Mumbai: A family of wood carvers from Vasai, the Sequeira Brothers, whose sacred iconography forms the centre of worship in many Mumbai churches and in shrines and religious institutions abroad, are the ‘East Indian NewsMakers of the Year’. The family, which began the tradition in the 1920s, was also recently involved in the restoration of Mount Mary Basilica at the St. Andrew’s Church in Bandra.
The awards, given by the Mobai Gaothan Panchayat, were presented to entrepreneurs, religious leaders, educationists, and cultural icons from the East Indian community at the 15th ceremony held recently at St Andrew’s Auditorium in Bandra. The honours also recognised nonEast Indians whose work impacted a community that is counted among the city’s earliest residents. Sylvester D’souza, the chairman, founder, and managing trustee of St. Lawrence Educational and Charitable Trust, was presented the ‘East Indian of the Year 2025’ award.
The trust runs schools that have shaped generations into responsible citizens. D’souza is also the president of the East Indian People’s Association, is associated with the St Lawrence Church, Wagle Estate, Thane, and also runs cooperative credit societies. Assistant Commissioner of Police Mamta Lawrence D’Souza was named the East Indian Icon of the Year.
D’Souza joined the Maharashtra police in 1990 as a sub-inspector and has distinguished herself as an investigator, having been awarded the Union Home Minister’s Medal for Excellence in Investigation, 2021, for her work that led to a life imprisonment conviction in a case of an assault on a child registered at Kamothe (Navi Mumbai) police station.
The others honoured included the Bassein Catholic Co-operative Bank, founded in 1918 in Vasai, for its role in providing banking services to the community; Janus International Pvt Ltd, headed by brothers Denver and Janus Annunciation, a leading name in the packaging industry (East Indian Corporate of the Year); and Warren Fernandes, an entrepreneur whose print and graphic work straddles India and New Zealand (East Indian Entrepreneur of the Year). The evening featured a live performance by New Boys Band from Uttan and a special East Indian lunch.
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