Sunday 28 August 2022
The Art of Focus - Anvesha Rana
Swami and Friends - Anvesha Rana
Tuesday 23 August 2022
No love like Sibling Love !
Arushi Goswami, a teacher at Gyanshree School, is our guide for the project.
Sunday 21 August 2022
Swami and Friends - Anvesha Rana
Swami is a boy who just loves to have fun, be it with friends or be it all on his own. He enjoys playing and wandering more than anything else, so whenever Monday comes around the corner, Swami feels frustrated as he has to walk through a tough day filled with studies and homework. But after all, he endures Monday Mornings.
I like Mondays because I have a lot of activities in school that day, plus on Monday we have a lot of things to share with our friends, so it’s never boring. We all should like Monday because it is the start of a new day, a new week and maybe, new learnings and opportunities.
Swami may not be a very ambitious young boy, but he is happy and optimistic because of his friends and loves playing, so he always has something to be positive about. Similarly, what makes me think positive is the idea of anything different from my usual routine. I enjoy it whenever we go out or when I have something new to do. Some different classes in school or meeting new people always excites me. That’s what makes me think positive, and I love that.
Monday 15 August 2022
Sayonara Totto-chan! - Anvesha Rana
I have often heard a story of a woman who lost her son but was so desperate to get him back that she went to Lord Buddha to bring her son to life again. In listening to her story, Lord Buddha said he would bring her son to life again only if she could get a fist full of mustard seeds from a house where no one had died. So the woman had set out on her task, she had gone to every home in each locality, but there was not a single house where someone had not died, be it the grandfather, father, mother, child, someone or other had always passed away. Lost and depressed when the woman returned to Lord Buddha, he had simply told her that human lives are like flickering lights. They light for a long time, but suddenly they extinguish. We need to learn to accept the loss and let the ones gone be always loved in our hearts. Just like Totto-Chan will always love Rocky and Yasuaki Chan.
When Ryo-chan, the janitor at Tomoe, had to leave for the War, all the students had organized a special Tea Party just for him. Everyone drank saké and shared something or the other for Ryo-chan. It was a fun time and the children continued the tradition of the Tea Party even after Ryo-chan was on the war ground. It was the last time they had ever gathered at Tomoe.
Whenever I have to drop someone at the station and bid goodbye, I feel as if they could have stayed just a little longer; no matter how many days we spent together or how much fun we had, at that point, all that matters is whether they can be here for just a bit more time because no amount of time feels enough when you are with your loved ones.
Sayonara, Sayonara is a Japanese goodbye, but it literally means 'if that's the way it is'. We have learned so much from Totto-chan, the Headmaster and Tomoe. It is even so unique that a young girl, simply through the means of her actions, has taught us friendship, responsibility, coping with loss, freedom and most importantly, love. So all we can say is Thank You and Sayonara, Totto-chan!
Anvesha Rana,
Grade 10-B,
Gyanshree School
What does Independence mean to me? - Anvesha Rana
It’s uncanny that our forefathers had to strive and struggle so desperately for an Independent India. It’s even more strange that we treat our independence as a birth-given right. Today, what we take for granted resulted from combined forces forged throughout British Indian history. It was a blend of hues, cries, rebellions and massacres all because of one motherland, Bharat.
Independence is the ability to obtain basic fundamental rights. It is the state where we can freely express ourselves, work as per our wishes and simply do whatever we want. Independence is when we have no obstructions or restrictions and are free to fly high and soar in the sky.
But that is independence for a citizen. What is independence for us, as distinct individuals? For some, it would be being able to make all their decisions rationally and independently, but ideally, independence should be a state of mind and not a right.
If we are pulled down by the people at our side,
but in our minds, we are transparent and wide
If we don’t show it, but we know it,
That when the time comes, we will fly.
If we have enough faith and courage,
To be the first on a different path,
If we have the belief and encourage,
To be alone but still be without wrath.
If we are disheartened when we fail,
But we don’t give up on our trail
If we can rise after each fall,
But never give up on the target, however tall.
If we know to help the wounded in a race,
And pick them up and slow down our pace,
If we can walk together till the last,
And still, show no glory and no hast.
If we can be clutched in tight chains,
And still, be strong and free as an eagle above the clouds
In high rains,
If we can be crushed like a flower,
And still not lose our essence,
Then that is Independence.
Anvesha Rana,
Grade 10-B,
Gyanshree School
Sunday 14 August 2022
The Art of Focus - Anvesha Rana
Ordinary Lives - Anvesha Rana
Saturday 13 August 2022
Coffee With The Coach : Money - Anvesha Rana
Money is not a substitute for tenderness, and power is not a substitute for tenderness. As we lay on our deathbed, neither money nor power will give us the feeling we were looking for, no matter how much of them we have.
Monday 8 August 2022
Swami and Friends - Anvesha Rana
Somewhere in life, there must be someone to take your hand and share the torrid day. Without a touch of Friendship, there is no life, and we must fade away. There are friends, there is family, and then there are friends who become family. Friendship is a tonic for all of us that only grows stronger over time; it is the cure for every challenge, the outlook for every good day, and the wish for every person. Probably no relationship is as essential yet versatile as Friendship. The intimacy and affinity we have with our friends are irreplaceable, and it comes in many forms; whether we are next to each other or miles apart, we always remember them, and they are our Friends.
So, join us as we dive into this adventure with Swami and Friends. We won’t know what’s coming next, for this will be full of twists, turns and steep ends, but one thing we can be sure of, whatever it is, will be the most memorable.
Anvesha Rana,
Grade 10-B,
Gyanshree School
Just the Way you are! - Anvesha Rana
There is so much happening with Totto-chan. Her friend, Yasuaki Chan, dies, and all she is left with is a longing to see him again. Her heart broke down on his passing, but she did not let that show, for she knew they would meet again soon. Their lives might have been entangled once, but they had broken free.
Totto-chan was still an optimistic, cheerful girl. She let her ambitions cross limits and did live up to them. Her dream of a spy might have been full of zeal, but it crashed as Tai-chan pointed out the reality, yet Totto-chan gathered her courage and awaited the bright, new future. Twisted, they both were in their own lives, simply finding the correct path to walk up.
No wonder Totto-chan is Totto-chan only because of her parents; the values that Totto-chan’s mother and father have instilled in her, not through sermons but through examples, have led her to be the same person. Another man who has contributed massively to the becoming of Totto-Chan is her headmaster, who not only made Totto-Chan realize her worth but also made her learn the art of respect and helping others.
Totto-Chan,
Be just the way you are,
For you are perfect
And you are pretty.
You are strong,
And agile enough.
You are a tree,
That will never fall.
Everyone in Tomoe,
Should be just the way
They are, because I can’t
Imagine it to be better.
Let it be Tai-Chan,
Or be it her mother,
Let it be the young teacher,
Or the Headmaster.
I wouldn’t want anything
Different at all,
Because it is perfect,
Just the Way you are !
Tuesday 2 August 2022
Into the Fabric Buzz - Anvesha Rana
As I enter the fabric buzz,
I look here and there,
Nothing seems to be
Right enough to wear.
The colours are strong.
But they do not stand out,
The lines are long,
But they only wait for a shout.
The clothes at the start
Are overflowing with jewels,
Their colours do not blend,
Their design is awful,
Their pattern makes me feel bad
But what can I do?
Yet People look over them.
As if precious diamonds,
Yet the mass buys them
As if a lost treasure,
And yet all wear them
As their prized possessions.
I can’t manage to look.
At such faces,
Not because I am jealous,
But it just makes me feel devastated.
So, I enter deeper into the market,
Where there is less racket,
And for the first time,
I see something I like.
The clothes at the end
Do not stand out,
But they make me feel welcome.
They have just the right.
Blend of colours yet
No one there for them,
They have just the
Perfect pattern yet
No one sees them,
They have just the
Best design yet
No one buys them,
They have just the
Good inside yet
No one understands them.
I like it better here,
In the end,
The start is too crowded and painful,
But the end has no one yet it is oozing
With Love.
The Way we see Beauty,
Is no different from this,
We like the ones with pretty faces,
But not the ones with untied laces.
We seek perfection in looks,
Not in books.
Beauty lies within,
And there is no beauty out,
When there is no beauty in.
Anvesha Rana,
Grade 10-B,
Gyanshree School.
Monday 1 August 2022
Totto-chan's World - Anvesha Rana
Totto-chan was oozing with inquisitiveness; she always wanted to know this or that; she squeaked at the sight of anything new and liked it immediately. Similarly, when she saw the Health Bark, Tottochan wanted it for herself and her family, and after taking money from the Headmaster, she bought the health bark. The man selling the Health Bark was a fraudster who used tricks to sell the simple, ordinary bark by claiming it to have magical properties. Still, little Totto-Chan couldn't see the reality for the only thing that mattered to her was that her family, rocky and all her friends were fit as a fiddle, thanks to the miraculous bark.
Another time a new student joined Tomoe; he was from America and hardly knew anything about Japan; he was Miyazaki. All the children at Tomoe helped Miyazaki to learn the Japanese way of life, and in turn, Miyazaki became like an English tutor for all of them. The amount of learning that can take place between people from diverse cultures is portrayed through the means of a few words.
Once Totto-Chan was also going to be a part of the school amateur drama, she was supposed to play Yoshitsune, but Totto-Chan didn't like her character very much because Yoshitsune was only supposed to be beaten. Still, Totto-Chan couldn't wait to retaliate when someone hit her, even if it was for a play! So, Totto-Chan was not a part of the first, and the last time an amateur drama took place at Tomoe Gakuen.
Each year on an annual day at my school, I am part of the dance; since an early time, dance has been an art that attracted me the most, and I immensely enjoy it. My favourite dance was when we performed a classical item.
The best part about Tomoe is that the students are let free; they are allowed free of discipline, stringent rules, and free of strict teachers. Sternness can only kill the imagination, but freeness can ignite it further. The Headmaster lets the students write music notes with chalk on the polished floor by keeping in mind that they will be the ones scouring the floor after their musical transition. This way, everyone learns to take responsibility for their actions.
This was so far from Life at Tomoe Gakuen, a small school blended with love and values, making Totto-chan's small world complete.
Friday 29 July 2022
A New Day - Anvesha Rana
Tuesday 26 July 2022
Coffee With The Coach : Emotions - Anvesha Rana
Sunday 24 July 2022
Totto-Chan's Life - Anvesha Rana
Chew, Chew,
Chew it well,
Everything you eat,
Your rice and fish and meat
Little Totto-Chan
Can make a soldier
Cry happy tears
Totto-Chan can
Comfort an Importuned
Father
She can make Tomoe a good school,
For she is a really good girl,
She is Totto-Chan.
Sunday 17 July 2022
My Aspirations - Gaurangi Rastogi
Childhood has been miserable,
Because you have to learn something basic,
When we grow up as a teen
I got pressured to top the boards
I got pressured to become a doctor
Will the world still accept if I am something else?
I feel like running away from home,
I think I am not safe in my home sweet home,
I want to speak to this world,
I have my aspirations,
To change the mindset of the people
Who judges me based on occupation,
Who are you to control me?
I am a phoenix who takes the rebirth from its ashes
Which is from its failures.
If you control me,
I will control you every time,
As you made my life miserable
I will make yours,
At the end of the story
I have my aspirations!
Gaurangi Rastogi
Class VII
The Doon Girls’ School
Totto-chan - Anvesha Rana
She wanted to be a spy,
Then a ticket seller,
After that a street musician
And finally a ballerina.
Her vision might wander,
But her values never dander,
Her life is simply yet happy,
Then why don’t we be a little
more like her ?
She treats others with love,
She learns all with joy,
She yearns to find more
And ask why.
The Farming teacher likes her,
For she does everything with care,
Her passion is appreciated and
Her energy is contagious.
She might be naughty,
But her character is good,
She helps everyone
And asks for nothing in return.
So, Totto-chan,
You are a really good girl,
You know.
Anvesha Rana,
Grade 10-B,
Gyanshree School.
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