Sunday, October 13, 2013

ART OF WRITING XV (EMPHASISE A PROBLEM)


One of the missions of the writer is to present to the readers a clear picture of what is causing a problem to society and suggest ways to solve it. A writer has the ability to think clearly (or rather, has developed it, channelise these thoughts and present them in a sequential form. In the context of this, we go on to the third formula emphasizing a problem that is becoming very grave.Let us take population explosion. We begin b stating the causes of the problem:

“Driving through the city of Bombay, from the airport, a foreigner exclaimed, ‘People, people, every where!’ That is, in a nutshell, the state of the country. Everywhere you go, you jostle with teeming crowds;
Whatever you covet, you have to contend with tremendous competition; however vast the resource, it does not go round.

“If you look around, you will realize that more and more educated people are restricting the size of their family while the illiterate continue to breed. Clearly, the cause lies in illiteracy an ignorance….”

After stating the cause, go on to spell out the attempts made to tackle the problem:

“Fully aware of the dangers of increasing population, the Government has made it its primary business to control it. One of the most effective ways is through mass media like TV and radio. Constantly, the message is driven home an in many different ways so that no one can miss it! Besides, family planning centers are located  all over the country, offering free advice and help, by way of birth control. Social workers travel to the interiors to educate the rural folk and service clubs, like the Lion and Rotary, hold camps where leading gynecologists carry out sterilization operations. Public and private sector companies offer incentives to their workers to keep their families to the minimum. State governments feature family planning propaganda on priority basis, setting targets for achievement of their goals…” You can elaborate on this by giving further examples.

Have these attempts been fruitful? Obviously not! So, now, you write about the failure and its reasons:

“Despite the many-pronged efforts by the government and other social service bodies, population is on the upward trend. Though the educated couples call a halt after two, the labour class is merrily going ahead with the reproduction activity! This can be due to lack of responsibility on their part, both as parents and as citizens. The masses cannot be educated en masse. What they need is a personalized approach. They dismiss mass media messages as meant for someone else. They are still steeped in blind beliefs and consider children as God’s gift. The jingles and spots on the TV and radio don’t touch their inner selves…”

Having looked at the problem in its entirety, it is up to you as a writer to suggest what has to be done:

“Just as one candle can light a thousand candles, we, the educated and the enlightened, must assist the Government in solving the problem. Most offices have welfare activities when their staff goes on picnics or has parties. Instead, why not convert these outings into a mission? They can adopt a nearby slum or village and meet the people, explain the purpose of birth control and its benefits and see to it that they follow the advice. A person-to-person communication is more effective than large hoardings or ten-second flashes on the TV. It is in the interest of every citizen to see that population is under control. There are many housewives who are dying of boredom. Why not they get together and make frequent trips to slums and villages and educate the women? Instead of cluttering a student’s curriculum with unwanted subjects, our education system can incorporate compulsory visits to rural areas to spread the message of family planning….” In this vein, you can give your own solutions to the problem.

Now, try your hand at writing about another problem that is becoming serious.



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