Her hands through my hair,
Weaving through strands of gold,
Formed an intricate pattern, only she could bear.
Ridding me of all my insecurity,
Only she knew how to make me feel pretty.
All the ice creams and candies after dark,
The games she’d plan to make me play,
And the walks and strolls in the park.
When feeling sad or lonely,
I didn’t have to worry, I always had someone to hold me.
She knew me inside and out,
Held answers to all my unasked questions,
We had a love that knew no bound.
All those sweet, fun and ecstatic moments we shared.
And she always cared.
She wouldn’t let anyone hurt me, no one dared;
It all made perfect sense,
there was no right, wrong or fair.
But fate was twisted,
And before we knew it;
the moments slipped into memories.
Now as I sit in this room,
The walls echoing her musical laugh;
She was one of a kind – a different craft,
But now all that I have left
is a photograph.
By Misha Raichandani
Grade 9A, Ekya School, JP Nagar
I remember the times,
I used to feel,
Life is always going to be,
Lived this freely.
But then came a Virus,
To prove me wrong,
For months, we got shut in our homes,
During “the great lockdown”.
Never did I think,
That a day would come,
When we wouldn’t know,
How long we’d be staying at home.
We had been thinking about taking a break,
For me-time, for hobbies, for following passions,
The time finally came, when nothing and no one,
Could distract us from getting into action.
Vacation was something we used to crave for,
But somehow it isn’t nearly the same,
Anymore, when we know not how,
Things could suddenly change.
Now we’ve got online assignments,
And no time to play,
Didn’t know that tenth grade,
Was going to go this way.
There were times, when we could move around freely,
When we did just fine without masks or perfect hygiene,
When we could step out without reason,
And it was all part of our routine.
I remember now,
How we took all that for granted,
Now every memory is so precious,
And those times are wanted.
Life took me by surprise,
But it made me realise,
That everything in life
Is actually, a blessing, a prize.
(This poem has been written in the context of the global lockdown and my thoughts on it)
By
Urja Srivastava
Grade 10
Ekya School, JP Nagar
MY DRAWING OF NARUTO UZUMAKI
Hey everyone! I decided to give my critical point of view on an anime. Most of you might be wondering what an anime is, right? Well, Anime is a style of Japanese film or show which is hand-drawn and animated in the computer originating from Japan typically aimed at both adults and children. It isn’t a common form of entertainment for people of other countries, but it is a very important part of the animation and television industry of Japan.
The anime I have decided to write about is ‘Naruto’, which is a manga as well as an anime. It was released in 2002 and concluded in 2007.
I WON'T RUN AWAY ANYMORE. I WON'T GO BACK ON MY WORD. THAT’S MY NINJA WAY!
- Uzumaki Naruto
‘Naruto’ revolves around the life of a young, hyperactive, and mischievous boy named Naruto Uzumaki. He is the son of the previous Hokage of a village named Konoha which was formed a hundred years ago. He was believed to be an outcast by the people of his village as he was assumed to be a monster because a demon fox resided in his body. His parents, Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki died on the same day as he was born due to the release of a Nine-Tailed Demon Fox which also destroyed the entire village massacring the innocent lives of people. The same demon was sealed off into Naruto’s body by his father to prevent further damage after which he departed. People assumed Naruto to be the cause of all the death and destruction caused and avoided him at all costs. They were unaware of his parents' identity. Children were not allowed to play with him, so he spent a childhood filled with desolation and despondency.
Though he was resented by the society, the Hokage at that time admitted Naruto to an academy where children of the same age started off with their ninja[1] training coupled with studies. There he faced a tough time as people would not come near him at all, and people bullied him and even asked him to do certain illegal activities to be his friend in return, and Naruto did do it as he was desperate for a companion, which is totally expected and understandable. But there was just one boy who never went along with the common thoughts of people. He made friends with Naruto and even helped him make new friends. His name was Shikamaru Nara, and he proved to be an amazing, reliable friend of Naruto for many years and he can be considered as “Naruto’s backbone”. Naruto also found his rival there, an arrogant boy named Sasuke Uchiha. Naruto was part of a team that included his rival, Sasuke Uchiha, a girl named Sakura Haruno with Kakashi Hatake being their sensei. This anime has a beautiful plot with a lot of history and its timelessness is what makes it all the more beautiful.
The one thing I like about this spectacular story is character development. Naruto wasn't born a genius or a talented ninja, he was unskilled and disrespected by most of the people of his village, yet he overcame a lot of hardships and ended up as one of the strongest ninjas in the world. When he was a child, he was a troublemaker as he wanted all the attention, but as he grew up, he turned out to be a very respected and wise person. His life goal was to surpass the previous Hokage and become one himself, and the audience got to see how the little boy grew up to live his dream. At the beginning of the Naruto anime, Naruto is portrayed as a monster by marking his entry with eerie music and grim background pictures, but in the end, his entry is portrayed as a grand celebration with the flourish of trumpets.
Second thing the anime taught me is the importance of friendship. The anime beautifully shows us how friendship is the best kind of relationship between people.It teaches us many other valuable life lessons like team work, dedication and believing in oneself. Actually, I think the most important thing the author is trying to show all of us through just one character is that criticisms should never affect our aspirations and one should always believe in themselves. Naruto was told by almost everybody of his village that he will never become a hokage as he is irresponsible, impotent and unskilled. Did he let all this dirt fall on his ambition and life goal? NO! He told them to wait and watch with a confident smile, and proved each one of them wrong. I think it is overall an amazing accomplishment by the author to portray so many messages in one story which inspires each one of us in various ways. “Naruto” also has a lot of backstory, and the history and connections between different characters are in the most interesting way, which made me take interest in history generally as I thought establishing links between different people can be an important part of our lives. Wholly, I would like to say the anime taught me a lot of life lessons and has alerted me to be prepared for anything, and to always believe in myself and my dreams!
By Rhea Murali
Grade 10A, Ekya School JP Nagar
Leave a reply