Once Upon A Blue Moon Night - Syeda Mariya

Once upon a Blue Moon Night
I was walking the George Street by the moonlight,
Far, very far, there up, very high up,
The stars twinkled like sparks in the sky;

I had a feeling, a creepy one, that I wasn't alone,
There was something unusual in the cold wind's tone,
My feet tightly dug in the ground,
Not a third soul could be found;

Standing behind the Old Banyan Tree,
I noticed someone staring at me!
I called her, asked 'Who art thou?'
'You got these wounds, when? how?'

She hath beautiful eyes- deep, dark, bold,
But somehow I felt something was untold.
'What is your name?', She said, 'Grace'
I smiled at her and took her to my place.

'At daybreak, I'll leave you at your house', I said
She quietly had her supper and went to bed,
At dawn, I searched for that damsel of fifteen,
But to my surprise, she was nowhere to be seen;

I went to Uncle David and told him the tale,
By and by, I noticed, his face grew pale;
'That girl Grace..', He was taken aback,
'She died a decade ago in a terrorist attack'

The words of Uncle David fell like Lightening,
The thought of her were very frightening.
Years have passed, but I still fear that Blue Moon Night,
When I was walking the George Street by the moonlight.

                                                                                         
                                                                                - Syeda Mariya, BA I Year.

Priming The Rookies: Report of the BA Orientation Program By Mounica

The BA Orientation program for this academic year was conducted on the 20th of July, 2019 in the seminar hall. The Departments of English, Journalism and History organized the event while the second and final years of BA delivered motivating speeches and mesmerizing performances for their juniors. Alumni Ms. Juveria Tabassum and Ms. Achasha Vajra were also invited to share their experiences with the students at the program. 

             

             

The event was initiated by a prayer song, performed by Sahithi of BA second year. The anchor for the day, Priyanka Singh of BA second year, then invited the Head of Department of English, Mrs. Suchithra to address the freshmen. She highlighted all the facilities of the College, urging the students to make use of them. She also stressed the importance of attendance before signing off with a warm welcome to the new joiners. Subsequently, The Heads of Department of Journalism and History, Mrs. Anuradha and Mrs. Hema Subramanyam also took to the stage to impart their wisdom upon the students. While Mrs. Anuradha spoke about all the exciting features of the college, Mrs. Hema narrated a fable to the students on never letting opportunities pass. "Some opportunities come knocking on your door, so try to grab them." she advised.  

     



















Following this, Hiranmayee of BA second year introduced the Alumni speakers and invited them to share a few words. Ms Juveria took to the podium first to relate her experience as the former student editor of the Quills Blog. While she encouraged her juniors to step out of their self-made boundaries, Ms Achasha opened up about the support she received from her teachers that helped her grow. 

A short poetry dance on 'Kubla Khan' by Sameul Taylor Coleridge followed which was rendered by the students of both BA second and final years. Immediately after, speakers: Mounica, Sreeja and Bhakti (final years); Veda, Harika and Nandini (second years), delivered speeches on their own struggles like insecurity, low self confidence, stage fear etc., and detailed how the college has helped them reach a better mind space. The floor was then thrown open for feedback in which, the first years enthusiastically took part in. The event ended with a short Vote Of Thanks by BA final year student, Akhila and the students all came together for a group pic.

Painting Stars - A Poem By Mounica

The clock strikes twelve 

And I try to see the stars beyond the dusty air

Shining on their own against a dark canvas;

I paint my canvas the same dark hue,

Hoping I make stars of my own.

Excited, hopeful and motivated,

I dip my paintbrush in stardust;

I'll make my stars bleed purple,

For it's my canvas.

The clock strikes one 

And the brush slips from my fingers,

Anxiety slips through the cracks in my paint;

And I rush to perfect my stars.

The real ones take millennia to form,

Humans do not have the same luxury.

I paint them over and over again,

My fingers shake and I grow frantic,

Desperate to create my own bright star.

The clock strikes two 

And suddenly the canvas looks bleak.

The dark color has an ominous feel to it,

And my mind chokes me with the same darkness.

My brush pauses, I try to recall why I started;

I look up, and I can't see the stars anymore. 

Why shine if you fade when dawn breaks?

Why rush to live when you die anyways?

The brush slips again; this time I don't pick it up.

- Mounica, BA final year.

I Love Her - A Poem By Rithika

                                                   

I love her.
I love everything about her.
The way her hair cascades down her back,
Glossy, shiny, thick and smooth.
The way her eyes glint in the light,
When joy consumes her whole.
The way her lips pout when she cries,
Or when she acts adorable.

I love her.
But this is the same beautiful hair,
She brushes all day and night,
She's become a master at it;
And now she ignores my feelings too,
Brushing them off her shoulder.

I love her.
But these are the same beautiful eyes,
Which are alight with accusation,
Saying I don't love her enough.
These are the same beautiful lips,
Which are crying and begging me;
To love her again like before, 
Claiming she can love me too.
I loved her,
Everything I've ever loved was about her.

                                                              - Rithika Varam, MZC final year. 




  

Trapped - A Poem By Veda Sri

 You are my inspiration,

 The soul of my verse.

 But the pain you have given me,

 Is no less than a curse;

 You are my dream,

 The one I strove hard to achieve.

 But you're like a star in the sky,

 That I could never seem to reach.

You are my light,

That once shone so bright.

But you left me in plight,

And there's nothing left in my sight.

You are my poem,

That I recited day and night.

But I never knew you abhorred reading,

Until you tore my pages apart.

                                       

                                                                       - Vedasri, BA II year. 

Madness & Literature - Report of QLC meet on June 29, 2019 by Shruthi

The first Quills Literary Club meeting of the new academic year kicked off with a grand celebration on 29th June. The topic chosen for the meet was 'Madness & Literature' on which students were encouraged to give presentations, talk or perform on abnormal characters/concepts. They were also encouraged to perform pieces on mental health.

A prayer song performed by BA second year students Tanuja and Mounika intiated the session and later, The Head of Department of English, Mrs. Suchithra, took over the podium with her warm words of encouragement for the new members of the club. Student Hiranmayee of BA second year, then took over the hosting for the program. The first piece of the day was a dance rendition performed by BA second year student Sahithi and her team on Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem 'Kubla Khan'. The quartet danced to the mystical and out-of-the-world scenes described in the poem. This performance was followed with a poetry recitation by BA final year student Mounica. She elaborated her struggle with anxiety and depression through her poem 'Painting Stars'.

Following this, second year BA student Ciri Kovida took the stage to talk about her favorite Harry Potter series which contains many abnormal elements in the story as well as unique characters that fit into the meeting's discussion on madness/chaos. Subsequently, a talk on Adolf Hitler was delivered by Shruthi of BSc second year. A short comic relief was provided by the club coordinator Dr. Jhilam Chattaraj when she recited a nonsense rhyme by Norma Livo and Sandra Rietz.

VijayaSree from BA second year then took over the stage to recite a poem dedicated to her brother 'Until We Meet Again'. The poem is interwoven with feelings of longing and reminiscence. Taking a short break from performances, the lecturers of English Department, Dr. Sumithra Jaiswal, Mrs. Jayanthi and Mrs. Merci Ma'am shared a few warm words with the students applauding the growth of the club. BBM second years, Mehak and group stole the thunder of the day by enacting a Mime performance titled 'Story of Maya: A Depressed Girl & How She Overcomes It'. The performance showcased the journey of a girl with depression so artistically that the audience were captivated. The last act of the day was a poetry piece on Adolf Hitler delivered by Ashwini from Bcom second year. 

                                   

The event wrapped up with all the students and lecturers huddling together for the camera; trying to capture the memories of the day in a blissfully chaotic picture. The Sun set for the day while the students and teachers alike, chattered over hot samosas and cool ice creams. 

                                                                                                             - R. Shruthi, Bsc II year. 

Humans As Books, A Modern Twist On Library

On 15th June, RBVRR Women's College hosted a Human library Hyderabad session in the auditorium. Hyderabad is the second city in all of India to have this concept of a Human library and the event was a success among the students. Human library is a unique take on the conventional library, where in people with a story become the 'books' and interact with the readers. There were 8 speakers/books in total who spoke on topics like Body shaming, sexual identities, disabilities and alcoholism. The members of QLC share their experiences and the books that moved them, in this post. 


I read 4 'books' in the Human library session conducted in the college. Going in, I had no idea what to expect as this was the first time I had even heard the term 'Human Library'. But at the end of the day, I felt a teeny bit wiser and a lot more understanding. The books don't tell conventional stories but they share their real-life struggles and how they've finally found acceptance. Books like 'My Happy size' and 'The Turncoat', which are on body shaming and atheism, resonated with me but it was books like 'Mothering LGBTQ children' that really moved me to tears. This was once-in-a-lifetime experience and I really hope to attend, if given the chance again.
                                                                                                - Mounica, BA III year

The Human Library conducted in our college, was a new and unique take on the original library. We spent quality time whilst attending the event and we learnt quite a lot from the stories of the speakers. This event revolved around stories of various social issues and situations. A conventional library might be an exciting experience for avid readers and book lovers but might not be enjoyable for people who don’t read as much. The Human Library provides an immensely engaging experience and a rejuvenating environment that will help everyone learn about real issues through a rejuvenating story telling process.

- Anisha Bodapati, BtCFs II year

I took part in the Human Library session which was held in the auditorium. There were three different books which I attended, or 'read'. One book spoke about a driving accident which cost him, his leg. Despite that, he did not lose hope and went on to win prizes as a para-athlete. Another book spoke about his experience as an Ex-Muslim and why he chose to be an atheist. Perhaps my most favorite book of all was where I learned what exactly LGBTQ entails. The speaker spoke to us on the struggles of being gay and what problems that LGBTQ community faces. This session totally changed my perspective towards many things. I learned to respect people and to not judge them by their height, color, weight or physical appearances.

- Hiranmayee, BA II year

The Human library Event was really interesting with many books. I read books  on Atheism and Veganism but I was most fascinated with the book 'Mothering LGBTQ children'. It was very emotional and heart touching. The speaker is mother of a gay son and she told us how she didn't even know what the word gay meant at first. However, she realized her child was different, so she stood strong for her son in the face of society. She didn't hesitate to cut ties with her relatives when they were against her son. She is an inspiration to all the mothers out there and it really helped me build different perspectives of the world. 

                                                                                                         - Bhakti Matur, BA III year