Beera

Today being an Animal Farm day was arranged very beautifully by the juniors who are in their first year. The performance of every individual was awesome and some performances brought goosebumps on the skin making us emotional in various segments. The entire play was divided into ten groups and each group with each chapter to be performed. Every team managed to keep the audience on their toes to what would happen next.  " Animal Farm" by George Orwell is a political satire that helps you think and retrospect, finding different types of people in society. This farm is a representation of reality rather than a superficial imagination. Watching the performances brought me back to my first year of college when we once performed the play. The excitement and nervousness of the very first performance made us want to perform our best. The weeks of staying back in college, preparing scripts and finally doing practises were the beautiful days of mingling and knowing each other more. On ...

"Rabbi Ben Ezra" is a monologue where Browning addresses an unknown audience. This spiritual poem brings him closer to God. He has a lot of experience with the world and he is addressing the elderly who are also experienced a lot in this world. This poem is philosophical and paradoxical.  He says young people have a spirit that pushes them forward to achieve success. Young people are merciless even to the point of being violent. They want every work to be done immediately and aren't very patient.  As people grow in age they come to know that the desire they have is part of the human needs. God has provided according to their needs which helps them to accept their shortcomings. They are very capable of making decisions wisely due to their years of practice and wisdom. At the end of the poem, he tells his observations regarding the people around him. He talks about the afterlife and continues by saying all people are part of a big absolute and everyone has to meet one day b...

Have we ever given a story or piece of folklore a lot of thought? We have been exposed to stories like "Panchtantra," "Tenali Rama," and other mythology since we were young, but did we ever look for philosophy in them as kids?  Abigail Tulenko wrote a fascinating piece titled "Folklore is Philosophy." Through the story, what can appear to be a philosophical conundrum can be clarified and guided in a far more straightforward way through a story. Using a story to engage an entire class is more effective than introducing the study topic at the outset. The majority of minor students in their junior year of schooling can benefit from this method of drawing attention. Telling stories instead of presenting boring speeches, which quickly causes pupils to lose attention, makes studying more easier and interesting. The mind is designed to store important things but without any interesting keynote, it automatically deletes all the files that are recorded. The story i...

The book "Fahrenheit451" explores a dystopian future world that takes place in or around 2052 AD. The first edition of this book appeared as "The Fireman" in Galaxy Science Fiction (magazine). In February 1951, it was first made available, and in 1953, the title was changed from "The Fireman" to Fahrenheit 451. This book covers a wide range of topics, most of which are connected to the idea of pleasure and the technologically driven society. Instead of putting out flames, Fireman burns down houses that contain books in this world. The work of a firefighter is quite different from what we have known and experienced.  The concept of equality is a delusion in which individuals' minds are equally tuned to prioritise pleasure over thought, utterly destroying their individuality and reducing them to a group of people with the same goal. The characters' lives in the book are so routine and dull that they are devoid of any unique emotions or thoughts. The ...

                   " In the beginning,       God created the heavens              and the ea rth".   This is the Bible's very first verse. This declaration represents the beginning of His creation up to the sixth day when He created man. To allow him to rest on the seventh day, he methodically planned each of his masterpieces over six days.  When he first created the earth and heavens, the universe was entirely dark since light was later created to distinguish darkness from light. From a scientific perspective, the universe was created by an explosion, as described by the Big Bang theory. Light is regarded as day and darkness as night after the division of light and dark.  He created various kinds of flora and fauna after dividing the land from the sea. The creation of the sun, moon, and stars, to give light during day and night. His words created all of His creation apart ...

This short narrative opens with the mathematician Furcal and his newly found formula. A man falling from an aircraft caused a lot of criticism, therefore his granddaughter is defending his profession as the man falling is blamed upon the scientist for his finding a formula to plane.  In this short narrative, the use of mathematics serves as a means of elucidating the feelings of the characters and relieving their suffering. A mathematician with expertise in measuring and treating pain is the main character. It functions similarly to a medical counsellor, here they calculate and eliminate grief using mathematics. This is an intriguing short story that uses a unique technique to quantify emotions in the mind. We also witness the various relationships she discusses and how important a role they have had in moulding her. When mathematicians suffer other people's loss, they begin to lose their minds, nearly to the point of talking to themselves and hallucinating. This is demonstrated co...

 During my conversation with my friend today, we frequently discussed our shared interests, and she brought up Charles Bukowski. She recommended this poem, which I thought was intriguing. American poet Charles Bukowski is renowned for his honest and unvarnished work. The poem "Bluebird" expresses his unfiltered feelings. He speaks about finding optimism and beauty in the face of adversity.  Bukowski juxtaposes the bird's symbolism of happiness and optimism with the brutal facts of life. The poem expresses the poet's difficulties in finding happy moments in a world full of misery.  The poet claims that although the bluebird is hiding and longing to fly, he has kept it imprisoned inside of him. He pushes the bird down with whisky and smokes whenever the temptation to fly out arises, keeping the caged bird a secret.  He makes every effort to keep the bird singing in its cage since he is aware of the harm the bird may cause if it were liberated. Despite everything, he en...

The absence of power last night brought back memories of the time a cyclone struck in December, leaving us without power for a full day and a half. The room was quite bright throughout the day when there was some natural light, but it gradually became darker as time passed. Since no one in the building had access to the internet or even a phone charger, everyone was lounging around doing nothing. Up until that point, I was aware that phones are a necessary part of our everyday lives, but the whole extent of the addiction hit home to me in that instant.  People began to slowly emerge from their rooms and congregate in clusters, huddled close to one another. In a very short time, from never having spoken to one another, everyone becomes amiable and at ease around each other. We five got together in one room and gradually got to know one another. Without any electronic disruption, the atmosphere in the room quickly became lively. We switched to oil lamps as the emergency lights went o...

"Dan Brown's intriguing and gripping book "Angels and Demons" follows symbolist Robert Langdon as he looks into a murder and discovers the existence of the long-lost secret society known as the "Illuminati." This novel revolves around anti-matter which is very similar to the big-bang theory. The novel explores the concept of truth as it relates to both science and religion. The subject of faith, reason, and their connection has long been at the centre of this conflict. "Antimatter," which was developed to demonstrate God's presence through science, becomes the novel's central conflict. Another recurring topic in the novel is the pursuit of power. It turns out that all of these sacrifices were made to uphold and demonstrate the power. Their deaths are justified by manipulating the 'Word of God', which goes against their faith. The ordinary is manipulated by the power. To convey the hidden meaning, symbols are used. The entire book r...

There have been roles that are specific to men and women since the dawn of society. They have an identity because of these roles, but it is limited to the four walls of women's existence. According to Simone de Beauvoir, "One is not born a woman, one becomes one" in her book "The Second Sex". The idea of womanhood that was imposed upon them was summed up in this phrase. The Bible says that women are made of a man's ribs. This doesn't mean that women are less valuable than men; rather, it means that women are meant to be a man's companion. Men are inherently the family's primary provider, while women are the carers, however, this does not limit their gender roles. Looking further into history reveals that women bear the load of suffering in silence rather than having a voice for themselves.  When a lady became a widow, sati was once done; but what happens if a man's wife passes away? He marries another woman with ease. Does patriarchy operate ...

Is love a necessity in marriage? One of the poems from "Summer in Calcutta" is titled "The Freaks". As a confessional poet, Kamala Das expresses her discontent in her marital relationship. She married early, even before she was able to understand what she desired. She writes of giving herself over to her spouse so he can abuse and take advantage of her sexually. The poem's themes include a lack of affection and a submissive, strange sexual behaviour. She gives an account of her perception of him at the opening of the poem. She does not seem to be feeling love for her spouse in the description, which could be because she is not getting any emotional response from him. The man's view of himself as superior than that of an equal, signifying patriarchy, is evident. She searches for even the hint of affection in his touch, but he is just motivated by sexual desire, so she is left feeling let down and focuses on her desire just like him as she calls herself "...

" Watch, therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the son of man is coming"  (Mathew 25:13) Parables are a very powerful tool for meaning-conveying. Jesus told a parable to get his message across to the listeners. Jesus used words to construct pictures that made people draw judgements and pass judgment. The reader deciphers the story's meaning, which enhances its effectiveness. We learn the value of time from the parable of the wise and foolish virgin. Ten virgins, or bridesmaids, were waiting for the bridegroom to be taken to the wedding by escort. While the five, who were foolish, did not pack oil, the other five carried additional oil to light their lamp. Five of them had oil when the bridegroom arrived, so they went ahead along with the groom, while the other five went off in quest of oil. When they retired, it was already too late. This parable serves as a warning to everyone who is still unprepared and sleeping in a spiritual state.  At the last...

Sleep is a phenomenon that all of us do effortlessly but there are a lot of people who can not sleep due to a lot of physical as well as psychological problems. Some are caused by traumas which are replayed in the form of nightmares and some may be due to stress and other work pressures. We have a lot of people among ourselves who are unable to sleep at night we tend to call them "night owls" but it's a natural choice. They tend to rest during the day and work during the night.  Have we ever thought about what would happen if we did not sleep for a few days? A lot of people tend to work continuously for a long period but without any rest. If a baby does not sleep during their scheduled time they get cranky and cry till they are put to nap. This even happens to adults as they tend to become very sensitive. Recently I came across a sleep experiment that was conducted during World War and it made me think that can humans turn unrecognisable if not for proper rest. Experiment...

Adaptations of the fairy tales all seem so nostalgic as they bring back our childhood days. We have watched lots of adaptations like Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty and so on. Sometimes even though there are new versions of the same story we tend to go back to the original one and it remains our all-time favorite. Today I will discuss a Japanese animated movie called "Bubble". This movie is an adaptation of Little Mermaid's tragic story. When we hear about a fairy tale it often starts with 'once upon a time...' and ends with 'and they lived happily ever after'. We are tuned to only listen and watch stories which have a happy ending. The other reason may be because fairy tales are part of children's literature so it's mostly a story that is dedicated to children. Even though the fairy tale we know is a 'happy' one there is also another version of the story that is tragic. Most of the plot remains the same apart from the end...

"Sweat" by Lynn Nottage explores the lives of the American working class in a post-industrial town. Lynn Nottage is a renowned American playwright and screenwriter. She is known for powerful and socially relevant works, such as " Intimate Apparel" and " Ruined" which won a Pulitzer award in the field of drama. She usually explores the themes of race, class and gender contributing significantly to contemporary theatre. The play "Sweat" delves into the economic hardships, friendship and racial tensions faced by the characters in the play. This play received critical acclaim for its powerful storytelling and depiction of societal issues. The play revolves around two central characters Tracy and Cynthia who are factory workers. We dive through the various dynamics of working-class society. Characters of the play: Tracy: Factory worker who has spent her life in town, facing economic struggles and insecurities.  Cynthia: Tracy's friend works alongs...

Having a lot of work to do makes you want to escape the piling amount of work for a short period. This trip was a short escape from the bustling moment that turned out to be ethereal. The timing of the trip was wrong as it was a sunny afternoon when the sun was on my head. My friend Theresa had been wanting to drag me to that place since December but all we did was postpone the trip but the the afternoon we just decided to go which all of a sudden was a very good decision.  St. Thomas Mount is the place where Jesus disciple was killed. There is a church built on top of the mountain. This church may not be very huge but it has a lot of uniqueness embedded within. First of all, we find a sculpture portraying an expecting Mary with Jesus in her womb. I have visited quite a few churches and chapels and found such a visual for the first time. Some  believers came to pray and spend time in the presence of God which was a pleasant feeling. In a world where everyone is running, it's a...

  A school is a place where we begin our journey. Years have passed since the last time stepped out of the threshold of my school. It was a fleeting moment that might never come back how much ever we wish for. Thoughts of those old days passed like movie scenes. The bright corridors with CCTV cameras, the chaotic school grounds, the quiet library and the lively classroom. The birthday wishes and distribution of sweets to friends and all the teachers. The cutting of cake for teachers and giving cards as well as pens for teachers' day along with various stage programs which include imitation or mimicry of our favourite teachers. On children's day despite being a half day with no classes we used to go to school for Haldiram's sweets box and muffins. The school competitions like elocution in Hindi and English language, poster making, drawing competitions and so on. The fire drill every year was an interesting event that was never been practically applicable and hope it stays th...