Platypus

Platypus, you’re the strangest animal on earth
And you spit poison since your birth?
Do you come from eggs or live in nests?
And do you swim the best?
Platypus, you’re my favourite animal
Though you come from any direction
North, South, East or West.
Mrudang Mathur, 4 B

Fish, fish in the sea,
Come and play with me
We will have lots of fun
As in this game
We have to run
Aakanksha Sahib, III C

A VISIT FROM PAKISTAN

When we were told that we were to meet ten girls from Pakistan, the boys were extremely excited, but most of us didn’t know what to expect. The next day when Aarzoo, Anita, Amal, Ayesha, Rafia, Anum, Sundas, Alizeh and Zainab arrived in School, there was awkwardness at first but it soon disappeared as we bombarded each other with questions about culture, schools and nations. We then took them to the Return to School Room where they were briefed about Vasant Valley School, and we were told about their school “Resource Academia.”  After that we gossiped about anything and everything including music bands such as ‘ Jal’ and Strings, and movies. Most of the girls’ thought that John Abraham was really good looking but Amal, reminiscent of Kareena Kapoor  thought that Shahrukh was the best. They also thought that Jaivir looked like ‘Tom Cruise’ while Arnav was thought to be a ‘Hunk’. We also recommended places to shop, eat and visit. The girls then toured the school and finally went to the art room, where we all enjoyed block printing. Even though it was very evident that most of us weren’t born artistes, this gave us an opportunity to exchange e- mail addresses so that we could remain in touch. This was followed by lunch where the ‘chaat papdi’ and ‘rasmalai’ were definitely the highlight. There was a constant clatter in the room as everyone had so much to talk about.  These 2 hours passed by so quickly and it was already time for them to leave. We exchanged goodbyes and Alizeh, their headgirl aptly ended it by saying that, “Living in different countries doesn’t make us different as the similarities between the two nations are endless. It is up to us to break these barriers and rise above the occasion in order to make a difference.”
Mallika Sadh

Superstition

I woke up early in the morning,
Wide-awake, not yawning.
For my math test that would follow,
I packed pens and pencils, as we weren’t allowed to borrow.
Then I thought gleefully of the weekend ahead,
But when I went to bed,
I glanced at the calendar just once,
That was enough to put me in a trance-
TOMORROW WAS FRIDAY THE 13th
As I left home, in the driveway,
I saw a black cat crossing my way.
Doomed I moved on, waiting to die,
Would I fall, or would the sky???
I carried on, passed a construction site,
And what I realized gave me a fright.
I had just walked under a ladder,
And this bit of news, made me nothing but madder!!
In school I went to wash my hands,
Turned to leave and then I crashed,
Right into the looking mirror,
For 7 years I’d be in fear.
Trembling I sat down for the test,
Promising I would give it my best.
Would doing so change my luck,
Or with a zero, would I be stuck??
I wasn’t left too long in doubt,
As soon as the answers were read out,
I couldn’t believe what I had got,
A 100 on 100, I gave a shout.
I didn’t fail is all I can say,
The cat, the mirror or Friday,
Don’t change anything about us,
People like me, just make a big fuss.
Next time I wont care a jot,
I’ll walk away saying, “ So what”.
As I know this is nothing but imagination,
Or what we simply call “SUPERSTITION”.
Avanti Gupta 9 A

AND THE AWARD GOES TO...

CLASS 6
FRIENDLIEST PERSON - RAMYA AHUJA AND ABHILASHA SINHA

CLASS 7
BEST SENSE OF HUMOUR- SHIVAAN SAHNI

CLASS 8
BEST SMILE- MEGHA CHAWLA AND ARJUN BHALLA

CLASS 9
THE CRAZIEST LAUGH-NADIA SHERVANI

CLASS 10
COOLEST HAIRSTYLE- SAAMARTH

CLASS 12
BEST DRESSED- SHIVANGI SAHNI
CONGRATS!! YOUR FIRST STEP TOWARDS FAME!

War vs. Greed
Sword fighting and archery

Bloodshed and treachery
You grow up learning to hate
Resigned to your uncanny fate
Blood stained battlefields
Everyone loses yet no one yields
This soaked earth looks red
By the blood of corpses fed
A desolate and bare land
What remains now is only sand
An eerie silence reigns at night
Not a single person in sight
Where have all the people gone
Is it yet time to mourn?
“There they are”, someone cries
Immediately followed by grievous sighs
It was a sight that met their eyes
There were several audible wretched cries
All the people lay slain together
Someone dryly remarked, “Birds of a feather flock together”
They were dragged together harshly
Words were exchanged but sparsely
No time for heart-felt good byes
No time for confessing one’s lies
There was a man in that heap
Everyone had heard his wife weep
There was a woman and a child
They were all killed and proclaimed wild
Why kill those who are weak?
It is this answer that I seek
Everyone has enough for their need
But not to fulfill their insatiable greed
Bloodshed and treachery
To fill up the treasury
To live in comfort till the end
Not looking beyond the road’s bend
Will you fight others to fulfill your need?
Doesn’t guilt on your conscience feed?
When you kill others don’t forget
Greed only engulfs you in its tangled net
Don’t make greed an excuse for war
Try and stop asking for more
Bloodstained earth and death all around
Won’t increase your gold mound.
Arushi Chak, X-C

BAHUT HO GAYA!

The 22nd of March was World Water Day. In accordance with the day’s theme and meaning, Greenpeace organized a rally down Parliament Street, protesting against the industrial pollution of water. Alongside Greenpeace activists, and Vasant Valley School children, there were people from all over India whose daily life has been affected by water pollution.
The rally started at the bottom of the Ranjit Flyover (in front of the Intercontinental Hotel) and ended right in the middle of Parliament Street. During the course of the 3 kilometre walk, everyone indulged in screaming, chanting, dancing and (of course) protesting. We felt that it was an incredible experience working for such a cause. Let’s hope to see more school participation in events like this!
Simrat Dugal

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

A few weeks ago, class XII was divided into 3 groups, and asked to run a “Humanizing Vasant Valley” campaign. Each section was asked to identify an issue for the campaign, and surprisingly, every section chose (you guessed it!) RESPECT!
Respect was further broken down into three categories: Self Respect, Resource Respect and Interpersonal Respect. Thus, the “I respect”, “Resource Respect”, and “I Respect U!” campaigns were born.
So then, you may ask, what is “Respect”?
Respect is simply put, regard for something or someone, and it doesn’t necessarily imply appreciation or awe. The way one treats other people, and even non-living objects, displays one’s character.
Respect isn’t a rigid concept. One doesn’t have to be a priest or nun to show respect, or to be respected. Even the most mischievous and fun loving people show respect- it all comes down to drawing the line.
Is there a reason why all three sections choose respect as their central themes? Perhaps they felt that there is a genuine respect problem in Vasant Valley School… Whether it be respect for the seniors, juniors, teachers, tables, chairs, daily lunches or even ourselves, there is something extremely vital missing in our school. Hopefully, the campaign helped everyone realize that it’s high time we find it…
Nitya Vaishnavi Singh & Simrat Dugal

OUR VISIT TO CHANDNI CHOWK

‘An Educational Trip to Chandni Chowk on a Saturday’- doesn’t sound very exciting. That was exactly the frame of mind we were in.We were given a map of Old Delhi in 1857, the year Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar II was exiled to Burma by the British.
First, we went to the Jain Mandir which was built during the time of Aurangzeb’s reign, and then to a bird hospital . And then, of course, after seeing the Bank of India and a 600 year old haveli belonging to the treasurer, we went to the famous ‘galis’ of Chandni Chowk. There we all had jalebis and later relished the famous 'paranthas.'
The people of Chandni Chowk were so friendly, and it seemed that they had a very strong interdependence within the community. It was an old fashioned community, and probably ‘better’ than our ‘New’ Delhi.
As they say- “Old is Gold!”
Kunal Dutta, VIII-A

YAMUNA YATRA

SOS!!! The rivers in our country turning black!!! We must conserve water!!! The Yamuna is so filthy!!! Enough!!!
How many times have we heard all that? Everyone KNOWS about these problems: we all KNOW what SHOULD be done, but nothing ever happens.
On the 12th of March, when the children of Class12 went on to the Yamuna River, we were not expecting paradise on Earth. Yet, what we saw left us not only disgusted, but also shell shocked. The extent of the filth and the pollution hit us only when we actually went there.
We saw how the Yamuna transforms from a clean river (at the beginning of Delhi), into a ghastly, smelly black drain as it crosses through. As we took a boat ride, (yes a boat ride!) on the river, the foul stink became overpowering.
We watched dead animals, intestines, and plastics float on the pitch black river. Most of us were appalled to see such extreme manifestations of pollution.
We all realized this problem had reached our doorstep, but we didn’t know what to do about it. We all heard the river gasp for life, nonetheless after a few days of grave talk in the alcove, we immersed ourselves back into our daily lives and forgot that out there, the river is still dying.
I wonder if the government, or the people, will do anything about the Yamuna, and the other rivers of India, before the they sputter and die while we engage in our blame games.
Nitya Vaishnavi Singh

AIR RECORDING FOR INTACH