Dr. Abdul Kalam

Abdul Pakir Jainulabudeen Abdul Kalam, this was the name of India’s 11th President; who is known as APJ Abdul Kalam, in short. He was born to Mr. Jainulabdeen and Mrs. Ashiamma. Abdul Kalam’s father was a boat owner who ferried Hindu pilgrims from the famous Rameswaram temple in Tamil Nadu to Dhanushkodi. Mr. Jainulabdeen was also an imam in the local mosque, this is how he earned his living for his family. Mrs. Ashiamma was a housewife.

Dr. Abdul Kalam came from a modest family. He has even worked as a paperboy to support his father. Abdul Kalam has four brothers and one sister. He was born on 15th October 1931 in the temple city of Rameswaram. He was a devout Muslim.  He offered prayers five times a day and fasted during the holy month of Ramadan. In his autobiography, he has mentioned that while he was young his father who was the imam, the temple priest and the priest from the nearby church used to sit together and discuss the common issues of the village. This is how the feeling of secularism and equality was inculcated in him.

Dr. Abdul Kalam’s teachers remember him as being not a very studious student, but very hardworking. He graduated from Madras University with physics as his main subject, he wanted to be a fighter pilot. He studied aerospace engineering, later on he completed his PhD and became a scientist. He was involved in India’s civilian space and military missile development programmes and hence he is known as, “The Missile Man of India.” Kalam was the Chief Scientific Adviser to the then Prime Minister Mr. Manmohan Singh (1992-1999).
 He received the Bharat Ratna or the highest civilian award in 1997, the Padma Bhushan which is the third highest civilian award in 1981 and the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award in 1990. Once he was asked whether he would like to be known as a poet, a teacher, a missile man, a scientist, a President or a statesman. Dr. Kalam replied that he would like to be known as a teacher! On 27th July 2015, it was as if God blessed him, he breathed his last while giving a lecture in Shillong to the IIM students . Not only India, but the whole world was saddened by the death of this great man. We can rightly say that Mr. Abdul Kalam is an epitome of simplicity and humility

Eid al-Fitr

Eid al-Fitr (“Feast of the Breaking of the Fast”) is one of the most important festivals of Muslims. It is a feast that celebrates the end of the fasting during the Ramadan. During the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn to sunset and they eat and drink only after sunset. Fasting during the month of Ramadan is one of the acts that should be mandatorily observed by Muslims during their life.

Eid al-Fitr falls on the first day of the month of Shawwaal. It is believed that the Muslims’ holy book, Qur’an, was revealed to Prophet Mohammed during this month. Ramadan is the month of charity. The Muslims believe that the fasting makes them realize what is hunger and poverty. By being charitable they help their fellow beings.



All this brings lots of blessings to them. During the last week of Ramadan, Muslims go to the Mosques and pray till late night. Ramadan is a month when they have to finish reading the Qur’an at least once. Eid al-Fitr is a day of celebration. Muslims around the world go to the Mosques early morning and pray. They wear new dresses and visit their relatives and wish them good health and long life. Thus Eid al-Fitr is a festival that shows brotherhood and family reunions.

Advantages and disadvantages of technology

Technology has brought about a revolution in the modern world. It has made our lives easy and fast. Technology has a made the world a global village. Technology is a double edged weapon. Today I am going to talk about the advantages and disadvantages of technology.

 Let us look into the advantages of technology first. Traveling was time consuming since animals were being used as vehicles. Now we have planes, trains, etc. which has made our lives easy. We have made vast progress in the medical field too. Almost all vital organs can be transplanted. This includes heart, liver, kidney, lungs etc.  We also have advanced machines to perform various operations. Just by sitting in our room we can see a person and speak to our near and dear ones, no matter how far they are. Incidents that have happened anywhere in the world reach us within seconds. We can even shop, book ticket, read books etc. sitting at home. Things like fridge, microwave oven, AC etc. have made our lives easier. So you see technology has made the world a global village.


Now let us look into the disadvantages. Technology has made man machine addicted. As we are progressing, our lifespan has become short. This is due to the lack of physical activity. Many people are addicted to various gadgets around them like, remote controls, mobile phones, Lifts etc. All these things make us lazy. Children are addicted to games on phones and laptops. They have stopped playing outside. At a very young age, they have various diseases like diabetes, obesity, blood pressure etc. There is less communication between people. People lead a sedentary lifestyle and hence diseases are there constant companions.

So we as a new generation, let us take an oath that we will use technology wisely as a means to progress and lead a healthy lifestyle. Thus we shall leave behind a better platform for the coming generations.

Tourist attractions in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is famous throughout the world as a tourist paradise. There are many attractions in this island.

Most of the tourists come to Sri Lanka for holidaying or for sightseeing.

Sri Lanka has attractions of various sorts to satisfy the varying interests of foreigners. Some of them are ancient ruins, waterfalls, sanctuaries, botanical gardens and sandy beaches. Our country has a proud history. The tourists who are interested in ruined cities, arts and crafts, sculpture and painting can visit our historical cities like Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Dambulla and Kandy. We have religious festivals and processions.  The Kandy Esala Perahera is world famous.

There are three main sanctuaries in Sri Lanka. They are Yala, Kumana and wilpattu. Yala is famous for deer. Wilpattu is famous for wild elephants and Kumana is famous for birds. The botanical gardens at Gampaha, Paradeniya and Haggala have become very popular with tourists. Dunhinda is the most beautiful waterfall in Sri Lanka. Our beaches along the southern coast have become very popular with tourists.

Thousands of tourists visit the world famous sigiriya. It is famous for its frescoes. Sigiriya is considered the eighth wonder of the world.

A large number of tourist hotels with modern facilities has been set up the Ceylon Tourist Board throughout the island. Even the private sector companies have put up many tourist hotels.

Nuwara-Eliya has a salubrious climate and this city has become a popular tourist resort today.

Sports

 

Everyone likes to play.Not only  the able bodied but also disabled are fond of sports.

Sports play an important role in everyones life.Itonly in is said that a healthy mind can be found  only in a healythy body.Sports develop not only humans physical faculty but also his mental faculty.

There are various kind of sports in our  country.Some of them are cricket, volley ball, foot ball, net ball, elle, rugger, badminton, swimming, hockey & ect. Among them cricket is most popular in Sri Lanka.

In the past sports were not given a priority in our schools.Sports were directly introduce as extra-curricular activities. But today the education authorities have released  that the sports is an integral part of education.

Exercises have to be done regularly for the proper functioning and development of our body.If a person is engaged in sports continuously he or she can lead a healthy life.In  schools we find some students who look weak and pale they are the students who never take part in sports.

Sports also teach us good moral values.We can learn good qualities and good attitudes of persons. A good sportsman can take both victory and defeat alike. He is very patient.He accepts any decision without grumbling. He is very disciplined and well mannered.Also he is ready to accept any challenge at any time.Sports teach us leadership qualities and the feeling of work as a team.

So everyone should participate in sports for the successful life.