We communicate all the time-everyday. We put our ideas, thoughts and feelings into words. We talk. So many millions of words are spoken each day by people. Every one has ideas, information, thoughts, and feelings to share and tell.

Sometimes it takes too long to give information with words. That is why we have sings and symbols. They tell a lot of people the same thing at the same time. The siren of a fire engine tells you there’s a fire somewhere and you must get out of its way quickly. Traffic lights tell you to `stop’ or `go’. A flag at half-mast tells you that some important has died.

People also communicate quickly without speaking a single word. You knock at the door to find out if anyone is in the room and if you could go in. by raising your hand in class, you tell your teacher that you want to say something or ask or answer a question. Waving is a signal of `hello’ or ``goodbye’’. These are called gestures.

Feelings are sometimes difficult to put into words. We often communicate our feelings by the looking our faces-smile, frown, scow, etc. we act out our feelings on our faces. If the trees in the garden begin to run around, your mouth will fall open and your eyes will become round and glazed. You can tell when your teacher is angry just by looking at her face. Next time you sulk, look at yourself in the mirror.

The way people sit and walk and use their hands and body also tells you about their feelings. If you are bored, you may slump in your chair or yawn. If you are exited about a trip to the circus, you may dance and jump about and not be still. If you are in a bad mood, you walk differently and glare at everybody.

People also express themselves through the things they create. Painters communicate many different things through their paintings and drawings. Dancers create dances to share their thoughts and feelings. Music also communicates different ideas and feelings. Music can make a listener happy or sad or feel like dancing. Writers and poets write stories and poems and plays and songs about our world –chocolates, toys, animals, mountains, houses, oceans, rockets, stars and lots of other things.

They also write about people and their feelings.

Painting, music, and books help us to communicate with each other. So do posters, newspapers, magazines, radio, cinema and television. They all help us to find out what is going on in the world and in other people’s minds.

Long ago, people learned to speak, perhaps by making sounds they heard around them. These people also learned to write. They did it by drawing picture on the walls of caves or on the overhanging rocks on the mountain or hill side.

There are many rock and cave painting in India.

The ancient people of America (who are called America Indians) drew picture on animal skins, shells and wood. They also used fire and smoke to send messages back and forth. A fire was lit then partly covered with wet grass to make thick smoke.

Ancient Egyptians dew signs for words such as sun, moon, stars, kings and gods. Later on they made simple marks instead of signs. The mares became an alphabet. They wrote with sticks on wet clay bricks. These were dried in the sun and called tablets. Every today you can see some tablets which are thousands of years old. Some village builds stone towers and made fires at the top to signal other villages about an approaching enemy. Huge logs were burned near seashores to warn ships of danger. These burning logs were the first lighthouses. Now electric lights from lighthouses flash signals to the ships on the sea.

In Africa, people used drums to communicate messages. A drummer would beat out a rhythm to the next village. Someone in this village would beat out the same message for the village beyond. People living in that region understood this `jungle telegraph’ but strangers did not. Important messages could thus be safely sent over hundreds of miles.

Bells were also used to send messages in early times. Huge bells on towers were rung to call people together when there was important news or danger. Some towns had a town crier; this person walked along the streets and announced the news. Kings often used a `munadiwala’ to announce their orders to the people. This person beat on a big drum to gather people to listen. Even today, especially in small towns and villages, a `munadiwala’ announces many events, like the coming of a circus, some meeting, or a festival, or mela.