Messages from the past: Time capsule buried for Formanites 50 years on

LAHORE:

Alumni and faculty of Forman Christian College University buried a time capsule next to the fountain in front of Sinclair Hall on Friday.

“The idea was to immortalise FC College the way we know it,” Academic Initiative Senior Manager Seher John said. The event was organised by the Advancement Office as part of the ongoing week-long 11th Alumni Association Reunion.

John said the university had toned down celebrations this year in view of the security situation and to show solidarity with victims of terrorist attacks. “This is FC College’s 150th year... we wanted to arrange something that would leave a lasting mark, hence the time capsule was buried.”

Rector James Tebbe, Vice Rector Joseph Jones, Associate Vice Rector Sufian Aslam, Registrar Hamid Saeed and Intermediate Vice Rector CJ Dubash placed the time capsule on behalf of the FC College staff. Formanite Alumni Association President Chaudhry Ahmad Saeed, Hafeez Akhtar Randhawa and the Alumni Board represented the FC College alumni.

They placed items one by one in a glass cube which was sealed and placed in a lined pit. A marble slab with a dial sculpture was placed atop it.

Placed inside the glass cube were recent FC College publications, mugs, dog tags, key chains, a security guard’s cap, a photo album carrying pictures of students and the campus, and notes by some staff members and alumni. Chaudhry Ahmad Saeed, Dr Tebbe and Tajammul Hussain Jafri among others wrote the notes. The time capsule will be opened 50 years from now to give “future generations of Formanites a glimpse of FC College’s history”.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 7^th, 2015.