Life Of A Guitar - Rishona Chopra

The guitar shop is one of the most delightful places for me. I feel the most calm and composed here than anywhere else. The shop is my happy place.

The fragrance of the wood of the guitars, the lavender incense that fills the shop brings over me a rather unique feeling that makes me feel like I should never leave and luckily I don't think I ever will.

Every day in the shop is the same and yet I never get bored. Though I don't interact with other guitars, I have never once felt as if I were alone; perhaps because I am always surrounded by books of all sorts. The owner of the shop knows I adore reading books, and so she lends me a novel to read each week. If there’s anyone I talk to, it would most definitely be the owner. A quite heartwarming and charming person indeed!

My fellow guitars often wonder how lonely I must be but being alone isn’t being lonely and definitely not when one has books by their side.

I have always thought about how I came to where I belonged, not as a human(they’re too complicated!), not as an animal(I have no interest in being eaten) but as a guitar, the most peaceful and humble of things.

As I write today, I see a young girl enter the shop. Not many customers come by these days since people have started forgetting the power of music and would much rather listen to it than play it. It most definitely was a surprise when I saw a youngster with such passionate eyes enter the shop. I couldn’t help but look at her and see which guitar she would choose. After a few minutes of observing her, I drifted back to my own world but was woken up by the sound of music. The girl was playing me! This could only mean one thing: she wanted to buy me and I would have to leave my happy place. Soon, my suspensions were proved correct and I knew I was being taken away. Oh, how miserable life can be!

On the journey to my new home, I drifted back to sleep but was soon woken up by a jerk and realized it was time. Though I love being a guitar, the only thing I dislike is not having legs. This would be quite useful in times like this. It’s surprising how envious I feel of humans right now.

It was hard to believe that I was really here, away from the shop, in a strange place with who knows how many books. I finally realize how hurt and confused Dorothy must have felt in The Wizard Of Oz. I felt like turning back but I knew I had to face these terrible times eventually.

The girl took me out of the car seat with delicate hands and took me to her room. Her house was modest and beautiful but her room was mesmerizing. It was minimalist and yet so aesthetic and captivating. Knowing I would be kept in a place like this, did make me feel a tad bit better.
She placed me on a guitar stand. It was quite comfortable and more importantly a flattering gesture. Take this advice from me, if you have a guitar, you better know how to treat it well. Nothing is more dangerous than an upset guitar. The very unique thing about guitars is that you can't hear them talk but if you listen closely and have a passionate mind for music and an extraordinary dedication, then you can feel us and hear our thoughts.

It had been a long time since someone played on me so it hurt a little in the beginning but it got better. In the midst of this, I noticed how the girl had a unique collection of books. It had many that I hadn’t read before. I had the urge to grab it and start reading but how could I, the girl couldn’t understand me.

At that very moment, the girl grabbed a book, wrote a note on it kept it in front of me and left. Could she understand me? Or was she one of those queer people who devoted their life to mind-reading guitars? I read the note and much to my surprise, it said: “I can understand you”.

Let me be very honest here, knowing that someone can hear your thoughts, isn’t the most comforting thing. It’s rather creepy and absurd. I was instantly regretting coming here but how could I leave this exquisite collection of books?

Despite having a lot on my mind, I continued reading the book she handed me. After a while, she passed me a few notes telling me about books she had read and some of them were my favourites! We talked for hours about books and music and I had never felt so alive. Perhaps coming here wasn’t so bad.

Through this experience, I realized, that change is constant, and it’s always hard to adjust to a new beginning but every cloud has a silver lining and each place has its good sides, and the good sides are what one needs to focus on.


Rishona Chopra
Grade VIII-B
Gyanshree School

Two men looked out prison bars; one saw mud, one saw stars - Rishona Chopra

 Image Courtesy - Twitter

Perspective changes something completely. We can be happy even in the worst times with a positive view of the situation. Every cloud has a silver lining; we just have to find that lining. 

Suppose two men look out prison bars; one only sees the bars, and the other looks beyond it and sees the immense beauty of nature. It is our choice to choose what we want to see. It is our choice to be happy, and it is our choice to look at the good sides of a situation. 

In every situation, there is a choice. Either look at the positive and optimistic sides or find faults and be sad. We just have to see that choice. When something happens that is not to our satisfaction, we get negative feelings about it, but we don't realise that there is always a choice to be happy about it. To rejoice in the smallest of things. 

Two men looked out prison bars; one saw mud, and one saw stars. 

It is our choice to look at the positive things in life. After all, peoples' perspectives and thoughts define who they are. There is so much sadness in the world, and it is easy to find faults, but the real challenge is finding happiness in everything. 

Rishona Chopra
Grade VII Gyanshree School

Goodbye 2022! - Rishona Chopra

 
2022 was a year full of joy, 

 Some were days to enjoy.

The year when we started offline school,

The year of playing in the pool!

The year of friendships,

It was better since,

We had new experiences!

Some days were sad for all,

We felt small.

Broken friendships,

Drowned ships.

Endless fights,

Sleepless Nights.

Some trouble all of us faced,

But they can be replaced,

 I believe that the next year could be better,

If we don't become forgetters.

Improve our mistakes from the past year,

And make our minds clear.

Some mistakes we made,

Some difficulties we faced!

But let's learn from the last year,

And improve this year!!

Rishona Chopra
Grade VI
Gyanshree School

The Sweetness of the Bitter Truth - Reveda Bhatt

For those who’ve read part 1- I hope you found the courage to read it whole.

Stay tuned and read this too because, you know, to those who think reading about death is not worth it at all when you can read about a bright things-my, friend, death is the ultimatum of a life, and every passing day just leads us one step closer to it, this might make you think-

“Then what is the point of living happily when the ending will just be sad?”

See, while watching a trailer, you do not just get the whole idea about the storyline until you watch the entire movie, so, look, neither the beginning is the central part, nor is the climax (Though people seem to make it) it is what happens in the middle.

There it is; that’s how life is not to be seen from the perspective-

How was someone born?

Or

How had someone died?

It should be seen as - How had someone lived?

The time we have to live is limited, but how to live in the given time is in our hands.

That is how you find - light in the dark, 

the joyfulness in the screeching voice of a lark,

the cheerful desire of the people who sank in the mournful fire 

- the sweetness of life in the bitter truth of death.

Reveda Bhatt
Grade 9
The Aryan School

Happiness - Rishona Chopra

As we all know, happiness is a feeling where we feel pleasant, jolly and satisfied, but where do we get happiness?

All of us want happiness in our lives, but there are so many bad things happening in the world; how on earth can we be happy? Here's the answer, we don't get happiness from things and situations. Even the worst thing in the world can have a positive side!! So if we take a look at each case from a positive angle, we can easily be happy. We do not get happiness from the environment but from within.

To understand it better, let me tell you a story-

Happiness is everything

Once there lived a young boy named Jack. People said that his luck was never on his side, and he was also known as the unlucky boy. 

Once in his exam, he broke his pencil, and it took him 10 minutes to sharpen it! The other day in the park, he fell several times and from that day till the next few weeks, he was not able to play. Such minor unlucky instances made Jack very sad. It was like his happiness was lost.

That night Jack wanted to cry all his pain out, and he called out to his mother and said, "Mum, everyone calls me the unlucky boy, and it really isn't my fault, and what did I do wrong that my luck never supports me?" His mother, surprised, told him, "My dear, your luck was forever on your side; you just had to take a look from another angle. When your pencil broke, didn't your teacher give you extra time to sharpen it?" Jack said, "She did". His mother said, "Well, then you could have used that time to calculate a few questions too, right? Jack, realizing what his mother said was true, happily cried out, "Yes, and when I got hurt?" "When we get hurt, it helps our body grow stronger!" said his mother. "Oh yes, mum, yes. 

Thank you for making me realize that," said Jack, smiling.

From that day, Jack was never unhappy and found little joy in everything!

So even if a thing doesn't have a positive side, don't be sad; you can be happy by thinking about the solution to that problem!

Rishona Chopra
Grade V
Gyanshree School

NB Updated version of the post originally written on 20th Dec 2021.

Autobiography of a football - Rishona Chopra

 Hi! I am a football.. hey, not so quick, don't kick me! So I am a ball, you know, round in shape. I have orange and black patches on my skin. I have a very, very sad life. Let me tell you about it.

People keep kicking me, again and again, and they (sobs) find it fun! Can you believe that, so cruel? I have never done anything wrong in my life. But I still get the punishments. I am truly innocent! I am not bad at all! It all started when I was born. They started kicking me the very day I was born. No one has ever loved me. 

I have got so many kicks that I am used to them, so I decided that life is a life. We had to go with it, so I happily enjoyed kicking and cheering the football teams.

Well, that is it; I hope you give me a break and stop kicking me! It would be a huge favour!

Rishona Chopra
Grade V
Gyanshree School

Friendship - Aavansh Gupta

There is a ship in which is a friend,

It will not let you drown,

There is a ship where there is a friend,

On our face, It will not give a frown.

He will play with you,

Not making us sad

Not fighting with us

Not making you mad

So I say that everybody

Should have a friend

Who will stay with you from the starting

Till the end

Aavansh Gupta

Gyanshree School Grade- IV-C

Making Others Happy - Arindita

 

Making others Happy is a quality each and every one of us should have. It is a very simple action that can make a big difference. All you need to do to make someone happy is do whatever positive action you can to bring a smile to their face. You would even notice that the more you bring happiness to others the happier you will get. It is just the positivity you and the person are sharing. At times you may not be having a very great day, you might be upset or unhappy because of something. Sometimes we even say hurtful things, but it will do nothing but make the person and even you upset. So whenever you feel down try to bring yourself up, try to do something that makes others as well as you are happy. 

The more you practice this action the happier you and the people around you would be. So make others happy and find joy while doing so.

Arindita

Grade V
Gyanshree School

Making Others Happy - Rishona Chopra

 

Based on the chapter Making others happy from Is Your Child Ready to Face the World by Dr Anupam Sibal.

In the previous chapter, we read about Compassion. Little acts of Compassion can change someone’s life. The most beautiful act of Compassion that might look very small but is actually difficult is making someone happy. 

There are so many problems in life; I am not talking about those minor problems like a fight with someone or things like that. I am talking about significant issues like, at a very young age, a person had a severe illness and had to undergo several surgeries! That is a natural and essential problem. 

The key to making someone happy is simply hoping! In all tough times, all one needs is hope. Like in the above example, imagine what the child must be going through. What you can do is just give him hope that he can survive, and he will. If you can do that, then you are a doctor! Not one who heals people physically but one who heals people emotionally.

I have never done such a big act, but I have made a few people happy. When one of my friends got severely hurt and was crying, I helped her by giving her first aid and then giving her emotional strength as other children made fun of her for crying. I told her that it was ok; such things kept happening, making her happy.

The most significant act of kindness and Compassion can be making others happy, and the key to doing that is to give someone hope.

Rishona Chopra Grade V Gyanshree School

Hobby - Devanshi Ojha

My name is Devanshi Ojha. I study in Second Class. I have made happy and sad faces using colourful clay. I have many colours of clay. 

First, I made a circle and then used a bowl to cut it into the proper shape. I used black clay to make eyes and hair. Then I used red clay to make a smile and a sad face. 

I can make many other toys like cars, dolls, huts, apples, or other fruits and vegetables. 

I enjoyed doing this activity, and by this, I have learnt that all the colours are so beautiful and we can use them to make different things. 

Devanshi Ojha

Class II

The Fabindia School