The author of my story; the master of my fate - Rishona Chopra

I have always believed that we are the author of our tale. We are the ones that create our story and decide how it shall conclude. The pen is in our hands and it is our wish to decide how things shall go. 

We are the master of our fate and we can decide which path we choose and go on. Yes, there will be numerous challenges on our way. Yes, there shall be a few earthquakes and floods and things that bring us down. But, its the way one soars after being pulled down each time that matters. 

There are lot of people or rather characters that influence our story. They may influence our decisions or bring about a plot twist or setback in our story but again the pen is in our hands. We are the captain. The final decision is in our hands.  We have the power to control our thought. We have the power to control our attitude.

A thought that comes to my mind is that what about instances when something bad happens? Lets say one gets fired from their job. That may not be one's destiny. This is just another flood in our life; something influencing our story. Some people may go down and drown with the flood and some may swim through it an survive. It's all about the attitude and thought in life. Someone may come across a serious injury and accept it and happily pass away to heaven abode; nothing bad in it at all, they wrote their ending and it was what they wanted,that was one's happy ending. Some may try and try to survive this earthquake and yet fail but I'd say that's not failure; giving up because you think its too tough is failure because nothing is impossible. 

Another thing is death. People don't want to die but eventually they have to. Its just the way it works. You may live as long as 400 years but it has to end. One day it has to. That is the all eternal end but fate here is how you live your live. The future of all the small events in our life. 

There are a few lines from a song I would quote:

"He said,One day, you'll leave this world behind
So live a life you will remember"

What matters is how we live our lives. With happiness and glory or sadness and misery.

We all can surely make our fate better. Better and happier. We have the power to do that. 

Rishona Chopra
Grade VII
Gyanshree School

Thank you, iro 2023 & Food4Thought Foundation

Greetings from Sandeep Dutt at The English Book Depot, the bookshop that won the Award for Best Book Store of the Year Category in IRO 2023. Getting the prestigious Award in our 100th year of service at the Hyderabad Literary Festival 2023 is a big honour for us. Thank you, F4TF, for conducting IRO 2023 and recognising individuals and organisations promoting reading habits. I also thank all Sponsors, Aurobindo Pharma Foundation, Amadeus Labs, Odessa Technologies, Signode India Limited and Greengold Animation Pvt Ltd, for supporting F4TF and helping in organising IRO and, most important, identifying people from PAN India and appreciate their work. india reading olympiad® is a platform which enables, encourages, and endorses an ecosystem which creates functional reading spaces & joy for Reading and appreciates the efforts towards igniting a reading revolution across 13 categories, i.e. Life Time Achievement, Reading 4 Pleasure-School, Reading 4 Pleasure- NGO, Reading 4 Pleasure-Institute, Innovative Library Format, Innovation 4 Reading, Best Reading Club, Best Book Store of the Year, iambond Under 18, iambond Above 18, Joy of Reflection(Students), Best Library (F4TF) and Caught Reading. The three broad objectives of the india reading olympiad® are Encourage Reading habits and enable Joy of Reading at large, Encourage and appreciate individuals, groups and institutions which promote Reading and Inspire citizens to become lifelong readers & book lovers.

Education and financial independence - Mishu Gupta

Education and financial independence are tools that can help us face difficulties. Still, confidence must be developed throughout life means that if we are educated, we will try to make changes in society and the thoughts of ordinary people.

For example, well before our society, girls were said to stay at home and had no right to be educated, which led to discrimination between boys and girls. On this matter, many educated people tried to remove this thought from their minds (many failed also) because they knew what the outcome would be. They kept on trying, and today we can see the conclusion. A woman who belongs to a tribal caste is heading a country (Smt. Droupadi Murmu), setting an example every day. Many women play a significant role in our lives. And also we are so grateful to them.

Speaking in front of an audience and trying to express my thoughts in front of someone is an excellent way to improve self-confidence in our self.   

Mishu Gupta 
Pestalozzi Children's Village India

What You Believe Is What You Achieve - Rishona Chopra

Our lifestyle relies on it – the quality of our thoughts, feelings, attitude, habits, personality and finally, our destiny. This means what we believe has a dominating influence on our future. We cannot afford to hold a single wrong belief. Society spreads limiting beliefs like Anger is necessary, Happiness is in achievements, Stress is natural, People and situations decide how I feel, and so on. Believing "anger is necessary", we used anger repeatedly. Although we set such a belief in our mindset, does our destiny know about this belief? It is simply influenced by our thoughts. Each thought of yours affects us, what we think we do. My thoughts full of anger come out in words; my words can influence my actions.

For example -
Due to some reason, I was angry at someone, and I started shouting at them. The situation didn't calm down, so I started hitting them. Without thinking, my thought became my words, and they became my actions. I began to respect it again and again. Soon, getting angry about the most minor things became my habit. Slowly, it became my character, and then my destiny followed along through karma. It becomes too late when we realise it has become our character because, at that stage, you simply can't reverse yourself without karma following along. You could change, there is a possibility, but your past actions won't. Therefore, start with your thoughts. Improve your thinking, and soon your positive thoughts will become your destiny.

Rishona Chopra       
Grade VI
Gyanshree School

What I Fear The Most... Gaurangi Rastogi

 

At The Sunday School, we read the book The Art Of Focus by Gauranga Das on the 1st of Jan, 2023. Reading Chapter 32 - Human Quality: Preparedness, we set out to discover the fears within. Gaurangi Rastogi shares her reflections in her maiden podcast. You must listen to her and prepare to overcome your fears. She studies at The Doon Girls' School Dehradun and works as an Intern at My Good School. We meet her often at The Sunday School - reading, writing and speaking. #JoyOfLearning

What Makes Us Who We Are - Tenzin Nyesel

Photo courtesy Cheme Dolma Palden
https://milaap.org/fundraisers/support-pestalozzi-children-village-society

The first people that came to mind after hearing about that topic are my parents, who have done so much for me. The way I'm able to live, read and write is all because of my parents who've invited me into this world and have done so much hard work for me to live a good life.

Then my second thought was my teachers who've taught me not only studies but also good manners and habits.

The last thought was that my friends have always supported me and always been there for me at whatever stage.

These all are people in my life who've made me who I am right now, for which I'm very thankful and grateful.

Tenzin Nyesel
Pestalozzi Childrens Village, India

Talking With Your Hands - Rishona Chopra

The deaf and dumb use sign language to communicate; that is, they communicate through their actions- through their hands. Sign language is a beautiful language; I think schools should start educating students, or better, students learn it themselves! You can just learn the basics like - thank you, how are you? Sorry, please, my name is and so on. To say my name is.. - "my "in American Sign Language (ASL), form a flat hand and touch your chest twice. To perform the sign "name ", stick out your index and middle finger of both hands.

Once, I went to a bookstore and saw one of their workers was speaking in sign language, I couldn't understand it, but it was great to see that he was communicating with someone who could say but knew sign language too. Just because one might not be able to speak, they still need someone to share their feelings with, just like we do.

Never let a thought shrivel and die
For want of a way to say it
For English is a wonderful game
And all of you can play it
All you do is match the words
To the brightest thoughts in your head
So that they come out clear and true
And handsomely groomed and fed-
For many of the loveliest things
Have never yet been said
Words are the food and dress of thought
They give it its body and swing
And everyone's longing today to hear
Some fresh and beautiful things:
But only words can free a thought
From its prison behind your eyes
Maybe your mind is holding now
A marvellous new surprise 
- Mary O' Nell

This poem is called "The Wonderful Words" by Mary O' Nell and tells about how we need a way to express ourselves because our mind holds a marvellous new surprise. For those who can't speak or hear, sign language enables them to see these great surprises their mind holds!

Rishona Chopra
Grade VI
Gyanshree School

The Art of Storytelling - Rishona Chopra

Storytelling ain't something everybody can do,

You need some content and rhythm too!

A little music with some effects,

Everything should be set and perfectly correct.

Just add some feelings,

The story could be lovely, so it works like healing!

Just add some voice modulation and thought,

So it stays in people's minds as if it was taught.

The story could have a moral,

Or a quarrel.

All you need to do is hook the audience,

By being a little more patient!

Like in a movie theatre where people feel the water splash,

Hook them with your words, so they clap with a clash.

Make people feel like they were in the story

Make them feel all happy with glory.

The fundamental trick is just to feel the theme,

And the story will come out like a beautiful dream!

Along with storytelling, we need to be good listeners too,

We need to understand the story and try our best to reflect too.

If you know how to tell a story,

Make one yourself and tell me the story quickly!

Rishona Chopra
Grade VI
Gyanshree School

Honesty - Avni Karmarkar

The Honest Boy
Once, there was an impoverished boy named Paul. He lived with his family. His parents worked hard to raise their son. Paul was a very good boy and always spoke the truth. His parents taught him that "Honesty is the best policy!"

One day, the King visited Paul's small village, and all the villagers came out to greet the King. The King was giving away cookies and candy. Paul and the villagers crowded near the King's carriage to try to get some gifts from the King. Finally, the King got to Paul and gave him a box full of cookies and candy. Paul was so excited that he immediately rushed home to share the candy with his family.

When Paul returned home, he noticed a beautiful ring among all the candy. He thought to himself that this ring could make him rich. And he and his family no longer had to worry about having enough food to eat. After thinking about what to do all day, Paul decided to return the ring to the King.

Paul went to the palace and returned the King's ring. The King was very thankful to Paul and said to him, "Son, this is my favourite ring! You are a sincere boy, and I want to reward you with lots and lots of gold coins!" When Paul's parents learned about his honesty, they became delighted.

When Paul came home, his parents hugged him. Paul was a wealthy boy from that day, and his family never went hungry again. 

Name: Avni Karmarkar
Grade: 5C
Billabong High International School, Thane

Positivity - Rishona Chopra

If you reflect on your day and think how many times you think the answer would surely be ' many times but then when you think how many times you had positive thoughts the answer would be ' a few times. But the question is why have positivity? How can it affect us?

Firstly, what we think is what we do and as we do the consequences are equal and if that then it is most likely to happen than what we think comes true. But that might not sound like something you would actually believe in so let us take a look at it in another way:

Imagine you wishing that you would pass your exam but thinking you never can. Now, when you think that you never can pass your exam then you don't try harder, you have lost hope and when that is then you are sure to fail even when you could pass. Even if you worked very hard but thought that you will never pass then you could fail too. On the other hand, if you worked hard and also thought that you can pass the exam then you could pass!

So working hard and thinking positively both are important. 

Rishona Chopra
Grade V
Gyanshree School

Are your thoughts free - Rishona Chopra

Often people say things that hurt us and then capture our thoughts. 
Like, when someone says, “you are not good at drawing at all. I am much better.” These things hurt us, and then we usually start criticizing ourselves. Their thoughts about us capture our thoughts. What people say about us is not necessarily who we are. 
We are who we think we are, so if we start thinking about ourselves as someone else thinks, our thoughts are not free. We are not free at all.

So people can say what they want to, of course, if they say something we must see if what they are saying is true but if not then don’t think about what they say because if your mind doesn’t have free thoughts, then you are not free and if you are not free then how will you be happy and if you are not satisfied then how will you feel peace and if you have no peace then you don’t have a wonderful, happy and peaceful life. And I’m sure all of us want a happy life. Don’t we?

Rishona Chopra Grade V Gyanshree School