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| Sunday, 27 March 2005 |
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Junior Observer |
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News Business Features
Editorial
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Condoleezza Rice : One of the most powerful women in the world You would have heard of the recent visit of the US Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice to several South Asian countries.
The tour was considered as an important event, as Rice holds one of the most powerful positions in the world. Dr. Condoleezza Rice became the first African American woman to become the Secretary of State of the USA on January 26, 2005. Prior to this, she was the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, commonly referred to as the National Security Advisor, since January 22, 2001. Dr. Rice was born on November 14, 1954 in Birmingham, Alabama in USA. She entered the University of Denver at the age of 15 and graduated in 1974 with a bachelor's degree in political science. Rice then went on to earn a master's degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1975 and a doctorate from the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver in 1981. Dr. Rice joined the faculty at Stanford University in 1981, where she initially served as a Fellow in the Arms Control and Disarmament Programme. She went on to become a tenured professor at the university's political science department, where she received several teaching distinctions. In 1984, she won the Walter J. Gores Award for Excellence in Teaching and in 1993, she was awarded the School of Humanities and Sciences Dean's Award for Distinguished Teaching. She also served as a member of the Center for International Security and Arms Control and as a Fellow of both the Institute for International Studies and the Hoover Institution. Rice ended a six-year tenure as the university's provost (head) in 1999. Dr. Rice has written several books, including 'Germany Unified and Europe Transformed' (1995) with Philip Zelikow, 'The Gorbachev Era' (1986) with Alexander Dallin, and 'Uncertain Allegiance: The Soviet Union and the Czechoslovak Army' (1984). From 1989 through March 1991, Rice served with the Bush Administration as Director of Soviet and East European Affairs in the National Security Council. She went on to become Senior Director, in the same capacity, and also served as Special Assistant to President Bush for National Security Affairs. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and was awarded honorary doctorates from Morehouse College in 1991, the University of Alabama in 1994, the University of Notre Dame in 1995, the National Defence University in 2002, the Mississippi College School of Law in 2003 and the University of Louisville and Michigan State University in 2004. She resides in Washington, D.C. Hans Christian Anderson : Mention fairy tales and the first name that comes to mind is Hans Christian Anderson, the king among fairy tale writers. This year marks his 200th birth anniversary. He was born on April 2, 1805, in a two-roomed house in the poor quarters of the old town Odense in Denmark.
His father was a cobbler, and though the family had little money, they were rich in love; Hans was especially spoilt by his grandmother. He had a happy childhood and plenty of time to day-dream. In his day-dreams, the pots and pans in the kitchen, the spoons and needles came to life and danced and sang. He made toy theatres and performing puppets.When Hans was 11-years-old, his father died, and he left school. His mother undertook to washing clothes for others to make a living. Hans spent his time with his puppets. He also loved reading. Fortunately, his father had had a number of books including translations of Shakespeare's plays. His mother couldn't understand his hunger for books. She wanted to apprentice him to a tailor, but Hans had other ideas and ambitions. He wanted to be an actor and an opera singer. So, at the age of 14, he went to Copenhagen, Denmark's capital, to meet people connected with the theatre. He even met Madam Schall, the best known dancer in Denmark, and told her how he longed to perform on stage, and started singing, dancing and leaping wildly around the room. Those who saw him thought he was an escaped madman. They told him he was hopeless and he went away in tears. He was lanky, had a big nose, large hands and huge feet and a poor cracking voice. Jonas Colli, a director of the Royal Theatre, to whom he went with hopes of becoming an actor, either through pity or seeing some innate talent in him, raised money to send him to school. Hans was unhappy there, because the headmaster was an unpleasant man. However, he allowed Hans to be admitted to the University of Copenhagen in 1828. Hans told himself, "if I cannot become an actor I will become a writer". In his second year at the university, he published his first literary work, a fantastic tale in the style of the German Romantic writer E. T. A. Hoffman. Then he took to play writing. He made two unsuccessful attempts, but got recognition with his third play, Mulatto, in 1840, a play showing the evils of slavery. Before Mulatto, he had shown where his real talents lay. In 1835, he published Tales told for Children, that included famous stories which have been told and retold for a century and a half, and translated into over nearly 80 languages. This first volume of Tales for Children' included Princess and the Pea, Tinder Box, Little Clause and Big Clause. A second volume of stories followed in 1842, and Anderson became famous and was welcomed wherever he went. More and more stories that appealed to children as well as adults followed in quick succession. One of his most famous stories The Ugly Duckling has a strong autobiographical element. He himself was an ugly duckling battling to break through the rigid class structure of his time. When his stories were accepted by children and their parents, he too became a swan like in the story. He didn't satirize the big and the pompous, but poked mild fun at them as in The Emperor's New Clothes. He believed in the triumph of goodness as in the story of The Snow Queen, in which the spell was broken by the love and loyalty of Gerda, and Kaye's heart, which was frozen into a lump of ice, melted, and they escaped from the Snow Queen's evil palace of ice. Hans Christian Anderson died of cancer in August 1875. He was ailing for about three years. As a mark of honour to this great writer, April 2, his birthday, was declared World Children's Book Day, and is celebrated in Sri Lanka too with book exhibitions, art competitions and lectures for children. In 1956, the International Board on Books for Young People launched the Hans Christian Anderson Award. First, it was an award only for authors. Now an Author Award and an Illustrator Award are given every two years "to an author and an illustrator whose complete works have made an important contribution to children's literature". - Sumana Saparamadu |
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