In 1914, some eminent leaders of Kanara Catholic community founded Catholic Association of South Kanara (CASK). Their objective was to promote the welfare of the community and represent their aspiration and grievances to the authorities at various levels which they, and leaders who followed them, did with great consistency, vigour and with notable success. This hundred-year journey is presented in the book, CASK and Fellow Centurions, 412 deluxe-size pages priced at Rs 500, released at the inaugural function of Centenary celebrations on September 22, 2013 by Mrs Margaret Alva, then Governor of Rajasthan. It is mainly based on the reporting and writings in Mangalore, the official organ of CASK, which was launched in 1927 and has had unbroken run to date.
Leaders of CASK over the century were a cerebral group and they closely monitored and projected the community’s interests. The book reflects this by publishing highly selective readings from Mangalore. This is the focus of Part One, Facets of CASK, of this book. Part Two, Fellow Centurions, traces the origin and growth of over fifty Catholic institutions, business and professional entities that have crossed the century landmark. Before the Gulf boom, Kanara Catholics found employment beyond the district in civil service and as mariners. Part Three of the book, Concluding Cocktails, covers two instances from these sectors.
The CASK Centenary Souvenir, 224 deluxe art pages priced at Rs. 300, was released by the Vice President of India, Dr Hamid Ansari, at the Centenary Valedictory function on September 21, 2014. It avoids the conventional fluff of plethora of inane VIP messages and offers serious reading matter for the discerning reader. At the core of the Souvenir is Severine Silva’s out-of-print book condensation, by the author himself, of his classic and authoritative book, History of Christianity in Canara.
CASK offers these – the book and Souvenir combo – at Rs.600 (a discount of 25%) for spot purchase at the CASK Pio Mall Office. Both the publications will be delivered by post/courier anywhere in India for the combined listed price of Rs 800 (packing and forwarding free). The corresponding cost for foreign destinations is US $18.
