Riya's Riyaaz

Dad was keen on not laying around the house in the Diwali vacation last year. He spent months (some midnight's too), planning the trip to Tamil Nadu, 2018. We had 5 destinations on our list; starting from the bottom i.e. Kanyakumari and traversing along the coast, we would halt at Madurai, Tiruchirappalli, Pondicherry up to Chennai. We chose train journey over an air ticket to witness the stories of the beautiful greenery of South India. We were not disappointed. Every now and then I would leave my seat to stand near the train door to breathe the fresh air and try to absorb the myriad of colors nature had to offer. The train was an hour late which made us get down at every station to check if we reached (since small town railways stations lack name plates). We were unprepared for the destination, surprisingly it did not have a physical platform at all! It had a small cabin with its name; Nagercoil Town', facing the road ahead rather than the station. Kanyakumari was half hour

As August arrived, last year, the day to go on the study trip was getting closer. The fifth year students were grouped with the fourth year students in accordance to their research questions (the fifth year's according to their thesis). I was to do gender studies on educational campuses of Vijayawada on basis of the information collected by fellow fourth year students. My interest in gender studies was near to zero, as gender is a sensitive subject and needs much more effort and research on the field than the 5 days time that was given to us. I was nervous, annoyed and skeptical about the days I would have to spend in Vijayawada doing research.  We landed in Hyderabad on August 15, '18. After a long 6 hour bus journey we were in our hotel, resting and anticipating the affairs of the next day. The universities to be visited were sorted, the applications were prepared and we four girls (Charlie's Angels, as Rohit Mujumdar enjoyed calling us) set out, looking for answer

Done by using a cutter and paint Done by using poster colors A remake of an artist's work Straw Painting

Yesterday was the last day of the Annual week at school, the Annual Day. After all the groups had presented their respective electives we departed for lunch break only to come together for a class photograph. I came across a few old photographs from my first year at SEA and decided to send a group photo that we took in the first year of school. Someone came up with the idea to recreate it. After a long time of setting up the camera and taking class photo, the way we used to in primary school, we were pumped to recreate the "original" version. Our mouth ached by the constant smile we put up for the camera. Sitanshu sent a before-after picture on our Whatsapp group. Shrushti came up with a #5yearschallengeatSEA (foreseeing the 10 year challenge that has been going on, on Instagram). Instantly, my Instagram was flooded by the picture & hashtag. Meanwhile, the other batches took their turns for class photographs. Later we all came together on the school ground for a group ph

The coast touches the land of Mumbai on the west. Growing up here sunsets have being an integral part of life. One unforgettable experience was my first study trip to Murbad. A village in Dahanu, 2 hours away from Mumbai. The horizon was graced with fields and trees unlike the infinite ocean in Mumbai. Amidst the "concrete jungle" one doesn't get a sense of the vastness of the sky and the beauty it holds. On our last day we spent time on the canal edge admiring the sunset, that will only be alive in our memories until we visit this place again...

She is the dandelion wildflower, Today, with the wind, she flew across the farms, the courtyards of your town, Across the river, through the forest & the mountains, Over the valley, And vanished into her favourite crimson red light, at dusk. You stood there watching her, Today, you set her free.