Work is Worship.

ACTION IS THE DUTY AND REWARD IS NOT THY CONCERN is the very lesson which was imparted to Arjuna by Lord Krishna in the holy book GITA. AS YOU SO YOU REAP is the teaching we find in the Ramayana. There is no doubt that we should work without any care for the result. Work is not only counted in this world but counts something for the nextworld also. Good people are always praised in this world. On the other hand bad workers are cursed everywhere. No doubt they are famous for their bad works. It is an admitted fact that they are duty bound to their work. If we take it sincerely, we will find some other story in respect of famous dacoits. These dacoits have principle aim to work. Work is worship for them. They may face anything to get their work done even at the cost of their life and get themselves safe. Such was the case with fighters for freedom. There’s no life without work. Great personalities of the world have become famous on account of their work only. 


Until we make an effort we cannot even eat our food. Life is dull without work. It is useful only if we work ever. WORK IS WORSHIP is the main object of life. Laziness and dullness are the curse of life. There is no personality without life. The successful industrialists have understood the value of work. They devoted themselves to their work ever in their life. Work is the only concerns with men while reward is the concern in the hands of the almighty. Disappointment and vacillation are nothing but the curse of life. Fortunes favor the brave. Brave persons are always famous and rewarded. Vivekananda, Swami Dayanantha and, Mahatma Gandhi all sacrificed themselves on the altar of work. Certainly work was worship for them. Our first Prime Minister, late Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru was in favor of worship of work. 


Such workers may uplift the standard of their lives in true sense. They worship their work first and anything else afterwards. Thus work is worship in our life without which the life will be aimless. 

Will-Power

All of us wish to achieve many things in life. But usually many of us do not succeed in achieving anything. And often we tend to curse our fate or misfortune. But the fact is that we have only ourselves to blame for our failures. Is there such thing as fate? If our Will-Power is strong, we can easily overcome all hurdles. The concept of fate is man-made. It is not enough that we wish to achievesomething. We should have the proper willpower to carry out our planes. 


Even a cursory study of the history of human civilization tells us that all great things have always been achieved by men of will. Great men become great because from childhood onward they had willed to be great. The notableachievements of science, art and literature are all the result of endeavours of MEN OF WILL who worked against heavy odds to achieve their goals. 


Without such determination, we will not be putting in enough strength to make our plan a success. Apart from that even when the scope of our plane looks rather dull, we will look out for fresh opening for success. On the other hand, a good plane with enough scope will not succeed if there is lack of WILL. So what matters is that we have the proper drive or determination to carry on with our planes in the face of obstacles. 


A few examples would suffice to drive the point home. Columbus could discover America only because he stood firm against all the storms of difficulties that threatened him. Nothing could deter him from the path that he had chosen for himself. Mr. and Madam Curie could discover Radium - a great boon to humanity - only because they were persons of WILL prepared to lay down even their lives in the pursuit of their ideal. 


Great conquerors, like Napoleon, were all men of determination whose will force carried everything before it. Coming nearer home, we get the inspiring example of Hillary and Tenzing who stood against all the dangers of high altitudes in their resolve to reach the top of Everest. Urged by immense WILL-FORCE, Gandhi demonstrated to the world conclusively that it is WILL that counts and not the physical might. 


To sum up : WILL is a great force both for good and evil. It makes impossible things possible. The story of man’s progress from chaos to order, from barbarism to civilization, is nothing but a story of his WILL POWER pitted against all the hostile forces of nature. This WILL POWER can be achieved by one of us by continuous process of concentration on noble objectives. Once acquired, it will enable us to have our way in all things. 

Watching A Football Match

Watching A Football Match is different experience. The other day I witnessed afootball match between The Presidency College Team and The Loyola CollegeTeam. A large number of spectators had assembled to see the match even though admission was by tickets. Indeed. The stands were packed to capacity by spectators who included students of local schools and colleges, businessmen, shop-keepers and others. A lot of enthusiasm was discernible among the vast assemblage of football fans, especially because this match was an annual event. For three successive years, since this nasal event was instituted, The Presidency Team has retained their supremacy and they fought successfully to retain the championship this time also, though this time the struggle was harder and fiercer than on previous occasions. 


The captain of The Presidency Team, Prakash Raj, could not have had a better day than he had on this occasion. He gave his team the inspirations it needed with an early goal. He indeed showed some neat touches and intelligentpositioning and kept racing the fields like players at the height of his football career. He received the close support from ARUM KUMAR with whom he moved with elegant grace and impressed with speed. The young and hard trying inner trio of the Loyola Eleven moved threateningly in the open spaces, but the efforts on these goal-hungry forwards were thwarted by the Presidency Boys. 


From the kick-off the defense of the Loyola Eleven faced a furious onslaught, which earned The Presidency Boys Team three corners all of which spell danger. The breakdown came in the eighth minute when Ashok outside-right player of the Presidency, raced downfield in a beautiful solo run, bearing down on Loyola goals. Ashok lifted a glorious diagonal pass across the stretched defense and the ball arched down to Ram Kumar whose header stuck the bar. As the ball came back from the rebound Prakash Raj netted past the goal-keeper amid thunderous cheers. All the spectators enjoyed Watching A Football Match. 


The Loyola Eleven had no answer to a number of speedy thrusts by The Presidency Team till the 14th minute when Raman’s break-through was cut short by Govind of Presidency who conceded a corner. Then with dramatic suddenness the Loyola stuck in the 19th minute. It was a cannon-ball drive which brought a gasp of wonder from the crowd and the score was even. The Presidency Eleven shaken to the core spent the few remaining minutes of the first half in a futile bid to regain the lead. 


After the interval, the Loyola team attacked relentlessly and with telling effect on the rival defense. Goalkeeper Kuna frustrated their first attempt with a diving save off a short by Jahan following a nasty comer. Then a first-time shot by Vikram form a center went straight into Kuna’s hands. The Loyola team was resisting stubbornly, but their resistance could not continue to be effective very long. A free-kick by Rohan took play inside their penalty area and after a spell of defensive foundering the ball glanced off the foot of Rohan to Visas who shot itstraight home taking a lead. I enjoyed Watching A Football Match. 


As The Presidency Eleven’s attack increased in fury, the Loyola Citadel seemed in danger of collapsing. The Presidency missed a good chance when Rena ballooned a back-pass from Prem Lal with Shyam coming up to help his forwards, a vacant space was left in The Loyola defense and this was skillfully exploited by Dilawar Singh in the 12th minute. The crowd buzzed with excitement as Shyam swerved past a defender and then another to push the ball to his right and Shamsher, fastening on to it, lashed a right-foot drive into the corner of the net. 


The last resistance of the Loyola team was thus broken. They had certainly put up a gallant fight, but the championship had to remain with the holders. The acclamations of the crowd cannot be described. There was wild cheering. 

United We Stand Divided We Fall.

Unity is strength. A united group of people can always achieve more things than asingle man. That is the reason groups are formed in many fields. In ancient times, man used to live alone. He traveled alone and hunted single handedly. But soon he realized that if he joins hands with his fellow men, he can face many of the common dangers. Thus villages were formed which in turn developed into towns, cities and countries. In modern times also groups are formed in all fields and walks of life. We have realized that by forming unions, we can demand and achieve things in a stronger way than by standing alone. There is the story of a rich old man who had tensions. But they always quarreled with one another. The old manknew that if he died, his wealth would be squandered by the quarrelling sons. So he called them to his side and showed a bundle of ten sticks. He asked each one of them to break it into two. But however they tried, none could break the bundle. Then he untied the bundle and gave them each a stick asking them to break it, which they did easily. Thus the sons realized their foolishness and began to live in harmony. 

Too Many Cooks Spoil The Broth.

If many cooks are employed in preparing soup, the soup is liable to get spoiled. One of the cooks may add as much water as he likes. Another may put salt according to his own discretion. Yet another may boil the soup as long as he likes. All this varied steps will ultimately spoil it. Discretion varies from individual to individual. So for such matters like making soup it is always better that a singleperson is employed. Therefore jobs which need just single person must be employed to him. If such a job is entrusted to too many people, it will only spoil the job, everyone may have his own notions about the job. And if all of them try to do a single job, their opinions will clash and will spoil the job. .

Time and Tide Waits For No Man.

Time is very demanding. It will not stand still for even second. A lost second is alost second. Time is never ending. So it is best to make the best use of the time we have. Opportunities will not wait for us nor will they come again. The success of life depends upon making use of the time to its best advantage. Slackness on our part may cost us heavily. Timely and prompt action can gain a lot. Therefore, as time and tide waits for nobody, we must make use of them whenever they present themselves. 

Thrills of Walking Tours

It is pity that walking tours are rare in these days of cycles, buses, motor cars, trains and jetliners. In ancient days such tours were common. They were undertaken mainly for religious purposes, be it to Rameswaram or too far off Kashi and Pariah. In some cases for people went long distances on foot attending marriages. It might be thought that on both these occasions, the middle class would go in carts. A number of carts would have been engaged but even five or six carts would be no good to accommodate dozens of people and naturally several men and women should follow the carts on foot behind or in front talking or joking with the men and women inside the carts till they too sought relief from the crowded comfort within the band by exchanging their places with the walkers. But children and old people used to be permanent occupants of the carts. 


The advantages of walking tours are manifold. Walking gives exercise to the body and fresh air for the lungs both of which are conducive to health. The difficulties experienced on the way would harden the bodies of walkers and create a feeling of self-reliance and ability to overcome hardships. 


A walking tour affords a splendid opportunity to come in contact with a variety of people and converse with them and thus understand the widely differing nature of men’s thoughts, realize their shortcomings and help to evolve a feeling of fellowship. The large number of places visited on the way would open our eyes to the fact that this world is quite a large one and could give us chances of studying the customs and habits of the inhabitants. Apart from these, such tours afford ample scope for closely observing nature in its different settings and help us to appreciate its beauty. Thrills of Walking Tours are many. 


All this is a liberal education by itself tending to enlarge our mental horizon, widen our sympathies and enrich our experiences. 


Mostly the school excursions are now-a-days made by rail and bus, yet in visiting a place like Nalanda, there is simple scope for walking tours and student excursions will do well ot undertake them under expert guidance - under teachers who could direct their attention to various aspects of nature, beautiful scenery, the varieties of plants and animal life and the different kinds of rocks that lie on the way. 

The Value of Sports

The chief object of ports is, of course, bodily exercise. “A sound mind in a sound body” is a well-known saying. The heath of the body is essential for success in life. An unhealthy man is always sad, gloomy ad therefore loses confidence in him. To keep healthy, one must take an active interst in sports. Thus sports serve anessential purpose in life because they ensure good health and build a fine physique. If one is bodily fit, one feels capable of hard endeavor and life without endeavor is useless. The great advantage of sports is that they combine exercisewith trill, excitement and sensations. In order that we should readily take exerciseit should be made interesting and, as everybody knows, practically all kinds of games devised by man possess a certain degree of interest. 


The Value of Sports such as Hockey, football, cricket, tennis, badminton, rowing and swimming --- all these and others not only give exercise to the libs but also provide a good deal of excitement and entertainment. Besides, the competitive element in sports is source of thrills for the mind. Not only the players, but the spectators also feel engrossed in a game because of its suspense and unexpected turns. It is for these reasons that sports form a very important part in education. A bookworm who takes no interest in sport is physically weak and all his mental excellence can’t make up for his physical deficiency. 


The Value of Sports benefits not only the body but also the mind. Almost everygame requires a certain degree of skill to play. Skill is a mental quality. Physical vigor alone is not enough in games like golf, cricket and tennis. 


Sports develop and encourage the spirit of healthy competition. The, competitive instinct is natural in man and demands outlets. Sports have wide scope for the competitive instinct. Matches and tournaments and contests are held to put to test the skill, toughness, stamina and endurance of values of participants. Medals and awards are an incentive to players to achieve excellence and a high standard of performance in their respective fields. The healthy spirit of rivalry and competition constantly leads to improvement in the performance and previous records are constantly excelled or surpassed. 


There are several other considerations which entail sports to an important place in life. It is usually by taking part in sports that we cultivate what is called the spirit of showmanship. This spirit of sportsmanship is an excellent quality in a man and consists of fair play, sense of discipline, capacity for team work and cooperation and confidence in oneself that enabled one to accept a defeat cheerfully. A sportsman playing on the field is not expected outplays foul. He must cooperate and finally, if his team suffers a defeat he must not lose self-confidence but must shake hands with his adversaries cheerfully. When a sportsman has acquired these qualities on the playground, he will naturally exhibit them in the wider sphere of life. If he has truly imbibed the lessons taught to him by sports, he will be very honest and fair in his dealings with other people. He will never see his enemies below belt. He will always obey his superiors. He will never feel heartbroken on account of the disappointments. If he shows these qualities in hisgeneral conduct, he has learnt how live truly. His life is successful and he will be admired everywhere. 


Sports are an excellent means of spending one’s leisure. All work and no play make jack adult boy. Sports are much interesting pastime. Most of the games are quite inexpensive too. 

The Value of Games in Education

Education aims at full development of the human personality. The humanpersonality has several sides and it is the purpose of education to develop all these sides so that the individuals may attain his full stature. Man has a body, a mind and a spirit. Accordingly education aims at the physical development,intellectual development and the spiritual and more development of man. It is a very narrow view of education to think that educations merely gives knowledge to a human being and thus fits him for the purpose of earning his livelihood but educations does much more than this. 


The Value of Games in Education cannot ignore the physical side of man. Man has been blessed with a beautiful body. Poets, painters and sculptors have gone into raptures over the human body and have tried to depict it in their arts in many ways. Games are a means of keeping the body healthy and fit. Physical fitness and freedom from all kinds of ailments are the desire and ambition of very human being. Indeed, good health is the first condition of happiness in life. Those who play games greatly maintain good health. Games are an excellent means of bodily exercise. 


Apart from building the body, games are an excellent recreation or pastime. Education teaches man the need and value of recreational activities. Education does not approve of the scholar who keeps pouring over books all time. Recreations are necessary. And games are among the most interesting recreations in the world. The essence of a recreation is that it should refresh the body and maintain and provide a means of escape from one’s professional or scholarly pursuits. When one paying golf or billiards or badminton or table tennis, one becomes forgetful of everything else and gets absorbed in the games. Thus games are very useful as a diversion for the mind. They are a diversion not only for the players, but also for the spectators, because of the greet interest they create. 


The Value of Games in Education are just a diversion for the mind. They even provide a kind of training for the mind. Most games today are a matter of high skill and right judgment. Hockey, football, cricket and other games are not just a matter of physical exertion and exercise. The player must acquire the art of playing a game. Every game, therefore, contributes to the development of the mind and the judgment of a player. The Value of Games in Education offer that Good players show a lot of mental alertness and ingenuity in the course of their play. 


Fair play is noble moral quality when practiced in political dealings. The quality is best inculcated in human beings through games. The habit of fair play makes a man love honesty, integrity and justice which are great moral qualities. Games also teach the lesson of accepting a defeat on the playfield with a smiling face. A defeated player shakes hands with his victorious opponent and eve offers him congratulations. Defeat does not dishearten or depress a true sportsman. On the contrary, it provides an incentive for a greater effort. This lesson also is bound to prove useful to a man in the wider sphere of life. Life has its misfortunes, woes, failures. But a man with tough character is not daunted by these. Games make a man tough and thus enable him to withstand the sling and arrows of fortune. Games teach retain other lesson as well. They teach team-spirit or the spirit of mutual cooperation. They teach the value of unity or united effort. They teach the necessity of always obeying the orders of the captain or the leader. All these are valuable lessons which prepare man to live correctly and nobly. Education aims at building up character and character includes all the qualities mentioned above. Thus the value of games in forming and molding character is very great. Education aims too at developing qualities of leadership in human beings. The qualities of leadership are developed most effectively and fruitfully thought games.

The Vacation I Had

Summer vacations

 are probably the happiest period in a student’s life. This lasts for about 60 days every year. Summer vacations generally commences form second week of May every year. The purpose of the summer vacations is multifold. First are relaxations. A student is fatigued at the end of the annual examinations. He needs rest to recoup health and viability. The second purpose is to tide over the unbearable heat of the summer months. The third purpose is to provide a change to a student to make up his deficiency in any particular subject. It also gives an opportunity to students to visit new places. Travelling is an experience and has great educative value. 


I planned my program in such a manner as to obtain maximum benefits. I took permission of my fatter to visit Calcutta and Darjeeling along with my friend Chandra. Both of us got the berth reserved in the Coromandel Express weeks ahead. Having visited all places in Calcutta we got into a bus for Darjeeling. We hired a cottage for our stay there. The climate was very bracing. We felt as if we were in heaven. We relaxed there fully. I was weak in English, so I had taken a learner book with me. I used to study grammar in my leisure time. I also learnthorse riding and the game of polo there. We used to have plenty of fruit after meals. 


Every nice thing has its end. So was the case of our short trip to Darjeeling. Time rolled on and the day approached when we had to leave that snow Valley of dreams. There was a great rush of passengers at Calcutta. We contacted the station master who helped us in securing berths in the train. We reached Chennai after 30 hours of journey. 


The short trip to Darjeeling during the summer vacations was a happy experience for us and its memory is still green in our minds.