We went to Kolkata to Nani’s home,

A place where cousins love to roam.

We laughed, we played, from day to night,

Each moment there felt pure and bright.

Mamu’s jokes would make us smile,

Mami’s warmth stayed all the while.

Nani’s hugs were soft and warm,

And Nanu’s stories had their charm.

Mausa brought joy, Mausi brought cheer,

It felt so good with everyone near.

My elder brother, definitely not calm but cool,

My elder sister wise but naughty, like no one in school.

My younger sister was the whistle of the house,

A moment without, you’ll be able to hear the slithers of a mouse.

We played some badminton, ran outside,

And had late-night chats we couldn’t hide.

We tried new foods, noodles and fries,

Dimsums hot and stir-fried rice.

Bubble tea sips and cafe stops,

Desserts from trendy bakeries and shops.

Movie nights were the best of all,

Blankets, popcorn, and lights so small.

Those days were short but full of joy,

No study, no stress, just fun to enjoy.

Life’s like a craving — Once you’ve tasted success it ends.

Life’s like a hallway — you walk, knowing that it ends.

Life’s like rewatching a movie, it’s when you know how it ends.

But life’s not like a Map — you never know where it ends.

But life’s not like a Clock — you never know when it ends.

One talks about Life as complex, one talks about it as simple,

But you know what matters? Perspective.

What makes us different? Perspective.

What makes us, us? Perspective.

Perspective is shaping us, it’s shaping the future,

It’s shaping the humans from what we call failure.

From boomers to betas, we all have evolved,

What matters is the problems we’ve resolved.

So maybe life isn’t something we can always plan,

It’s not just about where it ends, but where it began.

It’s how we look, how we think, what we choose to see

Perspective shapes who we are, and who we can be.

So don’t be someone else, don’t be everything you see

Be what you call yourself, and just live freely.

At the beginning of May, I played in a basketball tournament in Kerala, even though I’m from Mumbai. Our school took us to this event and trained us for success. It was for the Under-14 category and one of my first big tournaments outside my city. Traveling to Kerala was exciting but also a bit nerve-wracking because I wasn’t sure what to expect. I just wanted to do my best and enjoy the games, stepping out of my comfort zone.

The basketball scene in Kerala was very different from Mumbai. The crowd was loud and the players were strong, which made every match challenging. One game was especially close—I think we lost by just a couple of points. It was intense, and I learned how important it is to stay focused until the very last second. Playing against new teams helped me understand my strengths and the areas I need to work on.

Moreover, the Kerala teams were much more competitive than I had expected, and it created a sense of spirit that made me want to give my very best throughout the tournament. Although we didn’t qualify for the semi-finals, we managed to secure two wins that really boosted our confidence. So, this was not a loss, but a valuable learning experience that we will always cherish in the years we continue to play basketball. (Humbly, I received two “Player of the Match” awards, which motivated me to keep pushing through.)

Besides the matches, I got to try some local food and meet kids from different parts of the state. It was cool to see how basketball brings people together, even from far away. Overall, the tournament was a great experience, and apart from basketball, it taught me a lot about Kerala as well. Now, I can’t wait for the next opportunity to play in a tournament like this again.

“Vacations, Oh Vacations!”

Vacations on the left, Vacations on the right.

Vacations on the centre, Vacations do enter.

Short or long that depends on the holiday,

Fun or boring that’s not an option anyway.

Spring, Summer, Christmas all of them slay,

But school, school, school is in the middle of the way.

India, America and Australia,

But none of them are better than Goa.

School is ending, my vacations are entering.

But I simply don’t get, why isn’t anyone cheering?

My mum’s sore voice, wasn’t her choice. (But I don’t feel bad for her,

It’s not my fault , neither is it hers, but it still did occur.)

At times she’s in pain, we get no more scolding (looks like it’s our gain)!

My dad’s the happiest as no more vocal demands,

No more wishes, no more commands (atleast for sometime 😀)

She says no ice cream or cold drinks, but she’s the one to have everything. “sugar cane, coke and everything.”

We went to Hyderabad (That’s where she became a comrade). We attended a party, in there was an Arti and that’s where my mum went from toyata to Ferrari (my dad forgot to have his Bacardi).

My mum’s voice gone, meant a lack of bond. My sisters being joey’s, made them low-key naughty. (It was needed 😈)

Goa for our break , looks like her voice is springing back .But wait we still have the cake, it’s just a 50 -50 pack . ( A lil more to wait ) .

It’s all in great humour, my mum knows it’s a bummer. But secretly, I hope it stays longer (😈👿👿)

My Parent’s Wedding took place on the 24th of November 1997…

This year was their 25th anniversary..

Everyone had planned a big party with delicious and scrumptious food. But our school had decided to put the end of the semester exams during this time. This made it very sad for our parents and us (kids). But we didn’t have an option. So, we postponed the celebration to the 22nd of December.

A few days later on the 22nd of December…

At around 8:00 we woke up to get prepared to leave for Taj hotel where we were supposed to stay with our Kolkatta family for the next 5 days and party ..we managed to leave the house at 11:00 which was perfect timing. To our luck there was barely any traffic and we reached Taj Landsend at 11:30.

When we entered the hotel we were greeted by lovely Christmas 🎄 decorations. Unfortunately our Maternal Grandparents hadn’t arrived, their flight was late . Which is why we went to our Cousin’s room… We spent 1 hour in the room chatting, playing and watching TV.

At around 12:30 we went to our room because our Maternal Family had arrived at the hotel… Meeting your extended family is always a treat . In the next few hours we had lunch 🥪, watched TV 📺 , played in the hotel 🛝 and shared our tales 🗣️.There were many activities for kids of all age at the hotel .

Later that day, we invited our Maternal Family for a dinner at our house. It was like 18 people reunion. It was fun because I got to play the keyboard for my family.. We three siblings even presented a video dedicated to the 25 years of our parents wedded life ..Overall it was memorable night)

The Next day our whole family came to the hotel to celebrate and have a wonderful time. There were two big tables which were decorated beautifully with candles and flowers 💐.. There was awesome food! We clicked many memorable pictures .. we chatted and a few jokes made our conversations interesting . To end the night we all had a delicious chocolate 🍫 cake.

Here are a few pictures:

A message: I love my parents, period. 25 years of marriage is an achievement that is beyond imagination. I’m proud to be the son of Prerana and Parikshith – Saksham Arya

Thank you

The first of August 2022…

It was the day. The day of “A new beginning”.…MYP (Middle Years Programme) was starting.

Middle school is something along the lines of “Complicated”. Complicated in different ways. Writing, homework, teachers and “rooms”. Every room had something unique for itself.

But there was one room I looked up to. One space in which I couldn’t express how nerve-racking emotions were. That room was the My homeroom.

My homeroom wasn’t just “a” room. It was an exam room. It was the room in which I took my first-ever Written exam.

We were introduced to exams on the first day of MYP… It was told to us that there would be two exams. One would be in November (End of semester 1 exams). The other would be in May (End of semester 2 exams)

Although I had 10 subjects. The exam only included 5 of them. Those 5 subjects were: Math, English, Science, French and IH (Integrated humanities).

My first exam was Math, followed by Ih, English, French and lastly Science. The duration for each exam was about 2 hours. I used a fraction of the duration to re-check. Re-checking helped me quite a bit in understanding and getting the questions right.

Conclusion: Exams are complicated, period. But this is just the start of the beginning. I couldn’t imagine how my 10th grade exams would go like! But for now I’m just in the 6th grade and I shouldn’t be stressing myself out too much!!

We knew it was “End of the Holidays”.. when mumma offered us a new pencil box like every year ✏️. School Begins.. 27/07/21..

I went on to Calendar’s and checked what day of the week it was… it said Tuesday !!! 🗓

Tuesday was a very odd day to start cause school usually starts on a Monday.

Well now ( 4days later) I got to know that this year will be very Unique compared to the other years .

I felt so Exhilarated…

27th July –

Finally, A new Day of School arrived and I just couldn’t express my feelings! Butterflies in my tummy ..🦋 who would be my teacher .. ? Would my friends share the same class as mine? 📚

My Teacher was surprisingly the Coordinator of PYP -(Primary Years Programme) 😊 isn’t it Unique ?
And my best friends were in different sections 😔

My first Class was Homeroom where we first spoke about our holidays and how great they were.

We then got a task where we had to write something similar and Unique about a friend .

Well after we finished this task it was 10:00 and that meant it was breakfast time, but I did not have breakfast I was not hungry so instead I just finished the Friend Task …I would not have to do it later.

Then at 10:30 which was the last session of the day, I made my own template and wrote all about me. After making the Template we presented it and all my classmates liked it a lot as it was very Unique from the other ones.

I am 1 of the triplet .. unique in its self . 👧🏻👧🏻👦🏻

On this very First Day I could feel the Level of academics Rising Up .. we are in grade 5 now .. I like doing things that are challenging & unique .. and I am sure this year will definitely push my limits to a new high .

I look forward to a great exciting year ahead .

Thank You

27/7/21

On the 20th of June 2021 was Father’s Day and I had quite a lot of fun…

1 – My First Priority that morning was to wish my Father and Uncle, so I did.. But I wasn’t first this time so I hope that next time I will have a Charm.

2 – My second priority was to prepare a..

SCAVENGER HUNT.. We had created a Scavenger Hunt for them which had 10 questions !

Some of them were where they needed to find a key and unlock something, find another clue. Then another one was to find different letters in a room and add those letters to make a word.

Well now you could see how hard it was but with no problem they solved it !

After they solved the Scavenger Hunt they received their prize. We surprised them with a Video of images with them being there in it. There was also a Fun Video where for the Last Year’s Father’s Day, we were saying, “Happy Father’s Day to you”.. and then we accidentally said Happy Birthday !! Hahaha !!! 🤣

Thank You for reading!

23/6/2021