Why I dislike violence
Winner:
“Violence begets violence” - is a familiar saying.
I dislike violence because it harms the life of human beings.
Violence is a wicked act - a crime which arises out of bad or evil
thoughts.
There are many types of violence. Torturing children, kidnapping
youngsters or adults for money, committing sexual crimes, murder and
attempting to murder others are some of them.
Religious leaders and the media inform us that violence is the root
cause of all the evils which prevents the development of a country.
Violence originates mostly because of financial needs. In this hi-tec
era, economics plays a major role in the development of a country.
People need more and more money to meet their basic needs such as food,
shelter, clothing and education today. However, most people cannot earn
enough money to meet the needs of their routine day-to-day life. As a
result they think of ways to overcome their financial problems even in a
wrongful manner. This eventually leads to violence.
Life is difficult without money. There are many children without an
education and many adults without jobs. They think that violence is the
only means to meet their needs. If it spreads like an epidemic rapidly,
it will be very difficult to cure. It would directly affect the progress
of any country.
It is said that ‘Prevention is better than cure’. Therefore, we must
control violence before it grows and spreads fast. The Government should
take immediate action against those who resort to violence.
They should be severely punished. The media too must play a major
role and enlighten the public about the dangers of violence. Awareness
programmes must be conducted by the Government. We could then minimise
violence to some degree. We should try to eradicate violence. This was
the goal of Mahatma Gandhi. That is why he is called the ‘Father of
non-violence’.
As students, we should start to follow the path of Mahathma Gandhi
and strive hard to promote non-violence without being engrossed in
worthless activities.
R. Thuvaragan,
B/Hindu College,
Colombo 4.
New Year, a happy time for all
Winner:
New Year Festival is the most important cultural festival for both
Sinhala and Tamil communities. They celebrate it on a grand scale. There
are many customs and traditions that people observe during the festival
which usually falls on April 14.
People get ready for the festival over a period of time repairing and
cleaning their houses and making delicious traditional food.
Before the dawn of the New Year, the period called the nonagathe
comes. At this time most people go to the temple or kovil and refrain
from doing any work.
When New Year dawns everybody wears new clothes and carry out all
activities at auspicious times. The hearth is lit at an auspicious time
to boil milk and to prepare milk rice.
Many customs such as partaking of the traditional meal, anointing of
oil, the commencement of work for the New Year and money transactions
are done at auspicious times.
After all the customs and rituals are completed everybody engages in
traditional and non-traditional New Year games such as raban playing,
climbing the greasy pole, pillow fighting, tug-of-war, eating buns, and
so on. Going to the temple or kovil are also important activities.
People visit relations and friends, exchange gifts during the New Year
and offer traditional sweet meat to their neighbours. It is a happy time
for all.
Hemaka Upasena,
Grade 8-I,
Rahula College,
Matara.
A visit to the Sinharaja forest
Winner:
I went on a trip to the Sinharaja Forest with my school friends and
teachers in February. The Sinharaja is a rainforest in Sri Lanka. It is
the biggest forest and is a very important one as it has been declared a
World Heritage Site. It is very famous all over the world today.
The trip was a very enjoyable one. We saw the beauty of nature in its
full glory there. We touched the cool waters flowing through the forest
and also some wild rabbits living there. There were many leeches in the
forest.
I was able to take many photographs of animals, flowers, beautiful
scenes, birds and trees. I also took photographs with my friends.
We had lunch in the forest in the open air. I bought some books on
Sinharaja highlighting the value of the forest. Sinharaja has a
delightful climate. We returned to school in the evening after a
wonderful experience. I can never forget this day in my entire lifetime.
Nethmi Dilshika,
Grade 9,
Princess of Wales College,
Moratuwa.
 If I were a coin...
Winner:
If I were a coin I would never have wanted to be stuck in a till.
Children love to collect us and put us into their tills. But I hate it.
It is more interesting to jump from one hand to another and move about
with my fellow coins. If I get into a child’s till, the child would
shake me all the time till I get very dizzy and tired.
There are coins of different values from one cent to ten rupees.
Although I am just a flat disc or a piece of metal, I am of high value.
I am used as money.
I would love to be a coin of the highest value, so that I could
become the king of coins and rule others.
Sasvi Liyanage,
Grade 4A,
Royal Institute International School,
Nugegoda.
My ambition in life
Winner:
 Every human being has some ambition in life. Without it, he/she is
like a ship without a rudder. It is ambition that fuels action. If a
person has no ambition, he may not be motivated to work hard. Instead he
will spend his life in leisure. On the other hand if he has an ambition,
he will try to work hard. He will always be motivated and full of
energy.
All the great people in the world today had some ambitions in life.
It was the ambition of Mahathma Gandhi to see his country free. Pandith
Jawaharlal Nehru wanted to see India prosper. Sardar Patel had one
ardent desire which was his aim of life. It was in his heart to unite
the whole country and make it strong.
All of them did their best for the good of the country, otherwise the
history of India would have been different.
Like most people, I too have an ambition. I wish to be a doctor and
serve the poor people of my city. I have great respect for doctors. I
consider the profession of a doctor to be a very noble one.
A doctor brings relief to the sufferings of the people. He or she
tries to cure the bodily ailments of those afflicted by various health
problems. That is why I think it is a noble profession.
I want to be a great but kind doctor. I would not chase after money.
I will give free medicine to the poor and the needy and set up a clinic
of my own to treat patients. I will be kind and caring towards my
patients. I also intend to carry out research on various diseases for
which no medicine has yet been found.
Sachini Sewwandi
Grade 11,
St. Clare's College.
 Uses of a dictionary
A dictionary is a useful book. It gives the correct spelling of words
and explains how to pronounce words correctly. It also tells us which
group a word belongs to noun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition,
conjunction or article.
A dictionary also gives us the meaning of words. If a word has more
than one meaning, the dictionary explains all of them.
Some dictionaries also show us how to use a word in a sentence.
Picture dictionaries are very interesting. They make it easy for us
to understand the names of different things such as parts of the human
body or different parts of our homes. Every student must have a
dictionary.
Salik Ahmed,
Grade 10,
Oxford English College,
Aluthgama.
The power of light
When you open the door
To a darkroom
And there is light outside,
It pushes its way into the darkness
But when you open the door
To a light room,
And there is darkness outside,
It never comes in.
The same is true
For your heart and mind
Melissa Gampalage,
Grade 7A,
St. Lawrence's Convent,
Wellawatte. |
