GIVING BACK, FOR OLD TIMES’ SAKE

“NOSTALGIA is not what it used to be,” is one of my favourite quotes, variously attributed to French actress Simone Signoret and American writer Peter De Vries.

- MADHAVAN NARAYANAN

While its authorship may be in doubt, its ironic humour is not. I got that feeling firsthand last weekend as I went down memory lane to the University of Delhi to mark the centenary of my alma mater.

Shri Ram College of Commerce is not what it used to be, unless you count the main redbrick building laden with teenage memories. But the festive air to mark the institution’s 100th year echoed with revelry, laughter and banter by older folks who were evidently feeling young all over again. This was not exactly a poet’s idea of nostalgia as sweet pain, though I am sure there were silent sighs on missed buses.

The joyous occasion also reflected the times we are in. Graduates from well-regarded institutions are increasingly sought after by big-ticket companies, a far cry from my days when employment prospects were far fewer. But there was a lot of gratitude one could feel in the air. Just as well. I realise that I secured a world-class degree at a monthly fee of less than $3 at the then exchange rate. My education’s real value truly dawned on me when I worked in an international agency as an equal with folks who had graduated from Yale and Oxford.