Shishukunj

A Thousand Shades of Day

Lakshya Somani, Class XI B

In the morning, illuminated by white light, the sky is shaded in a hue of light blue. A sense of peace, a sense of hope, instilled in Prashant’s mind. The chirping of the birds, the sound of the water hitting the river bank, a perfect harmony.

As the day proceeds, the rays of light get deeper, the sun rises higher, strengthening Prashant’s body along with the hope and will to live the day.

A day beginning with motivation, leading to hard work, now reaches the stage of fading. Prashant returns home, he cannot miss this beautiful opportunity of sitting in the veranda, sipping tea, and eating biscuits, watching the sunset.

And as the sun does set, there comes the evening. People are tired, having exhausted themselves with the day’s work. With the darkening of the sky, they look for a reward, to go out with friends and family. So does Prashant. If only he knew he was about to witness another shade of the day.

While Prashant was driving along the sea, adoring the skyline, a dark and menacing storm gathered. Furious wind began to beat against the houses with a speed and fury that Prashant had never witnessed before.

Lightning strikes and unfortunately it is Prashant’s car which is its target. What is more unfortunate is that Prashant is seated in it. Poor soul, wandering the city, enjoying the rest of the day, only to meet the end of his life.

The car catches fire, the storm settles, as Prashant’s body gets destroyed in the fire. It starts raining, calming the fire, leaving just smoke, and ash.

At last, even the rain stops, late night sets in, illuminated again by the moonlight. The chirping of insects and birds can be heard.

Away, in some hospital, a child is born. Maybe it is Prashant’s rebirth. The night turns into morning, and there remain, a thousand shades of day.

The Bazaar

Aaheli Roy, Class VIII E

When I checked the fridge, there was no food
And I could do nothing but drool
So I picked up my bag and went to the bazaar
A place which was very far.

Now rumors go around that it’s a strange place
With flying pots and a magical race
Funny shopkeepers with a mysterious past
And the shoppers there are never the last.

I saw a man breathing fire, and a genie lamp
And the atmosphere over there was pretty damp
People placing bets on theories and watching shows
An auction being held which got everyone on their toes.

Seeing everything there put me in shock
Guess I forgot what I was there for!

The Beach

Aaheli Roy, Class VIII E

Sand, the sun and the beautiful blue sky,
Covering this splendid domain,
We come here to relax in tranquility,
And to set free our minds of pain.
Wherever this beach may be,
L.A, Miami or even your backyard,
The feeling we have when we are relaxed,
In the jolly, good and happy sandy beach,
Children diving in the sparkling sea,
Or the adults resting under the umbrellas,
Stalls with hot dogs, lemonade and more,
And the dogs running about having fun,
People riding bikes on the side,
And jumping up high to play volleyball,
Catching the frisbee before it falls,
It’s just a delight to see this all,
So start the engines of your vehicle or just take a walk,
And come to the jolly, good and happy beach to experience it all.

The Rain Song

Riddhi Singhania, Class XII E

I’m not just a little drop

I make up the vast blue oceans.

I quench the thirst of a dying person

I regrow the withered beauty of crops.

My journey starts in the ocean itself

Then I embrace the sunlight and rise to the heaven.

There I meet many of my friends

Then we are called clouds by the humans.

We travel with the wind

Over the needy fields and lawns.

Then we can stay up no more

So we fall down as shimmering drops.

But again I reach the oceans

After going through fields, lakes and homes.

I become quite an experienced droplet

Who is ready to go out again, alone.

A True Friend

Soumya Tiwari, Class X B

A friend is always there,

To help you anywhere.

He is always right,

And makes your future bright.

A friend knows all about you,

And keeps you happy too.

He’s there with you in your woes,

And even when you lose.

A friend can make you smile,

And help you rise in style.

He always lends a hand,

And helps you feel grand.

A friend lets you fight with determination,

And so becomes an inspiration.

So love all the friends you have,

They give you a joy so rare!

Age No Bar

Mrs. Vasundhara Ohri, Vice Principal (Operations)

Think you are too young to make a difference?

Here are a few inspiring stories of children who started small and made a big difference….be it for the environment, pets or child labour.

This article was published in The Times of India on Sunday 17 March 2019 and I felt it was worth sharing.

So read on …. and remember – we are never too young (or too old !) to bring about a positive change in this world.

Deutschland Diaries

Vasudha Gupta, Class XI E

Deutschland or Germany was a wonderful experience. The two month AFS reciprocal Program gave me experiences that will last lifelong. I was stationed at Isny, in the south of Germany. It was a small town with lovely woods and a river surrounding it! The Alps were just a few steps away and the air was as fresh as it could be. They have a lovely school called ‘Waldorf Schule’ with not just regular subjects but even metalwork, eurythmy, music, Russian, etc. During my beautiful stay in the fairyland, we visited some of the wonders of human creation. In The Deutches Museum in Munich I spent the longest time I’ve ever spent in any museum. From the mining caves to marine navigation and sea fossils, physics to maths, music to tools, it took me 8 hours!! It

was thrilling to walk around the city carefree and listen to all the artists singing in the streets. We played golf and sledged in the Alps, cycled from one city to the other, went swimming in the river and shouted across huge fields…things I’ll forever cherish. It was also amazing to meet student refugees in my school from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Pakistan. I made artefacts and jewellery from wood, silver, gold, metal and sandstone. We also went to a carnival in Austria and also saw the lake of Constance and Kunsthaus Bregenz there. In a road trip to Italy we visited some medieval cities and camped in the Alps, and if you’ve seen the Sound of Music you know exactly how it must’ve felt. Besides Frankfurt we also did a tour around Dresden, visiting the Moritzburg Castle, Semper Opera, Zwinger and the Dresden Castle. The days and nights spent there will forever remain as a beautiful album in my mind.

A Month So Special

Riddhi Singhania, Class XI D

Time flows by,

You don’t know why,

A month seems so short,

As if just a week went by…..

Recollecting my trip to Hungary fills me with great memories of the time I had spent there. I didn’t know such a far-off country could be so different, yet so homelike.

My trip, of a month, consisted of going around places in Hungary for the first ten days, and then spending the rest of my month with my host family, MY FAMILY. However much excited I was, to experience a new culture, I was very nervous to actually live with them!

I got a family like my own – two loving sisters and so dear parents. I immediately felt comfortable with them. The only hurdle I faced, which I later realised was indeed fortunate for me, was that my family knew little English. This way I learnt many Hungarian words. Google forditó (translate) is my friend! Language is never a problem when it comes to understanding others, and my family understood me well.

Not only did I learn about their culture and religion, but they were always eager to know about Indian culture or my religion, and respected it. We all cleaned the house on Sundays, watched movies, cooked Hungarian and Indian food, and prayed before going to sleep. They made me a part of all their dinner conversations.

My host mother, being a teacher helped me a lot to understand how their education system functions. The schools in Hungary are totally different from what we Indians think schools are. There are no uniforms, no prohibition on mobile phones, and no final exams! The attitude towards academics is not the same as in India, due to the lack of competition there. I had formed a sort of negative attitude towards their schooling but further realised that I was wrong- both are different; they cannot be compared!

I was allotted Grade 10 to study in, and I made a lot of friends in school. My classmates did everything possible to make me understand the lessons. The teachers were also very helpful. My class was ever lively with each student having their own distinguishing qualities. I learnt to appreciate the uniqueness in others. We played and danced, and had a lot of fun.

I gained a lot of things from that trip. Saying “thanks” is a thing which a lot of us ignore, thinking it’s not necessary to say at times- but that isn’t the case there. Comfortably and openly sharing our own views and problems with our family and teachers is also a thing which I appreciate of that culture. They love animals so much that almost each family has at least two pets.

I will never forget the one month spent there. I really had an experience to cherish all my life and feel happy to have a family and so many friends in another continent!

From Russia With Love

Hridhima Tyagi, Class XI A

Zdravstvuyte!

My experience in Russia was what can be described as phenomenal. The place was just as I had imagined. As much as I enjoyed escaping the tormenting heat of Indore, I was absolutely mesmerized by the expanse of culture there too. In Moscow, we had stayed in the Star Wars hostel. All of us girls stayed in one dormitory, and we stayed up all night sharing stories, playing different games, but still we were full of energy and enthusiasm in the morning. Through the hop-on-hop-off bus, I was able to visit the majestic places such as the Supreme court, the Parliament, the President’s mansion, Kremlin and much more. We also went to the trampoline park, where we all jumped around till we didn’t have any energy left. My most favourite part, of course was when we had a whole day to ourselves to shop around and buy souvenirs for our families.

Then we went to Surgut. At first I was a bit nervous living with strangers, but they gave me such a warm welcome, I instantly felt at home. They took great care of me, took care of my food preferences, and always helped me with everything. Eliza, my host, was just like a sister to me. On the first day, we were all so tired because of the jet lag, but I wanted to cover as much of Surgut as possible, so my host family took me for a concert. And on top of that, it started to snow, and it was the first snowfall I had ever seen in my life. It looked magical. We spent the whole day playing cards and getting to know each other.

From the next day, we attended all the classes there which included sewing, cooking, clay moulding, metal moulding, engineering, and many more exciting ones. I loved the engineering class the most and felt proud when I was able to make a working Bluetooth operated remote-controlled car all by myself.

After school ended, Eliza and her friend Sasha and I would take long walks exchanging all about our culture. Sasha took care of me just like an elder brother too. He gave me his jacket when I felt cold, helped me with my homework, and even taught me how to ice-skate. They also took me to the zoo, where we fed birds, monkeys and even bats! (Except I was not ready to even touch the bats, I was so scared). Over a short period of 7 days, the bond of friendship between me and my host family had grown so strong that we weren’t ready to separate! Overall, I never felt that I was short of anything, I learned a lot and of course I enjoyed so much, these memories will forever be imprinted on my mind. I am looking forward to another one of these inter-cultural programs!

The UFO

Mihika Panjwani, Class X A

‘And then, the plane entered the big cloud and they could never see it again!’

‘They must have shut their eyes! Hehehe’

‘Oh Ram, shut up, can’t you? Tina, continue…’

‘Thanks Zayn, so…. The plane… it disappeared. Later they found out that the plane had taken a turn when when it got hidden behind a cloud and thus wasn’t seen.’

‘Ughh, can’t these alien stories have REAL action?’ Zayn exclaimed. He was one of the keenest listeners and loved to listen to Tina when she shared whatever she read from magazines.

‘I’ve told you earlier too, there are so many researches going on, yet, nobody knows if aliens exist or not,’ Tina sighed, flipping the pages of another weekly.

‘I don’t care if aliens exist or not. Plus there are already so many people who worry about them. Let’s not get into boring debates again. C’mon, let’s go getta life and play outside,’ Ron winked, holding a poster with the words ‘GO GETTA LIFE’ written in bold.

The three friends got out the house and sat on the porch outside. They were all sitting there when Zayn exclaimed, ‘R….Ron…T….Tina….look! Up there!’

‘Oh my god! This is so much like a Doracake!’

‘No Tina! You’ve been watching Doraemon a lot these days. This looks more like a ……doughnut!’

‘Oh no Ronnie. This is so much like a UFO!’

Tina and Ron exclaimed together, ‘A UFO! Yes, it is a UFO! Run! Let’s get someone!’

They all rush to Zayn’s elder brother Jim and ask him to look at the UFO.

Jim had a nice look at it and said, ‘Oh yes, that is definitely a UFO. But a plastic one! Kids it is a promotion of the new TV series The Scratched Alien Stories.’

‘It was an amazing day, full of fun and frolic. We all stood aghast and laughed, seeing that strange flying object!’ Tina ended her diary entry and another amazing day!