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VALIMAI MOVIE REVIEW : AJITH’S ONE-MAN SHOW

Synopsis: A super cop tries to track down the brain behind a series of robberies and murders, but things turn personal when his family become pawns in the criminal’s game.

Review: H Vinoth’s Valimai begins with a series of chain-snatching incidents and a robbery committed by masked men on bikes in Chennai. The public is up in arms against the police force, who are clueless. In an internal monologue, the police chief wishes for a super cop to prevent such crimes. The action then cuts to Madurai, where a temple procession is underway. And so is a murder plot. And then we are introduced to ACP Arjun (Ajith Kumar), the film’s protagonist, whose introduction is intercut with scenes from the procession. Like a God who is held up high, we see this character being rising up from the depths (here, from within a car). In short, a whistle-worthy hero-introduction scene.

Arjun gets posted to Chennai and starts investigating a suicide case that seems to be related to a larger crime that is afoot. As he begins to track the case, he realises it is connected to the chain-snatching and drug-smuggling cases from before. But when the gang’s mastermind (Kartikeya Gummakonda) realises that Arjun is on to him, things turn into a dangerous cat-and-mouse game, in which Arjun’s family become pawns. Can Arjun save both his family and the city from this dangerous criminal?

It’s a clash between stunts and sentiment in Valimai, a somewhat engaging but overlong action movie that hides its simplistic writing with elaborate action set-pieces. We keep getting a sense of Vinoth trying hard to strike a balance between making a gritty action movie and satisfying the demands of a star vehicle. Despite the scope for rooting the action scenes in emotion, the film is content with treating them as just standalone set-pieces. We see this approach clearly in the superficial manner in which the film deals with its secondary characters and their relationship with Arjun. They are mainly one-note – loving mother (Sumithra), drunkard brother (Achyuth Kumar), supportive colleague (Huma Qureshi, who gets one kickass moment and then is relegated to being a sidekick) – or worse, caricatures – corrupt cop (GM Kumar) tattoo-sporting, Goth-like villain’s girlfriend. Even the arc of a dejected brother (Raj Ayyappan) who goes rogue isn’t built convincingly. This is why the film feels less impactful when we are not in the middle of of an action sequences.

But Vinoth makes up for this with the stunts, which are mostly big-screen spectacles that are superbly choreographed (Dhilip Subburayan is the stunt choreographer) and are undoubtedly the film’s highlight. A bike chase in the pre-interval portion and a chase involving a bus, a truck and many bikers in the second half are definitely edge-of-the-seat stuff.

WHAT IS ART? A PEEP INTO ITS DEEPER ASPECTS

Art is a highly diverse range of human activities engaged in creating visual, auditory, or performed artifacts— artworks—that express the author’s imaginative or technical skill, and are intended to be appreciated for their beauty or emotional power.

The oldest documented forms of art are visual arts, which include images or objects in fields like painting, sculpture, printmaking , photography, and other visual media . Architecture is often included as one of the visual arts; however, like the decorative arts, it involves the creation of objects where the practical considerations of use are essential, in a way that they usually are not in another visual art, like a painting.

Art may be characterized in terms of mimesis (its representation of reality), expression, communication of emotion, or other qualities. Though the definition of what constitutes art is disputed and has changed over time, general descriptions center on the idea of imaginative or technical skill stemming from human agency and creation. When it comes to visually identifying a work of art, there is no single set of values or aesthetic traits. A Baroque painting will not necessarily share much with a contemporary performance piece, but they are both considered art.

Despite the seemingly indefinable nature of art, there have always existed certain formal guidelines for its aesthetic judgment and analysis. Formalism is a concept in art theory in which an artwork’s artistic value is determined solely by its form, or how it is made. Formalism evaluates works on a purely visual level, considering medium and compositional elements as opposed to any reference to realism , context, or content.

Art is often examined through the interaction of the principles and elements of art. The principles of art include movement, unity, harmony, variety, balance, contrast, proportion and pattern. The elements include texture, form, space, shape, color, value and line. The various interactions between the elements and principles of art help artists to organize sensorially pleasing works of art while also giving viewers a framework within which to analyze and discuss aesthetic ideas.

4 MUST-VISIT PLACES TO REDSCOVER IN MEXICO

Take it from us, the “been there, done that” adage really doesn’t apply to Mexico. It’s one of those holiday destinations that get under your skin – a single visit just doesn’t cut it.

If you’ve holidayed in Mexico in the past but are keen to rekindle old memories, let us tempt you with these four must-visit places to rediscover.

VISIT LOS CABOS

Tucked away at the southern tip of Baja California, Los Cabos is the collective name given to two of Mexico’s most prestigious resorts, Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo.

Once a sleepy fishing village, Cabo San Lucas now hosts much larger vessels as the primary cruise ship terminal for the area. Despite its relatively late development as a tourist hub, the natural landscape is beautiful. This is where the desert meets the sea.

UNESCO recognises the rugged terrain of the Sierra de la Laguna. Hikers who reach its highest point are rewarded with extraordinary views out over the ocean. The sea too is a major draw. On land, the rock pinnacles of Lover’s Beach and the dramatic wave-cut arch at Land’s End are a reminder of the force of nature.

Out to sea, humpback whales and whale sharks entertain visitors; snorkelling and diving are popular pastimes here. Sportfishing for marlin and tuna is another reason to make the trip.

THE H VINOTH INTERVIEW

The entire fandom of Ajith is working itself into a frenzy over Valimai, which releases on 2 February. Earlier, the film was meme gold, with everyone asking for an update. But, director H Vinoth, the brain behind the film, the man whose idea so impressed Ajith that he’s working on his third straight film with him, is a picture of calm. None of the excitement around him seems to ruffle him.

But, this is a state Vinoth has learnt to be in. He agrees it is very easy to allow the pressure to get to him. “By nature, I’m prone to padapadappu [excitement], but having seen how people observe everything I say or do, and how they react to what I speak, I’ve learnt to calm myself. If I speak too much about a film, it will be used as troll material. If I don’t speak, that is also material. So, I prefer this calm,” he says during the course of a 40-minute interview.

Despite having climbed the ladder of success at a rapid pace in the past five years, and having a body of work he can be proud about, Vinoth is brutally honest when he says that he did not enter cinema with the passion that others had. “I did not study cinema. And so, I tell myself I don’t have the right to proclaim that I’m here to make a certain kind of film or one that takes a certain stand. It is difficult to pretend to have a stand when you don’t,” he says.

The director, who has made Sathuranga Vettai, Theeran Adhigaram Ondru and Nerkonda Paarvai, the remake of Pink, is also particular that the film goes on to make money for the person who backed it, and goes on to give some kind of satisfaction or tripti to the person who pays to watch it. The latter is an attitude he has been carrying forward since the time he worked as an electrician. “For a family to go out and watch a movie, a person spends close to Rs 1000 or Rs 1500. If that person is an auto driver, it is the earning of three days, if a construction worker, it is the amount he gets after two days of hard labour. I have to respect the fact that this money they give my film is the result of their uzhaippu [labour]. I get name and fame and money because they trust in what I am giving them,” says Vinoth.

The director had once spoken about how much he loved reading short stories. But today’s Vinoth has changed. He says that he is drawn towards data, and what it tells. “There must be some education, some awareness,” he says. “I am particularly worried about fake news. Every other day, something or the other is announced as fake. What if someone misses reading that and believes something to be true? It impacts their life.”

“I love data. I think it’s very important to get that right. The story is there to draw people in, but what is inside is the truth, the numbers. The story is the scaffolding for the data I want to share with people,” shares Vinoth.

RALPH ELLISON’S THE INVISIBLE MAN

An extremely powerful story of a young Southern Negro, from his late high school days through three years of college to his life in Harlem.

His early training prepared him for a life of humility before white men, but through injustices- large and small, he came to realize that he was an “invisible man”. People saw in him only a reflection of their preconceived ideas of what he was, denied his individuality, and ultimately did not see him at all. This theme, which has implications far beyond the obvious racial parallel, is skillfully handled. The incidents of the story are wholly absorbing.

The boy’s dismissal from college because of an innocent mistake, his shocked reaction to the anonymity of the North and to Harlem, his nightmare experiences on a one-day job in a paint factory and in the hospital, his lightning success as the Harlem leader of a communistic organization known as the Brotherhood, his involvement in black versus white and black versus black clashes and his disillusion and understanding of his invisibility- all climax naturally in scenes of violence and riot, followed by a retreat which is both literal and figurative. Parts of this experience may have been told before, but never with such freshness, intensity and power.

This is Ellison’s first novel, but he has complete control of his story and his style. 

PARENTAL KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE TOWARDS GIRL CHILD’S RIGHTS –A PERSPECTIVE STUDY IN THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

ABSTRACT

Children are the pillars of a nation, especially girl children. Every girl child has the right to live happily and protected. The family and parents are the first line protection for the children. Girl Children commonly experience lack of   rights in developing countries. This study investigated parent’s awareness and attitude towards Girl Child’s rights and needs at the family and community levels in Kerala. This is a descriptive study surveyed 100 parents in Thiruvananthapuram. The sample selection was based on convenience  sampling method. Data were analyzed and interpreted using descriptive and inferential statistics. Majority of the parent’s had (81.15%) average level of knowledge where 17.85% of the parent’s had good knowledge and 00.94% had poor knowledge regarding Girl Children’s Rights in all the dimensions regarding Girl Children’s Rights which included health, education, equality, and protection needs dimensions of the needs assessment questionnaire but at the same time majority of the parent’s had neutral attitude towards girl children’s rights. A positive correlation was found (r = 0.50, p < 0.05), between knowledge (mean = 20.92, SD = 3.37) and attitude  (mean =107.77, SD =10.10) scores of parent’s regarding children’s rights. Further, a statistically significant association was found between men and women (χ2 = 9.65, p < 0.05), on the statement “Girl Children should have the right to quality child care” (χ2 = 10.66, p < 0.05). This study suggests that parents and communities need to be educated regarding the need of girl children’s rights and that legislation must be strengthened to meet the girl child rights of every girl child in the nation.

Key Words: Parents, knowledge, attitude, Child Act, Girl Child’s Rights

Introduction:

India’s rapidly deteriorating sex ratio (2011: 918 girls for 1,000 boys) has been linked to many factors, but primary among these is the perceived value of a girl child. However, if girls are not given equal access to education, then they cannot truly shine, and prove that they are valuable. Keeping this in mind, the Indian government initiated the ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ programme in October 2014, aiming to provide survival, safety and education to the girl child. Along with focusing on education, the program celebrates the girl child, fights bias, and offers inclusiveness benefits. 

Rationale of the Study

There are many challenges that India’s girl child education mission is facing.The many backwards practices that compromise a girl child’s access to education must be addressed in real-time. This requires on-ground, constant civic body support, in the form of local governance in districts. However, in areas with poor sex ratios often stubbornly, even administration members do not support women empowerment. Fighting this requires civil society workers to first understand, and then address issues like female foeticide, education, and welfare services for females. The Divisional Commissioner and other representatives must be open to a dialogue to regularly meet and chart out action plans with civil society. NGO workers and government workers must also be supported by local police, members of legislative assembly, and other influential people. It takes a substantial amount of time and effort to establish relationships at the local governance level, yet these officers are soon transferred, forcing officials, NGO workers, and those who volunteer and donate for education must then develop new relationships. Transfers to prime posts are common for top local officials. Newly appointed officials must then be educated and sensitised for girl child education. The support of newly appointed police and other officials also must be won again. The success of any girl child empowerment program, especially in a crisis situation like the one India is facing, requires firm and measurable accountability from civic administration.  People in India’s poorer regions often ogle women officials and make unwanted advances, as they are surprised to see a woman in a position of power and success. Decades of patriarchal thinking and regressive local governance has created this environment. Volunteers visiting to educate or counsel young girls also face these challenges regularly. Rural India’s obsession with getting girls getting married as soon as possible defines a woman’s real role only as a homemaker. They must, therefore, be a subservient housewife, instead of achievers with their own victories. As women become inferior in this context, female foeticide is the logical conclusion – women are considered ‘someone else’s wealth’, and hence useless in the homes they are born in.

Objective of the study

The present study is to investigate parent’s awareness and attitude towards Girl Child’s rights and needs at the family and community levels in Kerala.

Methodology

This is a descriptive study surveyed 106 parents in Thiruvananthapuram. The sample selection was based on convenience sampling method. Data were analyzed and interpreted using descriptive and inferential statistics. Socio demographic data information collected included age, gender, education, religion, education, employment, monthly income, participation in any public awareness program related to Children’s Rights, Awareness about child help-line and source of information regarding Children’s Rights. The instrument included 35 items (including negatively worded) in four dimensions: health, education, equality, and protection. This section used a 4 point (ordinal) scale rated from 0 (never) to 3 (always).There was no correct or incorrect answers. Subjects were informed that each question required a response.The researcher framed some more questions focusing in the dimensions of right to protection, right to privacy, right to protection from all forms of violence, child labour, drug abuse, sexual exploitation and detention and punishments and comprised a total of 170 attitude statements. A three point rating scale 1(restrictive), 2 (neutral) and 3 (permissive) was used for rating. Restrictive attitude means parent’s are least bothered about the Girl Children’s Rights, neutral attitude means parent’s either welcome or nor bother about Children’s Rights and permissive attitude means parent’s are very concern and they step forward to know about the Girl Children’s Rights.  

Results:    

The samples comprised 100 parents, of whom 36.79% subjects belonged to the age group of 30-40 years, 80.91% of them were females, Most of the subjects (94.33%) were Hindus and 0.94% were Christians. Slightly more than half (74.52%) of the subjects had higher secondary education while 5.66% had secondary education and 48.12% had primary education. Similarly, majority (83.01%) of the subjects were employed. 38.68% subjects belonged to above poverty line (In the present study, as per the hospital policy, where the present study was conducted, Below Poverty Line (BPL) was considered, when the participants family source of income was below 2500Rs/month and above that is considered as Above Poverty Line (APL). This criterion goes per with World Bank poverty estimate). A larger number subjects (93.40%) had never participated in any knowledge program regarding girl children’s rights and 91.51% of the subjects had no experience related to children’s rights issues. Majority of the subjects (96.22 %) were unaware about child help- line.46.22% subjects had mentioned newspaper as the source of information regarding Girl Children’s Rights.

Table -1

Frequency and Percentage distribution of Overall level of Knowledge of Parent’s regarding Girl Children’s Rights.                               n =106

Level of

Knowledge

    Range          of

score

Frequency Percentage
Poor 1 – 11 01 00.94
Average 12 – 23 80 81.14
Good 24 – 35 19 17.92

 

Table -2

Frequency and Percentage distribution of overall Attitude of Parent’s  regarding Girl Children’s Rights. n =106

Level of

Knowledge

Range of

score

Frequency Percentage
Restrictive 1 – 57 Nil Nil
Neutral 58 – 113 68 69.81
Permissive 114 – 170 32 30.19

Table 1and 2 shows overall knowledge and attitude responses to health, education, equality, and protection needs dimensions of the needs assessment questionnaire revealed that majority of the parents (81.15%) had average knowledge in all the dimensions regarding Girl Children’s Rights, where 17.85% of the parent’s had good knowledge and 00.94% had poor knowledge regarding Girl Children’s Rights. And study revealed that majority of the parent’s (69.81%) had neutral attitude regarding Girl Children’s Rights followed by 30.19% had permissive attitude and none of the parent’s were having restrictive attitude regarding Girl Children’s Rights.

Table -3 shows coefficient of correlation among overall scores of knowledge and attitude, a statistically significant correlation was found (r = 0.50, p < 0.05), indicating positive relationship between knowledge and attitudes of parent’s regarding Girl  Children’s Rights.

Further the association of the overall knowledge and attitude scores of parent’s with selected variables was determined, a statistically significant association was found between men and women (χ2 = 9.65, p < 0.05), on the statement “Girl Children should have the right to quality child care” (χ2 = 10.66, p < 0.05) .

The findings also revealed that more above median as compared to females, which indicates that the males have better knowledge than females regarding Girl Children’s Rights. Attitude level was also found to be significantly associated with gender (χ2 = 10.66, p < 0.05), where males score higher than females. And none of the other sample characteristics were significantly associated.

DISCUSSION:

This study examines the knowledge and attitude of parents on girl children’s rights and correlates the findings. The present study also has certain limitations such as the study was restricted to smaller sample size made it difficult to generalize the findings. Prospective longitudinal research is vital to examine the awareness of girl children’s rights. Future research should focus on larger sample size and qualitative approach for depth understanding of children’s rights issues. Despite these limitations, the present study helps in creating awareness among the parent’s and their relatives regarding girl children’s rights.  

This study found that 81.14% of parent’s had average knowledge regarding girl children’s rights but at the same time majority of the parent’s had neutral attitude towards girl children’s rights. This could be that they have heard about the Act but have not really known the contents of the Act. It is interesting to know that 80.91% of the study participants were females and it reflects on the knowledge and attitude scores. This could be because in Indian society men are more likely to face the community than women when exercising social rights. In developing countries like India, it is critical to examine factors that prevent women from accessing girl children’s rights. For instance women may be unable to take a decision related to her child care because her in-laws and husband make most of the child rearing decisions and forbid her to involve in her child care activities directly.  In this study except gender other socio demographic data such as age, education, religion, education,  employment, monthly income, participation in any public awareness program related to Girl Children’s Rights, Awareness about child help-line and source of information regarding Girl Children’s Rights had no significant difference and association with the study findings. But a positive correlation was found between knowledge (mean = 20.92, SD = 3.37) and attitude (mean =107.77, SD =10.10) scores of parent’s regarding girl children’s rights. Thus it could be concluded that the attitude of parent’s towards Girl Children’s Rights changes with increase in knowledge.

Recommendations:

Proper development of effective coordinating mechanisms to promote concerted effort by relevant government bodies is very important. It is  also emphasized the need for greater coordination across ministries and between levels of government if the knowledge and awareness of Girl Child Rights Act is to be achieved at the grass roots. The failure to create awareness and implement the Child’s Rights Act effectively and to curb the violation of child rights can be traced to the failure of a country to educate her citizens on human rights generally and child rights specifically.

Conclusion:

Although knowledge and attitude of children’s rights are increasing around the world but still there is much more rhetoric paid to their value than genuine enforcement especially in developing countries like India. Therefore a lot still needs to be done so that we do not just pay lip service to the implementation of the Act. Currently this appears to be the case because according to reports there appears to be insignificant difference on the lives of the girl children in the various states before and after the passage of the bill as against the highly anticipated gains that motivated the introduction of the Act. As primary health care providers in the community, nurses are in good position to help and advocate on Girl Child’s Rights at both family and community levels.

REFERENCES:

Alabi, T., & Alabi, O.S. (2018). Female Education: A Sociological analysis of Girl-child Education in Nigeria. International Journal of Educational Policy Research and Review, 1(1), 006-013. Retrieved September 30, 2018 from https://journalissues.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/

Alabi-and-Alabi1.pdfAnnual Report 2009-10. FEGG Project in 500 Schools in Pali District. (2009). Retrieved October 01, 2018 from http://www.educategirls.ngo/pdf/FEGG%20 Annual%20Report%202009-10.pdf

Child Labour Always right in front of you but why constantly hidden from your view? (2018). Retrieved September 13, 2017 from http://planningcommission.nic.in /reports/sereport/ser/ser_nclp1709.pdf

Early and Child Marriage in India. A Landscape Analysis. (2019). Retrieved June 06, 2017  from http://www.indiaspend.com/wp-content/uploads/Nirantar-EMP-Report.pdfFactors Affecting Successful Completion of Secondary Education in India: Lessons from Young Lives. (2018).  

Gupta, N., & Aggarwal, N.K. (2016). Child Abuse. Delhi Psychiatry Journal, 15(2), 416-419. Retrieved August 21, 2017 from http://medind.nic.in/daa/t12/i2/daat12i2p416.pdf

Jena, K.C. (2018). Female Foeticide in India: A Serious Challenge for the Society. Retrieved February 2, 2019 from http://www.orissa.gov.in/e-magazine/Orissareview/2008/December-2008/engpdf/8-17.pdf

Miller, S.K. (2017). Determinants of Parental Attitudes Regarding Girls’ Education in Rural India. Georgetown Public Policy Institute.     

Shahidul, S.M., & Zehadul Karim, A.H.M. (2019). Factors Contributing to School Drop-out Among the Girls: A Review of Literature. European Journal of Research and Reflection in Educational Sciences, 3(2), 25-36. Retrieved September 30, 2017 from http://www.idpublications.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/ 

Problems and Challenges of Girl-Child Education in India (2018):  IOSR Journal of Research & Method in Education, 4(4), 01-015.  

Dr.N.Pradeep Kumar
Assistant Professor, PG Department of Commerce,
Mahatma Gandhi College, Thiruvananthapuram
pradeepkn30@gmail.com

home schooling article

HOMESCHOOLING WITH LITERATURE

In narration, the child “tells back,” in his own words, a chapter, a short book or a poem. This technique is a trademark of the + Charlotte Mason method and is explained fully in her books as well as in Karen Andreola’s A Charlotte Mason Companion. Narration is a particularly good technique to use with a younger child who does not yet write fluently. It is also effective for building English and speech skills and securing information firmly in the child’s knowledge repository.

History and Literature

Histories, philosophical works, handbooks and other non-fiction works are literature only in such cases as an appeal is made to the universal emotions common to mankind. That into which no feeling can enter is not literature. History is the record of what man has done, whereas literature is the record of man’s thought and emotions. The literature of a period portrays that period in the lives of the characters. Because of this, history should be learned through literature not textbooks. Literature should have the greater emphasis because one only really knows a time by knowing the thoughts and words of the people who lived at that time.

Language Arts

When there is an emphasis on reading from a young age, language skills will be learned effortlessly. The child will write well and exhibit an expanding vocabulary in both speech and writing. You may also find, as we did, spelling class to be unnecessary.

Literature School Basics

  1. Select a number of well chosen books.
  2. Set a particular time to read each book.
  3. Let nothing interfere with your ` scheduling.
  4. Use discussion and research to create interest.
  5. Process, by writing or narrating.

Each child should have the opportunity to read aloud each day. During this time you can note and correct mispronounced words.

Older Students

  • Present questions that require thought. Some questions may not have one perfect answer. Some may not have an answer at all. Nevertheless, thought is stimulated and learning takes place.
  • Copy challenging writing in order to practice English skills and increase comprehension.
  • Do extensive research in order to understand deeper writing such as poems.
  • Research authorsScience Articles, times and places.
  • Report by presenting orally or compiling results of research in writing. The quantity and quality of written assignments should increase with older students.
  • Solidify language-learning with a formal grammar course and a formal writing course such as the Wordsmith courses by Jane B. Cheaney.

SUBHA: SHORT STORY BY RABINDRANATH TAGORE

When the newborn girl was named Subhashini, who knew that she would turn out to be speech-impaired, or simply, dumb? Her elder sisters had been named Sukeshini (One with Lots of Hair) and Su-hasini (One with a Nice Smile). To rhyme with those names, this one was named Su-bhashini (One Who Can Speak Well or, Eloquent).Now everyone called her Su-bha for short.

The two elder sisters had been duly married off. But Subha was unmarried as yet, a silent load weighing upon her parent’s minds.

People do not generally remember that even when someone cannot speak, they can nevertheless hear and feel. So people openly expressed their worries about her, and discussed her right in front of her. From her very childhood Subha had come to understand that her birth was a curse upon her family. As a result she always tried to keep herself hidden from public view. It would be a relief if people forgot about me, she used to think. But she was always there in her parents thought – as a painful problem.

Subha’s mother was generally a little irritated with her, as though in some way she reflected some shortcoming or herself as a mother. But Subha’s father Banikanttha had a soft corner for her.

Subha had no power of speech, but she had two large, dark eyes with long lashes and lips that trembled at the slightest twinge of emotion. Dark eyes have their own power of expression.

The village in which Subha lived was named Chandipur. It was on the bank of a small river and Banikanttha’s house was right by the riverside. It was a prosperous household, with cowshed and mango grove, bamboo fencing and haystack.

Whenever Subha found the time, she used to come and sit by the riverside. Nature used to make up for her lack of speech. Nature spoke for her – in terms of the gurgle of the waves, the songs of the birds, the murmur of trees, the footfall and talk of people all around. All of it seemed in some way to be the speech that Subha could not make.

At mid-day when the boatmen had their meals, householders took their nap, and even birds fell silent, Subha used to sit under the trees and watch the world through her large, long-lashed eyes. Nature and Subha would be alone in each other’s mute company.

It is not as though Subha did not have a few friends of her own. There were two cows Sarvashi and Panguli who knew her very footsteps and responded lovingly to the way she folded her arms around them and rubbed her cheeks against their ears. Gazing at her affectionately, they licked her body. Every now and then Subha would go to the cowshed. The days she heard some bitter comment or reproach, she used to go there. Sensing something, they would come closer and rub their horns against her arms, as if to comfort her.

There was a goat and a kitten as well, which she petted. Then there was a creature of a higher order – Pratap – the youngest of the family of the Gosains. His main activity was fishing. One can spend a lot of time sitting by the waters with one’s fishing rod. That is what Pratap did, and that is how Subha and he often came to meet. Pratap felt good in people’s company. But for someone who is fishing, a silent friend is the best. So Pratap came to value Subha’s silent companionship. He began to call her ‘Su’ rather than Subha – the name by which everybody else called her.

Subha used to sit under the Tamarind tree and Pratap used to sit with his fishing rod. A paan was Pratap’s everyday quota and Subha made this betel-nut preparation herself and brought it along for him. She wished that Pratap would ask her for some special help. She wished for Pratap to see that she too could be of some use to the world.

But Pratap needed no help and never asked her to do anything for him. Then Subha used to pray to God for some magic powers that would give Pratap a big surprise and make him exclaim: “I never knew Subha had such abilities!”

Suppose, for instance, that Subha was a mermaid, coming up from the river’s depths, and leaving a jewel on the riverbank. Pratap then would dive in search for more, and come upon an underwater palace. Subha let her imagination go further. Pratap, she imagined, he would come upon the princess of that land under the river, and then find that it was none other than Subha!

But nothing so fantastic happened, and gradually Subha grew into a young woman as distinct from a girl. She felt the tide of youth flood her body. When it was full moon, she would often find herself open the door of her room and timidly step out. The moonlit night stretched silently before and Subha stood silently gazing at it.

Meanwhile Subha’s parents had realized that it was high time for their daughter to get married. Village people were gossiping. In fact, they were thinking of making Banikanttha a social outcast because he had not married off his daughter even though she had grown-up.

Banikanttha and his wife discussed the matter at length. Banikanttha was away from the village for a while. Then he came back and asked his family to go to Kolkata with him. Preparations for the journey began. Subha’s heart filled with a vague dread. Like a dumb animal she stayed by her parents’ side. Looking into their faces with her large eyes, she tried to understand something. But they never explained anything to her.

One afternoon, however, Pratap looked up from his fishing and said with a smile: “Subha, I heard that a match has been found for you and you are going away to get married. Don’t forget us, though!” Then he looked away again and concentrated on his fishing.

Subha looked at him like a stricken deer looking at the hunter. Silently she seemed to say: ‘What wrong did I do to you?’ She did not sit under the tree anymore. She went up and sat down at her father’s feet. Banikanttha had had his nap and was having a smoke. Subha looked into his face and began to cry. Banikanttha tried to comfort her but tears came to his own eyes as well.

The day of departure was fixed. Subha went to the cowshed to take leave of her childhood friends. She fed Sarvashi and Panguli herself, put her arms around their necks and gazed into their eyes with eyes full of unspoken words. Tears fell from her long-lashed eyes.

That night Subha left her room and went out to the moon washed river-bank. She fell upon the ground under the trees. Clutching at the earth, she tried to pray to Mother Nature not to let her go, but stretch out her hand like herself and clutch her to her breast.

On going to Kolkata, Banikanttha took up a temporary accommodation and presented Subha before a possible match for her.

His wife tied up Subha’s hair in golden ribbons, covered her up with ornaments, and obliterated her natural beauty as much as she could. Tears coursed down Subha’s cheeks. Her mother scolded her because that would make her eyes get swollen and ugly. But scolding could not make the tears stop.

The bridegroom himself, along with a friend, came to interview Subha. Subha kept on crying. But this enhanced her value to the bridegroom. It made him think: “The girl has a soft heart and one day that may of use to me.” After looking at Subha for a long time, he pronounced: “Not bad”. A suitable day was determined according to astrological calculations. Depositing their dumb daughter to an alien household, the parents went back to their village. They had met the requirements of social traditions.

The bridegroom was employed at a distance from Kolkata, in the central provinces. Immediately after the wedding, he took his bride there.

Within a week everyone got to understand that the newly wedded bride was speech-impaired, dumb. Nobody understood that it was not her fault. She had not deceived anyone. Her eyes had said everything but nobody had been able to understand it. Subha looked here and there. Wherever she looked, she found no one who could understand the language of the dumb. She could not see the familiar faces she had known since her birth. In the silent heart of the young girl, there rang out an inarticulate cry that no one but God could hear.

This time her husband used both his ears and eyes and chose a bride endowed with the power of speech.

William Wordsworth poem writers edition

I WANDERED LONELY AS A CLOUD

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

William Wordsworth

WHY IS IT ESSENTIAL FOR THE CHILDREN TO PLAY OUTDOORS?

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