If there were no newspapers.

Newspapers are truly an addiction. Every morning it is delivered to your door step and you spend nearly
half an hour eagerly digesting the recent happenings of the world, the country, the city and the locality. If there
were no newspapers, our daily routine would be disrupted. The leisurely cup of tea would no longer taste the
same. Indeed, our very mornings would no longer be the same.
The next change would be that we would be less informed about our current affairs, the political
situation; the new stock marked downs and ups, etc. Adolescents would be very disturbed to find that the
entertainment column is no longer at their fingertips. They would have to waste time scouting the theatres for
movie of their choice. Stock marked investors would miss their favourite page with the innumerable quotations
– the latest index figures of their blue shares. Others would miss their favourite comic strip, and sports
enthusiasts would lament the lack of coverage about the Wimbledon series.
The T.V. and radio could be seen as valuable alternatives. Both of them would try to offer many
channels and the latest news every half – an – hour. This would give us information with live video coverage
but the habit of reading would be lost for ever. For many gown ups, the newspaper is truly a gateway to the
world. So for these people, a world without newspaper is a disaster that must never happen!

The Place of women in Indian Society

Traditionally, there have always been two attitudes towards women, either it is that women are weak,
they must be protected, kept at home and looked after – the daughter, the wife and the mother. The other is –
she must be worshipped. We see them as goddesses – Lakshmi, Durga and Saraswati. The reality is that Indian
women are neither. We are not stone statues, not are we perfect women to be adored.
The place of women in Indian society today is an society today is an ambiguous one. She has not totally
stepped out of the past exploitative role that patriarchal society had designed for her.
Today we have the constitutional guarantees, the legislation that makes a girl equal to a boy, but social change
is slow. We cannot brainwash the parents and gender conditioning still treats women as the weaker sex. The
New Education Policy, the dream child of our late Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, ushered in an age of equal
rights. Yet the thousands of young women who have passed the institutions of higher have not caused a major
revolution. The question still remains – after almost 45 years of planned development, in what way has the lives
of women really changed?
Millions of women are still illiterate. They face dowry problems, malnutrition, discrimination, offences
of rape, violence in the home and outside. There is a way to change this. Each educated women to whom
knowledge has been given, must now understand the value of being a committed citizen. They must question
the value of traditional practices. Above all, there must be a generosity of vision, a caring spirit that would like
to reach out and help the less fortunate. All women must be prepared to be agents of change and instruments of
women’s liberation. Only then will Indian women find their true equal place in society.
 A Road Accident I Witnessed.
All men are mortal and this fact was driven home the other day when I waited at the footpath to cross
the road. An old woman stood a little ahead, and was quite busy counting some coins in her hand. Suddenly, she
turned and lost in her own thoughts, she stepped on to the road. What followed is a nightmare that is nearly
impossible to describe. A jeep coming at high speed knocked her down, and the old woman lay in a crumpled
heap in the middle of the road.
She was badly hurt on her forehead and blood gushed out like a spring. With a start, I realised that she
was dead, and that death had been instantaneous. A small crowd had gather, and the jeep owner was trying to
prove his innocence, but nobody was prepared to listen. They were all convinced that it was his rash driving
that had caused her death. Luckily for him, the police station was quite near, and a constable soon appeared and
took charge. Otherwise a physical beating would also have taken place.
The ambulance arrived and the old woman’s body was carried away. Someone mentioned that she lived
in a nearby chawl and had two sons. They also said that she was slightly deaf. Whatever the reason for the
accident, I felt that was an example of hoe the forces of fate also rule our lives. Logically, it was her inability to
look after herself but as a traditional Indian I felt that her time on earth had ended. The accident was merely an
excuse!

Lets Stop Child Labour.

A newspaper report the other day mentioned that the Child Labour Act 1986 is only partly effective. The
Act does not prohibit employment of children below the age of 14 in several hazardous industries that exist in
the unorganised sector. At present, the Act bans the employment of children in only 25 present, the Act bans the
employment of children in only 25 hazardous processes and occupations. It is estimated that there are around 44
millions child workers in India of whom nearly 85 percent are involved in agricultural work. The hazardous
occupation listed in the act include beedi – making, carpet weaving, tanning, construction work, and
manufacturing of match sticks, firecrackers and state pencils.
But there are several other unknown, small industries which are hazardous but whose existence is
unknown to the public. The artificial pearl – dyeing industry in Bhiwandi is one such unit. Around 300 small
workshops, each employing around 20 children and women have sprung up in several slum localities. The
children work for nine hours a day in a small room filled with fumes of toxic chemical. Their daily wages is
Rs.15/- The fumes of dyes and toxic chemicals is so strong that a 10 minute visit to any of these units leaves
one coughing and breathless.
Let’s stop this child labour. Many social workers sincerely feel that if the Government enforces free and
compulsory education, this exploitation of children will stop. But while the Government must take this step, we
also can assist them. Let us report cases of child exploitation wherever we see them. Alternatively let us
promise that we will not employ child labour in our factories and will persuade our friends and relatives, also to
refrain from doing so. Let us make a conscious pledge to allow each child to enjoy their childhood in school
and leisure activities only.
 My Favourite Hobby.
A hobby is a kind of amusement, an interesting pursuit which fruitfully occupies our leisure hours.
There are many kinds of hobbies like collecting things, games and sports, photography, painting, reading or
even gardening. Hobbies may be constructive, lucrative or even useful, but what really matters is that they
provide constructive and interesting recreation.
My favourite hobby is collecting stamps. I have a lovely album in which I fix the stamps. I have
separate pages for each country. I also have separate pages for stamps on birds, animals, great leaders, historical
movements, etc. I have about 4000 stamps in all. My friends and relations who are not stamp collectors collect
stamps for me. This has helped me to collect stamps from all over the world. I also exchange stamps with my
friends. Whenever I get two or three identical stamps, I immediately try to exchange them for one that I do not
have. I have managed to collect some very rare and old stamps. Whenever the postal department issues a new
stamp or a commemorative stamp I see that I buy them.
There are many benefits from stamp collecting. The birds, fishes, dresses, people, buildings and other
emblems on the stamps tell us about the various countries, their culture, the lifestyles of the people, etc. It thus
broadens our mental horizons and gives us a peep into history.
Whenever I glance through my stamp album and look at my rare stamps. I am filled with a sense of
pride and joy. My hobby fills my leisure hours with interest and keeps my mind well occupied. My hobby will
continue and with the passage of time, I am sure that I will have an extraordinary large, stamp collection.

If I were a Teacher
When I was young, I was fond of playing the role of a teacher. I would imagine a class of children in
front of me, a black board on the wall and myself - an ideal teacher. Everything was imaginary except the ruler
in my hand.
If I were a teacher, I would give greater importance to example that to precept. I would make the
children understand the worth of polite speech and decent behaviour. I would never go late to class, i would
avoid taking casual leave as far as possible.
When I would enter the class I would bid them the time an expect them to bid me in return. ‘Good
morning, children’ would be the beginning of the day. I would plan the lesson well and ensure that every child
had understood the day’s topic. I would give special attention to the weaker students, unlike some teachers who
only care for the clever children and neglect the below average ones. I would consider it my duty to analyse and
solve the problems of every child without any partiality.
I would not approve of learning by heart. I would try to make every lesson interesting by giving
practical examples from every day life. The children would be encouraged to collect information from
newspapers and magazines. I would encourage the children to participate in games, sports and cultural
activities.
It would be my principle never to make any personal remark which would hurt any child’s feelings. I
would never tolerate selfishness, rudeness or dishonesty. I would encourage them to love their home members
and their friends, and make them happy.
Throughout my career as a teacher, my air would be to instil in every child real and noble values of life
and mound him into a responsible and productive citizen of the world.
 If there were no Electricity?
Electricity is one of the basic forms of energy. Of all the forms in which energy exists including motion,
sound, heat, light and radio waves, electricity is the most versatile (having many uses). It can be generated from
many different sources. It can be sent almost instantaneously over long distances, carrying either messages or
power and it can be converted simply and efficiently into other forms of energy as needed.
Because of this versatility, electricity plays a part in nearly every aspect of modern life. It provides light
and heat, and mechanical power and makes possible the telephone and telegraph, radio and television and
countless other necessities and luxuries. Nowadays, we take gadgets like the light, fan mixer, oven, iron,
refrigerator, air conditioner so much for granted without giving a thought to its working.
We often hear our grandmothers talking of the good old days without electricity, when one would rise
with the dawn and sleep early. All studying would be in the daylight hours; cooking on wood - fire had its own
flavour and meals would be family meals to be eaten together at a fixed time by candle light. Once when we
had no electricity for 8 hrs. life came to a standstill. The bells didn’t ring. The washing machine wend dead. TV
sets was dark and silent. The radio was just a box without voice. The food spoiled. The electric clock about
without flashlights, knocking on each others doors instead of ringing doorbells. Travelling by trains (electric)
would be affected leaving millions stranded. In other words, chaos reigned supreme. Such power failures are a
housewife’s nightmares. Chores which are quickly attended to remain unattended.
We are so dependent on electricity and the comforts it provides, that without it we are literally left in
darkness. In this modern day such black - outs are frequent because demand is more than supply. Our
population has increased manifold and so has our consumption. Hence there is over - loading and power
breakdowns. The day is not far off when we will face an acute power crisis.
We just cannot imagine what our life would be without electricity.

Life in a crowded city

A city is the centre of trade, commerce, industry and education. It is the foundation or seat of
administration. It is, therefore, full of activity, movements and changes. A city no doubt offers many tempting
comforts and conveniences, pleasures and pass - times, openings and opportunities, and that is why people from
the country - side are pouring into it in thousands. In a city, there are schools, colleges, business houses and
technical institutes, hospitals, charitable institutions, hospitals, cinemas, play - grounds, stadiums, parks,
gardens and easy means of transport and communication. If we have sufficient money, we can have the best
food and clothing, the best accommodation, the best education, the best of medical treatment and the best of
entertainment.
In spite of all these good points, city - life is far from being happy. The city is overcrowded, stuffy,
noisy, dusty, filthy and smoky. Life is violated by evils like pollution, slums, noise, corruptions and crime. Life
in a city is hurried and worried. In a city money is worshiped and money is indeed the root of all evils.
The city with its crazy race for money and pleasures does not provide proper environment for an all -
round development of the young. Some of the young - city dwellers fall into bad company, take to smoking,
drinking, gambling, drug taking etc. These conditions of a city - life pose a grave threat to social peace and
national progress. A society filled with crime and violence can never hope to progress and flourish. A city - life
is more prone to all these evils than the peaceful and placid country life. It is precisely for this reason that it is
said “God made the country and made the town”
 An Hour On A Railway Platform
The Indian railway is one of the largest in the world. It has its own share of problems, lime accidents,
delays, manpower shortage, shortage of space and so on. One such problem is lack of punctuality. Thousands of
people all over India are affected when a train is late or is delayed.
Once our family had gone to Solapur for a few days. On our return we planned to catch the Jayanti
Janata Express from Solapur to Bombay. The train was arrive at 7.50 p.m. We were at the station by 7 p.m.
There was an announcement over the public address system at 7.45 p.m. that the train would be 90 minutes late
because of some derailment. We found seats and bought a few magazines.
I soon lost interest in the magazines and wondered how I could spend the time. I was restless.
Then I began noticing the people around me. The vendors at the stalls were all busy, some arranging
their wares and some were cooking. Some passengers on the platform were checking their luggage. There were
beggars counting their money. The sweepers were doing their jobs. There was an electrician repairing some
connection. He was being helped by another man, also in uniform. Some porters were sleeping, others talking
and playing cards.
The Station Master came out of his office and went into the next office. I wondered why, so I got up and
had a look. He was talking to the telegraphist. Others were coming to report to the station master and going
about their work.
I started observing and wondering how the stations were run so smoothly. I was amazed when I thought
of the many employees and people working night and day to keep the railways and all the thousands of stations
and kilometres of rail tracks, in working order.
I also saw something of the life of the number of people who lived off the railways and of people whose
life and livelihood depended on the travellers and the railways.
When the train arrived 3 hrs. Late, I did not realize how late it was ! Because I was so interested in what
I was observing. I never thought a 3 hours delay could turn out to be so enjoyable, interesting and educative.

Pollution
Pollution is the price we are paying for modern civilization and material progress. Pollution means
making foul or filthy. Pollution is our enemy number one today. There is pollution everywhere, in the
atmosphere, on land, in the seas and rivers. Our air is polluted or made foul by smoke, gases and chemicals
puffed out by vehicles, and factories, and by the use of various chemicals. Besides this, there is noise pollution
in big cities resulting from the noise of vehicles, machines, loudspeakers and crackers.
Tonnes of industrial and chemical waste thoughtlessly dumped into our rivers, lakes and seas kill fish
and other marine life. Polluted water destroys plant life. It corrupts the soil and makes it useless. Atomic
radiation also pollutes the air and poses terrible health hazards. Radioactive pollutants are most dangerous as
they affect human chromosomes and bring about permanent hereditary disorders. Unplanned growth of cities
brings about more and more slums where dirt, disease and death breed. The tragedy in Bhopal which took the
toll of thousands of innocent people killed by toxic - methyl - Isocyanate gas leaked into the air from Union
Carbide’s chemical plant, is a fearful reminder of how dangerous air pollution can be. Among our cities, which
are getting dangerously polluted each day, may be mentioned Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi
and Rajkot. These cities are on the brink of total ecological disaster if pollution is not ruthlessly checked.
Pollution poisons the air and harms the ozone layer of the earth which protects us from the radiation of
the sun. If the ozone layer is destroyed, mankind will perish through the harmful radiation of the sun.
We must take immediate and effective steps to fight pollution. We must reduce vehicular and factory
smoke. We must shift industries from the cities, we must find some efficient system for the quick disposal of
garbage. We must stop the dumping of chemical wastes into our rivers, lakes and seas. We must grow more
trees, protect our forests, and have more gardens and open spaces. People should be more concerned about the
continuing pollution of the environment. The sooner effective steps are taken the better it will be for mankind.
 Trees - Nature’s Gift to Man.
Of all the living beings inhabiting this earth, trees are out best friends. Mother Nature, in her infinite
wisdom, has gifted them to man to live in harmony with him and to be of great service to him.
Besides fruits, trees provide important raw materials for our industries. Industries provide employment
to people. The wood for furniture, housing, railway carriages and ships come from trees. Wood is also used for
fuel and for making charcoal which is used as fuel. From trees we get wood - pulp to make paper and artificial
yarns (like nylon). Trees also give us products such as spices, rubber, turpentine, eucalyptus oil and gum. We
also get honey and many valuable things for medicine from forests.
We get so many things from forests that forests are rightly known as ‘ green gold’ Trees provide shade
to tired travellers and animals and shelter to innumerable birds and insects. Trees keep the environment clean.
They absorb harmful carbon dioxide from the air and fill the atmosphere with precious life - sustaining oxygen.
In this way they reduce air pollution. Therefore, trees are called the lungs of nature. Forests retain humidity and
attract rains. There will be no rain if there are no trees. It is for this reason that trees are known as rain catchers.
In fact, all our basic necessities like, air, water, food, clothing and shelter come directly or indirectly
from trees. We thus, owe our very existence to trees.
If there were no trees, there would be no rain and land would turn into an arid desert. Mankind would
perish for want of food, drinking water, fresh air and sufficient humidity. So we should ever remain grateful to
trees.

If I were the Prime Minister of India

Our country, India, is going through a difficult phase now, Though we are progressing some fields we
still see much corruption, suffering and mismanagement. I wish I were the Prime Minister of our country, to
that, I could do something about these problems.
First, I would gather a council of honest, qualified and committed men as ministers. Their worth would
have been proven in the past. No dishonest member would be chosen. Next, I would end corruption !, Starting
from the top and up to the bottom. The punishment for corruption would be severe. The public would be
informed not to tolerate such people but to complain if they were dissatisfied. Officers would be made
accountable for their employees performance. The whole concept of accepting corruption as a part of life would
have to be changed. This would be the first item in the list of priorities.
Today we are facing communal problems. Riots and violence have become common. These problems
would have to be solved. I would start by giving primary importance to education. To make people aware of the
results of such violence, I would bring people face to face with the loss, suffering, death and agony that such
senseless action cause. The punishment for anyone committing such acts or being responsible for such acts
would be at least ten years in jail. The required amendments would be made in the criminal code.
Today we find that people have little faith in justice. Out courts are very slow. People have to wait for
years for their cases to come to court for hearing and final judgment. I would put an end to this by filling up the
vacancies of judges existing now and setting up more courts and appointing more judges.
I would make sure that no one in India starved or had difficulty for getting clean water to drink. The
poor would get foot at subsidized price. Education for the backward classes and the poor would be free or
subsidized to a greater extent.
There are many other areas that would need immediate attention. But I would give top priority to the
poor and to justice, above all others.