When 11 Tigers face '13' Lions: The musical

By Sani Montasir

Once upon a time, there was a battle between two sides of different colour, culture and custom, and again colour. Each side had eleven soldiers and the battle was to last for a five-day period. The catch: the participants would have to sweat it out and prove who had the better nerves. The event had to be accomplished by physical means of 'throwing' and 'striking' a spherical object (a.k.a a ball), and the remaining troops subsequently rounding up whatever resulted from the confrontation. To make things fair (or ugly), two 'controllers' (read umpires) in white attires were appointed to intervene through some assigned signals and physical exercise-looking movements.

Now, this primeval competition boasted a history of hundreds of years. Initially it was thought to be practiced with non-racial attitude and had the reputation of being a gentlemen's business. But unfortunately time has changed. So has the norm. Thus things seemed a little swayed (or biased) this time around as the contest favoured the arguably fairer side (!) In most of the occasions the visibly red-under-the-sun contingent got the better of their striving opponents, due thanks to the two men in white, clad in dark shades (that so refrained them from seeing instantly) to rule out some definite 'terms and conditions' of the face-off (spell LBWs). In spite of catching them napping by EVERYBODY around, the benefit of doubt (or perhaps benefit of being superiors) went to the undeserving battalion.

Meanwhile, the proceedings went on with mixed reactions along with the verbal glory of the game. Like in other fights, spectators had filled-in the arena- enjoying and fuming simultaneously. Most of them had nothing to do but watch their poor gladiators get treated in negligence by the two men of the 'elite' panel (call them officials now), who also coincidentally happen to hail from ex-colonies of the particular opposition (smell nepotism? Oops)! The story, however, was rather comforting for some army of fans in barmy style present in the stands. Despite them, the rest just wondered how on earth bad luck could turn this bad!

Finally, the fighting days approached the final day. In the end, victory was choreographically forced in the final round (assume final session) over the victimised side. One would imagine had it been an 11:11 affair rather than the engineered 11+2=13 (including that two who supposed to be fair and in square pants), the result could have been somewhat different. But it was not. So the tale had to end not-so-happily ever after…

Moral: 'If You Are Superior, You Rule The Roost- So Unjust!'
Disclaimer: The substance of the account does NOT resemble any cricket Test match or whatsoever played recently. It is rather a copyright abridgement of sheer intent!

DIY

Lace-let

By Nayeema Reza

Ever visited any of those shops that have like a hundred different types of laces? Most of these laces come really cheap and that's one of the reasons why people flock into these shops like there's no tomorrow. These days laces are everywhere, from dresses to sandals. On that note, yours truly realized that another place these laces could go is our wrists, as bracelets (yet another stroke of genius)! Now lets go make that lace-let!

It's quite simple once you know how to do it. At first, you have to check how much lace you need to make a lace-let by holding it around your wrist. Add an extra half-inch (for the buttons) to the measured length before cutting the lace. Next, place any one of the pieces of the snap button (there are two pieces that are to be stuck together) on one end of the lace and sew it. Use a needle and thread through the holes around the buttons for the sewing part. Incase you don't know how to sew, Google it! It's not that tough, really.

Repeat the same process as above using the other part of the snap button this time. However, make sure the buttons are faced opposite to each other so that they stick together when you wear the lace around your wrist. When the sewing is over with, you will have in your hands (or wrists to be more exact) a very unique lace-let!

Try this out:
You can try this out to make some really funky head bands too!

Nano tales

Dream Girl
He looked into her eyes they were a pale blue and contrasted perfectly with her blonde hair. Her pink, out-dated dress made her look even more like a medieval princess. He wondered if he should take her out, and what people would say if he did. As he sat wondering this, his sister snatched the Barbie doll away from him.
-- Sharnila N. Kabir

Utopia
He was a suited man. A part of the most respected organisation in the world. Everyone feared him. He had it all, the looks, the cars, the women, the money. He could achieve so much in this world. It was Perfect. The screen went blank all of a sudden. The boy's shoulder slumped and he dropped the controller onto the floor.
-- Munawar Mobin

Life's Cruelty
She stood there forlornly at the playground gate.Her face dirty,feet bare,clothes shabby;a street urchin.As she gazed upon the playful children,she too longed for a chance to play with them.But she knew that no one will play with her.Reality came crashing towards her as she walked away,heartbroken.A cruel reality indeed.
-- Redwan Hossain

Lead
She reminisced the first time she had heard about it.
"The peak of modern writing is made of this poisonous element" she remembered the teacher had said. Now she grasped at every thought that flew out of her head but to no avail as the block grew larger, and she knew the tip of her pencil would never touch paper before deadline.
-- Ala-e-Rabbi