The Value Of Integrity - Anvesha Rana

Reading Chapter 18, The Art Of Focus
Honesty Wins
Human Quality: Integrity

Honesty is a value, but integrity is practice.

We can be honest without having integrity, but we can never have integrity without being completely honest. Being truthful to others is honesty and being truthful to yourself is integrity. A lot of people are honest, but hardly a handful possesses integrity. Honesty is visible to others, but integrity is the amount of transparency between the world and us. 

Trust is a vital factor for integrity. If we have confidence and belief in ourselves, we can only do what we deem right, but if we don't trust our instincts, we may end up being wrong. Faith in oneself should be the maximum, and it should be such that even if we are wrong for the entire world, we will still do what we think is right. 

The king gave seeds to everyone for planting, and the one who grew the best plant would be rewarded, but no one had the ingenuity to arrive with an empty pot. None of the people trusted themselves because the prospect of the award made them blind to any sign of failure. Still, only the young boy was truthful, confident, honest and humble enough to accept his defeat and admit that the plant hadn't grown even though he had tried his best. 

We all need to be like the boy. We need to be transparent enough in this world of opaque people, learn to absorb the rays of happiness and hope and let them penetrate through to others, and be solace to others in times of hardship. 

Anvesha Rana, 

Grade 10-B, 

Gyanshree School 

Swami and Friends - Anvesha Rana

Swami loves being amiable to everyone, especially to his best friends. He loves Somu for his geniality, Sankar for his intelligence, The Pea for his connection, Mani for his strength and Rajam for his personality. Swami is a fun-loving boy; his friends mean the world to him. Often friendships are a two-way street; if one of the givers in a bond of friendship stops contributing, this bond can also break. 

Something similar happened when Swami became friends with Rajam and unintentionally pushed Somu, Sankar and Samuel out of his life. Still, when Swami realized his mistake, it was too late to correct it. 

We pamper new people and forget the ones whom we have known forever. We often have so many desires that we change friends and relations to fulfil all our wishes. But fulfilling our desires does not lie in completing them but in controlling them. 

Anvesha Rana, 

Grade 10-B, 

Gyanshree School

The Art of Focus - Anvesha Rana

Positive thinking should be the most essential attribute for each of us. If we are positive, then we are happy, independent and self-sufficient. Still, if we are negative, we always lack confidence in our actions. We will doubt our deeds and even make the others around us doubt themselves, so we must stay positive. 

Life is short, and death is inevitable, so we should make it count. Life is not the only time for living, but death is also an episode to discover the epitome of joy if you have done punya in your Life. Death is not the end of Life but the ultimate meditation to reinstate the clarity and perspective for each aspect of Life.  

Our soul's journey is Life, but after death, our body passes, but the soul continues its journey in another form, which is defined by karma in the previous Life. Death is simply the transmigration of the soul. We should not fear death; instead, in every moment, we should be prepared to die because it can strike us unexpectedly anytime, anywhere.

Death makes us powerful, more robust and bolder by prioritising what we need or want; it gives us a sense of urgency and importance in our Life. Death makes us more grounded humans who believe they are one of the infinite children of God. It makes us grateful for every small action, unshackle from mental anxiety, and live up to ourselves. 

If we all can go from fearing death to embracing death, 

then we can be positive humans who have understood Life. 

Anvesha Rana, 

Grade 10-B, 

Gyanshree School

Swami and Friends - Anvesha Rana

However badly Mani would have despised Rajam, he cannot bring the cruelty in his heart to hurt him. On being face-to-face, they apologize to each other and end up being great friends. What scared Mani the most was that if he hurt Rajam, Rajams' spirit would haunt and torture him, so it was best to be friends rather than foes. 

I am not afraid of ghosts or spirits, except at night, whenever I sleep and even if the door is slightly open, I feel as if someone is peeping in, so I permanently close my door before sleeping. Also, I find it really hard to sleep alone after watching a horror movie since the scenes are living in my mind, and I just can't bear to think that there will be a ghost standing there when I turn around!

Swami talks about odds and ends, ups and downs, to his one-of-a-kind grandmother, who just wants to tell him how wonderful his grandfather was. The constant bickering between the two is very usual to others. For me, a conversation with my grandmother is fun. We talk about her times, like how school was then, how the uniform was and how strict the teachers were. She loves to talk about knitting, which is also her favourite activity and then my grandmother likes to ask me about myself. Also, she always cooks my favourite meals whenever I visit her. 

Swami, Rajam and Mani are good friends, but they were impertinent to a fellow helper, and this also ended up in Rajam being offended, but that was alright as it was Rajams' fault in the first place since he was trying to show off. There is a mark difference between show, and show-off; we show everything from our books to clothes to gifts, but we also show off a colossal amount of things like a new watch or some expensive clothes. To show off is to exaggerate the object more than its actual value, and to show is to make others see what you have in its truest and purest form. 

Anvesha Rana, 

Grade 10-B, 

Gyanshree School

No love like Sibling Love !

Love in a Comic Strip! 

A sibling is a lens through which we see our childhood. They may be close to you or miles apart, but they will always be in your hearts; they are your siblings. So, share about the bond between you and your siblings as My Good School celebrates 'Love', and Sibling Love is the most hilarious kind of Love!  

Comic Strip Team @ My Good School

Please meet the comic strip team for August:  Rishona, Anvesha, Simar, Arav and Gaurangi. Thanks to all the interns, they have worked hard to create comic strips on Love. 
Arushi Goswami, a teacher at Gyanshree School, is our guide for the project.

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. 

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

The Art of Focus - Anvesha Rana

The Art of focus is a piece of advice, 

for life and for the next generational resize, 

It can be passed on because we might change, 

but our values will nevertheless be the same. 

We need focus in our lives, not for success, 

but for a family, for happiness and for building a fortress, 

Without focus, we are inhumane and uncertain, 

like a play without a curtain. 

Stories can be your guide into another world, 

They can make you believe what you thought you never would, 

You'll find your moments and live up to them, 

You'll find your gratitude and treat it as a hem. 

Focusing on the present will make you someone new, 

for neither the past nor the future will be now pursued, 

We'll learn to be better and better till we can then share it with others, 

for what is life without a teacher who isn't like a brother. 

Let's dive into finding our focus for it might be deep down, 

or it might be on the top which just needs a little jerk, 

If we have focus we will not want to be the winner on the field, 

but we will want to be the winner in life. 

Anvesha Rana, 

Grade 10-B, 

Gyanshree School

Ordinary Lives - Anvesha Rana

Let's not strive for extraordinary lives, 

Let's not make success a goal, 

but let us make Spreading Happiness

our role. 

Let it be ordinary but ensure it is happy, 

Let it be simple but ensure it is fun, 

Let it be calm but ensure it speaks tons. 

Help others find the wonder and 

a marvel of the ordinary life, 

Discover pleasure in tasting 

apples, plums and tomatoes. 

Show others how to cry, 

when pets and people die

and show them how to laugh, 

when we lose after a tie. 

Let it be how you want, 

or let it just go with the flow, 

Don't change it for anybody else's rant

for it is your life when it is high

or when it is low. 

Make the ordinary come alive for them, 

and the extraordinary will just go. 

Anvesha Rana, 

Grade 10-B, 

Gyanshree School

Coffee With The Coach : Money - Anvesha Rana

Today We Talk About Money

We have got a form of brainwashing in our country. Do you know how they brainwash us? They repeat something over and over. Owning things is good. More money is good. More property is good. More commercialism is good. More is good. More is good. We repeat it - and have it repeated to us - over and over until nobody bothers to think otherwise. The average person is so fogged up by all this,  and he has no perspective on what's really important anymore.

Wherever we might go in life, we meet people wanting to gobble up something new. Gobble up a new car. Gobble up a new piece of land. Gobble up the latest toy. And then they want to tell about it. 'Guess what I got? Guess what I got?'. These people are so hungry for love that they accept substitutes. They are embracing material things and expecting a sort of hug back. But it never works. We can't substitute material things for love, gentleness, tenderness, or a sense of comradeship. 

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. 

There's a big confusion over what we want versus what we need. We need food, but we want chocolate. We need to be honest with ourselves. We don't need the latest car, we don't need the most prominent house. The truth is, we don't get satisfaction from those things; what gives us joy is by offering others what we have to give. 

We don't have to offer money or power but time. Offer your concern, and submit your stories; it's not so hard. Devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning. If we show off to the top people, they will look down on us. And if we show off to the people at the bottom, they will only envy us. The status will get us nowhere. Only an open heart will allow you to float equally among everyone. 

We should sometimes take out time to listen to other people because giving is what makes us feel alive. Not our car or our house. Not what we look like in the mirror. When we give our time, when we can make someone smile after feeling sad, it's as close to healthy as we can ever get. 

Do the kinds of things that come from the heart. When you do, you won't be dissatisfied, you won't be envious, and you won't be longing for somebody else's things. On the contrary, you'll be overwhelmed with what comes back. 

Anvesha Rana, 

Grade 10-B, 

Gyanshree School. 

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. 

Some stories will make you smile, some will bring tears to your eyes, and some may even make your heart skip a beat, but all of them will renew your faith in the power of Friendship. Penned down beautifully in the words of a celebrated novelist, RK Narayan, is this tale overflowing with mischievousness, oozing with love and pondering over our relationships. 

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 ! 

Anvesha Rana,

Grade 10-B,

Gyanshree School

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. 

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. 

Anvesha Rana,

Grade 10-B,

Gyanshree School

A New Day - Anvesha Rana

A New Day is a new beginning, 

it's an old ending and 

something exciting. 

What it holds, 

we don't know. 

What it shows, 

we don't know

 For we only know it's a new day, 

   and it ought to be good. 

Bend forward and soak in the sun, 

Lay back and let the wind run, 

Enjoy the new day 

for it is only one. 

Look forward to learning more, 

Vow yourself to curse less, 

Be who you want to be

for a new day is a unique opportunity.

Learn to live, 

Learn to love, 

Learn to laugh, 

For the new day is only 

one. 

Anvesha Rana, 

Grade 10-B, 

Gyanshree School

Coffee With The Coach : Emotions - Anvesha Rana

Today We Talk About Emotions

Don't cling to things because everything is impermanent. Learn to detach yourself from emotions. But detachment doesn't mean you don't let the experience penetrate you. On the contrary, you let it penetrate fully. That's how you can leave it. 

Take any emotion - Grief for a loved one or pain or fear from a task. If you hold back on these emotions and don't allow yourself to go through them, you can never get to being detached; you're too busy being afraid. You're afraid of the pain; you're afraid of the grief. You're afraid of the vulnerability that loving entails. 

But by throwing yourself into these emotions, by allowing yourself to dive in, all the way, over your head even, you experience them fully and completely. You know what pain is. You know what grief is. And only then you can say, 'All right, I have experienced that emotion. I recognize that emotion. Now I need to detach from that emotion for a moment.'

How we feel lonely, sometimes to the point of tears, but we don't let those tears come because we are not supposed to cry. Or how we feel sorry for what we have done, but we don't say anything because we're frozen with the fear of what those words might do to the relationship. 

Instead, our approach should be the exact opposite. Turn on the faucet. Wash with the emotion. It won't hurt you. It will only help. If you let the fear inside and pull it on like a familiar shirt, you can say to yourself, "All right, it's just fear; I don't have to let it control me. I see it for what it is."

Same for loneliness: you let go, let the tears flow, feel it completely - but eventually be able to say, "All right, that was my moment with loneliness. I am not afraid of feeling lonely, but now I will put that loneliness aside and know that there are other emotions in the world, and I will experience them as well."

Anvesha Rana, 

Grade 10-B, 

Gyanshree School.

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. 

Anvesha Rana,

Grade 10-B,

Gyanshree 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.

My World of Stories - Anvesha Rana

The Library may be better and far, 

but the one at my home, to it, has no par. 

The Library may have more books, 

but the one I have has more love but no looks. 

I love my library, 

may it be small or short, 

but life is also not counted by years but by friends, 

a library is not counted by books but ends. 

The friends in the corner of my room, 

the lessons in life loom,

The Library has taught me everything, 

from love to compassion, all of them ring. 

I have a friend called Harry Potter, 

a mate Percy Jackson, 

I know a lovely man who is Morrie Schwartz, 

and the most beautiful Totto-Chan. 

The Library has opened my world, 

it may have been small once, 

but now it's twice that same once. 

Let's all read, 

for one life may be monotonous, 

but hundreds will make that one super anonymous. 

Anvesha Rana, 

Grade 10-B, 

Gyanshree School