NAGARJUNA GOVERNMENT COLLEGE

(AUTONOMOUS)
(Affiliated to Mahatma Gandhi University)
NALGONDA- 508001
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
STUDY MATERIAL
SEMESTER –V ( 2021-22)
UNIT - III

Text : A Wife’s Letter by Rabindranadh Tagore

Grammar: Question Tags
Vocabulary: Onamatopia , pun
Spelling: Common misspelt words
Punctuation: Apostrophes
Reading Passage: Nomula Satyanarayana , Moving Encyclopedia
Writing: Descriptive Writing
Soft Skills: Work Ethics
Value Education: Prevention is better than cure
 A Wife’s Letter
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore, Bengali Rabīndranāth Ṭhākur, (born May 7, 1861, Calcutta [now
Kolkata], India—died August 7, 1941, Calcutta), Bengali poet, short-story writer, song
composer, playwright, essayist, and painter who introduced new prose and verse forms and the
use of colloquial language into Bengali literature, thereby freeing it from traditional models
based on classical Sanskrit. He was highly influential in introducing Indian culture to the West
and vice versa, and he is generally regarded as the outstanding creative artist of early 20th-
century India. In 1913 he became the first non-European to receive the Nobel Prize for
Literature.

To Thine Auspicious Lotus-Feet:

Today we have been married fifteen years, yet not until today have I written you a
letter. I’ve always been close by your side. You’ve heard many things from me, and
so have I from you, but we haven’t had space enough to write a letter.
Now I’m in Puri on a holy journey, and you are wrapped up in your office work. Your
relationship to Calcutta is a snail’s to its shell--the city is stuck fast to you, body and
soul. So you didn’t apply for leave. It was the Lord’s desire, and so was His granting
me my leave application.
I am Mejo-Bou, the second bride in your joint family. Today, fifteen years later,
standing at the edge of the ocean, I understand that I also have other relationships,
with the world and the World-Keeper. So I find the courage to write this letter. This is
not a letter from your family’s Mejo-Bou. Not from the second wife.
Long ago, in my childhood days--in the days when my preordained marriage to you
was known only to the Omniscient One who writes our fates on our foreheads--my
brother and I both came down with typhoid fever. My brother died; I survived. All the
neighborhood girls said, “Mrinal’s a girl, that’s why she lived. If she’d been a boy,
she couldn’t have been saved.” Jom-Raj is wise in his deadly robbery: he only takes
things of value.
No death, then, for me. It is to explain this at length that I sit down to write this letter.
When your uncle--a distant relative--came with your friend Nirod to view your
prospective bride, I was twelve. We lived in an inaccessible village where jackals
would call even during the day. Fourteen miles from the railway station by ox-cart,
then six more on an unpaved road by palanquin; how vexed they were. And on top of
that, our East-Bengal cookery. Even now your uncle makes jokes about those dishes.
Your mother wanted desperately to make up for the plain appearance of the first bride
with the good looks of the second. Otherwise why would you have taken all the time
and trouble to travel to our distant village? In Bengal no one has to search for
jaundice, dysentery, or a bride; they come and cleave to you on their own, and never
want to leave.
Father’s heart began to pound. Mother started repeating Durga’s name. With what
offering could a country priest satisfy a city god? All they could rely upon was their
girl’s appearance. But the girl herself had no vanity; whoever came to see her,
whatever price they offered for her, that would be her price. So even with the greatest
beauty, the most perfect virtues, a woman’s self-doubt can never be dispelled.
The terror of the entire household, even the entire neighborhood, settled like a stone in
my chest. It was as if the day’s sky, its suffusing light, all the powers of the universe
were bailiffs to those two examiners, seizing a twelve-year-old village girl and
holding her up to the stern scrutiny of those two pairs of eyes. I had no place to hide.
The wedding flutes wailed, setting the skies to mourn; I came to live in your house. At
great length the women tabulated all my shortcomings but allowed that, by and large,
I might be reckoned a beauty; and when my sister-in-law, my Didi, heard this, her
face grew solemn. But I wonder what the need was for beauty; your family didn’t love
me for it. Had my beauty been molded by some ancient sage from holy Ganga clay,
then it might have been loved; but the Creator had molded it only for His own
pleasure, and so it had no value in your pious family.
That I had beauty, it didn’t take you long to forget. But you were reminded, every step
of the way, that I also had intelligence. This intelligence must have lain deep within
me, for it lingered in spite of the many years I spent merely keeping house for you.
My mother was always very troubled by my intelligence; for a woman it’s an
affliction. If she whose life is guided by boundaries seeks a life guided by intelligence,
she’ll run into so many walls that she’ll shatter her forehead and her future. But what
could I do? The intellect that the other wives in the house lacked, the Lord in a
careless moment had bestowed upon me; now whom could I return the excess to?
Every day you all rebuked me: precocious, impertinent girl! A bitter remark is the
consolation of the inept; I forgive all your remarks.
And I had something else, outside all the domestic duties of your household,
something that none of you knew. Secretly I wrote poems. No matter if it was all
rubbish, at least there the boundary wall of the inner compound could not stop me.
There lay my freedom, there I could be myself. Whatever it was in me that kept your
Mejo-Bou detached from your family, you didn’t like it, didn’t even recognize it; in
all these fifteen years none of you ever found out that I was a poet.
Among the earliest memories that I have of your house, the one that comes to mind is
of your cowshed. Right next to the stairway leading up to the inner rooms was the
room where the cows were kept. The tiny courtyard in front was all the space they had
to roam. A clay trough for their fodder stood in one corner of the courtyard. In the
morning the servants had many thing to do; all morning the starving cows would lick
at the edges of the trough, bite at it, take chunks out of it. My heart cried for them. I
was a village girl: when I first arrived at your house, those two cows and three calves
struck me as being the only friends I had in the entire city. When I was a new bride, I
would give my food to them; when I grew older, bantering acquaintances, observing
the attention I show the cows, would express their suspicions about my family and
ancestral occupation: all cowherds, they said.
My daughter was born--and died. She called to me, too, to go with her. If she had
lived, she would have brought all that was wonderful, all that was large, into my life;
from Mejo-Bou I would have become Mother. And a mother, even confined to one
narrow world, is of the universe. I had the grief of becoming a mother, but not the
freedom.
I remember the English doctor’s surprise upon entering the inner compound. When he
saw the confinement room, he grew annoyed and began to scold. There is a small
garden at the front of the house, and the outer rooms do not lack for furniture of
decoration. The inner rooms are like the reverse of an embroidered pattern; on the
inside there is no hiding the starkness, no grace, no adornment. On the inside the
lights glimmer darkly, the breeze enters like a thief, the refuse never leaves the
courtyard. The blemishes on the walls and floors are conspicuous and inerasable. But
the doctor made one mistake; he thought this neglect would cause us sorrow. Just the
opposite: neglect is like ashes, ashes that keep the fire hidden within but do not let the
warmth die out. When self-respect ebbs, a lack of attention does not seem unjust. So it
causes no pain. And that’s why women are ashamed to experience grief. So I say: if
this be your arrangement, that women will suffer, then it is best to keep them in
neglect, as far as possible; with attention and love, suffering only grows worse.
However it was, it didn’t even occur to me to recall the existence of grief. In the
delivery room, death came and stood by my head; I felt no fear. What is our life that
we must fear death? Those whose life-bonds have been knotted tight with love and
care, they flinch before death. If Jom-Raj had caught me that day and pulled, then, in
the same way that a clump of grass can easily be pulled out from loose earth, roots
and all, I too would have come out in his hand. A Bengali girl will wish for death on
the slightest pretext, but where is the courage in such a death? I am ashamed to die--
death is too easy for us.
Like an evening star my daughter glowed bright for a moment, then set. I fell again
into my eternal routine and to my cows and calves. Life would have passed, slipping
on in that way to the end, and today there would have been no need to write you this
letter. But a tiny seed blown on the wind can lodge in a brick terrace and put down the
roots of a peepul tree; in the end that seed can split open the heart of brick and stone.
Into the set arrangements of my world a tiny speck of life flew from who knows
where, and that started the crack.
My elder sister-in-law’s sister Bindu, mistreated by the cousin she lived with after the
death of her widowed mother, came to your house to seek refuge with her sister. That
day all of you thought, Why did this misfortune have to land at our doorstep? I have a
contrary nature, so what could I do: when I saw that you were angry at her, my heart
went out to this defenceless girl and I resolved to stand firm at her side. To have to
seek shelter at another’s house against their will-what an indignity that is. Even if we
are forced to accept someone against our will, should we push them away, ignore
them?
And I watched my Didi. Out of great compassion she had brought her sister Bindu in,
but when she saw her husband’s annoyance she began to pretend that Bindu’s
presence was an unbearable imposition on her too, and she’d be relieved to be rid of
her.

Observing her dilemma, I grew even more distressed. I saw her make the rudest
arrangements for Bindu’s food and clothing--and she ensured that everyone knew
about it--and so demean her in every way, even engaging her in household chores as
she would a housemaid, that I was not only sad but also ashamed. Didi was anxious
to prove to everyone that our household had been fortunate in obtaining Bindu’s
services at bargain rates. The girl would work tirelessly, and the cost was minimal.
Didi’s father’s family had had nothing other than its high lineage: neither good looks
nor wealth. How they fell at your father’s feet, importuned him to take her into your
family--you know all that. Didi herself has always thought of her marriage as a grave
indignity to your family. That is why she tries in every way to draw herself in, not to
impose; she takes up very little space in this house.
But the virtuous example she set gave me a great deal of trouble. I could not humble
myself in all ways as she had done. If I find something worthy, it’s not my inclination
to disparage it just to please someone else--you’ve had proof of this many times.
I drew Bindu into my room. Didi said, “The girl comes from a simple home, and
Mejo-Bou is going to spoil her.” She went around complaining to one and all as if my
actions were putting the family in great peril. But I am sure that deep inside she was
greatly relieved. Now the responsibility was mine. She had me display the affection
towards her sister that she could not herself show, and her heart was lightened by it.
Didi always tried to leave a few years off Bindu’s age. She was no less than fourteen,
and it was just as well to mention this only in private. As you know, her looks were so
plain that if she were to fall and crack her head against the floor, people would first
concern themselves about the floor. In the absence of father and mother, there was no
one to arrange a marriage for her, and besides, how many people would have the
strength of their beliefs to marry someone who looked like her.
Bindu came to me in great fear, as if I might not be able to bear her touch, as if there
were no reason for her having been born into this great universe. And so she would
always shrink away as she passed, lower her glance as she walked by. In her father’s
house, her cousin had not even given her a corner in which an unwanted object might
lie. Unwanted clutter makes its own space around the house, and people forget it’s
there; not only is an undesired person not wanted where she is, but while she’s there
she’s also not easily forgotten, so there’s no place for her even in the trash-heap. It
could not be said that Bindu’s cousins themselves were greatly desired by the rest of
the world, though they were comfortably off.
When I brought Bindu into my room, she began to tremble. Her fear caused me great
sorrow. I explained gently that there would always be a little space for her in my
room.
But my room wasn’t mine alone. So my task wasn’t easy. And after only a few days
she suffered a red rash on her skin. Maybe it was prickly heat, or something else;
anyway, all of you decided it was smallpox.-After all, it was Bindu. An unskilled
doctor from your neighborhood came and declared, It’s difficult to say what it is
without waiting another day or two. But who had the patience to wait another day or
two? Bindu herself was half-dead from the shame of her ailment. I said, I don’t care if
it’s smallpox, I’ll stay with her in the confinement room, no one else will have to do
anything. On hearing this, all of you gave me extremely menacing looks, even seemed
poised to do me harm; Bindu’s sister, feigning extreme displeasure, proposed sending
her to the hospital. Soon, however, Bindu’s rash faded away completely. Seeing this,
you grew even more agitated. Some of you said, It’s definitely smallpox, and it’s
settled in.-After all, it was Bindu.
There’s one thing to be said for growing up neglected and uncared for: it makes the
body ageless, immortal. Disease doesn’t want to linger, so the easy roads to death are
shut off. The illness mocked her and left; nothing at all happened. But this much was
made clear: it is most difficult to give shelter to the world’s most wretched. Whoever
needs greatest shelter also faces the greatest obstacles to gaining it.
As Bindu’s fear of me ebbed, another problem arose. She began to love me so much
that it brought fear into my heart. I have never seen such an embodiment of love in
real life; I’ve read of it in books, of this kind of intense attachment, and, there too,
between women. Not for many years had I had occasion to remember that I was
beautiful; that long-forgotten beauty had charmed this plain-looking girl. She’d stare
at my face, and the hope and trust in her eyes would grow. She’s say to me, “Didi, no
one but me has seen this face of yours.” She’d become upset when I tied my hair
myself. She liked to play with my hair, arranging it this way and that. Apart from the
occasional invitation, there was really no need for me to dress up. But Bindu was
eager; and every day she would ornament me one way or another. She grew besotted
with me.
There’s not even a yard of free space in the inner compound of your house. Near the
north wall, next to the drain, somehow a mangosteen had taken root. The day I saw its
new leaves budding forth, bright red, I’d know that spring had truly touched the
world. And when I saw-in the middle of my routine life-this neglected girl’s heart and
soul filling up with color, I realized that there was a spring breeze of the inner world
as well, a breeze that came from some distant heaven, not from the corner of the alley.

Activities:
1. What is the main Theme of the short story “The Wife’s Letter’’? Discuss.
2. Write the character sketch of Mrinal ?
3. Write about the summary of the short story “The Wife’s Letter’’?
 Grammar: Question Tags
Question tag is a type of the question that is add to a statement. There are two parts in question
tag 1. Statement 2. Tag
Ex: Ravi is a good student (statement) isn’t he? (tag)
If the statement is positive then tag should be in negative.
If the statement is negative then tag should be in positive.
We have to identify the helping verb of the given sentence and it should be written in small
letters.
If the sentence is no, not, never, hardly, rarely, none, nobody, nothing, neither than we should not
add the short form of n’t
We have to add the pronoun of the given subject.
Add the question mark in end (?).

Examples:

1. Mounika is a student of arts college isn’t she?

2. Anjali was not a dancer was she?
3. You can solve my problem can’t you?
4. The Indians are not in good condition are they?
5. We will not come tomorrow will we?
6. When we write question tag for am in positive sentence we have to use are in place of am
7. I am a teacher – aren’t I ?
8. I am n’t her - am I ?

Activities:

1. You are students, _________________?

2. He is a boy, _____________________?
3. She was my friend, ________________?
4. I am a teacher, ____________________?
5. There is no money, ________________?
 VOCABULARY

Onomatopoeia:
This is one of the oldest methods of a word formation. A number of words in our vocabulary
derived from this method. Thousands of words in English have formed by the sounds made by
birds, animals etc.
Ex: Cuckoo is formed by the sound of the bird nightingale.
The word quack is formed by the sound of duck.

Activity:

1. The word hiss is formed by _______________

2. The word buzz is formed by ______________
3. Bow wow is formed by _________________
4. Baa baa is formed by __________________
5. Meow is formed by ___________________

Pun:
A pun is a literary device that is also known as a play on words. Puns involve words with similar
or identical sounds but with different meanings. Their play on words also relies on a word or
phrase having more than one meaning. Puns are generally intended humorous, but they often
have a serious purpose as well in literary works.

Activity:

1. The cyclist was two tired to win the race.

2. My librarian is a great bookkeeper.
3. Make like a tree and leave.
4. This candy cane is in mint condition.
5. The wedding cake had me in tears.
SPELLINGS

Commonly misspelled English words

Commonly misspelled English words (misspelt words) are words that are often unintentionally
misspelled in general writing. Although the word common is subjective depending on the
situation, the focus is on general writing, rather than in a specific field. Accepted spellings also
vary by country or region, with some rejecting the American or British variants as incorrect for
the region.

In general writing, some words are frequently misspelled, such as

1. Address – address
2. Chief – chief
3. Argument – argument
4. Cemetery – cemetary, cematery
5. Grateful – gratefull, greatful
6. Judgment – judgement
7. Recommend – recomend, recommend
8. Vacuum – vaccuum, vaccum, vacume

Activities:

Identify Common misspelt words given below

1. succesful, successful successfull,
2. speach, speech, speech
3. tommorow, tomorrow, tomorrow
4. writting, writeing, writing
5. restarant, restaurant ,restaraun
6. occurrence – occurrance, occurrence
7. apparant, aparent, apparre, apparent
8. absence – absense, absentse, abcens

PUNCTUATION:

APSTROPHE:
• Apostrophe mark ( ' )used to indicate the omission of letters or figures.
• The addressing of a usually absent person or a usually personified thing rhetorical
• The symbol ’ used in writing to show when a letter or a number has been left out.
Examples:

1. We spent Christmas Day with Ramu 's parents.

2. This book is the fruit of 17 years' research.
3. Sindhu has a clear-sighted vision of the company's future.
4. Our neighbour's baby cries morning, noon and night.
5. I'm sure my views on marriage are coloured by my parents' divorce

Activity:
Use Apostrophe marks wherever necessary in the following
1. I am: -------planning to write a book someday.”

2. You are – ------going to have a lot of fun with your new puppy.”
3. She is -------always on time.”
4. Do not –---------like anchovies.”
5. He would ---------like to go fishing in Alaska.”
6. Let us –-------start saving more money each month.”
7. She would have – -------“If -------paid attention in class, she would have passed.”
8. Who is –------there?”

Reading Passage

Dr. Nomula Satyanarayana

Moving Encyclopedia

Dr. Nomula Satyanarayana was born in Nalgonda town on 10 August , 1940. Born into a
humble family, he willingly took up the teaching profession and joined the profession as a
secondary grade teacher and retired as an associate professor. He is known as Jayaho Sarnga to
all those close to him. Literary studies, as well as the teaching profession, have made Nomula an
outstanding figure. As a young man, Nomula began to study literature and was drawn to ideas of
progress, and he lived up to the values he had learned from that study.

With self-cultivation he learned multiple languages. Not to be learned. Mastered them. He

studied literature in Telugu, English, Urdu, Hindi and Sanskrit. He also has a good understanding
of music. Nomula was born to read, not to write. People called him as Moving Encyclopedia.
He Encouraged young writers and poets. Although he wrote verse poetry in the early days, it did
not satisfy him. He was not satisfied with his writings as he had read the works of Sri Sri, Ravi
Shastri etc. which were already literary peaks. So the interest in writing waned.
Translations made by him. Famous Chinese author Tao Cheng translated his work into Telugu
under the title 'My Family'. It brought him great recognition among the Telugu readers. Notable
in Nomula's literary work is 'Another New Bridge'. Many of the poems in the book, which was
published as a collection of Urdu and Telugu bilingual poetry, were translated from Urdu into
Telugu. The book tells the story of Dr. Nomula's ability to translate from Urdu to Telugu and
from Telugu to Urdu. He wrote “ Untlod Lessons ” Published in December 2010.

Literary houses and literary relatives spend their time in the world. His house became a literary
center in joint Andhra Pradesh. He used to hold literary meetings with many celebrities like Ravi
Shastri, Sreesri, Addepally Rammohan Rao. Source direction for the new generation. Admiring
Dr. Nomula, his disciples Kompella Venkat and Krishnamohan Sharma announced 'Doctor
Nomula Unauthorized Licenses'. It was a book that was recorded talking to the noses. Oral
writing of noses. It is recognized as a unique book in Telugu literature. Another literary friend,
Dr. Penna Sivaramakrishna, also recorded 'Nomula Sahitya Muchatlu'. But, it was delayed in
coming out.

The literary scents of Nomula lingered in his family. With respect to Nomula, his family
members founded the 'Nomula Sahitya Samithi'. The organization organizes Telugu story
competitions and presents 'Nomula Katha Awards' every year. 'Nomula Award Stories' is
published every two years with prize-winning stories. It is through this organization that books
on Telangana literature and pride have been published. He has published books on Nallagonda
stories, Chakali Ailamma and Telangana state history movements. Dr. Nomula Satyanarayana,
who lived a life of literature, passed away at the age of 78. Words like hatreds and envy only
offered the love of unknown noses and took a permanent leave. A walk-in library has stopped. A
peak has collapsed. The deficit he lacks is insurmountable. This is the literal truth.

Answer the following questions:

1. What was the profession of Dr.Nomula Satyanaryana?
2. What were the famous books published by him?
3. What was death age of Nomula?
4. Dr. Nomula Satyanarayana was hailed from?
5. What were languages known by Dr. Nomula?
 WRITING

I. DESCRIPTIVE WRITING

The primary purpose of descriptive writing is to describe a person, place or thing in such a way
that a picture is formed in the reader's mind. Capturing an event through descriptive writing
involves paying close attention to the details by using all of your five senses. Teaching students
to write more descriptively will improve their writing by making it more interesting and
engaging to read.

Characteristics of descriptive writing

1. Good descriptive writing includes many vivid sensory details that paint a picture and appeals
to all of the reader's senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste when appropriate. Descriptive
writing may also paint pictures of the feelings the person, place or thing invokes in the writer. In
the video section below, watch a teacher use a Five Senses Graphic Organizer as a planning
strategy for descriptive writing.

2. Good descriptive writing often makes use of figurative language such as analogies, similes and
metaphors to help paint the picture in the reader's mind.

3. Good descriptive writing uses precise language. General adjectives, nouns, and passive verbs
do not have a place in good descriptive writing. Use specific adjectives and nouns and strong
action verbs to give life to the picture you are painting in the reader's mind.

4. Good descriptive writing is organized. Some ways to organize descriptive writing include:
chronological (time), spatial (location), and order of importance. When describing a person, you
might begin with a physical description, followed by how that person thinks, feels and acts.

Activities:

Write an Essay of Descriptive Writing.

 SOFT SKILL:

Work Ethics
What is meant by work ethics?

Work ethic is an attitude of determination and dedication toward one's job. Those with a
strong work ethic place a high value on their professional success. They exhibit moral principles
that make them outstanding employees in any position.

1. Appearance: Displays proper dress, grooming, hygiene, and manners.

2. Attendance: Attends class, arrives and leaves on time, tells instructor in advance of planned
absences, and makes up assignment promptly.
3. Attitude: Shows a positive attitude, appears confident and has true hopes of self.
4. Character: Displays loyalty, honesty, dependability, reliability, initiative, and self-control.
5. Communication: Displays proper verbal and non-verbal skills and listens.
6. Cooperation: Displays leadership skills; properly handles criticism, conflicts, and stress;
maintains proper relationships with peers and follows chain of command.
7. Organizational Skill: Shows skills in management, prioritizing, and dealing with change.
8. Productivity: Follows safety practices, conserves resources, and follows instructions.
9. Respect: Deals properly with diversity, shows understanding and tolerance.
10. Teamwork: Respects rights of others, is a team worker, is helpful, is confident, displays a
customer service attitude, and seeks continuous learning.
CONCLUSION
A strong work ethic creates a bond of trust between the employees and the organization. The
employees trust the company to treat them equally and give fair compensation and future growth
opportunities based on their performance, while the organization becomes confident that their
employees are capable of performing the assigned duties within specified timelines.

Activity:

1. Write some Ethical values at the work place

 Value Education:
Prevention is better than Cure
It's easier to stop something happening in the first place than to repair the damage after it has
happened.
The proverb prevention is better than cure is usually used by elders while giving a suggestion or
two for the younger ones. But the meaning of the proverb prevention is better than cure can be
applied to everyone irrespective of their age. At every stage in our life, we encounter problems
and only after encountering these problems, do we feel that we could have prevented it rather
than solving it. Hence the proverb prevention is better than cure holds far more gravity than just
being a mere phrase.
There is a proverb ‘prevention is better than cure’ and it applies to many different facets of our
lives. We use this proverb most commonly when we are talking about our health. In the winter
season, our mother usually tells us to put on a sweater or a warm jacket because we might catch a
cold or flu these suggestions given by our mothers are the best ways to prevent getting us sick
from cold and flu. Hence, it is better to take appropriate preventive measures before you catch a
cold or flu then after it is already ensued.
To put this idiom in context with the current world affairs, let’s understand ‘prevention is better
than cure’ through the same. Considering the current situation of Corona virus pandemic, we
have been consistently told to practice social distancing, wear masks, and sanitise or wash hands
frequently in order to protect yourself from infection. If we become infected with Covid-19, we
will be sick for many days, and so many people have also died or spent days on the ventilator.
Thus, if humans have adopted preventive measures to prevent getting sick from covid.The
proverb prevention is better than cure is usually used by elders while giving a suggestion or two
for the younger ones. But the meaning of the proverb prevention is better than cure can be
applied to everyone irrespective of their age. At every stage in our life, we encounter problems
and only after encountering these problems, do we feel that we could have prevented it rather
than solving it. Hence the phrase prevention is better than cure holds far more gravity than just
being a mere phrase. 19, they would not have had to deal with the consequences of contracting it
in the first place. The same can be said about many other diseases, such as avoiding smoking to
prevent cancer, avoiding sweets to prevent diabetes, etc. are better than having to live with or
find cures for cancer and diabetes.
This is what we mean when we say that prevention is better than cure. It is a lot better to avoid
something bad in the first place, rather than have to deal with its consequences later. Similarly,
this same concept of prevention is better than cure can be applied to various strata of life. For
example, a simple thing such as submitting an assignment for school on time prevents the
consequences of getting into trouble if you had not submitted it. It has been said that, once you
have said something, you can never take it back. This can be applied here, too - if you get into an
argument with your friend ensure not to use any harsh words which eventually hurts your friends
feelings and emotions.
Simply put, prevention is better than cure because prevention leaves you with certainty that
something bad will not happen. On the other hand, the need to find a cure can often leave your
life in a lurch, where you don't know what may or may not happen. Isn’t it better knowing what
life has in store for you rather than waiting around to see what will or won’t happen?
Conclusion:
Life is very short and we should enjoy it completely. However, it is only possible when we are
stress-free, disease-free, and disciplined in our whole life. Our preventive efforts should be able
to prevent trouble and difficulties; it can happen if the principles of this proverb are followed
strictly and faithfully to every aspect of life.