THE WORLD

They said to me –
The world is vile
The world is mean
The world is only made of
Hunger and greed

No one is nice
Inside out
No one is really like
What they brag about

No one is innocent
For the innocent are dead
Crimes are on a high and
No one must be trusted

There’s cheaters and liars
And beaters and whiners
There’s no one to hear your plea
Share your sorrow and grief
So they said to me

Through these evils
In the dark and cold
Where the young are slaughtered
And respect is lost for the old
Where being quiet is good
And being right is bold
The world was always this
And may be worse still
But the world is still has its beauty
And there is nowhere else I imagine I would be.

THE DAY BEFORE FREEDOM

after tomorrow,
there will be no silence heard
no thought unsaid
and no expression unseen

after today,
there will be no tears cried
no fights fought
no bloodshed

after this hour,
there will be no love lost
no wrath not endured
and no sorrow inconsolable

after this minute,
there will be no loss not felt
no gain not rejoiced
and no privilege denied

after now,
we will be young, united,
smart, strong, leading, happy,
helping, loving, caring, sharing,
and finally, free.

(this poem was composed somewhere in september but i had no idea that it would bear so much meaning to me as a person, an Indian and a Mumbaikar today).

-Aakriti Anand

this needs no explaining....

first there was calm,
there was the joy of a match well won
and then all we knew was the news
of grave damage that was done...

the news is on
but none is good
the situation was out of hand
and that was as good as understood..

it started with some noise
and spells of silence
but the air is filled
to the brim with violence.

innocent lives - lost
brave men ruthlessly killed
all for that island we call our own
everywhere blood is being spilled

i salute the brave soldiers
the hostages and personnel
who are braving this terror attack
and being put through hell...

LETS ALL JOIN HANDS AND PRAY FOR OUR CITY........MUMBAI NEEDS ITS SOUL.....

WOO HOO =D

the moment demanded this kind of a title.... as part of an initiative by Prithvi Theatre, a lot of 16 of us young individuals from the ages 12 to 18 got published in the ever so cool Prithvi Youth Magazine!!!!!!!

this "work of art" was released on the auspicious CHILDREN'S DAY in the famous prithvi theatre cafe` by the ever so charming Shri Shashi Kapoor and the person who was at the head of it all, Sanjna Kapoor, along with our mentor Ms. Basu!

after 6 whole months of sweat, drafts and toil, we finally have the finished product in our youhtful hands.....the hands that did the writing and the hands that did the tonnes fo re-writing as well!!!

the team was a bunch of really cool people who are great friends and know how to have 'fun' in all the true sense of the word. frankly speaking, we were a damn good lot to begin with!

each piece was so well thought and well-crafted and well everything else! it was the most enriching experience i have ever had in the last 15 and a half years (as of nov 11th)......

i'm going to miss the meeting from 2-4 every saturday and sunday and the whole lot of friends i worked with:
dwijal mehta
rheaa rao
vikrant dhote
mira brunner
sanyukta iyer
damini kane
disha bhanushali
bhakti rathod
sanjana suresh
sooraj bishnoi
sohaila jalali
rithika kumar
varun golani
kabir mantha
kanchana niruttan

thanks to all of you for making this such a lovely 6 month journey.....it'll always be a memorable time to cherish..

and in true Dwijal style, "woo hoo we got published!!!! =D"

woh kaagaz ki kashti, woh baarish ka paani......

when making the plans for the coming week, one will come across the date 14th November, look at it, jot down the activities for that day and move on. it will be a wonder if one looks at that day and smiles or becomes nostalgic. that day is children's day, for those who refuse to remind themselves of it.

me still being in the category of "children" (reminder:individuals below the age of 18), i remember that Jawaharlal Nehru was born that day and because he loved children, this day celebrates the existence and innocence of children. but many other children think of this day as a mere holiday and let it pass like any other weekend. but need we celebrate the joys of still being a child while it lasts???

the elders may say," why should we bother about children's day?? we're not kids anymore to get excited about such things. besides, we have a billion 'important things' to worry about." but the whole point is just that. we have a billion things rushing through our heads and have forgotten the art of being a kid at heart for just ONE day in our entire year, if not any other time.

we are slowly losing out on what we used to consider as the "good things in life", and when i say 'we' i imply both children and adults. children have forgotten to thank the man who created this day for us and say a little prayer for all the kids out there, and of course have fun! adults have simply moved on from these petty things to the bigger goodies of life, the ones that they think are the essentials today. WRONG.

i truly understand the feelings one goes through when facing such a sermonizing piece of text. but if you don't want to listen to the whole truth from someone else, do yourself a favour and ask yourself this - why do we feel good when we look at kids playing in a park or on the street? why do we go into deep thought when we listen to songs about childhood?? when was the last time we were kids?

the answers are very simple but you have to know them for yourself. we're all letting go of that innocence that made our childhoods so special and memorable. we're giving up what we used to give true importance to at some point in our lives. and for what? the good life? the good life means nothing without that child in you saying, "yes! i finally got what i wanted."

i hope that we all realise (as early as possible) that our childhood is not going to come back. the best-est way to preserve those precious times is to celebrate this one day as much as we want and revisit what we have left behind.

=D