No One to Bell The Cat

             Some mice lived in a big house and always did some mischief or other. The master of the house brought in a stout cat for killing them. So the mice could not get out of their holes for fear of being killed. Thus being unable to get any food, they were about to starve and grew lean and thin,

             In this crisis the mice met in a council to find out what to do. But nobody could find out plans to solve the problem. At last a smart young mouse got up. He said, “I have thought of a good plan. It is to tie a bell round the cat’s neck. It will ring at every move of the cat. Its sound will be a signal for us to run away.” The rest of the mice jumped for joy at the idea.

             But after a few minutes a grave old mouse rose and said, “It is a good plan indeed, my dear friends, but which of you will dare to beII the cat ?“

             At these there was silence, for no one wished to risk his life in such an adventure. They left the meeting one by one.

Moral: ‘Things are more easily said than done.’

Science — A Friend or Foe

             Science is neither a friend nor a foe. It all depends on how you utilize it. Thus we cannot determine whether science is bad or good, — it depends on the person who uses it. If you utilize it to make a television-set, it is as good as a friend, but if you use it to develop an atomic bomb which can cause great harm to the world, it becomes an enemy. Thus, it depends on the usage of science.
             These days we are living dangerously. Both the super powers, the USSR and the USA, have developed deadly weapons, with the use of science of course, which can practically wipe out the whole world. It will not take very long to push a button in the USA and see the destruction taking place in China. Here science is just an enemy to mankind.
But, there are people who are using science to better the standard of living. People, who have invented the radio, the television, telephone, electricity, etc. have done a great service to mankind with the use of science has also helped us in developing various medicines which cure even the fell diseases.
             So, what is important in this context is the proper usage of things. Science should be used to develop things which will bring comfort mid ease in everyone’s life. When science brings bliss, it is a friend and when it brings curs, it is a foe.

Autumn in West Bengal

             Autumn in West Bengal spans the period from mid August to mid October. Amongst the six seasons in this State, Autumn is the best of all. As this season is preceded by monsoon, autumn wears a festival and charming look with lush green all around. The floating clouds, clear blue sky, moonlit nights, quiet nature, soothing climate and the rivers and ponds full of water make the nature so romantic.
             Autumn is also the season of festivals. Durga Puja, the greatest religious festival of Bengal falls in this season. The other festivals like Luxmi Puja (Dewali) follow thereafter. The distant sound of beating drums fills the early. People, irrespective of their social status, eagerly wait for this happy season, as they enjoy the festivals very much. Schools, Colleges and even office remain closed enabling people to take part in the festivals and enjoy themselves. Everyone is in a holiday mood. This season also being the harvesting season, farmers are happy with their land full of paddy and other grains. The vast stretch of luxuriant paddy crops undulation in autumn breeze fill the heart of the farmers, The little they earn this season makes them happy. Once this season is over, they anxiously wait for harder winter months.

Pulse Polio Immunization

             Polio is the abbreviated name of Poliomyelitis. It is an infantile malady, starting from the mother’s womb, it continues to make its victim suffer throughout his life. Its virulence is markedly manifested in children. It causes painful bone-deformities of a child that ails him till he dies. It is a scourge, a menace. The sure remedy of this disease is in the periodical oral administration of the medicine ‘Pulse Polio’ during the early years of a new born baby. This medicine creates immunization in the metabolic system of the baby killing the polio- bacteria attacking the process of forming bones and bone-marrow.
             This immunization is imperatively essential for a baby for eradicating the chances of the disease’s onslaught in future. Hence, pulse polio is a must even for a healthy new-born to stop any possibility of this disease in future. It is very easy to administer. It is to be administered orally at intervals of certain period of time to be tied by the physician. According to the UNICEF reports, this disease is on the wane — thanks to the raised against this devil.
             Success of this world-wide Immunization programme depends entirely on the conscious efforts of the public. The people must be made, through constant propaganda and continuous campaigning, aware of the dangerously lingering attack of this disease and it’s very easy remedy. The governments of the backward countries have come forward and now its total success depends on the cooperation of the public for their own good.

The Study Of History

             History is the annals of the past. And without past there cannot be any future. Thus we can say that history is not only an interesting subject but also an important one. Every citizen of a country should, as a duty, learn the history of that country and only then can we hope for a better future. Study of the cultural heritages of a people inspires feeling of patriotism and a pride to take the nation ahead at any cost of sacrifice.
             Though it is not necessary to know the history of the entire world thoroughly, but it is necessary to know at least a brief history of the world. This will help us to understand the various reasons why a particular country has done well or badly and what are its achievements or failures.
Incidents like the American Revolution, Russian Revolution, the French Revolution or the Chinese Revolution are all very important events in the world. The critical study of these events helps us to know the important changes which took place, in the world, both social and political, after these events and why and how the changes occurred.
             Previously, in different history books, usually the tales of kings and queens used to be told in great detail. Now the trend had changed for the better. With the more or less abolition of the king-queen system, these days history is more or less based on the common people on their culture, literature, social system etc. Everything combines together to make up the history of a nation and it is definitely an important study.

Recreation

             It is absolutely essential that everyone gets a chance to have a period of rest after a spell of hard work. It is very often seen that only work makes the mind dull. Even, if machines are made to run continuously, they tend to give trouble. They cannot function properly in the same fashion and the human mind needs rest to start with a dew vigour. And for this recreation is necessary.

             There is hardly any point in wasting one’s off time. There are people who just do nothing during their leisure. Such men are not very successful in life. One must see how one can best utilise this free time to get the best from life.

             Here the question of developing a hobby comes. One can develop various types of hobby. For a young boy, sports are essential to develop not only a good body but also a healthy mind. It gives the boy a chance to mix with a lot of other boys and thus he can develop various ideas by talking to them.

Another very interesting hobby is reading. It is rightly said that a hook is a man’s best friend. One can easily pass long hours by going through the classics of different literatures. It is an education by itself. You are learning during your recreation. Nothing can be better than such a recreation. Choosing the right kind of recreation is important but what is more important is having recreation.

Rural Uplift

             Gandhiji said that India lives primarily in villages. But when we talk of the country’s progress or achievement, we only think of India’s cities. The facilities that a townsman gets are beyond the dreams of an average villager— telephone, television, refrigerator, air-conditioned rooms, cars and what not. We can say that the cities are flourishing and the villages are going down day by day.
             Only very recently people have started realizing the anomaly of the situation. India needs village uplift, and planning for India’s economic progress means planning for the prosperity of rural India. Villages need, first of all, drinking water, good paths, primary and secondary education, training for agriculture and cottage industry.’ When the villagers are well off and healthy, India as a whole will prosper.
             Two important things in this respect are Village Panchayet and Rural Banking. Village panchayet gives the villagers their democratic rights. Through panchayet which the villagers themselves manage, the common people have the taste of power. They learn how to take the initiative in their own matters. Secondly, the banks in the rural areas free the poor villagers from the clutches of the money-lenders. The bank loans encourage the rural folk to be independent and to spend on fertilizer and pumpset and thus to modernize agriculture.