The Chatter Box Cover art by Amrita Kandaswamy Grade 7 The Chatter Box Content Writer Title Page No. Vibha V Religious festivals: In favour of the 5 environment, or not? Sanjeevaraman What is Swachh Bharat? 6 Meghana What does the Citizenship 7 Sudeesh Amendment Act mean for India? Ananya Who are the transrodni? 10 Pabbisetty (Transgender) Siva Sruthi BTS and the story of success 12 Vaishnavi Wonder: A book that tells you to have 13 Venkatesh confidence in yourself Amrita A small visit to ‘Thalappakatti’ 14 Kandaswamy Harshieth R Game Review: Last of Us 16 Thejeshwaran Review of ICC Cricket World Cup 17 Akash.S The flying shuttle: P.V Sindhu 20 Guru Meenakshi A look into Pro Kabaddi League 21 Sundaram Gokul Karthik Joy of playing football 22 Adhvika. D Is anyone watching movies in theatres? 23 Bavadhaarani Tweenagers and YouTube 24 Avyakt Vignesh My favourite Netflix shows and why I 25 Rajeshwaran love them Sarvajith Marvellous Mrs. Esha Matthew 26 Santosh Sivan Source: marketingland.com The Chatter Box Editor's Note Dear reader, What’s up? Most people don’t read the editor’s note, but if you're reading it, hooray! This is infused with happiness and good vibes. Moving on, this note is to tell you about our newspaper. My grade started writing this newspaper as a project for our chapters, Reading Newspapers 1 and 2. We were assigned topics, given choices, got designated roles and all the lot. We had an interesting experience doing this project. We had big ups and low downs. Most of us had very little experience writing articles and general journalism. So we had to start from scratch. Now, all of us can write at least a properly structured article if not a good one. Progress huh? After learning to write articles, we went and wrote our 1st drafts. Most of us had to write 2 drafts as our 1st was inadequate. Only one of us, surprise-surprise, Vibha didn’t have to write another draft. This magazine has a variety of articles: from an experiential-opinion article on football to a profound article on CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) to a deep article on pollution. If you are looking for a magazine with different types of articles, let me tell you my reader, you have come to the right place. These articles are unique and thought provoking, so I hope you enjoy reading the magazine. If you’re reading this part, give yourself a cookie. And for this accomplishment your day will get 75% better. I hope this has not given you a headache (sorry if it has). Ananya Pabbisetty (Head Editor) The Chatter Box Teacher's Note Dear Grade 7, We all know how important facts are. We discuss about facts, opinions and perspectives almost every day. Nothing is 'truth' anymore. It's just another perspective on the same story. Although some contemporary scholars, lost in the labyrinth of nomenclature, decided to call our times as post-truth era, we all know that the conflict between objective truth and personal truths is an age old one. And I'm happy that the spirit of this conflict dwells in our class too. Specifically for us, living in the age of social media, we often get washed over by endless rush of stories that masquerade as the objective truth. We can no longer depend on news corporations and politicians to deliver information that is untainted by personal or political agenda. Hence, it is crucial that we train ourselves to identify the fine line that runs between a fact and an agenda. Working on this magazine has been challenging not just for you, but for me as well. I have learnt a lot from the class and each one of you has been truly inspiring. I'm proud that I got to work alongside you all on this writing journey and I hope you enjoyed this process too. Congratulations, Grade 7! We have moved mountains. Best wishes, Anu Vensila Source: cutoutandkeep.net The Chatter Box 5 Environment V I B H A V Religious festivals: In favour of the environment, or not? Festivals are a joyous time for celebrations. They provide happiness, fun, and an opportunity to get together with family and friends. But how eco- friendly are they? Diwali, also known as Deepavali, is the Hindu festival of light and sound. It is also a major time for friends and families to get together, exchange gifts, and eat lots of traditional sweets and savouries. Sadly, this festival is known to cause severe air and soil pollution. We started bursting crackers during Diwali only Water pollution is also caused by the festivities of after gunpowder was first imported from China. In Ganesh Chaturthi. This festival marks the birth of the past, when Diwali was first celebrated, lamps Lord Ganesha and lasts from 1 to 11 days, were used to light the houses. The festival was depending on the place. celebrated after monsoon, at the time when insects like mosquitoes, and bugs were very The dissolution of clay idols in water on the last common. The smoke from lamps was used to drive day is one of the main rituals in this festival. I the away these insects. Soon after the invention of past, the idols used to be made up of only clay, gunpowder became known to Indians, Diwali was but recently, the idols have been painted to look celebrated as a mix of the two original principles: more attractive. This paint poses a huge problem. smoke and light. Therefore, the bursting of The clay idols were easily dissoluble and didn’t crackers became the main part of the festival. change the water chemically. The paint on the idols, however, is not dissoluble and could change On the day of Diwali in the year 2019, Delhi, one of the water chemically, creating lots of health the most polluted cities in India, had almost 10 problems for many living organisms. times more than the ‘average’ amount of pollution known globally. These are only a few problems caused by religious festivals. However, these are also the kind of Diwali is also known to cause soil pollution. The problems that we can solve by ourselves, if only all chemicals present in the crackers mix with the of us are willing to work towards the protection of soil, changing it chemically. Plants, trees, and the environment. small animals that live underground have been affected badly. Plant and trees also take in the chemicals present in the soil. This may cause deficiencies, and perhaps, eventually, death. Animals may eat these infected plants and fall ill. Because there is not much rain at this time, the pollutants cannot get washed away. Another well-known festival to cause soil pollution is Holi. The aim of the festival is to get the city colourful. This is fulfilled by people of all ages as they throw colours on each other. When the chemicals in the colours combine with the soil, it can be fatal to all forms of life. Holi also leads to water pollution. The chemicals mix in the water bodies closest to the area of celebration. The chemicals are then taken in by all organisms, in different ways. Fish, and other water dwelling creatures that live in the polluted water and can get infected. Other life forms may drink the water directly or eat a creature that is infected by it. The Chatter Box 6 Politics S A N J E E V A R A M A N J T What is Swachh Bharat? As PM Narendra Modi says about Swatch Bharat, “India can do it. People of India can do it.” Source: culturalindia.net One of the most popular and important missions in India's history is Swatch Bharat Abhiyan. This campaign was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 2, 2014 to honour the Vision of a Clean Country by Mahatma Gandhi. The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan's main objective is to disseminate awareness of cleanliness and its importance. It aims to provide every person in India with basic sanitation facilities such as public toilets, solid and liquid waste disposal systems, and clean drinking water. The action plan for the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is to be carried out by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. Open Defecation Free (ODF) India is the most important aim of this campaign, and it is headed by our PM Narendra Modi. The campaign is divided into two parts, urban and rural. The objective of separating it into two parts is that each of these areas experience different issues and challenges. As PM Narendra Modi says about Swatch Bharat, “India can do it. People of India can do it.” Source: desipainters.com Source: The News Minute The Chatter Box 7 Politics M E G H A N A S U D E E S H What does the Citizenship Amendment Act mean for India? The CAA has created quite a big impact on the country ever since it was launched by Amit Shah, Minister of Home Affairs. Source: siasat.com Ever since CAB (Citizenship Amendment Bill) What does the Citizenship Amendment became a law, it has created quite a stir. Protests Act mean for India? are growing day by day, petitions are being signed, reports of violence are increasing, and as days go The CAA makes it easier for Non-Muslim by, social media is flooding with more news and immigrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh & rumors about every action regarding the CAA. It is Afghanistan to get an Indian citizenship. To get a not only the citizens who have opinions on this as citizenship you must either be born in India or many Ministers are also sharing their views out must have lived in India for 11 years; however, for loud.