Welcome to to the society

-Anoushka Pande (IX-C)

Welcome to society, you’ll be judged for every single thing you do,

So if you want to be accepted make sure to act like everything you’re not.

You have to be perfect with the perfect skin, the perfect face, the perfect body and the perfect looks.

Make sure you’re not too pale but not too dusky and have that crystal clear skin,

As for your body, if you’re slender you’ll be called 'anorexic' but if you are not you’ll be called 'obese'.

If you are a woman in society then well your luck’s not with you,

You don’t have a voice or an opinion and your body is ours to own,

So we’ll tell you how to dress, how to sit, how to speak, what to speak when to go out and so much more that you might as well take notes.

If you are a man, then you have privileges but do take care of certain things,

Don’t show your emotions since that’s not “manly” and since the fabric has a gender please dress appropriately.

If you prefer not to have a gender then think twice about that and as for love you can love whoever you want as long as it’s in the right way or we’ll tell you that “it’s just a phase”.

Also make sure to look happy, because if you don’t then you’re just faking it,

But not too much because that's just ‘unrealistic’.

So welcome to society and since you’re already here you can’t escape and all you can do is mend your ways.

Sustainability in Industrial Architecture

-Khushi Jindal (XII-B)

OVERVIEW

The concept of sustainability is pretty much applicable to every field and business. The growing concern towards our environment and mother earth has increased its reach and applicability, be it the fashion industry or production, everyone is looking out for eco-friendly products and processes. These changes have made a positive impact on communities and the earth as a whole.

However, the architectural industry seems to be a challenge to this concept. Construction projects noticeably require a lot of material and produce tons of waste. Some of these projects often require the preservation of old buildings and heritage value despite the desire for the development of new designs.

The sustainability principle in the world of architecture means reducing the amount of material used in the construction of a building and ensuring the reuse and recirculation of holdings, without hindering the users’ well being and compromising the respect for the environment.

PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE

“Sustainable buildings” are those buildings that have minimum negative impacts on the environment of their surroundings and on a larger scale, their regional and global settings. Therefore, it can be said that rational use of natural resources and appropriate management of building stock will save scarce resources, reducing energy consumption and improve environmental quality. The principles of sustainable construction are:

• Reducing the consumption of non-renewable resources,

• Improving and promoting natural environment through architectural designs,

• And Eliminating the use and release of toxic material into the environment.

ESSENTIALS OF A SUSTAINABLE INDUSTRIAL ARCHITECTURE

Sustainability in construction aims at lessening its impact on the environment through better use of energy and resource efficiency. A fully sustainable building project includes:

• Buildings being able to harvest their own water and energy needs on-site,

• Being adapted to the site’s climate and evolve as these conditions change,

• Operate pollution-free and releasing no toxins to the environment,

• Generating no non-recyclable waste,

• Promoting the health and well being of all people living in it,

• Comprising of energy-efficient systems that aim to maximise efficiency and comfort,

• Not degrading the local ecosystem,

• And be able to protect the natural surroundings.

A good sustainable design is an integration of both architectural and present-day environmental needs. In addition to concern for the tradition; scale, proportion, texture and aesthetics of massing. Light and shadow, the design team needs to be concerned with the long term costs of the environment, economy and human life. Summing up, a sustainable design is more of a philosophy of a building than just a perspective building style.

Life Lessons we all can Learn from Fruit Basket The Anime

-Pragya Srivastava (XI-B)

Animation is one of the most consumed media in this world and age. In Japan, animation (anime) is a popular form of entertainment for adults as well as for younger audiences. Storylines are often very sophisticated and complex and extend into episodic series. One of the highest-rated anime currently is the Fruits Basket reboot which started airing in 2019. It has recently come to a close on 28th June of this year. Personally, it is extremely close to my heart, and over the years, I have learnt a lot from it. It encouraged me to become a better version of myself. And I would like to enlighten you all with the same.

To those who are unfamiliar with Fruits Basket, the story follows high school first-year- Tohru Honda, who has always been fascinated by the story of the Chinese Zodiac that her beloved mother told her as a child. However, a sudden family tragedy changes her life, and subsequent circumstances leave her all alone. Tohru is then forced to live in a tent but, little does she know that her temporary home resides on the private property of the esteemed Sohma family. Stumbling upon their home, one day, she encounters Shigure, an older Sohma cousin, and Yuki, the 'prince' of her school. Tohru explains that she lives nearby, but the Sohmas eventually discover her well-kept secret of being homeless when they see her walking back to her tent one night. Things start to look up for Tohru as they kindly offer to take her in after hearing about her situation. But soon after, she is caught up in a fight between Yuki and his hot-tempered cousin, Kyo. While trying to stop them, she learns that the Souma family has a well-kept secret of their own that 13 members of the Sohma family are 'cursed' by the spirits of Chinese Zodiac animals and will transform into their respective creatures when hugged by the opposite sex. For example, the rat and forgotten cat in Yuki and Kyo’s case, respectively.

These supernatural elements are not utilized in a comedic sense as much as one would expect, given the setup and instead are used more as a pretext to create an unusual family situation for Yuki, Kyo, and all the other Sohmas. It’s this family situation that takes the usual worries and insecurities of a high schooler and exacerbates them ten-fold. How Fruits Basket — more specifically Tohru — addresses those insecurities, however, is where the show’s true beauty lies. Whether it’s Kyo’s inferiority complex, Yuki’s innate fear of making real connections with people, or something as complex as Hatori’s grief over his loved one — there’s at least one character in Fruits Basket that one can sympathize and connect with to some degree. They are all believably flawed, and it’s not unlikely that their worries were your worries at some point in time or even possibly right this very moment.

So, finally reaching the main objective of this article. Here are 5 of my favourite life lessons Fruits Basket taught me with the actual lines from the series:

1) Kindness is different for everyone.

Tohru: Mom taught me it's better to trust people than to doubt them. She said that people aren't born with kind hearts. When we're born all we have are desires for food and material things. Selfish instincts, I guess. But she said that kindness is something that grows inside of each person's body but it's up to us to nurture that kindness in our hearts. That's why kindness is different for every person.

Kyoko: We're all born with selfish desires so we can all relate to those feelings in others. But kindness is something made individually by each person so it's easy to misunderstand when others are trying to be kind to you.

Tohru: Mom taught me that peoples' differences are something to celebrate.

I agree with Tohru’s mother here that kindness is something we all acquire over the course of our lifetime. So, instead of doubting or judging someone, we should rather believe in trusting them. I think this is one of the main reasons why we are taught to be kind towards our peers because it isn't until we grow that we begin to develop kindness, which is something we have to learn, and we all show kindness differently (exactly how people express love differently).

2) We all have good qualities.

Tohru: If you think of someone's good qualities as the pickled plums in an onigiri it's as if their qualities are stuck on their back! People around the world are like onigiri. Everyone has a pickled plum with a different shape and colour and flavour. But because it's stuck on their back they might not be able to see their pickled plum. The reason people get jealous of each other is because they can see so clearly the pickled plums on other people's backs.

I think this is one of the best ways someone can explain how we all can embrace our own qualities. Everyone is different, so the qualities they possess must also be different. But, this is also true that everyone cannot be good at everything. Hence, we have a hard time seeing our good qualities because it is so much easier to see someone else's good qualities rather than our own. The next time you're feeling jealous, try and remember that you also have a pickled plum on your back; you just can't see it!

3) All memories, good and bad, are worth remembering.

Momiji: I want to live with all my memories even if they're sad memories. Even if they're memories that only hurt me. Even if their memories I'd rather forget. If I keep them and keep trying without running away, if I keep trying, then someday, someday I'll be strong enough that those memories can't defeat me. I believe that. I want to believe that. Because I want to think that there's no such thing as a memory that's okay to forget.

Those familiar with the series will know that sometimes characters have their memories erased to keep the curse a secret or as a way to heal a character's trauma. It never occurred to me how precious sad or bad memories are until reading Fruits Basket, as in reality, we can't erase memories. I love how Momiji made me realize that no matter how much a memory hurts me, I still wouldn't want to forget it. My memories, good and bad, make me who I am.

4) We all need validation.

Yuki: Here it says to like yourself. What does that mean? Good things... How are you supposed to find them? I only know things that I hate about myself. Because that's all I know, I hate myself. But even if you force yourself to find good things it feels so empty. It doesn't work that way. People like your teacher just don't get it.

I think when you hear someone say they like you, for the first time then you can begin to like yourself. I think when someone accepts you for the first time you feel like you can forgive yourself a little. You begin to face your fears with courage.

This reminded me of that old saying, "You have to love yourself before you can love others." I struggled with this statement, and I love how Yuki explains it. We learn to like and love ourselves when we hear others tell us they like and love us, often from our own parents. The characters in Fruits Basket aren't so lucky to have warm, loving homes due to the curse, so they rely on others. In most cases, Tohru becomes their light in the darkness. This also shows that it's okay to seek validation sometimes, and it also showcases what a person becomes when they start seeking over validation, like in the case of Akito, who fulfils the role of a 'God' of among the zodiacs. Akira (Akito’s father and the previous God), in an attempt to give Akito solace, unintentionally brainwashed her into thinking that she was 'special' and would be loved by the Zodiacs no matter what she did. This led to Akito becoming narcissistic and possessing an unhealthy God Complex.

5) Just be yourself

Kyoko: You don't have to push yourself so hard. You don't have to do things the way I did. You can just be yourself. Do things your own way, one step at a time. You'll get there. I promise.

This little quote comes up a few times in Fruits Basket, but it's a great reminder that you don't have to try so hard; you don't have to be perfect. Just being you is enough. Attaining perfection in everything is impossible for any human being. So, over exhausting yourself is only going to lead to burnout- both mentally as well as physically, which would eventually affect your assets (good qualities).

Dear society,

-Yana Sansanwal (X-c)

We have been pretty careless towards our environment and especially about climate change. As Greta Thunberg says, “We need to treat our environment better and consider global warming a crisis and our Earth, a burning house“, heating up of the Earth is not a good sign. In fact, it is dangerous. The world is getting warmer. Thermometer readings around the world have been rising since the Industrial Revolution, and the causes are a blend of human activity and some natural variability- with some of us taking utmost care of the planet and some just carelessly inviting more problems for the environment. We all are well aware of the fact that the earth is the house of all the civilians living in it, and taking responsibility to take care of it is also the task of every civilian. I understand that change comes slowly but, change does come, and ignoring this crisis is a big problem. Global warming has presented another issue called climate change. Sometimes these phrases are used interchangeably, however, they are different. Climate change refers to changes in weather patterns and growing seasons around the world. It also refers to sea-level rise caused by the expansion of warmer seas and melting ice sheets and glaciers. Global warming causes climate change which poses a serious threat to life on Earth; in the forms of widespread flooding and extreme weather. Scientists continue to study global warming and its impact on Earth. I guess after reading all this we will become a little more responsible regarding our society.

“DEAR SOCIETY…."

-Khushi Kashyap (XI-B)

Dear society,

Grades are falling, children are fighting, teens are depressed, that 16 years old is pregnant and her parents wonder why. A 5th grader is swearing and a 2nd grader is being sexually assaulted. Looks like this system is great!! ISN'T IT?!!

Kids are beaten and their teachers ignore the bruises and don't call for help. This isn't what we need! That 13-year-old has killed herself and people wonder why??

That 12-year-old is drinking and no one seems to care.

21st-century kids are being taught by 20th-century adults using 19th century's thinkings & beliefs!

Now I would finally make it official that our world's broken, people are broken, the system is broken. IT'S TIME TO TAKE A STAND.