Four years since the pandemic started, St. Xavier’s College Calcutta’s mega-musical extravaganza, Beyond Barriers, organised by the alumni association, returned with a bang to the college grounds. Star singers like Sunidhi Chauhan, Sonu Nigam, KK, Shreya Ghoshal and many others have performed at this musical event over the years and this time Bollywood playback singer Shilpa Rao captivated the audience with her electrifying performance. Beyond Barriers Chapter XXII, in association with The Telegraph, held on February 4, saw former and current students thoroughly enjoying Shilpa’s performance as she dropped her Bollywood hits one after the other. t2 dropped by and here’s bringing you the highlights.
The packed house at St. Xavier’s College grounds enjoyed the musical evening thoroughly as they swayed and cheered to Shilpa’s songs.
Xaverians Imran Zaki and Arvind Bubna
“A programme of this scale only the alumni of Xavier’s can do. We have some lovely memories from the other chapters of Beyond Barriers. I think it is a beautiful 22-year journey and I thank our Father and the alumni team for working day and night to pull off such a great event,” said Sudeshna Roychowdhury, founder-member of the Women’s Forum of St. Xavier’s College Calcutta.
Aaryan Banthia also performed some Bollywood hits to warm up the crowd. Aaryan paid tribute to singer KK who had previously performed in one of the Beyond Barriers chapters.
“I’m not a Xaverian but every time I come here St. Xavier’s always makes me feel at home. Every year I make a point to attend all the Beyond Barriers chapters. Regarding Shilpa Rao, she is a trained classical singer and I love how she performs,” said Gargee Roy Chowdhury.
The SXCCAA core team along with St. Xavier’s College principal Father Dominic Savio and Shilpa Rao joined in the cake-cutting ceremony after the performance to celebrate Beyond Barriers Chapter XXII. “As we all know, SXCCAA has contributed a lot to our alma mater. For this evening, I would like to thank the SXCCAA for organising such an electrifying event and I welcome Shilpa Rao to our college grounds,” said Fr. Dominic Savio who is also the president of the SXCCAA (St. Xavier’s College Calcutta Alumni Association).
“Beyond Barriers is the crowning fellowship and fundraising event of SXCCAA. It’s our biggest fundraiser; this time it was the penultimate show to end Xavotsav and it sees the harmonious working of a huge team. In a way, it is for the Xaverians, organised by Xaverians and a signature gift of the Xaverians to our dear city. BB22 was significant because it happened after four long years but the comeback was with a bang! Shilpa Rao had everyone dancing and enthralled by her performance and the footfall surpassed all records. I’m grateful to the dedicated team who always have my back and we are sure that BB will only get bigger each year,” said Firdausul Hasan, honorary secretary of SXCCAA, with wife Hasnu by his side.
