Shropshire 
Ran's Incredible India
 |
A graduate of the London School of Economics and King's College London, Ran has worked in the Diplomatic Service in Geneva, the United Nations in New York, Reuters in New Delhi and leading international law firms in London and Singapore. He is currently finishing a text book on international law whilst advising private entities on cross-border acquisitions and project finance.
Ran's analysis of the law and the politics surrounding the Palestinian statehood issue has also been published recently.
Taking full advantage of the incredible part of the world he now lives in, Ran is also a talented photographer and has exhibited his work in Singapore, London and publishes occasionally in the Times of India and the UK quarterly travel magazine, Traveller. Some of his images can be seen here or on his flickr page.
 |
| Ladakh and Zanskar 2000 |
 |
| Ladakh and Zanskar 2000 |
We are pleased that Ran has taken the time to send in the article below reflecting on the 20 years since he left School at the end of the eighties.
 |
| Ran Chakrabarti December 2011 |
Ran Chakrabarti spent two years at Oswestry School between 1988 and 1990. Now a lawyer living in New Delhi, he reflects on a rather peculiar journey so far.
"But if you listen real close, you can hear them whisper their legacy to you. Go on, lean in. Listen, you hear it? - - Carpe - - hear it? - - Carpe, carpe diem, seize the day boys, make your lives extraordinary."
I still remember those words from time-to-time. A cold autumnal night and a chit leave from Holbache House to see a life changing film with Kevin Braddock and Andrew Sadler. Twenty years on, what have I seized? Has my life been extraordinary? Is it too early to speak of legacy?
Opening my A level results the following August was a mixed affair. Two As and an N. That was the end of my hopes to read Medicine. So one set of doors closed, yet another opened. A re-sit and a degree from the London School of Economics later, lead to stints in diplomacy in Geneva and New York.
More closed doors lead to Reuters and the streets of Calcutta during Mother Teresa's death. How I ended up as a corporate and commercial lawyer in London, Singapore and now, India, in yet another twist of events is perhaps anyone's guess.
Twenty years on, I find myself living in New Delhi, married to Leonie, with two young children, Magnus and Beatrice, and two Irish Setters, Pushkar and Leica. We live in what could best be described as a crumbling 'art deco' mansion block, with a kitchen and bathroom that haven't changed since the early 1940s, and erratic power in the heat and humidity of the summer. Many call it a 'film set', almost an Indian version of Downton Abbey.
Yet I've been very fortunate, and living in India is a constant reminder of that fortune, where hundreds of millions of people live on barely a dollar-a-day, and the politics of a billion people, quite literally, overwhelm. A juxtaposition of living bronze-age civilizations, medieval feudalism, a complicated history of colonialism and ultra-modern capitalism, means that India never ceases to bewilder and contradict.
In the west, we like to think that we live in a controlled environment, insured and insulated from risk and all the negative things we see on a two dimensional screen from time to time. I've learnt that the comforts that are taken for granted are luxuries for many who strive in hope for a better life. Life in India, if anything, is a humbling experience on an hourly basis, and, consequently, life affirming on an hourly basis.
Opening those A level results seems like an awfully long time ago now. What have I really learnt twenty years later? Life's maze never ceases to throw up roadblocks and dead-ends. What I didn't realize then, is that what seems like the end of one set of dreams, invariably seems to lead on to others. Failure is inevitable. It's how you deal with it that really tests the will, the will to simply be whatever you want to be. Carpe Diem.
