All 'Lives' have equal 'Value' - Aria Gupta

Photo: https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/equality-inclusion-and-diversity/fair-and-equal/

This blog is about a book I’ve read and loved known as “The War that Saved My Life” by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. There are no spoilers ahead; I’ll just briefly introduce the protagonists' life. Her name is Ada, and she has a twisted foot.

"I was waving from the window when Ma'am smacked me in the face. “I gave you some time to look out the window out of kindness, and you decided to wave!” she bellowed. “I was just waving to Stephen White!” I cried back in defence. “You ain't waving to nobody with that crippled foot!” she exclaimed. “Jamie's out there,” I said quietly. “He ain’t a cripple like you!” responded Ma'am. Soon, she left for work. It was a perfect time. I was crawling, and I tried to stand up. “Aaah!” I cried in pain as tears rolled down my eyes. I could also see a little blood in the place, where I kept my bad foot as I fell back down to the ground, crawling again. I tried a second time, doing it more slowly and cautiously. First, my good foot, then my bad one. Still, the pain wasn’t any less. I shrank back down to the ground, deciding I’ll stop this walking thing for today. I cleaned the blood on the floor so that Ma'am couldn’t notice and stayed there for a while. Suddenly, Jamie burst through the door. “Why are you so late?” I scolded. Jamie was left speechless. When he was younger, we had always played together. As he grew older, he wanted to play with the kids on the street. I told him to be where I could see him. At first, he did, but then he made friends with a gang of boys and always went running out of sight. I was lonely in the one-room apartment. I dreaded being lonely. I could go out. I’m not that helpless. It’s just that the last time I went outdoors, ma'am beat me until my shoulders bled. I’m not even allowed to go to school. So, I just had to stay in this apartment, all alone, waiting for someone to come."

- Taken from the book 'The war that saved my life'.

Ada, here, is being mistreated because she is specially-abled, which is incredibly wrong. All lives are equal, and you can't label a person as 'not so important' or a 'disgrace to the family' just because of their occupation, weaknesses, etc. This is because even though they might need more attention and help than us, they are still humans who deserve to be treated right.

Aria Gupta
Grade VI | Gyanshree School

"What Might Not Have Been....☮️ -Oshi Singh

 What Might Not Have Been…

Image courtesy https://www.sandboxx.us,used by Oshi Singh for representation only. 

When two nations are at war, the fight is not only among the nations or the soldiers but also between innocent lives- the fight between life and death. During times like these, the quality of cooperation helps us a lot. Cooperation is a quality which helps us to co-exist and create a world where we can all live without fear. I mean, let's imagine a world with no fights. A world full of people moving around freely with no fear. Many might say it isn't possible, but being the optimistic person I am, I say it 'IS POSSIBLE'. Not immediately, but gradually it is. 

Speaking of wars, here is a poem which captures the emotions of a soldier who lost his mom in the war, but didn't he do the same to so many other people? What is right and what is wrong will he ever figure out? Or will he ever UNDERSTAND? Is this karma?

Something to ponder on...

It was the last time I saw her.

The last time I saw her big blue eyes shine like stars in the night sky. 

The last time I saw her silky hair brush against the wind. 

The last time I heard her high-pitched voice. 

I remember she was as busy as a bee, 

Yet as calm as one can be. 

Her heart was like an empty stage

And her love, if I may?

Her love was like a tornado in a jar. 

Among all the untold stories of the war, 

It was hers which hurt me the most, perhaps.

Because she was my mother. 

Sometimes I wonder why did it have to be HER? 

With her gone, I feel like a river flowing into the unknown. 

With her gone, I feel like a falling star. 

Now I am stuck in a cruel world full of strangers. 

Now I am stuck in a prison with no escape. 

If only I were wise and not otherwise. 

If only I realised the right and the wrong. 

If only I had fought with words and not guns.

If only I had listened from within. 

This, might not have been…

Written By:-

Oshi Singh 

Class- IX C

Gyanshree School 

IMAGE REFERENCE: https://www.sandboxx.us/blog/letting-go-of-your-child-to-the-military-is-hard-this-can-help/

War and Peace - Aria Gupta

We all can agree on one thing, which is that war is a horrible, horrible thing. It was a war that tore our country apart, which is how the Britishers were able to take advantage of us. It also takes the lives of innocent people, leaving their loved ones in immense pain.

If war has such negative consequences, then why does it still happen?

What’s even worse is that they try to cover up their greed and selfishness and say they’re doing this for the people or justice.

How can they say that they’re doing this for the people if they end up so traumatised and malnutrition after a war?

Instead, they should live peacefully and try to share resources; there is no denying that humanity is trying to achieve that. The United Nations has prevented many conflicts between Countries from arising. But humans should try harder to avoid war and encourage peace to live happily and peacefully without violence.

Aria Gupta
Grade VI
Gyanshree school

Competition With Yourself - Reveda Bhatt

Competition leads to progress. No one doubts it. But is it with your peers?

No, it is not.

This is because each day, you need to become a better version of no one but yourself. Everything you do is to fight against the 'you' of yesterday and become a better version today. Everyone is at a war of survival -well, even against others but mainly against yourself - but for progress, we need to believe that we are not perfect but capable enough to become better.

Know that from the minute you were born, you are put up on a boat across a vast ocean-people might help you get on it at the start, but it is you who has to paddle across, facing every tide and making sure you do not sink until the end of it!

BE IMPERFECTLY PERFECT!

Image from the pnghut.com

My Good School Retreat 2023 - Tenzin Jambey

Seeing all the teachers and friends leaving with whom I spent an excellent time for four days, I almost cried. After spending four days together, I felt like we had been together for a very long period, and during this time, I became very close with them; I suppose that we all became so close that we were much more than best friends and because of this bond I emotional when everyone was leaving, the only thing which  I could say was " goodbye " and " best wishes ahead " I wanted to say many things, but the words were not coming from my mouth, one after one everyone started leaving and only HPS (Hyderabad Public School) group were left, for few minutes we talked and after a while, they were also nowhere to be seen. 

I was sitting near the basketball court of The Doon Girls School with my other Pestalozzi's friends and Shelja Ma'am, we were waiting for our bus to come and then suddenly my memories flashed back and I saw two vision that deeply touched my heart, first was the vision my friends entering the school on first day with full excitement and another was again them who were now heading  back to home with happy memories, pocket full of knowledge and with sad feelings of getting apart then I remembered the words of Monisha Ma'am who on first day told us that the word retreat means "heading back" but in our case the word retreat meant  something else for us it's meaning was heading back with good memories, memorable experiences, pocket full of knowledge and atlast the sadness of getting apart with eachother, these thoughts kept roaming in my mind and I kept on reflecting upon it while I was sitting near the basketball court of The Doon Girls School (DGS) where we had a friendly match with DGS versus the retreat group, I match was fun and and went tough as I was also among the player I really enjoyed but the spectators enjoyed even more seeing us putting basket and getting tired.

"Bus has come," said Shelja Ma'am and in a minute, we were inside the bus, I still looked at the DGS building even when the bus was moving, and after a turn, I could not see the school. We were going from the same road, the road from where we went to the Kalanga war memorial, The Doon School, and Khan Farm, and now from the same route, we were going back to Pestalozzi, the same road. I was sitting in the front seat, and it was 1:50 pm, and I played the "Jena Jena" song on guitar. No other song came into my mind; only this song came, which Malan Sir played for us during guitar class in DGS.

He taught us many guitar lessons in one hour, and if we had more time, he might have taught us many more things. I don't know whether this kind of feeling comes in every person or not; I get overwhelmed with happiness when I meet someone from my place or northeast as I am also from north east "Arunachal" I feel happy to meet someone from there; the guitar Sir was from Manipur, and because of that, I got even more interest in learning from him and also many students in DGS were from Arunachal. For a moment, I felt like I had met my brothers and sisters, as we have many things in common, especially those tiny eyes. Getting apart was the most challenging situation for me; it was even more difficult than singing a song on stage on the last day among different schools and students I had never seen or met.

The bus suddenly stopped, and I opened my eyes and found that I had reached back. I didn't even know when I went to sleep, but while I was getting off the bus, many thoughts came into my mind, which made me feel a bit worried as I was absent for three days from school. I wondered how much homework I must have got, which I could do without any difficulties, but the lessons or chapter taught in school was something I had to understand all by myself. I entered my room and saw all my friends resting; I was also tired and fell on my bed and tried to sleep. Still, the memories of the retreat kept me awake for a while. Somehow after a few minutes, I managed to sleep.

At 5 pm, ma'am came to wake us up, and there was a workshop. After the workshop, my friends. I went to Cheme la Ma'am to thank her for allowing us to attend the My Good School Retreat. She was simultaneously pleased and proud of us because we guys did an excellent job within these four days; she said, "We don't need to be thanked because you all deserve it." Those who work hard are always rewarded, which motivated me to work even harder even in future. I would love the reward of attending the My Good School Retreat.

We had our study hour from 8 pm to 10 pm, but I didn't feel like studying, and I thought of writing the reflection on the trip for four days. Then I took my reflection notebook and a pen and started putting my thoughts and emotions into words. From the first day of my visit to the Kalanga war memorial to the last day of the Earth Day celebration, I kept emphasising my mind to remember every moment.

In my notebook, I wrote down the lessons I had learnt and the life skills taught by Monisha Ma'am greatly influenced and motivated me to push myself towards success. I kept on writing, and I didn't even know how two hours had passed, and at 10 pm, I went to bed. I was lying in bed when I heard the sound of thunder bursting, and it took me back to the visit to Khan Farm. We enjoyed sitting on the sofa on the veranda and seeing the thunder and shower of rain was one of the most beautiful pictures I had ever seen. The lightning of thunder brought daylight for a second, and again, the darkness came  While I was thinking about this, it was already 11 pm. I felt like someone had stolen my sleep away, I wanted to sleep, but I could not.

I missed all my friends, and I wanted to see the faces of Monisha Ma'am, Shilpika Ma'am, Kunal Bhaiya, Sathya Ma'am, Malan Sir, Taraksh, Aradhya, Snigha, Vibha, Sanitah, Tammana, Yashraj, Ragav, Oshi and my Arunachal I friend Zirpo. More than that, I was excited to sleep because I thought they all might come in my dream, and after sometimes I went into a deep sleep.

At last, I would like to thank Sandeep Sir, Monisha Ma'am and DGS group for organising the beautiful events and assisting us in various ways.

Thanks to Cheme la Ma'am for allowing me to attend this retreat, Shelja Ma'am and Minaxi Ma'am for helping us for all four days.

Tenzin Jambey
Pestalozzi Children's Village India

Thanks to the Headmaster, Staff and Students at The Doon School

Peace hath her victories no less renowned than war - Reveda Bhatt

The renowned English poet John Milton once wrote in a letter to English General Oliver
Cromwell- “Peace hath her victories no less renowned than war.”

The fact that the majority of the world demands justice by sole means of war forgets that
there is a concept of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, known as peace!
The word peace is derived from the original Latin word ‘pax‘, which means a pact,
an agreement to end the war.

Trust me, it’s not as tough as it seems to be; there are millions of people who’ve lost their
lives to violence and many who’ve lost their beloved ones to brutality.

It’s all a perspective-based scenario, a country which loses its soldiers to another
considers them to be martyrs while the other one calls them terrorists, who, instead of
fighting to create peace, get rested in peace.

We, people, do not understand that the peace created after the war is not exactly

‘real peace’ but a helpless and tarnished aftermath of the most severe form of violence. We
do attain peace. We are left with no choice.

On the other hand, the victory procured by maintaining peace is totally and wholly different,
it does uphold happiness and agreement.

Our latest witness of violence was the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which was heartbreaking. On the one hand, Russian President Vladimir Putin constantly sent orders to attack Ukraine. At the same time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wasn’t ready to order his military to back off and surrender. Therefore, I guess we have all seen the aftermath with our own eyes.

Peace was always an option for them, and cooperation was an option for them, but they chose
war, and war it is, then.

Coming back to the word ‘peace’, apart from being a pleasant word, it also refers to a
peaceful society and a beautiful world.

According to Lao Tzu‘s famous saying:
If there is peace in the world,
there must be peace in the nations.
If there is peace in the countries,
there must be peace in the cities.
If there is peace in the cities,
there must be peace between neighbours.
There must be peace in the home if there is peace between neighbours.
If there is peace in the house, there must be peace in the heart.

Thank you!

Reveda Bhatt

The Aryan School, Grade 9

This is a post from her speech at school.

A Destroyed World - Rishona Chopra

What can destroy the world or what has destroyed the world?

What could the answer be pollution, poaching, war or what? Wait, is it the Covid -19? No, it's none of them but the root cause for all of them…ego.

Ego has a lot of pride, which leads to greed, selfishness, jealousy, and ultimately leads to anger. All these things whose root cause is ego can destroy the world. In fact, they have.

Greediness leads to war, followed by destruction. Having greed also means being selfish. Just care about ourselves, and when we are selfish, we don't care about animals and nature and start polluting it. We think we are the most incredible creatures on Earth, and without us, nothing can live. We are so wrong. I would like to share a few lines from the poem "There Will Come Soft Rains" by Sara Teasdale.

Not one will know of the war, not one

Will care at last when it is done.

Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree,

If mankind perished utterly.

These lines written by Sara Teasdale say that mankind would perish because of war, but nature will continue. We are just a part of this world, but God's most beautiful and dependent creation is nature.

Now that we know the root cause of this trouble and why having an ego is really for stupid reasons, we have to change that.

'The ego seeks to divide and separate. Spirit seeks to unify and heal.'

'Ego is just a small three-letter word, which can destroy a big twelve letter word called relationship.'

Rishona Chopra

Grade V

Gyanshree School

War - Rishona Chopra

War

War causes nothing but destruction,
It causes the same fear as a huge volcanic eruption,

The only difference is that we can stop war,

And create the world a bright star!

Our ego leads to greed and selfishness, And that leads to evilness. If only we would understand, That what we claim for is just land!

Ruling and having power isn't needed, Because that, for others, is being badly treated, We all are equal, And having equality is not illegal,

Then why not stop war, And have a good happy year!

"If war can be started by lies, it can be stopped by truth."

Rishona Chopra Grade V Gyanshree School

Courage - Avni Karmarkar

 

What does the word courage exactly mean? It means the ability to do something that frightens something or someone.

I am Avni Karmarkar going to tell you a story of a woman named “Virginia Hall.”

Once upon a time, there was a woman with a wooden leg. Her name was Virginia, and she called her leg Cuthbert. Though she walked with a limp, Virginia was amazingly determined. When the second world war broke out, she joined the British Special Forces and set off across the English Channel to help the France Resistance fight the Nazis.

Virginia was a master of disguise. One time, she pretended to be an elderly milkmaid. She dyed her hair grey, put on a long skirt, and shuffled along so that nobody could see she had a limp. She sent out secret radio messages telling the Allies about German troop movements. It was hazardous, and Virginia knew that she would be tortured and killed if she were discovered. But she carried on regardless.

As she was known, the limping lady was considered the most dangerous of all Allied spies. Nazi secret police put wanted posters all over France, but Virginia always stayed one step ahead of them.

Once, she almost died crossing the Pyrenees Mountains on foot in the middle of Winter. She Radioed a message to London: “Having trouble with Cuthbert.” They did not realize she was talking about her leg. “If Cuthbert is giving you difficulty,” they replied, “Have him eliminated!”

By the end of the war, The Limping Lady’s team was destroyed four bridges, derailed several freight trains, blown up a railway line, cut down telephone wires, and captured hundreds of enemy soldiers. Virginia was declared America’s most outstanding female spy and received a medal for her bravery.

Name: Avni Karmarkar

Grade: 5C

Billabong High International School, Thane

It's Never Too Late- Aanya Kumar

In the reading session on 28/11/2021, I realized that we decide whether to use a thing constructively or inappropriately. Alfred Nobel was thoroughly interested in the study of nitroglycerine. His intention of making dynamite was for noble reasons to help in mining and railroad purposes. However, others used it for war and other destructive purposes; he should not be the one to be blamed. When Alfred’s brother’s death was mistakenly reported as his, it was reported in the newspaper as, “The merchant of death is dead.” I strongly disagree with the statement. He also introduced the prestigious Nobel Prizes. People are considered lucky and privileged to receive these awards. He redeemed himself by the same. In the past, he was remembered for destruction and war. Presently he is recognized for the Nobel Prizes and his valuable contributions. 

Name- Aanya Kumar
Grade- V
School- Gyanshree School