NEWSLETTER
19th December 2006

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Truth and Dare

Welcome to the planet,
Welcome to existence,
Everyone is here,
Everybody’s watching you now,
Everybody’s waiting for you now.
What happens next?
I dare you to move…

I recently heard ‘Dare you to move’ by Switchfoot for the first time. I recently walked down the series of 20 steps with 87 of (in my opinion) the finest batch mates one could ask for. I recently filled in my last ‘My Year in School’ form and more importantly I recently went through the annual ritual of pleading, threatening and blackmailing my parents to complete the highly vilified ‘My Child’. Amid all these revelations, I also recently realised that it is about time I sat down to write my last (and probably first) editorial for the last issue of the Newsletter.
Over the years, we’ve probably played all possible versions of Truth and Dare. To most, it is another idyllic pastime to join a treasure trove which has the likes of the immortalised ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors’ and ‘Odd-Even’. But recently I’ve realised how congruent that game is with school life. Joining Vasant Valley in the 8th grade, the first few truths I had to come to terms with were where exactly I was expected to wear my belt. It was supposed to be this strategically calculated intermediate distance between where it was supposed to be and where it ended up being. I also learnt the art of voice modulation during private study, where the conversations were highly private and had absolutely nothing to do with studies. I realised the truths of fear and the daring it takes to face them. Four years in this school have changed me; whether for better or for worse, only time can tell. The remarkable fact is that Vasant Valley has changed all of us. It has broadened our perspective, rearranged our horizons and has definitely helped in the advent of digital watches ever since the bell-system was removed. Truthfully speaking, I didn’t really like Vasant Valley when I joined. In fact, I didn’t like it for a very long time. However, when I accepted its dare to move myself from complacence, life was altered. After that lets just say, it was ‘Happy Days’ all over again. We all have been challenged in the realm of academics, sports, ethics, society and in the realm of life. I think its safe to say that for the most part, we have conquered. I repeat, for the most part.
I recently heard for the last time, the all too familiar clinking sound of a test tube in the act of being broken by Gautam Surya, in the middle of our Bio Practical. I recently endured Samad Ali’s final inane remark about the weather. I recently watched Jaagriti Seth drown herself in the tears of her infamous laughing fits. I recently heard Arjun Srihari’s very last excuse for not submitting his article on time. I recently cursed God for gifting Shiv Mohan Dutt and of all people, Madhav Kaushish with inequitable tallness while people like me suffered. I recently survived through another one of Akshath Goyal’s failed attempts to sing anything closely resembling a melody and I was once again enthralled by the harmony of Smiti Malik and Saranya Misra’s voices. I recently explored the depths of dementia whil listening to Nivedita's dreams about certain physics teachers. I recently went through the series of Suchita Salwan’s ‘Hey, you guys!’, Arshia Arora’s ‘Killer!’ and Sakshi Chopra’s well ‘Chopisms”! I recently survived Vera Raina’s long lecture on ‘coming to terms' with our pansiness’ and then Samvida Nanda’s subsequent attempt to translate it into common English. I recently heard the loudest, shrillest, girliest scream from Varun Sharma. I recently saw the last Mexican wave in our ‘I’m not mentioning which subject, for obvious reasons’ class. I recently got Adhira Sobti and Charvi Singh to run around the Bio lab chasing each other simply

because we asked them to, because that’s what they do, they’re nice people. I recently found out the full form of the POA gang (Devika Deshpande, Raseel Bakhshi, Saday Mahajan, and a few others); the full form in case you’re interested is ‘Plan of Action’. I recently found out who Rajat Puri really is (the information costs Rs.250 for those who wish to acquire it). And sadly, I recently realised that I don’t have the space or the time to write about each and every member of the ‘ Batch of 2007’; however, each one of you are exceptional creatures and I will remember you all till the day I forget.
Lastly, I think thanks are in order: Thank you to each and every member of the Ed. Board; you guys are the stuff that dreams (and nightmares) are made of. It is because of your toil and hard work under my dictatorship that I managed to recover from all those ‘fainting fits’ that never happened in the first place! Thank you, Mrs. Kumar, Mrs. Marya, Mrs. Bahri; your support and guidance made life so much easier. Thank you to all my teachers for truly daring us to strive beyond the ordinary. Thank you to all my friends for the truth that they dare me to face. Thank you to the ‘Batch of 2007’ for…well…being the ‘Batch of 2007’. And thank you to Vasant Valley; you helped us all reach heights we never knew existed.
The board of life is set. Places everyone!
It is our turn to move…
Over and Out,
Svati Goyal

SCHOOL WATCH

- 18th November: Founder’s Day!
- 16th-18th November: The World Robotics Olympiad was held in Nanning city, China on Nov 16-18, 2006. - Vasant Valley School Along with Amity School Noida and St John’s school Chandigarh got the opportunity to participate in it.
- Mathematics and Science Foundation held the ‘MSF Challenge, 2006 Competition’ Madhav Kaushish, Saksham Karwal and Meghesh Nandi got the Consolation Prize
- Aditi Banerjee is going to participate in Open National Gymnastics at Banglore in January 2007 and Tejaswini Puri qualified for the Sub-Jr School National Gymnastic Competition at Mohali from 27th to 31st December 2006.
- Shatrunjay Devrat and Tanvi Hans qualified to represent Cluster XII: Delhi, in the CBSE National Athletic Championship 2006-2007 at the J.R.D. TATA SPORTS COMPLEX, JAMSHEDPUR from 5th to 9th of January, 2007
- IRIS 2006 was held at IIT Delhi Gautam Surya and Aabhas Sharma’s project titled,’ Gauva leaves potion of protection’ was one of the entries chosen as finalist for the National event. There project was chosen as the best in the subject category and they are also selected as one of the 11 best entries to represent IEYI (International Exhibition for Young Inventors ) to be held in next year.
- 8th December: Class 2 Night's Stay!
- Gopika Kapoor, age 13, was declared the most promising player of The African Junior Grand Slam Tournament and reached the semi-finals.
-"Talk for class is by Ms. Abhilasha Singhvi from Manav Seva Samithi (a NGO)"
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2 C Diwali Song

If I light just one diya,
And pass the flame to you,
And you light with it some fuljaries,
And pencils bright and new,

And then you light some crackers,
And chakries all for you,
And then we light one big anar,
And bombs and rockets too!

With one diya, just one diya,
Yes, one diya burning bright,
With one diya, just one diya,
We can make a pretty sight!


Words of Wisdom
(from the Foundation classes)

Teacher : Where does a tortoise live?
Child : Anywhere! It can live anywhere as it carries its home on its back.
Teacher : Why are you so sweet?
Child : Because God made me so sweet.
Teacher : Why are you colouring the fox green?
Child : I’m using my imagination.

 
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Friday Fun

Quite at a loss for what to write about, for this last issue of the newsletter for the year, I sought advice from The Editor, who kindly spent a few minutes brainstorming with me. We short listed a few topics, the last one being “Class Activity”. This last one is the topic I chose, because I happen to disagree with The Editor (we’re allowed to admit we disagree with her now, because she’s leaving soon, and everything), who believes that our class activity performances are ridiculous.
What is the average class act like? A last-minute slapstick skit, a handful of solo tabla, vocal, or piano performances, maybe a group instrumental or two, a group song, a dance which either causes scandal or has the spectators in splits… Looking back at all the performances I’ve sat through, I agree that on average, there isn’t much “class in our acts”, but I don’t, unlike many, think that this is a bad thing.
Class acts are not always meant to be a great show. I’ve always thought they were just a way to free ourselves from our inhibitions, to have fun, or to expose our hidden talents to the world. It’s one of the few times the entire school gets together to do ONE thing, and what The Editor said made me realise that, many years from now, when I sit upon my old rocking chair by the fire place (or something of the sort), I’ll look back upon my childhood days, and remember the tacky, yet wonderful, lamentable, yet hilarious, silly, yet witty “things” that are Vasant Valley School’s Friday Class Activities.
Sara Chatterjee, IX-B

Lost Apologies

Just how often do we catch ourselves instinctively uttering, ‘Sorry’, when we unintentionally struck someone below their nose or pushed someone while they were writing something seemingly important.  Such small accidents are very common, but what is it that makes us blurt out ‘Sorry’ in such scenarios. Is it guilt, repentance or regret? Most of the times we are truly apologetic, but at times ‘Sorry’ is just a foolish word thrown around to curtain the true emotions. What about those times when an intentional or an unintentional act may not have revoked any guilt inside but we consider it almost obligatory to go forth and apologize.
      It would be rare to find a satisfactory definition of ‘Sorry’ because it encompasses a variety of emotions and its inference is highly relative. Some people may still like to hold ‘Never do it again’ as the implication of ‘Sorry’ but in my opinion, this is a much exaggerated definition. However, all the same it should just not be a mere term and should not be thrown around for any random reason.
      It is strange how at times we blurt out, “At least, I apologized”, because by apologizing we are not doing someone a favour. The biggest favour we do is, in fact, to ourselves. An apology in my opinion, is like an open invitation one offers or one should offer only when she/he really feels the need to do so and surely not because he/she was under pressure. To pressurize someone to accept the invitation is to mar the beauty of the invitation. On the other hand by forcing an apology out of someone else’s mouth there is nothing to achieve because as a wise man put it, “You can force someone not to be bad but you can not force someone to be good.”
      In today’s fast paced life, where hypocrisy rules and retaining our individuality may seem a tough task, let us not make words like ‘Sorry’ and ‘Thank You’ completely baseless. Let us make space for some genuine emotion, and not just use the 3 golden words because our mummies taught us to.
Tarunima Prabhkar (10)

Sedition in Justice

There is a man who has recently been awarded capital punishment by an Iraqi court. Some believe he is innocent, though most (under pressure from the Bush government) say that he is guilty of crimes against humanity. He has had a trial, though not a fair one, and by a judge biased against him due to religious reasons. His name is Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majidida al-Tikriti, and on Sunday, the 5th of November, 2006, he was sentenced to “hang by the neck until dead”.
Saddam Hussein was born a Sunni, and has remained so until date. There has always been fighting between the Shias and the Sunnis, and thus, when Saddam killed a number of Kurd and Sunni spies from Iran during the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988), it was taken as a religious offence by the major international powers. People dismissed him as crazy, comparing him to Adolf Hitler, and eventually, it was this ‘offence’, which brought him the death penalty. There have been many killings of spies during wartime, anywhere in the world where war has struck, but why is it that the general of the country in question has been punished for a military action only in this case?
Judge Raouf Abdul Rahman, the judge who read out Saddam’s verdict, is a Kurd. The spies from Iran who were killed by Saddam were mainly Kurds, and thus, Judge Rehman was prejudiced towards Saddam from day one. Saddam’s trial, therefore, was completely unfair.
Some may argue that most dictators end up shot in the head, whether before or after the end of their regime and none get a trial, but Saddam has, and he should be happy with that. I beg to differ. If he is getting a trial, it should be a fair one; otherwise he may as well have not got a trial at all.
Saddam Hussein is a military genius, and was not as authoritarian as most choose to believe. There were riots when the Iraqis heard of his death penalty, though only in some sections of society. The others are probably just scared of the coalition troops in their country. It is pressure from Bush which has changed the face of this entire agenda. Due to pressure from his side, the Sunni judge was removed, and replaced by a Shiite one (Saddam is a Sunni). The chief judge Abdullah al-Amiri of the September 15th trial, a Shiite Arab, told the ex-president, “You were not a dictator.” Demands from Kurdish and Shiite officials for his removal followed; the judge already had rejected prosecution demands that he step down for allegedly favoring the defense. Notice that no one ever demanded the removal of any of the judges that favoured the offense. Three of Saddam’s defense lawyers were killed, and nobody has even begun to actually look into them. Another judge, Rizgar Amin, resigned after complaining of government interference. Plus President Bush is using Saddam’s verdict as an opportunity to gain votes in the upcoming midterm elections. Who ever said that he didn’t create this opportunity himself?
Saddam Hussein is a man whose verdict may be a mystery, but that does not give anyone the right to award him capital punishment. Had there been no invading troops in Iraq, had there been no pressure from the Bush government, and had Saddam had a fair trial, an undeserving man would not have got the penalty of death. All of this just goes to prove that no matter what we do, life is unfair.
“God is the Greatest! Long live Iraq. Long live the Iraqi people! Down with the traitors! Allahu Akbar!”
-Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majidida al-Tikriti
By Kunal Datta (9)
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Horoscopes

Aquarius: You shall be requested by the office to start making lunch for the school, after going and complaining about finding a long, orange hair in yours.
Pisces: You will meet the man of your dreams. He is tall, orange haired, intelligent, wears no shoes (as he says beauty does not need to be hidden) and need I say gorgeous?
Aries: You will go on a blind date and meet a young man with orange hair, who lives without his parents, is very tall and YHI-ISSS, he is remarkably good looking.
Taurus: Your life has no meaning so you decide to go jump off a tall building. You are about to do so when you meet Osama Bin Laden who tells you that there are much better ways of dying…
Gemini: You will find yourself sitting on a log listening to music, with earphones in your ears and a cap on your head. Someone with an interesting hair-do will say your name loudly, and you’ll take off your cap to listen.
Cancer: You will have the irresistible urge to crack your knuckles in public. And somebody will fall head over heels for that naughty little habit.
Leo: The apparition of a sudden flow of extraordinary new ideas in your mind will truly amaze you. So much so that you will create a new file on your computer and name it– “Some Concrete Ideas.”
Virgo: A stranger will sit next to you on public transportation. He has not bathed since last Diwali, incidentally, he has orange hair.
Libra: Your indecisiveness will lead to a serendipitous incident this month. Prepare for the time of your life.
Scorpio: You will awake from sleep with a start, screaming loudly that you have had a terrible nightmare, about a man with orange hair who believes that shoes are not his cup of tea.
Sagittarius: You made a dreadful mistake last month. Try as you might, there’s no going back. We suggest you make climbing palm trees a hobby.
Capricorn: You will find a midget with a tea cosy on his head, bouncing on a pillow next to you, screaming “YHISS! YHISS!” He will bounce high enough to kiss you, and you will run away screaming.
By Anandini Rathore, Sara Chatterjee, Bhavik Singh (IX)
With contributions from Arushi Kumar.

THE MEMORY OF RUNNING

By Ron McLarty
I hadn’t written anything for the newsletter in a really long while. Not because I was lazy but because there was nothing very inspiring to write about. I’m one of those elite “idea” people. I cannot- will not- and have not written anything I don’t believe/feel like writing about and thankfully I have been given that luxury. So when I finished reading “The Memory Of Running” by Ron Mc Larty it is sufficient to say I was compelled to write about it.
From beginning to end this is one of those understated masterpieces. A road trip by a fat guy. A journey to find a destination. These kind of statements minimize the impetus this book has and undermine its purpose. What this book really is the rediscovery of oneself. Thankfully it has been written more like a story than as a sermon. The book starts detailing the life of Smithy “hook” Ide. A 40 something obese lager addicted couch potato . With the loss of his parents and on finding out that his”crazy” sister died he decides to reclaim his life…On a bicycle. Through cornfields and ponds he revisits his life and the memories that shaped him. The author has managed to merge the characters memories and his present beautifully with the reader delightfully hopping from the life of the past to the journey of the present. In the end the reader has no option but to feel one with Smithy, to share in his trials and tribulations to feel his pain and joy. To write a synopsis about this book doesn’t do it justice so I conclude urging everyone of you to pick it up and read this story of self actualization on a “releigh”
By Nivedita Venkateish (12)

Delhi, in all her glory!

Metro in retro !

As a mere spectator for a spectacular spectacle atop the school terraee I was spellbound! For two months, the entire school had been absolutely immersed in the theme of Delhi and on the final day, all of that hard work by the students and teachers and some very engrossing exhibits. The flavour of Chandni Chowk was literally brought alive by the authentic jalaebis and paranthas.

As Graceful as the yamuna !

Starting with a resounding 'Good Morning Dilli' from our 'favourite RJ' the sweepers to the Metro station employees didn't fail to thrill. There were a few beautifully choreographed scenes such as that of the Yamuna River and Phoolwalon ki Sair. As for the wedding scene, the claps and cheers for the class 11 brilliant piece speaks louder that words. Moving from the set of a Karan Johar film to the admissions drama, the hard-hitting parts of the entire show like the trial and Red Fort scene and the Red Tapism expose had a really great visual impact. Lastly, the class 12s walk followed by a stirring address from Sahkshi and Shiv lent the final, polished note to an unbelievable evening.


Rock n' roll, soniye!

Svati Goyal 12
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THE PURPOSE OF THE NEWSLETTER

Greetings, dear readers, now that we are done making fun of our darling Twelfthies, we are now going to move on to the class9’s, as class 11 is rather irrelevant to the rest of the world, and we don’t like mocking ourselves:
Vanshika, Sara, Ashrika, Anandini, Bhavik,Kunal
Bhavik: By far our cutest, cuddliest, chubby-cheekiest member, Bhavik is adored by all the girls, especially Mahi. He has written a number of, erm… eventful articles (such as the series based on various flights), most of which are enjoyed by the common public.
Sara: The newsletter would not be complete without Sara’s editing and brilliant articles. She has raised all our opinions of blondes. Possibly class 9’s best candidate for future Editor, Sara is notorious for her grammatical corrections.
Ashrika: to the average person, Ash appears to be quiet, reserved - a child prodigy. Unfortunately for her, we know her all too well to be fooled by her ‘perfect’ exterior. We have learnt, from all our experience that she refuses to write. (Could she feel overshadowed by her older and wiser seniors? Such as, say, the writers of this article?)
Anandini: the blue collared worker of the Editorial board, Anandini is dedicated and desperate to prove herself. Ready to tackle any article given to her, Anandini personifies the phrase ‘working your fingers to the bone’. She is by far the best newcomer we’ve ever had on the ed board.
Vanshika: Vanshika is known to all as the successor of Diva due to her diligent service to the newsletter by writing School Watch each week (a tedious task which she fulfils with renewed vigour which probably won’t last long). One might wonder why I am being so nice to her: the reason is simple. I never want to do School watch again. (TAKE NOTE, SVATI!)
Kunal: Quite the man of mystery, Kunal is seldom found at our headquarters (probably checking himself out in a mirror somewhere, but no one really bothers to make sure). We can’t write much about him, considering we’ve never read any of his articles. And he’s loved by the girls of class 7 (the girls of class 9 know better, as Sara says).
By Diva, Soumya, Akbar, Mahi (10)

The Life of a Football Fan

Why do we do it? Why do some of us care so much about 22 men on a rectangular grass patch trying so hard to put a ball between two posts? The answer is because it’s all worth it in the end. Very rarely do you experience the joy of witnessing Manchester united beat Liverpool in the 90th minute with a Rio Ferdinand header or your team winning a treble, in day to day life. Yes I am a Manchester united fan, but that’s not what this article is about. This article is about following your favourite team, any
team (preferably not Chelsea) and sticking with it so that you can understand why people follow a game called ‘football’. There are few things better than watching your team win on the weekend and nothing worse than watching them lose. It can literally make or ruin your weekend. Beating rivals gives bragging rights to which those whose team lost have no reply to. Losing to rivals is one of the worst things that can happen as you have to show your face to those who support that team and tell them how you don’t really care and how it doesn’t matter so much.
Football is becoming more and more popular these days however there are a
lot of people who either jump the bandwagon, that is, follow whichever team is winning or support a club in which their favourite (best looking) player plays in. For example, when David Beckham left Manchester united, so many Japanese and other Asian Manchester United fans decided that Real Madrid was now the club for them. So, all the Manchester united shirts with the number 7 were disposed of and white number 23 shirts were to be seen everywhere.
It’s ironic how people are now reverting back to wearing that same shirt
which Beckham wore except now a there is the much shorter name of Cristiano
Ronaldo adorning it. The last weekend of football was probably one of the greatest for
Liverpool and Man united fans. Both teams won their matches with ease and
saw both Chelsea and Arsenal slip-up. However, like most sports football is
a game that is full of surprises and in a few weeks time with a bit of bad luck the tables can completely turn. So I would like to end this article by saying that football (or soccer) is a game that no matter how much you hate when your team loses you always end
up sitting in your TV room the next weekend hoping against hope that the next day you won’t wake up wishing things had just gone a little differently.
By Akbar Iqbal 10 B

The White Stripes

The White Stripes comprise of an enigmatic bass-free duo Jack White (b. John Anthony Gillis, Detroit, Michigan, USA; guitar/vocals) and Meg White (b. Megan Martha White, Detroit, Michigan, USA; drums). The Whites, variously assumed to be husband and ex-wife or brother and sister, but both denied, formed their new band in 1997. Judging from their facial looks it initially seemed likely the duo were brother and sister, but the matter was confused by Jack White stating that the couple were once married and the posting of a marriage license and divorce certificate on the Internet.
Jack had previously played guitar in garage rock band “The Go”. The Whites’ striking stage presence, dressed in minimalist red and white outfits, is allied to their thrilling grasp of the rudiments of timeless rock music. The duo released 1999’s “The White Stripes” – the album. The 17-track album was a great success and gave way to a new world of rock music with their tracks such as “ Jimmy, the exploder” and “stop breaking down”. Their styles in this album comprised of Indie rock with Garage rock.
Their next album came out in 2000 called “De Stijl”, which was also a great success named after the Dutch abstract art movement led by Gerrit Rietveld, the media buzz surrounding the White Stripes had reached new heights. “Elephant” was the next one in 2003 and it was a masterpiece. With singles such “Seven Nation Army” and “Black Math”. They received the Grammy for Seven Nation Army (the song of the year). They released “Get Behind Me Satan” on June 7, 2005 and have garnered critical acclaim.
By Mukund Raghav Sharma (9)
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Wildlife SOS

A tentative suggestion, a spur of the moment decision and some haphazard planning materialized into a rather wild affair. On the 1st of November a slightly apprehensive class 7 as well as the environment council got a chance to meet Mr.Kartik Satyanarayan, co-founder of Wildlife S.O.S and founder of the Reptile Rescue Unit, India along with 2 members of his team. He brought with him some surprise guests too- 2 turtles, a harmless snake and his best friend a beautiful black lab named Silvie. Everyone scrambled to get a word in and for a chance to touch the snakes so for a while chaos ensued. Some handled it with ready confidence, some over came there fears while others remained wary and chose to sit back. The talk primarily focused on human animal conflicts and the rescue and rehabilitation of wild animals. Mr.Satyanarayan explained how keeping any wild animal in captivity is cruel as we can never provide them with the kind of environment they need. He also spoke about how they get several emergency calls a day from people asking for help in capturing snakes that have entered houses and are often given tip offs about wildlife crimes. The lecture ended with the distribution of pamphlets on Wildlife S.O.S and Friendicoes.Seca.(sister organization to Wildlife S.O.S)and for once I felt that all the students were genuinely interested  in what was being said. Many even stayed back to ask questions and learn how they could help. Though our interaction ended all too soon it did give us plenty of insight on life for wild animals within this urban jungle.
Report by Cara Tejpal (12)

PASSIVE SPECTATORS OF FOUNDER’S DAY-CLASS 10s

“Funny when music starts playing in the middle of class eg. Temperature in science”
“Its bugging to not be able to perform this year.”
”Au contraire we finally get the satisfaction of making fun of other people rather than being made fun off.”
“Last year we used to hate Friday practice, now we wish we made the best of it coz we have only one more to go.”
The BOARD year—that’s what they all say. It’s like: which grade are you in? Ten, OH!
Have fun studying. Even with founder’s day round the corner we had no excuse to escape the studies. We don’t even want to say we’re not cribbing…because we have a good enough reason.
While the rest of the school was dancing we were trying to rack our brains over physics numerical. The loud, blaring music only reminded us of how much fun we had had in the previous years. Though the luckier ones insist that, “It’s a pain” we beg to differ, though till last year we would have agreed. Yes, it has it’s benefits, we did occasionally get away with-”Ma’am we’ve been studying all day plllllleeeaasee let us watch the practice” but it was more fun being watched than watching the rehersals. I think our sentiments are reflected clearly when we say, “We’d rather make a fool of ourselves and watch each other making fools of themselves trying to dance, than study”.
And it’s rather funny when the weird 93.5 FM jingle starts to play in the middle of a Biology class yet it’s only true that we missed performing this year. It’s appalling to hear things like,” If u found out what I’m doing you’d be disgusted…you’re lucky”...
LUCKY INDEED!

The Purpose of the Newsletter

Over the past few issues, they have succeeding in ripping to shreds each and every member of the Newsletter Editorial Board. They have ridiculed, harangued, and bugged to death each one of us. Its payback time! We present to you the highly ‘esteemed’ Class 10s of the Ed. Board: Akbar, Avanti, Diva, Jahan, Mahi, Soumya, Tarunima.
Akbar Iqbal: His obsession with football is only equalled by his fascination for addressing his seniors as Ma’am. His looks resemble that of Daniel Radcliffe, thankfully his acting abilities are better (just marginally). He manages to pull off a remarkably sincere expression by being hard at work when I walk by, and then promptly reverts back to the game of Quake 3rd I had so rudely interrupted. All in all, a talented writer who hates the Brazilian football line-up.
Avanti Gupta: Still remembered for her legendary collaboration with Mahi on the ‘Morning Prayers’, Avanti turns up to work when she feels like and writes when she feels like. A complete free spirit, she is the quiet presence at most meetings letting her articles do the talking. She does have a tendency to save her work in the wrong folders leading to their deletion, but her back-up articles save the day, which makes me wonder if those ‘deleted’ articles were nothing more than diversionary tactics.
Diva Gujral: She is the embodiment of all that is Tweety Bird. Chirpy, sunny and sweet to the point you want to find Sylvester. Her hard work for School Watch has inspired all of us to sit back and let her do all the work. Diva easily lightens the mood of the entire team with her constant and strangling hugs and declarations of undying love. Her hyper-activeness does reduce when Samad talks to her in a British accent, but then that just induces the side-effects of winking continuously and attempting to steal my badge.
Jahan Adil Nargolwala: His name is a mouthful, but he can be summed up in just one word; brilliant. That is when he is not playing Quake III. A gifted writer who can come up with ideas at the speed of light. Loved by the entire Editorial Board and beyond…, his quirky nature reflects in his writings about the world imploding upon itself. His ‘I’m soo scared’ expression when Nivedita tries to bully him sends everyone into fits. The best thing about his articles till date, is that one never needs to edit them. It’s a task you might just die trying.
Mahi Titus: One never quite knows whether she is in the computer lab or the basketball court, for she tends to give you the most nerve-wracking shoulder jabs if you happen to be standing in her near vicinity. One of the most genuine people I have ever come across, Mahi is probably the sanest of the entire lot of class 10s, though that’s not saying much. She often catches me by the scruff of my neck (literally!) to point out some error that I had missed, making me seriously wonder of abdicating and letting her take over.
Soumya Dasgupta: The black knight of the editorial board, Soumya’s sarcastic comments somehow manage to lighten up even the most severe of my little talks. His being quieter than the rest of the class 10s – and the only one who knows how to work Page Maker makes him a valuable asset to the Newsletter…that is when he’s not shooting hoops. To sum it up, Soumya is quite the entertainer!
Tarunima Prabhakar: Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the hardest worker of them all? Without a doubt, its Taru! From her crosswords on cartoons to her crosswords on cartoons, she amazes with her consistency, as well as her ability to persevere. Her attempts to be serious not only fail miserably, but they also set us off into fits.
To end, I would just like to say to the entire Editorial Board, that you all made impossible possible and gave this newsletter a real purpose. So keep rocking!
By SVATS
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Busted

Class 12s at their best!
“The Sun is SOO dark!”
- Take off the sunglasses, Zoya Brar

“You’ll save the people of Africa and not Ethiopia?
“Oh sorry, I thought Ethiopia was a country!”
- Mrs. Mukherjee’s worst nightmare, a.k.a Shivani Agrawal
“Isn’t Musket the capital of Russia?” - Suchita Salwan, Mrs. Mukherjee’s second biggest nightmare!
“Don’t worry; you’re just passing out of school, not out of each other!”
- Sambhav Kapur trying his hand at consoling…

“Zidane’s an Algerian. What is that?”
- Suchita Salwan in dire need of lessons in Geography!

“A unicorn has 3 horns. Uni means 3.”
- Pooja Penna, sure it does.

“The fire engines are here with Bantars on it!”
- Gaurav Puri speaking his own language.

Madhav : My great grandfather founded Hansraj.
Svati: My mom was Hansraj too!
Shivani: What’s Hansraj?
- We’re not even going to bother with this one!

Do you believe in pre- martial sex?
- Arshia Arora, Martial?? MARTIAL??!!!

Mrs. Vohra (Biology VIVA): What is the NIF Gene?
Priyanka Gupta: National Institute of Fashion?
- We know where your priorities are.

Svati: Shiv, what is GED?
Shiv: GOD misspelt.
- Bad one, Shev!

Sakshi: Cows don’t have hair on their body.
“But Sakshi, they’re mammals.”

Sakshi: So, I thought they shave.
- Chopism back again.

“Cows’ hair is transparent because they bleach it.”
- Sakshi Chopra, Strike 3.

“Listen I can’t hear anything, I’m not wearing my glasses.”
- Natasha Uppal having some sight-hearing problems.

“The Sun was in my eye and so I was going deaf”
- Deeksha Gujral, Nataasha Uppal’s soulmate!

“‘M’ is your lucky number.”
- Saranya Misra. And I suppose 3 is my lucky letter.

“Me myself psychologically disordered.”
- Natasha Uppal, yes, you are!

“Cows don’t have hair on their bodies, they just have it on their tails and udders.”
- Nivedita Venkateish, surely very observant!
“Bengali is a religion” - Daksh Bhardwaj, lost in translation.
“We Maliks don’t sweat, we precipitate!” - Smiti Malik, sure, why not!

MY WORLD OF FOOTBALL

Minds drenched in passion. Moments of melting history! A high rush of adrenaline! After the thrill and fireworks of the World cup, they ask, where has the football gone? Football is still very much alive even though the World cup is over. They say that everything you see is what you believe in., but in the case of the thrilling football leagues such as the Premier League, everything you believe in is what you will see.
It’s all happening in the league, with leaders Manchester United just 5 points clear of ex-champions Chelsea , with arch rivals Liverpool and Arsenal close behind, and with the new boys battling it out in the relegation zone...There’s all to play for. Especially with tough champions league ties coming up for the big 4, with Man United taking on Lille ,Arsenal taking on PSV ,Chelsea taking  on Porto and - what foresees to be the biggest match up of the season. – Liverpool vs. Barcelona (who recently lost a final match to Internationale.) The months of Jan-Feb will be hard times for the premier league clubs with the tough Champion League ties, new players coming in through the transfer window, with the battle to the Premier league title and the battle to stay out of the relegation zone. All is at stake… Who will survive? Who will be on top at the end of the season? From here on, it seems like a two horse race to the title with Man United and Chelsea at each other’s heels. Can you, Man U?
Raaghav Agrawal IX-C

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EDITORIAL BOARD
Anandini Rathore, Ashrika Kohli, Bhavik Singh,
Kunal Datta, Sara Chatterjee, Vanshika Wadhwa, Akbar Iqbal, Avanti Gupta, Diva Gujral,
Jahan Nargolwala, Mahi Titus, Soumya Dasgupta, Tarunima Prabhakar, Akanksha Chawla, Amba Kak, Arushi Chak, Ria Sen, Saira dayal, Minhaj Adil, Jaagriti Seth, Nakul Dev, Nivedita Venkateish,
Samad Ali, Saranya Misra

Sports Desk: Arjun Srihari
Editor: Svati Goyal