STELLAEIDOSCOPE

"Human beings make life so interesting. Do you know that in a universe so full of wonders, they have managed to invent boredom."  - Terry Pratchett   Cover Art by Yukta Smiruthi, III B.A. English Quote by Radha Rani, III B.Com (General) Editorial Boring Things Must-Watch Movies for When You’re Bored Out of Your Skull Beneficial Boredom The Tedium of Family Gatherings boredom On My Way To Boredom You are Boring Their Kind of Boredom Off-topic Climate Change Denial: Focusing on the Wrong Kind of Green   Stella(r) Happenings: August Convenience   The Last Duchess    Nature   Artwork

Welcome to the August issue of Stellaeidoscope, themed ‘Boredom’. We were wondering if we should have a more generic theme, like ‘childhood’ or ‘nostalgia’, but we finally decided that a theme that reflected everyone’s emotion halfway through the semester would be more apt. So in this issue, we’ve got a lot of takes on the topic—is boredom actually a good thing? Why are family gatherings always so boring? Why is ‘boring’ such a terrible insult?—both in the form of prose and poetry. There has, however, been a lot happening outside the tedium of college life—the Amazon fires, repealing of Section 370 in Kashmir, the passing of the Transgender Bill, and the increased intolerance spurred on by the spread of Right-wing ideology and politics all over the world. We at Stellaeidoscope are keenly aware of these developments, and we’re bogged down by what’s happening—the anger is very real, but so is the despondency. However, henceforth, we will be making it a point to include more articles on ...

This month's artwork is a piece that reminds us to keep fighting the good fight no matter the odds   "Fundamental Rights" by Riya Nagendra, III B.A. English

by Zenia Zuraiq, III B.Sc. Physics Climate change is arguably the most pressing global issue that we face today. The number of natural calamities is increasing per year. As per a 2017 study, India has the second longest number of deaths related to extreme weather events—floods, heatwaves, etc. (source: Financial Express). Source: Tom Toro, for The New Yorker And yet, as temperatures rise around the world, we seem to be seeing a rise in another thing as well—‘climate change deniers’.This is the arguably stupid belief that climate change and global warming are either a) not real and made up by the evil scientists, or b) real, but like it’s not that big a deal y’know, we’re totally fine! It’s all exaggerated! And yes, I’m going to call them climate change deniers and not climate change sceptics, because there is nothing ‘rational’ or ‘sceptical’ about denying science. I’m also going to try very hard to refrain from calling them unintelligent, because of ‘civil discourse’ or whateve...

by Prabhavathy, I B.A. English INDEPENDENCE DAY Stella Maris celebrated India’s 73rd Independence Day, as well as its 73rd birthday, on 15 August. Honourable Nawabzada Mohammed Asif Ali graced the occasion as the chief guest for the event. The NCC conducted a march-past with exceptional synergy and vigour. Following a melodious delivery by the choir students, the National Flag was hoisted. A welcome speech was delivered by the Union, after which the chief guest addressed the audience. As a part of the cultural programme, various clubs performed and delighted the audience with a visual and auditory treat. The Independence Day celebrations were followed by the traditional event of cutting a cake in honour of the college’s founding⁠⁠—a tradition that always gives members of the Stella family cheer. As part of the celebration, to enhance appreciation of different Indian cultures and to add an element of competition, different departments were assigned various states of India, and asked ...

by Madhuri Lalwani, III B.A. English i.  if you wish to look within me i hold rallies by the voiceless -  the marginalised poems  aching to find place on paper verse longs for a land,  once pardoned decked in a notebook  untouched till another of her own arrives betrayed in the dark  slaughtered in hiding ii.  i wonder why we topple  entire communities to our own benefit  a game of monopoly - different stakeholders unbelievable gods decide how their silence is to be established  by the time we are allowed to hear they're swiped out  then the ignorant fools retort, "it's for their own good anyway!"

by Chiquita Canisius Gomez, I B.A. English Do you see that man standing over there Looking at me with such love, as though he cares For me, his wife, the woman he was betrothed to? He is charming, isn't he? But I tell you not to be fooled by the way he looks at me. He might look like a gentleman, he isn’t in reality. If you sit closely and hear him speak He will take you for granted because you are weak. He tells me to hide that beautiful smile of mine, I don’t understand why he finds it a crime. He says what I do is low and knocks me to the floor. Oh, how I wish people knew what happens indoors. Like mother taught us, I was just being nice and kind. But he said I was being lustful and thought I had lost my mind. He told me he gave me his name But I wasn’t I the one who brought him fame. He said I was nothing without him Didn’t he know I had an identity with him; “All hail The Duchess “ I miss my people say. -No! I’m not going to do so bu...

by Srinidhi Alladi, I B.Com (Accounting and Finance) Unless you are a superhuman who juggles college, work, extracurriculars and probably some volunteer work, you are a part of the 98% of the population that experiences a phenomenon commonly termed as “boredom”. People have different ways of coping with boredom. Personally, I like watching feel-good movies. Here are my movie recommendations for the next time you too experience boredom. Enjoy! 1. SPIRITED AWAY As an otaku, I love discovering new anime series and movies. This movie is pretty famous and is a must-watch for any budding otaku. The movie is about a ten-year-old girl named Chihiro who moves to a new city with her family. During their journey, they come across what appears to be an abandoned amusement park. After her parents get turned into giant pigs, Chihiro meets a sorcerer’s apprentice named Haku and finds out that the amusement park is actually a resort for supernatural beings who want to take a break from the earthly ...

by Zenia Zuraiq, III B.Sc. Physics When was the last time you allowed yourself to get bored? No, I don’t mean when you sat on your couch in that pretzel-like formation and scrolled through your social media feeds for an hour and a half. I don’t mean when you put on yet another episode of that trashy reality show that you hate-watch. When was the last time you did absolutely nothing? Not to get all “phone bad, book good” on you guys, but the fact is today’s society is an incredibly plugged-in one. The moment any of us (including me) feels even the slightest twinge of boredom creeping up, we whip out our phones. It doesn’t matter if it’s Instagram, Facebook or even one of those mindless Buzzfeed quizzes⁠—we just don’t really get bored anymore. Let’s dial it back a bit. Boredom is an incredibly fascinating emotion because it is just so different from all the other ones we experience. While other emotions (happiness, sadness, grief, and so on) are usually caused by some p...

by Krithya Shakthi K K , I B.A. Economics If you're born in an Indian family, kudos to you! Along with the cosmic family population, you get to attend family gatherings, gratis. If you think it's one of those with loads of zing and high spirits, it is time to dishearten your rocketing expectations. You could narrowly survive these dreary few hours of your life if you have your cousins to give you company; if not, you will despise these moments of your life! Putting on an outfit you loathe, a forced grin on your face, you begin with the most grinding task—meeting your long-lost relatives. While you have chirpy and interesting conversations with a few of them, you spend the rest of the time figuring out how they're actually related to you. Once you are done giving at least ten of them life updates, tedium starts to kick in. If you are an amateur at dealing with such situations, you will be stuck in a group of uncles and over-dressed aunts discussing your life history and p...

by Samyuktha Iyer, II B.A. English last night sleep  buried itself in my backyard  so i slunk down the corridor like a thief and stood  outside my grandmother’s door where her soft moaning  was building a ghost town  in her hollow chest,  where the phantoms of  her broken marriage  once drowned in the  well of her ancestral home  were returning to haunt us;  her footsteps built a  kingdom at war with itself becoming ruins wrapped in rust and  temples with yawning hinges  watching their gods leave  in despair; she counted her disappointments  on her prayer-bead knuckles  when my grandfather’s expectations  rained down on her like  rockets  flooding her bones and  burying her in our backyard  with a heart that was too  broken to beat now she lay there with my sleep; inside the room i heard my  grandfat...

by Nikhita. U, III B.Com. (Gen) There are a hundred places I've been bored at. Especially the ones that should have had me fully occupied. Any place; you name it, I've been bored there. But somehow, the ‘in-between’ between two places⁠—the travel, the supposedly gruelling two hours of my day has been tiring, but never boring. Every afternoon, I get into the same auto rickshaw, bracing myself for countless heat waves, equipped with a scarf that barely allows me to breathe. Where I'm sitting, I'm exposed to concerning bouts of pollution, a hundred prying eyes and noise that stays long after it's gone, but somehow it's not the worst place to be. I get in there with my phone at the ready, books downloaded and playlists set. But among the bizarre spellings on billboards, really cool graffiti, annoyingly overlapping posters on the walls, and my obsessive need to read everything that's written around me, the playlist gains my attention only when it's ov...

by Melissa Telles, I B.A. English “You are boring,” is a phrase feared by most; a phrase that gives rise to insecurity of thought, a phrase that makes you stop. Three words that can affect you more than any insult. Therein lies the power of the words and language that we constantly use to put people down. The phrase “you’re boring” in particular is exceptionally brutal⁠—it makes you question your identity. The word boring pulls you into a downward spiral of reflecting on your own personality and likability. These “low-key insults” are what spark insecurities, low self- esteem and hostility. To combat this, defence mechanisms and facades are put up because no one wants to be called dull and boring. These “low-key insults” destroy individuality and abolish personality. That said, what does one classify as boring—knowledge? A class topper on first impression is immediately classified as boring and unable to have fun. Those eye-rolls, exasperated sighs and mumbles of “so boring” never ...

by Hima Mouli, I B.A. English I sat inside by the ornate glass window Gazing at those boys and girls outside Lying outstretched beneath the apple trees Shielded from the sun at the peak of his stride Two worlds, two different worlds, exist here My world, their world, separated by the glass clear Their faces were flushed from work and play They lay with their limbs spread askew And I sat by my window, proper and prim My face painted and powdered to a ‘perfect’ white hue We were both idle, yet the difference was profound ...

 by Ameena Thul Mumtaz S., I B.Sc. Psychology She embraces me when everyone else rejects me, She rejoins the broken pieces of my heart when I’m all shattered, She gives me the peace which everyone tries to destroy, Why does she love me so much when all that I’m giving her is hatred? To such generous nature, here is my poem. The subtle voice of your gentle breeze,  Motivates me to smile everyday, The aureate rays of your sunlight, Inspires me to shine everyday, The enigmatic stars in your sky, Encourages me to live life to its fullest, The quaint leaves in your tree, Embraces me to not get dejected, Why do you solve all my problems, When I’m your only problem? Why do you support my existence, when I am against yours? Why are you my best friend, When I’m your biggest enemy? Why does she love me so much when all that I’m giving her is hatred?