The Knowledge Society

The Knowledge Society

                                                                                                      A.P.J.Abdul Kalam

The recipient of Bharat Ratna, Dr A.P.J.Abdul Kalam is the former president of India.”The Knowledge Society” is an extract taken from his popular and famous book “Ignited Minds”. He received many honorary awards like Bharat Ratna, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan.”Wings of Fire and India 2020”,”A Vision For The New Millennium” are some of his works. In this lesson, Kalam emphasizes that poverty can be rooted out only by striking a balance between the past heritage and present day knowledge. Kalam opines that India can reach the pinnacles of prosperity and glory by scrupulously following certain principles and applying modern technology.

                        Kalam opines that India is essentially a land of knowledge and it must rediscover itself its past legacy. No doubt, the foreign invasions and the colonial rule weakened India considerably. Knowledge has many forms and it is available at many places. It is available in academic institutions, at work places, from learning skills such as from artists, craftsmen, hakims, philosophers and saints and it is available from our heritage and history epics too.

                      Kalam says that Knowledge has always been the prime mover of prosperity and power. In India we had the tradition of transforming knowledge from guru to shishya and from the writings of the foreign travelers who visited Ancient Indian Universities like Nalanda. During the last century the world has changed from being an agricultural society to an industrial society. Thus technology played a vital role in the development of the society. While, in the 21^st century, knowledge has become the primary production resource instead of capital and labour. Education, health-care and agriculture are taken ahead in the knowledge society. It promotes high productivity and rural prosperity. It helps even to create new avenues for employment..

                       The multiple technologies and appropriate management structures must work together to generate a knowledge society. India has left its impression in Information Technology and it will be much more developed in the years to come. Thus it adds a new feather to knowledge society. As a second component, young and dynamic leaders are required for establishing knowledge society. The most important mission for the knowledge society is India should become a super power by the year 2010.

                       If societal transformation and wealth generation are the two important parameters to make India as knowledge society, a third dimension has come to transform India itself into a super power. Kalam says that our communication network and information generators must be protected from electronic attacks. It involves a tremendous responsibility. It is very important that our knowledge and culture too help us this great task of making India a super power.

Meanings:-

emphasize                    = stress something as important

heritage                       = practices that are handed down from the past by tradition

pinnacle                        = the highest level or degree

prosperity                    = an economic state of growth with rising profits and full

                                        employment

glory                             = a state of high honor

scrupulously                  = with extreme care

legacy                           = money or something that one receive from after someone dies

invasion                         = stepping into a place/region/country in a forceful way

epic                               = a long narrative poem telling of a hero’s deeds

hakim                            = a Muslim physician(medical practitioner)

colonial rule                  = the rule of a country which exploits, imposes its authority

                                        towards a weaker country

transformation             = change in form, appearance, or nature of something

avenues                         = a line of approach; sources

adding a new feather    = adding a new advantage (to something)

parameter                     = any factor that defines a system and determines its

                                         performance

tremendous                   = extreme in degree or extent or impact

Short Answer Questions:

1)      What are the various resources of knowledge that Abdul Kalam points out?

A:- Kalam points out various resources of knowledge in this lesson. He points out that knowledge is acquired through education, information, intelligence and experience. It is available in academic institutions, at work places etc. Kalam says that knowledge, though closely linked to education, comes equally from learning skills like artists, philosophers, saints etc. It also available through our heritage, epics and traditions and is available in the oceans, bioreserves, deserts and in every state in our country.

2)      How has the world changed during the last century?

A:- Kalam mentions that during the 20^th century, the world has changed from being an agricultural society in which manual labor was the critical factor, to an industrial society, where the management of technology, capital and labor provide the competitive advantage.

3)  How can one judge whether a nation qualifies to be a knowledge society?

A:- Whether a nation qualifies as a knowledge society is judged by how effectively it deals with knowledge creation and knowledge deployment/usage.

4)      What does societal transformation result in?

A:- When a country is able to bring societal transformation in respect of education, health care ,agriculture and governance it will lead to employment generation, high productivity and rural prosperity.

5)      What are the areas which can help us change into a knowledge society?

A:- The TIFAC(Technology Information Forecasting Assessment Council) test team has identified certain core areas that will lead our march towards becoming a knowledge society. These areas are: information technology, biotechnology, space technology, weather forecasting, disaster management, telemedicine and tele-education, technologies utilizing knowledge, serving sector and infotainment that is the convergence of information and entertainment.

6)      What should be done in order to generate wealth?

A:- In order to generate wealth, which is the second component for establishing a knowledge society, citizen-centric approach is essential for shaping of  business policy, user-driven technology generation and intensified industry-lab-academia linkages have also to be established.

7)What according to Abdul Kalam is the third objective which needs to be realized in order to become a super power?

FROM DECOLINISNG THE MINDS: Ngugi wa Thiong’o

FROM DECOLINISNG THE MINDS: Ngugi wa Thiong’o                                   

1.      Describe the author’s experiences about language and literature ?

       Ngugi Wa Thiong'o famously began his writing career writing in English. He had considerable success, but eventually turned to writing in his mother tongue, Gikuyu. Ngugi is among a handful of authors who have written successfully in more than one language. In his essay Decolonizing the Mind argues in favour of expression by African writers in their native languages rather than in European languages. The children spoke Gikuyu and listen to Gikuyu tales with lot of interest. Ngugi stresses an important insight: Africans relate to their mother tongues in a very different way than they would use these foreign imposed languages. Speaking and writing in the language of colonizers make Africans think foreign. They even learnt the music of their language. When Thiong’o joined a colonial school, English became the language of his formal education. So the first four years there was still harmony between the language of his formal education and that of the limuru peasant community. The education of colonial schools in Kenya drove children away from their own selves and their culture. It was the official vehicle the magic formula to the colonial education. Language and literature took them away from their native culture. Thus language and literature were taking them further and further from themselves to other selves, from their world to other worlds.

2.      How does the title, DECOLINISNG THE MINDS get a voice through the life Ngugi wa Thiong’o?

The central objective in decolonizing the African mind is to overthrow the authority which alien traditions exercise over the African. This demands the dismantling of white supremacist beliefs, and the structures which uphold them, in every area of African life. Among the problems with Decolonising the Mind is its political and ideological slant. He writes of "two mutually opposed forces in Africa today: an imperialist tradition on one hand, and a resistance tradition on the other. ‘Decolonising the Mind’ is a political treatise with its many rants against colonialism and imperialism. For the author, the reverting back to local language use is the best way to rectify the evils and ills of adverse colonial influence. To say that Ngugi’s book is rife with ideology is an understatement. For him, Africa today is caught between two opposing forces: the colonial and the traditionalist.

3.      What is the importance of language in the story telling sessions of Ngugi’s childhood?

‘Decolonising the Mind’ is both an explanation of how he eventually decided to write in Gikuyu, as well as an encouragement for African writers to write in their native languages. According to Ngugi, language is more than just a means of communication; it is the essence of their being. Story telling is a part of the African Children’s life. It enabled them learn about their culture. In story telling language was effectively used. It was not a mere sitting of words but had a suggestive power. It gave the children a view of the world. It had a beauty of its own. It reflected their culture and way of life.

4.      Bring out the colonial systems of education experienced by Ngugi in his own native Kenya?

       Ngugi rightly complains that an educational focus that embraced essentially only foreign works was destructive. The local language is an integral part of conveying that experience, often because much of local tradition has been preserved in that language -- for example, in the songs and stories that have been passed down. Ngugi convincingly shows the benefits of working in the local language, and within local traditions, as the entire community works together to create and shape a play.

5.      What happened to the education system after 1952?

In 1952 when the Nationalists Schools were taken over by the colonial regime, English became the language of the writer’s formal education. Pupils were not allowed to speak in their native language. If they spoke they were given corporal punishment. English became the measure of one’s intelligence, which determines the progress. 

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

ROBER FROST

1.     Who does the speaker represent and why did he stand there long?

Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” has been one of the most analyzed poems in American poetry. In the first stanza, the speaker describes his position. He has been out walking the woods and comes to two roads, and he stands looking as far down each one as he can see. He would like to try out both, but doubts he could to take, so therefore he continues to look down the roads for a long time trying to make his decision about which road to take. So finally he chooses the road which is not used by many people.

2.     Why does the poet choose the less traveled path?

The poet makes us think about the choices we make in our life. We should think carefully before we take a decision. There is a spirit of regret and nostalgia and longing in the poem. At the point of divergence the poet stood and started observing both the roads. He took the first one and saw it carefully. He inspected the road as far as his eyes permitted him to. After inspecting the first road he moved on to the second road. He saw that the second road was more grassy and lacked usage. Also the second road appealed to him more than the first road did. But however he felt that both the roads were same. As, on both the roads, the leaves which had fallen were unstopped, he decided to travel through the second road.

3.     What difference does it make for the poet?

The poet knew that his choice might not lead him to his desired destination and that he might not get a chance to come back. The speaker took a brave decision to choose the road which was not preferred by travelers. In the future the speaker would be able to tell proudly that at the point of his journey he took the road which was less travelled by travelers which has made all the difference in his life. This poem teaches us to make right decisions in our life. It also states that opportunities once lost are lost forever. We have to face the consequences of choices made by us. This poem also, in a way, symbolizes life.

4.              Why does Frost prefer non-conventional thinking?

Robert Lee Frost was an American poet. He is highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech. A wide-spread interpretation claims that the speaker in the poem is promoting individualism and non-conformity. His work frequently employed settings from rural life in New England in the early twentieth century, using them to examine complex social and philosophical themes. His poems appear to be simple but they have a deeper meaning. In the poem Road Not Taken, the poet represents the choices by using the image of two roads. Two paths represent choices; at the split in the road, the author looks far down both paths to see what each will bring. The first of the two paths is the more commonly travelled one, while the other is the 'less travelled' path. Frost presents the conflict - the decision between the common easy path and the uncommon but more difficult one. Choosing easy path in life will ensure success, but won't necessarily be fulfilling. Choosing the 'less traveled' road means a more difficult path in life, but more satisfying results that are not like anyone else's

Night of the Scorpion

Night of the Scorpion

Why did the villagers pray to God to paralyse the scorpion? The villagers prayed to God to paralyse the scorpion because they believed that the movement of the scorpion caused its poison to spread in the poet’s mother’s blood.  What do you understand about the mother from her utterance in the last two lines? The poet’s mother is very loving and devoted to her children. She expresses gratitude that the scorpion bit her and spared her children. She would rather suffer herself than let any harm befall her children. 3.      Why did the peasants in Ezekiel’s poem want to find out the scorpion? The  peasants believed that with every movement that the scorpion made, its poison also would spread in the mother’s blood; so they wanted to kill the scorpion. 4. What did the father in Ezekiel’s poem do to help the mother? The father tried many herbs and finally poured some paraffin into the part of  injury and put a match to it. 5.      What did the peasants in “Night of the Scorpion” say about the suffering of the victim?   The peasants hoped that the mother’s present pain would burn the sins of her previous birth and decrease the misfortunes of her next birth. Explain the feelings of the mother in the poem "Night of the Scorpion". Answer:    The poem is presented through an incident in which the poet's mother is bitten by a scorpion on rainy night. The mother suffers the bite of the scorpion. She groans and moans on the mat twisting and turning in pain. The villagers on hearing of this unfortunate event, come to see her, praying to god and giving all kinds of justifications for her suffering. With their prayers and words they try to console the victim. The victim’s husband who is otherwise a sceptic and a rationalist also gives in to every curse and blessing. The mother bears the pain and suffering for twenty hours, writhing in pain and when she recovers, she is thankful that she was bitten and not her children, bringing out the maternal love of a mother for her children. She epitomizes motherhood and like a typical Indian mother is selfless in her love for her children.

2.  Narrate all the activities in the poem “Night of the Scorpion”?

Nissim Ezekiel depicts the real picture of the Indian villagers in his poem, “Night of the Scorpion”. Though the Indian villagers are illiterate and superstitious, they are very helpful to one another. On a rainy night a scorpion stung the poet’s mother. Hearing this villagers came in large numbers. They buzzed the name of God a hundred times to dilute the evil power because they believed that the attack of the scorpion was done by the power of devil. They searched for the scorpion with candles and lanterns. They did not find the scorpion. They said that the poison would spread in the mother’s body, with every movement of the scorpion. They consoled her saying that the present pain would reduce the sufferings of her next birth. Some of them remarked that her pain would balance the sum of evil against the sum of good in this unreal world. Some others hoped that her pain would purify her desires of flesh and spirit of ambition. They sat around her consoling her and praying for her. There was peace of understanding on their faces. More people came with candles and lanterns in the rain. The poet sympathizes with the villagers for their ignorance and superstition and at the same time he appreciates their innocence and helpfulness in an emergency situation.

3.      The portrayal of the peasants in “Night of the Scorpion”.

 Nissim Ezekiel’s “Night of the Scorpion” is full of superstition. The narrator’s mother is stung by a scorpion on a rainy night. As soon as the news spreads the peasants in the neighborhood rush to the victim’s house. They are alarmed and ready to do anything to help her. They are uneducated and superstitious and believe that the devil is behind this attack, and so utter the name of God, a hundred times to keep away the devil’s influence. They believe that the scorpion with its poisonous tail is the devil itself. They search for the creature with candles and lanterns so they can kill it. They think that as long as it moves, the poison in the woman’s body will spread and it can be fatal. Then they console the woman saying that her suffering is caused by the sins in her previous birth and if she endures the pain it will burn away her sins and will decrease her suffering in the next birth. Besides, the poison will purify her flesh of all desires, and her spirit of ambition. The sum of good and evil should be balanced in the world and her pain will diminish the sum of evil.

4.      Attempt a critical appreciation of Nissim Ezekiel’s poem – Night of the Scorpion.

Ans: Nissim Ezekiel is one of the prominent poets writing in English. His poems contain

incidents which are taken from everyday Indian life. The feelings in many of the poems are personal, but unsentimental, expressed in irony.

The night of the Scorpion is one of his best known poems. It is an example of a common Indian situation made into art. It is presented from the perspective of a child. It is a narrative poem. The speaker describes how once his mother was stung by a scorpion on a rainy night. The poet presents a concrete situation from life in objective terms. The mother stung by the scorpion, the peasant’s swarming like flies, their chanting and ritualistic gestures, and the action of the rationalist father and the final words of the mother – all reveal a typical Indian situation.

The speaker’s mother was stung by a scorpion. It had been raining for nearly ten hours. The scorpion which had remained concealed behind a sack of rice came out and stung the child’s mother. Hearing these peasants came to the boy’s house like swarms of flies and started praying. They were superstitious and they believed that if the scorpion moved; its poison would spread in the mother’s blood. They searched for the scorpion’s shadow on the walls. The peasants were contrasted by the child’s rationalist father. The world of irrationality co-­‐ exists with the world of science in this poem. The father mixed a powder of herbs and hybrids and even poured paraffin upon the bitten toe. In spite of all the efforts of the father and the peasants, the mother suffered pain for twenty hours, till the pain automatically subsided. The mother’s act of thanking god for sparing her children from what she suffered reveals the selfless love of an Indian mother.

The Lost Child Mulk Raj Anand

The Lost Child    Mulk Raj Anand

1.      What are the things the child sees on his way to the fair? Why does he lag behind?

Or

Describe the fair that the child went to.

The child saw many things on his way to the fair. He got fascinated by the toys in the shops. After that, he saw a flowering mustard-field. He then followed a group of butterflies and dragon-flies and tried to catch them. After that, he gets attracted by the little insects and worms along the footpath. Meanwhile, his parents keep calling him to hurry up. As he entered the grove, a shower of young flowers fell upon him. He stopped and tried to collect all of them. However, as soon as he heard the cooing of doves, he forgot about the flowers and ran towards his parents shouting, “The dove! The dove!” He was also fascinated by sweetmeats, flowers, balloons and the tricks of the snake charmer. As he entered the fair, he was both fascinated and repelled by the confusion. He kept lagging behind because he was fascinated by every other thing he saw on his way to the fair.

2.  Describes the different feelings of the child in the story?

The child wanted many things at the fair. His eyes first set on the shop of a sweetmeat seller. His mouth watered for the burfi, which was his favourite sweet. He knew his plea would not be heeded because his parents would call him greedy. Therefore, he moved on. He then saw a flower-seller. He was drawn towards the flowers and wanted a garland. However, he knew his parents would refuse saying that they were cheap. Hence, he moved further ahead. He was then carried away by the colours of the different balloons and had an overwhelming desire to possess them. He moved ahead without asking his parents as he knew they would say that he was too old to play with such toys. He next went towards a snake charmer. However, knowing that his parents had forbidden him from hearing such coarse music as the snake charmer played, he carried on.

3.      When does he realize that he has lost his way?

After getting fascinated by a number of things, he finally set his eyes on a roundabout swing. He intently watched the men, women and children who were enjoying the ride. He finally made a bold request and asked his parents to let him ride the swing. When he heard no reply, he turned around to look for his parents. It was then that he realized that he was lost.

4.      What did the child do when he didn’t find his parents?

The boy felt that he had been lost in the fair. A full, deep cry rose within his dry throat and he suddenly ran from where he stood. He cried in real fear and called out to his parents. Tears rolled down from his eyes. His flushed face was filled with fear. As he was panic-stricken, he ran in all directions searching for his parents. Later, his cries were suppressed into sobs. He kept looking for his parents and calling out to them.

5.      What things did the man who carried the lost child show?

The child lost interest in the things that he wanted earlier as he was lost and wanted to see his parents immediately. The man who saw that he was lost tried to distract his attention so that he would not panic. He tried to soothe him by taking him to the roundabout, but the child refused asking only for his parents. The man then asked the child to listen to the music played by the snake-charmer. However, the child shut his ears and shouted that he wanted his parents. Then, the man asked if he wanted a balloon, but the child's reply was the same. The man still kept trying to make him happy and asked if he wanted a garland to put around his neck. He also took him to the sweetmeat shop. However, the child's answer to all his questions was the same. He only wanted to see his parents. He had lost interest in everything because he wanted only one thing: he wanted to be with his parents. Since he was lost nothing else pleased him.

6.      What do you think happens in the end? Does the child find his parents?

It seems that the child would have eventually found his parents with the help of the man. The man would have managed to calm him down. He was reliable and good-natured as is evident in the story in the many ways in which he tried to help the child. He would have asked the child for a description of his parents and would have finally helped him locate them.