I've getting pretty active on this little thing some of you might have heard of: Instagram. Its basically me doing some photography, and applying some filters to my photos. I've got a public profile (instagram.com/singhsiddharth). Just a couple of regular photos, but the filters do make a huge difference.
I attended the 10th Alumni Meet today at my old school, St.Pauls. I paid a hundred rupees to get myself registered, and (hopefully), I am now a registered Alumnus. You visit your old school, and its been more than five years since I left school, and eventually it dawns upon you: time stands still in the old campus. The teachers who taught me all those years ago, are still there. They still come to the school daily, and they still hold those assemblies, and teach those lessons.
The same functions are still held regularly. The Sports Week with the Cross Country, the Founder's Day in January, Nativity plays in December. The same labs, the same badges. All that fun, and all those kids. It's like Neverland back there in my school. We've been through so much after school. Those four years right after school as an undergrad, and now our batch has jobs and people are getting married. I often wonder that when people get older, and reach the ages of forty and fifty (and ninety and hundred), do they eventually forget about their school days? Do the memories get hazier with every passing day? Or will these fourteen years remain etched forever and forever fresh?
I read two great books this month. The first one was 'India Grows at Night: A Liberal Case for a Strong State' by Gurcharan Das. The author has presented the argument that India's private sector has flourished despite a poor performance by the country's Public Sector, and that we have always had 'a strong society and a weak state, unlike China which has always had a strong state and a weak society.' He says, "My central critique of the Anna Hazare movement is that it has further devalued politicians and political life, which is the legitimate means to effect change in a democracy." And I couldn't agree with him more.
The second book was 'An Outsider Everywhere: Revelations by an Insider' by M.K. Kaw, a retired I.A.S. officer. Kaw Sahab's great sense of humour, and sharp observations made it a joy for me to read his autobiography and I tore through the book in less than two days. If you're even remotely interested in the workings of the Government, and curious to peer into the mind of a distinguished bureaucrat, then look no further. I read his 'Bureaucrazy: I.A.S. Unmasked' a few months back and needless to say, that one was brilliant as well.
Life in Agra is great, as usual. And I'm trying to come up with an idea for a student run organization that does something useful. I'm still thinking, and I know that I don't want this organization to be too patronizing, or too ".. we are a khadi group and we do everything". I don't want any publicity for this group. I want it to be good at a few things that apparently no one else notices like feeding dogs in Surya Nagar, or protecting animals from crackers. Something like this. Hopefully I'll gather some people who are interested and make this work. Meanwhile, I have all the time in the World to sort out its structure and management.
If you've got an idea, or anything, e-mail me at: siddharthsingh.mail@gmail.com . Thank You for Reading. Cheers'
I attended the 10th Alumni Meet today at my old school, St.Pauls. I paid a hundred rupees to get myself registered, and (hopefully), I am now a registered Alumnus. You visit your old school, and its been more than five years since I left school, and eventually it dawns upon you: time stands still in the old campus. The teachers who taught me all those years ago, are still there. They still come to the school daily, and they still hold those assemblies, and teach those lessons.
The same functions are still held regularly. The Sports Week with the Cross Country, the Founder's Day in January, Nativity plays in December. The same labs, the same badges. All that fun, and all those kids. It's like Neverland back there in my school. We've been through so much after school. Those four years right after school as an undergrad, and now our batch has jobs and people are getting married. I often wonder that when people get older, and reach the ages of forty and fifty (and ninety and hundred), do they eventually forget about their school days? Do the memories get hazier with every passing day? Or will these fourteen years remain etched forever and forever fresh?
I read two great books this month. The first one was 'India Grows at Night: A Liberal Case for a Strong State' by Gurcharan Das. The author has presented the argument that India's private sector has flourished despite a poor performance by the country's Public Sector, and that we have always had 'a strong society and a weak state, unlike China which has always had a strong state and a weak society.' He says, "My central critique of the Anna Hazare movement is that it has further devalued politicians and political life, which is the legitimate means to effect change in a democracy." And I couldn't agree with him more.
The second book was 'An Outsider Everywhere: Revelations by an Insider' by M.K. Kaw, a retired I.A.S. officer. Kaw Sahab's great sense of humour, and sharp observations made it a joy for me to read his autobiography and I tore through the book in less than two days. If you're even remotely interested in the workings of the Government, and curious to peer into the mind of a distinguished bureaucrat, then look no further. I read his 'Bureaucrazy: I.A.S. Unmasked' a few months back and needless to say, that one was brilliant as well.
Life in Agra is great, as usual. And I'm trying to come up with an idea for a student run organization that does something useful. I'm still thinking, and I know that I don't want this organization to be too patronizing, or too ".. we are a khadi group and we do everything". I don't want any publicity for this group. I want it to be good at a few things that apparently no one else notices like feeding dogs in Surya Nagar, or protecting animals from crackers. Something like this. Hopefully I'll gather some people who are interested and make this work. Meanwhile, I have all the time in the World to sort out its structure and management.
If you've got an idea, or anything, e-mail me at: siddharthsingh.mail@gmail.com . Thank You for Reading. Cheers'
Wish i could've joined u there.. i still hope one day i will.. Nice to know that u gt to relive a part of those memories n ask such questions.. Best wishes fr ur organisation.. Do ask fr help if any.. Sounds gud.. Keep writing n working.. :)
ReplyDelete-shubh
Yeah the reunion at St.Pauls' was pretty neat. We had a lot of our old teachers there like Ma'am Lekha, Ma'am Tomy and of course, Sir Ulrich. As for the organization, lets see what happens. :D
ReplyDeleteahaan..another refreshing post!! :)
ReplyDeleteYaar! this is a feel good post..it brought a smile on my face..took me back to my school days!! :)
thnkew for this awesome post Sid!..it made me happy!! :D
I think i had told you earlier, i love it when you write about school or good old school days..undoubtedly it was the best phase of our lives..!! :)
Dexter..i like your writing style..the way you express yourself..its simple, sweet and unique!
Keep up the good work dost! :)
p.s. i hope this organization shapes up fast..i have a lot more ideas in my head..lets get started..it will be fun..! :)
Thank You Deesha! Main chaahe kisi bhi topic pe likhne ki sochu, I eventually steer back to school or Jaipur. :P
ReplyDeleteAnd yes. I like to keep my posts short and simple. :-)
Yaar even I want this organization to succeed but I havent been able to give it as much time as I would have liked to give it. Thats my fault. :(