Well...
Did you like it? Sorry it's a bit childish...but you see, fun and rhythmic poetry is always better than somber, dreary poems, don't you think? I feel writing light-hearted poetry is better than composing poems about broken hearts and betrayal and things like that...
Snippets
My mode of daily transport to school is by auto. It's a unique experience in itself, you know. Not to mention funny. Seriously, if you travelled in an auto with three eight-year-olds (and two other big kids) life's got be funny sometimes.
I'm the first person the "auto-uncle" picks up every morning and I'm the last one to get off, so I see pretty much everything there is to see. My entry into the auto is very dramatic. A junior once commented that I looked like "White Riding Hood"! I have a white scarf tied around my head in the morning, the reason being that I am prone to ENT problems.
Next, the three kids. The kid who is picked up after me is a BIG Know-it-all...and the way he totally squashes the other two with his "worldly" observations makes me snigger to myself. The next kid is nice, but totally dense. Things have to be repeated at least thrice for him to understand. In addition to this, he is also irrepressibly curious. Imagine that combo!
The third kid is a girl who keeps us waiting for atleast fifteen minutes (on an average, she's kept us for twenty minutes at times) and always succeeds in blowing the collective fuses of not only the "auto-uncle" but the rest of the auto as well.
The way they argue and ask questions about silly little things is really funny, to me as a "much wiser and experienced girl", at least that's what they think I am. But their typical childish conversation always reminds me of my childhood, when apparently trivial things were very important and childish alliances were something to be very proud of. Their slapstick jokes, their anxious questions and eternal awe at my stage in life is extremely amusing...
I'm the first person the "auto-uncle" picks up every morning and I'm the last one to get off, so I see pretty much everything there is to see. My entry into the auto is very dramatic. A junior once commented that I looked like "White Riding Hood"! I have a white scarf tied around my head in the morning, the reason being that I am prone to ENT problems.
Next, the three kids. The kid who is picked up after me is a BIG Know-it-all...and the way he totally squashes the other two with his "worldly" observations makes me snigger to myself. The next kid is nice, but totally dense. Things have to be repeated at least thrice for him to understand. In addition to this, he is also irrepressibly curious. Imagine that combo!
The third kid is a girl who keeps us waiting for atleast fifteen minutes (on an average, she's kept us for twenty minutes at times) and always succeeds in blowing the collective fuses of not only the "auto-uncle" but the rest of the auto as well.
The way they argue and ask questions about silly little things is really funny, to me as a "much wiser and experienced girl", at least that's what they think I am. But their typical childish conversation always reminds me of my childhood, when apparently trivial things were very important and childish alliances were something to be very proud of. Their slapstick jokes, their anxious questions and eternal awe at my stage in life is extremely amusing...
Some funny conversations
Here are a few conversational snippets that made me laugh.
We had a "guest" for a couple of months. She was quite a sharp girl and was great pals-and-enemies-alternately with the "waiting" girl. One day, she asked each one of the other two a question in addition. (the third kid came along later). The know-it-all, of course, could answer all them correctly. She then went on to the waiting girl and asked her a few. The last question was asked.The waiting girl, not very good at Maths, didn't know what to say. In retaliation, she fired a hard (!) question at the other girl: "What is 16 plus 16?"The other girl did not know the answer but did not want to admit defeat in front of this one. So she replied "16 plus 16 is nothing. It's zero!"At this point in time, I looked at the other girl to see what she would say to this audacious reply. Would she laugh and scoff loudly or would she poke fun at the other for not answering it correctly?To my astonishment, she nodded her head sagely and said "That's correct"The waiting girl did not know the answer either!!!
Here's another. A fifth-class boy, travelling in our auto, was sitting up front with the auto-uncle and was discussing with him about the then-prevalent Chikungunya disease. These kids, having hit a momentary silent phase, listened to it without quite understanding what the older boy was saying. A few moments later, the sharp girl and the waiting girl both began to argue and the argument had reached a stage of extreme anger.I must explain something at this point in time. The waiting girl's family are Jains, who are pure vegetarians. They do not touch meat, so the girl must have been taught that meat is dirty and polluting. It was the height of insult to her to call someone "chicken" or "mutton". According to very twisted logic, she meant to convey her hate and disgust for something by comparing it to meat.So, she called the other sharp girl "chicken" and "mutton". The other girl was quick to retaliate and, as a result of the unconsciously absorbed conversation up front, said "You're Chikungunya!" I think we must have scared passers-by by suddenly bursting into maniacal laughter!
There are countless such instances and I suspect I shall spend the next few posts relating them...I can never stop laughing when I think about my young friends and their "auto conversations"!
We had a "guest" for a couple of months. She was quite a sharp girl and was great pals-and-enemies-alternately with the "waiting" girl. One day, she asked each one of the other two a question in addition. (the third kid came along later). The know-it-all, of course, could answer all them correctly. She then went on to the waiting girl and asked her a few. The last question was asked.The waiting girl, not very good at Maths, didn't know what to say. In retaliation, she fired a hard (!) question at the other girl: "What is 16 plus 16?"The other girl did not know the answer but did not want to admit defeat in front of this one. So she replied "16 plus 16 is nothing. It's zero!"At this point in time, I looked at the other girl to see what she would say to this audacious reply. Would she laugh and scoff loudly or would she poke fun at the other for not answering it correctly?To my astonishment, she nodded her head sagely and said "That's correct"The waiting girl did not know the answer either!!!
Here's another. A fifth-class boy, travelling in our auto, was sitting up front with the auto-uncle and was discussing with him about the then-prevalent Chikungunya disease. These kids, having hit a momentary silent phase, listened to it without quite understanding what the older boy was saying. A few moments later, the sharp girl and the waiting girl both began to argue and the argument had reached a stage of extreme anger.I must explain something at this point in time. The waiting girl's family are Jains, who are pure vegetarians. They do not touch meat, so the girl must have been taught that meat is dirty and polluting. It was the height of insult to her to call someone "chicken" or "mutton". According to very twisted logic, she meant to convey her hate and disgust for something by comparing it to meat.So, she called the other sharp girl "chicken" and "mutton". The other girl was quick to retaliate and, as a result of the unconsciously absorbed conversation up front, said "You're Chikungunya!" I think we must have scared passers-by by suddenly bursting into maniacal laughter!
There are countless such instances and I suspect I shall spend the next few posts relating them...I can never stop laughing when I think about my young friends and their "auto conversations"!
Weary
Wow...so somebody's reading after all...cool.
I've got a poem on the way, an early one of mine. It was composed when I was in Class 8 (read 13 years old). It's called "Potion Notions". Here it comes...
I've got a poem on the way, an early one of mine. It was composed when I was in Class 8 (read 13 years old). It's called "Potion Notions". Here it comes...
Potion Notions
A poem by Anushya S.B.
"Old Grandma is up to mischief
Not doing what she normally should.
Slipping into the forest
In a cloak and an old grey hood,
You can just tell that
She’s up to no good…
Her grey mop tucked
Underneath her hideous hat,
Clutching her broomstick,
Followed by her faithful black cat;
She goes hunting in the forest,
Hunting for this and that…
First she goes hunting for mushrooms:
Fly Agarics and Death Caps…
All guaranteed to cause
Greatest misfortune and mishap
Next comes the Flegora tree
And its poisonous green sap…"
Continued...
"Old Grandma is up to mischief
Not doing what she normally should.
Slipping into the forest
In a cloak and an old grey hood,
You can just tell that
She’s up to no good…
Her grey mop tucked
Underneath her hideous hat,
Clutching her broomstick,
Followed by her faithful black cat;
She goes hunting in the forest,
Hunting for this and that…
First she goes hunting for mushrooms:
Fly Agarics and Death Caps…
All guaranteed to cause
Greatest misfortune and mishap
Next comes the Flegora tree
And its poisonous green sap…"
Continued...
Potion Notions (continued..)
P.S.: You must have got used to long poems by now...you just have to, because I don't and can't write short ones!
"And then comes old Mrs. Twitch
Asking to be reverted to childhood
“I don’t know! I think I’ll try”
Says Mrs. Twitch: “You definitely should!”
And then they both hurry
And scurry out of the woods…
Setting off for Grandma’s hut
To start making the magical brew,
She’d certainly use the frog’s legs
For she’d cut them as soon as they grew.
She wouldn’t use the Rowsdrop,
For its sources were very few…
Meanwhile Mrs. Twitch says:
“I want to be young and beautiful again.”
Grandma mutters: “I’ll put this in;
Picked when the moon was on its wane.”
“I’ll add some spiced Regolda.”
She murmurs: “Maybe some sugarcane.”
Yup, there's more...
"And then comes old Mrs. Twitch
Asking to be reverted to childhood
“I don’t know! I think I’ll try”
Says Mrs. Twitch: “You definitely should!”
And then they both hurry
And scurry out of the woods…
Setting off for Grandma’s hut
To start making the magical brew,
She’d certainly use the frog’s legs
For she’d cut them as soon as they grew.
She wouldn’t use the Rowsdrop,
For its sources were very few…
Meanwhile Mrs. Twitch says:
“I want to be young and beautiful again.”
Grandma mutters: “I’ll put this in;
Picked when the moon was on its wane.”
“I’ll add some spiced Regolda.”
She murmurs: “Maybe some sugarcane.”
Yup, there's more...
Attack of the long poems...(muahhahah!!)
Continued...
"The cauldron simmers and shimmers
With sinister green smoke.
Seeing which Mrs. Twitch
Coughs, sneezes and chokes.
Saying: “I certainly couldn’t gulp that
Just as I couldn’t eat my cloak!”
But she bravely swallows it
And ages all backwards and as she
Reaches the stage, Grandma shouts
“That’s perfect! Not a year backward or forward!”
But in fact, Mrs. Twitch doesn’t stop
And goes on to grow to an infant!
The growing and changing all
Stop with the sound of a gong
Muses Grandma: “I didn’t mean to
Make her so young, something’s wrong!”
She stands thinking about her failed potion
While the child sings a little song!"
THE END...hey, at least it wasn't as long as the first one!!
"The cauldron simmers and shimmers
With sinister green smoke.
Seeing which Mrs. Twitch
Coughs, sneezes and chokes.
Saying: “I certainly couldn’t gulp that
Just as I couldn’t eat my cloak!”
But she bravely swallows it
And ages all backwards and as she
Reaches the stage, Grandma shouts
“That’s perfect! Not a year backward or forward!”
But in fact, Mrs. Twitch doesn’t stop
And goes on to grow to an infant!
The growing and changing all
Stop with the sound of a gong
Muses Grandma: “I didn’t mean to
Make her so young, something’s wrong!”
She stands thinking about her failed potion
While the child sings a little song!"
THE END...hey, at least it wasn't as long as the first one!!
Back with a bang...
Well, it's right in the middle of the CBSE Board Examinations and I'm blogging...
Weird but true. Anyway, my thanks to the people who actually take the trouble to read this. This time, I thought I'd introduce something other than poems..people must be sick of my poetry by now. Stay tuned...
Weird but true. Anyway, my thanks to the people who actually take the trouble to read this. This time, I thought I'd introduce something other than poems..people must be sick of my poetry by now. Stay tuned...
On a roll
That's what I am going to be from now on...now that I have the time to do so. I wanted this post to be something different. So, this post is going to be a review.
Gerald Durrell. Name strike a chord of recognition?
Well, for one thing, he was a world-famous conservationist. He worked to save several species from extinction. Another thing, he set up a famous zoo to showcase his collection of rare and exotic animals, brought up by him and his family. Third thing, he grew up in a tropical paradise of the name of Corfu, Greece.
Well, if it still doesn't strike anything. Then here goes...he wrote a series of wonderfully fresh and funny books highlighting the quirks of the animal as well as human world.
This review is about three books "My Family and Other Animals", "Birds, Beasts and Relatives" and "The Garden of the Gods"- all of them autobiographical.
In these books, Durrell sketches out the details of his early years spent in Corfu and provides amusing anecdotes of his long-suffering family members and pets. Featured, are Gerald's mother, Mrs. Durrell, his diet-obsessed sister Margo, his sarcastic brother Larry, his "ballistic" borther Leslie, his dog Roger and their driver-cum-friend-cum-odd jobs man Spiro. And I promise you, each of these books has the capability of sending you into peals of laughter. (continued...)
Gerald Durrell. Name strike a chord of recognition?
Well, for one thing, he was a world-famous conservationist. He worked to save several species from extinction. Another thing, he set up a famous zoo to showcase his collection of rare and exotic animals, brought up by him and his family. Third thing, he grew up in a tropical paradise of the name of Corfu, Greece.
Well, if it still doesn't strike anything. Then here goes...he wrote a series of wonderfully fresh and funny books highlighting the quirks of the animal as well as human world.
This review is about three books "My Family and Other Animals", "Birds, Beasts and Relatives" and "The Garden of the Gods"- all of them autobiographical.
In these books, Durrell sketches out the details of his early years spent in Corfu and provides amusing anecdotes of his long-suffering family members and pets. Featured, are Gerald's mother, Mrs. Durrell, his diet-obsessed sister Margo, his sarcastic brother Larry, his "ballistic" borther Leslie, his dog Roger and their driver-cum-friend-cum-odd jobs man Spiro. And I promise you, each of these books has the capability of sending you into peals of laughter. (continued...)
Continued
...The reader can instantly visualise the young boy, surrounded by his whimsical family. His pets, including a donkey, a turtle, several dogs, toads, owls, hedgehogs to name a few.
Durrell's writing style is what makes the books special. His knack of penning down just the right words to describe a heavenly location or narrating a comical incident is truly admirable.
I can say that I've had many happy hours reading these books and I can promise you the same if you decide to read them for yourself.
My favourite parts of the books: Margo's spiritualism, Larry's literary friends, the maid Lugaretzia, Mrs. Durrell's dog Dodo and Spiro's conversations.
Final verdict: Read it, read it..!!!
Durrell's writing style is what makes the books special. His knack of penning down just the right words to describe a heavenly location or narrating a comical incident is truly admirable.
I can say that I've had many happy hours reading these books and I can promise you the same if you decide to read them for yourself.
My favourite parts of the books: Margo's spiritualism, Larry's literary friends, the maid Lugaretzia, Mrs. Durrell's dog Dodo and Spiro's conversations.
Final verdict: Read it, read it..!!!
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