Tense: A Poem by Juveria

Tense

Think about how it all started

What word was it that unlocked our hearts

What secret touch that melted

The doors to our souls

An eternity has passed by, since we shared that first look

My mind retains every moment of having known you, 

and yet,

And yet, recalls not what started it all.

But, maybe it knows. 

Maybe it just doesn't want me to remember 

It wants me to keep this just for you 

So, maybe the key lies desolate in unapproachable void-

I won't go looking for it, I swear.

What do I want with stale memory,

When I have you blossoming my present!

Poetry Never Leaves: Remembering Derek Walcott

The English language is nobody's special property. It is the property of the imagination: it is the property of the language itself

                                                                        Derek Walcott

On 17th March, 2017, a dear poet, Derek Walcott passed away. He left behind a legacy of words and images. Walcott will be remembered not only as the Noble prize winning poet from the Carribean but as a rare talent who amalgamated the beauty of British, African and American language and culture in his writing. 

Walcott's poetry has portrayed the vagaries of the human world through bodies, nature, music and details that define our existence. In the loving memory of Derek Walcott, QLC remembers one of his best poems, "Love After Love"

We will also honour his work by publishing a poem by our in-house poet, Juveria Tabassum in our next post! 

The Tree of Love

Love after Love

The time will come

when, with elation

you will greet yourself arriving

at your own door, in your own mirror

and each will smile at the other's welcome,

and say, sit here. Eat.

You will love again the stranger who was your self.

Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart

to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored

for another, who knows you by heart.

Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes,

peel your own image from the mirror.

Sit. Feast on your life. 

Alone, I Love On!

Nature: Poem by Deeksha Reddy

Feels like heaven

when birds call out

in the morning.

At night, the stars 

like diamonds decorate 

the velvety sky!

You, nature, see me, hear me

And console my heart every time it's broken.

Your bright sunlight, fragrant flowers and lush green grass

                                                               Make me feel blessed!

I am at home with you, nature!

and you give me the chance to write

Afresh on the white pages of life

And discard the black and hazy ones.

I will fill my book of life with your colours.

You helped me find myself

So Thank you for everything!

Acing the Talent Hunt by K. Megha

To Reach Beyond the Skies

Once, lived a little boy in a country called USA. He was fascinated by cinema. When thirteen years old, his parents took him to Universal Studios for summer vacation. Universal Studios is the largest, technologically most sophisticated studio in the whole world. 

The boy was fascinated with the studio and got engrossed by each and every aspect of film-making. He dreamed of making movies. The next year, he again went to see the studios and immersed himself in the atmosphere. But he couldn't  really get to see the making of a real movie, the sound recording, the editing and such other important activities. Finally, at the age of seventeen, he somehow got inside the studio to the real stages where actual film making is done. He went there and met many directors and technicians. But he couldn't really make it. So, the next day, he put on a suit, took his father's briefcase and stuffed it with just two chocolates and a sandwich and walked into the studios with the purpose of making films. He found a film set, which was not in use, and found a chair and placed his nameplate on the set. He made it his office for the rest of the summer and also met different kinds of people.

The Golden Horizon of the Mind

At the age of 20, he directed his first movie and never looked back. Today, he has directed five all time top grossing movies in the world including movies like Jurassic Park, Schindler's list and Saving Private Ryan. The boy is the famous Steven Spielberg.

      Steven Spielberg, is one of the greatest directors of all time. He wouldn't entertain millions of people in the world with his movies, if he had not realised his talents early.

  We all have talents, if explored early, they will take us to unimaginable heights of success in our life. Steven Spielberg is an example of this fact. 

   Talents are generally acquired. Popular belief is that talent is something that comes naturally. The truth is that nothing comes without appropriate amount of  hard work. Film-making did not come naturally to Steven Spielberg; he learned it because he loved it. Indian cricket star, Sachin Tendulkar did not score centuries without practicing the art of batting. He worked a great deal at his skills and thereby scored all those runs. 

Each one of us is talented and capable. We only have to realise and recognise our talents. It is similar to waking up.

Rock Solid Dreams

If we understand our talents, we are people who are awake and if we do not, then we are similar to people who are asleep.

So, wake up, Folks!

Talaus: A Touching Love Story by Juveria

Talaus

Love in  a time of war: Artwork at HLF, 2017

Anas and Hina were neighbours when 4 months old, best friends at 4 years, and lovers at 14. They had been carried together by their mothers around the markets of Aleppo as toddlers. They had crossed busy streets together, hand in hand on their way to school. They had found spots for themselves across the vast old city where they left behind the fragrance of the happy times they spent in each other’s arms.

Now, all he can smell is gunpowder and blood. 

The stained moon in Aleppo

Everything is finished now. He can see her lying there, bullets through her stomach, her arm lying three feet away- he can smell death. But, all his eyes show him are images of the day Hina’s mother had brought home a puppy for her. He sees her- all three years old, laughing with glee at the puppy’s antics. And, now, everything is gone- their houses, parents, familiar spots, the puppy, Grover…their very bodies.

All he had left was memory.
His uniform is torn. His legs bleed from the bullet wound. He turns away from her body. Anas was never a thinker, but he heard Hina’s voice in his head now, her eyes towards the sky, talking as if she’s reading the secrets of the world hidden behind the clouds, “We are not fighting on different sides, Anas. You may swear by the government, and I may want the rebels to take our country back. We may want different things for our country, but, Anas, you and I, we want the same things for each other. The same future together, the same present without this bloody taint of war.”

Did they have a choice, he wondered.

War doesn’t give you time to wonder. The last sound he heard before the bullet pierced his head was the clatter of her footsteps catching up with his as they made their way to school.

Notes:

Talaus means 'stain' in Arabic, which is the official language of Syria.

The Farewell That Was- A Report by Apoorva Sharma

Colours, Smiles and Memories!



The Quills Literary Club bade farewell to its final year members with a short but memorable party on the fourteenth of February, 2017. 













A Very Quills Valentine!

The party started with some peppy music and fun games, which had our members hugging, dancing and mingling with the other members of the club. These games brought us further closer to each other, and we settled in comfortably for what turned out to be a ride to remember.











Finding Mr. Darcy!
The big surprise planned for the final year members, which had had them on their toes, guessing and pondering in the week leading up to the party, turned out to be a grand success. In keeping the theme of Valentine's Day, the first year members of the club dressed up as the favorite characters of the outgoing members, and asked them to be their Valentine through the cheesiest of pick-up lines possible, which had everyone in splits. There were tears, gasps of joy and looks of utter disbelief as the final years saw their wildest dreams come true. The first years who played these favourite characters, thoroughly enjoyed the hard work and creative effort required to portray these characters, and the reactions of the final year members made it all worth it.









Rhymes of Nostalgia
We then decided to venture back to the days of innocence and blissful oblivion- the days of our childhood. With the chairs pushed back against the walls, we all stood around in a circle, guessing and reciting our favorite nursery rhymes. This not just jogged our grey cells, but also made us all extremely nostalgic as we realized just how much we all had grown up.








In Character!
After this interesting session we saw a video montage of the memories made by the final years at the Q. L. C. With the lights turned down, and the second years singing Green Day's timeless beauty Time of Our Lives, and asking everyone to sing along to the anthem-like theme song from F.R.I.E.N.D.S,  I'll Be There For You,  a few good tears were shed once again, between lots of wistful smiles. 





Special Gifts for our Special Members!








The final years were then asked to share their memories of the time spend with Q.L.C., and their response was one of gratitude, good wishes, and good-bye. 









Q.L.C then presented its beloved outgoing members with small tokens of remembrance, which in typical Quills style, turned out to be some fashionable bookmarks, and beautiful handmade greeting cards.








Adios Amigos
After this, it was the time to cut a delicious cake, which was ritually followed by some artistic cake-facials. We then asked the final years to leave their hand-prints on colourful chart-papers, along with one final message. The party then came to an end with some fun filled banter, nostalgic hugs, and, of course, the inevitable selfies!















Anytime Selfies!
This was the first ever farewell by the Quills Club and will remain in our memories for a long time. 

Also, the pre-meetings conducted to organise this farewell were not just interesting, but also helped us make new friends and memories worth cherishing.







With this final meeting, Q.L.C completed its second year as the beacon of art imagination and creativity  for the students of our college. We look forward to another year with the club with increased fervour and enthusiasm.



Messages and Memories!




Some Cake for the Face!



Bidding Goodbye!

Artopia- "Elixir of Voices: An Exhibition of Art Works by Twenty-Eight Artists", Ailamma Art Gallery, 8 March, 2017

A Man’s face is his Autobiography. A Woman’s face is her 

work of Fiction

                                          Oscar  Wilde

Many readers may find themselves outraged at the 

quirky humour of Oscar Wilde. 

However, I would like to take it as a compliment. I argue that the statement, with unquestionable ease,  highlights the inherent creative capacities in women.  

Some women may use their creativity to lead colourful lives, in the Wildean sense, but there are others who re-imagine their reality and harvest marvelous works of art. 

Many women are gifted with the rare ability to conjure that which does not exist. It is a gift,  and like all gifts it is meant to be given away. Artists gift their vision to the world and become a rainbow in the dark lives of souls that desire to heal through art.

All artists surround Srimati Jamuna Ramana Rao Garu

On 8^th March, 2017, at the Ailamma Art Gallery, Hyderabad, many artists gathered to showcase their artworks. Tastefully curated by well known curator, Koeli Mukherjee Ghose, the Gallery walls displayed works by twenty-eight artists, both men and women from the city.  The exhibition was inaugurated by popular actress,  Shrimati Jamuna Ramana Rao Garu.   It included artworks by Anita Rao, Anjum, Archana Rajguru, Aruna Chandraraju, Ashima Dewan, Bindu Upadhay, Frazona Khanoon, Sravanti Juluri, Kappari Kishan, Koeli Mukherjee Ghosh, Kiran Asanabada, Lavanya Dutt, Maredu Ramu, Parameshwar Raju, Partha Pratim Roy, Pavan Kumar, Piu Mohapatra, Rupavani Talari, Sai Madhuri, Sabita Lakshmanan, Swetha Chandra, Syed Shaeik, Uma Tirumalasetti, U Vijay Kumar, Vimala Maroju and yours truly.

Senor  Gonzalo absorbed in poetry

I don’t paint with brushes but with words. I am thankful to Koelidi and Parameshwar Raju Sir for considering my poems for the exhibition.

Writing on the Wall!

Art work by Parameshwar Raju

The artworks were diverse. 

It 

included landscapes, portraits, collages, photographs and poetry. I interacted with many interesting women with equally interesting stories. It was a delight talking to painter, Ashima Dewan.  Her painting of bright yellow flowers filled my heart with joy. The sight of the orange canvas with a layer of  orangier (poetic licence :)) flowers was simply delightful. Her works will take you straight to some warm, Mediterranean island, where you can visualize yourself, swaying on a hammock  and lazily watching the world go by while sipping chilled Mojitos.

Ashima Dewan's Work

The sprightly  languor  in her work is not the tale of an artist who practices art in monastic isolation.  Rather, they  come from a woman who spent years of  her life as a housewife battling domestic violence and then took up Art as a refuge.

Some orange therapy!

She is a self-taught painter  and art has given her the life that she is in love with now.  

I also got know more about Sabita Lakshmanan's works which I have always admired.

Sabita Lakshmanan's creations

I found her painting intriguing. The human forms and other shapes merge and arise magically from each other. They express the quintessential sense of quest and ambiguity that define our lives.  

It was also nice to meet Anjum. Her works tried to capture women who suffered acid attacks. They were a combination of collage work and painting.

Anjum's work

I found the series  avant garde and interesting. The colour palate was disturbing and did justice to the thought that went into her work. 

I was also absorbed in one of the works by Sravanti Juluri. I could see Greek gods sleeping and waking in the floating colours on her canvas. 

Sravanthi's painting 

Koeli Mukherjee Ghose's work

Koeli Mukherjee Ghose's work exhibited its usual unique style: blending the everyday woman with an extraordinary perspective.  

The exhibition was  a grand success; not the kind where visitors  scan each other over goblets of wine. It was more of a homely, chai and samosa kind of display. There was delightful camaraderie among artists. 

Artists lost in conversations!

Art is difficult to pursue  and seldom materially  rewarding. But organised display and promotion of art has done much good. This exhibition was yet another effort by art lovers of the city to highlight their works and give back to society, the joy and meaning of creation and revolution. It was befitting to organise it on International Women's Day  at the iconic Ailamma Art gallery, named after Ailamma, the woman who bravely fought against the feudal landlords of Telangana. 

The exhibition similarly highlighted the thoughtful, brave, arcane and pleasant works by artists. The gallery became an Artopia, sheltering and disseminating messages on womanism and humanism. 

Some pics of the Evening!

Three Women: Ashima, Sabita and Jhilam

We believe in Equality ;)

Ms Anjum with her mother

Powerhouse of creativity!

Report by Ms Jhilam Chattaraj