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LIFE IS SWEET AT KUMANSENU

Abiosh Nicol, Sierra Leone (1924 - 1994) Characters Bola (A Widow) Asi (Bola's Granddaughter) Meji (Bola's 7th son who is Bola's 6th son's rebirth) - 30 Years Old. Works in the city 90 miles away from home. He has a  BLACK MARK ON HIS LEFT BUTTOCK Musa (Magician) - Muslim Mrs Meji (She comes to Kumansenu to deliver the news of her husband's death) Mr Addai This story based on magic realism shows the power of love and the sweetness of life. It captures the gratitude of the children toward their parents.  Bola is a widow who lives with her granddaughter Asi. She gave birth to six sons, but unfortunately, all of them died. When the last son dies, the village magician Musa advises Bola to break the bones of the dead child and mangle (mutilate) it so that he could not come to torment her (Unbearable physical pain). However, her heart didn't allow her to do so and then makes a black mark on the buttock of her sixth ...

ARRANGING A MARRIAGE IN INDIA

Sarena Nanda, USA This essay is written by Serena Nanda. She is a professor of Anthropology  ( The social science that studies the origins and social relationships of human beings )  in a college in New York. In this essay, Nanda describes the beliefs of the Indian natives on how marriage should be.  Nanda studied about Indian marriages and how the parents are the ones to choose the bride or bridegroom. At first Nanda was against this but after researching and interviewing different people and friends she had doubts. Nanda found out many interesting point that made sense to her of why arranging a marriage was not as bad as she thought. In India, almost all marriages are arranged. They base their marriage on commitment, not on feelings. As their marriage progresses, the feelings develop.  Arranged marriages in Indian society have been the norm for many centuries. Serena asked a young college graduate ...

THEN AND NOW: FINDING MY VOICE

Elaine H. Kim, Korea (1961-) Elaine H. Kin is a professor at the department of  Ethnic Studies  in the  University of California  in the USA. As a Korean-American writer, she has expressed her childhood and educational experience in America. She has analysed how gender, race and economic class make an impact on personal life. In her autobiographical writing “ Then and Now: Finding My Voice ”, Elaine H. Kim presents her turmoil (a violent disturbance) and personal teenage experience as a Korean refugee child in the USA during the decade of 1950s and 1960s. She expresses the painful suffering that she had undergone in the USA during the post-conflict situation of Korea and its people in the USA. The writer loved fortune telling and she visited many fortune tellers and  shamans  (priest-doctors) in Korea. It was suggested that her destiny would give success and happiness to a man. But a disaster for women she would be a better wife or a mother. Some women's f...

MARRIAGE IS A PRIVATE AFFAIR

Chinua Achebe, Nigeria (1930-2013) Characters : 1.  The story shows the conflict between the old generation and a new generation.  2. Marriage is a private affair and young people should have the right and freedom to choose life partners. The parents shouldn't interfere and they should adopt the democratic pattern. They should never impose their thoughts on their mature sons or daughters.  Nnaemeka (Modern Son) (Ibo Tribe) Nene Atang (Nnaemeka's Wife/a school teacher) (from Logos) Okeke (Conservative Father) Ugoye Nweke (Daughter of Jacob Nweke, Okeke's neighbour) Chinua Achebe’s story “ Marriage Is a Private Affair ” opens with a discussion between a young woman named Nene and a young man named Nnaemeka, who live in Lagos, Nigeria; they are in love and plan to marry. Nene wants Nnaemeka to inform his father of their plan as soon as possible, but the young man is nervous. He anticipates that his father, a member of the Ibo tribe who live...

A SOUND OF THUNDER

Ray Bradbury, USA (1920-2012) " A Sound of Thunder " is a science fiction short story by Ray Bradbury . The story is about a man named Eckels who is a passionate hunter. Eckels travels back in time to kill a dinosaur but his actions alter the balance of nature and he changes the future. The author uses a series of unique describing techniques, which make this story full of surprises.  Ray Bradbury presents the fact of how the small act of human beings at present can change the future drastically.  The story is set in 2055. A hunter named Eckels goes on an adventure travelling back into the past on a safari to kill a  Tyrannosaurus Rex . As they wait to depart, they talk about the recent presidential elections, in which an apparently fascist candidate,  Deutscher , has just been defeated by the more moderate  Keith , to the relief of many people. After the party arrives in the past,  Travis  (the hunting guide) and  Lesperance...

THE PARROT IN THE CAGE (पिंजडाको सुगा)

Lekhnath Paudyal, (1885-1996) (Translated By: Laxmi Prasad Devkota) Kavi Siromani Lekhanath Poudyal ( कवी शिरोमणी लेखनाथ पौड्याल) was born in 1941 B. S. at Kaski, Nepal. His father's name was Pandit Durgadutta and Vasundhara Devi was his mother. He started learning at the early age of 5. Lekhnath Paudyal got married at the age of 14, but unfortunately lost his wife at the age of 20. He was inspired by the writings of Motiram Bhatta and Balmiki . Lekhnath Poudyal contributed immensely towards Nepali Language and Literature. His poems describe the touch of Nepal and its nature with simplicity. "Pinjra Ko Suga"( पिंजडाको सुगा) is his unforgettable poem which expressed the cruelness of Rana rulers against the Nepali people. The poem symbolizes that the Nepali peoples are like a parrot inside a cage and Rana as the jailer. He was jailed for the poem and the poem was used as a song by political heroes in jail. Lekhnath Poudyal was honoured with title "Siro Mani...