Screens, screens, screens, they are addiction machines
You cannot put them down
Even if you do so, you have a big, big frown
Games, Apps and social media
Are harmful for your health.
You can check an Encyclopedia!
Use them to talk to friends far away
But don’t forget the loved ones nearby
Instead of looking at videos
Look at the clear blue sky
Hear me now answer me well
The only remedy for the screen addiction Spell
Is to excess-gadget-use from your life expell!
Speaking up for those who can’t speak for themselves.
Let it go, let it flow, they said;
but how could I, it’s dearest to me, the soul said;
taking leaps of faith and credence, I tread;
but oh, afflicted my heart they left;
they left and never seemed to return, and that is when my belief made a turn;
were they for real or just a delusion, I seemed to ponder;
the cosset I bestow, it seemed to shatter;
the pieces so many, I lost the count,
but my instinct made me take a round,
it is then that I noticed, the path was clear,
they had made a decision, and it was upon me to configure;
the mind, the soul and this beautiful heart, it will always be, I assure you this part;
it was time to move on, shift the focus a bit, but the void they created, didn’t let me settle in;
it is thus difficult to believe that you won’t do me like they did, for if you do, the heart will forbid;
anguish, dolour, vexation and nothing else,
the only feelings that are now bound to dwell;
let it go, let it flow, they said;
but how could I, it’s dearest to me, the soul said.
It has been a desire in every Indian’s heart to help India become a super power and a world leader. Though this desire has been in our heart since many years, have we ever tried to put in efforts towards achieving this goal?
We all have actually become customers of foreign goods even for the ones of basic necessities though they can be easily produced in our country. It is also a surprise that we have become so much dependent that we are unable to stop ourselves from buying foreign goods even for the festivals celebrated in our country. Annually, about $480 billion is spent by our country on its import. So, don’t you think it would be better if all that money is spent on purchasing indigenously manufactured goods?
Just remember, India’s population is its biggest strength and if we all start preferring ‘Made in India’ over imported goods, India’s economy will see a jump. This will help us generate direct and indirect employment due to which our economy will witness an improvement in the economic development.
God supports those who work with hope and strategy.
Every country is desperate to sell their products to India since Indian market is so big. But we have Indian companies like Infosys, Airtel, Ranbaxy and TATA which are trying to innovate products which can beat foreign products and capture foreign market too. COCONICS, a new private–public company set–up in Kerala has announced to manufacture new laptops which will be completely Indian made and available at affordable prices.
Our Government has started taking steps to promote local goods and one such example is ‘Atman Nirbhar Bharat’.
Our Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi reaffirmed that India has the talent to make the best products. He also stated that one of the key ways to a self–reliant India is to buy and promote local products.
So, a major part of this mission and even its success lies in the hands of us citizens. If the country gets united and only has an aim to make India a successful and developed country, then no one in this world will be able to stop us from becoming the New India which we have always dreamt of.
What can a hair dryer do?
Well, I would be wondering the same thing if you asked me. My reply would be something like “Umm, I dunno, like dry hair and ruin people’s hair just after they managed to comb it down before a party?” But that would be before the Parcel arrived.
It was one of those fresh mornings that rarely come, one that makes you want to sit outside with a milkshake and a cookie and gloat over the fact that you didn’t turn any of your plants into The Sahara Desert or Michigan Lake, while your neighbour destroyed five of his plants and had to spend all his monthly savings (probably) into buying new crotons.
So, I did just that. I walked out of the door, with some cash in my pocket for buying milkshake and cookies. I hardly noticed a large lightning blue box, nothing like your average courier box. That is, until I tripped over it. I hit my shin, landing face-first into my chrysanthemums. “So much for my houseplants,” I grumbled.
I got up and started checking for broken bones. I was just checking my rather painful shoulder blade when I noticed the blue box, with an irregular imprint where my shin had collided with it. Confused, I checked my phone for any orders that week, though I already suspected that no courier companies used bright blue boxes for delivering stuff. And no, there were no orders due that week, that month, that whole quarter of the year!
Sceptically, I surveyed the box, the way a detective would survey a scene of crime. After a few moments of suspiciously surveying the box, I gingerly took it inside.
All the while carrying the box, I wondered who had sent the box to me. Could it be the FBI? Or the CIA? Or space monkeys who ate pizza? Definitely Space monkeys who ate pizza.
I set the box down onto the table. And inside the Bright Blue Box that beheld the mysteries of Space monkeys that ate pizza was a … hair dryer!?!
“Oh great, now I have another hair dryer,” I said, remembering that my uncle Jai had given me a hair dryer on Christmas. I reached for the dryer but instead my fingers touched the surface of something that burned like lava. The pain was so bad that my hand went numb. My vision was as if I were seeing through a layer of red frosted glass. Thank the gods I remembered to put my hand under cold running water. The tap became soft as clay when I touched it and the cold water turned to steam on contact with my hand. The ice I put on my hand did the same. But the worst was yet to come. The gel ice pack! It exploded into blue coloured toxic stuff that released an acrid fume.
I went to the laundry and fished out the baking gloves that my Aunt Isha had given me and returned to the box. But this time I wasn’t going to be fooled. I took out a pair of ancient tongs made of zirconium (who knew I had all that lying around) and carefully reached for the hair dryer.
Funnily enough, it came out, though not peacefully. The hair dryer burned a deep shade of orange. The moment the dryer (that is if you can call it a dryer) came out of the box, it exploded. I hoped that my hand would go numb again, but this time I wasn’t so lucky. White-hot pokers of pain shot through my arm, screaming for me to let go, and my hand went limp, the pain however remained. I silently cursed myself for not calling the fire brigade. I almost screamed, but then remembered that I would need my voice box for the rest of my life. My vision flashed red.
Somewhere a jug of water turned over and splashed onto the dryer. It sizzled and burned, then suddenly, shot straight up into the ceiling and created one last, dying explosion, a release of such a tremendous amount of energy that the ceiling rippled like water.
But before the dryer had collided with the ceiling, I noticed something.
* * *
Finally, I woke up in my bed, with a faint memory of a bright blue box with a hair appliance inside. “I wonder what it could be?” And still I do not know. But if you get to know, please contact me on the planet of Space monkeys that eat pizza.
P.S. The author of this piece does not actually own a hair dryer nor does his allowance cover milkshake and cookie at the same time.
P.P.S This was written in the middle of a Lockdown so who are we even kidding.
This lockdown has made everyone mad
But we got to spend time with mom and dad
The best thing about lockdown is that
It taught us how to face difficult situations
But it is not so easy like math equations.
We have been cutting down trees
Which is not allowing blowing of fresh breeze.
The decision of lockdown has given India a lot of fame
Everything has stopped including every game.
At last I would say lockdown is good and bad both
It is your way now how you live it.
This is a poem on all the planets. Each planet represents a member of a band.
MERCURY – Guitarist
Mood maker of the band
Making the universe dance with guitar in its hand
Likes to irritate the sun
Thinking that it’s fun
But it’s actually none for the Sun
VENUS – pianist
The hottest of all
Acting like the pianist I recall
The quieter are its strings
The deeper it thinks
EARTH- lead singer
The most beautiful planet inside out
Spreading its voice all around
Is happy in every decision
But likes to concentrate on the smallest precision
MARS- drummer
The most mysterious amongst all the planets
Has very weird habits
Listening to super weird songs
Everyday spending its time in the sky with the dawn
JUPITER- main rapper
Grumpiest of all
Doesn’t like anyone’s opinion at all
Biggest of all
Firing its raps like a cannon ball
SATURN- main singer
The title of chatterbox goes to Saturn
Hitting everyone with its circular ring pattern
Thinks of herself to be very sassy
But her voice makes the whole stage happy
URANUS- guitarist
Having an amazing fashion sense
Keeping up with the trends
Showing her skills on the guitar
Shining bright as a star
NEPTUNE- dancer
The energiser of the group
Dancing around in a loop
The galaxy-wide handsome
Having its own fandom
PLUTO- the common cute dog of the band
The mischievous dog
Loves to go on a jog
Runs away here and there
Such a troublemaker I swear.
Like stones hurled at the earth,
The rain rushes down in torrents,
The winds blowing out the only warm hearth,
Bringing in the cold.
Coming down with force unbearable,
The wind playing along,
Whistling through the trees,
The tender branches bending.
Like a playing song,
The force rising and falling,
Playing sometime and stopping the rest,
Making a racket.
Grey clouds covering the sky,
Seems as if the sky is crying with me,
But the rain of sorrow will end,
Bringing happiness in.
Everything was normal and regular in life
But a pandemic came and gave us strife
The lockdown brought a big frown
Our world was turned upside down
Life was changing with new rules to abide
What to do, no one could decide
When the lockdown opened, things got better
But nothing could control the ongoing terror
We have to continue to live and survive
For that we need to be cautious and look alive
We’ll have to wear masks and wash both our hands
And be two feet away from where the other person stands
No hugging or snuggling against each other
Our lives from now will be tougher
But the ultimate aim is to be happy
We need to raise our spirits and not be sloppy
We need to adapt to the situation and embrace the change
We’ll learn the new ways even if they are strange
We will face all challenges
And heal from all damages
In the end, we will be triumphant
All we should do is be patient !!!
