We all enjoy getting gifts. We also like giving them. A special gift we can give to0 someone we love is a promise. We can say, `I promise not to use bad words, or `I promise I will not fight with you again.’ a promise is a gift of peace. This gift should always be kept safe. Only then we can all be happy.

Think

The crocodile’s promise

A waterbuck is a big, strong deer that lives in Africa. One day, a waterbuck was eating grass close to a river.

Suddenly, is heard a cry. `Help! Help!’

The waterbuck followed the sound of the voice and reached the river. Close to it, a tree had fallen on a big crocodile. The crocodile could not move. It was crying for help. The crocodile saw the waterbuck. He said, `Oh waterbuck please help me’.

`If I do that you will eat me up,’ said the waterbuck. `No, I won’t’, said the crocodile.

The waterbuck said, `okay, I will help you. But you must promise that you will always allow me to bathe in the river. You must never attack me even if you are hungry.’

`Promise!’ said the crocodile. `What? I cannot hear you,’ said the waterbuck.

`I promise!’ said the crocodile. `You can use my river whenever you want. I will never attack you. Not even if I am hungry.’

Then waterbuck pushed hard at the tree with its horns. It pushed again and again. At last the crocodile was free. It slipped into the water happily. The waterbuck went back to eat grass.

Since the, the waterbuck and the crocodile have lived together in peace.

The gift of peace is the best gift we can give to someone. The crocodile’s promise was its gift to the waterbuck. Before the promise, that waterbuck was afraid of the crocodile. After the crocodile made the promise, the waterbuck helped him. This made the crocodile happy. Then the crocodile kept his promise. Instead of being afraid, the waterbuck could now come to the river happily. Keeping your promise is a gift of peace you can give someone. If we keep promise and are honest we can live in peace even with those who may not always have been our friends.

A GOOD CITIZEN

A good citizen is a person of many qualities. He enjoys certain rights and privileges. Side by side, he has many duties and responsibilities. His foremost duties are towards his country. He must always stand by it and respect the laws of the state. He should not in any case violate the rules. As citizens of an independent country, all of us have our freedom, but this freedom has certain limitations. The reason for which our freedom is restricted to a certain degree is that without restrictions control cannot be exercised. An anti-social cannot be considered a good citizen as he has not remained under the limitations of his freedom. He has gone against the law to be a criminal. A good citizen should respect the cultural heritage of his country and respect the heros and prophets who had sacrificed their lives for the cause of the nation. He should be honest not only towards his own country but also in his dealings with other citizens. A good citizen should maintain  cordial relations with his neighbours. A good citizen should have the much needed respect for the people living in his vicinity. He has to remember, as he enjoys certain rights and privilages, others enjoy them too. Respect for each other and fellow-feeling are amongst the most important pillars on which our society is based. Another most important thing that we should never forget in order to be a good citizen is to have an active participation in the community in which we live. There are a number of ways we can take part in the various affairs of our community. During election time, a good citizen should be in the queue, ready to cast his vote. When a group of people living in the neighborhood have gathered for deciding on some important issue, a good citizen should be present there to give his opinion. He should be ever ready to extend a helping hand to them and other fellow citizens during times when his help is really needed. He should always be observant and vigilant against the enemies. He must respect all faiths and religions. These and many more qualities should make him a good citizen.

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Have you ever watched a cricket match? Whenever a cricket team wins a match, it is because the whole team played together in cooperation. If one player does not play well or does not cooperative, the team will surely find it difficult to win the match. Similarly, in a doubles match of tennis, there are two players on each side of the net. When one player runs up to the net, his partners cover the ground behind him. When one runs to the right, the other covers the rest of the field. When one attacks, the other is ready to defend. Each knows what he is expected to do and does it without fail, without question. That is cooperation.

The two friends

In a village there lived two fiends –Raman and Shravan. Raman was lame and Shravan was blind.

One day, a hut in the village caught fire. The fire spread all over the village. People began running away.

The friends wanted to escape. Shravan could not see the fire. But he could feel it. He knew he was in danger. `How can I run?’ he thought. `I cannot see and I don’t know where to run’. He was sad and afraid.

Raman looked at the people running away. `If both my legs had been all right, I too could have run. But how far can t run now? I can only limp.’ he too was sad and very afraid because he could see the fire.

Just then Raman saw Shravan. He had an idea. `If we help each other, we can escape’, he told his friend. `You are strong. You can carry me on your shoulders and walk. I can see. I can tell you the way out of the village. Both of us can escape the fire.’

Raman liked the idea. Shravan climbed on to Raman’s shoulders and began telling him where to go. Raman listened carefully to his friend. `Turn right. There is a tree to your right, so take a step to your left’. Soon the friends walked to safety.

Under stand

Our lives are linked to each other. We need one another to fulfill all our needs. Everyone has their own place in life. For example, a school runs with the help of the principal, teachers, helpers, bus drivers, gatekeepers, Peons and so many others. It cannot run well even if one of them is missing. Sometimes, we might have work that is difficult and cannot be done alone. At other times, we might want to do something but do not have the skills. Then we need others to help us.

People cooperative to do work that one person cannot do alone. Do you know how many people work together to make a car or a watch?

Each of us is good at something. If we put together all our talents and shills, or come together to use, we can do great work. Have you watched a Carnatic music concert? It consists of a singer, a violinist and the mridangam player. Can the singer herself play the mridangam and the violin while she sings? No. she needs people who are good at playing these instruments. Together they make beautiful music.

Look at the rice, roti or poori in your lunch box. Do you know that many people worked together before it came to you? Farmers grew it, mills bought it from them and transport brought it to the shops. Shopkeepers stored it. Your mother bought and cooked it. We are all interdependent and need to cooperative with each other.

When we cooperative, we share our time, talents and skills. When we cooperative, we participate peacefully in work. We understand our role and perform it well. We also appreciate and respect the roles others play. Cooperation is the secret of living together happily.

My name is Rajan and I am sixty years old. I am alone, as my wife passed away last year and my kids are settled in the foreign countries. I like to wake up in the early morning at 4:30AM and go for morning walk in the east side of Kailash area, Delhi.

While I am nearing Zamrudpur area, Delhi metro under Construction Bridge got collapsed in front of me. I am shocked after seeing the collapse of the bridge. I can’t believe it happened to the Delhi metro. It has got good name till now and everybody appreciates its services. I find people are crying for help and blood is flowing like flood. I called police and ambulance people. They reached to the spot after fifteen minutes and I went to the hospital along with the injured people.

I am shocked with the behavior of doctors. They are not at all worrying about the people who are fighting for their lives and dying. They are behaving as saints, as they see many people dead in front of their eyes and it is a routine thing to them.

I am shocked to see ‘Vaishali’ there. She is a nice woman and I know her for many years. Now she is lying idle infront of me and fighting for life with death. Vaishali had worked in my house as a maid before five years. Vaishai has to take care of two of his grand daughters. Her son-in-law left her daughter when she became mother of two kids. Her daughter had died before five years and Vaishali has to take care of them. Vaishali’s husband had expired long back. In the age of fifty five, she started working as a maid in four or five homes, which made her to earn six thousand rupees per month.

She uses that money for her grand daughters education. As both of them is studying tenth and ninth classes respectively. Even though they are not intelligent, they are studying decently. Vaishali always dreamt of making her daughters to settle in their life in a good manner.

Vaishali joined her grand daughters in a good school. Some times I given her some money for their school dresses and school fees. But I never remember Vaishali didn’t return my money. She is always honest and she never cheats people.

But today she is fighting for her life. I went near to her and she identified me and she started showing fingers to her grand kids and tried to tell something to me and she got died. I saw her grand kids ran to her body and started crying loudly. I became sad after seeing their faces. In that night, I taken them to my home and I made necessary arrangements for Vaishali’s death rituals.

Her grand kids became very dull afterwords and they don’t know what to do. They don’t know how they can study from now on wards. They don’t have single rupee. They are waiting for the five lakh rupees declared by the government as compensation, for those five people who died in that mishap.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation MD offered to resign and CM doesn’t accept the resignation. In the enquiry they found that due to false design, bridge got collapsed. All NEWS channels are highlighting this news. They are showing continuously how bridge got collapsed and afterwords how cranes also collapsed while removing the bridge particles.

Government never paid five lakh rupees to Vaishali’s grand kids. We went to the government offices so many times and came to know that government people already eaten that money. I am disappointed with the government officer’s behavior.

I observed everybody is watching TV curiously. Everybody wants to know about the latest updates on this accident. All NEWS channels are predicting how it might have happened? They are showing the accident’s place in the Delhi map and showing the predictions with the help of graphics…

I felt so sad after seeing the apathy is showing by the people about the accident. Everybody is bothering so much about the fallen bridge and how Delhi Metro Rail Corporation is reacting and nobody is bothering about the people who are died in that accident. They are not bothering about how many people have to lead their life alone, after losing the elder ones. Everybody is interested in the latest news.

I have been thinking about these small kids. Can I join them in the orphanage home? Will Orphanage people take care of them like Vaishali?. I know nobody can replace Vaishali for them. I thought that why don’t I keep their kids in my home and help them in growing in their life. As I am always feeling lonely, kids might help me to give me new breath of life.

Next day I went to kids and I told they can stay with me life long. And I will take care of them. They felt very happy and started calling me as Grand father.