They will have to live forever with the memories of literally hearing their world come crashing down. Everything that these people worked for, every dream that they cherished has ignominiously been reduced to dust. Many people, including infants have been condemned to a life of total dependency, having up to all four of their limbs amputated. The devastation that this earthquake has caused, has probably been unmitigated in India.
The question which has now been raised is that "Could something have been done to reduce the intensity of this disaster?" The answer is apparent. The poor quality of the construction took the lives of so many. It is hard to imagine that people are depraved enough to risk the lives of thousands of people, in order to make a quick buck. The lowest levels of humanity, however, are represented by those who have been looting valuables from under the rubble.
But some heart-warming pictures have also been observed. Those of the poverty-stricken giving whatever little they possess for relief in Gujarat and of so many Indians rising to the occasion and doing whatever they can to help their counterparts in distress. Ww hope that many more people will join them.
Priya Malik and Pallavi Raghavan |
The Thug
I had just been out of the police station. I had scanned the whole place to take an analysis of the place for a remodeling job. The place needed one badly. The white had turned gray, the beige a mustard and the gray was black. The sign board was peeling and the paper on it was yellow. The curtains were patched and frayed in different places and the desk had nails sticking out at odd angles. Yes, the place was screaming for a facelift.
One particular sign on the board was of interest to me. My grandmother's murderer. All he had actually wanted to do was to burgle the house, but when he did, my grandmother and I walked into the house, he shot her. I got lucky and escaped.
My account of the event and description of the 'thug' was all on that 'wanted' sign. The police had drawn a picture of him with the help of the computer and put it up with that sign.
I sat down on a bench outside the police station, and then closed my eyes.
His dark skin and black hair swam into view. His brown eyes and scarred face scared me. His eyes weren't like grandmother's - soft, brown and welcoming ones, they were dark and cold, like isolated tunnels. His flat nose went with his thin lips, his teeth were so crooked, that they turned his smile into a grimace. Yes, the police picture was identical.
When I opened my eyes, emotion worse than rage can ever be, swept |
over me - sorrow. Sorrow for my grandmother, sorrow for him being a man he was. For the first time in my life I felt an emotion I had never felt for him before. Sorrow. Sorrow him, for being who he was that day, the 'thug'.
Simrat Dugal
VII - C
Sports Trivia
1.Michael Schumacher created history by winning his third title, Ferrari's first in a long time and becoming the first F1 Champion of the new millennium. With which team did he win his previous two titles?
2.Where are the next Olympics going to be held?
3.Which English soccer superstar recently got his head shaved for 300 pounds and got his wife's name tattooed in Hindi on his arm?
4.In only his third year as a pro, this NBA superstar has done it all. With his awesome skill, he has won the rookie of the year award, the Slam dunk Championship and led his team twice to the playoffs. Name this heir to Jordan’s throne.1
Aman Raj Khanna
IX - B
(Answers will be in the next issue)
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