School days, reunions, visits, and the people of Woodstock.
Video links open on YouTube. Gallery links open on SmugMug.
Browse by year
Posts about Woodstock are here, photo galleries and videos linked below.
1977
1978
1979
Videos
- Woodstock School — John Riber film – A (poorly) digitized version of a promotional film shot by John Riber (an alumnus of Woodstock’s sister school in south India, Kodaikanal), narrated by Peter Lugg and students. Many students and staff of my generation are shown!
- Woodstock School
1980
1981
- Graduation
- Senior Year
- Survival Kit – 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. The cartoon illustrations are mostly by my classmate, Jeet Singh.
- Woodstock
- Major Plays
2001
2002
2003
Videos
- Paul Hackney: Learning About Indian Culture — Bargaining
- Wind-Up Soul: Reminiscences About Growing Up at Woodstock – Hackneys and others reminisce about children’s games and scorpions. Filmed at the Woodstock Old Students’ Association (North America) 2003 reunion
2004
- Woodstock 150th Celebration – The class of ’81 were the first large group to stay at Hanifl Center, and a very pleasant residence it was, with comfortable beds (some private double rooms, some with four or eight bunkbeds), incredible views, and almost enough hot water (entirely solar-heated) for everyone to take showers in the morning (or whenever they got up).
Sanjay had made all the arrangements, including bringing up three cooks and a busload of supplies from Bombay. Excellent hot breakfasts (pancakes – with peanut butter!, cereal, parathas, eggs, toast) were provided there at Hanifl, other meals varied, though many were in fact cooked by these same talented cooks.
On the morning of Monday, November 1st, Dick Wechter invited us up for tea and biscuits to watch the sunrise over the snows. I didn’t wake up in time, so was a bit late for the actual sunrise…
Videos
- Lights at Midlands
- Woodstock 150th Celebration: Campfire – Outdoor dinner and campfire at the campground just above Hanifl Center, organized by Tenzing and Tsering, with their sons helping out. Gautam is a very talented guitarist.
- Honoring Dick Wechter, Woodstock Reunion
- Sitar and Tabla Recital
The festivities for Woodstock School’s 150th Anniversary included a recital on sitar by Sanjeeb Sircar in the school library. This is only about a quarter of the full piece.
sitar: Sanjeeb Sircar – tabla: Bharat Shinde
My classmate Chris was playing air tabla; I think he studied tabla in school (so did I, for a semester, but I was as hopeless at it as I am at other musical instruments – all I can do is sing).
2005
Videos
- Tenzing’s Monkey Tales
- Monsoon Rain
- Monkey Tales
- Learn the Indian National Anthem: Jana Gana Mana
- Tibetan Prayer Wheels
Filmed at the Tibetan Homes Foundation. Tibetan Buddhism seems to traditionally favor mechanically-aided prayer. Each of these wheels has a core wrapped with paper inscribed thousands of times with om mani padme hum (“the jewel is in the lotus”). Spinning the wheel sends the prayers up to heaven.
2006
2007
Videos
- Tin Tin Su: Teaching Girls About Science
- Fruit Fly Mutations
- Tin Tin Su: Our Lady of Drosophila
- The Taming of the Shrew – Bollywood Style! – 1.1
- The Taming of the Shrew — Bollywood Style! — 1.2
- The Taming of the Shrew – Bollywood Style! – 2.1
- The Taming of the Shrew – Bollywood Style! – 3.1
- The Taming of the Shrew – Bollywood Style! – 3.2
- The Taming of the Shrew – Bollywood Style! – Dance 2
- The Taming of the Shrew – Bollywood Style! – Invocation
- beedi
- In and Around the Woodstock School Quad
- Landour Wedding Procession
- Woodstock School Jazz Band
- Woodstock School Arts Evening – The last Saturday of the semester, students and staff mellowed out with an evening of performing and static arts. I completely failed to get photos of the paintings, drawings, sculpture, etc. – my apologies to the artists. But I did get video of most of the performances, in spite of technical difficulties…
- Landour Snow
- Music at Woodstock School – Aidan Lewis and band perform “Freebird” as a farewell song at a Woodstock School end-of-year assembly.
2008
- Woodstock visit
- Baccalaureate – The Baccalaureate ceremony of my daughter Rossella’s graduating class. The students wear their national/regional costumes for this event. Ross, logically, wore Italian couture. Yes, one of her classmates is actually a Cossack (I think the uniform was his father’s), who has since attended the London School of Economics. Others in the class are from Afghanistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh, various parts of India (including Nagaland), Korea, Finland, US, Japan (they arrived late, it took so long to get into their traditional dress!). Also see the post.
- Banquet
- Graduation
- Parents’ Banquet
Videos
- Gonpo and the Rockers
- Woodstock School Graduation: Valediction by Boris Popov
- Woodstock School Graduation: Commencement Speech: Jagdish Sagar
- Woodstock School Centennial Shield & Citizenship Awards
- Woodstock School Cassinath & Music Awards
- Woodstock School Graduation: Closing and Recessional
- Rebekah Blank on Trombone
- Anchal Lochan on Santoor
- Woodstock School Graduation: Processional
- Woodstock School Graduation: Invocation and Salutation
- Woodstock School Drama Awards
- Woodstock School Community Service & Journalism Awards
- Woodstock School Scholastic Achievement Awards
- Woodstock School Writing Awards
- Woodstock School Awards: Chris Cooke
- Woodstock School Senior Awards
- Parents’ Banquet 1
- Parents’ Banquet 2
2009
Videos
2011
Videos
- Morning at Fairy Glen
- The Road to Hanson Field
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.
- The Road from Oakville
2012
2014
Videos
- Tom Alter: Poems
- Tom Alter: Maulana Azad
I’ve been hoping for years to see this full show, but the right confluence of circumstances will have to occur. At least I have now seen some excerpts, thanks to Tom’s presence at the WOSA annual reunion I just attended in Baltimore.
- Tom Alter and Shruti Ganguly
- Woodstock School Songs
2016
Videos
2019
2021
Videos
