The Young Chronicle: For 2nd Graders January 31st, 2015 | Page 2

YOUNG CHRONICLE

THE Y UNG CHRONICLE
The Unsung Heroes

So many deaths,
Shrieks and Cries,
The soldiers with patriotism
still alive,
Have left their homes and
died.

RK Laxman, the Creator of the ‘Common
Man’ is No More.

Rambo and Pranks got really curious when they saw the
shocked expressions of their parents, when they heard
the news that RK Laxman was no more. Who was RK
Laxman, Rambo and Pranks wondered? Why were their
parents so upset with his death?

The dreams together they
had sown,
Never to be fulfilled,
Their graves have already
been
Forgotten and filled.

Papa then took out a book of RK Laxman’s cartoons,
which he had bought years earlier. The cartoon had a one
of India’s most profound cartoonists and the newspaper
would be nothing without his ‘Common Man’ cartoons.
Rambo and Pranks sifted through the pages, and came
across a number of cartoons on corruption, politics,
government offices and more.

Today the widows,

The Common Man was an onlooker, in most of the
cartoons. Though he just stood and watched, he kept a
watch on everything happening around. He depicted the
hopes, aspirations, and troubles of the average Indian,
through a daily comic strip, "You Said It" in The Times of
India.

And the orphans,
Colonel M.N.Rai
Reach out with despair,
All they have is memories and pride,
But we all know their pain is beyond repair.
Written as a tribute to Colonel M.N. Rai, who won the
Gallantry Award, this republic Day, and was killed in
gunfire, the very next day, in Kashmir; and all the other
martyrs till date.

What is Martyrs Day and why is it
Celebrated on 30th January?
Rambo and Pranks were a bit flustered when their teacher asked
the entire class to observe a minute of silence. As the class got up,
they thought they were probably being punished for making noise.
After a minute, the teacher asked them all to sit, which confused
them and the other students further.
It was only when the teacher explained that they stood up and
observed silence to pay respect to the people who had sacrificed
their lives for the country, did the class understand.
But why 30th January, Rambo asked. Thatʼs because Mahatma
Gandhi was shot dead on this day, replied the teacher promptly.
Mahatma Gandhi was the father of the nation and he was shot
dead by Nathuram Godse, one of those people whose views
differed from Mahatma Gandhiʼs.
On Martyrʼs Day the president, the vice president, the prime
minister, the defence minister, and the three Service Chiefs gather
at the samadhi at Raj Ghat memorial and lay wreaths decorated
with multi-colour flowers.