A snapshot of WOSA 100 weekend

Scroll down to see our snapshots from Development Associate, Photography, Phuriwat Chiraphisit

The WOSA Centennial celebrations formally began with a Dance Bollywood dinner in Delhi on October 19 attended by 50 alumni. Many traveled to Mussoorie via train, plane, and car on Thursday. The Mussoorie portion of the celebration began with a Welcome Dinner in the quad. Principal, Eleanor Nicholson, welcomed visiting alumni. Over two hundred and fifty people mingled at tables with alumni from classes of '51, '71, '81, '91, '2001 and in between. With them many alumni had visited from additional classes with the oldest being Lillian Skinner Singh from the class of '39. On a cold crisp night WOSA-India President, Bhavanesh Kumari Patiala '50 greeted the alumni, with the attendees spanning more than 70 years. The visiting alumni had travelled from around the world to be present with staff, many of who are also alumni. Pandit Ajit Singh amazed the audience with a performance on the Vichitra Veena and the young performers from the upcoming production of "Brigadoon" delighted with three numbers.

The next morning an all-school assembly was held in the gym. Abhra Bhattacharjee, Director of Development and Alumni Affairs, hosted the assembly, with Dr Eleanor Nicholson addressing the audience. A highlight of the assembly and a talking point of the weekend were certainly music teachers Bethany and Abe Okie presenting entertaining renditions of "Shadows" through the ages, with Dr Nicholson performing a rap version along with the Okies.

After a tour of the Hanifl Centre with box lunches and a welcome from Krishnan Kutty, Director of Hanifl, it was time for the Mela in the Quad. Food, crafts, home wares and even a wet sponge-throwing stand created a fun atmosphere with all the Woodstock community coming together. With a busy day already, there was more to come with the advanced music recital in Parker Hall and then it was down to Hostel. Sanjay Narang '81 graciously hosted a pool party and dinner for staff, alumni and grades ten through twelve. A DJ had been flown in from Mumbai to get the party started and food stalls were set up around the pool providing an assortment of Indian food. The pool had been heated and was enthusiastically enjoyed on a very cool evening.

Saturday saw the International Sports Day at Wynberg Allen, bazaar visits and open gym. The evening again was kindly hosted by Sanjay Narang with World Wide Woodstock Day celebrated in tremendous style at Rokeby Highlands with dinner, entertainment and fireworks in the beautiful setting overlooking a valley of twinkling lights. Sunday saw an alumni worship service in Parker Hall led by Bill Virgin '64 with a combined alumni and staff choir and alumni speakers. A long trek to Hanson Field followed, but alumni and the local community were rewarded with a cricket match coached and captained by Brij Lal (S) and Tom Alter '68. A box lunch was served in the warm sunshine.

More than 150 people from around the world participated in the celebrations. From Wednesday night in Delhi to 'going down day' on Monday former Woodstock staff and students enjoyed what Woodstock is today and reflected on the beauty and magic of Woodstock in their time. We asked some of our alumni for their reflections on the weekend.

John Clark '60 Great week; more than met expectations. Highlights were the assembly, recital and food, all fantastic. Some of the best times were contacts with the current students Beth Norford '80 Thursday night welcome dinner was great. Excellent food, conversation and Ajit Singh's performance was so enjoyable. I really liked that there were plenty of opportunities to talk and interact with people from all the classes plus modern day Woodstock. Mary Ina Hooley '73 All the alumni very much appreciated the generosity of Sanjay at the pool party and the banquet at Highlands. They were both spectacular and enabled us to have a special time of conversations with each other

And finally a thank you email of the many we have received. Palden Tshering '91 Thank you so much. It was a real pleasure for all of us in '91 to make it back up and be able to re-connect at various levels. Although the infrastructure of the school has undergone changes, the essence of what Woodstock meant for many of us still exists and that is the community and the support group that people like yourself and all the staff contribute towards in helping us find ourselves. Once again, congratulations for the success and many thanks for welcoming us.