Doon School shaped me as an individual, says Karan Thapar

Journalist Karan Thapar has written about his time at the Doon School, describing how the institution treated each boy as an individual. In an essay for Hindustan Times, Thapar recalls that he never felt like one of many and was encouraged to pursue his interests in debating, acting, writing and reading, even though he hated sport and was teased for it.

Thapar highlights the creation of the Scholar's Blazer in 1971 as an example of the school's willingness to recognise academic achievement equally with sporting prowess. He says the headmaster, Colonel Simeon, allowed him as a teenager to design the blazer, which remains a black double-breasted style to this day.

The essay credits masters such as Gurdial Singh and Sheel Vohra for teaching him that a mistake is not a crime and that it is better to try and fail than never try at all. Thapar writes that this was the best lesson Doon taught him.