Current Affairs Secondary School Level

First it was Barbie and now it is Hannah Montana. Hannah Montana is the latest sensation and it’s amazing how Barbie has been displaced by six-yr- olds in favor of Hannah. Hannah Montana is a Disney Show. When Disney promotes something it always ends up big. Hannah, the star of the show, is Miley Cyrus, daughter of country star Billy Ray Cyrus, is the star of the show. In the show, she has two personas - one is the regular teenager persona and the other is her secret pop star persona. What makes this show endearing is that there is a moral to be learned in every episode and it is put across in the most humorous way. Hannah's songs have catchy tunes and the lyrics are never offensive. This makes the Hannah Montana show a popular watch. The fact that Hannah Montana's screen father is actually her father in real life makes this show more real to the viewer. The teens identify more with Hannah because of it. Hannah stickers, Hannah tee shirts, Hannah pencil boxes, Hannah school bags are proof of how popular Hannah is. She is Disney's new cash cow. Hannah is cute, she is good-hearted and to top it all she has a hidden singing life that teenagers envy. Hannah Montana is definitely here to stay.

Outline: Meaning of the term ‘Superstition’. India and superstitions. Examples of superstitions. Early time superstitions during the Middle Ages. Science helping men against superstitions. Superstition means a belief that has no fundamental reason. Fright, ignorance am unawareness are always accompanied by superstition. Superstition is an innocent belief or notion that is not based on reason or knowledge. However, with the increase in knowledge, superstitions always decrease. No matter which part of the world we visit, certain beliefs and superstitions are always encouraged by the inhabitants. Indian society is changing fast, but still there are people who are superstitious and have a strong faith in the local beliefs. Most of the Indian beliefs have jumped with an objective to protect themselves from evil forces. These beliefs have no scientific reasoning, and most of them appear unproven and false. There are many such beliefs in the Indian culture. These beliefs are absolutely absurd, and have no logic behind them. Even the daily life of people in India is ruled by superstitions. For example, some people assume that/Saturday is not an auspicious day for having haircut and Friday is good for buying new things. Some superstitions originate from various religious practices. Civilizations hold many examples of common every day superstitions. To begin with; the curved horseshoe outside the main door of the house and the traditional rare four-leaf- clover is always said to bring good luck. In addition to this/some other irrational and illogical actions bring good luck to a person. They include knocking on wood, crossing the fingers to fulfil one's wish, and so on .Some mistakes are said to bring bad fortune like walking under a ladder, breaking a mirror, stepping on a crack and so on. However, it has not been proven, whether these superstitions actually bring luck to a person or vice versa. In early times men offered human sacrifices to please their deities. As illiterate people had no scientific knowledge, they worshipped various forces of nature. They strongly believed that wind, moon, sun, air, water and fire controlled the universe. These forces were sometimes kind and sometimes very cruel. Due to the fear, they worshipped them and conducted ridiculous customs. During the Middle Ages, witchcraft in many European countries became a famous superstition. People imagined that old wicked women had sold their souls to the evil spirits. Today in scientific age, old monsters of superstition has been slowy thrown out of men's mind. He is becoming more any more rational. However, our wisdom will not develop until alt superstitions are totally uprooted from the society.

The World Health Organization defines health as 'a state of complete physical, mental and social well- being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity'; and nutrition as 'an input to and foundation for health and Development’. 'A healthy body is a healthy mind’- that is an old adage that has stood the test of time. Nutrition is the most important factor in maintaining and keeping good health. Nutrition begins with food and includes everything that the body needs in order to live i.e. function and grow. Food that one eats regularly constitutes our diet. Dietary habits are habitual decisions an individual or culture makes. Although humans are omnivores, each culture holds some food preferences and some food taboos. Individual dietary choices may be more or less healthy. The choice of food may also vary according to an individual's genetic make up, environment and health. For a significant section of the population, lack of food and malnutrition are the main impediments to healthy eating. Conversely, amongst the affluent, obesity is a larger concern. Healthy nutrition, basically, is eating wholesome and balanced food from all the basic food groups; which consist of dairy group, poultry group, grains and pulses group, fruits and vegetables group, and some from fats, oils and sweets group, so as to get a healthy mix of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals. Proteins are needed as the building blocks and for the chemical machinery of the human body, carbohydrates for immediate fuel and energy, fats for long-term storage of fuel and energy, vitamins (e.g. A, B-complex, C, D, E, K) and minerals (e.g. calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, sodium) for maintaining good health. It is equally important to drink an adequate quantity of water, a guideline says eight glasses a day; and proper ingestion and absorption of essential food materials in the body. A good nutrition should be part of an overall healthy life style including regular exercise, not smoking and not drinking alcohol, because food alone is not the solution to a longer and healthier life. Healthy eating is also an important part of personal well-being as it drastically improves physical fitness, allows one to feel better and does wonders to personal health. It does not mean adopting a strict diet or giving up certain preferred foods, but limiting the fattening and harmful foods such as white-flour products, processed foods, solid hydrogenated fats, sweets and fast foods. Eating wrong could be deadly. Heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes have been directly linked to the way people eat. Eating habits can even influence some of the genetic problems e.g. the gradual bone thinning that result in osteoporosis which may be controlled if enough calcium is consumed, adequate vitamin-D levels are maintained, and weight-bearing exercises form a regular feature. Similarly, possibility of genetically predisposed diabetes and coronary heart disease could be reduced by avoiding obesity and adopting a healthy regime of diet and physical exercise. That infection and malnutrition are related is well known. Better nutrition more...

Several students scramble to occupy the front benches of the class-room. They think that to be seated on a front bench is a badge of intelligence and scholarship. They can attract attention of the teacher and flatter him with appreciative nods while a lesson is being taught. They look down upon back-benchers as intellectually backward. I, for one, have always preferred a back bench. I know too well that the back-bencher is one of the most misunderstood souls in the world. It is commonly supposed that those who occupy the back-benches are up to some mischief, for they are strategic places to launch paper-arrows and cat-calls from. In fact, the majority of them are quiet, well-behaved souls. Nor are all of them dunces and duds. Several distinguished scholars, statesmen and administrators, it will be found, have come from the ranks of the neglected back-benchers. Though many back-benchers may not do very well in this or that examination, quite a few of them finally come off in flying colours, while the honour able occupants of the front benches, for all their reputation for scholarship, generally turn out to be students of mediocre calibre. Why, then, do they prefer those remote benches near the rear wall of the class-room? Their innate modesty mainly explains this unwanted preference. From time immemorial, modesty has been regarded as the hall- mark of a true student. Though the back-benchers are aware of their ability, they shun the limelight and are determined to have no truck with outward show and hollow pretenses. Their modesty should not be mistaken for mediocrity. They are like “A violet by a messy stone, half hidden from the eye !” but capable of blossoming out as good students and useful citizens. There is another reason, too, why some wise students keep away from the thrones in close proximity to the teacher. It is an awareness of the advantages and privileges of sitting on the rear benches. If a teacher makes a slip or commits a howler - it is a mistake to suppose that only students commit howlers - you can laugh up your sleeve or even openly smile, securely hidden behind a tall back in front of you. If a particular lecture happens to be dull, you may safely dream of green fields and babbling brooks, thrilling adventures and enchanting experiences. At such moments, I pity my class-mates who, seated on the front benches, are ever in the task-master's eye.

If Deepawali is the festival of light and decency, Holi is the festival of colour and wild fun and frolic. All the people seem to be affected by a divine madness. There is a sense of wild exhileration and all restraints are forgotten for a day. The season, the spring, seems to excite them. A sense of wild enthusiasm fills them all. Holi comes during the spring season, usually in the month of March. "Basant Panchami’, a month earlier, marks the beginning of Holi. People start collecting all their useless things which can be burnt. They are placed at strategic places in different localities. These are the bonfires that are burnt on the Holi eve. There is a legend behind it. It is said that Hiranyakashyapu, the evil king, wanted to kill his son Prahalad, who was a devotee of God. His sister Holika could not be burnt by fire. So Hiranyakashyapu asked her to take Prahlad, in her lap and sit inside the bonfire. Such was God's grace that Holika was burnt to ashes and Prahlad came out unhurt. Thus 'Holi’ is the symbol of the burning of all that is evil. On the evening of the first day big bonfires are lighted in different part of the city. The flames seem to touch the sky. It is a glorious sight. People circle round the bonfire and embrace one another. Next morning starts the real fun. Big drums of coloured water are prepared. Coloured powder (Gulal) is kept ready. Every one who is outside is drenched  in coloured water and smeared with -gulab. People in different age- groups move about playing -HoIi. The ladies have their own groups and nobody is spared The children have great fun. Nobody minds being coloured. There is a sense of freedom and goodwill. People forget their earlier misunderstandings and fights. People dance and shout and jump and play practical jokes. There is wild joy everywhere. In the evening people dress in their best clothes and visit their relatives and. friends. They are greeted by embraces and sweets. All the wildness is over but the goodwill remains. I love being a part of all this.

Winter brings the memory of childhood holidays which were spent making snowmen. I used to live in Kashmir with my grandparents. The onset of winters brought chilly winds and long dark nights. The garden would slowly cover with snow. The bare trees would be heavy with snow flakes. The rooftops, hills and roads would also be covered with snow. My friends and I would spend the afternoon in my garden making our snowman. Grand ma would give us old clothes, hats, shoes and muffler to dress up our snowman. We would also have a competition for the best looking snowman. Children in the neighborhood would also be busy making snowmen. However our snowman would look real as we would put a lot of interesting decorations. I still look forward to the icy cold winter to make a new snowman.

I grew up loved and cherished as I was the youngest of my siblings. I always felt special. In the eight grade there was a girl called Sanju in my class. She was the duffer of the class while I was the comedian of the class. Everybody avoided Sanju but I always needed somebody to laugh at my jokes an even Sanju would do. One day, the literature teacher gave us a topic for an essay - "Who has influenced your life the most" and everyone was shocked when the teacher said that Sanju had scored the highest on this essay. Sanju came forward to read her essay and I was embarassed and overwhelmed when she read that she was influenced by me. Sanju said that the only person who treated her like she was not a duffer was me and that I had made her believe that she was a special person. I had once told Sanju that although she wasn't good in math and science she had gifted hands and no one could draw quite like her. She said that from that day she had stopped indulging in self pity and began to believe in herself. That day Sanju did something for me that she never realized. She unknowingly told me what made me special. I had the potential to make people believe in themselves, in their dreams. I had the potential to spur them to see their dreams materialize. I had the special ability to make things better with my wit. Yes, what makes me special is that I have the unique ability to make others feel special.

Outline: Structure of society since ages and today. Reason for the emergence of the concept. Men’s thinking behind eve teasing and things included in it. Cause and survey of eve teasing. Judiciary actions. Conservative thinking. Since ages, the structure of Indian society has always been male dominant. In the modern time, the situation has changed. Today, Indian women stand head to head with males when it comes to equality and performance. However, with wave of women empowerment some new problems have aroused. When the women started to develop on their own without male protection, they made themselves exposed to public glares. The concept of eve teasing emerged during the 1960s. Men tease women, they harass and trouble them as they feel that they are weaker. Eve teasing is a threat that has grown at an alarming rate. It includes incidents of sexual harassment in public, or molestation of women by men in street. Eve teasing is common in urban areas as well as in big cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai. Although, we are one of the fastest growing nations we need to safeguard the security of working women and students. These disturbing incidents usually take place on streets, offices, public places and public transport. The most important cause of eve teasing involves a strong desire of eve teaser to attract the attention of opposite sex. Men perform eve teasing with the women of his age. Certain research has shown that 35% of the eve teasers are anti-socials, 32% are school or college boys and 33% belong to Middle Ages. However, large number of females in metropolitan cities are taking self- defence to combat eve teasers. The judiciary is taking rigorous actions against eve teasers. If a man found guilty of making a girl or woman the target of explicit gestures or remarks he suffers a sentence of three months. Section 292 of the IPC (Indian Penal Code) clearly states that if a person is caught showing pornographic pictures or books to a woman or girl then he has to pay a fine of ?2000 with two years of imprisonment. In case of repeated offence, the offender may have a fine of? 5000 with five years of imprisonment. Under Section 509 of the IPC, obscene gestures, indecent body language and bitter comments directed at any woman or girl carries a penalty of imprisonment for one year or a fine or both. Government has includes life time punishment range of deciding facts being in March 2013 which made the act more tough imprisonment and even capital in some cases with wide the activities of teasing. Some conservatives blame women saying they provoke the offenders by wearing expressive dresses. However, from records it is hard to prove that conservatively dressed women have not gone through eve teasing. School or college going girls, working women, etc. frequently go through embarrassing comments by the rowdy men. Eve teasing can leave a permanent psychological wound on women's heart and soul.

The human body is such a "perfect machine"; it could not have naturally evolved. A particular creature having such an unusual, perfectly-designed body with a unique system of skills and traits makes one believe that there's no way this could have just happened. The human body is the most wonderful and perfect machine in the world. With care, it should last many years. With abuse or neglect, it may soon wear out. The human body has more than 10 to the power of 27 molecules with about one hundred thousand different shapes and functions. Interactions between molecules determine the structure and keep humans alive. The key to understanding all biological processes is recognition. The interactions between molecules let humans move, sense, reproduce and accomplish the processes that keep them alive. The human body is so magnificently complex, that one wonders how it could be the random result of the evolutionary process, and not the single convoluted plan of intelligence higher than human being. A study of all the different systems that make up the human body and all the complicated ways these systems communicate in order to keep that body functioning, is enough to make anyone realize the omniscient power of a theoretical higher being. A theoretically perfect model it is, on which all pathetic manmade imitations are based. It's a machine that repairs itself, that learns from its mistakes, is aware of its own existence, that happens to contain its own energy generator, works off simple organic fuel elements like water, vegetable matter, grain and sugar; and even packages its own leftover waste into tidy little disposable packages. The eyes can conveniently be rated as the most sophisticated cameras ever invented and skin the ultimate cooling system. It is amazing as to how enmeshed all the parts are, and how easily all the different systems can communicate with each other. The human body has many characteristics that resemble an electronic computer. The body accepts information input in a variety of ways. Some of these are water, nutrition, environment, sensory perception, and emotional adaptation, interaction with other animal and plant life, and a variety of other inputs that can be processed within the body. The body processes these inputs and delivers the information to achieve the necessary functions within the body. At the very core of the processing is the program based on which it operates. This program is the genetic information that permeates the human existence. Out of this information base, all functions of life occur programmed by the genetic matter and are relayed to the biological computer program for processing and action. The liver protects the body by breaking down the toxic substances, and works as the metabolic factory. Without proper liver function, other vital organs, mainly the heart, would begin to fail. Kidneys maintain the acid and base balance, filter out the wastes; justifiably referred to as the chemistry lab and its functional artfulness is believed in the medical field so complex as yet to be fully more...

To be sick is to enjoy royal privileges. Normally, you may not be an important person in your house. But when you are ill you are the hero of the house, the center of attention. The entire life in the household is adjusted to your needs. There is absolute silence in the house: nobody talks loudly or moves about with a heavy tread. While none is permitted to intrude into your palace - the sick room - you are served quietly - with enquiring looks and mute attendance. The sick man has the freedom to sit or lie in any posture he likes in his bed. He changes sides more often than a politician. Now he lies full-length, then half-length, obliquely, head-and-feet quite across the bed. He tumbles, tosses, shifts, and thumps his pillow, making it serve the ever-varying need of his throbbing temples. His bed presents a wavy, furrowed surface. The sick man is supremely selfish. He thinks of nothing but how to get well. To the world's business he is dead. He understands not what the callings and occupations of mortals are; only he has a dim awareness of some such thing when the doctor makes his daily call, and even then he tends to think that he is the only patient in the world to cure and for whom the medical profession was created. Household rumours touch him not. Some faint murmur, indicative of life going on within the house, soothes him, while he knows not distinctly what it is. Can any other man betray such absolute self- centerdness and get away with it? When he starts getting a little better he loses much of his importance. From the bed of sickness to the chair of convalescence there is a fall from dignity almost amounting to a demotion. His sick room, from which he ruled the household, is now reduced to a common bed-room. The trimness of the very bed has something petty and unmeaning about it. All that made sickness pompous has vanished - the spell that hushed the house, the desert-like stillness, the enquiry by looks, and the mute attendance all gone.