It’s fun! Shop,stop,cats,ghosts & what not

Big Bazaar is at its best on Sundays with a huge crowd of moms and dads carrying cute kiddies around.

As mom entered the grocery section and started checking her long list I rushed to Lakme Shop looking for eyeliners and nail polish.

It took mom half-an-hour to complete her shopping and get the items packed.

Meanwhile,I was done with my shopping and was moving around watching children scream and play and elevators go up and down.

Soon,mom was ready to move. I picked up her bags and mine too and we headed to the parking lot.

Within 20 minutes we reached home. Out of curiosity,I asked mom if I could see what she had purchased.

I started matching her list with the items in the bags and soon realised I had picked up someone else’s bags.

There was no sugar but two packets of salt,no butter but cheese,no biscuits but a packet of bread,no oil but two packets of ghee.

We rushed back to Big Bazaar to return the packets but no one had returned ours. We had no option but to keep the wrong packets and order afresh the stuff we needed.

Now,whenever I go to Big Bazaar I make sure to check my bags before returning home.

Prakriti Iyer,IX-A Sri Ma Vidyalaya,Patlipada,Thane

This happened during recent rains. I went to a park near my house with three friends. There were slides,swings and sea-saws and my friends began enjoying. I hopped onto my favourite colourful swing and began showing my swinging skills to friends.

Suddenly,I rolled and fell into dirty water. My friends started laughing. I was angry and ran home. Today,when we recollect the episode we all have a healthy laugh.

Falguni Bohra,VIII Chembur English High School

While going to our native place,the train stopped a bit long at a junction. I noticed a weighing machine and was excited.

I asked my mother for a rupee and was praying for the right weight.

But the machine did not work. I tried for a second time,but it did not respond again.

Seething in anger at losing two rupees,I kicked the machine to regret almost instantly. Ten placards popped up and I realised I should not have tried to damage public property.

Brother Darshan teases me about it even today.

Misconceptions

1) One of my friends used to think I am rude as I was the class monitor but after spending time with me she realised I am the opposite.

2) One of my friends wished one day our history teacher should not come to school as he had not done his homework. I said the teacher should come and the teacher did. Another day,when I could not complete my homework I wished our mathematics teacher should not turn up and he did not.

From that day,my friend started calling me panauti — a slang for a person who brings bad luck.

3) My building friends think me and my brother never fight as he is nine years older,but the fact is opposite. We fight almost every day.

Khushi Ganatra

The first day of school is a day of stress and tension for me. Questions such as ‘Am I neatly dressed?’ ‘Will I reach school on time?’ race through my mind.

On one particular ‘first day’ my worst fears came true — I missed school bus. Luckily,I managed to catch another and reached school on time.

Since I didn’t want to go through the same experience again,I got up early the next day and was ready 15 minutes before time.

As I was about to reach the bus stop,I saw the yellow school bus zooming past.

Without sparing a thought,I took off. I was desperate to catch the bus and would go to any length.

There I was,at 6.45 in the morning,huffing and puffing with a heavy bag on my shoulders,my eyes focused on that yellow bus.

I was yelling and screaming for the bus to stop,but its driver was speeding away.

Didn’t the driver understand how tense I was? Wasn’t he concerned?

I wasn’t going to give up so easily. I kept running. My chase ended after a considerable distance when I had lost sight of the bus.

I was about to burst into tears when I realised all my effort was waste and the frustration and tension unnecessary. It wasn’t my school bus. How foolish I had been. I realised how I must have scared the wits out of the bus driver. Dejected yet relieved I trudged back to the bus stop.

Nehalee surve,X-A,NHPS,Airoli

“Oh! How elegantly dressed,he must be a gentleman!”

Judging people at sight is a human trait. But as the saying goes,“A book should not be judged by its cover”,it is quality,not appearance,that matters.

People misconceiving about me irks me to the core.

I like reading books,my interest in science is unbound. People often think I’m a nerd,a bookworm.

But let me share it with you,my interests are much more. Let me be frank and show you my true face.

My mind is just not ready to accept only book knowledge. It wanders,admiring nature and its creations and seeking to find a pattern; trying to think a bit differently.

Sometimes I am lost in my thoughts and people think I’m reserved. But the truth is I love making friends.

People call me overconfident. But I just present facts in a stronger way. I have never believed first impression is the last one. It’s natural to have misconceptions.

I believe people will realise this some day.

Jainthkumar ,XI-A,NHPS,Airoli

This was two years ago when I was going to my native place,Rajasthan,for summer vacations.

Me and family went for a picnic to Pushkar Mela. On the way,we give cucumbers,peanuts and chanas to monkeys.

That year too,as usual,we stopped midway and my dad and sister got down with eatables. All the monkeys started coming to them. I was afraid but my father took me with him.

My father and sister exhausted their cucumbers but I had one left. A giant monkey came to me and tried to snatch that last cucumber. When I didn’t give it,he hit me on the head and took away the last cucumber.

I was crying so much but my sisters were laughing. Now when I recollect that incident I laugh.

Priya Bohra,III, Swami Vivekanand ,Chembur

We were on a trip to Chennai. It was a very hot and humid day and we were tired after a long city tour.

I,especially,being the angry young woman,was the most annoyed of all and ended up insulting my sister.

All we longed for was a well-deserved nap. We did get a nap when we reached home in the evening but no a long one.

Everyone in my family knows my naps should not be disturbed,but not the cat at our farmhouse.

It and another cat were creating a huge ruckus over absolutely nothing. Well,it wouldn’t have mattered to me if it was not in our front yard.

I rushed out and started abusing the cats,which abandoned the fight midway and started to sprint for their dear lives. I chased them all the way round the house to the backyard.

While one cat managed to escape,the other was about to jump the compound wall when,in my furious attempt to somehow harm it,I picked up a brick and flung it in the direction of the cat.

I paused for a moment and thought about my misdeed. Then,I gingerly climbed the wall and peered down. Meanwhile,my sister had come to the backyard.

What I saw was a very angry tourist massaging a huge bump on his head.

The tourist gave me an earful. I slunk back into the house,highly embarrassed and muttering horrid words to the cats.

I had become a laughing stock. My sister,known for her acting skills,enacted the whole scene for my family. All were laughing like hyenas.

For many days after that,my family would never miss an opportunity to make me regret that incident.

Riona Almeida,X-A,NHPS,Airoli

When I think of the funniest situation I have been in,an incident that happened about two years ago comes to my mind.

During Ganesh festival,our society organised a competition for children. Me and my friends decided to stage a historic play. I had been given the role of a king. We all rehearsed and were waiting eagerly for the competition day.

The day,at last,arrived. As the competition was about to start,we discovered my costume was missing.

When the costume could not be found after a thorough search,me and my friend started looking for an alternative.

My friend sought the help of his brother,who rented an ill-fitting costume.

As my entry was announced,I quickly wore the costume and rushed on the stage. Seeing me,the audience burst out in laughter. It was because the prince was having a beard and moustache and the king looked like his younger brother. The queen looked like mother of the king. In hurry I had forgotten to wear the footwear meant for the king and gone on stage in floaters.

A friend noticed this and told me. But I controlled my laughter and got away with the mistake.

It was such a funny situation. We friends can’t control our laughter whenever we recall it.

Aditya V Sawant,VIII-B ,Laxmibai English Medium School,Mulund East

Last summer,I went to my native place ,Mangalore,where my uncle stays with his family in a bungalow. I love going there as I have lots of fun with my cousins.

One night as we were having dinner my cousins began telling ghost stories. They were teasing me saying I was a coward and scared of ghosts. I told them I was a strong girl and did not believe in ghosts.

They challenged me to watch the horror movie Grudge with them that night.

I was hesitating to accept the challenge as I am in reality afraid of ghosts. But to prove them wrong I agreed.

After our parents slept we came to the living room to watch the movie. It was almost 11 pm. All lights were switched off and the movie started.

The movie was really scary and my cousins were adding to the scare.

A little later,I was feeling thirsty and went to the kitchen to get a glass of water.

Some water from the filter had leaked to the floor but I didn’t notice it.

As a result,I slipped and hit a container of flour. Soon,a blanket of flour had covered me from head to toe.

I rushed to my cousins for help. They were engrossed in watching the movie and thought I was a ghost and ran screaming out of the room.

Hearing the noise,my parents and uncle and aunty came out.

My uncle saw me in a mess and washed off the flour. When I narrated the whole sequence of events,everyone started laughing.

Then my uncle went to the verandah to call my cousins,who were trembling with fear. After this,my cousins never watched a horror movie.

Dhanisha R Kuckian,IX-A,Laxmibai English Medium School,Mulund East