Tomorrow is another day__Rupali Nayar

It was a cold evening and the young man hurried along clutching his coat tightly around him. He had to get hime on time. He had promised to take his children out for the movie and he wanted to be in time to take a quick bath before they set off. Too bad that his car had broken down.

***

His wife constantly told him that his children never saw enough of him and today the young man was in some way trying to make up for all the time he spent at work. But what could he do? He was the sole bread - earner in the family and that meant working twice as hard. Sometimes when he came home he was so exhausted that all he wanted was to crawl into bed without even talking to anyone, leave alone having dinner. He was lucky, he thought, to have a wife like Rita. She never complained about his late hourse and she looked after the home and the children very well.

***

She had once been a famous dancer but had met with an accident that had seen her permanently in a wheel chair. Yet, she took her fate in her stide and never said a word about her life before her accident. Yes, the young man thought, he was lucky to have her and their beautiful kids. Their home was lovely too, thought the man as he walked one more rapidly. By now the wind was howling around him and the first drops of rain had begun to fall. Almost running, the man thought of the disappointment on his children's faces if he did not make it back on time. He looked at his watch. He had all of 10 minutes to get back home. By now the rain was almost blinding him. He was soaked to the skin, but his efforts at getting home doubled. Running across the road he narrowly missed being hit by a car. But this did not deter the man. Now he could see the lights of his home and when he opened the gate he found that he was completely out of breath. Pausing for a while he looked at his watch. It had stopped! It still showed that he had 10 minutes to get back home if he wanted to make it to the movies.

***

As it happened he was late. His wife had been waiting and so had the children. Trey hurled themselves into his arms and he began to tell them about his difficulty in reaching the house, of his near accident and of the rain.

***

Then he asked his wife what the time was. And when she told him, he was stunned. It had taken him more than two hourse to get back! He turned to his wfie and apologised. He should have started out earlier. But his wife looked at him and then at herself on the wheelchair. "I Was so worried about you. I couldn't have managed the house if anything had happened to you," she said. "We can always go for the movies, after all tomorrow is another day."

***

The Great Sphinx

Centuries of history lie at the feet of the Great Sphinx at Giza. And along with the passage of time many myths and legends have come to be associated with this magnificent statue that has a man's head and a lion's body. Standing some 66 feet high and 240 feet long, the Sphink's head measures 19 feet from forehead to chin and each paw extends 56 feet forward from the body.

***** The sheer size of the Sphinx and its impressive form made many believe that it had been placed in its position as guardian of the pyramids by the gods themselves. A powerful symbol in ancient Egypt, the lion represented strength and courage. It was also thought to be supreme guardian of the kings as it sometimes accompanied them into battle - its sheer physical presence and form was symbolic of protecting the troops. The Sphinx therefore was a combination of two symbols: a lion god and a human god (the king of pharaoh) rolled into one statue. Some say that the Great Sphinx at Giza bears the face of the ruling pharaoh at the time of construction: Chephren.

*****But the Sphinx isn't limited to Egypt, it was also found in ancient Phoenician, Syrian and Greek societies. In Greek mythology, the Sphinx was a monster with the head and breasts of a woman, the body of a lion and the wings of a bird. Greek legend has it that the Sphinx ate all the travellers who tried to enter the city Thebans unless they were able to answer the riddle it put before them - "What is the creature that walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon and three in the evening?"

*****Most travellers couldn't answer the riddle and were quickly devoured until a man called oedipus solved the ridde - "The four limbs as a baby, walks upright on two as an adult, and walks with the aid of stick in the old age."

*****Hearing the correct answer, the Sphinx is said to have killed himself. Once this happened, the Thebans made oedipus their king.

***

Improve your English Language___1

General Rules:--

While writing try and guard against the tendency of using euphemisms. A euphemism is a word or phrase that is substituted for language that the writer feels may be either offensive or too blunt.

***

Example:- She died in her sleep - She passes away in her sleep or She met her maker in her sleep etc.,

***

Example:- During the war, there were bombing raids all across the country - During the war, there were surgical air-strikes all across the country.

***

Example:- The US army went into XYZ to control the riots, loot and arson in the capital - The US peace-keeping force went into XYZ to control the riots, loot and arson in the capital.

***

Your writing should tell the truth and not couch it in euphemisms. Here are some other things to keep in mind. Many of us make a mistake when we use the words affect and effect. "Affect" is usually a veryb, which means "to influence"

***

Example: Please let me know if my grammar is going to affect marks in English.

"Effect" is usually a noun, which means "result"

***

Example: This is a new rule that goes into effect tomorrow.__

Another thing to keep in mind is that the word 'data' is plural. The singular is 'datum'.__

Always distinguish between the words that and which. The rule of thumb here is - use which (always followed by a comma when introducing non-essential information) and use that (never folloer by a comma when introducing essential information).

***

Try and avoid using colloquial expressions like hook up, burn out, write up etc. Instead use connect, damage/destroy, report/essay/document.

***