How far do you agree that courtesy begins at home?

In my opinion, courtesy should be practised wherever we go, regardless of whether it is in public or at home. I believe that courtesy not only begins at home, but also in school.

The people who have the most influence in our lives are our parents. They are the ones who have guided us since we were young. Have you ever wondered why our parents reprimand us when we behave badly in public? Courtesy is a very important value. If you are courteous, people will naturally have a good impression of you, especially when you go out to work. However, it is not as easy as it seems to be courteous. Sometimes, when we lose our temper, we tend to forget that our actions in public will affect us greatly. After a tiring day at school, we tend to forget what our parents have taught us since we were young.

Courtesy begins at home. I believe that your parents have taught you about being courteous. It is vital that we realise the importance of courtesy at a young age, then we will able to show it when we grow up. Home is the place where we spend the majority of our lives, and it should be where we start being courteous.

Courtesy also begins in school. Our teachers not only teach us about our subjects, but they also remind us about our values in life. I think that our moral values are the key to our success in life. That is why our teachers and principal has placed such great emphasis on character development. No matter how intelligent we are, our behaviour is the true reflection of who we are. In school, there is a conducive environment to study, and also to start being courteous. Besides showing courtesy to the school staff, we should also set a good example for our classmates by being courteous to them. I believe that the school will become a better place if everyone learns to be courteous.

Our behaviour in public has an impact on our school's reputation. If we are courteous in public, people will have a good opinion of the school, and will gladly send their children here to study for six years. However, if we do not uphold the reputation of the school, who will do it for us?

Village by the Sea - 10 years later (My version of what will happen!)

"How can I help you?" a grumpy-looking old man dressed in a neat, impeccable coat muttered from behind the counter. The provision shop reeked of cigarette smoke and the floor had a visible layer of dust. Huge towering shelves of goods for sale stood in a corner, reaching up all the way to the ceiling. Hari replied with a smile,"Sorry for interrupting. I'm just here to collect my tools." The old man reached for a bag hanging from the wall with some difficulty, and handed it over to Hari. "Goodbye! Have a nice day!" Hari thanked the old man before heading for the exit.

"Hey! Wait! Watchmender! Can you help me to repair my old watch? The hour hand seems to have stopped moving," the old man's voice stopped Hari in his tracks. "Don't worry too much. It should be fixed by tomorrow," Hari smiled as he received the watch from the old man's wrinkled fingers. As he left the store, he thought he heard the old man sigh,"I'm not getting any younger..."

The streets were bustling with people, the honking and screeching of vehicles filled the air. The dark, gloomy chimneys of the factories loomed in the distance, huge clouds of smoke billowing from them. "Fresh fruits for sale! Fresh from the farm! Come and buy now!" a grocer hollered at the top of his voice. Lila wondered,"I guess I should buy some fruits for Father before he comes home from work." A shout interrupted her train of thoughts. "Hey, Ma! Look! Isn't that Uncle Hari?" Lila's son, Najib, shouted in ecstasy as he tugged at his mother's sari. Lila put her fingers to her lips and signalled for him to keep quiet. As she searched the sea of faces, she caught sight of Hari. Hari looked back at her, and she waved. She hoped that he was not too exhausted from work, and business at the watch repair shop would be good. After buying some fruits, she made her way home, with Najib tagging along behind her.

Hari could not help but feel how time flies when he saw Lila with her son, Najib. After just a decade, she had started to have a family. Hari stopped to look at his own reflection in a shop window. He sighed,"Would the time come for me to get married?" As he continued on his journey back to his shop, a huge group of men in blue uniform brushed past him. He could tell immediately that they were workers from the factories. When he looked at their gleeful expressions as they drank the bottles of beer in their hands, he was reminded of the time when his father was still a drunkard. All those bitter memories made him grit his teeth. After he regained his composure, he checked to make sure the tools were still with him, and resumed his journey.

Lila was relieved when her house came into view. Najib was pestering her to let him play in the playground near their home. Although their house was only a small brick hut compared to the de Silva's bungalow, it was definitely more comfortable than living in the streets with all those beggars and filth. Soon, the high-rised buildings would be complete, and many people would come to Thul to stay. Lila felt a wave of nostalgia as she reminisced about the past. There had been many happenings in Thul. From a small, humble fishing village years ago, it had become an industrial estate and busy town. Furthermore, the people in Thul were proud of their little port. It was owned by Biju, who was the pride and joy of the town. However, Lila could not suppress her anger when she was reminded of the fact that the ships had to sail far out to sea in order to catch any fish at all. It was all because of those pollutant-releasing factories. What was the point of selling fertiliser when the factories poisoned their land and sea? However, no one could do anything now. It was too late. The rich land of crops and plants had long been replaced by the industrial estate. They were gone forever. Lila sighed.

As Hari entered his watchmending shop, he was surprised to see Sayyid waiting for him. "Is everything going well for you?" Sayyid asked. "Oh, yes. Father's doing well at work, Lila has a son," Hari beamed, but from out of the blue, a thought struck him,"But, Mother..." He tried to hold back his tears. He was reminded of that horrible night, when his mother died after being poisoned by the fish she ate.

"What has happened is already the past. Remember what I told you?" Sayyid said. Hari felt a weight life off his heart. He had to adapt. How he missed the old village of Thul, when birds still sang and flew freely in the sky...

Interview with my father on a book that he read when he was young

Q: What was the book that had a great impact on you when you were young?
A: The book on the Chinese hero-"Yue Fei".

Q: Why did it had a great impact on you?
A: Firstly, Yue Fei had a similar background as me. When he was young, he was very poor. When I was young, my parents worked very hard to support the family. It taught me many valuable life lessons.

Q: What did the book teach you?
A: It taught me that you must be obedient to your parents. They are the ones that will guide you to the correct path. My parents often taught me to have a good character and have integrity. In order to succeed in life, one must also have partners and people to guide them.

Q: Can you tell me more about the story?
A: In general, it is about a Chinese general, Yue Fei, who won countless battles for his country. He was loyal to his country as his mother had taught him to be patriotic from the time he was young. Unfortunately, he met with a sad ending. One of the emperor's closest subjects was secretly helping the enemy and sabotaged Yue Fei by making the emperor think that Yue Fei was a traitor. In the end, the emperor believed his subject and called for Yue Fei. Yue Fei did not retaliate even when he knew that his end was near. He was so loyal to his emperor and his country. Before his death, he wrote a song that deeply expresses his sorrow.

Q: How the lessons learnt from the book apply in real life?
A: It tells us that the world is not a place where kindness always begets kindness. However, we must still remember our values and not betray the trust of others.

Reflection on Village by the Sea

The story "Village by the Sea" by Anita Desai tells us of the problems faced in India through the point of view of two characters, Hari and Lila. The book is written in a way that lets us experience the Indian culture and their way of life, through the terms used in the story and the lives of the characters. I feel that the book is unique in a way, as it alternates between the points of view of Hari and Lila. It certainly has an effect on the reader, especially when Hari goes to the city of Bombay and Lila is in the village of Thul. By using two points of view of two different characters in two totally opposite places, the writer lets us get a better idea of the similarities and differences between city and village life.
One of the problems faced by mainly the villagers in India, is industrialisation. As the country progresses into a modern era, more factories will be built, so as to generate more income and jobs. However, even though factories have a positive impact on the economy, they will greatly affect the environment around them. Imagine if the government decides to build some factories on a piece of fertile, agricultural land, and the factories will contaminate the area and make it unfit for growing crops. How will the people who make a living there feel? That was what happened to the villagers of Thul. The government took their land without officially buying it, and wasted their rich land. Firstly, the villagers who depend on agriculture for a living will have no source of income. Besides wasting the rich land, the fertiliser factories will also pollute the air and the sea around it. As we all know, factories will release harmful pollutants into the air. Waste and chemicals will also be dumped into water bodies around them. Not only does this make the air unhealthy to breathe in, it will also poison the marine creatures in the sea. Think of what will happen when someone just happens to eat the poisoned fish! Furthermore, Thul is a fishing village. How can the fishermen there earn more income if they have to travel so far out to fish? Their families will certainly be affected. Unlike the people living in the city, the lives of the villagers greatly depend on the environment around them. As a result, it is unwise of the government to choose such a location to build fertiliser factories.
Another issue faced by India is urbanisation. I would not say that it is a problem, but there are definitely pros and cons to urbanisation. The advantages are that the country will be more economically competitive compared to other not so developed countries. It will also have more advanced technology and will be more capable in managing their resources. In addition, when the country is very developed, they will be very effective in defending themselves. When more people live in cities or high-rised apartments, there will be more space for other development. More investors will want to invest in the country and more tourists will want to go to the country, because of these factors. What about the cons of urbanisation? The air quality of the area will certainly be affected, because of the smoke from the exhaust of vehicles and the pollutants from the factories. This may in turn affect the health of the people living in the cities. The environment of the country may also be affected by the country's development.
At the start of the story, the readers are given the impression that Hari and Lila's family is a dysfunctional family, with a drunkard for a father and a critically ill mother. As a result, Hari and Lila have to take on the responsibilities of adults at a young age, by supporting the family and taking care of their two younger sisters. In my opinion, their father was a very irresponsible man, and failed to be a good father to the children. When their mother was ill, instead of saving up to pay for her medical bills, he went out and squandered money on toddy, which was a form of alcohol. Hari fears his father, actually, he dreads him, to the point where he once hoped that he would die. Lila is frightened of him whenever he is at home. It is evident that the children were not close to their father. However, as Hari goes to Bombay, things start to take a turn for the better. Hari gets the help of some benefactors and manages to earn some money and even picks up watchmending skills. Lila supports the family by working for the de Silvas, who were kind enough to help her send her mother to the hospital. At the end of the story, I felt that Hari and Lila's father was not actually a bad man. He showed concern for his wife when she was in hospital and was willing to turn over a new leaf. When Hari is reunited with his family in Thul, he realises that many things are going to change in the village. The factories are going to be built and new roads made. I wonder what will happen to Thul in a few decades?