The Open-Close: ISSUE 4

ISSUE 4 youth

editors note this is the fourth issue of the open close and once again, I couldn’t be happier. This has been an eventful set of months and I have big things planned for the future. As you can see, we’ve got fresh ideas flowing from every side.

This issue is an exciting one specifically because I have had the pleasure of working with so many people I have always wanted to work with.

However, of course, all the people who contributed to the content in this issue are an imperative part of your reading experience.

Gosh, I know I say this EVERY time, but I really are beyong ecstatic to publish, and to have you read it. the feeling when someone tells you what they think of the new issues, it’s incomparable (I strongly urge you to not not sing Noting compares 2 u).

As a concluding note, I’d like to let you know that if you want to have your work features, send an email over to openclosemag@gmail.com Until next time, Zarah Noorani Editor in chief,

The open close magazine.

Contributors Tanisha Agrawal Rohit Jadhav Akanksha Rao Ginita Sahni Sooraj Bishnoi

Nihar Chavan Kimaya Hajarnis Dev Shah Harmandeep Singh

Contents ‘Unlearning the Ghettoes Gujarat’ by Tanisha Agarwal Digital art by Dev Shah Poetry by Nihar Chavan Poetry by Rohit Jhadhav

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Contents Poetry by Akanksha Rao Poetry by Kimaya Hajarnis An interview with Sooraj Bishnoi Music your ears will thank you for A segment on Ginita Sahni

Unlearning the Ghettoes of Gujarat Tanisha Agarwal

I didn’t expect to see you here, which, in the book of unwritten rules, is mine.

‘Mine’- I am startled as the word leaps through my thoughts because that means there is a ‘yours’ too, and to be a first-hand witness to how my lexicon has fragmented this land is terrifying.

I dread the day when the white between the orange and the green only seems natural and befitting, only seems safe; when I actually like to think that our flag was knit to keep us warm through renegade nights when chills of bigotry run up and down our spines and the thick fog has obstructed our visions and we can’t tell a friend from a fiend.

I am told that it is possible to think of people in colours and I do, because I think of myself in saffron (the kind that has been aggressively painted over brown) and I’d chip of the greens that I think of you in, to bring out the hues that you attribute to yourself and not the kind that I have been conditioned to see.

Digital art by Dev Shah

Bombs falling, bullets fired, But it missed me all, Family dead, friends covered with bullet holes, Now I miss them all, I saw a man carrying his family's carcass, I saw a woman selling herself, to protect her son, It's not revenge I seek, It's not living of which I speak, From a 3 year old walking down the grave, That's when humanity cried itself to death

Sun was out, but not as bright, Fog was set ,but there is warmth inside, There is aroma of ginger tea in air, She had a hint of blue in her eyes, When she gave me her cold embrace, I felt nothing more than a mere spectator, On this blissful spring morning

I've a map inside of me, Trying to figure a way out of this melancholy, I kept driving with no vision ahead, Headlights broken yet a clear picture in my head, The dream I have is just made of glass, To keep it safe from clutches of darkness is my task.

Hey, I won't ask you questions, I am just here to listen, I know what you are going through, The last leaf has fallen and you are losing hope too, Just remember, After every destruction creation takes place, And the beauty lies in its making, So let the first snow fall and last wood burn, Let the fire inside you be warm enough to show the beauty is.

Poems by Nihar Chavan.

IG - @the_notorious_nihar

Our youth is full of passion, yet some spend it without a beloved.

They find it hard to be lonely, as time's passing.

They're being rid of attraction, Towards a different person, Cause we observe what others don't, And sail a different boat.

We talk less and listen more, and keep our doors closed.

For we are in comfort when alone, the only hand we've held is our own.

I speak on behalf of the lonely youth, we are blind to the lie, And bound to the truth.

Rohit Jadhav

Photo by: Harmandeep Singh (@tiltedcamera)

Oh what sins have the stars committed to burn with the fiery fight Maybe that is all what it takes to shine so bright Oh how did they get the sparkle which shines across the interstellar nights Maybe this is what is needed to go through life’s darkest flights Oh how does the star emancipate the aura of might, yet it cries Maybe that’s what happens when you attain victory, yet lose the real prize Oh why does it all twinkle with grace , when in the cloak of misery it drowns Maybe that’s how you touch the skies and live life with burdened crowns

Kimaya Hajarnis IG : kimaya_hajarnis

You can find Sooraj on youtube ( youtube.com/soorajmusic) Instagram (@music.sooraj) Facebook (facebook.com/music.sooraj)

MUSIC YOUR EARS WILL THANK YOU FOR Thinking about you – radiohead Pale blue eyes – the velvet underground Bellbottoms - the jon spencer blues explosion Woman – harry styles Charlie – red hot chili peppers Love on the weekend – john mayer Uncomfortable – wallows Where is my mind – the pixies Money (that’s what I want) – barrett strong Maggot brain – the funkadelics Powerglide – rae stremmurd Short skirt/ long jacket – cake Jenny – nothing more