No, I did not drive – I leave that strictly to the experts. And, no, this video is not speeded up in any way. (It is, however, silent – I removed mostly me talking about unrelated topics.)
This was what the drive looked like on our way down (way, way down) to Woodstock School’s Hanson Field for an alumni cricket match.
Woodstock School celebrates Indian Independence Day (August 15th) in a big way, starting with a flag raising and rousing choruses of the national anthem, Jana Gana Mana. I happened to attend school assembly the day a preparatory lesson was given for students new to India. It was up to me to uphold the honor of the alumni by remembering the words without any help! But I’ve printed them here for those who don’t.
Jana gana mana
Adhinayaka jaya he
Bharata bhagya vidhata
Punjab, Sindhu, Gujarata, Maratha
Dravid, Utkala, Banga
Vindhya, Himachala, Jamuna, Ganga
Ucchala, Jhaladhi, Taranga
Tava shubha name jage
Tava subha ashisha mange
Gahe tava jaya gata
Jana gana mangala dayaka jaya he
Bharata bhagya vidhata
Jaya he! Jaya he! Jaya he!
Jaya, jaya, jaya, Jaya he!
This was the first manual/user guide I ever wrote, a student handbook for Woodstock School, incorporating the school’s rules and policies, survival tips, a fill-in class schedule and diary pages. I wanted to make the rules easier to understand, and more accessible, by applying simpler, clearer language and a sense of humor. Apparently it worked. I heard from students who worked on revisions 20+ years later that my style was still the template for student handbooks at Woodstock.
Unfortunately, I haven’t figured out how to get the pages in order in this gallery.
The cartoon illustrations are mostly by my classmate, Jeet Singh.
Today was Worldwide Woodstock Day, a celebration of the international boarding school in India that I and many other devoted alumni attended. Alumni groups gathered in all corners of the globe, which for me meant a Nepali/Indian restaurant in Arvada, CO. Saw one old friend I hadn’t seen since I graduated, another I have seen several times because she happens to be friends with a Sun colleague, several I knew via email, and many I’d never met in any way before. And, as always, we all found much in common and plenty to talk about.
One of our assignments was to record ourselves sing the school song (preferably in the key of F – not sure we hit that) as part of a forthcoming video montage. What you hear above is mostly me, since I was the only holding the camera.
Whoops, messed up the lyrics – wasn’t that supposed to be “close of day”?
This one includes tomatoes and probably green chilis, and was served on a bun with funky pink and green candied fruit.
Recipe:
Above omelette courtesy of Mussoorie’s Tip Top Tea Shop at Char Dukan:
In case you’re wondering: cheese noodles is Ramen or Wai Wai noodles with cheese stirred in so it melts while the broth is good and hot.
