RE-EXAMINE YOUR ENGLISH

 

RE-EXAMINE YOUR  ENGLISH

 

PARANOID.  Used as an adjective, this word indicates a mental disorder called paranoia.  A person affected by it wrongly believes that he is being badly treated by others or that he is an extraordinary person.  Used as a noun, the word means a paranoid person.  Paranoiac and paranoid are synonymous.  The frequent use of paranoid and paranoia to refer to intense suspicion, distrust, anxiety, fear, obsession, etc., is not recommended. 

 

MATRIX.  Used as a noun, this word denotes the substance or environment within which something develops or is contained.  Its plural form is matrixes or matrices. As a technical term, it means (i) a mould into which molten metal, liquid, etc., is poured to form shapes, (ii) mass of rock in which minerals are found in the ground, (iii) arrangement of numbers, symbols, etc., treated as a single quantity in mathematics, (iv) group of circuit elements arranged to look like a lattice or grid.  The use of matrix as a vogue word in general contexts is not appreciated.  Suggested alternatives are: setting, background, framework, environment, etc.  

 

 

MEDIA.  This word is one of the plural forms of the noun medium; the other being mediums.  When referred to many means of mass communication such as newspapers, television, radio, etc., the word media is apt, but it is incorrect to use for a single medium.  So, television is a medium, not media.  Remember, media is not a singular collective noun.  Literally medium is a means by which something is expressed or communicated. As: Mother tongue is a medium of instruction in many schools and colleges.  He used the medium of oils for his paintings.  Sound travels through the medium of air.

 

REPAIRABLE/REPARABLE.  These adjectives mean “able to be repaired”, as: This instrument is repairable/reparable.  However, careful users apply repairable to material objects and reparable to abstract nouns, as: The death of a person is an irreparable loss. Use ‘repairable’ to imply something is possible to mend or restore; reparable to mean, the remedy is possible or the loss can be made good.

 

REPITION/REPETITIOUS.  These two words are synonymous.  Repetitive implies repetition; repetitious implies unnecessary repetition of an idea, argument, emphasis, rhythm, etc.,       

 

THINK LONG AND HARD.  To think long and hard is to think very carefully about something before taking a decision.  She thought long and hard before deciding to give up her present job.  We must think long and hard about how to counter the moves of our enemy.

 

LORD IT OVER.  If you lord over somebody, you want to tell him that you are superior and have the right to tell him how he should act.

 

KEEP A TIGHT REIN ON SOMEBODY/SOMETHING.   To keep a tight reign is to exercise a lot of control on a person or something.  Some parents like to keep a right rein on their children.  Administrators are supposed to keep a tight rein on expenditure.

BE AS CLEAR AS MUD.  If you are clear as mud, it means you are impossible to understand.  The phrase is used humorously.

 

                                      --------   

HEALTH NOTES

 HEALTH NOTES

THERAPEAUTIC VALUE OF CAFFEINE. Caffeine is perhaps the most widely

consumed of all drugs, since it is the important constituent of tea and coffee. The ‘lift’

produced by drinking tea and coffee is due to the stimulation of the brain which caffeine

produces.

Caffeine is apparently one of the few central nervous system stimulants for which one has

to pay no price; that is, there is no “letdown” after the stimulation. With other stimulants,

a feeling of fatigue or exhaustion may be experienced once they have run their course.

The background accounts for the fact that coffee-breaks have achieved an almost

traditional status in the industry of many a country.

The cup of coffee on arising truly does dispel sleepiness, and certainly many individuals

do not seem to “come to” or “feel themselves” until they have had their morning dose of

caffeine. There may even be a mild form of addiction to coffee, in the sense that going

without it may produce symptoms. Thus, a majority of coffee drinkers if deprived of

their morning coffee will develop a headache which has been termed the “caffeine

withdrawal headache”; giving pure caffeine instead of coffee dink will prevent this

headache. In addition to the central nervous system effects, caffeine also acts as a

diuretic; that is, an agent which promotes the secretion of urine.

Caffeine may be given as an injectible drug by the physician and act as a moderately

potent stimulus to the heart, respiration, and circulation.

Large amounts of caffeine may produce nervousness, a sense of undue stimulation, and

tremor of the hands.

Caffeine tends to produce an increased amount of acid secretion in the stomach. In

addition, the aromatic oils of a well-prepared cup of coffee have a slightly irritating effect

on the stomach lining, the more so when large amounts of coffee are drunk. For these

reasons coffee consumption should be decreased in individuals suffering from peptic

ulcer and allied disorder.

It is noteworthy that caffeine is found in widely used headache remedies such as APC

(aspirin-phenacetin-caffeine) tablet.

Caffeine is also found in certain cola drinks, and is sold over the counter in drug stores

under various commercial names as an antidote for sleepiness.

---

VITAMIN C AND ITS DEFICIENCY. Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid) is a water-soluble

vitamin. It is essential in bone formation and bone repairing. Evidence exists that it is

necessary in wound healing and that is an element in the formation of red blood cells.

Proponents of megavitamin therapy have been recommending large dosages of vitamin C

for building resistance or immunity to various diseases including the common cold.

However, evidence to this therapeutic claim is inconclusive.

Vitamin C deficiency can result in scurvy, the symptoms of which include spongy gums,

loose teeth, tender joints and general weakness. Slowed wound healing and possible

hemorrhage in the skin may also be symptoms of vitamin C deficiency.

Good sources of vitamin C are citrus fruits, tomato, pineapple, potato and pear.

------

VITAMIN D AND ITS DEFICIENCY. Vitamin D is fat-soluble and can be acquired

either by ingestion or exposure to sunlight. The sun’s ultraviolet rays activate a precursor

form present in the skin and covert it to Vitamin D.

Vitamin D aids in the absorption of calcium from the intestinal tract and the breakdown

and assimilation of phosphorous, which is necessary for proper bone formation. It helps

sythesise certain enzymes in the mucous membranes that are involved in the active

transport of calcium.

Vitamin D helps prevent and cure rickets. The disease results in softening of the skull,

bowing legs, and poorly developed muscles.

Early signs of Vitamin D deficiency may appear in the skull, where there is a thinning

and softening of the bone. Later, there may be bulging of the frontal bone, a “pigeon

breast” grooves in the rub-insertions of the diaphragm, and a “rachitic rosary,” which

consists of breaded attachments where the ribs join the breastbone.

The treatment for deficiency I 10,000 UP units of vitamin D daily. Prophylactic

treatment I 800 to 1,000 USP units of vitamin D daily. However, excesses of vitamin D

are known to be harmful. The physician should be consulted on dosage. It is better to

consider vitamin-enriched foods when vitamin supplements are prescribed.

-

 

FITNESS TIPS FOR OLD AGE

 

EXERCISE is essential to maintain health and efficiency in old age.  People who lead a sedentary life accelerate the process of aging.  Regular exercise is a safeguard against stiffening of muscles and joints.  It also maintains reactions, prevents osteoporosis (thinning of the bone tissue that causes fractures), helps prevent heart disease and curbs other forms of physical decline.

 

It is advisable that old people should remain as active as possible.  Physical work may be reduced but not abandoned . Sports and games can still remain one’s  essential part of daily routine. If, for any reason, physical exercise been suspended for some time, it should be resumed immediately.  Walking may be the best choice to begin with  Gardening is another equally good choice.  However, strenuous exercise should be resumed only with the approval of one’s physician. 

 

REST AND SLEEP.  According to various surveys, sleep needs do not decline with age, but many older people sleep fitfully and shallowly at night.  Insomnia is also common among the aged.  Idleness may a contributory factor to sleeplessness. Other causes are daytime naps, illness, anxiety, loneliness and discomforts like stiffness of limbs.  Keeping busy can be an effective factor to overcome this problem. Experts believe that exercising every day, seeing friends and meeting new people, a comfortable bed, and a hot milky drink are helpful.  In cool weather, it is advisable to dress warm.  As 30% of body heat is lost through the head, one should wear a neck scarf and cover the head suitably. When nights are very cold, a hot water bottle is a cheap and handy option.  If lack of sleep becomes a serious problem, one should see one’s physician for remedial steps.       

 

NUTRITION.  The nutritional needs of old people are lower than those of young people because of decrease in physical activity and reduced metabolic rate.  But it is important to eat as much as one needs to remain energetic. Diet should remain healthy and high in fibre and polyunsaturated fats and low in saturated fats.  A high fibre diet helps prevent incontinence.    To prevent bone loss, one should eat calcium-rich foods, including calcium supplements and foods providing daily vitamin D. Medical opinion is in favour of several small meals a day, including a light breakfast, than two large meals, which may cause digestion and bowel problems.  A big meal late at night may lead to indigestion and lack of sleep. A light supper and a hot milky drink before bed is considered better.

 

DRINKING.    Old people are prone to dehydration.  Dry mouth, dry hair and dry skin as also reduced sweating are common in old age.  The remedy lies in adequate liquid intake to maintain fluid balance in the body and prevent kidney damage, thick mucus forming in the lungs, chronic constipation and urinary disorders.  One should drink more water, fruit juices and milk.  Intake of diuretics and stimulants should be reduced.

 

Alcohol should be consumed only moderately because over-consumption promotes thinning of the bones and enhances the chances of fractures and other injuries.  Regular heavy drinking can be responsible for liver disorders.  On the other hand, regular moderate drinking is currently known to be beneficial because it stimulates the heart and helps in the prevention of heart problems.               

                                                                       

The Rights of the Child

 

The Rights of the Child

 

According to the UN convention on this subject all children:

 

Have rights, no matter who they are, where they live, what their parents do, what language they speak, what their religion is, whether they are a boy or girl, what their culture is, whether they have a disability, whether they are rich or poor.  No child should be treated unfairly on any basis.

 

The right to give your opinion, and for adults to listen and take it seriously.

 

The right to be protected from being hurt and mistreated in body or mind.

 

The right to special education and care if they have a disability, as well as the rights in thus Convention so that they live a full life.

 

The right to the best health care possible, safe water to drink, nutritious food, a clean and safe environment, and information to help them stay well.

 

The right to help from the Government if they are poor or in need.

 

The right to food, clothing, a safe place to live in and to have their basic needs met.  The should not be disadvantaged so that they cannot do many of the things other kids can do.

 

The right to a good quality education.  They should be encouraged to go to school to the highest level you can.

 

The right to play and rest.

 

The right to protection from work that harms them, and is bad for their health and education.

 

The right to protection from any kind of exploitation (being taken advantage of).

 

The right to know about their rights.  Adults should know these rights and help them learn about them too.

 

TIME MANAGEMENT

 

TIME MANAGEMENT

  HAVE a clear idea of what you want to do with the day.  Map out a definite programme.

 

Know what you like doing with your leisure.  Have definite hobbies and interests and develop them.

 

Plan your work.  Organise it before you start.  Get each stage clear in your mind so that you cut out inessentials.

 

Fix a time-limit for each job and do your best to complete it within that time.

 

Learn to do things the right way --- with ease, speed, and efficiency.  Never be afraid of asking to be shown.  Watch people who know how.  Take lessons if necessary

 

Eliminate all unnecessary movement.  Have your tools and materials ready before you begin where you can reach them without having to get up and walk around.

 

Try to do something useful with odd minutes like those spent waiting for buses or trains.  For example, plan your next job.  Test your memory.  Check on your reactions to people.

 

Go to bed at a reasonable hour so that you do not oversleep or want to lie in bed next morning.

 

Be punctual about appointments.  If you are late, you may have to wait or even find that it is a wasted journey.

 

Talking to people is nice, but it can become a vice that eats up your time to no purpose.  Keep it under control.

THUS SPAKE SAMUEL SMILES

 

THUS SPAKE SAMUEL SMILES

 

CHARACTER is one of the greatest motive-powers in the world. In its noblest embodiments it exemplifies human nature in its highest forms, for it exhibits man at his best.

 

INTELLECTUAL culture has no necessary relation purity or excellence of character.

 

GOOD SENSE , disciplined by experience and inspired by goodness, issues in practical wisdom.

 

ENERGY OF WILL –self-originating force----is the soul of every great character.  Where it is, there is life; where it is not, there is faintness, helplessness, and despondency.

 

GREAT WORKERS and great thinkers are the true makers of history, which is but continuous humanity influenced by men of character – by great leaders, kings, priests, philosophers, statesmen, and patriots – the true aristocracy of man.

 

NATIONS, like individuals, derive support and strength from the feeling that they belong to an illustrious race, that they are the heirs of their greatness, and ought to be the perpetuators of their glory.  It is of momentous importance that a nation should have a great past to look back upon.  It steadies the life of the present, elevates and upholds it, and lightens and lifts it up, by the memory of the great deeds, the noble sufferings, and the valorous achievements of the men of old.  The life of nations, as of men, is a great treasury of experience, which, wisely used, issues in social progress and improvement; or, misused, issues in dreams, delusions, and failure.  Like men, nations are purified and strengthened by trials.

 

WORK is the law of our being – the living principle that carries men and nations onward.  The greater number of men have to work with their hands, as a matter of necessity, in order to live; but all must work in one way or another, if they would enjoy life as it ought to be enjoyed.

 

TRUE HAPPINESS is never found in torpor of the faculties, but in their action and useful employment.  It is indolence that exhausts, not action, in which there is life, health and pleasure.  The spirits may be exhausted and wearied by employment, but they are utterly wasted by idleness.

 

COURAGE, combined with energy and perseverance, will overcome difficulties apparently insurmountable.  It gives force and impulse to effort, and does not permit it to retreat.

 

SELF-CONTROL is at the root of all the virtues.  Let a man give the reins to his impulses and passions, and from that moment he yields up his moral freedom.  He is carried along the current of life, and becomes the slave of his strongest desire for the time being.

 

GOOD MANNERS are usually supposed to be the peculiar characteristic of persons gently born and bred, and of persons moving in the higher rather than in the lower spheres of society.  And this is no doubt to a great extent true, because of the more favourable surroundings of the former in early life.  But there is no reason why the poorest classes should not practise good manners towards each other as well as the richest.

 

SUFFERING may be the appointed means by which the highest nature of man is to be disciplined and developed.  Assuming happiness to be the end of being, sorrow may be the indispensable condition through which it is to be reached.

 

LIFE, all sunshine without shade, all happiness without sorrow, all pleasure without pain, were not life at all---at least not human life.  Take the lot of the happiest---it is a tangled yarn.  It is made up of sorrows and joys; and the joys are all the sweeter because of the sorrows; bereavements and blessings, one following another, making us sad and blessed by turns.  Even death itself makes life more loving; it binds us more closely together while here. 

MEMORABLE ETERNAL LINES

 

MEMORABLE  ETERNAL LINES

 

JUDGE KINDLY

 

DO NOT JUDGE, lest you be judged.  For with the judgment you use you will be judged, and with the measure you use things will be measured out to you. Why do you see the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the wooden beam in your own eye? Or how can say to your brother, “Let me remove the speck from your eye”,  when behold, the wooden beam is there in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first remove the wooden beam from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. 

 

“Do not give to dogs what is sacred, nor throw your pearls down before swine, lest they trample them under foot and turn and tear you in pieces.

 

‘Ask, and your request will be granted; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks the door will be opened.  Or what man is there among you whose son will ask him for bread----he will not give him a stone, will he?  Or again, he will ask for a fish----he will not give him a serpent, will he?  If you the, although you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

 

“All things therefore that you wish men to do to you, you also must do to them; for this is the Law and the Prophets.

 

‘Enter through the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad the way which leads to ruin, and many are they who enter by it; for narrow is the gate and straitened the way which leads to life, and few are they who find it.

 

‘Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.  You will recognise them by their fruits.  Men do not gather grapes from thorn-bushes, do they?  Or figs from thistles?  So every good tree bears good fruit and the decayed tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a decayed tree bear good fruit.  Every tree which does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  So you will recognise them by their fruits.

 

`Not everyone who says to me “Lord! Lord! “ will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  Many will say to me in that day, “Lord! Lord! Did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons, and in your name perform many miracles?  And then I will openly declare to them, “I never knew you.  Depart from me, you doers of lawlessness.”

 

‘Everyone therefore who hears these words of mine and does them will be compared to a foolish man who built his house on sandy soil.  And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was its fall.’

 

And it happened when Jesus had finished these words that the crowds were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them with the not of authority, and not as their scribes did.

 

                                                ------

 

                                          

ON GHALIB’S DEATH ANNIVRSARY

 

 

ON GHALIB’S DEATH ANNIVRSARY

Mirza Asadullah Khan (Najmuddaula, Dabbirul  Mulk, Nawab) was the greatest Urdu and Persian poet during the Mughal period. ‘Ghalib’ was his poetic name. Initially, it was Asad (Lion) which he abandoned when he came to know that it was also  the nom de plume  of a poetaster.          

          Mirza Asadullah Khan was born in Agra on 27^th December 1797. He died in Delhi on 15^th February 1869 , which was the saddest day for his friends and admirers. Among others his pupil Altaf Hussain Hali wrote a most touching elegy. Dr. Mohammad Iqbal’s elegy on Ghalib points out his unparallel greatness and compares it to that of the German poet philosopher Goethe( 1749-1832). As a world poet, Ghalib is often compared to Shakespeare. Like Shakespeare he is being endlessly translated and re-interpreted in many languages.      

          Ghalib belonged to a distinguished Seljuqid Turks tribe whose lineage extended back to the mythical king Faridun of Turksitan. In an ancestral verse, Ghalib says: “I come of the Aibak tribe of the Turks whose perfection is comparable to the full  moon in every respect. My ancestors who were substantial yeomen have always been ranked among the nobles of Samarkand”.

          Ghalib was not  merely the court poet of Bahadur Shah Zafar (1837-1857) but also his tutor in poetry. He had many pupils some of whom were in the ruling class. Yet his  whole life was full of recurrent sorrows and sufferings. As a father, he had seven children all of whom died before the age of 15 months. His adopted son Arif, too died young. His sources of income did not match his aristocratic living style, so he was always shot of money and had to depend upon money lenders. Throughout his life he lived in an uncomfortable  rented house. In critical times, most of  his pupils, friends, kinsfolk and admirers lent no helping hand. Even his personal reputation suffered a big jolt when he was arrested , imprisoned and fined for   accommodating chess gamblers at his home.

His heart bled profusely at the destruction  of Delhi and the slaughter of so many people  during the 1857 Seopy revolt. His verses on this bloody event say: “ Every soldier of the English Amy is out to do as he likes. Chandni Chowk has been converted into a place of execution and my house, well, that is a veritable hell. Every particle of dust in the streets of Delhi is  thirsty for the blood of the Muslims.”

          According to the history of those times, Ghalib lost many friends and relations, and those who escaped bullets and bayonet, slipped away to unknown destinations.  His brother Mirza Yusuf, died during these days, when he had nothing for the shrouds  and none to dig his gave. Ghalib was left alone in midst of ruins to suffer more at every turn of the year

          What sustained Ghalib during his innumerable sufferings and sorrows was his keen sense of humour. In a letter to Nawab Yusuf Ali Khan, he says:  “Heaven threw me several times into the whirlpool of grief, but could not change of my nature. “ Regarding Ghalib’s  nature, his pupil and biographer records in Yadgar-e-Ghalib, he was  extremely polite, and humble and generous. His house was always crowded by his friends and admirers, who gathered there to enjoy his pleasant jokes and repartees. He knew the way of putting things which could easily excite laughter. This keen sense of humour was his safety valve, and so was his habit of regular drinking.  As he puts in one of his verses, he did not drink for pleasure but to become unconscious of his sufferings.

          Besides composing poetry, Ghalib wrote a number of letters which have historical importance. Speaking about them,  Dr.Fazl Mahmud Asiri, Reader in Islamic Culture, Visvabharati says there are certain peculiarities in  these letters which make them worthy of so much admiration. The first is that these letters or notes are without any formal headings or title. Their abrupt opening to the actual purpose spared the addressee of unnecessary strain as it provided him with an unusual pleasure. Written In  the moments of great anxiety with natural feeling, these letters went straight to the heart of the receiver. Its new form of a dialogue which he called as “half meeting with the friend” was quite a novelty.                   

          In the introduction to his book Punj Ahang, drew up the following rules which a letter write should observe. The form of  the letter should be conversational. Ideas expressed should be easy to understand. A proper order for expressing  important matters should be kept in mind. There should be no confusion in the expression of ideas. Difficult words and far-fetched similes should be avoided. The tone of every letter should be according to the rank of the addressee. Each expression  should be as brief as possible. There should be no repetition. The taste and knowledge of  the addressee should never be lost sight of.

          As the above-mentioned rules were the need of the hour,  they  became a turning point in the history of letter writing and Urdu prose.

          In conclusion, here is an English version of an Urdu letter which almost  sums up the life history of Ghalib:

          “Listen ! There are two worlds. One is  the world of spirit, the other this material world. The Lord of both these worlds is He, who Himself asks this question. “For whom is the Lordship this day?” and  then answers himself, “For  the sternly Just God” ! Although it is the rule that  the guilty ones of this material world are punished for their sins in  the world of spirit, it has also happened this way that a sinner of the world of spirit is sent to this world for punishment. Consequently, on 27 December 1797, a warrant of arrest was issued for me. (He was born). For thirteen years I remained in the lock-up. (The years of boyhood and tutelage). On 1810 I was condemned to life-imprisonment. (He was married).A fetter was put round my feet and Delhi was selected as my prison house. The practice of poetry and prose was to be my labour, after some years I managed an escape (He visited Lucknow, Benares and Calcutta). At last, I was apprehended in Calcutta and put back in the same prison. When they found this prisoner to be slippery, they put two had-cuffs on me (Adoption of his t wo grandsons-in-law). Now you see my ankles bruised by  the fetters and my hands cut by hand-cuffs. The hard labour became harder and I became exhausted. Last year I got rid of the fetters and ran hand-cuffed out of the prison (Left his wife behind in Delhi and went with the two children to Rampur at the invitation of the Nawab of Rampur). I went to Meerut, and to Rampur via Moradabad. I had stayed there for some days less than two months when I was again captured. Now I have resolved that I shall not attempt another escape. And how am I to manage the escape? I have no strength left in me to run anywhere. God knows when the orders of release are passed (When releases him from the bondage of life).I have a weak sort of a hope  that this may happen in the last moth of this year. At least normally after release people go back to their homes. I, too, after salvation , shall go to the World of Spirit. Blessed will be the day when I leave the prison-house (and) I go to my own town from this desolate valley.”

(Courtesy : GHALIB, a Critical Introduction by Sayyid Fayyaz Mahmud, University Of The Punjab, Lahore, 1969).  

                             It is evident from this letter that Ghalib had faith in the Almighty, and before he took the last breath in this world , the words on his lips were :

                             The last breath is on its way ; Now, O friends, God is the helper.

                                                          ***********

15^th February 2021                                                     G.R.Kanwal  

 

         

 

                     

 

SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS ON LOVE

 

          SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS ON LOVE

            The 3^rd century Roman saint Valentine reminds us of the celebration  of love on his death anniversary that occurs on 14^th February. He was born at Terni In Italy in 226 AD and was beheaded  in Rome on 14 February 269 AD. According to one story , he was executed for having refused to deny Christ by the order of Emperor Claudius, and according to  another for falling in love with the blind daughter of his jailor. An interesting fact about the time of  his execution is that before his head was cut off, he restored the sight and hearing of his lady love.

            The dictionary meaning of valentine is “someone you love”, and a saint is a person who has been  posthumously recognised as such by  the Christian church for having led a very good or holy life.

Synonyms of the word love are : affection, friendliness, adoration, warmth, tenderness, liking, fondness, intimacy, attachment.

St. Valentine is  now considered a martyr for having been clubbed to death because of loving someone.  

February 14^th is celebrated as St. Valentine Day when, according to ancient tradition,  the birds choose their mates for the year.

Social and cultural history reveals that it was an old custom in England to draw lots for lovers on this day, the person being drawn being the drawer’s valentine and being given a present, sometimes of an expensive kind, but oftener of a pair of gloves . Now this tradition  is frequently represented by a greeting card of a sentimental or humorous character.

Love is a sacred word.  It is related to the holy affections of the heart and    has a fadeless spiritual colour. In this world of pain and pleasure, one does need an alter ego with whom to share one’s  thoughts and feelings. Love is a delightful companionship; the lack of it is an agonising loneliness.

A character in Morris L. West’s The Devil’s Advocate published by Dell Publishing Company,  New York, 1959 says, “ It is no new thing to be lonely. It comes to all of us sooner or later. Friends die, families die. Lovers and husbands, too. We get old, we get sick. And the last and the greatest loneliness is death…. There are no pills to cure that. No formulas to charm it away. It’s a condition of men that we cannot escape. “

Love and loneliness go together. This is undeniable. The experience of love is the spark and energy of excitement and joy; it is what makes friendship a lifetime value and what makes activity purposeful.

Here is a suggestion: Love one human being purely and warmly, and you will love all. The heat in this heaven, like the sun in its course, sees nothing, from the dewdrop to the ocean, but a mirror which it brightens and warms and fills.

Lastly an extract from the poem Dover Beach written by the English poet Mathew Arnold (1822-1888):

“Ah, love let us be  true/To one another ! for the world, which seems/To lie before us like a land of dreams,/So various, so beautiful, so new, /Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light, /Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain:/ And we are here as on a darkling plain/Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,/Where ignorant  armies clash by night.”

                                                            ***********

14^th February 2021                                                                        G.R.Kanwal

  

      

 

        

A NEW LOOK AT AESOP’S FABLES

 

A NEW LOOK AT AESOP’S FABLES  

The Greek story teller Aesop is known for his all-time interesting stories of animal and birds.  The literary name for such stories is fables. Aesop was born at Delphi in Greece in 564 B.C. So great is the charm of his fables that even today they are read and narrated by millions of children and adults all over the world.

            As a literary piece ,a fable is a short fictional tale in prose or verse in which birds and animals are humanized when their stories are narrated with some eternal moral.

According to John S. Morgan, the author of Aesop’s Fables in the Executive Suite (1974) these fables involve animals, although some deal with humans and gods. By clothing men in the guise of animals, it was safe for Aesop to lampoon them.

Centuries before Morgan,   Socrates, the Greek philosopher (c. 470-399 BC) also put some of Aesop’s fables into verse.

            American Polish writer Isaac Bashevis Singer (1902-1991) rightly observes  that Aesop’s fables teach lessons both in life and literature that are valid today and will remain so forever. Thousands of years ago he (Aesop) pointed out that no change in system can do away with the aggressor, the liar, the flatterer, the intriguer the exploiter, the parasite, etc.         

          John S. Morgan has presented more than forty fables in the form of limerick. Here is one specimen:

          Four mice told the fifth of their peers:

          “Bell the cat and help stop our fear.”

          The fifth said, “That is nice.

          I sure like your advice.

          But not for me --- get volunteers.

Aesop’s moral of this story is “It’s easier to give advice than to take it.” Morgan changes it into a modern precept for promotion for  people engaged in business, industry, government or education,  and puts it as: “Judge advice from associates for its practicality , impact and soundness.”

For each fable, Morgan gives his own precept for promotion. Here are three more specimens: Fable: The Blind Men and the Elephant: Aesop’s moral: Don’t guess at the whole from the part. Morgan’s precept: Know and appraise as many of the facts and circumstances as possible about the better job you seek. Fable: The Crow and the Pitcher: Aesop’s moral: Use your wits. Morgan’s precept: Innovation spurs advancement.     

          Morgan first gives a very short versified gist of a fable and then gives in detail what  he calls “The Contemporary Illustration.”

          According to available information Morgan’s book is still on sale , and as such it is worthwhile to read it both for pleasure and profit.

                                      *********

11th February 2021                                           G.R.Kanwal  

Capricorn Personality

 

Capricorn Personality

 

Capricorn persons are born between 21^st December and 19^th January.  Their Zodiacal Sign is goat; Zodiacal Lord Saturn, Zodiacal Limb knee and the gem that proves most auspicious is white topaz.

 Persons of this astrological class are advised to marry Cancerians and Virgos.  The former are born between 21^st June and 21^st July and the latter between 22^nd August and 21^st September. For the purpose of friendship and business partnership, they can also opt for Taurus who are born between 21^st April and 20^th May and Libras who are born between 22^nd September and 22^nd October.

 The Zodiacal sign of Capricorn persons is goat.  This animal is undoubtedly unintelligent but industrious and has a passion for climbing high places like mountains and hills.  Its

have a progressive mind.  They set their eyes on topmost positions. To put it pithily, they are ambitious, rather over- ambitious, because they want to soar, their faculties permit them. They turn a blind eye to their limitations.  Manifestation of overzeal is their singular characteristic. Even an ordinary Capricorn dreams of becoming exceptionally rich and climbing high on the occupational ladder.

 Since Capricorn persons try to overreach, it is uncommon that they meet with failures and find their dreams shattered in the long run.  They forget the wisdom ingrained in the oft-quoted proverb: “Cut your coat according to your cloth.”

 Studies show that some Capricorns have innate leadership qualities.  By dint of sheer hard work and perseverance, they surmount all difficulties and obstacles and attain commanding position in business, politics, professional services, armed forces, art and literature.  They are capable of becoming great teachers, thinkers, orators, managers, administrative officers and business tycoons.

 Honesty, hard work, integrity, frankness, optimism and cheerfulness are some other prominent qualities of Capricorn persons.  On the negative side, they can be  spiteful and selfish.

 Capricorns are short-statured, dark-skinned, black-haired but have beautiful and charming eyes.    They enjoy good health and live a long life but are prone to the ailments of lungs, knees, skin and blood. They are advised to avoid physical strain and mental depression.

 The occupations that best suit Capricorn persons are literary, aesthetic, political, medical, legal, managerial, scientific and technological.  They are also cut out for construction work and real estate business. 

  Among the distinguished Capricorns are Lord Curzon, Rudyard Kipling, Gladstone, Joan of Arc, Benjamin Franklin, mathematics wizard Ramanujan, Urdu and Persian poet Asad Ullah Khan Ghalib, Vivekanand, Pt. Madan Mohan Malaviya, late Vice-President Krishan Kant, playback singer Mohammed Rafi and former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

 The lucky colours of Capricorns are blue and purple; their lucky day is Saturday; lucky figure is 3 and lucky metal lead.  Their lucky months are May and September and the last days of April.

 

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

 

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

 

DISCOVERY OF A SECOND EARTH-LIKE PLANET.  Astronomers from six major centers, including Nasa, Harvard and the University of Colorado suggest that they are on the verge of being able to detect the presence of small, rocky planets, much like our own, around distant stars for the first time.  These planets are considered the most likely havens for extraterrestrial life.

 Dave Latham, a co-author on the paper at Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics, is reported to have said: “It could happen almost any time now.  We have the technological capability to identify Earth-like planets around the smallest stars even now.”

 Scientists argue that if water is crucial for life, then the most likely sanctuaries will be planets which lie in a hospitable zone, just the right distance from a star, so that it is neither so hot that water evaporates, or so cold that it remains permanently frozen.

 Dr. Dave Latham hopes that missions such as Nasa’s planned Kepler space observatory, which is due to launch in early 2009, would have a high chance of finding Earth-like planets if they are out there.  

 

 

WARMING TEMPERATURE CAUSING STRESS IN ARCTIC.  Experts say the Arctic is under increasing stress from warming temperatures as shrubs colonise the tundra, changing wildlife habitat and local climate conditions.  According to the annual update of the ‘State of the Arctic’ report released recently, sea ice fell well below the previous record, caribou are declining in many areas and permafrost is melting. Sys Richard Spinrad, assistant administrator for oceanic and atmospheric research at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: “The bottom line is we are seeing some rapid changes in the Arctic.”  Winter and spring temperatures were all above average throughout the whole Artic.  This is unusual and looks like the beginning of a signal from global warming.  According to James Overland of NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory:” If you go back 100 years, it would be warm in one part of the Arctic and cold in another.  We’re not getting that now.”  Jacqueline A Richter-Menge of the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory in New Hampshire says:” Sea ice cover this year is 23% smaller than the past record low set in 2005 39% less than average.”

 

ROMANCE WITH ROBOTS.  Robots of the future will be so human like that it will be possible to have romantic relations with them.   David Levy who has recently completed his Ph.D. work on the subject of human-robot relationship, at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands, says: “My forecast is that around 2050, the state of Massachusetts will be the first jurisdiction to legalise marriages with robots.  He adds: “There’s a trend of robots becoming more human-like in appearance and coming more in contact with humans….At first robots were used impersonally, in factories where they helped build automobiles, for instance.  Then they were used in offices to deliver mail, or to show visitors around museums, or in homes as vacuum cleaners, such as with the Roomba.  Now you have robot toys, like Sony’s Aibo robot dog, or Tickle’s Elmos, or digital pets. Advanced human-like robots will be tempting.  Many people will fall in love with them, have sex with them and even marry them. 

 

                                                ---------

LIFE

                                               LIFE

LIFE is a curve --- it is not a straight line --- and the life of nation is even more of a curve.  Logical and straight lines are tangents which go off the curve and if the tangent is too far away from the curve of a nation’s life, then there is conflict and upheaval.---Speech in Parliament, 29 May 1951.

 

WITH all my determination and love democracy, I am not prepared to accept the statement that the largest number of people are always right.---Speech in Parliament, 18 Feb 1953.

 

THESE days the biggest temple and mosque and gurdwara is the place where man works for the good of mankind.  Which place can be greater than this…where thousands and lakhs of men have worked, have shed their blood and sweat and laid down their lives as well? --- Speech at the opening of the Nangal Canal, 8 July 1954. 

 

PEACE in our view is not merely abstention from war but an active and positive approach to international problems and relations, leading, first, to the lessening of the present tension through an attempt to solve our problems by methods of negotiation, and then, to a growing cooperation between nations in various ways – cultural and scientific contacts, increase in trade and commerce, and exchange of ideas, experience and information. --- Statement at the Dynamo Stadium, Moscow, 22 June 1955.

 

A nation cannot progress if it merely imitates its ancestors; what builds a nation is creative, inventive and vital activity. – Speech, Saugor, 30 October 1952.

 

ONE of the tragedies of history is the slowness with which people’s minds adapt themselves to a changing environment….Article, 27 May 1939

 

FRANKNESS hurts often enough, but it is almost always desirable, especially between those who have to work together.---Letter to Sarat Chandra Bose, 24 March 1939.

 

FREEDOM is not a mere matter of political decision or new constitutions, not even a matter of what is more important, that is, economic policy.  It is of the mind and heart and if the mind narrows itself and is befogged and the heart is full of bitterness and hatred, then freedom is absent.---Message on First Anniversary of Independence, 15 August 1948.

 

THE alliance of religion and politics in the shape of communalism is a most dangerous alliance, and it yields the most abnormal kind of illegitimate brood.---Speech in Parliament, 3 April 1948.

 

A university stands for humanism, for tolerance, for reason, for progress, for the adventure of ideas and for the search for truth.  It stands for the onward even higher objectives.  But if the temple of learning itself becomes a home of narrow bigotry and petty objectives, how then will the nation prosper or a people grow in stature?---Speech, Allahabad, 13 December 1947.

 

ANYTHING that is static becomes stagnant and gradually leads to death.  I am all for opening our minds to every kind of knowledge or information that can be obtained.  I am all for free intercourse with the rest of the world; I want not barriers.---Speech, New Delhi, 17 November 1952.

                                                            ----------

ARE You Always Tired

 

 

ARE You Always Tired

           SELF  TEST

 

CONSTANT tiredness is a sign that something is wrong.  A medical check-up is always advisable.  But sometimes our doctor cannot do much to help us because the trouble lies within our minds.

 What then can we do?  The first thing is to find out all we can about the reason for our tiredness.

 Try this test on yourself.  Answer “Yes” or “No” to the questions before you look at the

 

1. Do you live sensibly – healthy, adequate diet, sufficient rest and relaxation, not too much rush?

 

2. Are you reasonably unaware of your body---no constipation, no chronic catarrh nor undue sexual tension?

 

3. Is your home life happy?

 

4. 4. Was your childhood happy?

 

5. Were your parents cheerful and easy going, rather than tense, nervous, anxious, fearful?

 

6. Are you happy in your work?

 

7. Do you think that what you are doing is of value and find it interesting and satisfying?

 

8. Are you having reasonable success in what you want to do?

 

9. Are your ambitions reasonable and practicable?

 

10. Can you carry on after a setback, snub, disappointment, or failure, without a feeling of humiliation or intense resentment?

 

11. Have you set a reasonable value on yourself and your achievement?  Do you think of yourself neither as someone who is the center of attention, nor as a nobody whom no one notices or cares about? 

 

12. Are you satisfied to do your best and to leave it at that?

 

13. Are you.content with a reasonable share of material satisfaction?

 

14. Can you forget your cares and worries when you are on holiday and when you got to bed?

 

15. Are you reasonably free from money worries?

 

16. Do most people welcome your company?

 

17. Do you feel at ease with people, with no feeling that they dislike you, or that you are an outsider, or different in some way?

 

18. Can you make friends?

 

19. Are your relations with people generally conducted with the minimum of friction or strain?

 

20. Are you satisfied with a reasonable amount of love and appreciation without feeling the need to be constantly re-assured of it?

 

Count five marks for every “Yes”.  A score of 40 to 50 is likely to be average.  Aim at 60 plus---which is very good.

 

Your “No” answers will provide the clue to the real reason for your tiredness.  This feeling gathers like a snowball over the years.  It may start, for example, in early childhood by unconsciously acquiring a strained over-anxious attitude from nervous parents.

 

The first step is to recognize what is happening.  Understand how it all started and developed and trace how it is affecting you now so that you can check it in yourself.

 

                                                            ---   ---

WHAT IS THE ESSENCE OF A UNIVERSITY?

 

                 WHAT IS THE ESSENCE OF A UNIVERSITY?

  This is how Drew Gilpin Faust,60, Harvard University’s first woman president, answers this question.  “The essence of a university is that it is uniquely accountable to the past and to the future --- not simply or even primarily to the present .  Ms Faust who is a Civil War historian and the former head of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at the university, says: “A university is not about results in the next quarter.  It is not even about who a student has become by graduation.  It is about learning moulds a lifetime, learning that transmits the heritage of millennia, learning that shapes the future.  Ms. Faults a Federal Commission on the future of Higher Education empanelled by the Bush administration for its focus on training a competitive work force for the global economy.  She holds while higher education makes a fundamental contribution to training a work force, it should strive to be far more than that.  Repeating the words of W.E.B.Dubois, she says: “Education is not to make men carpenters, so much as to make carpenters men.”  Faust looks at universities as stewards of living tradition and as places for philosophers as well as scientists, where learning and knowledge are pursued in part because they define what has over centuries made us human, not because they can enhance our global competitiveness.  According to Faust those who long for a lost golden age of higher education should think about the very limited population that alleged utopia actually served.  “College used to be restricted to a tiny elite; now it serves the many, not just the few.”

VIOLENT TEACHERS

 

VIOLENT TEACHERS

 

VIOLENT teachers are not a new species.  They have been there ever since schools came into being. Inflicting of severe physical punishment on students  was the teacher’s unchallenged right.  Even the victim’s parents encouraged it.  Rules did not prohibit corporal punishment.  If one reads the school experiences of great writers up to 19^th century, one would find how mercilessly they were beaten by their teachers. Their plight at home was no better, where they were physically hurt by their fathers, uncles and elder brothers.  Children had hardly any rights then.  They were occasionally loved but frequently hit and humiliated for all sorts of aberrations.

 

Since the second quarter of the 20^th century, some laws have been framed to protect the child from severe physical punishment.  In certain countries, only heads of schools are permitted to mildly slap or hit the child with a stick or a rod and put it on record.   Further amendments to these laws are admirably child-friendly.  In most of the countries, corporal punishment is now totally unlawful.  Not only this, even other forms of punishment which upset the self-esteem of the child or demoralize him or cause him emotional or psychic disturbance or deprive him of rightful learning opportunities through expulsion from the classroom or the school have been abolished.  Furthermore, teachers are legally restrained from using derogatory words like “stupid”or “idiot.”

 

However, practice is different from theory.  Teachers, both male and female, continue to use verbal or physical violence on students as a corrective measure.  Sometimes, agitated or enraged or desperate teachers throw their self-control to the winds and thrash the child so brutally that he/she either suffers grievous injury of a disabling nature or loses his/her life. It needs to be probed how teachers with such wild temperaments manage to get employment in schools and remain undetected until on an inauspicious day an unfortunate child falls a prey to their monstrous behaviour.

 

To eliminate the menace of violent teachers, steps will have to be taken at three stages.  Firstly, at the time of admission to schools/colleges of education.  Secondly, at the time of their employment in schools, and thirdly during the probationary period. of their service. Under no circumstances should any violent teacher be allowed to cross the last stage.

 

To put it succinctly, the profession of teaching is meant for those who can act as surrogate mothers or surrogate fathers, not for those who are likely to become demoniac because of their furious and diabolical attitude towards sluggish, negligent, undisciplined or unruly students.

 

                                                            -----