Your Favourite Book

Points: The particular book — The reason why I find it so interesting — Its universal.

             My most favorite book is Pather Panchali by Bibhutibhunit Bandyopadhyay. I have read ii times without count. Every time I read it I find new joy out of it. It is a modern classic in Bengali literature. Apu and Durga are the eternal brother and sister of a Bengali family. The hardship of the life of a poor Bengali villager is vividly described in this novel.
             The descriptions of Nature are also brilliant. Bihubati bhusàn was a great lover of Nature. By the magic touch of his pen the trees and creepers seem living. I can almost smell the flowers in the wood and visualize the village paths. I also feel for the characters like Sarbajaya the mother, and Indira Thakrain the grandmother.
             Satyajit Ray has made the story of Pather Panchali world-famous by his great film. When I saw the film for the first time, I thought it was in many ways different from the novel. But when I saw it for the second time I corrected my mistake. The film had to be different because it was made by a camera. Bibhutibhusan made his novel with words. Pather Panchali is full of sentiment and has a universal appeal. Even after seeing Satyajit Ray’s film, I find joy in reading the novel. It is an immortal book.

Knowledge is Power

Points: Secret of man’s power over Nature and animals — Knowing the laws of Nature has made man so powerful — Knowledge in war and in peace.

             Man is the most powerful of alt animals. But physically the lion or the tiger, or even a buffalo is stronger than man. Yet man has kept all animals under subjugation.  He has made the whale of Nature his storehouse. He commands far greater knowledge of Nature than a wild animal does.

             Man’s pursuit of knowledge has made him a scientist. Science is nothing but organized knowledge of Nature. Science is the source of man’s power. This means knowledge is the source of man’s power. That is to say: knowledge is power. A bird can fly. Man could not fly. But now man can fly much higher than a bird. Man’s rocket sails across the outer space. He even landed on the moon. He could do this because he knew well the laws of motion and gravitation.

             In times of war, espionage becomes a very important factor. If the position of the enemy is known beforehand it becomes easier to win. The satellites are sending us photos. With their help we flow know better the conditions of cloud and storm. This knowledge gives us the power to forecast weather. Knowledge, in brief, is power.

The Plays of Shakespeare

             Shakespeare is called the greatest dramatist in the world. He was born in England and wrote his plays in English. But his plays have been translated into most of the languages of the world. Shakespeare today belongs to all peoples of the world, and not merely to the English.
             Shakespeare wrote about three dozen plays — some tragedies, some comedies and some historical plays. Some of his best known tragedies are Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Hamlet, Othello and King Lear. The comedies include Merchant of Venice. Twelfth Night. As You Like It, Comedy of Errors, and the historical plays include Henry IV, Julius Caesar etc. He also wrote some romances like Tempest and The Winter’s Tale.
             The men and women characters created by Shakespeare are vivid and universal. Portia is a young lady who can outwit the seasoned lawyers. Shylock is a typical money-lender. Desdemona is killed by her own lover, Othello. Hamlet stands for the man who can never make up his mind. Romeo and Juliet are the idols of all young lovers; they die as martyrs of love. Lady Macbeth is a masculine type of lady who instigates her husband to commit a heinous act of murder. Some scenes of Shakespeare have become immortal, such as the sleep-walking scene in Macbeth, the storm scene in King Lear, he abdication scented in Richard II, the wooing scene in Richard III etc. Some Shakespeare quotations, too, are well known such as:
(1) Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow (Macbeth),
(2) To be, or not to be: that is the question (Hamlet)
(3) As flies to wanton boys, are we to the gods (King Lear)
(4) Put out the light, and then put out the light (Othello)
(5) Friends, Romans, Countrymen lend me your ears. (Julius Caesar)
(6) We are such stuff as dreams are made on (The Tempest)
(7) The quality of mercy is not strained (Merchant of Venice)
(8) Finds tongues in trees, books in running brooks (As you like it)
(9) Some arc born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them etc. (Twelfth Night)
             Shakespeare’s plays re very popular in India. They have been translated into all Indian languages. Shakespeare is now part of world culture.

Kolkata and its Beauty

             Kolkata is one of the biggest cities of the world. But it is not an ancient city like Rome or Varanasi. It is hardly four hundred years old now. Its importance grew when it became the capital of British India. Even after the capital was shifted to Delhi, its importance did not decline.
             There have been rapid changes in Kolkata after Independence. The partition of Bengal brought crores of people from East Bengal down here. As a result, thousands of new houses were built in and around the city. Many skyscrapers have shot up and the skyline of Kolkata has changed completely. The new fly-overs — near Sealdah and Howrah Bridge — have given a new look to the city. The Metro Rail and its stations are adding a new dimension. When fully completed, Kolkata’s Metro Rail will be a great attraction to tourists. The Circular Rail is already operating along the river Ganga. When fully completed, it will ease the burden of traffic, specially of the commuters.
             But it will be wrong to suppose that the new look of a city depends only on new buildings and constructions. The most important thing is maintenance. It Kolkata remains unclean and its parks dirty, the new buildings will only make the city look dirtier and uglier by contrast. It is good news that campaigns for a clean Kolkata are gaining momentum day by day. Recently, the students took part in such a campaign and got pres for their commendable work. In some parts of Kolkata roads have of late been weekend. This has really given a new look to the city. Trees are being planted every year along the roads the Southern Avenue and the Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue are good examples. The toy train at Rabindra Sarobar and the ‘Jhilmil’ park at Salt Lake have become new attractions to children. Such things really give a new look to Kolkata.

Processions

Points: Various kinds of processions — Road-jamming and other features of  processions — Group psychology operating in processions.

             There is hardly any week when there is no procession on the road. Processions are of various kinds, There are marriage processions. religious processions, political processions and processions by trade union people. Processions arc a feature of the city-life. Some of the processions are highly colorful, some are more musical. Flags and festoons are parts of most of the processions, specially the processions of the May Day, Sports Day, Health Day etc. 
             When a procession passes along a road, the vehicular traffic comes to a standstill . Slogans are repeated and if it is a protest march, angry fists are displayed by the marchers. Maharam processions are marked by the loud utterances of ‘Hai Hasan, Hai Hosain’ by the devotees. The Durga Puja immersion processions turn the whole city into a sea of human beings and lorries. Processions on the national days such as the independence Day (15th August) and the Republic Day (26th January) are marked by the display of National Flags and singing of national songs. While processions of mourning are solemn and silent, processions of victory are full of joyous outbursts and songs.
             Men forming a procession lose their individual identities. The procession itself assumes a character of its own. The individual ego then is overpowered by the social ego. Processions thus symbolize the gregarious nature of man.

Keep away from Evil Company

Points: Man must mix with others — Need for being careful — Man’s company may be either good or evil.

             There is a saying that man is known by the company he keeps. There is great truth in this saying. Man is a social animal. He cannot live or thrive alone. He has to mix with other people and make friends with some of them.
             We cannot always choose our neigh hours. So we may not be very selective about the people we should mix with. And is not easy to know beforehand who is good and who is bad. Still we should be careful about choosing our close friend. It is always good to keep evil company at arm’s length. After we know that somebody is dishonest, it will be foolish to keep company with him and still hope that corruption will not touch us.
             Keeping away physically may not always he possible. What is important is to keep away mentally. Good or evil operates in our mind. So it is the mental aptitude which decides everything. Every company does not always mean company of evil persons. It also flanks the company of hooks and films that corrupt us. We may not be extremely choosy, but we should be alert.

Self-taught is Best Taught

Points: ‘Education’ is not ‘literacy’ — We are taught at school hut we learn at home — Character is formed at home 

             By ‘education’ people usually mean the lessons caught in schools or colleges. Now-a-days school-going is almost compulsory for every child. But ‘education’ and ‘literacy’ arc not the same thing. Emperor Akhar was illiterate, he did not know how to read or write. But he was not uneducated. Take the example of Rabindranath Tagore. He did not have much of formal training in schools or colleges. But was he not one of the wisest and most educated among the Indians? He was not taught but self-taught.
             In fact, education is self-development. We become educated by what we learn and not by what we are taught. We are taught at school, but we learn a lot elsewhere. We learn most at home and best by ourselves. We learn to love and respect a home where our character is formed. Education at home is, therefore, as valuable as education in school.
             We can say that we have more of ‘learning’ in school, But we have more of ‘education’ at home. Learning refers to knowledge and skill. ‘Education’ refers to character and outlook. There is, of course, no opposition between the best result is obtained when we can combine both learning and education, school and home, knowledge and character. But even after all education in school, college or university, our whole life remains to be self-taught.