T O D A YT O D A YT O D A YT O D A YT O D A Y

On many occasions in India’s post independence era, one questionhas always arisen- just how developed has India become? When will itbe considered fully ‘developed’ in every sense of the word? Whether ornot the answer to that question was found is still debatable, however,the Vasant Valley family sure had a lot to say...

“India will be developed when it achieves a 100% literacy rate, andwhen there is education in the remotest of areas.”- Mrs. Marya

“When there will be no discrimination amongst people, and everyonewill be considered one.”- Nikita Chowhan, 10

“When people begin to respect their country, and everyone living in it.”- Zara Adil, 11

“Def initely people getting better education; more resources per person.Agriculture would also become more mechanised.”- Shiv Mohan Dutt, VVS Alum ’07

“A developed India? An India where women and children can walkwithout fear. Breaking religious divides which encourage religion basedpolitical parties which only divide the country more.”- Rishabh Mukherji, VVS Alum ’10

THE GREATNESS OF A NATION AND ITS MORAL

PROGRESS CAN BE JUDGED BY THE WAY ITS

ANIMALS ARE TREATED.

MAHATMA GANDHI

More than Just a Birkin BagPakistan’s new Foreign Minister, Hina Rabbani Khar, visited India on the 26th of July for a meeting with her Indiancounterpart S.M.Krishna, in the hope that the two ‘frenemy’ neighbours could ‘move forward’ toward a future thatwould be equally beneficial for both. The meeting may have been routine enough; the agenda consisting of confidencebuilding measures and India’s concerns on terror and Jammu & Kashmir. India also provided the Pakistani delegationwith a revised list of the ‘most wanted’ fugitives, numbering forty eight. So what exactly about this meet has sent themedia into a frenzy and become a story of vast public appeal?Could it be the Minister herself? Rabbani Khar is nothing if not... unconventional; not only the youngest FM at 34 butalso the first female to hold the post. Sophisticated and beautiful, there’s no wonder the aam aadmi has taken a shineto her, and we needn’t look any further than her gorgeous Hermés made Birkin bag (worth Rs.17 lakh) and thestunning Cavalli sunglasses, not to mention the Choo shoes and the string of flawless South Sea pearls around herneck to understand the interest shown by the aam aurat. And the interest isn’tconfined to India (or Pakistan, for that matter) – it’s worldwide. Womeneverywhere have been clamouring for the bag (and the shoes, and thesunglasses, and the pearls) ever since they appeared on HRK’s person –Hermés bags now flying off the shelves. Rabbani Khar has also been grantedwith her own abbreviation passing into common parlance – HRK is now ahousehold name.It is of course a major point of interest that the news doesn’t contain muchinformation on the politics of it all; all people are discussing are the personalaspects, past or present, and with much speculation about the future. Despitethe fact that the Minister’s outfit possibly has received much more attentionthan it would have if she were a man – indeed more attention than her policiesand political prowess, my personal opinion is that it is time that someone alittle unorthodox and a little younger took on such an important post. Nothing very much has changed in the relationsbetween the two countries since the time they have existed independently, at least not for the better. Maybe what itneeds is someone new... maybe it’s time for India too, to follow in Pakistan’s footsteps.

Vani Shriya, 12

SCHOOL WATCHSCHOOL WATCHSCHOOL WATCHSCHOOL WATCHSCHOOL WATCH

HRK: HAILED AS THE LATEST STYLE ICON

Hkkjr Hkkjr Hkkjr Hkkjr Hkkjr Hkkjr Hkkjr Hkkjr Hkkjr Hkkjr Hkkjr HkkjrHkkjr Hkkjr Hkkjr Hkkjr Hkkjr Hkkjr Hkkjr Hkkjr Hkkjr Hkkjr Hkkjr HkkjrAugust, 2011

INDIA ON INDEPENDENCE

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Born in Japan - his father, when asked to identify his newborn baby in thematernity ward simply answered, ‘The brown one is mine’- Mr. SreenathSreenevasan’s business card now reads ‘Associate Professor at the TheColumbia University Graduate School of Journalism’. From Sreetips to Sreetalk,the street talk of social media, Mr. Sreenevasan is a social networking guru,having mastered both its sides of business (LinkedIn) and pleasure (Facebook).He began his informal, ‘American-style’ discussion on Social Media Trends atthe American Centre in New Delhi, by informing us of the paradigm shift fromOrkut to Facebook as the dominant social network worldwide- particularly in

India- in the mere period of June 2009 to December 2010. Why do Indians love Facebook so much? "Because they're nosy". Onlythe Brazilians didn’t jump on the bandwagon, so engaged in Orkut that they consider it synonymous with the internet. Unfortunately,Mr. Sreenevasan’s personal favourite site name, Wretch, is no longer a player in the global social networking arena. @sree (his Twitter name) showed us a graphic of global Facebook connections- represented by white lines curving across themap- which whitewashed the entire east coast of America and dotted the cosmopolitan cities of India with white glows resemblingstars. Another fascinating graph indicated individual Facebook connections between communities with political tensions; Iran-Palestine connections at rock bottom and India-Pakistan links at an all time high after a 100% spike this summer. It was evidentthat social media has a groundbreaking a political impact, most recently observed as the driving force of the Arab Spring and thesubsequent censorship of the word ‘Jasmine’ on Google in China. This effort was made to prevent the possibility of a similar antigovernment uprising in the state, but may also have serious implications for the aromatherapy industry.He discussed the nuances of Facebook, from photo tags- “That strip of photos on the top of your profile- are those your bestpictures? No! They’re random photos some idiot friend tagged you in!” to how your basic information is more suited for anobituary- “Studied at, Worked at; they make you sound like you’re dead”. He credited- rather, discredited- these whimsicalchanges in the layout to the brilliance, yet arrogance that is Mark Zuckerberg- “He thinks he knows what’s best for you”. Heintroduced us to the concept of the ‘Real Name Culture’, executed by employees who track down and terminate multiple profilesand fake identities and cautioned us to use our privacy settings constructively and be weary of what we type in our chats (FBdetects every word you write and sells your information to make money through ads), the photos we upload (FB gains copyrightof all the photos on its site) and what we post on walls (your parents might see it ). He spoke to us about the revolutionaryGoogle+, the brainchild of two geniuses whom he very nonchalantly referred to as ‘Larry’ and ‘Sergey’, and the ‘Sparks’ (newstitbits catered to your interests), ‘Circles’ (blocking off ‘creepy cousins’ from stalking what you did last Friday night) and ‘Hangouts’(facilitating group video chats for upto 10 people, giving Skype a run for its money) that went into it. With over 20 million profilesin 3 weeks, the question now posed is, ‘Will Google + toppled Facebook?”Professor Sreenevasan was pretty impressed that we had 900 Facebook friends each, and we equally admired that he didn’t tryto ‘friend’ his kids on Facebook.

Mallika Pal, 12

What the Facebook?

sarla BaaYaa maoM kha jaae tao saamaaijak naoTvaik-gMa samaaja ko laaogaaoM ko saaqa saMbaMQa ivakisat krnao ka ek Aasaana maaQyama hO.saamaaijak naoTvaik-gMa saa[T mauF,t saMdoSa,blaaigaMga tsvaIr BaNDarna GaTnaa inamaM~Na Aaid jaOsaI Anya saovaaeÐ p`dana krto hO. saamaaijak naoTvaik-gMa khIM BaI AaOrkBaI BaI kI jaa saktI hO. AaOr tao AaOr yah saba kovala cauTikyaaoM ka kama hO. Aaja saamaaijak naoTvaik-gMa AamalaaogaaoM ko saamaaijak jaIvana ka ek Ait mah%vapUNa- ihssaa bana gayaa hO.Aaja kI yauvaa pIZ,I saamaaijak naoTvaik-gMa koibanaa jaI hI nahIM saktI. saca tao yah hO ik [na saamaaijak naoTvaik-gMa saa[TaoM nao ApnaI hI ek vaOiSvak duinayaa banaalaI hO Apnaa hI AanaÐlaa[na samaaja.saamaaijak naoTvaik-gMa saa[T kovala laaogaaoM kao nae irStoM banaanao, ]nhoM inaBaanao tqaa Apnao pirvaar AaOr ima~aoM sao jauD,nao AaOrsaMbaMQaaoM kao majabaUt krnao ka maaOka doto hO.ibanaa iksaI kiznaa[- ko laaoga mauF,t maoM nae daost banaa sakto hO yaa piricatlaaogaaoM sao saMcaar kr sakto hO caaho vah Baart sao AmarIka hao yaa jaapana sao caIna.Aaja saamaaijak naoTvaik-gMa saa[T rcanaa%mak AiBavyai@t ka nayaa maaQyama bana gae hO.yah saa[T saMcaar kaOSala kao sauQaarto hO. [sako Alaavaa ijana saMkaocaI laaogaaoM kaodUsaraoM ko saaqa saMbaMQa sqaaipt krnaoo maoM kiznaa[- haotI hO vah baoiJaJak [na saa[T ko maaQyama sao Aaramadayak baat caIt kr sakto hO. saamaaijak naoTvak- ka ihssaabannao sao jaIvana pr sakra%mak p`Baava pD,ta hO laaogaaoM kao Aarama phuÐcata hO AaOr inarMtr kama sao CuTkara imala jaata hO. yah saa[T k[- saamaaijak maud\daoM kao BaI baZ,avaadonao ko ilae ek maMca ko $p maoM [stmaala ike jaa rho hO va jaaga$kta fOlaa rho hO.samaaja tao manauYya kI sabasao baD,I ja$rt hO. [nasaana ka janma hI ek saamaaijak saMbaMQa sao haota hO.[-Svar nao laaogaaoM kao imalaanao ko ilae hI tao ]nakI rcanaa kIhO.saamaaijak naoTvaik-gMa tao manauYya kI iftrt maoM hO.AaOr [sao laaga AiBaSaap khto hO ? yah kOsaa AiBaSaap hO jaao pUrI duinayaa kao jaaoD,nao ka kama krta hO ?yaid saamaaijak naoTvaik-gMa saa[TaoM ka sadupyaaoga ikyaa jaae vah vardana hO.magar du$pyaaoga ike jaanao pr vah AiBaSaap ka $p lao saktI hO. saamaaijak naoTvaik-gMasaa[T BaI saurxaa saavaQaainayaaoM Aayau saaImaaAaoM, gaaopnaIyata saoiTMgsa Aaid kI salaamatI dotI hO magar ]naka palana nahIM ikyaa jaata.Aqaa-t\ ]naka du$pyaaoga ikyaa jaatahO.prntu yaid [sa trh doKa jaae tao saBaI kuC AiBaSaap hO.iva&ana hI AiBaSaap hO tr@kI hI AiBaSaap hO pUrI duinayaa hI AiBaSaap hO.Aaja kI duinayaa AapkI mauT\zI maoM hO.basa i@lak kIijae AaOr saba kuC AapkI AaÐKaoM ko saamanao haija,r hO.iva&ana ka ek Ad\Baut AaivaYkar hO kmPyaUTr AaOr[sapr saamaaijak naoTvaik-gMa tao saaonao pr sauhagaa hO. saamaaijak naoTvaik-gMa saa[-T Bagavaana ka Ad\Baut vardana hO AiBaSaap nahIM.

Aasqaa kamara 10

saamaaijak naoTvaik-gMa yauvaa pIZ,I ko ilae vardanasaamaaijak naoTvaik-gMa yauvaa pIZ,I ko ilae vardanasaamaaijak naoTvaik-gMa yauvaa pIZ,I ko ilae vardanasaamaaijak naoTvaik-gMa yauvaa pIZ,I ko ilae vardanasaamaaijak naoTvaik-gMa yauvaa pIZ,I ko ilae vardana

VASANT VALLEY TODAY PAGE - 3

R.I.P News of the World

The News International phone hacking scandal has taken the world by storm. So much so, that journalism ethics and morals are

being questioned worldwide. Be it India or Australia, it’s the top story on every news station. But for those of you living under a

rock, this is what went down.

The News International phone hacking scandal is a controversy involving the 168-year old British tabloid newspaper News of the

World, published by News International. It centres on allegations that individuals working for the paper have engaged in phone

hacking, including additional charges on journalists who have been obtaining illicit information by bribing police officers and exercising

an ‘improper’ influence on politicians. Originally, it was thought that the News of the World was hacking the phones of British

celebrities like Sienna Miller and members of the Royal Family. However, recent revelations that the phones of murdered school girl

Milly Dowler and the relatives of deceased soldiers and families of the victims of the 2007 bombings in

London have also been tapped have spread public outrage across the world, forcing Rupert Murdoch

(chairman and chief executive officer of News Corporation, the parent company of News International)

to shut it down.

The scandal has led to several high-profile resignations and arrests and Rupert Murdoch and his

son James were summoned to provide evidence before a parliamentary media committee. Ironically,

the Murdoch who was the highlight of the gruelling parliamentary session wasn’t Rupert Murdoch

or his son, but his wife Wendy Murdoch. It was Wendy who lunged across the hearing room to

defend her husband when after about two hours of intense questioning, a protester stormed the

witness table, trying to hit Mr. Murdoch with a shaving cream pie. Instantly she became a favourite

across the globe. Sites including Facebook and Twitter made comments like, “When Wendy Murdoch

does press ups, she doesn’t push herself up, she pushes the world down.” But her fans aren’t just

on Facebook. Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee chairman Tom Watson even went ahead

and said, “Mr. Murdoch, your wife has a very good left hook.”

The scandal has also brought the ethics of journalism into scrutiny. It has exemplified that there is so much high pressure and

competition in media and journalism that errors and ethical issues in reporting bypass normal checks. However, these reporters

need to know where draw the line or they could be the potential cause of ruining an innocent person’s life.

Suvira Raj Chadha, 12

THE FINAL EDITION OF NOTW

LOVE TRIANGLES?

So has anyone else noticed how the triangle- yes, that very three sided polygon that has been tormenting us in our math lessons forthe past few years- has been making its rounds in the music business lately? And quite successfully, if I could be so bold to admit.The entire situation really has had me perplexed. What is it with this newfound fascination? I mean is it some major rock bandconspiracy that the world has managed to keep me out of? These thoughts really had me perturbed, so I took it upon myself to doa little research and here are my findings:Apparently the triangle has been around in the music business for a lot longer than I thought. It can be dated back to 1966-67, whenit was depicted in the album cover for collaboration between three artists, Liz Anderson, Bobby Bare and Norma Jean, where thepoor love struck souls actually made the triangle to be shaped like a heart. The album is called ‘The Game of Triangles.’ However,this isn’t what set the world on fire. That honor can be bestowed on the legendary English band Pink Floyd and its immortal album,Dark Side of the Moon, which depicts a white ray of light shooting into a prism and divulging into a band of colour. But it’s not onlyin album artwork that the triangle is superior. I suppose it was ‘Little Boots’ who introduced the shape into the blogosphere with herpopular black triangle t-shirt. But don’t blame her, she knew not what she was about to spark. Since then there have been many whohave incorporated it into their designs. To name a few, Def Leppard’s ‘Hysteria’, The Police’s ‘Zenyatta Mondatta’, and Keane’s‘Perfect Symmetry’.Then there are the ‘weird triangles.’ To start with I suppose I’ll have to mention Fever Ray’s. This album artwork confuses me. Atleast I’m not alone; blogger Ollie Russian wonders whether it is the beam from a hidden lighthouse or just a giant house sinking evilsea triangle. He also points out that if you type the words ‘rock’ and ‘triangle’ into a Google image search you get lots of picturesof a girl in a two piece bathing suit. He wonders if she is the Ambassador for Triangles in Rock. How do you get that job?! EvenTinie Tempah’s album ‘Disc-Overy’ depicts him making a triangle with his arms while a city grows through. What can I say? Somepeople try to make Triangles look cool. They’re all still triangles, you know? I can sum up this list with a quick reference to theartists of Japanese Pop band ‘Perfume’, which in some of their promo shots thought it would be fun to drape themselves inside andaround a giant metal triangle. At least they came up with something kind of original, kudos to them.Finally, triangles in names. Both bands that I’ve encountered with Triangles in their names are absolutely fantastic. The first one isBritish one-piece B STILLE. With sultry vocals and addictive beats, I guess I can find it in me to ignore the polygon wedged inbetween. The other one is . Yes, that’s their name: . Trust me, I used to like them equally well when they were called ‘Films.’ Thisname change just screams pretentious and attention seeking. Frankly, when a band produces music of such high standard, a movelike this is rather daft. Now the question arises, ‘What are they to be called?’ My natural inclination would be to call them ‘triangle’,but no. Apparently this symbol can only be typed by pressing ‘alt-j’ on a Mac. So everyone, including theband, is referring to them as Alt-j. Or just simply, .It’s all rather obtuse, this matter of the triangle. And frankly, I don’t get it. I suppose this means that TrianglePony may actually be the musical saviours of Myspace.Pia Kochar, 10

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RainMonsoon my favourite season,For many different reasons,Beautiful and romantic,Though the lightning makes my dogfrantic.Dreamlike with a mysterious shine,When magic and reality have a veryfaint line,Full of surprises and suspense,With a peaceful and welcome silence.The thrum of the raindrops matchesyour heart beat,You feel like you’re floating and can’thear your feet,It has a graceful beauty even in stillness,Rain has an elegant f inesse.It is the most enjoyable time of the year,When soft thumps and peacocks areall you can hear,It is a good time to sit and think,While a playful droplet gives you awink.A cup of tea or hot chocolate,To enjoy this in this season it’s nevertoo late,Sitting outside or roaming around,Sometimes it feels nice not to be found.But if you’re not interested in solitude,And if you prefer to play around, dudeThat is another take,It is not a mistake!Splashing in puddles slipping in dirt,When you’re drenched in a see throughshirt,Mud and bracken is all jolly and fun,But when your mum comes out you’dbetter run!Oh, rain reminds you it’s good to bealive,When there is so much fun whystruggle and strive,Let’s enjoy every day and stop beingcrabby,It does not help, just makes you feelshabby.Rain makes everyone happy andeuphoric,So come on out and stop beingmoronic,Enjoy life to its full capacity,When you do everything will seempretty!

Ananya Gupta, 8

jaba maMOnao banaayaa bahanaa ….jaba maMOnao banaayaa bahanaa ….jaba maMOnao banaayaa bahanaa ….jaba maMOnao banaayaa bahanaa ….jaba maMOnao banaayaa bahanaa ….Aaja imalaa hO skUla sao bahut kamaKola kUd ka nahIM lao saktI naama.Par maaOsama hO [tnaa sauhanaabaahr Kolanao mauJao hO jaanaa.kama @yaaMo nahIM ikyaa pDogaa TIcar kao samaJaanaa,Aba tao banaanaa pDogaa kao[- bahanaa.“AmarIka sao Aa[- qaI dadI,kla qaI maoro caacaa kI SaadI.kama qao maoro baD,o AQaUro,tlanao pD,o mauJao saaro pUDo.gama- tola sao jala gayaa maora haqaAba TIcar samaJaao maorI baat.vaao samaJa gayaIÊ qaa yah ek bahanaa,Gar pr naa qaI kao[- davatÊ naa kao[- Kanaa.“dsa baar tuma krao Apnaa kama,nahIM tao ilaK dÐUgaI ica{I tumharI maaÐ ko naama”.

tnvaI duggala 6

jaba maora bahanaa Aqavaa caaorI pkD,I ga[-jaba maora bahanaa Aqavaa caaorI pkD,I ga[-jaba maora bahanaa Aqavaa caaorI pkD,I ga[-jaba maora bahanaa Aqavaa caaorI pkD,I ga[-jaba maora bahanaa Aqavaa caaorI pkD,I ga[-ek idna jaba skUla mauJao naa jaanaatao maOnao banaayaa ek bahanaajaao maorI mammaI nao na maanaavah mauJakao hO Aapkao saunaanaaAah Aah isar dd- hao rha hObadna kpkpa rha hOca@kr saa Aa rha hOAaÐK jala rhI hObauKar jaOsaa laga rha hOM maaÐABaI Da^@Tr ko laoo jaatI hUÐAaÐK TosT kratI hUMjaba caSmaa laga\ jaaegaaisar dd- zIk hao jaaegaanaa naa maaM maOM qaaoD,I bahtr hUÐskUla maOM jaa saktI hUÐcalaao maOM naha lao saktI hUÐkpD,o phna baala banaa laotI hUÐmaaÐ kao kuC samaJa Aa[-haqa idyaa isar pr AaOr mauskara[-yah qaa tora bahanaaskUla na jaanaa AaOr maaÐ kao satanaanaa pZ,naa naa pZ,anaa

AsaIsa ibanadra 6

The BetrayalThis story is a work of reality fiction about how youngsters

are sucked into the infamous world of quick money.

The year was 2003; the SouthAfrican team was the favourite towin the cricket world cup. They hada really good team and of course thebest captain, Walter Thurman. Theworld cup meant everything tothem. It would boost sports in theircountry in a big way and moreimportantly, it would be a breakfrom all the turmoil and corruption.Their young team was out to takeon the world. They had been bannedfrom the game from 1972 to 1992

due to the non-selection of coloured players, butthe past was behind them now, forgotten, and thefuture seemed bright.The South African team had no problem adjustingto the English summer where the World Cup wasgoing to be held. They had defeated the WestIndies, England and India with ease and the supereight stages were a walk in the park for them. Bywinning all eight matches, they had reached themuch awaited semi finals. Again, they had littletrouble beating the Sri Lankans; this was thefamous match when their captain Walter Thurmansmashed a hundred and ninety six runs of just ahundred and ten balls! The world was sure thatSouth Africa would lift the trophy!The South African team was very excited; theywere confident but cautious. They had brought anew era to the game, they had made cricket muchmore exciting than it was, with aggressive yetcareful batting and fabulous fast bowling. On theeve of the World cup final, Thurman’s mobilephone rang. He picked it up and heard a voice onthe other line. The man on the other line wasoffering the entire team 20 million dollars to losethe match. Thurman, at first, was hesitant, butended up accepting the deal. The truth was thatsportsmen in South Africa were paid a pittance.The final of the ICC cricket world cup was againstthe Australians. That day, the South Africansplayed horrendously. Everyone was stunned. Thefans booed and cried; they just could not handlethe unexpected. Thurman had scored a duck andhad gone for 50 runs in his three overs.The ICC had just started computerized matchviewing and phone tapping. They noticedsomething fishy about the way Thurman had beenplaying. They noticed how he intentionallydropped catches and bowled excessive no balls. Hisphone conversation the previous evening had alsobeen recorded thanks to the new ICC phonetapping system!Soon the cricketing world found out about his actthrough the newspapers and was naturally a wholeheap disappointed. Thurman himself had to finallyadmit to match fixing. As a result, the SouthAfrican team was banned for another five years.Thurman, of course, was banned for life. He hadbetrayed his team, coach, country and needless tosay, the entire cricketing world.

Indraneel Roy, 9

VASANT VALLEY TODAY PAGE - 5

Our Class Trip to AlwarAll of us woke up early and left for

school with great ex-citement as we weregoing for our trip toAlwar The bus left at6:30 am and wereached Alwar at10:00. We then droveto SiliSerh fort, where

we walked around and learnt aboutits history. We also saw the SiliSerhlake. By then we were all hungry, sowe ate pakoras and cooled ourselveswith some cold drinks. On the wayback we saw some people wearing tra-ditional Rajasthani clothes with hugeturbans.We spotted some camels andKeekar trees too as we drove throughthe beautiful Aravalli Hills. I enjoyedthe trip.

Nehmat Mann III - B

toja, garmaItoja, garmaItoja, garmaItoja, garmaItoja, garmaI[sa gamaI- maoM na krao KolakUd

pIlaao naIMbaU panaIyao khtI hOM maorI naanaI.

maorI daost hMO caacaIijasao AcCI lagatI hMO laIcaI.jaba QaUp toja, inaklatI hO}pr sao Aaga barsatI hO.

baahr inaklaao tao garma hvaa BaI'laU' banakr mauJakao lagatI hO.

dovakI idvaana caar sa

My Dream VehicleMy car has a lazer and it has a gun.It has wings and it has a magicaldoor. It has many wheels. It flies inthe air and it goes very fast. I hopesomeday I will be able to use it.

Kaira Puri II- COur Trip to The Mint

We went to a private mint in Delhi aswe were learning about 'Money' inMaths. We saw the process of making

coin blanks. First, we saw the meltingof the raw material, and then, Milling,Cold Rolling, Annealing, Pickling, thefinal Cold Rolling, Blanking, Edge Rim-ming and Annealing. At last we sawthe Polishing process. After the coinswere polished we got one each. In theend we got edibles in a bag. We cameback happy having learnt where coinsbegin their journey from.

Suhasini Takkar IV- B

HandsTwo hands with each five fingers,Have the thumb, then the Index whichindicates ‘no’,Then comes middle and ring finger,Last comes the 'Pinky' standing low.Writing, cleaning and eating,Doing jobs: big and small,Even to give somebody a beating,Without a complain they do it all.Put on bracelets, rings and bands,It has the right to look pretty too,Even decorate the nails on your hands,With colours such as purple and blue.Lifeline, heart line and many others,Tell if your fate lies in good hands,Lets just see you last a day,Without these wonderful things calledhands!

Manya Kapur V- B

Mera Bharat MahanI am proud of my country because as ithas many monuments and one of thebiggest mountain ranges, the Himalayas.I am proud of my country for anotherreason as we speak many languages andeat different kinds of food in each state.And one more thing I like about India isthat we celebrate any festival that we like.My country is a democratic country. Afterone is eighteen years old, one can vote.Ihope to do so one day!

Aarya Vohra III- A

The Story of My LifeMy name is Chavanni. I could fill bookswith all I have seen and been through,

but I will share onlysome of my storieshere with you. It allbegan in the year1947, when my greatcountry, India,became independent.

The government decided to make coincurrency and so began the tediousprocess of burning metal and thehammering, the cooling and polishing,and out popped me... the first Chavanni.Those were the days when I too hadvalue. I could fill a person’s stomachwith a good meal. I was used by awonderful boy, who bought a gift forhis mother instead of buying sweets andtoys for himself. I was fought over,scribbled upon and passed from handto hand, giving joy and living dreams.Over the years my polish faded and Ibecame dull. My importance lessened,my value too, diminished. Until one daya kindly grandmother handed me to hergrandson telling him that she hadreceived me from the temple and heshould keep me carefully as I was alucky coin. I have stayed with him eversince. I have felt cherished and loved.I have shared his dreams, his worries,his sadness and his laughter. He takesme everywhere with him. Today he isthe Chief Minister of Gujarat and for thepast few weeks he has been faced witha dilemma. Everybody has said theChavanni is not used anymore and theyshould be taken out of the system -demonitised!! Alas! Even he had to bowdown to the pressures of thegovernment. But he says I am hisclosely guarded secret and would neverlose value for him!!

Kabir Seth V- B

maorI kivatamaorI kivatamaorI kivatamaorI kivatamaorI kivatamaora naama hO Armaana ba~a

Drta nahI maOM iksaI sao

Jaolanaa AcCa lagata hO Ktra

maora naama hO Armaana ba~a

mauJao AcCa lagata hO maolaa

vahaÐ haota hO KUba rolama polaa

JaUlata hUÐ vahaÐ KUba JaUlaa

psaMd hO [saka mauJao hllaa

Armaana ba~a caar ba

Nursery

'Getting Ready for TheIndependence Day'

Ananya Jain, Aakanksha Jadhav,

Indraneel Roy, Tarini Sardesdai,

Aastha Kamra, Namrata Narula,

Pia Kochar, Sharanya Thakur,

Vasudha Dixit, Akhila Khanna,

Amira Singh, Ishan Sardesai,

Rishabh Prakash, Vandita

Khanna, Ramya Ahuja, Suvira

Chadha, Vani Shriya, Vedika

Berry

Editor: Mallika Pal

Editorial Board

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SUMMER MOVIE GUIDE 20111. Bridesmaids: Much to the dismay of many, women are commonly known as the less humorous sex. However, there aremany exceptions to this rule, such as the cast of this movie. Every dialogue was delivered with a sense of hilarity andgenuinely left us laughing. However, the storyline was not quite as grasping, but the humor more than made up for it.2. Transformers 3: Contrary to popular belief, Megan Fox was definitely not the epicenter of the Transformers series and

was easily and smoothly replaced by Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. Everything fromthe graphics to the soundtrack was profound. Definitely one of the must watch, mostimpactful and fun movies released this summer.3. Pirates of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides: The much awaited fourth additionto the dynamic Pirates of The Caribbean series received mixed reactions from us.Undeniably slow and definitely not as action-packed as its prequels, the movie seemedto beat around the bush in such a way that it never came back. However, everyone’sfavorite Captain Jack Sparrow didn’t fail to make a memorable and amusingcomeback.4. Bad Teacher: Here’s a duo we’d never thought we’d see together after the muchpublicized break up of 2007. However, Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake provedto be the best couple lighting up the silver screen this summer. Sensationally funny

and quirky, the movie was packed with promiscuous humor and Jason Segal classics.5. X-Men: First Class: Probably the best movie out this summer. Everything from the perfectly portrayed characters to thegripping action sequences and incredible cinematography contributed in making this movie sensational. The alpha maleclash between the two mutant leaders Professor X and Sebastian Shaw added a drama quotient to an otherwise perfectmovie, making it an instant box office hit.6. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2: Move over fairy tale princess, Harry Potter’s here. If this was an O.W.Lit would inevitably get an O in our books. Being a generation that grew up with Harry Potter, we don’t think it would be fairto describe this finale with the aid of just any word. So, quoting a very famous somebody, itwas legendary.7. Delhi Belly: Not for the faint hearted, and definitely not for the oversensitive, this moviewas… interesting, to say the least. We wouldn’t say it’s essentially about Delhi and its ‘trueessence’, but close enough. The soundtrack was definitely one of the highlights.8. Shaitan: This is what a regular teenager does these days, apparently. Exaggerated, butthen again true to an extent, Shaitan is a movie with fresh new faces and a whole newdirection with Bollywood has taken. Definitely worth a watch, but just for the ingenious ideas,and should not be considered as a guide to a REGULAR teenager’s life.9. Green Lantern: Despite Ryan Reynold’s smoldering appearance, matched equally with Blake Lively’s poise, the moviehonestly, honestly failed. In our opinion the acting was subpar, the special effects could easily be imitated on MicrosoftPowerPoint and the dialogues were occasionally funny, but not because they were genuinely meant to be, but becausethey were outrageously stupid.10. Your Highness: With a cast set to please, and a trailer that promised so much, this movie was most looked forward toby us. Danny McBride, James Franco and Natalie Portman – seriously, how much better could it get? Sadly, it only gotworse. Confusing and trying hard, too hard really, to be funny, the movie could have been executed much better. However,Rasmus Hardiker more than compensated for the drawbacks with his quirky and wry dialogues.

Aakanksha Jadhav and Sharanya Thakur, 10

POTC 4: If you had a sister and adog, I’d choose the dog.

DELHI BELLY: SIR, LUNDRY

SINCE YOU ASKED

Q. I'm always in the late line! How can I be more on time?- Out of time, out of mind

A. If you're late sometimes, it's forgivable. The late line is much like a game of

baseball, three strikes and you're out. If you're a compulsive late comer,

you'll always be one- trust me. I'm glad you're at least trying to change

your procrastinating ways, which is more than I can say for some people.

Now this is something you have to inculcate into your daily routine. It's one

of my favourite grown ups' word- punctuality. I know school is a snore but it's

just one of those things you have to do. So choose an alarm that's super jarring;

it'll wake you up even if you don't want to. Once you're up, make a playlist of

'getting ready' songs. I'd recommend 'Friday' by Rebecca Black because the lyrics

are just so... apt (Waking up in the morning; Gotta be fresh, gotta go downstairs;

Gotta have my bowl, gotta have cereal). That's really all it takes to be punctual.

But if you're really trying very hard to be on time, try sleeping at an earthly hour,

preferably before midnight. Play some soft music like Julio Iglesias (the man can

really rock a lullaby style song), and voila! You'll be snoring before you know it. And

while you're at it- you know, trying to turn over a new leaf and all- try giving up all

your assignments up on time as well.

Until next time, The teachers' favourite apple polisher