From an angry bard

The Rabble Doth Protest Too Much, Methinks. It’s Time For A Comeback

Avi Prabhakar, AIS Vas 6, XII E

Dearest Amitians and  countrymen, Lend me your ears for I come to complain. Before I begin my tale of woe, would thee be kind enough to wonder who I am? You couldn’t? Worry not, mes amis! I am thy Bard, the father of the English literature you read, and unfortunately for both of us, the source of what troubles your tongue these days. I am your very own William Shakespeare. I know, I know, hearing my name sends you into a frenzy. But today, I have decided to come before the crowd to protect my name and save it from your constant allegations.
For years, I have seen you call me ‘overrated’ and some have even gone so far to accuse me of not being the real writer of the words you read under my name. You blame me for using words ‘too difficult’, but my fellow men, I will have you know that the same words have moved many to tears. You critique my plays and yet go on reading these new age writers who you somehow like, not knowing that they cite me as their favourite.
Some bold ones amidst you even claim the reason as to why my words have never touched their life is because I write about the ‘old world that doesn’t exist anymore’. Oh, the fools! If only you would have ever picked up a book, you would know that what I write passes the test of time with flying colours.
The characters that lived in my pages weren’t something you could cast off as protagonist or as the enemy, but were rather soused with different spectrums of the human emotions. The individuals I create replicated real human issues – agony, melancholy, apathy, fury, contentment, love and every other emotion known to us. I tried my best to hold a literary mirror up for you all to see your own intricacies. Are you willing to tell me, in all seriousness, that you didn’t feel Hamlet’s anguish, understood Ophelia’s distress, or at least sympathised with the pain felt by Romeo? Do you not, even today, wonder the answer to question first asked by Hamlet: “To be or not to be?”
Thankfully some of you still turn the pages of my book, aiming to bring the story to life on stage, but the ones I am addressing today claim to not want to do anything with me because my language does not seem like English to them. Doth reading my stories maketh thee ‘uncomfortable’? Or does it feel too ‘unreal’? If it does, well, then, you’d be glad to know that I was the first one to coin these words. Oh, I could ‘rant’ here on this small piece of parchment because I am completely ‘bedazzled’ by your disregard of me. You don’t think that my writings are ‘too much of a good thing’? ‘Oh, for goodness sake’! It truly is a ‘sorry sight’, and frankly, your attitude makes me feel a little ‘puke-ish’.
Need I go on? Yes, but I won’t. Just know that I stand to be omnipresent in the world of books and you can run or hide, but you will never be able to escape my words.

Your ‘Devil incarnate’, who is ‘dead as doornails’ at the moment,
William Shakespeare

The grey in between

Lawyers Present Their Case As We Continue To Perceive Them The Wrong Way

Ananya Sharma, AIS Vasundhara 6, X A

Television shows and movies have probably made us believe that a lawyer’s life is that of lies and manipulation, hence making it one of the most misconceived career option. And all it takes to understand the nuances of jurisprudence is, well, to actually step in their shoes. Or, maybe, being a GT read could also help!

Myth: Get a degree from a law school, you are a lawyer now, after some time you’ll be a judge; piece of cake!
Reality: Not as easy, kid! In order to be called a lawyer, the first step is to get an LLB degree. Next, comes a mandatory internship as directed by the institute, followed by enrollment with state bar council. Now, these steps include other levels of crucial examinations, most importantly the All India Bar Examination, which an aspiring lawyer must clear if s/he wishes to pursue law at all. So, unless you prove your skills, knowledge and abilities to win a case, you cannot become a successful lawyer. P.S. This seemingly piece of cake may take some 5 to 10 years.

Myth: Sharp argumentative skills? You can easily become a lawyer!
Reality: No, communication doesn’t stand a chance without important factors as client service and logical reasoning in this field. More than just arguing, the lawyer needs to persuade the judge, through well-researched and well-reasoned statements based on facts and the law.

Myth: You’ve to go to the court room and present your case
Reality: As with anything in real life, there is a whole group of people who put a lot of background work into the preparation of a trial. There are law-firms: big and small, which have partners, financial officers, administrators, legal

assistants, legal secretaries, associates, law clerks, etc. This basically means that what you see in court might be arguments put together on the basis of work done by a lot of people.

Myth: Becoming a lawyer guarantees success
Reality: The most highly salaried attorneys are employed by mega-firms of the world which hire over hundreds of attorneys and such firms represent only 1% of all law firms. Furthermore, most of these firms are  extremely selective in their hiring process, choosing only top students from the most prestigious law schools. A first-generation lawyer is faced with many challenges in his/her career, with a meagre salary of 5000 INR to start with!

Myth: Lawyers resort to injustice to win their case
Reality: Lawyers work very hard on their cases and try their best to help people by making use of the laws they have studied but they cannot amend laws.