A Tradition of Gratitude: Remembering Sir Mody’s Generosity

Every year on October 12, the birthday of Sir Hormusjee Mody, the University and Zoroastrian community commemorates his generosity to HKU by having a priest place a garland of flowers around the bust of Sir Mody located inside the Main Building.  

Sir Mody's initial offer of a donation to construct the Main Building with an endowment fund in 1908 made the HKU scheme a practical possibility and enabled Sir Fredrick Lugard, the then governor, to act. At the grand ceremony of the laying of the foundation stone of Main Building in March 1910, Sir Mody said: “Life is incomplete when man lives for his own self. Life is best lived when it is lived for others.” 

Without his generosity, the University’s existence may not have been realised. We will always remember his contributions with deepest gratitude.