SCHOOL WATCH

T O D A YT O D A YT O D A YT O D A YT O D A YDecember, 2010

American Embassy School Tennis Tournament13th December 2010

VVS Boys team were the First RunnersUp and the VVS Girls team were thesecond Runners Up in the tournament.

Teams:Boys : Manav Kohli, Shashwat Rahul,Arman Grewal, Arman Anand, MueedArsad, Hyang JunGirls : Tarika Peris, Tamanna Uppal, RiyaKothari, Tarana Gupta, Serena Nanda,Anya Baradwaj

English Transcription Activity13th December 2010

First: Mehr Kohli and Aryan SinghSecond: Anhad Singh and Kabir SinghThird: Adit Kapoor

MORTAL COMBAT

“When there’s nothing left to burn, you have to set yourself onfire.”

And we’re nearly there.

The global temperature has risen by one degree Celsius. That’sokay. The Amazon forest cover is shrinking daily. But so what?The tiger population of the country is down to 1411 as of 2009.Eh.

That’s the general response you get if you ask the averageman about the conditions of the planet we live on. And for along time, it seemed as if the idealistic and apparently naivecries of the young and the young at heart fell upon deaf ears.But that’s not the case anymore.

When Mr. Swapan Seth and Ms. Aparajit Jain came to VasantValley to talk to us about their project, ARTiger, and Ms.Krishnan asked me to talk to them for the Newsletter, I went inwith the jaded cynicism of past experiences. All our failed effortsat raising awareness, all the unsuccessful crusades we’ve triedto lead, as a school, against environmental degradation andanimal endangerment, jumped to the forefront of my mind.And then I actually spoke to them.

For once, it seemed as if this venture was not all hot air. ProjectARTiger seeks to raise funds for the Ranthambore Foundationin order to educate the children of poachers and those wholive around tiger reserves about the importance of tigerconservation. ARTiger hoped to do this by getting India’s mostprominent artists to paint 58 life-sized fibreglass tigers whichwere to be auctioned to various corporate houses.

“But what about all the red tape?” I asked, still wary of theobstacles these movements always face. For once, it seemslike the Delhi Government is happy to cooperate and supportthis movement, probably resulting from the high of theCommonwealth triumph. This venture has been a landslidesuccess, having raised over 85 lakhs.

Where does Vasant Valley School come in? The Head Girl(Sanjana Malhotra) and Head Boy (Shoaib Kohli) drew the lotsto seal the fate of the 58 tigers and their new habitats in the TajMahal at Mansingh on Sunday. The tigers are going to be ondisplay at various locations in Delhi in order to raise awarenessabout tiger conservation. That’s another aspect of thismovement which Vasant Valley is helping in.

As part of his speech to Vasant Valley, Mr. Seth quoted anAfrican proverb. “If we want to go quicker, we must go alone.But if we want to go far, we must go together.” The tiger is ournational animal, and not only will it be an ecological disasterto lose our tiger population, but it will also be an immenseshame! And as the youth of our brilliant albeit lackadaisicalcountry, the future of the Royal Bengal Tiger, rests in our still-idealistic and capable hands.

As part of a school like Vasant Valley, where environmentalprotection is indoctrinated into us from the earliest age possible,it is a matter of honour, pride and dedication to the cause, tobe a part of this movement in any way.

As Dr. Karan Singh said about tiger conservation, “What goodis all this learning and caring if we are unable to stop thosewho do not know and do not care?” We are young. We areeducated. And we will make a change.

Ayesha Malik A Painted Tiger

Curious Minds

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NUCLEAR HERO

It was cold that night. The events of the previous month had left me shockedbeyond the point of sanity and had changed my life forever. It all started ayear back, when a group of scientists in Sao Paulo created a por tal toMars. Seen as the biggest scientific discovery of the century, thousands,maybe millions, gathered to watch the first vehicle (a NASA one, of course)go through the portal. But as there was jubilation and joy, there was also agroup of people who knew that this was humanity's biggest mistake. Oneday, on my way back from Kaiga Nuclear Facility in the district of UttarKannada in Karnataka, I was enjoying the fresh smell of rain hitting theparched ground and was happily headed towards the entrance of myhousing society under the dryness of my umbrella. I was about 200 yardsaway from the gate when the last thing I remember was falling to thepavement and feeling myself being dragged into a mysterious vehicle.

When I awoke, I found myself in a hall filled with about 200 people; on oneend of the hall was a stage where a man in his late forties was standing,waiting to make an announcement. He introduced himself as a senioradvisor at CERN and said that the fact that all present had to be kidnappedto avoid gaining any attention was regrettable but had to be done, as thesecurity of the mission could not be compromised. Two very importantquestions popped into my head - what mission was this man talking about?And what link does it have with us and CERN? These two answers wouldbe the undoing of mankind. He informed us of an interplanetary invasionfrom the alliances of planets Mars and Venus. They wanted to expand theirareas before they could start diplomatic relations with the planets outsidethe Asteroid Belt. He told us that portals similar to the one at Sao Paulowere popping up all across the globe, and that if we did not find them theywould act like boarding gates allowing them to attack our planet. He alsotold us that we must detonate a nuclear warhead on the other side of theportal and these will be triggered safely from this side of the portal. Butspecial warheads for this job would need to be created by us - scientistswho were all leading experts in our fields - as ordinary ones would justcrumble in the particle reorganization of portal and dimensional travel.And so, for the next two weeks, over 350 experts on nuclear fusion createdthe most terrifying nuclear explosives the world had ever seen.

The day had come to depart to the different portals across the globe in thesilence of the night when maybe our heroics might have gone unnoticed,but this was not to be. As my team of scientists, including the seniorCERN advisor and 15 black cat commandos reached our drop point in theAndes mountains, our helicopter was hit by a particle beam and we all fellto the ground but only after we had unloaded the warhead. As we turnedaround to see who it was that fired the particle beam we were astoundedto find out the invasion had begun! We ran towards the portal from whichthe most hideous, satanic creatures came out when the CERN advisor toldus that he had forgotten to mention that the invasion forces comprised ofactual creatures from hell. With this new terrifying piece of information weheaded towards the portal in sub zero temperatures gunning down all theincoming invasion forces. To prevent any more from coming for a whilewe threw a boulder in the portal which slightly grazed the bomb’s firecontrol panel on its way to the other side of the portal. As the warhead wasin place, we ran a safe 500m away and tried to remote detonate the bomb,which was actually thousands of miles away on Mars. But to ourdisappointment, the radio transmitter was not reacting and it was up toone of us to manually detonate the bomb and sacrifice themselves. We allwanted to be that person, so we decided that whoever drew the shortestthe straw shall be the one to detonate the bomb. The advisor let everyonedraw straws and took the last one left, it was the shortest straw. He hurriedlyran towards the bomb before any of us could react. I ran behind and triedto take his place instead but he said it had to be done by him. As he walkedinto the portal with the fire control key of the bomb I knew I should turn myface away for a few seconds later the Martian shockwave came thoughthe portal and into the Andes Mountains melting the snow all around me.And as I turned around to see the por tal wither out of existence I knew itwas the last time I would ever see him.

-Mrudang Mathur

WELTMEISTEROn 14th November 2010, the serene and beautiful circuit of Yas Marina,Abu Dhabi, rose to the earsplitting groan of screeching tires andpowerful engines. Beginning at the moment where the sun paints itsorange glow over the glass roof of the hotel, and running late into thedarkness, the race was everything a Formula 1 fan could wish for, arace up until the very end. With the Constructor’s Trophy already baggedby RBR-Renault, the Driver’s Trophy was a raging ‘bull’ fight. It couldhave truly been anyone’s race. Fernando Alonso being race favouriteand Mark Weber close behind, nobody anticipated the surprise attackof the young German, Sebastian Vettel. Breaking out ahead of theothers, he was chased down the first stretch by Lewis Hamilton butsoon left the Briton behind and settled into a comfortable lead. But thebeginning was probably in itself the most crucial part of the race. Onthe opening lap itself, Michael Schumacher found himself flat underthe Force India car of Vitantonio Liuzzi, releasing the safety car for thefirst five laps. The outcome? A quick dash into the pit-lane by NicoRosberg and Vitaly Petrov. Both were key moves in the latter parts ofthe race as they managed to hold Alonso off and change the entirefunctioning of the track. Karma? Maybe.When the race resumed, Vettel was first, followed by the two McLarencars, Hamilton and Button, and then the struggling Fernando Alonsoand Mark Weber.Around the 15th lap, Alonso made the mistake that could be the truereason for the loss of his title. Weber hopped into the pit lane andchange into the harder Bridgestone tires, more appropriate for hisposition behind Alonso. The Spaniardthen made a last-minute decision topull in behind his rival and came outstruggling behind Kubica’s teammate,Petrov, and here he remained.The last 10 laps saw Vettel, around10 seconds clear of Hamilton, withButton a couple more seconds back,then came Rosberg after a great butunobtrusive performance, Kubica,who got away with momentarilycrossing the white line on the pit-lane exit, and fellow Renault driverPetrov, and it ended this way. Petrov, who had successfully managedto hold Alonso back for most of the race, was shown the one fingersalute by the latter, as his car passed him by after the race. But Alonsodid later (regretfully!) admit that Petrov had run a good race.The final tally showed Vettel ahead of the Spaniard by four points.“We have one guy in the team who knows all the World Championsevery year since 1950. Just ask him the year and he gives you theWorld Champion. To be on that list now with drivers like Senna, Michael(Schumacher), those two guys, I mean I don’t know,” he said in thepost-race press conference. “I’m speechless. I don’t know what youare supposed to say in these moments!” he managed to belch out withtears streaming down his face as he heard Germany’s National Anthembeing played and his flag being unfurled.And who’s to say he didn’t deserve it? Winning five of the races thisyear (same as Alonso) and ten poles, and on top of that becoming theyoungest driver at 23 years (and 106 days!), to win the WorldChampionship, is incredible. Though people criticize his fast-pacedand rash driving style and the various technical difficulties faced bythe team as well as the not-so-friendly rivalry between the twoteammates, the results speak for themselves. Sebastian Vettel, WorldChampion, is living a dream he can ‘hardly believe.’

-Pia Kochar

VASANT VALLEY TODAY PAGE - 3

SO, WHAT WAS SENIORSCHOOL LIKE?

At the beginning of every year, the questions askedto every batch of Class 6, are “What do you thinkSenior School will be like?” or, “Are you lookingforward to Class 6?” At the end of the year however,we never really do find out the answers to thesequestions. So this time, the question we asked was“What did the newbies think of their first year here?”

• What I thought Senior School would be:“Free and fun.” – Arjun Vir Kapoor“Scary...freaky..” – Shaum Arora“Full of bullies.” – Digjay Rawat“Interesting and not abnormally irritating(except for my brother).”- Kamya Sharma

• What it turned out to be:“Except for sports, it was pretty boring.”– Reyhaan Seth“It was pretty bad for me. My grades dipped, I misbehaved and the teachers had a bad impression of me.”– Jai Verma

• What changed:“We got a lot of freedom!” – Jaydatya Singh“So much more homework.” – Akhil Mithal

• What I liked/disliked:“P.E. Lessons are long and fun.” – Shaum Arora“I hate the bathrooms.” – Sanjari Kalantri“I don’t like how we have Private Study and Hobbies onFriday, and not just Hobbies, like earlier.”– Jaya Singh“The senior girls are pretty!” – Anonymous“Everybody steals stuff and there are so many fights!”– Krishna Singh, Rishi Kothari

(As told to Vasudha Dixit and Sharanya Thakur)

THE NEED OF THE HOUR:CONSERVATION AND PRESERVATION OF

WILDLIFEOn the 2nd of December, selected students of Class 9, 10 and 11 were brimming withenthusiasm and excitement. We were all assembled in the Return to School Room,eagerly anticipating the arrival of Sanskriti Senior Secondary School, Gurgaon, whichwas to join us through the course of an entire workshop on biodiversity and conservationof wildlife.Our long agenda for the day included an informative talk on Biodiversity byMr. P. K. Sen, Executive Director, Ranthambore Foundation. This was concluded bythe 14th Kailash Sankhala Memorial Lecture by Naresh and Rajesh, the Bedi Brothers.Visiting the Delhi Zoological Park and observing the behaviour and life of theinnumerable species, enriched our experience even more and made things self evidentand self explanatory.The talks mainly focused on how every being constitutes an important and irreplaceableposition in the food chain. It is the dependence of these organisms on each other thatkeeps our ecosystems balanced, and our entire world vivid and diverse. All animalsshare a symbiotic relationship with their habitat. The talk also had a special focus onthe threatened species of the tiger. Whether it was the wonderful clips or the enlighteningtalks on wildlife, each of us realized the need to contribute to save the tiger fromextinction, and protect and other species as well.This was an unforgettable and memorable learning experience.

Anjni Gupta and Aastha Kamra

INTER-SCHOOL MATHS QUIZWhen I saw students from the twenty-nine other schools coming into school,my heart started pounding inside my chest. I wanted to Fast Forward the dayto the end of the quiz. All the other competitors looked so prim and proper thatI could almost picture them as toppers in difficult examinations like the IIT exam.

The first round of the quiz was a written test, and so Viraj and I fared well,despite encountering some difficulties. Being one of the 16 schools who madeit through to the second round, we felt a great burden being lifted from ourshoulders. The second round was an oral quiz, which was pretty nerve-wrackingfor me. Some questions were easy, while others were mind-boggling underthe pressure. We did well in the Math-Lab activities and in the Rapid Fire round,but didn’t do so well in other questions. In the end, we came third in our categorywith 42 points. Despite not having made it through to the final round, I wascontent with my performance and found this competition a learning experience.

-Aditi Banerjee

caaÐd kI svaIkRityaaÐcaaÐd kI svaIkRityaaÐcaaÐd kI svaIkRityaaÐcaaÐd kI svaIkRityaaÐcaaÐd kI svaIkRityaaÐcaaMÐd, cand`maa, caMd`, SaiSa Aaid. saOkD,aoM naama hOM maoro pr hUMÐ maOM duinayaa maoM ek hI. ibatata hUÐ ApnaI pUrI ijaMdgaI maOM saUrja kI Cayaa maoM. laaoga mauJao A@sar caaor pukartohOM @yaaoMik maOM saUrja kI camak caurakr ]sao ApnaI hI kaomala, SaISao jaOsaI caaÐdI kI camak maoM badla dota hUÐ. maorI [sa camak kao caaho caaorI ka maala khkr laaoga ijatnaaBaI pukaroM maOM Apnao idla pr yah baat nahIM laota. @yaaoM? @yaaoMik maorI caaÐdnaI kI baat hI kuC AaOr hO. na jaanao kba sao maorI camak kI saundrta kI cacaa-, khainayaaÐ,kivataAaoM, gaja,la, gaanaaoM va iflmaaoM maoM kI jaa rhI hO. AaOr maOM [na p`SaMsaaAaoM sao kBaI nahIM qakkr harta.maorI maaOjaUdgaI sao Anya dRSya sampUNa- hue hOM. [namaoM sao sabasao p`isaw AadSa- hO vah jaao saOkD,aoM SaOilayaaoM sao laaogaaoM kao lauBaa rha hO. jaba pUiNa-maa kI rat kao ivaSaala va SvaotItajamahla ko inakT svagaI-ya yamaunaa nadI pr maorI AnaUzI Cayaa pD,tI hO AaOr [sa AaBaasa kao ApnaI jaadu[- maKmalaI caaÐdnaI maoM nahlaatI hO tao dSa-k maaoiht hao jaato hOM.k[- p`imayaaoM kI sahayata BaI maOMnao ApnaI inakTta sao kI hO. yah kuC p`saMga hOM jahaÐ maOM saca maoM Apnao Aap sao p`sanna hao baOzta hUM.yah saarI caIja,oM tao hOM hI jaao mauJao KuSa krtI hOM saatvaMo Aasamaana tk phuMcaatI hOM ikMtu ek baat mauJao satatI hO. “caaÐd pr tao k[- daga hOM”.haM mauJapr daga hOM. maOM saUya- kI trh sampUNa- nahIM hUM. maOM kovala ApnaI caaMdnaI saiht sauMdr lagata hUM. ikMtu @yaa hr samaya hr baar hr kqaa kI Sau$Aat va AMt maoM mauJaoyaad idlaanaa ja,$rI hO ik maOM Bad\da hUM? ik maMO BaI AadmaI kI trh kimayaaoM ka QaarI hUM. @yaa saba maoM kao[- kmaI nahIM haotI? AaiK,r saUrja BaI tao ~iTpUNa- hO. ]sakIraoSnaI maorI caaMdnaI jaOsaI kaomala khaM? saUya- kI raoSnaI mah<vapUNa- AvaSya haogaI ikMtu hainakark BaI haotI hO. pr maorI caaMdnaI? isaf- AaOr isaf- Aanaindt krtI hO.ek AaOr baat jaao mauJao ËaoiQat krtI hO vah hO ik jaba naadana va maUK- pomaI ApnaI poimakaAaoM kao Apnao Pyaar ka [ja,har krto samaya “caaÐd taro taoD,kr” laanao ka vaadakrto hOM. @yaa hma kao[- pasa ko poD, pr TMgao fla hOM? nahIM. hmaoM eosaI baoihsaaba baataoM ko saharo kao[- maamaUlaI fla ka pd kRpyaa na doM. hmaara saaOndya- yahI hO ik hmaAama AadmaI kI pkD, sao dUr hOM. Apnao hI str pr hOM na ik naSvaraoM ko baIca maoM Kolanao planao vaalao.yahI kuC baatoM hOM jaao mauJao “caaÐd” banaatI hOM. haÐ AaOr k[- baatoM hOM jaao maOM Saayad batanao kI isqait maoM nahIM hUÐ ikMtu hUÐ tao maOM ek hI AaOr yah jaIvana ka ek t%va hO.

Sarnyaa zakur

Note: The Editorial Board would like to wish Mrs. Kumar a belated Happy Birthday!

VASANT VALLEY TODAY PAGE - 4

IF THERE WAS NOGRAVITY

If there was no gravityIt would be such a tragedyEverything would be flying

And babies would be cryingImagine throwing a ball

To get it back you need to be very tallThe people who want to flyWill now not have to sigh

I’ll find myself up on the moonIt will be a little weird but coolSeeing the world from so high

It would be so much fun sitting in thesky.

Aanya Jain 5-C

SHE TOUCHED MEWalking through the woods

On a dark night,I looked around and cowered in

fright,How had I got caught, why was it

always me?Then I saw it,

The flutter of wings caught my eyeI stared and stared,And she stared too.Her eyes were blue,

From face you could see she wasloyal and true.

Her complexion a stony white,And her wings shone bright.She reached out a white arm

Sparkling and shimmeringIn the moonlight

And then she touched me. I was filled with so many things,Love, joy and I had the urge to

laugh!I looked her one more time,

And then I ran away, far- far away.I never saw her again

But I thank God, for sending her tome.

An angel for me,An angel from heaven above.

Zoya Siddiqi Hassan V-C

THE OCEAN

I wish I was Mermaid

I would swim around the ocean

I would see all the beautiful sights

I would love to see the blue light.

The corals are so colourful

and the seashells are so white

I could play with the fishes

The jelly fish look so cute at night

Hello! Mrs Octopus, are you going to the

saloon?

You look very healthy

and round like moon.

Diva Ghosh III- C

icai~t mauhavaroicai~t mauhavaroicai~t mauhavaroicai~t mauhavaroicai~t mauhavaroOUR VISIT TO THOMSON

PRESS

The 3rd of December 2010- finally the day

had arrived when we were to visit the

Thomson Press. I was very excited. It was

a long journey but at last we reached our

destination. We were warmly greeted and

then escorted to the canteen where we

were briefed about the various operations

that are a part of the printing process.

After the briefing we were divided into

groups of ten and our guide who was a

staff volunteer from the press walked us

through the rooms of the press explaining

the processes and simultaneously

showing us the machine. It was extremely

interesting and informative for all. We

then had a quiz and got delicious and

scrumptious food before we boarded the

buses to get back to school. All in all it

was truly an amazing experience.

Aadyaa Singhania V- C

Watch Out- Foundation! Its a Jungle Out There!!!

VASANT VALLEY TODAY PAGE - 5

INDIAN HABITS

Indians are truly one of a kind. India is a magnificent, beautiful country filled withmany different characters. These characters of course, have some unique habits.Habits which are hilarious, sweet, good, ‘cheap’ and, at times, even disgusting. Butat the end of the day, we all love Indians! So let’s see what these Indian habits are.Please don’t worry if you do any of the following things, because you, too, are anIndian and in India these things have become a part of life.

HABIT NO.1: The Great Indian habit of spitting Paan practically anywhere.

Of course, eating paan is very popular across the country. Indians love paan. Youoften come across people chewing it with such great enjoyment and find that it isvery difficult to understand what they are saying while eating their beloved paan.Formerly in India, it was a custom of royalty to chew paan. Kings enjoyed a goodchewing session. Now it is eaten by nearly all Indians. There are a large number of‘panwadis’ or shops selling paan, all over the country. However, spitting in publicplaces has been criticized for creating cleanliness problems. Attempts have beenmade to place pictures of Gods on places where people commonly spit (walls etc.),but even that has not stopped people from spitting! Ah, the sweet taste of paan!

HABIT NO.2: According to Indians, all dogs have the name, Tommy. Whenever Indi-ans see a dog, they decide that the dog’s name is Tommy. Dogs can not have anyname other than Tommy. In fact, this famous Indian habit was shown in a 7-up ad aswell. “Come here, Tommy!”

HABIT NO.3: The classic, Indian way of calling dogs. Indians often click their tonguesand make ‘kissing noises’ to call dogs or to get their attention. For some odd reason,they believe that dogs understand these noises. Who knows, they just might!

HABIT NO.4: Indians love urinating on the road. Yes, this is a very disgusting habitbut Indians seem to have very weak bladders and think that there is no better placeto do their business than on roads or walls. This has led to signs being made onwalls which, in Hindi, read “yahaan peshaab karna mana hai” (urinating here is notallowed). Of course, these signs mean little to Indians!

HABIT NO.5: Indians just love weddings, and often land up at weddings where thebride and groom are unknown to them! Weddings are big everywhere, but they’reprobably the biggest in India, with (at times) 10,000 people attending a single wed-ding. They celebrate, dance, jump and sing. They create a great atmosphere. Thereare many touching, heart-wrenching moments in Indian weddings such as whenthe bride leaves her father’s house. The ‘baraat’ is also very popular and a greatspectacle. Many unknown people often join in the baraat and celebrations. It is alarge procession with a band and dancers. The bridegroom travels with this proces-sion on a horse. This is something unique to India. Indians love and enjoy this brightwedding culture.

HABIT NO. 6: The way Indians pose in photos. Indians have a unique way of posingin pictures. For example, they try and pose like a lion in a photo taken near a lion’scage in a zoo! Many a time you would notice that Indians put on sunglasses beforetaking a photograph. They think it’s ‘cool.’ And how can we forget the famous ‘don-key ears’ and ‘victory signs’ that Indians make in photographs, along with theirclassic body positions? 1, 2, 3, Say Paneer!

HABIT NO. 7: Indians enjoy bargaining. They do not believe in paying easily and loveto give shopkeepers a hard time. They harass shopkeepers until the price is broughtdown. Shopkeepers are eventually left with no choice! Arguing and bargaining issomething all Indians are experts at. In all markets, you will see Indians bargaining,and bargaining as if their lives depended on it. They believe in saving every rupee.

HABIT NO.8: Indians have a habit of talking very loudly. They do not care about howloud they are. They speak their mind and they speak it loud! Keeping silent in a placelike a library is very difficult for Indians. Anywhere you go, you see Indians talkingloudly. Even in stylish restaurants, Indians talk loudly!

HABIT NO. 9: ‘You know one thing...’ Indians say this all the time while speaking.They do so unknowingly. Frankly, they can’t help it! And Indians are also in love with‘present continuous.’ For example, they will say ‘Are you having a pen?’ rather than‘Do you have a pen?’ This is what we call Indian English- which, in my mind, issounding great! You know one thing, I am happy I am Indian!

Ishan Sardesai

The Shattered Dream The glistening sun, the golden sand,As the light blue waves meet the land.The barren fields, the mellow trees,The beautiful days, the gentle seas. People move but footprints stay,Young men swim and children play.A picturesque touch, the perfect scene,A bit too perfect—the land of dreams. But dreams shatter as you open your eyes,What happened to the lovely, light blue skies?Waves now crash to meet the land;The morbid sun, the soaked-up sand. A storm approaches, the sky turns grey;Smoky clouds envelop the day.People wait, stand and stare.They watch their dreams go up in air. Dreams and reality - opposites here,Dreams should stay, not be too dear.For not all dreams must come true,Hearts shatter and dreams do too.

-ANJANI GUPTA

panaI kI khanaIpanaI kI khanaIpanaI kI khanaIpanaI kI khanaIpanaI kI khanaIsaunato hOM yahaÐ nadI baha krtI qaI[samaoM qao, qao talatilayaa,ijanasao hI jaIvana kI Daor baMQaa krtI qaI.

kOsaa AMjaanaa saa lagata hO yah sabalagata hO imartayaa sapnaaoM saa Abasaaocata h UÐjala kao @yaaoM bahnao doto qaojala kao tao TMkI maoM,nala maoM,baaotlaaoM maoM baMdkr rKoM hmakImat hO saaonao saa [sakao tao trsaoM Abaijasakao tuma bahut hO khkr bah jaanao doto qaobaUMdbaUMdjaaoD,ao Aba yahI sauna krto hOM.

panaI kI naIyait badlakr,KuSa hao rhoM hOM QartI kao samaud/ sao ir@laoma krkodUsarI Aaor [Msaana kaoiSaSa maoM Aba hOMik vaYaa- BaI naklaI hao.AsalaI galaOiSayar tao ipGalaa idyaonaklaI naklaI Aba banaa rho hOM.

hOvaana tao hma qao hI kI saba kuC naYT ikyaa,Aba bananao cala pD,o Bagavaana BaIsaba kuC ifr banaanao kI kaoiSaSa maoMmaanava hao maanava hI banao rhao Baa[-,sahja jaao imala rha hO saMBaala ko rKao ]saoPyaar sao Kcaao-M tao panaI kBaI kma na hao yaaraoM.

SaaSvat rahula

VASANT VALLEY TODAY PAGE - 6

MIRROR OF MY SOULSo much to say,

But maybe it’s not loud enough.Sometimes it screams and shouts

But maybe, I just shut my ears,Refusing to listen.

Too scared to hear what it has to say.It might reveal my truth.

I might be exposed, unprotected.Thank god I have a cover up,

My face smiles.

It beats as if it’s whisperingsomething to me.

I control it.It starts beating faster, I can feel it.

It’s angry. A ferocious beast, That must be chained.

It wants to rebel, take a stand and speak.But I purse my lips and suppress it.

It has so much to say,I can hear it loud and clear.I lock the cage doors tightly,

And smile.

On some occasions, it skips a beat,It’s terrified.

Frightened of the unknownI sweat, and tremble.

It has taken over my body.But it should not proliferate any further.

I am the puppeteer and you are my puppet.I pull some strings,

swallow and take a big deep breath.I look up and smile.

Sometimes it weeps in sorrow.Its cries are full of despair.

Thankfully no one can hear them but me.But I feel weak. It’s driving me to lose hope

And give up.This side of it is the hardest to control.

It makes me want to stopthis game that I am playing.But I am a master of my art.I win each match every time,

By simply smiling.

My face is just a foggy mirror,So my soul cannot see its reflection.

Akhila Khanna

WHICH MODERN FAMILY CHARACTERARE YOU?

1. Which of the following are you?a) You’re very mature for your age, and are on a completely different wavelength

from your peers.b) You’re loud and exuberant. You’re the cheerful, bubbly one.c) You are a bit low on the IQ points, but you make up for that with your killer confidence.d) You march to the beat of your own drum. You’re very curious about the world,

and like to learn the facts of life yourself, rather than from what others tell you.e) You prefer to observe what is going on around you rather than actively take part

in anything.

2. What do you do outside school?a) You have interests that are atypical to your age. You’re dashing between Fencing

class and counseling sessions (hosted by you, of course).b) You have varied interests. You alternate between playing football and artistic

pursuits such as dressing up your family or friends as various Pop Icons.c) You’re always texting.d) You’re jumping on a trampoline in your underwear with a box on your head (or

are engaged in another such activity).e) You’re messing with your siblings or friends, something that you’re able to achieve

due to your superior intelligence.

3. Your friends know you as the…a) You don’t really have many friends your age; you prefer hanging out with adults

because you connect better with them.b) Drama Queen. You’re very melodramatic, but inside, you’re just dying to be

liked by others. You always stand up for those you love.c) Outgoing, confident one. You may not have a very high IQ, but you manage to

sustain a very hectic social life.d) One they don’t quite understand. They love you for your cuteness, and your

innocence and naiveté is very endearing.e) Smart one. You get fantastic grades and can sprout facts and trivia about any

topic at any time.Mostly As: Manny Delgado - You’re very mature for your age, and have a much greaterphilosophical capacity than your peers. Your peers may not understand you, but adultslove you and are impressed with your depth of thought.Mostly Bs: Cameron Tucker – You’re very dramatic, you have varied interests andalways do everything with a smile. Inside, you really just want to be loved and acceptedby others. You will stand up for a loved one no matter what.Mostly Cs: Haley Dunphy – You’re a typical teenager. You have great social skills, andthough your parents may not understand you, they understand the phase of life you’regoing through. You’re very confident and self assured, and have a high self esteem.Mostly Ds: Luke Dunphy – You’re very innocent and naïve. You have yet to wise up tothe ways of the world. You enjoy doing very childish things, and others don’t understandwhat goes on in your mind at all. You’re very attached to your family and friends.Mostly Es: Alex Dunphy – You’re much more intelligent than your peers, and are moreof an observer than an active participant in what is happening around you. You enjoymessing with people of lesser intelligence that you (namely siblings and peers).

EDITORIAL BOARD

Aastha Kamra, Namrata Narula,Pia Kochar, Sharanya Thakur,Vasudha Dixit, Akhila Khanna,Amira Singh, Ishan Sardesai,

Rishabh Prakash, Vandita Khanna,Mallika Pal, Ramya Ahuja, Suvira Chadha,

Vani Shriya, Vedika Berry, Noor Singh,Raghav Raizada, Sanjana Malhotra,Tanvi Tandan, Tanvi Tandon, Tara Sen

Editor: Ayesha Malik

V V I QWe asked the students of Vasant Valley: What is Beethoven’s first name?Udai Chawla: Edwin Van Der…Zara Adil: Beeth? But that makes no sense.Sahil Suhag: Boring Music-GuyMalika Kishore: Bon Jovi! No, that can’t be right.Tarini Sardesai: Isn’t his first name Beethoven? Or like Leonard or something.Abhishek Arya: Bee ☺Kabir Chhatwal : Potowen Sheetoven BeethovenAalika Peres : HugewigShoubhik Ghoshal: ChulbulShantanu Puri: Tommy

Ludwig van Beethoven was a German Pianist and Composer. He is one of the most famousand influential composers of all time. He is most famous for the Nine Symphonies he com-posed.Shaurya Dhir, Pia Chatterjee, Noor Guram and Gurbaz Khera gave the correct answer. Well done!