October Sky

I see the bright blue skies;

The wind, the trees, the Sun atop the hills dancing by.

The young yellow shoots, and the flowers caressed by the carefree wind;

Living to their fullest, before the same wind causes them to die.

I see the horizon, where in the dusky hue, the hill meets his love the sky;

She’s sober from the gone by rains, and looks at me a way too shy.

The purest sunshine, more white than yellow;

Calms the rage of the winds, into the sweet anger of the teenage girl.

To the delight of the grasslands below, the breeze sweeps them all;

Together they dance, they all dance by.

The air is seductive, coupled with the blinding sunshine;

The sweet intoxication, forcing me to live at times I die.

And suddenly I can’t see much, the murderous slumber messing with my head;

I hug my pillow, together we go back to finish the day-dreams left by.

O, I love the views, the weather, the tranquility, the Sun through my window shines;

Leave me with them to live and die, before the heartless winter comes by.

Abhishek Bhatt

Y12 Undergraduate, The LNMIIT

PS: Selected as Winning Entry- October '15.

The Curious Case Of Human Curiosity

Curiosity has haunted mankind since time immemorial and still continues to. In fact, human civilisation is a living example of this. If our ancestors were not curious about the bounties of nature we now know how to exploit so well, we would not be living a life like we do. It doesn’t just include technological advancements but also includes metamorphosis in way of life, social and behavioural traits. And this transformation hasn’t ceased yet. Man is still exploring the nature, newspapers full of stories of inventions taking place in some or the other part of the world is a proof of this. This quest to know more encompasses all domains, be it food, technology, beauty, health, conservation of resources and a host of other disciplines. The likes of Einstein, Aryabhatta, and Darwin threw light on this curious nature of humans. Curiosity is ageless. It never diminishes, there is always something that fascinates you, makes you wonder, makes you ponder over and stays till the last breath. I’m no exception this.

I have this weird curiosity about how the world looks from someone else’s eyes. Of course, it is a well-known fact that every individual has a perception of their own, which is governed by their society, culture, upbringing, circumstances, life experiences among a plethora of other factors, and this perception decides to some extent our future and the choices we make in life. But let’s scrutinize it at physiological level about how the world seems from someone else’s eyes, literally. It’s inexplicable but it’s something like this: if ten people were made to sit in a room and shown a bunch of grapes, they would all report green colour. Even though their interpreted colours can be different but still everyone reports ‘green’ colour because they have learnt to call their interpreted colours ‘green’. This can be explained by the fact that since everyone is unique and wired uniquely, the interplay between eyes and brain that enables vision might be a unique characteristic of an individual too, just like fingerprints are.

But just as intriguing as this idea is, it’s difficult to validate it. As practically it is not possible to swap our eyes with someone else’s. Even if it were possible we wouldn’t get a true picture because it’s not just the eyes but also how the brain interprets what our eyes see, that constitutes vision. And obviously if we swapped our brains with someone else our existence itself becomes an ambiguity!

I have reflected upon this for a very long time now and I have failed to find a resolve, even if I did, it’s not practically possible to exercise it.

Thus my curiosity remains un-satiated and unsettled like many others. 

Shreya Agrawal

Y12 Undergraduate, The LNMIIT

जीना है अब हँसते गाते

यह  दिल  की  जंजीरों ने मुझे ऐसा जकड़ा 

की  खुद  को  खुद  से  बचा  नहीं  पाया 

दिन  भर  की  मशक़त्तो  के बाद  खुद  को खोखला  ही  पाया丨

क्या  करू में इस दिल का जो खुद ही  करवटे  लेता है 

तपते सूरज , सर्द  हवा  में भी उसे  पाने  के  सपने देखता है 丨

ऐ  दिल तू मान भी जा 

तू जिसे चाहता है वो ईद  का चाँद  है

 नुमाइश भी क्या करू  उसकी  

जिसे मन मर्जी पर गुमान  है 丨

अब एहसास  हुआ की दिल  खाली  पतीला  रह  गया 

खनखनाते  खनखनाते  चीखों में दब  गया 丨

आज  गिर  कर भी नहीं  संभाला की तेरी याद ने  झुलसा  दिया 

जैसे  एक  प्यासे  को  भरे  कुए  ने पानी  के  तरसा  दिया丨

अब तोह खून भी  बेहने  के लिए रास्ते तलाशता है 

आवाज भी आहट  बन कर गुम हो जाती  है 

अपने अस्तित्व पर शक होता है 

पर तभी एक आवाज  कुछ  बताती है 丨

'ऐ आशिक 

माना  की प्यार जीवन में एक बार ही होता है 

पर उसे खोने क दर्द से अच्छा  तो पीने के पानी में जहर होता है '丨

आज जो  दर्द में  बहा 'तो उभर नहीं  पाऊंगा 

अपने लिए नहीं तो दुसरो के लिए जीना नहीं सीख पाऊंगा 

अब बस  मारा ही नहीं  हूँ  ,इस प्यार को पाते पाते 

जीना है अब हँसते गाते 

हँसते गाते 丨

Akshat Nagar 

Y12 Undergraduate, The LNMIIT  

An Interview with Sachin's Bat

Sachin has retired. He won’t be playing cricket again.

Everyone is busy. Everyone wants to take an interview of Sachin and then add another drop to the blogosphere already flooded with Sachin. I am no different. I decided to take his interview as well. I left home, and came back dejected.

Sachin was busy, taking awards, collecting mementos, getting photos clicked, delivering thank you speeches and had no time for an interview with me.

So?

So then, in a corner of the room, away from all the hustle, I saw his bat, lying down. And decided, let me interview this little piece of wood, Sachin’s better half on the cricket pitch. Something he can’t be imagined without.

Made For Each Other 

Here are some excerpts from the same:

Me : Hello, Mr. Bat. Thanks for agreeing to talk to me.

Bat : Good Evening, Annanya. Nice to see you.

Me : How do you feel today, Mr. Bat?

Bat : Right now, I’m very nervous. This is my first interview. Should have learnt about this from Sachin, He has been doing this since he was 14. We have taught each other various things over the past 24 years, but He never gave me any interview tips.

Me : So, tell me about how it all began, did you always know that you would become Sachin’s Bat?

Bat : Good Question. I guess the tree I came from knew about it. It’s an interesting story. During my childhood in Kashmiri wilderness, a woodcutter came and almost chopped down the tree. The tree, still very young, did not want to cut down. It pleaded before the woodcutter, and asked him to leave him for God’s sake. And, he did leave me, for God’s sake.

Me : Nice story. And when did you first realize that you were in great hands?

Bat : It was in Perth, during the 91-92 series. Everyone knows how great that innings what. Most of the times, I was close to His chest, such was the bounce in that pitch. Still, I met most of the balls right at my center, that was enough indication that I was in no ordinary hands.

Me : May I ask you which bowler you liked to screw the balls of the most?

Bat : Come on, Annanya. I am Sachin’s bat, not Kohli’s.

Me : Err, sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude.

Bat : Yeah, I know. I understand what you want to ask. I always liked hitting Australian bowlers. particularly Warne and McGrath. You can say I always had a ball of a time thrashing them out of the park. Also, Pakistan’s Shoiab Akhtar. He had such a long run-up that I used to get bored waiting for him to deliver. Hitting him was a delight, hope you all remember that six over point, when I met the ball at the bottom and still managed to send it over the fence. I always thank Sachin for that shot.

Me : Yes, that was an incredible shot. So, tell me about your equation with other bats in the dressing room.

Bat : The atmosphere in the dressing room was good. I was good friends with almost all the bats. It was only Azharuddin’s bat that I hated, that lean piece of timber. He was mean, always teasing me with fat jokes. I felt really bad sometimes, but then, later in my career, I got a new best friend, Dhoni’s bat. He was another fat one in the room, and we really enjoyed each other’s company.

Me : And how was your chemistry with Sachin?

Bat : Oh, it was awesome. We shared a beautiful relationship. He always took great care of me. Always made sure I was having the right amount of weight, the perfect grip, and was chiseled correctly. There was a tough time when He had that Tennis Elbow, and He asked me to reduce my weight. That was a tough call, because I had always been fat, and reducing weight didn’t just seem easy. But we managed to pull it off somehow. During His time in the middle, we talked a lot. About cricket, how His form is, what the match situation is, and when to hit Sehwag on the bum.

Me : Given the workaholic that Sachin is, you also would have had to work hard for the past 24 years.

Bat : Yeah, that was tough. He used to practice in the nets for hours at a stretch, I was almost drained out completely by the evening everyday. Before foreign tours, he used to have throw-downs with wet rubber balls to prepare for bouncy pitches. I just loved that wet soaky feeling. But in the nights before match-days, He used to shadow practice His shots in the hotel room. This always made me angry. How do you expect me to perform tomorrow when you don’t even let me sleep at night. But, the genius still somehow used to script masterpieces with me the next day. God-like characteristics!

Me : So, which was you favorite shot?

Bat : The straight drive. This was a shot when I could greet the ball with a bear-hug instead of just a handshake like during the leg glance or the square cut.

Me : And was there a shot you didn’t like?

Bat : Yes, unlike the rest of the world, I hated it when Sachin played the paddle sweep. My sides still hurt due to that grazing with the turf whenever He used to play that shot.

Me : Any other memories of Sachin you would like to share?

Bat : There are many memories, But I don’t think you have enough space.I may be heavy, but without Sachin, I am practically weightless. I was the Magician’s Wand. His weapon of mass destruction, and at the same time, His instrument of peace. It was using me that He brought schools, colleges, offices, and nations to a halt. It was using me that He gave people hope when all was lost. It was using me that He taught people what a fighting spirit is. It was using me that He spread joy. What more would a humble piece of Kashmir Willow want?

Me : And now that you are retiring, any future plans?

Bat : My future plans? Ummm, I guess I’ll occupy some corner in Tendulkars’ household. Those guys are like family to me. May be Arjun would like to use me sometime. Or maybe not. I’m happy with whatever Sachin decides to do with me. Thank God I’m not Afridi’s bat, otherwise I’d have had to start preparing for the next match even after retirement.

Me : Thank you very much, Mr. Bat. Was a pleasure talking to you.

Bat : Oh! Thank You too. Hope you have a great life ahead, Annanya.

Annanya Johari

Y12 Undergraduate, The LNMIIT

Hang In There...

There are times when we are so sullen and emotionally exhausted that we long for outlets of our emotions. Not that we need a trigger for any catharsis, but we are so choked and full to the brim that in that state of numbness, it is a far fetches thing to realize this on our own.

We have a hard time breathing, a harder time gulping and all we do is to try shaking it all off. But it never works, not for me.

Situations, circumstances or whatever one might call them in their lingos, are so twisted and wicked. No matter how hard you try, you end up in despair. That's when our faith is shaken. We start losing it. Everything around us starts annoying us.

We start to damn that whatever we are today, we were not meant to be.

'This was not my cup of tea!' 'If I were doing what I always wanted, I might have had a better life!'

But are we always right? Or we just camouflage our weaknesses and failures with lack of interest?

Past always haunts us. And low recesses of heart, like these, further invite them to torment us. So, actually we are not doing any good by revisiting that lane.

What we have now, today, only that is our cup of tea. We can't set eyes on other cups. No matter how fancy they may look and how cracked and leaky our own may seem.

There are no guarantees, after all.

There is no room for vacillation at the expense of damaging your present. You are doing nothing but vandalizing your own life.

Hang in there, for tomorrow is yet to come. And there is certainly a moment, hidden in the shell of future, that will change everything for good. Your mind set will drastically differ and you will see your life, once a miserable one, with hope.

Just live in present and you will see, however withered your life may seem, it can still be salvaged.



Mohit Joshi
Y12 Undergraduate, The LNMIIT

The Indian police has long been criticized for its overweight police personnel. They have been battered time and again due to this serious issue that has been plaguing the police force for decades. Although the police and the government might have come up with many solutions, none of them actually worked. But, now is the time for them to bring to test an innovative idea, which might be bizarre, but will surely bear fruit.

We all know that many (almost all) police officers are fat and overweight (read pumpkins). But why not all? Well there is a reason behind that too…

The new recruits are the ones who stay slim for at least a year. Why? The simple reason is that they have to do all the running – running the Indian police! (pun intended). But, it’s true that the Indian police force follows a strict rule (another joke!). Once the new recruits join duty, they are assigned the job of doing all the running. When someone comes to the police station to file an FIR, it is these guys who do all the hard work, i.e. chasing -- not the accused, but the ones who come to file the report; they chase these guys out of the police station! Now that’s hard work! And, mind you, there is a well chalked out plan for chasing too, i.e. a rape victim is chased up to a mile out of the police station, a dacoit victim is chased half mile and so on... Repeated offenders (those who are stubborn, and come again to file a report) are chased twice the length they were chased earlier!

Now, an intelligent question: Why don't they do the chasing in a police jeep?

Well, police jeeps are usually unavailable, thanks to globalization. These days, so many antique car rallies are being organized in India, so police vehicles are shifted there -- not for patrolling, but for participation‼!

Again, the new recruits are the ones who chase the robbers (another joke!). Well, they don't chase all the robbers, but only those who slip by the police without giving them their commission‼!

Half of you might be thinking that why the policemen don't shoot all these guys, why chase them?

Because my friend, there are, again, two kinds of police personnel in India:

• First type - the one with danda.
• Second type - the one with gun? False. The one with a danda which has a barrel attached to it!

Kyonki police ki chalti to hai nai (bandook nahi chalti; waise police ki toh chalti hai), so bandook bhi dande ka hi kaam karti hai!

Then why the hell does the government not provide them with the guns?

Well, the reason is because it is a crime in India to provide any kind of gun to a criminal gang. So the government is bound by the law, you see‼! The guns actually meant for actual policemen on display in the museums, because these are antique items‼!

Now, back to the innovative idea which was mentioned in the beginning -- how to help the policemen shed their (baby) fat?

Here’s the solution: From now on, the policemen must be assigned duty in a different manner, such as each day must be assigned to an officer irrespective of the rank. They will be assigned a job of chasing the people who flock the police station for filing FIR, and same for the robbers… And I bet, you’ll see the results in six months‼!

You might be sarcastically criticizing the Indian police by now, but they are actually doing a better job than ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) by safeguarding historical monuments and items, i.e. their own police stations, guns and their jeeps; 'cause ‘robbers often carry away a police jeep’ (remember ‘carry’, and not ‘drive’)‼!.

Now, if we do a comparison between Indian police and American police, then in Bollywood terms (Vivacity just concluded!), if American police is Hrithik Roshan, then Indian police is John, (not John Abraham, dude) but apna John Prakasa Rao Janumala, popularly known as Jonny Lever‼!


Himanshu Rawat
Y12 Undergraduate, The LNMIIT