lesson 36

Teacher: Next Sunday should we all go somewhere for a picnic?

Subhash: That will be enjoyable, Sir. Where will we go?

Teacher: Where will we go, that you all only will decide.

Javed: Sir, Surajkund will be good.

Geeta: No, Sir. Agra will be good.

Teacher: No, Geeta. We will not go so far. We will go to Surajkund. We will go to Surajkund.

Geeta: When will we go?

Teacher: We will leave at nine o'clock after breakfast and reach there at ten o'clock. There we will roam about, play and sing songs.

It is a very beautiful hilly area. There is a pond in the middle.

Javed: OK, what will be the food arrangement?

Subhash: Two students will get sweets. Two students will get salty snacks and two students will get fruits.

Teacher: Geeta and Sheela will make and bring pooris and Surendra will bring chickpeas. Reeta will bring cake.

Javed and Suraiya: And we will bring kheer.

Teacher: On Sunday the bus is coming at eight-thirty.

All of you please reach here by eight o'clock.

Subhash: Will Sushma Madam also be coming?

Teacher: No, she will not be coming. She has some work.

Teacher: Will Meera ji be coming?

Subhash: I don't know. Probably she won't be coming. Probably she won't be coming.

Javed: Sir, what will the weather be like there?

Teacher: These days it is raining so the weather should be pleasant there.

lesson 37

Candidate: Namaste.

Chairman of the Board: Namaste. You are Priyaranjan Mukerjee, aren't you? Please sit down.

Mukerjee: Thank-you.

Chairman: OK. You are a graduate of Nagpur University.

What were your subjects in BA?

Mukerjee: Economics, History, Political Science, English and Hindi.

Chairman: Do you know Marathi also?

Mukerjee: Yes, I know Marathi also.

I can read and write very well.

Member 1: Do you know 'tankan', I mean typing?

Mukerjee: Yes, I can type both in Hindi and English.

Member: Do you know 'ashulipi' that is shorthand also?

Mukerjee: These days I am learning Hindi shorthand. I know English shorthand too.

Member 2: Mukerjee, tell me, do you know accounting work?

Mukerjee: Presently I am working in a private company.

There I only look after the accounting work.

Member 2: OK, what do you call a Balance sheet in Hindi?

Mukerjee: ( After thinking) 'Tulan patra.'

Member 2: That's right.

Tell me when was Hindi made the official language of the Union?

Mukerjee: I am sorry, I am not aware of this information.

Chairman: Why do you want to leave your job in the private company?

Mukerjee: The Company wants to send me to Italy but my father's health doesn't stay good.

That's why I can't go abroad right now.

Chairman: We want to open a branch in Ahmedabad. This post is for Ahmedabad. Will you be able to go to Ahmedabad?

Mukerjee: Yes, I can go happily. My wife is a Gujarati. Her home is in Ahmedabad only. Her home is in Ahmedabad only.

Chairman: Very good. Now you may leave.

Mukerjee: Thank-you.

lesson 38

(Conversation between members of a family in the drawing room of their house.)

Mother: Dayafter tomorrow is Rajeev's wedding. Will everyone attend the wedding? Will everyone attend the wedding?

Parth: Mother, I will surely come for the wedding.

Mother: One day before the wedding there is a ladies music programme.

I will have to go for the ladies music also.

Annu: Mother, I will also come for the ladies music. There the 'dholak' will be played, everyone will sing and dance a lot. Mother, will henna be also put there?

Mother: Yes, henna will also be put there. Rajeev's 'baraat' will leave the next day.

Parth: I will dance a lot in the 'baraat'. Mother, I will sit on the horse too along with Rajeev Bhaiya.

I will stay with Bhaiya during the 'dvaar-chaar' too. Annu Didi, you also dance in the 'baraat'.

Annu: No, I will not dance. In the 'baraat' I will go wearing a 'lehnga-chunri' like the bride so how can I dance?

Parth, what will you wear for the wedding?

Parth: I will wear my 'shervani' but with it I will have to buy new shoes. Father, when will we go to the market?

Father: We have to go to the market tomorrow only.

For Rajeev's wedding we have to buy some nice gift also.

Mother: Yes. I want to give Rajeev and his bride a very beautiful gift as a memento of their wedding.

Annu: Mother, I will buy a new dress for myself too.

Mother: Alright, we will see a new dress for you too.

Parth: We will have lots of fun at the wedding. We will eat lots of snacks and ice-cream.

Annu: Mother, will we stay there the whole night? The 'pheras' will take place late and the ritual of hiding shoes will take place after that only.

The sisters-in-law of the groom together will sing 'Give money and take your shoes.' The real fun of the wedding will be there.

Mother: Yes, we will stay there till the 'vidai.' The 'vidai' will be able to take place by four in the morning only.

Father: Parth and I will come home after eating. You mother-daughter stay till the 'vidai'. Annu will enjoy staying with her bridegroom brother and bride sister-in-law.

Mother: Alright, then both of us will return home next morning only after the 'muh-dikhai' ritual of the bride.

Father: Yes, this will be fine.

Lesson 39

Amar: Raghavan, when did you return from Mysore? How was the journey?

Raghavan: I returned today morning only. The journey was very good.

Amar: Did you stay in Mysore all the time or did you go anywhere else too?

Raghavan: This time I roamed a lot. From here I went straight to Hyderabad. I stayed there for two days. There is a lot of greenery in Hyderabad.

Amar: How come there is so much greenery in such a big cyber-city?

Raghavan: Special attention is paid to tree plantation there. When I reached the University I saw the students there also planting trees.

Amar: OK, that's why there is so much greenery in Hyderabad. Did you visit Tirupati also?

Raghavan: Yes, from Hyderabad I went to Tirupati and reached Bangalore after visiting Tirupati. Bangalore is a neat and clean city.

Amar: How are these cities are so neat and clean?

Raghavan: People there are vigilant.

They throw ruubbish in dust-bins only, not here and there. On the roads they don't spit here and there either.

Amar: OK, tell me, where did you stay in Bangalore?

Raghavan: My Aunt stays there. I stayed at her place. I stayed at her place.

Amar: Didn't you go to Nandi Hill?

Raghavan: No, there was less time. I went to Mysore from there. I went to Mysore from there. I stayed in Mysore for a week. There are many places worth seeing there - Chamundi Hill, Palace of the Maharaja of Mysore, Vrinavan Gardens, etc.

I went to Srirangapatnam too.

Amar: Srirangapatnam? What is there?

Raghavan: The fort of Tipu Sultan is there. The temple of Sriranganath is also there.

Amar: Ooty is close to Mysore. Didn't you go there?

Raghavan: I couldn't go to Ooty due to the rains.

Amar: In the next holidays I will also visit South India. There won't be be any problem there?

Raghavan: No, there is no problem in the South. Hotels, etc. are very cheap. You get cheap food too.

Amar: Did you get anything from Mysore?

Raghavan: From there I got a sandalwood statue for Father and I've brought this pair of elephants for you.

Amar: Thank-you Raghavan.

Lesson 40

From childhood till the age of eighteen years I have lived in Mumbai. Mumbai is a beautiful metropolitan city. There are tall buildings here and also the sea-shore, greenery and beautiful parks. There is a lot of rain in Mumbai from the month of June till August.

The rain is such that you do not see the sun for a week - ten days. Those days we used to stay at the Arrey Milk Colony in Mumbai. This colony is located on a hill. In the midst of the colony there are conserved forests too.

During the monsoon this colony becomes very green. There were Gulmohar trees on both sides of the road. The roads covered with Gulmohar flowers looked very beautiful. Film City was close to

our colony.

Shooting used to take place in Film City as well as our colony. Often we would also go to watch the shooting. During childhood going to school during the monsoon was very enjoyable. All of us children used to go to school wearing gumboots and raincoats.

When there was heavy rain the railway lines used to get filled up with water. The trains would stop. The buses would move slowly. We used to face inconvenience while commuting but even then we would greatly enjoy the weather.

During the monsoon the people of Mumbai go for a lot of picnics. Haji Ali, Juhu Beach, the Chowpatty sea-shore, Jahangir Art Gallery, Prince of Wales Museum, Gateway of India, Jijamata Garden, Nehru Science Centre, the Aquarium and Mahalaxmi Temple are the main tourist spots here. Often I used to also go to Juhu Beach along with my family. We would watch the high waves rising in the sea for hours.

Sometimes we would swim in the sea too. We used to make sandcastles and decorate them with colourful paper flags. The crowd on the sea-shore used to increase in the evening. There would be huge crowds at the food stalls too.

We would surely eat Mumbai's famous bhelpuri and pani-puri (golguppa). When we felt chilly we all would drink coconut water. All of us would return home only after seeing the wonderful sunset on the sea-shore. I remember those childhood days even today.

Lesson 41

Like every year this year also the International Trade Fair is going on at Pragati Maidan from 14th November. We saw this fair last year. This year also the children insisted to go. That's why we went to see the fair last Sunday.

This year apart from all the states of India many other countries have also participated in the fair. Big-big companies from countries like China, Japan, Korea. etc. have come here with their products. Last year some foreign companies had not come for the fair. Last time we could not see the Japan pavilion because of the crowd so this time we went to the Japan pavilion first.

The machines in the Japan pavilion were worth seeing and all types of electronic products like TV, washing machines and fridge, etc. were exhibited here. We too bought a Sony flat screen TV from here. In the fair the pavilion of Korea was very good. After this we went to see the main

attraction of the fair, the pavilion of China.

The cheap electrical products and toys here attracted everyone. We too bought CFL lights from here which can save electricity. Last year I was greatly attracted by the ornaments made of pearls of Andhra Pradesh but I couldn't buy them. This time I bought a Patola sari and a pearl necklace from here.

We tried to visit the Gujarat pavilion but we couldn't go inside. There was a lot of crowd. We ate 'pav bhaji' and 'dhokla' outside only. After this we went to the pavilion of Himachal Pradesh to buy beautiful warm shawls.

In the Jammu and Kashmir pavilion the warm suits with Kashmiri embroidery, shawls and furniture of Walnut wood were worth seeing. Last year we had bought a Kashmiri carpet from here. This time I bought a warm suit from here. After this we visited the Assam and Nagaland pavilions too.

Here we saw attractive furniture made of Bamboo. Last time the children had bought a swing made of jute from here. This time they bought dry flowers, attractive and colourful leaves and a vase from here. After roaming around the whole day we were tired but our hearts were still not full.

The time of of the fair was coming to a close due to which we couldn't see other pavilions. We came out of the ground at eight o'clock in the evening.

Lesson 42

Once King Akbars court was in progress. All the courtiers along with Birbal were present. To test the intelligence of the courtiers the King started asking some questions. His first question was - Amongst the flowers which is the most beautiful flower?

One courtier immediately said - Jahanpanah, the rose. Another said - Lotus. Birbal did not give any reply to this question. The King asked the second question - Whose milk is the most nutritious?

One courtier immediately said - Jahanpanah, cows milk. Another said - Goats milk. Some courtiers said buffaloes milk is the best. Birbal just kept smiling, not saying anything.

Akbar asked the next question - What is the sweetest thing? One courtier said - Huzoor, barfi. Another said - Rasgulla. The other courtiers also named some sweet or the other as the best.

Akbar was surprised at Birbals silence even now. The King asked the next question - Which is the best leaf? Nobody answered immediately. After some thought one courtier said - Badshah, the leaf of the Neem. Its leaf cures many diseases.

Some said the Tulsi, others said Banana leaves were good. They said they are sacred and are useful for worship. Akbar smiled and asked the fifth question - Amongst all the kings who is the best king? In one voice everyone said - King Akbar.

Hearing the answer to the last question the king was very happy. Even then Birbal remained silent. The King asked - Birbal, you did not say anything? On this Birbal smiled and said - Maharaj, the cotton flower is the most beautiful.

The clothes made from its fibres cover mans body. Hearing this answer all the courtiers looked at each others faces. Birbal further said - Mothers milk is the best. Sweetness is in the tongue which speaks sweet words.

Hearing this answer even Akbar started smiling. Amongst leaves Birbal called the betel leaf the best. Along with being used for worship, relatives and friends are welcomed with the betel leaf only. The entire court was eager to hear the answer to the last question.

Birbal said - Amongst all the kings, Indra is the best. The courtiers asked with surprise - How? Birbal said - Indra is the God of rain, with rain vegetation grows and wild-life stays alive. Hearing Birbals intelligent answer Akbar and all the courtiers were very happy. Everybodys faces lit up.

lesson 43

Last month I availed LTC and travelled to Jaipur with my family. We caught the night train to Jaipur. We reached Jaipur at five oclock in the morning. It was slightly dark.

We deposited our luggage in the cloak-room. For a little while we rested in the waiting room. We bathed and got ready there. By that time it was day.

We came out. There were many shops in front. There were some hotels too. We had breakfast in one hotel.

I ate mavabati. My wife ate a paratha. The children ate bikaneri rasgullas. At a distance of about fourteen kms from Jaipur is the Amer Fort.

This is a very old and big fort. We took a taxi and reached Amer. The Sheesh Mahal at Amer is worth seeing. Near the Sheesh Mahal there is a temple of a Goddess.

We had a glimpse of the Goddess in the temple. There we visited the market close to the temple. My wife bought bangles from the market. We took a taxi and returned to the city.

We had lunch at a hotel. After that we visited Hawa Mahal. Jantar Mantar is near the Hawa Mahal. There is an observatory here.

It was constructed by Raja Jai Singh. We roamed around and saw the Jantar Mantar. After that we went to the Ram Nivas Bagh. There is an Art museum there which is worth seeing.

There we saw beautiful artworks. Clothes, weapons and portraits of the Kings of Jaipur have been kept in the museum. Rajasthan was earlier called Rajputana. The Rajputs are famous for their honour, weapons and grandeur.

Rajasthan is also well-known for looking after guests. The folk song Come to my country has been written on this feeling. In the evening we did shopping at the Big Bazaar. My wife bought Bandhej sarees.

The children bought wooden things and toys. I bought a Jaipuri jacket. A friend invited us to Choki Dani located ten kms away from the city. Choki Dani is a live example of Rajasthani life-style.

We saw folk dances there. Then we ate a Rajasthani food speciality dal-bati choorma. The next day we left for the city of lakes, Udaipur.

lesson 44

In Ratnapur village Ramdeen Patel's house is on the temple road. Ramdeen has one son - Kissan. Last year Ramdeen got his son married. His daughter-in-law Sushila is virtuous.

In a short while she took charge of the house. Ramdeen retired two years ago. Kissan has not got a permanent job. It is difficult to manage the household expenditure.

In front of their house there is a Neem tree on the road. Passers by sit and rest under the shade of the tree and then proceed. One day Sushila saw three ladies come and sit there. In the afternoon

the rest of the people have left but the ladies are still sitting there.

They have not had anything to eat or drink. Sushila told this to her mother-in-law. Her mother-in-law said, Go dear, request them to come to our house and have food. Sushila went and wished them and invited them to come home.

The three ladies blessed her. One of them said - I am the Goddess of Fortune, she is Prosperity and she is Peace. All of us cant go together. You can call any one of us.

Go home and ask which one of us should come to your house. Sushila related everything to her mother-in-law. Ramdeen was also at home. All three of them pondered who should they call.

Ramdeen said with his experience - Call the Goddess of Fortune. You get everything according to your fate. Her mother-in-law said - I think calling Prosperity will be right. If there is wealth there is prosperity.

After the father-in-law and mother-in-law expressed their opinion, daughter-in-law Sushila said - I think we should call Peace. If there is peace in the house then happiness and prosperity will also come. Ramdeen said - You seem to be right. Go and call Peace.

Sushila again stood before the three ladies. With great respect she called the Goddess of Peace. Hearing Sushilas invitation the Goddess of Peace stood up and went behind her. Sushila turned and looked back.

She was surprised to see Prosperity and Fortune also coming behind Peace. She remembered the lines she had read long back - Cow wealth, elephant wealth, horse wealth and jewels are a treasure but when you get the wealth of contentment, all other wealth is like dust.

Lesson 45

In Indian culture festivals have a lot of importance. India is called a primarily agricultural country and primarily festival country. Here whenever a festival comes the people celebrate each time. Children are very happy on festivals because they get gifts, they get new clothes and they get sweets to eat.

People of all religions celebrate festivals. Diwali is a festival of the Hindus. We call Christmas 'Bada Din' also. It is a big festival of the Christians.

Eid is festival of Muslims. It is a religious festival. Some festivals are related to agriculture like Sankranti. When the crop is harvested the farmers hearts fill with joy.

Why just them, all the people celebrate. They make sweets from the new grain and pray to God. Similarly, when the weather changes then also people celebrate. Holi is such a festival. The Holi festival comes when the winter season ends and the spring season starts.

Where doesn't become very cold, the Holi festival is not celebrated like in the south. During festivals people celebrate and share happiness. People give each other good wishes for the festival and say, 'Mubarak.' People give each other gifts.

Those who are rich give charity to the poor. Those who are poor also help each other. The day of the festival is a day of brotherhood. On festivals people forget their enemity and adopt a loving behaviour.

Where Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians stay together, they participate in each others' celebrations. Festivals bring novelty in our lives. When festivals approach, people remove their old things. New clothes and new utensils come to the house. The way new things come, similarly new jubilation and new hope fills the heart.

Lesson 46

India is a large country. It is a peninsula. It has sea on three sides and towards the north are the Himalaya mountains. The Bay of Bengal is in the east of India, the Indian Ocean is in the south and the Arabian Sea is in the west.

There are many countries neighbouring India. Pakistan is in the west, Bangladesh is in the east and China, Nepal and Bhutan are in the north. In the east Myanmar (Burma) is also along the border of India. In the south Srilanka is in the Indian Ocean.

India is a very big country. It has 28 states and seven Union territories. The Union territories are Chandigarh, Andaman-Nicobar, Lakshadweep, etc. Delhi is the capital of India.

The states of Uttar Pradesh, Jammu- Kashmir, Punjab, etc. are in the north, the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, etc. are in the west, the states of Assam, West Bengal, etc. are in the east and the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, etc. are in the south. Area-wise Rajasthan is the largest state. Its area is 342239 sq kms. Goa is the smallest state.

Its area is 3702 sq. kms. Population-wise Uttar Pradesh is the largest state. In 2001 its population was 16.61 crores. Sikkim has the least population, 5.40 lakh.

Amongst all the countries in the world India ranks second in terms of population. There are many rivers in India. Ganga and Yamuna are the big rivers in the north. Narmada and Tapti are the big rivers in the centre.

Godavari, Krishna, Tungabhadra and Kaveri are the big rivers in the south. Ganga is the biggest and the longest river of India. It originates in the Himalayas and after flowing through Uttar Pradesh and Bihar empties into the Bay of Bengal in West Bengal. In India the people speak many languages.

There are about 650 languages here. Of these there are 20-25 main languages. The maximum number of people speak the Hindi language. Many people know the Hindi language.

People of different religions stay in India. There are many religions like Hindu, Buddha, Sikh, Muslim, Parsi, etc, here. The weather also varies in different parts of India. As we move from the north towards south India, the weather also keeps on changing accordingly.

In the north it becomes very cold in December - January. It snows in some states like Himachal Pradesh, Kashmir, etc. It doesnt get cold in the south. Places like Cherapunji (Meghalaya) etc. in India get the heaviest rainfall.

It rains the least in Rajasthan. In May-June it becomes very hot in north India. Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkatta get cool breeze from the sea during the day. Thats why it doesnt become very hot here.

Ramagundam in Andhra Pradesh is the hottest place in India. India is a country of diversity. In India the number of various religions that exist, there are as many different languages and cultures. The dresses are different and food habits are different.

Even then it is one country and there is unity amongst the people. Thats why we say that in India there is unity in diversity.

Lesson 47

(Speech of the Head of the Office on Goodwill Day)

In the modern age our lives have become complicated After the industrial revolution pleasures and amenities in our lives have increased. Machines have made our lives easy.

Physical labour has reduced but mentally we have become tense today. Today we have joined an endless race to acquire luxuries. There is no longer happiness and contentment in our lives. Our mental balance is getting disturbed.

Sometimes in the desire to race ahead of others, we give rise to a tense situation for another by our behaviour and conduct. We should try to develop a balanced personality. Whether we are at home with our family or in the office with our colleagues, to maintain a healthy and happy atmosphere we must surely keep in mind certain things. First of all we should maintain discipline in the office.

We must maintain discipline ourselves as well as motivate others to follow discipline. We must take care to respect every worker\official big or small. We must understand the importance of his work. To get maximum work done from subordinate employees we should develop team spirit and also be a part of their happiness and problems.

We should keep a feeling of sympathy and oneness towards them. We should appreciate the good work they have done to boost their morale. Employees associated with the administration should be experienced, competent and devoted. They must have up-to-date information of the rules.

This knowledge leads to self-confidence in the employee. To conduct the office work in an excellent manner I have a special request to you all, that is to never be close-minded and to avoid negative thinking. Cooperate to make the environment in the office clean and beautiful.

Lesson 48

Early in the morning news spread in the colony that Ramu's cow is lying dead on the road. People felt that someone had poisoned her. A young cow, it was healthy till now. It used to give lots of milk.

How can it suddenly die? Poor Ramu was in a bad state. He used to run the house by selling milk. What will happen now? What will happen now? Everyday Ramu used to milch the cow in the morning and then let it loose.

It would roam in the streets all day and eat rotten things from garbage piles. Then it would return home in the evening. Ramu was happy that he did not have to feed the cow. In a short while a police jeep came and took the dead body away.

In the evening police inspector Sawant came there and gathered the people. He told them that ten kilograms of polythene was found in the cow's stomach. This was the cause of its death. People

fill left-over food and pieces of vegetables in polythene bags and throw them in the garbage.

Animals eat these bags. This cow died by eating this. This is what will happen if people use plastic bags carelessly. It will be good and is necessary too that we use plastic bags as less as possible.

As soon as he returned to Kasauni Mohan ji felt he had come to heaven. High mountains, beautiful, green forests. Mohan ji had returned from Lucknow. There was so much crowd there.

There was filth on the roads and the smoke of vehicles in the market. As soon as he reached home his wife said, Gopal is not feeling well. He didnt go to school too. It is necessary to show him to a doctor. You will have to go right now.

Yes, why not. The doctors dispensary would have opened. I will show him right now. Mohan ji said taking hold of a class of water. At a short distance from Mohan jis house was Doctor Negis dispensary. He took Gopal and reached Doctor Negis dispensary.

Doctor, his body is becoming yellow. Since he returned from Delhi he has fever and keeps coughing all the time also. Alright, I will just see Dr. Negi said checking Gopals pulse. Son, just open your mouth. Take out your tongue. Putting the stethoscope on his chest and back, he asked Gopal to take deep breaths.

After a thorough examination Dr. Negi told Mohan ji, Mohan ji, the boy not only has jaundice but he has infection in his lungs too. He has got jaundice because of drinking bad water. The lungs have filled with smoke thats why there is infection. He will have to take medicines for two to four days. He will be fine. Then he asked, OK,tell me, where did Gopal stay in Delhi? He was in Shahadara. His Uncles house is on the main crossing only.

The doctor said, People throw the residue of factories into rivers, they throw piles of garbage into it. This spoils the water. This is called pollution. Drinking this water causes many diseases like jaundice and hepatitis. This is called air pollution. This ruins the lungs and causes breathing disorders. Anyway, dont worry. The climate of Kasauni will help him to recover fast. I am writing some medicines. Please give them to him regularly and I will tell you what to avoid. If he follows that he will recover fast.

On returning home he said to his wife, I dont know why people pollute everything like air and water. We should reduce the smoke of vehicles, we should not throw waste into water. We should pay attention to cleanliness in our lives. His wife said, We should explain all these things to children too.

Lesson 49

The entrance to the north-east is the main city of Assam - Guwahati. One of the big festivals here is Bihu. Bihu is celebrated three times in a year. The first is - Kangali Bihu.

This is celebrated in the Kartik month on Sankranti day. On this day people plant a new Tulsi plant and light a lamp. On this occasion people pray to to the Gods and Goddesses for a good harvest. Bhogali is Assams second Bihu.

When the farmers efforts bear fruit, their barns are full of grain, then you can hear the dheki ( machine for threshing the grain) from every house. In every house a sweet called petha is made from rice flour, sesame and coconut. Huts are made from the dry paddy plants. These are called bhela ghar. People sing and dance in these bhela ghar.

There everybody sit together and eat and then they burn the bhela ghar. Just like Bhogali Bihu Pongal is celebrated in south India, Makar Sankranti in Maharashtra, Gujarat and north India and Lodi in Punjab. Bhogali Bihu is celebrated in the month of Vaisakh. It is called Rangali Bihu too. Urka is the day before Bihu.

On this day people clean the whole house. The next day acquaintances are gifted with a cloth. Young boys beat drums and invite young girls to dance. Young girls dance to the beat of the drums.

They express their feelings of love in the songs. The marriage of young boys and girls is also fixed at this time. The young girls feet move to the beat of the drums. Nature is also filled with colourful flowers.

The bihutis (dancers) make up is incomplete without the kapoh flower. In Assam the Bihu dance is like the bhangda in Punjab. Festivals like the Bihu are a symbol of the emotional unity in India.

Lesson 50

This incident is of the first decade of the twentieth century. At a station in South Africa a train was standing ready to depart. An Indian youth boarded the first class compartment. Just then an Englishman entered the compartment.

Seeing an Indian man the Englishman got angry and started shouting - Get off the train immediately. The Indian youth said that he had a ticket for the first class. By then the train started moving. The Englishman picked up the Indian youth and threw him out of the moving train.

Then and there the youth took a resolution that he would fight against this injustice and racism life-long. This youths name was - Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. To oppose racism and other atrocities Gandhi ji started the non-violence movement in South Africa. Raising slogans in a peaceful manner the men and women fighting for truth would break wrong laws and go to jail.

Once, in the satyagraha hermitage of Netal only a few women and children were left. All the men of the hermitage and some women too were in jail. Gandhi ji started getting worried about the education of these children. Amongst these children apart from Gujarati and Hindi speaking children there were also Bengali, Tamil and Telugu speaking children.

Gandhi ji noticed that these children speak in Hindi while playing. He realized that Hindi is the language which can unite people speaking different languages. He started educating them with the medium of Hindi. On returning to India Gandhi ji toured the entire country.

He was surprised to see that in most parts of the country people understand Hindi easily. In the states where people had difficulty understanding Hindi Gandhi ji established committees to propogate Hindi there. Hindi is the language of our country. Gandhi ji had the firm belief that people can get the strength to fight for self- governance only if they have the feeling of respect for their own language and indigenous products in their hearts.

The foreign government used to take cotton to England from here and the mills there used to produce cloth from that and sell it in India. As a result the money of the people of our country used to go abroad. Gandhi ji started a campaign in the country to spin cotton thread on the spinning wheel. This gave employment to villagers and the self-respect of India also rose.

On Gandhi jis indication lakhs of youth were ready to jump into the self-government movement. Amongst these there were a large number of women too. India gained independence as a result of the sacrifice of these youth, men and women. Gandhi ji felt that to maintain this precious independence we should be proud of our own language and indigenously made products.

Lesson 51

On the occasion of Hindi Fortnight the topic selected for the debate competition for officials this time was - Why should Hindi be the official language of the Union? The topic was very interesting that why the entire conference hall filled up with listeners. First A spoke in its favour - The languages of totally twelve language groups are spoken and in practice in the world today. In our country 22 languages are listed in the eighth shcedule of the Constitution.

The makers of the Constitution felt it was necessary that there should be such a language in the country which all the people can easily speak and understand. This will be bring people close to one

another. It was decided then that Hindi should be given the status of this language. In Article 343 of the Constitution it is mentioned that Hindi written in the Devanagari script will be the language for the official work of the Union Government.

In the number form the international form of Indian numbers will be applied. Along with this it is mentioned in Article 351 of the Constitution that the responsibility for the propogation and development of the Hindi language lies with the Union government. For the development of Hindi it is necessary that wherever necessary , to increase the word count in Hindi it can take words primarily from Sanskrit and secondly from other Indian languages.

In this way it is clear that in our country Hindi has been considered the language which all the people in the country can speak easily as well as conduct official work in. After this B expressed his views like this Hindi is not only the official language used in official government work of the Union, that is in the legislature, judiciary and executive, but is also the national language of India. It is the official language of the Union Government as well as the language for the official work of the State governments.

While Hindi is the official language of the Indian Union, the official language of the State governments is the language spoken in their state, like Tamil is the official language in Tamil Nadu, Kannada in Karnataka, Telugu in Andhra Pradesh, and Malyalam in Kerala. Similarly, other states have their own official language. But states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, etc. have, along with their own language, accepted Hindi also in the form of the official language. The area of Hindi is very extensive. That is why adopting Hindi gives you business benefit also.

Gandhi ji had said, For the entire country not in place of the regional language or languages, but apart from these there should be one language in the form of a link language. This language can only be Hindi- Hindustani. After this C came on the stage. She said, 'Not only in India, Hindi is prevalent in foreign countries also.

Hindi songs and films are popular not only in India but in many countries in the world. Language scholars say that it is one of the easy languages of the world. A large number of people outside the country also speak Hindi. Hindi is spoken in countries like Mauritius, Fiji, Surinam, Trinidad, Guyana, South Africa, Nepal, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Japan, China, Russia, Afghanistan, Australia, Europe, Western Asia, etc.

Hindi is taught as a subject in 50-60 Universities in the world. On the basis of the number of people who speak the language Hindi ranks third in the world. In the Independence movement of India also Hindi worked as a chain. Realizing the immense capability of Hindi Mahatma Gandhi, Mahadev Govind Ranade, Vinobha Bhave, Rajagopalachari, Subhash Chandra Bose, Suniti Kumar Chaterjee etc, have greatly praised it.

Here we must remember Gandhi ji's words that just as it is necessary for the people of the South to learn Hindi, similarly Hindi speaking people should also learn the languages of the South. In the end D said, Our Upanishads say, Without language you cannot recognize either truth or untruth. Neither good qualities nor bad qualities. Neither can you recognize happiness nor unhappiness. All these can be recognized through language. Therefore reflect upon language.

In my opinion language does the important work of tying any society in a thread of unity. Hindi has the strength to tie the nation in a chord of unity. That's why you get the answer to Why Hindi? on your own. All the four officials who participated in this contest were rewarded.