CROSSING PEAKSAneeta’s Glacier

Adventure

THE MONSTERS IN OUR LIVES

MILLIDACIOUSThe Marvelous Musical

WELCOME TO THENEW YEAR

T H E F U T U R E S C H O O L N E W S L E T T E RAugust 2015

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The Monsters in Our Lives Once upon a time, on a simple piece of paper, a knowledgeable, lovable monster was born. Not one that terrifies the young minds, no. In the quite opposite way, this one brightens up your day! We all have different monsters and creatures living in our lives. This little green guy on the front cover (to me at least) represents the crazy child in us.Our monsters tend to take control of our actions, words and thoughts, especially when we are children. With age, time and experience, we learn how to tame them, how to live with them. Sometimes we discover new monsters that we didn’t know existed.

I guess we all have the basic monsters that show up very early in our lives, like the angry beast, or the friendly furball, the snobby sniffler, or the calm carnivore .

Time goes by, and all sorts of situations pop up and so do different monsters. For me, these monsters tend to be very convincing creatures, at times conflicting and sometimes confusing. They all have a purpose and I think they all complement each other. One comes to expect certain monsters to appear at certain moments of our lives. Yet sometimes our monsters can surprise us when they show up without notice or warning.

At times we even hide behind our chosen monsters, to feel protected, safe, or maybe even comfortable. Different people choose different ones to hide behind.

But all that matters in the end is to accept them; to try to understand their purpose and to give them their space; so we can live our lives in harmony, not judging other people’s monsters, nor yet our own.

By Yaelle Ouerdani

Bob-the-Aged-Sage

Hello children (and those who deny being one). I am known as The Aged Sage. I give people advice, on any issue.

I have shown toddlers how to walk and talk; I have shown people how to move on; I have shown people their own inner valiance; I have shown the doubtful how to make their own path; I have shown people how to not feel shame, And probably the most importantly, I have shown my own mother how to get rid of those green stains.

If you were to ask me how I know all of these things, I would tell you it’s knowledge I’ve gathered through hardship and experience. Being a figment of someone’s imagination gives me the right to say that I’ve been through a lot more than anyone reading this ever will.

Oh, and before I forget, know that you can call me Bob, but not Bill.

So what are you waiting for? Share your difficulties with me and I will try my best to answer.You can always ask to be anonymous.

Send your questions in to: bobtheagedsage@gmail.com

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Welcome back, everybody! And welcome to school all you fi rst years and new students! We’ve all come here to go through another year of learning, fun and torture. For some of us, this is going to be the last year in Future School, for others it is the fi rst, and for some of us... well, we’re somewhere in the middle of the process. When I saw the fi rst years in school, I couldn’t help thinking about how things were for me when I was a fi rst year (we all know that that wasn’t toooo long ago).

I remember the fi rst time I walked through the gate and into school; the fi rst time I met all the teachers and the impressions they made; and I also remember how diff erent this school felt from Transition, both academically and in ambiance.

Before I got here, whenever I thought of Future School, I have to admit that I kind of let my imagination run wild. I thought of a school where the older students bully the younger students and enjoy humiliating them. I had also heard that the teachers give mountains of homework, and so I pictured myself tired and half-dead, carrying a whole wheelbarrow of books to school. But I couldn’t have been more wrong.

When I came here, what I encountered was a group of friends. No one bullied anybody and the only embarrassment I felt, was caused by myself (tripping over my two left feet more times than I can remember). I also think that the teachers didn’t load us with more work than we could handle. Yes, there was more homework here than in our previous schools, but we weren’t exactly pushing ourselves to our limit there. If you think that you are getting too much homework then don’t worry: you’ll get used to it.

All in all, I don’t think people can really tell you what Future School is going to be like. You’re just going to have to see for yourself. What I think is this: the places you go to and the people you meet are there to become your memories, so you might as well use all of your potential, and all that Future School has to off er, and try to make your memories of Future School good ones.

By Rathna Ramesh

Hello !

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Aneeta’s Glacier Adventure

I grew up at the foothills of Himalayas; I believe that’s what has sustained my fascination for the young mountains! As a child, and even after I grew up, I often used to wander around the woods... so one can say that am a Wanderer. The journey of life has lead me to Auroville, the land of human unity.

Well, an idea which kept popping up in my head again and again was to share the experience of the Himalayas with my co-Aurovillians; so finally I put it into action. I, along with seven other Aurovillians headed towards Gangotri, the glacier from where the mighty Ganga originates. I had taken a similar journey 15 years back with my family. Things have changed over the last one and half decades but one thing that had not was that the Himalayas left me spellbound once again!

We reached Rishikesh at the foothills of the Himalayas and stayed there overnight. The next morning we headed towards Gangotri. Our car sped along the serpentine roads, and every turn was moving us into the unknown. As we kept climbing, we could observe the river Ganga alongside us, meandering its way through the lush green valleys.

We picked up our passes from the DFO (District Forest Office) for the Gaumukh trek permit and resumed our journey. Finally, at around seven in the evening we reached the small little town of Gangotri, crossing Bhairon Ghati, Harsil and Dharali – beautiful Himalayan hamlets.

In order to get acclimatized to the high altitude, we stayed in Gangotri for two nights and a day and soaked in the beauty of the Himalayas.

We started our trek to Gaumukh, the snout of the glacier, early in the morning at 6:30 am. We were fully geared up for the trekking and had packed water bottles, some dry fruits, biscuits and chocolates.

After showing our passes at the gate of Gangotri National Park, we were let inside to begin the ultimate journey.

A simple walk for around 2-3 kilometers along the narrow trail which clings to the ever-changing mountain slopes alongside the Bhagirathi river brought us to Devvan. After Devvan the climb becomes a little steeper and one can feel ones pulse rate increasing. Nonetheless the sights of the Bhrigupanthi series of peaks are breathtaking, and a feeling of awe keeps everyone going.

After another 5-6 kilometers, crossing over ice sheets, steep mountains, rivulets and streams, we reached Chirbasa (which means ‘pine forest’), 9 kilometers from Gangotri. We took a snack break for 30 minutes and then again headed towards our destination.

We passed peak after peak across the amazing landscape. It is hard to find words to describe the Himalayas. Peaks were peeping through the mountain corridors and the beautiful landscape changed with every bend of the river.

From Chirbasa to Bhojbasa, which is a stiff 5 kilometer trek, many a time a thought crossed my mind questioning my ability to go on. Although it’s just 5 kilometers the path is strewn with landslides and steep

Himalayan majesty

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The Truth As We Know It

Walking down the student-flooded spaces, I juggled questions in my head, in search of one who’s answer would be personal, one which would offer me a peek into who the students in our school really are.

‘What do you believe to be true?’

The answers I received from a random selection of students surprised and amused me. This open question served the exact purpose I was intending it to - for no two answers were the same or even similar for that matter.

Here are some of the answers I got: the divine; that the universe is infinite; that Jesus was black; that nothing is indefinite; karma; the food I had on my plate; that the universe will provide; logic; that life will only throw you what you can handle; that human species are doomed and - chocolate is yummy.

As for me? What do I believe to be true? That EVERYTHING is relative.By Milla Den Hollander

climbs; the vegetation starts thinning out and exhaustion takes over. But the very landscape of the Himalayas kept my spirits high and after braving a strong storm, rain, and finally, snowfall, we reached Bhojbasa at around 4.30 pm. As we were moving ahead, the temperature was falling, and there came a moment when I had to hide myself behind a huge rock to dig out my socks and gloves, (discarded earlier when I had been sweating - a mistake which a trekker in high altitude should never make).

We all took shelter in the night at Bhojbasa in a guesthouse (which collapsed in the flood which came in the Himalayan river two years ago).

The next morning we started our trek to Gaumukh, around 4 kilometers from Bhojbasa. It was an easy-going trek through the pebbles and huge rocks. The snow clad peaks left us spellbound. Finally, we had our sighting of the Glacier.

We stayed for an hour or two, soaking ourselves in the bliss of the Himalayas. Note that no one is allowed to go near the Glacier. A 500 meter restriction has been laid down by the forest authorities. After spending an undisturbed time, we headed back to Bhojbasa as the dark clouds started gathering.

When I first visited Gaumukh, I didn’t know if I would come back again, but I think that now I am sure that I will.

By Aneeta Pathak (Aneeta has joined the Future School team as our new Geography teacher).

Aneeta - Geared to go

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Coming out this September, Millidacious, an audacious theatrical production, will combine dance, song and an amazing adventure. An Aurovilian effort, the script has been written by Paul Blanchflower (playwright of Sorcery at Sea) and the musical score composed by Matthe Littlewood. The music and dances will follow Rock and Roll, as well as Jazz themes. Starring Ahilya as the main character, Milli, and Aloe as another prominent character Alli, the play has many Future School students in it. Ahilya plays Milli, the rebellious but helpful protagonist of the show, as demonstrated in her line: “Why is it always me that has to do everything, it’s just not fair”. Ahilya expressed excitement at having got the role she had auditioned for and said she felt honored to get to play Milli. Aloe, who originally also auditioned for Milli, but is happy with the character Alli, whose part was specially created for her. She say she finds Alli a fun character to act and she gets to do loads of cool stuff like running around on the stage.

Millidacious - The Marvelous Musical

Actors practice a dance routine

Taking a short breather Practising a duet dance

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Other Future School members play the antagonists of the musical, with

Amara as Sacarat, a conwoman and Tara as Sleekum, an “evil cat”. Amara says she enjoys the challenge in playing Sacarat, finding it interesting to act a character that defies social norms and she likes working with the other actors onstage. Tara’s character Sleekum is an evil slick cat that terrorizes everyone but does it with an undoutable touch of style. Tara says the dancing, singing and acting make it a great part. In fact the cats are so graceful some people have expressed a wish that they had more time on stage, however, with the play already stretching to two hours with its ten minute interval, even the most brilliant scenes have to be carefully kept short. It is possible the “evil cats” are not all bad as Sleekums’ best line is: “Misunderstood at every turn”. Dineshkumar (DK) plays Raggus the rat, Milli’s best friend; and Rishi acts as a yet unnamed character but hopes his role will include singing and acting.

The teachers are also present in the musical with Elke as a Jazzy Rat and Ema as Nonamous, a character he feels ‘wonderful’ about playing. Most members of the play feel optimistic and excited about the production and this energy is defusing into the rest of the student body. An unnamed student said: “I’m gonna go watch the musical, I’m excited about seeing my friends perform”. In fact most of Auroville should have at least one friend on the stage with Millidacious’ cast of 80 actors. It is quite possible Millidacious will be the biggest musical to have ever come to an Auroville stage. The play will run for three days, performances happening on the 25th, 26th, and 27th of September at the Sri Aurobindo Auditorium in Bharat Nivas.

By Cameron StewartPhoto credits: Marissa Martens

Did you know...? Compiled and illustrated by Mohana Navare

You could fit two billion atoms on the full stop after this sentence.

An ostrich’s eye is bigger than its brain.

The tingling sensation some people experience in their mouths when they eat pineap-ple is not an allergic reaction, but their mouth being digested by an enzyme from the pineapple. (It’s called bromelain and is a proteolytic enzyme, that is, an enzyme that digests proteins.)

Cooling off after some hard work

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Do you have feedback for the Future Scribbles Team? Send it to: futurescribblescontact@gmail.com. Mention ‘Feedback’ in the subject.

Editorial Team: Ahilya Bumroo, Aloe Tormo Mir, Bagirath Prakash, Bhavya Trivedi, Cameron Stewart, Marissa Martens, Milla Den Hollander, Moha-na Navare, Rathna Ramesh, Tara Bene Rex

Cover Illustration: Yaelle Ouerdani

Special thanks to Muralidharan, AVDZINES.

Ludic LanguageCompiled by Bhavya Trivedi and Aaron Imhoff

We agree that the main purpose of Language is Communication. Th at said, language is more complex, more interesting and more fun than that. ‘’Ludus’ in Latin means ‘sport’ or ‘play’, and from this root comes the term ‘ludic’ meaning ‘playful’. An important purpose of language is to have fun with it, to enjoy it.

An interesting observation is that it is impossible to use language in this way if the communicators are truly angry or upset. So if you can add an element of ‘play’ to your language, it means that you have a good communication relationship.

Here is an example of some fun that we had for a classroom assignment.

- “Knock knock.”

- “Who’s there?”

- “Winnie!”

- “Winnie who?”

- “Winnie the Pooh!”

- “Oh, is Piglet with you?”

- “No, I didn’t see her today.”

- “Ok, come in.”

- “Maybe we should check for her in the bin.”

- “She’s not there!”

- “But I found a rotten pear.”

- “Good, I’m hungry anyway.”

- “Yeah we could search for her some other day.”

-”She’s probably just sleeping in the hay.”

-”What do you wanna do now?”

-”Let’s go feed the cow!”

-”Why does the hay smell funny?”

-”Oh look, the ears of a bunny.”

-”Kill it!”

-”No wait, it’s piglet!”