Pranshu's English Classroom (CBSE)

The Lost Dances of Cranes by Juliet Wilson This is a poem mourning the loss of cranes that used to dance gracefully in the wide open countryside. Those elegant birds have been scared away by mechanical cranes that are now urbanising the landscape. All the remains of the creative energy of a natural way of life are grainy video-clipping of the dance of the cranes to remind us of what we have destroyed in the name of development.  The poem presents two contrasting images by using the word, ‘crane’. The first image is of a past when the birds used to arrive in due season to breed, to signify the beginning of a new cycle of life. Their mating dance was a symbol of life and energy infused in every living being. The second image is of the present in which the monstrous machine is used in building construction; it destroys to create. It is not only lifeless but also deals death to the environment. The two cranes are symbols of something that is life-giving being replaced by everything tha...

Changing Morality Morality in today’s world is constantly changing.  Morality is essentially a system of principles or rules that help us distinguish  right from wrong  and  good from bad  behavior. It guides how people act toward one another, what they value, and how they judge actions—both their own and others’. People enter our lives for very temporary reasons, and they leave because, in their minds, they were sure they would leave one day. Not everyone who comes into our life plans to stay, and accepting this truth helps us understand human behavior more clearly. If someone is giving only 50 percent, do not give 100 percent. Often, we keep people in the first position of our lives, while they have kept us in the fifth position or we are not even on their priority list. Sometimes there are cold betrayals that we do not expect. At times, some people hurt us so deeply that we shut the door of our heart permanently, and once the door of the heart is shut, it nev...

The Christmas Truce by Aaron Shepard (Summary Only For Reading)  “The Christmas Truce” is a heartwarming story set during World War I, told through a letter from a British soldier named Tom to his sister, Janet. It describes a rare and extraordinary event that took place on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in 1914 on the Western Front, where British and German soldiers unexpectedly put aside their weapons and enmity to share a moment of peace and friendship. Tom begins by explaining the difficult conditions he and his fellow soldiers face in the trenches, including constant rain, muddy ground, and the ever-present danger of being hit by bullets or shells. Despite being enemies, the British soldiers are curious about the Germans across No Man’s Land, as they face similar struggles. On Christmas Eve, something remarkable happens. The Germans place Christmas trees lit with candles along their trenches and begin singing “Stille Nacht” (“Silent Night”). The British soldiers are stunned, ...