Undergraduate / Kashmir: Imagine looking through a window... - Williams College Supplement [5]

Hi, this is the essay prompt: Imagine looking through a window at any environment that is particularly significant to you. Reflect on the scene, paying close attention to the relation between what you are seeing and why it is meaningful to you. Please limit your statement to 300 words.

The northern horizon, which had turned a bluish grey, is showing orange again. The orange turns into copper and then into a luminous russet. Sitting on a shikara- boathouse-, in Kashmir's famous "Dal Lake", I am watching the dying sunset. My gaze turns from the sky, to the still lake water, abundant with rose petals. These emanate a sweet fragrance, one present in a place of worship, one that I feel when I embrace my mother. The lake captures the essence of Kashmir, the water surface radiating an aura of peace and serenity. Looking more intently, I notice that beneath the clear surface, the petals have given the water a reddish tinge. Even as I watch, the redness continues to envelope the lake like a drop of blood in water.

"Blood", a word that has become synonymous with Kashmir as each new dawn smears more of it on the innocent face of this beautiful land. Listening to the sound of the oars against the water, I notice a small child standing at the shore. His eyes are the light blue of the Kashmir sky. I smile at him and wave a friendly gesture. His sapphire eyes suddenly reflect fear. Fear, which has developed through years of neglect and bloodshed, as Kashmir lies, a forgotten Palestine.

The shikara rows further away from the shore, but I want it to stop so I can reach the child and tell him that I am a friend. It does not stop and as darkness engulfs the valley, the child's silhouette is all that is visible. Ironically, like Kashmir, whose beauty too has been reduced into a silhouette as terror casts its blanket of darkness...

Any constructive feedback would be highly appreciated. Thank you!

Chetan Singhal

Undergraduate / "my bond with History" - Cornell Supplement for CAS [3]

Hi, this is my supplement essay for Cornell. Any constructive feedback would be most welcome.

Describe your intellectual interests, their evolution, and what makes them exciting to you. Tell us how you will utilize the academic programs in the College of Arts and Sciences to further explore your interests, intended major, or field of study.

The first bond which I ever formed with anyone, was with my mother. It was done unknowingly and instinctively, yet, even today it remains as real, sacred and natural as it did the day I was born. They say some things can't be explained. I believe this bond is probably one of them. Over time, I have developed other bonds. But there is only one which I can count as pure, inviolable and inexplicable as the one I share with my mother.

It is my bond with History.

Truthfully, I have no idea how History transformed from just another subject to an integral part of my being. But just as the pen is Paul Coelho's element, similarly History has become mine.

My interest in History is not restricted to a particular period or event, but spans over a wide array of topics. As part of my Extended Essay for the IB, I did a paper on the Fall of the Knights Templar in France. Aside from investigating the main question, the project led me to read extensively on juridical practices in early 14th Century France, the medieval culture, and literature associated with the heresies that the Templars were accused of. On the other hand, in the modern era the study of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust has been of significant importance to me, since it challenged me to look beyond my own paradigms into a society whose norms were incomprehensible.

The dynamism in History feeds my passion for the subject more so than anything else. Since there is simply no right answer, and uncountable ways to approach an event, there is a massive room for experimentation in History, allowing for knowledge from other disciplines. For me the Great Depression best explains Hitler's rise to power, a psychological sketch of the stalwarts at Versailles- the outcome of the treaty, and Wilfred Owen's heart wrenching war poetry- the consequence of World War I. With every new historical opinion I come across, my passion attains a new level. Thus whether it is Niall Fergusson's view on race being the sole motivator of twentieth century conflicts, or Daniel Jonah Goldman's conviction that Germans were willing participants of the Holocaust, it not only increases my knowledge, but also my power of critical evaluation.

Aside from all internships, study abroad programs which Cornell offers, my primary interest spawns simply from the diversity and rigour of the courses, which I view as an extension of my current interests. Exploring the History Department at Cornell I was drawn to the broad spectrum of courses offered on all periods in European History. Courses dedicated to Jewish History in particular incite my curiosity since this is one area I am very keen yet have been unable to explore. I intend to utilise the interdisciplinary liberal arts approach to further look at courses in German studies, evolution of government structures and economic history, all of which shall enhance my understanding of historical events and the forces which have shaped the 21st century.