It is a known fact that Indian constitution is the world’s lengthiest constitution. The Constituent Assembly took 2 years, 11 months and 17 days to complete the celebrated task of drafting the Constitution. We always talk about the Drafting Committee headed by Dr. BR Ambedkar, Father of Indian Constitution; but many still do not know that there were 15 great women who contributed in the drafting of constitution. Let us have a look at the lives of these remarkable ladies:

• Ammu Swaminathan – Born in 1894 in Palakkad, Kerala, Ammu Swaminathan belonged to an upper caste Brahmin family. She was a follower of Mahatma Gandhi and took part in India’s struggle for independence. After independence, in 1946, she became one of the members of the Constituent Assembly of India. She vocalized on fundamental rights and directive principles. In 1952, she was elected a member of the Lok Sabha and then to Rajya Sabha in 1954. Later in 1960, she also served as a President of the Bharat Scouts and Guides.  With keen interest in movies, she went on to become the Vice President of the Federation of Film Societies and the Censor Board.

• Dakshayani Velayudhan – Dakshayani Velayudhan was born on 4^th July 1912 in Ernakulam, Kerala. She belonged to the lower caste Pulayar community. She was the first Scheduled Caste woman graduate in India, a science graduate, a member of the Cochin Legislative Council. She and her husband, R. Velayudhan were the first scheduled caste couple in the parliament.

She advocated for untouchability, forced labor, reservations, and separate electorates for Dalits.

• Begum Aizaz Rasul – Begum Qudsia Aijaz Rasul, born on 2^nd April 1909, was the only Muslim woman in the Constituent Assembly. She hailed from a princely family of Malerkotla, Punjab. She entered into electoral politics in 1937 when she was elected as a member of the U.P. Legislative Assembly. She played a key role in popularizing hockey for Indian women. She presided the Indian Women Hockey Federation for 20 years. She was also the president of the Asian Women’s Hockey Federation.

She was a member of the Minority Rights Drafting Subcommittee. She opposed the reservation for minorities in legislative assemblies, the partition of India and feudal practices like the zamindari system.

She herself defied many traditional norms like the purdah system.

She was awarded the Padma Bhushan for her contributions to social work in 2000.

• Durgabai Deshmukh – Lady Deshmukh was a freedom fighter, politician and a public activist for women liberation. She founded the Andhra Mahila Sabha in 1937. She was also the founder chairperson of Central Social Welfare Board. She was a follower of Mahatma Gandhi and following his footsteps participated in Salt Satyagraha and Civil Disobedience Movement. She was the first chairperson of the National Council on Women’s Education, which was established by the Government of India in 1958.

She was the only woman in the panel of chairmen in the Constituent Assembly. She proposed issues like inclusion of national language, judicial independence and human trafficking.

• Hansa Jivraj Mehta – She was born on 3^rd July 1897 in a Nagar Brahmin family in Baroda, Gujarat. As advised by Mahatma Gandhi, she participated in various freedom movement activities. In 1926, she was elected to Bombay Schools Committee. In 1945, she presided the All India Women’s’ Conference. She represented India in the Nuclear Sub-Committee on the status of women in 1946. In 1947–48, while with the UN Human Rights Commission, she changed the language of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to “all human beings are born free and equal”, highlighting the need for gender equality. She held different posts from 1945-1960 – the vice-chancellor of SNDT Women’s University, member of All India Secondary Board of Education, president of Inter University Board of India among others. She also wrote several books in her lifetime.

• Kamla Chaudhary – She was a story writer in Hindi. In 1930, she participated in Civil Disobedience Movement and was arrested several times. In 1946, she was elected to the Constituent Assembly from Uttar Pradesh. She was the Senior Vice-Chairman of All India Congress Committee. Throughout her life, she worked for education of girls in villages and backward areas. She encouraged the Khadi and Village industries which had the potential to provide employment of young women.

• Leela Roy – Born on 2^nd October 1900, she was the only woman of Bengal in the Constituent Assembly. She was the first woman to get admission in the University of Dhaka and completed her M.A. She was the founder of Dipali Sangha, Chhatri Sangha, Dacca Mahila Satyagraha Sangha, Bengal Provincial Congress Women’s Organization and Jayita Mahila Sanghati. In 1931, she started publishing Jayasree, the name being suggested by Rabindranath Tagore.

She was elected to the Constituent Assembly of India in  1946, after her release from prison suffered due to participation in Quit India Movement.

• Malati Choudhury – She was one of the first women Marxist leaders in India. She played an important role in Indian independence movement. She was born on 26^th July 1904 in Bihar. Her ancestral origin was Dhaka. She was a Gandhian and during the Salt Satyaghraha, she and her husband joined Indian National Congress. In 1933, she founded Utkal Congress Samajvadi Karmi Sangh along with her husband which came to be known as the Orissa Provincial Branch of the All India Congress Socialist Party. She had also set up Bajiraut Chhatravas, Utkal Navajeevan Mandal and the Postbasic School at Champatimunda, near Angul, Orissa.

• Purnima Banerjee – She was an active participant in Salt March and Quit India Movement, and thereby, was also imprisoned. Her steadfast commitment to socialist ideas was one of the most striking aspects of her speeches in the Constituent Assembly. Being the secretary of the Indian National Congress Committee in Allahabad, she was responsible for organizing trade unions, kisan meetings and work towards rural development.

•  Rajkumari Amrit Kaur – She was born on 2^nd February 1887 in Lucknow. She was the first Health Minister of India in 1947 and remained in position for next 10 years. She played a crucial role in establishment of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi and became its first president.  She was also a contributory in setting up Indian Council of Child Welfare. She was the Chairperson of Indian Red Cross Society for 14 years. She served as president of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, the Tuberculosis Association of India, and the St. John’s Ambulance Corps until her death.

She was named TIME Magazine’s Woman of the Year in 1947.

• Renuka Ray – In 1934. She became the legal secretary of the All India Women’s Conference (AIWC). There, she submitted a document titled ‘Legal Disabilities of Women in India; A Plea for a Commission of Enquiry’. She supported a uniform personal law code, and said that the position of Indian women was one of the most iniquitous in the world. She was a member of Central Legislative Assembly in 1943. She served as a Minister of Relief & Rehabilitation, West Bengal during 1952-57. In 1959, she headed a committee on Social Welfare and Welfare of Backward Classes, popularly known as Renuka Ray Committee.

•  Sarojini Naidu – Sarojini Naidu, popularly known as the Nightingale of India, was the first Indian woman to be the president of the Indian National Congress and to be appointed as an Indian state governor. She participated in non-cooperation movement. She had an active participation in Indian politics and worked with Mahatma Gandhi. She was popular for her literary mastery and was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1914.

• Sucheta Kripalani – She was born in June 1908 in Punjab. She was an active participant in Indian independence movement and joined Quit India Movement. She set up the All India Mahila Congress in 1940. She was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and remained in office till 1967. She was the first woman Chief Minister of India.

•  Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit – She was the sister of Jawahar Lal Nehru. She was the first woman to hold a cabinet position in pre-independence India – minister of local self-government and public health. She was India’s ambassador to Soviet Union, United States, Mexico, Ireland and Spain during different time periods. She presided the United Nations General Assembly in 1953. She became the first woman to hold this position.

• Annie Mascarene – One of the first women to join the Travancore State Congress, she later became a member of its Working Committee. Among the 10 candidates for the parliamentary elections, she was the first woman from Kerala to be elected. She also served as a Minister in Charge of Health and Power for a brief period.

My child doesn’t want to read. What should I do?

My child is so engrossed in TV and internet, how to make him read books?

How can I develop reading habits in my little one?

Sounds familiar, right? This is something every mother is facing nowadays. With so much exposure to the virtual world, making your children read has become a daunting task. I am sharing 12 simple yet effective tips and tricks to help you inculcate reading habits in your children:

• Read him stories regularly – Make it a habit to read at least one short story to your child from one year age. Even a one page story will do. He may not understand everything but soon he will develop interest in your stories.

• Let him sit on your lap and read out loud – This physical connection between the parent and child makes your toddler comfortable. Read loudly. Books read aloud to children stimulate their imaginations and expand their knowledge. He will enjoy the story listening session. Soon you will notice that he is also trying to read with you.

• Set a fixed time for his reading – Make your tot realize that reading is as essential as other daily chores like eating, playing, sleeping and like. To inculcate this feeling, set a fixed time for his reading. It may be 30 minutes in the morning or 30 minutes in the evening. You can set the time as per your convenience.

• Gift books – Make your baby’s special occasions more special by gifting him books. There is more to the phrase “books are a gift of life”. Books always make better gifts than toys.

• Don’t over-expect – Each child is different. Don’t put high expectations like “my kid will read for this and this much time everyday”. You should not bother if he is giving a short span of time to his books. Let him progress at his own rate. Your pushing can disconcert your kid’s interest towards reading.

• Let him read anything of his choice – Your little one may love reading Doraemon stories or Barbie stories and you think like “This has no value”. Don’t fret. Let him read whatever he likes. You must not force him to read things of your interest. Remember, developing early reading habit is what matters and not the content your kid is consuming. Just see to it that it is age appropriate.

• Create a reading environment – Studies reveal that a kid belonging to a reading culture family tends to adopt early reading habits as compared to a kid from non-reading culture. Make him accessible to books in every room of the house. Surround him with books. In this way, he will grab different books at any time and read them.

• Set yourself as a role model – Now this is something that matters the most when it comes to your child’s reading habits. Toddlers tend to imitate their elders. If they see their parents engrossed in devices, they will tend to do so. Present yourself as a reader to them and they will shortly start following your footsteps.

• Make conversations about his latest reads – Make the reading process more engaging. Ask your kid questions from his latest read. Let him express his opinion on what will happen next. You may also ask him to write a summary of the story he just read. In this way, he can learn vocabulary and also enhance his writing skills.

• Let him re-read – Your baby is reading the same thing over and over? That’s a good sign as it shows his interest towards reading. Your child learns more about a story each time he reads it again. It also improves his fluency and comprehension skills.

• Take them to bookstores – Take your kid to a nearby bookstore or local library. Let him pick books of his choice. This has two-sided advantage. Firstly, your child realizes that you respect his choices. Secondly, he will garner immense curiosity to read the book as he chose it himself.

• Connect stories with real life – Make your junior read things that relate to daily life. Gift him a book on friendship stories, inspirational stories or fables. This will make his read more engaging and interesting.   

Congratulations, you’ve raised a reader!

An understanding of Histrionics Personality Disorder

As the name suggests, Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD) is a condition in which a person behaves melodramatically or inappropriately to seek attention from others. Their self-esteem depends on approval from others and not on their self-worth. They have an enormous desire to get noticed by others.

HPD belongs to a group of conditions called “Cluster B” or “Dramatic Personality Disorders”.

It is commonly found in females than in males and can be noticed from adolescence.

Symptoms:

• Act dramatically towards every situation. They exaggerate their expressions but they lack sincerity.
• Feel restless unless they are not getting others’ attention.
• Tremendous emotionality.
• Rapid shifts in mood or temperament.
• The tendency to commit suicide due to inattention.
• Naive and get influenced by others easily.
• Extremely cautious about their appearance.
• Their conversations are allusive and impressionistic, but lack detail.
• Believe relationships are intimate than they are in reality.

Causes:

The causes for such behavior are still unknown. However, this condition can be attributed to:

• A person with a family history of histrionic personality is more susceptible to this condition.
• This disorder also tends to occur due to learning such behaviors from mother or any other family member in the past.
• Lack of punishments or criticisms can generate this condition in a child when he/she grows up.
• Appreciation or rewards only on certain approved behavior or completion of some approved tasks.
• Self-centeredness.

Treatment:

• The most opted method is psychotherapy. The psychotherapist uses verbal and psychological techniques to converse with the patient. The aim is to improve the patient’s general coping skills.
• Another approach is psychodynamic psychotherapy. The psychotherapist gains a deeper understanding of the patient’s emotions and mental processes.
• Comprehensive techniques such as yoga and biofeedback may also help people with personality disorders control their inner feelings.
• Medications are not used for HPD patients unless they exhibit other symptoms like anxiety and depression. In such situations, they are prescribed drugs like antidepressants, mood stabilizers, and antipsychotics.

Diagnosis:

Differential diagnosis is the most preferred method for diagnosing HPD. Mental health professionals use this technique to rule out other disorders or medical conditions that may cause the symptoms.

Prevention:

Currently, there is no known way to prevent histrionic personality disorders, but treatment might be able to alleviate many of the related problems.

HPD Vs BPD:

There is a fine line of difference between histrionic personality disorder and borderline personality disorder. Though HPD and BPD are similar in fact that both have attention-seeking nature, manipulative behavior, and rapidly shifting emotions but BPD is self-harming in nature and has feelings of deep voidness and unstable self image (identity disturbance).

There was a time when the Indian circus shone in its full glory. Circus industry was loved by people of all ages alike. What happened to this industry now? Where have the artists gone? Why its luster is fading away? How Indian Circus did come into existence?

Origin:

India has a long tradition of street performers and travelling entertainers. But the origin of the Indian Circus in today’s form dates back to the late nineteenth century.

Philip Astley, an English equestrian and circus inventor, credited Vishnupant Chatre as the originator of Indian Circus. He initiated this art form in India under the patronage of the Raja of Kurduwadi. Chatre was in charge of the stables of the Raja. He was an eminent equestrian and singer. He founded The Great Indian Circus and had its first performance in 20^th March 1880. His team performed throughout the country as well as foreign territories such as Ceylon, South East Asia and North America. The audience admired him everywhere. The only place where he could not match the size and magnificence of his competitors was North America. So he decided to continue his pursuit within India.

During his tour in Tellicherry (Kerala), Chatre met Keeleri  Kunhikanan, a master of martial arts and gymnastics. Keeleri was appointed as an acrobats trainer in The Great Indian Circus. In 1901, he opened a circus school at Chirakkara near Tellicherry, which later became the circus epicenter of India. The school produced a long list of performers who later started their own circus companies. Some of these companies were Grand Malabar Circus (1904), Whiteway Circus (1922), Great Ramayan Circus (11924) etc. Thus, Kerala became the “Cradle of Indian Circus”.

To honour the legacy of Keeleri Kunhikannan, the Government of Kerala started a Circus Academy in Thalassery.

Keeleri Kunhikannan is regarded as the “Father of Indian Circus”.

In its full glory:

Circuses were a major form of spectator entertainment in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. With a team of various range of artists including clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists and other performance oriented artists, circus attracted huge crowd whenever they visited a city. They have enraptured their audiences since many years. But today their survival has become  a question mark.

A dying industry:

Indian circuses are on the verge of extinction. Only a few circuses are left in India today, down from 300 two decades ago. The circus managers predict that soon no grounds will be left to hold a circus. Some of the reasons for this downfall are:

• Indian circus companies keep their affairs as trade secret. It is mostly hereditary affair and confined within a few people. This acts as a barrier in entry of efficient persons.
• The companies feel that circus acrobatics require intensive training from childhood. Earlier children as small as 10 years of age were trained to become circus artists. In light of Supreme Court’s ban on child employment below the age of 14 in 2011, the companies are facing a dearth of human resource.
• A popular genre of performance and attraction for the audience ceased to exist when the government of India prohibited the use of wild animals for entertainment purposes in 1997.
• With access to television and other forms of e-entertainment, the circus acts have no longer remained unique. The majority of acts which were once exclusive to the circus are now performed on television, including juggling, acrobatics, gymnastics and aerial acts
• Indian families consider circus as a risky profession and do not allow their children to choose this as a profession. We do not see dynasties of artists in India as seen in Western counterpart.
• Circus artists retire at an early age of 40. After which they are left with no other option but to do manual work. Lack of security discourages new people to take up this profession.

Suggestions:

Here are a few suggestions to revive this traditional art form:

• Circus can be used to make the dying arts more appealing to the masses. This would attract more viewers.
• The government should provide for financial protection to the artists post-retirement. At present, Kerala is the only state to provide pension to veteran and needy artists.
• Learning circus acts is similar to learning an art form. The government should set up circus training academy to promote this art as a profession. It should be similar to sports academy; with a well-defined syllabus and regular academics.
• The companies need to update themselves to attract the younger generation. Mr. Gopinath Muthukad, a noted magician from Kerala, announced to launch a show called “Circus Castle” in Thiruvananthapuram that would combine circus acts with magic tricks.

I find it heartwarming that despite of enormous challenges faced from television and internet, Indian circus companies are trying to get back to life and revive their grandeur in the entertainment realm.

Paranoid Personality Disorder (PPD) belongs to a group of conditions called Cluster A or eccentric personality disorders. Persons with such personality disorders tend to exhibit unusual or abnormal behavior. These people possess unusual thinking. Persons with PPD are always suspicious of others and strongly believe that other people are constantly trying to harm them. Paranoia means illogical suspicion and mistrust towards other people.  It is a serious yet often neglected personality disorder.

American Psychiatric Association in DSM-5 states that 2.3% to 4.4 % of the US population suffers from PPD. It is mostly found in males.

Causes:

The exact causes of PPD are not known. However several studies suggest that:

• A person’s childhood experiences and past trauma can onset this condition. Childhood abuse, being a victim to bully or other such childhood factors can cause PPD.
• Other social factors can also contribute to its cause, such as divorce, financial crisis, never marrying or other socio-economic factors
• Family history of schizophrenia and delusional disorders.

Symptoms:

DSM-5 lays that a PPD person has a pervasive pattern of suspiciousness, mistrust and hypersensitivity. Symptoms of PPD include:

• There is no ground or logic for their suspicion that other people are trying to deceive them. They “think” that others are trying to exploit them.
• They often criticize others but are hypersensitive towards other’s criticisms.
• Will be jealous and strongly believe that their partners are being unfaithful.
• Are unforgiving and hold grievances.
• Due to lack of confidence, they are unable to build healthy relationship with family, friends and colleagues.
• Without any substantiation, they believe that they will be betrayed.
• They tend to find inner meaning in comments and communications from other people that are absolutely innocent and simple.
• Always doubt the trustworthiness of others.
• They constantly believe that people are ruining their character and reputation.
• Do not realize that their behavior or attitude can be a cause of a problem.
• They don’t open up to others on belief that others will use their personal information to manipulate them

Diagnosis:

A health care professional first discusses about symptoms and family history. The patient may also undergo physical examination. The health professional tries to assess the patient’s behavior by asking him about his response to an imaginary situation. Wrong diagnosis may mix up Paranoid Personality with Borderline Narcissism.

Treatment:

PPD persons generally do not recognize that they are suffering from such condition. So they do not seek treatment. Moreover, their treatment becomes a tough job due to their trust issues. They do not believe their psychotherapist. Patients with PPD are not likely to follow their treatment plan and may even question the therapist’s motives. Whenever a patient seeks medical assistance, psychotherapy is the preferred treatment. It includes improving their general coping ability and social interaction and communication skills.

Medications are not prescribed in PPD. However some anti-depressant, anti-anxiety or anti-psychotic drugs can be used if the person has severe symptoms.

Prevention:

There is no definite way to prevent Paranoid Personality Disorder. It may not be possible to prevent PPD, but treatment may allow those who are susceptible to it to find more productive ways to handle situations.

The uniqueness of Indian Constitution lies in the fact that it is the longest written constitution in the world. Initially, our constitution had a preamble, 395 articles and 8 schedules. At present, our constitution has 448 articles and 12 schedules. 26^th November of every year is celebrated as the Constitution Day.

History:

In 1934, the idea of the formation of a Constituent Assembly for India was put forward for the first time by M.N.Roy. In 1935, the Indian National Congress also demanded for the formation of a Constituent Assembly. The British Government finally accepted the demand. In November 1946, the Constituent Assembly was constituted under the Cabinet Mission Plan. The Assembly held its first meeting on 9^th December 1946. 211 members were present in the meeting. Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha was elected as the temporary President of the Assembly. Later, Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected as the President of the Assembly.  There were two Vice-Presidents – H.C. Mukherjee and V.T. Krishnamachari.

There were several committees of the Constituent Assembly which dealt with various constituent making tasks. There were 8 major committees and 13 minor committees. The most important among them, the Drafting Committee was set up on 29^th August 1947. Its task was to prepare a draft of the new constitution.

The first draft of the Indian Constitution was prepared in February 1948. There was an 8-month period for people to discuss the draft and suggest amendments. Based on public suggestions, second draft was prepared and published in October 1948.

In total, the Drafting Committee sat for 141 days.

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the “chief architect of the Constitution of India” introduced the final draft of the Constitution on 4^th November 1948. It was declared as passed on 26^th November 1949. Some provisions came into force the same day itself, but a majority of the provisions were enforced on 26^th January 1950. Due to this, this date is referred as the “date of commencement”.

Features of the Constitution:

• Indian constitution is the lengthiest written constitution in the world.
• It is drawn from constitutions from different countries like Britain, USA, Russia, Australia, Japan, Canada and so on.
• Indian Constitution is a flux of rigidity and flexibility. Some provisions can be amended just like an ordinary law is made while some provisions need special procedure for amendment.
• It’s a perfect balance of federal and unitary features. It follows federal features such as two government, division of powers, written constitution, supremacy of constitution, rigidity of constitution, independent judiciary and bicameralism. It also has unitary features like single constitution, single constitutionship, emergency provisions etc.
• Our constitution follows the parliamentary form of Government, i.e. there is cooperation between the legislative and executive organs of the Government.
• The constitution provides for single citizenship.
• Part IVA of the Constitution outlines various Fundamental Duties of each citizen.      
• Part III of the constitution provides 6 Fundamental Rights of each citizen.
• Universal Adult Franchise provides voting right to each and every citizen of the country irrespective of their caste, creed, sex, literacy etc. But the citizen’s age must not be less than 18 years.
• Emergency Provisions – National emergency (due to external aggression or war), State emergency (failure of constitutional machinery), Financial emergency (due to financial instability in the country).
• Another unique feature is three-tier government system which is not found in any other country of the world. Apart from center and state, constitution gives recognition to rural local governments (panchayats).

Do you know that about four percent of the total global population suffers from anxiety disorder?  Do you know that Lesotho (a South African country), Guyana (a South American country), Republic of Korea are some of the countries with highest suicide mortality rates?

We all are concerned about our physical fitness, but do we really care for our mental wellbeing.

What is its importance?

Mental health includes our emotional, psychological and social health. It influences the way we feel, think and act against the situations we face in our daily lives. It also determines our attitude towards others, our decisions and how we relate to others. Mental wellness is important because:

• Increased self-esteem: Mental health is related to our self-esteem. It greatly affects our personal feelings about ourselves. Persons with blooming mental condition will focus on selves’ good side. They will bring out their good qualities and will lead a happy and cheerful life.
• Have good relationships: Persons with sound mental health can spend quality time with their family and friends. They extend compassion and support to other people in times of their need. Thus, they can have healthier relationships with society.
• Higher ability to cope with stress: Mental fitness provides the strength to deal with stressful situations. A stable mental state can facilitate healthier ways to cope with relationship disputes, financial difficulties, work challenges, and other life concerns.
• Improved productivity: A cheerful attitude and healthy state of mind always yields better productivity. Happy mental state enables you to work effectively and efficiently.
• Better quality of life: Your overall quality of life improves. You socialize, become participative, travel, explore new adventures or anything of your interest.

How to attain mental wellness?

Now you know the need of having a healthy mental state. But how to attain it? Read on:

•  Have a healthy and balanced diet. Munch on mood boosting foods such as, chocolate, salmon, green tea, spinach, nuts, coffee and so forth.
• “Early to bed and early to rise” is the Mantra. For an adult, 7-8 hours of sleep is recommended to have a healthy body and fit mind.
• Interact with people as much as you can. Make new friends, join a club, pursue any hobby or do something that gives you happiness
• Adopt a pet. In 2021, a survey was carried out on UK pet owners and it was found out that about 90 percent of dog owners were mentally healthier.
• Exercise regularly. Do yoga, swimming, cycling or jogging. You may even join a dance class. Physical fitness is co-related with mental health.
• Have a positive attitude towards others. Don’t become judgmental.

Here is a word of caution – If you feel that you are falling into depression and nothing makes you happy; you feel a constant state of emptiness, do seek a professional help. You can also talk with your family and friends.

Ending note:

In today’s world, maintaining mental health is a challenging task. The pandemic has contributed to mental health problems in people of all ages worldwide. Let us take care of our mental well being and extend help to others.

Speaking fluent English is everyone’s dream. In present times, fluent spoken English capability is associated with smartness. More your fluency, greater is your smartness. Although I personally don’t feel so, but there is no harm in learning and mastering a new language, right? The task may feel intimidating at first; but believe me, 8 simple tips can sail you through this language ocean.

1. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes: You may fumble in your initial stages of English speaking; may use wrong tense, use two comparatives together (such as, This burger is more bigger than that one) etc. Don’t panic. It is absolutely fine to make mistakes. Don’t be ashamed. Learn from your mistakes. Get the courage to speak up. Accept criticisms sportingly.
2. Hear English conversations: The easiest way to improve your speaking skills is to listen to English content as much as you can. Turn to English news channels like CNN –News 18, ET Now, India Today, Bloomberg Quint or any other channel that is provided by your cable operator. Listen to them carefully. Pay attention to their choice of words and how they are expressing themselves. Listen to English YouTube content. Watch more English movies; use subtitles.
3. Use technology: In this technology driven world, you can always make the most out of it. There are many apps that can help you to improve your spoken English. Apps like Duolingo, Cambly, BBC Learning English, ECL Learning English are available in Google play store. You can use them anywhere, anytime in your mobile phone and practice your vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation.
4. Read a lot: Reading is the key. It is not a mandate to read big novels or complex books like Finnegans Wake or Infinite Jest. Just grab a simple story book or a novella, sip on your favorite coffee and enjoy. Switch to English newspaper. Learn and understand the new words. Note their usage in a sentence. Bear in mind that your reading should be pleasurable; else soon you will lose interest.
5. Use English every single day: Even if you aren’t studying or speaking English actively, increase your daily English interaction to the hilt. Start by simple things like changing your mobile phone settings to English and listening to English songs.
6. Think English: One of the most common mistakes that we all tend to do is while speaking, we arrange our thoughts in our native language. Then we translate it to English. This is the biggest blockade in your fluency.  You must arrange your thoughts in English.  This will reduce your fumbling.
7. Don’t stress on grammar: Do you know that the native speakers often break grammar rules? It is important to have grammatical knowledge to have a strong grasp on the language, but when it comes to speaking, grammar should be the least concern in your list. Your aim is to make yourself intelligible. Gradually you will start to catch on to the grammar rules.
8. Increase your vocabulary: Try to learn at least 3-4 new words every day. Make weekly goals and try to achieve them. Learn new phrases, jargons and terminologies. This will help you to express your thinking in fewer words.

Learning a new language is always fun. It is not a rocket science. Catching up with fluent speaking skills just requires the right attitude and mindset. Be confident and remember that you are not the only one who faces hesitation. If it is taking time, don’t stress yourself. Gaining fluency is a process. Make this journey pleasurable and interesting and soon you will see the results.