Political India: Engaging America

In a one-off departure from the political debates, I celebrate the life and mourn the passing of Anil Wilson, Principal, St. Stephen's College, Delhi 110001

Dr Anil Wilson, former Principal of St. Stephen's College, passed away today, 25th June 2009. I am unspeakably saddened at the thought that such a fine human being has passed on, for this troubled world is in dire need of more people of his calibre, his unimpeachable moral fibre and his ability to impart to any conversation or process a sense of what truly mattered. Rather than write about the record of his many accomplishments here (which I am sure many others will do quite soon) I would like to say a few words about what he meant to me and why I feel pained to think he is no more.

Dr Wilson for me personified the most fundamental essence of what being a Stephanian was all about. With an understated approach that was nevertheless always given away by a twinkle in his eye and a knowing grin beginning to break (but not always fully breaking, depending on the context) across his face, any words he uttered were always about doing good, being good, feeling good -- thus making the world a better place to live in, and die in. And of course his words were always directing us, his flock, towards doing whatever we did with an uncompromising commitment to brilliance, to the highest level of performance, and taking pride in this. And in return he took tremendous pride in us Stephanians, and the grand old College itself.

His passing marks the loss of one of those rarest of rare individuals who has a certain je ne sais quoi about them, an unspoken but powerfully felt understanding of what it means to be a noble human being, one who, despite the relentless onslaught of events and people that seek to undermine this nobility, holds firm in the knowledge that there can be no other way. Ultimately this knowledge, in the case of Dr Wilson, came from his deeply spiritual attitude towards life, but equally from his unshakeable humanism, his belief in the equality of all sentient beings despite their differences. The most wonderfully charming thing about him, however, was that this immense spiritual and humanitarian gravitas was always, always, couched in a delightfully capricious and utterly astute sense of humour. He took himself, us, and College lightly too, none of these being spared his sometimes biting witticisms.

To me personally, he is one of the greatest role models of my life and I will always strive to be true to the powerful worldview that he believed in and taught (albeit not always in a formal classroom context). Although we kept in touch ever since I graduated many years ago, I was always hoping to get a chance to meet him again in person, see that twinkle in his eye and mischievous grin beginning to break -- my loss is more profound for having been deprived of this opportunity.

Sir, you will be missed and gratefully remembered for showing us, by your life's example, what being a Stephanian, and a fine human being, implies. In the words of the Great Bard:

His life was gentle, and the elements
So mix’d in him that Nature might stand up
And say to all the world, ‘This was a man!’

Labels: Anil Wilson, St. Stephens College

# posted by Narayan Lakshman @ 1:54 AM