A beautiful chaos

The Day Gravity Left, And Wonder Returned

Sanjana Chauhan, AIS Noida, XII F

Thud. That was the umpteenth bang I’d heard since morning. Which planet was it this time? I thought, reaching for my blanket - only to find it hovering right above me. The more I lunged at it, the harder it seemed, for my muscles had worn out.
At first, I thought I was dreaming. But as my pillow drifted past and my feet found only air, reality hit me - gravity was gone. Outside, the world was a science-fiction disaster. Cars bobbed like balloons, buildings turned into hazards, and birds flapped in aimless circles. Trees spun gracefully, no longer rooted but waltzing. Somewhere, Newton was weeping.
Panic spread, but some adapted. Children swam through the air, revelling in their newfound playground. Artists painted on drifting canvases, freed from gravity’s limitations, while musicians composed to the rhythm of a weightless world. Thrill-seekers turned the sky into their stage, diving and soaring without bounds.
Meanwhile, scientists scrambled to understand the implications - would Earth’s atmosphere escape into space? Would the moon drift away without gravitational pull? Was the planet’s core still stable, or was a deeper catastrophe yet to come?
But I couldn’t be bothered about the bigger picture for I had more immediate concerns. It’s funny how you never appreciate something until its gone - like the simple pleasure of enjoying a cup of coffee without worrying about it hovering away. Or brushing your teeth, which now has become an adventure, as water no longer humbly falls into the sink. But I enjoy the sport of chasing toothpaste bubbles and water across the bathroom walls.
Sure gravity’s unscheduled vacation had us hanging midair – literally, but I can’t say that it doesn’t come without its perks. You can always tell the teacher that your homework floated away, or how the lauki ki sabzi just refuses to stay put. Or the water fights with your siblings seem just as squandering with the weapon always failing to reach its mark.
Howbeit beyond the logistics, there’s an emotional exhaustion that comes with never feeling settled. I missed the comfort of collapsing onto a couch after a long day. I missed the security of knowing my feet will always touch the ground. Adrift, as I stared at the ceiling that didn’t matter anymore, I truly understood what it meant to be untethered. Life shifts when you switch perspective. In chaos, I managed to find beauty - a child effortlessly somersaulting through the air with joy, fireflies drifting freely, a teardrop suspended like a tiny star.
Ultimately, life without gravity was both thrilling and daunting - a playground of endless possibilities yet fraught with equally numerous uncertainties. It was a reminder that structure and freedom must coexist. While terrifying, it also gifted humanity a new frame of mind: the ability to defy constraints and embrace the unknown. It forced people to re-think what it meant to move, to build, and to even exist. And, for a moment, we all learned to fly, not just in body, but in spirit - learning that even in chaos, there is beauty, and in uncertainty, there are endless opportunities.

Blue wonder of Belize

Exploring The Depths Of A Marine Masterpiece

Manya Aggarwal, AIS Vasundhara 6, XII A

Imagine a perfect circle of blue that even dazzles the gazes from space. Introducing the Great Blue Hole of Belize, a spectacular marvel that shines bright like a full moon.

Darwin and diving
The Great Blue Hole lurks 70 km off the UNESCO-listed Belize Barrier Reef: a sapphire sinkhole, 300 metres wide and 124 meters deep, with enough space to stack the Great Sphinx of Giza six times over! Its corals won Charles Darwin’s stamp of ‘awe’, long before the age of hashtags and Instagram filters.
Time-travelled trenches
It was a limestone cave shaped by rivers 15,000 years ago, not yet claimed by sea. When the Ice Age melted away, oceans flooded the caverns, leaving behind the blue circle. Along its rim, the Mesoamerican Reef explodes with coral life, while ancient stalactites and stalagmites deep below serve as geological storytellers.
Science meets adventure
In 2025, researchers extracted a 30-metre sediment core from it, revealing 5,700 years of Caribbean cyclone history. A 2018 expedition led by Fabien Cousteau mapped a hydrogen sulphide layer, separating habitable waters from an oxygen-starved void. Divers from around the world are drawn into the science that lies in the heart of the earth..

Eye of the reef
Beneath its hypnotic beauty, the Great Blue Hole of Belize advances science, climate research, and buoys marine life. This World’s Eye is a mascot that reminds us that mysteries are for us to unravel and explore.