Health is Wealth

HEALTH IS WEALTH

Only a healthy man can be happy. If the body is healthy, the mind will also be healthy. A healthy mind is a happy mind. Id we are cheerful, we can do our work with enthusiasm. We will then be successful in all that we do. Thus good health is the strong foundation on which success and prosperity can be built up. Proverbs like ‘Health is wealth’ and ‘A sound mind in a sound body’ show the importance of health in human life.

Many people think that wealth or money is the most important thing. They try to earn money by sacrificing everything else. They sacrifice their peace of mind and even their health for the sake of money. They overwork and ruin their health. They do not know that an unhealthy man cannot be happy. They suffer much on account of their ill health. But they attribute their sufferings to bad luck. They may sometimes feel that if they earn more money, their sufferings will vanish.

If we have health, we can work hard and earn wealth. But if we lose our health, we cannot get it back by using money. It is true that we can buy medicines and get good treatment if we have money. But a man does not become healthy merely by getting cured of his disease. It is his ill health that makes him susceptible to various diseases. A healthy man can resist the attack of diseases.

If we realize the importance of health; we must take care to preserve our health. The most important thing is proper exercise. We should give proper exercise to every part of the body. We should devote at least half an hour every day to physical exercise. We can do this either in the morning or in the evening. It should become part of our daily routine. We should take breathing exercises also. We must eat balanced diet-food that contains carbohydrates, proteins, fat, vitamins and minerals in the right proportion. We should also sleep properly. A healthy man needs six to eight hours of sleep every day. We should keep our body in the right posture. The main part of the body-from buttocks to head-should always be kept in a straight line. We can remain healthy through proper exercise, proper breathing, proper food, proper posture and proper sleep.

(This essay is suitable for 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th std students)


-Surenthiran

CONSERVE ENERGY

ENERGY CONSERVATION IS THE FOUNDATION OF ENERGY INDEPENDENCE

PLEASE SWITCH OFF

Often over-charging the phone, i.e., leaving if plugged in even after the battery is full, leads to a wastage of electricity that nobody seems to take care of. People also sometimes forget to switch off the charger after unplugging the phone.

With 584 million mobile connections in India, one can only imagine the extent of power wastage, all due to a small act of carelessness.

While most phones have a visual reminder for when the battery is full, cell phone manufacturers could perhaps incorporate audio reminders as well.

LAPTOPS AND NETBOOKS

With new and affordable models flooding the market, sale of laptops and net books has touched 200 million units already and is growing exponentially. However, not much is being done to take care of the huge power consumed by them.

Students often leave the laptop switched on, even when they take a break which means that electricity is being consumed anyway.

While switching it off each time may not be feasible, one must practice putting it in sleep mode or in hibernation when not in use. A laptop in sleep mode/hibernation consumes 35 watts per hour used by an active screen.

The same applies to desktops and PCs. An attractive alternative here is virtualization, i.e., the process of running two or more logical computer systems on one set of hardware. Instead of installing a particular application on several computers, one could install it on to one of them and it can be accessed by all other PCs at the time. Thus a lot of power which otherwise would have been wasted is saved. Websites such as www.vmware.com and www.instantfundas.com provide details.

TELEVISION

As compared to the global average of 216 televisions for every 1000 people, India ranks 148 at 59 per 1000 people. Yet, considering our huge population, it translates into a stock of 72 million television sets in India, not a small figure by any stretch of imagination.

The television is the most common source of entertainment and news in use today, but not many think of using it in an energy efficient way.

The way one checks the price and picture quantity of television sets before purchase, one must also make a habit of checking for the energy efficiency. While most electric gadgets now come with a energy star rating, it only indicates the power consumed by a television in standby mode which actually accounts for a small amount of the total power consumed by it.

Some novel television models touted to be launched in 2010 are said to save up to 40 percent of the power consumed by television sets of today and by 2012, there will be sets that save up to 65 percent.

Till then, one can look at reducing the brightness and contrast of the television set which helps reduce power consumption. Interestingly, LCD models are more efficient than their plasma counterparts. An LCD of the same size as a plasma saves power by almost 60 percent.

AIR CONDITIONER

The air conditioner is no longer considered a luxury. At home, in malls, offices and even at college, the youth now find it difficult not to have air-conditioning, without realizing the impact of these cooling devices on the environment.

Most people are unaware of the ideal temperature for cooling that will also consume electricity in the most efficient way -24 degrees Celsius. They also do not clean and change the air filters regularly, thus not realizing the additional time taken for an air conditioner to work more effectively. Electronic devices used near the thermostat heat up the machine slower than its full capacity.

The simple act of switching off an air conditioner when the intended space is sufficiently cool can help save up to 10 percent power, as can installing an air conditioner in the right way, i.e., not exposing it to direct sunlight which wastes five percent more power.

AWARENESS ACCORDS

The most important thing for students to do is to work towards self awareness. An understanding of how much our basic facilities cost will help in knowing what steps to take towards reducing wastage.
Students must try and survey the power consumption of each house in their locality and generate subsequent bills. This will help not only to build awareness of how much power we consume and how expensive it is, but also help develop a shared vision amongst groups of students. Once they are aware of the realities, they can take it upon themselves to spread the message of conservation amongst their parents, siblings, friends, relatives and people in general. This would be the first step towards a ‘switching-off’ culture.

Students can make a difference through simple steps of which building self awareness is the first step.

One tends to think about power consumption and conservation only when they run up huge electricity bills and feel the pinch of paying large sums each. Here too, it is usually the parents who pay and students don’t even bother to know the pattern of electricity consumption within their own homes; an attitude that needs complete overhaul.

There is a famous proverb, ‘As you sow, so shall you reap’. If the youth’s indifference is in the solace that it is only the villages that will have to bear the brunt of unavailability of power, they will soon come to realize the extent of their misconception. The crisis is larger than it seems now and larger than it seems now and if not controlled in the not-so-distant future, it could affect urban areas in the same way.

CONCLUSION

It is better that we, as youth, take steps to conserve power today instead of repenting tomorrow. V S Naipaul once described India as an area of darkness. It might seem funny but the truth is that by switching off our lights regularly, we may actually bring light to a large part of the country. It is not about idealism. It is about securing our own future from falling into an area of darkness in a pragmatic way.


(This article is suitable for the students of 10th, 11th, 12th std and engineering.)

-Surenthiran

Cinema and its uses

CINEMA AND ITS USES

Today no media is more popular than cinema. Every show of cinema hall is seen crowded with men and women, young and old, poor and rich. Cinema has influenced the imagination of every class of people-lower, middle and upper-alike. Children are seen murmuring film songs on the streets, young men talking about film stars and college girls are seen with film magazines in their hands. The existence of a cinema hall in the city is considered as necessary as hospital or school or park. The wide popularity of cinema is due to its manifold advantages. Besides being the most common and cheapest form of entertainment and recreation, cinema has its impact on education also. Its educational value cannot be denied. Cinema can rightly be called a good teacher as it is an effective medium of imparting education. Cinema influences the minds of children. Children’s minds are very sensitive and expression received by them will fix firmly in their minds. Children can be taught subjects like geography, history, botany, zoology, etc., through the medium of film.

Cinema and documentary films serve as a powerful agency for moulding public opinion. They also bring the people of one part of the country in contact with people living in another part and in this way serve as a means of cheap recreation and raising sex sentiments. Profit making has become the sole aim of cinema producers. What is needed is the organization of a ‘purity’ campaign for cinema films, the aim of which should be the eradication of sex, violence, etc., from the films. Production of short films on subjects should be encouraged. It would thus raise the mortal and spiritual value of films which would then be a real friend of ours.


(This article is suitable for 6th, 7th and 8th std students)

-Surenthiran

ATOMIC EXPLOSION OF INDIA

India on Mar 18, 1974 conducted its first nuclear explosion in Pokharan, Rajasthan. After a gap of 24 years India again conducted two atomic explosions on 11th and 13th May, 1998. on May 11th, through explosion, India experimented an atomic-fission device, a low-yield device and a thermo-nuclear device and emerged as the first country conducting these three experiments in one explosion. The second explosion of 13th May, ’98 was mainly intended to collect details for conducting an explosion in the computer simulation method. Both explosions were successful and India emerged as a strong member among the atomic nations.



The atomic explosions conducted by India invited pro and anti reactions from India and abroad. Some people are of opinion that a developing country like India is wasting crores of rupees in the preparations of bombs and atomic weapons. But this argument cannot be accepted. The authorities have clearly indicated that India will use its atomic power only for peaceful purposes and defence.

When our neighbours are not friendly, and when they are accumulation weapons for defence purposes India can not sit idle. We must also be prepared to guard ourselves when danger is threatening us. The explosions made recently can be taken as a warning to those neighbours who are not friendly and co-operative.

India’s aim through the atomic experiments is the formation of a comprehensive atomic system. The three devices such as the fission device, the low yield device and the thermo nuclear device were experimented together and its success is a great leap in the progress of atomic power. India is the only country successfully completing these three devices simultaneously. If the plan of India is to make atom bombs, India should not have conducted these three experiments. To make a bomb similar to that exploded in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, India doesn’t need all the technical know-how which India possesses today. The experiments conducted by India through the explosions clearly show that we are not interested in making crude bombs. We are aiming at a believable atomic weapon system as well as a powerful defence mechanism.

We have developed long range missiles of high quality like Prithvi and Agni. These are better than the bombers for the defence purposes. Now through the success in the experiments conducted by the nuclear explosions, India can equip the latest missiles more safely and successfully. In other words, the result of these atomic explosions will clearly set a strong missile system for the defence purposes. The knowledge gained from these explosions can be used in the other fields of Science and technology too.

In this modern world, where dangers through neighbours cannot be predicted, every nation should guard themselves. For this, use of atomic power and the related technologies cannot be blamed. But it should not be used for attacks or destructive purposes. There are so many peaceful uses of this power. All nations should understand the dangers of atomic power misuse and subsequent disasters. The proposed comprehensive Test Ban Treaty is to aim at this direction. But the provisions adopted in the treaty is beneficial for those countries who have stocked enough atomic weapons already. This is the main objection of India in signing the treaty. An atomic Test Ban Treaty is appreciable for a peaceful life. But that should be prepared as per the satisfaction and approval of all nations concerned.

Any way in a fast developing modern world all countries should take care to see that they are self sufficient in all matters. They should move pace to pace with other countries. The developing countries like India should work hard to attain this goal. In this hectic run, we have to take help form various forces and modern technologies. The help we plan to receive from the atomic experiments must also be considered in that way. This is an important leap to safety and prosperity.


(This essay is suitable for 7th, 8th and 9th std students)

-Surenthiran