I really like the taste of dark chocolate...I wonder what it says about me...
The bittersweet nature works very well for me.
Dairy Milk is fine...but prefer the British one best (call it a hangover from the Raj, if you will)...the Indian one can be really bad at times...
And well, white chocolate isn't even chocolate!!
Unfortunately, don't get much of the dark kind here...have to do with whatever bittersweetness is on offer now and then...
The 6th of February was the day when the current batch of kids in tenth grade were bid farewell from school...
All of them came dressed up in suits and sarees and while it was not sombre in any way...the speeches that the kids and teachers gave, had me feeling a little sad sometime after the fact...for in some ways, it was a farewell for me as well...
I gave a speech as well and a transcript is posted below:
Many times, when we ask a guest to come and give a speech, we tell them: आपण इथे येउन दोन शब्द बोलावेत - (which roughly translates to...please come and say two words) - Well, दोन शब्दात काही भाषण होत नाही पण दोन मिनिटात उरकायचा माझा प्रयत्न राहील (Translation: No speech can be given in two words but I will attempt to wrap up in two minutes) - But don't worry...I'm not here to give a speech. I just want to share with you a reflection, a memory and a message.
I am an extremely lucky person...very few people can say that they went to the same school twice and graduated both times...my second stint at school was short but I probably learned more in these last 18 months than I learnt in the 12 years before that, perhaps...
As everyone knows, I will not be back next year and so, this is a sort of farewell for me as well. My second farewell, reminds me of my first one...seven years ago now.
We used to have a ceremony then...it's not done any more but there is no reason we can't do it in spirit here. The ceremony involved the Headmistress leading the exhortation to being good citizens, after which, she would light candles held by the headboy and headgirl, who, in turn, would light candles held by their classmates...
We would all be standing around a large frame in the shape of India and we'd then go and light small lamps placed all around its border. The message was a simple one...it was a symbolic passing of the torch, exhorting you to light up whatever place in the world you ended up in, with yourself and your knowledge...
There is a very interesting poster put up in the staff room. It has a saying by Tagore on it - "No teacher can ever truly teach until he is still learning himself, just like no lamp can light another, unless it is still burning itself" - this is really true...For every time these women and these men teach you, they chip away at you, moulding you, sculpting you and breathing bit of themselves into you. There is already a fire within you and these people help to fan those flames, making you who you are...
So remember, wherever you end up in this world, illuminate that place with yourself, your knowledge and the flame within but however long it's been since you passed out of school, never forget this building, these grounds, these teachers...for they make you who you are and who you will be.
दोन शब्दात काही भाषण होत नाही पण दोन शब्दात ते अगदी सुंदरपणे संपू शक्त (translation: a speech cannot be said in two words but it can definitely end well in two words) and thus, in conclusion, I say to you, my teachers - old and new, and to you, my students, more my friends...you have taught me a lot. You make me who I am and for that, I say...Thank you.
The bittersweet nature works very well for me.
Dairy Milk is fine...but prefer the British one best (call it a hangover from the Raj, if you will)...the Indian one can be really bad at times...
And well, white chocolate isn't even chocolate!!
Unfortunately, don't get much of the dark kind here...have to do with whatever bittersweetness is on offer now and then...
The 6th of February was the day when the current batch of kids in tenth grade were bid farewell from school...
All of them came dressed up in suits and sarees and while it was not sombre in any way...the speeches that the kids and teachers gave, had me feeling a little sad sometime after the fact...for in some ways, it was a farewell for me as well...
I gave a speech as well and a transcript is posted below:
Many times, when we ask a guest to come and give a speech, we tell them: आपण इथे येउन दोन शब्द बोलावेत - (which roughly translates to...please come and say two words) - Well, दोन शब्दात काही भाषण होत नाही पण दोन मिनिटात उरकायचा माझा प्रयत्न राहील (Translation: No speech can be given in two words but I will attempt to wrap up in two minutes) - But don't worry...I'm not here to give a speech. I just want to share with you a reflection, a memory and a message.
I am an extremely lucky person...very few people can say that they went to the same school twice and graduated both times...my second stint at school was short but I probably learned more in these last 18 months than I learnt in the 12 years before that, perhaps...
As everyone knows, I will not be back next year and so, this is a sort of farewell for me as well. My second farewell, reminds me of my first one...seven years ago now.
We used to have a ceremony then...it's not done any more but there is no reason we can't do it in spirit here. The ceremony involved the Headmistress leading the exhortation to being good citizens, after which, she would light candles held by the headboy and headgirl, who, in turn, would light candles held by their classmates...
We would all be standing around a large frame in the shape of India and we'd then go and light small lamps placed all around its border. The message was a simple one...it was a symbolic passing of the torch, exhorting you to light up whatever place in the world you ended up in, with yourself and your knowledge...
There is a very interesting poster put up in the staff room. It has a saying by Tagore on it - "No teacher can ever truly teach until he is still learning himself, just like no lamp can light another, unless it is still burning itself" - this is really true...For every time these women and these men teach you, they chip away at you, moulding you, sculpting you and breathing bit of themselves into you. There is already a fire within you and these people help to fan those flames, making you who you are...
So remember, wherever you end up in this world, illuminate that place with yourself, your knowledge and the flame within but however long it's been since you passed out of school, never forget this building, these grounds, these teachers...for they make you who you are and who you will be.
दोन शब्दात काही भाषण होत नाही पण दोन शब्दात ते अगदी सुंदरपणे संपू शक्त (translation: a speech cannot be said in two words but it can definitely end well in two words) and thus, in conclusion, I say to you, my teachers - old and new, and to you, my students, more my friends...you have taught me a lot. You make me who I am and for that, I say...Thank you.
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