The screen-age

Found this great image on internet

“Amina was looking in the class. It was the lunch break and she darted her eyes around for her friends. They were standing around a table and laughing. She went closer and one exclaimed ‘Hey did you watch Stranger Things?’. Amina shook her head to say no. She had heard of the series, but she did not want to watch it. Her friend ‘s excited pony stopped moving, and she stared at her in a different way. Amina asked how their vacations were. Her friends shared a look with each other… nevermind Amina thought, clueless about the stories on Instagram. 


So, chatty as she was, she looked around to find some other person in the class. Everyone was chatting about stuff they saw on reels and snaps. Only 5 mins were left. Then the 20 min break would be over. But she still had not found a person to stand with and open her tiffin. Amina, saddened and hungry, departed to her class leaving the uncomfortable air……


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It becomes very uncomfortable to not know the content which will carry on the conversation. Maybe you had a different question in mind to begin with and you were entertained with a very different question than you expected. But that is not the problem. Today the conversations are becoming technocratic with more and more advancement in technology. For example, let us consider two friends A and B. let’s presume they are two friends eating from the school canteen almost everyday. After school they start like this:

A: Hey, the pasta today at the canteen was not so good! Did you eat it?

B (ears plugged with air pods): Hmm

A:  I bet I was right, wasn’t I? that we should bring cooked lunches from home

B– Hmmm

A: Don’t you think we both should get plastic surgery? Afterall, we look ugly for fifteen-year-old girls

B: Hmmm

A: So, you are not listening to me?

B: hum


Hey! We don’t need to be so advanced to apply little effort or zero down simpler words for tediously longer emotions, do we?

A Brief Look Behind the Years

The technology we use today has become lurking shadows of ourselves.

Oxford dictionary defines technology as — “the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in industry.” Technology for practical purpose (for reducing workload) first came in the First Industrial Revolution.

https://medium.com/@elmiljan/the-first-industrial-revolution-95ef75ae4315

A period of Proto- Industrialization which included labor in the countryside producing large scale by hand, was pursued by the Industrial Revolution. The world saw many inventions, like the bulb, internal combustion systems, telephones, spinning jenny that influenced people ‘s lives in those times in extraordinary ways.

But all the advancements, all the greatness came to a halt. A brutal World war with use of chemicals to no bounds killed millions of people indiscriminately.  Big countries shamelessly unhinged the dark corners of  development and fought to win.


In came the digital revolution. The era when our lives would gain speed. As CEO of Salesforce pointed eloquently ‘Speed is the new currency of business’. True in a business sense.

Social Media in our lives

Social media is defining our professional lives and influencing the way we speak to other people. Floods of memes in social media are creating an ingrained impact in our mind. Recently, one boy brought a phone just to show everyone at school a meme he created of a teacher. In Indian schools like ours where phones are strictly not allowed, this shows that we have gained a stronger liking for a phone in our pocket than lying away from us.


While we teenagers tend to speak strongly about issues like gender and religion, we are too meek to acknowledge how we are affected by lives that are engendered online.

https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/your-mobile-phone-is-powered-by-precious-metals-and-minerals.html

“Did I forget to watch her story’’ ‘does mum know my password’ ‘if yes, will she at home try to check my phone, while I, at school am without it?’ ‘Did I follow him back? ‘Yesterday there was no message from…”


Oh, stop it! We are humans. Even if we are dependent on phones, we cannot let them take control of our lives.


The other aspect which we observed in our friends is a lack of kindness for teachers, or people not belonging to their circle, lack of seriousness for emotions, and how their words will affect the other person. In Indian schools, the norm is to wish the teacher if she enters your class or if she walks by you in the corridor. We are flushing the line between what we know and what social media shows. The wave of not being able to have a beautiful relationship with our teachers makes us disregard that they exist.


Our feeling thus, every day before going to school is ‘many of us are losing ourselves.’

Can we re manufacture better qualities by happy sad emojis and a new gift, A new IPAD?

Ending

Some say the world is going to end in fires. But what about technology? With the level of advancement we have, it will be easy to increase our living years. In fact, the coming era can be undoubtedly called the era of AI. Our world though still faces uncomfortable questions: even with the help of advancement why it has not been able to stop climate change, wars, fights, drug use, hatred, discrimination, unemployment?

Moreover, are we losing our emotional intelligence and our ability to think? Has technology become inevitable that we cannot start again? 

We must not cannot  let life come to a standstill,and we must realize the importance of ourselves beyond any chains. After all, we are the social beings of this planet.

~DuoDisseminators

‘Journey or Destination?

Sometimes all we need is reminders. Here is one more~

https://www.agefotostock.com/age/en/details-photo/back-view-of-a-trekker-woman-passing-on-a-suspension-bridge-in-the-himalayas/ESY-036509253

It isn’t about the destination,

But the journey instead

Cause the destination is still unknown

Even if we think we know it.

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 Where are we going? 

Step over the stones,

Travelers we are on 

Paths none goes 

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A big labyrinth

Different choices,

Flowery tracks,

Disguising prickles.

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With highs and lows,

Carrying friends and foes

Let’s relish this ignorance

Yet life dictated  by its own goals

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When  we reach  the end

And the  bridge stops dancing,

And the threatening waves are left behind.

Here it is all.

Our stories of glory.

Shaped in objects.

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Life is more about the journey, 

Tis ‘a chance to savor each moment.

Cause the destination is a dead end,

Let’s wish to start a journey instead…

~Written By: Khushi. M

~DuoDisseminators

‘Happenstance,

‘why do some people stay, even if you have moved ahead to the corner?’

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image from: https://www.thepersimmongroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/bigstock-People-Moving-In-Crowded-Night-94866434.jpg

Sometimes I frown, all days I smile.

And meet everyone’s gleaming eyes.

But these stay, I avert one mile 

Those Alarming two glinting eyes.

 

They stare for long, untamed, unmoved.

Oh! Just turn away, wear and unhook!

Like lice I feel them plucking insides,

Those Alarming two glinting eyes.

 

 

I stop this mow, try a new field.

Unhook from prance, look in those eyes.

They don’t stop, excitement rebounds.

Those Alarming two glinting eyes.

 

This stare today of all days

Unlike careless gazes of people, minding their own.

Those searching eyes,

Certainly a new look for me, they grind my insides.

~Kunjal Gupta

Hey this is Kunjal!

This is a Kyrielle( the first three paras) which is a French form of poem. Each line of the poem consists of eight syllables. There is repetition or refrain of one line throughout the quatrains ( stanza with four lines). A rhyme scheme like aabB will work in a Kyrielle.

Would you like to participate?

We have organised the December Poetry Contest. A poetry piece delineating the end of year, or what december means to you, everything is in your hands of creativity! To know more about the Contest click here.

‘The unlived part’

Hey there, Its Khushi. Please view this post on the site!

The day before yesterday was yet another day of my student life, studying, reading, listening to music and other routine activities. But there was a slight difference, a slight absurdness and also a slight meaning in it. A childish musing came to my mind. I remembered my younger self.

 There was one person less in the world.  Actually, there were many people who would have lost their lives the same day but only one with whom I was familiar – that of General Bipin Rawat.

You know I had never thought I would write such a post, and when I asked my friend Kunjal if this was a good idea, she said she didn’t even know him and he was merely a name to her. She asked, “You wanna write for some acknowledgement thing?”

Something , despite her jabs, still gave me all more reason to write this. 

On Independence Day and republic day ceremonies, my dad would ask me ” do you know who that is?” And I’d proudly say ” yes, the chief of defense staff”. The answer which he had told me some time ago and which he always asked for. 

It was not as if we had any personal relation, that I felt some emptiness upon hearing about his death.  It was merely a feeling of losing another Indian.

And it’s important for me to state that there were others who lost their lives, other defense personnel, his wife, the person who piloted the plane.

Right now for me, it’s not about how well I know the person, it is more of losing a citizen.Everyday people lose their lives, everyday some people sit down, look and reflect. And all of a sudden an expression of regret  comes over them.

‘They didn’t do enough.’

All regrets coming in out of a vacuum created on losing the person you love.

What about the person who dies? What about some people who die at the right time but too early? Hand moving ahead for the ledge only for the whole body to be whooshed back down by a heavy force.

Gen Bipin Rawat had envisaged a major change in the Army. He wanted to integrate the army, the air force and the navy. Just like a family bond which will respond better for future security needs. The work will be done by the next CDS officer.

Many people die with unfulfilled passionate dreams. I think all I wanted to say is that it was my realization that we do not live our lives enough, blaming others and trying to bring a change in what they do and how well they do is something , but carrying out the limited hours we have, that’s what we are missing.   

Let’s live more, act less. Let us be unprovoked by interventions and work hard to live. For what we continuously say is  worth living in our lives.

Hopefully some of us reading this post will achieve this.

And I hope one of them is me. ……

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~ Written by Khushi

Edited by Kunjal

~DuoDisseminators

‘ The Bench – A SHORT STORY’

An attempt to write something new… an attempt to gather attention… please read this story till the end.. Would love to know everyone ‘s views😃.( Anything simple will work the best!😅 Dont contemplate too much)

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ORIGINAL CREDITS: http://adigaskell.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/sitting-alone.jpg

THE BENCH- A SHORT STORY;

1.)    “ Did I ever stop to say I care?

When I didn’t seek to hear it to?

When you weren’t so sure that I ‘d be there,

Did I ever show love to you?

2.)    A wounded animal leaps with a broken leg.  It continues to do so until the pain eases. And fades away.

  Once, there lived a lively man named Robert. Robert Gupta. He started his Monday like every other person. He ate his breakfast, a half-made sandwich like many office goers. Often, cursed at the traffic and people. because they are existing to be cursed at.. and different varieties in that… His grudging boss who called him in hours, non-applicable hours..  even while driving home he would connect his device to his car system… Afterall to catch up to next day at office. Like every other being, once in his life.. he could not be the master.. He was a servant to his colleagues… who wanted to hear a joke from his self occupied self,… the inalienable nature of his boss was to annoy and by agreeing to be annoyed and giving up his precious time, he was a self-conscious servant.. Serving others though, is not always at diffidence to onself.. one ‘s health and one’s pleasures… He was a servant of love afterall.  Self desired.. self-made self groomed love. Love imploring for more to happen.  An assiduous engineer, because he struggled for a pay raise, made a fool of himself every time he showcased himself before his love. That is how it is called? Or who is called. My love.

Pia…

But more than that, drifting away from the myopic scope, just like all others he was a servant of life.. And sometimes, no always.. you can’t dictate life to plunge down there rather than attacking at the exact point.. 

Here… 

And there once lived such a  lively man.. lively because he remained active in the worst ( boss, office, job, pay raise) and of course he was an active onlooker, a participator at the best life still offered him.

It has been two years. Robert stares at his bed post, and turns off the alarm of his phone. It has been longer than anticipated.. 6.AM. Robert goes inside to freshen himself… Life must take a turn..  Robert, his shoulders shrugging, turns to apply paste to his brush. He does not look up at the mirror. He prefers to keep his identity reverted to his phone. But that too will run out of interesting stuff sooner or later. It’s a Sunday. But this man has risen himself up at his office’s alarm. With nothing better to do, he goes into the kitchen to make coffee for him.. A picture of him and Pia is there at the kitchen wall as he works. But he seems too tired to react to some “subversions”, some distractions of his past life and melt down and cry .   Yet Robert declares himself enslaved…  He declares everyday..

Its 10a.m and still a Sunday..  Locking the door behind him, he turns to walk ahead and coughs in the winter air. He does not speak until he has reached his destination.. it’s a fountain. A beautiful fountain which is producing water and reflecting some of the sunlight as it splashes down around it. Its hard to find such a sight.  And Robert the only onlooker seats himself before the fountain over an iron wrought bench and he settles himself down.

‘Hello Rob what brings you here’, an old man wearing a heavy coat and groggy glasses not too fastly, calls to Robert. It is more of a greeting and less of a question. The old man seats himself beside his Sunday companion and Robert passes him a smile in return..

‘Nothing just the usual uncle’ Robert says in reply.

‘Just the usual?’, the old man pushes his stick forward. ‘A fine man like you must be engaged at this hour. I find this peculiar and rather very embarrassing for yourself!’

‘ Engagements are proposed. And I am too short of proposals’, Robert says smiling, looking at the old man.

‘Your smile seems rather toothed though’ the old man tweaks a tone and stares at Robert with fake accusing eyes.

 ‘So where did we leave?’

‘Ahh at the point when you were to tell me about your engagement with the girl,’  Robert exclaims. These days the  only surety he is aware of was a  cliff-hanger from someone else ‘s story.

Oh, oh yes! The girl. The engagement did not happen though.’

Robert turned sharply and asked ‘Why?’

‘ You see I had approached her too soon.. or maybe we weren’t meant to be together. That is what I think, sitting here. But that time I was enraged inside, overpowered by a tremendous sadness. Afterall she left me.’

‘She d-‘,

‘Oh no not like what happened to you. But very similar to your case. She left me for another person.. another guy’

The old man continues hitting his stick to the ground,’ Alright he had a good nose.. good nose… maybe that is afterall.. yes! She left a fine chap. It was purely her loss.. She left me after all’ 

‘ You must have been sa- ‘ Oh sad I was.The old man jumped, maybe realising he was approaching too fast,’ The guy had good features. Ok. I agree he was affluent. What did I have then? A struggling folk into some ‘business’. I still remember him though… never thought this bad from him.. , the man grinds his stick to the ground.

‘ Oh too sad… too sad..’ the old man says as he reverts to Robert ‘ I had befallen down.. I felt dejected. I felt the greatest remorse of the world.. I felt an itching sadness beside my bed.. I felt bad.. terrible.. ‘

‘And?’, Robert asks. In an urgent tone he asks for more.

‘ And wasted.. that was it! Yes the worst feeling ever it gave to people around.. to me it brought nothing.’

The old man continues, ‘ But I was fortunate enough to be guided by some event and realised it sooner than later.. I felt why is it my fault? Why do I have to curse myself for not being rich to be not born with a silver spoon..  Moreover, It is as if I am cursing my parents more than myself… And strangely Robert, though I was expected to- . Robert is looking at the old man but with  a quite strange expression as the next will flow out of the old man. Robert ‘s mouth forms an oval ‘O’

Pia is looking at him, her fists clamped down over her lap and saying ‘ You enjoy this don’t you. This.. feeling of numbness.. feeling of doing nothing.. approaching nothing.. trying nothing new.. because new always tends to bring struggles.’

‘So’  Pia continues waving her hand ‘ you enjoy this na… You don’t have to do anything.. You just blame it on what has happened to you.. You don’t kiss the picture on the wall and cry every night.. You have already lost the feeling.. So why acting so numb? Why making me feel the accused one. Didn’t I give you enough love to show’. Robert though breaks the illusion, thinking some illusions are meant to be broken.

‘To put in you some deal, Didn’t she Robert, in you?The old man is speaking. Robert nods, suddenly disturbed by a new type of headache.

To see each and every relationship in a new way?the old man asks with concern full on his face. He pats Robert. Robert looks around at the sudden turn of events and talks.

‘ Love is what life has to offer.. don’t destroy your life from having it Rob. Don’t make yourself unnecessarily burdened and tied to your past. You also have a present… ,  the old man smiles at Robert who looks flustered..

‘ What happened to you’, Robert blurts out at the old man.

‘I see … you want an ending..  Maybe I said all that too soon. Aging people can  hurry with the plot climax.. an ending. He chuckles exclaiming  ‘ Like the moral of the story before the story itself.’

He continues, ‘ After she had broken off the plan of engagement, and since I was in my car, I had to revert my vehicle to a different destination. It was uncalled for.. so I swirled and swirled, tidied up the roads, took turns back,.. and tried to find a new destination… because all of it, He presses ‘ was uncalled for.’

 So, I spent some whole months.. dejected.. wasted . Smelled puffs of cigarettes. I made regular excavations to a pub.  Did not sleep… awaited nothing..  woke up  everyday to be afraid to look at my reflection.., The old man sighs and stops’ existed without meaning.’ What more do you want to know?’ he says sharply and Robert looks at him with some familiarity uncalled for..

‘ He says, ‘ Life had been beautiful with your auntie though. ’

‘At some place. Call it a bench if you may.  I befriended someone… Someone old.. you see old people have a perspective..  I changed.. Not completely but yes I did…’ Robert looks at him flustered and gets up from the bench.

‘ But I did change.. the main aspect of me did change..  and I want the same to happen to you.. You come everyday and sit on the same bench. When people arrive at the same place, they are either arriving for someone’

Robert had already taken big steps away from the bench. Accusation runs sharp in his eyes for the old man who elicited some names out of him.. to lecture him sometime.

‘Robert’, the old man called. Robert turns out of habit.

‘People arrive at the same place every day, they come about for two reasons, either to wait for someone to arrive, waiting for the arrival of something sure- Robert turns to go away. ‘ Hear the old man! The phrases don’t come everyday’. Robert stops as well.

The old man continues, ‘Or they demand some answers of their own, unsure of the question they want to ask.’

‘ But I see a question in you. Whether or not?  and according to an old man who believes he has some perspective I believe, don’t accuse her. Start anew.’ But Robert walks away.

‘You are not entitled to this bench.’, the old man shouts and starts feeding the ducks. 

And the recipients are enveloped under a beautiful morning despite their mood. Afterall, the sun can never stop to present itself before us.

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3.)    ‘ I feel like blaming myself. But you tell me the reason.’

                                THE END.

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And i guess that is the end. i felt it needed an uplift or twist here and there. but some ends do not require a twist do they? Btw this is kunjal. I honestly dont know how it is.😅 But khushi, my best friend and partner really liked the style in it( i got a good inspiration from someone’s blog/blogs)

But for all i want to know,😅 ( and cool my curiosity) how was it?

See you guys in the next post…!! and check out a form that we had created in a previous post of ours here.. Do fill it guys! its for everyone!

SOME LATEST POSTS( In case you missed):

https://duodisseminator81314070.wordpress.com/2021/11/12/faith-in-the-wrong-way/

https://duodisseminator81314070.wordpress.com/2021/11/04/happy-diwali/

https://duodisseminator81314070.wordpress.com/2021/11/03/voting-a-short-story/

https://duodisseminator81314070.wordpress.com/2021/10/29/the-noble-man/

~DuoDisseminators

” Not fair!..”

‘Sahab, do you also want a bun?’, the old lady asked.

Leo looked at his chai cup and affirmed ‘ yes that will be good’.

 ‘Our maggi will  be ready in 5 mins or so’, Leo said as he sat down beside Tarun who was going through his phone.

Leo turned his seat to the old lady  in the stall,

‘Do you go down to buy grocery and essentials?’

‘ Yes sahab I go’

‘ not your husband?’, Leo asked with interest.

‘No sir just me’, the old lady answered and turned back to her kadhai, moving the onion tomato vegetable mixture.

Tarun had navigated a maggi stall some distance away from their bike which they had visibly missed on the way. It was a small shop next to a a hut. The walls were wearing off their cheap pink colour. Unmatching with the pink color of the walls, blue plastic chairs were unkemptly arranged around green tables. Flies roamed in the air.

Tarun put his chai cup and asked, ‘ What did you really mean by ushering in the welcoming part?’

Leo who was stuffed, looked at him and replied ‘ I meant bhalloing all the healings’

‘What?’

He gobbled his bun and chai and enunciated ‘ I meant allowing all the feelings’

‘But why would you want me to do that stupid. Don’t you want to enjoy this trip’

Leo looked at him and said ‘Then Let us go to Bhula Tal  Lake. I guess we misse-

‘ nah no  I don’t want to go there let us just. Tarun saw Leo doing the this is why stare. But really Tarun couldn’t travel much. He was exhausted both mentally and physically.

‘just stay here, tarun finished as he sipped his chai.

‘see a h – a  ah, Tarun began again.

 ‘Like I don’t know where to begin. When I started my plans, got a job at Cadence I was happy for some time. Not a long time. Did I know I will end up even more fragmented tired, sleepless and ugly because of my job..

Tarun fumbled and continued pointing at h, ‘ Just look at me Leo. Tarun pointed at his face. Leo stared at him.

White hairs are appearing, big dark circles around my eyes. I can’t survive without my phone. I’ll haplessly  stroll around on Facebook and Instagram knowing the social media gives me the greatest dissatisfaction. My shoulders are hunched all the time as if I am reappearing for a competitive exam.  I just thought my life will be set after examination, college.. Tarun ended, sighing.

‘Maggi is ready sahab’, came the voice of the old lady.

Leo , who was staring at Tarun, got up to take the plates from the lady.

‘ Now … You know  Leo said as he settled down back, Life will never be settled. After examination, tension about college, after college, tension about job, after job tension about boss, after boss well tension about family making..’

‘ Ha! Tarun retorted with a tone while eating his maggi. I was sure about to make one. But Rashmi had to deal with another matter first. Her brain tumour..’ Tarun stopped as if he had given in too much. He quietly turned and concentrated on his maggi.

‘ People don’t know the wheels of a brand-new car will wear around in time.’, Leo said, turning his maggi around his fork.

‘And when they do, they will do a few services. But afterwards they will settle on to the old dreary slow version of the car.’

‘ And you know what is interesting, Leo looked at Tarun who was eating his maggi, ‘ they blame it on life. Life is badd… life is unfair….’

Tarun looked at him.

‘Life needs services, Tarun. Nothing is promised good or gold here’, Leo looked at Tarun who stared at him.

‘But Rashmi She is not here anymore right so what does it matter??, Tarun stood up from his chair. ‘This place.. all it brings is bad memories…’

He took his maggi plate and went ahead, seating himself on the roadside. Leo followed him now.

‘ It matters Tarun. I have learnt this much from my mother that it is good to open up. It means like you are not settling into the old dreary dim version your life has taken up. You are turning your head to a new clearing’

‘ It’s difficult.’, tarun said after sometime ‘Not for you. But for people like me, Yes.’

‘ and we are doing good. We just don’t need to lose our trail and become lazy scoundrels’

‘ But What can I do now? Should I just forget her like that?’, Tarun asked.

‘Should you just forget the last days when she was with us?’, Leo countered back.

‘She was all but against being pitied. She wanted to just feel normal and better during her last days. It wasn’t even about you’

“ The thing is Tarun.., Leo exhaled OUT and said ‘maybe she realised it better than all of us… to live a good life till it ends. Her end was just a week more away. But she did not already die one week before’

Tarun turned to look at Leo. Leo continued ‘ we will never stop feeling depressed at instances.  This is  very normal dude. The thing is.. each time we feel low isn’t the end of everything. We can always talk, do something relaxing, and pay attention to ourselves. My mom and sister keep saying that men keep holding things up. It inevitably comes out as vomit. And picturing vomit does it really solve the problem? Just abhorrent shit it is.’

Tarun asked ‘  I didn’t pay much attention?’. It was less of a question and more of an answer. Leo nodded and started eating. Tarun snorted and looked ahead.

Cuckoos chirped in the air. Pigeons descended on the roadside moving around.  Distant moving of bikes and cars on the road ahead could be heard. The shoving of utensils was perceptible.

It was this much  silent.

Then Tarun, as if being nudged by a sudden itch, broke the silence that had taken over. As if remembering something , he shuffled out his wallet from the back of his  jeans. He took out the  passport size photo of Rashmi out of his wallet. He looked at Rashmi who  was dressed in a plain blue shirt.

Bald.

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 Weak.

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Yet smiling and posing  for the camera.

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Almost smiling.

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Obstinately.

 Tarun ‘s head felt befuddled. As if someone had pushed a hand through his mind, disfiguring the parts. It took a tone and he started sweating over his head. Soon pits of drops formed below his lashes.

‘Ok you know what?’, Tarun spoke, this time through bleary eyes.

Leo who was finishing his maggi grinned at him and asked ‘what?’

‘ It’s not going to be easy.’

‘Had I said something in French?’, Leo asked.

No it is never going to be easy…

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There are two idioms ‘took to heart’ and ‘took heart’. ‘Took to heart’ means to let something deeply affect oneself. ‘Took heart’ means to cheer oneself up and move on.  Likewise, there is a thin line, an almost indiscernible one, between deterioration and acceptance. Though as it is with most things, there Is a definite  possibility to see that line and understand  which side one is on to..

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In this hurried life, every person seeking their own goal

No time that allows existence of a calm, tranquil soul

All of us busy looking for unanswered dreams.

As we look at the broken hearts with low esteem. 

The question perhaps is to feel or to not  feel? 

But ain’t a life without emotions inhuman, unreal, unfathoming? 

We plan for so many places, so many sights to travel and see.

But if a sight  one, once  arises a feeling.

More than just the  ‘hilarity’ it accompanies

Just take a pause from discovering everything.

Or from discovering 

Other than  ourselves only.

~Leo.V

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PART 1

PART 2

PART 3

So hey guyss we come to the end of this series!! Hope you all liked it😃Well both of us enjoyed being Tarun and Leo. What about you? If you are new here you can definately check on the other two parts!

Which character could you relate to most? This was a project we both enjoyed doing very much( We fought very much!) Poetry credits and the illustrations credits go to Khushi while the story writing credits go to me( Kunjal)😃

Finally we would love to read all of your thoughts below!

Au Revoir!

~ DuoDisseminators

FILTERED LIGHT OR LIFE?

FILTERED LIGHT OR LIFE?

~DuoDisseminators

‘GRATEFULLNESS…. Anyone??’

So yesterday, after having our dinner, we decided to go out for a drive around 9:30-10ish . We were on the highway when we saw this man on a bike. The man had a balloon twisted animal hung at his back. And that balloon animal was the only colourful thing there was in the dark of night, above the brown jacket, and black bike of that man. 

Well, obviously he was on a bike so he rode very fast and soon he was nowhere to be seen, but he did leave something behind for me – a memory of the balloon animal. 

I asked my mom later, why would such a grown up man , late at night be driving with a balloon animal on his back. And because of her longer years of experience of life than me she answered smiling “ He must have been a thoughtful father, because even though he is so late to reach home but he still thought of his child and brought something for him.”

At that moment I started imagining the happiness the child would experience when his father comes home and  gives him that gift . But thinking about that I realised that there were many instances when my father gave me something but I hastily threw it away because I did not like it. 

But after seeing that man , I noticed that there were too many sentiments attached to even the smallest of actions which mostly go unnoticed or unappreciated. 

Think about the food we eat………….takes hours to prepare and mere minutes to finish off and then point out the imperfection of the taste. 

We end our day with a full stomach though. Would you sneak up at night to eat something else?You and I won’t even be awake to do that.

Let us together think about what everyone , you and me here will finish up in a matter of days.

But which took a lot of crushing to prepare.

How about the books? Some bring too much comfort and feelings. And we drowse off with our last thought or a tear or a giggle. Some do not happen to be as expected.

There can be thousands of arguments why they just weren’t good for us. They were maybe too rich in vocabulary, too mature, too historical but…

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But they still make us drowse in an eventual sleep. At night.

In fact, if anything before us would have been rather too incomplete or just half of what it was fully possible of achieving will our day ever end? A good ‘THE END’?

 We would squirm and squish, twist and turn. Be it an empty stomach or our own undone checklist.

So whatever makes you sleep makes you dream, and wake up with a yawn… We must appreciate it a little bit. Criticism is important, but it is not a liability anywhere and everywhere.

I am not saying go start in a pleasing round of flattery when that is apparently not the case.

You may right now find a thousand reasons to contradict this post.

But if you do this once, what would the end outcome be? Too bad? Or worse still, just better than our previous version. Right?

Maybe there just won’t be an argument with someone over how bad or little we spoke.  My mother won’t get frustrated if I appreciate her as well as change the way of pointing out where she went wrong.

There might be a mutual understanding.

Isn’t that we all want? understanding? but fail by creating a misunderstanding?

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Written By Khushi. M

Edited by YouKnowWho.( anyways it is Kunjal)

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P.S this post is scheduled. We will both be at school then for exams. Anyone having future deciding things as well?

And Question of the day:

How would you want someone to be grateful to you?

‘Lonesome Or Remembrance?’

To all those who lost… expectations… hope…. people….

Sometime when truth,

Stretched out too far.

Where it was not needed,

It should have stayed afar.

Afar.

Sometime when plan,

Had been laid.

Worked was about to for real,

But in there crashed, the forlorn affairs.

Affairs.

Sometime when what was expected,

Encumbered to be tucked, and get lost.

And thus distanced away,

But came as it had to.

To.

Then Sometime, when  ah! ‘envision’

Just lost its true deal,

Until hope could be seeded.

Already inside something changed – the feel.

Feel.

And reality crashed,

Like Thunders surprising one night.

Was everything a drunken slumber?

 And I felt cruelty as the world prickled me- ridiculed

Ridiculed.

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Maybe take a break, dear.

From all these  harsh remembrances,

Lonesome it is, although-

Remember when you stare away.

Into the scenic beauty before you.

Maybe everything cannot be a part of this tale…

Can it?

“Only one way to find out....“

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There will be harsh remembrances. They will render us, all of us…. alone from the ‘normal’. Try try a bit, and start again. Let us not have this ‘ we didn’t try’. Wishes and desires can advent again. Plans or people or setting will change, but who is to say this tale ends here? Only one way to find out. Resume living.

~From DuoDisseminators.

Why to deal with them~ Problems

Illustration by Khushi and Kunjal

Our school recently informed us that from now on they would start taking oral tests , better known as VIVA. For checking whether we truly comprehend things in classes or not. It was our first time giving it and I for one was scared and nervous. How difficult it would be to face a teacher one on one but obviously I had to give the vivas if I was to score good. Secondly I had understood things, and I didn’t want to spoil my vivas with my nervousness.

On the day of my Chemistry viva, 1 hour before the scheduled time I started feeling jittery because it was my class teacher who would question me. I started walking here and there because there were butterflies in my stomach . 

At that time, my younger cousin entered the room, he had crayons in his hand and a paper in another. I had told him to draw a night sky so that he would not disturb me but here he was and out of anger and nervousness perhaps I shouted at him to leave the room . 

He looked at me with his innocent eyes and asked softly

“ Di ! there is only 1 moon but how many stars should I make ?”

There are billions and trillions of stars aren’t there? But what would I tell him?

“ You can draw as many as you like. Just leave the room “ I said

“ As many as i like??” he asked with wide eyes “ there are so  many stars in the sky but all surrounding just one moon?? “

“ Yes all surrounding just one big moon “ I replied

“Or they are scattered all over. Not surrounding anything! ”

“ Yeah” I replied gruffly.

“ di why are you so angry ?” he said 

“ I am not angry, I am just nervous, I have a test and then some pending assignments and then…. Nevermind just go and draw something the sky if you wish”

“Oh so you are like the moon. Centre of it all! ” He said and left the room.

He came back to my utter utter  displeasure teasing “ Not centre of attraction, centre of all problems” I had to give in. My life appeared..

                          

Name tag I should truly wear!

Truly dark. 

I sat there to just revise once again but my brother’s words resonated in my head. 

Maybe I was making too big a mountain out of a mole? Maybe I was scared when instead I should be happy that I got to interact one on one. And what better opportunity than now to actually show who you are. But you know what? I didn’t apply this to my chemistry viva that time. Of course. I felt nervous but the viva went just fine!.( If you care to know!)

But more than that I think the proposition in my mind which is something different was just wrong. Which means he is right. My cousin. We all do live in our own universes. Where we are the moon surrounded by different stars of different shapes and sizes and the sun. But the moon is illuminated by its surroundings, right? The sun and the stars. For us our biggest flaw or the biggest challenge is like the sun – massive and hot. Every challenge seems big. But in the end it is the light of the sun which when reflected makes the moon and us, who we are , illuminate.. ( Not exactly beautiful, yes, but it may soon be in your hands!)

And the remaining stars are the everyday problems some big, some small but all of them a beautiful attribute to define our universe.

IF the moon starts hating the stars ( Which cannot happen, maybe some scientific deed could explain) what will it be other than a mere dark spot, just like our lives without obstacles- dull and boring. 

We all need ups and downs in our life, maybe that is why a sudden change in our exam pattern was required , to surprise us, yes but also to enhance our personalities. We all like to hear the success stories filled with chunks and chunks of problems, not luck. 

I know it is not that big of an incident to learn this from, it was just a viva ( to say that so simply though is still a big deal because it felt big that time) , there are bigger problems , Yes I fully agree. 

But learning can come from anywhere I believe. Maybe what we now think as stars are just waiting for us to learn our lesson 🙂 It is if we just don’t get too scared away. Try once. Going in? We will too!

Written by KHUSHI.M

~DuoDisseminators

Heyy there everyone. We all deal with problems we do and you do too! it was just to give you an understanding that why we can’t and shouldn’t wish for a problem free life! Hope you all liked this post. A deep topic indeed( Not restricted to the current time only) it is and we would love to hear anything and everything from you!!.

Also check out our previous post here