Category: Education

Book Reviews

The Books are of  knowledge oceans, from every book we learn some thing new and to improve our knowledge and build our personality

BOOK Defination  

we all know that a lot of English words come from ancient Latin – that’s because the Romans occupied England for almost five hundred years from 54BC to 410 AD. … The word book comes from Old English “boc” which in its turn comes from a Germanic root “*bok-“, which means “beech” – as in the beech tree

Types of Book Reviews

Endorsements: Hand-picking Relevant Reviewers Before Your Book is Published. …

Trade Reviews: Publishing Professionals May Advocate Your Book To The Industry. …

Reader Reviews: Individuals Recommending Your Book To Each Other. …

Editorial Reviews: Third Parties Publishing Reviews About Your Book.

Why write book reviews

Book reviews give books greater visibility and a greater chance of getting found by more readers. On some websites, books that have more book reviews are more likely to be shown to prospective readers and buyers as compared to books with few or no book reviews.

How to write a book review

  • Start with a couple of sentences describing what the book is about. …
  • Discuss what you particularly liked about the book. …
  • Mention anything you disliked about the book. …
  • Round up your review. …
  • You can give the book a rating, for example a mark out of five or ten, if you like!

In this days most of people like to read blogs because they have simple and clear to understand content

Some of people read books by help of Book review, its give simple summary to understand that book

SEBI: Securities and Exchange Board of India

SEBI (LOGO)

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is the regulatory body for securities and commodity market in India under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Finance , Government of India. It was established on 12 April 1988 and given Statutory Powers on 30 January 1992 through the SEBI Act, 1992.

Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) was first established in 1988 as a non-statutory body for regulating the securities market. It became an autonomous body on 30 January 1992 and was accorded statutory powers with the passing of the SEBI Act 1992 by the Indian Parliament. SEBI has its headquarters at the business district of Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai and has Northern, Eastern, Southern and Western Regional Offices in New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, and Ahmedabad respectively. It has opened local offices at Jaipur and Bangalore and has also opened offices at Guwahati, Bhubaneshwar, Patna, Kochi and Chandigarh in Financial Year 2013–2014.

The SEBI is managed by its members, which consists of the following:

*The chairman is nominated by the Union Government of India.
*Two members, i.e., Officers from the Union Finance Ministry.
*One member from the Reserve Bank of India.
*The remaining five members are nominated by the Union Government of India, out of them at least three shall be whole-time members.

SEBI has to be responsive to the needs of three groups, which constitute the market:

*issuers of securities
*investors
*market intermediaries

SEBI has three powers rolled into one body: quasi-legislative, quasi-judicial and quasi-executive. It drafts regulations in its legislative capacity, it conducts investigation and enforcement action in its executive function and it passes rulings and orders in its judicial capacity. Though this makes it very powerful, there is an appeal process to create accountability.

Mumbai HQ (Head Quarters)

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)

Central Bureau of Investigation

• Origin as Special Police Establishment (SPE) – set up in 1941.

• Purpose: Investigate bribery and corruption in
transactions with the War & Supply Department of India during World War II.

Delhi Special Police Establishment (DPSE) Act,1946

• Transferred the superintendence of the SPE to the Home Department.

• Jurisdiction of the DPSE:
 Extended to all the Union Territories.
 Could be extended to the States with the
consent of the State Government.

• 1963 Home Ministry resolution: SPE became the
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)

• Purpose: To investigate
 Serious crimes related to Defence of India, corruption in high places, serious fraud etc.
 Hoarding, black marketing and profiteering in essential commodities.

• At present, employees of public sector undertakings come under CBI purview.

• 1969 nationalisation of the banks: employees of Public Sector Banks come under the ambit of the CBI.
• Superintendence of CBI:
 Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) – for
investigation of offences under the Prevention
of Corruption Act, 1988.
 Department of Personnel & Training (DOPT) in the Ministry of Personnel, Pension & Grievance -for all other matters.

Three divisions of CBI:

• Anti-Corruption Division
 Investigates cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
 Against public officials and the employees of Central Govt, PSUs, Bodies controlled by the GoI etc.

• Economic Offences Division
 Investigates major financial scams and serious economic frauds.
 Crimes related to Fake Indian Currency Notes, Bank Frauds and Cyber Crime.

• Special Crimes Division
 Investigates serious, sensational and organized crime under the IPC and other laws.
 Based on the requests of State Govts or on the orders of the SC and High Courts.
• CBI needs the prior consent of State to exercise of powers and jurisdiction in the State.
 SC and HCs can order investigation without the consent of the state.

DIGITAL INDIAN CAMPAIGN


Digital India is an umbrella programme that covers multiple Government Ministries and Departments. It weaves together a large number of ideas and thoughts into a single, comprehensive vision so that each of them can be implemented as part of a larger goal.
Each individual element stands on its own, but is also part of the larger picture. Digital India is to be implemented by the entire Government with overall coordination being done by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY).


Digital India aims to provide the much needed thrust to the nine pillars of growth areas, namely Broadband Highways, Universal Access to Mobile Connectivity, Public Internet Access Programme, e-Governance: Reforming Government through Technology, e-Kranti – Electronic Delivery of Services, Information for All, Electronics Manufacturing, IT for Jobs and Early Harvest Programmes. Each of these areas is a complex programme in itself and cuts across multiple Ministries and Departments.


The Digital India programme aims at pulling together many existing schemes. These schemes will be restructured, revamped and re-focused and will be implemented in a synchronized manner. Many elements are only process improvements with minimal cost implications. The common branding of programmes as Digital India highlights their transformative impact. While implementing this programme, there would be wider consultations across government, industry, civil society, and citizens to discuss various issues to arrive at innovative solutions for achieving the desired outcomes of Digital India.

Banking ombudsman


APPOINTMENT & TENURE

(1) The Reserve Bank may appoint one or more of its officers in the rank of Chief General Manager or General Manager to be known as Banking Ombudsmen to carry out the functions entrusted to them by or under the Scheme.

(2) The appointment of Banking Ombudsman under the above Clause may be made for a period not exceeding three years at a time.

5. LOCATION OF OFFICE AND TEMPORARY HEADQUARTERS

(1) The office of the Banking Ombudsman shall be located at such places as may be specified by the Reserve Bank.

(2) In order to expedite disposal of complaints, the Banking Ombudsman may hold sittings at such places within his area of jurisdiction as may be considered necessary and proper by him in respect of a complaint or reference before him.

POWERS AND JURISDICTION

(1) The Reserve Bank shall specify the territorial limits to which the authority of each Banking Ombudsman appointed under Clause 4 of the Scheme shall extend.

1(2) The Banking Ombudsman shall receive and consider complaints relating to the deficiencies in banking or other services filed on the grounds mentioned in clause 8 irrespective of the pecuniary value of the deficiency in service complained and facilitate their satisfaction or settlement by agreement or through conciliation and mediation between the bank concerned and the aggrieved parties or by passing an Award as per the provisions of the Scheme.

(3) The Banking Ombudsman shall exercise general powers of superintendence and control over his Office and shall be responsible for the conduct of business thereat.

(4) The Office of the Banking Ombudsman shall draw up an annual budget for itself in consultation with Reserve Bank and shall exercise the powers of expenditure within the approved budget on the lines of Reserve Bank of India Expenditure Rules, 2005.

(5) The Banking Ombudsman shall send to the Governor, Reserve Bank, a report, as on 30th June every year, containing a general review of the activities of

his Office during the preceding financial year and shall furnish such other information as the Reserve Bank may direct and the Reserve Bank may, if it considers necessary in the public interest so to do, publish the report and the information received from the Banking Ombudsman in such consolidated form or otherwise as it deems fit.

PROCEDURE FOR REDRESSAL OF GRIEVANCE 

GROUNDSOFCOMPLAINT

(1) Any person may file a complaint with the Banking Ombudsman having jurisdiction on any one of the following grounds alleging deficiency in banking including internet banking or other services.

(a). non-payment or inordinate delay in the payment or collection of cheques, drafts, bills etc.;

(b). non-acceptance, without sufficient cause, of small denomination notes tendered for any purpose, and for charging of commission in respect thereof;

(c). non-acceptance, without sufficient cause, of coins tendered and for charging of commission in respect thereof;

(d). non-payment or delay in payment of inward remittances;

(e). failure to issue or delay in issue of drafts, pay orders or bankers’ cheques

(f). non-adherence to prescribed working hours;

(g). failure to provide or delay in providing a banking facility (other than loans

and advances) promised in writing by a bank or its direct selling agents;

(h). delays, non-credit of proceeds to parties’ accounts, non-payment of deposit or non-observance of the Reserve Bank directives, if any, applicable to rate of interest on deposits in any savings, current or other account maintained

with a bank;

(i). complaints from Non-Resident Indians having accounts in India in relation to

their remittances from abroad, deposits and other bank- related matters;

(j). refusal to open deposit accounts without any valid reason for refusal;

(k). levying of charges without adequate prior notice to the customer;

(l). non-adherence to the instructions of Reserve Bank on ATM /Debit Card and Prepaid Card operations in India by the bank or its subsidiaries on any of the following:

i. Account debited but cash not dispensed by ATMs

ii. Account debited more than once for one withdrawal in ATMs or

for POS transaction

iii. Less/Excess amount of cash dispensed by ATMs

iv. Debit in account without use of the card or details of the card

v. Use of stolen/cloned cards

vi. Others

(m). non-adherence by the bank or its subsidiaries to the instructions of Reserve Bank on credit card operations on any of the following:

i. Unsolicited calls for Add-on Cards, insurance for cards etc.

ii. Charging of Annual Fees on Cards issued free for life

iii. Wrong Billing/Wrong Debits

iv. Threatening calls/ inappropriate approach of recovery by

recovery agents including non-observance of Reserve Bank

guidelines on engagement of recovery agents

v. Wrong reporting of credit information to Credit Information

Bureau

vi. Delay or failure to review and correct the credit status on

account of wrongly reported credit information to Credit

Information Bureau.

vii. Others

(n). non-adherence to the instructions of Reserve Bank with regard to Mobile Banking / Electronic Banking service in India by the bank on any of the following:

i. delay or failure to effect online payment / Fund Transfer,

ii. unauthorized electronic payment / Fund Transfer,

(o). non-disbursement or delay in disbursement of pension (to the extent the grievance can be attributed to the action on the part of the bank concerned, but not with regard to its employees);

(p). refusal to accept or delay in accepting payment towards taxes, as required by Reserve Bank/Government;

(q). refusal to issue or delay in issuing, or failure to service or delay in servicing

or redemption of Government securities;

(r). forced closure of deposit accounts without due notice or without sufficient reason;

(s). refusal to close or delay in closing the accounts;

(t). non-adherence to the fair practices code as adopted by the bank;

(u). non-adherence to the provisions of the Code of Bank’s Commitments to Customers issued by Banking Codes and Standards Board of India and as adopted by the bank ;

(v). non-observance of Reserve Bank guidelines on engagement of recovery agents by banks;

(w). non-adherence to Reserve Bank guidelines on para-banking activities like sale of insurance /mutual fund /other third party investment products by banks with regard to following:

i. improper, unsuitable sale of third party financial products

ii. non-transparency /lack of adequate transparency in sale

iii. non-disclosure of grievance redressal mechanism available

iv. delay or refusal to facilitate after sales service by banks

(x). any other matter relating to the violation of the directives issued by the

Reserve Bank in relation to banking or other services.

(2) A complaint on any one of the following grounds alleging deficiency in banking service in respect of loans and advances may be filed with the Banking Ombudsman having jurisdiction:

(a) non-observance of Reserve Bank Directives on interest rates;

(b) delays in sanction, disbursement or non-observance of prescribed time schedule for disposal of loan applications;

(c) non-acceptance of application for loans without furnishing valid reasons to the applicant; and

(d) non-adherence to the provisions of the fair practices code for lenders as adopted by the bank or Code of Bank’s Commitment to Customers, as the case may be;

(e) non-observance of Reserve Bank guidelines on engagement of recovery agents by banks; and

(f) non-observance of any other direction or instruction of the Reserve Bank as may be specified by the Reserve Bank for this purpose from time to time.

(3) The Banking Ombudsman may also deal with such other matter as may be specified by the Reserve Bank from time to time in this behalf.

Book Reviews

Pin on libros

TOPICS OF BOOK REVIEWS:-

* Goodreads

* LibraryThing

* Reedsy Discovery

* LoveReading

* The Millions

* A Promised Land

* Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

* Luster

* The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

* Uncanny Valley

1. Goodreads:-

Goodreads
Review Styles: star rating, community reviews
It’s impossible not to mention Goodreads when discussing book communities: it’s the Facebook of book reviews — the ultimate social media platform for bibliophiles. If you’ve somehow managed to go this long without stumbling upon this omnipresent site, here’s the run-down: you can use Goodreads to organize, display, and discuss your virtual bookshelf with other users.
Goodreads recommendations are based on your listed interests. You can follow authors and book influencers ranging from Celeste Ng to Bill Gates. This allows you to see all their reviews, which vary from compact one-liners to critical analysis, and watch the new reviews roll in. For a quick verdict, just take a look at the star rating that they give the book.
Also if you like to browse lists, Goodreads compiles the best and most popular books for every genre. There’s also the annual Goodreads’ Choice Awards to celebrate each year’s new releases, where you can cast your vote or peruse the list of contenders to find a new book to read. It’s a site for every kind of reader, with abundant ways to comment and interact

2. LibraryThing:-

LibraryThing
Review Styles: star rating, recommendation, community reviews
This is the OG of all online book catalogues and discussion boards — take a look and you’ll see that it’s an oldie but a goodie. Of course, the basic functions of LibraryThing are rather similar to Goodreads: there are millions of books that readers can add to their lists, as well as review with star ratings.
While the interface harks back to the earlier days of the world wide web, LibraryThing has a secret weapon that’ll appeal to all readers, especially modern ones: their Zeitgeist. This page displays the crème de la crème of the whole site, from the most popular books to the hottest reviews, which is updated constantly. Just a glance shows that the readers here know how to read between the lines and wield their words!
So if you’re hoping to read or share some in-depth literary thoughts with fellow sharp-minded users , LibraryThing is the site to browse. (You can even access it without creating an account!)

3. Reedsy Discovery:-

Reedsy Discovery
Review Styles: star rating, recommendation, editorial reviews, community reviews (video option available)
Now, if you’re searching for some hidden gems to peruse, Reedsy Discovery’s got your back. While our blog features everything from classics to contemporary hits, Discovery’s specialty is indie publications, many of which are accompanied with succinct comments from experienced reviewers. There’s no better way to broaden your horizon!
Moreover, if casual and creative reviews are more your cup of tea, then rejoice: the burgeoning community of readers on Discovery can leave comments, one-line reviews, and video reviews (calling all Booktubers!) on just about any book. It’s a fun and interactive way to geek out over your favorite reads and discover all the coolest new titles you won’t find anywhere else.

4. LoveReading:-

LoveReading
Review styles: staff and guest contributor reviews
Though it’s UK-based, this prolific site caters to audiences around the world. LoveReading is strictly a reviewing site, with a base of staff writers and carefully selected contributors, so you know the reviews are top-notch. The staff often give quite personal reading experiences in their reviews, which make their recommendations very endearing, like they’re from a close friend. They even offer you presents — well, if you think of giveaways as presents!
LoveReading covers books from every genre you can think of. They also have weekly, monthly, and yearly list features to keep you up to date with the latest stellar releases, so you’ll never be in want of something to pore over.

5. The Millions:-

Review styles: professional and guest contributor reviews
In search of reviews that really dive into the themes, metaphors, and overall executions of interesting and highbrow books? The Millions has got you covered.
Written by a collection of seasoned critics, these reviews are speckled with memorable quotes, elegant analysis, and plentiful comparisons to other works — which means extra reading recommendations for you! If contemporary and literary fictions are your go-tos, then The Millions is the site for all your lit nerd needs.

6. A Promised Land:-

A Promised Land_Barack Obama
Nate Marshall on Barack Obama’s A Promised Land (Chicago Tribune)
A book review rarely leads to a segment on The 11th Hour with Brian Williams, but that’s what happened to Nate Marshall last month. I love how he combines a traditional review with a personal essay—a hybrid form that has become my favorite subgenre of criticism.
“The presidential memoir so often falls flat because it works against the strengths of the memoir form. Rather than take a slice of one’s life to lay bare and come to a revelation about the self or the world, the presidential memoir seeks to take the sum of a life to defend one’s actions. These sorts of memoirs are an attempt maybe not to rewrite history, but to situate history in the most rosy frame. It is by nature defensive and in this book, we see Obama’s primary defensive tool, his prodigious mind and proclivity toward over-considering every detail.”

7. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland:-

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Merve Emre on Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (The Point)
I’m a huge fan of writing about books that weren’t just published in the last 10 seconds. And speaking of that hybrid form above, Merve Emre is one of its finest practitioners. This piece made me laugh out loud and changed the way I think about Lewis Carroll.
“I lie awake at night and concentrate on Alice, on why my children have fixated on this book at this particular moment. Part of it must be that I have told them it ‘takes place’ in Oxford, and now Oxford—or more specifically, the college whose grounds grow into our garden—marks the physical limits of their world. Now that we can no longer move about freely, no longer go to new places to see new things, we are trying to find ways to estrange the places and objects that are already familiar to us.”

8. Luster:-

Luster_Raven Leilani
Parul Sehgal on Raven Leilani’s Luster (The New York Times Book Review)
Once again, Sehgal remains the best lede writer in the business. I challenge you to read the opening of any Sehgal review and stop there.
“You may know of the hemline theory—the idea that skirt lengths fluctuate with the stock market, rising in boom times and growing longer in recessions. Perhaps publishing has a parallel; call it the blurb theory. The more strained our circumstances, the more manic the publicity machine, the more breathless and orotund the advance praise. Blurbers (and critics) speak with a reverent quiver of this moment, anointing every other book its guide, every second writer its essential voice.”

9. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall:-

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
Constance Grady on Anne Brontë’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (Vox)

Restoring the legacies of ill-forgotten books is one of our duties as critics. Grady’s take on “the least famous sister in a family of celebrated geniuses” makes a good case for Wildfell Hall’s place alongside Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre in the Romantic canon.

“[T]he heart of this book is a portrait of a woman surviving and flourishing after abuse, and in that, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall feels unnervingly modern. It is fresh, shocking, and wholly new today, 200 years after the birth of its author.”

10. Uncanny Valley:-

Uncanny Valley_Anna Wiener
Ismail Muhammad on Anna Wiener’s Uncanny Valley (The Atlantic)
Muhammad is a philosophical critic, so it’s always fun to see him tackle a book with big ideas. Here, he makes an enlightened connection between Wiener’s Silicon Valley memoir and Michael Lewis’s 1989 Wall Street exposé, Liar’s Poker.
“Like Lewis, Wiener found ‘a way out of unhappiness’ by writing her own gimlet-eyed generational portrait that doubles as a cautionary tale of systemic dysfunction. But if her chronicle acquires anything like the must-read status that Lewis’s antic tale of a Princeton art-history major’s stint at Salomon Brothers did, it will be for a different reason. For all her caustic insight and droll portraiture, Wiener is on an earnest quest likely to resonate with a public that has been sleepwalking through tech’s gradual reshaping of society.”
Referance Link:
https://reedsy.com/discovery/blog/book-review-sites
https://lithub.com/the-10-best-book-reviews-of-2020/

INDIA AND INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION 4.0 Part-1

The industrial revolution is the advancement in manufacturing processes. The industrial revolution began in Europe in the 17th century. It was the first Industrial Revolution.  With the advancements in machines and manufacturing processes, Industrial revolution 2, 3 and 4 came into existence.

Industrial Revolution 2.0 started just after the first industrial revolution. It was also coined as Technological Revolution. The area of influence of the Industrial Revolution 2.0 was mainly Britain, America and parts of Germany.

The third industrial revolution began with the era of computers. With the widespread use of computers, and the capability to do superhuman things, Industrial revolution 3.0 started. Industrial revolution 3.0 stated the use of programming logic controllers. It also laid foundations for Industrial revolution 4.0.

The industrial revolution, also coined as “smart factory”, is the dependency of machines and smart reality at the more ease and comfort with more increase in production. In essence, industry 4.0 is the trend towards automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies and processes which include cyber-physical systems (CPS), the internet of things (IoT), industrial internet of things, cloud computing, cognitive computing and artificial intelligence.

Industrial Revolution 4.0 consists of different aspects viz.

1.Internet of Things

2.Smart Sensors

3.Advanced robotics

4.Big Data Analytics

5.3D Printing

6.Augmented reality

7.Cloud computing

8.Location Detection

1.Internet of Things

The ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction is known as the Internet of Things.

In simple language, when things communicate with each other over a common network, it is known as the Internet of things. In the consumer market, IoT is synonymous with home automation, home security and systems that can be controlled with devices related to that ecosystem like smartphones.

2. Smart sensors

Smart sensors are a major part of the Internet of Things. They are equipped with a digital interface, and they perform self-diagnosis by monitoring internal defects for evidence of faults.

The most important feature of a smart sensor is the ability to communicate, which can be done by displaying the data directly to the user and transfer it over a wired interface wirelessly.

3.Advanced robotics

Advanced robotics is the use of sensors that allow a robot to interact with the real world. The concept of creating machines that can operate autonomously dates back to classical times, but research into the functionality and potential uses of robots did not grow substantially until the 20th century. Throughout history, it has been frequently assumed by various scholars, inventors, engineers, and technicians that robots will one day be able to mimic human behaviour and manage tasks in a human-like fashion. Today, robotics is a rapidly growing field, as technological advances continue; researching, designing, and building new robots serve various practical purposes, whether domestically, commercially, or militarily.

4. Big Data Analytics

Big Data analytics is the process of collecting, organizing and analyzing large sets of data (called Big Data) to discover patterns and other useful information. Big Data analytics can help organizations to better understand the information contained within the data and will also help identify the data that is most important to the business and future business decisions.

5. 3D Printing

3D printing covers a variety of processes in which material is joined or solidified under computer control to create a three-dimensional object, with the material being added together (such as liquid molecules or powder grains being fused), typically layer by layer.

6.Augmented reality

Augmented reality (AR) is one of the biggest technology trends right now, and it’s only going to get bigger as AR ready smartphones and other devices become more accessible around the world. AR let us see the real-life environment right in front of us. Perhaps the most famous example of AR technology is the mobile app Pokemon Go, which was released in 2016 and quickly became an inescapable sensation.

7.Cloud computing

In its most simple description, cloud computing is taking services (“cloud services”) and moving them outside an organization’s firewall. Applications, storage and other services are accessed via the Web. The services are delivered and used over the Internet and are paid for by the cloud customer on an as-needed or pay-per-use business model.

8.Location Detection

Several technologies can provide real-time information about the location of devices, and hence the location of users of the devices. The types of devices that can be located include mobile telephones, laptop computers, personal digital assistants and gaming consoles. There are many location detection technologies, such as the global positioning system (GPS)

Read more about India and Industrial Revolution in next part, INDIA AND INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION 4.0 Part-2.

“The Funny boy” – A Homosexual Novel of searching identity

“For me, growing up, I felt like there was something fatally and tragically flawed in my nature and that it was my duty to try to avoid falling for that vice”.

– Shyam Selvadurai

Certainly, we all as a human, face some sort of battle within ourselves, might be towards our identity or maybe our existence. The worst crisis any human can face is the crisis within him/herself. It is one of the dangerous crises any person goes through, and this is what the author Shyam Selvadurai had gone in his own life which he portrayed in the novel “Funny Boy” through the main protagonist “Arjun” aka “Arjie”.

The Funny Boy – A Background :

The novel evidently sets in the early 1980’s at the consequent of Sri Lankan civil war, which showcase us the disputes and riots of Tamil – Sinhalese Historical enmity towards each other. The novel is divided into 6 chapters, in which every chapter has its own uniqueness which makes the novel more explicit.

The 1st chapter, “Pigs can’t fly”, begins with the Naïve life of the main character Arjie and his reminiscence of his childhood days, where he presents his own baffled thoughts of his own existence of, he being “Different” from other boys of his age. He was anxious and felt that his interests in playing with dolls and girls is a taboo for society whereas playing cricket will make him an ideal boy in the society.

“Life is full of stupid things and sometimes we just have to do them”, Arjie’s Amma says this to him when he refused to play with boys and instead, he likes to wear saree and play, “bride- bride” with his female cousins.

 This shows us how this chapter portray us that our society is prejudice towards the gender norms in which all of us are distributed. In one of the incidents when the relatives of Arjie saw him wearing a saree , made him a center of laughter and mocked him by saying him “ Funny”, through which the author tried to showcase us that the third Gender in our society is considered as unethical or as a clown which is irrelevant to the society, namely the title of the chapter “Pigs can’t fly’’, presents us how people in our society don’t accept the people who belongs to the third gender as according to them, pigs represents the people who are transgenders or gay like Arjie are breaking the norms of the culture.

“Any war, riots or a sense of violence happens within the human minds, and politically, language and cultures drift us apart sometimes to establish a war”, this quote is well explained in the second chapter “Radha Aunty”, where this chapter explains us how casteism becomes a hurdle, when people fall in love.

They say that “If two people love each other, the rest is unimportant.”

“No, it isn’t. Ultimately, you must live in the real world.

And without your family you are nothing.”

The Funny Boy

By this quote, the author explains us the tragic love story of Radha Aunty and Anil Uncle who wanted to get marry, but the enmity and disbelief in both the communities of Tamil and Sinhalese made them apart! Indeed, this tragedy is obvious to show us the situation of the Sri Lankan civil war and the rules in which people were abused to be in. Incidents of Radha Aunty where she was brutally attacked by 2 Sinhalese people show us how threatening Humans were demons for each other.

“See no evil, hear no evil”, is the chapter 3 where show us one more Tragic incident happened with “Daryl Uncle”, we can say that the novel has a theme of failed love relationships, casteism, hatred, war, and disputes, as this chapter encloses about the incident of how Daryl uncle died or rather got murdered. It portrays us how violent was the time in columbo when the Journalist like Daryl uncle was abused and murdered.

In chapter 4, “Small Choices”, we get to know about Arjie’s feelings for the male character Jegan, who came to work in Appa’s hotel. This is the chapter where Arjie started to know about his identity but hide from the outer world as it was against the norms, which Arjie felt his feelings for men is Immorality. This chapter also counts about Anti- Tamilians and how these community was making a life miserable for the innocent people of Columbo.

Often, we know who we are, what is our identity, but because of the taboo inflicted in the society, we escape from our originality and behave as how the society wants to picture us. This is what Arjie was doing to be a normal ideal boy, but somewhere he was an abnormal boy (according to him) because of his gay feelings for the character Shehan in chapter 5, “The Best School of All “show us. When Arjie fell in love with Shehan, his perception for life and his ideology of his identity changed when he met shehan and shehan removed all the perplexed thoughts floating in the minds of Arjie. Shehan made Arjie realized that “We should ultimately know who we are! We should not hide identity from ourselves”. This is what made Arjie realize that he should respect himself and his identity. This was the chapter where he was not afraid of who he was and his sexual desires for Shehan was totally legit. In this chapter, Arjie was proud to be himself as a gay and his love for Shehan was compatible.

In “Riot Journal: An Epilogue’’ is the last chapter where Arjie wrote a journal on the effects and incidents of riots and its impact how ruined his life and lost his parents. The books end in a dismal and with a sense of alienation of Arjie and the tragic feelings inculcated and made him hollow.

Funny Boy – A Novel to explore one’s own identity !

Still unending war a human faces within himself/ Herself when it is about recognizing one’s own identity. We Humans have a psychology of hiding our real personality infront of other humans which is basically due to the age old cliché ideology of “Acceptance in the society”, due to which people hide there real self.

As Humans, we live in society and communities in which we have an urge of desire that we need love, cherishment, respect and acceptance in return, thus when we don’t get it we realize we are different from others, which ultimately makes us feel that we are an outcast from our society. so, as a part of community we behave as the world wants us to behave.

Whereas, “The Funny Boy” is the best novel of all which provides you that particular kind of Catharsis if you not aware of yourself!

So, a personal recommendation to the Bibliophile out there , Go check this Book which is not only a homosexual novel, but a novel which is Heartening and will open your insights to understand your real self.

How To Be More Assertive

I learned to be assertive from my mother. She always expresses her feelings, is comfortable with saying no, acts in her family’s best interest, and also thinks about the common good.

She’s the most assertive person I know. No one can take advantage of her. If you try, she will let you know about it. And you won’t like it. 

What is assertiveness actually? Robert E. Alberti and Michael L. Emmons are considered the lead experts in this field. Their book Your Perfect Right, first published in 1970, is considered a classic on the topic. They define assertive behavior as follows:

“Behavior which enables a person to act in his own best interests, to stand up for himself without undue anxiety, to express his honest feeling comfortably, or to exercise his own rights without denying the rights of others.”

In general, there are three types of behavior:

  1. Passive: Indirect, dishonest, does not take control, is nice at all cost, focuses on others.
  2. Assertive: Direct, honest, self-worth, to the point, focuses on the self, respects others.
  3. Aggressive: Harmful, egocentric, will to win at any cost, justifies the means, wants to control others.

If you watch our society, most behavior happens at the extremes. How often do you experience dishonesty at home, with your friends, and at work? It’s not always because people have evil intentions. Too often, it’s because most people are passive. They are afraid of the confrontation, and instead, they prefer to lie. 

But there are also a lot of aggressive people. People say that aggression is becoming more common in the world. I don’t know about that, but I do know that no one wants to be around aggressive people. 

The middle is where you want to be. You want to be respectful, firm, and not aggressive. That’s what assertiveness is all about.

An Assertiveness Technique 

But how do you become more assertive? Like anything in life you want to improve, you must practice. And the best way to practice is on aggressive people and in confrontational situations. 

Next time you experience a stressful situation or when you must deal with an aggressive person, do the following: Detach from the person and situation. Tell yourself you’re observing the situation. 

You never want to get emotionally involved. That’s the most important thing if you want to be more assertive. And once you’re detached, you simply get to the point. I know this sounds vague, so let me give you an example.

The other day I called a construction company that’s supposed to fix a leakage problem I had at my apartment. The guy tried to brush me off and wasn’t too subtle about it: “We don’t have anyone right now.”

I paused, detached from the situation, realized it wasn’t personal, and said: “What am I supposed to do? Let everything go to waste when it rains? What would you do?” 

It went on like that for a while until he finally said, “Alright, fine, I’ll come by myself.” Two hours later, he came to my apartment and fixed the leakage. Problem solved. 

Often, we escalate situations that are not necessarily bad. That’s because we allow them to become personal. But we must realize that other people have their own issues. It’s never personal. Or, we do the opposite: We do everything to avoid escalation. But that only works against us.

In the past, if something like this happened, I would say, “Okay. When can you send someone over?” And then I had to wait. That’s classic passivity.

In this world, you have to be assertive to get what you want. You don’t have to act like a bully, but you have to be a little demanding. I see it as honesty. I was simply honest with that guy. I had a problem that needed to be fixed.

It’s All About Practicing

When we become more assertive, we need to be careful not to overdo it. Otherwise, we risk becoming aggressive or overly dominant. Recent research showed that informal leaders were more liked and respected when they had “a moderate amount of assertiveness and warmth.”

That’s very accurate. When we are too nice, we risk that people take advantage of us. When we are too aggressive, we push people away. But if we’re direct and are respectful to people at the same time, we can get much more done together.

Unfortunately, you only become more assertive by being more assertive. You must practice. What helps is to see every social situation as a negotiation.

I highly recommend reading Never Split The Difference by Chris Voss. In fact, I learned the “How am I supposed to do that?” technique from that book. When people give you a proposal you don’t like, ask them that question. In my case, I changed it to “What am I supposed to do?” 

You put the ball in the other person’s court. That’s a good way to deal with difficult situations. Let others come up with a solution. But sometimes, people need a little push to make that happen. And that’s exactly what assertiveness is: A little push in the right direction.

INS vikraant

• Named after its predecessor – procured career.
 India’s first Majestic Class aircraft carrier
 Formerly called Hercules – acquired from Britain in 1957
 commissioned in 1961 as INS Vikrant
 1997 – decommissioned .

• First airbase reinforced warship of India .

• Also known as Indigenous Aircraft Carrier 1 (IAC-1).

• IAC boasts nearly 75% indigenous content.

• Informally called INS Vikrant 2.

• Currently under construction and conducting trials by Cochin Shipyard Limited in Kochi, Kerala

Specification

• Weighs up to 40,000 tonnes • Can carry up to 40 aircraft.

• To operate MiG-29K fighter aircraft, Kamov-31 Air Early Warning Helicopters, the soon-to-be-inducted MH-60R multi-role helicopter, and the indigenously manufactured Advanced Light Helicopters.

• Third air craft career INS Vishaal – expected to be commissioned in 2030.

Project Sea bird

• Largest naval infrastructure project for
India .

• 3 billion dollar programme. • Upon completion- largest naval base on the west coast and also the largest naval
base east of the Suez Canal.

• Project sea bird: project for creation of a naval base at Karwar on the west coast of India.

• Aims at providing fleet support and maintenance
of warships.

• Will be able to support several major warships and at least 30 vessels submarines and yard crafts .

• Naval Air Base will also have a maintenance
section.

• Totally spread across over 11,000 acres .

• Located on hilly terrain along the coast and by reclaiming the part of sea.

THE GOLDEN childhood DAYS

The golden days of childhood will never comeback.

The irony is when we are children we want to grow up fast but when we are an adult and we have to make choices, take decisions and bear responsibilities we want to return to our golden childhood days

I say it golden because it so precious and valuable to us when we talk about childhood days we always remember it as our best time in our life.

Do you guys remember how we used to bunk school when it rains ,and how happy we used to feel when the school used to declare holiday on weekdays unexpectedly

I know most of you also tried to fool your mother by saying you have stomachache or fever, so that you can stay at home but in vain they easily catch our tricks. we are the fools to think we can fool our parents.

we used to love when teachers give us free sports period so that we can play, we used to play so many games, playing rock paper scissors ,hand cricket, ice or water, hide and seek.

when we used to win prizes in events conducted by school and we used to do projects, we used to go to trips to museums, zoo and parks.

Especially sharing food in break time and trying different varieties was also memorable.

We feel so elated by thinking that we made a masterpiece by drawing whatever we used to feel and as you guys already for making a masterpiece the paint should be everywhere else except on the paper.

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Pexels.com

I used to love playing with bubbles, especially playing with balloons, and flying kites on the occasion of sankranthi.

I used to love the time we used to spend playing word games, singing songs in bus while coming home ,and not to forget the card games and board games .Racing with bicycles and skating also used to be my favourite leisure time.

How can we forget all the kinds of snacks like pichu mithai(sugar candy), coconut toffee, biscuits, so many varieties and also the figurines we used to win

Waking up early mornings to watch your favorite cartoon was always so fun, but we used to be always late for school. I know we have got our own priorities first ,hehe

Do you guys still remember how we use to use glitter pens ,sketch pens ,stickers and various types of things to decorate our projects, and the pride we used feel when our drawing or project are displayed on the notice board ,participating in quiz competitions, debates were also fun

Every time we used to think of new stories to write in the exam and end up writing film stories > <

Photo by Helena Lopes on Pexels.com

Those days where running even a small errand for mother and bringing back the exact amount was a matter of pride and was always excited to run errands for them unlike. The things which we used to do happily are a hassle now.

I know we are grown ups and we should understand and be more matured about the situations

But its ok to miss those days and bring out our memories into our present. Its ok to enjoy the things that we like and enjoy, age doesn’t matter.

People can still spend some time on themselves, on their own happiness and don’t care about this whole” you are an adult you cant like these thing at your age, you can’t do this at your age”.

Child hood is a phase that everyone goes through and that golden time will never comeback, but we should never forget lessons learnt in our childhood.

The main thing, the essence of our childhood that is the pure happiness we feel from encountering smallest things is our golden time although short but definitely sweet

Thankyou^^ and keep smiling.

ONLINE VS OFFLINE CLASS – WHICH MAKES BETTER SENSE?

We all live in a society where education is taught in schools and colleges in the classroom environment. We have been following this method of teaching from a very old time. Suddenly we were forced to face a situation like a pandemic and were told to make ourselves ready for whatever is going to happen next. As a result of the lockdown schools, colleges and all other educational institutions were shut. The government advised the institutions to take up classes through online mode. When all the students and teachers heard this, it created a mere shock. But we had no other option to choose. So, we started to adapt ourselves to the situation. It has been almost more than a year by now since schools and colleges started to function online. Having a year of experience taking up classes online, I would like to describe the pros and cons of both online and offline classes that I have understood.

ONLINE CLASS 

Starting with the advantages we gained through online classes, all of us would have felt that we got more time for relaxing and engaging ourselves in doing our hobbies. When we had offline classes, we would spend time dressing up and traveling to school or college. But online, we don’t have to spend our time on all that and we could use it effectively. Also, the training or lectures can be conducted from anywhere in the world. Participants are just needed to log on to their internet from anywhere. Online learning is more flexible as it is offered through many platforms. Another advantage that I felt personally is that people who were reluctant to open up and speak in the classroom gained some confidence and interacted in the online mode. This would help introverts to come out of their cages. It would also help them to build their interpersonal skills and come out of their comfort zone. In online teaching, the lectures are taken through videos, presentations, or activities which is more interactive than the conservative classroom environment and encourages students to engage with interest. 

OFFLINE CLASS

Although we have considerable advantages in online learning, we always prefer offline classes as we are conditioned to listen to lectures in that way from our childhood. Maybe online classes would be comfortable for kids even after when they grow since they are practiced to that way of learning. If we ask ourselves a question, whether we are comfortable with online class, we would say no but yes, we got used to it by now. Not only this we have many advantages in offline learning. The concepts related to mathematics and algorithms were clearer when it was taught in the board-chalk method and it would be easier for us as students to clarify our doubts. The student-teacher relationship is developed better in offline classes than on virtual platforms. The subjects that needed laboratory training would be possible only through offline mode. In offline classes, we would be made to sit in one place to listen to the lessons and we are not allowed to move from there. This would make something go into our heads as we have to look at the teacher’s face and make eye contact frequently. So even if we are not in the mood to listen, we would end up listening in one way or the other. But in the online way of teaching, there is no one to monitor us and our activities. We can do whatever we wanted to whenever it’s a boring session. This would affect only us as the students during their exams and skill test. Another one is that we couldn’t spend time with our friends virtually as we do in our schools and colleges. Those moments that we share in between the classes and breaks are heavenly and nothing can replace the joy that we get through chitchatting and roaming around with our gang.

So, both offline and virtual learning have their advantages but the online mode cannot provide as much pleasure and enjoyment as the real meetings. Let us hope and pray to get things better and come back to our normal lives with a bang.

WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

Is giving girls the right to education enough to define women’s empowerment? Or giving reserved seats in parliament sufficient to help them raise their voice for the country?

Women empowerment is defined as a process of enabling every woman in the country to live a quality standard of life by improving the conditions for education, awareness, literacy, and training. But this definition lacks the real-world problem that we as girls face every day like, going alone outside at night and wearing short dresses is still considered unethical for girls. It is believed in some parts of the country that doing the job is the second essential thing for women to hold positions and learn cooking and household errands still stand first. Even after reaching on top positions of the world, it is considered a duty of women to take care of their household and family more than the men of the family. So the empowerment we talk about is just partial and it will require a great deal to change the mindset of more than half the population to the country.

Economically independence is one thing, which many girls fight to attain, marriage is still considered the best alternative after a woman fails in perfectly setting up her career. We see many male candidates raising their voice for feminism but the real question is whether they know what real feminism stands for or it just became a trend to follow?

Barriers in this process are explained by a condition where women are put in a position where they need to make the decision of whether to maintain in the workforce or have children, which has led to the debate over maternity leave in many other countries in the world. A desk job is preferred over a physical one arguing that women lack the physical structure to do heavy tasks. Even today girls dreaming of a technical career like engineering are made to think twice. Being a pilot for going in a field that is male dominant is the most difficult and challenging job for women. Everyone says that girls should dream big but that big requires big sacrifices in terms of almost everything.

Way ahead-

women empowerment indeed is an ongoing process and sometimes it lacks its significance but it is also true that it had made the political position of women much better than in ancient times not only it had helped women to attain knowledge of their rights but also have given many opportunities in the educational sector to prove their abilities. The process had given courage to many women to come forward and broke the stereotype thinking. This had made them come up with their problems as well as effective solutions. History had witnessed the strength and power of women, what all needed is to give them a platform in an unbiased way and let them show their qualities in their creative way.

Some beautiful quotes!

Beautiful Quotes

“I measure the progress of a community by the degree of progress which the women have achieved.”- B R Ambedkar

“If all men are born free, how is that all women are born slaves?”- Mary Astell

“Knowledge makes a man unfit to be a slave.”- Fredrick Douglas

“I alone cannot change the world, but I can alone cast a stone across waters to create many ripples.”-Mother Teresa

“A nation’s strength ultimately lies in what it can do on its own ,and not in what it can do with the help of others.”-Indira Gandhi

“I have fought against white domination and I have fought against the black domination. I have cherished the ideal of democracy and a free society in which all people live in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal that I hope to live for and to achieve. But if need be ,it is abnn ideal for which I am prepared to die.”-Nelson Mandela

“India is a cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grandmother of tradition. Our most valuable and most constructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only.”-Mark Twain

“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”-Abraham Lincoln

“Justice implies something which is not only right to do and wrong to do, but which some individual person can claim from us as their moral right.”-John Stuart Mill

“The Ganga to me is a symbol of India’s memorable past which has been flowing in the present and continues to flow towards the ocean of future. ”-Jawaharlal Nehru

“…I step down the ghats, bathe in the Ganga, walk up to the Masjid for namaz, and then head straight to the Balaji temple for riyaz… ”-Bismillah Khan on living in Benaras

John Milton’s Paradise Lost

OF MAN’S first disobedience

Paradise Lost referring to mythical concept, what is a myth? A symbol, elaborated in the form of a story. Myth embodies the nearest approach to absolute truth which perhaps cannot be expressed in rational words and best presented in a story – Coomaraswamy. To say that something is a myth – in this way – profound/theological sense, which is beyond just the actual facts of history, it could of happened. Almost precious possession .. sacred, exemplary, significant. May be based on a historical event, may be based on entirely fictional imaginings, but is either case, it carries an other-that-literal meaning that is open to interpretation. Myth becomes part of a collective unconscious, it’s not just a legend – need not embody any kind of truth, rather it’s a myth – which is true. 

Adam and Eve – in the Garden of Eden – Paradise – Masculine God – ‘it’s all yours, to cherish, to nurture, to grow, to develop, and only one thing I ask, is you to not eat the fruit from the middle tree – the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil’ and now Satan who wants to get back at God – any by attacking these Humans whom God loves so much – to lead them away from Virtue – who then attacks Eve – and convinces her, on why must God not want them to eat of the tree, for he had eaten it and noting happened, so if you eat you may become like me – god – she lures Adam into the plan – God realises this catastrophe and casts them out of the paradise, now doomed to death, struggling to ear their food, and all the natural thing became much more arduous, laboured. Our transition from moving from the animal state to the human – part of it is understanding right v/s wrong, death, seriousness of life; therefore every race of humanity have moved through this stage – as part of growing up we began to realise the cause and effect – the pain. That recognition a a part of growing up, it becomes part of the way we think, we are conditioned, we are reenacted it psychologically as we grow into an adult. And after the realization, we still act on the negatives, then that is punishable.