Tag: Literature

Literature broadly is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include oral literature, much of which has been transcribed.

WHY READING IS IMPORTANT IN TODAY’S WORLD

Amidst our daily lives filled with activities throughout our entire day from the crack of dawn to dusk, we often find ourselves multi-tasking with little to no time for our own wellness. Our constant need for checking social media instead for trying to gather more knowledge and trying to learn new things has not helped much in improving the situation at all. When was the last time you picked up a book and were actually able to finish it? Certainly we may not always have time to read books in our busy schedules. However, trying does not hurt at all. Reading is an activity that might have picked up ever since we were kinds. It is actually a privilege; being able to read and write is a privilege in itself. But sometimes we severely fail to acknowledge this.

Photo of Opened Book

Reading comes with a variety of benefits. Some of them are discussed as follows:-

HELPS IMPROVE CONCENTRATION AND FOCUS

As multi-task away our days into oblivion, when we actually nothing getting done at times, it can be quite frustrating when we are just trying to do our best. We might get distracted by that twitter notification or that whatsapp message from the friend’s group planning a reunion.This results us in losing our focus and make us completely forget what we were actually doing in the first place. However, reading can really help us solve this issue at hand. A number of studies have shown that reading around 15-20 minutes a day can significantly improve your focus and concentration levels to a maximum.

Boy in Gray Jacket Reading Book

So, read a book to focus on your everyday tasks better!

MAKES US EMPATHETIC

Woman in White Shirt Reading Book

Reading a book about the experiences of everyday racism tolerate by African-american people may help us understand the major problem of the world that affects these innocent souls at a massive scale. Certainly, in such cases, books may help us to become more empathetic towards the way we observe and perceive things in our life. We may become kinder and compassionate to our fellow beings, all thanks to our books.

So, make the world a better place by initiating a change and start reading!

MAKES US BETTER AT COMMUNICATION

Readings book can actually make us a better communicator. This is evident through the fact that a we read books, knowing about stories, differing point of views, they offer us common ground for analysing the various side of arguments. This may help us in our everyday conversations as we are often able to understand the situations in better manner, keeping in mind not only our requirements but that of the other parties as well. This helps us communicate without any chances of misunderstandings and makes sure that the conversation is fruitful and productive.

Man Reading Book

Furthermore, reading also makes us an interesting person too. People would often prefer and like to interact with the ones that have knowledge about what they are saying and actually understand the depth of their words.

In conclusion, we can say that reading may be life-changing for the ones who try it. So,try reading to understand people and even yourself better!

Tips to learn a new language faster

Learning a new language often considered as really tough task, but is it true? Maybe for some, but the real truth is if followed right resources and direction is definitely an task to do so. So for this here are some tips that might help you.

1) Know about the language that you are going to learn

By writing this I mean one should know what language is he or she going to learn. If you have clear idea of what actually you are going to learn will help you to set almost perfect goals which will ultimately help you to do what you want.

2) Set goals

Setting goals to learn a new language will help you to go far and keep yourself ahead. Goal setting should be done after being familiar by the subject.

3) Set small goals

Setting small goals will help you to complete your work on given time. Setting small goals will also help you to analyse yourself and keep your records on track.

4) Analyse yourself

Analysing is an art if done properly will take you way to far. Whenever do things do them on time and analyse what mistakes you make or what are the problem that you have encountered.

5) Challenge yourself

This part will help you to grow. grow beyond your limits. But one thing to keep in mind while doing so is do not challenge yourself more than what will harm you. Doing this in moderation will definitely help but if done excessive will also harm.

6) Use the language as frequently as you can

If you do so it will help you to retain things faster. It will also help you to clear your vocabulary and pronunciation and also will help you to keep everything you learn stored in your brain for a long time.

7) Test yourself

At the end complete your learning and test your self this will help you to know how much you have learn about the language.

Hope you will like my blog follow the steps and go ahead. Happy learning!

How to become A Leader

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Transformational leaders are positive, empowering, and inspiring. They value followers and inspire them to perform better. So what can you do to embrace these valued leadership qualities and become a stronger and more effective leader?

Understand Your Leadership Style: Understanding your current leadership style is essential. What are your strengths? Which areas need some improvement? One way to start assessing your skills is to take this leadership style quiz to get a general idea of how you lead.

Once you have completed the quiz, read about the major characteristics of your dominant style. Are these qualities helping or hindering your leadership? Once you’ve determined which areas need some work, you can begin looking for ways to improve your leadership abilities.

Encourage Creativity: One way to foster creativity is to offer challenges to group members, making sure that the goals are within the grasp of their abilities. The purpose of this type of exercise is to get people to stretch their limits but not become discouraged by barriers to success.

Show Passion: You can develop this leadership quality by thinking of different ways that you can express your zeal. Let people know that you care about their progress. When one person shares something with the rest of the group, be sure to tell them how much you appreciate such contributions.

Communicate Effectively: Another important quality of transformational leadership involves a focus on providing one-on-one communication with group members. Transformational leadership is effective when leaders are able to communicate their vision to followers, who then feel inspired and motivated by this vision.

Part of the trust-building process is creating an environment where it’s safe to take risks and allows you and your employees to comfortably exchange candid, honest and direct feedback without the fear of being punished.

It’s important you provide ample channels for two-way communication between employees and managers, and also solicit and reward them for their ideas and contributions. This facilitates progress toward reaching organizational goals. As a leader, you should foster trust and cooperation. Leaders can paint a vision of the future that inspires the team to do whatever it takes to get there.

And as a coach, you have to inspire action that will help execute that goal. Reinforce an honest and candid environment without taking information personally. Equally treat everyone like you would want to be treated.

Give credit where credit is due. Say “thank you,” be encouraging, and try to put yourself in their shoes to better understand their everyday challenges.

You have to support and assist your team. Give them the confidence to take risks and speak up without being punished.

When the mistake is yours, take ownership. Don’t try to blame someone else, the situation or a circumstance.

Be credible – people want to follow an honest leader. Be candid about why things didn’t work out, learn from the mistake and move on. People will trust someone who actively displays honesty. As you work toward developing some of these leadership qualities, don’t forget to look to your followers for feedback and inspiration. Pay attention to the things that have been effective in the past and always be on the lookout for new ways to inspire, motivate, and reward group members.

VEDANGAS – THE LIMBS OF THE VEDAS

Vedangas are the six forms i.e., the six auxiliary disciples of Vedas. It is said to be the six limbs of the Purusha called Veda. 

  1. Shiksha (Education) – Nose 
  2. Kalpa (Ritual) – Arms
  3. Vyakarana (Grammar) – Mouth 
  4. Nirukta (Etymology) – Ears 
  5. Chhanda (Metrics) – Feet 
  6. Jyotisha (Astronomy) – Eyes 

SHIKSHA

It is referred to as the nose of the body. Shiksha is related to giving instructions through recitation. It consists of instructions for correct pronunciation and accent of the Samhita texts. It mainly focuses on phonetics and gives the rules for the sound of syllables and pronunciation. Phonetics decides the sound changes while recitation and hence becomes very important for Vedic language. The aim is to attain 

  • Akshara suddhi – syllable purity
  • Swara suddhi – tone and pitch purity
  • Maatraa suddhi – durational purity
  • Balam – the force of articulation
  • Samam – evenness
  • Santana – continuity

KALPA

Kalpa is the arm of the Vedas. It speaks about rules for the right method of performing the rituals. These rules are followed in ceremonies such as weddings, naming functions, and other ceremonies. It has its origin from the brahmana texts of the Veda. These are written in sutra style, referring to sacrifices. Kalpa sutras are divided into 

  • Srautasutras – contains rules for performing different sacrifices and rituals.
  • Smarthasutras – further partitioned into 
    • Grihyasutras – gives domestic rites and rituals for the three castes namely – Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, and the responsibilities for the household life.
    • Dharmasutras – gives rules for behaviour and talks about the four stages of life

VYAKARANA

Vyakarana is called the grammar for the Vedas. It is essential for the formation of sentences, phrases, and words. It is the mouth of the Vedas. It is necessary for understanding the Vedas. It is related to the next Vedanga, Nirukta. It is written by scholars named Panini and Yaska. It consists of 4000 sutras which belong to the four padas of the eight chapters. The four divisions are 

  • Siva sutras – deals with phonetics and intonation
  • Ashtadhyayi – deals with sentence structure and construction
  • Dhatupadha – deals with root words
  • Ganapadha – deals with a group of nouns and phrases

NIRUKTA

Nirukta is the ear of the Veda purusha. It means etymology and tells why a word is chosen for the context and the meaning of the used word. It is generally called the Kosa or the dictionary. It deals with the interpretation of obscure and difficult words and provides insights into the hidden meaning delivered in the content. Hence, the study of Nirukta becomes essential to understand the concealed meaning and linguistic significance of the texts.

CHHANDA

It is regarded as the feet of the Veda Purusha. The word Chhanda is derived from the term Chad meaning to cover. It deals with the metrics to be used in the Vedic hymns. A sloka generally consists of four quarters called paadas. Based on the number of syllables in each paada, there are different meters.

  • Gayatri – 8 syllables
  • Trishtup – 11 syllables
  • Jagati – 12 syllables

JYOTISHA

Jyotisha is the eyes of the Vedas and it means astronomy or astrology. It gives knowledge about auspicious dates and times for the ceremonies and rituals to be performed. This is determined based on the position of the sun, the moon, the planets, and other heavenly bodies. It is believed that the rituals succeed when performed under the influence of a particular graha, nakshatra, or thithi. This is calculated using some mathematical calculations and hence mathematics forms an integral part of it.

Affordable places to visit in india

India the land of culture, heritage, devotion and beauty. There are many beautiful places to visit in India and we cannot talk about all places in this article. So, here are 4 affordable places to visit. If you are travel lover then this is great for you all.

1) Goa

Goa is one of the cheapest country to visit. Alcohol is also very cheap here. You can have unlimited fun and crazy party all night and can even return with full pocket. The best time of the year to visit is October to March. Must visit places to visit is Calangute Beach, Fort Aguada, Dudhsagar falls, Anjuna beach. Goa is also known for its cruise and its water sports. You can check many websites for price. Average 4 days/ 3 Nights will cost you around 12,000 per adult on twin sharing with many amenities.

2) Nainital, uttarakhand

Nainital is famous for its misty lakes and mountains. Nainital is very beautiful hill station. It is also known for its cheap hotels and meals. You can do boating here at barely any cost. The area of interest lies in its name which it has gotten from the eye shaped Lake the Naini Lake thus due to this eye shaped Lake it’s called Nainital. Must visit places include Naini Lake, Tiffin top, Snow view point, Mall road, Eco cave gardens and High Altitude zoo. Average 3 days/ 2 Nights will cost you around 4,500 Rs per adult on twin sharing with other amenities as well. It can be seen that how much affordable is this place. Best time to visit is throughout the year.

3) Udaipur, Rajasthan

Udaipur also know as city of lakes. It is also called as Venice of East. It is also termed as jewel. It has abundance of natural beauty, awesome architecture and breathtaking temples. Must visit places include Lake pichola, City Palace, Fateh Sagar Lake, Jaisamand Lake, Sajjangarh palace, Jagdish temple. In addition to this it cost very less on average 6 days/ 5 night stay cost you around 17,700 INR per adult on twin sharing. Best time to visit is from October to March.

4) Darjeeling, West Bengal

Darjeeling also know as Queen of Himalayas, has jaw dropping and mesmerizing sunrises, the breathtaking beauty of the hills, the charm of past and all those beautiful smile of beautiful people. It is one of the most appealing hill station. And all chai lovers it offers best quality chai. Hotels and lodges are at reasonable price and it’s also cheap. Must visit places include Darjeeling Himalayan railway, Tiger hill, Batasia loop, Himalayan mounteering institute, Darjeeling ropeway and Nightingale park. Average 4 days/ 5 nights will cost around 8,375 Rs per adult on twin sharing. Best time to visit is from February to March and September to December.

So these are the places that have jaw dropping and breathtaking beauty. Apart from this they are also very affordable and hence you can easily visit with low money in your pocket. You can even check rates on different websites and there you may can get offers too. Hope you all like it.

VEDAS

The word Veda means Knowledge. Vedas are the earliest piece of literature that was written in the Sanskrit language. These were handed down from one generation to the other orally by the pandits who learned this from their ancestors. Even if there were no facilities to preserve the Vedas through the art of writing, it is preserved by transmitting to the generations orally. In Hindu culture, Vedas are considered spiritual and everlasting revelations. Vedas come under Shruti which means what is being heard. There are four Vedas, each of which was composed of different ages. However, it is believed that it always existed and sages chanted this in their deep meditative states. The four Vedas are – Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Atharva Veda.

RIG VEDA

The earliest of Vedas is the Rig Veda. It is a set of 1028 hymns in Vedic Sanskrit. Many of those are beautiful descriptions of nature. The prayers in this seek prosperity and well developed and cultured society. It is believed that these compositions are the natural outburst of Vedic rishis when they went through the mental transcendental stage. Some of the prominent rishis of this period are Vasistha, Gautama, Gritasamada, Vamadeva, Vishvamitra and Atri. Indra, Agni, Varun, Rudra, Aditya, Vayu, Aditi, and Ashwini twins are the eminent gods of this Veda whereas Usha (the goddess of dawn), Vak (the goddess of speech), and Prithvi (the goddess of earth) are the notable goddess of the Rig Veda. Do you know that the majority of the hymns spoke of universally recognized higher values of life like truthfulness, honesty, dedication, sacrifice, politeness, and culture? Rig Veda also provides knowledge about the social, political, and financial conditions of ancient India apart from religion.

YAJUR VEDA

The word Yajur means sacrifice or veneration. This Veda is mostly related to Rites and mantras of different sacrifices. It tells the directions and ways to conduct the yajnas. It is a mixture of both prose and poetry. Being a treatise on rituals, it’s the foremost popular of the four Vedas. Yajur Veda has two main divisions called Shukla and Krishna Yajur Veda i.e., Vajasaneyi Samhita and Taitriya Samhita. This mainly talks about the social and religious aspects of India at that time.

SAMA VEDA 

The term Sama means melody or songs. This contains the tunes for the recitation of Hymns. Sama Veda is mainly of 16,000 ragas and raginis which means musical notes. Only 75 verses out of 1875 verses are original and others belong to the Rig Veda. However, the Sama Veda gives the tunes for the recitation of the hymns of the Rig Veda. It may be called the book of Chants (Saman). This book stands as evidence of Indian music during this era.

ATHARVA VEDA

The Atharva Veda is also called the Brahma Veda. It talks about the treatment for ninety-nine diseases. This Veda is originated from the 2 rishis called Atharvah and Angiras. The Atharva Veda is of immense value because it represents the religious ideas at an early period of civilization. It consists of two main branches namely, Paipaddala and Saunaka. This book gives detailed information about the family, social and political life of the later Vedic period. To know the Vedas, it becomes mandatory to know the Vedangas, the limbs of the Vedas. The Vedangas talk about Siksha (education), Vyakarana (grammar), Kalpa (rituals), Nirukta (etymology), Chhanda (metrics), and Jyotisha (astronomy). 

Each Veda is composed of 4 parts: The Mantra-Samhitas or hymns, The Brahmanas or explanations of Mantras or rituals, Aranyakas, and Upanishads. The division of the Vedas into four parts is to suit the four stages during a man’s life.

The ode

Introduction:

The Ode may be defined as a ‘rhymed lyric often in the form of an address, generally dignified or exalted in the subject, feeling and style’. It is also defined as any ‘strain of enthusiastic or exalted lyrical verse directed to fixed purpose and dealing progressively with a dignified theme’. An ode is noted for its logical evolution of thoughts and it has a certain amount of complexity and elaboration, unlike a simple lyric.

An ode usually begins with an address to somebody or something. Sometimes the opening line or lines may contain an apostrophe as in the case of Shelley’s ‘Ode to the west wind’ or Tennyson’s ‘To Virgil’s. An ode may be written on an important public event or the death of a distinguished person. Marvell’s ‘Ode upon Cromwell’s Return from Ireland’ belongs to the first category and Tennyson’s ‘Ode on the Death of Duke of Wellington’ belongs to the second category.

Origin of Ode:

The ode is of Greek origin. There were two traditions of odes in Greece. The first type of the Dorian mode was so called from the district and dialect in which it arose. It is also called the Pindaric ode because Pindar, the ancient Greek poet, was its greatest exponent. The second type of ode is the lesbian old so-called because it flourished at first on the island of lesbos. It is also called the horatian ode because the great Latin poet Horace was its best practitioner. Thomas Gray’s odes ‘The progress of Poesy” and “The Bard” belong to the Dorian or Pindaric school. Marvell’s ‘Ode upon Cromwell’s Return from Ireland’ is the best example of a Horatian ode in English.

A pindaric or Dorian ade consists of three parts:

The strophe, the anti-strophe, and the epode. they correspond to the three stages of the recital of an ode during a dance. The Horatian ode consists of several short stanzas similar in length and arrangement.

In the early stages, the English ode was influenced by the two Greek models. But gradually the English ode begins to pursue a course of its own. There are two types of odes in English, the regular and the regular.

Regular odes:

The regular odes have a series of exactly similar stanzas as in the odes of Keats. Other examples of regular verbs are Collin’s ‘ode to evening’ and Shelley’s ‘ode to the west wind’.

Irregular odes:

Irregular odes have tons of different lengths and arrangements. There are sudden changes in versification, meter, and mood. Wordsworth’s Ode on Intimations of Immortality from recollections of early childhood and Coleridge’s ‘Dejection: An Ode’ are good examples of irregular odes.

Some famous odes:

  • Ode To A Nightingale John Keats. My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains.
  • Ode On A Grecian Urn John Keats.
  • Ode To Autumn John Keats.
  • Ode To The West Wind Percy Bysshe Shelley.
  • Ode To Wine Pablo Neruda.
  • Ode To Sadness Pablo Neruda.
  • Ode On Solitude Alexander Pope.
  • Ode To The Book Pablo Neruda.

Conclusion:

In English Ben Jonson, Milton and Gray wrote Pindaric Odes. Marvell road Horatian odes. Other important poets who wrote odes were Spenser, Collins, Keats, Shelley, and Tennyson. Perhaps the ode is the most popular lyrics form except the Sonnet.

The Lyric

The Science Fiction

Metamorphosis – Book Review

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Gregor Samsa is a salesman who wakes up to find himself transformed into a monstrous vermin. Lying on his bed, he worries about himself and while he has time, contemplates upon the consequences of his metamorphosis. He wonders about his life, his family and the way in which his life and career has turned out to be. He thinks about he is struck with his job only because of his father’s debt and that no relationship in his life ever came from heart.

His family is horrified when they learn of this transformation when the office clerk pushes his way into Gregor’s room. The family, no longer financially stable decide to get jobs and when they do, they start neglecting Gregor more and more only to end up using his room as a store room and giving away a room in their house on rent. Gregor’s sister is the only one willing to give him food in all this while. One day, when Gregor’s sister accidentally breaks a bottle of medicine, his father hurls an apple on him, which gets struck in a sensitive spot on his back and he lies in his room in agony. And one day, he scares the tenants who threaten legal action over the unhygienic conditions of the house.

Grete, Gregor’s sister realises that Gregor is but a liability and asks her parents to get rid of “it”. Hearing the conversation, Gregor goes into his room and dies before sunsrise. The family rejoices his death by taking a day off and ride on a ferry down the countryside. Gregor’s mother exclaims that Grete has grown beautiful despite all problems and they must find her a good husband.

Kafka’s metamorphosis is considered to be a classic in literature. It is a story of a changing society and how necessities cause a metamorphosis in households and in society in general.

When are you reading this tale of humanity?

THE HISTORICAL NOVEL

Introduction:

The Historical Novel is a work of fiction that attempts to convey the spirit manners and the social conditions of the past age with realistic details and nearly perfect fidelity to historical facts. The subject matter may compass both public and private events. The protagonist may be an actual historical figure or an invented figure. The historical novel can be The dramatic interest of plot and character with the more or less detailed picture of the varied features of the life of a particular age. The most important feature of the historical novel is its vivid reproduction of the life of a bygone age.

Even before the coming of the historical novel comer writers had used history in their novels. As a result of the impulse to word novelty during the Renaissance and after several writers made use of history. In England, Horace Walpole used a particular period in history as background to his Gothic novels.

First Historical novel:

The passing away of the feudal system created and nostalgia for the past. compared with social and economical changes caused by the French Revolution and the industrial revolution, This nostalgia created the proper climate for the emergence of the historical novel. The first great historical novel in English was Sir Walter Scott’s Waverley published in 1814. A series of novels based on Scottish history appeared. Among them, the most important is “Guy Mannering”, Kenilworth, Old Morality, and “The Heart of Midlothian”. Among the more popular of Scott’s novels are “Ivanhoe” and the Talisman dealing with the Crusades. In this novel, memory and imagination serve Scott’s creative purpose of the central narrative is supported by a strong love of humanity.

The tradition of the historical novel continued into the story and age. Charles Dicken’s “A tale of two cities” Thackeray’s “The history of Henry Esmond Esquire” George Eliot “Romola” and Charles Reade’s “The cloister and the Hearth” is important historical novels of the Victorian period. In the continent, the historical novel florist in the writings of Balzac, Dumas, and Tolstoy. It is generally agreed that Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” is the greatest among the historical novel. “Robert Grave’s I Claudius” is another historical novel of significance.

The historical novel marches on one side with the realistic novel and the other side with the national epic. Saintsbury has remarked that historical novelists give only a subordinate position to the actual historical figure and should allot a prominent position to the imaginary figure because the chief object of the novel is the interpretation of the human character.

In the Historical novel, The recreation of the spirit undertone of the bygone ages is more important than other runs to the truth. The historical novel list has to reconcile the clients of history and art.

Conclusion:

The historical novel has limitations for stop it is suffering from the weakness of both history and novel. Unless the novelist is scholarly and unprejudiced, he is likely to give you a half-digested and biased view of historical facts. It is also open to question whether the imaginative recreation of facts is preferably the fact to themselves.

The Humanitarian Movements

The Social Novel

Love or friendship

Love is an intense feeling towards someone but as a science student I call it just hormonal action.

Friendship is the purest love…

– osho

Friendship is the sweetest form of love. Try to find love and friendship both in same person.

It is an intense affection towards a person or thing. It maybe anything like if a person read the novel and their hobby is to read a novel. By doing this he or she is just forget everything what is happening in this whole world. They can do anything just to read the next part of the book. Their mood is depend on what is going on in that novel.

Like if a person attracted towards someone, then the person sacrifice their own happiness for them.

As parents sacrifice their happiness just for the sake of their child’s happiness. They do everything just to see a smile on our face. that

Mother’s and father’s love is very different as we see mother’s love everyday Like- how can she make good meals for us, she make us feel good when we at our worst.

If we need something we don’t directly go to the Dad, we just say that to the mom and as a postman mom deliver our messages to the Dad. And she convinces the dad for doing that.

Dad don’t show us that how much they love us, how much day care for us. But he do every single thing everyday just to give us some comfort.

I Remember one thing in when my mom was admitted to the hospital, my dad has a bicycle there was a little seat on its rod and where I used to sit and a seat is also on back of the bicycle where my brother was used to sit. Dad take us to the hospital by bicycle and we used to talk all over the way to the hospital and it is best my memory of life.

My Dad was dropping and picking me up after school is my best memories of school time.

Dad work all the day just for us. So that we spend time with mom. And that is another way of showing love.

Dad was always doing things for me we talked like friends. And also my mom behave like a friend to me. We always share our feelings, everything. Mom never judge me what I say. She always understands my intentions. She always wants me to do right. She motivates me.

Whenever I think of that time, Nostalgia hit me like a truck.

In today’s world everyone thought love is just only between two couples.

Love has no limitations. It may be started from a little child’s affection towards their toy to a various sacrifices of our parents.

Pure love has sacrifices, trust, affection, care, mutual understanding. There is no space for selfishness.

Friendship is very important in every single relationship.

If there is no friendship in between parent – student, teacher – student, 2 couples or every single relationship then that relationship has to end at last.

Like we observe the relationship between 2 best friends are unbroken. No matter what happens between them their bond always remains same.

So only love is not necessary for a relationship, friendship is more important.

In every relationship, love and friendship both is very important.

SYLVIA PLATH

 WHO WAS SYLVIA PLATH?

Born in 1932 to middle-class parents in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, Sylvia Plath published her first poem at the age of eight. A sensitive person who tended to be a bit of a perfectionist she was what many would consider a model daughter and student – popular, a straight-A student, always winning the best prizes. She won a scholarship to Smith College in 1950 and even then she had an enviable list of publications. She wrote over four hundred poems.


However, beneath the surface of her seeming perfection were some grave discontinuities, some of which probably were caused by the death of her father, an entomologist, when she was eight.

During the summer after her junior year in college, Sylvia made her first (and almost successful) attempt at suicide by overdosing on sleeping pills. The experience is described in her autobiographical novel, The Bell Jar, published in 1963. After a period of recovery, which involved electroshock and psychotherapy she once again pursued academic and literary success, graduating from Smith summa cum laude in 1955 and winning a Fulbright scholarship to study in Cambridge, England.


In 1956 she married Ted Hughes, an English poet, and in 1960, at the age of twenty-eight, she published her first book, The Colossus in England. The poems found in the book clearly showed the dedication with which she pursued her apprenticeship, yet they only gave a taste of what was to come in the poems she began writing in early 1961. She and Hughes settled for a brief time in an English country village in Devon, England. However, less than two years after the birth of their first child the marriage disintegrated.

In the winter of 1962-63, one of the coldest in centuries, Sylvia lived in a small flat in London, with her two children, ill with the flu and nearly broke. She would sometimes finish a poem a day. In her last poems, death is given a cruel, physical allure and psychic pain becomes almost tactile.

On February 11, 1963, Sylvia Plath succeeded in killing herself with cooking gas at the age of thirty. Two years after her death, Ariel, a collection of some of her last poems was published, which was followed by Crossing the Water and Winter Trees in 1971, and in 1981 The Collected Poems was published, edited by none other than Ted Hughes.

SOME OF HER WORKS

1. MIRROR

I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions.
Whatever I see I swallow immediately
Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike.
I am not cruel, only truthful ‚
The eye of a little god, four-cornered.
Most of the time I meditate on the opposite wall.
It is pink, with speckles. I have looked at it so long
I think it is part of my heart. But it flickers.
Faces and darkness separate us over and over.

Now I am a lake. A woman bends over me,
Searching my reaches for what she really is.
Then she turns to those liars, the candles or the moon.
I see her back, and reflect it faithfully.
She rewards me with tears and an agitation of hands.
I am important to her. She comes and goes.
Each morning it is her face that replaces the darkness.
In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman
Rises toward her day after day, like a terrible fish.

2. A LIFE

ouch it: it won’t shrink like an eyeball,
This egg-shaped bailiwick, clear as a tear.
Here’s yesterday, last year —-
Palm-spear and lily distinct as flora in the vast
Windless threadwork of a tapestry.

Flick the glass with your fingernail:
It will ping like a Chinese chime in the slightest air stir
Though nobody in there looks up or bothers to answer.
The inhabitants are light as cork,
Every one of them permanently busy.

At their feet, the sea waves bow in single file.
Never trespassing in bad temper:
Stalling in midair,
Short-reined, pawing like paradeground horses.
Overhead, the clouds sit tasseled and fancy

As Victorian cushions. This family
Of valentine faces might please a collector:
They ring true, like good china.

Elsewhere the landscape is more frank.
The light falls without letup, blindingly.

A woman is dragging her shadow in a circle
About a bald hospital saucer.
It resembles the moon or a sheet of blank paper
And appears to have suffered a sort of private blitzkrieg.
She lives quietly

With no attachments, like a foetus in a bottle,
The obsolete house, the sea, flattened to a picture
She has one too many dimensions to enter.
Grief and anger, exorcised,
Leave her alone now.

The future is a grey seagull
Tattling in its cat-voice of departure.
Age and terror, like nurses, attend her,
And a drowned man, complaining of the great cold,
Crawls up out of the sea.

3. CUT

What a thrill –
My thumb instead of an onion.
The top quite gone
Except for a sort of hinge

Of skin,
A flap like a hat,
Dead white.
Then that red plush.

Little pilgrim,
The Indian’s axed your scalp.
Your turkey wattle
Carpet rolls

Straight from the heart.
I step on it,
Clutching my bottle
Of pink fizz. A celebration, this is.
Out of a gap
A million soldiers run,
Redcoats, everyone.

Whose side are they on?
O my
Homunculus, I am ill.
I have taken a pill to kill

The thin
Papery feeling.
Saboteur,
Kamikaze man –

The stain on your
Gauze Ku Klux Klan
Babushka
Darkens and tarnishes and when
The balled
Pulp of your heart
Confronts its small
Mill of silence

How you jump –
Trepanned veteran,
Dirty girl,
Thumb stump.


THE SOCIAL NOVEL

The Social Novel may be defined as a fictional narrative that focuses on the varieties of human behavior in society and the way in which the characters reflect or contradict the values of that society.

In this genre, the characters are seen in the background of their social milieu and culture. The inner life of the characters find the place in such novels, greater importance is given to their conflicts and collisions with classes and believes. The essence of a social novel is the conflict between the individual and the society that surrounds him based on different concepts of values.

Two Groups of Social Novel:

Social novels can be divided into two groups.

  • The novel of Manners.
  • The novel of Civilization.

The novel of Manners:

The novel of manners is concerned with social behavior and its correctness in a given society. The concept of behavior achieves some grant moral effect as we find in the novels of Jane Austen “Pride and Prejudice” and Emma are the best examples. The novelist is preoccupied with the niceties of social conduct and often, commerce by the employment of Irony and satire exposes undesirable passions like arrogance, hypocrisy, and snobbery. Henry James’ novel ‘The ambassador’ is a successful social novel of manners. It depicts with great humor and delicacy the reaction of different American types to a European environment. Evelyn Waugh’s “A handful of dust” is a social novel of manners that presents The vision of sin and guilt in the modern world. The social novel of manners has a satiric structure as we find in Jane Austen. Even modern novelists make use of the same formula. For instance, Philip Roth satirizes the self-protective attitude of the modern middle class in his novel ‘Goodbye Columbus’.

The novel of Civilization:

The social novel of Civilization takes a comprehensive view of the whole Civilization. The best examples are Charles Dickens’s “Little Dorrit” and Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” the novel Civilization aims at revealing the meanings, principles, and social styles that govern people’s lives. The action of individuals is examined in the light of the Civilization that surrounds them. In “Little Dorrit” Dickens explores the English society dominated by the corrupt business class. In the novel Civilization characters or viewed as part of the developing environment. The splendor or shame of their past is exploding. The significance of the character’s behavior becomes clear only in the background of the Civilization which he represents. In “War and Peace” Tolstoy presents the different stages in the development of each character. The novel Civilization, sometimes, depicts the different stages in the growth of the writer’s consciousness as in Marcel Proust’s ‘Remembrance of Things Past’. Sometimes it uses our family story as in Faulkner’s ‘Sartoris’ or Galsworthy’s ‘Forsyte Saga’.

The Social Novel is a technique in literature. In which the authors express and illustrate society, ethics, etiquette, and protocols. Nowadays, various authors are following this technique in their writings. Especially, to illustrate the Epic society, Dynasty, and fictional Mythologies. This literary form serves as a device to illustrate society.

The Detective Novels

The Gothic Novels

Reproductive Health

Total well being in all aspects of the reproduction such as physically mentally and emotionally is called Reproductive health.

All the reproductive organs should be healthy with normal function.

Major problems associated with reproductive health

Overpopulation

  • Overpopulation causes a scarcity of every basic need.
  • It affect the well-being of reproductive health also.
  • To overcome the problem of overpopulation India started family planning program in 1951.
  • Later it was changed to reproductive and Child Health Care program in 1997.
  • A rapid decline in death rate, maternal mortality rate and infant mortality rate leads to overpopulation.

Small family, happy family

Steps to control population explosion

  • People should be educated about the advantages of smaller family.
  • Raising the marriageable age of male and female is an effective way to control the population.
  • Couples should be motivated to family planning by adopting birth control measures.

Step under reproductive and Child Health Care program

  • Increase in awareness about disease related to reproductive system example – sexual transmitted disease (STDs).
  • Increase in awareness through the audio visual media.
  • Increase in awareness about different contraceptive methods.
  • Increase awareness about sex education.

Female foeticide

  • Female foeticide can affect reproductive and sexual health of a Woman.
  • Due to the use of amniocentesis cases of female foeticide increases.
  • Amniocentesis is the technique in which amniotic fluid is studied for any type of enzyme disorder, chromosomal disorder or other bio-chemical disorder.
  • Amniocentesis method is misused to know the sex of an Unborn baby.

Sex education

  • Due to lack of education, people are not concerned about safe and hygienic sexual practice.
  • Introduction of the education in school and colleges its another step to provide right information to the youth.
  • Sex education can save the young youth people from myths and misconceptions about sex related issues.
  • Should provide knowledge about birth control methods and care of mother and child.

Our health is in our own hand…

Sexually transmitted disease

Chlamydiasis

  • Caused by Gram Negative bacteria Chlamydia trachomatis.
  • Causes urethritis which result in painful urination and pus discharge.
  • In male, it causes infertility by causing oligospermia.
  • It increases the chance of ectopic pregnancy.
  • Treatment –
    • Treated by antibiotics.

Gonorrhea

  • Causes by negative bacteria Neisseria Gonorrhea.
  • Causes inflammation of reproductive tract, urinary tract infection, and urethritis.
  • Treatment
    • Newly born child is given 1% AGNO3 dose to prevent eye. infection

Genital herpes

  • Causes by herpes simplex virus
  • Causes painful blisters
    • In male – glans penis and foreskin
    • In female – external genitalia
  • There is no proper treatment
  • Treatment is only to extend life.

Genital warts

  • Caused by human papiloma virus.
  • Causes Cancer of different organs such as-
    • cervical cancer
    • penile cancer
    • vaginal cancer
    • vulvar cancer
    • anal cancer
  • Treatment
    • Alpha interferon
    • cryotherapy
    • electrocautery
Sexually transmitted disease

It is very important to provide information to the couple or who are in marriageable age group about birth control methods, care of pregnant women, important of breastfeeding, equality to the gender and equal opportunity to the male and female child, reproductive tract infections etc.

The education of reproductive health should be provided to all

Cyber Crimes and Privacy.

Words and expressions that barely existed 10 years prior are presently essential for our regular language, as hoodlums utilize new advancements to submit cyberattacks against governments, organizations and people. These violations know no boundaries, either physical or virtual, cause genuine mischief and posture genuine dangers to casualties around the world.

Cybercrime is advancing at an amazingly high speed, with recent fads continually arising. Cybercriminals are turning out to be more spry, abusing new advances with lightning speed, fitting their assaults utilizing new strategies, and helping out one another in manners we have not seen previously. Complex criminal organizations work across the world, planning multifaceted assaults surprisingly fast. Police should in this manner stay up with new advancements, to comprehend the conceivable outcomes they make for hoodlums and how they can be utilized as apparatuses for battling cybercrime.

There are numerous protection concerns encompassing Cybercrime when classified data is caught or revealed, legally or something else. Globally, both legislative and non-state entertainers take part in cybercrimes, including secret activities, monetary burglary, and other cross-line wrongdoings. Cybercrimes crossing worldwide boundaries and including the activities of no less than one country state are now and then alluded to as cyberwarfare. Warren Buffet portrays Cybercrime as the “number one issue with mankind.Computer extortion is any untrustworthy distortion of reality expected to let another to do or shun accomplishing something which causes misfortune. In this specific circumstance, the misrepresentation will bring about acquiring an advantage by:

Changing in an unapproved way. This requires minimal specialized ability and is a typical type of robbery by workers modifying the information before section or entering bogus information, or by entering unapproved directions or utilizing unapproved measures; Changing, obliterating, stifling, or taking yield, as a rule to hide unapproved exchanges. This is hard to distinguish , Changing or erasing put away information Government authorities and data innovation security experts have archived a huge expansion in Internet issues and worker examines since mid 2001. There is a developing worry among government offices like the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) that such interruptions are important for a coordinated exertion by cyberterrorist unfamiliar insight administrations, or different gatherings to plan potential security openings in basic frameworks. A cyberterrorist is somebody who threatens or forces an administration or an association to propel their political or social destinations by dispatching a PC based assault against computers, organizations, or the data put away on them.

Cyberterrorism, as a rule, can be characterized as a demonstration of psychological warfare submitted using the internet or PC assets (Parker 1983). Thusly, a basic publicity piece on the Internet that there will be bomb assaults during special times of year can be viewed as cyberterrorism. There are additionally hacking exercises coordinated towards people, families, coordinated by bunches inside networks, having a tendency to cause dread among individuals, exhibit power, gathering data important for demolishing people groups’ lives, burglaries, extorting, and so on.

MAGIC IN A CUP OF TEA!!!

Every morning won’t be complete without a cup tea right? Many people can’t do their work without a cup pf tea. Tea gives us refreshness and make us active. Though many like coffee, there are people who love tea too. The reason for me to talk about tea is nothing but today’s topic revolves around tea. Let me tell you an essay written by Eric Arthur Blair about a cup of tea.

Eric Arthur Blair, known by his pename George Orwell, was an English Novelist, journalist and a critic. He opposed totalitarianism and supported democratic socialism. He is best known for the Allegorical novella ‘Animal farm” and the dystopian novel “Nineteen Eighty Four”. He wrote an essay about ‘A nice cup of tea’ and it was published in London Evening Standards in 1946. It is about the discussion of the art of making tea. He states ten rules to be followed while making tea. Let me tell you about his essay.

Eric Arthur Blair (George Orwell)

The author said that there are no cookery books that has the preparation of tea as a recepie. Countries like Eire, NewZealand and Australia which has tea as a part of civilization. He says that Chinese tea has virtues but there is no much stimulation in it. So the author prefers Indian or Ceylonese tea.

  • The first rule is that one should prefer Indian or Ceylonese tea. One does not feel wiser or more optimistic after drinking it. ‘A nice cup of tea’ literally means Indian tea.
  • Second rule is that tea should be made in small quantities in a tea pot. The teapot should be made of China or earthenware. Silver and birtannia ware tea pots produce inferior tea and enamel parts are worse. In the army, the tea is made in a big cauldron, tastes of grease and whitewash.
  • Thirdly, the pot should be warmed beforehand rather than placing it with water in it.
  • Fourthly, the tea should be strong. He states that one strong cup of tea is better than twenty weak ones. All tea lovers not only love a strong tea but like it a little longer with each year that passes.
  • Fifthly, the tea should be put straight into the pot. Don’t use strainers or muslin bags to imprison the tea. One can swallow tea-leaves in considerable quantities without ill effect and if the tea is not loose in the pot it never infuses properly.
  • Sixthly, one should take teapot to the kettle and no other way about. The water should be boiling at the time, one should keep it on the flame while pouring it.
  • Seventhly, after making the tea, one should stir it, or better give it a good shake allowing the leaves to settle.
  • Eighthly, one should drink it out in a cylindrical type of cup rather than a shallow type of cup. The shallow cup will have the tea half cold before one starts, drinking it.
  • Ninthly, one should pour the cream off the milk before using it for tea. Milk with cream gives a sickly taste.
  • Tenthly, one should pour tea into the cup first and then add milk. By pouring the tea first, one can regulate the amount of milk to be added to the tea. He also says that one should drink tea without adding sugar. Adding sugar, destroys the taste of the tea. He also asks the question to the tea lovers, How can you call yourself a tea lover if you destroy the flavour of your tea by adding sugar into it? He also says that adding sugar is similar to drinking a hot water.

The points said by him are quite controversiable. But try to drink a cup of tea without sugar for a fortnight, and you will never ruin your tea by adding sugar to it. Think about yourself guys. This essay is quite interesting. I like this essay and how about you guys?

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