MALALA YOUSAFZAI’S SPEECH TO THE UNITED NATIONS – 2013

MALALA YOUSAFZAI’S SPEECH TO THE UNITED NATIONS – 2013

INTRODUCTION:

Malala Yousafzai was born on 12^th July 1997 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. On 9^th October 2012, a Taliban gunman shot her when she rode home on a bus after taking an exam. This received worldwide media coverage. When she was just 16 years old, she spoke at the UN to call for worldwide access to education. On 10^th October 2014, she was the co-recipient of the 2014 Nobel peace prize. She is an active proponent for education as a fundamental, social and economic right.

MALALA’S GRATITUDE:

She began her speech by thanking the most merciful, God. Then she thanked every person who had prayed for her fast recovery. She thanked all the children whose words had encouraged her. Then she thanked the doctors and staff of the hospitals in Pakistan, UK and the UAE government for their support.

She showed her gratitude to the members of UN.

MALALA DAY:

She said “MALALA DAY” is not her day. It is the day of everyone who had raised their voice for their rights. She said that she is one among the thousands of people who were killed and injured by the terrorists. She had raised her voice not that because she can shout but those without a voice can be heard and also for those who have fought for peace, dignity, equality and education.

THE TRAGEDY:

On 9^th October 2012, a Taliban shot her on the left side of her forehead along with her friends thinking that the bullet would silence them but out of that silence came thousands of voices. The terrorists thought that this would change their aims and ambition but her “weakness, fear and hopelessness” has only changed into “strength, power, and courage”.

MALALA’S TEACHERS:

She says that she speaks for the education of the daughters of the Taliban too. She said that she would not shot the Taliban who shot her even if she had a gun. She says that this is the compassion that she had learnt from Muhammad- the – Prophet, Jesus Christ and Lord Buddha. This is the legacy that she had inherited from Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and Mohammad Ali Jinnah. This is the philosophy of non-violence from Gandhiji, Bacha Khan and Mother Teresa. This is the act of forgiveness that she had learnt from her father and mother.

TALIBAN’S ATTACK:    

The extremists are afraid of the power of education and voices of women, which bring changes in the society. That’s why they had killed 14 medical students, female teachers, and polio workers and are blasting schools every day. They think that God is a tiny being who send girls to hell if they go to school. They are misusing Islam and Pashtun society for their personal benefits. She points out that Islam says that the right to education is the duty and responsibility of every child.

GLOBAL SUFFERAGE:

Globally women and children are suffering in many ways. In Pakistan and Afghanistan they are suffering from terrorism. The Afghan people are suffering due to the hurdles of extremism for many decades. Young girls are forced to do domestic labor and get married at early age.  In India they are suffering from child labor. Many schools are destroyed in Nigeria. She says that poverty, ignorance, injustice, racism and the deprivation of basic rights are the main problems faced by both men and women.

MALALA’S REQUEST:

She asks the women to fight against these by themselves instead of calling men activists to do for them. She calls all the global leaders to change the strategic policies in favor of peace and prosperity to protect women and children’s rights. She requests all the governments to ensure compulsory education, fight against terrorism and violence. She called the developed nations to help the educational opportunities of girls in the developing nation. She called upon all the communities to be tolerant to reject prejudice based on caste, creed, sect, religion and gender.

EDUCATION IS THE SOLUTION:

She stresses that education and schools are necessary for every child’s bright future. We should strive hard to achieve peace and education for everyone. We should believe in the power and strength of our words. As we are united for the cause of education let us all empower ourselves with knowledge and shield by unity. She wants us to wage a global struggle against illiteracy, poverty and terrorism.

CONCLUSION:

She concludes her speech by saying that we have to fight against the evil with our books and pens. They are the most powerful weapons. “ONE CHILD, ONE TEACHER, ONE PEN AND ONE BOOK” can change the world. Education is the only solution. Education first. This is what she stresses again and again.      

Nombu- Fakir Mohamed Katpadi

Nombu- Fakir Mohamed Katpadi

Introduction: The fasting observed by Muslims during the Arabic month of Ramzan is known as Nombu in Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada. Fakir Mohamed Katpadi is the author of Nombu.

Nombu and rules: The Arabic month of Ramzan is holy to Muslims. They observe Nombu or fasting during this month. It is one of the fundamental faiths of Muslims. Some rituals are followed on these days. First of all they take Sahari food in the early dawn by telling Niyyat or oath in the name of Allah. From then onwards they avoid drink and food till sunset. It is told that they have to refrain from bad activities also. After breaking Nombu, they pray Tharavih in the night on all days. Zakath or alms-giving to the needy persons is distributed by eligible wealthy people.

Benefits of Nombu: The Holy Quran came down to earth during Ramzan, the month of Nombu. It is also blessed with a Night called Lailathul Kathir, which is blissful than thousand months. The prayers of Nombu devotees are heard and granted by Allah. Addu’s mother conducts Thauba prayers collectively for women in her home. The doors of heaven are open. It is also important that those persons die in these days are not questioned in the tomb. Thus the Nombu benefits the devotee’s physical health and mentally the soul.

Addu’s family_: Amma is a bidi worker. Her husband Khader is a load-man. Addu is their only son who is seven years old. Amma makes bidi by filling the tobacco in the leaf and closes the rolled leaf with her finger nail. Her son Addu ties the bidi with thread and keeps in the basket. The dust of leaves scattered on the floor sticks to Amma’s sari. There is tobacco smell in the room. The process is going on as that of a human machine. The work makes Amma cough.  She stretches and relaxes her body often. She sings Moplah Patt to lessen her strain and her son joins her in singing. The mother needs her son’s help in the work. But Addu, like all boys, is fond of playing with friends. He meets his friends Sharif, Zuber and Kashim on the playground. The boys played a game Lagori. Addu’s father is worried about the heat because he has to observe fasting for remaining twenty days. He prays Allah to lessen the heat and give him relief.

Kashim’s Family: Next the author introduces another boy Kashim’s rich family. The cooking of food and life is luxurious at Kashim’s home during Nombu. Kashim’s mother tells him about Nombu and its importance.The poor boy Addu happens to meet Kashim in playground. He befriends Kashim. During their talk, Kashim relates a story about a boy who loses his life in the morning to regain it in the evening. The boy who meets the ordeal is fasting on that day. It is miraculous and a mercy of   Allah. This story explains the exemption given to children during Nombu days.

Author’s portrayal of two families: The author contrasts the rich family of Kashim with that of poverty stricken bidi worker Amma. At Kashim’s house, Addu tastes akkiroti and mutton curry. Kassim has a sister by name Jameelakka. She attempts to end her life by eating poisonous fruit. The author reveals the ordeal of women in the society. Her life is an eye opener to all.

Portrayal of heaven:  The Holy book Quran is given to humanity during the month of Ramzan. Those who observe fast enter heaven easily. It is a place of prosperity. There are plenty of fruits and food and beautiful Hoorulins.

Happenings during Nombu: We learn from the lesson the faith of Muslims regarding the happenings after death. God’s messengers called as Mallaks reaches the grave and ask questions. The dead person becomes alive and has to reply to the questions. There is no question asked during the month of Ramzan.

Importance of Nombu: In the month of Ramzan Allah forgives the sins by accepting the Thauba of the fasting persons. Addu’s mother organizes the Thauba meeting in which the persons recite the word “Asthagfirullah” for forgiveness.

Conclusion: Nombu lasts for thirty days The Nombu comes to a close every day in the Magrib Bhang from mosque. Addu is happy. He finishes the first Nombu by drinking sherbet. He remembers the days of starvation, compares that day with fasting and realizes the importance of Nombu. After thirty days of fasting Muslims celebrate Idul-Fitr. We call the celebration as Ramzan Festival. Thus Nombu is a blessing.

How Much Land Does a Man Need? - Leo Tolstoy

How Much Land Does a Man Need? - Summary

Introduction

“How Much Land Does a Man Need?” is a short story by Russian writer Leo Tolstoy. “How Much Land Does a Man Need?” is a classic tale of a man’s greed and its fatal consequence.

Pakhom

Pakhom was a poor Russian peasant who wanted to own a lot of land. Even after owning some land, Pakhom was not satisfied with what he had. He remained ambitious. He learns about a wonderful deal in a distant country. So he travelled to the land of the Bashkirs.

The Wonderful Deal

The Bashkirs were a family with a huge amount of land. The elder Bashkir told that they sold land by the day. They offered an unusual deal for the sum of thousand rubles. Pakhom can walk around as much of land as he could and all that land would become his own. The only condition was that he had to reach the starting point before sunset. If he failed to return, he would lose his money. Pakhom’s greed was aroused. He believed that he had got an opportunity to gain as much land as he wanted. He felt extremely happy and spent a sleepless night.

The Easy Walk

The next day morning the village elders took him to the top of a hill and placed a hat. After giving the money, Pakhom started to walk downhill. As he kept walking, he dug holes to mark the land that he had covered. He thought it was easy to walk. He went out of his way to add more land. At noon, he realizes that he had walked too far from the starting point. When he looked at the hill, he was not able to see the people clearly. He decided to reduce walking out of his way. By afternoon, the heat was unbearable. He had walked beyond his limits. His legs ached and he wanted to take rest. He did not have time as he had to return soon. As a result, Pakhom had to run to get back to the starting point.    

The Fatal Running

When he noticed he was losing out on time, he starts pushing himself to get to the finish line He started getting weaker as he was returning. When he sees the setting sun, he realizes that he is so far from the starting point and runs back as fast as he can. He ran as hard as he could. When he arrives at the starting point, he drops down dead. He had died of dehydration and exhaustion His servant buries him in a grave only 6 feet deep. Thus ironically answering the question posed in the title. Not only did he lose his life for trying to gain land but he lost his life for being greedy. The irony of the story

The story is titled ‘how much land does a man need?” because the writer wanted to point out the consequences of greed in human beings. The question put on the title is answered ironically by writer itself. What a man really needs is land 6 feet above head to be buried in. Pakhom became a victim of his own greed.

Conclusion

The story is about satisfaction which brings happiness, and greed for more things which brings unhappiness, loss of peace of mind and even death. If we’re not careful, Greediness and lack of self-discipline may end up killing us. Money can never bring us happiness. Many people in the world today believe that we need possessions and wealth to live a happy life. They often waste their time trying to gain more for themselves. As the story said, the only thing we need in the end, is a little piece of land. We must be content with what we have.

NINE GOLD MEDALS by David Roth - SUMMARY

POETRY 

NINE GOLD MEDALS by David Roth - SUMMARY

INTRODUCTION:  Sports is not only about winning medals. It is also about learning the values of cooperation, sharing, competing and complementing. In this poem, the poet, David Roth has presented the idea of empathy and how human values are as important as the spirit of competition.

SPECIAL OLYMPICS:  Special Olympics is an international organisation created to help people with various disabilities. It helps them develop selfconfidence, social skills and a sense of personal accomplishment. Special Olympics offers these differently abled people, year-round training and competition in 30 Olympic-type events.

GOAL OF ATHELETS IN OLYMPICS: Olympics are held once every four years. Athletes from all over the world work and train hard to participate in all the events. Winning a medal in the Olympics is the ultimate goal of every athlete of the world.Special Olympics is no different. Here too differently-abled persons,train hard and participate in various sports events. The contestants put in a lot of preparation and practice. Everyone hopes to win a medal. The spectators are as excited as the contestants. They cheer and encourage the contestants.

HUNDRED YARD RACE:  Of all the events in Olympics, the hundred-metre race is the most prestigious. The athlete, who wins it, is remembered as the fastest person in the world. When the poem begins, the hundred-yard race is about to begin. The athletes take position at the starting blocks. They begin to run immediately after the pistol which indicates the start of the race is fired. However, one of them is unable to run, he stumbles and falls on the track. The eight contestants are strong and run forward, while the ninth, who is the smallest, falls down. He cries out with the pain of disappointment. He has trained hard but does not get the opportunity to show his talent. All his dreams of winning the medal are broken and destroyed.

NINE WINNERS: When the remaining eight contestants saw him fall, they, instead of continuing and trying to win the race, came to the help of their fellow contestant. Each one of the athletes had dreamt of winning the medal. However, they readily forgot their dream and came forward to help the boy to his feet. Then, all the nine contestants walked hand-in-hand to the finish line. The audience was so moved by the extraordinary behaviour of the contestants that it stood up and clapped. There were now nine winners, instead of one, and each was given a gold medal. All the contestants displayed empathy turning the Special Olympics into a really ‘special’ one.

CONCLUSION:  Empathy is the ability to ‘put oneself in another’s shoes. It is the capacity to understand another person’s experience from his/her point of view. It helps us to appreciate what the other person is going through and to offer emotional support at the time of need.That is exactly what the eight contestants had done. Seeing the little boy on the ground they had been forced to think ‘what would I have felt if I had fallen?’ It was then they understood what they had to do and how they had to behave. By awarding gold medals to all nine contestants, the authorities honoured their display of empathy, helpful nature and human values.

‘Ecology’ by A K Ramanujan

Summary of ‘Ecology’ by A K Ramanujan

This poem, ‘Ecology’ is taken from A. K. Ramanujan’s third volume of poems, ‘Second Sight’, published in 1986. The speaker seems to be the poet himself or some imaginary person who is loyally devoted to his mother. He is very angry because his mother has a severe attack of migraine; a very bad kind of headache, often causing a person to vomit. This is caused by the fragrance of the pollen of the flower of the Red Champak every time it blooms. The fragrance is heavy and suffocating as the yellow pollen spreads everywhere. Even the doors of the speaker’s house cannot prevent the strong smell from entering the house. The walls of the house are able to absorb almost everything-the sounds, sights, the human voices, the harsh sounds produced when new shoes are worn. But they cannot stop the fog of pollen dust from the Champak trees.

The loving son therefore decides to cut down the tree, but he is prevented from doing so by his mother who sees the positive side of the tree in her garden. She says that the tree is as old as her and had been fertilized by the droppings of a passing bird by chance which is considered to be a very good omen. . Although the tree would give a terrible migraine to one line of cousins as a kind of gift. The positive side of it is that the tree provides many baskets of flowers. These can be offered to her gods and to ‘her daughters and daughter’s daughters’ every year. The yellow fog is caused by the yellow dust of the pollen. This is carried in the air and covers the earth like a heavy fog.

This poem portrays Ramanujan’s strong interest in the family as a very important theme of his poetry. His memories of the past would certainly bring pictures of his family, especially his mother who is self-sacrificing. There is also a reference to his Hindu heritage as he mentions the gods and the ancient beliefs in the poem. There is irony in the poem when the mother angrily protests against the idea of cutting down the tree even though she is suffering very badly from the migraine caused by it. She has a kind of emotional attachment to the tree, saying that it is as old as herself.

Each stanza of the poem has one particular idea. There is a casual connection between the ideas and they flow from one stanza to the next. ‘Flash her temper’; an instance of the use of irony because she is very angry at the idea of having the tree cut down. The actual meaning of the word ‘Ecology’ is not followed here but the poet seems to convey the thought that a particular kind of tree may have both negative and positive factors and therefore it need not be pulled down.