As those fluent in Latin can attest, the classical term for your school is alma mater. Literally, it means “nourishing mother,” the idea, of course, being that it your school is your mother in terms of giving the gift of knowledge, just as your biological mother provides the gift of life.

As far as mothers go, DPS Mathura Road is both very good and very fecund. With sons and daughters spread all over India and the entire world, she has a huge family and has influenced the lives of countless more through the work done by her offspring.

She has played a particularly significant role in my own family, where me and both my younger brothers had the privilege of calling her “mother.” Just like our actual mother, DPS proved nurturing, kind and encouraging. We grew from boys into young men under her care. And looking back now in the (relatively) cold light of adulthood, the benefits of the lessons learnt in her hallowed halls – both the more important impartation of sound values, as well as the odd bits of mathematics, science, history, etc. – become increasingly clearer.

The river of life has carried me to shores far distant from Mathura Road, but I am fortunate enough to have a job that occasionally brings me back to Delhi. And on many of these trips, I get the distinct pleasure of driving past good old DPS – whether right by the main gate, or (more frequently), on the flyover going alongside. It’s been a decade and a half since I roamed that compound as a student, and the physical changes to the place are quite obvious, even from a quick drive-by. But the overall impression you get – that of a solid, imposing, benevolent and wise physical presence – remains quite the same.

And now, this nourishing mother turns 60. Just as I tell my own mother all the time, she looks much younger than her age. The years have worn well, and the colours are still strong (bottle green is, after all, a colour made to last!). Rather than taking its toll, time has helped DPS grow brighter still. I know my alma mater is keeping up with modern technology (you’re reading this on a brand new website, right?) and I suspect that if I trek back to the computer lab I spent so much time in during my senior years at school, I will see significant changes.

But once again, it’s not the changes that are significant. Rather, it is what hasn’t changed that matters – the enduring (and now 60-year-old) legacy of a great institution. Her sons and daughters will come and go, and will take with them her message of Service before Self to all corners of this world. And each milestone to come in her life – when she turns 70, 80, 100 and more – I know that legacy shall grow brighter still.

So, have a happy birthday, mother, and many happy returns ahead!
Avedis H. Seferian
Class of ’95