June 2008


We live in a flat on the first floor. There are six flats in our building there are four other families in the building as the flat on the ground floor under us is at present vacant. All the neighbours live in peace and harmony. But there is not much social contact and relation with one another. They are a bank manager, a lady teacher, a business man and a doctor.

The bank manager is a nice man and lives in the flat above ours. His wife is a housewife and religious minded. They have two sons. They both go to school. They are originally from West Bengal but speak Hindi very fluently. The manager is also the head of the Bengali Samaj of our locality. He is Chaterjee by caste. During Durga Puja he is very busy in organizing the Puja activities. On the top floor opposite us lives a businessman Mr. Ranjan Kapoor. He is very much busy in his factory of cardboard boxes at Noida. He leaves early in the morning and comes late at night. His wife is not educated and comes from a village in Haryana. She often throws the dust and dirt of her house out of her balcony. People have complained her about it many times. But these have fallen on deaf ears. Therefore, people have adopted an attitude of tolerance in the matter. Her two sons can be seen playing cricket or some other game most of the time after school hours. They are very noisy as well. They often throw bits of papers, toffee wrappers, orange skins etc., in the common passage and stairs.

The lady teacher opposite us on the first floor is our immediate neighbour. She is a widow and has a son and a daughter. The son is about 25years of age and works in a ministry as a section officer. The daughter is of my age and studies with me in the same school. But she is junior to me as I am in the tenth class and she is in ninth class. Her name is Saraswathi. She is tall, slim and beautiful and very much like her mother in appearance. The lady teacher teaches English in a nearby corporation middle school. On Sundays and other holidays she often comes to my mother and they both together enjoy talking and doing things. Saraswathi also comes to our house and sometimes I help in her lessons and homework.

The doctor is a jolly follow and can be often seen sharing jokes and pleasantries with others. He can be seen smoking sometimes.

He is also a good singer. He has a small clinic in the market and has a very good practice. His wife is a fat lady and very talkative. She enjoys advising others how to prepare this dish or that. She regards herself as the moving treasury of recipes. Their daughter Vasudhara is 6 years of age and really lovable. She studies in a convent school in the first standard. They also keep a dog. The dog sometimes becomes a nuisance when shut in the house alone. Then he goes on barking and barking till sometime returns home. When let loose he scares the children and frightens the ladies.

On such occasion as Diwali, Holi or Durga Puja all the 5 neighbours come together and exchange greetings, i.e., sweets and goodwishes but for the rest of the year every family is mostly confined to itself. But now it is a common feature. Social isolation and lack of contact and intimancy with one another is now the order of the day.

Change is the law of nature. Change also means variety. Man wants change from routine life. It provides refreshment, joy and entertainment. An escape from monotonous life is a must. A picnic provides all these. It is a good opportunity to go out of doors in the open amidst nature. A picnic is an occasion to go away from the boring and familiar surroundings.

Last sunday we decided to go on a picnic. We chose Victoria Park as our picnic destination. It is a very attractive and convenient place. There are vast lawns, open spaces, green surroundings and many tree-groves. The artificial water channels and waterfalls add more to its attraction. For a family picnic it is the best place. We often come here as it is in the city, and is one of the important historical buildings of Kolkata.

My mother had made all the preparations with the help of my elder sister meenakshi. I too did my bit to help them. We hired a taxi and reached there is the morning at about 10. My father joined us later at 11.30 A.M. as he had some urgent work somewhere in the city.

We spread a big bed-sheet and sat there enjoying the natural surrounding. It was very pleasant day of early March. There was fragrance in the air and many types of flowers had begun to blossom. They presented a colourful feast to eyes. Birds were chirping on the trees and in the bushes. These were the moments of sheer delight.

We took a stroll while my mother stretched herself for some rest. While strolling my sister and myself enjoyed chocolates and talking on various subjects. There were busy with their merry-making and pleasure activities. By the time we returned, father had come and so we enjoyed hot coffee and some snacks. Then we played cards. In between I took a number of photographs with an automatic camera.

At about 2.30 in the afternoon we took our lunch to our heart?s content. Mother had prepared a number of special and tasty dishes. In dessert we enjoyed some sweets and ice-creams. Then we had some rest amidst the pleasant and quiet surroundings.

After the rest we played badminton. My father told some interesting anecdotes and my sister sand a couple of film songs. I told a number of latest jokes. My mother was requested to say something about her childhood days. She obliged us and we all listened it with rapt attention and great delight.

In the evening, when the sun began to set in the west we packed our belongings and boarded our father?s car. We reaches home quire refreshed through my mother felt somewhat tired as she had been keeping delicate health.

It was a delightful picnic full of enjoyment and recreation. Such occasions and activities further strengthen family bonds. My father is ever awfully busy. It is on such occasions that he has much needed relaxation and enjoyment. A family picnic like this is like a magic web and a soothing balm in the modern like full of tensions and worries.

Badminton is my favourite game. I like it the most. I play it in the leisure time in the morning and evening. I play it in our school and also at home. Before our house there is much open space in the park. There we have a badminton court. We practice the game in that court.

The game is Indian in origin. It was actually born a long time ago in Puna. From there it spread to other countries of Europe and Asia. Today it is a very popular game. It is played both by men and women. It is a rackets and shuttle game. The shuttle is hit by the players with their rackets in opposite directions.

I was introduced to the game by my elder brother. Then I was just 7 years old. Now, I am captain of our school badminton team. We have won many trophies, shields, medals and certificates in team and individual events. Its appeal is universal. People like to play it or see it being played. It is becoming more and popular on the international scene.

It is very interesting game full of excitement. It provides much exercise and helps in keeping healthy. It makes a player very active, alert, watchful exact and sure in his or her movements. It also helps in making quick and right judgement.

Badminton players have good stamina and power of judgement. It is not costly as well. It helps in developing them spirit among the players. It promotes brotherhood, patriotism and mutual cooperation. I have traveled through many states of the country only because of badminton. I hope it will help me to go to some foreign countries as well in future. I devote all my leisure time in its practice.

The game of badminton makes the players more disciplined, healthy, hardworking and positive in attitude. There is hardly anything to match the thrill and suspense the game provides both to the players and spectators. Prakash Padukone is my very hero. He inspires me a lot. I have met him personally a number of times. I met him the last time in Bangalore where I had gone to participate in badminton tournament.

Badminton stars like Joko Suprianto of Indonesia, Frost Henson of Denmark jalani Sidek of Malaysia etc. are my role models. Their games have ever delighted me. I saw them in action on T.V. Some of the badminton matches played between big stars have seen by me in person. They are part of my memorable experience.

Life is a mixed affair. It is full of pains and pleasures. They are like shades and sun-shines. Sometimes we are happy and sometimes we are sad and unhappy. Life often swings between these two opposites. But on the whole there are more pains, sadness and sufferings. The moments of happiness are few. Pleasures come but not so often. Suffering has its own value. It prepares a man to face the challenges of life. It also increases our sense of enjoyment of pleasures.

During my short life of 15 years I have experienced many occasions of happiness and sadness. However, the number of sad occasions far outnumber those of pleasure and enjoyment. My birthday is a happy occasion. And so are the days of festivals. Winning prizes in the school also provide a source of great pleasure. My elder sister was married last winter. This was an occasion of great happiness for all of us. But the happiness day of my life came when my father took us to visit the Taj Mahal at Agra. We went by our own car. It took us a little over 3 hours to reach the Taj. The journey was very comfortable interesting and enjoyable.

I had heard much about the Taj. I had also read about it a lot. I often saw its pictures printed in the books, covers of the magazines and in tourist literature. All this had set my imagination on the fire. I was very much excited and looked forward to the golden opportunity to see this wonder of the wonders. I went through it delightfully and prepared myself well for the occasion.

Agra remained the royal seat of the Mughals for a long time. Emperor Shah Jahan built this masterpiece in the memory of his queen Mumtaz Mahal. She had died in 1603. Her dead body now rests here under a tomb. This is the best monument of love in marble. It took about 17 years to complete. Situated on the banks of river Yamuna, it is matchless in beauty and grandeur.

We entered through a majestic gateway of the red sandstone. The path which led to the Taj was divided into two by a long water-course. The remany fountains were playing beautifully. A flight of steps led us to the Taj Mahal built on a high platform. There are four high marble towers or minars in the four corners of the Taj. The Taj proper looks like a white flame arrested in marble. The echo in the central chamber of the Taj is a marvel. The inlay work on the walls and ceiling is superb. The Taj looks different seen at different times and at different angles. But it is always very fascinating.

It was really a wonderful experience. I shall never forget this happiest day of my life. It is really worth more than a single visit. I hope to revisit the Taj sometime next year. I took many photographs of the Taj with my family in the foreground. My father was really astonished with my such a good knowledge of the Taj.

I had gone to the market to buy some fruits and vegetables. I went by a rickshaw. I paid the rickshaw man and got down. As I hurried towards the fruit-shops, I saw two persons shouting at each other. They were angry and exchanging hot words. It attracted the people?s attention. But they remained at some distance and did not intervene.

The quarrel was between a rickshaw-man and a passenger. There was some misunderstanding on payment of the fare. The passenger was dressed in a shirt and trousers and the rickshaw-man in a baniyan and lungi. The passenger was paying the rickshaw-man four rupees saying that it was the fare agreed upon. But the man in lungi insisted on receiving rupees five. He said that it was the agreed fare.

For a few movements, they shouted, hurled abuses at each other and exchanged angry and hot words. But soon it turned into an exchange of fists and blows. They began to kick, punch, push and pull each other in the scuffle. The crowd of spectators enjoyed the fun of it and none cared to separate them. None wanted to play the role of a peace-maker.

The nasty quarrel and fight continued for a few minutes when the rickshaw-man fell down on the ground because of a severe blow from the passenger. There was a cut on his lips and his nose began to bleed. Seeing this, 2-3 other rickshaw-men joined the fight on behalf of their fellow rickshaw-man. Now, they began to beat the passenger. The situation began to turn into worse. The injured rickshaw-man began to cry and weep. His fellow rickshaw-men pulled the passenger by one of his legs and he fell down screaming. His bag of sweets was torn apart. The sweets were strewn all over the scene of fighting. Now a large crowd had collected and some of the people came forward to stop the fight and pacify the fighting parties.

After sometime, the people were able to disengage and separate the fighters but still they continued abusing one another. Then three policemen arrived on the scene in a police van. They pushed in the three rickshaw-men and the passenger into their van and drove away to the nearby police station.

In a city like Delhi, accidents are a common thing. They occur daily and in increasing number. Many of them prove fatal. The roads of Delhi are not safe. They are not well maintenance. There is much congestion as the number of vehicles is too much. The roads of the city are not sufficient to accommodate all of them. Moreover, there are very many types of vehicles. There are already more than 28 lakh vehicles on the roads of Delhi. The immense pressure on the roads of Delhi can be well imagined. People often violate traffic rules and regulations. The public transport buses are the worst offenders. They have turned into killer buses there is hardly a day when they are not involved in accidents.

The other day I saw a horrible accident. It terrified and raised my hair on end. It happened before my own eyes and so suddenly and unexpectedly. It happened late in the evening. A blue line bus came running at a great speed; the driver lost its control and the bus entered right into the house of the colony. The gardner of the house who was standing in the garden was killed in the accident.

The bus broke many barriers before landing in the house. It crashed through the iron railing, cast iron gates and the boundary wall and then landed in the garden. The poor gardner was watering the plants when it all happened. He was crushed under the bus and died instantly. Many of the passengers were also injured but fortunately none of them was killed or very seriously injured.

The driver and the conductor at once fled the scene of accident leaving the passengers stranded. The impact of the accident was so much that it was felt like tramur of an earthquake. There was lot of confusion and crying and the passengers of the bus ewer in a great shock. It took hem some time before they could realize what had happened. However, they thanked their stars for not being injured seriously. It was a narrow escape for all them.

A small crowd had collected there. The people together tried to push the bus and retrive the gardner but could not succeed in their effort. Somebody had informed the fire brigade on the phone and soon a fire tender arrived on the scene of the accident. They pushed the bus and took out the dead body of the gardner from under the bus. A police party also arrived there and began its investigation.

The policemen took out papers and documents of the bus to identify the bus-driver and the owner. But to their great surprise the bus permit did not have any names. It was totally blank. Two challens were found and they contained contradictory information. They both carried names of two different person as drivers.

Many such accidents have taken place on this part of the road. But they were not so serious. It is a known accident prone area. The driver was driving rashly and negligently and attempting to overtake another blue line bus. A shudder runs down my spine when I remember the accident.

A good friend is a great boon. Genuine friendship is a real blessing in life. But good and true friends are rare. In the present day selfish and materialistic world they have become more rare. There are many fair weather friends. But is not easy to find a faithful friend and companion.

A friend in need is friend indeed. A good friend is always ready to make a sacrifice for his friend. He does not care for his personal gain or comfort. Faithfulness, sincerity, love and sacrifice are the hallmarks of true friendship. Like love, it inspire confidence, hope and optimism. But these days friendship is used very casually. Generally, all the persons whom we often call friends are not real friends. They are just acquaintances and familiar persons with whom we often come in contact. A true friend is one with whom we share all our secrets, joys, sorrows and thoughts. He is a true advisor, well-wisher and great help.

They are really fortunate who have at least one true and sincere friend. Without such a friend half the joy of life is gone. I am really lucky in this respect. I have a number of friends in the general sense, but only Rakesh is my genuine friend. He is of my age and my class-fellow. He is my best friend. And I am really proud of him. He also cherishes my friendship and regards m his very intimate friend. We cannot think of life without each other. We have been best friends for 5-6 years. There has never been any misunderstanding between us.

Rakesh is of sweet nature, good manners and very polite. His parents are high officials in the Central Government. They are rich, have their own big house, car and all other amenities of modern life. And yet he is never proud or arrogant. His parents love me like their own son. Similarly, my parents love Rakesh much. He is often at my house. My mother prepares special dishes for him.

We are often together and do our home work in each other?s company. we play together, enjoy story-telling and share jokes and anecdotes. He lives a few houses away from my own house. We have a common hobby of playing chess. It is an intellectual game and we both enjoy it. We discuss so many points and intricacies of the game and make strategies for the next round of the play. But we play only in the spare time and for the sake of pure pleasure, recreation and development of or analytical skills. Rakesh is an intelligent student he is always on the top. He helps me in my science lesions and practicals. And I in my turn help him in English. He is not weak in English but not so brilliant as I am in the subject. We study together with a sense of healthy competition without jealousy or envy. However, many students fell jealous of our intimate and sincere friendship, but we never care about them. We really swim and sink together.

Hobby is fruitful work done in spare time. There is no monetary benefit in a hobby. It is pursued only for pleasure. It is based purely on interest and enjoyment and no other consideration. Thus, a hobby is totally different from a profession or occupation. What is a hobby for one may be an occupation for another person. An occupation is a regular work done to earn bread and butter.

The number of hobbies is endless. Reading, stamp collecting, traveling, gardening, photography, music, autograph hunting, playing with children, teaching illiterate adults, playing football etc., are some of well known hobbies. Hobbies make life more meaningful, and enjoyable. After a day?s hard work and labour, a hobby is so refreshing and interesting. Hobbies prepare us for more hard work the next day. They are very cheap source of entertainment. enjoyment and meaningful use of leisure time. Without a hobby a person will feel bored and annoyed during his leisure hours. In these days of scientific advancement and so many inventions, hobbies have become all the more important. Now, life is so comfortable and easy and there is lot of leisure time.
Reading is my hobby. I read magazines, newspapers, story books, short novels, biographics, travelogues etc. They enrich my knowledge and experience. By reading I also increase my skills and expression as it enriches my vocabulary and word-power. I have cultivated this hobby from my very young days. My father encouraged me to have and develop this hobby. He often took me to bookshops and book exhibitions and bought books of my interest and liking. I began with moral stores, fables and fairy tales. I found them so interesting, instructive, and entertaining that soon I became a book-lover. My love and interest for books is quite natural as it has evolved with the passage of time.

I have good collection of my own books. I bought them with my pocket money. Many of them I got as prizes and many others were given to me as gifts on my birthdays. There is hardly any book in my personal library which I have not read at least twice.

And some of them I have read many times over. Every time I read them, I find a new meaning, more enjoyment and some new experience. They are my best friend. I never feel sad or alone because of them. The pleasure they give me is of unique type and ever lasting.

My hobby has also helped me in scoring very good grades in the examination. It helps me in achieving concentration and economy of time. I borrow books from the school library and also from the public library. I love books, enjoy one or two hours daily in their valuable company, but I am not a bookworm. I never believe in rot learning without understanding their teachings and morals. Books are of great practical value and give us lot of knowledge, confidence, hope and inspiration.

There are some other students in the school who also have this hobby. We have formed a kind of informal Book Club. We exchange books and experiences earned by reading. On Sundays my friends come to my house and we have reading, recitation and dialogue sessions. It gives us so much fun, enjoyment and knowledge. We all do together whenever there is book fair or exhibition and browse through the books and then buy some of them which suit our pockets and interests. Many students in the school envy our hobby and friendship and our teachers feel proud of us.

While reading a book, I take brief notes, mark important ideas, new words, phrases and brilliant expressions with a red pen which help me in the recapitulation. As a result of my hobby I can read fairly fast and with very good comprehension and retention. My knowledge on various subjects, besides course subjects, is very wioe, authentic and valuable. I am proud of it but not arrogant and conceited. Reading of great and good books really makes one more gentle, humble and humane. By reading of great authors some of their greatness is bound to be rubbed off on the readers as well.

I am a student of Sarvodaya Senior Secondary School, New Delhi. I am a student of 9th Class, section A. It is a Delhi Administration school and one of the best schools in Delhi. I am really proud of my school. The school has a big and beautiful brick and stone building. It is pink in colour and double-stroyed. It has about 40 rooms, a hall and an office complex. The hall activities are held here. It has also get a big and spacious open stage on which are held shows and debates etc. There is a small garden also where are grown many kinds of trees. A gardner and his assistant look after the condition. Students also help them in keeping the garden in good condition. Behind the school building is the vast playground where we play football, volley ball, hockey, badminton, kabaddi, kho-kho etc.

There is a very good library housed in a small hall. There are daily newspapers and magazines. We can borrow books from there for a week. We go there in our library period and enjoy reading magazines and newspapers. The books increase our knowledge and provide us with healthy entertainment. Our librarian is very helpful and guides us in selecting right kind of books and magazines. Then there is a big science laboratory well equipped with instruments and apparatus required for experiments.

Ours is a co-educational school where boys and girls study together. This gives us an opportunity to know each other well and appreciate one another?s feelings and emotions. But the number of girl students is comparatively less. There are three girl students after every 5boy students. The teachers are highly qualified and experienced. They take keen interest in teaching and making us good and useful citizens of the country. The principal of the school is not only highly qualified but also very reputed. He has won a number of state and National awards as the principal of our school. He is a strict disciplinarian. He never tolerates any indiscipline or laxity. His life and work inspire us to follow him. He is very punctual, smart, gentle and loves us like his own sons and daughters. He also teaches XII class students both English and Hindi as he is M.A. in English and Hindi.

Our school starts in the morning at 8 o? clock with assembly. First there is prayer accompanied by music on the drum and harmonium. Then there is a short instructive talk or a moral story by one of the teachers. Sometimes we are told the headlines of the newspapers. Then there is mass drill and exercise just for 15 minutes accompanied by beating on the drum. Attendance in the morning assembly is compulsory and late comers are punished. The Vice-Principal is also very nice and well-qualified.

Our school has a good academic and sports record. In Board results it has made a high mark. Every year in the Board Examination, many of our students secure merits and positions. In games and sports also it has won many trophies, medals and certificates. In debates also its reputation and standing make us proud. Every year there is an inter school take part in it. Last year, I stood second in the inter school debate and third in the elocution contest. This year I hope to improve my position. We are also taught yoga there. To sum up, my school compares favourably even with expensive public schools. There is emphasis on character building and all round development of our personality and mere book learning is never encouraged.

Dr. Avur Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam was born at Dhanushkodi in the Rameshwaram district of Tamil Nadu on 15th October 1931. He received secondary education at Schwarts High School in Ramanathapuram. He graduated from St. Joseph College, Tiruchirapalli and obtained his DMIT in Aeronautical Engineering at the Chennai Institute of Technology, Chennai, during 1954 ? 57. After completing his third year at MIT, Kalam joined Hindustan Aeronauticals Limited (HAL), Bangalore as a trainee. In 1958 he entered DTD&P (Directorate of Technical Development and Production) of the Ministry of Defence as Senior Scientific Assistant. He was posted at the Technical Centre (Civil Aviation). Here, he undertook a design assignment on supersonic target aircraft with the assistance of his officer-in-charge, R. Varadharajan. The design of a DART target was taken up at the DTD&P and he was included in the team. He succeeded in designing and developing a vertical take off and landing platform and Hot Cockpit. Later he worked at he Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) at Bangalore. During 1963-82, he served the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)in different capacities. He initiated Fibre Reinforced Plastics (FRP) activities. He joined the satellite launch vehicle team at Thumba. near Thiruvananthapuram and soon became Project Director for SLV-3. The project came out successful in putting Rohini, a scientific satellite, into orbit in July 1980. Kalam?s contribution was duly acknowledged as he was honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 1981. In 1982 he was entrusted with the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP). The missiles were to be accomplished within the time span of 10years. Anyhow, they were completed in time, Trishul in 1985, Prithvi in 1988, Agni in 1989 and the remaining two in 1990. Kalam was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1990. On 25th November 1997 he was awarded India?s Kalam received the prestigious Indira Gandhi award for National Integration (1997). His role in 1998?s Pokharan blast was highly appreciated by his countrymen. He was involved in the Arjun MBT and the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) projects. On 25th November 1999, Kalam was appointed Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India and accorded the rank of a Cabinet Minister. His main task was to advise on matters concerning the scientific and technical policy in different fields. On December 8, 2000, Life-time Contribution Award in Engineering was conferred on him by the Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission, Shri K.C. Pant. Speaking on this felicitating function, Kalam said that Engineering and Technology should be put into service for the uplift of the people living below the poverty time.

Dr. Kalam has been devoting his precious time in the past few years to develop the concept of India Millennium Missions 2002-a blueprint for transforming India into a developed nation. He wants the children of India to ignite in their minds a love for science and technology.

Dr. Kalam believes like Gandhiji in simple living and high thinking. He is a very liberal and broad-minded person who has complete trust and faith in secularism. He cites from the Bhagvad Gita as often he does from the Holy Koran. ?For great men, religion is a way of making friends, small people make religion a fighting tool?, he remarks.

His hobbies include playing the rudra veena and writing poetry in Tamil which is his first language.

Dr. Kalam enjoys remarkable energy even at this age. He works late into the night and wakes up early to go for a long walk. he is a pure vegetarian as well as a teetotaller. He has never smoked in his life.

He has great faith and confidence in his country?s bright future. He believes that only way to show the strength of the country is the might to defend it. ?Strength respects strength and not weakness.? Strength, according to Dr. Kalam, means military might and economic prosperity.

Dr. Kalam?s elevation to the most prestigious office of the country has been widely welcomed. Known as the Missile Man and branded as 200% percent India by his colleagues, he will bring to his office an element of scientific rationalism which has been missing from the public life in recent years. India has already had a philosopher as President, but never a true-blue scientist/engineer. Let us all pray to the Almighty for his long healthy life.

Google