What was going on when I was born?

IN small apartments, with space at a premium, listeners are often at a loss where to stash their stereos. Standard-size components rarely fit standard-size bookshelves. That may account for mounting interest in minicomponents - tuners, amplifiers, tape decks and even loudspeakers scaled down to a fraction of their customary bulk. These bantams are favored not only by urbanites living in cramped spaces; they are also gaining popularity among listeners who simply don't want their home dominated by big, knobby sound gear. Stereo, they feel, should be heard, not seen.

''Here you have the most controversial area of discussion in what is probably t he most controversial nuclear plant in the country.

Greek left expected to win elec- tion A2 Commonwealth talks focus on Af- rica A3 Printers reje ct Times of London accord A3 Around the World A4 Pakistani commandos end Sikh hijacking in Lahore A8 Sadat backs Awacs sale to Saudis A12 Haitian President says he expects new U.S. aid A14 U.S. and Haiti announce plan to end flow of migrants A14 Government/Politics Interest rates bring economic chill to Cedar Rapids, Iowa A30 Conferees increase a tax deduc- tion for members of Congress A32 Byrne urges Jersey to open files in Lindbergh kidnapping B2 Reagan nominates New York judge for Court of Appeals B8 Transit workers get cost-of-living increase B10 Washington Talk Briefing A28 Required Reading A28 Labor Secretary Donovan says his clientele is America A28 General Around the Nation A16 Russians deny embassy contacts with U.S. officer A21 High interest rates have slowed co-op sales in New York B4 Health/Science Use of new dye may have led to fruit fly infestation A16 Doctors testing an way of dissolv- ing clots after a heart attack A17 Religion Mormons alter wording of proph- ecy on native Indians A17 Home Section Home Governors' mansions: Bringing them back alive C1 Finding stereo components to fit narrow shelving C1 Contemporary Swedish silver C5 Where to find those luxury linens C8 On beauty contests and 40th birth- days C1 Hers C2 Helpful Hardware C2 Home Beat C3 Home Improvement C4 Design Notebook C10 Calendar of Events C11 Gardening C12 Arts/Entertainment American Craft Museum to open a second display space C13 City Opera gives season's first "La Boheme" C14 Pauline de Groot dances her "Yellow Whale" C17 In New York concert halls, a sense of deja vu C18 Michael McClure's musical "The Derby" is staged C18 British art dealers and auction- eers settle lawsuit C21 "Chorus Line's" Michael Bennett back on Broadway C21 F.T.C. drops consideration of rule on children's TV ads C22 Elverman's first play, "Particu- lar Friendships," staged C23 Chicago sponsoring a major 1982 new-music festival C24 "The Obsession," on overeating and obesity, is reviewed C25 Stream Dance Inc. gives double- matinee performance C35 Dorothy Donegan begins jazz piano performances C35 Obituaries Dr. George W. Corner, medical historian and scientist B12 Edward McCaffrey, retired jus- tice of State Supreme Court B12 Sports Duguay agrees to terms; Rangers beat Flyers B14 Royals gain playoff spot against A's by beating Twins B15 Seoul and Calgary named host cities for 1988 Olympics B15 Mets beat Cubs on Mazzilli hit in ninth, 2-1 B15 Roy Hamilton strives to make Nets B15 Giants say Carpenter will report today B15 Dave Anderson on the James Madison of sports B16 Features/Notes Issue and Debate: Should Awacs sale to Saudis be approved? A1 Notes on People B11 Sports People B19 News Analysis Kenneth A. Briggs writes on im- pact of Cardinal Cody inquiry A16 Hedrick Smith on the beginning of the 'new year' for Reagan A31 Dena Kleiman on New York's at- tempt to stem dropouts B3 Editorials/Letters/Op-Ed Editorials A34 The clouded missile "window" Scant justice on little boats Misguided mall Topics: youthful indiscretions Letters A34 Anthony Lewis: a shot across the bow A35 William Safir e: India and the Islam bomb A35 S.I. Hayakawa: speaking Eng- lish, by law A35 Leonard Sussman: Unesco's "order" A35

The International Business Machines Corporation, the world's largest computer c ompany, is reported to be o n the verge of a major reorganization, spurred in part by heated com petition and internal conflicts within its sales groups. Executives of the company, which has its headquarters in Armonk, N.Y., were said by analysts and sources within I.B.M.'s globespanning organization to be explaining the shifts at meetings with division vice presidents yesterday. The changes apparently include scrapping its traditional divisionbased sales approach, in which separate sales representatives from the data processing, general systems and office products units might all call on the same customer. Instead, I.B.M. customers will be able to order a full range of I.B.M. products, ranging from its large mainframe computers, to small desktop business computers from the same sales personnel.

President Reagan's economic and social policies will finally be put to the test as most of his budget and tax reductions go into effect tomorrow, marking a historic contraction in the role of the Federal Government. At the start of the new fiscal year, after more than eight months of intense public debate over the major social programs, Americans will finally start feeling the effects of the cuts. There are strong indications that the states, which under the Reagan philosophy must bear more of the burden of caring for the poor, will, for the most part, not increase their spending to compensate for the loss of Federal money. Poor people and those who are just above the poverty line, especially those who are also employed, will be most sharply affected. Some welfare recipients will get smaller checks than usual or no checks at all in the mail this week. Some people will become ineligible for Medicaid. Several million Americans will receive smaller allotments of food stamps. And as soon as new regulations can be issued, rents will rise for the 2.4 million families living in subsidized or public housing.

The Government's index of leading economic indicators, designed to forecast economic trends, declined fivetenths of 1 percent in August, the Commerce Department reported today. It was the third decline in the past four months. It would have been the fourth straight decline, but the drop of one-tenth of 1 percent originally reported for July was revised to an increase of four-tenths of 1 percent. The index has declined in most of the months since last November, when it peaked after recovering from the recession in the spring of 1980.

The new, eagerly promoted tax-exempt savings certificates go on sale today amid predictions that they will attract far more funds than originally expected. This would mean a substantially higher tax loss to the Government than it initially believed. Commercial banks, savings banks and savings and loan associations are competing vigorously in offering the new tax-exempt certificates, which come in denominations as low as $500. Many banks are adding staff or extending their hours, and heavy advertising campaigns are common. Credit unions also are offering the certificates. Each person who buys the one-year certificates, sometimes referred to as ''all-savers certificates,'' may exempt up to $1,000 of the interest from Federal income taxes. Married couples filing joint tax returns may exempt up to $2,000.

The Koch administration will put forth today a plan to prohibit developers in much of Manhattan below 96th Street from taking advantage of a variety of New York City tax abatements geared toward encouraging the construction or rehabilitation of commercial buildings. The proposal, city officials said yesterday, will also specify neighborhoods where developers below 96th Street can claim tax benefits as a matter of right if they meet certain criteria. Among these ''as of right'' areas are blocks in and around Times Square that the Koch administration has marked for significant development over the next few years. The rationale for restricting abatements in Manhattan is that they are no longer needed in some areas to stimulate new construction. However, in the four other boroughs, the adminstration will make no recommendation that any area be automatically excluded from these tax benefits, which are awarded by the five-year-year old Industrial and Commercial Incentive Board.

The Postal Service, overruling the independent Postal Rate Commission for the first time, announced today that it would raise the price of a first-class domestic stamp by 2 cents, to 20 cents. The new rate will be effective Nov. 1. The Postal Service said the increase, the second this year, would bring in $1 billion in additional revenue the first year and would permit the service to break even for the 1982 fiscal year, which begins tomorrow. The service estimated its lo sses for the current fiscal year at $600 million.

INTERNATIONAL FOUR IRANIAN MILITARY LEADERS DIED in an air crash near Teheran. Details were not disclosed. The four, who included the Defense Minister and acting Chief of Staff, played key roles in the prosecution of Iran's year-old war with Iraq. (Page A1, Column 1). TAIWAN REJECT ED A PEKING OFFER of talks aimed at sharing power in a unified China . The Nationalists asserted that the Communists' proposal was a propaganda ploy. (A6:1-4.)

A weeklong effort by the Reagan Administration to renegotiate some terms of its proposed sale to Saudi Arabia of five Boeing Airborne Warning and Control System planes and other equipment has underlined how heated and important the dispute aroused by the plan has become. When the White House gives formal notice to Congress tomorrow of its intent to proceed with the $8.5 billion sale, the Senate and House will have 30 calendar days in which the proposal can be blocked. Both houses must pass a concurrent resolution of disapproval to stop the sale; passage is believed to be nearly certain in the House, and half of the Republican-controlled Senate has sponsored such a measure. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee plans four days of hearings starting tomorrow. It is expected to end the hearings Wednesday and to vote that day. Congress then begins a weeklong recess. After the Senate returns, any member can call up the resolution of disapproval for floor debate and a vote by the full Senate.

A Federal inquiry into design errors at the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, which focused at first on improper placement of supports protecting a cooling system against earthquakes, was broadened today to include five key safety systems. The Pacific Gas and Electric Company confirmed today that some blueprints for the completed reactor were inadvertently switched with those for a second still under construction. As a result, stresses on the ''seismic support hanger'' would be different. At issue in the expanded inquiry by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is whether the reactor components could withstand an earthquake. The plant has been the target of repeated demonstrations because its site is near an offshore earthquake fault at San Luis Obispo, Calif.