Shishukunj

Every Cloud Has a Silver lining

By Sanjana Bhachawat, Class XI C

Mr Lawrence, a stout young man was walking down the footpath with hands in his pocket and tears streaming down his cheek which no one could notice because it was night time and pouring cats and dogs. It was that situation when even the weather seems to empathize with the agonized person. He had two oxymoronic features in his life, he was an educated broke.

He had received his third consecutive rejection letter this morning, which apparently was the reason for his sombreness. Rejection after rejection! He could not take it anymore. He cursed god for making him inefficient or rather his bad luck. He had a degree but his personality didn’t seem to please the interviewers. He was like gold without lustre. To top it all up it was the time of recession.

He kept walking aimlessly as he was rendered homeless for not paying his rent for three months.

“You’re all drenched young man”, said a female voice from behind.

Lawrence, startled by the voice, quickly wiped his tears and turned around. It was a middle aged woman with a rubicund visage. He could see her because of the porch light.

“Do you want to share my umbrella?” she questioned.

“No, thank you” replied Mr Lawrence politely.

“Alright then” said the middle aged lady but no sooner had she started walking than he stopped her. “Hang on, can you walk me to the nearby park?” he asked and the lady nodded. “I’m Raven by the way” she introduced herself and further added “Why would you want to visit the park at this hour? I mean shouldn’t you be going home?”

“I would if I had one” Mr. Lawrence replied as if it was no big a deal to not have a home.

“Oh boy! I am so sorry”, sympathized Raven.

“Don’t be! Recession has taken a toll.”

“So you don’t have a job as well?” enquired Raven timidly.

“Of course I don’t.”

“So, what are you going to do now?” Raven questioned.

“Well as of now I just received my third letter of job rejection and I do not have a single penny so…”

“So what? Are you going to steal?” snapped Raven.

“I didn’t say that, it’s just that desperate means cause for desperate measures” argued Mr. Lawrence. “And anyway, at least in prison I will have food and shelter, unlike right now”.

“So? If today you adopt wrong means and tomorrow supposedly you get caught and are sent to prison for a year or so but in the meantime the recession ends and there are ample opportunities in the market, no one will accept you because of your criminal history.” explained Raven in one breath.

“Okay, I agree with you, but what about now? I shall die of starvation and won’t even be alive to see the recession end. Do you have any idea why most of the people steal? Well, not for fun but because of desperate times, they can’t help it.” Mr. Lawrence further argued.

“Okay then, go steal, do it! I won’t tell a soul, but just remember, what is life without salt in it? Only if you can walk from failure to failure with the same enthusiasm will it be called success. Today in the heat of the moment you will go steal but when you regain your senses you will realize what a blunder you have done. Anyway, it’s your life, do what you feel like. I am no one but a mere stranger” Raven concluded the argument.

By that time they had reached the park and it was Raven’s turn to leave. “Alright then, this is it. We part ways now.” Raven said handing him over her umbrella.

Mr. Lawrence astounded by this kind act of Raven asked “won’t you get wet then?”

“I will manage” Raven said and was ready to leave but then Mr. Lawrence started “Ma’am, maybe you are right and I must not give up like this. Who knows what god has planned for me next? I will not steal but strive.” Hearing this Raven turned around to smile at him and started walking away.

The next morning when Mr. Lawrence woke up, he found an ID card lying on the grass. It had Raven’s photo on it and it read “The chief police inpector.”

A Salute

By Aarushi Tulsiyan, Class IX B

A big salute, a loud applause
to the soldiers who are
the pupils of god
For any sacrifice to their beloved country,
Without a moment’s hesitation, they would simply nod.
If there was any war,
these martyrs would run along with their swords.
A big salute, a loud applause.

The soldiers who guard our boundaries
free us from all worry
of the enemies who come to destroy
the fraternity of the country.
Respect the soldiers
They have so many responsibilities on their shoulders
They lay their lives on the border
could anyone be more bolder?

Experience Is Better Than Youth

by Aditya Prakash, Class VIII F

“Old is Gold”. The Youth can never take the place of the old and the experienced. The young generation, though may have knowledge of advanced technology, lacks the experience which is one factor that can turn the tables.

This can also be shown by a simple story:-

There was a minister who went to the King with a proposal that all the old people should be executed because they have lived their life and they do not work anymore. They are using the resources of this country for no good. The King who was also young at the time, agreed to this proposal. All the elderly people were killed. In a small village of that country, lived a young man named Bhoja. He did not kill his old father because he loved him and hid him in his house. He took care of all his needs. After a few years, a terrible famine struck the country. Many died because of starvation. Bhoja and all other young men were helpless. Seeds were also not coming into the town and the land was covered in snow. Bhoja pondered upon the issue for a very long time and finally thought to consult his father for the same. His father advised that he should plough the soil along the road side and heat the snow every day. As his father was experienced, he decided to obey his advice. After about four to five months, the crops of various varieties were covering the roadside. The King learned about this man who succeeded in growing the crops and saving them from starvation and sent for him. Bhoja was produced before the king and he told him everything truthfully about his father. King then asked Bhoja’s father why he advised to plough the land and heat the snow, the reply was that when merchants came to sell the seeds some fell on the roadside. Ploughing would cause the seeds to get inside the land and heating the snow would cause it to melt and the seeds will get water. This way crops will be able to grow. The King was highly impressed and decided that no elderly would be killed.

This story is shows how experience is a mighty weapon. Experience can never be gained in a day. It grows on and always keeps on building till the day of our demise. Therefore, use this day for the best and gain maximum experience. Don’t forget, you have 86400 seconds in a day. So make the best of it and utilize each and every second of your life and always strive to make a difference.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Reviewed By

Anshul Shrivastava, Class XI F

The classic and the archetypal of Paulo Coelho’s best seller ‘The Alchemist’ opens the doors of your dreams. The erudite author explains four major reasons why a man doesn’t follow his desires.

This book is about a boy who started his journey because he loved to travel. For travelling he became a shepherd, met a wise king, and travelled the whole of Africa in search of an extravagant treasure. In order to fulfil his destiny, he discovers the wonders of the world and learns the language of the soul.

The book depicts a thought; an idea of ‘Maktub’ an Arabic word meaning, ‘It’s written’ and shows that for a dream, valour and desire are the two most salient factors.

It enlightens that desert is not a barren land but the most beautiful place if aptly observed. Whether it be a boy or a man, all can learn things in their own manner; They just need to follow the ‘omens’ set by the almighty for them.

Lastly, we are all part of a soul, the world’s soul, and all beings are the same. The language is simple with a deeper meaning. It’s a heavy book, not if you weigh it by a machine but by your perception. After this you feel untameable and this inception pervades.

हमारे आदर्श – ये पक्षी

दीपांशु बिनीवाले, कक्षा ६ ठी G

Heritage

Art by Rushank Jhanjaria, Class XI F

Memories of the departed soul

By Tanya Rajani, Class IX B

You are with God, but your memories are here,
Of course we are sad, as you were very dear.

We all wanted you to stay with us,
But this had to happen, as it was wanted by the Lord above.

This had to happen as it was all written,
But maybe, we are still trying to search for something that isn’t hidden.

You’ve left nothing for us to say,
But just to accept teh morose truth that you are away.

We’ll be okay as it’s a part of life,
We’ll hold hands and bear every strife.
We won’t cry and show you how strong we are.
And, we’ll pray for you whenever we see a shooting star.

The best advice I ever had.

Shishyans of class VIII were asked to share the best advice they ever had. Here are a few responses.

‘When I got poor marks in Social Science, I was depressed and sad. I was crying in the bus. My friend Sakshee consoled me and said, “Whatever happens, happens for good.” It didn’t make me feel any better then. But later I realised that crying over spilt milk is of no use. I worked hard next time and got much better marks.’

Swasti Solanki, Class VIII D

‘My friends and I had gone to participate in a quiz competition. We did not win. But, I went to congratulate the winner. He shared that he starts preparing for quiz competitions as soon as he gets to know about a quiz, instead of waiting till the date is near. I found this advice very valuable and I’ve been practising it since then.’

Ishaan Nyati, Class VIII G

‘I had a terrible toothache and my parents took me to a dentist. After examining my teeth, he advised me to brush twice a day and to floss.’

Suyash Purohit, Class VIII G

‘On my birthday, I was gifted a bicycle. I immediately took it out for a ride. I was a long distance from home when I accidentally slipped and fell. I was in excruciating pain. A stranger took me to a hospital. The doctor told me that I had a fracture. As I kept crying in pain, he advised me to think of something else and to divert my attention. I did that and somehow the pain seemed to become less severe.’

Varun Maheshwari, Class VIII G

‘On the first day of this academic session, I reached school full of excitement, to meet my friends. I was shocked to find that our sections had been shuffled and all my good friends were in other sections. I felt alone and kept crying for many days. When my mother saw this, she advised me that I shouldn’t let such changes affect me and my performance. I should try and make new friends.This advice was valuable. It helped me regain confidence and adjust to the situation.’

Mishika Lunia, Class VIII G

‘For me, the best advice came from ‘The Secret’ by Rhonda Byrne. It tells us that we become what we think and we receive what we believe.’

Sanika Mehta, Class VIII D

‘When I got the result of my Math test, I saw that it was the worst marks I had ever got. I cried my heart out. My mother advised me to never look back. If you look back, you will never be able to achieve success. I took that advice to heart and worked hard for the next test. I scored A1 in SA 1.’

Aryaa Bharani, Class VIII D

Life’s surprises!

By Nitya Vyas, Class IX B

Walking along a long path
To reach home, sweet home,
I had just begun to walk
Still had a long way to go.
But, walking carefree, as I was,
Crumpling dried maple leaves
Under my foot, and not caring,
I walked unknown to what lay
Hidden under the leaves.
A stone hidden below, hurt my foot, it pained.

Walking the path,
My leg did hurt for a while.
Gradually, it stopped, making me realize;
What life has in store for you
Never should you judge.
For you never know, when out of the blue
life would just like the stone,
Take you by surprise!

Failures are the pillars of success

By Om Agrawal, Class VIII C

Success and failure are two aspects of human life. Sometimes we fail in our efforts. Sometimes we succeed. Failures should not be discouraged. When we fail, we should try again and again. When we fail once, we learn from that experience. Our experience makes us wiser. This is the foundation of success. In fact, success depends upon wisdom and self-confidence which we gain in enormous amount from failures.

We must find out the cause of our failure. It would help to know if it was our lack of effort, attention or concentration. Only a fool thinks that success comes easily. A person who is wise and very intelligent may also fail. But, we should not fear failure before it happens. This would defeat us from within.

We should know how to succeed in life. We need certain mental qualities for that. We must be hardworking. We should have the attribute of never giving up. We must have courage and the will to succeed. Of course, failures upset us at times. But we must have strong spirit and the desire for victory. When we fail, we should remember ‘Failures are the pillars of success’.