Chaotic Dilemma

As Rumi said, “My soul is from elsewhere, I'm sure of that, and I intend to end up there.”
I am constantly torn between my mind and my soul. 
Between what I should say and what I want to say. 
Between trying to fit in and escape life. 
Sometimes it's a paradox. 
So, here's a conversation between my mind, my soul and the world. 

The world: Why are you shaking your leg?
My soul: Because I am restless. I don't like settling. I am a wanderer. I want to escape this mundane life. 
My mind: Bad habit.

The world: Why are you so quite?
My soul: Because I like solitude. Because If I don't speak, I don't have to deal with the world's idiocy. Because I can be myself. 
My mind: *awkward smile* *tries to make a conversation*

The world: What do you want to become?
My soul: Author. My mind is loud and so, I need to write. I believe that words have the power to change you for the better and I want to show the world a new perspective. 
My mind: Probably a scientist. 

The world: Where are you?
My soul: Lost in the wonderland of madness. 
My mind: *tells the location.* 

The world: We are the society.
My soul: Not we. You. You are the society. I am an insurgent. But I enjoy your misconception. 
My mind: *replies in a monotonous way* Yes, we are the society. 


The conversation is endless but I have to stop writing for now because I should do something - as the world says it - constructive. 

PANORAMA

"Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody." Closing The Catcher In The Rye, Veronika felt her heart to be at peace. The book always made her feel that perhaps people like her exists-that she isn't the only one who hates this judgemental world.


Getting out of the bed, she looked around her empty apartment. She missed her family and even some of her friends but she never regretted leaving everything and everyone behind and stepping towards her dream. Sometimes, it is necessary to leave places. No explanation. No reason. Just leave. It is a mental growth process, she believed.


Once she was ready for yet another 'we-will-cut-your-wings-if-you-try-flying' day, she got out of the apartment.
Walking around the second-hand bookstore "ChapterStacks", she noted down every tiny detail about the different people who came in. Few people came to sell their books (which is the most pathetic thing to be done with books, she felt.) and few to buy. There were also people who just looked around left. And then there was Veronika, the observer.


The door of the store opened and a boy about Veronica's age-17-entered. He carried 3 books in his hand. He obviously came to sell them, Veronika thought. She noticed the titles of the books: The Fountainhead, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest and The Catcher In The Rye. Anger welled up inside her. How can someone give away such a brilliant book? She thought. She paced to the counter.


"Which part of The Catcher In The Rye you didn't like?" She blurted out before she could stop herself.

"I am sorry, what?" The boy had turquoise colored eyes.

"Why are you selling such a brilliant piece of literature?"

"To answer to your first question, I hate the part where the protagonist thinks the world is terrible and develops a negetive perspective. Which, let's see, is throughout the entire book. The world already has a lot of pessimists and I don't need a character reminding me that, which answers your second question."

"I think the book is brutally honest about the world we live in. People actually clap for the wrong things."

The boy just stared. It was as if he couldn't comprehend what she was speaking.

Breaking the silence, Veronika said, "Look, I am just saying maybe you should read it again. In the process of re-reading you notice things that you didn't when you read it the first time."

"So are you selling them or not?" Veronika completely forgot about the shopkeeper, standing there and listening to their conversation.

"Just these two. I think I'll keep The Catcher In The Rye." The boy said handing the other two books.

He started to leave but then turned towards her and said, "Just because one day you find the world an obnoxious place doesn't mean you should have a negetive perspective about the world for the rest of your life. Everyone has their terrible days but that is it."
Veronika watched him leave. That day, she started writing her first novel.

SAUDADE

A rollercoaster ride of emotions, that's what life in Pailan World School was.
Talking about hostel, so many experiences-sometimes euphoric and sometimes bleak.

I can still feel the anticipation, nervousness and dread whenever I recall the first day of PWS. Those unfamiliar faces - now an important part of life - staring wide eyed at me.

A huge 'Thank You' to the teachers without whom I wouldn't be standing on my ground.

A million 'thank you' wouldn't be enough to the F.R.I.E.N.D.S who made living in PWS a lot easy.

1. Aparajita Lahiri - Ah! Where do I begin? Just know that without Rosie, Liss would falter in every step.

2. Trishita Mandal - It's rare to meet people with the same mentality and interest so thank you for not talking about just 'the weather' but actually making a real conversation.

3. Jason Sharma - It's not everyday that you meet a rockstar with straight As in all the subjects possible.

All of you will be missed - everyday. 

Hope Is Magic

  A meteor hit the earth and 8 year old Cathy pinned her hopes on it oblivious of its crash and burn. She wished for a "happily ever after" just like the fairy tales she recently read. Time flew and she lost herself into the world of fantasy-the adventure and madness of the novels captivated her in a dreamland. 

  Cathy, now 12, wished if magic were real and fantasy wasn't just fantasy. She would still escape to her dreamland when reality didn't seem as nice as the stories that she read. In her dreamland she would slay the dragons and fight the demons. She felt brave and happy. 

  As Cathy blew the candles on her 17th birthday she wished for a prince. No, not a prince with horse but with true love and feeling of home. A prince who would understand her dreamland and all the beautiful madness it contained. 

  Time passed and reality dawned upon Cathy. People seemed strange to her. They didn't believe in magic but had faith in love which according to Cathy wasn't entirely two different things. 

  Being 22 was proving to be difficult for Cathy. "Slay the dragons and fight the demons" had a complete different meaning now. A personal inferno co-existed with her dreamland now. She never stopped believing in magic but now it had a new name: Hope. 
Whenever she saw a shooting star she would only hope for a happily ever after.