“Coldhearted love”- By Dilsha XI A
Have you ever been ice skating? It’s a hypothetical question. I’ve done some ice skating and let me tell you that it’s quite an encounter.
It was a surprise visit to the Zayed sports city ice rink and I was under dressed. Finding my shoe size was the next task in hand. My feet may seem to be a normal size but trust me; it’s never had a perfect pair of footwear. When you wear roller blades for the first time, it’s really a foreign feeling. I was not really sure whether I could feel my toes but then I let it slide.
The feel of walking in roller blades can be easily explained. Just wear a 2-inch tall platform heels and try walking in a straight line. But to explain the feel of the blades on ice was something I am incapable of. The scraping of metal on ice. The sharp blades carrying you through the frozen earth below. The chilly air hitting your face as you swift through the ice. Goosebumps on your skin trying to keep away the icy air. Each breath of yours seen as white frosty clouds.
But out of all these, the most vivid feeling in my memory was the thrust of pain when your body comes in contact with the solid ice floor. This has nothing to do with my brother. I think. I was grasping the side bars catching my breath and at the same time trying to make smoke rings. With a blink of an eye, I found myself kissing the solid ice floor.
When I got up and stretched, I heard bones crackling from places I never knew had bones enough to crackle. Thankfully, I was in one piece, sort of. I skated till my legs gave away and afterwards started hugging the floor. My Brother had to drag me out of the rink. I think that’s when I fell in love with the floor.
Revenge is served better when you’re wet- By Dilsha XI A
It was the summer vacation when I was in 3rd grade. Among my childish list of things` I will learn’ was to learn how to swim. Well the universe was not conspiring to fulfill that wish. I kept staring at my deflated floatation tube, as if that will fix the hole on it.
I was so stubborn in those days that I said I didn’t want a floatation tube and that I was a big girl. Typical kid drama. So I packed my swimming clothes and with my family headed to the beach. My family had Mom, Dad, Uncle and my one and only annoying brother.
I was the first to jump into the salty sea. The water cooled down the summer heat and I was on cloud 9. My, oh so dear, brother started his taunting from the shore saying I couldn’t swim. Trust me, even he couldn’t swim and he was elder than me. At least I was brave enough to get in the water. Nevertheless his taunting got on my nerves and I kept going deeper to the sea.
After like 10 leaps, my feet slipped of the sand. I couldn’t find any ground. My heart skipped a beat. I looked towards the shore only to find my family busy. At first I thought it was because I was short. Then I realized it was a cliff under the water. There was no ground other than that on the shore. I was dumb but not that dumb to not know what will happen if I panic.
Before I knew it I had floated really far from the shore. I screamed with whatever air I had left in my lungs and went under the water. When I came up for air I heard a buzz of a motor, growing louder by the second. Barely keeping my head above the water, I turned to my left and saw a speed boat heading towards me. I heard my heart pounding in my ears. From the corner of my eye I saw my Dad and Uncle diving towards me. I went under again. I felt something hiss by my head.
Silence and darkness evaded my senses. I felt pain thrusting on my abdomen and water gushing out my mouth. When I opened my eyes I saw my 12 year old brother sitting on me and taking out his revenge on his 8 year old sister. He couldn’t have picked a better time to finish old tasks.
The secret to survive in this world- By Dilsha XI A
The Hitler era in Germany- A chapter I’m glad I skipped in my history class. I still don’t have the stomach to sit and read the merciless ways of man- kind being killed. I can’t imagine the mental state of those unfortunate ones who survived the concentration camps. With these memories engraved in their minds, how are they leading a normal life?
I was told the story about one of them. He had survived the concentration camp when he was a mere teenager. People were being carried like charcoal in carriages of the train during the winter month when the temperatures won’t rise up more than 2 degree Celsius. More than a hundred people, Jews to be precise, in a carriage without food, water or even a roof above them and this young boy was among them. He noticed an old man sitting in a corner shivering what might be his last moments. He went to him and started rubbing his feet and hands. On what intention? Just to keep him warm. The old man’s fingers were so cold that even if it was cut not a drop of blood would fall. Still the boy kept on rubbing and hugging the old man. The train reached the destination were millions of frozen to death bodies were being dumped. When the boy looked around only he and the old man was still breathing.
That’s how human beings survive- by warming our hearts by warming others’. Anyone can argue that it was just pure science that by rubbing the old man’s hands and feet, the boy warmed his own too in the process and thus both of them survived. Simple right? Maybe that’s why I think majority of humans take up that explanation, because it’s simple.
The only way to survive is to breath but what is the purpose? Well that just depends on the way you see the story. No need of asking Google.
Still breathing- by choice ( Dilsha XI A)
To be or not to be is the question of the century, to which you have no choice but to choose. Everything can’t be answered by using the Indian headshake. For those of you who doesn’t know what an Indian headshake means- it sometimes means yes, sometimes no, sometimes neither and sometimes both.
To choose life over death is the bravest thing to do but what about those who won’t choose either. They are the living dead. Not engrossed in life’s mischievous ways yet still there somewhere- alive. To be stuck in the middle of nothingness is like being a bat, neither mammal nor a bird- Neither living nor dead.
Have you witnessed an animal suicide? I haven’t. A fish can never drown. So why we homo-sapiens have the tendencies to do it as the population of China. To live or not to cannot to be the only choices. The others are just under the process of being discovered by humans like me and you, who would like to change the definition of living.
The day when you just give up is day you start to be a living dead. The world wouldn’t stop spinning, the sky won’t fall down, the dogs won’t meow and cats won’t bark. Still they refuse to step out and face the world.
Will being a mute solve all the problems in your life? Just like when you give zero values to all variables in an equation to have the simplest answer as zero- mathematically speaking. Maybe giving zero value to things in life will make your life as a living dead more complete. Don’t be tamed to people’s expectations. Maybe then you will be able to see the infinite numbers other than zeros to put in your equation of life. Trust me; the answers will be surprisingly much simpler.
I’ve never made New Year resolutions in my life until the December of 2015. It’s the December of 2016 and now I know why I didn’t make any resolutions before. I didn’t even care to start those resolutions. Looking back this year, that’s my only regret.
Unlike me, there are people out there who make resolutions every year and sticks to them. I haven’t met such a person yet but I like to keep my hopes up. There’s no harm in hoping for good things to happen. It’s not going to melt the ice in Antarctica. But hoping for Tom to eat Jerry is no good. I’ve tried it.
I’m not making any resolution this year. Not even a resolution to finish old resolutions. Well you will never have a perfect year and there will always be another New Year as restart button in your life. According to me anyway.
No fake smiles, no goodbyes, no last minute sentimental speeches, just a ‘thank you’ for adding another year of memories to my life. My only wish is that no matter how long I will live, I want to die satisfied that I lived at least one day, to the fullest. I might not be an 80-year old in her death bed counting down her last days, I might not be diagnosed with cancer or any Ebola- I’m only human and I know staying happy all your life is a luxury I can’t afford.
So I hope, love anything and everything, not make any promises I can’t keep, feel the rhythm of the universe and just breathe.
“How to solve a rubrics cube”-Dilsha XI-A
The notion of a perfect life was embedded into our cells since birth so that we thrive for it, only to find that in the end the collateral damages done while striving for such a thing that doesn’t exist, will break us into unequal halves, left for others to feed off but if my life were to crumble down one day, I hope someone will preserve the remains, not to be remembered but as a memory.
What you just read is a brain child of mine. Don’t ask me things like “what does it mean?”, “what inspired you to write that?” or “is it permitted to use so many commas in a sentence?” Everyone and anyone can quote something philosophical and my interpretation of it might be different from yours. You can make up philosophy for any situation in the world. I’m speaking from experience here. I might hate philosophy at certain moments but I am not afraid to use it.
For those who were reading this to figure out how to solve a rubrics cube, sorry to burst your bubbles, it’s a philosophical title. Don’t get me wrong, I know how to solve a rubrics cube but they are other people in this world who are really patient enough to tape a video on how to solve it, step-by-step, and have posted it on YouTube. They will be more than happy to help you.
A rubrics cube seems to be one of the complex puzzles until one learns to solve it. For a period, the feeling of the accomplishment will satisfy your heart but in a world where a perfume scent is claimed to last forever, such satisfactions might be forgotten. Just because you know how to solve a rubrics cube, does not mean you can solve life’s enigma.
Dilsha
XI-A
Beyond Fiction- By Shubhi Tripathi XI A
My teddy never been given a minute of love. Unless he met the conditions, and it made me so mad that my heart froze up and the pain turned into a prison.
Sometimes, he couldn’t even cry because I had not any tears. He thinks, Why can’t you keep them all? You look at each and every toy. Some gifts from those you love. And your sad heart cannot decide. Which one to place above?
The rest of the each one has been so special to my heart, but the time to let them go has come and I must a part. With all but one, It must be done.
Teddy thought :
Before the day is through to blur . I wonder which one she would pick, from teddies so dear to her ?
I Smiled :
You’re just an imperfect teddy living in my heart’s core dear.
Life guesses :’) which kind of bond it is!?
-Shubhi Tripathi
11-A
Life Is Beautiful- By Mrs. Chitrakala Ramchandran, Principal, SSIS
It was a wow moment when I met my long lost friends after thirty two long years. We first met when we were in our teens and again …..when we are in our fifties.
Learned in 2016- By Shubhi Tripathi XI A
It was most experience full year. From top January to bottom December every day has brought a lesson regarding realities of life and people around. Being thankful for every blessings and motivations.
Though hard time comes and we get dis-balanced as whole then start feeling downgraded. Since happiness along sorrow are together part of our life. How can we expect each and every day as alone filled with happiness? No, right !
With no challenges and obstacles coming up, how can you hope being life level to be forwarded? Yes, as potential player you should not be tense or even if you get, loosing hope and quitting game can never be option. Are you looser! ? No, of course. Then getting tensed for good cause is OK but not for long time. Be a rebel and have control on your self thoughts plus make sure to keep it positive at each step.
Ops! A little change no more dealing with just positives. We are cells that is compilation of both negative, positive as well as neutral thoughts. Hence the requirement is to balance between each of them and be stable. If there is more positives then there is satisfaction and even if its more negative you will surely be frustrated plus unhappy at each point of life.
Enjoy nobility, love yourself.
-Shubhi Tripathi
11 A
A day in the life of a mad man named Al (well half a day)- By Mr. Alyas Ali, Principal, SSIS
A day in the life of a mad man named Al (well half a day)
When you’re too zombified to do anything constructive at work, what do you do? The obvious answer is: Type.
Because when you type you look like your doing something, I could be writing an important piece of analysis that could save the company 20million. I could be writing something that initiates world peace. I could be sacrificing my valuable time writing something of some benefit, to someone, somewhere.
On the other hand I could be writing a useless piece of dribble intended to get me through the day.
Welcome to the latter.
The only problem is even dribble in its poorest form requires some form of substantial content. Hence, this post has failed from the beginning and I plan on torturing each reader by taking you through one of my average Mornings.
10 Pm onwards
The milk seeking midget as I like to call him wakes up every few hours for a feed, change, burp and you name it. It’s been a long night- I desperately need some sleep before work. I turn over, shut off my ears and wala I’m fast asleep.
6.00 Am
I’ve adopted my usual sunbathing position, both arms behind my head, facing up while fast asleep. This is strange I know, I have no idea where it comes from but it must be comfortable for me, the other half of the night is apparently spent sucking my thumb. But who cares? I feel warm, comfy, secure, loved etc life could not get better.
6.30 Am
That perfect dream is interrupted, those moments of peace are gone and my sanctuary is destroyed.
That damn alarm has gone off-I feel cheesed off, aggravated and life could not get any worse!
6:39 Am
After contemplating every excuse possible for not attending work I take look at what I have used so far. Aside from being abducted by Aliens I have no more left.
Best get my butt out of bed before I’m late for work.
6.45Am
I step outside the house, I’ve forgotten my apple, my pear, my tangerine and any other food of any benefit. Like a shrunken version of Herman Munster I stumble out the front door, tripping over pebbles and nearly breaking my neck in the process. Upon sitting in the car I realise my window is frozen, the sensible thing to do is use a scraper, scrapers have been designed for this purpose, they are quick, efficient and do a good job. But am I sensible?
Out comes my work swipe card, perfect for removing those tough bits of ice. Feel the plastic strip bend as the micro-chip which records my data is smothered in ice. And if the swipe card ceases to work, then I will have to bear the burden of not swiping and coming and going as I please. Life without a swipe card is difficult to contemplate. But I may just be brave enough to continue without it should it cease to work.
6.50Am
I drive down the road and slowly realise I cannot see a thing; All I see is steam in front of me, I have no idea where the road is, let alone the houses. I pull up randomly somewhere, on comes the heater and slowly the world becomes visible.
6.55Am
Off we go again. At a blistering speed of 20mph each speed bump sends my head into a spin, I switch on the radio and catch up with the morning news.
Whilst driving along, I see I have very little petrol left, maybe just enough to get me to work. However, there are no petrol stations near work, and the local petrol station is just around the corner.
Suddenly, a thought bubble appears and my mind then wanders, putting in petrol requires getting out of the car, putting in the right amount of petrol requires a brain, paying for it requires even more walking and even more brain power.
I whiz past the petrol station- I’ll worry about that later. Most of the motorway is downhill anyway.
7.20Am
After being cut up by numerous women drivers, most of them unfit to drive a shopping trolley, I arrive at my destination.
7.30 Am
I’m inside the office and ready to swipe. I wipe the last pieces off ice off the swipe card and insert it into the machine. I look at the screen hoping for a blank and *ping* my name appears. Damn.
Maybe I should use my swipe for mopping the kitchen or something.
8.00 Am
I have now eaten some toast and I have all my favourite websites are loaded up, my outlook is in full swing and I’m ready for another day.
9.00 Am
I have a meeting with a manager. He’s due to show me how he assesses certain types of work, my task is to understand what he is doing and re-design and improve this method for other processes.
9.05 Am
He starts talking, I’m sat slightly behind him. My head begins to drop as my eyes close, I’m in no state to retain any information after a long sleepless night. He turns around to see if I’m paying attention and up pops my head and I nod attentively, he turns back to his screen and I begin to slouch again slowly closing my eyes.
10.00 Am
An hour and a few naps later I’m finally rid of him. I look around the office, looking for a corner to have a good sleep in. I realise the only way to nap is to have my head in my hand while I look like I’m reading a screen, I drift in and out of sleep for ages. Randomly clicking the mouse every now and again just to show people I am comatose.
11.00 Am
It’s time to sit with some guy who’s working a process, he show’s me everything that he’s doing and guess what? Yes, the head begins to dip and the mind wanders. I have no idea what he’s saying and I couldn’t care less, I need some sleep from somewhere.
Midday
I have been watching him for an hour now and he has no idea that I haven’t been paying an ounce of attention.
1pm
He turns around as he is struck by a sudden brainwave “why don’t you have a go?” Damn I think as we swap seats. I start clicking buttons randomly like a fuel injected monkey as slowly he begins to twig that I don’t have a clue what I’m doing. After he’s shown me once I’ve taken most of it in and then I do the process once more to show I’ve understood.
Time for another nap as we swap seats. Every moment is a struggle to keep my eyes open as I drift off again.
And that is my situation at this precise moment. An hour of typing has helped to fill in the gaps.
If I make it through the day, then there may be a follow up to this post.
That’s if I make it :- )
Time for another nap.
The second half of a day in the life of a mad man called Al
Unfortunately, I made an empty promise on the previous post that If I made it through the day I would complete the post. Well, empty promises are exactly that, they should not be kept, completing the post would defeat the whole object of an empty promise, they intrinsically tell you their own outcome. So why should I complete the post?
But it’s not that easy is it? I’m not going to get away without finishing this post am I? Serves me right for having such a big mouth.
Well here goes.
1.00 pm (cont..)
The guy who is showing me his process is on a roll, he’s flying through screens explaining all sorts, he’s cracking jokes and having a great time. What he doesn’t realise is that I’m barely conscious. I figured he would probably realise this after 20th silence after the 20th joke, but no. Full steam ahead, this boy’s determined to enjoy himself. I felt quite bad really, it’s almost like no one’s sat with him before and he’s so excited, if he’s not careful I think he will burst a blood vessel in a minute. Not that I don’t like a laugh or a joke, just when you’re this sleepy, the funniest thing is most certainly silence.
1.15 pm
I don’t often take lunch, primarily because I’m new to this building and I hate eating alone. I physically can’t sit alone in a canteen and eat on my own, I feel like the saddest person alive, in the saddest corner of the saddest planet that not even one person would eat with. Perhaps I’m too self-conscious, but before I end up crying in my chips I’d rather skip this whole scenario.
However, to survive I need food to keep me going, so what can you do, I can’t eat junk everyday can I? The wife would beat me to a pulp if I did that.
However, there was once a bright spark who had this same problem, he invented a solution that would help millions for centuries to come, something which fulfils every need for the internal body. Something which provides all the vitamins and minerals needed for a week in one healthy serving. Yes! It’s the Cheese and Onion Pie.
Now the pie solves all my problems, it fulfils my need for hot food, I can take it to my desk and munch away on it until my heart is content hence no need for crying in the canteen. And last but not least, it tastes unbelievable!
So off I toddle in pursuit of my pie.
The only problem with purchasing a pie each day is being served by the same person. There’s this girl who sells the pies, and slowly she has developed a slightly apathetic look towards me like “here he comes for his pie” I think sometimes she picks it up and holds out her hand for the cash before I’ve even spoken, in fact as soon as she sees my head pop out of the door, maybe even as she hears my footsteps on the stairs.
It’s horrible to be discriminated against. She’s some kind of pie-cist, I can feel it in my bones.
So today, l decide to use some new tactics.
I walk through the door as per usual and approach the counter as per usual. She looks at me and I can see what she’s thinking “here he comes for his pie again”. I decide to counter this by looking around the shelves behind her for something to throw her off track, I then see her next thought bubble appear “look at him pretend he wants something else, I’m gonna chuck this pie at him in a minute”. Like all true tacticians I switch tactics again and decide to use some words this time “Can I have a hmmmmmmmm” I figured if the hmmm lasts long enough she may think I’m genuinely after something different, then all of a sudden she says: “what do you want?”
“Pie please”
I hold out money and trudge off down the stairs with my pie, it was a brave battle but I’m afraid she’d won this one. I retreated to my desk and cried into my pie.
1.30 pm
Time for Dhur, time to be uplifted, time to forget that traumatic pie experience.
There’s a quaint little prayer room upstairs and Masha’Allah a nice group of brothers who always attend the Jam’ah. But there’s a slight problem, what is it this time I hear you say?
Well, just before you enter the prayer room there is a small lobby in which people put there shoes. There’s not much air in there and it’s a tight little space. This is severely compounded by the fact that one of the brothers has slightly smelly shoes, well actually that’s an understatement; I think three brothers barely made it alive the other day! Now I’ve tried to figure out which of the regular six pairs of shoes contains the boots of eternal stench, but short of smelling each one I don’t think there’s a way to do this.
And the last thing I want is to be on my knees smelling shoes when everyone else comes out from praying- it’s a scene I don’t even want to imagine. I’ve considered dropping some form of perfume in each shoe to help, or even setting them alight, forcing the brothers to buy new shoes. But neither of these are practical and the latter may just get me fired and arrested.
Looks like I just have to brave it, I open the corridor door and take my last gasp of fresh air, I kick my shoes off and run for the prayer room, I feel the stench overtake me as my head gets lighter and lighter and then finally I succumb and loose all feeling in my body, at which point I have reached the prayer area- time to take another breath. Ahhhhh fresh air.
These guys like to pray their salahs relatively fast, forget extra supplications and kushu, just concentrate on your hamstrings and your ligaments.
2.00 pm
Back to my desk and the kind man who’s showing me what to do is in full swing again. My head is so slow, his torrent of words is now a blur and his laugh is like a punch in the ear. However, there is one thing drawing me towards him. that shoulder looks so appealing. I could snuggle right into it, wrap my arms around his neck and go to sleep. I drool as I stare at his shoulder, oh the warmth, oh the the peace as I slowly edge my way towards it. Then as he turns around and notices I’m an inch away from him, he gives me a slight look wondering which side I bat for, and then continues with his tornado of words.. I needless to say have to settle for my own shoulder, I return slowly back to my own place and begin to slouch in my chair. A moment of weakness could have led to a lifetime of madness. Readers be warned!
3.00 pm
In between stints of sleep, I surf to keep the time ticking, ebay, islamiblog you name it, anything to get me through the last few minutes. I look over and my friend is still talking, poor guy.
3.30 pm
My eyes shoot open, my heart skips a beat and I sit up on my chair- hometime! Wohoooooo
These feelings of immense pleasure just cannot be described.
I set off into the car park, unlock the car and set off on my journey home. 25 minutes later I arrive home, I shut the front door without looking back.
Welcome to one of my average days.
Now if that was interesting, I can’t wait to tell you what happened at home 😉
He says in an empty promisingly kind of way……………..
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