Sara’s Selections, July 2020

Thank you Ms Sara and Book Osmia for this lovely selection. We love having the sporty Ms Sara on our pages with her lovely collection of stories, poems and essays. We handover the stage to Ms Sara as she starts on her introductions.

Hey there, everyone’s best friend, Ms Sara is here! Here is a cute little poem by 6  year old Tuhina Nambiar from Mumbai sends in a message to the parrots, her new friends since the lockdown.

Poetry

Cute Parrots

By Tuhina Nambiar

We are all at home now.

Roads are clear.

There is no pollution.

The sky is clear.

The cloud looks like cotton.

Parrots are free to fly.

Everyday they sing me a lullaby.

They chat in my balcony.

Looking at them, I feel I am talking to my friends.

Sara now welcomes a colourful story from the youngest poet — 5 year old Amaya from Kolkata. Rainbows are great but when the storm is coming, you have got to head home.

Poem- Magical Rainbow

By Amaya Rupramka

One day a wizard gave me a pair of wings

And I started flying

Then, I went to the clouds

And I was thinking it’s some milk

Then I saw lot of colors

Then surprisingly it was surprise for me, it was a RAINBOW

Do you want to learn what were the colors?

Violet

Indigo

Blue and

Green

Yellow

Orange 

Red

Then I met Eagles, Sparrows, Pigeons & Parrots

And we flew together…

Then a storm came, a thunder storm 

And the birds were very scared

And that’s when I flew back home.

 A simple handshake, a roaring stadium, a breath of fresh air — all seems like a dream now, beautifully captured by 15 year old Abhipsa from Bhubhaneshwar.

May We Never Take For granted

By Abhipsa

Life seemed to be peaceful

Alas! Corona you made it dreadful.

There was no time to sit and stare

But you made it all fair.

.

All of us always thought–

Life is a quick succession of busy nothings

But you changed our perception regarding everything.

.

The earth whispered but we didn’t hear,

The earth spoke but we didn’t listen,

The earth screamed we didn’t pay heed.

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That was why Corona was born

To awaken us,

To enlighten us.

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Many great heroes, yet names unknown

Many sacrifices and pain undergone

Many new heroes have been born.

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“Please don’t decorate me in garland,

Please don’t give me applause,

I just want to return home safe,

Even if all my remains are bones,

I must bring myself back home to my family,” they said. 

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We call this all a heartbreak 

But ask nature

It is alive like never before

Blue skies, sparkling water, 

Animals with happy feet .

.

When this is over may we never take for granted

A handshake with a stranger

A stadium roaring

Fresh air to breathe. 

.

To learn

We must respect

Nature and our fellow beings

All of us are apart,

But we stand together

And together we shall,

Overcome. 

Stories

Ms Sara shares this extremely creative story by a little author, 7 year old Naisha from Little Readers Nook Gurgaon. 

Suzy and the Grey Kite

By Naisha Bothra,7, Gurgaon

Once upon a time there lived a girl called Suzy. She was going to the Kite  festival riding on her beautiful unicorn. As they reached the kite festival, Suzy saw a gloomy grey kite sitting alone.

Nobody took him .Everybody only bought colourful kites. The grey kite was  locked in a glass and it was sobbing. Suzy felt sad for the grey kite and quickly  took the kite from the shopkeeper.

The kite was relieved to come out of the glass and thanked the girl for taking him. Suzy sat on the unicorn and they went on top of the green mountain to fly the grey kite high up in the blue sky. The grey kite felt awkward in the sky  among all the bright ones. He thought, “If I fall all the other kites will laugh at  me.”

But Suzy and the kite did not give up. Soon he began to enjoy the fresh air and began to rise high, high, so high. He started loving it. Seeing him dance so high all the other colored kites learnt a lesson that they should not have made fun of him. They realized that dark or colorful doesn’t matter. It is important to be confident and happy with ourselves.

Now the grey kite lives happily ever after in his new home…

Ms Sara wonders — are animals capable of kindness? Read this story by 7 year old Miraya from Gurgaon to find out.

The Lost Blackberries

By Miraya

Once there lived a dark eyed seven-year-old girl named Tara. She had pink cheeks and a sharp nose. She lived in a cozy cottage in a village.

One day she really felt like having her favourite fruit, blackberries.

GULP! GULP! GULP! Tara imagined herself having those yummy blackberries. So, she requested her mother to bring some delicious blackberries.

Her skinny and hardworking mother at once agreed. There was a huge black berry bush behind their cottage. So, they went to pluck some juicy black berries. After reaching home, Tara kept the basket of the black berries in the backyard.

As soon as Tara turned to pick a plate, WHOOSH! The black berries were gone!!

After a moment Tara saw a little monkey sitting on the fencing of their  backyard. She could see the monkey holding the basket of the blackberries.  Tara started screaming and howling.

Her mother rushed outside and noticed the notorious monkey. Tara’s mother tried her best to console her. To Tara’s surprise, that kind monkey dropped the basket without even tasting any black berry. From that day onwards, Tara and that monkey became best friends.

They also shared their blackberries every day.

Now, are you now ready for some spookiness? 9 year old Koushiki from Kolkata has got it all in place for us. Read her story —

The Train to Milan

By Koushiki

Once, I had got a job offer in Milan. As I had to earn a living, I left for Milan the very next day. I didn’t live in Italy and so before going to Milan I had to first reach Italy. I had arrived in Italy and on the same day I was going to Milan.

Unfortunately, the train was supposed to come at 12:00 p.m. but it didn’t  because of a train accident. At 5:30 p.m, I came to know that the train could not arrive that day and so the train would come the very next day. It was a very  lonely station and I was the only person there.

I was very tense as I had to  spend the night there. After all I didn’t know the place at all. I had arrived that  day only. How would I know anything about it!

Suddenly I saw two children coming towards me. They started talking to me and asked me my story. I had no other option and so I told  the whole story to them. They asked me to follow them. There was not much else to do, so I followed them.

They took me through a dark and deep tunnel. To my surprise, when the tunnel ended I saw a train waiting there. So strange! There was no other station there as far as I had read and the clock says it was 1:00 O’clock in the night now. One of the children said this was the train to  Milan. They said goodbye to me as I entered the train. I got a good seat beside  an old woman. In my cabin, there were only a few people.

There was a very  cold breeze blowing. Suddenly the old woman said her name is Amelia and  asked my name and also something about myself. I told her my name and that I loved adventures. Amelia was a very friendly woman and seeing her kind nature, I told her my  story and then said I was focusing on my goal to get a good job but I was very  nervous and tense. She said she traveled everyday from her workplace here to her home in Milan. She asked if I would mind her asking something. I told her I wouldn’t.

Amelia said, “At the beginning you told me you were an adventurous person but you can’t face life itself. Life is the biggest adventure, it has so many challenges which brings happiness as well as sadness, isn’t it? And then you said you were focusing on your goal but you are too nervous. How can you focus on your goal if you are focusing so much on your nervousness? And  why are you so nervous? You don’t know what life has in store for you just as you did not know you will get a train, when you had no chance of it. Then why be  nervous?”

Just as I heard her say life is an adventure and you have to face it, my eyes  opened and suddenly I found myself in Milan and I could not see the train  anywhere. Strangely, it was still 5:30 p.m in the clock just as I had seen earlier when I was sitting in the station. I thought maybe I was wrong.

I went to the  hotel where I was going to stay and on the very next day I went for the interview. It turned out very well and I got the job. After a few months I got a holiday and so, I wanted to go home.When I was leaving for home, I thought I should  thank the old woman who had  helped me. So I went to the stationmaster and asked if she was travelling today. He asked for her name. I told him about Amelia,  that she was a very old lady and traveled everyday from this station.

The stationmaster was frightened and showing me a photo of Amelia, asked  if she is the person I was talking about. I replied happily that this was indeed her.“Ma’am she died on 13th January at 2.30p.m. in a train accident, while she was traveling. It was the same day I met her and maybe the same accident for  which the train had not arrived that day. I went out of the stationmaster’s  office and remembered the conversation between me and her.” Suddenly, I felt  the same cold breeze I felt that day.

One spooky story is never enough! Here is another one from 12 year old Aditya from Delhi. Do tell Ms Sara when you have it all figured out. Read on !

The Bicycle Adventure

By Aditya

The night was pitch dark and the atmosphere was rather gloomy. I have  absolutely no idea why I thought this was the perfect night to spend some time alone. 

Reflecting upon my life, thinking about how in childhood I used to promise myself that I am going to be a billionaire but here I am, at a dhaba (roadside restaurant) in the outskirts of my city travelling on my bike. Just don’t interpret something wrong from the above sentence, actually to be precise, it’s a bicycle. 

It was around 11:50 pm, so I started an hour’s journey back to my house thinking if I had a car, how much faster it would have been. The way back home, all that I was thinking about was me as a failure but then suddenly I got a rather eerie vibe. I just thought that it was normal as I was the only person at midnight going through the woods besides a river… until it wasn’t. After some time, out of nowhere a boy appeared in front of me. I stopped my bike beside him and went towards him. 

Normally under these circumstances, any boy would have been scared, but this particular boy had something special about him. He stood all alone in the dark at a corner without even hesitating about his surroundings. I asked him what he was doing here. To my surprise what the boy said was a bit hard to digest. He told me that his parents were traveling across the forest with him and they told him the story of a fresh lake full of blue water. He had been so excited to reach there that he had wandered away from his parents.

I nodded but found that hard to believe. A blue river, here? In the middle of the desert? Surely, the parents were just making up a story to keep the little one entertained. Or maybe the boy was bluffing, but then I thought that what would a 6 year old child, who is blinded in one eye, earn by lying? 

There were many questions in my mind at that moment, but then I neglected all the thoughts that occurred to me and told myself that right now my first priority was to take this child back to his parents and ensure his safety. I immediately felt that this was the reason why I happened to chose this particular night for self-reflection and self-pity. 

I knew that God had directed me to this unfortunate event in the child’s life and my job was to take this innocent child back to protection. I offered him a seat on my bicycle and told him not to worry as I will be taking him back to his parents. I turned around and asked him about his home address. He gave me a confused look from which I understood that he did not know the address of his house. At that moment I thought that we were in a fix, but then the idea of taking him to a police station struck my mind. 

I told the child not to worry and to hold me tightly on the bicycle so that he doesn’t fall. I gave him the good news that soon he would be with his family but shockingly even after hearing this news, there was not a glimpse of happiness on his face; it was as if he had not even heard what I said. I heard him mutter something about ‘blue river’. Ignoring this reaction of his, I moved on but then came the terrifying part of the journey. 

Slowly and steadily the bike started getting heavier and I started losing my balance. It was not long before I fell down. I quickly turned back to see if the kid was safe but to my surprise, he wasn’t there. It was as if he had disappeared into thin air. I looked all around, I even searched the woods to some extent but he just vanished. I got worried. This boy wasn’t communicative plus he had only one eye. I wondered how could he just disappear in front of my eyes, but then something else happened. 

I spotted something gleaming like water. It was a river! Sparkling blue, just like the boy had told me. I crossed this road everyday and I had never seen that before. 

I went closer and found a small elephant near the bank of the river splashing water happily on itself. It looked at me in the moonlight and gave a big smile. It had only one eye. 

Essays

Read this simple essay by 7 year old Sarthak from Gurgaon, very nicely summing up how are parents are there for us, every day and in every way.

Parents

By Sarthak

My parents are my best friends. I feel happy because my parents help me in  everything I do and they are very polite with me. I get sad when my mamma gets upset with me. But later I realize that my parents always say and things for my good. Then I forget everything and I hug them.

Whenever I have any problem, my parents always cheer me up and help me solve it.

During lockdown, me and my elder sister help my mom in dusting and doing laundry. My mother makes delicious food for me.  Sometimes I demand for french fries, white pasta or jelly and she cooks them  all for me.

Even though she is busy with her online work , still she reads books to me and plays with me. Normally, my father goes to office but during the lockdown he  is also at home. He does his office work and also helps mother in the house  hold work. He just bought a blue office chair and I also enjoy swirling on that  chair. My papa plays board games, indoor cricket and outdoor games with me during normal days. I enjoy doing meal time talks with my parents.

Yesterday my father told me about football World Cup and sometimes we play ‘I see’ guessing games. My parents tell me their childhood stories. I enjoy  listening and laughing at the funny stories. My parents also take care of their parents because they are old. I thank god every day for blessing with such a  wonderful family.

And here is a very thoughtful essay by 12 year old Rehan from Kolkata written on the occasion of World Refugee Day. At the end of the day, we all just want to be home, right? But unfortunately, that is not an option for some. Lets understand and honour their courage.

Quest for home away from home

By Rehan

International Refugee Day is observed by UNESCO to honour the courage, strength, bravery and determination of people who are forced to flee their homeland under the threats of conflicts and violence. Many of us probably do not know that Delhi is home to several refugees and asylum seekers – mostly Somalis, Syrians, Afghans, Burmese et al who are registered with UNHCR in India. Here is the story of one such refugee, Samin.

Samin seems inconsolable when asked about his family. A refugee from Syria, he lives alone in Delhi. While talking about his past the profound pain was  apparent on his face. Still he is willing to talk about his past.

“I am Samin from Syria. When I was just 21, my parents died one after another  within a span of six months, leaving me practically lost and heartbroken. There was no one except me to look after my sister, so I took a job in a nearby  restaurant. Things started off well but soon took a turn for the worse. The  country descended into civil war as rebel brigades were formed to battle  government forces for control of cities, towns and the countryside. Several people started fleeing the civil war between President Bashar Al-Assad’s government and the rebels, as well as extremist groups.

“One morning, I along with with my sister went to the nearby market.  Suddenly a roar shook the entire market place. It was an intense bomb blast which hit  the entire market and its nearby places.

“While remaining down on the ground, I lifted my head up and looked around to find everything completely changed. Almost all the shops had been mangled  and tossed around. I suddenly realised my sister was not there beside me. I  searched for her here and there among all the dead and injured. I found her, yes. But amongst the debris. I lost my only sister. The bomb had destroyed all the adjacent buildings, one of which was my house.

“All my neighbours decided to flee the brutal conflict in Syria and the  repressive government and decided to start the perilous journey across the  Mediterranean into Europe. It was then my old friend Emnauel suggested that  it would be better to move to India as India has been a host to a small group of refugees who sought to avoid the crowded countries that share the borders with Syria or the perilous sea journey to Europe.  India is one of very few countries where we still have a Syrian embassy.

“So Emnauel and I took visa and came here,” Samin shared his dreadful past. Initially, Samin and Emnauel had to struggle here as they used to face discrimination.

Even after facing several hurdles, refugees live with the dream of  going back to their own country. 

We all must remember that a refugee is someone who is forced to leave their country and we must also realize that no one in the world would willingly leave his home and homeland unless he is forced to do so.

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PLEASE NOTE: ARTICLES CAN ONLY BE REPRODUCED IN OTHER SITES WITH DUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BORDERLESS JOURNAL.