Weed

I am a weed
As weak as a reed
I am the helpful plant
Which gets the rainforests to start.
I give birth to many a plant
But one day the rainforest caught fire
All of us died including me.
Again I grew
With my loved ones too
There came a forest with many animals
Taking shelter with something
With the trees, the king
We lived happily ever after.
Ananya Kapur, V-C

The Earthquake

The earthquake that has just hit Pakistan and other places in Northern India was a severe one. The epicenter was Muzaffarabad and most of the destruction was there. Along with this people in Islamabad, Gilgit and army men near the Line of Control also died. There were over 20,000 people injured and over 80,000 people dead. The intensity of the earthquake was 7.6 on the Richter scale, and there were 22 aftershocks. In India the most affected place was Jammu and Kashmir. In Uri alone more than 1000 people died. Other affected areas were Baramulla and Anantnag. Overall in Jammu and Kashmir over 1500 people died.
All this happened on the 8th of October 2005.
Akshay Sharan III A

Riot of Colours

Just about at dawn,
from my paint box
I heard a gurgle and a song
All of a sudden I heard a splash
And the paints were all gone in a crash.
Blacks and browns and lovely whites
Pinks and purples and yellow were bright
Splashed around my room Oh!
What a sight
I was glad though full of fright.
Oranges and reds and blues very peppy,
Made my room look so very happy
Riot of colours it was called,
By my mother who was appalled.
Rytim Vohra VI B

My Favourite Sport

Swimming is my favourite sport. Diving into the cool depths of a pool on a hot summer day is one of the great joys of life. Coming t6o the surface of the water I choose my stroke. Feeling the water glide over me as I skim through the ripples delights me.
I enjoy swimming because slicing through the water makes me feel one with nature whether I am in the ocean or in a pool. My ability to swim enabled me to travel with shoals of fish at the Great Barrier Reef. As I could swim I could enjoy the pleasures of this underwater world. However I also enjoy horsing around in a pool with my friends. What fun it is to play water polo or dunk each other in the deep end.
I started to swim when I was three months old. Eight years later I decided which stroke to use- crawl, breast stroke or butterfly. I can propel myself forward powerfully and command my body to float on water. Maybe if I train hard enough I can swim for the Indian Olympic Team one day.
Divya Tara Shastri IV C

Violent Video Games

I began to write this article because I feel that the violent behavior displayed in school is inspired by underage players playing bloody, gory and violent games. There have been countless newspaper reports of video games creating violent behavior. I wish to point this out in the following report with a few games of this type (I have never played any of the games mentioned below, except GTA 3)
FEB 2004: Warren Leblanc (17) of Leicester, UK, lured a 14-year-old into a park and murdered him after beating him with a claw hammer and stabbing him. Apparently Leblanc was obsessed with the game Manhunt.
JUNE 2003: Stepbrothers William (16) and Joshua Buckner (14) took shotguns to interstate 40 (USA) and opened fire on vehicles, wounding 19-year-old Kimberly Bede, Denise Deneuau and killing Denise’s cousin Aaron Hamel. The boys claimed to be emulating the game Grand Theft Auto3 and said that they didn’t intend to hurt anyone. They were horrified by what they had done. The Hamel family sued Rockstar Games and Take Two Interactive, the distributers of GTA3.
APRIL 1999: Teenagers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold had been routinely bullied and used violent video games to forget it. The games later became an obsession, and the duo went on a shooting rampage in Columbine High School, USA, killing 12 students and a teacher and wounding 24 before committing suicide.
1997: US Postal Service sued POSTAL 2 makers, ‘Running with Scissors’ for making them look bad. Underage Players had been reported to be running around indecently and hitting each other with shovels, imitating the characters in POSTAL 2. USPS lost the case recently.
To all parents: Keep an eye on game ratings- it’ll be useful. We don’t want anyone dying here!
To all software outlets: Try not to stock up on these kinds of influential games unless you’re sure they are of a less dangerous quality than I have mentioned.
Pranab Pant IX B

The Death of Classics

The next time you pick up one of those “light” books(which you will pretty soon) those whose storyline varies from teen romance , dying Samaritans, wounded soldiers or blood thirsty villains, try to imagine Edgar Allen Poe, The Bronte sisters, Margaret Mitchell and Steinback turning in their graves and crying out in indignation.
As much as it wounds me to admit it, the stark reality is that classics are dying out. Only to be replaced by books which serve as a mental relaxant to most, and when instead of being thought provoking are the exact opposite. These new generation books pioneered by authors like Meg Cabot, Janet Evanovich and Franklin Dixon have encountered enormous popularity not because they are incredibly well written but because they are easier to read and understand. In such circumstances classics, which are obviously harder to interpret, suffer both in term of sales as well as readership, and as the education system of our country does not think it necessary to make such books a compulsory read, they are most often than not, completely neglected.
The sad truth is that unless you are willing to put in a little more effort than usual, you are most likely to miss the eternal storylines, unforgettable characters and the brilliant writing which are the trademarks of a classic. Amen.
Nivedita Venkateish XI-B

How I do Things

I wake up every morning
yawning lazily,
Then I look at the sun
and pray calmly,
I freshen up and dress up
smartly & quickly,
Packing up my bag,
I got to school quickly.
In school,
I sing the Assembly song loudly.
Then walk to my class quietly,
I listen to my teachers carefully,
Learn a lot and apply
it in life cleverly.
School ends;
then at home I dress smartly,
Its time to have fun & play which
I do happily,
My day starts peacefully
and ends nicely,
I hope every day is pleasant
and lively.
Sanchi Oberoi, Class IV B

Rain

It is raining cats and dogs
It is foggy all around
I can hear several types of frogs
Croaking musical notes through the night
It looks as if the clouds are touching the ground
The land they want to flood
Snakes and earthworms are looking for cover
They are slithering and sliming all over
There is a soft sound of falling rain
A heavy white sheet from the sky
It is the monsoon, my dear friends,
I can see the rain going down the drain
So much of drinking water, going water
I lifted my face to feel the rain.
Yashita Jeet 4C

Norwegian
Musical Workshop

The Norwegian workshop was one of the most interesting experiences of my life. The first day we walked into the return to school room and saw Kenneth (the percussionist) surrounded by a mass of instruments, Larz (Tuba) with a large instrument we had never seen before and Unni (the vocalist ) with nothing by her side.We were introduced to them by Helguer who was the producer for the workshop. The first day was spent in introducing and getting familiar with both the Norwegian and Indian instruments. Then on the second day it was time for us to learn our songs. All were a bit shy at first, since the words seemed weird but soon we had great fun singing. Everyone’s favourite song was De va raven, a Norwegian folk song about a rat a fox and a pig who went on the ice one day and were told by an old man to get of his land. Followed by mestoven a tongue twister known by every second child in Norway. On the third day we heard that the Norwegian prime minister is coming and so we spent the whole day fine tuning and perfecting each song. The final day approached and we were nervous and exited. We sang our best and it was great to hear that the prime minister enjoyed our performance. With sad faces we said goodbye to Larz, Kenneth, Helguer and Unni and were sure that we would remember this workshop for many days.
Bhavik Singh VIII-B

Should non-veg food
be included in School Lunch?

Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire.

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Maggie Smith, and Michael Gambon, Ralph Finnes.
Well you all know what it’s about. Harry Potter, mysteriously entered into the prestigious Triwizard tournament, has to beat three students much older than him and then eventually take on the Dark Lord for the fourth time. The story is undoubtedly brilliant and is arguably the best out of the six. This particular movie is the darkest out of all the others in the series and it seems that the movies are growing more and more mature with the actors themselves.
Now people must understand that when a book the size of an encyclopedia is converted into a movie there are bound to be some edited portions. So if Ludo Bagman and Dobby were missing from the story Mike Newell doesn’t deserve to be burned alive.
In my opinion the movie did seem a little disconnected in parts but the amount of activity that was packed into it ensured that there was never a dull moment. Every scene was just as gripping as the one before it. The very fact that it skipped from one incident to the next made it a thrill to watch and kept everyone at the edge of their seats.
Daniel Radcliffe fits the role of Harry perfectly and Rupert Grint never fails to add a bit of humor through his bizarre facial expressions. Emma Watson is stunning on her way down the steps in the Yule Ball, which makes you wonder why Harry is after the Scottish Cho Chang. Professor Snape is easy to hate and very real. The only great let down was Professor Dumbledore who’s calm and commanding presence was not depicted as accurately as in the previous movies. The veela not being shown at the world cup did come as a disappointment but the girls from Beauxbatons made up for the let down.
The love affair between Hagrid and Madame Maxime and the scene with Harry and Myrtle in the prefect’s bathroom do come as a shock and have the ability of causing mild nausea so be prepared to make a trip to the bathroom in the interval. Other than that the movie isn’t all that bad and can be loads of fun if watched with a large group of friends.
Nakul Dev XI-C

Harry Potter and the
Goblet of Fire : 2.5/5

Perhaps, “Hari Puttar Aur Aag Ka Lota” would have been more entertaining than the latest in the HP series. An absolutely disconnected plot which glosses over some of the more thrilling aspects of the book is hardly helped by a ridiculously over energetic Albus Dumbledore. Sir Michael Gabon’s rendition of the Hogwarts’ Headmaster makes you almost glad that Dumbledore’s role ends by the sixth book.
Performances by Rupert Grint (a.k.a Ron) and Ralph Fiennes (a.k.a Lord Voldemort) are the only saving grace. The story develops grip only half an hour after the interval and the only sustaining force till then is a rapidly diminishing store of popcorn.
One is left hanging and wanting more after certain good scenes (due to the severe lack of them) such as the Quidditch World Cup, the First Task and the memorable dancing lesson between Professor McGonaggal and Ron,.
Watch this film for the little Potter Magic still present and the Weasely brothers’ antics. Watch this film if and only if you have read the book and liked it. Watch this film if you have an otherwise boring Sunday afternoon stretching out in front of you…
Svati Goyal XI-A

Megnaa Does It Again!

It gives us immense pleasure to inform you that Megnaa Mehtta has been accepted by Yale University for an undergraduate degree on a full scholarship. Megnaa, who was the Head Girl of the batch of 2005, was previously pursuing philosophy honours at St, Stephen’s, New Delhi, She has been accepted by Yale as a transfer applicant. We are all very proud of her, and wish her the best as she continues to excel at whatever she undertakes.

Congrats!

Ms Malvika Vohra attended a 2- day 7th International Conference on Self Organization and Cognitive Systems organized by NIIT held on 14th and 15th December at New Delhi.
Teachers from leading schools of India participated in the program entitled Best Teaching Practices Showcase. The 1st prize was won by Ms Beena Babu of Aditi Mallaya School, Bangalore while Vasant Valley won the 2nd prize for the paper presented by Ms. Vohra on Effective Pedagogical Techniques by using Computers to enhance Teaching-Learning Strategies.