Pondicherry Memoir

I travelled 3 states, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu to reach Pondicherry by train . I had been to Pondicherry 3 years ago  for the Nationals U-7 championship which was memorable. Things haven’t changed much and  still I can feel the quiet and calmness of the  beautiful Pondicherry.

This is the 29^th Nationals U-11 Championship.This tournament was going to be a hard one as there are more than 250 people all over India. It was intense as the all the top players of U11 age category were there in both categories. CM Nihal Sarin and FM R Praggnanandhaa were the top players in the boy’s category and WFM Divya Deshmukh and Mridul Dehankar were the toppers in the girl’s  category.

The playing hall was spacious , crowded ,noisy yet comfortable. The zero-tolerance made everything even more chaotic. Nevertheless it did not dampen the spirits of the players.

Arumuga Thirumananilayam Hall

 I was upset when  Praggnanandhaa made a few draws at the start because the last time, he had been flawless. But he made a great come back and was crowned the champion. I met him just before the last round, which was a crucial round but he was totally chilled out and he was playing with his friends, something that I admire. I must tell you that there is a lot to learn from  my friend! All I can say is that “simplicity at its best”! 

Just the day before the last round, chilling out with  Praggnanandhaa, the future world champion

Mridul Dehankar came first in the championship. She made a brilliant score of 10.5 out of 11 and stood undefeated.Nihal Sarin and Divya Deshmukh missed it by a whisker and came second.

It was a wonderful tournament and I scored 5.5 and gained 17ELO points. Not a great score to boast for but had an amazing playing experience. The ninth and tenth round loss and the last round draw turned out to be the low point of the tournament. But I must say that the round number 5 game is something I relish even now. It was much appreciated by my coaches.

 Aurobindo Andhra bhavan was an old colonial house converted to simple, basic rooms and at a reasonable rate. It did not have any TVs or Wi-Fi but was very close to Goubert Avenue, which is the Marine drive of Pondicherry.It was a perfect place to relax in the evening.

Aurobindo Andhra Bhavan

Food was never a problem. In fact the delicious food was very soothing after loss.

My mother's favourite south Indian thali

But I must say one restaurant called La Pasta was where I mostly went. It is a Italian restaurant La Pasta world  owned by  Eric. He cooked amazing pasta and made me have pomodoro (Tomato, Basil) and spaghetti. Eric even told me the Italian way to eat spaghetti and a quick lesson on cooking.. He also kept me company, as I would go there on my own all alone.

The best pasta in the world by Chef Eric

There are a few tourist attractions that I would like to recommend and that I enjoyed.

·         Paradise beach is an island to which you must go by boat. It was very clean and  beatiful and good when you are with friends atleast i had lods of fun.

Paradise indeed

·         Handmade Paper Factory was very informative

·         Aurobindo Ashram is where Sri Aurobindo"s Samadhi is situated. There are also some of his books in different languages.

 

My friend Hetvi was a great company. We analysed our games, solved  tactics, played a few games against each other and we shared our ups and downs of the tournament

My chess buddy, Hetvi, busy analysing games

This trip is going to be in my memory forever. It has certainly been a good tournament with good games and good experience. I will come back stronger no matter how nuch hard work it takes. I am sure my parents and my coaches will be with me with my every step.

 

The past can hurt,but the way I see it,you can either run from it or learn from it. from'The Lion King'

 

 

 

 

My favorite book" Wonder" by R J Palacio

I like many things in my life. I like Chess, football, theaters,, games on my Xbox, rubik’s cube solving, listening to music movies and more. But books have always been a HUGE part of me. I like reading books that are adventurous, have fantasy and humor such as Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, Star Wars and auto biographies The One and Only Ivan ,comics,mythology  and much, much more.

But there is one book which is my all-time-favorite atleast till date.

Wonder by R.J.Palacio is a book which is an international bestseller which I constantly read throughout the day in my pastime. It is about a boy by the name of August Pullman who is facially deformed. Oh, I forgot to mention that August (known as Auggie)’s routine is really coincidental to mine. Like, he is a ten-year-old-kid, he has an Xbox, he starts fifth grade, he loves Star Wars, he loves Halloween etc, etc. He also has a really good family just like mine: His dad Nate, his mom Isabel, His sister Olivia aka Via, and his faithful dog Daisy (Daisy’s full name is Darth Daisy). But the trouble starts when Auggie has to go to school as what his mother taught him (Auggie was homeschooled) was not enough.

And it starts due to a boy named Julian Albans.

The first three students August meets in Beecher Prep (his school’s name) are Jack Will, Charlotte Cody and Julian Albans. While Jack and Charlotte are extremely friendly, though mostly Jack was, Julian hated Auggie and asked rude questions like “What’s the deal with your face? Were you born in a fire or something?” and called him ‘Zombie kid’ and ‘freak’. To add trouble, Julian was super popular. Jack thought Julian was a jerk and he left the dark side which is Julian’s side. In the end, August becomes known throughout the school not for his deformity, but for being a really cool dude and brave and wins the High Honor Roll while Julian ends up leaving Beecher.

So why do I like this book?

It is real, simple yet mind blowing. I love the fact that the author herself tells that this is based on the real incident.It is beautifully narrated with simple language and I become very emotional while reading August’s struggle.

Not to forget the best part of this book when August says to himself

“Some people you see, whether a man in an armchair or someone who can’t talk, you can’t imagine what famous people they might become.”

Isn’t it wonderful??

 U must read it ,no matter what age you are at.

Time is running and I need to go to bed.I shall continue to tell you all about more books from my library .till then see ya!!!

Autobiography of a Dustbin

Autobiography of a Dustbin

 

Hi, I am Dustbin. I live on the streets .I don’t remember my parents , or my childhood very clearly but, I still remember, how my parents were taken away from here. They were too old to hold the garbage. My neighbors are , black dog and lamppost nearby.

I feel bit sad because people often accuse me of being stinky. I have heard that they themselves never wash their socks and my friend Brush  said that their teeth look yellow!!That must be disgusting!

Back to my story!!People litter on roads instead of feeding me. My friend Road, complains to me about this.  At first  I told him that I can not do anything about it, then I feel real pity and call up my friend Broom(I have a real phone of my own!)I ask her to help me. She comes really fast, wipes Road while chitchatting  and I pay her.

Let me tell you about one of my most dangerous incidents. One during rainy season, I was nearly swept away!! My neighbor lamp just held me tight. God!! That was horrible!

Wait a minute!!! What’s the time?? It’s  10 ‘o clock!  Sorry got a go and sleep.  I get up very early for my breakfast. Good night!!

The Case of missing princess

THE CASE OF THE MISSING PRINCESS

 Princess  Fiona standing in the air listening to the chippings of sparrows & insects like grass hoppers, beetles & bees, watching the flowers bloom. “Wow! It has been years since the last time I came here” thought the princess. Suddenly she saw a butterfly fluttering its wings & flying towards the jungle. Now the princess have been warned by her father not to go in the jungle. The princess proceeded towards the butterfly. Fiona soon lost track of it. When  very suddenly four bandits appeared out of nowhere. They pounced on her & took her away.

She was taken away to an enormous castle. Inside was the cruel, king dragon. “Welcome o princess. I ask your hand in marriage”. “Never you ugly monster” yelled Fiona. At this, king dragon took Fiona to the highest tower, what will be her future?. 

Meanwhile, at Fiona’s castle, her Father was very worried. He asked each of his knights, who will save the Fiona. Then a brave knight, Sir Dredgery, stepped forward. He took up the challenge. He started off towards the jungle. When suddenly he saw something & picked it up. It was a piece of paper & clearly said : “ If you want to save the princess, then you must cross the chasm of death”.       

Sir Dredgery was taken aback when he saw a snake slithering up a tree to eat eggs. He killed it at once. Just then a huge eagle swept down. It said, it had seen every thing. Sir Dredgery got on its back & asked if it would take him to king dragons castle. It agreed & took off.

King dragon was waiting for him. Sir Dredgery got up the eagle, so that he could fight king dragon. King dragon  burnt down sir Dredgery’s  shield & hit him with his tail.They were fighting on a platform with lava around them. Sir Dredgery saw a chain hanging on the wall.Suddenly king dragon jumped towards him. Sir Dredgery leapt  off the platform & hung on the chain. King dragon fell in to lava & burnt down.

Soon sir Dredgey saved the princess and was married to her. You can imagine how happy sir Dredgery was!!!.