Essays

August 15, 1947 is the day engraved in gold in the history of India. It is the day when India attained its freedom from the clutches of a long slavery of over 200 years of the British Rule. It was a long and hard struggle in which many freedom fighters and great men laid their lives for our beloved motherland. Mahalma Gandhi led the great non-violent movement against which the British had to finally succumb. The country produced great leaders and patriots like Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. Subhash Chandra Bose, Dr Rajendra Prasad, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Laid Lajpat Rai, Lokmanya Balgangadhar Tilak, Sardar Valldbh Bhai Patel, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Rajguru and Chandra Shekhar Azad. The struggle for Independence was such a moving force that it united all the people belonging to different castes, classes and beliefs into a single nation. Women also came out of their houses and significantly contributed to more...

Rivers occupy an important place in the Economy of India. They provide irrigation to parched lands. They are used for navigation. Fishermen catch fish from rivers for a livelihood. Villagers find rivers handy for their day-to- day needs of water. Habitations flourish on the banks-of rivers. A number of big cities as Hardwar, Allahabad, varnashi, Patna and Kolkata came up on the banks of rivrers. India is fortunate in having a number of rivers— satlaj, Beas, Ganga, Yamuna, Narmada, Mahanadi, Brahmaputra.. These have water the whole year round. At Times, these rivers are in spate owing to excessive Rain    or melting snow. They overflow their banks causing misery to people. Men and cattle are affected. Standing crops  are damaged. Though big dams have been built— the problem is solved only to some extent. A flood is a  natural calamity. Every year some part of the country or the other is more...

A visit to a zoo is one of the most enthralling and exciting things. It is an interesting way to help children get familiar with the animal kingdom by letting them see animals, which they cannot see otherwise. A visit to a zoo is an entertaining activity not Just for children but also for adults as it increases their knowledge and makes them wonder at the marvels of nature. During our educational tour to Delhi, last month, we were also taken to the zoo near the Old Fort, The zoo is one of the largest in the country, spread in a vast area of 35 acres, approximately. The zoo is thickly vegetated with a large variety of birds and animals. We first visited the Birds' section, which was a colourful treat to our eyes. This section was echoing with the chirping of the birds all over. The multi-coloured birds were' more...

The first Indian girl to reach the singles quarterfinals at the Olympics and the first Indian to win the World Junior Badminton Championships—Saina Nehwal is not only a sports sensation but has become an icon today. On July 15, 2010 Saina rose to world number 2 by Badminton World Federation, after she vault past China's Wang Xin. The meteoric rise of this Indian badminton player is often cited as the best in Indian female badminton history. Saina Nehwal was born on March 17, 1990 in Hisar, Haryana. Her parents moved to Hyderabad while she was just five and Hyderabad has been her home since then. Her foray into the world of badminton was influenced by her father Dr. Harvir Singh, a scientist at the Directorate of Oilseeds Research, Hyderabad and her mother Usha Nehwal, As both her parents are former badminton champions in Haryana, it was easy for Saina to more...

The first Afro-American to be elected as the 44th President of the United States of America, Barack Obama has done something that others could only dream of.   Eloquent speaker and a reformist who stressed on education and health reforms, it is difficult to put in words a man who has caught the imagination of millions across the world. The voice of large number of Americans who opposed the Iraq war, Obama went beyond the conventional thinking of U.S. and is truly courage personified. Commonly called "Barry" throughout his childhood, Barack Hussein Obama II was born on August 4th 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii. His father, Barack Obama Sr. was of Luo ethnicity of Kenya. Hussein was their middle name as Barack Obama Sr. had adopted Islam though originally he was a Christian. Barack's mother, Ann Dunham was an American brought up in Kansas State- Barack Obama admitted that he struggled through more...

Respect follows his name everywhere. The leader who tried to turn the wheel of the law towards social justice for all and the architect who played a great role in framing the Indian Constitution-Dr B R Ambedkar's name is an example of steely grit and iron-willed character. A well-known politician and an eminent jurist, Ambedkar's efforts to eradicate the social evils like untouchablity and caste restrictions were remarkable. Appointed as the first Law Minister in the free India, he was posthumously awarded with India’s highest civilian honor the Bharat Ratna. Popularly known as Babasaheb Ambedkar, Bhimrao Ambedkar was born to Bhimabai Sakpal and Ramji on 14 April 1891 in Madhya Pradesh. He was the fourteenth child of his parents. Since childhood, Ambedkar was a victim of caste discrimination. His parents hailed from the Hindu Mahar caste, which was viewed as "untouchable" by the upper class. Due to this, Ambedkar had more...

"The public must learn that the blind man is neither genius nor a freak nor an idiot. He has a mind that can be educated .... it is the duty of the public to help him make the best of himself..." These words by Helen keller echo the fact that disability need not be the end of the world. But one can overcome all hurdles through one's spirit. Born on 27 June 1880 in Tuscumbia, USA, daughter of captain Arthur Henley Keller and Kate Adams Keller, she was born with full sight and hearing, They were leading a quiet life. But this was soon going to be short lived. In February 1882, when Helen was nineteen months' old, she fell ill. To this day the nature of her ailment remains a mystery. The doctors of that time called it 'brain fever', while today's doctors think it may have been scarlet more...

It is so heartening to see lush green fields of wheat, paddy, maize etc. But if there was not a phenomenon which had the power to create a 'food bowl', then it would not have been so hunky-dory Called the father of Indian Green Revolution, MS Swaminathan is the pioneering force behind the change. Beneath the soil of the verdant fields is a high-tech invention that changed not only Asia but the world. The seeds planted today by the farmers from Punjab to Pusan are nothing like those used by their ancestors. Without this phenomenon, the entire subcontinent of Asia would either have been starving or enslaved to the outside world for food or financing. That turn of history one of the truly astonishing transformations of the century, is now known as the Green Revolution. Born on August 7, 1925 in South India, this godfather of the Green Revolution in more...

Since time immemorial, we have witnessed the fact that sons inherit the legacy of their fathers. Mukesh Ambani's story has a similar start. It is a well-known fact that some people squander the fortune given to them while some others build it into a formidable business empire. He belongs to the latter genre and indeed, has come a long way till now. His journey has not witnessed a break since then. He heads Reliance Industries, India's largest private sector company. Born on April 19, 1957 in Yemen, Mukesh was a bright child. Having grown under the tutelage of his astute businessman father. Dhirubhai Ambani, Mukesh learnt the tricks of trade from him. His father instilled the core values of hard work and value for money since a tender age. Not a very learned man. Dhirubhai wanted his sons to acquire higher education at the best of institutes. Following his father's more...

He has been characterized as the quintessential example of a super-intelligent human being with immense power and wealth. Every minute, every second when you are on your PC, he guides you. Every computer in the world comes with his software pre-installed! With this hint, I am sure, you can gauge the fact that we are talking about Microsoft and the brain behind it—Bill Gates. The American entrepreneur, philanthropist and the Chairman of Microsoft, was born on October 28, 1955. As a student, Gates excelled in elementary school, particularly in Mathematics and Sciences. At 13, he enrolled in the Lakeside | School, Seattle's most exclusive preparatory school. When he was in the eighth grade, the school mothers used proceeds from Lakeside's rummage sale to buy an ASR-33 teletype terminal and a block of computer time in a General Electric Computer. Gates took an interest in programming the GE system in BASIC more...