Power of a faithful wife.

 Power of a faithful wife.

Sham Misri

In a bustling kingdom, there lived a young and ambitious merchant named Arjun. Despite his humble beginnings, Arjun possessed a keen business acumen and quickly rose to prominence in the trading circles. One day, he met and fell deeply in love with a charming and virtuous girl named Maya.

Arjun's love for Maya was unwavering, yet he found himself drawn to the allure of the courtesan Leela, known for her beauty and charm. Temptation clouded Arjun's judgment, and he became entangled in a forbidden affair with Leela, despite his promises to Maya.

As their relationship deepened, Arjun's devotion to Maya wavered, and he began neglecting her. Heartbroken and betrayed, Maya suffered silently, hoping for her husband's return to his senses.

Meanwhile, rumours spread throughout the kingdom about the theft of a precious anklet belonging to the Queen. Suspicion fell upon Arjun when it was discovered that he had attempted to sell a similar anklet to a wicked goldsmith known for his deceitful ways. Without evidence, Arjun was unjustly accused of theft and sentenced to death.

Maya, determined to prove her husband's innocence, approached the King and Queen with her anklet, adorned with rubies instead of pearls like the stolen anklet. With tears in her eyes, Maya broke her anklet to demonstrate its authenticity, pleading for Arjun's release.

Moved by Maya's unwavering faith and sacrifice, the King ordered an investigation. Eventually, the truth came to light, revealing the goldsmith's treachery and Arjun's innocence. Overwhelmed with guilt and remorse, Arjun realized the depth of Maya's love and the gravity of his mistakes.

In a grand gesture of repentance and devotion, Arjun pledged his eternal loyalty to Maya, forsaking all other temptations. Together, they rebuilt their shattered lives, their bond strengthened by the trials they endured. And thus, the power of love and fidelity triumphed over deceit and betrayal, casting a radiant light upon the kingdom once more.

 

How Arabian Nights Came Into Being.

Hundreds of years ago professional storytellers in India and the Middle East made up the stories now known as Arabian Nights. Later, groups of these stories were put together. One group was translated from Arabic to French by Antonie Galland in the early 1700s. His, ‘A Thousand and One Nights, introduced these Oriental tales to the Western world.

All the collections have one thing in common. A heroine, Scheherazade, tells different stories. She recites the tales for a very good reason: She must save her life.

The heroine was married to Sultan Shahriyar, who had killed his first wife when she was unfaithful to him and then all his later wives in revenge against women. Scheherazade did not want to suffer the same fate. On her wedding night, she began to tell her husband a story and stopped just before she reached the end. The Sultan allowed her to live another day to hear the end of her tale. The next night she finished the story and began another one even more fascinating than the first. Again, she stopped before the ending, gaining another day of life.

And so it went, for a thousand and one nights. Finally, the Sultan realized that Scheherazade was a good and faithful wife, and the couple lived happily ever after.

 

The Story of Writing (A Story for Children)

 

The Story of Writing

The art of writing is so common now that we do not understand its importance. It is one of the most wonderful inventions of man. We cannot live without it. If there were no writing, there would be no newspapers, no books. no libraries There would be no school or college. We would not be able to write letters to our friends and relatives living far away from us. There would be no books on engineering. medicine, accounts, business etc.

There would be no banks to keep our accounts of money. Nations will not be able to trade with one another. Human progress would stop in every field of life. On the contrary, the standard of life will fall to such a degree that we will be living like animals. There would be no sign of art, science, or industry. We would live like the cavemen six thousand years back.

In very early times men understood each other and expressed their ideas and feelings, through signs. The Scythians, a group of ancient nomadic warriors who lived in what is now southern Siberia and the Persians of olden times understood each other in this way. The Scythians sent a bird, a mouse, a frog and five arrows to the Persians. They wanted to tell the Persians that they would attack them with arrows to defeat them. The meaning of this all-in writing was: "O Persians! Can you fly like birds? (i.e., to escape from arrows). Can you dig into the earth and hide in holes like mice? Can you jump and swim over water or wetlands like frogs? If you cannot do any of these three things, you should not try to fight with us. When we shall strike you with arrows, you will not be able to face them you will be defeated." However, this method was troublesome and incomplete.

The Egyptians invented a kind of writing known as hieroglyphics. This word means 'sacred carving. It was something like picture-writing. Many countries used this method in ancient times. Even today it is used in some places in the world as in China.

The invention of the alphabet or letters in place of pictures is a great achievement. Now almost the whole world makes use of an alphabet. Of course, different people have different alphabets. As a result of this system of writing, there are printing presses everywhere in the world now.

 "Hieroglyphics" is a kind of picture writing invented by the ancient Egyptians. They used it in temples and tombs. Therefore, it was called sacred. They drew pictures of objects like the sun, the moon, the birds, the animals etc. At first, each picture was a sign only of the object drawn. But as time passed the picture was meant not only for the object drawn but also to suggest the idea for which the object stood. For example, at first, the picture of an arm stood for a part of the human body. Later it came to mean or suggest 'strength. Sometimes pictures of two or more objects were combined to express a new idea.

In very early times picture-writing was used in many countries. It has not disappeared even today altogether.

The Chinese will make use of some picture writing. But most countries gave it up when the alphabet was invented. The Chinese language is difficult to learn. It consists of thousands of characters or signs which stand for not only an object but also for an idea. For example, there are characters for an eye and a hand. But when they are combined, they stand for a look. The same characters are spoken differently in different parts of China. The Chinese language is written vertically and not from left to right or from right to left.

 

 

"The child is the father of man."

The phrase "The child is the father of man" encapsulates the idea that the qualities, experiences, and influences of childhood shape the adult a person becomes. It invites us to reflect on the continuity of life stages and highlights the importance of providing a positive and supportive environment for children. Ultimately, understanding and appreciating the significance of childhood is essential for fostering the well-rounded development of individuals and building a healthier, more harmonious society.

This line of Wordsworth's seems absurd at first reading. If he had said, "The man is the father of the child", we could have understood; but how can the child be the father of the man? The saying is a paradox, and a paradox is an apparent contradiction which may express in a startling way a memorable truth. For example-"He that loses his life shall find it"; "The part is greater than the whole"; "Nothing is so monotonous as change". Such sayings make us think. At first, they are puzzling; but they mean a lot.

The phrase "The child is the father of man" is a line from the poem "My Heart Leaps Up" by William Wordsworth. This, on the face of its inconsistent statement, holds profound meaning and has been interpreted in various ways over the years. At its core, the phrase suggests that childhood experiences and influences shape and determine an individual's character and beliefs in adulthood. In other words, the qualities and traits exhibited by a child are indicative of the person they will become in the future.

When Wordsworth said, "The child is the father of the man", he meant this: all that will come out in the character of the full-grown man is already present, though yet undeveloped, in the child. What the child will be when he grows to be a man is already there in the child's nature. In the same way, we could say the acorn is the father of the oak, meaning that the oak tree is latent in the acorn.

We shall see this more clearly if we study this line in the poem where it occurs, "The Rainbow":

"My heart leaps up when I behold A rainbow in the sky; So was it when my life began; So is it know I am a man; So be it when I shall grow old or let me die!

The Child is the father of the Man, And I could wish my days to be Bound each to each by natural piety."

In this little poem, Wordsworth says that the sight of a rainbow has always given him a thrill of joy; and he hopes it will give him the same joy when he grows old. "The Child is Father of the Man" in the sense that a man will continue to love what he learned to love as a boy. The last two lines mean that as his manhood is the child of his childhood, he must as a man reverence and love the things he loved and reverenced when he was a child.

This saying, so understood, should throw some light on the education of children. The word "education" is supposed to mean drawing out or developing. Real education is not stuffing knowledge into the minds of children, but the "drawing out", or developing, of their latent faculties. The teacher must find out what good is in the child, and then by his training and teaching, draw that out. So, the child will grow up naturally into a man with his latent faculties developed.

Moreover, the phrase emphasizes the continuity of life and the interconnectedness of different stages of human existence. It suggests that there is a seamless progression from childhood to adulthood, and the qualities inherent in a child persist and manifest in the adult they become. This idea challenges the notion that adulthood is a complete departure from childhood, asserting instead that the seeds of one's character are sown in early life and continue to grow over time.

Additionally, "The child is the father of man" underscores the importance of paying attention to the needs, development, and well-being of children. Recognizing the significance of childhood in shaping future generations, society is prompted to invest in nurturing environments, education, and support systems for children. By doing so, we acknowledge the role of childhood in laying the foundation for a healthy and productive adulthood.

One interpretation of this statement revolves around the idea that childhood experiences play a pivotal role in shaping an individual's personality and worldview. The early years of a person's life are marked by a natural curiosity, innocence, and openness to the world. The things a child learns, the values instilled in them, and the relationships they form during this period have a lasting impact on their development. As the child grows into an adult, these early experiences continue to influence their thoughts, behaviours, and perspectives.