Satiating the literary appetite of every Billabonger, our school publications are meticulously planned, created, and curated with an objective of providing our budding talent a quality platform to showcase their creativity and discovering the hidden writer, poet, or artist in them. Our publications imbibe a deep-rooted culture of creative consciousness and live up to our philosophy of treating each Billabonger as an individual born with the power to think independently.
Our student Editorial Board, led by an Editor-in-chief, promises a closer-to-life exposure to its members who work diligently along with their mentor to come up with fresh ideas, interview different personalities, deliver quality content, and seek valuable feedback to improve their work. Each issue is packed with freshness – Each issue is replete with novelty.
From L to R:Mannat Kandal (Editor in chief), Aamya Tuteja, Devyani Sadho, Nilotama Singh, Ridhima Dwivedi
From L to R: Hia Sadho (Editor-in-chief), Arayna Saxena, Kaashvi Mehta, and Paloma Jain
From L to R: Ira Fatma Khan (Editor-in-chief), Aditya Rajan, Rida Aamir, and Agrima Chopra
Arya Shukla (Editor-in-chief), Hitakshika Suri, Harshika Suri, Hia Sadho, Shah Hussain, Ziyad Khan, Aryan Pillai, Syed Arsalaan Nadim, Noppanum Noisuwan, and Aya Komatsu
You are 8 years old, running down the corridor, clutching a newfound treasure - a magazine you have been awaiting, for the better part of a decade. Truthfully, it was more along the lines of 6 months, but composure is insufferable when you are 8 years old and have the attention span of a 2-year-old. You eagerly flip through it, the glossy pages slipping through your hands like butter on a hot pan, and you scan the pages until you find your poem, proudly proclaiming your name. Granted, in a few years you’ll find it childish and embarrassing, but as of now, you might as well have won a Pulitzer.
You are 16 years old and your fingers are flying on your keyboard as you tiredly compile the reviews section of your newsletter. What stares back appears to be a haphazard clutter of files and images and you resignedly hit ‘transfer folder’. You sigh and open a word document, a blank page and the world is as simple as when you were 8. You have mixed and folded and kneaded and shaped the newsletter as if it were a ball of dough, and now you must sit by the oven door and watch it rise: you never learned patience after all. As you wait with bated breath, you think of everyone else, especially your team, who have put in as much love and labour into their work as you have. And you learn two things:
Your work is not yours alone; it is a rich tapestry woven out of toils of many more, flowing like fine embroidery on a shared fabric. Second, the courage it takes to share something that you have created, weaving through insecurity and doubt, is worth the thrill of knowing that it is out there in the world, reaching and touching people you do not know. The newsletter will come out as it does, it will be received as it shall, but it will be loved and cherished just as much as you, to those it belongs to.
Being a part of the Editorial Board was surreal. When my name was called out for the post of Editor-in-chief, I could not believe it! I asked my friends - did they hear it too, was I being called on stage, if my name was even Ira! It is one of the greatest things to have ever happened to me.
Being the Editor-in-chief in itself was an immersive experience which offered me and my fellow members a lot of learning opportunities helping us gain the confidence to ideate, plan, delegate, execute and to meet and interview celebrities! What a memorable day it was to interact with Mr. Vinay Pathak and Ms. Megha Singh Parmar!
The newsletters have been an embodiment of our school’s spirit, the curation of which could never have been possible without Ms. Noor (our Literary in-charge and mentor) and the rest of the team who guided and motivated us to deliver our best.
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, our valedictory newsletter (April issue) could not be published but I am impressed with the way the new Editorial Board is collaborating and putting the newsletter together for us during these unprecedented times. I wish them good luck for the coming issues!
If an abstract noun existed that meant both a feeling of insurmountable awe and abundant affection, I would use it to describe how I felt about words. I save them all: little scraps of notes that friends passed on to me in class, doodles drawn on the torn corner of my Math textbook. In my penultimate year of senior secondary schooling, I had the honour of adding to my collection, my own edition of the BANG.
The Billabong Achievers News Gallery has always been a part of my memory, beginning as a thin pamphlet filled with short stories and poems from senior students. It expanded into this plethoric entity, encompassing art pieces, non-fiction articles, short stories, poems and as the name suggests - a bevy of achievers that made the Billabong name proud.
As the Editor-in-chief of the Editorial Board for the year 2018-19, I felt severe growing pains. I conscientiously believe that I learnt far more than I could have imparted in any way. I understood the importance of delegation, of owning up to my mistakes and realized that as the person in charge, the buck stopped with me. I have emerged from the experience a better editor, a more perceptive writer, a confident public speaker and a leader; knowing that the ultimate leadership quality is having faith in your team!
