Kavi Singh '47: The First to Usher in the Indian National Flag at Woodstock

Kavi Singh ’47 was the proud bearer of the national flag in 1947 and an ardent follower of the leaders of the freedom struggle. While studying at Woodstock Kavi participated in student government and Supreme Court, becoming Chief Justice. He was an avid photographer and keenly interested in international affairs. He excelled in track and tennis. He later studied at St. Stephen's College and worked in advertising, eventually founding his own agency. After retirement from advertising he took up teaching at Mirambika School in Delhi.

Kavi and his wife Devika (co-founder of the 50-plus-year-old, acclaimed NGO Mobile Creches) remained deeply connected to the hillside, sending their two children to study at Woodstock and supporting many activities undertaken by the school. At Woodstock School's 49th Indian Independence Day celebrations in 1996, Kavi was the Chief Guest.

Kavi was a regular supporter of the Mussoorie Writers' Mountain Festival, and he and Devika led service learning activities for alumni as part of Woodstock School's 150th anniversary celebrations in 2004.

Kavi's wife Devika stayed on the hillside for seven years while their children were attending. She was a volunteer teacher of English as a Second Language and an active member of the Woodstock Parent Teacher Association (PTA). Along with other PTA leaders, Devika spearheaded important community-wide efforts toward a cleaner, greener hillside – the waste segregation practices we now follow on campus are thanks in part to this work, as are the trash bins we now see along the roads of Landour. Kavi and his company helped with procuring the bins and making logos for the waste management campaign.

When Kavi passed away after a brief illness in 2016, the Mussoorie Writers website wrote a touching tribute to him:

Our community still remembers Kavi fondly – for his enthusiastic sharing about that day he got to bring the Indian national flag into Parker Hall that first time, for his love of golf and his magazine Golfingly Yours, and for his constant curiosity and camera shutter snapping.

I remember the khana that was arranged for all of the school support staff and with us as host serving them a sit-down meal on the floor of one of the big spaces – was it the Hostel gym? Our Hindi teacher D N Sharma was in full charge, with a warning to us that samosas and jelebis were not to vanish before our guests were served.

There were song and dance including a desi folk dance by the principal’s wife Mrs Ewing. None of us knew she had this skill and costume. Had the costume been tucked away somewhere in the Principal’s Cottage, waiting for this day?”

Peggy Ewing Devine '52, daughter of Rev RM Ewing, Woodstock Principal in 1947 answers this question:

“Mother loved Indian dance and would dance whenever possible! She had an extensive collection of Indian outfits and jewellery — especially those from Indian village women. I recently found a large box of her Indian jewellery — what fun!”

The Freedom Fighters and Leaders of Newly Independent India – the Pandit sisters at Woodstock Alumni who were there in 1947 remember the celebrations for the newly independent nation of India. Many celebrated knowing that Indian independence was hard-won and relied on years of struggle on the part of India's freedom fighters – some of whom were right there at Woodstock.

Chandralekha Mehta ’40, Nayantara Sahgal ’43, and Rita Dar attended Woodstock School from 1936 to 1940. Their mother Vijayalakshmi Pandit was India’s first ambassador to the UN; their uncle Jawaharlal Nehru was India’s first Prime Minister; and their first cousin Indira Gandhi was India’s third Prime Minister.

Chandralekha, or "Chand" as she was affectionately called, was the only of the three sisters who was able to complete her studies at Woodstock. In her final year of studies, Mohandas K. Gandhi had begun to promote individual satyagraha protests. Those holding protests were to inform the District Magistrate ahead of time, but Chand's parents Ranjit Sitaram and Vijayalakshmi Pandit - as well as her uncle Jawaharlal Nehru - were pre-emptively jailed.

Chand visited her father and uncle that year at Dehradun Jail. Her sisters Nayantara and Rita finished their studies in Allahabad (now Prayagraj).

Two short years after her graduation from Woodstock School, another round of arrests was made in Chand's family, this time spurred by the All India Congress Committee's Quit India resolution. Several days after her parents were taken in, Chand too was arrested and imprisoned at Naini Jail outside Prayagraj.

"... I was taken to the foreboding gate of the women's section, and on entering the yard I could see Mummie and Noradi (Purnima Banerji) looking out of the grating of the barrack to see who was coming in .... When I proudly told them of my arrest, their faces showed utter amazement! To them I was still a child, not yet of an age for adult activities such as jail going!"

Another close associate of the Pandit family active in the freedom struggle was Sarojini Naidu, who came to speak at Woodstock not long after the first Independence Day celebrations in 1947. Ashoke Chatterjee '51 shares:

“Following school Independence Day celebrations, we were visited by one of the most inspiring figures of the era: Sarojini Naidu. She was a poet and a close associate of Mohandas K. Gandhi. She had been imprisoned many times during the struggle for independence, and now she was the Governor of Uttar Pradesh. She was a frequent visitor with Chand's family and was herself a Woodstock parent.

She spoke to us at Parker Hall about her experience as a Woodstock parent stuck in British jails. She shared that during her imprisonment she gained assurance from knowing her daughters were in the loving care of Woodstock School.”

Chand wrote about her family's involvement in the freedom struggle in her book, Freedom's Child, for which a book launch was held at Woodstock. This article is based in part on excerpts from that book, which contains a wealth of first-hand accounts from Chand about her family, about Sarojini Naidu and other heroes of India's freedom struggle, and about Chand's memories of her time at Woodstock and on the Landour hillside. Chand became a Woodstock parent, too, sending her daughter Manjari Mehta '74 to attend. Chand's sister and author Nayantara Sahgal '43 is a Woodstock School Distinguished Alumna.

With thanks to Devika Singh, WS spouse and parent, Steve Alter '74, Ashoke Chatterjee '51, Marlin Schoonmaker '67, Manjari Mehta '74, Devika Singh, wife of Kavi Singh '47 and mother of Simran Malhotra '90 and Harbir Singh '95, Peggy Ewing Devine '52, Janie Wallbrown '52

Tara Kapur ’05 Works with Netflix on Government Film Series Celebrating 75 Years of Indian Independence

Tara Kapur ’05, who just finished a stint as Co-Lead, Series Marketing at Netflix India, got to work with Netflix’s Public Policy team to create a series of stories celebrating 75 years of India’s independence with Azadi Ki Amrit Kahaniyan in partnership with the Ministry Of Information & Broadcasting.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and Netflix partnered to create a series of videos called Azadi Ka Amrit Kahaniyan that celebrates India @75. Azadi Ki Amrit Kahaniyan aims to bring out stories of inspirational Indians in the iconic intiative on various themes including women’s empowerment, the environment, history, sustainability, and more. The diverse set of stories seeks to motivate and empower Indians from every corner of the country.

Set to appear in seven instalments, the second series of videos was recently released at The International Film Festival of India and looks at stories of freedom fighters during the first war for independence in 1857. “It feels so good to have these stories screened in front of such a massive audience,” says Tara.

Tara, congratulations on your work with this series, which is sure to provide inspiration and spark pride for many years to come!

You can watch one of the videos here: bit.ly/3GpNXYj