Our broken relationship with Nature - Rishona Chopra

Nature is all around us. The magnificent trees, the lush green forests, the animals and the birds. And in fact, we humans are nature. We are not a part of it, but we are nature. 

Nature heals us. By this, I don't mean just the trees and forests that heal us. Our loved ones, friends and parents care for and support us, standing selflessly as our backbone. 

Human's greatest enemy is ego. Is it the fuel for anger, jealousy, greed and whatnot? For desire, we fight wars. Why? For a mere piece of land. That very land belongs to none of us. Countries fight for the mountain areas that come into our country. But, in reality, that land is neither ours nor theirs. It is nature which has no possession. We don't have the owners we belong to, and neither does the land. 

Without realizing it, we hurt nature for a silly reason. Amid these wars, aren't oceans and mountains being affected? 

We greedily fight for possession, but do we take that possession with us when we die? One day, it all has to be lost. 

Plants, humans, animals and birds are all nature. We are one and are meant to live in harmony. But we have all broken ourselves into different categories. We are told to live in peace and harmony, yet we have created a broken relationship with one another. 

The beauty of our world lies not in our planet's biodiversity but in the harmony that we create with one another. 

Due to the broken relationship, neither are satisfied; neither are we nor are the plants and animals. 

It is high time we fix this relationship by realizing that ego is our greatest enemy and has ruined so much for us. 

We must cure the wounds we have caused and prevent more from being created. 

Listen to my podcast.

Rishona Chopra
Grade VII
Gyanshree School

The Change - Reveda Bhatt

A point in my life that brought out my inner strength and made me believe that “I am capable” was what people hailed me as a fighter, one even I didn’t know of. Rolling the rim of my life back to the start of 2019, when I was a child scared of all imaginary beasts and darkness, only after I went into darkness did the change take place-When I went into a COMA. 

This was due to an accident my Mom and I met, wherein Mom was injured, and mine, getting back alive, doubted. It was like this typical suspenseful thriller going on! One day, I got better but could get worse the other! But COMA in English, too, refers nearly to a comma, which has it saying, “There’s more!” So, I fought back, knowing it was not the end. It wasn’t before maybe 3 weeks that I opened my eyes.

Surgeries, injuries, follow-ups-I saw all that. In comparison, if I were still that child, afraid, I wouldn’t have made it so, you know, life puts you down, but you’ve got to stand up because those who do-they come out with the title, “A hero,” the other case, I won’t define. 

Now, when I recovered fully, everybody praised me. I realised how precious this life is and started honouring every moment because who knows what’s next? I fought the dark, death and came out, and if it weren’t for it, even I wouldn’t have known who I really am! 

Recovering from any injury just feels like a piece of cake when you’ve got scars on your body, well, I wouldn’t even call them scars but bravery marks, reminding me each time, “You can do it!” 

The incident here is what I really feel thankful for because it showed me the light. Never in my life had I thought that I would be hailed as a hero because everybody fights, but only a few come out victorious.

Reveda Bhatt

The Aryan School

A memorable moment - Rishona Chopra

 

Sometimes, all we need is just to talk to someone, all alone, telling them about everyone and everything. And I need that time every day. I absolutely love it when I have interesting long conversations with my mother. It is when I can reflect and listen to how my mother's day went. 

With no doubt, my favourite time of the day is when I have a long talk with my mother. We discuss many things, from how the day went to the people who irritated us. Often we find ourselves fighting with each other and then, the next minute, laughing and enjoying ourselves. 

I absolutely love and cherish this time; there is so much to say and tell that you just can't stop. While on some rare days, there is nothing to say, but sitting together makes me so happy. No matter where we are, we always have this time with each other, whether before sleeping or during the day during our morning walk. This is definitely the best time of the day for me. 

We had a long deep conversation a few days ago. We both sat on the floor with support from the bed. We talked about how people irritate us and complained about our personal issues. It was something so enriching for me and yet so enjoyable. I genuinely wished that time would never end. 

There are a few lines from a song that I would like to quote:

"For all the places I have been, I'm no place without you
 If I could fly, then I would know
 What life looks like from up above and down below."

This song is written by a father to his daughter; the song means to say that the little moments are the big ones. The father has been to many places, but what matters is where our family is. 

These moments I have with my mother are priceless and hold quite a meaning in my heart. 

Rishona Chopra
Grade VII
Gyanshree School

I am responsible for... Veda Varshita Marrivada

Veda Varshita from the HPS Begumpet, Hyderabad. Here is the reflection on responsibilities. I have also enclosed the audio file of the reflection. Listen to it, please.

Thank you, and have a nice day. 

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I am responsible for many things. These words give me a sense of pride and responsibility towards my work, family, and society. Every right has responsibilities, and responsibility is a duty we must accomplish on time. Everyone has their own responsibilities and duties. Responsibility means being dependable, making good choices, and taking accountability for your actions.

I've been a responsible girl since my childhood. I had a few responsibilities as a daughter, family member and student. One of my primary responsibilities was learning and studying. I have consistently performed to the best in academics and secured first rank in my class every year. Another responsibility was obeying and respecting my parents, family, teachers, and elders. Also, I kept my things safe as the things I owned were precious and gave me a feeling of ownership.  

Since the birth of my younger brother, things have changed. I had got some more responsibilities. I had to help my parents to bring up my younger brother and cope with my studies. Although adapting to the situation was difficult, I sacrificed and compromised a few things for my parents and brother. Later, everything became easy, and I got used to them. Over the years, I learnt to look after myself and decide the right choices in life. Still, responsibilities give me an incredible feeling of joy and teach me many valuable lessons in life, and obviously, I shall and will fulfil my responsibilities.

Responsibility is an essential virtue of an individual as it gains a person's trust. It teaches you to do multitasking and gives you satisfaction and happiness. It provides a sense of purpose and builds resilience amidst adversity on an individual and societal level.

In conclusion, accomplishing your tasks and responsibilities gives you a sense of maturity, happiness, and great joy as you feel you have completed a task on time. "Where there is great power and energy, there is great responsibility." Let's all be responsible for accomplishing what we have committed!

VEDA VARSHITA MARRIVADA Grade 5 Hyderabad Public School Begumpet

I am responsible for - Tenzin Jambey

As we grow older and older, responsibility and jobs come on our shoulders. Responsibility is not easy to handle.  Along with responsibility, risk also comes. The day will come for every person when they must take greater responsibility. I  believe that we should only do such actions for which we can take responsibility. 

I have many responsibilities upon me, but my most significant responsibility is to study and do well in other activities and to develop myself to become a better version of myself. With time am also getting older and now I can take many responsibilities and I can look after myself when I am traveling and I can make my own decision for the betterment of myself. 

Tenzin Jambey

Pestalozzi Children’s Village India

Reflection topic – I am responsible for … Annaya Raj Gurung

 Reading with Jugjiv Sir

There are a lot of things I am responsible for like studying well, doing my homework on time, eating healthy, being nice and kind to the people around me. As the class monitor, I am responsible for minding the class when the teacher is not there, taking the copies down to the staffroom, bringing them back up and distributing the copies. My other responsibilities are to make my bed once I get up, wash my plate after I eat and help with the household chores. 

The most important responsibility I have is of myself, I am responsible for my thoughts and actions, I am responsible for the way I communicate and behave, I am responsible for my mistakes and to make sure I don’t repeat them and I am responsible for my well-being and happiness.

 

~Annaya Raj Gurung~

Grade IV 

Tashi Namgyal Academy, Gangtok

I am responsible for - Aria Gupta

I take full responsibility for whatever mistake I have made in the past, even if it's just a spelling mistake. For me, they are not something to regret but to accept. We all make mistakes; there is no such thing as a 'perfect person'. The good thing about mistakes is that they can teach us essential values that nobody else will.

Our class was recently assigned a group project to do in Science. My group decided to make the task so fancy that we couldn't complete it in time, thus getting a big, fat zero. I learnt that we should make things easy and beautiful simultaneously. Even though this error will probably affect my grade, it doesn't matter as long as I learnt something.

It's beautiful if you make an error like this; everybody makes mistakes.

Aria Gupta
Grade VI
Gyanshree School

I am responsible for... - Rishona Chopra

There are quite a few things we have control over. We often try to grasp something we cannot control. We notice and try to change others, their habits and choices. When, in reality, we only have control over ourselves. Another aspect is understanding that we are responsible for ourselves. Our decisions are purely ours. 

Often, we try to blame others for our reactions. If I submit my project late, I blame the internet, but was it really the internet's fault that it stopped working and that my project was lost? Should I have been more proactive and worked on an offline platform or saved my work?

I have also noticed that I start blaming others for my own mistakes unconsciously without realising it. 

When we get sick, do we not blame the weather for changing? Do we think that our immunity should have been stronger? Do we think that this weather change is caused by us humans only? Most of us blame the weather as if it is controlled by someone, not us. 

Life is like a book, and we are the author. The book takes a turn of events, but it all happens before the author, and the conclusion is the author's choice. Several characters in that book influence and help in the formation of the story, but it is the author's thinking that makes the difference. 

I am responsible for whatever I do and any action I take. I am responsible for myself. 

Rishona Chopra
Grade VII
Gyanshree School

Mindful living is important in present time - Tenzin Jambey

With time everything is changing; we see development and new infrastructure set up. The living standard of people is also changing, and with the way of living standards, people's minds and the method of executing actions are too changing. We must be very mindful about our activities and words in today's world. 

Our one action can cause heavy destruction; with one step, our identity can change. With one step, we lose our trust, friends, and loved ones. Before doing any work or even speaking to somebody, we should ask ourselves whether we are doing the right thing. We should consider the effects and consequences, but many people still do something wrong even after knowing it is wrong. 

Humans get many emotions like greed, selfishness, and desire to possess. That's why it becomes difficult sometimes to have control over our actions. How strange we human beings are. Aren't we just for the sake of fun and enjoyment? We put everything, even studies, aside? This all originates in the mind, and we should adopt good habits so that lousy thought can die at the place where it was created. 

Good thinking leads to the execution of good actions, and good actions would lead you to a happy life. Indeed, we don't have control over our emotions but can control our actions.

Teenzin Jambey
Pestalozzi Children's India Village

My Graduation Day Experience - Tenzin Jambey

Middle School Khremeteng Tawang is located in a lovely place in Tawng district in Arunachal Pradesh, and it was a government school still; I never felt it like some people say about government schools. My old school was one-tenth of my Ann Mary School at Dehradun.

Middle School Khremeteng is a small school with a playing ground in the middle; during assembly hours, the rising sun scene used to be much like Paradise. The total strength of the students there was less than 100, and here in one class, students exceeded more than 100. I was so attached to my school, the teachers, friends, seniors, peon aunty and other staff. My love for my old school can not be expressed in words, people love thinking of the future, but it makes me feel good when I think of my past time. The school here at Dehradun is different from my old school in the way of teaching, the school environment, people's way of speaking, rules and regulations, and almost everything else. After seeing this week's reflection topic, the happy memories of my childhood in my old school flashed back. The name of my school is Govt. 

I hated the word Sunday and holiday then, but now I wait for Sunday; it proves everything changes with time. The starting time of school was 8:30, but I would reach at 7:00 and wait for everyone to come; it used to be fun spending time alone at school in the winter morning, and the cold breeze would make my body shiver. I would often take a page from my notebook and make an aeroplane out of it and watch it flying into the air; I still remember my math teacher, Rai sir, who would pull my ears till they turned red in colour for taring pages he would tell me the value of paper. Yes, it was a valuable lesson for me. 

The total strength of students at my new school is 1000+, and it is difficult to know and make everyone my friend, but I still remember the names and qualities of each student of my old school. Sometimes I feel like hugging my childhood friends and shedding happy tears. It was them who made my childhood days Wonderland. I will never forget the games we used to play marbles, matchbox cards, coins, 7 stamps, gilli danda, chor police, cock fight, hopscotch, hoop rolling and many more. At that time, we knew very little about mobile games and entertainment. We would entertain ourselves by saying filmy dialogues. It was a government school, as I said, that's why we used to get lunch meals on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and eat food with friends on the same plate friends in the same plate with raw chilli and chips packet was what I enjoyment really meant for me. 

Every teachers and peon aunty had a great love for us, and I loved the way they used to love and care for us. During those time, time really flew like a kite in the sky, and I didn't even realise that I had reached class 5 after the finals were over; one of my teachers told us that we needed to give a test and the students who will pass in an exam would be taken for a trip to Shillong, but this wasn't the actual case it was actually the selection test, the selection of students for Pestalozzi. After one month or two, I got a message that I got selected and had to say goodbye to my friends. 

On the last day, they all hugged me with all their power and strength as nobody knew whether we would meet again or not, and yes, it did happen; I still didn't get to contact my few friends. 

Their last word was, " Jambey make a cut in my hand, and it would serve as a friendship mark", and I told them ", it's not always necessary to let the world know how much you love somebody " I told them I would miss them and promised to never forget them.

This is the story of my graduation day experience at my old school. On the last day of school, all these memories kept distributing me till late at night; even now, when I see the word friends, their faces come back to my mind.

Tenzin Jambey, Pestalozzi Children's Villiage India