The farmers toil taller than the seed they harvest.
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The hustle of life is to full the empty stomach
And make the frowning faces gleam.
.
The world aims for more and more,
Hustle and struggle day and night,
But yields nothing in the shelter of the pauper.
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Why not come in bundle you salary!
Who knows the abode of salary?
Travelling like the sun rays in man’s purse
Deducting fare without notice.
.
The empty stomach must be filled
The tattered cloths must also be sowed
Even the stale furniture are gazing with rust and dust
All must be filled by the same earn.
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The salary of life is an unending journey
Whose paths link to everything in life
.
We stressed for the future
We earn; but when earn,
Daddy brings his shattered boots in the box
And calls “aboki” to beautify it
Mama also submits cost for the tripod
And we submit diary of the term fees.
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Poor man salary is like a weak soldier in my country
Who disappoints them in a million times in the battle field
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Salary is salary — but not all salaries are rich
.
I heard the muttering of the poor man in the air
I read the long letter of the poor man to the NEPA body
Rejecting the light because of his probable cause
Cause; sooner, tax and the tattered bills will be asked.
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If I will not be self employed
I will be salaried employed
If I don’t work, I will not receive
What we work, we earn.
.
We owe credit just for the name sake
But the rich do more exploit with the earns
Just like a rock to the needy,
burden to the poor, but blessing to the rich
Which blur the thoughts of the wretched
But brightens the sky of the rich in an island.
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Man earns is a factor to his life
Shattered incomes has caused cassava to soak in the barn of the pauper.
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The day sweat is an expectation of compensation
We expect more than Lazarus of old
We earn salary to fulfill our desire
But the short earns is the fire that ignites the light in the house
.
Fowl in caravan is like a country in recession
Whose budget is low like battery
Our budget now is no where to be found.
.
We worked, earned and spent but not satisfied
The poor man earns is a burden but the rich man salary is like milk and honey.
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Goto Emmanuel hails from Opuba, Arogbo in Ese-odo local government Ondo state, Nigeria. An undergraduate in Niger Delta University, Wilberforce island, Bayelsa state. An ijaw by tribe. A christian. A poet, Essayist, fiction writer and a budding lawyer. Gentle and passionate. Optimistic and God fearing. His hobbies are reading, writing , swimming and football. He loves nature. Most poems of Goto Emmanuel are about nature, politics and love. A lover of book who strives to do his possible best in the work art.
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PLEASE NOTE: ARTICLES CAN ONLY BE REPRODUCED IN OTHER SITES WITH DUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BORDERLESS JOURNAL.
Have you got a window? That window … To your dreams To your world To yourself To you!
. You all know that window — That takes you to places you want to be, That helps you see the beautiful, wondrous things, That is the bridge, the string, To Nature and to your Nature.
. We all have that favourite spot — That favourite view. Sometimes … it’s – A foggy day, A rainy day, A translucent day, Or, an opaque day.
. Remember … You just have to reach out. Clear the fog, the mist, And wipe the charcoal film – Swipe it, sweep it, wipe it. Till you can see – The light; the green, the red, and all. The frame isn’t complete – Without the onlooker.
. There isn’t beauty – Without the appreciator. Have you got that window? That window … That window to the Beauty, Your kind of beauty.
. That window to the Nature, That is yours! Have you got the window? The window that is yours. Remember … We all have one.
. It can appear and disappear, It depends on the atmosphere of the day. Remember — You are the portal keeper. Only you have the magic — To let it stay, Or, to unlatch it.
. Remember … Always keep it open. Remember … The breeze that blows through that window – Is just for You!
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*Note: This poem on hope and reassurance dawned onto me as we walk through the trying days of the global pandemic. Irrespective of age, class or creed, we all have hardships and points in life that let us down and tax us on our dreams and aspirations. Besides the pandemic that can make us physically low, unmet expectations due to prevailing circumstances may make us financially or mentally low and lessen our hope and faith in life, but hope and happiness equally expects us to have credence and allow a chance to show that the magic works at any cost, and that, life goes on.
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Gracy Samjetsabam teaches English Literature and Communication Skills at Manipal Institute of Technology, MAHE, Manipal. She is also a freelance writer and copyeditor. Her interest areas are Indian English Writings, Comparative Literature, Gender Studies, Culture Studies, and World Literature. When not reading or writing, she loves to indulge in being with Nature.
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PLEASE NOTE: ARTICLES CAN ONLY BE REPRODUCED IN OTHER SITES WITH DUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BORDERLESS JOURNAL.
They too are at the receiving end of an abusive relationship.
Yet, some colours are so vibrant,
they invigorate, soothe, motivate.
They are the colours of friendship, love, trust.
Colours of positivity, peace and harmony.
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Cobwebs
Stepping out after a month of lockdown,
I spied cobwebs hanging defiantly,
on the back of the door.
The master designer was missing.
Must have gone elsewhere,
to create its new masterpiece.
Cobwebs are metaphors,
for strained relationships,
for broken promises.
Cobwebs can settle on anything.
Relationships are not spared,
if covered in the dust
of negativity, insensitivity, mistrust.
They can turn a friend into a foe,
if the vision is clouded,
by the hues of insincerity, selfishness.
Do not let the cobwebs become stagnant,
in your mind, heart and soul.
Dust the cobwebs away.
Purge the demons of prejudices, intolerance,
discrimination and hatred.
The world will surely become a better place to live.
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Mrs. Navneet K Maunwas born in West Bengal. Did her initial schooling from Oak Grove School, Jharipani, Mussoorie. She furthered her education from Regional College of Education, Bhubaneshwar. She did her Graduation and BEd from there. She did her Masters in English Literature from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. She has vast experience in teaching andhas retired as a Senior Teacher from a Public School in Delhi. Her hobbies include reading, travelling, writing and cooking.”
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PLEASE NOTE: ARTICLES CAN ONLY BE REPRODUCED IN OTHER SITES WITH DUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BORDERLESS JOURNAL.
Bookosmia and Ms Sara are back bringing us a magical collection of young person’s writings. And this time some of it really takes us into a wonderland where candyfloss can give fibres and unicorns can party! I hand over the introductions to the fabulous Ms Sara.
Poetry
Hellooo everyone, your best friend Sara here! Here is a heartfelt prayer from 11 year old Hitansh Kedia from Kolkata towards a ‘minor’ change in our diets. What can I say? Amen!
To those ugly vegetables!
If chocolates were healthy, and vegetables junk, Healthy foods children would love to eat. With bitter vegetables off our plates, Every meal would be a treat.
We’d no longer hear our doctors say, “You’re not getting enough protein.” Or hear our mothers tell day and night, “You need to change your diet routine!”
Carbohydrates and energy we’d have in plenty, Getting our fibre from cotton candy. And whenever we’d need some extra vitamins, Some lollipops would come in handy.
Eating our dream meals every day, We kids would smile with glee. From all the vegetables that haunted us, We’d finally be free!
I hope this happens, And it happens fast. To those ugly vegetables, I’d say goodbye at last!
Here is yet another delectable poem on my, or rather, ‘our’ beloved mangoes. Clearly it is turning little kids, like 7 year old Darshali from Bhilwara, into budding poets!
My Mango
Mango, mango very sweet
My favourite fruit,
I love to eat.
Mango green, mango yellow
They are delicious ,even when mellow.
Mango juice, mango slice
Everything is very nice.
I wish I had a mango tree
Everyday I would get mango free.
Ready for a good laugh?Make way for some first class kids’ humour, in this amusing poem by 8 year old Shifa from Lucknow.
BDG (Big Disgusting Giant)
Being friends with a giant
Is my greatest fear
Especially if the big man has diarrhea.
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He may be a big friendly fella
But I have to stand under an umbrella.
It’s no fun, I can tell you
Being washed away in a river of poo.
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I am scared of drowning in a big smelly stink
So I ask you all to carefully think,
If your friend is a giant, don’t think its funny
To invite him to tea and feed him spicy curry.
Ayraa Shriwardhankar from Mumbai sends in this lovely poem, as lovely as the peacock itself. Read for yourself.
Peacocks
Peacocks are pretty as a queen,
Royal green, blue and brown.
When they opens their feathers,
They have a crown.
Peacock is the national bird of India.
I love the way it opens the feather and dances when happy.
Birds are beautiful but peacocks fascinates me the most.
Stories
Here is a beautiful story by 9 year old Arnav Prasanna from Bangalore. Dont miss this tooth fairy story, with a twist!
What does the tooth fairy do with our teeth?
One day there was a girl named Akansha. Akansha was a very nice girl. She did her chores everyday. One day, her tooth fell out. She was so excited because she knew that the tooth fairy would come. She brushed the tooth with lots of toothpaste and kept it under her pillow.
She couldn’t sleep at night because she was so excited. She thought what does the tooth fairy do with all the milk teeth?Does she make milk out of them and drink? Is that why they are called milk teeth? All those questions made her sleepy.
Soon, she went to sleep.
That night, the tooth fairy came slowly into her room and took the sparkly tooth under the bed. But as she flew out of the window, her wand fell out from her pocket.
The next morning, Akansha woke up and checked under the pillow. The tooth was gone and there was money there. She was very happy. But next to the window she saw something shiny. It was a magic wand.
Akansha understood that it was the tooth fairy’s wand. She wanted to give it back to the tooth fairy but how to give it? She thought the tooth fairy will realize her wand is missing and come back that night. Maybe she could meet the tooth fairy. Akansha was so excited! That night she tried very hard to stay awake but she was so sleepy.
The next morning, Akansha woke up and saw the magic wand was gone. She checked under her pillow and saw a note.
‘Thank you for finding my wand. I turned your tooth into a star. Hope you can see it in the sky. Love, tooth fairy’.
Akansha was very happy. Every night after that she looked out of her window and saw her tooth as a shiny star in the sky. Now she knew what the tooth fairy does with the teeth, she makes them into stars!
Have you ever been to a unicorn party. Read through this very creative story by 8 year old Vachi Aggarwal from Jaipur
The day I got invited to a unicorn party
I don’t know how but one night I found myself in the land of unicorns There, I could see millions of unicorns. The unicorns were speaking.
“Welcome Vachi,” one unicorn said. “My name is Eliza.” Another one said her name is Monica.
Eliza bought some cake and pastry for me.
I asked Eliza how I came here. She said, “Darling, you are the chief guest of our annual unicorn day. It is a party where lots of fairies, gods and stars come and have lots of fun.” It was very strange but I went along with it.
All the fairies and unicorns looked happily at me. We were enjoying the night, we were dancing, asking questions to each other and singing songs. All of a sudden a very bright light appeared. I could see many fairies and wizards coming on their vehicles like elephants, birds etc.
Then the big wizard called me and told me why I was invited as the chief guest.
He said that back on earth, people think small actions do not matter but actually it is the small action that leads to big changes. He reminded me that last week when I had seen an injured bird, I had given it first aid and not ignored or just seen from a distance like others had. Seeing me, many others followed to help.
He said he saw an honest girl in me and that’s why he invited me to the party.
Then we had a gala dinner. Before leaving, I asked the wizard if he could use his magical powers to cure coronavirus patients. The wizard said that he had actually given those powers to everyone, especially children,
“By staying at home, helping their parents and keeping their hands clean, children can help make the world a beautiful and safe place,” he said.
I came home with a new learning – do good, be good. Even a small act means a lot to the world.
Ready for some thrills? Here is a wonderfully written story by Aarya from Kolkata which will made me feel I am there with him through all the action! Tell me how you felt.
The Secret Bunker
It was a fine Sunday afternoon, me and my brother were taking a stroll down the park near our house.That is when my brother found something very old rusty, but something made us stop and look closer. It reminded us of the treasure in a movie we had watched during the summer break.We got excited that we had discovered a Secret Bunker!! We decided to gather some of our friends and come check out the bunker the next day.
Next day, I packed all the equipment and called up some of my friends. We sneaked out during the night.With full enthusiasm we reached the park and then tried opening the bunker.The bunker lid was so heavy that it took two of my strongest friends to prise it open.
We were amazed to see that it opened to a tunnel! I beamed my flashlight around.There was a ladder. We were almost sure that we had found a treasure. We climbed down the ladder and were very disappointed to find nothing, nothing at all.
We were just about to go back disheartened, when my brother screamed in joy! He had spotted something. It was a door with a code hidden behind the ladder. The code was covered with a thick layer of dust. We tried to see the code with the help of flashlight.To our surprise there was a number lock on it. There were a few symbols inscribed just above the lock. One of my friends who was really interested in ancient symbols and scripts jumped in to interpret the code. Now was his time to shine. He entered the code in the lock and the door creaked open. We were fascinated by the sight we saw in front of us.
There was a huge room with many intelligent looking people, all going about their work and too busy to even notice the door was open. There were test tubes, chemicals on one side and huge charts hung on the other. There were huge tables with many devices like microscopes on a far end of a room. We just couldn’t believe what we were seeing. It was the biggest research center ever! We took out my spy device to record the voices of scientists. That was enough for that day’s work. We slowly closed the door and came out of the box.
The next day, we decided to go again to the secret place and get the ultimate proof of the secret organisation. This time, we took a camcorder with us and recorded the whole place. After we got back up we ran to my house. We posted everything online and it went viral in a day. Now everybody knew about
bunker. It was not long before everyone was caught and brought under custody. Next day the news came that the government had taken over the organisation.
That was not the end we were invited by the president to present the medals of honour. So it was a happy ending. I guess…
Why does God get no chocolate? Eleven-year-old Varnika from Delhi wants to change that..read this story to know how.
Why doesn’t God get chocolate?
WHY DOESN’T GOD GET CHOCOLATE?
Have you ever wondered why God doesn’t eat chocolate? Do you think that he doesn’t like it or do you think that people believe that chocolate is not meant for gods? Let’s find out what Mona thought.
She was a very inquisitive girl. Always having unimaginable questions in her tiny head and without getting the answer, she would be pondering on that for as long as it took. Once in a dark and sleepy night, Mona was sleeping and dreaming that she was in Choco city, a whole city made of candy and chocolate. The houses were made of chocolate cake with vanilla icings as their roof. The river made of chocolate milk in which fish made of chocolate cereals swam and floated.
The tall, colourful lollipop trees and the clouds which were actually cotton candy, of a dreamy pink shade. And Mona was eating it all up, filling her heart’s content! Ah… what a dream! She was floating in her dreams when suddenly, “MONA!!! Time for school!! Come on, don’t be lazy! You have 45 minutes sharp to get ready!” It was Mona’s mom. Mona groaned and very slowly, brushed her teeth, took a bath and went to say her morning prayers.
She was so engrossed in continuing her dream, the small temple in front of her, where she was standing, started looking like a cake! When she was about to finish, she had another question, as usual.
“Why doesn’t God get chocolate?! ”
When she did well in school, scoring A or B grades in every subject, she was given a treat by her parents which was usually a trip to the bakery. Well, God had done the biggest thing, made the universe and… no treat for Him!
Chocolate is, anyways, a necessity of life! You can’t possibly live without it. It is like a sky without a moon and an ocean without water. But all he got was- a cheela (a pancake made of gram flour) for breakfast, rice for lunch and a roti for dinner! If you or I were in His place, our life would be so boring.
So, when she was walking down the stairs, she asked her mother, “Momma, why don’t we serve God chocolate?”
“Maybe because…”, her mom started wondering. Even she did not know the exact answer, so she tried to take advantage of the situation by ending it with some morals for Mona. “Because God needs to be very healthy as he is the one who works the world! If he became lazy, like you, he would never be able to do anything! What will happen then? Sweets make you lazy and unhealthy which is very bad,” she said as if giving a lesson.
But Mona didn’t believe it! She wanted proof and she thought that the most convincing proof wouldn’t be with her Momma. So she pretended to be convinced and agreed.
After a week, the results of the test she gave arrived and…she got a perfect A+! Her parents took her to her favourite café for a lovely lunch. There she bought a muffin and packed it for home. At home she opened the muffin box.
“Are you sure you want to eat it now, Sweetie? You just ate a pastry in the café?” asked her father. Mona didn’t reply and kept the muffin in front of the altar in her home. Her father started to wonder, why does Mona want to serve a muffin to God?
Mona sat in front of the altar and recited the Gayatri Mantra. And you know what happened? She noticed that a big pink rose fell close to her on the ground. She assumed it was God’s blessing to her and was overjoyed and showed it to everybody.
But Mona, you and I do know the actual reason for God’s blessing to Mona, don’t you?
Essay
Dont miss reading this yummy essay by 10 year old Ananya from Kochi on how a milk drop transforms into a delightful ice cream!
From a drop, to a delight!
Once there was a drop of milk called Milky. She lived in a container with other drops of milk. One day she slipped into another container, it was shaking so much that she got sick. After a pretty long time, it stopped shaking.
Milky was transferred into another container. It was very cold. Suddenly lots of sugar fell on her and she was startled. Then Vanilla fell on her and finally she was showered with lots of Choco Chips!
Suddenly the temperature turned freezing cold! She was then scooped out of the container. She flew into a cone and that was a very fun filled flight.
Voila! She had turned into an ice-cream!!
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PLEASE NOTE: ARTICLES CAN ONLY BE REPRODUCED IN OTHER SITES WITH DUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BORDERLESS JOURNAL.
Words from more than a century old play which could well voice the mood of 2020, the year that will go down in history as of a pandemic that not only connected the world but demanded a change in our way of life, perhaps even suggesting we evolve a new way of living. August is also always a happening month, heralding, at times, demanding changes — of season, of historic events that altered our way of life and thought. We tried to capture a whiff of this spirit in this month’s issue of Borderless Journal along with humour, another mood-changing, fay figment that breathes hope.
We start with the commemoration of an event which lasted a short time but changed the world forever — the seventy fifth anniversary of the Nuclear holocaust that ripped through the twentieth century, on 6th August 1945 at Hiroshima, Japan. It ended the Second World War and a way of life. The impact continues to stagger as we read in the interview with Kathleen Burkinshaw, the author of The Last Cherry Blossom and a survivor’s or hibakusha’s daughter. Archana Mohan reviewed her book for us. The book focuses on the story of Burkinshaw’s mother before and after the bomb blast. When I think of the staggered suffering of the survivors of the holocaust, the subsequent generations and the impact of that bomb on the world, I wonder if the coronal virus will change humanity and our world order in the same way. After all Bill Gates did say that future wars will not be with arms but against biological deviations.
The next and the last nuclear explosion during a war rocked Nagasaki three days later. On that date, 9 th August, two decades down the line, was born a nation that has become the gateway of all Asia to the rest of the world, Singapore. Celebrating Singapore’s 54 th birthday, Kaiyi Tan, a local author of dark fiction, takes us on a scintillating journey in quest of a new world beyond the reaches of a morose pandemic. Singapore, like America, gained its strength from immigrants. We have a thought-provoking piece from Pakistani immigrant author, Aysha Baqir. As she muses over this event , she gives a fleeting wistful glance towards another Independence Day on 14 th August, 1947, that of her home country, Pakistan, which was given a free reign just before India was born on 15 th August with a soulful, famous speech by the first Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, ‘Tryst with Destiny’ . In that speech, he said: “…A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to new, when an age ends …” Are we at a similar point in history now — one wonders!
To jubilate India’s 74th Independence Day, we have a musing from Nishi Pulugurtha who pensively glances at present day India to pause and ponder over the future of the children growing up in these hard times. We have poetry around this, hovering around themes of war, refugees, partition and life as it is in Kashmir and Kolkata by established writers like Paresh Tiwari, Laksmisree Banerjee, Mosarrap Khan, Gopal Lahiri and youngster Ahmed Rayees.
From history, we move to humour, a much-desired commodity in the current cacophony of darkness. We start with fun poetry by Vatsala Radhakeesoon, Santosh Bakaya, Aditya Shankar, Dustin Pickering, Sunil Sharma and many more; move on to limericks, humorous stories and musings by a number of writers, including surprises from Sohana Manzoor and Devraj Singh Kalsi.
Then we have our usual variety of reviews, poetry and stories. We carry the protest poetry of Melissa Chappell which she wrote after protesting what she felt was flawed and wrong. Hat’s off to her courage — a true protest poet!
On our pages also is Meenakshi Malhotra’s review of a book which had been on the top ten of the best seller lists for ten weeks. Avik Chanda, the author of this historical narrative — Dara Shukoh: The Man who Would be King, was kind enough to do an essay for us rounding up the current outlook for jobs in India. We also had more essays by Dustin Pickering and Bhaskar Parichha.
Bookosmia, Nidhi Mishra and Archana Mohan have again kindly hosted a lovely young people’s selection for us as usual. For all the contributors I have mentioned, so many remain unnamed in my inadequate listing here. We have a fabulous collection awaiting readers, who are indispensable to our survival.
I would like to offer them a buffet of laughter and tears in Borderless Journal. A mixed oeuvre awaits their palate.
Borderless 