St. Anthony's High School, Monte de Guirim, Bardez, Goa

THE FAMOUS FACADE

The famous and timeless vertical striped façade and stepped steeple of the main building. Classes below and senior dormitory above. This frontal magnificent structure served also as a backdrop for the annual school students picture. Two stairways on both sides lead and join at the landing below the front portal. The wing on the left was added much later. The original vertical stripes and borders around the arched balcony and main portal were bluish-grey and later changed to red sometime in the early 1960s.

The huge hall on the first floor was actually a dormitory for senior students. It was temporarily converted into a drama hall for the two special days in the school calendar as described above. On one occasion, I had also witnessed an Ordination to priesthood of one of the students of Monte in the late 1950’s, by the Archbishop of Goa.

The large dormitory comprised of a purpose-built stage with permanent fittings. It was well-known for its unique curtain that resembled a beautiful scarlet drape, far ahead of its time in its operation and the way it opened during the 1950's. It consisted of a timber frame-work that was fitted to the lower half of the curtain at the rear. The ropes were attached to the top of the timber frame, and the curtain was completely lifted up into the ceiling, aided by a pulley system, forming a neat horizontal crease midway, making it look majestic as it went up. It had also had other rolling scenic curtains which were painted by Brother Vitalis. The stage had an array of boxed floor lights in the front end. The entire facade from ground to the sloping roof, and side to side, was painted in light bluish-grey hues resembling marble Roman architectural columns.

On the second day of the school concert, students attended Holy Mass at the school chapel, followed by breakfast in the hall mentioned above.