Topic of the Month

The pandemic has brought both-the good and the bad-in our lives. In what best and worst ways has it impacted your life?  And how are you dealing with it?

 

Constitutionally Silent

by 

Shubhangini

Few on the road...
Some in the forest...
Few in the water bodies. ...
Animals all found there,
Can originate their lifestyles anywhere

Ah! Now confused why people wearing mask everywhere

Don't know the pandemic all there,
The majestic world they own,
Where all the delightful creatures live,
Some friends, Some foes
Teach us to be...
The fighter ones,
The peaceful ones,
The trustworthy ones,
The cool, humble ones,
And the loved ones.

 

From Asha's Desk

Dear Glow-worms,

Welcome back. The November issue is slim, but rich in its content. I have received some exceptional submissions, nearly all of them resonating with powerful themes and thoughts. I am amazed at what you are all capable of-both in terms of ideas and expression. Kudos!

Every time I feel pessimistic about our children and YA’s general lack of interest in writing, I pull out these submissions and treat myself to the hope they offer. For every ten kids who may dismiss writing, there will be two who will swear by it. They are the ones who will keep GW going, regardless of how small it gets in size.

My objective is to find these rare gems wherever they are and put them in a crown for posterity.

The topic of the month, inevitably, is the pandemic. Among those severely affected are children and YA, in several ways. While a majority have reconciled to the situation, it is certain that they have been impacted. I am eager to know in what ways and how they are coping with it.

So, write in.

Lending you all a keen ear, 

Keep Glowing. Keep Growing.

 Star of the Month

 

The Realization of Sonder

by

Malini Tarakad Seshu

I am making my way down the sidewalk to Alec’s house when I see her. 

A woman looking lost, maybe three or four years older than me, with red-rimmed eyes fighting back tears, struggles with an abundance of books bundled in her arms while wearing a heavy-looking backpack. I immediately empathize with the woes of a fellow student, but the trembling is what gets me.

After a quick internal debate, I make a decision. Alec can wait.

I slowly approach her, and offer, “Hey, I’m Kyra. You look like you would appreciate a friend.” 

She looks at me and I see the dam about to burst. Words spill out and I listen.

“I swear I wouldn’t ask this of anyone on a normal day, but I really need to go somewhere, and I don’t have my phone ‘cause I just came from uni and could you please call me a cab? I have the money and all, and I would do it myself usually but,” she dully chuckles, “my mind’s not really working properly at the moment.”

I’ve liked helping people my entire life and I’m not going to stop now.

Sorry, Al.  “Sure, I have nowhere to be at the moment anyway,” I lightheartedly reply, trying to cheer her up without crossing the awkward stranger boundaries. 

I pull out my phone and call an Uber for her, answer all the basic questions, and when they ask me for a name, I cover the receiver and ignoring the fact that she’d been crying, ask her kindly, “Your name?”

“Oh, uh, Angie,” She hurriedly replies, giving me a weak appreciative smile for not pushing.

After some more inquiries, the person on the other side tells me that the cab will arrive in about fifteen minutes. I voice my acknowledgement and end the call.

Angie profusely thanks me with a shaky smile, and I respond with a friendly gaze.

Help, I can do. Now, comes the part I’m bad at. Comfort.

“So, uh, would you wanna talk about it?” 

She stares at me, wondering whether to talk. 

“My-” her voice cracks, “My best friend tried to kill herself,”

and she whimpers, as if saying it made it real. She continues and stutters out, “She- she’s in the hospital and she’s gonna live, thank God, but why would she- how could she-” Angie breaks down in sobs and I’ve never felt such pain for someone else.

I’m only twenty, and I couldn’t imagine living without Alec and Raisha in my life, my supporters, confidants and partners in crime, and I hope to anyone up there than I never have to understand the pain Angie’s feeling right now.

I don’t know what to say, but I know that I need to help.

“Can I hug you?” I ask softly, and when she shakily nods, I embrace her and let her hold on to me and sob, because I know that’s what she needs.

“Hey, listen to me, listen to me. It’ll be okay. Your friend’s gonna be alright. You’ll help her get through this, I know you will, and you’ll be okay too.” I say with certainty, even though my confidence can’t predict the future. “You’re strong, and once this passes, both of you will be happy, I promise you.

You’re gonna make her understand how much you care, and you’ll help her, I have faith in you.”

I continue repeating reassurances while she breaks down in the presence of strangers, and I can’t seem to care.

***

It’s been ten minutes, and Angie seems relatively calm. I hope that she feels the same. I let go of her and she looks at me, with an earnest gaze, and whispers, “Thank you.”

I wave it off with an embarrassed look, because I’ve never known how to deal with gratitude or apologies of any kind, but she doesn’t buy it. 

“No, really, kid. I don’t know why you’re even helping me, but you’ve helped me right now more than anyone has, since I got the hospital call in uni. I really needed that. Thank you.”

 

I don’t know how to reply to that, but she doesn’t expect me to, and I give her a genuine disarming smile.

We wait in silence for a few minutes and the cab arrives. Before she can enter, I blurt out, “Could I get your number?” I flush, and then ramble out, “I mean you don’t have to, but it would really make me feel better if I checked on you later, and you seem like a great person, and traumatic experiences really do bring people together, right?” 

It’s official. I’m the most awkward person in this world.

She grins at me, dimly but still a grin, and says, “Sure, kid.”

After she gives me her number, she enters the cab and rolls down the window. “After all of this, I’m definitely gonna introduce my friend to you, she’ll like the kid who helped me while I was being stupid while she was in a hospital bed,” She pauses and sincerely says, “Thank you again, Kyra. Really.”

I brush it off again, and she lets me this time, knowing that I accepted the thanks in my own way. I wave at her as she leaves.

Well, that was a whirlwind of emotions, and I think I just made a new friend, or two.

I resume walking towards Alec’s house, knowing full well I was about to be interrogated about my delay. 

I realize, more profoundly than I ever have before, that everyone has their life, as complex as mine, with ups and downs, friends and experiences. Every single individual has a life as vivid as mine. 

I stumbled upon someone in need on a bad day of theirs, and maybe someone else will help me this way when it’s a bad day of mine. 

It’s an interesting thought.

Now, all I can do is hope that Angie reaches without difficulty, hope that her friend will get better with help, physically as well as mentally. I hope that Angie will be alright. 

I reach Alec’s door and ring the doorbell, prepared for the onslaught of questions. The door opens, and I’m smothered by an unexpected hug instead. “You idiot, I was worried about you! I call you fifteen times and you don’t answer, you said you were reaching thirty minutes ago.”

Warmth seeps into my body, and I am filled with the contentment of having a friend who cares. And if I hugged him tightly back, more than usual, cherishing his existence, no one would know. 

I remind myself to do this to Raisha too later. I gently pull myself out of his hold, and leave my hand on his shoulder.

“Come on, I have some things to tell you.”

***

I am so grateful for my friends, who I see as family, and I hope that the stranger on the street doesn’t have to lose hers.

 

I'mpossible

by

Lakshmisree Raju

“ Hey! The fatty girl is here. Ha Ha Ha!”

“ Look at her, so ugly,”

 “Eww!, she spends the whole day studying that she doesn’t have time to make herself look decent.

“Girl, don’t you know your priorities?”

These are the kind of things that I hear every day when I enter my classroom. I have kinda gotten used to it, but still it hurts so bad.

Hearing these rude words, I silently went to my place. No matter how hard I tried, they always kept playing in my head. It was so disturbing! It just made me want to quit school.

I also don’t have many friends because of how I look, but I have Shreya. I may not have many friends but having one true friend is what that matters. There are people in this world who only have fake friends, so seen that way, I consider myself a very lucky person.

Shreya was the only person in my class who didn’t speak bad about me, instead she fought for me. I have always wished to be like her, to fight for myself, but I could never do it.

After class, I walked down the hallway to get to my next class, feeling very lonely. Shreya was sick so she didn’t come. I walked slowly to prevent people from noticing me. But I could hear people whispering behind my back. I tried to ignore them and go on with my work. I wished that Shreya was here.

Having support from her was the only thing that helped me with my depression , but one day it all changed!

It was recess and we all started having our lunches. Usually we both have food together, so I called her,

“Shreya! Come to my table to eat.”

“You can start eating , I’ll be there in some time.”

That is when I heard her say something unbelievable to the other girls with her. 

“She eats so much, that’s why she is like a pumpkin.” I saw them laughing.  “I wish I am not her friend , but I feel sorry for all the rude comments she gets.”

“No, you shouldn’t be sorry!” a girl in the group said.

I was shocked. My heart raced with rage. I couldn’t believe what I had just heard. I never knew she could do this to me! Now each step I took I felt useless, dumb, ugly.

At night I tossed and turned sleeplessly. I really wanted to sleep but couldn’t. All I could hear were those words that I never knew could come out of her mouth. Tears of anger, sadness, and disbelief  flowed from my eyes.” Why can't I be beautiful like other people? It's impossible!” I screamed with hopelessness.

“Why did she do this to me? Am I really that ugly? Why does everyone talk only bad about me? If she doesn’t want to be my friend, why is she, then pretending to be?" As these dreadful thoughts rolled around in my head, my eyes closed and I fell asleep.

Next morning, I woke up as a different person. Fully energized , confident and no more insecure. I understood that I shouldn’t get influenced by what other people say about me, instead challenge myself and show them what I really was and that I could change too.

I don’t know from where I got that courage, but it really helped me.

And…about the friendship with Shreya…. I can't trust her like I used to, but I will just treat her as a normal ’hi-bye’ friend. I also needed to prove to her that even I could speak up for myself. I didn’t need anyone to do that for me.

That morning, I entered the school, with my head up. I heard people whispering about me , but I didn’t care.

At recess, Shreya asked me,” Hey, lets have lunch together, my mom has made your favorite.”

“Sorry, I have better things to do, and by the way, why do you want to give me your food if you think I eat too much? Don’t you also want to eat? Be careful I might finish your food.” I said sarcastically.

Her face turned red and she no longer looked me in the eye. She didn’t say a word and silently walked away. I think she was happy that I was not spending time with her anymore.

From that day, I decided to challenge them. For lunch, I brought a green salad. It was disgusting, but I was determined. They also made fun of me for bringing salad and said that I could never lose weight even if I tried.

I smiled to myself and thought, "you will regret saying that later.”

A week passed. My summer vacation started. This was my most favorite time of the year. No school, I could sleep late and wake up late and I could go to the pool every day. 

But this summer vacation was going to be different. I had a goal to achieve. 

I ate healthy and exercised every day . Week by week, I looked slimmer and more beautiful. People around me were astonished.

By the end of the vacation, I was in great shape and was ready to go to school to strike everyone dumb and overthrow my classmates.

On the day of reopening, I entered the class to see all my classmates open-mouthed. They couldn’t believe it. Many people apologized for being rude to me.

Shreya walked up to me and said in a very sorry voice,  "Hey, I am extremely sorry to hurt you. I actually didn’t mean to do that to you. Everyone made so much fun of me because I was your friend. That’s why I couldn’t help telling that to them. But I regret it now. Can we please be friends again?.”

“Yeah of course, I too miss the old times,” I said and gave her a big smile and a bear hug.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Topic of the Month

What Makes Me Want to Write or Not Want to Write?

When I get inspiration, I’ve noticed that I need to write it down immediately before my thoughts travel to different places. There have been many occasions when I have gotten up in half-sleep to write down a few lines, which miraculously rhyme.

I find it easier to write down situations that I’ve personally gone through, it makes it much more realistic and emotionally accurate. Whenever I write about anything that I haven’t personally experienced, I put myself in that person’s shoes, and after completing it, I ask for feedback from friends and

family members who may have experienced it.

I usually write about topics that really touch me and also pen down my thoughts to unthread the chaos in my mind. It is much easier for me to solve a problem if I know exactly what it is, and the events that has led to it.

I have experienced many a times that deadlines do help to motivate me to write, and the pressure though straining, has resulted in some of my most heartfelt works.

Sometimes I just don’t feel like writing, mainly because of my internal fear that I may not like what I end up discovering about myself. Other times I put it off, due to conflicting schedules and mainly the exhaustion that comes after pouring your inner thoughts out on paper

(Mythili Tarakad Seshu)

****

While writing stories, we always share our thoughts. I began writing around the age of 7.  Earlier, I used to write about my daily routine, my kin and my other experiences. Later on, due to the long hours of school, I was constantly occupied. I didn't get much time to pen down my thoughts. Nowadays, due to the pandemic I have  time to write poems, articles. 

My mother also has shown me some writing of her friend which improved my writing skill. I am a nature lover, so most of my writings are related to it. Writing has enriched my knowledge of words and phrases.  It refreshes my mind and keeps me vivid. It is part of my entertainment, interest, hobby and adds more power to my pen.

(Shubangini) 

 

Kicked Out?

by 

Pavithra Nair

‘Ouch! Oh, majesty it wasn’t me, please let me explain, it’s a misunderstanding,’ I started to plead when the golden doors closed with a big thud and a flaming white light. I fell on the ground crying my eyes out. I looked up into the sky and screamed with rage, ‘How could you do this to me? What have I ever done to you? I have always been with you, but you didn’t trust and just kicked me out? How could you oh great one, How could you?’

That’s when I realized I could feel the grass, I could feel myself alive! I missed this feeling. It’s been a long time. Yes, 60 years is a long time. This place looked very different. It felt new.

I slowly got up and cleared the dirt on my white frock. I ran around the place feeling the fresh air, light, little puddles of water and the birds singing their melody.

I calmed myself, and looked up and said, ‘I ask for your forgiveness Your Majesty, I shouldn’t have screamed at you. I was just upset. It hurt me that you believed the words of a traitor and just kicked me out heaven. Now please tell me, where I am supposed to go and how
am I supposed to live? I have forgotten all the worldly ways.’

I let out a sigh and started walking when the garden on my left caught my attention. I went towards it when memories started gushing into my head. Running around this place, sitting in that very bench, collecting lilies, laughing and smiling with my one and only best friend, Lisa. This place had only given me amazing memories except one. That time when He called me up to him.

It night was the strangest night I had ever known. There was smoke  all over the place, the sky turned purple, my vision got blurry and a huge hand appeared on the sky, slowly pulling me towards it like a magnet. 

After sometime when I opened my eyes, the site I saw was magnificent! The place I saw was alluring. There were angels flying all over  the  place. I felt some kind of joy which I couldn’t describe. My heart stood still when I saw this gorgeous city. Everyone there seemed happy. No one shed a tear. They didn’t even know what sadness meant. But this happiness didn’t last
long. A traitor from hell dressed decently came in to get me  thrown out. He cooked up stories and made me look like the bad guy. I tried to explain myself many times, but the Lord himself
 wouldn’t listen to me and he kicked me out.

While I was thinking all of this, I heard someone sobbing. I  turned around and found an old woman who seemed to be in her late seventies sitting on that very bench, with her head hung low.

I slowly moved towards her and tapped her shoulder. ‘Hey, are u alright?’ I asked.
She looked up, her eyes widening like saucers. She was shivering and then suddenly she hugged me tight.

‘It’s you, where had  you been? You know how much I missed you?
You haven’t grown old at all. It’s been sixty years and you still look young and beautiful’, she spoke letting go of the hug.

I recognized that voice, I knew that smile. Lisa!

She looked old, with wrinkles all over her face and a bent back. I gave her my biggest smile and told her all that had happened to me,  including my eviction from heaven.’

She listened to me carefully and asked, ‘Can’t you just stay here with me, why you have to go?’

'I have to, that’s the law of the universe. You must accept the fact that I cannot be on earth for long. I know the Lord will take me back soon,’ I said getting up from the bench.

I looked up at the starry sky and saw my star calling me. I gave my best friend one last hug and started walking. When I almost reached the end of the road, I shouted, ‘Goodbye my friend. Don’t worry, we will meet again.'

And then the same hand appeared pulling me up again. When I  reached the gate of heaven, I saw the guy who back-stabbed me and got me kicked out welcoming me with a great smile.
That’s when I realized, this was all the Lord’s game.

Not everybody gets a chance to bid goodbye to their loved ones and I was one of them. If it weren’t for the traitor who got me kicked out, I couldn’t have met my Lisa who always waited for me, thinking I would come back.

Feeling grateful, I entered heaven again.

 

 

 

The End

by 

Mythili Tarakad Seshu  

Why am I only of importance,
When I have something you want?
I am not a child’s toy,
To be thrown out when you’re bored.

I am a real person,
Made of thoughts and emotions.
I show my perfect side to you,
When on the inside I’m broken.

I’m not as strong as you think,
Not as nonchalant as I seem.
I care just as much as you would,
So stop it, you’re being mean.

I am kind and I am quiet,
Nodding and smiling throughout.
I think it’s time to let you go,
Because you’re making me something I’m not.

I can’t stand being an object,
A person you come to only for help.
Because if I ever need you,
You will be found nowhere, I bet. So, this is it, this is the end,

The end of your deal with me.
I’ll be fine on my own with time,
But will you ever be?

****

The Old Me

Why am I the only one,
Holding on to the past?
Reliving sweet memories,
And wishing I could go back.

Everyone around me is ready,
To move forward and be happy.
They’re prepared to face new possibilities,
While I’m still missing the old me.

The version of me who didn’t care,
Who enjoyed life with a passion.
The me who ignored what people said,
And did what I wanted instead.

That me is gone forever,
Lost in the depths of my mind.
But I hope to retrieve it soon,
And never leave it behind.

Although I am older now,
With a better understanding of the world.
I am sure that it wouldn’t hurt,
To learn a thing or two from the me before.

****

Can We Stop Judging, Please?

I am not slim,
My skin isn’t clear.
I’ve got burns and scars,
Insecurities and fears.

My beauty isn’t conventional,
My complexion isn’t fair.
That doesn’t mean I’m not beautiful,
No matter what other people say.

The world seems to only preach,
Beauty is on the inside, they say.
But why is it then,
That the people with ‘good looks’ get their way?

Why say something,
If you don’t mean it one bit?
Why claim to accept,
When you reject us still?

Why do we try to judge,
How a person is by how they look?
Why do we try to predict,
Their circumstances and struggles?

Why do we ridicule them,
Without knowing their story?
Why do we write it for them,
Without feeling sorry?

We’re all in this together,

To change their mindset and judgement.

To be a part of this movement,

You must first practice it yourself.