Darkness And Pretence

                                                Empty Wishes

Wish I had cold that
Would remove the traces of fleeting warmth
Wish I had agony that
Would numb me from these illusions of joy
Wish I had darkness that 
Would shield me from this blinding light
Wish I had death that 
Would free me from this traitorous life



                                                Musings Before Dawn

Laying in my bed wide awake,
Tossing and turning in my sheets,
Never have I felt so lifeless;
Staring into the hole of emptiness,
That is nowhere close to the void in my chest,
I know my heart is pounding;
But with each beat, all I feel is agony.
Wallowing in the darkness of my mind,
That left me drowning in loneliness,
I wish for dawn to come soon.


                          
                                             Society's Workings

Everything is alluring and perfect on the surface,
For mirages are often bewitching,
But do not look too close into the mirror,
For if you do, there is nothing,
Except for ash and smoke.
A careful smile plastered on the face,
No one wonders who that smile is for, 
The smile that masks doubt and envy;
So carefully put and practiced that, 
No one knows how shallow it is.

                                        
                                                                                         -  Rithika Varam,
                                                                                             MZC 2nd year.
                                                                                             

"When She Spoke", a Spoken Word Poem by Asfiya Khanam

"When She Spoke"  was first performed by Asfiya, at the Slam Poetry Evening by the US Consulate, Hyderabad, August 24, 2018

She was fire, she was light

Her writings were her might 

No,no,no she was not blessed with mythical eyes

But an ordinary girl, plump with metaphors and smiles

She had her heart flowing from a deep blue cup

She also fell but always stood up

She desired to express but was scared of being judged

She wrote and wrote, it was smudged

But remember she was bent not broken,

Her fingers crafted little boats and like Noah's arch

They sailed the deluge,

Of sorrow, pain and more pain

In a brief brightening moment, she stood tall

On the shoulders of women, who balanced on hips

And hands of many, many other women...

What smoldering acrobats of thoughts!

Darting across time, cultures, latitudes

Frida, Slyvia, Virginia, Talisma, Malala

She was one among them, her words wetting soils

Harvested hearts and embalmed ruptured eyes

Picked stars from the skies to illumine the night of despair

Our dear girl,

Rose beyond the rain-fragrant pines

Soared through unknown galaxies

But it was too much, oh so much 

For smaller souls to bear

Could she dare, really dare to disturb the universe?

They broke her again!

"She was no hero!" they said

Just another of many privileged voices

"Oh she talks about love! "

"Where's the war? Where's the politics?"

So they dragged her out of hopeful bubble

And flashed at her threats, threw words at her 

Like pots and pans; made sure she bled, wept and vanished!

But little did they know 

She was a soldier, a warrior, a poet

Who many times like her sisters, salvaged humanity

No bullet could wipe her imprints in the sands of time

She inked her legacy onto every life she touched

Like a thunderstorm in a desert,

She will stun parched fields 

For the next time she speaks

It will not be 'me' and 'I', but 'we' and 'them'

And she has dreamed of being wrapped in the night sky

Of a country beyond the borders of scarves and veils

Of a land with no curfews, where women like her

Brown and black and yellow and white

Rich, poor, Hindu, Muslim, christian, Jew and Buddhist 

Would hold a pen and brandish it in the air 

And drown in their passionate ink

All fears, censors and perils of the world

I tell you again, in a simple oracle,

That she had no cape or mysterious cloak

But she left behind a trail of fire and smoke,

When she spoke 

 every time she spoke

                                                                        - Asfia Khanam 

Au Rythme des Relations: An Evening of Interactive Poetry Reading

“Poetry is the evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash” 

                                  Leonard Cohen  

                                           Poets (from Right): Mona, Rebecca, Paresh, Srividya, Jhilam

 To brighten up the remains of the day, poetry lovers of 

Hyderabad gathered at Alliance Française, on the 28 ^th of 

September, 6.30 pm, to attend Au Rythme des Relations: An 

Evening of Interactive Poetry Reading.

The event was organized jointly, by the institute and Ms Jhilam Chattaraj, poet, author, Assistant Professor, RBVRR Women’s College. 

The Key-note

The aim of the evening was to diffuse the usual distance between the audience and poets and comprehend the various rhythms of human relationships through poetry.  

Aude Emeline Loriot N, Director, Alliance Française inaugurated the program and felicitated the poets.

Poet, Srividya, being felicitated by the Director

Mini Nayani, Cultural co-coordinator, introduced the artists. 

Jhilam announced the objectives of the event and moderated the session. The new and experimental format created a space for instant and live feedback to every poem that was read out.  

Extreme left: Ms Mini Nayani, Cultural Co-ordinator along with audience 

Poets were requested to read their poems even twice and 

explain their craft to the audience. The participant poets

were, Elizabeth Kurian Mona who read ghazals in English

and Urdu, Rebecca Vedavathy, read the French translations 

of Mona’s poems and also a few of her own, Srividya 

Sivakumar read poems from her book, The Heart is an Attic, 

Paresh Tiwari read from his book Raindrops Chasing 

Raindrops  and Jhilam Chattaraj read from her newly 

launched book, When Lovers Leave and Poetry Stays.  

The session is on!

In the first round, the poets read verses on love, longing and loss;it set the pace of the event. The second round was led by the audience. 

Our Lovely Audience 

They selected a poet of their choice and a theme and relevant poems were read out.  The high-octane tempo of the evening reached its peak when a la mushaira atmosphere was created by the English ghazals of poet, Mona:  the audience wah-wahed along with her couplets, displaying an inspiring mélange of eastern and western cultures; something that late, Indian-American-Kashmiri poet and popular English ghazal writer, Agha Shahid Ali had once envisioned.

Students, HR Executives, painters, influencers, academicians among the audience shared the auditory, psychological and aesthetic effects of the poems on them. 

Eminent guests: Mr Vijay Marur and Mr Sanjay Gadhalay 

They explained how poetry reading sessions like the present one enabled the poem to be free of the torturous interpretations they were taught to infer due to the influence of complicated pedagogical methods often used in schools.

Poets among Audience 

The novel approach to the Reading was the first of its kind in the city. It demystified the processes of writing and offered the audience a peek into the craft of poetry. The event set a new benchmark for poetry readings in the city- audience is no more the passive listener but an active participant. The audience was also treated with elegant book marks with quotations from each poet’s work. 

Poets guided the audience cross the bridge of poetry and meet them and thus marking the beginning of a beautiful and lasting friendship.

Friendships & Reflections: Two Poems by Priyanka and Ritu

                                                                             

On Friendship   

Friendship is a roller coaster of highs and lows  

    Some friends can't stay apart nor wish to be torn.

    

Some struggle to rescue their drowned liaisons

    And some cheer on their comrades from afar:

They come in gangs of geeks and clique of jocks

    They are partners in crime and peas of a pod

    They stand firm and brave against the harsh wind

    Trusting and leaning on each other to hold tight

    They think they're invincible against all charges

    Yet, they wobble and sway against the test of time.

    Opportunities knock at their doors and hearts change

    Priorities re-arrange and promises long forgotten  

    

Friendships are crazy pacts and silly ties 

    So easily tossed away in the hurdles of life

    Yet some few and true friendships never fade 

    Still standing side by side against the harsh winds

     
                                                                   -  Priyanka Dubey,
                                                                             MZC 2nd year.

                       Unmasked

      Always wandering around in the dark,

       I've practiced to put on a deceiving mask.

       

Maybe it is too late to reach for the light

       And yet, till the end all I'm doing is fight.

     

  Every effort I put in seems to be less

       And every cry of help I scream, useless.

      

 Yet I stand up again and brace my soul

       For the voice in my head is too loud to ignore.

             

                                                                            - Ritu Sarda, 

                                                                               MZC 2nd year.                                                      

Changing Paths: A Moving Confession by Bhakti Matur

 Walk On !

Sometimes, we all make wrong decisions. We suffer as a result, and we regret them. We become unhappy and curse ourselves, because we think we cannot change them. 

Everyone in their lives must have come across such experiences. For me, my decision to join an engineering college, was the one I regretted. I had studied an electronic course for only two semesters and yet, the failures I experienced and the humiliation I faced, for not being a good student, pained me greatly. 

I realized, after a while, that my heart wasn't in this and that this was not the path I wanted to take, but I didn't give up. I tried again, I wanted to endure and get through because everyone around me somehow were capable of doing that. My last attempt at redeeming myself didn't quite work and I failed miserably than all the times before. At that point, my parents had made their frustration towards me clear and my friends taunted me. I had enough and I decided to change my course and do what I desired, which was literature. 

It was hard going against the norm, especially when everyone around you believes that your dreams are childish and will get you nowhere in life. Taking up B.A and doing what I wanted to do was perhaps the most scariest moment in my life but now, I can say that it's the best decision I've ever made. I'm really happy with what I'm learning now and I enjoy it immensely. 

Maybe it's true that you have to do what you love because the best of you shines through. My self-confidence is at an all-time high and I'm slowly coming out of my shell, trying to communicate. I'm exactly where my past self wanted to be and I couldn't be happier. But  life doesn't always go smoothly. I still have to explain to others why I supposedly made such a rash decision or why I supposedly took a path that has no future.

 My parents, although supportive of my decision, ask me the same questions sometimes because they feel like they have a reputation to uphold in society. However, I don't let such things affect me anymore. 

At the end of the day, my happiness is important. Despite what people say, your happiness is more important than your parent's or your friend's or your neighbor's. Sure, being an engineer or doctor is great but why settle for them when your options are endless?

                                                                                                            Bhakti Matur,

                                                                                                                  B.A Second Year.

                                                                                                                  

A Peek Into My Soul

"Poetry is a cure to me; It crawls deeply into the darkest corners of my soul and slowly, gently, heals."   

     People change like the seasons, she learnt

     Warm like the spring breeze in one tick

     Icy, like the median of a winter in the next

     Why did they have to change? She pondered

    

     The short nights of summer passed

     And so did the fleeting days of winter

    

     Silence dragged on and she wondered

     Is it because she clings onto their branches

     Like the leaves do in the Autumn skies

     Or simply, because she bares her soul

     Like a peacock dancing in the rain;

     Watching the sky paint itself with a million stars

     She realized; maybe it's not her after all

    

     Rain had to come to fill what Summer had drained

     Spring had to come to revive Winter's ruin 

     And virulent people had to leave...

     

     All so she could learn to love herself 

     the way she truly deserved to be.

  

                                                                                                 Priyanka Dubey,
                                                       MZC II Year.

  

Suffering: A Poem by Srilekha Sagar

The word ends with a ring,
During which the resolve swings.

Two sides of the same person fight,

Victory depends on the person's might.

Suffering is encountered by every person,

Some have it shallow, some have it deep.
The tenure of suffering might be bitter,

But it serves as a bad thought emitter.

Suffering can be physical or mental,

But never losing hope is vital.

It may be sorrowful,

So, you need to be careful.

To end suffering you may swallow poison,
But that is a fake medication.

 You should try to cope,
For if you try, you can see the sun.

                                                                               - Srilekha Sagar.

The Way We Were: HLF 2018 by V. Neharika and Navya Verma

"One of the best experiences I've had in my life so far, is being a part of the Hyderabad Literary Festival. Initially, I was not clear about my role as a volunteer but when I attended the first day of the fest, I learned that I was a member of the Registration department. In the duration of the three days of the fest, I communicated with different people of different states and different countries. There were two events that I liked the most in the fest. First, was the exhibition called 'Good Food' where we had to eat a fruit and write down the memory we have associated with it, on a rock. I found this concept to be very creative. Second, the 'Youngisthan Ukkad' in which they introduced new elements in the form of featured acts, street gallery and Mehfil, along with an open mic. HLF has helped me greatly in improving my volunteer skills. I sincerely thank all the directors and organizers of HLF for giving me such a good opportunity. I also thank my College, the Principal and our Lecturers of Commerce department for permitting us to volunteer at HLF. I also convey my heartfelt gratitude to Grace Madam, Jhilam Madam and 'Quills literary club' for introducing us to HLF."

                                                                                   -  V. Neharika.

                                                                                   BCOM IIIC

"I recently participated as a volunteer in the Hyderabad Literary Festival, 2018. This was my second time as a volunteer for HLF, as I had already participated in HLF 2017. It was a wonderful experience last year and hence, I was excited for this year as well. HLF is an yearly, international event where writers, artists and well-known personalities gather from all over India and other countries alike. This year, Spain was the guest Nation while Kannada was the Indian language in focus. I choose to volunteer for the workshops, as I wanted to participate in them and gain knowledge, along the way. I was put in charge for the 'Tree Of Life' workshop which included Story Telling by Arati Kodali, Story Writing by Toral Shah, Creating Monsters and Other Night Creatures by Ana Cristina Herreros. With the help of these workshops, I learnt the importance of stories and different ways of describing a story. It was fun to make the monster mask and I was satisfied as I had made my own mask, well. Tree Walk, Rock Walk and Heritage Walk were also conducted at HLF, this year. Through these walks, I learnt the names and importance of trees, heritage buildings and rocks in our surroundings. I was interviewed by reporters from Sakshi TV regarding HLF and to motivate people to visit HLF. Even though I was a little nervous since it was my first time to do an interview, I felt happy watching it later with my parents. I was also delighted to meet Sanjana Kapoor, the daughter of Shashi Kapoor, as she was one of the speakers at HLF 2018. I also met the author Sudeep Nagarkar, whose notable works are 'Few Things Left Unsaid', 'It started with a friend request' etc. Overall, the environment at HLF was very friendly and peaceful. I miss the fun and good ambiance of HLF as it was a much needed break from the assignments, records and lectures in my routine."

                                                                                   -  Navya Varma.
                                                                                   BCOM IIIC

Women's Day 2018- Time For Some Celebrations

Aneesha Srivastava

ROLE OF WOMEN IN SOCIETY

In times past, women were confined to household works such as cleaning, cooking, doing laundry and raising children. They were not allowed to get involved in political, legal, economic or social affairs. Up until mid the 20th century, the society was largely patriarchal as men played the role of the breadwinner in the family while women struggled for gender equality. Over the span of decades, however, women's conditions have considerably improved. So, what brought upon this change?

During periods of war, women were drafted into the labor market to undertake work that was previously restricted only to men. While their husbands, sons, fathers and brothers were off fighting in the wars, women had to earn their own livelihood. However, following the wars, they invariably lost their jobs and had to return to the domestic scene. The changing role of women in society was a result of this work that they did during the war. Women had tasted something akin to independence during this time and they were unwilling to let go of it. Early in 1932, a young woman named Amelia Earhart was the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic. Her inspirational story also encouraged many women to push boundaries.

The rights women enjoy today are the rights women in the past fought for diligently. Compared to the past few decades or so, women have relatively improvised their lifestyle. Now, women hold a reputable position in the society. They are present in civil, defense, judicial, business and corporate sectors and often hold higher positions than their male counterparts. While there is no doubt that modern women have it better in terms of education, employment and political involvement, they are still discriminated against.

 The constant harassment women face in their workplace or houses, whether sexual or emotional, stands as a testament to this. Females were often considered physically and emotionally weak, and this misconception had paved the way for centuries of suffering at the hands of men.

In the United States, which is now touted as the Leader of the Free World, July of 1848 saw Elizabeth Cady Stanton penned down the words “All men and women are created equal” on the “Declaration of sentiments and resolutions” - the sister equivalent of the “Declaration of Independence”- which dealt with woman's rights exclusively. One hundred and seventy years have passed since, and yet, society seems unwilling to accept this simple notion.

The Indian government has aimed for gender equality by passing the Sarda Act, Dowry Prohibition Act, among other, and has set up the Ministry of Women and Child Development. However, the Indian society still binds women to draconian gender norms and degrades her value. They often seem to forget that women are just as important to the development of society as men.

For centuries, men have taken center-stage, basking in the spotlight, while conveniently forgetting the women behind the scenes who worked hard for them to stand on it. A woman is an equal part of society and is not meant to be overshadowed by men. They are a man's companion, not their property. In the makings of a great state or country, a woman's contribution can never be overlooked.

Hence I urge every woman to stand strong. Fight for equal rights. Never feel inferior to anyone. Establish your identity in the society. Before a mother, sister, daughter or wife, you are first and foremost, a woman. A woman without whom the world is incomplete and without whom life cannot be possible.