8 8.1 Objectives At the end of this lesson you will be able to:- read and understand a story identify the feelings of the people in the story from the words used locate words that express sounds see how the use of adjectives helps us describe things, people and places learn one way of asking questions understand and use words that relate to life and work in villages understand what recycling means fill in a diagram from a description of a process write a description of the place you live in. 8.2 Let s read This is the story of a girl from the city who visits a village, gets to know the villagers and begins to understand what their lives are like. Let us read and find out more about life in a village. 68
Thud, thud, rumble, thud. What s that? Anusha asked Naina curiously. They are repairing the wall. What wall? Naina quickened her pace. Rumble, thud, rumble, thud. A regular rhythmic sound interspersed now by a strong chorus of singing voices. Anusha could not understand the song but was intrigued and excited. The two rounded the corner and saw something that made Anusha stand stock still here. The rumble and thud were right here. Activity, laughter, song and work a few men and a long line of fifteen to twenty women, young, middle aged and old, their clothes tightly wound around them carrying stones in the late afternoon sun. Stones that passed from hand to hand, large round heavy stones to repair what seemed to be a long wall. A wall that snaked its way across the fields as far as the eye could see. What are they doing? Anusha asked. Look at this field dug up and destroyed by boar, said Naina. Even the beautiful deer from the sanctuary come and destroy the crops. So the women in the village decided to repair the wall before celebrating Jugaath next week. 8.1 Read, Think and Answer I 1. Who do you feel knows more about the village Anusha or Naina? Why do you think so? 2. According to Naina, what is the cause of the noises? 3. Why were the long line of men and women carrying stones and passing them on? 69
4. From which animals were the villagers trying to protect their crops? 8.3 Section II The women in the village were building a wall to keep out animals. What other kinds of work do village women do? Let us see what more Anusha finds out about them. 70 Anusha was surprised by the practical attitudes of these women. She looked around. Below the wall grew long grass which a group of women was already cutting. They squatted on the ground, the tall stalks falling before the firm circular swings of their sickles. What are they cutting the grass for? Anusha asked of the young girl. To feed the cows, to feed the cows, Naina replied as if it were a song punctuating the rhythm with stamps of her feet. The city girl doesn t know that most of the work here is done by us women, said one the women. What do the men do? asked Anusha. Some of them do the ploughing. In fact, that s all they do other than drink or migrate and go to stay in the city. But who breaks the clods to prepare the soil for ploughing? Who sows the seedlings? Who harvests the crops? Who pounds the paddy? Us women, the women replied. It was now like a game each of the women throwing out a question with a laugh. Who carries the manure from the cattle shed to the distant fields? Who cares for the animals? Who milks the cattle? They laughed flinging the questions between them Who cooks? Who gathers the wood? Who carries the loads of grass? Who who.. who? A smile began to play on Anusha s lips. She smiled as she began to understand the
situation. It was a tough life for people here, and even tougher for the women. The men had mostly left the village to find work elsewhere. She marvelled at the way they made a living from this poor land. No wastage in any sphere, everything was recycled. 8.2 Read, Think and Answer II 1- Why were the women cutting the grass? 2- One of the women said, The city girl doesn t know that by us women. Who is the city girl? 3- According to the village women, what do the men do? 4- Make a list of all the jobs that the women of the village do. 5- It was like a game. What was like a game? 6- Why did Anusha feel that life was tough for the villagers? Do you agree? Give reasons why you agree or do not agree. 71
8.4 Section III You have read about Anusha s interest in the lives of the villages. Now read on. You will find that in this passage she learns how the villagers re-use materials. The fodder, made up of grasses and leaves, was fed to the animals. The animals gave milk, and even more important, dung. The dung was used as manure and it made agriculture possible on this poor land. That is why they were so dependent on the forests. If they could not get grass and tree leaves from the forests, their animals would not give dung. But the government did not understand this and kept stopping the people from going into the forest. They also planted numerous trees along their terraces to get fodder. The straw that was left over in the fields after the harvesting of the grain was also fed to the animals. Everything was connected in the village to everything else. Forests were connected to animals, animals were connected to agriculture, and agriculture to people s food. Without any one of them their forests, their fields or their animals, the villagers of Peeda could not feed themselves. It was not just a question of earning some money, as father did back home, and going out to buy the food. Anusha now understood what her teacher had told them of how dependent our villagers are on their environment. Anusha also marvelled at the fact that the villagers had made so many innovations to conserve and recycle: from using kitchen water to water plants and grazing the animals in the fields for a few months before sowing the crop thereby manuring the land, to building this wall to protect their crops from wild animals. Her respect for the villagers intelligence grew with every new experience. 8.3 Read, Think and Answer III 1- Why did the villagers need the forests? 2- What is the name of the village that Anusha is visiting? 3- Why did Anusha respect the villagers? 72
8.5 Section IV As you saw, Anusha started with an interest in villagers and their lives. As she found out more, she began to respect them. But can she also take a part in their work? Read on and find out. Suddenly, Anusha s thoughts were disturbed. A low moan and a cry came from one of the women who squatted while cutting grass. She keeled over and lay on her side, pressing her hands to her lower stomach. Chameli, what s happened? the group stopped working and gathered around her. Aunsha peered anxiously over the shoulders of the concerned women, chattering now in low tones. I told her she was getting out of bed too soon after giving birth. It is only four days. But what can she do? There s no one to help in their house. And her husband is busy working far away in Kanpur. Couldn t get leave, he wrote. Better now? Lie still, we ll collect the fodder for your animals, one woman s voice rang out. We ll do it, give me her sickle, Naina also piped in, bright as ever. You return to your work, maasi. We? Oh, you mean you and the city girl? Let her have a try. Ramvati s voice was a teasing challenge to Anusha. The woman returned to their job at the wall. They started a new song. The song echoed in the mountains, its strong rhythm punctuated by the rumble and the thud. The sickle was much heavier than Anusha had ever expected. Her arms ached as she swung it the way Naina demonstrated, inexpertly at first, but then growing more and more adept. Her eyes blinked back tears tears brought on by the vigorous use of the muscles, tears of happiness as the rhythmic movement made her part of these strong women. She attempted to join them in their songs as they repeated them over and over. Her voice first stumbled on the unfamiliar words but slowly grew louder and louder. Singing made the task easier, she thought, easier and greater fun. She was really enjoying herself, joining this community of women in their important task. 73
8.4 Read, Think and Answer IV 1- Why did one of the women fall over on to her side and moan? 74 2- How did the other women react (i.e. what did they say and do) when she fell over? 3- Why didn t the woman take more rest after delivering a baby? 4- Where was the woman s husband? 5- What did Naina suggest that she and Anusha do? 6- In what way were Ramvati s words, Let her have a try a challenge? 7- Was Anusha able to cut grass easily? 8- Why did Anusha s eyes fill with tears? Do you think she was sad?
9- Why did the women sing as they worked? 8.6 Overall Questions 1. Describe, in a paragraph how the villagers were rebuilding the wall? 2. Do the villagers like to sing? How do you know that? When and why do they sing songs? 3. What do you think Anusha learned from her visit to? 8.7 Let s Learn Grammar I A. Using Adjectives I Throughout this story, adjectives are used to create clear word pictures in our minds. Here are some examples A low moan came from one of the women. It is only four days. You and the city girl. 75
Ramvati s voice was a teasing challenge. They started a new song. The vigorous use of the muscles. She stumbled over the unfamiliar words. She joined them in their important task. Adjectives usually tell us more about nouns. And as you know, nouns are the names of people, places, things and feelings. Adjectives tell us more about nouns they help to tell us more about size, shape, quality, quantity etc. Look up the meanings of those adjectives that you don t know well. B. Using adjectives II Look at these adjectives Heavy Heavier Heaviest This box is heavy but that one is heavier Easy Easier Easiest That large box is the heaviest of them all My homework was easy, Priya s was easier, and Pavan s was the easiest. Here are some more words with their degrees of comparison shown. Please note that the degrees of comparison are called positive, comparative and superlative degrees. e.g Rich (Positive) Richer (Comparative) Richest (Sperlative) For many words we add er and est to the word. Soft softer softest Sweet sweeter sweetest Tall taller tallest Tame Tamer Tamest For short words ending in e we add r and st. 76
White Whiter Whitest Sad Sadder Saddest For many words that end in one Hot Hotter Hottest consonant, we double the same consonant and then add er and est Pretty Prettier Prettiest For words that end in y we drop the last y and add ier and iest Happy Happier Happiest Beautiful More beautiful Most beautiful For longer words, we show the difference in comparison by placing Intelligent More intelligent Most intelligent the words more and most before the word. In the following exercise, what is the positive from of the adjective underlined and numbered? The first one is done for you. Exercise I Sentence positive form 1- This is the widest road in the city wide 2- The weather will turn colder in a few days. 3- He is the most honest member of the party. 4- That s the strangest story I ve ever heard. 5- This line is more curved than it should be. 6- The lights are dimmer because of low voltage 7- The street has become muddier after the recent showers. 8- Raj has no sense, and I think he is the craziest of my friends. 8.9 Let s Learn Grammar II A. Asking Questions There are many questions asked in this story. Here are some of the question asked: 77
78 What s that? What are they doing? What are they cutting the grass for? What do the men do? Who breaks the clods to prepare the soil for sowing? Exercise I Here are some of the other questions, but the first word is missing. Fill in the blanks. sows the seedlings? harvest the crops? cares for the animals? You will see that the first word in the all the questions starts with the letters wh They are words such as: What who where when why Questions that start with wh and h words (e.g. how) form a large part of the questions that we usually need to ask. e.g. What s your name? Where do you live? You will find that the wh and h questions have to be answered by giving information. e.g. What s your name My name is Saleem. Where do you live? I live in Hyderabad. When are you coming here? I m coming there on Friday.
Exercise II Here are four answers to four questions. Match the right answer to the right question. 1. What is he doing? a. She s my friend s mother 2. How far is it to the station? b. I have to meet my teacher in five minutes. 3. Who s that lady? c. He s writing a letter. 4. Why do you have to leave so soon? d. It s just a kilometer away. 8.10 Increase Your Word Power I A. Words that express sounds Which are the words in Section I that suggest sounds? Look at the following words and phrases: Thud rumble a regular rhythmic sound A strong chorus of singing voices laughter song Let us think about how these sounds are caused When stones are thrown down and shifted we hear thudding and rumbling noises. As villagers work together these noises are repeated, so there is a regular rhythmic sound. When sounds are repeated at regular periods of time, we feel that there is a rhythm to the sounds. Songs also have rhythm. Sometimes we clap our hands to the rhythm of the song. When many people sing together, that is called a chorus. Exercise I Here are some more words that stand for sounds: Bang crash splash rustle What kind of sounds do you think these are? Try and fill these four words in the spaces below: 1. There was a as Raju jumped into the water. 79
2. The Diwali crackers went off with a.. 3. The leaves of the tree. in the wind. 4. The pile of books fell down with a.. Now check out the answers. Also look up the words in the dictionary. B. Words that express feelings Look at these words from the passage: Curiously intrigued excited. These words help you understand that Anusha feels a strong interest in the things she sees in the village. She is curious (i.e. she is keen to find out the reason for the unusual sounds she hears.) She is also intrigued and excited by the villagers song. Find out what those two words mean by looking them up in the dictionary. Curious, intrigued and excited are all adjectives that express our feelings. They express the reactions we have to what happens around us. Look out for other words like this in the rest of the lesson as well. 8.11 Increase Your Word Power II A. Words related to the life and work of villagers There are many words in this section related to the life of the villagers and their work. Find the following words in the text. Match the words here against their meanings. Exercise I Words Meanings a. Fodder 1. The act of gathering in a crop b. Dung 2. Putting animals to feed in a field c. Manure 3. Coarse food for domestic animals d. Agriculture 4. Stalks of plants left after crop is cut e. Terraces 5. Waste matter passed by an animal f. Straw 6. The air, climate and other living conditions that surrounds us g. Harvesting 7. Material that helps to make soil yield well h. Environment 8. A series of sloping ridges cut into a hill side to keep moisture in and grow crops i. Grazing 9. The practice of growing crops, raising cattle etc. 80
8.12 Let s Talk Imagine that you are talking to your friend about processes and the stages that things go through. For example, we have a cycle of seasons. Summer Winter Monsoon Talk about things produced in processes in villages like crops, milk, dung, straw. Show how nothing is lost. You can use these clues.. (i) crops are.. (ii) straw is dried (iii) dung is used as (iv) everything is. 8.13 Let s Write Think about your own town or village. Jot down you ideas and write a paragraph about the place where you live. Look over the ideas you have listed. Select the ones you feel would go well with your topic and then write. The place in which is live is (Here are some suggestions for sentences you might like to put into the description: It has It doesn t have Most people 81
In the centre Near On the outskirts Now write about the people who live in your town, village or city. Are there many people or only a few? What kinds of work do they do? Do they all work at the same things. Or do they do different kinds of work? Are they busy all day? How are they usually dressed? Write a paragraph about the people you live among. Here are some suggestions for sentences you might like to put into your description of the people: Many/most people are while other are. (Examples for filling in the blank spaces farmers, shopkeepers, office or factory workers, teachers, craftsmen, masons, construction workers etc) Many/ some work for (Examples for filling in the blank space a landlord, a company, a bank, an organization like the government, railways, electricity department etc) Men usually wear while women wear. 8.14 Check Your Answers Read, Think and Answer I 1. Naina knows more about the village. This is clear from the fact that Anusha asks the question and Naina explains. (The title also gives us a clue.) 2. According to Naina, the noises were due to the activity of mending the wall that the villagers were engaged in. 3. By forming a long line and passing on the stones from one person to another, the villagers were better able to get the stones to the point at which the wall had to be repaired. 4. The villagers were trying to protect their crops from deer and boar who came in and destroyed their crops. 82
Read, think and Answer II 1- The women were cutting the grass to feed the cows. 2- Anusha who is obviously someone new to the village must be the city girl. 3- According to the women, the men sometimes do the ploughing. But apart from that they do not do anything other than drink or go away from the village. 4- Asking questions about who did a particular job in the village and replying Us women was like a game. As the women enjoyed this game, each woman threw out a question with a laugh. 5- Anusha felt that life was tough for the villagers because it was clear that there was a lot of work to be done in the village. And as many of the men had left the village to work elsewhere, those who were left had a tough life. Do you agree with Anusha? (This is an open question, and answers can vary.) Read, Think and Answer III 1- The villagers need the forests because they need fodder to feed their animals. In turn the animals give dung which is used as manure in the fields. 2- The village is named Peeda. 3- Anusha respected the villagers because she had come to realize that the villagers had found many innovative ways to conserve whatever they had, and to recycle products of the many processes that occurred in the village. For example, they used kitchen water to water plants. They allowed animals to graze in the fields for a few months before sowing the crop, so that the land was manured. Read, Think and Answer IV 1. One of the women fell over onto her side and moaned because she was in pain. The reason for this was that she had delivered a baby just a few days earlier and still needed rest. 2. The other women stopped working and gathered around her in concern. They discussed what had happened and showed sympathy towards her, offering to collect the fodder for her animals. 3. She had not spent enough time resting because her husband was away in Kanpur working and so there was no one to help her at home. 4. The woman s husband was away in Kanpur working. 83
5. Naina suggested that she and Anusha could cut the grass for the women. 6. Ramvati felt that since Anusha was a city girl and knew nothing of using a sickle, it would be a challenge if she managed to learn to use it successfully. 7. Anusha wasn t able to cut grass easily to begin with. In fact she found the sickle heavier than she expected, and her arms ached as she tried to cut grass with it. But as she continued she became better at it. 8. The exertion of vigorously using the sickle to cut grass brought tears to Anusha s eyes. These were also tears of happiness as she enjoyed the companionship of the women of the village. 9. As Anusha tried to join the women in their song, she felt that singing helped to make the task easier and also more fun. Perhaps that is why the women too sang as they worked. Let s Learn Grammar Exercise I: B. 2. Cold, 3. Honest, 4. Strange, 5. Curved, 6. Dim, 7. Muddy, 8. Crazy Exercise II: Who, when do they, Who Exercise III: 1-c, 2- d, 3-a, 4- b Increase Your Word Power I Exercise I: 1. Splash, 2. Bang, 3. Rustled, 4. Crash Exercise II: a-3, b- 5, c- 7, d- 9, e- 8, f- 4, g- 1, h- 6, I- 2 84