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Suhani Dewra

Reyanshi was browsing Netflix on her laptop to watch a movie. Indecisive of what kind of movie she wanted to watch, Reyanshi looked through almost all the genres. She decided on ‘Action’ and ‘Biographies’, because those were two segments she hadn’t really seen many movies from.

“It’ll be nice watching movies based on real people’s life and those with stunts like in Mission Impossible,” said Reyanshi to herself.

Her eyes soon caught attention of the title ‘The Imitation Game’. The poster of the movie looked inviting and Reyanshi hit the play button.

It was more than an hour of engrossed watching, with not a moment of distraction from the movie.

‘The Imitation Game’ was the story of Alan Turing who was a British genius with many feathers in his cap. He was a mathematician, computer scientist, and cryptanalyst who helped the British government decipher the encrypted messages of Germans during World War II.

The ‘Imitation Game’ was quite a discovery. Reyanshi was excited to meet her friends at school the next day and tell them about the gem of the movie that she chanced upon. Much to Reyanshi’s surprise, most of her friends had heard about Alan Turing.

“I have not seen the movie, Reyanshi, but I am familiar with the name,” said Ayesha.

“Yes, I have also heard of Alan Turing. He was in news in 2009 when the British Government issued a public apology to Alan Turing for having treated him with the lack of empathy,” added another friend Khyati.

“What lack of empathy,” asked a girl who had not heard of the English genius.

“Well, Alan Turing was charged for being a homosexual. I am sure you get what that means,” immediately said Khyati.    

“But what was the crime?!” wondered the girl.

“Back in those days, the British government did not recognize homosexuality as a normal human behavior. Those who were found to be homosexuals were convicted in various ways,” elaborated Khyati.

“That is so weird,” commented the friend.

“There are government laws that decide if one can be a homosexual or otherwise. Every country has a different law for a case like this,” added Khyati.

“One doesn’t decide to choose the gender one likes. That’s a pre-set biological condition,” said Ayesha.

“But it’s an abnormal choice,” said Reyanshi.

“No, it is not. It is a natural human behavior. The world now recognizes it to be so,” tried to explain Khyati.

The girls discussed the topic for some more time before breaking away to the next class. That evening when Reyanshi went back home, she had several questions on her mind, including what was her choice and how does she ensure that she knows her choice.

These questions were not something she felt comfortable discussing with anybody at home. Her friends in school knew somethings, but not everything.

“Who do I speak to?” she wondered.

It occurred to her that she could confide herself in her tuition teacher. Barely four years older to Reyanshi, the tuition teacher was a friendly teacher who Reyanshi called by her name. That evening when Reyanshi went to the tuition teacher’s house for the evening lesson to begin, at the outset she mentioned that she wanted to discuss something beyond studies.

“What is it?” asked the teacher.

“I saw the movie ‘The Imitation Game’,” Reyanshi began.

“I am sure that you have heard of Alan Turing. Would you know how does one know if one is homosexual or heterosexual?” quickly jumped Reyanshi.

The tuition teacher gauged through Reyanshi’s mind and began with educating her on a few parameters that help one find out better about oneself. The talk dealt with knowing how one feels within in, in the company of a gender.  

“Alan Turing found out about himself when he was in school. His male companion was also the inspiration for his scientific creations in the future,” Reyanshi made a random statement.

“Yes, that is the time when most of us discover ourselves,” said her friendly teacher.

The topic occupied the session with detailed conversation between Reyanshi and her tuition teacher. Reyanshi did gain clarity of her own feelings. She again waited for the next day to get to school to educate her gang of girls about how they could know themselves better.

Suhani Dewra

Rishika was watching a movie titled Aviator on her new TV set. It featured a billionaire named Howard Hughes who was known to be passionate about his work which comprised producing movies, flying planes, and multiplying his wealth. At one point he was the richest man in the United States of America.

As Rishika felt a rush of adrenaline watching the movie with large airplane ports and Hughes assertive attitude, she wondered what it took to be as capable as Hughes.

“It sure must require a lot of talent to carry on multiple activities of this magnitude,” wondered Rishika.

As she finished watching the movie that left her spellbound, she Googled Howard Hughes on her laptop.

What she read about him was even more astounding.  

When Hughes was 11 years old, he built his town’s first wireless radio transmitter.

“That’s an inventor! At such a young age,” said Rishika to herself.

A year later when Hughes was 12, he became the first boy in his town Houston to drive a motorized bicycle that he had invented from parts of his father’s steam engine.

“The more I read about him, the more I am fascinated by Hughes’ aptitude and attitude.”

Having started learning how to fly at the age of 14, Hughes dons the hat of setting several records in the sky. In 1935, he flew a landplane, that his company Hughes Aircraft built, at an airspeed record of 566 km/h consuming nine hours twenty-seven minutes. A year and a half later, Hughes broke his own record by flying from one continent to another without a halt in seven hours twenty-eight minutes.  

Everything that Rishika read about this multi-faceted man, she was inspired to be like him.

Rishika went to her dad and told him about her discovery. “Dad, I saw the movie Aviator and also then read up about the protagonist of the movie who was a real man that lived an ambitious and fulfilling life.”

“How does one gather so many talents, dad?”

“Well, one has to be enterprising and believe in oneself,” answered Rishika’s dad unsure of who Howard Hughes was.

“Would you like to watch Aviator? You will thoroughly enjoy the grand amalgamation of activities in the movie,” insisted Rishika.

“How about I first read up a little about him?” he said.

Her dad looked up the web to land Howard Hughes’ Wikipedia page. As he read about his, he was compelled to watch the movie on his life.

 “Sure, let’s watch the movie. There should be a print on the web,” dad suggested.

He stayed glued for the time the movie played, finding it exciting and feeling the adrenaline rush just as Rishika did.

“That’s good discovery, Rishika,” he looked at his daughter.

“What does it take to be Howard Hughes, dad?” asked a curious Rishika.

“May be the will,” he replied.

“And like Howard Hughes himself quoted – ‘Passion will make you crazy, but is there any other way to live?’ – passion for what you do,” he pondered.

Suhani Dewra

Taani had had a sleepless night. Her teacher at school was going to conduct a test to check how well the students read time from the clock. Taani didn’t know how to. She never understood what the teacher taught about reading time.

Little Taani worried and worried more.

“What should I do? I have the test tomorrow. If I fail, I may have to bear the consequences,” sighed Taani.

Like always Taani turned to her sister for help, “Teach me how to read time, will you?”

Taani’s sister got on the job and Taani found herself standing below a large clock on the wall of the living room.

“Look at the numbers and the two hands on the clock, Taani,” pointed out Dolly.

There was a 1 and 2 and 3 and so on…till 12.

“All the numbers are spaced by a difference of five,” added Dolly.

“The small hand there represents the hour. If it points at the number 4, then it means that the time is either 4’o clock or around 4’o clock.”

“The big hand represents minutes. If it is at 1, it means the minutes are 5. If it is at 2, it means the minutes are 10. Remember what I told you – they are all multiples of five. The big hand at 12, stands for a full hour.”

“So, let’s do some practical exercise. Tell me what time it is now, Taani,” asked Dolly. 

Taani looked closely at the clock. The small hand was at 2 and the big hand was at 12.

“It is 2’o clock, right Dolly?” asked Taani.

“Right Taani.”

The sisters broke away for lunch. Soon after, Dolly called Taani back to the clock.

“Look at the clock now, and tell me what time it is,” said Dolly to Taani.

“Ummm…the small hand is at 3 and the big hand is at the number 5. Five times 5 is 25. Is it 3:25?”

“You got that right, little sister. You are ready for the test tomorrow,” said Dolly patting on Taani’s back.

Suhani Dewra

Alekhya grew up in a sprawling space of three-store bungalow spread over more than fifteen thousand square feet. It was like a palace. That’s how most houses were in her hometown, which was a small town in a big state. When Alekhya graduated from class III, she moved to a metropolitan city away from her native place. In the big, the usual way of life was in smaller houses built inside a large apartment. The houses were called ‘flats’.

Alekhya’s flat was a 1,100 square feet house, a stark contrast from her previous house. It had two rooms, a living room, a restroom, two big balconies, and a kitchen where her mum would have to cook without help. This was probably how much space the hall on the second floor of her hometown bungalow occupied. A portion of that house was all Alekhya was going to live in. Her mother sure was not a happy woman moving into a house so small. She felt, it was an insult to her lifestyle to accommodate herself in a space that small.

Contrary to how her mother felt, Alekhya saw it as a welcoming phase of her life. The flat allowed everybody to be in vicinity of everybody. She saw her siblings and parents all the time, unlike in her previous house when people were scattered in various corners. When a friend called on the landline phone, her grandfather used to call out loudly from the ground floor and Alekhya came downstairs running. In the new house, there wasn’t any need for anybody to speak in a pitch as high as that of a loudspeaker.

If Alekhya was in the courtyard downstairs playing with her siblings, her mother was upstairs, somewhere in the large hall watching TV. Or her father was in the verandah of the first floor which almost made him feel like a separate part of the house. A smaller space brought togetherness. Mostly importantly, she felt that she was being paid the kind of attention a child her age needed. They spoke more often to her. She found them approachable. Being in sight of her parents did have an enormous positive effect on her, which resulted in her overall well-being, including academic performance. Suhani began to almost top the class. She wasn’t that bright a kid in the past. Of course, like her house, her classroom was also a space as large as a mini theatre. Each class had some sixty students, which again, according to Alekhya’s perspective was a deterrent in receiving attention from the teachers. In the new school, her class included thirty students in a small space, which allowed the teachers to pay attention to each student. Alekhya, in her mind, had deconstructed her anatomy as that of being a child who needed to be paid attention and encouragement.   

At the personal front as well, Alekhya found the apartment life more fun. There were many children her age in the apartment, whom she played with every evening after returning from school. They played I spy, running and catching, sometimes cricket with the boys, badminton, and many more games. Alekhya also colored drawing books with them. She made some good friends with whom she chatted about things she didn’t speak at home.

“What’s that spot on your nose, Alekhya,” asked her newly acquired friend.

“That’s from chicken pox I had contracted,” Alekhya replied.

“I too had chicken pox. Was it difficult for you to eat food when you had those big spots?” the friend asked again.

“Ya, when I ate the idli, my throat hurt. It felt like a lump that ached,” she answered.

Alekhya had never told anybody about idlis hurting her throat. Now, she could.

It was an eventful life. However, Alekhya kept quiet about it as her mum would not appreciate Alekhya differing in her opinion. Every time she heard some visitor from her hometown say, “Adapting to a flat must have been difficult,” she smiled within.  

Suhani Dewra

Kanisha was back to school. So were her friends. The vacation was the term closure of Class IX. As the girls got together after a long two-month break, they had much to discuss. Each of the girl spoke in length about the highlights of the holidays. Kanisha’s friend Sameera had the most unique vacation.

“It was the most rigorous course of my life,” Sameera heaved a sigh.

Sameera had visited a meditation course that was designed to train the mind.

“Train the mind? O why? We have a sensible mind,” exclaimed her friend.

“What we think is a sensible mind, isn’t really so. There’s more to it,” Sameera interrupted.

Sameera started to explain what the itinerary of the course was and what it taught her.

“By the time the course finished, I felt much lighter and the clarity of how I saw things increased manifold,” said Sameera.

“Nothing of what you say makes any sense to me,” pat came a reply.

 “So, here is the thing. What we think, how we feel, what we see…can be done better. If we solve an Algebra problem in half-an-hour, we could do it quicker. Say in fifteen minutes. If we feel good from within, we can feel better. If we see the sky blue in color, we could see the same blue color in high definition. For all this to happen, our brain has to be of a certain quality and …… has to be devoid of unnecessary emotions.

Meditation does that,” elucidated Sameera.

“That is what I was made to do in the course,” she added.  

Sameera then elaborated on the everyday activities of the course, which included long hours of practicing meditation.

“So you say that you are smarter now?” quipped Kanisha.

“Yes. In some ways. You will see that in the monthly tests,” Sameera replied.

Just then the teacher entered the class and wondered what were the girls gossiping about.

“Ma’am, Sameera attended a meditation course during the summer vacation. She says that it helped her brain become sharper,” blurted Kanisha.

“Oh, yes. Meditation is a tool that most adults use to keep the body and mind in a good shape,” agreed the ma’am. “In fact, Siddhartha Gautama credited his enlightenment to the technique of meditation he discovered,” ma’am added.

“I thought it was merely a mental exercise; didn’t know it could be so powerful?!” exclaimed Sameera.

“That is what Siddhartha Gautama said. When he sat under the Peepal tree on the fateful day in Bodh Gaya, a town of Bihar, he followed a practice of meditation that is termed Vipassana, which means ‘to see things as they are’ in the Pali language. As the practice commenced, he started getting rid of all the experiences he had gathered ever since the beginning of his existence. After 49 days of continuous Vipassana, Siddhartha Gautama was fully empty of all what was within him, leading to enlightenment,” explained the ma’am.

“But ma’am, wasn’t the Buddha who gained enlightenment?” asked a girl.

“Buddha is anybody who has reached the ultimate version. It is not a name, it is a state of being, which our prince Siddhartha Gautama attained and is therefore addressed as the Buddha.

“I was always under the impression that Buddha was a name,” commented Kanisha.

“Me too,” added Sameera.

“Anybody can be a Buddha for that matter. Sameera, you too if you practice your meditation well and realize the highest version of yourself,” said ma’am.  

“Ma’am, I wonder if the Buddha was the perfect man, why didn’t he invent something? Like a special vehicle to drive to the Moon, just like how we do to the malls?” questioned Kanisha.

“Yes. If he was the awakened one, he should have invented video calls back in that age and conquered distance,” came the sentence from another girl.

“Did he write some scriptures? If he did, I would like to lay my hands on them and get to know him and his teachings better,” yet another comment.

“Well, Siddhartha Gautama is told to have written nothing. He only offered practical lessons. And coming to answering why didn’t he invent video calls or the special car to the moon, I don’t know. I am not the Buddha, which means I do not have all the answers,” responded ma’am.  

Suhani Dewra

Pakhi was in Class II. Every day before Pakhi left to school, her mum asked her what she wanted to eat for lunch when she returned home. Little Pakhi always had a delicious food name to say. Some days it was the pasta, on other days it was a plateful of cupcakes. On the weekends, she wanted garlic bread while towards the beginning of the week, she said Indian naan and spicy curry.

One spring, Pakhi’s grandma was visiting her. She saw Pakhi’s mum always make Pakhi’s lunch according to Pakhi’s wish.

“Do you think it’s alright to serve Pakhi what she wants to eat,” asked the grandma.

“O why not. I love cooking food of Pakhi’s choice,” replied the mum.

“But Pakhi mostly wants yumm but unhealthy food. She isn’t getting exposed to all healthy food recipes available. Cupcakes are not always healthy. And so are so many other food options she places the order for,” advised the grandma.

Pakhi’s mum paid no heed to the grandma. She continued to ask Pakhi for her choice for lunch.

One afternoon, Pakhi came home to find a bowl of salad. “This is not what I had told mum to make. I am not going to eat this,” said a grumpy Pakhi. She looked away from the bowl and refused to eat despite much persuasion from her grandma.

Pakhi’s mum had fallen sick that morning, which led her grandma to keep salads ready for Pakhi. The little girl stayed hungry all afternoon and then all evening. Then at night, she felt terribly hungry. She came downstairs to the kitchen hoping to find something fun to eat. There was nothing except the bowl of salad that her grandma had left in the refrigerator.

A hungry Pakhi hurriedly ate all the salad from the bowl. “This doesn’t taste so bad,” murmured the little one.

The next morning while Pakhi got ready for school, her grandma kissed her bye. “What are you going to make me for lunch, grandma?” asked the little girl.

“Do you want to eat what I loved eating when I was a girl like you?” asked back grandma.

“Yes, I want to see what you ate, grandma,” nodded Pakhi.

Since then, grandma made Pakhi some healthy food option. There were raw fruits, then there were wheat pancakes, and sometime a bowl of rice with vegetables.