Archives November 2012

We have been greatly lucky to have had a galaxy of social reformers like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Kabindranath Tagore, Swami Dayanand Saraswati, Vivekanand and many many others. They all worked hard whole-heartedly to rid the society of one or the other evil. These ills included the caste-system, untouchability, the 'purdah' system, which compelled women to be confined within the four walls of the house, the ban on widow remarriage and the 'Sati' practice. The last evil required a widow to burn herself on the pyre of her husband after his death. The problem is that many of these ills still persist and urgently require to be set right. The first and the most important of all of them is our caste- system, particularly in the villages this is, undoubtedly, a great social curse. This retards the progress in the rural areas. For example, if a school more...

Galileo Galilei was born at Pisa on the 18th of February in 1564. His father, Vincenzo Galilei, belonged to a noble family and had gained some distinction as a musician and a mathematician. At an early age, Galileo manifested his ability to learn both mathematical and mechanical types of things/ but his parents, wishing to turn him aside from studies which promised no substantial return, steered him toward some sort of medical profession. But this had no effect on Galileo. During his youth he was allowed to follow the path that he wished to. Although in the popular mind Galileo is remembered chiefly as an astronomer, however, the science of mechanics and dynamics pretty much owe their existence to his findings. Before he was twenty, observation of the oscillations of a swinging lamp in the cathedral of Pisa led him to the discovery of the isochronisms of the pendulum, which more...

There was a time when my Motherland, India, was considered a 'Golden Bird'. This was because of its riches, vast natural resoures and the great, bright future it was expected to have in store. Our rich, cultural lieritage, old civilization and vast knowledge in every aspect of life had endeared India and Indians even to the outside world. No wonder, foreigners had been taking keen interest in us right from the dawn of their awakening. But alas! It is all lost now. Gone are the days of past glory, riches, reverence and attraction. The country has witnessed a sharp decline in its over-all image and we have now become a nation, inviting mockery, neglect and indifference from outsiders. India of my dream is, naturally, the same ancient land, full of peace prosperity, wealth and immense knowledge. I want to see it free from the problems that are bringing bad name, more...

Gandhi was an important man in India, who influenced much of the country. He was born in Western India in 1869 and was raised Hindu. At age thirteen; Gandhi entered his arranged marriage and a few years later went to attend law school in London. In 1893, Gandhi became an attorney in South Africa, where he first practiced passive resistance against the British law enforcers who oppressed the Indian race. In 1915 after Gandhi had made Indians lives better in South Africa, he went back to India to begin his struggle for independence from the British. Gandhi also helped to gain Indian independence, when it 1.1 me, on August 15, 1947. To be such an influential leader in both South Africa and India, Gandhi had to get through many tough obstacles. Some obstacles are violence, religious persecution, racism, and discrimination of the castes. Gandhi opposed these things in order to more...

Chiang Kai-shek Chiang Kai-shek, also known as Chiang Chung-cheng, was the son of a middle-class wine merchant who lived in the village of Chikow in Chekiang Province. When he was fourteen years old, following the Chinese custom of that time, he was arranged to be marry by his mother (the bride's name is not mentioned). His bride and he did not see each other until In's walk down the aisle. He did this without complaints only to please his mother. Once he was married he met his bride's parents, as was tradition. Due to Chiang's bad temper, the meeting ended in arguments between Chiang and his bride's father. Once home he tried to keep his mind off of the marriage and concentrated more on what kind of man he wanted to become. He dreamed of becoming a soldier. He saw adventure in a military career and felt comfortable with the more...

George Washington is best known as the 'Father of United States'. He cared for this country much like a parent would care for a child. During his presidency, he solved many noteworthy problems. His achievements led to a democratic, wonderful country that is called "The United States of America'. Although he's not thought of as glamorous, George Washington is looked upon with the utmost respect and awe by all countries of the world. George Washington was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia on February 22, 1802. Virginia was alarmed when a French expedition from Canada established posts on the headwaters of the Ohio River. Conflict over this area eventually erupted into the French and Indian War, in which Washington played a major military role that established his reputation as a commander. In the fall of 1758, the French were defeated. In 1759, he married Martha Dandridge Custis, a wealthy young widow. more...

In the ancient Indian scriptures, woman was given a glorified status. She was an embodiment of Shakti. No religious ceremony was complete without her. However, Manu made such statements about women as relegated her to a position of backwardness and timidity. Her status and respectful position in the society suffered a jolt during the times of Manusmriti. During the Mughal period, the status of women was degraded further. Purdah system came into vogue. Sati system was very prominent, which put serious scars on the contemporary society. The Sati system was stopped by legal action when Raja Ram Mohan Roy took up the issue with the State during the British rule over India. During the distant past, Savitri, Parvati, Seeta and Ahilya were the role models of Indian Society. During the freedom struggle, Aruna Asaf Ali, Sarojini Naidu, Kasturba Gandhi, Sucheta Kriplani and other women played steller roles for the liberation more...

Art represents beauty. It represents the soul and spirit of the artist. It is a form of communication that the artist can use as a substitution for words. Art has flourished in the world for thousands of years and it has no intentions of stopping. One of the most important figures in modern art is a man by the name of Pablo Picasso. He has taken the world into many places and has enabled us to see many abstract creations through his artwork alone. Born on October 25, 1881, Picasso was a miracle right from the start. There were complications during his birth and everyone was sure that he was not going to make it, but then Picasso's uncle, Salvador Ruiz, was able to make this tragedy a miracle. He exhaled a puff of cigar smoke into the baby's nostrils and suddenly... he joined the world of the living. Picasso's more...

In the past thirty years since Friedan's book, feminists have learned much about the pervasiveness or sexist patterns, the difficulty of changing these patterns, and the media's role in the establishment, continuity, and breaking of these patterns. Although most feminist writers began their work by acknowledging issues of women's differences such as race and class, the vast majority of books and articles, according to Valdiva, focus primarily on the white, middle-class, heterosexual. Western woman. Some feminist writers believe it is this absence of multicultural issues, particularly concerning women and the media, that divides women instead of uniting' them. The following will discuss some popular feminist perspectives in relation to women and the media and introduce a more recent one, that being, the multicultural feminist approach. Of particular concern to many feminists is how the media has contributed to the cultural conversation about feminism at different historical moments over the past more...

William Shakespeare was a great English playwright, dramatist and poet who lived during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Shakespeare is considered to be the greatest playwright of all time. No other writer's plays have been produced so many times or read so widely in so many countries as his. Shakespeare was born to middle class parents. His father, John, was a Stratford businessman. He was a glove maker who owned a leather shop. John Shakespeare was a well-known and respected man in the town. He held several important local governmental positions; William Shakespeare's mother was Mary Arden. Though she was the daughter of a local farmer, she was related to a wealthy family. Mary Arden and John Shakespeare were married in 1557. William Shakespeare was born in Stratford in 1564, He was one of eight children. The Shakespeares' were well- respected prominent people. When William Shakespeare was about more...