Essays

The word 'Forest' is derived from the Latin word 'Fores' which means 'outside', Thus, it must have always referred to a village outskirt or fence or boundary which must have included all cultivated as well as uncultivated land. Various types of forests are found in India. Today/ of course, forests refer to vast areas of land covered with thick vegetation, trees and animals dwelling within. Climatic factors such as rainfall and temperature along with soil determine the kind of natural vegetation that will be found in a particular place- Places that receive more than 200 cm of annual rainfall have Evergreen Rain forests. Areas receiving rainfall between 200 and 100 cm have Monsoon Deciduous trees while Drier Deciduous or Tropical Savannah forests are found in areas receiving 50 to 100 cm of rains per annum. Places which receive less than 50 cm annually have only Dry Thorny Vegetation. Owing to more...

Television got introduced in India on an experimental basis in Delhi on 15 September 1959. This was converted into a regular service in 1965. In the beginning TV sets were quite costly and only the upper class could afford it. From October 1972 a number of TV centres were set up in Mumbai, Srinagar, Jalandhar, Kolkata, Chennai and Lucknow in quick succession. The TV network got a big boost during the ninth Asian Games in November 1982 when 20 transmitters were installed in different state capitals and some important cities. Another landmark was on 15 August 1982 when colour television was introduced in India. Colour TV sets were costlier. Come smaller portable sets—black & white and colour. Doordarshan started its national programmes. By 22 February 1994, the number of functional transmitters was 563 covering 83.6 per cent of India's population. Television is a miracle of scientific and technological research. J.L. more...

Towns and cities are the boon of the modern civilization. With the coming of industrial revolution, a large number of industries sprang up. Machines replaced manual work and labourers failed to compete with the quality as well as quantity of the machine production. Cottage industry, therefore began to breathe its last. People suddenly found themselves without work, for their hand-made goods failed to compete with the finished goods of the machine without any work, they failed to provide square meals to their families. Forced because of hunger, poverty, death and other circumstances, they migrated to areas whore these industries were set up to seek employment. This saw the emergence of towns as the labourers began to live with their families nearby the factories and the industries where they were employed. Towns grew bigger to form cities gradually. People from villages since ages have perpetually migrated to towns and cities in more...

If we eat too much, we are liable to grow fat thus becoming vulnerable to so many diseases just waiting to do their dirty job on us. If we do not eat enough, then we will suffer the consequences of malnutrition. Overeating and not eating enough are extremes, they don't help us to live life fully. Either way we pay the price of living in extremes. The only sane and healthy way is to eat moderately, enough to sustain our bodies but not too much to cause problems. There are some people who are fanatically religious. They become blind to other things besides what they think religion demands of them. As a result they live out of touch with reality and cause numerous problems to the rest of us. Their over-righteous attitude to life makes them see things only in two ways—right or wrong. They make for themselves a prison more...

If a person pursues anything in life with firm determination and persistent hard work, then nothing in this world can stop that person from achieving what he has aimed for. It is said that 'life is for to be taken'. When the person has the will and the strong desire to achieve something, he also finds ways and means to overcome all the hurdles and obstacles. Even if the task seems impossible it can be achieved through the persistent hard work. One should not be discouraged in face of difficult circumstances and adverse situations. One should not lose hope when the path seems difficult. Will-power of a person is insurmountable and invincible. It is the greatest moving force in the world. The possessor of strong will wins half of the battle of his life. A man of weak will and dampened enthusiasm can never achieve his goals. If a person more...

Introduction. Spring is the most pleasant season in India, in this season everybody feels happy after the intense cold of winter. All take interest in out-door life. The earth wears a green dress. Again it conies to life The beauty of nature. In this season the nature is kind. It gives us pleasure and Joy. The trees, once more look fresh and lovely. They regain their lost leaves. The birds were silent in winter. Now they singsongs- They thank God with their thousands of notes. Nature gives a grand feast to our hungry eyes. It invites us to come out and take pan in the joy of the world. It presents a lovely sight for our hungry eyes. We get new strength from the kind mother of nature. The cool breeze invite us I" come into the open. Buds of flowers peep to sec the beautiful sight of nature. Flowers more...

For four days it rained non-stop. The rain was not very heavy but it kept on pouring without letting up. Our neighbours and we were all worried about the possibility of a flood—the levels of the nearby river had been rising steadily. The next day the river overflowed its banks and the water spread out covering the entire area on which houses stood. To make matters worse, debris were caught on the bridge thus impeding the flow of the river This had the effect of making the flood water rise even faster. The army came and blew a gap on the bridge to clear the blockage and this brought some relief to us. Nevertheless, the rain continued. It was wet everywhere—the ground, our chairs, beds; wet. We could not do any cooking and had to resort to eating canned food. By about four o'clock in the afternoon, it become obvious more...

Introduction. Our school was closed on 14lh of May for the summer vacation. On the same day I packed my luggage- I caught the first train bound for Saharanpur. 1 reached my house in the evening. In the company of my friends. Next day my friends came to meet me. In the evening I went for a walk with them. I remained busy with them for many days. On 30th of May I received a letter from my elder brother. He asked me to come to Agra. I started on the same night and reached Agra in the morning. My stay at Agra. I spent many days visiting all historical places. The great historical city charmed my heart. The famous Taj made me spell-bound. I visited Akbar's Fort. It reminded me the past story of Mughal Empire. I often used to bathe in the holy water of the Jamuna; Here more...

The Gita says: "Be humble, be harmless, have no pretension, be upright, forbearing; serve your teacher in true obedience, keeping the mind and body in cleanness, tranquil, steadfast, master of ego, standing apart from the things of the senses. Free from self; aware of the weakness in mortal nature." Lose the I, gain the self. Each soul is potentially divine. "We are not human beings learning to be spiritual; we are spiritual beings learning to be human," goes a saying. If this be so, why this forgetfulness about our divine potential? What causes this amnesia? Man indeed forgets that he is the son of a king. A child prince brought up by hunters does not know that he is of royal lineage; he will remain ignorant about his ancestry till somebody identifies him as a prince. Swami Vivekananda emphasized that the self in each person is not different from the more...

In comparison to us today, my grandparents never had TV, video, computers, jet planes or four-figure salaries. Their lives were not cluttered with so many consumer goods that we find today in supermarkets and shopping malls. For that matter, they neither had supermarkets nor malls- They did their occasional shopping in simple shops, devoid of air-conditioning or price-tags. They probably did not have to face arrogant salesgirls who gossip more than serving. Nowadays, cars are a common sight. Traffic jams have become a daily affair. My grandmother never sat in a car until she became a grandmother. She teases me sometimes, says how pampered we are. She says that in her youth, people got around on foot or on bicycles- Cars and buses were rare. Only a few rich people could afford cars. The streets were unpaved and not dangerous. There was neither pollution nor the deafening roar of timber more...