HERE AND THERE...

I want to talk about books, I love reading, and nowadays, I'm reading 'Kinyas ve Kayra' from Hakan Günday. He is known as one of the writer of underground literature and I recognized him with his 'AZ' book. 

I want to talk about his life. Hakan Günday was born in Rhodes in 1976. He finished his primary education in Brussels. After attending Ankara Tevfik Fikret High School, he studied at the Department of French Translator in the Faculty of Literature of Hacettepe University. He then transferred to Universite Libre de Bruxelles....

Az (Few)
Derdâ, an eleven years old girl who lives in the east of Turkey, is sold to a Muslim cult leader’s son as wife. The cult is based in London so Derdâ is brought there. She begins to live in an appartment as a prisonner for five years. Her 28 years old husband rapes and beats her. And then, an English man moves in to her next door. Derdâ hopes that he will save her from her hell. She wears her burka as usual and rings his door. But the English man’s life is based on BDSM. He does’nt allow her to show her face and Derdâ enters in the world of a fantasy where she can beat men while wearing the burka. Derda, an eleven years old boy who lives in İstanbul, works in a cemetery where he cleans the graves. For complex reasons he’s intrested in only one grave for years and years. And then, Derda begins to work for people who publish books illegaly. And one day, he discovers that the name on that grave, is on the cover of a book. He learns how to read and begins to read the book. And his life changes forever. Few, is the story of two children who are meant to break the walls around them and coming together.

I advise you to read this book. I couldn't think them to be separated. If you read 'AZ' then you can understand what I mean. :)

LITTLE HAPPINESS: INDIA

India is a country of colors. This country is so attractive and interesting for me. I don't know the reason why I like it so much. What do you know about India? CoIors, funny people, Taj Mahal and Indian music come to my mind when said India. Now I want to mention this country briefly for you. I hope you will enjoy it.  

As you know, India is a country in South Asia and it's one of the largest countries in terms of population in Asia. (over 1.2. billion people) In addition, India has been the world's largest colony until a few years, because of having  so much fertile land, Britain didn't want to lose India.  India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence that was marked by non-violent resistance and led by Mahatma Gandhi. After gaining independence, India began to grow quickly thanks to Gandhi. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the fastest-growing major economies; it is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, illiteracy, corruption, and inadequate public healthcare. A nuclear weapons state and a regional power, it has the third-largest standing army in the world and ranks ninth in military expenditure among nations. India is a federal constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system consisting of 28 states and 7 union territories. It is one of the five BRICS nations.

As I said before, India is a country of colors not only people's kind-hearted and their hospitable behaviours but its Holi festival as well. Each year, the "Holi" festival takes place and the whole country resembles a rainbow. You have seen the movies, everyone puts  colorful powder coatings to each other. It seems so funny and I want to participate it :) When I mentioned this event to my friend, she said that she would be drowned in dust. :)

India is poor, because of being exploited. Some people don't like when it's talked about India as a result of  its dirty streets. On the other hand, Homeless people  living in this country see the streets as their own homes. Yes, in some cases it semms really bad, but it is not India's fault. As I wrote above, India was the world's largest colony and it has still a lot of productive resources, but unfortunately many of them are consumed by west. Hungry children,homeless, elderly, disabled people, more than billion population, low wages and unemployment are major problems. But I want to say that, despite all of these problems, Indian people have a smiling face, I mean, they know how to be happy in this world. 

Another important point is India's culture. I want to talk about its history briefly. India is based on very old history. As a result, the country's many historical monuments can be found.Taj Mahal all of you know is one of these monuments. Besides Taj Mahal, India ruins of a very nice cultural heritage of Goa. I can't stop mentioning when  writing about  Goa of India. Goa is the most famous tourist region of the country. Large and beautiful beaches, bamboo accommodation, and about 1001 different kinds of beauty are shown. Every year hundreds of tourists come to this region to see these things. I want to go there so much maybe I will be lying on these  beautiful beaches :) Don't you like it? :)

India being a country like ours can't save many monuments. I think the reason why India can't save its monuments is related to its budget. 

What do you know about its education? Well, the world's most knowledgeable people are in this country in terms of technologhy.  University of Technology  in India is one of the most important universities in the world. On the other hand, English is the second language and many people speak English than any other language, with the sole exception of Hindi. What's more, English speakers in India outnumber those in all of western Europe, not counting the United Kingdom and Indian English-speakers are more than twice the UK's population. Although India is technically the largest English-speaking nation in the world, its constitution recognizes no official language and English itself only holds the status of assistant language. Still, it is in many ways the important language on the subcontinent. After Hindi it is the most commonly spoken language in India and, given its wider geographic spread, likely the most read and written language in the country. Indeed, English holds a special place as a common medium of exchange among the hundreds of different languages spoken across the nation. Namely, English is in their routine lives. E.g. music, dramas, movies, and so on. English is considered very important to the past, present, and future of economic growth in India. Much country’s surging service sector has been built on its technology and call-center industries, sectors whose growth has, for the first time, provided well-paying jobs for anyone who can speak English. English proficiency is clearly seen as a stepping stone to success in other ways, too – a 2009 survey found that fully 87% of Indians “feel that knowledge of English is important to succeed in life” both professionally and academically.

Still, as crucial an ingredient English may be, estimates of how many Indians are actually proficient speakers can be hard to come by. Estimates range from as few as 11 million to as many as 350 million but because there is no standardized assessment of spoken language proficiency, there is no way of knowing what range of skill levels actually exists in the population. This discrepancy makes learning English for school more important than ever. Because success and English are now tied together in the popular imagination, certified English proficiency from internationally recognized institutions are becoming increasingly important among would-be social climbers. Because these programs meet the needs of would-be international students and professionals alike, they are an important factor in India’s continued economic growth. What do you think about this matter? I mean, Is it better that English as a 2nd language in a country and spoken in daily life or vice versa? You can find its beneficial to the people in contrast to EFL countries, on the other hand you can think this situation is alienation. I'm curious about your opinions. :)

The last topic is India's music. Have you listened an Indian song? As long as I watch Indian movies, I like them but to like them, firstly I have to watch their movies. This kind of songs is generally called OST. In fact, There is a separate place of music in India. You know, movies are always singing and dancing. Its real purpose is to entertain people. There are a lot of music schools in India, especially the girls dancing Bollywood films are grown in the background. By developing dance skills after leaving school, they try to enter these classes. Hence, they can earn a little money and become attached to this branch. Also its movies are good, at least entertaining. One criticism that comes to my mind is their time. Generally it takes 3 hours to watch a movie and musical scenes are too long. I advise you to watch 3 Idiots, Ghajini, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Taare Zameen Par, My Name Is Khan and Veer Zaara. They are really good their IMDB ratings are high. 

I hope this article provides a closer look at India. 

QUESTIONS

1. What did you know about India and now what do you know? 
2. Is this matter interesting for you? 
3. What do you learn about India from this article? 
4. If you had a chance to continue your education in there, would you go there? Why, Why not?
5. If you know other features of this country could you share with us? 
6. As I asked above, What do you think about this ESL matter? I mean, Is it better that English as a 2nd language in a country and spoken in daily life provides some  conveniences to its users or vice versa? You can find its beneficial to the people in contrast to EFL countries, on the other hand you can think this situation is alienation. I'm curious about your opinions. :)

Thanks for your interests, I hope you share your thoughts about this matter. :)