Essay Writting Class 9
1. Union is Strength
One of Aesop’s Fables tells a story of an old man who was troubled because his sons were always quarrelling. He was afraid that the family would be quite broken up when he died. So one day he called his sons together, and showed them a bundle of sticks, and asked them to break them for him. They tried in turn, but though they were strong, all of them failed. Then he untied the bundle and told them to break each stick by itself. This they did easily. In this way he taught them that union is strength. If they held together as one family, they would be strong: but if they quarrelled and separated, they would be weak.
Take a football or hockey team. If the members of the team play together and help each other, they will form a strong team. But if they are split up into parties, when they play in a match some will play badly or lazily, because they are jealous of the others, and the team will lose the match.
The same is true in war. A large army, whose officers hate each other and do not work together, has been beaten by a smaller united army. That is why the great French general, Napoleon, used to say, “Divide and Conquer” He won some of his great victories by attacking one of his enemies when alone before the others could come up to help; or he would weaken a whole nation by dividing it up into quarrelling parties.
A united nation, a united family, a united society of any kind, is strong. United they stand, divided they fall. Their motto must be, “One heart, one way.”
2. The Taj Mahal
I shall never forget my first sight of the Taj Mahal, in Agra. I had heard much about its beauty, and had read of how the Mughal Emperor, Shah Jahan, to his great sorrow at the loss of his wife Mumtaz, and as a token of his great love for her had at enormous cost, built for her this wonderful and world-famous tomb. It is said that it took twenty years to build, and that twenty thousand men were employed at one time on the work So when my father took me with him on a visit to Agra, I was very happy, because I knew I would see wonderful building.
It was in the evening, just before the sunset, that I first saw it. We went into the beautiful peaceful garden, with its straight walks, tall dark cypress trees, smooth green lawns, beds of glowing flowers, and its flashing fountains, and there rose up before us this wonder of the world. It is all of white marble – a splendid white dome rising up in the midst, with four tall slender white marble minarets around it, one at each corner of the platform on which the great tomb stands At a little distance, the Taj Mahal looks small and delicate, like a fairy palace; but as we get nearer, we see how large and stately it really is. When we went up the marble steps, and stood close to it the dome seemed to soar high up into the blue sky and the clouds, now red and gold with sunset light.
It stands on the bank of the river Yamuna, the waters of which were all gold in the sunset and made the building look more beautiful than ever. We went inside and saw the marble tomb within, all decorated with precious stones, and the beautiful screens of carved marble that looked like delicate jeweller’s work in silver. And there we thought of the well-beloved queen whose body lies below and the great love of the king who had lavished his wealth in putting up this lovely memorial to her.
That evening I persuaded my father to take me again to see the Taj, and we saw it in the light of the full moon – a wonderful sight. It looked like a building of pearl or a palace made of silver; or, so bright and tender it might have been made of white clouds. The gleaming white marble, the black shadows, the dim light the silence, and the sweet scented gardens, all made it a sight never to be forgotten.
3. Advertising
Have a look at the newspaper and you will find a lot of space devoted to advertisements. Watch TV or use the Internet for a few minutes and you will see several things advertised. Advertising has become a great social and economic force.
Advertising is the life of trade. It is essential for a business to advertise their products. Even old, well-established firms keep on advertising. In these days of keen business competition, it is the firm that shouts the loudest that attracts attention and draws customers. So advertisements appear on hoardings and fill the newspapers. Many business companies spend large amounts of money for advertisements on the radio and TV by sponsoring plays, films, sporting events, etc. Some firms float colourful balloons carrying the name of the product they want to sell. Another common form of advertising is sampling. A food manufacturer may introduce a new brand by offering free samples in stores or through door-to-door agents.
The first use of advertising is that it brings in profits to traders. It is also of great use to the public. The mass of the public would be ignorant of even the existence of many good things unless they were advertised. People who need certain things can learn from advertisements where and how to get them. Advertisements save a lot of time and trouble by putting sellers in touch with buyers in a quick and simple way.
Some advertisements make journals available at low prices. The money paid by advertisers for inserting their advertisements forms the largest part of the publishers’ profits. Many small newspapers owe their existence to such income. Radio and television, too, are largely supported by advertising.
But advertising has its abuses. Advertising often persuades people to indulge in extravagance. What is more, many advertisements have a tendency to deceive the public by falsifying the quality of inferior articles. Consumers should guard themselves against such frauds and gross exaggerations.
While some advertisements introduce the public to useful scientific discoveries and teach hygiene, some others stir up senseless fears of disease and induce people to use worthless and often dangerous drugs. The medical profession has to issue warnings against widely advertised preparations for self-treatment without prescription.
To sum up, advertising is a very rewarding device to traders and would be equally beneficial to consumers if founded on ethical standards.