home in Kerala, the monsoons had been a time of celebration. The bright and lush paddy fields, car rides filled with the cheer of raindrop races, and the pleasure in consuming all the kozhikotta and chaaya that my grandmother made.  Board games and splashing puddles colored my monsoon. Yet when I arrived in Mumbai, it all came to a pause. Dancing in the rain turned to rushing for shelter, my puddle splashing transformed into cuffing my jeans and my previously abandoned umbrella found a new purpose.  Mumbai had taken away the joy of my beloved monsoon. Or so I thought.   The monsoons in Mumbai were different. While in Kerala, the cities came to a standstill in the face of storms, the hustle and bustle of Mumbai remained unwavering. A phenomenon I’ve slowly be...

World Sight Day: A New Perspective

  Creator: Niruti Stock | Credit: Getty Images We all start our week by lamenting the so-called 'Monday Blues' and stressing about our pending work. Many of us overlook the luxuries we own and curse the life we lead; we never take the time to step into someone else's shoes and live life from their perspective. Life is as appalling as it is enchanting and as unfair as it is beautiful. From time to time, we have all questioned our fate and wondered, “Why me?" At some point in life, we all stumble on a rock, struggle to rise, and conclude that 'nothing good can ever happen in my life.’ But have we ever paused to count all the 'good things' that have already happened to us? The purpose of this blog is not to make you feel guilty but to make you realize that, in many ways, you are in a better position than someone else. At the same time, it highlights a global initiative by WHO and Lions Club International. While the previous blog focused on the 'Leading L...