Block Bigger Than A Leak

Sanah Munjal, XI I & Toyam Khanna, X F, AIS Gurugram 46

A writer’s block? Basically, a terrible menace that pumps all the good ideas out and makes everything you write look irrational. You type words and you delete them, you come up with ideas but all seem worthless, you give it your best shot but oops, the words and phrases just don’t seem to do justice with you. But does this happen only with writers?

What if….
With a heavy heart and a doomed face, our protagonist enters this three storey house. It has a total of 6 washrooms, 22 taps and basically a lot for the plumber to do. He’s been working for this family for the last ten years and hasn’t yet given them a single chance to complain. But he’s afraid that today might just not be the day to go and fix their tap. Our hero, Mr Plumber has been to four houses since morning but was impotent in solving any of their miseries.
 He is taken to the washroom on the second floor to fix the leaking tap and do something about the busted pipe.
He gears up and has a ‘get set go’ attitude to fasten the taps and fix the pipes. He wants to make sure that this doesn’t become the fifth house of the day where he gets to show his impuissant skills.
But won’t it be hilariously absurd when I tell you that he starts to pack his tools after seeing the leaking tap? He tries to fix it but doesn’t know what to do; he tries to put his tools here and there, but doesn’t know how to go about it; he has applied all his knowledge of fixing and repairing but things just don’t seem to be working out. Yes, you’re right; it’s the PLUMBER’S BLOCK. He’s suffering from this incurable ailment that doesn’t allow him to do his job of being a hero.

Just so you know…
Being a plumber demands great strength, physically and mentally. You need to do the toughest of jobs in a not-so-pleasant environment of the restroom. After all, repairing a faucet while you hear the uncanny noises from the other jets and taps and flushes may sound like a sweet gig, but you might also spend your evening crammed under the stinky sinks of strange kitchens, trYing to repair them.
It gives us shivers to imagine what the world would be like if our plumbers and electricians had a block, that wouldn’t allow them to continue being their heroic self. A block that would stop them from saving us from our menial yet huge troubles. I’m sure none of us can imagine something like a plumber’s block or an electrician’s block, but let’s be appreciative that it hasn’t happened yet because life without these people is kind of unimaginable. We owe them a lot; a lot of respect, a lot of love and a gargantuan thanks for being their valiant selves and saving us each and every time, without fail.

A holiday of terrors

Can Being Over-Conscious Spoil Your Vacay Mood?

Arshya Gupta, X B & Aman Singh, XI B, AIS PV

We’re all familiar with the excitement that accompanies a vacation. And the packing, oh the packing, we always pack three extra trousers and four extra t-shirts, just in case it rains or we happen to spill coffee over ourselves, clumsy as we are. Unfortunately, once we’ve embarked on the journey, our mind is filled with  anxieties of what might just go wrong. Well, here’s a list of our apprehensions (no filter).

100% zeal 0% battery
The most horrible atrocity that can happen to us – a dead phone. Add insult to the injury – no charger either. And there goes the dream of being the next insta star to the drain. You may be ‘all charged up’ for the vacation, but the phone’s red battery indicator begs to differ.

The lost treasure
Life comes a full circle, and so does the conveyor belt. The realisation slaps you in the face, as you await your luggage, only to realise that it isn’t coming around. All those permutations and combinations of packing go waste. How will you now match your new reflectors with your old shorts while walking on the beach?

Recreating Exorcist
You packed everything – the reflectors, shorts, flip-flops…except that one thing that you absolutely needed – your passport. “Passport, please.” “It isn’t with me, but I can tell you exactly where it is on my nightstand!”

Sher-locked out
What if you tried your best to be Sherlock Holmes, calculated all odds and variables, booked the right hotel room from the right sources, only to find out that the website duped you and you are left stranded on the streets of a strange new city? ‘Elementary, dear Watson!’

Young, dumb & broke
Forget being robbed by someone else, can you imagine being robbed by your own self? What if you forget to bring the wads of cash and/or your credit cards? No money = no hope.

Dear reader, while these thoughts may seem straight out of a horror movie, at the end of the day, they’re mere thoughts, which will trigger your anxieties. So, if overthinking is the name of your game, then why not play the positive swing? Go wild with your thoughts, but on all the things that can go right and make your (holi)day one to be remembered!

P.S. Don’t lose your passport though, the airport security staff might not be as lenient as our imagination!

Wars of better generation

An Open Letter From A Salty Generation To Another

Manisha Mishra, AIS Noida, X H

Dear Gen Z
We hope you’re having a great time basking in your cool name because that’s all the authenticity you retain. I’ll give it to you children though: if anyone can steal, twist, and claim, it’s your lot. But we 90s don’t mind; all you are doing is passing your philosophical examinations of life with our notes. If anything, we give our elderly ardour and blessings to you.
To begin with, your clothes are simply commendable. When we millennials look at you, we can’t really tell if your choices are a result of the lack of resources we left for you or because of your desperate thriving for novelty. Were you seeking to shed enlightenment on poverty when you discovered rips? If so, great idea man. Apparently, we made jeans, just for you to have slits in them, but then again, good attempt!
Also, do we really need to talk about TV shows? I mean this one, you guys did not even alter. Your generation has entertained so many flops that now instead of bringing something fresh to the screens, reruns of F.R.I.E.N.D.S, The Wizards of Waverly Place and Doraemon are what you thrive on. But you know what? Till the time you find your own new ideas to blossom, you are most welcome to send your insecurities to oblivion with the support of our legacies.
Despite everything, how did we wrong you with music? We gave you something so simple, so sweet and melodious. Now, when we tune into MTV, you’re doing hip-hop on Kishore Kumar. In the midst of Lata Mangeshkar’s soulful and euphonious notes, there’s always a background dude going “This is DJ Rocky, put your hands up in the air and get ready to groove!” And bam, the song is lost!
No need to be agonised, though. We are okay with you using our trends as a way to wriggle out from under the burden of originality. Till the time you find yourself in the big baffling world, we’ll keep you safely in our warmth-furnishing embrace. It’s okay to reap on the seeds we sow. After all, you are our babies.
With all our unconditional love and support
Yours lovingly,
The (obviously) better
generation