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   Name: Ghulam Mustafa Name of Institute: Pakistan Shorthand Institute (Ghulam Mustafa) Personal Assistant in Women Development Department, Punjab Civil Secretariat Lahore.

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700 Common Words Exercise No. 10 Longhand

It is regrettable that we so often hear it said that young people get themselves into situations of trouble and difficulty simply because they do not know how to spend their time usefully and happily. This is a very poor state of things when we consider for a moment how many useful and pleasurable things there are for us to do today. There are many happy ways of passing the time, both at home and out of doors: there are things we can do to help ourselves and, equally important or even more important, there are many things we can do to help others. When I was growing up there was no TV but we had a radio set and, of course, we had records. These were the old kind of record now known as 78, and one side of a record played for about two and a half minutes. My mother liked all of the family to be at home on Sunday evenings; she did not like us to go out but we were free to ask to the house any of our friend. The number of young people who sat down at table for the evening meal was sometimes 20 and was always more than 12, so we were a large and happy party. It became our custom, when the meal was at an end, to continue to sit round the table for an hour or two while records were played. The machine was not of the electric save-you trouble kind that we now use but had a motor that required attention at the end of each side of a record, and, of course, it played only one record at a time. This meant that one of our number had to take on the responsibility of keeping the machine going and putting on the records. My father used to bring home a new record most weekends, so that we had a good many. People used to all out for a record they desired to hear, and no one seemed to want to talk while the record was playing as is done so often now. Therefore, we were able to hear the records in peace, and we go to know every detail of them. We all loved this hour or two of record-playing very much, and I know that it lives in the memories of all who were present on those evenings. We had every good time at very little cost, and no one had the smallest desire to go out and make life difficult for some other person. On the Saturday evenings we generally had a party also, but they were much more free and easy; and were certainly not planned with the idea of having a peaceful time. We always asked the people next door to come to the parties so that they would not be upset by the sounds that without doubt issued from our house. What a good time we used to have! And it was a good time in which the whole family and any of their friends who wished to played a part. I except my mother had to work hard on Fridays, but we all did something to help, and there is no doubt that everyone seemed to like those weekends. Then came Monday morning, and I am sure that no one got out of bed a moment sooner than was really necessary  particularly when it was cold! A week of hard work was before us. Day school and home work, office and evening school, took up our time, and there was almost no time at all for play. Life was serious, and we really worked hard. Our life at that time was made up of working hard throughout the week and playing hard at the weekend. And it was a good enough way of growing up. Never for one moment did any of us ask ourselves what on earth we could do next. There was always something waiting to be done, even if it was only ironing a dress or making a new one. I grew up with the radio but no TV, the motor-car but few planes. My mother grew up without TV, the radio, the moving picture, or the motor-car. People walked long distances in her days, but those who had enough money could keep horses. People had to make their own pleasures because very few readymade pleasures existed. What we can be quite sure of is that in my mother’s day young people did not take up wrong doing as a way of passing the time because they could not think of anything good worth doing. Wrong-doing was at that time thought of an connexion with people living in very poor or bad conditions and without much hope in life. Living conditions are better today, and endless opportunities for a happy and successful life present themselves to young people who are willing to be good and to work hard. I hope that my readers are not numbered among those who can think of nothing worthwhile to do in their free time.