points for heritage awareness

Heritage Awareness (some points) - can be used for poster / article/ letter etc (For more information on heritage awareness see youngintach.org)

READ THE QUESTION – If it is only about heritage monuments, write only about that. If it is about heritage in general, then mention other aspects of heritage   

India has an extraordinarily rich, vast and diverse cultural heritage in the form of built heritage, archaeological sites and remains since prehistoric times. The sheer magnitude in number alone is overwhelming

-these are the symbols of both cultural expression and evolution and attract interest of foreign and Indian tourists and scholars

Our heritage is our pride, be it:

Natural heritage- water, trees, bio-diversity

Built Heritage-monuments, architecture, towns and cities

Material Heritage- museums, art work and art-restoration

Living Heritage- performing arts, crafts, literature, language, traditional medicine, way of life

However - Monuments - Neglected- crumbling-defaced, littered. Lovers scratch their names; people steal stones, wood, inlay; homeless have made these their habitat- dry clothes/ dirty the surroundings. Modern living is making us forget our living heritage and we are harming our natural heritage.

-Need to be protected and conserved. Both government and people need to shake their apathy

Young Indians need to be part of the mission to save and spread awareness. Teachers, students and parents can mobilize community participation.

SUGGESTIONS: Join heritage clubs,

take heritage walks, explore and discover,

 schools can adopt a monument for care, support ASI projects,

 spread awareness through debates, poster- making competitions, quizzes, movies, video- shows, signature campaigns,

join clean- river drive;  teach people living around monuments to respect them

 Promote traditional arts,  craft, food, medicines through ‘haats’ and exhibitions-most importantly cherish our heritage.

 A pledge taken by students in the assembly to protect the heritage will become a life-long commitment.

poetic devices in poems

My Mother at Sixty-six (poetic devices/figures of speech)

By Kamala Das

Simile – a) her face ashen like that of a corpse

                b) As a late winter’s moon

Personification - Trees sprinting

Metaphor – merry children spilling out of their homes

Repetition- smile and smile and smile…

Keeping Quiet by Pablo Neruda (poetic devices/figures of speech)

The poet has used symbols and comparisons to explain how we can end conflicts, wars and corrosive activities that are leading to the death of our civilization. He advocates keeping quiet and still for a while to introspect and understand ourselves and our relationship with our brothers and nature to build a peaceful and harmonious world order.

1.       ‘Count to twelve’ – symbolizes a measure of time. The clock has twelve markings on it, the year has twelve months and the day has twelve hours 

2.       Let’s-repetition to create a bond with the reader and stress his point.

3.       ‘Fishermen in the cold sea…hurt hands’-symbolic image  showing how man is ruthlessly destroying nature and harming other species in cold blood for his selfish need and greed. The ‘hurt hands’ – the sore hands of the salt gatherer would make him realize how he is harming himself by his mindless corrosive activities.

4.       ‘…put on clean clothes’- metaphor. The poet says that quiet introspection will make us comprehend the destructive nature of wars. Man would shed his blood soiled clothes and don on clean clothes i.e. he would cleanse his soul, heart and mind, purging it of all anger and hatred.

5.       Brothers – symbol of mankind

6.       In the shade- metaphor- just as shade protects us from the harsh sun, we will protect and shelter each other as brothers, thus live in peace and harmony.

7.       no truck - euphemism

8.       Earth can teach us as when everything… symbol, Just as earth, the greatest creator, in its sleeping mode appears to be dead on surface but is actually dormant and carefully preserving the seeds of life, human beings too need to keep still and quiet to rejuvenate and awaken the life forces within and be productive.

A Thing of beauty-John Keats (poetic devices/figures of speech)

Metaphor: bower quiet; sweet dreams; wreathing a flowery band; pall; endless fountain of immortal drink

Alliteration: noble natures; cooling covert; band to bind

Imagery: flowery bands, shady boon, daffodils in green world, clear rills, cooling covert, grandeur of dooms, endless fountain of eternal drink

Symbol: simple sheep – refers to mankind as Christ is the shepherd

Transferred epithet: gloomy days; unhealthy and o’er darkened ways

A Roadside Stand by Robert Frost (poetic devices/figures of speech)

The use of personal pronoun shows poet’s involvement and draws reader’s concern.

‘didn’t it see’ -The use of ‘it’ for people indicates they are inhuman

Transferred epithet –1)polished traffic (the traffic is not polished, people are polished)

2)Selfish cars

Metaphor/ figurative speech-1) the flower of cities from sinking and withering faint;

2) Swarm over their lives

3) Teaching them to sleep they sleep all day

Oxymoron and Alliteration - Greedy good doers; beneficent beasts of prey

Personification:

·        A roadside stand that too pathetically pled(also alliteration)

·        Sadness that lurks near the open window there/ that waits all day

·        Voice of country

Aunt Jennifer’s Tiger(poetic devices/figures of speech)

 By Adrienne Rich

Alliteration-Finger’s fluttering; prancing proud; chivalric certainty; weight of wedding band

Visual imagery- Bright topaz denizens; world of green

Irony: It is ironical that Aunt Jennifer’s creations- the tigers will continue to pace and prance freely, while Aunt herself will remain terrified even after death, ringed by the ordeals she was controlled by in her married life. 

Symbols:

Wedding band- symbol of oppression in an unhappy marriage. Its weight refers to the burden of gender expectations. Ringed means encircled or trapped, losing individuality and freedom.

 Aunt Jennifer- a typical victim of male oppression in an unhappy marriage, who suffers loss of individuality, dignity and personal freedom silently. She becomes dependent, fearful and frail.

Tigers- symbolize untamed free spirit. Here they stand in contrast to their creator’s personality. The use of colours implies that Aunt Jennifer's tigers and their land are more vital and enjoy a sense of freedom far greater than her. They pace and prance freely, proudly, fearless, confident and majestic, fearless of men

 Yellow (bright topaz) connotes the sun and fierce energy; green reminds one of spring and vitality.

Embroidery-  symbol of creative expression. The artwork expresses the Aunt’s suppressed desires and becomes her escape from the oppressive reality of her life.

Aunt (last stanza) –  as opposed to Aunt Jennifer. It shows that she has lost her identity completely, thus lost even her name.

Metaphor:

 Ringed with ordeals: even death would not free her as the wedding band, a symbol of oppression,, would yet be on her finger.

Terrified fingers: transferred epithet

‘Pace’ and ‘prance’ are action words. The rhyme mimics the movement of the tigers.

points for articles (2)

Lokpal Bill- Points

Escalating corruption

 Until 1980s Bofors was the biggest scam, involving Rs.64 crore- Ever since 26 big scams caused great losses to the exchequer. However, 2G scam is alarming- according to CAG an alleged one lac and 72,000 crores have been misappropriated. CWG scam brought shame to the nation.

Reason-Politics encourages such corruption + effective institutions that can justly investigate and prosecute the culprits are lacking. CVC and CBI seem toothless as they are manipulated by government; therefore there is need for an effective Lokpal Bill – system of ombudsman, effective in many countries.

Result - Ground swell of protest by outraged public under Anna Hazare -Feel cheated by corrupt governance -seek clean leadership, transparency and accountability

 Demand for passing of Jan Lokpal Bill to fight corruption by creating an institution independent of those it seeks to police, with power to investigate all public servants, even the highest posts. The Bill is struggling due to stand-off between its proponents and government.

The apprehension - whether it will create another concentration of power, impair the autonomy of both judiciary and legislature and create a super cop with enormous power and no accountability.  Who will watch the watchdog? Also, a check on monetary corruption alone  is inadequate.

Suggestions:  No quick solutions. Citizens must keep alive their faith that truth will prevail- be aware and protest but with responsibility, curb their own greed and respect the constitution, principles of democracy and justice. The youth must show idealism and selflessness. The strength is not in framed laws but in effective implementation of them. The success of Lokpal system will depend on that.

Giving Girl Child Her Due (points)

The story of girl child in India both frustrating and progressive

The skewed gender ratio, female foeticide, neglect and abuse of the girl child in India have put the nation to shame. Bias loaded against girls in a patriarchal society has kept them deprived and neglected. 

Strong bias –future uncertain- some 10 million female fetuses have been terminated over past 20 years. Despite claims by law enforcement and din of gender equality- thousands of female infants dumped in trash cans. 30 % girls out of school at primary level and only 3 out of 10 in standard 1 reach class X. They are kept at home to do chores, take care of siblings and treated as a burden to be shifted out in marriage. They are cursed, assaulted and trafficked.

Education:  alone can lift them out of misery and establish their worth. In cities it is heartening to see girls outperform boys in exams. Given opportunity, education, love and encouragement, girls have proved their worth and risen in all spheres. One example:  Intervention by a corporate company, who set up good schools, saw rural girls top the merit list in Chattisgarh . Many initiatives like ’Prerna’ , a school for Dalit girls in Danapur have brought light into their lives.

Social intervention like the revolutionary move in Satara Maharashtra by the district administration has brought hope into the lives of over 200 girls who had been named Nakhushi / Nakusha by their parents who saw girls as a curse. Nakushi Londhe is now Bhagyashree.

High priority GOI measures: RTE is bringing the girl child to school- Sarva Siksha Abhiyan-eduationfor all seeks change in societal norms and attitudes. ‘ Ladli’ schemes have provide incentive ad status. Free education and waivers, free books, separate toilets, meals, bridge courses for drop outs etc. are measures to retain them in schools. Scholarships as rewards for higher studies aim to empower them.

We, the educated, can be the medium of change by eradicating bias against girls through awareness campaigns. They are children to be loved, not a millstone of dowry and dependency round parents’ necks.  

wizard

 (I had deleted it by mistake. I am re-posting it)

What are the moral issues that the story raises?                                                           

The story and the one within it both underscore the conflict between the views of adults and children and raise moral issues pertaining to parenting. Jack, used to his daughter’s admiration, was now annoyed as the four year old had started questioning him and to quell her he deliberately changed the happy ending of the usual story. He wanted her to learn that reality is harsh and parents with their experience know best.

In his story the Mother Skunk was angry when Roger got the wizard to make him smell like roses so that other children would play with him. She hit wizard on his head demanding that he return Roger’s original stink as she loved him the way he was. This raises the moral issue of whether parents should always decide what is right for their children. Jack insisted ‘She knew what was right ‘. Jack raises another issue- one does not have to change to please others but be true to one’s nature for eventually one is accepted. Using his experience, Jack said that the little Skunk agreed with his mother because he loved her more than the other animals and knew she was right.

However, little Jo insisted on a happy ending, as sadness fills children with insecurity. As a child she understood Roger’s pain at being ridiculed by children for his stink. So, she insisted that the wizard hit the ‘stupid’ Mommy back for taking away her baby’s happiness. She insisted that the next day her father should tell her the story the way she wanted it - a viewpoint that merits attention.

Should Wizard hit mommy? Is the title apt?

The title presents conflicting viewpoints of an adult and a child. It poses a pertinent question – Are parents always right in their decisions for their children or do children’s viewpoints also deserve merit?

Jack, as a ritual, narrated a story to his daughter about a baby animal, a Roger something with a problem, which would magically be solved by the wizard. Roger would then happily play with friends and return home in time for a happy meal with his parents. But this time, Jack who was irritated by her questioning, correcting and taking him for granted, deliberately changed the end and upset Jo.

 Roger Skunk, shunned for his stink, was happy to find friends with his new smell of roses given by the wizard. But Roger’s mother was angry and hit the wizard on his head and demanded that he return Roger’s original smell. Jack insisted on this end as his own humiliating experiences in childhood influenced his decision. He wanted Jo to know that reality is harsh.  Almost defending the traditional view, Jack said that Roger Skunk agreed with his mother’s decision because he loved his mother and ‘She knew what was right.’

 However, Jo strongly feels that Jack must change the end. She wanted the wizard to hit ‘stupid mommy’ for taking away her son’s happiness. A mere child, she believed in a rosy world of happy solutions and joyful endings. She could feel Roger’s pain at being rejected and friendless and this ending was thus unacceptable to her. These clashing experiences are aptly captured in the title.

 (Q.) Character Sketch of Jack.

Jack, who was a skillful story teller, had been telling stories to his daughter since she was two years old with all the special effects that delighted her. He had enjoyed her attention but now the four years old Jo’s ‘reality phase’ annoyed him. Though Jack is conscious of his duties as a father and husband, but he was unable to accept any defiance of his authority.  He felt tired and confused by her constant questioning, pointing out his errors, and suggesting alternatives. His believed that parents know what is best for their children. His childhood humiliations and his mother’s support made him defend parental authority.

On the other hand, he was irritated at seeing in her mother’s artificial mannerisms in Jo. A domineering man, he did not like women to take him for granted. So, when Jo lost interest assuming the expected end of the story, he changed the ending of the story, and refused to yield to Jo’s demand for a different ending.  He deliberately extended the story even though he knew that he should be helping his pregnant wife Claire paint the woodwork. He was annoyed that she had not waited for him.

 He could not accept that Jo now had a mind of her own. He exercised authority and snapped at Jo. He felt caught in an ugly middle position-one with conflicting emotions and a strange detachment troubling him. He felt lonely with no one to turn to, as a marital discord kept him from turning to his wife.

Q. What is the ugly middle position where jack finds himself trapped?

 The ugly middle position refers to jack’s frustration and dilemma in the face of his responsibilities. Jack is not used to the women questioning his authority and Jo’s constant interruptions, pointing out mistakes, questioning and suggesting her own ‘ending’ annoys jack.  It is a middle position where he is bound by his parental responsibility and wishes her to understand that life is harsh and parents know best, but realizes she has her own viewpoint but he is unable to accept it. His own humiliations in his childhood make him defend Roger’s mother, indirectly his own mother and parental authority. But he is at a loss as he is unable to satisfy Jo’s apprehensions. He fails to understand her childhood insecurities.

His pregnant wife Claire too had not waited for his help and was dragging heavy furniture. He is upset at seeing her in his shirt as if she had assumed his role.  As a result he finds himself trapped in a cage of complex marital responsibilities and emotions along with his wife. He felt lonely with no one to turn to.