STELLAEIDOSCOPE

"It's a joy to be hidden but a disaster not to be found" - D.W. Winnicott   Cover Art by Yukta Smiruthi, III B.A. English Quote by Radha Rani, III B.Com (General)   Editorial Disaster I Got 536 Problems…   My own Greek tragedy   Even if Life is a Disaster  Off-topic The CAA and NRC are India's Litmus Tests for 'Secularism'   A Revelation on Bravery Humans of Stella Untitled Game Review   la fin de l’année   For the Love of Music!   Artwork  Error 404   Like a Disaster  

A disaster is known to be a catastrophic event, one resulting in major loss of property and/or life, doing a massive amount of damage and leaving trauma and destruction in its wake. Not exactly rainbows and sunshine, is it? So why disaster, you might ask. There are two ways to understand where we were coming from when we decided on this topic. Disaster, as a concept, is one that we often use metaphorically or as a hyperbole. It's easy to look at a bad day or an event gone wrong or something mildly upsetting and say, "Well, that was a disaster." Disaster has come to signify, at least in informal contexts, chaos. At the same time, it's undeniable that we live in a world that's fraught with uncertainty—we have no way of predicting what can happen to us and what can render us vulnerable. Whether it's the socio-political unrest of today or the tsunami of 2004, there's always something bigger than us that can upset the stability of our lives. Disaster situa...

by Yukta Smiruthi, III B.A. English With the passing of the Citizenship Amendment Bill (now Act) and the way in which the government has dealt the people’s response to it seems to suggest that they’re losing sight of the core values of a democracy - equality, and the power of the citizens to voice their dissent. 

by Rebecca, II B.S.W. Rebecca’s vivid artwork is an expression of how it is to feel like a disaster.

The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) need no introduction. The new Citizenship Act coupled with the promised implementation of NRC across India, have been the reason for peaceful, peaceful-turned-violent and violent protests going on in the country for over a week. As much as our ruling government would like to assure us that ‘citizens will not be harmed’ due to any of these new rules, there is still an overwhelming feeling that these assurances are meant to mask the ugliness of what is to come. In order to understand and decode these two Acts of Parliament and their alleged link, I thought it best to talk to students currently pursuing law and ask them the questions instead of resorting to news companies whose only job is to act as mouthpieces for best friends Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. Are the CAA and NRC linked? No, they are not technically linked but a huge question is what would happen if the two are put ...

Samyuktha Shivachandran, III year B.A.English Image Credits Krishna J. Nair, III year B.A.English Priya Aunty, Canteen Staff The one thing I’ve learnt and mastered through this job is how to be patient. I wake up in the morning and get ready to work knowing that I have to carry myself in a certain manner. The fact that I have this job requires me to understand what it entails. So I know that patience is something I can’t fall short on, for if I do, I’ll fail to do my job. But honestly I can’t even crib because such is the work environment here. The students are extremely understanding and supportive. I’ve noticed that even when they’re in a hurry, extremely hungry, or quite obviously worried about something else, they understand and don’t mind waiting when I request them to do so. They recognize that we’re humans too and we can only do one thing at a time. They’re all such young, spirited girls but their actions prove that they understand the virtue of kindness and the...

by Riya Nagendra, III B.A. English I've always thought that courage was, like all those witty fictional characters say, a kind way of describing a sort of stupidity. I thought so too, for a long time. When I was reading Harry Potter, I thought that Gryffindors were overrated, that their bravery was not something to aspire to. Why weren’t people appreciating the wisdom of Ravenclaws more, why were they shaming someone like Hermione for being a nerd? I don’t think I'm very wrong about mindless bravery being pointless. You need to think about what you're doing before doing it; you need to get your facts right; understand why you're taking action before acting. I have, however, changed my mind about bravery in general. At some point very recently, I realised that having courage meant more than just blindly leaping into dangerous situations. On some level bravery means having compassion—it means you care enough about someone else to do something about their problems, to...

- Zenia Zuraiq, III B.Sc. Physics We have a lot of problems in the world today. From the increasing divisiveness and fasciness of politics all around the world to the Earth literally being polluted to death by us, we seem to be living in a real dumpster fire of a time. Disaster, disaster, disaster. The world seems to be a pretty bad place to live in right now. But is now really the worst time to be alive? Obviously not. Ever the optimist, I set out to (as a joke) search for the worst time to be a human. You have to admit, there have been some pretty strong contenders for the Worst Years Ever trophy. Both World Wars, the Cold War, the Vietnam War… basically any war. Also, all those hundreds of years when colonialism was a thing, that was pretty bad too. Also, all the times before vaccinations and antibiotics—though some people seem unwilling to move on (*cough* anti-vaxxers *cough*). The Black Death—that was definitely terrible… And more and more and more. It turns out h...

- Grace When they said the topic was ‘disaster’, they might as well have said, “It’s a 4x2 wall and Amma wants to put a 2x1 original hand-painted family tree papyrus from Greece on it,” because that is exactly what is happening at home. An infernal disaster. First of all, the thing is not even all that good to look at. It’s huge and old, sure, but you don’t see me trying to nail Paati to the wall (and, for the record, she is really cute to look at). It has all these glittery birds on a cartoonish tree, with our family names in hieroglyphs around it and artfully scattered glitter marks. Which brings me to my second contention: for an ancient, ‘original’ papyrus, this thing has way too much glitter. Is there something I don’t know? Don’t tell me the one history class I bunked in high school was the one in which they taught Ancient Grecian nightlife. Now, before this extends into some huge paper on why I believe Achilles had drinking problems (come on, soaking in some powerful liq...

By Chiquita Canisius Gomez, I B.A. English literature You say life is a disaster I tell you not Have you watched the sun rise? Have you seen the flowers at early dawn; The way the face of the sun is seen glowing in the dewdrop. Take a moment to see that life is the world around you. You say life is a disaster I tell you not Have you seen the moon kiss the night sky And how it brings every hidden star alive; The way it lights up the sky and illuminates the beauty of the dark night. Take a moment for yourself and see that life is the world around you. You say life is a disaster I tell you not Have you seen the colours on the butterfly? Have you watched a tiger prancing by? They both are different in size but yet so majestic in their own way. Take a moment Take your time Take note of what’s passing by. You say life is a disaster I tell you To feel the wind, it is waiting to embrace you. Admire the beauty in nature when the sun is born. Tak...

If the answer is ‘yes’ then I have just the game for you. You can still play it if the answer is ‘no’, but you’ll probably not have as much fun. It’ll be like making cookies without eating raw dough: not illegal, better for your health and you can show the world that you’re just a big stick in the mud. Welcome to Untitled Goose Game. Never judge a book by its cover but do judge a game by its title. For example: Assassin’s Creed? About assassins. Uncharted? About an uncharted territory. Witcher? About witchers. Untitled Goose Game? A game without a title (barring Untitled Goose Game) that is about gooses. The operative word being gooses. Specifically the first five letters. For those of you who don’t know, real life geese are the spawns of Satan but with far more teeth than you’d expect. (see Fig.02 and Fig.03)   Fig.02   Fig.03 The game goose, the protagoose if you will (and you must), doesn’t seem to have teeth and has no discernible personality of its...

- Samyuktha Iyer, II B.A. English december creeps in with sheepish footsteps. she waits at the door and lets the cold air in. foolish girl. her arms are thin like candles. she lights her fingers up with a snap. her face is a shadow on the wall. we watch her with icicles clinging to our lashes. she kisses us with blue lips. every day she marks a cross over herself. her shoulders sag with the burden of the minutes of a year resting on them. she wonders how we allowed all the days to swim past and only laid our net open for her. her hair is entangled in our fingers. we count her down with fear and disappointment. a dog barks in the black morning of her moonrise. she swallows us whole. in her belly we find the promise of time never stopping. an endless hourglass. sand tipping one way then another. but never returning. in her body we find every month we ran through. then she disappears. we drink ourselves into blankness. and awaken into something ...

- Krishna J. Nair, III B.A. English Chennai is popular for its music culture, varying from the kutcheries in Margazhi Maasam to various live performances in places like Music Academy and Phoenix Mall. What makes these different from a little gig called Sofar Sounds? In Sofar, you have to cross your fingers and hope that they put you in their guest list. Sofar Sounds, a worldwide renowned music gig, hosts secret live concerts in around 444 cities. It was started by a group of friends in 2009 in London after being disappointed by how people chatted and ignored music while passionate musicians played in pubs (a scene similar to the one seen in the opening of the movie Begin Again ). The events are announced on their official website, revealing only the area and not the actual address of the place; after which people can register using their email IDs. If you are lucky enough to be selected, they revert through mail, asking for a confirmation; all it takes is luck. Sofar also r...

 "The What-Ifs and the Should-Haves will eat your brain." - John O'Callaghan Cover Art by Yukta Smiruthi, III B.A. English Quote by Radha Rani, III B.Com (General)  Editorial What If? “What If?”: Of Parallel Universes What if we were all like Dr. Dolittle?  A Recipe A Perfect World What if the Skies were Transparent Movie Review: What If I Wish We All Could Live Like Kings   Off-topic  Humans of Stella nine nights Pretty Women in our Garden glass breaks whether you want it to or not Be Proud of You: A Poem on Mental Illness time reverses Shape of You Artwork

What if we didn’t have any responsibilities? What if time was reversed? What if we could talk to animals? What if on that fateful Wednesday, you hadn’t waved at that one girl who was actually waving to someone behind you? We’re sure that you’ve been plagued by these questions, or questions similar to these, at some point or the other. This issue is all about those questions; the what-ifs in life, both big and small. Some what-ifs keep you up at night, some are perfect daydream material for boring classes, some give you a wistful feeling that goes perfectly with rainy evenings and ginger tea. “What if?” is a question you might often find yourself asking regretfully, but we find it’s best not to dwell on those questions; to put it as succinctly (and awkwardly, but let your grandmother editors have their moment) as possible—YOLO. It’s much better to sit back and enjoy the world around you, or perhaps the numerous possibilities that lie ahead; not what could have been, but what could be. ...

'Tired' by Chiquita Canisius Gomez, I B.A. English

Written by L.S.Samyuktha, III B.A. English Photograph by Krishna J Nair, III B.A. English  Rose James, B.Sc.Psychology, 3rd year "What if you had the power to do absolutely anything, what would you do? How would you use that power?" There's so much that I would want to do. I would want to tackle poverty, degradation of the environment, LGBTQ+ issues; the list is endless. These are all things I truly worry about, and if I had the power to bring about a bigger change than I can right now, I would definitely choose that. I'm the type of person who likes to cling on to hope. I believe in humanity. Although things seem bleak right now, I do believe that if we were all more active and aware, things could turn around for the better. It won't happen if we just hope and pray, it'll happen only when we 'do'. When I have more time and resources to do something more, I definitely see myself working for the LGBTQ+ community - be it joining an...

by Zenia Zuraiq, III B.Sc. Physics I think about alternate universes a lot. Okay, okay. I know. Quantum physics doesn’t really work that way. There aren’t really tangible, physical, alternate me’s floating around. But it’s still fun to think about! Anyway – what I like to do is to imagine paths converging right after something happens. Every time I narrowly avoid something, good or bad, there is a part of me that goes “Oh, but in alternate universe #23456, Zenia did get hit by that car!” (Or to be less morbid, “AU #28967 Zenia didn’t spill the coffee on herself!”.) It's scary, sometimes. Thinking of the lives we lost or the lives we let go. Thinking of the infinite possibilities. Of the future we're travelling into, second by second. Of the futures we could've been travelling into. Of the chapters we chose not to write. Of the chapters we deleted and edited. It's comforting, too. Not only could endless possibilities be endlessly bleak, but thinking of the c...

by C.M. Pratibha, I B.Sc. Physics So I was just sitting on my balcony on an ordinary day, sipping tea, observing the world doing its thing. That's when I noticed a huge flock of birds chirping away in a nearby tree. It resembled a scene from the Lok Sabha. Parrots, sparrows and crows fighting over their place in the tree, leading to a state of complete pandemonium. I wish I could understand what they were talking about. I am pretty sure they were discussing the catch of the day, or how dumb we humans are, and how we are just blatantly destroying their homes and making their fellow mates extinct. I feel it’s a privilege to even listen to birds chirping. Many people living in cities can't even recall the last time they heard a bird’s call. Not just birds, what if we could learn to talk to animals? Imagine how easy it would be to make your pet go back to your house when it starts to rain. Well, it would make my life much easier. Oh, how I envy Dr. Dolittle. But if you no...

by Hima Mouli, I B.A. English What if there was a world Without all the tumultuous pain This mess of complicated discord The mire of chaotic disorder Like scars on smooth skin A world that would know joy Without the sharp price of pain That apparent eutopic vision Like a vague mirage-like dream Sugary sweetness, almost sickening But somehow I think that world Seems scarier than this one Maybe it’s because I prefer my monsters visible Out in the open And not hidden, concealed Under my bed Maybe it’s because I’ve lived with them Grown up as they grew For so long now A world without them Feels odd, suspicious Maybe it’s because I have a twisted connection To all those horrid things That haunt my dreams That binds me to reality Maybe it’s because I’ve become so used To the shadows that I think myself one of them It’s not that I can’t imagine light It’s that I cannot exist in the light