Just thoughts

  Long, long ago, when the Earth was young, When his oceans were brewing slowly still, When land had plants only and few insects that sing Little Luna lived alone, forever at her will. With nothing to live on but leaves and seawater, And nothing to keep her company but insects and The Sun- she envied with all her heart the latter For he voyaged the heavens free- that she couldn't stand. O! For days she sat alone craving  The liberty of the Sun who freely roamed For hours on end, she sat raving At the baby ocean, who, in reply, only foamed. After months, her patience gave way, (For, even Luna's temper gives up, you know) She cried one last time, and ran away Into the wood, in the stars' faint glow. Erelong she reached a grassy field Where the lil' lamps flickered yellow Watching them, her mind reeled Back to tranquil thoughts, her heart again mellow. The night air cooled her very much, Faster she ran now, all envy left behind. 'I'm flying through space!'-and ...

A year ago, I made a big decision. Now certainly, my decision isn’t Earth-shaking in any way- I am a boy of fourteen, after all, but I must mention that this did have a profound impact on my personal self and significantly altered the path of my life.  A year ago, I was studying in a school- not very special, just a normal private school. The teaching was good, the teachers amiable (mostly), and my classmates fun. I can’t say I was fully satisfied with society there- I did have my ups and downs, but I let them pass, and life was good. Until I took an exam. I periodically write Olympiads and competitive exams, just for the challenge- solving problems gives me a great amount of satisfaction, and this exam was no different. It was an entrance exam for a four-year program in a reputed coaching institute that trains its students to crack, with flying colours, the big university entrance tests of India- JEE for engineering universities, and NEET for medical universities, along wit...

     It wasn’t what I expected.      What I expected was a boring trip to museums and science centers, with short visits to some park or beach to pacify the students. What I most definitely didn’t expect was a perfectly well-balanced trip with just the right amount of fun and learning, with a lot of time to spend with friends and socialize.      The trip turned out to be just that.     I am talking about the school trip we were taken on in January to the southernmost place one can go to in the Indian mainland, Kanyakumari, followed by the capital of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram.  After a sleepless night in the bus which did nothing to lift my spirits, we reached Kudankulam, a small town a few kilometers northeast of Kanyakumari. The town was nondescript, with nothing to its credit by the looks of it. But soon, we were to enter India’s largest nuclear power plant- Kudankulam Nuclear Power ...

       I discovered an ardent cat lover inside me during the COVID lockdown. I haven’t been a big fan of mammals, but I gradually started liking cats. Here’s how it happened. The lockdown brought a big family of cats to our apartment. I saw them every day during my walk on the grounds, and they stared back. I don’t know what they thought when they looked me straight in the eye- anything ranging from ‘This boy is an interesting human being’ to ‘What is this weird ape doing in my territory.’ Absolutely nothing was discernible from the cats’ expression. But I gradually fell in love with these feline marvels. A few months ago, a gang of guys in my apartment drowned a cat in the swimming pool. I was heartbroken, looking at the heart-wrenching picture of the snow-white furry being, now nothing but a lifeless body. Though I wasn’t very emotionally affected, this was the first time I felt something close to the loss of a loved one, and I can never forget this incident....

       To start things off- This is NOT what I expected. What I was expecting was a cosy, occasionally boring story where I knew what the ending was going to be all along. But this was quite the opposite. Filled with Austen's trademark commentary on the high society of England, and with a plethora of other sarcastic titbits here and there, the book was a box of surprises.       Elinor (the protagonist) was a neverending source of sarcasm and jokes, but not normal jokes-no, high society won't approve of that. These are jokes one must look out for to find out; They are so discretely hidden within the conversation, that many a time even the listener won't detect these when Elinor is talking. This, along with the interesting pursuits of all the young ladies and men, especially Marianne, made this book a memorable read, almost un-put-downable when I reached the last quarter of the book. Not to mention how the sense of Elinor compares with that of the s...

I opened another can of soda one day And you won’t guess what popped out- Dressed in green, yellow, ochre and gray Jumped out a pixie- round and stout I’ve never seen a frickin’ pixie before, Much less one that is obese But tell me- which pixie lineage from days of yore Could have been obsessed with Mac & Cheese? But this one was, somehow, and so she dove Right into my delicious supper With passion, zeal and gluttonous love She finished it all- that little suker… With the sauce dripping from her spherical body She noticed me- at last- and gave me her hand Her poise was royal, her face all lordy, Aiyoo!- that attitude! I just couldn’t stand! With a cunning smile and and icy heart I backhanded her off the table Destiny has dictated that this is how we part, Dear pixie- beauty of some nightmarish fable The critter wouldn’t give up- she stood up, hurt And saw me with eyes filled with hate I suppose she was gonna apologise, but By now, it was just too late. ...

I am not a spiritual person, and to be franker, I have kind of vowed to be a critic of religion at all costs. But a few days ago, I realized something- I was criticizing something that I didn't know about; for, only when I know about the underlying ideals of something can I form a solid conclusion about it. So, I decided to start with a classic, and after reading, I realized that 'The Alchemist' was just that- a classic about spirituality and philosophy.  I have read two books by Paulo Coelho before, so I thought I had a good idea about what to expect. But this work surpassed the others, in terms of how the intended message of the book was delivered. Each anecdote shared, and each message related is worth remembering. The ideas put forward by the author about destiny- the fact that we live only for our destiny, and wandering away makes a meaningless life- make one wonder what one's really doing. I now want to explore more about philosophy; it sounds fun, something that ...