A Brief Truth Behind Alice In Wonderland

All of us know the tale of Alice in Wonderland, penned by Lewis Carroll; the story is a classic story that has been retold for generations. But what lies behind the story of the damsel who tumbles down the rabbit hole and has a astounding adventure.

Alice is a young maiden who is struggling with puberty due to together for the scrutiny of growing into a young contentious grownup. Throughout the tale deb grows from an undeveloped kid into a sensible young woman, showing the reader that rules are essential to a civil grownup life and if rules are ignored, there will likely be tyranny.

In the story Alice follows the White Rabbit, who plays an important part as a sort of guide in this story, reappearing to move things along when required, giving the story a bit more of a flow. Though overly aware of the time, he is too anxious about himself to truly guide someone.

The major plot of the story is the battle involving Alice and the Queen of Hearts. Alice and the Queen are on opposite sides of adulthood that is represented with the colour red, and can be linked directly to menstrual blood and thus fertility. Alice is just becoming an grownup whereas the Queen is growing past it, but within a sense the Queen is just an over grown kid that opposes Alice ' s adolescent development.

Alice in Wonderland really is a good representation of a coming of age story and the hidden morals educate the reader fundamental lessons about growing up and turning into an adult. The story also provides excellent fancy dress ideas.

Alice in Wonderland fancy dress is very well - known in contemporary culture & really is a excellent theme for parties and events. Alice in Wonderland costumes are many of the best sellers at most fancy dress companies as they can be very fashionable, particularly for the younger generation.

BOOK REVIEW ( My Experiments with Truth by Mahatma Gandhi )

Gandhi, M. K., ( Tr. ) Mahadev Desai, ( 1977 ), An Saga, or the Story of My Experiments with Truth ( Navajivan Publishing Den, Ahmadabad, 1927; 454 pages. Price Rs. 30 ).

- The Story of My Experiments with Truth ' though not a massive but an attractive volume, written by man of the millennium Mahatma Gandhi single at the insistence of his friends. It has five above parts and each part with certain chapters enlightening chronologically on his life ' s experiences in one way or the other. The first part with twenty five small chapters, mainly deals with Gandhi ' s birth, lineage, youthfulness, wedding, picture, youthfulness pleasantry ' s and mistakes, his truth consciousness, his studies in England and suffering over there, etc,. The book is attractive in look and is moderately of a cheaper cost. The translator of the book, Mahadev Desai writes in the introduction that first edition of the book was published in 1927 for the first time. Due to for the interval, it is most suitable thanks to the entire book revolves round Gandhi ' s encounters with life ' s different experiences both candied and bitter and the phrase itself speaks a lot about the book. One of the senior keynote and eye catcher in the book is supposition of truth and his experiments with it, which justifies the interval to a greater extent he discusses his conception of truth through out the book but his using it in the interval connotes the message of sovereign, supreme and absolute. He seems to be the desperate searcher of truth because he says, - I am prepared to yielding the things dearest to me in pursuit of this quest - ( selected works of Mahatma Gandhi, vol. 6, page 95 ) and at the equivalent time he argues about the absolute and relative truth, which speaks of his intellectual vision and a worth learning difference for the students, he argues, - but thanks to long now I have not realized this absolute truth so long requisite I authority by the relative truth in that I have conceived it - ( ibid. p - 95 ) due to for him absolute truth is truth - due to it is ' and relative truth is being it appears to us. The allurement of the whole book lies in the simplicity of its writing which is hushed simple, spontaneous and natural and no use of big jargons and phrases. Gandhi believes that his modus of sensation of truth is seen and to me he is ethical through he tastes every perspicacity both bitter and delicious, which tells the instructor the tale of his suffering and amusements over whole. His experiments with truth are mucho and are part of his pains to take in truth. The idea of experiment with truth primarily means the way one follows truth and lives in it. Living in truth means abiding by the principle of truth in thought, action. Especially dealing with the chapters of part first, one perceives that it is not a literally piece and not an attempt even to make it so but a simple narration of life ' s events and sometimes more than narration it turns more of a confession, where in Gandhi express remorse over the lapses committed in the past but the beauty of the book lies in his narration of even awkward activities just to speak truth shamelessly. While reading the chapters, the reader feels that each chapter of the book is his life ' s reflection and an important learning lesson for Gandhi. As Gandhi himself insisted, - this book is not in the strict sense an autobiography. It is a selective record of experiments with truth, involving vegetarianism, celibacy, non - violence, and many other things. For him mere mental adherence to truth is not enough, because it has to be translated into action. The idea of truth in mind must be translated into action by making actions follow truth. For Gandhi, thought, action and speech make one unity since one is involved in the other. Therefore what is true in thought must be true in action and speech. Gandhi ' s idea of truth is free from any theological connotation because, though he calls truth God he does not intend to keep truth within the domain of religion alone. For Gandhi, truth transcends the rigid framework of all religions and therefore cannot be appropriated by any religion for that matter. Truth is the foundation of all religions and so cannot be part of any religion. He simply says about the period from his birth ( 1869 ) up to 1921. He remembers her religious mother, he remembers his books which used to be his lone companions in school, he remembers his loving father and he recounts of his child marriage at the age to 13 to Kasturba. He argues of his being suspicious and strict to her and simultaneously talks of her rebellion. He talks of being a child stubborn husband so indifferent to his wife, he remembers his friends who even took him to brothel, and he remembers his sub missive nature. He discusses all his sufferings and even bad habits and above all he talks of his truth consciousness naturally inherent in him. He feels a great pain when he was convicted of lying for missing his gymnastic class, though he spokes the truth. He argues that a man of truth must also be a man of care ( page21 ). He did not copy the question even when instructed to do so by his teacher, which speaks of his honest and truthful nature right from the childhood. In the chapter, stealing the atonement Gandhi has wrote some heart rending lives which really a prophetic soul can do only and a believe that is why he control only turn to the status of Mahatma. He writes, - I stole a bit of gold out of my meat eating brother ' s arm let -. Later he wrote, I resolved never to steal again, I also make up my mind to confess it to my father. I was afraid of the pain I should cause him. I handed a confession letter to my father - -.. He read it through and pearl drops trickled down his checks wetting the paper. He closed his eyes and then tore the note -. From a dismayed recounting, he quickly jumps to another humorous but true anecdote, in the lesson, IN a Tragedy ( Contd... ). He writes, he had a bad night after he had goat ' s meat for the first time He writes, - As every time I dropped off to sleep it would seem as though a line goat were bleating inside me. - ( p. 31 ). Here every line is a serious story about of a man who no doubt started as a common man but surely was carrying the charismatic genes with him, he steals but feels bad, he wants to reveal it but could not, not because of fear but not to hurt his father, he still confesses and is ready for punishment, his father understand the child ' s pain from with in he cries and Gandhi cries too. He realizes from this real experiment - the power of the Ahimsa ( principle of non - violence ) is a tool of transformation very beautifully by citing the example of his act of stealing and then confessing before his father and the scene created and then he argues that when Ahimsa becomes all embracing, it transforms every thing it touches and there is no limit to its power ( page 39 ) -. It seems that Gandhi to the best of his writing capacity has tried to explain himself and also wishes readers to follow his footsteps. He goes serially in discussing his issues of life covering every area like even discussing his hatred for gymnastics, discussing religions, his company of friends, etc, which gives a elder message that while writing he does not want to employ artificiality of events and arrangements of words but writes things as they had happened, he hardly cares to be admired as a prolific writer but as an ardent propounder of truth which is reflecting from his every word. Also he writes in such a style which transcends a certain time period, like he recounts his days in England when he used to miss his mother and family and his home with trickling tears but hardly shows any concern for his wife. Also the book cannot be described as the lessons of truth only but what he writes about his effort for its search and also truthfully what he found there. The beauty of the book is that despite being an autobiography, serially arranged, well connected and being composed of many chapters but each of the chapter can be even read and understood individually. He has amply thrown light upon religion, political involvement, education, languages, justice, law, etc, but over emphasized his marital relations and food habits. But had not concealed his life events, even in the least bit. He does not care about the temperaments and understanding of his diverse readers but simply writes, whether one nodes in yes or no. He even discusses his lustful nature and lusty love for his wife, in the chapter the - Double Shame ', he openly discusses his lust as the reason for not being at his dying fathers bed what he calls his shame for which he can be criticized as such a language does not suit a Mahatma. But simultaneously see his quest for truth, he is ready to invite dishonor, shame and hatred of all but to him Truth is must what he calls as absolute as God and what he treats everything and argues that truth should prevail even if everything perishes. He remembers his going to England in 1887 and promises his mother that he will strictly abstain from women and meat He says of his travel to South Africa in 1893, the major portion of which he omits; perhaps he thinks readers already aware of that entire episode, as his life later never remained his personal one. Moreover, his vision and concept of Satyagrah is enlightening and during the Boer war, he organized an ambiance corps for the British unit and commanded and Red Cross Unit and then went for his campaign of Indian rights which speak of his philanthropy and activism. Returning India and then back, he found that besides fighting British Colonialism we need to fight against untouchability, poverty and class system, which speaks of his concern for oppressed people. One of the most important features of the book is that it gives a good picture of India the then. His meeting eminent personalities like Gokhale, Tilak, Nehru, Ray, and Vallabhbhai, to show us his credibility and how India was full of active leaders. He describes his life as a series of events performed on truth, non violence, Brahmacharya, Ahimsa, etc, Last but not the least, one gets the idea that he began with truth, lived with truth, acted through truth and lived for truth. The book is a worth read and must be gone through by the students especially to broaden the horizons as it brings the inspiration and encouragement of Gandhi ' s example to a still wider circle of his admirers. Over all the work is a master piece which introduces a different Gandhi to people and lets know him as a child, as a youth, as an activist, his suffering for truth, principles for life like ahimsa and celibacy and finally as a legend though he bores with endless words on vegetarianism, marital phenomenon, etc,.

( Adfar Shah is a Doctoral Candidate of Sociology at Faculty of Social Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia - Central University, New Delhi. Reach at adfer. )

Filtering Through Celebrity Gossip Lies And Truth

Everyday new celebrity gossip stories hit the front pages of the entertainment sites but how does one separate the truth from fiction? Of the popular news media outlets some of the more received like People Magazine, nurse to be more reliable sources, confirming stories whereas much over possible before publishing. This tends to make these outlets trusted sources but at the twin time much slow to come out with controversial news that ' s harder to confirm and that might generate fallout. Consequent all if a story reflects ill on a celebrity, they and their reps are not likely to confirm and may in actuality blatantly deny until totally cornered. They may further be reluctant to co - operate with that media outlet in the booked.

There are again multifarious media outlets that are more gallant and will go forward with publishing a story pulchritudinous gladly if they believe it ' s based on truth, aligned if the gossip is based on circumstantial evidence. These types of stories wish the most detective work to weigh the validity of the story. New couple alerts are a good example. Celebrities are often spotted ' looking cozy ' together all the time. Sometimes these types of stories have some supporting photo evidence, other times it ' s based on hearsay third party witnesses. Many times these stories are just planted by reps. and the celebrities themselves for publicity purposes. Jennifer Aniston is forever being linked to every leading man she works with, especially since her splitting from Brad Pitt. Fans want to see Jen find love again and tabloids are anxious to deliver to sell magazines. Two thirds of those stories or more are false of course. When Jen was initially linked with John Mayer, frankly I was skeptical. The funny / sad thing was, when Jen broke up with Mayer, she was immediately linked with another hot new guy. This rumor which should have made anyone highly skeptical soon proved to be false but that ' s the nature of this business. Without going into a whole manifesto here, another type of story example that ' s usually hard to get confirmation on is celebrities stricken with health issues. It was ' The National Enquirer ' that broke the news on the Patrick Swayze cancer story, which was confirmed by his rep. after the actor was ' outed '. Meanwhile stories like, Paul Newman ' s alleged battle with cancer has never been officially confirmed.

Many gossip news outlets fall into a third category. Seemingly under the gun to crank out new articles, they throw in a few ' trash gossip ' stories in the mix of each publication. Most of these fiction based stories are not malicous, and based on some shred of truth, that I call ' progression stories '. A celebrity dating the same person for a while, is reported to be, breaking up, cheating or planning their wedding. A celebrity known to drink, is going to rehab. A celebrity is photographed with a new ring, there engaged. A couple weeks before Jennifer Aniston split up with John Mayer she appeared on two magazine covers on the same week. One reporting she was planning her wedding, the second saying she was already making plans to have a baby.

My biggest pet peeves in the truth and lies game is twofold:

Media outlets and websites that deliberately publish malicious ' false stories ' for the sake of publicity. Many of these stories capitalizing on celebrities misfortunes and are attention grabbing but often based on nothing more then conjecture or just imagination. A recent trash story, that had my blood boiling, claimed that Christina Applegate was going to put off treatment for breast cancer so she could have a baby! The tabloid picked up on the fact that: ' Christina told an interviewer that she didn ' t want to wait until her mid - forties to have a baby, and that her biological clock was ticking. ' We learned 5 days later that Christina Applegate had already had a double mastectomy performed to remove the cancer.

Likewise media outlets that turn their back on certain types of stories because they don ' t want to get their hands dirty or offend their audience. Recently the NY Post ' s famous Page Six published under their ' blind items ':

' Which hunk in a summer movie is a violent, closeted homosexual? The heartthrob snuck into his ex ' s apartment a few months ago and raped him so violently, the ex ended up in the hospital - and the actor paid him $500, 000 to keep his mouth shut. '

Well I guess you can see why they might be a bit reluctant to name, names. It ' s not unusual for one of these blind items, which are posted frequently to eventually be reported with names by more daring publishers.

Media Sensation Versus The Truth The Case Of Vladimir Kokorev.

Malcolm Endearment once vocal The medias the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and thats power. Years later the arranging of the media may have taken a financial battering, but in terms of its power and distance it is arguably stronger than ever, with an unprecedented power to shape the reputations of mortals and companies with one single story.

Term there are lousy with examples of important journalism throughout the world, there has and been a worrying trend in the fleshing out of weak researched sensational stories. Although for the neutral orator these stories may be a construction of entertainment, it is easy to play past how much damage they can originate to people, families and businesses.

The case of Vladimir Kokorev is a good case - in - point of one compatible story. In 2009 the Spanish media reported that the Russian academic, PhD and valued businessman has been at fault for stealing $26 million from the bridle of Equatorial Guinea.

It sequential emerged that the story was completely sophistical, and around 15 libel trial were brought inveigh various publications. However, by then the damage had been done and the reputation of one of the worlds leading African academics with a career spanning over 35 years: had been tarnished by a story that was entirely untrue.

To understand why this particular story was run by the media in the first place it is worth considering the Kalunga Case.

The Kalunga case was launched by a Spanish NGO Pro Derechos Humanos, an organisation linked to the Guinean opposition residing in Spain and involved in several attempts of military coup against the current government of Equatiorial Guinea the latest, taking place in 2004 in which the mercenary Simon Mann was arrested. The case is directed against several members of the government of Ecquatorial Guinea and their families, and claims that the President of Equatorial Guinea ( Teodoro Obiang ) owned a company called Kalunga, which he had transferred millions of dollars into so he could buy a beach apartment in the Canary Islands of 90 square metres. When it emerged that in fact Kalunga did not belong to Obiang, but to Russian businessman Vladimir Kokorev, there was a media frenzy.

According to the reports Vladimir Kokorev had both stolen 26. 4 million from Equitorial Guinea and at the same time was helping the President buy his luxury apartment ( in reference to 90m2 property mentioned before ) on the Canary Islands where Kalunga had a current account.

What is fascinating about this case is that the media failed to do any research into the Kalunga company itself. Had have done so, not only would they have discovered that it was a highly reputable shipbuilding and repair company, but that it had several contracts with the government of Equitorial Guinea and several private companies operating in Equatorial Guinea. The company had about 250 employees and was responsible for building, repairing and administration of at least 5 mercantile vessels operating in the Gulf of Guinea till today.

Indeed it was the money from these contracts that had been paid into the Kalunga accounts not money intended to buy lavish properties for the President.

With this in mind, the so - called Kalunga case has not been even admitted by the Spanish courts so far, nor was Vladimir Kokorev summoned by the judge even to testify in this case.

When these facts came to light, there was an immediate outpouring of anger and resentment towards the Spanish media in Russian press for attacking a man who has contributed both to the academic circles related to Africa having written numerous books and articles during the Soviet times, some of which are still used as teaching material and to the establishing of businesses in Africa itself no small feat considering all existing entry barriers.

For instance, Russian newspaper Pravda on 29 September 2009 asks the following questions in its article Have the Russians Stolen Guinean Money?: Why did the Spanish newspapers assume that Kalunga was phantom company, without offering any evidence? Why they have decided to launch news in 2009 on an investigation which has taken place in 2005? Is this related to the fact that the presidential elections were to be celebrated in Guinea in November of the same year?

Russian newspaper Rodnaya Gaeta on 16th November 2009 released an article titled A Victim of Spanish - African Conflict. The article details the respectable Russian businessman who deals in sea freight and how he was the victim of a vicious attack by Spanish press.

Russian broadsheet newspaper Parliamentary Gazette released an article titled The Spanish people are missing their colonies and offended by the Kokorevs dated 4thth December 2009. The article detailed how Kokorev recently appeared in court in a bid to protect his honour and dignity after being accused of being a swindler by Spanish papers.

Russian newspaper Nyeeavisimaya published a story about Vladimir Kokorev titled It is necessary to pay more; why a number of mass - media chase cheap sensations dated 14th April 2010 - the article details the courts being filled by 499 judicial claims relating to honour and dignity protection, highlighting the need for higher journalistic standards.

Several more Russian newspapers also leapt to Kokorevs defense. These included the Russian Daily newspaper Novye Izvyestiya ( Businessman Vladimir Kokorev has legal proceeding with Spanish and Russian mass - media on 14th April 2010 ). Broadsheet newspaper Parliamentary Gazette also published an article on 25th December 2009 - The former president of the government of Spain against the businessman from Russia.

All the above articles vigorously defend Kokorevs position and also questioned why the story was run in the first place.

In recent months the first case of libel has been settled with the court ruling in favour of Kokorev going some way to setting the record straight. Nevertheless the case highlights the need for editors, reporters and writers to constantly engage in the highest journalistic standards and fully research stories before going to press.

It is when these principles are observed that journalism is at its best and is a major force for good in the world. However, when the basics are overlooked its easy, in the words of Malcolm X, to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent.