Suruma Writes On...

Sometimes it is dogs in the campus.Sitting next to them alone, unaccompanied, very often is one of the best feelings I 've had. It feels as if I can converse. It feels as if I can respond to that formless presence around. No introductions, no questions asked, thry behave as if they've already known me for ages. Sometimes that silence surrounding such moments of love and solitude are the most blissful ones of life.

These squirrels outside my window, Keep hopping in sheer merriment Like kites soaring high in the sky They move in such ardour. These squirrels on the green grass That instantaneously turn like camera clicks Cuddle playfully on leaves Green, yellow and violet. Amidst the bustle of young girls Who flood this place like graceful monsoons They find for themselves a beautiful abode Rich with laughter and love and merriment. Oh!How I wish I were one of them!

After a world cup that taught us so much about inclusivity it is disheartening to see a player of Mesut Ozil's repute being forced to resign from the German team. Its such a shame on Germany and the world community that we are still not over barbaric concepts like racism, that we have still not learnt to respect people for what they are. So much power to Ozil and everyone who has had to go through what he experienced.

The present is an incandescent flame, It flickers every moment, unsteady. The present is a flimsy tree, that wavers with the wind, dancing like  a strained mistress. The present, it intertwines with the past and the future, like untidy webs, thick and sturdy, indistinguishable. The last movement of my pen, a moment lost in the past and its next movement, a moment caught by the future. So where does the present rest, Where does it get swapped with the rest, until it gets blurred and marred. This moment, this one by thousandth of a second, is this my present? Is this the moment that defines our being? Is this the moment, that passes over the threshold to what's next? The present is elusive, Like a slippery soap, It escapes our clutches and falls down upright. What's remaining is the past And what's next is the future.

At a time when anti-immigrant sentiments and jingoistic nationalism are on the high, the World Cup is a win. It is a win for all those humans whose lives were branded illegal, who were made 'the other' for the colour of their skin, their cultural practices or their faith, who were denied the right to live with dignity. It is a win for all those who had to swim across oceans of discrimination and marginalisation to build a life for themselves. The success of almost all European teams, were built on the toil and hardwork of innumerable immigrants- from Mbappe and Pogba to Luka Modric and Romelu Lukaku. And a team composed of 78% immigrants winning the world cup was just an icing on the cake. This world cup was not just about football. It is a call for inclusivity. It is a call to accept and accommodate. It is  a call for respect.Let us not pretend to ignore it.

I'm so happy and humbled to let you know that I completed my schooling with 98.6% for the CBSE class 12 Board Exam and All India Rank 7. I've joined Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi for BA Economics(Hons). A big thanks to everyone who has been supportive. My parents, teachers,family, friends,well-wishers, blog readers...everyone. Especially my Vallumichi, my mother's aunt who used to come everyday to my house when I was alone without our maid aunty, so that I could sit and study for my boards. There have been innumerable people who've helped me in one way or the other and I'll always be thankful to you all. I'm leaving for Delhi next week, setting on a voyage that hopefully will lead me to new destinations. Do keep me in your prayers. And thanks for all the love.

It's the end of a major phase of life. I spent 14 years of my life in St.Thomas, through ups and downs and some flats as well and it's all over in the blink of an eye. School was something I always took for granted. I'm sure everyone would do the same, if they spent 14 years in the same institution, literally growing up all the way, from a 3 year old confused toddler to a 17 year old confused young adult. The campus was home and every nook and corner of it was our own- from the canteen to the stadium, the banyan trees and the bus bay. We took refuge in those wide pathways, underneath the trees and class rooms. We shared so many emotions, laughed and cried our hearts out and called the place nothing less than home. And then.Its all over.We've finished school and we're outsiders all of a sudden. We're not allowed to walk in the campus, our each move is questioned, requires prior permission. Like suspects of crime, we are scrutinised each time we enter the camp...

This year has been like none other. After almost 3 months of camping at home, preparing for my boards and entrance examinations, I was in for some major experiences. Perhaps the first of those experiences was having to see the Board declare that the Economics exam is going to be conducted again, thanks to some brats who've wonderfully managed to smuggle question papers. The first feeling that I had was to break down. Economics was a really easy paper and I had worked really hard for the exam. To see  a whole year's hard work being thrown into the bins, so easily, is one of the worst feelings that can come over you. But then I had some major takeaways from the incident and the most interesting of them was being able to organize and participate in a public protest for the very first time. We formed watsapp groups to mobilise fellow protestors(!) and close to 50 people turned up before the CBSE Regional Office in Pattom for the event. Being schools students, with no prior exper...

The last time we came to Delhi our driver Sanju Bhaiyya told us that Tughlaqabad Fort was just stones and rubble. We decided not to waste our time staring at inanimate stones and instead use it for more productive purposes like marveling at beauty of more polished and maintained structures.Tughlaqabad was history- unwanted and deserted. No one at the Tughlaqabad metro station seemed to even know of the existence of the fort. When rickshaw walas swarmed us like flies, alarm ed, we gave a second thought to our decision. Powered by our instincts, however we chose to move on. Abandoned and unattended, 7 kilometres into our journey, we saw the ruins of the fort welcoming it's rare visitors. Built by Ghiyaduddin Tughlaq, the founder of the Tughlaq dynasty in 1321 ,the fort which originally covered 7 kilometres is now nothing more than disconnected stone ruins. But even in these ruins, overgrown by dusty trees, lies an enchanting magic. They stand tall amidst the tes...