1st February 2009 - The Scindia School

AnimadversionsOld Boys’ NewsA Blood Donation Camp was held on September 28th at Nagpur. The camp organized by SOBANagpur had 32 donors which included Scindians and others. All the donors received Certificates ofAppreciation signed by H.H. Maharaja Jyotiraditya Scindia, apart from the regular Donor cards issued bythe Blood Bank. H.H. Maharaja Jyotiraditya Scindia has now made it an annual international Scindianinitiative, in memory of Late HH Maharaja Madhavrao Scindia, whom we have all loved and adored forhis humanitarian qualities and love for the School and all Scindians.Harsh Raj (Ex Sh, Batch of 2001) has joined a company called Louis Dreyfus which is the world’sbiggest company into commodities trading. He is presently located in New Delhi as a Grains Trader andwould love to be of assistance to any fellow Scindian. Contact: harshrajsingh_2000@yahoo.comThe Madhav Award which is presented every year to an old boy of eminence was given to Lt.General SPS Dhillon(ex Ravindra Batch of 1965), on the occasion of the 111th Founder’s Day of theschool.Lt. General SPS Dhillon and Mrs Deepak Dhillon attended the coronation of the son of, His Majesty KingJigme Singye Wangchuck, the King of Bhutan. The Bhutan Government acknowledged the presence of theGeneral and his wife by issuing three commemorative stamps of Ngultrum 5, Ngultrum 10 and Ngultrum15. The Ngultrum is pegged to the India rupee.The new executive committee of SOBA was formulated on 21st OctoberLIST OF EXECUTIVE MEMBERS (W.e f. 21st October, 2008)Name Designation AddressLt. Gen S.P.S. Dhillion President New DelhiMr. Vikram Mathur Vice President New DelhiMr. Gopal Bhargava Vice President KanpurMr. K. M Agarwal Treasurer New DelhiMr Prashant Gangwal Secretary GwaliorMr Sandeep Agrawal Jt. Secretary NagpurThe problem about writingfor one’s old school ragis that one has to mindone’s P’s and Q’s. Notonly that but one has tomarshal one’s thoughts tothen begin an outpouringof smarmy nostalgia andfaux optimism so that thefuture of the country mightread and be inspired togreater acts of heroism andemulative actions.of a RebelAlas though, for all that to happen, it is necessary for the writer to have been a luminary on the firmamentof the school... not a blot on its escutcheon. And a blot I was. Never had parents sent an offspring to schoolwith greater hope and never has a young sprout so disappointed his progenitors. So it has been with me.There were never any great things said about me in hushed whispers in the staff room when examinationscripts were being corrected. Indeed the only noises that were heard when my script was being correctedwere snorts of disbelief and hoots of unholy merriment. I was a disappointment to my teachers too.Nothing they could give me would I take delivery of. No wisdom they tried to infuse into my obdurate headwould ever find a means of entry. Once, just once, there was a nugget of knowledge that made its way pastthe defences only to be defeated by a strong and thick wall of igneous immovability. Mr. Mukherji, who didsucceed that far retired, sobbing into his corner, pale and strangely chastened by the experience.It is probably for that reason that I was requested by the then Chairman of the Board to make an attemptto lower the standards of the school further. It took me three years, and I did succeed. English as alanguage of expression all but disappeared from the Fort. History too vanished into the mists of time. Ageneration of Scindians emerged crippled, beaten and scathed from the experience of being mentoredby me. While congratulating myself and praising the astuteness of the Principal, I was denied entry atthe railway station and the hounds were set on me whenever I disembarked at the station en route fromsomewhere to anywhere via Gwalior. All because the Chairman had some influence with the Railways.I, however, proved to be much craftier than they. I plotted and planned and undid their machinationsby secretly gaining admission for my own offspring in the School, to act like a fifth columnist and worktowards the eventual slide of Scindia from the heights of Khamba Taal to the floor of the Urwai. Alas, theplan did not work as the insidious ethos of the place permeated his soul and the school proceeded to growfrom strength to strength in exponential leaps and bounds, leaving me a shattered and decrepit relic andadded to the number of those that could not take the Fort by fair means or foul.Abhimanyu Acharya PhD.(Ex Ja, Batch of 1969)Lead AssociateAA AssociatesManash Talukdar (Ex Sh, Batch of 2008) had sent his painting for The Open International Drawingand Painting Competition for Children and Youth “Sport In Imagination-Beijing 2008”. He has beenawarded a diploma for the Grand Prix in the over 15 year old category.Qila Quotes | Old Boys News | 9Qila Quotes | Alumni Section | 10 VOL 2 | February 2009