1. Translate the following passage into Gujarati

India is known for her ancient culture and traditions that have been passed on to us u'om time immemorial. Scores of pilgrim places across our country tell us of our glorious past. Madurai is one of such places and has six grand temples with at least a hundred more steeped in history. Every major temple here bas its own elephant; the Meenakshi temple has three. Related to Meenakshi is a temple dedicated to her brother Alagar. This temple is located at the base of a range of hills named after him. In the hills, a stream gushes out of sheer rocks down to a cliff called Teertha Taneer. Its holy water is drunk like by the devotees who hail from all over the world. Alagal' Temple has two elephants; Meenakshi and AndaL The grand spire of this ancient temple is covered with gold leaf.

As the legend goes, AJagar had gone to attend his sister's wedding to Lord Shiva in Madurai. When he reached the holy town, he discovered that the marriage had already taken place. Very angry, Alagar spent a couple of nights in Madurai with his wife and returned to his abode at the base of the hill. Since then, every year during April.May, Lord Alagar's idol is taken out in a procession to Chennai and after a week's half there, is brought back. As you enter this ancient temple, you hear sonorO1S chants echoing along the temple walls.


Translate the following passage into Gujarati

The very purpose of education is to enhance the quality of life along with the life management systems. Life is not mere livelihood or employment, though they are among the most basic needs. According to the academicians, the purposes of education are learning to know, learning to learn, learning to do and learning to live together. Impm·ting knowledge is obviously the most basic purpose of education. Nowadays, we often come across the telID "knowledge society". Because knowledge is power, generation and dissemination of knowledge, storage and retrieval of knowledge and application of knowledge should be the main functions of the education system.

With the advent of gadgets of information and cOiluuunication technology, the learning process has become a fun for the learners. Skill development and raising morale should also be the major functions of education. All t.hese lead to a holistic and alI·round development of the teamer. The overriding purpose of education should always be to equip the learner to live together. The harmonious co-existence of all sections of human being-irrespective of caste and creed -is a prerequisite for a strong nation. This is also imperative for the well-being of any society. It is often said that learning to unlearn is also a major purpose of education. Eminent educationists often complain that our present education system has generated prejudices among the learners. Besides, the learner often finds his learning irrelevant when applied in today's rapidly changing world. Today, we need to develop the process of unlearning and throwing away prejudices. Our education system is expected to equip the learner for this process as well. It therefore follows that education should make us more adaptable and receptive to new ideas. Innovative ideas, meaningful initiatives and ability to face challenges only can lead to success. Education should also uplift and reinforce the human values. Education has tremendous power to liberate the man from evils. Education system should produce citizens with positive outlook, self-confidence and openness to adapt to new ideas.


2. Translate the following passage into Gujarati

So many of complain of loneliness when we should cherish being alone. Are we not born alone; live our unique experiences alone and die alone Loneliness does not necessarily arise out of isolation from others. We can be lonely even in a crowd. On the contrary, it is when we are isolated from ourselves, when we lose contact with the quiet voice of our inner self that loneliness makes its presence felt.

How, then, can we attain the blessed state of solitude? Only when we cease to identify ourselves with the consciousness. In solitude, the mind is silent and uncluttered; and so we live from within. As Sri Aurobindo remarks; "You must gather yourself within more firmly. If you disperse yourself constantly and go out of the inner circle, you will constantly move about in the pettiness of the ordinary outer nature."

As slaves of the mind, we look at all our unful.filled longings and desires through a magnifying glass and make ourselves miserable. The more we look for external supports to pull us out of this misery, the deeper we get into it. In solitude, on the other hand, all external support is abandoned and we are alone, open and facing ourselves. Lao Tzu emphasises 'non-action' which is not idleness or inertia. This non-action is not different from the quiet watchfulness that Lord Buddha recommends in "Dhammapada'.

The nearer we are to our centre, the better we can watch all events and say "they happen". The feeling of loneliness prevents us from living in the present moment, it crowds the mind with memories of the past and anxieties about the future. The non-action which Lao Tzu describes is actually a key to free ourselves from our mind. It is in this solitude that we are able to relax into the present moment and live in the trust. And it is in this solitude that we also learn to laugh.

By whatever name we may identify it, whether as total receptiveness, quiet watchfulness or unconditional surrender, this Quality of being, certainly, brings about calm.