To the Parents of Alok Mathur

I was really amused to receive an envelope in the post this morning, addressed to - my parents! As I ripped open the envelope, I was thinking, "Think, think! Have I done something naughty at school?"...ha ha... I am more used to receiving letters addressed to 'The parents of Ayushi Mathur' (my 8 yr old daughter), or 'The parents of Arnav Mathur' (my 20 month old son).

The envelope turned out to be from Mansfield College, my college at Oxford, and this was a Parent Information Pack. Obviously a rather assiduous and efficient administration department at the college sends the parent information pack to the registered address of every student, regardless of age & background (for those who do not know me, or for those new to this blog, I am going to be 36 in a month!). The system is obviously designed for undergraduate students.

Actually parents apart, the fact that I am going back to 'school' does make me feel very young (not that, at 36, I am anything but young). In fact, Varun, my flatmate-to-be at Oxford, has promised to make me a 24 yr old again. Good luck to you, Varun! In any event, I'll surely need the energy of a 24 year old to do justice to the lectures, the studies, the new subjects (especially Finance and Accounting), the exams, the parties, the booze, and the late nights.

Perhaps Mansfield College knows what it's doing by sending out these packs to everyone. Maybe it's just a clever ploy to change one's mental outlook right at the outset.


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