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Question
Why do the fathers find trees useful?
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Solution
During the fall, gathering the scattered leaves from the ground, a lot of profit could be reaped. These leaves could be used as fuel or turned into manure and fertilisers. The fathers find this profitable as this aids their business.
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RELATED QUESTIONS
From the text on Bismillah Khan, find the words and phrases that match these
definitions and write them down. The number of the paragraph where you will find the
words/phrases has been given for you in brackets.
1. the home of royal people (1) _____ .
2. the state of being alone (5) _____ .
3. a part which is absolutely necessary (2)_____ .
4. to do something not done before (5) _____ .
5. without much effort (13) _____ .
6. quickly and in large quantities (9) _____ and _____ .
Answer the question in a short paragraph.
What difference does the author note between the flute seller and the other hawkers?
Have you ever had to make a difficult choice (or do you think you will have difficult choices to make)? How will you make the choice (for what reasons)?
How does Iswaran describe the uprooted tree on the highway? What effect does he want to create in his listeners?
Answer these question in one or two sentences . (The paragraph numbers within brackets provide clues to the answer.)
Give an example to show that even as a young girl Santosh was not ready to accept anything unreasonable.
- When I was a girl of about twelve, I used to stay in a village in north Karnataka with my grandparents. Those days, the transport system was not very good, so we used to get the morning papers only in the afternoon. The weekly magazine used to come one day late. All of us would wait eagerly for the bus, which used to come with the papers, weekly magazines and the post.
- At that time, Triveni was a very popular writer in the Kannada language. She was a wonderful writer. Her style was easy to read and very convincing. Her stories usually dealt with complex psychological problems in the lives of ordinary people and were always very interesting. Unfortunately, for Kannada literature, she died very young. Even now, after forty years, people continue to appreciate her novels.
- One of her novels, called Kashi Yatre, was appearing as a serial in the Kannada weekly Karmaveera then. It is the story of an old lady and her ardent desire to go to Kashi or Varanasi. Most Hindus believe that going to Kashi and worshipping Lord Vishweshwara is the ultimate punya. This old lady also believed in this, andher struggle to go there was described in that novel. In the story, there was also a young orphan girl who falls in love but there is no money for the wedding. In the end, the old lady gives away all her savings without going to Kashi. She says, 'The happiness of this orphan girl is more important than worshipping Lord Vishweshwara at Kashi.
- 'My grandmother, Krishtakka, never went to school. So, she could not read. Every Wednesday, the magazine would come and I would read the next episode of the
story to her. During that time, she would forget all her work and listen with the greatest concentration. Later, she could repeat the entire text by heart. My grandmother too never went to Kashi so she identified herself with the novel's protagonist. More than anybody else, she was the one most interested in knowing
what happened next in the story and used to insist that I read the serial out to her. - After hearing what happened next in Kashi Yatre, she would join her friends at thetemple courtyard, where we children would also gather to play hide and seek. Shewould discuss the latest episode with her friends. At that time, I never understoodwhy there was so much of debate about the story.
- Once I went for a wedding with my cousins to the neighbouring village. In thosedays, a wedding was a great event. We children enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.
We would eat and play endlessly, savouring the freedom because all the elders were busy. I went for a couple of days but ended up staying there for a week. - When I came back to my village, I saw my grandmother in tears. I was surprised,for I had never seen her cry even in the most difficult of situations. What had happened? I was worried.
- 'Avva, is everything fine? Are you alright?'
- I used to call her Avva, which means mother in the Kannada spoken in north Karnataka.
- She nodded but did not reply. I did not understand and forgot about it. In the night, after dinner, we were sleeping in the open terrace of the house. It was a summer night and there was a full moon. Avva came and sat next to me. Her affectionate hands touched my forehead. I realized she wanted to speak. I asked her, 'What is the matter?'
- When I was a young girl I lost my mother. There was nobody to look after and guide me. My father was a busy man. He got married again. In those days, people never considered education essential for girls, so I never went to school. I got married very young and had children. I became very busy. Later I had grandchildren and always felt so much happiness in cooking and feeding all of you. At times I used to regret not going to school, so I made sure that my children and grandchildren studied well ...'
- I could not understand why my sixty-two-year-old grandmother was telling me, a twelve-year-old, the story of her life in the middle of the night. One thing I knew, I loved her immensely and there had to be some reason why she was talking to me. I looked at her face. It was unhappy and her eyes were filled with tears. She
was a good-looking lady who was almost always smiling. Even today, I cannot forget the worried expression on her face. I leaned forward and held her hand. - 'Avva, don't cry. What is the matter? Can I help you in any way?'
- 'Yes, I need your help. You know when you were away, Karmaveera came as usual. I opened the magazine. I saw the picture that accompanies the story of Kashi Yatre and I could not understand anything that was written. Many times, I rubbed my hands over the pages wishing to understand what was written. But I knew it was not possible. If only I was educated enough... I waited eagerly for you to return. I felt you would come early and read for me. I even thought of going to the village and asking you to read for me. I could have asked somebody in this village but I was too embarrassed to do so. I felt so very dependent and helpless. We are well-off, but what use is money when I cannot be independent?'
- I did not know what to answer. Avva continued.
- 'I have decided I want to learn the Kannada alphabet from tomorrow onwards. I will work very hard. I will keep Saraswati Pooja day during Dassara as the deadline.
That day I should be able to read a novel on my own. I want to be independent.' - I saw the determination on her face. Yet I laughed at her.
- 'Avva, at this age of sixty-two you want to learn the alphabet? All your hair is grey, your hands are wrinkled, you wear spectacles and you have so much work in the
kitchen...' - Childishly I made fun of the old lady. But she just smiled.
- 'For a good cause if you are determined, you can overcome any obstacle. I will work harder than anybody but I will do it. For learning, there is no age bar.'
- The next day onwards, I started my tuition. Avva was a wonderful student. The amount of homework she did was amazing. She would read, repeat, write and recite. I was her only teacher and she was my first student. Little did I know then that one day I would become a teacher in Computer Science and teach hundreds of students.
- The Dassara festival came as usual. Secretly, I bought Kashi Yatre which had been published as a novel by that time. My grandmother called me to the pooja place and made me sit down on a stool. She gifted me a frock. Then she did
something unusual. She bent down and touched my feet. I was surprised and taken aback. Elders never touched the feet of youngsters. We have always touched the feet of God, elders and teachers. We considered that as a mark of
respect. It is a great tradition but today the reverse had happened. It was not correct. - She said, "I am touching the feet of a teacher, not
my granddaughter; a teacher who taught me so well, with so much of affection that I can read any novel confidently in such a short period. Now I am independent. It is
my duty to respect a teacher. Is it not written in our scriptures that a teacher should be respected, irrespective of the gender and age?' - I did return namaskara to her by touching her feet and gave my gift to my first student. She opened it and read the title Kashi Yatre by Triveni and the publisher's
name immediately . - I knew, then, that my student had passed with flying colours.
About the Author
Sudha Murty was born in 1950 in Shiggaon in North Karnataka. A prolific writer in Kannada, she has written seven novels, four technical books, three travelogues and two collections of short stories. Her previous English book 'Wise and Otherwise' has
been translated into thirteen Indian languages. Her stories deal with common lives and human values such as charity, kindness and self-realisation. As a sensitive writer, she writes about the suffering of the people. The main characters in all her
books are highly educated, non compromising, highly principled women.
Read the information given below.
Do you know that tigers are the biggest cats in the world? There are five different kinds or sub-species of tigers alive in the world today. Tigers are called Panthera tigris in Latin, Bagh in Hindi & Bengali, Kaduva in Malayalam & Pedda Puli in Telugu.
Total Population of Tigers in the world
| SUB SPECIES | COUNTRIES | ESTIMATED Minimum |
POPULATION Maximum |
| P.t. altaica | China | 12 | 20 |
| Amur Siberian, | N. Korea | 10 | 10 |
| Manchurian | Russia | 415 | 476 |
| N .E. China Tiger | |||
| TOTAL | 437 | 506 | |
| Royal BengalTiger | Bangladesh | 300 | 460 |
| P.t. tigris | Bhutan | 80 | 460 |
| China | 30 | 35 | |
| India | 2500 | 3800 | |
| Nepal | 150 | 250 | |
| TOTAL | 3060 | 5005 |
| P.t. corbetti | Cambodia | 100 | 200 |
| (Inda-Chinese Tiger) | China | 30 | 40 |
| Laos | |||
| Malaysia | 600 | 650 | |
| Myanmar | |||
| Thailand | 250 | 600 | |
| Vietnam | 200 | 300 | |
| TOTAL | 1180 | 1790 | |
| P.t. sumatrae | Sumatra | 400 | 500 |
| (Sumatran Tiger) | |||
| TOTAL | 400 | 500 | |
| P. t. amoyensis | China | 20 | 30 |
| (South China Tiger) | |||
| TOTAL | 20 | 30 | |
| GRAND TOTAL | 5097 | 7831 |
Extinct Species
P.t. virgata (Caspian Tiger)
P. t. sondaica (Javan Tiger )
P. t. balica (Bali Tiger)
Tiger in Trouble
Since some tiger parts are used in traditional medicine, the tiger is in danger. Apart from its head being used as a trophy to decorate walls, tigers are also hunted for the following.
Head : As a trophy on the wall.
Brain: To cure laziness and pimples.
Teeth: For rabies, asthma and sores.
Blood: For strengthening the constitution and will power.
Fat: For vomiting, dog bites, bleeding haemorrhoids and scalp ailments in children.
Skin: To treat mental illness and to make fur coats.
Whiskers: For toothache.
Working in groups of four, create your own mystery story. You may use the following chart to plan your story.
| Title of 'Solve-it Story' | |
| Main Character | |
| Secondary character | |
| Setting (where and when) | |
| Problem | |
| Main events | |
| Climax | |
| Solution |
Read the following and share your feelings with the class.
INTROSPECT: Realise Your Potential.
Sixteen year old Shreya, a student of XI, angrily outbursts at her parents and says, "No one likes me".
She has not been able to develop an interest in any activity, be it painting, swimming, games or studying. She is not sure what types of relationships give her comfort.
She has never had a good friend. She is not clear about her choice of career.
Shreya is good-looking, as well as physically healthy. During the interview, she was preoccupied with what others think about her.
When asked to talk about her positive qualities, she thought for a long time but could not list any. Nor was she able to mention her negative aspects.
Self Awareness
Knowing your strengths and weaknesses will help you succeed.
Knowing our helps us in acknowledging our success as well as appreciating our capacity to do something with or without support from others.
This givee us a sense of well being and we are able to learn new skills and develop assets , thereby developing our confidence. Confident people attract friends and other stable relationships.
In due course , we are ready to accept various challenges with the right kind of Investment of energy towarde task completion.
Knowing our weaknesses helps us In accepting our limitations, and developing a willingness to take help when offered and enabling us to overcome our deficits.
This paves way to expansion of skills and qualities, which prove useful ln the long run. It is worthwhile to Introspect and reflect so as to realise our potential . This help to bring about a change in us and we are able to meet challenges .
lf Shreya had introspected or had been helped by her parents or teachers to reflect on herself, she would have understood her positive and negative qualities , her likes , dislike , strengths , weakness , feelings , emotions , outlooks , choices , values and attitude towards life.
self awareness paves the way to pregress with respect to relationships , academic success , professional and personal fulfillment .
Adapted from "The Quest",
The Hindu
The black man's face bespoke revenge
As the fire passed from his sight.
For all he saw in his stick of wood
Was a chance to spite the white.
The last man of this forlorn group
Did nought except for gain.
Giving only to those who gave
Was how he played the game.
Their logs held tight in death's still hands
Was proof of human sin.
They didn't die from the cold without
They died from the cold within.
Read the lines given above and answer the question that follow.
What was the obvious cause of their deaths ?
Answer the following question.
Name two things the elephant can do with his trunk, and two he cannot.
Chandni fought the wolf because she
Notice how in a comic book, there are no speech marks when characters talk. Instead what they say is put in a speech ‘bubble’. However, if we wish to repeat or ‘report’ what they say, we must put it into reported speech
Change the following sentences in the story to reported speech.
(i) Why is your face half-shaven?Gopal’s wife asked him______________________.
What are the functions of feelers or antennae for an ant?
What did Kari eat and how much?
Why did the farmer think of having a pet?
Why did the shepherd always carry his old blanket with him?
Why has sleep been called a wonder?
Why was all the ‘mystery’ spoilt?
Which line in the poem suggests that you need a keen eye and a sharp ear to enjoy a meadow? Read aloud the stanza that contains this line.
