Books are just like our companions. When all our friends abandon us, books are the ones that are always with us. Books are our friends for life in the true sense. Reading of books is like a conversation with the finest men of the past centuries. In each and every sphere of our life we need the guidance of books, even if we do not agree with all that they say. There are some people who think books are very boring. But they do not realize that although books may appear drab, we need them every now and then such as during examinations and also while participating in competitions.
Books extricate us from dull surroundings and take us into the depths of the earth, up to the heights of the sky, into the unimaginable facts of this vast universe, into the deep oceans, into the framework of our body, to the world of inventions and discoveries, and to the world of great poets and writers. Books also take us to the land of beasts and birds etc. Today if we know about the great heroes of the world it is due to books, if we know about the past it is with the help of books, if we know about ourselves, our culture and tradition, our beliefs, it is because of books.
The role of books does not end here. Besides providing valuable information to us, books especially good novels help in improving our language skills and increasing our vocabulary. As we go on reading, the scenes of particular situations being mentioned flash in our minds and we are carried away to a whole new and wonderful dimension. Such is the amazing power of books! Books in the real sense are magical and enchanting. People nowadays, are getting so much involved in television soaps and movies that they have forgotten the value of books. They don't even have time to look at good books. But fortunately, for some, books still are the best source of entertainment, opening a wide window into the world of knowledge.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on 2nd October 1869 in Porbandar in Gujarat. His mother's name was Putlibai and his father's name was Karamchand Gandhi. His father was the dewan of the State of Rajkot. His mother was a pious Hindu lady of orthodox views. After his schooling in India, he went to England to study law. Thereafter, he practiced law in South Africa and started Satyagraha for securing the rights of Indians in South Africa. There was a systematic persecution of the Indians there, and they were deprived of most of their basic civic rights. Gandhiji raised his voice against cruelty and injustice. He went on fighting till he secured for the Indians the rights they wanted.
After this, he returned to India. He reorganised the Indian National Congress and infused into it a truly patriotic zeal. He rejected the reforms of 1919 and started mass 'Satyagraha.' He was imprisoned to a term of six years. He was determined to free India from the British yoke. For this, he was prepared for every sacrifice. He meditated long and deeply on the Indian scene of poverty and bondage.
In August 1942, the last and final blow was struck. The famous 'Quit India Resolution' was passed in Bombay. Mahatma Gandhi took the lead. He, as well as other top ranking leaders got arrested. There was an unprecedented awakening all over the country. The whole country rose as one man against British domination. At last, India was declared Independent on the 15th of August 1947. At the dawn of freedom, there were 'Hindu-Muslim riots. He worked day and night for Hindu-Muslim unity. He was shot dead by a fanatic, Nathu Ram Godsey, while he was going to address a prayer meeting at Birla House, Delhi. He died on 30 January 1948 in New Delhi.
Mahatma Gandhi was truly a great man. He was the Father of the Nation, the maker of modern India and the architect of her freedom. It would be no exaggeration to say that if Gandhiji had not been there, India might not have been free today.
He personified non-violence and moved and shook the world. He believed in the great efficacy of prayer. He was as patient as a woman and as cheerful as a child. He fought untouchability in India and uplifted the Harijans.
Men like Gandhi are immortal. They continue to live in their deeds. His memory will last long as India and the world would exist. The coming generations will cherish his memory with love and respect.

Encouraged and inspired by my history teacher, as she was teaching us a lesson on "Shah Jahan- The great architect", I made up my mind to request my parents to take me to the city of Agra during summer vacations. My parents readily agreed.
We all were very excited to land in this beautiful city of historical significance. Taj Mahal, the most beautiful monument in India attracts thousands of people all over the world and we decided to visit it first. I was really impressed by its design. It was like watching heaven on the earth. The white marbles create a sense of quietness and calmness in surroundings. The peaceful atmosphere makes people awestruck. The Taj is a symbol of love. It was built by Shah Jahan in the memory of his wife, Mumtaz Mahal.

Next we visited Agra fort. It was nearly 4700 meters long structure with a grand entrance. It was basically a training camp for soldiers at the time of Mughal emperors. It was built right in front of the Agra city to protect the city from invaders. Huge red coloured stones brought from Bikaner by 27000 soldiers in one month were used to construct it.
Fatehpur Sikri, which was at a distance of few kilometers from Agra was our next stop. The Fatehpur Sikri is famous all over the world for its grand Buland Darwaja.
I have read about these monuments in my textbooks but seeing them in reality was a very thrilling and exciting experience. The visit, besides being full of fun and enjoyment, educated me a lot about our past.

It was bright and sunny last Sunday. There was coolness in the air. All of us decided to visit the zoo. I was very excited at the prospect of visiting the zoo. We quickly prepared some sandwiches and cool lemonade. We then set off in our car for the zoo. We reached there in thirty minutes.
We could see different kinds of deer from outside. They were kept in large enclosures. We bought tickets and went in. As we entered the zoo, I saw a small animal sitting by the bank of a small tank. I threw a coin into the tank. It dived in the tank and brought out the coin. I was surprised and amused. I read the name of this animal on the nameplate beside the pool. On it the name of the animal was given as 'BADGER'. In the next pool were many ducks and swans. They were swimming peacefully in water.
Then we saw the monkeys. There were monkeys with long tails and monkeys with short tails. There were also monkeys with no tails at all. They were chattering and jumping from one branch to another. They made faces at us. The visitors offered them eatables. We threw dried grams at them. They soon began to eat the grams. The visitors had a lot of fun. Next to their cages were the fish tanks. There were different kinds of fishes in these tanks. They looked beautiful as they swam up and down. We stood looking at them for a long time.

Then we came to the lion's cage. There were four lions in the enclosure. They were walking up and down. One of them sat down and began to enjoy the warmth of the sun. Another roared at the crowd. I began to tremble with fear.
By this time we were feeling hungry. We sat down in the park and had our food and lemonade. A few yards from the lion's enclosure were the cages of the panthers. A panther is different from the tiger. It has black spots on its body.There were two panthers in the cage. They were rolling on the warm sand. They were feeling lazy and kept on yawning. Then we saw a fox and a wolf. They were kept in large cages.
Next, we came to see the birds. Their feathers were of different colours. There were several kinds of parrots. They were more beautiful than the common parrots of India. We could recognize some of the birds.
It was getting late so we hurriedly saw the hyena, the giraffe and the zebra. As we were leaving, we saw a peacock dancing. It was a lovely sight. We enjoyed our visit to the zoo.