A QUICK VISIT TO WOODSTOCK

May 19, 2013 – Mussoorie

It felt like I had turned back the clock eighteen years these past few days as I climbed up the steep hills along the curvey roads on the foothills of the Himalayas. Last time I did this I was a freshman at Woodstock boarding school still adjusting to life in India and dorms.

Me and Minam by the school gate

At 13 it was my first time being away from home and from the comforts of familiar settings. There was fear and anxiety as I learned how to fit into a system that was so culturally different from the one I had come from yet there was so much excitement and joy as I was introduced to a new way of life – one that opened my eyes to a world that was tough and gritty yet exuberant and bustling. Even then I knew the flavour of this life was one that had awakened up a craving for another taste.   

Dorms in the background

Now after close to two decades later as I reminisce of old times with my Woodstock friend Minam, it’s as though the remnants of our past still linger between the little cracks of the hole-in-the-wall shops we’d hang around in; giggling, gossiping and being kids. I can almost hear the laughter and then I ask myself, where’d the time go? All that is left are fading memories that I find myself clinging onto as I walk past the unchanged Budhu Ram’s shoe shop. (I don’t think there was a Woodstocker who didn’t own a pair of hand-crafted shoes made by the old man himself who’s legacy is now left behind with each of us who have walked miles in those one of a kind leather sandals).



On the 2nd floor of quad building

The fresh mountain-side air, the heavy oak and sky scrapping pine trees mingling with the famous deodar trees, the grandeur of the distant hills and the antics of the clever monkeys was once so entrenched in our day to day life that it went unnoticed as the backdrop to our experience. But now starring out at the horizon a wave of nostalgia washes over me as I can’t help but notice the splendour of it all and realizing just how lucky we really were. Of course at 13 when you’re still testing the limits of the environment around you, you don’t have much appreciation for the unique life you’re living until the years go by and nothing you’ve experienced thus far compares to the time you spent tucked away along a range of foothills with little to no contact with the outside world; a bubble that only those who have once spent time in could understand the logic of making mac&cheese in a kettle and how that was a treat over school food.



The new and improved dorms cafe



Wow an empty quad!

I have often wondered why I left after only one year and I don’t think I’ll really ever know what I was feeling or thinking at the time of my decision – heck I was only 14 so I don’t think I was too concerned about my future. I was only thinking about how I didn’t want to continue struggling to catch up academically to my peers who were already all so familiar with the intense curriculum that prepares students for the top Universities and Colleges around the world. From what I remember, it was a quick decision and before I knew it I was back in my old settings – home at my parents’ house in Ottawa, Canada. Fitting back into the life I thought I knew so well was a challenge. I had gone through a fundamental change. Not only did I sound different (a mix of Hinglish, British and every Asian accent you can think of) I felt different. The little girl had grown up.

A beautifully renovated 'study hall'

And now as I walk into Parker Hall the memory of the first day of school comes rushing back. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the visual - Ms. Hoffman, in the middle of her welcome back to school speech, looked up at Lizzy and I, who were sitting on the balcony (we were late – of course it was my fault), and told us to quiet down and to come see her after assembly. It was my first of many encounters with staff where I would be getting into trouble. I lost count of how many SMD’s (Saturday Morning Detentions) I served. Of course it was never my fault. I mean seriously it’s not easy to abide by a 10pm lights out call!

Yup there's the balcony up there

But even with the tough times I went through at school it’s still hard not to feel a lump in my throat as I walk down the halls of Midlands' dorms which are crammed with those heavy silver trunks – again one of those Woodstock things.

Midlands' hallway

 

 

It's all gone!

 

 

 

Minam and I are shocked when we see the grade nine wing or should I say lack thereof. The grade nine wing was the area that most of us freshmen lived in for the year. It’s now a conference hall. 

The space where my 1st semester room used to be

I was hoping to see ‘Puja was here ‘94’ carved into some old piece of furniture but no such luck. My first semester room is now a laundry room, so sad.

Way too many SMDs in this library

Minam and I shoot a few hoops, take loads of pictures and continue discussing the old days on our trek back up to school.

Totally missed

 

Where the freshmen would hang out/study

 

Walkng down from Midlands

And then it’s over. No trunk or suitcases accompanying me this time. Just me, my small backpack and beautiful memories of a time that passed by way too quickly. Looking out the taxi window on my way down the winding roads and I have a thought: hold onto each moment like it’s the last because you won’t get another chance; breathe it in, live it to the fullest, absorb as much as you can, live, learn, step back and move forward…