HARD WORK SPEAKS VOLUMES

HARD WORK SPEAKS VOLUMES 

Learn lesson from Sanjive. Never lose heart. Don't fear failures. You can make yourself what you wish to make

By Mukesh Sharma

This blogger has great pleasure to introduce his valued readers to one of his students Sanjive Sikarwar who  has been promoted to the coveted post of  'Inspector' with Delhi police and is posted with a special department, a few days ago.

Inspector Sanjive Sikarwar

Sanjive has been very promising  and hardworking from the very beginning. He joined  prestigious Delhi police as a Constable. And it was this time when he joined the classes of this blogger for the improvement of his English.  This blogger can  recollect his words: "sir my father has spread the words in the village that I have become 'thanedaar'. I have not told him the truth. But I must become somebody in life." Keeping in view his hardwork and devotion to duty, the department promoted him as a Head Constable. With the patience, perseverance and incessant hardwork, the luck smiled on him and Sanjive cleared the departmental exam of Delhi Police and stood first as the best sub inspector cadet a few years ago only. And today he has been  promoted to the post of inspector with 3 stars on his shoulder. Frankly speaking, this blogger feels  these three stars on his shoulders too. 

You see Sanjive comes from a nondescript village of UP where knowledge of English is abysmally poor. He never lost heart and worked hard to brush up his English. Today, he not only speaks well but also writes well. His knowledge of law is excellent. He wanted to appear for UPSC exam but couldn't because of age restrictions. Surprisingly enough, UPSC doesn't give any age relaxation even to in-service police officials.

Sanjive is an honest officer. He performs his duty religiously. He is fired with the desire to work for  the country and countrymen. He never compromises his principles.

Sanjive knows how to have dreams and live them. In response to my blessings, he says : Sir I will continue my  journey  to north with your blessings."

Learn lesson from Sanjive. Never lose heart. Don't fear failures. You can make yourself what you wish to make.

Sexy Success

Sexy Success

Her warm hugs can infuse life even in a dead body; she is a perfect seductress; nothing on earth is more sexy than success; no woman can match the beauty of sexy Success

By Mukesh Sharma

She is as fair as snow. Her contour and curves defy the art of Michelangelo. Her well proportioned countenance, sharp mien and auburn hair make her look like the proverbial goddess of Rome. The bulge of her bolstering breast can soothe the surge of a sea. Her arresting eyes can befriend even a foe. The swing of her carefree gait can turn even an old foggy on. She is seducing Rambha of the Court of Lord Indra. She is beautiful Juliet of Romeo. She is killer Laila of Majnu. She is stunner Mumtaj of Shah jahan. She is lovely Anushka of Virat Kohli. She is par excellent Deepika Padukon of Ranvir. Her warm hugs can infuse life even in a dead body. She is a perfect seductress. Nothing on earth is more sexy than Success. No woman can match the beauty of sexy Success.

Sexy Success

Be it man or material, all things in this universe are made of five elements –  water, fire, earth, space and air. But Success is not composed of these ordinary elements. It is like an infinite dark matter enveloping the indescribable and inexplicable divine world of God. Without this dark matter, even God could have not succeeded in creating all the celestial bodies. Success is not attracted by any black hole; she is the calmness of space; she is the brightness of the sun; she is the twinkle of the stars; she is the gravity of the planets; she is the superb movements of this boundless universe.

In this material and mortal world, Failure is the father of Success and Patience is her mother. In other words, Success comes after the succession of failures. Undauntness in failures and unwavering patience beget Success. All the intellectuals admit that the Success can be achieved after repeated failures only. In his poetic vent, Try and Try Again, William Edward Hickson says:

      ‘Tis a lesson you should

       Try, try again,

       If at first you don’t succeed,

      Try and try again

As luck would have it, a few blessed are born in the house of success –  they are born with silver spoon in their mouth. But it doesn’t mean that Success would remain with them life-long. In fact, Success can’t be enslaved; she has to be won. One of the netas of main opposition parties in India who comes from a family which has given three PMs to country, is not able to carve out a niche for himself in politics. Some rise by gravity, some fall by levity. Slow and steady can’t win the race in this jet-set society. On the other hand, the incumbent PM of India who has humble origin, is riding the crest of success.

All humans long for success in all ages and time. It is the hope for success that rolls the wheel of life. People continue to stalk success through the life. A good physique may fail to attract success. Money and manners don’t interest success much; she likes the warrior of work; she has warm feelings for the people who are not perturbed by failures or fiascos; she loves people who don’t let their enthusiasm die, who don’t let their desire for success dwindle. Those who pass out the test of success, they meet success. In his letter, Oscar Wilde rightly says:

       Success is a science;

       If you have the conditions,

       You get result

Tens of thousands UPSC/SSC etc. aspirants throng  Delhi with heavy baggage of dream and hope for success. In competitive exams, success anoints one who proves that one is first among equals. Contrary to common perception, the exam is not about a course or curriculum; it is the test of all around awareness of a candidate about his/her surroundings that comes from attentive Hearing, voracious Reading, prolific Writing and vocal Speaking. One must have knowledge related to different aspects of life. It is the test of intellectual understanding not a rote-learning; it is an exam to assay whether one has intellectual independence or dependent on opinions and thoughts of others. As a result, ‘followers’ fail and a few ‘leaders’ get through. Says Lord Tennyson Alfred in his The Day Dream

       This proverb flashes throu

       His head,

       The many fails, the

       One succeed.

None can teach anyone how to maintain the balance while riding the bicycle. One learns to balance after many falls. The balancing act comes from within. One is the best teacher of oneself. Arjun can’t match the might of self-taught Ekalavya. Know thyself –  your actual abilities and capabilities; set your goal accordingly; with himalyan determination work doggedly in pursuit of your goal. Where there is will, there is way.

If you have real crush on Success, you can woo her, you can befriend her, you can have romance with her. Once you win her heart, take it from this author, she will be ready to ‘marry’ you. She always marries Mr. Right. Carry the torch. Don’t let it be snuffed. Hope never dies, possibilities never end. There is always time for failure. But do you have time for success?

Monkey Business of English-teaching

Beyond Smoke Screen

Monkey Business of English-teaching

To Crown all, encashing on the mentality of English hungry students, a few well established English newspapers have also launched online English teaching programme. It sounds like teaching someone driving through correspondence course

By Mukesh Sharma

With turnover thousands of crores, English teaching is evergreen business right from Kanyakumari to Jammu & Kashmir in India. While the majority of English speaking aspirants of such nondescript so-called institutes remain disgruntled, the stream of fresh students continues like the ever increasing population of India. And despite all the confusion and poor result, the monkey business of English teaching goes on and on   -  it is neither affected by lax economy nor low GDP.

Monkey Business of English-teaching

The root of this English learning mania can be traced to 200 years of British subjugation of India. Language of the rulers always affects the psyche of the ruled. Slaves often imitate the masters. The dent was so deep and diverse that it could not be mended even after 72 years of Independence. Some scholars contend that the survival of English is not just because of the British influence but the need of multi-lingual India where English serves as a bridge language among Indians of different tongues.

However, the situation has come to such a pass that English is not just an ordinary language. It has become a symbol of class; a symbol of status; a symbol of intellect in India. The people at lower strata of society struggle to join the elite English speaking class. English aspirants get mesmerized by Queen’s English of people like Shashi Tharoor. They are big fan of a man who, allegedly, has scant regard for Hindi or Hinduism.

To Crown all, encashing the mentality of English hungry students, a few well established English newspapers have also launched online English teaching programme. It sounds like teaching someone driving through correspondence course.

Apart from that, one can come across ‘English-speaking’ institutes in every third street of small towns and big cities in India. Tall claims are made  -  each institute has its own self-certified pedagogy. The majority of institutes assert to teach English in a few months through Grammar, translation and mugged up vocabulary. In fact, English is treated as a subject that has a fixed syllabus/curriculum like other subjects; it is not taught as a language which is a means of communication,  is related to life, religion nature, universe and God. As a result, based on rote-learning, students learn English as a subject to pass out the academic exams or any competitive exams. They never learn English as a language which is, essentially, a part of life. As an accredited Journalist, this writer has been to many countries, and even lived in US too for a long time where he was allotted Social Security Number to perform his duty. So, this author has first-hand experience to observe and study ‘English’ of native speakers in US and UK.

A close study reveals that words are sounds that symbolically represent something material or abstract. Sentences which are action based, are composed to denote what is happening. In other words, a language can be picked up through relative understanding of words and sentences to material life only. This is how a native speaker picks up his or her mother tongue without even the knowledge of so-called grammar or without even learning  to write and read. As one grows up in a particular tongue, the relative words and sentences get settled in the mind with pictorial memory through repetitive use. There may be hundreds of people in US or UK who are not able to write or read but still they speak correct English, of course, as Hindi or any other Indian language is spoken in India.

Obviously, the wanting method for teaching English as a second language has led to wide spread confusion, particularly in lower strata of society. Fake English and Hinglish have become very popular. Elite English or standardized English which is used by English newspapers and professionals, and that also makes the basis of English paper in all the competitive exams, have become rather a problem for a sizable number of English learning aspirants.

In the light of his experience and research work, this writer can vouchsafe that the best way to learn any language is to live among the native speaker of that language. But when one tries to learn it at a place where it is not the language of the common man, the right way to learn it through syntax  –  the Morphology of English sentences, and Semantics – how a ‘verb’ collocates with a  ‘noun’ and how an ‘adjective’ pairs with a ‘noun’, and produce standardized ‘phrase’. The easiest way is to map mother tongue on English syntax, and learn to think, may be, in mother tongue but as per the interpreted equivalent Hindi sentence of English syntax e.g.

“If neta were to resign, he would have resigned.”

“ If she were to marry you, she would have married.”

The above mentioned syntax is one of the standardized syntaxes of English language. Close to such syntax, one can think of scores of sentences in English. And the same can be followed for other syntaxes also.

Mind you, English, predominantly, is a language of phrases and idioms. The meaning of a singled out word in a sentence may be different from its  lexical meaning. The solution to this problem lies in the knowledge of a few hundred  key words/root words. (here, the term ‘root word’( should not be misconstrued with latin/Greek origin). The ‘Root words’ collocate with other words and produce standardized ‘Verb phrases’, ‘Noun phrases’ or ‘Idiomatic phrases’ which are extensively used in English Newspaper, Competitive Exams and by the English in daily life. In the same way,  good knowledge of Root Words helps to build up vocabulary 10-20k. Study reveals that to speak good English one need just 500-1000 words; to be a writer 1000-4000 words, the great English playwright Shakespeare used 8000 words, and average English newspaper uses just 2000 words, and rest is sheer repetition.

Once Lord Macaulay made a statement in the Parliament of England:

“I have drafted such an education system for the Indian subjects that after 70 years, there would be black English who would have little sympathy for vernacular tongues, and would be fit to follow rather unfit to think.”

Evidently enough, Indian examination system which is based on rote-learning, robs students of thinking power  – they eat what there are served; they don’t know how to cook. It is maintained that a slave population is on the rise in India. It has become rather a society of followers than thinkers.

What is more, the plight of thoroughly confused students is like the situation of a blind man who is looking for a black hat in a dark room which is not there.

It is common knowledge that hustling is the staple diet of the most of the business in India. So monkey business of English teaching is flourishing like anything.

Mukherjee Nagar, a grand ghetto of coaching centres

Mukherjee Nagar, a grand ghetto of coaching centres

Entrance is the favorite house of stray dogs and they can poo and piss as a 'rightful owner'

By Mukesh sharma

With over 350 coaching centres being run from dingy and dilapidated structures so-called commercial complex at Mukherjee Nagar, North Delhi, situated at the ‘bank’ of ever stinking Najafgarh nullah, buzzing with effervescent and exclusive commercial activities from dawn to late dusk, it won’t be wrong to call it a grand and grandiose ghetto of coaching centers.

Reveals an old timer Ravi Chadha, “the most of the buildings are nearly 50 years old as the allotments to then applicants were made by the authorities way back in 1972”.

A local property dealer with 20 years of business standing says, “these buildings have already lived its age”. “The plasters have peeled off,  the large patches of bricks can be seen in the walls of the most of the structures.” Not only that iron rods are showing in the ceilings of the floors. “ Just one jolt of earthquake may raze these decrepit structures to ground” adds property dealer ironically.

Salient features of Mukherjee Nagar Commercial Complex, Delhi

The fact is neither the occupiers nor the owners are bothered about the upkeep of these structures. The most of the occupiers who are tenants, are coaching centers and interested in their teaching ‘trade’ only. And the owners are thankfully happy with their fat monthly rents.

Consequently, the buildings remain in utter neglect and ruins. A casual visitor is welcomed by the cluster of electric meters studded on the walls of very entrance with wires sticking out. The entrance is also a favourite ‘house’ of stray dogs. They can poo and piss as a ‘rightful’ owners. With worn away steps, the flight of staircase winds through floor after floors up to top floor. The corners of staircase are ‘lawful’ spittoons. Pinching nose and braving evil smell, the visitors continue to go upstairs – upwardly mobile ‘visitors’ seldom grudge or gripe.

What is noteworthy, the safety is not the baby of anyone here. As usual, the authorities concerned get wise only after the event in India –  cross the bridge when it comes. These commercial buildings are a public place. But still, there are no fire safety measures  no fire extinguishers,  non-functional fire hydrants and hose-pipes are missing from pulleys.

“God forbids, in the event of fire, these buildings may turn into an inferno –  no fire safety and no separate fire exit” opines a teacher Ram Nayak Maurya spitefully.

Mukherjee Nagar seems to be like a religious place. The government service aspirants from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Jharkhand, Haryana etc., including Delhites throng this place with heavy baggage of hopes and dreams as the Muslim bretheren visit holy Mecca for Haz.

Says Digvijay Singh, a teacher engaged in teaching for 15 years, “mere presence in Mukherji Nagar adds a feather in the cap”. “With Mukherjee Nagar tag, even a non entity teacher becomes hero in his hometown, and an unmarried IAS aspirant with Mukherjee Nagar identity starts getting marriage proposal in his village.” “The success in exams is immaterial but Mukherjee Nagar remains a blessed place for both teachers and students”, adds Digvijay Singh with a grin.

The day starts at Mukherjee Nagar with variety of breakfast dishes catering to the taste buds of students hailing from different states – poha, pakoras, kachori, chhole bhature, jalebi and milk, fruit salad, juice etc. Taste is guaranteed, not hygiene. The most of the vendors are squatters, selling their stuff from pavements, make-shift shops and rehris. Heaps of garbage can be witnessed beside ‘sober’ shops. The underground drains flow underneath the shops, emanating a filthy smell from the cracks. The habituated ‘customers’ don’t care. Brisk business goes on all the day.

A survey reveals that PG accommodation is a flourishing business at Mukherjee Nagar. The most of the house owners in the vicinity have converted their houses into so-called PGs. “In the name of accommodation, the needy students are provided cubbyholes, worse than the jail cells of western countries and that too for a sum of Rs 10000/- to Rs12000/- per month, of course, with what is called tiffin service” says Mamta, an IAS aspirant staying as a PG.

Those who can’t afford, take single room on rent  in informal settlements like Gopalpur, Gandhi Vihar, Wazirabad village etc,. adjoining the ‘posh’ Mukherjee Nagar.

Interestingly enough, the libraries without books is an improvised trade at Mukherjee Nagar. Under the garb of library, pigeon holes with a chair and a desk are made available to students to study daily for fixed hours in  so-called library for a sum of Rs 1500/- to Rs2000/- per month.

At Mukherjee Nagar, so-called booksellers are more interested in selling photocopies of notes. Name any exam, notes are available. Most of these so-called notes consist of past exams papers and contents copied from the acclaimed and acknowledged books of renowned authors. Says a UPSC aspirant student Kishan, “perhaps blissfully ignorant of Copy right Act,  the respected sirs who are in circulation at Mukherjee Nagar, with copied and lifted contents pass it off as their own creation”.

Amusingly, the most remarkable phenomenon at Mukherjee Nagar is the ‘poster war’ among coaching centres. It is fought at many fronts  ̶  from huge hoardings to A-4 size flyers. Since the posters and banner are removed, torn up and replaced on day-to-day basis, allegedly, by the ‘rivals’ and ‘duteous’ MCD men ‘ over conscious’ of ‘cleaning drive’, some coaching centers hire moving men and make them stand at ever  over crowded  Mukherjee Nagar main road with a ‘bill board’ fitted with the iron poll. It reminds one of the scene at airport where the air passengers coming out of the airport are greeted with placards, held by the messengers for giving specific information to passengers concerned.

Anyway, whatever is the fate of government services aspirants in this grand ghetto, coaching centers and landlords usually have the last laugh.

English, Incomprehensible Like a woman

Humour

English, Incomprehensible Like a Woman

Her moist juicy lips with cryptic smile superseding the smile of Monalisa of Leonardo De Vinci; the bulging bolstering breast that can make even a devout Muslim a pagan; well carved out waist surpassing the skill of Michel Angelo; her swing and swagger overtaking the beats of Beethoven

By Mukesh Sharma

Of course, it is a flabby fact! To majority of English aspirants learning English as a second language, particularly, from Hindi heartland, the most coveted English is like the inscrutable and incomprehensible legendary Menaka seducing rishi Vishwamitra. The naive so-called the lovers of English fall in love with the seemingly sleek and slim English at the very first gaze. But the gloating love remains unrequited, for, English wards off their all the overtures and advances ruthlessly. And like the jilted lover, the hapless lots continue to hold torch for the coquettish English until their last breath.

The spurned and obsessed lovers first try to understand the ‘anatomy’ of English – the curves and contour; her flowing auburn hair; glowing face with attractive mien and arresting eyes; her moist juicy lips with cryptic smile superseding the smile of Monalisa of Leonardo De Vinci; the bulging bolstering breast that can make even a devout Muslim a pagan; well carved out waist surpassing the skill of Michel Angelo; her swing and swagger overtaking the beats of Beethoven; the hallowed navel, an epicentre of attraction making a bystander imagine that the heaven is not far off; even to a casual onlooker, English appears like living mannequin of erotica.

The majority of so called ‘language trainers’ claim that the thorough knowledge of grammatical rules ‑ noun, pronoun, adjective, verb, adverb, preposition, conjunction and interjection coupled with understanding of tenses - present indefinite .... modals.... can bring an English aspirant close to English. But all this turn out to be the tall claims of Indian netas. However, western scholars contend that English grammar is wanting. It may help to woo but not win the heart of English. The well known English writer Thomas Carlyle goes a step further and says: “Best grammarian are the worst writer and the best writers are the worst grammarian.”

Interestingly enough, English aspirants are legion. They are ready to pay any fee. English speaking course is a flourishing business with collective turnover of crores of rupees in India. What is more, in the most of competitive exams for government services conducted by SSC, UPSC, etc , English paper is mandatory. Sheer nodding acquaintances with English don’t work. Irrespective of all the affirmations, English is the unassailable language of elitist class and ruling class. Article 348 of the Indian Constitution clearly states that English shall be the official language in High Courts and Supreme Court. So the respected mother tongue remains at the mercy of English.

Further, to take advantage of the psyche of dejected aspirants, some self styled ‘teachers’ have even shunned their Indian names and have ‘baptised’ themselves with English sounding names without any ‘Church service’ so that they can pass them off as a ‘next of kin’ of English, and draw and fool the flock. It is a common sight in well known hub of coaching centres at Mukherjee Nagar, North Delhi. “It is a mandi of English”, says a local property dealer ironically. The most of the such so called English gurus claim to be the great grammarian having so phenomenal knowledge of English that they can find mistakes even in English of Shakespeare and Wordsworth. Amusingly and seemingly being blissfully ignorant of the stature of the word ‘Sir’, these ‘gurus’ suffix their names with ‘Sir’.

Among the Indian, the attraction of English is more than the gravitational pull of Jupiter. To them, it is the symbol of status; symbol of class; symbol of intellect. Hon’ble MP Shashi Tharoor mesmerises the ‘crowd’ with his flowery English and accent. Over the years, Republic TV Editor Arnab Goswami has carved out a niche in the hearts of the ‘herd’ with his bold and bullish English.

Despite all English gurus there is a sizable number of students who are not able to either understand or know the ‘custom’ of ‘English’, and such people turn ‘misogynist’- hater of English. She is allegedly rated as a woman of loose morals. Such people argue that the rampant flirtation of English has led to several illegitimate progeny - American English, British English, Canadian English, Welsh English, Irish English, Indian English etc. Some self proclaimed linguists maintain that though genetically related to Sanskrit, English has made off with words from almost all the languages and stands as the most corrupted. Even celebrated Anglo Irish satirist and author of Gulliver’s Travels Jonathan Swift also endorses the view. And the latest jibe against English has been made by none other than the Hon’ble Vice President of India M Venkaiah Naidu: “English is like an illness left behind by the British.”

Anyway, in the light of all these inconclusive never ending squabble, the much sought after love-lady English remains incomprehensive despite all the clash and crush.