Vyga Flowers

Abdulkalam Vision India Movement Launched Vision:  A national movement for realizing the vision of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Objectives:  To carry forward the vision and missions of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and to work with the students, youth, people and governments at the ground level, we have launched the movement called  "Abdulkalam Vision India Movement - A national movement for realizing the vision of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam". The focus of this movement is to full fill the following objectives:  a. Evolution of enlightened Citizens Mission:  Igniting the minds of the students, youth, teachers and other professions through the 10 point oath given below by Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. The aim of the mission is to create creative leadership qualities among the students, youth and experienced to become enlightened citizens and to work for sustainable development. 10 point Oath for the Students and Youth by Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam 1. I realize that small aim is a crime. I will ...

Katherine Tynan is an Irish born writer who enriched English literature with her novels and poetry. A short poem of six stanzas ‘Any Woman’ by Katherine Tynan is a beautiful portrayal of woman in her multifaceted role. The poem celebrates the glory of womanhood – the spirit behind the existence and sustenance of life on earth. The speaker identifies herself with ‘the pillars of the house’, ‘keystone of the arch’, ‘fire upon the hearth’, ‘light of the sun’, ‘heat that warms the earth’, ‘light of love’, ‘twist of the sacred ring’, ‘knot of love’, ‘house from floor to roof’, ‘wall against all danger’ and ‘door against the wind and snow’. The speaker asserts that if she is taken away the whole edifice will be ruined ruining her life too. This bold assertion becomes a confession too – a revelation about the space where a woman enjoys her existence. She is confident that it is her warmth which perpetuates life on earth. The point here is that she is the source of warmth for the entire ea...

The essay entitled ‘Going out for a Walk’ by Max Beerbohm rather contradicts the popular statement, ‘ a sound mind in a sound body’ through this essay. The writer looks at the walking as a ‘physical exercise’ with a different perspective. The essay begins with the statement he had never been on a walking trip – enjoying the scenic beauty of nature. As such with the intention of physical fitness. He actually had a notion if one was walking along with a talkative companion, the activity will be more appealing. The essayist shares the experience with such a companion which ultimately turned out to be an utter failure. His attempts go to the extent that a man’s activity is sometimes hampered by forceful physical exertions. Humorously, he poses a question why we should go for a walk.  He is against the common idea of “walking for walking sake.” According to him, if one person walks with the intention of physical fitness alone, his purpose will definitely fail him. This activity be...

THE WRECK OF THE TITANIC – BENJAMIN PECK KEITH – Note As the title suggests this is a poem about one of the greatest tragedies of sea – the wreck of the titanic on 14th April, 1912. It collided with an iceberg and sank into the depths of the Atlantic ocean. However, this tragedy exposed some of the greatest act of courage and heroism of a couple of people, to be particular Captain Smith and the crew. Captain Smith, the commander of the ship, not even for one moment thought of saving his life. He stood on the bridge and told his crew that they were British and they should rember their country and should do their duties. Captain Smith and his crew remained in the ship while it was sinking to the depths of the Atlantic. According to the poet there is no scene like ‘so awfully grand’. The major theme discussed here is that of courage, fate, shicpwreck. Emotion of patriotism, valour are evoked while reading the poem. Language of the poem is simple, direct and has a musical quality ...

Prabhat K. Mukherjee  (1873—1932), a younger contemporary of Rabindranath Tagore, was a popular writer, especially of short stories in Bengali. He was educated in India and in England, but his literary idols, apart from Tagore, were from France: Balzac and Maupassant. He was also known as Prabhat Kumar Mukhopadhyay. The narrator of this story meets this little girl named Alice and has a lot of sympathy for her and her mother. Alice works as a typist and her mother make cakes to sell them on Saturdays. Because the narrator is an Indian, the mother and daughter expect that he might be able to see a distant person in the ring and what is he doing (the art of crystal gazing!). The narrator realizes that this superstition is not only confined in India! The narrator is not able to see anything in the ring but later on in the story when we see that the mother is ill then, the author lies that his brother is okay. After some time the news of the death of the brother comes and the n...

QUEST FOR A THEORY OF EVERYTHING BY Kitty Gail Ferguson Stephen Hawking was born on January 8, 1942, in Oxford, England. At an early age, Hawking showed a passion for science and the sky. At age 21, while studying cosmology at the University of Cambridge, he was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Despite his physical disabilities, he has done ground-breaking work in physics and cosmology. His several books have helped to make science accessible to everyone. Born to Frank and Isabel Hawking, he had an ordinary childhood. But by the time he was eight he was seriously thinking about becoming a scientist. In 1959, at the age of seventeen, Hawking went to Oxford to study natural science and to specialize in physics. Later he took a Ph.D from Cambridge specializing in theoretical physics. At the age of twenty-one he contracted a rare disease, “amyotrophic lateral sclerosis”. It was a terrible disease. There was no known cure for this. In 1965, he got married to Jane .Jane li...

I WILL FLY by Dr. APJ ABDUL KALAM “I Will Fly” is an adapted version of Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam’s speech. Dr. Kalam believes that the ignited mind of the youth is the most powerful resource on the earth, under the earth and above the earth. He inaugurated a programme called “Sasthrayaan” at Paravur in Kerala which means the propagation of science. The mission of Sasthrayaan was to ensure the preparation of about two thousand students from different schools to make them eligible for engineers, scientists, doctors and civil servants. Kalam’s inaugural address was on the topic “Science Empowers the Nation”. After the address, many raised their hands to ask questions. Abdul Kalam shares in this unit the relevance of a question asked by a teenager. The boy expressed his fear to talk to his teachers and friends. He admitted that he had not yet asked any question in his class. The boy really wanted to become a marine engineer. Dr. Kalam was completely surprised. He appreciated the boy for as...

HIS FIRST FLIGHT by LIAM O’ FLAHERTY The short story “His First Flight” by Irish author Liam O’ Flaherty is about a family of seagulls. He narrates vividly how a frightened seagull learns to fly. This story is a metaphorical representation of a human’s need to be independent and confident. This story highlights the importance of independence and self confidence. At the same time it emphasizes the utmost need of living beings to remain involved in family life. Once a young seagull was standing alone on a rock in the sea. He was very much afraid of flying. His parents taught his sister and two brothers how to fly and dive for fish. They tried their level best to teach the young seagull to fly but in vain. One day his parents thought a plan to teach him the art of flying. All the members of the family flew away to another rock and left him alone. They did not give him anything to eat. The young seagull was maddened with hunger. He even tried to walk to the edge of the rock. He stood...

AND THEN GANDHI CAME      Jawaharlal Nehru writes about the timely arrival of Gandhiji to Indian politics in his book “The Discovery of india”. He emphasizes the dynamic leadership of Gandhi. He describes Gandhiji as a beam of light that removed the darkness.  Nehru thus makes the right assessment of Gandhiji. When the First World War came to an end people expected peace, relief and progress. But it brought repressive rule and martial law. People felt that they were being humiliated. Large numbers of people became unemployed. People were in great confusion. They did not know how to free India from poverty and misery. It was at this critical period that Gandhiji came. It was like a powerful current of fresh air. It pierced the darkness that surrounded the people and he taught the lessons of fearlessness and non-violence. Gandhiji was an ordinary man. He was one among us. He exhorted the people to stop their exp...

SUNRISE ON THE HILLS – BY H W LONGFELLOW A reading of the poem “SUNRISE ON THE HILLS” by H W Longfellow makes one feel like drawing parallels from the Romantic poetry which is rich with mellifluousness and sensuousness. This is a poem of nature; senses. The poem bears testimony to Longfellow’s Romantic fervour and mysticism The poem starts with the grand glorious return of the Sun after a period of absence (night). The poet sings of the nature’s delightfulness in receiving the first rays of the sun. This can be felt in every element and activity of nature, – the woods, gales, vales, clouds, landscapes, etc. The lifting of the clouds unveils the beauty of nature. The day hasn’t passed its maidenhood. She (the Nature) is still young and fresh with her “mellow blush”. The whole poem is resonant with sounds untellingly telling about the progressing daytime. As for figures of speech, there is the use of Simile in the first stanza, where one sees shattered, fading clouds compared t...

DEATH THE LEVELLER BY JAMES SHIRLEY: AN APPRECIATION “Death the Leveller” is a powerful poem by James Shirley which reminds us that death is a force that haunts all human beings. It is also treated as a funeral song. It says that death is a great  leveler.The  high and the low, the mighty and the meek, the rich and the poor are all equal before death. This is a very common idea, but Shirley gives depth and vividness to this common truth. Human glory will not last long. All success and victory are mere shadows, not substantial things. When death catches hold of someone with icy hands the rich and the poor, the powerful and the weak must yield. We have no weapon to fight against this almighty fate. The poet discusses the concept of artificial success and victory. In the last stanza, the poem ends with the idea that only our good deeds will be remembered for ever. We can simply boast of our mighty deeds but they don’t have permanency. The scepter and the crown are symbols o...

“IF”…A Poem by Rudyard Kipling The poem “If” is a didactic poem wriiten by Rudyard Kipling. It is a well-known poem. It gives sound advice to young people for a successful life. It is considered as the most beloved poem of Kipling. The poem is addressed to Kipling’s son John. The theme of the poem is manhood and leadership. The word “if” is repeated to describe each action that should or should not be done to achieve manhood in his son’s life. Throughout the poem, Kipling combines contradicting ideas. Kipling advises the younger generation to follow the cardinal virtue of patience, mental equilibrium, courage, devotion and detachment for achieving success and honour in worldly life. The central idea of the poem “If” is that success comes from se lf-control and a true sense of the values. In the first stanza, he shows his readers the ideal way to act during times of acute crisis. A man must not lose heart because of doubts or opposition. The poet advises the readers to be strong f...