A NATION WITH NO EDUCATION

             India is the biggest democracy in the world and she has the second biggest population in the world also, next to China only. But the UNO’s statistics reveal two very dismal points. Before the 21st century India is going to be the biggest populous country of the world and, long before that, India is going to turn over the biggest illiterate population.
             But at the juncture even, India cannot be a nation with no education. The idea of a nation with no education denies our wildest conception today. It cannot be simply imagined. Today’s technology has, so to say, destroyed distance. The updated news-mediums dot the barriers and borders of the sovereign countries. Books and literatures of any country find inlets into other countries hoodwinking restrictions and censorship of all sorts. Inter-exchange of thoughts and cultures take place in spite of hydra-beaded differences in norms and forms of nationalism. These are the days of internationalism, and as such, a community, however backward, and a community however advanced, has to depend on other on many issues. People have thus come to realize, at the instance of others, the role of education. Only education can build up a nation.
             Great educators throughout the world have tried their best during their life-time to propagate education amongst their people. They formed or helped to form the conceptions of values, of ethics, of aesthetics, of culture and of the need of education. Many of these great heroes have scarified their lives for the eradication of illiteracy or fallacious education. But for them we have realized that true education and only true education, can bring about human emancipation.

PROCRASTINATION

             Procrastination in interpretation is just opposite to punctuality. While punctuality is great virtue procrastination is a debasing vice. It kills ones precious time, spoils one’s ready broth, and ruins one’s other qualities.
             But procrastination like a dangerous virus lives unseen in our habit and, so to say — work-culture. It is never inherent in man. Man carelessly acquires this sickness of habit. One who is not properly trained to perform one’s work within the scheduled hour, one who loves to be engaged in absurd brown-studies, one who is wonton enough to indulge in nurturing the illusion of unlimited time in the future to execute one’s tasks leisurely and unobtrusively, is foolish enough to bring about one’s own execution through failures and failures all through life. Procrastination is truely an offshoot of laziness — the worst foe of man. It hinders the easy flow of rhythmic performance of tasks and duties and social commitments.
             To ward off this dangerous enemy we must cultivate the habit of punctuality. A well-regulated work-culture perked up with resolution only can vanquish this perversion of character. It’s a drug, its addiction dies hard. Regularization of delaying liability and of strict routines can only eradicate this curse.

THE GROWING UNREST AMONG STUDENTS

             One of the most common discussions annoying the elders is about the growing unrest among the students. There is a common complain that at the present age the students are more indisciplined than ever before. One should not forget that the students from the youngest section of our society and if they do not have an avenue to give vent to their feelings, they create unrest.
             But what must be accepted is that in the present age, there is comparatively worse unrest and indiscipline in every sphere of life. The students are very much an important part of the society and if there is unrest in society, there is bound to be a reflections of the same on the students. Corruption, injustice, poverty, unemployment, strike, disease, dirty politics — all have bad reactions on the minds of the students. And since these have become a part of our daily life, these affect the students all the more. The students olden lose their patience and menial balance and thus it can be said that the glowing disorder in the society is one of the main reasons for the growing unrest among students.
             The role of the teachers in this sphere is also vows important. They should set examples for .the students with their disciplined conduct. They should also inform the students about the various ill-effects which may come upon the students if they become too untruly. The most important thing is that they should teach the students to become ideal citizens. If these measures are taken by the teachers and the problems of the students are probed into with loving consideration and due importance. One hopes that the unrest among the students will surely conic down.

RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF A CITIZEN

             It is the duty of the government of any country that it should protect its citizen by providing the necessary. But at the same time every citizen should act in such a manner as they help the government to do its duties. It has to be a mutual effort because rights and duties go hand in hand and we owe to the society as much as the society owes us.
             While it is the duty of the government, through the police, to see that thieves, robbers and people in that category are strongly condemned, it is also the duty of the citizens to help the police to go about with their duties. He should be a champion of law and order He should be the first to come and help his neighbors when they are in trouble, like a fire in the house. He should inform the fire brigade. He should also do his best to keep his locality as clean as possible. He should play apart in seeing that the lawless elements of the society do not get a chance to do their misdeeds. It is absolutely essential that everyone should love his country and be proud to be a part of the great nation. And when this feeling comes to an individual, it is seen that h is willing to take a part in building the country. He should ensure that various public assets like parks, buses, trains should not be damaged. He should ensure that roads are kept clean and that the law of the road is obeyed. It is the duty of every individual to see that nobody takes the law into his own hand. Individual freedom is a precious asset and everyone should see that it is not encroached upon by someone else.

A DRAMATIC PERFORMANCE I HAVE SEEN

             The other day I went with my friend to see a play named Macbeth. This was the Bengali version of Shakespeare’s famous play of the same title in English. Our English teacher once recited in the class the famous lines from Shakespeare’s Macbeth —‘Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow’. He also told us the story of the play. When he was vividly enacting the sleep-walking scene of Lady Macbeth, we were charmed. Now, for the first time, the whole play was seen by me.
             Although in Bengali, It was quite enjoyable. The person who played Macbeth had a very good voice. The parts of the witches were a little overdone. I am not sure if they should be made so comical. Lady Macbeth was very effective in the Banquet Scene, and I liked her part. I enjoyed the play as a whole.
             My friend asked me on our way back whether I considered Macbeth a criminal. My answer was, and still is, both ‘yes’ and ‘no’. ‘Yes’ because Macbeth committed a very heinous crime. ‘No’ because he suffered a lot for this and was at war with himself. I feel pity for Macbeth, I also feel pity for Lady Macbeth. For she also suffered for the sake of her husband and could not bear the terrible tension.

THE STUDENT OF TODAY

             It is not unnatural that ideologies and ideals change from generate of to generation. The students in olden days mainly followed an oft-quoted maxim, ‘Reading is a meditation for the students’. The main objective of an ideal student at that time, was reading, reading and reading to learn his coveted subjects. The students were diligent and dutiful in those days. They were also very much obedient to their teachers and betters.
             But the image of the students today is somewhat different. The calm of the earliest days is absent now. Today’s students face more competition. Pressures in various forms plague them today. The total degeneration of the society, cultural decadence and multifarious activities which are the essential features of present day’s hectic life have given the students somewhat different face. The present age demands not only study, but also some other achievements to suit the need of the day.
             Actually in these days, full of variegated problems a student faces some practical problems which were absent in olden days. Now, a student is called upon to show courage and determination o hold up his ideals.

STORY OF TWO CRABS

             Two crabs lived on the beach of a beautiful ocean. They were of the same age. But their sizes were different. One was big and fatty while the other was small. They were good friends. But the bigger crab had the habit of teasing the smaller crab for his size and shape. He often laughed at smaller one and treated him badly.
The smaller crab felt sorry for such behaviour of his friend. Gradually, he began to hate the bigger one and was waiting for a chance to teach his friend a lesson.
One day, the two friends saw some humans on their beach. They were very far away from the sea. So it was impossible for them to run and jump into the sea quickly. They decided to hide somewhere before they caught.
“My friend”, said the smaller crab, “it is better to hide in this crevice until the humans go away. Then we swim back into the sea.” The bigger agreed. But the crevice was not so big. The smaller crab went inside and easily slipped into a little corner safely.
“Oh, I am stuck!” cried the bigger crab, “only my front pincers have entered the rock. Please help me!” The smaller crab remained silent. So the humans spotted the bigger crab and pulled him out and enjoyed a delicious meal made from him.
The smaller crab was very happy to punish his enemy. He returned, to the sea after the humans left.
Moral: Cruelty never yields good result.