Teens making fruitful use of lockdown time

Deepkamal Kaur
Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, June 7

In these Covid days when children are having a lighter study schedule and are mostly confined within the safe precincts of their houses, they are often seen killing their time playing video games and watching movies online. But there are some children who are making the most of this free time to hone their skills, come out with something really creative and show these to the world.

Meet Harsimran Kaur (16), who is a student of Class XII (humanities stream) at Cambridge International School in Kapurthala. During the lockdown period, she has written a lot of poetry and fiction on various topics, including lockdown. Besides, she has now penned her third book “Clementines on my poetry table”.

She had authored her first book “The best I can do is to write my heart out” when she was just 14. The book consists of 60 poems and 20 quotes. Her second book, “I am perfectly imperfect”, is a 25,000-worded fiction, which is about being a fatalist and trusting one’s destiny. She had got it published when she had turned 15.

Asked for her flare for writing, she tells, “I have always been fascinated by the art of storytelling at a very tender age. Observing other people’s impressions led me to discover a wide range of notions and thoughts in myself, which I think made me mature a bit early and develop an affinity with expressing myself through writing. Having been an ardent fan of literature since my childhood days, I combined literature and my philosophy by finally putting the thoughts/ideas on paper and expressing images from my inner world to the outer world by publishing my books.”

Her father Jagtar Singh Mand is a government schoolteacher. As for her interests, she says, “I value raising my voice in those communities where education is considered a bane rather than a boon. I have been visiting many government schools around my area and improving their ideologies for society’s development.”

Harsimran shares that she has been writing for climate change and has even planted around 50 plants alongside the road near her house and cleaned the surroundings of her house during the Covid-19 pandemic. Her poem “The Earth’, which is part of her new book, beautifully talks about motherly love that earth gives to its inhabitants who in return maltreat it throughout their lives.

Like Harsimran, Ananda Verma (15), a student of Cambridge Girls’ School, Urban Estate, too used her time wisely. When her Class X board exams were cancelled, she did not sit back and rest. Instead, she focused on her passion of writing vintage letters, designing phone covers and making greetings.

“I got a number of orders from my friends and their families. Of late, I have started doing designing on handmade paper. I reuse waste paper and old newspapers in the use for paper mache. Before the lockdown, I had taken a one-year training from an art teacher which really helped in improving my skills. My calligraphy works and book marks are also in demand in my circle of friends,” said Ananda.

She adds, “I also acquired baking skills during this time. I have been making choco lava cakes, beetroot halwa, pineapple and raisin cakes and walnut cakes. I want to indulge in more baking in days to come. It is yoga that keeps her fresh and energetic throughout the day. I have been practising it for many years, but got to know about its real benefits now during the lockdown days,” she beams.

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