"Life-Line" A poem by Aishwarya

Life-Line

Life is not a line, long and straight,

It is a segment, cut short.

It is a two-page book of birth and death

Where experiences are written with many a letter,

Emotions are painted with many a colour,

Passing clouds are reds and blues —

Where blues are downpours in floods

And reds are rains in the desert sands.

                                         -    Aishwarya (BA)

"Don't Bother" by Tahreen Fatima

Don't Bother

You think I'm stupid because I can't converse with people I've just met

But, I've never wanted to be one in any kind of gathering.

Yes, I'm awkward even around my cousins.

I grew up as the oldest girl in my family, who didn't have any friends in the neighbourhood.

As I advanced into teenage and neared adulthood, I was forced to mingle with people and spark conversations with guests I met once in many years.

I was forced, not just because I needed to have good social manners rather than just keeping to myself (which, by the way, is considered rude),

I was forced because otherwise people would give a negative tag to my personality. 

Keeping to myself and not getting involved in family fun, is considered a poisonous thought.

I've learnt that people will call you timid and sometimes, emotionless, if you stay aloof.

Sometimes, I do mingle with my close family and friends,

Only after convincing myself that it's okay to be different.

But it's not me who needs convincing, it's the people who try to change me.

I've learnt the hard way that every person perceives things differently.

When I've allowed myself to accept people's personalities as they are, can't they accept the mere fact that I am different from them?



They are cool with being the center of attention.

I am not.

They're okay with playing any kind of game with anyone.

I am not.

They're bold when they speak their mind, even if they're wrong.

Whereas, I can't even speak my mind without getting judged for thinking differently, or knowing more than other people do.

They have many friends.

And I'm called awkward and stupid for having few friends.

Let me tell you,

The few I have are truer than the ones you talk to.

Yet, people are always trying to change me.



I don't like being too friendly with anyone.

Don't push me to do that.

I have a dark, different sense of humour.

Don't try to pull me to the other side.

I'm awkward around people I've known since birth.

Don't ask me for reasons.

I do sit around and play along with people I know well.

Just don't tell me to talk more.

You do know that I'm always aloof and silent.



You may also think I'm emotionless.

But what you don't know is,

My heart is filled with all kinds of emotions, threatening to burst out.

I keep my thoughts to myself, because I'm afraid of the fact that people will judge me for being different.

My mind is way more talkative than your mouth.

I'm happy in solitude and I like talking to myself.



But now, it's not my turn to understand.

It is yours to accept me for who I am and not try to mould me into what you want.

Because you can strike only when the iron is hot.

I'm a complete, shining sword.

I'm an introvert, not awkward.

So, don't bother changing me!

                                                                                                                 - Tahreen Fatima (BSc BtCFs)

"Let Her Breathe" - A Poem by P. Keerthi Chandrika

Let Her Breathe

An innocent little baby, smelt the earth;

Is my birth a curse? An impurity?

Started fighting a war till my last breath;

The same war that every little girl had to fight.


Why the placards, slogans, marches?

Through how many generations must they be carried?

Let me breathe for once, not suffocated by the society.

My dreams were burned to ashes in the name of security.


God created beautiful lives, no rules.

The shameless society created walls,

Declared me weak.


Present me as a police officer, a pilot, a teacher, a doctor,

The President, an IAS officer, a nurse, a CEO, a farmer, an army officer, a caretaker.

This me has fought against the strong walls,

And stood as the world’s role model.


Never underestimate her dreams because she is a girl.

Don’t just save a girl child,

Let her breathe and be free and achieve her goals;

Destroy the unnecessary walls the society created. 

                                              -P. Keerthi Chandrika (BSc MSCs)

"The Beautiful Past" - A Poem by Shaik Meera Saheba

The Beautiful Past 

If you leave my thoughts, 

I could be free.

You remind me of a cup of tea—

Warm, like you used to be.

But to me, you are 

Like the waves in the sea: 

Letting you go 

Is setting myself free. 

                                                 - Shaik Meera Saheba (BtCFs)

"Sorrow of Birds" - A Poem by Sahithi Cheapuri

 

Sorrow of Birds 

This is the sorrow of birds

For which, I truly have no words.

We’ve cut down trees, decreased greenery

And built to increase the ‘concrete scenery’;

We strove to develop telecommunication,

But ignored the death of birds due to radiation.

The birds are weeping for their life,

Please don’t let them fall prey to the scythe.

Stand up against destruction, increase afforestation;

Remember the birds — make a resolution.

                                                                          - Sahithi Cheapuri (BA)

"They Call It Love" - A Poem by Mariya Fatima

They Call It Love

I am battling with it:
Every minute, every second, every moment of my life;
It is slowly and steadily dripping—
Dripping into my blood, mixing with it;
Entering my nerves and veins, travelling
All over my body, from the heart to the brain.

It's paining; I feel like I might fall apart
It’s paining as if someone has stabbed me in my heart.
I keep running away from it; I don't want to face it
Because the pain is unbearable,
Now that it has entered every cell of my body;
It pricks me to the very core.

I try to escape, to run away as far as possible,
But it ain't that easy;
Because every time I try to run, it drags me to itself.
I can never predict when it's coming,
As it creeps up suddenly, within no time
Making me feel worse with every breath of mine.

And I, I find myself helpless; 

I try to part myself from it,
But it seems never ending;
I cannot describe it enough:
It is much more than grief & pain.
But they, they call it love.

                                       - Mariya Fatima (BA 1^st year)

"My Amour" - A Poem by Nisha Simons

My Amour

Behold his dreamy eyes, they shine

And glitter and glint: an unforgettable sight.

Fascinated and marvelled at such a sight,

I wondered if love started just in time.


Yon adorable eyes I would go mad for—

But I realised, it was just a fervent dream.

The day brought whispers to my ears,

And I heard the whispers of my amour.

                                            - Nisha Simons (BA 2^nd year)