Friendship - Anvesha Rana

In this ever-evolving world, it is necessary to connect with people instantly, attain quick social skills and make friends at go. A person we may have met only once is also referred to as a friend; today, we all confuse friendship with acquaintanceship. An acquaintance is not mandatory to be a friend, but connections to reach higher posts and avail help at times of need are overrated than the subtle, sweet friendships which have vanished over time. 

Friendships come with conditions; they are no longer selfless relationships but a medium to take benefit of the other. We have turned our Friendships into obligations and formalities. How many of us are honest with our friends? We are too fake to show our real identity behind this mask of coolness. Friendships come with a lot of terms and conditions. We can no longer express ourselves freely, even with our “Besties”. 

There is an invisible ice between us, pleading to be broken, but our ego hinders us from shattering our prison. We can never be happy if we are not who we are. This era of jealousy and cutthroat competition is never ending and only increases as we grow up. 

True friends are only made when we are young when we do not pay heed to how someone looks, what clothes they wear, how they talk or whether they match our standards. As we grow, we look away from the beauty within and shift our focus to physical appearance or social stature. Looking at material things gets nowhere. 

We are not our true selves when we step out into the world; consequently, we feel the heat of the competition that this system has forced us under. We are not ready to leave this rat race and sit at the side bench to relax and rejoice in life. The illusion of success has blindfolded us in thick wraps to such an extent that terms and conditions apply in each relationship. The moment we see our friend doing better than us in any field, we are instantly jealous instead of happy for our pal. 

A famous story, ‘ The Frogs in the Well’, tells about a group of frogs living in a small well. None of the frogs ever get out of this well because as soon as one frog jumps up, all the others jump up on him and pull him down. Thus no frog can ever escape. So is the case with us. When we see a dear one doing good, we attempt all tricks, measures and strategies to somehow stop him. 

Friendship should be selfless and ever-flowing with Love and care. It should be about acceptance and forgiveness and not be built upon social norms but on the foundation of Love. 

Anvesha Rana 

Grade 11

Gyanshree School NB: I have used Love as a value, thus the capital letter.

Sayonara Totto-chan! - Anvesha Rana

Yasuaki-chan left Totto-chan, and now Rocky also vanished. Everyone whom Totto-chan loved seemed to disappear one after the other. Tai-chan no longer spoke to her, Rocky could no longer be heard, and Yasuaki-chan no longer stayed with her. It was as if her little world of love was tumbling down and she was walking alone on a broken road with the rain constantly thumping over her head. Her near and dear ones had gone far away in sight but not in mind, for love is what remains even after you are gone. The little Totto-chan had learnt lessons that made her stronger and bolder in a world full of strangers. She now knew that she had to live up to her limited time in this race on earth, but Totto-Chan remembered to always run with happiness and happiness that makes others happy. 

I have often heard a story of a woman who lost her son but was so desperate to get him back that she went to Lord Buddha to bring her son to life again. In listening to her story, Lord Buddha said he would bring her son to life again only if she could get a fist full of mustard seeds from a house where no one had died. So the woman had set out on her task, she had gone to every home in each locality, but there was not a single house where someone had not died, be it the grandfather, father, mother, child, someone or other had always passed away. Lost and depressed when the woman returned to Lord Buddha, he had simply told her that human lives are like flickering lights. They light for a long time, but suddenly they extinguish. We need to learn to accept the loss and let the ones gone be always loved in our hearts. Just like Totto-Chan will always love Rocky and Yasuaki Chan.

When Ryo-chan, the janitor at Tomoe, had to leave for the War, all the students had organized a special Tea Party just for him. Everyone drank saké and shared something or the other for Ryo-chan. It was a fun time and the children continued the tradition of the Tea Party even after Ryo-chan was on the war ground. It was the last time they had ever gathered at Tomoe. 

Whenever I have to drop someone at the station and bid goodbye, I feel as if they could have stayed just a little longer; no matter how many days we spent together or how much fun we had, at that point, all that matters is whether they can be here for just a bit more time because no amount of time feels enough when you are with your loved ones. 

Sayonara, Sayonara is a Japanese goodbye, but it literally means 'if that's the way it is'. We have learned so much from Totto-chan, the Headmaster and Tomoe. It is even so unique that a young girl, simply through the means of her actions, has taught us friendship, responsibility, coping with loss, freedom and most importantly, love. So all we can say is Thank You and Sayonara, Totto-chan! 

Anvesha Rana,

Grade 10-B, 

Gyanshree School

Don't want Yasuaki-chan to die - Reveda Bhatt

To

Ms Tetsuko Kuroyanagi

I don’t want Yasuaki-chan to die!

Your fan,

Reveda.

Just the Way you are! - Anvesha Rana

There is so much happening with Totto-chan. Her friend, Yasuaki Chan, dies, and all she is left with is a longing to see him again. Her heart broke down on his passing, but she did not let that show, for she knew they would meet again soon. Their lives might have been entangled once, but they had broken free. 

Totto-chan was still an optimistic, cheerful girl. She let her ambitions cross limits and did live up to them. Her dream of a spy might have been full of zeal, but it crashed as Tai-chan pointed out the reality, yet Totto-chan gathered her courage and awaited the bright, new future. Twisted, they both were in their own lives, simply finding the correct path to walk up. 

No wonder Totto-chan is Totto-chan only because of her parents; the values that Totto-chan’s mother and father have instilled in her, not through sermons but through examples, have led her to be the same person. Another man who has contributed massively to the becoming of Totto-Chan is her headmaster, who not only made Totto-Chan realize her worth but also made her learn the art of respect and helping others. 

Totto-Chan, 

Be just the way you are, 

For you are perfect 

And you are pretty. 

You are strong, 

And agile enough. 

You are a tree, 

That will never fall. 

Everyone in Tomoe, 

Should be just the way 

They are, because I can’t

Imagine it to be better. 

Let it be Tai-Chan, 

Or be it her mother, 

Let it be the young teacher, 

Or the Headmaster. 

I wouldn’t want anything

Different at all, 

Because it is perfect, 

Just the Way you are ! 

Anvesha Rana,

Grade 10-B,

Gyanshree School

Totto-Chan's Life - Anvesha Rana

Chew, Chew, 

Chew it well, 

Everything you eat, 

Your rice and fish and meat 

Little Totto-Chan

Can make a soldier

 Cry happy tears

Totto-Chan can 

Comfort an Importuned

Father

She can make Tomoe a good school, 

For she is a really good girl, 

She is Totto-Chan. 

Anvesha Rana,

Grade 10-B,

Gyanshree School

My Aspirations - Gaurangi Rastogi

Childhood has been miserable,

Because you have to learn something basic,

When we grow up as a teen 

I got pressured to top the boards 

I got pressured to become a doctor 

Will the world still accept if I am something else?

I feel like running away from home, 

I think I am not safe in my home sweet home, 

I want to speak to this world, 

I have my aspirations,

To change the mindset of the people 

Who judges me based on occupation,

Who are you to control me? 

I am a phoenix who takes the rebirth from its ashes

Which is from its failures.

If you control me, 

I will control you every time,

As you made my life miserable

I will make yours, 

At the end of the story 

I have my aspirations! 

Gaurangi Rastogi 

Class VII 

The Doon Girls’ School 

Totto-chan - Anvesha Rana

                                                           

She wanted to be a spy, 

Then a ticket seller, 

After that a street musician 

And finally a ballerina. 

Her vision might wander, 

But her values never dander, 

Her life is simply yet happy, 

Then why don’t we be a little

more like her ?

She treats others with love, 

She learns all with joy, 

She yearns to find more

And ask why. 

The Farming teacher likes her, 

For she does everything with care, 

Her passion is appreciated and 

Her energy is contagious.

She might be naughty, 

But her character is good, 

She helps everyone 

And asks for nothing in return. 

So, Totto-chan, 

You are a really good girl, 

You know. 

Anvesha Rana,

Grade 10-B,

Gyanshree School.

My World of Stories - Anvesha Rana

The Library may be better and far, 

but the one at my home, to it, has no par. 

The Library may have more books, 

but the one I have has more love but no looks. 

I love my library, 

may it be small or short, 

but life is also not counted by years but by friends, 

a library is not counted by books but ends. 

The friends in the corner of my room, 

the lessons in life loom,

The Library has taught me everything, 

from love to compassion, all of them ring. 

I have a friend called Harry Potter, 

a mate Percy Jackson, 

I know a lovely man who is Morrie Schwartz, 

and the most beautiful Totto-Chan. 

The Library has opened my world, 

it may have been small once, 

but now it's twice that same once. 

Let's all read, 

for one life may be monotonous, 

but hundreds will make that one super anonymous. 

Anvesha Rana, 

Grade 10-B, 

Gyanshree School

When It All Began - Anvesha Rana

We don’t have to be great to start, but we need to start to be great. All of us must have been a beginner at some point in our lives, on the sports field or on the dance stage. Every person who has achieved success today would have been a beginner once, so allow yourself to be a beginner, for no one starts off being excellent, and it is the critiques that shape our character, not the praise. 

In school life, co-curricular activities are just as important as academics. I loved to dance in the cultural arts but was not really good at it. However, during the pandemic, I tried different forms of dance and today, dancing is something that occurs naturally to me. Another activity that I was a beginner at once was writing, but after joining the reading club program, my thoughts changed direction, and I just couldn’t contain them anymore, so I had to write! Practice makes a man perfect; the more I wrote, the better I became!

When I was a new student at school, I found it hard to follow the rules - standing in line, not talking, asking for permission - it was all different. I learnt very early in life that the golden rule everyone should follow is Equality. 

Equality in mind and body; Equality in harmony with the soul; Equality in speech and action; and Equality in life are what we should aim for. Just like the students of Tomoe treated their janitor wonderfully, we should respect everyone for whatever they do, be it small or big, be it quick or slow, and we should treat others the way we wish to be treated. 

Live by the Golden Rule, for it is not stringent but only robust, 

It is Equality. 

Anvesha Rana,

Grade 10-B,

Gyanshree School