English Poem recitation : "I can not remember my mother" by Tagore

Primary school english poem recitation : Lots of children in primary school start searching for a good english poem for recitation when the competition time arrives. I am gathering some of the primary school recitation poems here for all of you.
For the 4th standard English poem recitation competition when I was searching for a good poem I came across this touching poem by Rabindranath Tagore , "I can not remember my mother "

I Can not Remember My Mother

I cannot remember my mother

only sometimes in the midst of my play

a tune seems to hover over my playthings,

the tune of some song that she used to

hum while rocking my cradle.

I cannot remember my mother

but when in the early autumn morning

the smell of the shiuli flowers floats in the air

the scent of the morning service in the temple

comes to me as the scent of my mother.

I cannot remember my mother

only when from my bedroom window I send

my eyes into the blue of the distant sky,

I feel that the stillness of

my mother's gaze on my face

has spread all over the sky.

By Rabindranath Tagore from Sishu Bholanath

Rabindranath Tagore, popularly known as Gurudev (1861 (1941) was a Bengali poet, dramatist and novelist. Tagore won the Nobel Prize for literature for his work, Gitanjali. He founded the Shanthiniketan to promote Indian Culture, Art and Music. Tagore lost his mother when he was a child.
This poem I cannot remember my mother is about a child who does not remember his dead mother. But the child perhaps carries some associations of the mother’s image in his mind.

Aeroplane and Wright brothers

The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur, invented the modern aeroplane. They are responsible for the first controlled, powered, heavier-than-air flight on 17 December 1903 at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

The brothers' fundamental breakthrough was their invention of "three axis-control", which enabled the pilot to steer the aircraft effectively and to maintain its equilibrium. This method became standard and remains standard on fixed wing aircraft of all kinds.

The Wrights spent a great deal of time observing birds in flight. They noticed that birds soared into the wind and that the air flowing over the curved surface of their wings created lift. Birds change the shape of their wings to turn and maneuver. They believed that they could use this technique to obtain roll control by warping, or changing the shape, of a portion of the wing.

The Wrights combined their wing-warping control concept and the structural design of the Chanute-Herring glider in their first aircraft, a biplane kite with a 5-foot wingspan, built in July 1899.

1899 Wright kite
The Wrights combined their wing-warping control concept and the structural design of the Chanute-Herring glider in their first aircraft, a biplane kite with a 5-foot wingspan, built in July 1899.

1900 Wright glider
The 1900 glider was the Wrights' first piloted aircraft. First flight-tested at Kitty Hawk in the fall of that year, it incorporated the wire-braced biplane structure and wing-warping control system they developed with their 1899 kite.
1902 Wright glider

Compared to their previous gliders, the Wrights' 1902 glider had a much thinner airfoil and longer and narrower wings, which their wind tunnel tests had shown to be more efficient. To improve lateral control, they added a fixed vertical rudder to the rear of the glider. They retained the reliable forward elevator for pitch control but made it elliptical in shape.

1903 Wright Flyer




The 1903 Wright Flyer made four flights at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on December 17, 1903, the best covering 852 feet in 59 seconds. It was the first heavier-than-air, powered aircraft to make a sustained, controlled flight with a pilot aboard.
The Wrights used their proven canard biplane configuration which was rooted in their initial 1899 kite design. Key to the Flyer's success was its three-axis control system, which featured wing-warping for lateral balance, a moveable rudder, and an elevator for pitch control.

The right wing was four inches longer than the left to compensate for the engine being heavier than and mounted to the right of the pilot. The wings were rigged with a slight droop to reduce the effects of crosswinds.

Recitation of Poem - Time by Valeri Bloom

Valeri bloom has written a simple poem about time. I recited this poem in the English recitation competition in my school.

You can access the recitation of the poem by the poet here

Time
Time's a bird, which leaves its footprints
At the corner of your eyes.
Time's a jockey, racing horses,
The sun and moon across the skies.
Time's a thief, stealing your beauty,
Leaving you with tears and sighs.
But if you waste time trying to catch him,
Time's a bird and time just flies.

by Valeri bloom

English to Hindi dictionary

Find out the Hindi meaning for an English word. This is becoming pretty common exercise part of my Hindi learning.I was trying out different online dictionaries for this. This English to Hindi dictionary is really useful. Type the English word in the the search area and select the English word option below and click on search. You will get Hindi meaning for the English words you typed.

2008 Olympics

29th Summer Olympics opened in Beijing, China on Aug 8^th, 2008. An audience of 91,000 people packed in to the Olympic National Stadium in Beijing, China, to watch an entertainment program including 30,000 fireworks and more than two hours of music at the opening ceremonies. China's opening ceremonies are reported to be the largest and most expensive of any in Olympic history.

The National Stadium, known as the Bird's Nest for its unique design, came alive with excitement on the hot summer night. There were 2,008 drummers, to match this Olympic year on the calendar, rocking the stadium. Nearly two hours of music, specially composed for the event, filled the air. Twenty fairies fell from the night sky, or so it seemed as acrobats on wires descended into the stadium. A group of 56 children gathered around the Chinese flag.

World leaders gathered to enjoy the spectacle, including United States President George W. Bush, who became the first U.S. president to attend an Olympics held in a foreign country.

The thrilling opening ceremonies were a great start for the Games. And the timing of the ceremony itself, which began at 8 p.m. on 8/8/08, is considered good luck in China, where eight is the luckiest number.

The opening ceremonies kicked off 17 days of Olympic events, stretching straight through to the closing ceremonies on August 24. More than 10,000 athletes from 205 countries are gearing up to compete at the top of their game.

Global warming

The sun is getting hotter. It is also incredibly old -- about 5000 million years old! One day it will blow up but that won't be for another 5000 million years or so. But the Earth's climate seems to be heating up much much faster than can be explained by the sun making more heat. Earth has warmed by about 1ºF over the past 100 years.

Global warming refers to an average increase in the Earth's temperature, which in turn causes changes in climate. A warmer Earth may lead to changes in rainfall patterns, a rise in sea level, and a wide range of impacts on plants, wildlife, and humans.

Almost all machines use oil, gas or coal. All of them produce pollution. Much of this is a gas you can't see called carbon dioxide. It's this gas which seems to be the main cause of the trouble.

What happens when you go into a greenhouse on a sunny day? It's hot, isn't it? That's because the glass in the greenhouse traps the heat from the sun. Carbon dioxide does the same in the earth's atmosphere. It acts like glass in a greenhouse. The glass in the greenhouse keeps the plants inside warm, and the carbon dioxide keeps the planet warm.

Here are some ways you can help make the planet a better place!

Save Electricity: Whenever we use electricity, we help put greenhouse gases into the air. By turning off lights, the television, and the computer when you are through with them, you can help a lot.

Bus or Walk: You can save energy by sometimes taking the bus or walking instead of using your car.

Talk to Your Family and Friends: Talk with your family and friends about climate change. Let them know what you've learned.

Plant Trees: Planting trees is fun and a great way to reduce greenhouse gases. Trees absorb carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, from the air.

Recycle: Recycle cans, bottles, plastic bags, and newspapers. When you recycle, you send less trash to the landfill and you help save natural resources, like trees, oil, and elements such as aluminum.

Save Animals

Mahatma Gandhi once told, "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."
Animals all over the world are in danger. Scientists say that in the next 15 years millions kinds of plants and animals will no longer exist. Animals like tiger,elephant, leopard, panda are killed by poachers. They are killed for their body parts like teeth,tusk, skin etc...Killing wild animals is wrong. We can save animals by

1. protect the forest
2. do not destroy their places of dwelling
3. discourage the use of things made out of animal body parts

Many countries have laws against killing wild animals. Organizations like WWF and PETA help us to protect and save our wild life. Friends, lets support these organizations and work towards saving our wild life.