Simplicity - Shilpika Pandey

Poster courtesy Rishona Chopra

Simplicity is such a simple word but is it easy to follow? In this world of materialistic magnetism, how easy is it to adorn simplicity? 

Simplicity is grace, dignity, ability to be yourself in the most natural way, to live life simply, unaffected by others' judgements. 

From the way we converse, wear attire, carry a mobile phone, travel, and exhibit our lifestyle to the way we deal with everyday situations, and play our roles respectively, everything

would need to be simplicity personified.

Surprisingly it's easier to be complex, articulate, clever, and pompous than to be simple, as the latter demands genuineness, grounded and a real persona. 

Parents really need to bring up their children in a grounded manner so that these children grow up to be empathetic, genuine individuals who know how to carry themselves with simplicity in all spheres of life, despite the privileges around them.

Simplicity doesn't mean letting go of the good things one is fortunately blessed with but being gracious enough, thankful enough for it all and not letting that affect one's behaviour in any unacceptable way.

The Sunday School 8th January 2023 - Elizabeth Philip

While reading A Wedding to Remember from Sudha Murty's book Wise and Otherwise, we found a reference to her novel Mahashweta.

What is a novel?

A novel is a long-written story about imaginary people and events.

(Collins dictionary)

a long printed story about fictional characters and events

(Cambridge dictionary)

an invented prose narrative that is usually long and complex and deals mainly with human experience through a usually connected sequence of events

(Merriam Webster dictionary)

a story long enough to fill a complete book, in which the characters and events are generally imaginary

(Oxford dictionary)

The novel is a genre, or kind, of literature. It is fiction, which means the writer invented the story.

https://kids.britannica.com

One thing leads to another. Now, we need to know what genre and literature mean. 

Let's start with literature.

Literature is writing that is usually considered to be a work of art. It differs from written works such as cookbooks, travel guides, or how-to books. Those are meant only to provide information. In general, literature communicates ideas of lasting interest. A writer of literature takes special care in choosing and arranging words. Some common types of literature include novels, poetry, and dramas.

Read more…

https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/novel/390589#

Let's move on to genre.

A genre is a specific type of music, film, or writing.

https://www.vocabulary.com/

Here's the link to help you determine how genre is pronounced.

https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/genre

A genre (from Latin: genus) is a style or type of music, literature, movies, or other media. Some genres (styles) are used in more than one form of art or communication. For example, fantasy and science fiction are used in literature, movies, and television.

https://kids.kiddle.co/Genre

Now that you know what literature and genre mean, would you like to read more about some of the genres in children's literature?

Go ahead…

https://www.harpercollins.com/blogs/harperkids/childrens-book-genres

This is enough for today! You know that a novel is longer than a short story.

How long is long, and how short is short?

You'll be getting more information about short stories and novels…soon!

- Elizabeth Philip
More about her work: 
http://champions.prathambooks.org/2013/09/pratham-books-champion-elizabeth-philip.html