IMPORTANCE OF HOBBIES AND LEISURE ACTIVITIES

Hobbies are interesting , lighter pursuits which we take up as an occupation for our leisure time.Sir Winston Churchill defines hobbies as"alternative mental interest".Hobbies do not yield any material profit.What is business to a man may be a hobby to another.If the material gain is the aim, it is a business, not a hobby.Photography is business for a photographer but a hobby for a student.Gardening is a business for a gardener ,but a hobby for a retired man.We indulge in a hobby only because we love to do it.The origin of hobby is, therefore,irrational love.Why a man loves this or that hobby,he cannot give any satisfactory answer.

Hobbies may be as numerous as there are persons to need them.Different persons have different hobbies. Churchill pursued painting;Einstein relaxed himself by playing upon the violin;Bernard Shaw took delight in growing vegetables.All hobbies can be classified into three categories.

The first is the kind of hobby that is connected with collecting and observing things.Collecting postage stamps is a very common hobby.Some persons make collections of wild flowers and ferns.They press them and preserve in an album.Others take interest in geology and like to collect stones and various samples of rock and soil.There are still others who indulge in collecting pictures,old books,curiosities and antiquities.This kind of hobby is very costly.One has to spend or travel or correspond to collect things.

The second kind of hobby requires some sort of physical exertion.it includes all sort of games such as golf,tennis,cricket,hockey,volley ball and football.Indoor games like chess and cards need no physical exertion yet they are related to this kind.Hunting, rowing and gardening also belong to this category.

Then there is the third kind of hobby which we call creative work.This is where we make things of different kinds with our hands or use our imagination in writing or drawing or in some other way.Photography,sketching,painting and wood-carving are included in this kind.They require special artistics gifts.

It is wrong to think that hobbies are mere waste of time or that they interfere with our important responsibilities.They have their own benefits.

First ,they refresh our minds and enliven our dropping spirits. Twenty one century is the age of worry and strain.Pursuit of a hobby is the only means to avert fatigue. Hobbies relieve us of the dull monotony of life.They remove the tedium of mind and charm to our life."The cultivation of hobby and new forms of interest",says Churchill "is a policy of first importance to a public man".Secondly,hobbies are an education in themselves.We gain and learn much from our hobbies.

Hobbies are a great stress reliever.it helps you to take a break from your stressful routine.They keeps you mentally active and creative.Hobbies are also necessary for your good health. Hobbies build your confidence and keep you physically active.it makes you more interesting and help you to become more patient