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Writing skills : Letter writing_Overview

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Writing skills : Informal letter format

Friendly Letter Format

Return Address Line 1 1 Return Address Line 2 Date (Month Day, Year) 2 Dear Name of Recipient, 3                                                                                                            Body Paragraph 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . . . . . . . . . . .         Body Paragraph 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .         Body Paragraph 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Closing (Sincerely...), 5 Signature 6 P.S. 7

In the friendly letter format, your address, date, the closing, signature, and printed name are all indented to the right half of the page (how far you indent in is up to you as long as the heading and closing is lined up, use your own discretion and make sure it looks presentable). Also the first line of each paragraph is indented.

Your Address 1
All that is needed is your street address on the first line and the city, state and zip on the second line. 

Date 2
Put the date on which the letter was written in the format Month Day Year e.g. August 30, 2003. Never skip a line between the date and the salutation.

Salutation 3
Usually starts out with Dear. Note: There is a comma after the end of the salutation.

Body 4
The body is where you write the content of the letter; the paragraphs should be single spaced with no skipped line between paragraphs. Skip no lines between the end of the body and the closing.

Closing 5
Let's the reader know that you are finished with your letter; usually ends with Sincerely, Sincerely yours, Thank you, and so on. Note that there is a comma after the end of the closing and only the first word in the closing is capitalized.

Signature 6
Your signature will go in this section, usually signed in black or blue ink with a pen. Skip a line after your signature and the P.S.

P.S. 7
If you want to add anything additional to the letter you write a P.S. (post script) and the message after that. You can also add a P.P.S after that and a P.P.P.S. after that and so on.

(* Normally, the SSC/HSC boards of Maharashtra, India do not accept the signature part. You are supposed to write your name ( Not the actual name but three letters like ABC or XYZ ) after you are done with the letter )

Essay : Education As a Short of Commodity Today

Over the past three decades, there has been a sea change in the attitudes of people connected with education Teachers, administrators and planners, students and parents are all looking at education as a sort of commodity that leads on to better earnings and status in society. It is not surprising that it is so. But what is unfortunate is another development leading to an attitudinal change in society. The intrinsic value of education is no longer recognized although pious platitudes are mouthed quite frequently.
The main reason is that the flux of change has caught up with education much more dramatically than with other areas of activity. While the demand for education has been growing steadily in the developing countries including India, quality has not kept pace with it. Another factor, and an equally disturbing one, is the politicization of the campuses. Not only colleges and universities, even high schools seem to be getting infected by this virus. It is not uncommon to find on many campuses pedagogues espousing the cause of one political party or the other, no in any academic sense, but with a fervor that would do a party spokesman proud.
About 30 years ago, student unions and debating societies discussed live political issues. The debates were of a high level with the participants thorough in their home work Communication skills too were good and even those who set their sights on politics as a career went through this exercise with earnestness and sincerity. Similarly, mock parliaments marked the academic calendar in many colleges; the professors in charge spent a lot of time and energy guiding students and training them in the art of debating.
These debates attracted a large number of students who came to cheer their compatriots. There was on all sides a desire to learn, be informed and to enlarge the mental horizon. This aspect, which made college life in the fifties and sixties valuable, is sadly missing today on a vast majority of the campuses. Yet another aspect is that the pedagogues were by and large scholars who believed in furthering knowledge. They had an abundant love for their students and could spare time for those who cane to clarify their doubts. Thus, the mutual bond of affection and scholarship helped cement a lifelong relationship between the teacher and the taught. This is conspicuous by its absence today.
These losses cannot be counterbalanced by an impressive infrastructure in the form of stately buildings and an array of instruments in laboratories. The human material of the earlier years did in a large measure fulfill the task set out for it, namely becoming teachers in the true sense of the word and this was done in an environment of virtual poverty of hardware. It is here that the mentors of the olden days score over the pedagogues of today. Perhaps, the teachers of these days worked in a spirit of self-effacement. An inexhaustible love for learning characterized their daily schedule and this got transformed into an abiding love or teaching, in a way, this was the next best that one could wish for in the place of the ancient "gurukula" pattern. But the institutionalized classroom instruction has degenerated in the last three decades or several reasons.
The unholy preoccupation with things that are material (which, of course, is the result of the present consumerist trend), the craving to get rich quickly, the closing of the avenues for certain fields of study to the youth who genuinely pine for these and the decadence that has set in society as a result of the erosion of ethical values are to blame. Caste considerations in the selection of candidates to courses and jobs are also contributing factors. Educationists, by and large, feel that this type of affirmative action by the Centre and the State Governments has been carried to the extreme and need? to be modified to meet the aspirations of the rising generation.
It is a pity that parents are now intent on pushing their children into certain grooves of academic activity. This is evident from the obsession of parents with getting for their wards seats in the professional institutions. There are instances of middle class parents becoming almost paranoid about seats in engineering and medical colleges.
The proliferation of these "self-financing" colleges has in a way satisfied this great demand. But the categorization of seats under the labels "free" or "payment-based" and "payment" has led to an anomalous situation. The students selected ur.der the "free" seat quotas are perforce to pay tuition fees as prescribed for the Government or aided colleges. Often, the hapless scholars have to pay something more on the sly, especially while opting for preferred courses such as computer science arid engineering. But those selected under the "payment" category have to shell out three or four times more. Not unexpectedly, this type of differentiation — two sets of students paying vastly different fees for the same course — produces in the minds of the youth a distorted sense of values.
To be fair to the private managements, it must be said that the cost of establishing and running a professional college has gene up steeply in the last few years. Also, the pressure on the managements to improve the facilities has increased, thanks to the statutory bodies such as the All India Council for Technical Education and the Medical Council of India. The objective, no doubt, is to make the errant managements who are in the habit of commercializing education mend their ways. This has had a salutary effect in almost every State where the self-financing colleges came up.
The conduct of examinations by different agencies including the school boards and universities is another prickly issue. In the last few decades, the number of candidates appearing for various public examinations right from the SSLC through the higher secondary to the degree and postgraduate levels has grown up by leaps and bounds. Indeed, it is becoming unmanageable (running into lakhs of candidates in certain categories) for any centralized agency such as the school boards.
A strong case can be made out for decentralizing the system taking care at the same time that a modicum of uniformity in evaluation and assessment of answer scripts in maintained. What is to be guarded against is the leakage of question papers that has come to characterize the modern scene. The "necessary evil" of examinations cannot in the present context be replaced by any other system: the only remedy is to make the entire process, right from the setting up of question papers, invigilation, paper dispatch and valuation to the announcement of results foolproof. Whenever a reexamination is ordered, it is the hardworking, studious candidates who undergo greater hardship. The curbing of malpractices is only one aspect, refining the techniques of evaluation and selection of teachers of integrity to be in charge of the process is the crucial part.
Campus watchers are struck by the distortion that has crept into the academic field in the last three decades, namely the neglect of languages, the humanities and the social sciences. A study of subjects such as history, politics, sociology, economics, psychology, philosophy, languages and literature provides for a deeper understanding of human relationships, behavior and social currents. A majority of students go in for sciences and commerce. While this trend is in consonance with the science and technology age, the skewed preference for these subjects may not in the long run benefit society.
There must be some way of making the humanities attractive to youth, both from the point of view of employment opportunities and from a higher plane. Also, the teachers who handle the subjects must be men and women of exceptional ability, capable of sparking student interest. Unfortunately, such teachers are dwindling in numbers all over the country. A vigorous effort must be made to attract talented youth to the humanities which are essential for the evolution of human development.

Essay : Parties, Parliament and the Law — A Real Conflict

For all its familiarity, a political party is a peculiar entity. Presiding officers recognize it by the number of elected members in a House. The Central Election Commission adjudicates when there is a dispute over the symbol by two groups. The courts have their own criteria for deciding the true claimant to the original nomenclature and assets in the event of a split. It may exist at one level, like the TMC, in the Lok Sabha, and not at all be officially recorded, in the Rajya Sabha.
Where you stand in Indian politics does not depend on where you sit in Parliament. Had Mr G.K. Moopanar become Prime minister in the wake of Mr H.D. Deve Gowda's exit, the United front coalition would have been led by a Congress party member of the Rajya Sabha. Ms Jayanthi Natarajan, Minister of state for civil aviation in the UF government, is also a member of the Congress in the Rajya Sabha records. The Tamil Maanila Congress, of which Mr Moopanar is the president and Ms Natarajan a member, has no official presence in the Rajya Sabha.
Political parties are not an organic whole and this could be the cause when the Election Commissioners is seeking stricter compliance with provisions, such as holding organizational elections, maintenance of proper accounts and filing tax returns. The suggestion by one of the Election Commissioners that parties should desist from issuing a whip in presidential elections, is yet another provision which may catch up with the conscience of political parties before they are prepared for this break with tradition. The cumulative result of having to meet more external requirements will chip away at the "power of party bosses over members.
The situation is further complicated where parliament and courts do not accept each other's jurisdiction and the EC zealously guards its own domain. With the result, by the same set of laws, a party that is split in Parliament may be an undivided organizational body, and a split parliament party may be a unified legislature bloc. Theoretically, there could be as many as six versions of a split party if it is affected at these three levels. Parties are the result of their status being subject to different rules of recognition by different constitutional offices and by the judiciary. When the organizational wing of a party splits, the rival claimants seek to settle the matter in a court of law, or before the Election Commission which adjudicates on the symbol.
Under the anti-defection law, whether a party has split or hot is decided by the Speaker. But the ruling in the Lok Sabha could be at variance with that delivered in a state assembly. And these two wings of the party, split or otherwise, get legally disconnected from the general body and its organs which have to turn to the courts and the EC. Elections to the assembly and Parliament remain the ultimate test of vindicating the true claimant. And. ironically, therein lie the root of the problem.
To remain in the election process requires the party to adhere to EC rules and guidelines. This burden is greater on the party than on the candidate contesting the poll. It is the party that has to maintain accounts of income and expenditure and file tax returns. It is the party that has to exert itself to hold organizational elections and go through the forms to keep its members eligible for elections. And when a member joins the elected elite the falls under the jurisdiction of the Speaker, and often the party needs him more than he needs the party which is the bigger force.
A group of MPs or MILAs can reduce their party to role and failing to achieve that, break away by inviting expulsion. Mr P.V. Narshima Rao; overcame the minority status of "his party in Parliament by winning over small groups of MPs from other parties. Mr V.P Singh's government was kept on tenterhooks even before it fell by a group of MPs who were controlled by Congress strings. The anti-defection law institutionalized the primacy of legislators over the party organization, except for the minor distinction it makes between a defection and a split. All that it did was legitimize wholesale defection and put retail traders out of business. Regardless of a party's share of votes, en masse defection could nullify its very mandate.
It is a travesty of representative democracy when elected representatives can retain their parliamentary status even after being alienated from the party's popular base on which they were voted in. In this situation of declining party power, the whip remains one of the few means of restraining errant members. And parties resisting surrender of this slender rein on its elected members are understandable. The EC did well in not hastily adopting the suggestion for this presidential election.
It is not the relative merits of a party whip, against conscience vote which prevented the matter from being pursued any further. It was recognition of the fact that no master what a constitutional scheme may be, its workability depends upon the consent and cooperation of political parties, and not the clout of regulatory bodies like the Election Commission. Political forces have always taken the view that constitutionalism taken to the extreme can mitigate against the spirit of the statutes. By the same logic parliamentarism carried to excess in the name of democracy can kill both conscience and content.
In a party democracy there cannot be partyless parliamentarism to its worst sense, which is where politics would drift to if elected members were freed of primary commitment to their parent bodies. This cannot be checked by asking Speakers, courts and election commissioners to keep out of party terrain, because that is neither desirable nor possible. A practical way out is for political parties to take the initiative for evolving functional norms that meet the EC's terms for electoral purposes, do not clash with the jurisdiction of presiding officers, reduce areas of conflict between courts and legislatures and, strengthen their organizational hold on members regardless of their place in elected bodies.
Unless parties reform themselves, external regulations will continue to be viewed as the only option with the bureaucracy gaining in primacy over political forces. Had political parties functioned as they should with regular elections, proper bookkeeping and filing of tax returns there would be little room for external intervention to enforce these. Compliance with procedures would strengthen their credibility and moral authority to resist interference in areas of political management.
It would be in the interest of parties to begin addressing these issues now instead of waiting until they reach another flashpoint. On Article 356, parties have more or less arrived at a certain unanimity. In much the same manner, issues of party management need to be resolved so that recurrent conflicts involving the EC, courts, defections and splits are kept to the minimum. Parties which have to be disciplined by official fiats can hardly be effective in providing political leadership to the bureaucracy when in power.

Essay : Mass Communication and Social Change

"One of the objects of newspaper is to understand the popular feeling and give expression to it; another is to arouse among the people certain desirable sentiments; and the third is fearlessly to expose popular defects". — M.K. Gandhi 
Historically, social structure and tradition in India remained impervious to major elements of modernity until the contact with the west began through colonization. This contact had a special historicity which brought about many farreaching changes in culture and social structure of Indian society. There was, however, one important feature of Indian modernization during the British period. The growth of this process was selective and segmental. It was not integrated with the microstructure of Indian society, such as family, caste, village community. At these levels, the British by and large followed a policy of least interference, especially after the rebellion of 1857. Later, in the twentieth century, as the nationalist movement gathered momentum which felt strong need to mobilize masses in the active policies. The press became the chief instrument for carrying out the task that is for arousing, training, mobilizing and consolidating nationalist public opinion. The influence of the media on Indian masses was tremendous. It not only educated the masses politically, but also motivated them to discard irrational, old and evil social practices.
The media of communication which have accelerated the rate of growth and cultural diffusion of modernization have also been introduced in India by the colonial masters. Printing was introduced by the Portuguese in the second half of the sixteenth century and incentive for this was provided by the Christian missionaries. In the British territory, the first press appeared in Bombay in 1674 on the initiative of an Indian named Bhimji Parekh. In early eighteenth century a printing press was established in South India by the Danish Lutheran Mission. Written newspapers called Akbar are known to have been in circulation during the time of the Mughal Empire, but the printed newspapers came into existence only after the contact with the west. A beginning in this direction was made about the first quarter of the 18th century. Similarly, the British also introduced telegraph, railways and modern postal system in India.
The changes which have followed since the expansion in these communication media in India constitute an indirect but concrete index of modernization. During 194041, India had between 3000 to 4000 printed newspapers and periodicals published from a variety of centers in seventeen different languages, a few bilingual. The number of newspapers and periodicals increased by almost 42.7 percent in almost twenty years. At the end of 1966 their number was 10,977.
Phenomenal increase has also been made in the means of communication such as postal service,, movies, radio and information media through" posters, hand bills, and mobile filmshow units. The increase in costal facilities alone may be evident from the fact that in 1836 there were only 276 postoffices in India which increased to 74,596 in 1962. Similar increase has also been made in the other media of communication and transport. The expansion in transport by the railways, roadways, airways and waterways has contributed to the intensification in the volume of interaction and contact between one region and another; travelling by railways and buses was an immediate blow to the principle of caste hierarchy based; on the theory of pollution and purity, since in the same railway coach or bus people of all castes, high or low, had to travel. In the beginning there was some resistance from the conservative section of the upper castes, but such movements soon petered out, devaluing by railways and buses was not only accepted but these were increasingly used for pilgrimages and for other socioreligious purposes. These technological innovations have, therefore, to some extent brought changes in the traditional outlook.
How far this impression is valid in India of today? How far do the press, radio and television mould public opinion and bring about a change in the attitude of the government and the people on important problems? The politicians and the bureaucrats acknowledge the importance of the press and its freedom, and about the proper use of the government controlled electronic media but when the need arises, have no hesitation in putting curbs on the press and in using the electronic media for one sided propaganda. On its part, the .press which claims to be free; conveniently forgets the constraints under which it functions because of the control and ownership by large business houses. These in turn are obliged to government for a number of things vital for publication of newspapers and the other business interests of the proprietor. The editor has lost the importance and freedom that he once enjoyed. In other words, the power of pen is no longer as powerful as it once was. The reasons are obvious. They lie in the changed political situation in the country as also the changes in the structure of the press during the year since independence.
In his autobiography, Mahatma Gandhi defined the role of the press in these words; one of the objects of a newspaper is to understand the popular feeling and give expression to it; another is to arouse among the people certain desirable sentiments; and the third is fearlessly to expose popular defects." In the preindependent days publication of a newspaper was a mission, it was another front of the freedom struggle. Circulation was small and so was the revenue from the advertisements. Now publication of a newspaper meant for the proprietor the opportunity to convey his point of view, influence public opinion and the government. Multiple edition newspapers, chain newspapers and new newspapers owned by industrialists sprouted, professional journalism course has reduced the prestige of an editor o which he used to enjoy earlier. Now his pen is directed in the direction of the publisher. Now publication of a newspaper has become a commercial enterprise. .
Apart from print media, electronic media has revolutionized the society. Television has altered lifestyles, living patterns and indeed life itself. Some sociologists see this as a portent of the second dark ages; to most it is the onset of an exciting new millennium where information is the ultimate power tool. Alvin Toffler, once said that" the power of the state has always vested on its control of force, wealth and knowledge. What is professionally different is the changed relationship among these three. The new supersymbolic System of wealth creation thrusts a wide range of information related issues into the political agenda.
Is the Indian nationstate ready for this paradigm shift? Are Indian media professionals ready for this change? And will these farreaching changes actually affect a third world country like India?
The sheer size and complexity of India makes it a difficult country for mass media. With over j (370 million people talking in 16 major languages and a variety of lifestyles to boot, it is obvious one cannot address all of them together all the time. 
The all pervasive influence of television cannot be denied. What is it that makes TV so very different from other media? Most obvious is that it is audiovisual, unlike newspapers or radio. It is a domestic medium where the images are received in the privacy of the home. It is low cost, reaches large numbers and gives watchers a sense of participation. And, in a country like India, with its high rate of illiteracy, it informs and educates, even as it entertains.
Every use of media presupposes manipulation. Each newspaper has an editorial policy which gives its news a particular slant. Here in India, already the parameters laid down by Doordarshan are wrapped, confused and out dated. Similarly, the attitude of Zee TV, the Star TV has been disappointing. Despite the brouhaha over its launch, it is obvious that Zee is still grappling with an identity problem. And because the owners have other business besides broadcasting, they rekeeping away from hard news. 
All news is elitecentred; but TV news is usually more ethnocentric. Its accent is on people, places and events. But TV news must go beyond mere reportage of facts, and capture the story between the lines. 
Television is also a great window to the global market place. Goods and services are continuously being sold through TV's dreamworld. Doordarshan has created many products successes; Rasna, Nirma, Maggi etc. But they are all pointers to the power of the medium as well as its drawback. TV sells a lifestyle, not just a product. This lifestyle must have an element of fantasy mixed with identifiable characters and concepts. As is often said, TV spawns desire, not demand. What is true for soap and noodles is also true for politician and leaders.
The expansion in the technological means of travel and transport and increase in the number and circulation of the newspaper as forms of media exposure are directly associated with cultural modernization. In the Indian case, this media exposure results both in modernization and traditionalization. Postal and telegraph services not only bring with them more information about distant places and the relatives located distantly, thus increasing people’s mobility, but also the facility to organize caste associations and other traditional group activities more efficiently. Hence the modernization of the channels of communication results into a kind of cultural between the value systems of tradition and modernity.

Essay : Just As Roads Need speed-breakers Developing Economies Needs Protection

Multinational corporations are routinely complaining that they do not have a level playing field in India—and that justice and WTO alike demand that they get it. On the other hand, Indian businessmen also fee! that they are denied a level playing field vis-a-vis MNCs, Both sides, therefore, want a level playing field, it should, therefore, be possible to examine where, to what extent, for whom and how it may be leveled.
Indian businesses certainly have certain advantages in India. They know the country and the people. They know their workers, their managers and their consumers. And they know their government. However, these are advantages enjoyed by every business on its respective home ground.
We have the advantage of cheaper labor; but this labor is not as skilled as in the West. And, in any case, we have to employ much more labor than there. Also, when an MNC starts manufacturing in India, it also acquires the advantage of cheaper labor.
In addition, Indian business did, for years, have the protection of import substitution and high tariff walls. However, today, these wails have been all but pulled down. So much so that, to give just one example, today many steel mills in India, big and small, have had to close down because of cheaper imports. But, on the other hand, the big foreign companies — the MNCs — have tremendous, even overwhelming advantages. To treat Indian and these foreign companies on par would be like throwing the lamb to the wolves — In the name of 'equality'.
Because the West has dominated the world for the last two centuries. Its domination shows in every sphere. Since it has more wealth and more capital, interest rates are much lower in the West. While an American MIMC may have to pay only five percent interest, an Indian company has to pay 20 per cent.
The same with technology The West is not only ahead of us in technology, it often refuses to sell state-of-the-art technology us. The US not only refused to sell cryogenic engines to us; it pressed Russia not to sell them to us.
Although much of the oil comes from the Persian Gulf area, world oil prices are determined by adding what it would cost to transport this oil to Texas, in the Gulf of Mexico, and using it as the base price. No wonder oil is cheaper in the US than in India. All this is possible only because American and some other western oil companies control the world petroleum market.
These companies even organized the oil crisis of the seventies, to raise oil prices high and earn oil superscripts. These oil profits were then used by the World Bank to tempt developing countries to borrow money by the billion — and so walk into debt-traps. As a western robber-baron engaged in telling even great 1,000-year old trees, put it candidly: There's a story about the golden rule. He who has old rules, Nor is this western predominance confined to the material factors of production. It is, if anything, even more pervasive in the non-physical factors of economic life. Today we are living in a world of instant communications and informalities. And hero again the West is miles ahead of us.-There are riot only more western satellites in orbit monitoring the world --- and its marine and underground resources — western electronic media is penetrating even/ nook and corner of the world. It is influencing not only economic choices but also tastes and values. The western advertising blitz is pushing western products. Today even Delhi police station name boards carry Pepsi advertisements. When developing countries refuse tobacco ads, these MNCs sponsor sports events to promote their smoking message. And so while smoking is going down in the US — because of its known carcinogenic properties — tobacco company profits are going up. Mr. Lawrence Summers, chief economist of the World Bank, openly advocated that polluting industries and garbage be exported to developing countries.
In the name of a level playing field, American banks have set up shop in India. But they never fulfill the social responsibilities shouldered by Indian bank, which latter have to open branches in rural areas and give loans on concessional terms to agriculture, small stale industry and cooperatives. This inequality shows even in the realm of law. Foreign companies cc ling to India do not want to be judged by Indian law; they invoke the law in a third country. In simple words, the level playing field of MNCs amounts to 'heads we win and tails you lose."
The West has not only more guns and more gold — and even more grain in a hungry world. Ail the powerful international organizations — with which to dominate the world, The UN, World Bank, International Monetary Fund. World Trade Organization and International Court of Justice — are based in the West and captive to the West. As Mr. Samuel P Huntington of Harvard candidly puts it in an artrcle in Foreign Affairs Quarterly: "Through the IMF and other international economic institutions, the West promotes its economic interests and imposes on other nations the economic policies it thinks appropriate. " This leads to resentment and the emergence of a conflict between "the West and the Rest". And so Mr. Huntington concedes: "In any poll of non-western people, the IMF undoubtedly would win the support of finance ministers and a few others, but get an overwhelmingly unfavorable routine from just about everyone else.
But instead of redressing the grievances of ;he South, Mr. Huntington wants "the West to maintain the economic and military power necessary to protect its interests in relation to these civilizations " This is the reason why the US does not want India to go nuclear or develop a missile capability. If India developed military muscle, the West would not be able to extract more and more concessions from us for its MNCs. It will thus be seen that, in the name of 'globalization', the West is only trying to perpetuate its hegemony on the world.
Coming back to the economic domain, we don't have to be taken in by the glib talk of "free trade". Just as roads need speed-breakers, developing economies need protection. A 100 years ago, when Britain asked the UStc abolish its tariff walls and engage in free trade, then US President Ulysses Grant reminded it that the UK had protected its industries for 100 years before launching out on free trade. The US, said Grant, would also do the same after 100 years. 

Essay : A Newspaper Is Always A Weapon In Someone's Hands

By a definition given in The Spectator, a British newspaper, the chief role of a newspaper is to spread intelligence. Intelligence may be defined as information, news, especially that related to important events. The importance of newspapers cannot be underestimated in a democracy. They act as watch for the people. They are responsible for enlightening the people about various events and their importance. The role that a newspaper plays as an educator for the people makes it one of the important pillars supporting the super-structure of democracy. That is why press is called the fourth estate along with legislature, the executive and the judiciary.
Newspaper not only informs people about events by reporting them as news but also analyses news and presents it as editorials, comments and lead articles. These analyses are carried by editors and columnists. What they present is their own view point and the way they judge an event, a happening etc. In fact, a newspaper's articles thinking are nothing but the editor's line of thinking. However, this bias is not harmful as long as the objective of the editor or the columnist remains unmotivated by extraneous considerations. For interpreting a fact that is news, a number of viewpoints can be given and there is nothing wrong in a healthy discussion. However, the interpretation and analysis should be done objectively and rationally. The aims should be disseminating knowledge and not propaganda. However, due to various types of pressures and pulls, we find that objectivity and rationality is being compromised by the newspapers and instead they are appearing to become pawns in big games of money and power. 
The biggest pressure that newspapers face today is the pressure from the administration. In India the administration holds the life to press by supplying them with concessional newsprint. Also, government notices, circulars and advertisements are important sources of revenue for a newspaper. The administration uses this relation to pressurize newspapers not to print the misdeeds, abuse of power and authority by it. Use of various rules and regulations is made both in peace time and troubled times to harass the newspapers. Another source of pulls and pressures is the big advertisers and businessmen. They are . the biggest source of revenue to the newspapers without which they cannot even run. So, in this way, they are the most important guarantors of newspaper's independence. However, where they try to misuse their clout by pressurizing newspapers into publishing favorable reports and hiding their mis-endeavors and misdeeds, they become a challenge to the integrity of the newspapers. Especially when potential investors read now-a-days, annual reports and financial estimates and take their decisions on that basis, a report in the newspaper may make or mar a company's fortune. So, newspapers may be forced by big businessmen in distorting the facts by their interpretation and explanation.
Today when he has become old, he wants the youngsters to follow the same life, the same values that he did when he was young. Little does he realize that by trying to do so he is trying to fit a man into .a coat and not coat onto a man. So many changes have taken place so fast that the generation of today follows entirely different set of rules from those followed by the generation of yesterday. Today, young men have no time to sit to share small joys and sorrows with others. They are to go to one or may be two jobs in the day. In the evening, they are to go to health club. The night time is party time. In the jet age of today, a man may be taking his breakfast in Delhi and lunch in Cairo and Dinner in New York. When he sits down to rest, he is too tired to know what others are up to. The result is that he is unable to cultivate relationships. He becomes lonely in the vast concrete jungles of the cities. Loneliness and lack of love may drive a man towards drug and alcohol, in fact, in alcoholism has taken alarming proportions.
The result of such a rapid pace of modernization is that while old people are finding it difficult to adjust to the changed life style, the young people are unable to accede to the old people's demand. Today, a young man doesn't go to the old for solving some problem, he has no value for their advice and wisdom. He thinks that money can solve everything. Money has become a deciding factor in his relationships. He thinks that if he has money, he will have all the pleasures. Sadly, he is not always true and when he realizes his mistake, it is usually too late.
The children are the worst sufferers of the ills of modernization. The childhood may be spent in material fulfillment but emotional .deprivation. I hey thus develop a distorted personal they grow in an emotional vacuum. They learn about the hard facts of life outside world and do not even realize that there is much beyond the mad race' in the modern world.
It is not that modernization has no positive aspects. In fact, the forces of change has broken the fetters of decay and chain of irrational, cruel and obscurantist customs. Today," a modern young man believes in reason, rationality, justice, fair play and equality. For him, religious fundamentalism, casteism have no value. Talent and merit are the only deciding factor for finding a man's worth. He refuses to accept anything out of blind faith. In fact, democracy and secularism is being sustained by the forces of modernization only.
The process of modernization cannot be stopped or reversed. In fact, any attempt to do so would be suicidal for the human civilization. What is important is that we learn to reduce the negative impacts of modernization and instead try to reap maximum benefit out of it. Also, it is important that we learn to adjust to the changing realities. It becomes the duty of the young people to try to balance the needs of the time and the demands of the old. Also, it is for the old persons to see that they do not impose their own value system upon the young. Above all our faith in the higher human values and ethics must not weaken.

Essay : Forests—Need For Conservation

Trees are mankind's lifeline. If they are destroyed, there is no way that human beings can survive. From the oxygen that we breathe in, the food that we eat, to the clothes we wear, we owe it all to the trees. Not only this, trees act as purifiers of air and receptacles of our waste products. Trees have great economic value too. We get fuel, fodder, timber, medicines and numerous other valuable products from the trees. It is, therefore, not surprising that trees were given great importance in our culture, our tradition, our mythology and legends. The entire Panchatantra revolves around forests and its inhabitants. Tulsi plant is always found and worshipped in a traditional home. Pipal tree is revered by all. Neem is valuable as an insecticide, germicide and medicine, in the times when there were no coolers or air conditioners people comforted themselves in the cool shades of mango, neem and other trees during summer heat. The survival of entire wild life depends upon the health and well being of our trees and specially our forests.
Today, however, the forests are in danger. Their survival is at stake as man, in his blind pursuit of wealth and power, is bent upon destroying them. The urgent need today is to save our forests from extinction. For sustaining ecological balance, for environmental and other reasons, it is important that at least one third of our land is covered with forests. However, today we have less than 20% area under forests and much of it is degraded forest. Over felling of trees, hindering natural process of pollination and germination and diverting land for other purposes have all taken their toll on forests. So, the need of the hour is to work to save existing forests and help in bringing larger area under forests. The need to conserve forests and upgrade them was recognized decades back by the Indian Government. Subsequently, to promote research in forestry and allied sciences, a Forest Research Institute, and for forest management, an Indian Institute of Forest Management were opened. While Indian Forest Service was organized on an efficient basis by Sir John Strachedy, a new orientation was given to it after independence. The need to involve public was felt and so social forestry scheme was launched. The purpose was to make forestry a mass movement. 'One tree for every child', Trees for Eco-development' and numerous other schemes were launched. To provide financial support, Forest Development Boards were set up. An innovative scheme to involve industries and private parties in afforestation drive was launched under Industrial Plantation. To make use of the waste lands, marginal lands and desert lands, 'energy plantations', fodder plantations' etc. were attempted. Under DDP, forests were sought to be promoted not only to restore fragile ecological balance but also to provide people with the means of livelihood. Similarly, DPAP was launched with afforestation as its cornerstone.
Despite all such efforts, we find very little tangible result. Forests are still getting cut and degraded and wildlife still being destroyed. Somehow, the awareness that forests are in danger and that we should do something about it has still not reached many of us. And many of us, who know the fact, do not know what to be done about it. Forestry is highly labor intensive primary activity. Unless, people are involved neck deep in the afforestation drive, little progress can be made. Spread of information by mass media, through social workers, in schools and colleges, at work places, all these are required for the drive to become a movement. While most of us know the importance of forests, we take them for granted. Conservation of forests does not mean that they should not be used for economic purposes but should be used efficiently and in a way that does not endanger the ecological balance and does not destroy the home of wild animals. Presently, forests are being used for mainly two purpose— fuelwood and timber—both involve felling trees.

This can be avoided by either developing alternative sources of energy (there are many-solar, biogas etc.), alternative means for construction (CPWD has banned the use of wood in houses) or by growing at least one (if not two) tree for each tree cut. Secondly, new, better means of using forests should be evolved. Sericulture, mushroom cultivation, bee keeping, horticulture, etc. are not only viable but also very profitable alternatives. At the same time, forests should be protected as a system. This means that monocultures are avoided and variety of trees suitable to the local environs be grown.
The question today is not whether or not afforestation but how. Our very survival depends upon how successful we are in our mission. Let m think about future. In the greed for short term gains, 4et us not put our very survival at stake. We all have role to play in this movement. If each one of us grows just one healthy and suitable tree in his life time, the problem will be solved. To misquote Armstrong—It is a small 'ask for each one of us but a giant task for the mankind.

Essay : Environmental Pollution

One of the biggest problems the plaguing mother nature is the problem of pollution. Man is just one of millions of life forms existing on the earth, albeit a very intelligent one. But this does not entitle him to interfere in nature's law of ecological balance. He is as much dependent upon other living forms as they are on hire. When man (or anyone else) introduces something extraneous in the natural cycle which positively harms life and creates imbalance, it is known as pollution. Since man is the only life form who has been able to understand nature to some extent, he is the only one in position to cause pollution and unfortunately, he has been doing it at his own free will.

Pollution can be of many types. One of them is the Air Pollution. The very air we breathe in and which sustains life is being poisoned by exhausts from automobiles, smoke from chimneys, dust flam mining and construction activities and numerous other sources of dangerous gases and vapors. Air should have a certain composition which is mostly Nitrogen, Oxygen and very little of other gases but these sources emit carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides, hydro carbons and radioactive vapors. This disturbs the composition of air and harms all the biological processes dependent upon it.

Another type of pollution is water pollution. 90% of our body is water. We need water for cooking, drinking, bathing, cleaning, industrial processes and cooling etc. Many types of life forms lie in it. All animals and plants need water for survival. In fact, presence of water is one main reason why life exists on earth. But man has not spared even this life giver. Sewage effluents, chemical discharges, dyes, agricultural wastes (fertilizers etc.), fuels of ships etc. have converted clean, sparkling water of rivers, lakes and seas into dull, rotting mass of sludge. The aquatic life is being destroyed; dirty water has become the sources of epidemics, diseases and foul smell. Fresh water bodies are being converted into chemical ponds.

Yet another type of pollution is the land pollution. Agricultural chemicals, sewage effluents, chemical discharges from industry, mining and construction activities have denuded the surface of earth. Once lush green land has been converted into a desert. Land subsidence, floods, ground water pollution, dust and fumes are all the results of land pollution. Wild life is being deprived of its habitat and the very trees man used to worship once, are today becoming victims of his greed and carelessness.
While on one hand, atomic power is being used in innumerable ways for mankind's benefit, on the other hand, the same is becoming a major and highly hazardous source of pollution called Radiation Pollution. In this case it is not the atomic power plants but atomic explosions that are the real culprits. Harmful rays and particles, emitted can create abnormalities in body, deformities, mutations, skin cancer, blood cancer and a number of other diseases.

A brief survey of pollution done above shows very clearly that it is man himself who is responsible for his doom. His insatiable greed and use of a poor model of development are responsible for bringing things to such a pass today. It is not that this is the only way that development can be pursued. There are better and more sustainable ways existing. Such a development which bases itself on man's harmony with nature is aptly called 'sustainable development'. It defines development as betterment of human life without jeopardizing the ability of the future generations to live a healthy life. It has many aspects and if implemented can help us live a better life, materially, aesthetically and spiritually.

Implementation of such a model calls for mass participation. This in turns means that awareness and understanding needs to be generated among common people regarding environment and its protection. For example, the scheme of 'Paryavaran Vahini', which includes establishing a committed cadre of environmentally conscious and citizen who will help in protecting environment and bringing pollutants to book, is one step in this direction. Voluntary agencies, citizens, government and industry should join hands in such an endeavor. For example, use of organic fertilizers, environment friendly chemicals, bio-fertilizers, bio- pesticides, optimum use of water etc. by agriculturists can be done if they are informed, trained and helped by government, voluntary agencies etc. Use of ESPs in chimneys, treatment plants, use of eco-friendly products etc. can be done by the industry.

Time is running out fast. We have only one earth to live in and if we do not do something to save it, we can only start the reverse count. Let it be a duty of each one of us to do our best to save and improve environment. We can plant trees, use eco-friendly products, bio-degradable packings, ecomarked goods, spread the awareness and prevent others from polluting earth. Else the day is not far when clean water, safe air, undisturbed land may become a rarer commodity- than gold. May be then, even man will be found only in museums.

Essay : Unemployment

One of the principal manifestations of and factors contributing to the low levels of living in developing nations is their relatively inadequate or inefficient utilization of labor in developed nations. Underutilization of labor is manifested in two forms. First, it occurs as underemployment—those people, both rural and urban workers working less than they could. Underemployment also includes those who are normally working full time but whose productivity so low that they would have a negligible impact on total output. The second form is open unemployment—those people who are able and often eager to work but for whom no suitable jobs are available. It is this form of underutilization of labor which is of our concern here.
Open unemployment, often includes skilled workers highly trained in sophisticated technologies within its ambit. This involves a colossal waste of the nation's human resources. On a different plane, such unemployment causes unfathomable trauma and alienation on the person thus affected.
The number of unemployed persons in a developing country depends primarily on the size and age composition of its population. In this context two observations, are of the prime significance. Developing countries like India succeeded in substantially reducing the death rates without bringing about a commensurate reduction in the birth rates but also created high present dependency ratios and rapidly expanding future labor ratios. The second observation relates to the impact of fertility decline. Even if fertility rates were to decline its impact on labor force size and age structure would be visible after a considerable period of time.
Having made these observations we now turn towards the aim of development for developing countries with special reference to India. In developing countries most of the unemployment is structural, here the demand for labor falls short of employment account of agricultural backwardness, underdevelopment of industries and small size of the service sector. Like all other underdeveloped countries, India presently suffers from structural unemployment which exists both in the open and disguised forms.
Apart from structural unemployment the phenomenon of industrial recession in the last couple of decades has also introduced, what is called cyclical unemployment. However, this type of unemployment can be removed by antirecessionary policies and by raising effective demand. Hence, structural unemployment remains our principal aliment. For analytical purposes unemployment in the country may be thought to exist in two forms : urban and rural. Urban unemployment includes industrial unemployment and educated unemployment while rural unemployment can be either open or disguised. An important section of rural unemployment in India is seasonal in nature.
Most of the unemployment in urban areas is open and undisguised. Industrial unemployment in urban areas is on the rise despite the phenomenal expansion of the industrial sector during the Plans. The circumstances which led to such an eventuality are many. First, there has been a rapid increase in the economically active population which has far outpaced the growth of economy. Secondly, population in urban areas has grown faster than otherwise warranted because of a large influx of rural migrants. The slow growth of industries has retarded the capacity of urban centers to absorb this surplus labor.
The education system in India continues to churn out lakhs of matriculates and graduates every year. These people have little or no vocational training and they are unfit for any skilful employment. The consequence of this is that they all hanker for white collar jobs and other low paid unskilled jobs. It is not uncommon, therefore, to find graduates and others with still higher qualifications competing for unbecoming jobs. The imperfect education system with its theoretical bias, lack of aptitude, maladjustments between demand and supply of educated workers are some well documented causes of educated unemployment.
Let us now look at some aspects of rural unemployment. Seasonal unemployment in the farm sector is a normal occurrence in India. Indian agriculture being a gamble with monsoons and the existence of a very small proportion of irrigated land ensures that the persons working on unirrigated tracts remain unemployed during the dry months unless they get some employment elsewhere —which is very difficult.
A widely acknowledged fact about Indian agriculture is that it is characterized by the existence of considerable amount of surplus labor. In green revolution belt, demand for wage labor has increased and agricultural laborers have had to be brought in to meet this demand.
As already mentioned most of the unemployment in India is structural. Its main causes need a deeper insight.
Evidently, the demographic factor has played a major role in contributing to the rapid growth of labor force in the country since independence. However, in the Indian context social factors affecting the supply of labor are as important as demographic factors. The emergence of educated women has added a new dimension to the supply of labor force. These women have a changed perception of employment and they have come forward in a big way to compete with men for the few jobs available. The breakdown of the Jajmani system of tradition order, upcoming new occupations and the expansion communication and transport facilities have increased the mobility of labor. This has resulted in an exodus from rural dwellings to urban locales thereby expanding the labor supply in urban areas. Evidently, economic development in cities has failed to cope up in providing additional jobs to these new urban entrants. Thus, in a way, at least some unemployment in the cities can be definitely characterized as a spillover of unemployment in the countryside.
The size of employment in any country depends considerably on the level of development. As the country develops a large proportion of workhorse gets absorbed in the secondary and tertiary sectors. This has happened in India too but not at the desired rate because barring a few exceptions the actual rate of growth of national income has fallen short of the targeted rate in all successive Plans.
Moreover, the Indian planners seem to have overlooked the argument that in the early phase of development there exists a real conflict between the objectives of economic growth and employment. Another argument relates to the choice of technology mix. Though no longer very fashionable, the argument rests on the premise that for a labor abundant country like India labor intensive techniques of production should have been employed which has not happened. The situation has been because of stewed administering of factor prices in favor of capital. The distorted factor price .structure encouraged greater capital absorption at the cost of labor.
As already mentioned the education System in India is also responsible for our predicament. We have been following the Macaulay scheme which makes no attempt at development of human resources. It is structured to provide clerks and lower level executives to the government; .and government's needs are limited. Thus,' those who receive this kind of education are according to Gunnar Myrdal, not only, inadequately educated but also wrongly educated. 
Unemployment has a very high linkage with 1 poverty and income distribution. It not only leads to tremendous economic hardships but also a traumatized individual existence. It reduces the self esteem of the individual and inevitably leads to his alienation from the society. The roots of the current problems of youth unrest, juvenile delinquency and growing crime rates can to a large extent be traced back to the problem of unemployment. As already mentioned unemployment underemployment in the countryside leads to urban migration. This put and immense strain on civic amenities in these areas thereby reinforcing the spirit of despondency and alienation.
The Government is awake toward this scourge on civilization and it has launched various schemes like Jawahar Rozgar Yojana, Nehru Rozgar Yojana, etc. But these Yojanas though necessary because they open direct assault on poverty need to be streamlined and supplanted. Streamlined because these plans have a tendency to overlap, they are manned by unmotivated, uncommitted and corrupt personnel and they do not have a clear line of action, as such they are incapable of rising to the challenge. In any case, they have to be supplemented by a vigorous attack at the root of the disproportionate rise in labor force problem viz. population explosions. However, , even the most effective population control drives will take a long time to overcome the 'population momentum'. Therefore in the short run the need of vocationalizing of education and expanding self-employment cannot be overemphasized.

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Horror Stories : A Hand On My Pillow

Let me take you back fifty seven years to the countryside of County Sligo, Republic of Ireland. My mother Maura was on holiday with her five year old sister Collette to the historical Lisadell estate which has been tended by my family throughout its history and remains to be until this day.

Maura was 14 years of age at this point, the year was 1962. They were staying in an aunt's cottage. The cottage was the traditional format for a small Irish country home, with a living area conjoined with a kitchen, this was named the parlour and two bedrooms adjoined to opposite ends. The normal occupants of the cottage were Maura's aunt and uncle on her father's side-Maggie and Tim.

The couple resided in one bedroom, which left the other unoccupied for much of the year. Maura and Colette's mother Maureen had left them in the care of the aunt and uncle while she visited others around the countryside, so Maura and Colette slept in the spare room.

This room was furnished with a bed settee which could be transformed from a bed to a three person sofa at will. The walls were painted in an old fashioned tone of white and it constantly reeked with the musty odour of damp. My mother names rooms with similar smells as being 'unlived in'. The rooms also hosted a plethora of sinister appearing pictures and dolls, which the aunt oddly considered attractive.

The thing worth noting in this room were the pillows on the bed settee, they were pillows stuffed with newspaper (This was the norm as money was scarce to non-existent). This results in a rustling or crunching sound when the pillow is moved or disturbed. Maura and Colette who were from Belfast and were used to normal pillows found this hilarious.

The event occurred around 9-10 pm one night. Colette and Maura were lying on the bed settee talking and laughing but being wary of being heard by the aunt. Maggie was fierce and would punish them if they were not sleeping when instructed.

At a point they heard the door of the bedroom open, so they immediately went silent and pretended to be asleep for fear of being reprimanded, they key point here is that both kept their eyes firmly shut. They then hear the approaching squeak and thud of booted feet impacting hard wooden floor.

The footsteps grew louder at least as they appeared to Maura's audio orientation, she thought that they were approaching the bed. The footsteps stopped when Maura assumed that the person was standing right beside the bed on Maura's side.

Maura then had the overwhelming sense of being intently watched. Then a rustling sound broke the silence, it was the pillow. Maura felt her pillow sinking as if someone leant their hand on it to stare over her at her younger sister who was at the side of the bed against the wall.

The pressure continued for an indistinct amount of time, then it was released.

As if in reverse of its previous action, the person retreated from the bed and the sound of the footsteps were traceable back to the door, and the door was then closed.

Maura attributed no significance to this story whatsoever, they believed it was Aunt Maggie simply checking on them.

The next morning she asked the aunt if she was in their room last night and she replied "Uck your head's away, me and Tim were asleep the same time as you and didn't get up the whole night." Tim backed this up.

...

What is it exactly that could have entered into the room? Could it have been the aunt playing a prank? But she was surly, old and strict so that was unlikely. Was she simply forgetful and did in fact enter the room? Perhaps. Or maybe the long and convoluted history of the Lisadell estate and its many cottages holds unknown entities who wonder why strange children lie asleep in their home?

In the year 2006 I personally visited this cottage. It has since been renovated and had many extensions joined on the original building. The room in question was completely redecorated as its new occupant was the children and grandchildren of Maggie and Tim. The haunted room was the residence of their teenage daughter-Andrea.

Andrea often reports strange things occurring in that room. The room is also host to an unmovable chill that feels like a cold frosty morning, but in the middle of August? Also the smell that the room was 'unlived in' remained after many years of occupation and redecoration.

I know this, I felt it and I smelt it.

Andrea was never told of the history of the room-perhaps that is best.o

Horror stories : The Woman Who Called My Name

This is the first story I've ever written on here so, I'm very rusty! Anyway, I'll crack on. Now, this is a story that happened to me when I was 11 or 12. The house that I live in is approximately 120 years old, so ghosts or spirits are about. I say this, only because of my experiences.

I had finished school earlier that day, when I got home I had a game of Goldeneye on the Nintendo 64! What a game! Anyway, when I come off it I decided to put my Walkman on and was listening to some of my favourite music. I had listened to this song many of times and this was a usual routine. Play my games then listen to music.

This day, I was walking from my bedroom into my mums room, to see if I could find my mum. I had a feeling my mum or dad was in their room. I didn't hear them or see them but I just had a feeling someone was in their room. As I walked in, I didn't see anyone but, I started to feel something on my face. It felt like I had walked into a spiders web. As I wiped my face I heard someone say, "Matty Help me". I jumped because this voice was right next to my ear but, I Had a feeling that the voice originated outside.

I then walked to the bedroom window and looked out to see anyone, no one was about. Then, I heard "Matty help me" again, and the same thing happened, it was right in my ear. I froze and realised what had happened. Originally, I thought it had come outside, even though the voice was very close to my ear, I just had an incline that it had come from outside.

When the voice repeated itself for the second time, I knew that this voice wasn't from someone of this realm! I immediately ran downstairs to find my mum, I asked her if she has been calling me. She said no, she was cooking my tea. When I explained to her about has happened, my mum didn't know what to say apart from, "STOP PLAYING THOSE BLOODY VIDEO GAMES!".

My mum has had some spiritual experiences in the past so I was surprised that my mum said that to me. I guess she was trying to help me by not scaring me. I hope you enjoyed my story and I'll be posting more in the future

Horror Stories : Stranger In The Room

My papaw actually told me this, its not a personal story but it freaked me out a little bit and I would like to share it.

When my papaw was in his upper 20's or so he worked away and stayed in a hotel room alone. He said it was usually pretty quiet every night and nothing out of the ordinary ever happened until one night when he got back to the hotel room a little early and decided to go ahead and go to sleep. He said that he remembered having his arm hanging off the bed as he went to sleep.

Sometime during the night he said he woke up but wasn't sure what exactly woke him up. He looked up and saw a woman standing over him, she took his hand and gently put it back on the bed so that it wasn't hanging off the bed anymore. She then stepped back into a shadowy corner and disappeared. He thought he was dreaming so he just closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

The next morning as he was leaving the hotel to go to work he stopped and talked to the front desk worker for a minute and decided to ask if he had heard anyone ever say anything had happened to them in that room or anywhere else in the hotel. The worker looked at him and told him that he was surprised my papaw hadn't said anything sooner, because something strange usually happens a lot sooner than it had.

The worker said that there was just something about that room, they weren't really sure what happened in that room or why it was being haunted. But as far as he knew it wasn't a harmful spirit. My papaw then asked the worker exactly what people usually saw and sure enough he said that they usually saw a woman, but sometimes people would see a little boy as well.

He never saw the woman again through his stay at the hotel, though he told me he wished he would have so he could try to communicate with her. He said he could just feel that she was a good spirit; he said she probably just wanted someone to talk to.

Horror Stories : A Drive Back Home

 

Thank you for reading and appreciating my first experience with something which is not so much normal. I am sharing one of my recent experiences. Although, I still cannot figure out the reason of this, but it actually happened to me.
It was already dark and I was returning from Pune. Tired of driving at a stretch, but fully awake. I was crossing Lonavala, there is a strange thing happens in a section, it's about 500 meters stretch and you will face that the speed of the car starts dropping down, even though you press your accelerators, but nothing happens, the speed drops quickly, even though it's not a climb, it's a straight road. I haven't got the clue of this. But never mind, this is not what I want to share.
There is a high accident prone area in the Ghats and you will notice, an accident happens every second day in that road. But surprisingly most of the accidents happen in a particular section of the road only. I noticed an accident on that stretch on Wednesday night while coming from PUNE and something weird happened with me on Thursday night in the same section.
While I was driving slowly in the line of other cars, I was drained out in myself with full day's of meeting and work. But it's not that, I was hallucinating because of that. I could clearly remember that, I was alone in my car and suddenly, I saw a man sitting in my back seat. I now also I can remember his face. He was a average looking guy, clean shaven, wearing white shirt, smiling at me. I saw him from my real window and smiled at him. I was surprised, thinking that when I didn't stop my car anywhere, neither given anyone a lift, then how come someone can enter the car. I felt that something was wrong, and when I saw again, there was no one. Still I am not getting the whole situation or incident which happened to me.
But then it was not over, I was coming out of this, and then suddenly I saw the same man, running parallel to my car. I got a shock, that how come cars behind me are not blowing horns to him? He came here my front door window and again smiled at me, but this time, I was freezed. It was so much shocking that I forgot that I was driving the car. But fortunately, I recollected what I was doing and got a hold of it.
Although, I have a unique interest of reading and experimenting whole lot of paranormal stuffs, but to understand this and give a explanation of such incident is hard for me.

Horror stories : At the gate

A shaggy Airedale scented his way along the highroad. He had not been there before, but he was guided by the trail of his brethren who had preceded him. He had gone unwillingly upon this journey, yet with the perfect training of dogs he had accepted it without complaint. The pathhad been lonely, and his heart would have failed him, traveling as he must without his people, had not these traces of countless dogs before him promised companionship of a sort at the end of the road.

The landscape had appeared arid at first, for the translation from recent agony into freedom from pain had been so numbing in its swiftness that it was some time before he could fully appreciate the pleasant dog-country through which he was passing. There were woods with leaves upon the ground through which to scurry, long grassy slopes for extended runs, and lakes into which he might plunge for sticks and bring them back to—But he did not complete his thought, for the boy was not with him. A little wave of homesickness possessed him.

It made his mind easier to see far ahead a great gate as high as the heavens, wide enough for all. He understood that only man built such barriers and by straining his eyes he fancied he could discern humans passing through to whatever lay beyond. He broke into a run that he might the more quickly gain this inclosure made beautiful by men and women; but his thoughts outran his pace, and he remembered that he had left the family behind, and again this lovely new compound became not perfect, since it would lack the family.

The scent of the dogs grew very strong now, and coming nearer, he discovered, to his astonishment that of the myriads of those who had arrived ahead of him thousands were still gathered on the outside of the portal. They sat in a wide circle spreading out on each side of the entrance, big, little, curly, handsome, mongrel, thoroughbred dogs of every age, complexion, and personality. All were apparently waiting for something, someone, and at the pad of the Airedale's feet on the hard road they arose and looked in his direction.

That the interest passed as soon as they discovered the new-comer to be a dog puzzled him. In his former dwelling-place a four-footed brother was greeted with enthusiasm when he was a friend, with suspicious diplomacy when a stranger, and with sharp reproof when an enemy; but never had he been utterly ignored.

He remembered something that he had read many times on great buildings with lofty entrances. "Dogs not admitted," the signs had said, and he feared this might be the reason for the waiting circle outside thegate. It might be that this noble portal stood as the dividing-line between mere dogs and humans. But he had been a member of the family, romping with them in the living-room, sitting at meals with them in the dining-room, going upstairs at night with them, and the thought that he was to be "kept out" would be unendurable.

He despised the passive dogs. They should be treating a barrier after the fashion of their old country, leaping against it, barking, and scratching the nicely painted door. He bounded up the last little hill to set them an example, for he was still full of the rebellion of the world; but he found no door to leap against. He could see beyond the entrance dear masses of people, yet no dog crossed the threshold. They continued in their patient ring, their gaze upon the winding road.

He now advanced cautiously to examine the gate. It occurred to him that it must be fly-time in this region, and he did not wish to make himself ridiculous before all these strangers by trying to bolt through an invisible mesh like the one that had baffled him when he was a little chap. Yet there were no screens, and despair entered his soul. What bitter punishment these poor beasts must have suffered before they learned to stay on this side the arch that led to human beings! What had they done on earth to merit this? Stolen bones troubled his conscience, runaway days, sleeping in the best chair until the key clicked in the lock. These were sins.

At that moment an English bull-terrier, white, with liver-colored spots and a jaunty manner, approached him, snuffling in a friendly way. No sooner had the bull-terrier smelt his collar than he fell to expressing his joy at meeting him. The Airedale's reserve was quite thawed by this welcome, though he did not know just what to make of it.

"I know you! I know you!" exclaimed the bull-terrier, adding inconsequently, "What's your name?"

"Tam o'Shanter. They call me Tammy," was the answer, with a pardonable break in the voice.

"I know them," said the bull-terrier. "Nice folks."

"Best ever," said the Airedale, trying to be nonchalant, and scratching a flea which was not there. "I don't remember you. When did you know them?"

"About fourteen tags ago, when they were first married. We keep track of time here by the license-tags. I had four."

"This is my first and only one. You were before my time, I guess." He felt young and shy.

"Come for a walk, and tell me all about them," was his new friend's invitation.

"Aren't we allowed in there?" asked Tam, looking toward the gate.

"Sure. You can go in whenever you want to. Some of us do at first, but we don't stay."

"Like it better outside?"

"No, no; it isn't that."

"Then why are all you fellows hanging around here? Any old dog can see it's better beyond the arch."

"You see, we're waiting for our folks to come."

The Airedale grasped it at once, and nodded understandingly.

"I felt that way when I came along the road. It wouldn't be what it's supposed to be without them. It wouldn't be the perfect place."

"Not to us," said the bull-terrier.

"Fine! I've stolen bones, but it must be that I have been forgiven, if I'm to see them here again. It's the great good place all right. But look here," he added as a new thought struck him, "do they wait for us?"

The older inhabitant coughed in slight embarrassment.

"The humans couldn't do that very well. It wouldn't be the thing to have them hang around outside for just a dog—not dignified."

"Quite right," agreed Tam. "I'm glad they go straight to their mansions. I'd—I'd hate to have them missing me as I am missing them." He sighed. "But, then, they wouldn't have to wait so long."

"Oh, well, they're getting on. Don't be discouraged," comforted the terrier. "And in the meantime it's like a big hotel in summer—watching the new arrivals. See, there is something doing now."

All the dogs were aroused to excitement by a little figure making its way uncertainly up the last slope. Half of them started to meet it, crowding about in a loving, eager pack.

"Look out; don't scare it," cautioned the older animals, while word was passed to those farthest from the gate: "Quick! Quick! A baby's come!"

Before they had entirely assembled, however, a gaunt yellow hound pushed through the crowd, gave one sniff at the small child, and with a yelp of joy crouched at its feet. The baby embraced the hound in recognition, and the two moved toward the gate. Just outside the hound stopped to speak to an aristocratic St. Bernard who had been friendly:

"Sorry to leave you, old fellow," he said, "but I'm going in to watch over the kid. You see, I'm all she has up here."

The bull-terrier looked at the Airedale for appreciation.

"That's the way we do it," he said proudly.

"Yes, but—" the Airedale put his head on one side in perplexity.

"Yes, but what?" asked the guide.

"The dogs that don't have any people—the nobodies' dogs?"

"That's the best of all. Oh, everything is thought out here. Crouch down,—you must be tired,—and watch," said the bull-terrier.

Soon they spied another small form making the turn in the road. He wore a Boy Scout's uniform, but he was a little fearful, for all that, so new was this adventure. The dogs rose again and snuffled, but the better groomed of the circle held back, and in their place a pack of odds and ends of the company ran down to meet him. The Boy Scout was reassured by their friendly attitude, and after petting them impartially, he chose an old-fashioned black and tan, and the two passed in.

Tam looked questioningly.

"They didn't know each other!" he exclaimed.

"But they've always wanted to. That's one of the boys who used to beg for a dog, but his father wouldn't let him have one. So all our strays wait for just such little fellows to come along. Every boy gets a dog, and every dog gets a master."

"I expect the boy's father would like to know that now," commented the Airedale. "No doubt he thinks quite often, 'I wish I'd let him have a dog.'"

The bull-terrier laughed.

"You're pretty near the earth yet, aren't you?"

Tam admitted it.

"I've a lot of sympathy with fathers and with boys, having them both in the family, and a mother as well."

The bull-terrier leaped up in astonishment.

"You don't mean to say they keep a boy?"

"Sure; greatest boy on earth. Ten this year."

"Well, well, this is news! I wish they'd kept a boy when I was there."

The Airedale looked at his new friend intently.

"See here, who are you?" he demanded.

But the other hurried on:

"I used to run away from them just to play with a boy. They'd punish me, and I always wanted to tell them it was their fault for not getting one."

"Who are you, anyway?" repeated Tam. "Talking all this interest in me, too. Whose dog were you?"

"You've already guessed. I see it in your quivering snout. I'm the old dog that had to leave them about ten years ago."

"Their old dog Bully?"

"Yes, I'm Bully." They nosed each other with deeper affection, then strolled about the glades shoulder to shoulder. Bully the more eagerly pressed for news. "Tell me, how are they getting along?"

"Very well indeed; they've paid for the house."

"I—I suppose you occupy the kennel?"

"No. They said they couldn't stand it to see another dog in your old place."

Bully stopped to howl gently.

"That touches me. It's generous in you to tell it. To think they missed me!"

For a little while they went on in silence, but as evening fell, and the light from the golden streets inside of the city gave the only glow to the scene, Bully grew nervous and suggested that they go back.

"We can't see so well at night, and I like to be pretty close to the path, especially toward morning."

Tam assented.

"And I will point them out. You might not know them just at first."

"Oh, we know them. Sometimes the babies have so grown up they're rather hazy in their recollection of how we look. They think we're bigger than we are; but you can't fool us dogs."

"It's understood," Tam cunningly arranged, "that when he or she arrives you'll sort of make them feel at home while I wait for the boy?"

"That's the best plan," assented Bully, kindly. "And if by any chance the little fellow should come first,—there's been a lot of them this summer—of course you'll introduce me?"

"I shall be proud to do it."

And so with muzzles sunk between their paws, and with their eyes straining down the pilgrims' road, they wait outside the gate.