The Weekly Interlude #1

- Cover Story-

A Letter to my 2020 Self

By Agastya Rao

Dear Agastya version 2020,

Before I begin, be sure to find a chair, and sit down- because what I am about to tell you shall flabbergast you.

Remember all those travel plans you had made? Well, the quicker you forget about them, the better your life will be- because they never happened. Remember all your plans to meet your friends during the mid-term break- well, they won’t happen either. How about visiting your nani nanu, you may ask me? You will only get to see them over a whatsapp video call for over a year, my friend.

You know how the saying goes- “be careful what you wish for?” Well, for all the days who woke up grumpy wishing you did not have to go to school – you got your wish. You won’t get a chance to go to school for a whole year. By that I mean, you will go to school from home- but you won’t be home-schooled. Did you beg your parents for more screen time? Hah! You shall stare at a laptop screen for 8 hours a day. All because of a bat, which happened to transmit a deadly virus.

You won’t leave your house, for the better part of the year. All those movies you were waiting for, won’t release this year. You will have to stay at home because it is safer that way. This will still be the least of your worries this year.

However, don’t worry and panic, your life will soon start becoming somewhat normal. At any rate, you will learn about terms like “the new normal.” The first few months of the lockdown will be tough, and you may seem like you have been getting too much work, but I assure you that you will be able to complete all of it. Your birthday won’t go as planned, in fact- your life will be unpredictable.

If it is any solace, there is some positive news coming your way,

You will start your own newspaper to spread positivity and positive news during the pandemic, Donald Trump will not be re-elected as President of the United States, and the world will get a Vaccine for the dreaded virus. People will come together worldwide to protest for BLM. Your family will bring home another dog who will love you with all his heart.

Another plus point, you will be able to read quite a few books in your free time, and you will get to spend time with your family. You will spend more time with your father than you have in years, because guess what, even the courts will move into your home. You will learn how to cook a basic meal. Your brother will annoy you quite a bit, but you will repay the favour.

So have faith in yourself, and the virus will go away, even if it takes another year. Sit tight, read, play, laugh and even watch a few movies along the way. This virus too shall pass.

Best wishes,

Agastya version 2021

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An Important Note

Dear Reader,

We would like to inform you about the reason for this ‘Weekly Interlude’ digest. As our exams draw near, we will be focusing a bit more on our studies. But fear not! We are not disappearing completely. Hence, we have created the Weekly Interlude.

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By Mihir Rao

1. An Austrian Man who died recently, left his fortune to the residents of a French Village that saved his family from the Nazis during the Second World War. When he was a child, he and his family went to that village and the residents of the village welcomed the family with open arms. What a noble, incredible way to pay the favour back.

2. Amanda Gorman, the youngest inaugural poet laureate, will perform an original poem at the NFL (National Football League) Super Bowl this time. The poem is dedicated to an educator, a nurse, and a marine veteran whose struggles and triumphs are encapsulated in the poem.

3. Emily Larlham and her two cute border collies Halo and Wish got the title for holding the Guinness World Record for most tricks performed in a minute! They set the record for doing a whopping 28 tricks in a single minute! That is simply Pawsome!

4. Lieutenant Bhawana Kanth is now the first and only woman fighter pilot in India to participate in the Republic Day Fly-Past! This is a monumental milestone for the Indian Air force, and women in India.

By: Abhimanyu Rao

1. Shotgun cartridges are a huge source of plastic pollution world wide. Noticing this, Mr. Enrique López-Pozas created “BioAmmo”. This is a company he started that replaced that plastic casing of shotguns with a biodegradable vegetable polymer. This way, all the people who use these guns can use them without the fear of plastic pollution. Fun Fact - he had this idea while playing Airsoft with a friend, so who said playing and success can’t go hand in hand?

2. Anyone even just barely acquainted with werewolf lore knows that their transformation depends on the moon. Well, scientists have found a similar relationship between regular humans and the moon. While we (unfortunately) won’t turn into supergiant wolves, the moon can change the duration of our sleep. The study showed that there was upto a 90 minute difference in the total time we slept for as the lunar cycle progressed! Maybe, with evolution, the full moon will change us into something much, much more…

3. Scientists have successfully thawed the body of an ancient woolly rhino. This rhino was a whopping 8 feet long, and had been frozen in the permafrost of Siberia for anywhere between 25,000 and 40,000 years. The rhino was probably between 3 and 4 years of age when it died, probably by drowning. The working theory is that it was chased into water by a predator, but who knows, maybe that poor rhino was part of something far more sinister…(Aliens!- Just kidding!)

4. 2035 might be a magical year! General motors has made a HUGE announcement. They are planning to shift to purely electric cars by 2035, and will stop producing cars that run on petrol or diesel. This is a very important step towards a sustainable world, and a similar step will be taken by US President Joe Biden, who said that he will work towards shifting all the 650,000 US government vehicle to electrical energy, with the aim of Making America Sustainable (Again 😂)

Guest Submission

Art for Our Sake-

By Sudha Aggarwal, 14

Entertainment quotient for the week:

A.Amazon Prime Video

Clear and Present Danger (13+)

B. Netflix

Finding Ohana

C. Disney + Hotstar

Pixar Popcorn

By Agastya Rao

Tennis

As the Australian Open comes closer, a few select players played exhibition matches in an event known as ‘A Day at the Drive.’ Fan favorites and Top ranked players took part in the event.

Take a look at the result-

Men’s Singles-

1. World Number 1 Novak Djokovic Vs. 19 year old Tennis phenom Jannik Sinner - Djokovic won 6-3, 6-3

2.World Number 2 Rafael Nadal Vs. 2020 US Open winner Dominic Thiem- Nadal defeated Thiem 7-5, 6-4.

Women’s Singles-

1. World Number 1 Ashleigh Barty Vs. World Number 2 Simona Halep- Simona Halep beat Ashleigh Barty.

2. World Number 11 Serena Williams Vs. World 3 Naomi Osaka. The Former World Number 1 Serena Williams signaled her comeback, with a win against Naomi Osaka

Basketball

The Philadelphia 76ers are at the top of the Eastern Conference with a 14 wins- 6 defeats record. In the Western Conference, the Utah Jazz lead with a 15-4 record.

Cricket

In the Second ODI between Bangladesh and the West Indies, Bangladesh took a 2-0 lead after winning the second ODI.

Fresh off their success of beating the Australian team at the Gabba, India shall take on England in a new test series, with the first game being from the 5th-9th of February.

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Our Request to you-

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A Note To Our Readers:

We thank our readers for supporting us these past months. We truly hope you enjoyed this digest and we hope this put a smile on your face. Here at The Paperless Press, we strive to provide free,fun and positive news. We would be very happy to receive your feedback and receive guest submissions from our readers. We hope that you spread the word and enjoy reading our digests.

-The Paperless Press

We hope this issue brightened up your day!

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