“The magnificent hall is a fitting tribute to the large and rich heart of the saintly Bishop”      His Eminence Sebastian Vayalil, Bishop of Palai

The Archbishop Kavukatt Hall has recently been in the news when it was rededicated after a drastic renovation, and updating – a long cherished dream come true. Inaugurated in connection with the Golden Jubilee of the college way back in 1974,  this cavernous Hall has been part of the pulse beat of both S B and our sister college Assumption since then. Many public events, especially of the Archdiocese were hosted here too. It is worthwhile to recapitulate its history in brief here.

Mar Mathew Kavukattu: The hall is named after the saintly Mar Mathew Kavukatt, the first Archbishop of  Changanacherry. Mar Kavukatt, born in Pravithanam, Palai, had his academic and ecclesiastical life intertwined with the history of St Berchmans College. When the College was started, in 1922-23 at Parel Seminary, the future Archbishop, Sri K C Mathai, was one among the 125 students of the first batch of the intermediate course. In 1935 he was ordained priest and soon after, in 1941 joined S B College as Lecturer in Syriac and warden of the hostels. He was consecrated Bishop in 1950 and elevated to Archbishop when in 1956 the Changanacherry was raised to Archdiocese status. Thus was the patron of the college ex– officio from 1950 till his passing. He was immensely popular among all communities in the place for his generosity, charity and accessibility, apart from leadership skills.

Archbishop Kavukattu Hall: At the passing away of the dear patron on 9 October 1969, the members of S B college community undertook the initiative to construct a memorial for him, volunteering to contribute for the project. Kavukatt’s successor, Mar Antony Padiyara, donated the foreign car, which Mar Mathew Kavukatt had used, to raise funds for the memorial. The American car, Plymouth, a rarity in Kerala those days, had been gifted to the late Archbishop. It was auctioned off to raise the seed money. The college organised a grand ten days’ Arts Festival to raise funds for the project. The Campus communities of S B and Assumption Colleges as well as the public generously contributed for the cause. On 15 August 1971, Mar Antony Padiyara laid the foundation stone for Archbishop Mar Mathew Kavukatt Hall and the work began.

As an undergraduate student of the Department of Commerce from 1972 to 1975, I witnessed the progress of its construction. Thanks to our English teacher Prof K J Francis who was adamant to engage our class in the old building that stands parallel to Kavukatt Hall. (It was formerly the Sacred heart Hostel where Mar Kavukatt stayed and later earned its funny moniker “Amaravathy” among the students and teachers.) Almost every day we used to visit the site and watched in awe the V shaped structure, huge girders being laid across with the help of cranes, hundreds of asbestos sheets being fixed on the flat but slope roof. We explored every space within the structure – spacious green rooms, huge stage laid with wooden planks with a trap door that opened to a basement, a prompters’ pit in front of the stage, theatre like lobby, toilets on either sides, a projector room, and a spacious balcony. The hall featured gallery-style seating that sloped gently down towards the front of the stage. Built into the natural incline of the site, the topography was cleverly used to arrange the rows one above another, with the stage placed at the lowest level of the auditorium—an innovative design for its time. For those addressing the gathering, this ensured an unobstructed view of every person in the hall.

The Kavukatt Hall replaced the old auditorium named Msgr Kallarackal Hall, which was too small and primitive by comparison. The colossal structure, with a seating capacity of 3200 was completed by the end of 1973. The largest of its kind anywhere in Kerala, was built at a cost of 12.5 lakhs [at current purchasing parity of gold Rs 17 CR].

We gratefully acknowledge the leadership of the Principal, Rev Dr Antony Kurialacherry, in materialising this dream project and also in the construction of two more buildings, during the same period, (Golden) Jubilee Staff Hostel and the five storied library, with UGC aid.

Golden Jubilee of SB: Chronologically, the Godden Jubilee of the establishment of the college was due in the academic year 1971-72. However, the celebrations commenced with the blessing and inauguration of the Archbishop Kavukatt Hall on 1st January 1974. Mar Antony Padiyara inaugurated the Hall. Mar Sebastian Vayalil, Bishop of Palai and the colleague and friend of the late Archibishop unveiled the portrait of Mar Kavukatt that adorned the Hall. The Golden Jubilee valedictory was inaugurated on 28^thJanuary by the then Governor of Kerala His Excellency Sri N.N. Wanchoo. 

SB and Assumption Auditorium: Archbishop Kavukatt Hall stands on the eastern side of the S B Campus, just overlooking the lane close to the compound wall and just behind the Assumption College. Since both the colleges had equal access to the Hall, a special gate was provided at the other side exclusively for the Assumption community, so that the students could enter the hall without passing through the main road. The auditorium continued to be used by both colleges and the major dates were scheduled accordingly, until Assumption College had Pope John Paul II indoor court constructed in 2008. The A K Hall is seldom used by Assumption nowadays.

Acoustics: The public address system was seriously faulty from day one and the audience had great trouble with the sound reception. The first day’s evening programme, the cultural events of both SB and Assumption Colleges, were disrupted by the restless students who raised hell of a lot of noise forcing the authorities to postpone the programme. I still recall the eloquence and persuasive power of the late dear Prof Scaria Zacharia, who intervened to pacify the student audience. The acoustic problem persisted, despite many attempts to rectify it. During my M Phil dissertation work I met Ramesh, one among the Jose, Ramesh, Babu Associates, the architects of the hall, and enquired about the horrifying acoustics of the auditorium. Ramesh’s reply stunned me: “We were told to construct a hall big enough for the stature of the person, named after. We were not told to look at its acoustics”! How simple! This speaks volumes for the lack of foresight and imagination while undertaking ambitious projects such as these.

The size, a bane: Constructing a hall is one thing. Maintenance is another. The hall being so huge, the college had to struggle to keep it in good shape. For many years the college couldn’t afford to repaint it. To raise funds for maintenance there was a plan to rent it out but municipal regulations stood in the way. Even replacing the stage curtain became a burden on the College budget. Once a film producer, who used the college campus as a location, promised to replace the stage curtain. But it never materialised, since the film flopped at the box office.

Renovation: And now after fifty years, the dream of a renovated Kavukatt Hall has come true. It has coincided with the College’s centenary year; thanks to RUSA (Central Govt funding) and contributions from the SB community and the public. I don’t see this as a coincidence. “There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens” (Ecclesiastes). The long overdue updating and upgrading has come true for our Kavukatt Hall! The Silphi Architects, Cochin, has done a fabulous job in modernising the hall. The college held its Golden Jubilee celebrations in, then new, Archbishop Kavukatt Hall. The College is girding up for the valedictory of the centenary to be held in the renovated Kavukatt Hall, standing proud and grateful. Anyone who has been part of S B and Assumption during these fifty years will have something to remember about Archbishop Kavukatt Hall. It has been so much part of the life in this magnificent alma mater of ours.  

Congratulations to the Principal Rev Fr Regi Plathottam, the Bursar, Rev Fr Mohan Mathew, and their team in completing the project. Let the legacy of this labour of love, this vision and devotion be taken up by the coming generations, teachers, students and the administrative staff. The A K Hall is now part of the heritage of not only S B and Assumption, but the whole community that befits from and supports it.

Let this hall live up to the reputation of the great soul in whose name it is remembered. Currently ‘servant of God’, a step nearer to being canonized, we wish, hope and pray that in the near future may HG be elevated to the altar…

S B is blessed. 

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