IT'S FUN READING

The showers of last evening cleaned out the remaining of Delhi’s usually toxic air. The first, decisive blow had been struck of course by the national lockdown of nearly a week ago. Unaccustomed to the freshness, lungs jerkily expanding as I step into my yard, I untangle the wind chime that has been twisted out of shape by the storm, playing a little with its bars. Face heavenward and smiling a little idiotically, I turn back towards my room. The cobalt blue skies, the unseasonal winter chill in late March; and most welcome of all, the preternatural silence — gifts we have been given suddenly and unexpectedly by the coronavirus outbreak. I am not alone in thinking of this time as a series of benedictions. Social media posts on slowing down, do-it-yourself spas; and getting back to the pleasures of gardening and star-gazing are flooding my timelines; the consensus is there has never been a better time for self-care. People are sharing inspirational poetry from Neruda to Rumi, a colleagu...

Michael aged 5 explains what lockdown means to him. “We have to stay at home because of the virus. It’s home learning every day. I see my friends on Zoom, like daddy has his work meetings. I like being at home because I can play with my cat.” Indie aged 14 talks about his experiences of lockdown. “At first it was annoying, because all my friends are at school. But I have to stay at home, it’s not a choice. I’m sharing a room with my younger brother.” “My school uses Google classrooms, it’s alright because they put videos to explain it. We can email teachers. Hopefully it doesn’t affect GCSEs next year.” “Sometimes it worries me. Seeing people in masks, it’s a bit weird and people need to stop sitting in the park. There’s loads of people with picnic blankets and that’s not allowed.” “I exercise on my bike and there was a bunch of police officers that passed me and one of them stopped and shouted at me for being selfish for being on my bike. It was embarrassing because there were other p...

Mother's Day is a celebration honouring the  mother  of the family, as well as  motherhood ,  maternal bonds , and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, most commonly in the months of March or May. It complements similar celebrations honouring family members, such as  Father's Day ,  Siblings Day , and  Grandparents Day . The modern Mother's Day began in the  United States , at the initiative of  Anna Jarvis  in the early 20th century. This is not (directly) related to the many traditional celebrations of mothers and motherhood that have existed throughout the world over thousands of years, such as the Greek cult to  Cybele ,  Rhea  the Great Mother of the Gods, the Roman festival of  Hilaria , or the Christian  Mothering Sunday  celebration (originally a commemoration of Mother Church, not motherhood). However, in some countries, Mother's...

  Recognizing the great challenge that governments, employers, workers and whole societies are facing worldwide to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Day for Safety and Health at Work will focus on addressing the outbreak of infectious diseases at work, in particular, on the COVID-19 pandemic. The concern is growing over the continuing rise in COVID-19 infections in some parts of the world and the ability to sustain declining rates in others. Governments, employers, workers and their organizations face enormous challenges as they try to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and protect safety and health at work. One of the main pillars of the Global Strategy is advocacy, the World Day for Safety and Health at Work is a significant tool to raise awareness of how to make work safe and healthy and of the need to raise the political profile of occupational safety and health.28 April is also the International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers organized worldwide by the trade un...

Earth Day is an annual event  celebrated  around the world on April 22 to demonstrate support for  environmental protection . First celebrated in 1970, it now includes events coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network in more than 193 countries. In 1969 at a  UNESCO  Conference in San Francisco,  peace activist   John McConnell  proposed a day to honour the Earth and the concept of peace, to first be celebrated on March 21, 1970, the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere. This day of nature's equipoise was later sanctioned in a proclamation written by McConnell and signed by Secretary-General  U Thant  at the  United Nations . A month later the United States Senator  Gaylord Nelson  proposed the idea to hold a nationwide environmental  teach-in  on April 22, 1970. He hired a young activist,  Denis Hayes , to be the National Coordinator. Nelson and Hayes renamed the event “Earth Day.” Un...

Friends, have you ever questioned yourselves about what all your family has done for you? There is nothing they haven’t done to see you happy even the toughest of the times... what hasn’t our family done for us? Warm hugs, support in difficult times, delicious food....and the list can go on forever. My fellow friends, the sacrifices our family has made for us is just indispensable and we should be thankful to them. The family is your blood and they are the people who accept you for who you are, who would do anything to see you smile and who love you no matter what. The family is one and only place where your life begins and love never end. You may have lots of people in your life, but you won’t find a single person who cares the most exactly same as your parents. Family is the most important and valuable gift that god has given us. It is the first lesson in relationships with others. Family is really an important word. It means to feel secure, to have someone who you can count on, whom...

• Writing is critical to becoming a good reader.  • Writing is an essential job skill.  • Writing is the primary basis upon which one’s work, learning, and intellect will be judged—in college, in the workplace and in the community.   • Writing equips us with communication and thinking skills.   • Writing expresses who we are as people.  • Writing makes our thinking and learning visible and permanent.  • Writing fosters our ability to explain and refine our ideas to others and ourselves.   • Writing preserves our ideas and memories.   • Writing allows us to understand our lives.  • Writing allows us to entertain others.