Adrienne Rich: Changing the World with Words

Adrienne Rich was a famous writer who believed that to fix unfairness between men and women, society needed a big, deep change.

Rich believed that rules made by society forced women into traditional roles -- like marrying men and staying at home -- even if they did not want to. She argued that women should not feel forced to live this way. Instead, she said women could find strength by supporting each other through close friendships, working together, and standing up for their rights. For Rich, the best way to fight for equality was not through fighting with weapons, but by using words, writing poems, and helping women stand together.

She also criticised marriage between opposite genders, as she saw it as a system that showed the dominance of men over women.

So, she criticised the idea of compulsory heterosexuality. She further emphasised that society can't put pressures on women to marry with men. 

And she believed in a lesbian continuum -- women finding strength through bonds, friendship and solidarity with other women.

Also, Rich did argue for a radical, deep change -- not just small reforms.

This is clearly highlighted by Rich in her poems, The Trees and Aunt Jennifer's Tigers.

Both poems (Aunt Jennifer's Tigers and The Trees) show a woman trapped in a dominating marriage, while her embroidered tigers are free and fearless. Her poem, The Trees shows women / trees breaking out of the house into the forest which is a strong and vivid symbol of freedom from confinement.

Thus, it is crystal clear that Rich wants to transform society through deep, radical changes and by strongly criticising institutions based on compulsory heterosexuality.

(Note: Image is created via using Gemini AI.)

Do Communists Have An Ideology, Or Just Slogans?

A common doubt people have is — do communists really have an ideology, or do they just talk about big, emotional words like revolution, equality, and justice?

The answer is — communists have one of the most rigid ideologies in the world.

1. What is Ideology for a Communist?

For most people, ideology means an ideal which is abstract in its nature — "the world should be good."

For a communist, ideology is not abstract. It is a tool, like a machine. It has to do a job.

The job is to answer three questions:

- Who owns what in this society?

- Who works and who profits?

- How can this be changed?

Any idea that cannot answer these three questions is not ideology for them — it is just time-pass.

2. What Is Their Ideology?

Their ideology is called Historical Materialism. It is very simple:

- Human life depends on material things — food, clothes, house, work.

- To get these things, humans make a system — slavery, feudalism, capitalism.

- Every system creates two classes — owner and worker.

- These two classes fight.

- From that fight, a new system is born.

For them, this is not philosophy. This is science, like physics. History moves because of this fight, not because of good kings or bad kings.

3. Where Does Bhagat Singh Fit In?

This is why Bhagat Singh is important. He took abstract emotions — love for country, courage to die — and gave them material meaning.

He said, "I don't want independence only from the British. I want independence from hunger, from landlordism, from capitalism." 

So his Inquilab Zindabad was not just a slogan. It was an ideology — that real revolution means power in the hands of workers and peasants.

Thus, yes, Communists do have an ideology, and it is very concrete. They don't trust ideas that sound beautiful but change nothing on the ground. 

You can disagree with their ideology, you can oppose it, but you cannot say it is empty. It is an ideology that asks you to look at your plate, your salary, and your landlord, before you look at the sky. Their ideology is practical in its nature. 

Why Does Communism Talk About Revolution? And Why Do Powerful People Oppose It?

1. Why does communism talk about violence and revolution?

Karl Marx, who gave the idea of communism, saw society in two groups:

- A small group who owns factories, land, and companies.

- A large group who works in those factories and fields.

His point was simple:

The government protects the owners. The laws, police and courts are made to protect private property. So if you go to the same government and say "please take away all private property and share it," the government will not agree. 

No powerful group leaves power on its own: Kings never voted to end kingship. Landlords never voted to end landlordism. That system ended through revolution. Marx said the same will happen with capitalism.

System itself is violent: Marxists say, poverty, joblessness, people dying because they cannot afford medicine — this is also violence, but it is slow and daily. Revolution, for them, is one big fight to end this daily violence forever.

But not all communists believe in violence. Many later communists said — we can win through elections, through schools, through culture, peacefully.

2. Why do people in power not like communism?

It's because communism directly hits three things:

Money: It says big factories and land should not be private property, it should belong to society. Owners will lose their property.

Chair: If this idea wins, the present government which runs on private property will fall.

Fear from history: In Russia, China, Cuba — when communist revolutions happened, the old rich class lost everything and many were jailed or killed. So today's powerful class is scared of the same.

So every powerful system, whether in America or in India, teaches that communism is dangerous.

3. Why is communism so misunderstood?

 There are three reasons:

a) Theory and government got mixed: Communism as an idea means a society with no class, no rich-poor gap. But what happened in Russia under Stalin was dictatorship. People think that dictatorship is communism. It is not.

b) Cold War: For 50 years, America and Russia were enemies. In that time, Western media showed communism only as an enemy, not as an economic idea. That image is still in people's minds.

c) We use the word for everything: Today if government gives free ration, people call it communism. If government bans a film, people call it communism. When one word is used for everything, nobody understands its real meaning.

4. Why communists are called emotionless man? 

Because for them, justice is not personal, it is class-based.

If your own brother is an exploiter, he is not your brother first — he is a class enemy first. Blood relation is seen as a private emotion, while exploitation is seen as public crime.

So they believe: to save many, you must punish one, even if that one is your own kin.

In short, Communism talks about revolution because it thinks the rich will never share power peacefully. Powerful people oppose it because it will take away their property and power. And it is misunderstood because we confuse the book with what some governments did in its name.

E-LEARNING POST: TENSES MADE EASY

E-LEARNING POST: TENSES MADE EASY

"Tense = TIME + ASPECT"  

If you understand these 2, you understand all 12 tenses.

1. TIME FRAME - WHEN?

This tells us when the action happens.

- Past* : Yesterday 

- Present*: Today

- Future* : Tomorrow

2. ASPECT - HOW?*

This tells us how the action happens.

1. Simple/Indefinite*: Just a fact. "I teach."

2. Continuous/Progressive*: Action is going on. "I am teaching."

3. Perfect*: Action is completed. "I have taught."

4. Perfect Continuous*: Action started in past and still going. "I have been teaching."

THE TENSE* 

Imagine the 3x4 concept

1. SIMPLE* Fact 

2. CONTINUOUS* Going On 

3. PERFECT* Completed 

4. PERFECT CONT.* Started & Still On

PAST:-- 

a. I taught.

b. I was teaching.

c. I had taught

d. I had been teaching since morning.

PRESENT:-- 

a. I teach.

b. I am teaching. 

c. I have taught.

d. I have been teaching since morning.

FUTURE:-- 

a. I will teach. 

b. I will be teaching.

c. I will have taught.

d. I will have been teaching since morning.

Trick to Remember:*

TIME + ASPECT = TENSE 

Ex: Past + Continuous = I was* teaching

REAL LIFE EXAMPLE*

Think of a Teacher in class:

1. Simple Present*: I teach science. (Daily routine)

2. Present Continuous*: I am teaching right now. (At this moment)

3. Present Perfect*: I have taught 3 chapters. ( started in past and Completed in present)

4. Present Perfect Cont.*: I have been teaching for 10 years. (Started past, still on)

Fear

Thou fear dwells inside

But to fight is not right

'Cause the more ye fight

The more it dominates ye inside

Sudhir ye have to face thy plight

though ye can't fight

Still ye can subdivide

And break it inside

Thy strength is infinite

Thy strength is infinite

Just believe in Infinite

Just believe in Infinite

Then ye can fight with thy plight

And the fear will fear to fear ye inside

And the fear will fear to fear ye inside

"A Mysterious Old Map......"

It is time for adventure and fun activities as Rohan's summer vacations started from today onwards. This time, he decided to go to an old house near his home. There lived an old man who is quite learned and a man of Wisdom. He had many wonderful stories to tell. One afternoon, Rohan entered inside his house. He saw the old man reading a book. To him, he, the old man looked familiar but he could not recognise him. Rohan greeted him with Namaste and told him that he lived near his house. The old man looked at his face and responded with a smile, "Yes, yes, I know you very well. You are the son of Mr Rajesh. Tell me why you come here?" 

Rohan replied, "I came to know that you are quite learned and a man of Wisdom. That's why I want to talk to you." The old man asked, "What kind of things you like to talk?" Rohan replied, "I want to know about great Indian warriors and I am in search of an ancient book which has the record of the fights of all the brave Indian warriors of past."

Apprently, the old man showed a serious gesture. He told Rohan, "Wait I have something for you." By saying this, he moved inside a dingy room. After two minutes, he brought an old map. He gave the map to Rohan and said, "This is a mysterious map. With the help of it, you will find the ancient book having all the stories of great Indian warriors." By receiving it, Rohan felt quite excited and thrilled. He showed his reverence to the old man and left the place. 

Next day, he told his mom and dad about the mysterious map and sought permission from them so that he could find out the ancient book. In the beginning, his parents were reluctant to allow him but later, they allowed him with a condition that his elder brother Aryan would also accompany him in this venture. Rohan agreed. Next morning, both Rohan and Aryan started their journey for the search of an Ancient book in a motor bike. Rohan read the map and told Aryan about the direction to follow. By following the mentioned directions, they reached near an old and dilapidated castle. Initially, they frightened to see the haunted and isolated place. Rohan told Aryan to go back home but Aryan refused. However, Aryan too was frightened but he resisted and told Rohan that they must complete their venture. 

Finally, they both went inside. When they entered, Rohan was perplexed and scared. He saw the same old man holding the Ancient Book of Indian Warriors there. The old man smiled and told, "So finally you completed your journey." Rohan asked the old man, "How can you be in two different places at the same time?" The old man told him that he died many years before but his soul didn't get salvation because he didn't get any responsible person who could preserve this Ancient Book. He further told, "Aryan and Rohan, you both are worthy to safeguard the legacy of Indian Warriors' History because only a brave man can truly be an honest man and you both are brave. So take this book and follow the same direction as mentioned in the mysterious map." They carried the book and came back to their home in the next morning. They showed the book to their parents and told them about their mysterious venture. But the parents were surprised to see them. They said, "About which book you both are talking, we can't see any book in your hands?"

House is Not A Home - Summary

This story revolves around Zan. He was feeling gloomy because he went to high school recently. He was desperately missing his old friends and teachers. In his previous school, he was recognised by all but now he had to start everything from beginning. His condition became worst when his house caught fire. 

Perceiving the danger, the narrator and his mother went outside, but suddenly, his mother realised that she had forgotten to bring the important documents from the house and her death husband's photograph. So, she decided to bring those documents and the photographs from the burning house. On the next moment, the author saw his mother going inside. Due to emotional outburst, he too strived to go inside but he was caught by one of the fireman. In the meantime, his mother was saved and they wrapped blankets around them. 

Suddenly, the author recollected that his pet cat was missing and could not find her anywhere. He became upset and cried on not finding his cat and thought that his pet might have died in the fire.

Due to this terrible accident, they didn't have any money left. Zan and his mother went to his grandparents’ house. The next day, he went to school wearing the same clothes which he wore the previous day. 

He was upset desperately and felt insecure about his dilapidated condition. For a moment, he felt a huge loss and missed his old school, his teachers, his friends, his old house and his pet cat. That day, after school hours, he revisited his burnt house and was shocked to see the destruction done by the fire. He saw that whatever hadn’t burned was damaged by the water and chemicals used by the firefighters to put out the fire. He lost everything and felt lonely now.

Soon the news about fire was spread in his new school and now all the new students and teaching faculty helped him by providing notebooks, clothes, school supplies, etc. The author’s heart was touched after seeing the concern of the people of his new school and was overcome by emotion. Now he was full of gratitude. Also, he was thankful to the lady who brought his cat to him. Thus, he felt jubilant in the end and realised that house and home are two different things. Now he got to know that a home is a place where we have emotions, affection and love towards each others.

A Vigilant Forest Ranger

Deep in the heart of a dense forest in the Himalayas a young forest Ranger named Anant woke up to the chorus of exotic birds greeting the morning sun. He stepped outside his wooden cabin. His heart was heavy with worry news of ruthless gang of poachers. From past few days, their brutal activities were on peak. Just for their pleasure, they callously indulged in the killing of the innocent birds. Though Anant tried a lot to identify the gang of poachers but he could not spot them and that's why he was feeling downcast. They were quite shrewd and villainous. They never leave any trace of their Self Identity behind and just because of this, it became extremely difficult for Anant to catch them. He felt helpless and distressed. He was plodding in the midst of forest and started pondering about the solution of the problem. On the very moment, he saw some tribal people who were walking in a group. 

It seemed as if they were in search of water. Immediately, Anant got an idea in his mind. He decided to talk to them and ask for help. He narrated them the problem and asked them to identify the poachers for him. In the beginning, they had shown their reluctance but later on they promised Anant to help him.

The next day, Anant got an information from one of a member of the tribe that the poachers' camp was situated in the edge of the forest. Also, he told him that they were planning to kill some more birds today. Anant teamed up with the tribes and made a plan to trap the poachers. 

Within an hour, Anant along with a group of the tribe went to the place where the poachers had their camp. They keenly monitored their camp and number of people they had. Then, they went to the place where they were planning to kill the birds. They set a trap and patiently waited for their arrival. 

In the afternoon, they saw their callous faces. And the moment, they reached there, they became the victim of Anant's trap. He arrested all of them.

Anant thanked the members of tribe for their vigilance and cooperation.

All poachers were punished under the wild life protection act and they all were imprisoned for three years and fined Rs. 25, 000. 

The next day, this news got published on all the National Daily Newspapers. Anant was having an expression of satisfaction on his face when he read this news with his morning tea.

Go inside

Frighten'd inside

Still thinkin' you're right

But think twice 

Go beyond thy mind

There ye'll see the play called life

Coming from deep roots of thy mind

Whatever is outside

Comes from inside

So, just go inside

Just go inside

Determiners: All Types

Poster Making (Guidelines)

Marking scheme for the Poster Making (Class 12 Writing Skills)

  

Bifurcation of 4 Marks for the Poster writing as per the guidelines given by CBSE, 2019-20

Format (title and name of issuing authority)

(1 Marks)

Content

(2 marks)

{Expression and creativity (grammatical accuracy, spellings)}

(1 mark)

Total

(4 marks)

(Suggested value points)

- relevant and catchy heading/slogan

- use of phrases

- contact or necessary information

- issuing agency/organization

Let us now try to comprehend the meaning of Poster:

Basically, the poster is a very brief communication with an effective visual and an influential message.

Why is it prepared?

A poster is always prepared with a specific target audience in mind. It is a request for awareness or support, help or action, a warning or a caution.

E mail writing

From: abc@gmailtoo 

To: xyz@yahoomail.com

Cc:

Bcc:

Subject: About a trip to Arga with my family members.

Hello, Rahul!

How are you? I hope everything is fine. I want to tell you about my trip to Agra with my family members. 

Last week, we decided to visit Agra because we are having summer vacations. Father said that Agra was having historical importance, therefore, we must visit there. Hence, all of us had given our concern for that. 

When we reached there, we felt quite amazed to see the streets. There were great hustle and bustle. Many foreign tourists visited there. 

Then we had decided to see the Taj Mahal. It was such a great scene! So many visitors came there to see the magnitude of Taj Mahal. I felt quite fascinated to see that beautiful and splendid sight.

Afterwards, we did the shopping and booked a hotel there. 

We spent a week there and then returned by train.

Indeed, it was a great experience. 

Regards

Sumit

Precautions from Novel Coronavirus

1. Avoid going to the crowdy areas and places and please ensure not to shake hands with anyone. It would be better if you greet them with Namaste. Also, ensure to strengthen your immune system and for this do yoga, pranayama, Ashwani mudra, deep breathing exercise daily. These things must be done either at home or in a safe environment.

2. Drink excess of warm water, take one tablet of Giloyeganvati and one capsule of Ashwagandha daily.

2(a) Do exercise daily.
(It is noteworthy that the exercise needs to be done at home only. Avoid going to the gym.)

3. Use sanitizer or clean your hands with soap after 30 minutes.

4. Recite the Om mantra for 5 minutes daily. It will strengthen your immune system.

Stay at home and be safe

Namaste 

Note Making

Steps for the Note Making
1. Skimming
2. Scanning
3. Underline the keywords
4. Finalizing

Procedure
1. First, read the comprehension and underline the word which is being repeated in the comprehension; this will be the title of the comprehension. In case no word is being repeated then see the point which is being highlighted again and again.

2. Then, do the thorough reading again for getting the comprehensive opinion.

3. Now prepare the rough notes.

4. Write the title at the top and then write down headings and subheadings

For instance

Title: within 4 words (Avoid Complete Sentence)
Notes
1. Main heading
     a. Subheading
     b. Subheading 2
     c. Subheading 3
2. Second main heading
     a. Subheading
     b. Subheading
     c. Subheadings
3. Main heading
    a. Subheading
    b. Subheading

Key to abbreviation
Inside a box(5 to 8 abbreviations)

Summary: 80 words
(Avoid the first person)

A Message to the youth

Is love a choice or an accident?

*Guidelines for youth*

No one can awaken the spark of love in thy heart except thee thyself; whomsoever ye think about a lot positively, will become thy love.  Falling in love is a choice, not an accident. But you should rise in love. Thus, make a judicious choice because it is not just your life rather there are many people (your family: parents, siblings, friends and many more who are having some expectations with you)

(Note - For the guidance of the youth, never be freak; love is not an addiction rather it is a responsibility, a sense of respect, a feeling of sacrifice and a higher state of mind)

-Vatsa

Acid Attack must be Stopped

Acid attack is one of the terrible act because it destroys the life of the victim.  Those who indulge in it are just the personification of evil.  From the past many years, girls are mostly victimized due to the acid attack and such sort of acts are creating unrest in the society. Also the government of India is considering it as one of the serious problems because it creates a reign of terror amongst the masses.  Thus, as a result, the government had banned the selling and purchasing of acids.  Still, due to corruption, it is sold and purchased illegally. 

Now the very first thing which we all need to do is to show our vigilance and responsible attitude because only the government cannot circumacribe this evil. In addition to this, we must have to be alert so that such kind of episodes can be stopped and for this, first we should try to learn the art of reading faces.

The government also need to put a heavy fine on those who indulge in selling acids without any licence. A special police force needs to be given the charge for curbing out this problem.

Those who have been observed to be suspicious or aggressive must be put behind the bar.  In case anyone is being found guilty must be given capital punishment without any delay and for that fast track, courts must be made so that the verdict can be given without any delay. We must need to comprehend that justice delayed is justice denied. Understanding the intensity of the circumstance, the government of India has also taken the initiative to introduce the fast track courts so that the culprits must be punished. Even some volunteers are also performing plays, Nukkad Natak for making the people aware of it.

In nutshell, it can be concluded that though this problem is quite prominent in our society but through our amalgamated efforts we can wipe out it from its roots.

Never lose your wits

Anureeta was a 10 years old girl and she was fond of her mother. She stayed with her invariably and never left her even for a while.

One day she and her mother had gone to a market for purchasing some vegetables.  But on the way, she was fascinated by the charm of the market place and as a result, she lost hold of her mother. Everything turned out quite dreadful to her.  She started sobbing. Apparently, a stranger heard her yelling and asked the reason.

She told that she had lost hold of her mother. The stranger considered it as an opportunity and tried to get hold of her. Comprehending the prospective danger, she recollected the thoughts of her mum who always taught her to shriek loudly whenever she felt any danger. She caught hold of her wits and screamed loudly. Within a minute a mob was gathered and the stranger escaped.

Now Anureeta was safe. In the meanwhile, the mother also reached there and started scolding her but later when she knew about it, she felt proud of her daughter.

Moral - Never lose your wits even in trouble.

Religious Intolerance in India

Religious intolerance is quite prominent in our country India these days and it is just because of our confined set of mind. Gone are the days when people were showing respect for different religions. But now everyone is fighting for petty issues. It seems we are quite childish because our wisdom and rationality of thoughts are being consumed by our dogmatic beliefs. Every day in the newspapers, we read the news highlighting the quarrels of people on the basis of religion, castes, and reigns. It is one of the dreadful things which is blurring the image of our society.

So, being a citizen of India, we must develop a deep insight so that we can analyse ourselves. A sincere effort must be accomplished as the cause of intolerance is our ignorance.  First and foremost, religious books must be introduced to the students. Let it be the part of their curriculum. Let them comprehend the crux of every religion and let them develop a deep sense of respect for all of the religions, only then the feeling of religious intolerance can be circumvented.

Secondly, we should avoid those people who are orthodox as they often generate the seeds of religious intolerance. But still, we can't say that we can circumvent it completely because the roots of religious intolerance are deep-rooted in our society and we can see it when the people are discussing their beliefs and doctrines and easily being provoked when someone criticizes them.

There was a time when India was considered as the symbol of tolerance but now it becomes the symbol of intolerance. Therefore, it is required to study the books of different religions. And the first thing which we have to do is to implement it in our daily lives.

Thus it is crystal clear that the feeling of religious intolerance can only be stopped if we start implementing its deep messages. 

A Brave Boy

Rohit was a young boy of 20 years.  His father was a poor man who could not afford to pay his college fees. Contrary to it, Rohit was a promising and bright lad who wanted to continue his studies and do something remarkable to win recognition far and wide. He was also having a philanthropic nature and therefore, always desired to put extra endeavours for helping others.

One day he was feeling quite gloomy as he had not got good marks in his house exams. Sensitive as he was, therefore, he felt quite bad. His friend Arun suggested him not to be worried as it was because of his part-time job. Those days, he was doing extra work for his earnings.  But apparently, they saw some terrorists who were armed with the latest weapons rounded up about thirty college students. Rohit was feeling benumbed. He had lost his wits and couldn't comprehend what to do. 

Still, he made up his mind to do something for the sake of students. Swifty, he ran and started looking for help. His friend Arun warned him to escape from there but he refused to do so. He was quite determined and focused. Bravely he rashed there so that he could save those students. While he was on his way, some police officers and security guards on duty had seen that.

Understanding the need of the hour, they swiftly ran towards him. In the meanwhile, Arun called at the helpline number. Within two minutes all of the cops arrived there. All of them were equipped with sophisticated guns and firearms. But during the time span of two minutes, Rohit was shot dead by the terrorists. Two more police officers were also brutally killed by them. But it was just because of their fortitude that the lives of those college students were saved. All the terrorists were grabbed and Rohit became an immortal figure now.

Moral - Your deeds can give you true fame.

The Adventure

The story is about a history teacher named Prof. Gaitonde who always thinks about what would have happened if Marathas had won the Battle of Panipat. One day he has a car accident and when he opens his eyes he is in a different Pune. In this different world everything is changed because Marathas had won that battle, so British never ruled India and India had become a free, strong and modern country with its own trains and offices. He goes to the library and sees history books that say Marathas won, and when he tries to say the books are wrong people think he is mad. He tries to give a speech but people hit him and then suddenly he comes back to his real world. Then, he meets his scientist friend, Rajendra who explains what happened to him. The science is explained like this. Old science said everything has only one fixed future, like a train on one track. But new science called quantum physics says this is not true. At very small level, many futures are possible at same time, and the world is like a tree with many branches. When we look, we see only one branch, but other branches also exist. So there are many worlds. In one world Marathas lost and British came to India, which is our world. In another world Marathas won and British never came, and India became very strong. That second world also exists. 

Then there is another idea called catastrophe theory. It says sometimes a very small thing can change everything suddenly. Like if a river is about to split into two sides, even a small stone can send all the water to one side. The Battle of Panipat was that kind of point. A small win or loss there changed the whole history of India. For Prof. Gaitonde, his mind was also at such a point because he was thinking too much about that battle, and when his accident happened, that small shock pushed his mind from our world to the other world, so he could live and see that other history.