My Old School

The Doon School I went to in the 1950s belonged to a different India. Therewere three well-heeled classes there, with big aspirations: feudals, who weresent to Doon to prepare for life in democratic India, a big army contingent andchildren of civil service officers. Today, the feudals have either made theirtransition or have faded out, and by the time a civil servant or army officerearns enough to send his children to Doon, they are already too old to go there.Thatleaves a class that did not send its children to Doon then -- business families.

Given the profound transformation in our society, it is amazing that DoonSchool succeeds in preserving elements of continuity in the way it is run. ButI do deplore the way the beauty of the campus is being marred by new buildingsof very assorted architectural types. I also deplore the fact that the school isstill mired in the gender biases of the 19th century. The school needs toadmit girls. So long as that does not happen, a Doon school boy’s psyche willremain twisted and out of sync with modern society. It did not do me any good at16 to know that I only knew one girl.