Shishukunj

Humanity

Nandini Pillai, Class X B

I was born with a faith,

To cure all maladies.

I was ensconced with a hope,

To destroy your tragedies.

I rest in your hands,

I hope you are aware,

For I shall be difficult,

To restore.

If you do not handle, me with care,

I was supposed, to put an end to war.

Gods named me Humanity.

Now all my wounds are sore.

Since you were mistaken to believe,

I was insanity.

I tried really hard to gift mankind with peace,

But oh! War was too sluttish

And spilled cold water on me.

And now I stand before you,

Filled with sorrow.

For I know your intent,

May destroy tomorrow.

आत्म-चिंतन

ख्याति व्यास, Class X A

बाग़ में बैठ निहार रही थी प्रकृति,

गर्व हो रहा था की मैं मनुष्य हूँ – सबसे अदभुत कृति |

परन्तु चींटियों को रौंदते हुए,

एक माली को फूल तोड़ते देख

उठा एक विचार –

क्या मनुष्यता को शोभा देता है ऐसा आचार ?

अभिमान है की हम हैं सबसे ताकतवार प्राणी,

जिनके पास है अनेक वरदान जैसे बुद्धि और वाणी |

पर क्या शक्ति का अर्थ है केवल क्रूर शासन ?

क्या मनुष्य ह्रदय में खो गया है करुणा, संवेदना का आसन ?

ईश्वर ने रचा है मानव रुपी एक अदभुत खेल,

जिसमे मौजूद हैं इंसानियत और हैवानियत का मेल |

कर्म करो ऐसे की समृद्ध हो पुण्य की पूँजी,

अमरता और सम्मान की यही सर्वोच्च कुंजी |

मत करो ऐसे कार्य जो करें मनुष्यता को लज्जित,

आपसी सहयोग व् सहानुभूति से हो हर जीवन सुसज्जित |

नहीं प्रसन्न होंगे मंदिर-मस्जिद में बसने वाले परमात्मा,

यदि उनकी पूजा-अर्चना करोगे जबकि दुखी करो कोई आत्मा |

इस भांति कलंकित करते हो उनका अस्तित्व,

जबकि सृष्टि के कण-कण में है ईश्वरत्व |

यही प्रण लिया मैंने कि सर्वप्रथम मनुष्य बनूँगी,

इस चींटी से प्रेरित हो विश्व-कल्याण में भागीदारी करुँगी,

शायद चेह्चहाते पक्षी और मुस्कुराते फूलों ने सराही यह युक्ति,

आज बाग़ में मिली मेरी ‘मानव आत्मा’ को आत्म-चिंतन, मुक्ति |

Mother’s Day is just one day when we cherish and celebrate the presence and importance of our mothers. When in fact, we should be celebrating mothers, god’s best gift, throughout our lives. Because if it weren’t for our mother, we may not even exist since she is the one who gave us birth and for which she had to go through excruciating pain while carrying us inside her, just so that we would be healthy and comfortable.

But it isn’t always necessary for the person who gives someone birth to be their mother. Mother is someone who not only gives us life literally but in all ways possible, she is the one who loves us despite our flaws and supports and encourages us all the way and most importantly she is the one who knows when to say ‘No’ for our benefit even though we may not like it or resent it.

She is our nurse, cook, laundry person, alarm clock, therapist, friend, teacher and what not. But has anyone ever heard her complain about her tiredness or the things she couldn’t do for herself, or her unfulfilled wishes and aspirations for her own life? It’s because she knows that we can’t really function without her.

People may never admit it but it is the truth that mothers or mother figures are the true backbones of a good family, household, life and everything. She is our savior in bad times and every once in a while, we show her our ingratitude by not treating her the way she deserves to be treated. But she wouldn’t still tell you how much your words hurt her at times or broke her heart.

There are no apologies in this world that can undo our misbehavior towards our mother or a ‘thank you’ that will cover everything she has done for us through thick and thin or the sacrifices she has made all along. But our small gestures can put a priceless smile on her beautiful face. So friends, make your mother feel special, not only on Mothers’ Day but every day. Pledge to do this for every remaining day of your life.

Forgiveness

Kalash Talati, Class IX B

The true essence of life lies in forgiveness. Forgiveness is the best gift that one can give to another. When we forgive someone, qualities like kindness, loving nature and supportive attitude are displayed.

But why should we forgive someone who has wronged us? We should do so because it helps us to create a better understanding between us and the one who is at fault. Also, forgiveness is the worst punishment we can give to someone as when we forgive a wrong-doer, he feels guilty for his wrong deed and that is worse than any physical punishment.

Forgiving someone heals from inside. Forgiveness is the only thing which separates humans from monsters. Because monsters seek revenge but only humans have the power to forgive. Forgiveness is so potent that it can even turn a monster into human.

Whatever religion we follow, the main message spread by every religion is to forgive.

Bugs and Summer Camp: A Horrible Combination

Sneha Jain, Class VIII G

Bugs. I absolutely DETEST bugs! That’s why Samarth chose me for the trick.

My name is Raj and right now I am at a stupid summer camp. Well, I guess I did make some friends like Harshit, Ankit and Soumil but still…

So, you must be wondering who is Samarth? He is the bully here and he is after my life. He has decided to turn me into his punching bag.

He put up a magic show and announced that some ‘lucky’ volunteer would help him. Well, go on, guess who he chose to be the volunteer. Yep. Me.

At first, I thought he would cut my head off in that box trick, or maybe make me disappear through his magic hat. But I was dead wrong. It was much worse than I had thought.

“Gather up people for an amazing trick!” he said. I reluctantly went with my friends. “So, today I will be showing you a bug trick with the help of…..” At this, his ‘followers’ started jumping up and down. “……..Raj!” He said, followed by a lot of hooting.

Oh great! I went up the stage to see how he was going to torture me.

“Today, I will show you the power of the puny bugs!”

Oh no! Not good. He put loads of bugs on my T-shirt and said, “See and watch my friends!”

See and watch are the same things, I thought. But soon I was petrified by those bugs – all brown and leggy and ….eewwww!

“Now Raj will……”

What’s he going to do next? Make me eat them?

“Eat them!”

“What?!! No Way!”

“Yes way, or else…..”, he said with an evil creepy grin.

I was fed up of Samarth. So I did something extremely stupid. I picked up some of those bugs and threw them on Samarth.

“Ahhh….!” He squealed in a perfect imitation of a little girl and ran away.

We all laughed till our sides hurt. Samarth never spoke to me again.

I guess, bugs aren’t that bad after all!

The Troublesome Trouble

Nishika Jain, Class VII G

Porter Pig was a very famous pig on farms all across the world. Not only could he lift a barn above his head, but he also had the best snout that anyone had ever seen. Porter Pig was the best at sniffing out trouble. He could smell trouble from fifty miles away. Whenever Porter Pig found trouble, he was always able to fix the problem and make everything okay. Farmers all over the world asked to see Porter Pig, hoping that they would be able to use his strength and snout to make their farm peaceful. One day, on a farm in the south, Porter Pig was sniffing for trouble when he smelled the worst smell he could ever imagine. Porter Pig rushed over to the barn where the smell was very strong. He lifted up the huge barn above his head, and there it was staring right into his eyes. Porter Pig had never seen anything like this before.

The story continued…

Porter Pig had seen a very dangerous thing. It was a black slushy and spongy thing. The animals at the farm had never seen, read or heard about it but Porter Pig was very clever. He knew what the thing was and also how much harm it could cause to the farm, its surroundings, the animals and every living creature present around it.

He was wise so he didn’t want to hurt the farmer and the animals by telling them about their worst trouble. He thought about it for sometime and then called his brother Dr Sciency Pig for help.

Dr. Sciency Pig arrived in about two hours and asked, “What trouble do you have brother?” Porter Pig revealed the secret to him. Porter told his brother that the slushy-spongy thing was none other than the slush of death. It was an unlucky token for everyone around it. It always brought some trouble for its owner and tried to kill him. Scientists had proved that it couldn’t be destroyed by any chemical or acid.

Porter and Sciency both thought about it and at last Sciency had an idea. He had read somewhere that it grew faster in an environment of hatred. So, based on this, Porter decided to expose it to so much love that it reduces in size.

Both Porter and Sciency applied this idea. The farmer and the animals also joined in. They spoke nicely to each other and were kind to each other. It worked and the slush broke into tiny pieces and died. This was the most difficult problem that Porter had to solve in his life.

The Pebble and the Taal Tree – Interpretation

Class X D

After reading ‘The Pebble and the Taal Tree’ (Nudi O Taalgaachh) by Bonophool, some students wrote their interpretation of the story.

Aryaa Dubey

The story is set in a prairie-like terrain where beneath the taal tree, there is a small pebble who only sees the grass which encircles him, die and become alive again and again. One day, he notices the tall, gigantic taal tree beside him, he asks the tree if he sees anything else and the tree tells him that he sees the sun rise and set again and again.

This shows that for everyone, there is a pattern in life. If bad time arrives, it’ll not last forever. Soon the light will come around and the times would definitely change for everyone, whether big or small, rich or poor.

Avani Mundra

It is ironical that the layman believes that every individual other than himself is well-off and enjoys the luxury of life. It is also true that people come and go in our life endlessly; some of them stay in our heart and some vanish after a moment.

We believe that the prosperous section of the society enjoys all the adventures of life and can buy all happiness and overcome every sorrow with money. But when the pebble, who is a paradigm of a common man’s life where the grass is compared to challenges, realizes that the tree, who looks so tall and mighty, has the same daily routine, even though it stands to great heights.

It understands that life for all is the same burger and coke until one finds a new Chinese restaurant by the street.

Zainab Aarsiwala

I think the story conveys the very simple message as to how we could add the fun element to our life with the very simple things we see around us everyday. The tree and the pebble, both were neighbours on a barren land. Yet, they never noticed each other before. Had they noticed each other earlier, they could have developed a beautiful, fun-loving bond of friendship and wouldn’t have to live their lives as ordinarily as to see only the sun rising and setting or the glass blades caressing. They could have together enjoyed the beautiful transient play of colours the sun brought along with it everyday. The new hopes the sun brought with it during the dawn and the lovely memories it left behind with dusk.

My Shadow

Class VII DCompiled by Atharv Kulkarni

The poem ‘My Shadow’ by R L Stevenson was taken up in our class. Some of us added our own lines to it. Let’s see what they say.

Vatsal Nayak

The worst thing about my shadow is the worst thing itself

When I am sad, he laughs at me

And when I’m bad, he hides behind me.

Aditya Singh

And if it is my feet that the shadow is holding,

Maybe he should get half of my mother’s scolding.

And if my shadow wants to stick with me all along,

Then he will have to sing me a good song.

Gauransh Sharma

I wish my shadow was as cool as me,

We would play cheerfully near the sea.

He neither has a nose, nor eyes, he neither drinks tea,

I wish I could step on my shadow’s head

And crush it just like pencil’s lead.

But what about my misfortune,

He steps along with his bread.

Ayush Baweja

My shadow is a real weird one;

Follows me to school,

But when asked questions, acts as a complete fool.

When I get very angry,

I stomp him real hard.

But he pops up again,

Without a single scar.

So, I told my shadow this morning,

If he wanted to live with me,

He better learn some Hindi and

How to make some tea.

When I see my shadow in the shade,

I get really annoyed.

Why shall he be cool,

When I’m being fried?

Journalism Is No Longer A True Harbinger of Tidings

Anushka Mimani, Class X B

What is the true definition of journalism in today’s world? It is no longer a reliable source of information, just a race to gain the highest TRP. It has become influenced by business and political parties and displays amplified news which is one-sided.

Journalism is the basis on which people form their opinions and lays the foundation of democracy but now-a-days can we really trust the media? How are people supposed to question if they don’t know whether the news displayed is the original story or just another made-up rumour?

Many citizen-turned-journalists voice their views through social networking sites but again the veracity is not guaranteed. This problem will only be solved if journalists and news channels work for the citizens of the country and do their actual job which is definitely not twisting current affairs to make it seem more ‘Masaaledaar’.

ईमानदारी

श्रीमती अलका जैन, Educator

प्रत्येक कार्य ईमानदारी से करें

सुना था अपने पिता से

कई बार

देखा था ऐसा करते उन्हें

पढ़ा था कई किताबों में

और अपनाया अपने जीवन में

पर व्यावसायिक मानदंडों के बीच

न मिला इसका कभी कोई ‘पुरस्कार’

कभी-कभी कुछ कमज़ोर क्षणों में

अपने भरोसे को हिलता पाया

‘बटरिंग’ के नित नए रूप देख

मेरा भी जी ललचाया

पर अंतरात्मा ने दी फटकार

और इस फटकार को लिया मैंने स्वीकार

एक कहानी हमेशा मेरी यादों का बनी हिस्सा

सुनाना चाहूंगी बार-बार उसी का किस्सा

था एक ‘कारपेंटर’

करता था सुन्दर कारीगरी

तन, मन और रचनात्मकता के साथ

बनाता था सुन्दर, मजबूत नींव के मकान

मालिक मानते थे उसका बड़ा एहसान

वक्त के साथ-साथ

एहसास हुआ उसे की

अब लगने लगी कुछ थकान

करना चाहिए ईश्वर की भक्ति

“श्रम ही पूजा है”

इस बात में अब नहीं रही शक्ति

पहुंचा मालिक के पास

पूछा मालिक ने

हमेशा प्रसन्नचित्त रहने वाला भक्त क्यों है ‘उदास’

बताया कारण

मालिक भी चाहता था

अपने प्रिय बन्दे का रखना मान

इसलिए मान ली बात पर ‘सशर्त’

बनाना पड़ेगा एक और मकान

तभी ले पाओगे विराम

अनिच्छा और अनमने भाव से

बनाया एक कमज़ोर नींव का

अच्छे ‘एलिवेशन’ वाला मकान

पूरा बनने पर गया मालिक के पास

प्रसन्नचित्त मालिक ने

निश्छल मुस्कान के साथ कहा

जीवन में बनाए तुमने हज़ारों

सुन्दर, मज़बूत, नक्काशीदार मकान

उसी का है ये ‘पुरस्कार’

रहो आनंद से इसमें

और बिताओ शेष जीवन

‘कारपेंटर’ को हुए आत्मग्लानि

जीवन के अंत समय में की

अपनी ही हानि

अपनी ही हानि |

इसलिए मित्रों, कभी ईमानदारी न छोड़ो,
कभी मेहनत से मुंह न मोड़ो ||

Month: October 2015