India – A Country With Unity in Diversity
India is a beautiful country with a glorious heritage and rich custom. The country with unity in diversity embraces variety of cultures, traditions, customs, and languages. Different religion of people live here but all are undoubtedly united by one sole feeling of ‘being an Indian’.
The diversity is clearly reflected in variety of traditions being followed in India. There are Gujaratis, Brahmans, Marwaris, Bengalis, South Indians, Muslins, and even Christians. All these religion have their distinctive languages, beliefs, values, cultures, festivals, dances, music, art, and even clothing.
Festivals in India are extremely bright and colorful. Though all religions celebrate their own festivals but the motherland shines on all the celebrative days irrespective of which festival belongs to which religion. Hindus are in majority here and they have numerous festivals including the Diwali, Holi, Raksha Bandhan, Ganesh Chaturthi, and Ram Navami. All these festivals don’t have any fixed dates as Hinduism follows the lunar calendar. The there are Muslims who celebrate Eid-ul-Fitar and Eid-ul-Adah with great cheer and fun. Christians celebrate Christmas, Jainis celebrate Mahavir Jayanti, and Sikhs celebrate Guru Govind Sing’s Birthday. Apart from these there are other festivals also that are listed in the Indian calendar. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: distinctive languages, ganesh chaturthi, mahavir jayanti, south indians, unity in diversityEnglish Class vs Language Arts in Education
Most schools do not put enough emphasis on the arts, namely, for example – the art of language. In an English class the teacher will focus on reading skills, reading comprehension, grammar and vocabulary – but the arts of language is the recognition of the written word as an art form.
Yes, we want our students to study and master the English language. However, the fine arts should be reserved as another kind of lesson, preferably in a creative writing class is independent of the English class. However, each English class, if there is no specific language arts class required, should include at least one unit that focuses on the beauty and importance of the literary achievements of all time. Poetry, drama, song lyrics, screenplays, novels, by authors such as Shakespeare, Dylan Thomas, Ken Kesey, Harper Lee, etc.
Language consists of words – words have a specific meaning, and sometimes have a double meaning. Therefore, the main tool of language is, another is the sound. The words are, in combination with an almost musical goal, you can show the transformation of words and basic communication in art. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: blank canvas, ken kesey, language arts class, musical goal, works of william shakespeareBlues Guitars – History of blues music in the United States and why it is important
The blues became popular in the United States during 1900. Guitar, piano and harmonica are the basic tools of blues. Blues had started with all kinds of instrumental music, singing but later also played a key role in most blues songs. This music originated mainly by African-American community in the southern United States. The origin of the style is also closely related to the religious music of the Afro-American. The original blues songs were performed by slaves and poor whites, mainly pain and transportation challenge. Later, the style developed in various forms as the country and played a big role in the development of rock and roll.
This style of music has the name “Blues” in 1925. The name “The Blues”, meaning the sadness came from the farce “Blue Devil” by George Coleman. The “Dallas Blues” was the song given by Hart Wand was tested and became the first composition copyright blues. The blues can be subdivided style ranging from country to urban blues. Delta, Piedmont, Jump and Chicago blues styles are the most popular form of blues music. The style fell out of the electric blues sound and in 1970 a new form called Blues-rock came
In 1900 the music became a more group performances of individual styles. Some common features are maintained in all forms of blues music. But things like call and response shouts were present long before the creation of the modern blues. From a vocal music of the slaves, the blues developed for a wide variety of styles in the United States. However, specifically African-American music can be identified as the ancestor of the blues. The recorded music of the blues can be found from as far back as 1920. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: african american music, blues guitars, chicago blues styles, george coleman, history of blues music