Shishukunj

Have a Vision

By Avadhi Dass, Class IX F

How many times have our friends and family asked us, “What do you want to do when you grow up?” It’s a question we are frequently asked, but we do not always know the answer.

It’s okay not to know all the answers. Growing up, we often find ourselves wondering what we want to do with our life. No one but you yourself can discover the answer. It is not necessary to know the answer from the start, but it is important to have a vision. Your vision, the way in which you see yourself and the people and things around you, speaks a lot about you. It defines your character. Having a vision is like giving a GPS system to yourself. Your vision navigates you to your destiny. Your vision makes the world the way you want it to be.

Your vision makes you the best you can be each day of your life. It makes you dream and cherish the small moments of life. In passionate pursuit of your highest ideal, you learn to ignore the critic’s chatter.

To make the vision work, you will need to set priorities and plan ahead of time. Forget the laid back attitude of delaying. ‘Do it now’ will have to be your motto. With a vision, many of your professional and personal desires come true – only if you yourself write the script of your life. Visualize and imagine how you want your life to be and make it that way.

Have a vision, live your life according to your vision, work hard and you will definitely arrive at the destiny you chose in the beginning. Give your best and let life do the rest. And if you fail in the first attempt… always remember that failure is also a part of life.

Gee! Class X D

By Sanika Fegade and Yashvi Agrawal

Oh my god! You enter X D

All kinds of creatures you see.

We have a ‘billi’, we have a fish,

And they sure make a scrumptious dish.

Don’t forget our ‘common man’,

To help him is our plan.

Some times our tracks get stuck on one name,

Be it Yash, Yash, Yashvi, all the same fame!

Washroom is a dear friend,

Hanging out there is the ‘classy’ trend.

And oh when you enter our X D,

You will always find us in a laughing spree!

Shishuwood presents…

Art by Rishika Suri, Nikita Bhatia, Arushi Tulsiyan, Aeshani Pathak, Namrata Gandhi, Arundhati Jaiswal, Rashmeet Muchhal and Nandini Zalani, Class IX B

I am a tree!

By Vagmi Shah, Class IX B

I have lived my whole life in this forest right from when I was sowed. I still remember those two children who had come to this forest to sow a little seed. They had dug some earth out and then gently placed me in the soil. Day-by-day, I grew up, getting taller and stronger. New leaves grew and colourful flowers bloomed. I had become a home for many small animals. Birds had built their nests on my branches. Squirrels used to run up and down my trunk and occasionally a monkey would stop by. I was happy and contented until those men with saws appeared. They first started cutting the trees on the edge of the forest. I hoped that they would stop after cutting a few trees and go away. I reasoned with myself that I was too deep inside the forest for them to come and cut me. But nothing stopped them. As I saw my friends falling down to the ground helplessly, I realized how cruel and selfish humans are. We trees have provided them with many things to help them, but do they even care about us? Everyday we trees take in harmful carbon-di-oxide fumes and give out pure fresh oxygen for them to breathe. We stand like a barrier and stop floods and cold winds. In a way, we act as their guardians. We provide food to them. In short we are the reason they have been able to survive all these years. And they show their gratitude by cutting us down mercilessly? I can’t believe any creature could be so cold-blooded. And now, they are coming towards me. Their saws slice through my trunk. Even now I am unable to believe the extent of their cruelty. How can they just cut a young ten years old tree…..

The Dark Room

By Tanya Gupta, Class IX B

The wind was blowing violently and the sun was about to set. I was returning to my ancestral house after ten years to live with my father’s brother, uncle Jared and his wife Rebecca.

I saw a large white house with big windows and a well-maintained garden with roses and marigolds. I could glimpse the yellow and orange lights from the windows but one of the windows was dark. I kept staring at that window and felt as if something was staring back at me. As I was busy looking at that window, I felt a pat on my back and I turned and saw a tall lady with brown hair and blue eyes standing in front of me. She was my aunt Rebecca Rochester.

“Welcome Lily! Your uncle and I were waiting for you. Good to see you back.”

She took my suitcase and guided me towards the house. Uncle Jared was standing at the door. He was strong built but a solemn looking man.

“Hello Lily! I hope you will be comfortable living with us.”

“Yes, thank you so much for having me here.”

I followed my aunt through a dark passage. The grey walls were covered with several paintings. I could spot various scenes of birds, flowers and mountains in the paintings. They were so fascinating that I could not stop myself from complimenting, “These paintings are really good. Who made them?”

As soon as she heard this, her smile faded. She replied evasively, “Well! They are very old. Come, this is your room. The supper will be ready within half-an-hour. So, come downstairs by then.” And then she left.

I unpacked my suitcase and dressed for supper. My aunt had prepared my favourite curry which was piquent and delicious. I ate it and got up to return to my room. As I passed the corridor, I came across a wooden door. I could hear sounds as if someone was there in the room. I was about to go inside, when someone caught hold of me. It was my uncle.

“It is too late and I think you should go and sleep.” I obeyed.

The next morning I was woken up by a loud scream. I ran out and could hear uncle Jared shout. I went downstairs. Aunt Rebecca stood still with tears in her eyes. Uncle Jared was trying to comfort her.

“Is anything wrong?” I asked.

“Nothing that you should worry about,” replied uncle Jared, “I think you should go upstairs to your room.”

I obeyed and went back. As I walked through the corridor, I stopped. That wooden door was open. I decided to explore. Inside the room, I felt something unusual. It seemed as if I was not alone there. The entire room was dark as if someone had painted it black. But suddenly, I caught sight of something shiny in the corner of the room. I moved towards it and suddenly felt as if I had stepped on somebody’s feet. I heard a small shriek.

I stumbled back and groped for the switches. When I turned the lights on, I saw a girl standing in front of me. She had deep blue eyes, golden hair and pale white skin. She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. She looked uncannily like aunt Rebecca. She stood still and smiled. I could see a diamond ring on her right hand.

“Who are you? What are you doing in this dark room?” I asked.

“I am Emily Rochester, Jared and Rebecca Rochester’s daughter.”

I was shocked. “How is that possible? I never knew that they had a daughter.”

“Have patience. I will answer all your questions. But first, let us go downstairs.” As we entered the drawing room, my aunt and uncle were astonished to see us and stood up.

“Why did you come out?” said uncle Jared.

“Why can’t I? How long are you going to keep me in that horrible room just because you don’t want me to come in front of people?”

“We did it for your own safety. Emily, this world is not a safe place. People can harm you. We love you so much, we don’t want to lose you.”

“What is my fault if I am a girl? Have you ever realized how I live there all day in dark, all alone, with no one to speak and to play with? I want to come out. I want to breathe the fresh air, make friends, live my life to the fullest. Please don’t make me a prisoner even if it is for my own safety.”

Uncle Jared and aunt Rebecca realized their mistake. And I was happy that I found my sister.

A girl child in the mother’s womb…

By Nehal Tapadia, Class X D

The fears of an unheard voice.

People say your sons are like your eyes. But if you have one daughter, you are blind in one eye. And if you have two daughters, then you are completely blind!

Well, her 9 months in the safety of her mother’s womb are slowly getting over and she’ll be coming out to meet the world. The world she is afraid of. The world in which she is vulnerable. Unlike the boys.

She doesn’t want to leave her mother’s womb because she is scared that as soon as she comes out, people will send her to her tomb. She’s heard them saying that she is sinful, sinful from the time her mother conceived her.

She has an unspoken fear. Fear of becoming a victim of the brutal people who find her deplorable. She doesn’t want to be part of a society where her honour is at risk and she will be expected to grow up only to become a slave, a doormat.

She is pleading for just one chance. Let her prove that she is no less than a boy. Welcome her into this world. She will not burden her parents. She will make them proud.

The girl child craves for equality. She craves to be as carefree and free-spirited as a baby boy, inside her mother’s womb.

Rocco, My Brave Friend

By Vagmi Shah, Class IX B

It was a fine autumn evening. I left our log cabin for my regular evening stroll to the bridge. The path was littered with leaves of varying shades of orange, red and yellow. As usual, I had my favourite coffee coloured coat on. After walking for about 20 minutes, I arrived at the bridge. The crystal clear water in the stream made eddies as it flowed away. I loitered around for a while before heading back home for tea.

Just then I heard a sound. I whirled around trying to locate the origin of that sound. I noticed a small brown puppy struggling in the middle of the water, trying feebly to swim ashore. Our eyes met for a moment and I could hear it pleading to me to save its life. It took only a fraction of a second for me to make up my mind. Without worrying about the consequences, I dived headlong into the clear blue stream. I swam with strong, steady strokes towards that puppy. I caught it in one arm and swam to the shore.

By the time I reached home, we both were shivering. That water was cold! My sister made us a fire and gave us a hot meal. We discussed what we could do with the puppy. We couldn’t leave that innocent puppy out there to its fate, could we? The puppy also seemed reluctant to leave my side. So, it was decided that we would keep the puppy until we find a suitable owner for it.

A few years have gone by. Rocco, is still with us. He has grown into a big and strong dog. I built a red kennel for him last summer. The same summer in which I had nearly died, had it not been for Rocco.

It was a hot summer afternoon. Who could have believed that a small spark could cause such damage? People say that it was a group of ignorant campers who had started a campfire and forgotten to stamp it out. They left, leaving the embers to feed on dry leaves. Soon a hungry fire spread its red, hot fingers farther into the forest. The flames reached our log cabin within minutes.

I was not feeling well and therefore, was asleep on the couch in my room. I wasn’t aware of the fire outside until I felt suffocated because of the smoke. I panicked as my eyes smarted and I could barely see anything around me. Suddenly, I heard Rocco barking. I could just make out his silhouette coming towards me through the smoke. He led me out of the cabin. I followed him in a daze. Somehow he knew where it was safe. After a few minutes of choking and scrambling through the heat and smoke, we arrived at the outskirts of the forest.

By this time the neighbours had arrived and the fire brigade was already at work. But without Rocco, it would have taken them a long time to reach me. Rocco had saved my life.

बचपन की नादानी

वन्शिनी तोल्पड़ी कक्षा ८ वी G

बचपन में बच्चों द्वारा कई छोटी-छोटी नादानियाँ हो जाती हैं | परन्तु कभी-कभी इनकी शैतानियाँ बहुत भयानक रूप ले लेती हैं | बचपन में हम बहुत नादान होते हैं और इन गलतियों को बिलकुल भी महत्त्व नहीं देते | अगर कोई इन गलतियों के लिए बच्चों को डांटता है या उनको राय देता है की उन गलतियों को दुबारा न दोहराएँ तो बच्चे बुरा मान जाते हैं | वे डांटने या राय देने वाले को मूर्ख भी समझ बैठते हैं |

पढाई के अलावा हमें अपने शौक पर नियमित रूप से ध्यान देना चाहिए | गाना गाना, चित्रकारी करना या फिर अन्य कोई शौक | ये हमारे जीवन में संतुलन और शान्ति लाते है | हम में समझदारी बढती है | हम गलतियाँ कम करते हैं | जीवन में सफल होने के लिए हमें अपनी बचपन की नादानियों को सुधारकर उनसे सीख लेनी चाहिए |