Car Breakers

There's a graveyard in our street,

But it's not for putting people in;

The bodies they bury here

Are made of steel and paint and tin.

                            The people come and leave their wrecks

                             For crunching in the giant jaws

                            Of a great hungry car-machine,

                             That lives on bonnets, wheels and doors

When I pass by the yard at night,

I sometimes think I here a sound

Of ghostly  horns that moan and whine ,

Upon that metal- graveyard mound.

                                          -Unknown-

Excavation

                                             If I should meet with the boy that I was,

                                                        How should we look?

                                                        What could we say?

                                            So have I changed in the years that I think

                                                         Both would be dumb.

                                            Yet there is nothing that came from without 

                                                         Nothing of new

           

                                                          Built on the old.

                                            What I am now was asleep in me then,

                                                          Waiting its hour.

                                             Slowly, as men who unbury a vast                                                                

                                                           City that lay 

                                                           Sunken in sand,           

                                             Thought and the powerful spades of the world 

                                                           Dig out the self.

               

- by Clifford Bax -

Dream Poem

                                            In a corner of my bedroom

                                                      grew a tree

                                                      a happy tree

                                                      my own tree

                                           its leaves were soft

                                                       like flesh

                                           and its birds sang poems for me then

                                                      without warning

                                            two men

                                                       with understanding smiles

                                            and axes

                                                        made out forged excuses came 

                                             and chopped it down

                                                         either yesterday

                                               or the day before

                                                          i think it was the day before.

                                                                                                 - Roger McGough -

Don't Quit

Try and try again and you will succeed

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,

When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,

When the funds are low and the debts are high.

 And you want to smile, but you have to sigh.

When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with it's twists and turns,

As every on of us sometimes learns,

And many a failure turns about

When he might have won had be stuck it out;

Don't give up though the pace seem slow

You may succeed with another blow.

Success is failure turned inside out

The silver tint of the cloud of doubt,

And you can never tell how close you are,

It may be near when it seems so far; 

So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit

It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

                                                                                 -Unknown-

Folklore

One very important source of knowledge is folklore. Lore means learning. Folklore is the learning or knowledge that has not been written down. It has been passed down orally from generation to generation.

What is interesting about folklore? While the main body of knowledge is passed down, the details may change from area to area. They are bound up with the customs and traditions of the society. It includes tales, legends, oral history, proverbs, jokes and popular beliefs.

Every country has it's own body of folklore. Agricultural societies were full of folklore.In Europe folklore became a serious study in the 19th century with the rise of nationalism Sociologists study folklore. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm collected the stories and legends known in Germany and complied them as one book. The English translation is known as Children's and Household Tales. This was published in 1812. Now we can read lots of tales from all other lands.

When we read stories about these lands we can learn about the nature of the land, the climate, the animals and the living conditions of the time. There are many stories about fire in many lands. Aladin struck a match. That was magic. Amal Biso went to house to borrow some fire / light. The story of the Little Match Girl tells us how she sold matches in the cold wintry evenings.

These stories influence our lives too. The popularity of the teddy bears comes from the love of these stories. The bears in these tales are like human beings, kind and gentle. This attitude to bears is totally absent in other cultures. Some times a similar story may be told in two different lands. There is a story in Ummagga Jataka very similar to the story told by Bertolt Brecht in A Caucasian Chalk Circle.

Some habits customs and taboos, that is thing you must not do, also are parts of folk lore. The use of lime and turmeric for cleansing is one such example.

In ancient time when a person died and the dead body was taken out, the place was sprinkled with turmeric water. People returning from a funeral would rub them selves with lime. It is known that lime and turmeric have disinfecting properties. In ancient times in Sri Lanka people going in to forests, or crossing on to Aiiyanayaka a local god of the aria. However the custom had a very significant use or morning. The sprigs dying on these trees would indicate the path to the traveler. So, the belief that 'if you did not observe the rites of god Aiiyanayaka you would be lost, has a real meaning. Perhaps the fear of god would have made people not to forget to take this very essential precaution.

Search Engines

The internet is a source of knowledge. It is of very recent origin. However the influence it has on society is immeasurable. The scope is very wide. It is easily accessible to everyone.

  Knowledge has got a new dimension with the introduction of the internet. An internet user has access a lot of knowledge and information. A book for example is read serially one sentence after the other. Words are written horizontally or vertically. If we went to read a book, and listen to music at the same time, we have to use two separate sources for that. But the internet has brought thetwo together for us. You must haveseen people working at the computer listening to music.

When producing a book, the weight and size play an important role. That is why dictionaries and encyclopaedia come in volumes. We will not be able to lift one if they are produced as a single work. The internet has no "weight" unlike a book which is heavy. And so with the network, there is no 'bulk'. We can get ehat we want at a 'click'

The language that is most used on the internet is English. The internet was first started as a research project of the Department of Defense of the USA.

The internet provides an immense source of knowledge, through such as Google, Yahoo, Wikipedia etc.

However there are certain disadvantages in the internet. No one is responsible for the information or the quality of information. There is no source for this information. There is no authority, or authorship responsible.

The Encyclopiedia

What does an encyclopedia contains ?

  An encyclopaedia on the other hand gives a full account on the subject. It gives the most relevant knowledge gathered on that subject. It often includes maps, illustrations, charts, as well as statistics to show relationships.

What is the meaning of the word encyclopaedia? When was the word first used?

  The word "Encyclopaedia", comes from the classical Greek word meaning, " a general education". The idea of producing an encyclopaedia is very old. The term first used in 1541.

List the limitations of a dictionary. What does it not do?

The encyclopaedia  has developed from the dictionary in the 18th century. A dictionary is mainly on words and their definitions. It provides limited information, for the word defined. Some times the definition given in the dictionary may not give enough understanding of the world to the reader. He may not understand the broad meaning.

What does an encyclopaedia do, that a dictionary doesn't?

An encyclopaedia is a complete summary of information. This information can be on all branches of knowledge or a particular branch of knowledge.

The Books

Books are the most important source of knowledge. We have learnt many things from books. As little children, we loved to read fairy tales and other story books. Now we have read stories, poems, histories, reports, biographies, adventures, everything in books. We have learnt about out country, and other countries from books. We have read about things we have never seen or heard before.

                  Books give us not only knowledge; they give us entertainment too. The Tales of the Arabian Nights, tell us of strange adventures. They keep us awake with curiosity. Aesop's fables tell us of folk tales of many lands. The fairy tales delighted us in our childhood. Now we have the Harry Potter Series. Some time back we had the Enid Blyton stories.

                  Each religion has it's own books too. The Christians have the Bible, the Muslims have the Quran, the Hindus have the Vedas, the Buddhist have the Dhammapada. The Mahavamsa is considered the oldest record of history of our country. When we are free, we spend our time with books in the library. When we are ill, and in bed how would we spend our time if we didn't have a story book?. Books and knowledge are inseparable in our life.

Handicarfts or Folk Art ?

Do you know embroidery ?Do you what embroidery is ?

        It is the addition of a pattern or other ornamental effect, to textiles by the use of the needle and thread. The wonder is that Kantha embroidery uses only the simplest of stitches, the running stitch!

        

                         The state of Bengal is famous for Kantha art. Kantha actually means 'embroidered quilt'. The embroidered quilts of Bangalore are wonderful in their beauty, colour and design.

                     The Sanskrit word "kantha" means rags. It is a cottage industry, and is also a form of folk art. There are two types of embroidery. In one the old, discarded cotton sarees or dhotis are put one on top of the other and are quilted and embroidered. The other is quilted by using discarded cotton bedspreads.for the three basic aspects of nature- earth, sky and space. The designs used are of lotus flowers, creepers, foliage, floral scroll and animal and human figures.

                          Today the Kantha embroidery is famous all around the globe. The old kantha designs are priced possessions now. They are found on sleek shawls, sarees and bags. The village women spend a great deal of time and care in getting the perfect designs.

      

The Globalization

History of Globalization

Globalization is a historical process. the start of globalization could be dated back to the 5 th and 6 th centuries BC. the skill route is a good example of globalization. The skill connected the West with the East. Forks that are considered English were introduced to Britain as late as the 19th century. Spoons had come in the 18th century.

Different views on Globalization  

    Some people see globalization as a positive factor. They say it links cultures around the world. It promotes unity and understanding between people of different societies. Others have a negative attitude towards globalization. They believe that stronger nations impose their cultures on weaker societies. There are also some people who have mixed feelings about globalization.

Globalization at work 

      Globalization connects various kinds of global relations such as sharing ideas, opinions and cultures. The most obvious is the use of 'things', clothes, furniture, cookery, cutlery, and vehicles etc. Therefore the world has become a global village.

Communication and Globalization

   Today great attention is drawn towards globalization. The development of the internet and other communication technologies have played a major role in creating a great interest in globalization. The developing countries tend to fear globalization, seeing it as Westernization. But globalization is not only from the West to East but also from the East to West as well.

The Future of Globalization

    There are two views on the future of globalization. Will the 21st century continue with the high rate of globalization or will globalization slow down once it reaches the climax ?

Senior Citizens

 With urbanization and changing life styles, more and more elderly people are looked after by the state and charity organizations. Apart from board and lodging there are other facilities that are provided for them. Most countries give concessions to senior citizens. The train fare for Senior citizens in India is almost a quarter of the normal fare. They also take care when they allocate seats to the elderly. Only the lower berths in railway compartments are allocated to the elderly people. 
                          
                                                                    Most buses in England have seats marked out for the senior citizens. The  conductors and drivers are very helpful to the elderly. They often assist them to get on and off the bus. In Sri Lanka young people get up from their seats and offer them to the elderly people. Banks offer special accounts to senior citizens and they are given higher rates of interest. They are also provided with free insurance, free medical facilities and prompt attention in all matters.

                                                     Some countries have a home health service, where the doctors go to the homes of the elderly for regular check ups. But most like to encourage  the elderly to visit the central or the local clinic. There they can meet other elderly people and make friends.             

                                                                                    There is something that all of us need to remember. Old age is inevitable in life. it cannot be prevented, nor can it be rushed, alas! you cannot get older or younger. The only thing to do is to grow old gracefully.

Friendship

A friendship is a bond between two living beings. Friendships are formed irrespective of age, status, caste creed and gender. A child, a teenager, a young man or even an old man can find a friend according to his feelings and wishes. True friends share feelings such as happiness, sadness and affection. Friends should be trust worthy and loyal each other. Caring and sharing make a friendship healthy and it uplifts the lives of friends and it will give colour to life.                                                                                                                                                 

As the proverb say " A friend in need is a friend indeed".

Play wrights have written plays on friendship, lyricists have woven lyrics on friendship, poets have written poems on friendships and novelists have made friendship the theme of there novels.                                                                                    

                                    Example: The Merchant Of Venice by William Shakespeare

                                              

Family Bonds

Family bonds or ties play a major role in  our lives. It is the deep attachment between, and among family members.It last forever.The affectionate relationships between family members; farther and mother, mother and children, farther and children and among children bring happiness, good fortune and success.

              Family bonds arise out of living together in harmony with love, affection, caring and sharing. No matter how rich or poor, family bonds are the same. Love and affection do not depend on wealth. All children grow up to be adults passing different phases. A child becomes a teenager, an adolescent and a grown up. In the process of growing up family ties should be protected. They serve as an anchor in later life, in times of difficulty.

 In the modern world family bonds are drifting apart. Modern society pays much attention to money. Money seems to give status and importance in the society. As a result people have become competitive. They have no time to think of others. Thus family bonds or ties have become frail. When we learn to care for the family, w learn to care for our society and to care  for our country and our world.