Films

David MacDougall’s long term visual study completed. The Doon School, located in Dehra Dun in Uttaranchal, is perhaps the most famous boys’ boarding school in India. Although it has sometimes been called the ‘Eton of India,’ it has nevertheless developed its own distinctive style and presents a mixture of privilege and egalitarianism. It was established by a group of moderate Indian nationalists in the 1930s to produce a new generation of leaders who would guide the nation after Independence. Since then it has become highly influential in the creation of the new Indian elites and has come to epitomise many aspects of Indian postcoloniality. This film, composed of ten ‘chapters’ explores the ideology and social aesthetics of the school through its rituals, physical environment, documents, and the lives of several boys of different ages and temperaments