5 Original activities to do during quarantine

Covid 19 is something that the world has never expected to happen. Nobody was prepared for it. Thankfully most of the people are maintaining the lockdown but are getting bored at home. But this lockdown, one can use this time in different ways. One can really make it useful and productive.

During this quarantine period one can get back to his/her old photo albums. Memories are precious and they are a big part of a person’s life. In this busy and competitive world we hardly get time to get back to our memories. Now it is a golden opportunity to do that. One can browse through their memories ,cherish the time, and relive the moments.

Then people can also get back to their old hobbies like painting stitching, reading,writing etc. It is said that books are a person’s best friend. Those who have always been only engaged with their academic books for most of the time, can pick up their favourite genres and enjoy some quality time with short stories horror stories, novels etc.. Stitching is a fantastic hoby because it not only makes one happy but it also becomes productive when one makes something useful with it for daily life usage.There are different courses which are found online for free.. So one can actually cultivate and sharpen his/her potentials by learning new couses. Cooking is another best thing to do.

Gardening is another hobby that one can practice. In Wordsworth’s words ‘nature heals’. During quarantine it is very important that one takes very good care of his/her mental health. Moreover one might feel depressed and anxious due to the lockdown but then nature can help to maintain mental peace.By coming close to nature one can feel relaxed and rejuvenated. Different colours and the greenery contribute to keep a person healthy and mentally fit.. Even the psychologists recommend this to the patients who suffer from anxiety and stress due to this current situation.

There are also people who had started working at a very young age due to financial problems but always wanted to be writers so they can start writing now. They can pen down their emotions and feelings on a sheet of paper and achieve what they have always desired.. Many pandamics have given rise to exceptionally talented writers so one must go ahead and fulfill his/her dearms once they are given this unsaid opportunity.

Just like nature, music therapy is another good thing to pursue. There are different online apps that are now available and many people who always have the desire to learn something new can actually utilize this occasion to learn the instrument or music or dance.
When it comes to cleaning most of the people hardly get time to clean their houses all by themselves. During this quarantine period one can actually get more familiar with their house by cleaning them and making then a better place to live it. It is often said in spiritual books that ‘when you clean something you actually clean your soul’Acknowledging this fact one can actually clean something and feel relaxed.This quarantine period,one can also keep some precious time for oneself.Me time is also very crutical for every individual.

Meditation is the best way to calm down and remain healthy.. In this world and life which keeps providing stess, one can actually relax by meditating.It increases concentration and makes a person more productive and energetic.Meditation ensures good mental and physical health and helps to reestore the lost energy.

To conclude we are currently in a state that has not happened in the recent past and that will not probably happen again. So everyone must utilize it in a positive way and create a vision that can lead ourselves and the nation to a better tomorrow.

As when the students from all over the country are getting notices regarding the tentative dates of examinations supposed to be held in July from their respective universities. Students are in hypertension and are worried due to conduction of exams in this unrest situation caused by COVID-19 pandemic .

HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal states that ” Universities to conduct final year exams, 1st and 2nd year students will be promoted based on the internal marks .”
So the final year students from all over the country are now in chaos and anxiety for the exams supposed to be conducted in July.

Students have shown lack of faith in government and examination authorities over the issue invoking health reasons due to pandemic. And that’s why students started this #StudentLivesMatter campaign on twitter and on other social media platforms taking hue from #BlackLivesMatter.

#StudentLivesMatter became the top trending hashtag on twitter on Sunday. It was received and retweeted by more than 104,000 users.

Various national and state universities decided to take online exams . But students are pointing that they all had to unexcepedtly leave the hostels in March due to COVID-19 and so they lack proper study material . And also some students belong to rural areas where they face network issues so it’s genuinely going to be difficult for them to give exams.

Students are demanding that all students should be promoted on the basis of their internal and previous semester/year marks akin to intermediate university/college students.
Amity University had already taken a notable step and cancelled its all exams.

As some Universities declared tentative dates related to conduction of offline exams , students are putting several questions on social media that what if one student will be found infected and from him/her virus can spread to many other students then who will take the responsibility of students lives and what if students get infected during their travel from their respective home cities to colleges.

Since corona virus cases are increasing day by day and when currently in India there are more than 2 lakh patients are tested positive . So is it necessary to conduct exams on putting students lives on stake ? Is taking exams more important than the life of students ( those students who are considered as future of any nation ) ?

Two weeks after Israel fully reopened schools , a COVID-19 outbreak swept throughout the classrooms which lead to 130 cases at a single school , due to which officials had to close dozens of schools where students and staff were infected.
Recently , 3 departments of Utkal University sealed after employee’s contact test positive for COVID-19.
Both UG and PG students from all over the country are putting their efforts through #StudentLivesMatter campaign so that their voices should be heard and government and educational institutions will take such decisions which will be in the benefit for all.

The object which always helps you see your good side is your mirror. Therefore it must be made in such a way that before entering that area your mind automatically turns your mood from stress, tiredness to a happy mind, for that i came up with solution for your every question. The interior design for the wash basin is made in such a way that one will never think of letting it remain dirty like we do with other common wash basin. This basin is set up in such a way that it only not only just be remained as a place for washing your face and hands rather on the other hand it will be acting as a part of your daily routine because our team has done some major changes while seeing towards modernization as we choose some add up of wood to which people think that it’s not good because regular dropping of water will decrease its life but the wood we use is waterproof and keeps the shine remains as it was on the first day of fitting. The compartments were also made so as to hide the ugliness of the pipes that shows up in old times and used for keeping extra substance rather than keeping them on the surface. The major role is played by any object then that object is the proper lighting of the room which is known to be game changer because if the correct is lighting is done then it will make it look more lavish and luxurious, therefore a bright and calm light is use widely in this area rather than any part of the whole building. I also suggest the perception of keeping the greenery around that area because it is said that people spend more time in front of mirror rather talking to someone therefore it is important to keep that area fresh. So that is why small plants are used. Then another role is played by the floor because that is the area which used to be slippery then any part of house therefore the tiles used here is non-slippery and shiny so that the light must reflects in every direction when its falls on the floor. Then the next change that should be done is based on the wall colouring because everyone doesn’t choose wood, some only wants keep the walls filled with different colours therefore the colour used here are of high quality which must reflects every corner of that area and increases its lavishness because if we kept the wall simple then the walls will not be according to every fabulous touch given to the room. Therefore for every room colour is must, because colours speaks what kind of person you are and in which environment you live because this can only get done by us for you and makes you a better place for living. “The choice is yours that if you want to live the modern life or to remain in the present situation.”

English literature refers to all the works that are written in English language.Literature of a country actually depicts the social,economic and political background of that country and gives the vivid idea of the changes that take place over the years. .Starting from short stories or novellas to novels and dramas,English literature is considered to be vast and huge and at times a bit tough to grasp.In order to understand English language and literature one has to study it deeply by reading its history,different English writers and their work.
Studying English language and literature does not simply mean reading English writers. While studying English language and literature we see that there are different periods and these periods show different ages through which English literature has evolved. These periods give profound information about the background of English literature and how it has changed. The different periods are given below along with their years:-
450-1066 – Old English [also known as Anglo Saxon Period]
1066-1500 – Middle English Period
1500-1600 -The Renaissance
1558-1603 -Elizabethan Age
1603-1625- Jacobean Age
1625-1660-Commonwealth Period
1660-1785- The Neo classical Period
1660-1700-The Restoration
1700-1745-The Augustan Age[Age of Pope]
1745-1785-The Age of Sensibility [Age of Johnson]
1785-1830-The Romantic age
1832-1901-The Victorian Period
1848-1860-The Pre Raphaelites
1880-1901-Aesthetism
1901-1914 -The Edwardian Period
1910-1936-The Georgian Period
1914- The Modern age
1945-Post Modernism
Now,the English writers were born in these periods and they have written mesmerizing masterpieces that has contribited to make English literature what it is today.The different periods along with the writers that were born in that age along with their famous writings are discussed in a nut shell.
During the Anglo Saxon Period, the Norman Conquest took place in 1066 and after the Romans left in 410,the British population became open to the inroads of the invaders from the north. Many of the poems of this age have the features which are associated with the pagan past, namely Widsith and Beowulf. Among all the Old English poets we find the direct mention of Caedmon. The name of another poet is Cynewulf. We get to know about him because he had signed his poems in runic letters at the end of four poems. Many of the prose and poetry have been translated from Latin. The works for translation were the books of Bible., the lives of the saints and many works of practical nature. Regarding the manuscripts, only a portion has survided. The theme of the poem Beowulf is Continental German.’Widsith’ is considered to be the oldest poem in English language which consists of 150 lines of verse. In the poem a traveller, considered to be more imaginary than real recounts the places and the illustrious people that he had visited. From the historical point of view the poem is very important. ‘Waldere’ consists of two fragments and is of sixty lines and talks about some of the exploits of Aquintaine. Again ‘The Battle of Maldon ‘describes the battle that took place in 993 and’ ‘The Battle of Brunanburh’ is a piece based on the war of 937. Then there are some elegies like ‘The Wanderer’, ‘The Seafarer’, ‘The Wife’s Lament’and ‘The husband’s Message’ that are found in the Exeter Book.
The Middle English Period is considered to be the period of transition and of experiment. And most of the surviving works are poetry. Poetry of Middle English can be classified unto three groups:-
(1) Chronicles-
(a) Layamon’s Brut-It was written in 1205 by Layamon and it has sixteen thousand alternative lines about the history of Britain from the landing of Brute to the death of Cadwallader.
(b) Robert of Gloucester-He is known for his rhyming chronicle.
(2) Religious and Didactic poetry-‘The Ormulum’ was witten by Orm in 1200,of enormous length(ten thousand lines even incomplete) It was written in North East Midlands dialect.
(3)”The owl and the Nightingale’ is propably written in the eary part of the 13 th century.
The alliterative poems include ‘Pearl’,Purity’, ‘Patience’. Moreover there are numerous romances concered loosely or closely with King Arthur-‘Arthur and Merlin’, ‘Morte d Arthur’, The matter of Rome, ‘Matter of France’
One of the famous writers of this period is Chaucer. He was born in 1340 in London. His literary career was divided into 3 periods-French, Italian and English.One of his most famous works is ‘Canterbury Tales’
Beast epics were also found during this age like ‘The fox and the Woolf’,Chaucer’s’The Nun Priest’s Tale”.Pier’s the Plowman’ is an allegorical poem written in old alliterative meter in the later part of 14 th century. The author is taken to be William Langland.
The Renaissance was started in Italy specially in art and architecture. Renaissance signified the adoption of humanist philosophy.It was the beginning of the modern world in the areas of geography ,science, religion, politics, society and art. London became the capital city of England. New literary genres such as essay(Montaigue), new metrical forms such as sonnets (Petriarch) and Spenserian stanza actually made their appearance. The dominant art forms of the English Renaissance were literature and music.
Spenser is considered to be one of the finest writes of Elizabethan age. ‘The Shepherd’s Calender’ was published in 1579 and this had marked his formal entry as a new poet. He is considered to be the first modern poet to exploit true poetic resources of English language. Again John Donne belonged to the school of Metaphysical poets.. He was born in 1573 in London. He had written satires like ‘Of the Progress of the Soul’.’Songs and Sonnets’is Donne’s love poem. His poems are extremely personal and reveal a complex being for example ‘Extasie’, He had written 19 holy sonnets and his prose include ‘Sermons’, ‘The Pseudo Martyr”During the Elizabethan Age we also find some poets who were called The University Wits. This group consisted of writers like Christopher Marlowe whose works include ‘Dr. Faustus’, ‘Jew of Malta’, ‘Tanburlaine the Great’., Thomas Nash whose only surviving play is ‘Summer’s Last Will’ and the Testament’. Another work is ‘The Unfortunate Traveller’, Thomas Lodge who collaborated with Shakespeare in ‘Henry 4’, Robert Greene, George Peele who used to write in blank verse and Thomas kyd whose most famous work is ‘Spanish Tragedy’. Ben Jonson is another famous writer and his most successful play is ‘Man in His Humour”. Shakespeare is one of the finest English writers and his famous works include’The Merchant of Venice’, ‘Romeo And Juliet’, ”Hamlet’. John Milton’s famous writing ‘Paradise Lost ‘ is considered to be a masterpiece.
During the romantic age emphasis was given to self expression and emotions.The famous Romantic writers include Wordsworth, Coledrige, Byron, Shelley, Keats. Wordsworth was born at Cockermouth and his famous works include’Prelude’ and ‘Daffodils’. Coleridge was born in Devonshire and some of his most famous works are ‘Kubla Khan’ and ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’One of the most famous writings of Shelley is ‘Ode to the West Wind’and Keats’s most famous works include’Ode to a Nightingale’ and ‘To Autumn’.
The victorian age can be considered to be the age of peace. Some of the famous Victorian writers are Jane Austen, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, William Blake.E.B.Browning has written ‘The Seraphim and Other Poems’ and ‘Sonnets from the Portuguese’. Tennyson was born in this age and some of his works are ‘Ulysses’,’The Princess’ etc. Christina Rossetti was a Victorian woman poet and her most famous collections ‘Goblin Market and other poems ‘appeared in 1862.It received widespread critical praise. She has also written a book of devotional prose called’ The Face of the Deep’.
Some of the modern day poets include Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes. Moreover Virginia Woolf who has written ‘To the Lighthouse’ and T. S. Eliot who has writen The Wasteland’ are considered to be the greatest modernist writers.
To conclude English Literature is the amalgamation of beautiful masterpieces written by exceptionally talented writers who have given their thoughts a character, emotions a life and imagination a shape.. There are various genres and sub genres and the history of evolution of English literature is itself the evidence of its richness.