Wordplay: The Reading Spot

"The trouble is that you think you have time." - Jack Kornfield It was at the age of three that Thomas Gray first said the word "happy". A few months later, he discovered what the word meant. But he was six when he first discovered what "joy" meant; the sun shining brightly in the sky, snowballs flying in his direction, a warm smile plastered across his face. He remembers vividly, to this day, how his mother taught him to make snow angels, and how his father helped him onto his feet, every time he fell into the snow. He didn't remember much else, but he knew that joy was that warm giddiness that he felt in his tummy, that stayed unfazed in spite of the cold winter winds.  He felt happy an ample amount of times after that winter, but he never really felt joy. Thomas Gray was not always a man buried under a pile of work. In his young years, he was full of dreams and aspirations, and even the sky wasn't the limit. He had a list of things he wanted to ...

S.O.S. *** Claire is seated outside the manager's room, flipping through the pages of 'The Daily Affairs'. She's already read the day's edition, but having nothing particularly better to do, she decided to give it a re-read. She's not much of a 'politics' enthusiast, nor is she into 'sports'. The national and international affairs are the only sections that catch her eye. Now, the newspaper isn't a 'happy' read, so Claire wasn't expecting it to be all rainbows or sunshine. Still, she felt the shivers caress her as she read the increasing number of med. student suicides; most of them occuring due to research failures. She has always considered herself to be among the lucky ones, since she, once upon a time, wished to enter the research field herself. Luckily, just one month into it, she'd decided it was too much, and too unbalanced, for her liking. Thus, each new 'research failure' added more fear into her mind, because...

"Never question the relevance of truth, but always question the truth of relevance." - Craig Bruce *** Disclaimer - What you're about to read consists of mainly my opinion, and I urge you to not assume that this is the absolute truth. This is just my take on the subject, and you are advised to give it a read, and then a thought. An unbiased, open-minded thought. So, don't blindly believe in the contents of this post, and don't outrightly dismiss them either. *** Have you ever asked yourself, "What would happen to the world if I died right this second?" For starters, your family would be devastated, and overcome with grief. Then your friends, boss, colleagues, neighbours, regular passers-by, relatives, etc. would all become aware of your absence, and your life would be concluded with a short send-off, also known as a funeral. While the immediate impact of your passing on loved ones is undeniable, let's delve deeper into a more profound inquiry: ...

"I made you something special..." Woken by the Feast day sun Its scorching warmth of joy Matches our happy beaks As we move towards the field. Master has set a lovely banquet Studded with seeds and delicious "pests" We don't know how to thank Master, but We rush to relish, instead. In between gorging sessions I glance at the younglings And my friends  And smile at their smiles "How delicious!", ones' said "A feast for sure!", said another's A few hours hence, Master joins us and Adds to the shine with a staff that glitters; Its gleaming silver matches The harvested rain. I'd stare at it longer, but Master ushers us out Into his chariot's carts  We barely fit, but Master  Isn't frowning, so we don't complain. An hour later Master stops the chariot And leads us into smaller carts On a moving belt. It's been a fun ride so far But Master wishes to make it better! We oblige and settle into the carts Which begin moving; ...

"Teaching kids to count is fine, but teaching them what counts is best." - Bob Talbert Dear readers, it's going to end with parrots. You may not understand what that means just yet, but believe it or not, it will truly end with parrots.  It started with neanderthals. By nature's beautiful miracle, they evolved. Then we made wheels, discovered fire, built civilisations....basically, reached where we are today. But, how? How did a progressive species such as the homo sapiens reach a point where they will most likely end with parrots...how is that even possible? This article is inspired by the conversations I had with my teacher and a close relative. And no, these weren't some brilliant, highly motivational discussions...they were horrifying, and absolutely the stuff of nightmares. Nightmares, that end with parrots.  Don't rule this out as some random student rant...that'll only further cement the nightmares that these discussions made me foresee. Alright, I...

“The world is a tragedy to those who feel, but a comedy to those who think.”  – Horace Walpole Positivity is the wrong perspective. Ignore the ones who say You can always improve and cling on to hope Dwell in the realms of guilt Since it makes no sense to Make the most of your present Sulk in the dark Since it's pointless to Focus on the light Value yourself little You have no reason to Let go of your self-doubt You're worthless, and just a burden Yet, you often assume that You have so much potential You're running out of time So there is no reason to think that There is much life yet to live You've reached the end So don't think that A lifetime is at your disposal A dark fate awaits you So don't think that  Positivity is the correct perspective. [ Now read the lines from the bottom to the top (i.e.-read the poem backwards)... ] -Armaan Kothare *** Vantage (noun)- a perspective, or a position from which you watch something...

bee "Why do you stop, why do you stall?" The young professor asked them all "To stall is to break away from The treasures that await y'all" "Instead say, "I shall begin now; And make progress right away!" "Focus on one task, do one alone Lest the burden cause you to groan; And as long as your day's work is undone You shan't dream to dream of fun Let alone pass out, fight the drowse  Act like you own your house" (He left the audience enthralled and vanished)...on returning home The professor resolved to do his chores But alas! There were one too many; He had to call his mum, and then his dad Then get ready for his late night bath; Then make his bed, and read a book Then give the old paper a little look. And then, and only then would he Dream to dream of being sunny- But shhh, dare you say a word! For just after his usual snack, The professor has already hit the sack. -Armaan Kothare ** Summary- an ode to procrastination, humanity...

Ouroboros... My name is Yin. Spirits have been haunting the Kurai mountains for as long as the village elder can remember. Spirits are dark and ferocious beasts that abduct the living and only a handful have ever been able to slay them before. In a world terrorized by monsters such as these, I'm no ordinary workperson. I'm going to be a spirit slayer.  In the past few centuries, the only person who has successfully been able to slay a spirit, was my father, Naibu. His many years of research bore fruit in the form of the enchanted carbon steel swords that he'd forged, the only material that has been proven effective against spirits. Unfortunately, when he was returning from the Kurai apex, having slain one spirit, the exhaustion eventually led to his death. He passed away before he could teach the other village blacksmiths the methods he used to forge the carbon steel. And since he'd carried most of his weaponry and armour with him, there were only two swords left in his...