This Descriptive Essay was asked in ICSE 2002 board exam. You can find Previous Year Descriptive Essay Topics asked in ICSE board exams.
Descriptive Essay ICSE 2002
‘Society is influenced more by show than by substance’. Relate an incident from your experience, which brings out the truth of this statement. (ICSE 2002)
Introduction:
In the materialistic society, there is just no place for plain speak or modesty.
- Blatantly resorted to in the corporate world for influencing people; Few examples
- Personal experience at the hands of a renowned event management group of Delhi.
- Event titled ‘Dance with the stars’
- Blitzing of advertisements, promoting the programme
- What happened on the day of the event
- The tantalising wait for the star
- The stars failed to make an appearance. What happened there after?
Conclusion:
Their advertisement campaign had carried me away which was the basic reason for my disappointment.
There is just no place for factual plain speaking in today’s highly materialistic society. It is not uncommon to find friends bragging about their royal or star connections to impress others. This is most blatantly practiced in the corporate world, especially in advertising products or services. Companies resort to gimmicks, for getting noticed. They make tall y claims about their product or services that are not in conformity to what they offer.
Thus one finds star personalities from Bollywood or The sports world, endorsing cars and motor cycles. One even finds a bearded celebrity, eulogising a particular brand of shaving cream. Advertisers use such brand ambassadors to catch the attention of the , consumer which have no relation to the product on offer. This is feasible for ‘Society is influenced more by show than by substance.’
I had first hand experience of the truth of this statement during the Navratri festival last year. ‘The Times’ a renowned event management group of Delhi organised an event titled, ‘Dance with the stars’. The programme was a Dandiya dance, in the lawns of a prestigious hotel of the city.
Renowned stars like Aishwariya Rai, Urmila Matondkar, Raveena Tandon, Salman Khan and my favourite hero Hritik Roshan, were to grace the occasion. The hype enabled them to sell the tickets priced at ₹ 1000/each, on the first day. I managed to get a ticket for the show after waiting in the queue for two hours.
On reaching the hotel I found a huge crowd waiting at the gate to catch a glimpse of the stars. Some young boys watched in envy as I made my way through the brightly lit entrance. The show, as with all such star studded programmes, began an hour late. The local orchestra ‘Guys’, regaled the crowd with some of the best pop music. The glamorous dancers with dandia in their hands, danced well into the night, but there was no trace of the ‘Stars’.
Sonia, the VJ of Channel V, heightened the anxiety by announcing that the stars were about to descend. This continued well past midnight, but there was just no trace of the promised stars. At about half past twelve Sonia introduced Johnny Lever and Namrata to the audience, regretting that others could not come because of pressing engagements.
It was a big letdown. The crowd grew restless and gave vent to their anger by booing and hooting the organisers. Normalcy returned with great difficulty as Johnny Lever with his characteristic jokes made light of the situation. The three-hour programme just lasted for an hour, after which the crowd just thinned out. I returned home feeling cheated to the core. I cursed myself for having spent a princely amount on an event, that was just no better than the jam sessions in school.
Indeed, my decision to participate in the event was influenced more by show than by substance. I was carried away with the advertisement ‘Dance with the stars’ rather than experience the joy and gaiety of the dandiya ras.
Assignments
- Relate an incident that brings out the truth in the statement ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover. ’
- Describe some of your happy and sad moments of school life.
It was a long awaited climax to your period of training for the parachute regiment – the day of the first jump! Describe how you prepared yourself for the parachute I drop, the drop itself, and your feeling after the event. (ICSE 2002)
Introduction:
Afraid to make the para jump which was a crucial exercise for the parachute regiment of the NCC battalion in school
- This was preceded by a month-long training
- Remembered the advice of the instructor to not look down
- Took courage and jumped
Conclusion:
A thrilling experience, enhanced my will power and self confidence
“Jump”, barked the instructor, standing near the exit of the plane, as it soared 10,000 ft above sea level. My heart skipped a beat, as I nervously fidgeted my feet, trying to muster courage. After an agonizing long minute, he glared furiously at me shouting, “Jump you fool, others are waiting their turn”. As if on cue I sidestepped, making way for Mohan standing just behind me to go ahead and jump. Mohan looked contemptuously at me, and with a grin ran towards the exit. He was off the plane in a jifiy. It all appeared so simple, as I saw him jump.
It was, however, not so simple as it appeared for the para jump was the climax of a month-long training. This was a crucial exercise for the parachute regiment of the NCC battalion in school. The first week was spent in familiarising the students with the basics of aero dynamics. This was followed by practical classes, where the nitty gritty of the parachutes was explained, which was followed by the technique of maneuvering the chute, taking into account the direction of the wind. Such techniques help in moving away from trees and high rise buildings while landing. The training programme finally concluded with a special psychological session, to mentally prepare us for the jump. The parting advice of the instructor was – ‘Never look down before you jump and never to panic and lose cool while hurtling down.’
Just a moment ago I was feeling very confident. Yet here I was, fumbling and afraid of taking the plunge. The question that dogged me – what if the chute failed to open? The very thought made my legs quiver. As I glanced down from the air plane window the words of the instructor rang in my ears, “Never look down before you jump.”
“Next”, barked the instructor. I looked behind me, making way but there was nobody – behind. Steeling myself, I ran toward the exit, and leaped into space, with my eyes firmly shut and with a prayer on my lips. My heart literally jumped into my mouth, as I hurtled down like a stone. The first few seconds were very agonizing, as I fumbled with the string of the parachute. I felt a sudden tug as it opened, halting my speedy descent. It was smooth sailing thereafter as 1 drifted into and out of the clouds.
The sceneic beauty from the great height, was indeed breathtaking. I shouted with delight seeing the green fields, meadows and orchards in the countryside. The match box size high rise buildings, the serpentine roads and canals continued to grow in size as the parachute continued to descend. I waved out to my friends sailing in the vicinity, who also seemed to be having the time of their life. Steering away from the trees I finally landed on a small field close to our base camp. Folding my parachute I walked up to Sumeet, who was waiting for me. Together we jogged down to the camp, sharing our experience.
It was a thrilling experience, that I shall never forget in my life. The thought of the traumatising seconds, just before and after the jump makes my hairs stand on end. But then what is life without risk and adventure? The parachute jump enhanced my willpower, making me more self-confident. It added a new facet to my personality, which was hitherto unknown to me.
Assignments
- Relate an experience that you found thrilling, in your life.
- You are to organise a farewell party for your class teacher. Describe in detail what arrangements you would make to make it a success.
You have just interviewed a famous person at his/her residence. Write an account of the whole experience. You may include the following points. ‘Preparation for the interview – description of the person’s home – A brief description of his/her achievements – What happened during the interview – his/her behaviour – general impressions. (ICSE 2002)
Getting an opportunity to interview a politician is not easy, especially if they happen to be a minister and a celebrity like Mrs Maneka Gandhi. The minister is better known for her single-minded crusade in upholding animal rights. Her untiring efforts led to various legislation in Parliament, which prohibited using animals in circuses, selling birds in cages, and killing of frogs and birds by students during dissection.
My dogged persistence however paid off, for one fine day her personal secretary rang up to inform that I could come for the interview with the minister on the 1st of March at 9 a.m. sharp. He cautioned me to be punctual, for the minister had a busy schedule. I felt apprehensive and a little nervous as the day approached. In the meantime, I meticulously prepared for the interview, carefully choosing questions on her life, mission and passion.
On the appointed day I reached 10 Ashoka Road, the official residence of the minister. The white washed building was like any other government bungalow. The security guard after checking my credentials allowed me in. I walked up the driveway, adjacent to which was a medium size lawn, fenced with green hedges. The garden had a variety of flowers which were in full bloom. At the far end of the driveway was a white kennel, from which emerged a ferocious looking German shepherd, who heralded my presence with his incessant barking.
I was quickly ushered into a big drawing room by a butler wearing a coloured turban, atop his white uniform. The tastefully decorated room had huge oil paintings by renounced painters, depicting the pain and agony of animals. The wall-to-wall carpeted room had elegant sofas and chairs. On the showcase were big mementos and awards, received from national and international organisations knowledging her work.
I had barely settled down on a sofa, when Maneka Gandhi wearing a light pink saree walked in, greeting me with a namaste. She had a cheerful grin on her face as she sat next to me, enquiring about the purpose of my visit. My speech faltered as I somehow conveyed why I had come, sweating with nervousness. However, her informal style and charisma made me confident and I set about asking questions on her life and mission. Her reply to a personal question caught me off guard. “I don’t want to talk about myself. Let’s talk about People for Animals instead.” This she informed was the second stage of her campaign for animal rights. Here she would be seeking greater participation of the common man in ameliorating the lot of poor animals.
She seemed unhappy with the pace of implementation of some of the schemes, for which legislation had already been passed and felt that a lot more needs to be done. During the course of the interview, she informed me with an element of pride, that she had had started with five people and a capital of only ? (use symbol) 1000.00 only. This had now grown to 160 centres, having 2,50,000 people working in them for improving the lot of animals in the country. Besides this, she had also to her credit, the establishment of numerous hospitals and ambulance services for injured animals, in various parts of the country.
Concluding the interview she confessed, “There’s so much more to be done for animals, I have just made a beginning.” This humble remark, spoke volumes of her sincerity of purpose and missionary zeal. Her vision for the future was to have an animal hospital in each city of the country, Inclusion of animal law as part of the school curriculum, and doing away with the slaughter of animals for exports.
On returning from the interview I could not help admire her achievements. She came across as a great sp visionary, having a clear objective and goal. Her concern for the poor mute animals are indeed noble and worth emulating. In a world where people.are busy lining their pockets, she is busy lining the nests of our feathered and furry friends.
Assignments
- If you were granted three wishes, what would you wish for and why?
- You have just interviewed a renowned scientist at his/her residence. Write an account of the whole experience.