The Alliance triumphed for many years
And it deserves resounding cheers.
Though it commenced way back in '38
Bombay would still have to wait
All the way till 1948
To truly burst out from the starting gate!
The committee though came somewhat later
Amongst French teachers then, none was greater
Than St. Xavier's rector Father Duhr
And at that time he was very sure
An Indian should be the President
And so on Sohrab Godrej they were bent.
Since then of course the Alliance has grown a lot
For learning French was always very hot.
All over Bombay we now can reach
4000 students we now can teach.
Two hundred programs run everywhere
But for them the credit we'd like to share
With all our partners like Blue Frog, Prithvi,
NCPA, and Sakshi Gallery
But one thing that we now bemoan
Is the glaring lack of space of our own.
While funds from Paris had indeed arrived
Because we tarried we were deprived.
Alas! All our protests were then in vain
Our loss was another Alliance's gain.
But now we have our own resources
The fees we earn from all our courses.
So with our own savings as well as a loan
At last we have a place of our own.
And in due course when all the loan is paid
I'm sure we'll find a beneficial trade
And build a magnificent Alliance centre
Which all of you, I hope, will one day enter.
And if we work together on the scheme
Some day we could indeed fulfill our dream
To build a centre of our own, self contained,
Quite perfectly appointed and maintained
With lots of wondrous shows right on our site
And since one never knows we just might
Have our very own bistro or café.
And that my friends will surely be the day!
For quite a while these dreams will have to wait.
Today we'll be content to inaugurate
Our very own multi classroom centre
In which I would invite you all to enter.
And on this day we will unveil a plaque
For that great man who truly made a mark.
Sohrabji had an enormous love for France
And introduced me to the Alliance.
He had a penchant for foreign relations
And always built strong ties between all nations.
But France's culture and her glorious art
Held a truly special place in his heart.
Throughout his life he was always on the go
And his frenetic pace would hardly ever slow.
Sometimes within the span of just a day
He'd see Madras, Calcutta and Bombay.
The day for him was rather short of hours
But since he had some superhuman powers
He'd often work quite late into the night
Or rush somewhere on a red-eye flight.
This kind of schedule would cause me to weep.
When did he ever find the time to sleep?
His friends all knew that when he sinks
His head, he's taking his usual forty winks.
But still when asked to answer, he could rise
And to the audience's sheer surprise
He would come up with something apropos
But how he did it, I will never know.
It's hard to find a place he hasn't been.
All of the seven continents he's seen
And if you talk of the remotest isle.
You find he'd been there for at least a while.
With your permission I will now salute
His love of nature which was absolute.
And whether he's saving the wilderness
Or planting trees in our urban mess.
Sohrabji was prepared to work and fight
So children get to see that wondrous sight,
A tiger prowling in his habitat.
A zoo's no place for this majestic cat.
One day I urge you all to enter
The Sohrabji Godrej Green Centre
You'll appreciate his life was not in vain
For there's still hope our planet will sustain.
And this centre too in its own small way
I most sincerely hope and pray
Will now fulfill his other major goal
In which he played a truly crucial role
To build strong ties between India and France.
And all who study here will have the chance
To see the world in quite a different light.
And I am sure someday some of them might
In due course deliver such orations
To strengthen ties between both our nations.
