Memphis Tigers - Akshar Bhasin

Cover photo: Akshar Bhasin with the Memphis Tiger

It's wonderous, really, how quickly a moment captured and stored away in a phone, when seen years later, can induce a rather long yet delightful walk down memory lane. One can think of memories like a spider web basking in the sparkling droplets of early morning monsoon dew. If he chooses, he can take a stroll down a string of the web, passing through those little dew drops of memories, but even when he reaches the end of that string, there is yet another one that commences. So on and so forth, memories connect and merge into each other, combining to create the 'past' of each individual. But, eventually and inevitably, as those dew drops are bound to vanish when when the sun comes up, we, too, forget these moments as time moves on.

But, today, as fate wills it (in my case a wonderful educator and friend did too), I shall reach into the unfathomably vast web of memory, and choose to stroll through one of those strings of web. Now, as I fade away from the present, moments and images flood into the screen of the mind and a movie begins to play.

The year is 2016 and I'm residing in the U.S.A, in the state of Tennessee. To be more precise, I was living in the University of Memphis campus area. I'm enjoying life though. Teachers see me as a 9 year old incorrigible Indian headache, but, frankly, I'm not aware about the strenuous concepts of societal expectations or self image or what-do-people-think-of-me. Or maybe I was but I was but just didn't care.

I was too annoying to be befriended by anyone at school, but I really never felt lonely. The company of books doesn't really ever let one feel alone. And gratefully, I had the Benjamin L. Hooks Memphis central library to refill my shelf with 25 different books each week. I could honestly go on about that piece of paradise for hours on the end but, I suppose that string of web is for another day.

- Akshar Bhasin is a student at Jodhamal Public School, he loves to read and this is his reflection for The Great Dreams from Jataka Tales.

The Story of A Spider - Diva Gupta

Greetings! Oh! I didn’t mean to scare you! I am a spider. I move from house to house, trying to build my web in a fixed location but these humans obliterate me. They wreck my home every time! 

I made a beautiful web once, attractive enough to win an a award. But then this human came and swiped it away with a broom like it was nothing! She almost killed me as I was sitting peacefully in my silk web. I swung on my silk thread to an open window and escaped. But not everyone is so destructive and mean. 

Most people are afraid of me. They think I am disgusting and throw me away like I’m some sort of trash. But no matter what they say, I’m living too! I have feelings, just like any other living being. I don’t know why they think my appearance is scary or why they run away when they see me in my comfortable silk web

Diva Gupta Grade VI Gyanshree School