In the hills of Uttaranchal there is a place where there

are flowers everywhere. This place is called the ‘Valley

of Flowers’. In some places, one sees red flowers blooming
on bushes, while in others one finds white flowers
peeping out between the stones. There are wide areas
carpeted with the brightest yellow flowers. And
suddenly, elsewhere, blue flowers shining like tiny stars
between the grass. All this seems like a beautiful dream,
doesn’t it? Yes, because like a dream these flowers bloom
only for a few weeks in the year.
Now close your eyes and imagine that you have
reached such a place. How does it feel? Which songs do
you feel like singing ?
Ö Have you ever seen so many flowers grow together
anywhere? where?

Ö How many differently coloured flowers have you seen?

Ö Write their colours.

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The Valley of Flowers

Ö Now you were just left counting, weren’t you?

Are there any things in your house which have designs of

flowers made on them – like clothes, sheets, vases, etc.?
Here is a floral design in the box below.

The design in the picture

is called ‘Madhubani’. It is
a very old form of folk art.
Do you know why it is
called Madhubani? There
is a district in Bihar called
Madhubani. Here, during
festivals and happy
occasions, the walls of the
houses and their courtyards
are painted with such
pictures. These paintings
are made out of paste of
powdered rice in which
colour has been mixed. The colours used in Madhubani
painting are very special too. To make them, indigo (Neel),
turmeric (Haldi), colours from flowers and trees, etc., are
used. The paintings show human beings, animals, trees,
flowers, birds, etc.

Draw your own design in your notebook and colour it as well.

Ö Look at the designs made by your friends as well.

85
For the teacher: Encourage children to locate Uttrakhand on the map.

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 Looking Around

The World of Flowers

Here are some pictures of flowers. Mark a (P) on the flowers
which you recognise. Write their names too if you know.

Ö From the pictures given above, and other flowers that you
know, give names of two which
Ö grow on trees
86
Ö grow on bushes

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The Valley of Flowers

Ö grow on creepers
Ö grow on water plants
Ö bloom only at night
Ö bloom in the day
and close at night
Ö Which flowers can you
recognise by their scent,
even with your eyes
closed?
Ö Which flowers bloom
all the year round?
Ö Which flowers bloom only
in certain months ?
Are there any trees or plants which never have any flowers?
Find out and write.

Why this?
Ö Have you ever seen a board like this
put up anywhere?
Ö Do people pluck flowers even when this
DO NOT PLUCK
board is there? FLOWERS

Ö Why do you think they do this?

Ö Should they do this?

Ö What would happen if everybody

plucked flowers?
87

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 Looking Around

Let us look closely

Children who can bring flowers may bring one or two flowers to
class. Remember that you must collect only fallen flowers. Do
not pluck any flower. Make groups of three or four children and
look at one flower carefully –
Ö What is the colour of the flower?

Ö What kind of a scent does it have?

Ö What does it look like – a bell, a bowl, a brush or anything

else?

Ö Do these flowers grow in bunches?

Ö How many petals does it have?

Ö Are all the petals joined together or separate?

Ö Outside the petals, can you see any green leafy structure?
How many are there?

Ö Inside the petals, in the middle of the flower, can you see
some thin structures? Write its colour.

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The Valley of Flowers

Ö When you touch these, do you find a powdery thing on your

hands?

Blooming buds!
You must have seen buds on the plants. If
there are any flower bearing plants growing
near your school or home, look carefully at
their buds.
Ö What differences do you find between a
flower and a bud?

Ö Draw the picture of a bud and its flower in your notebook.

Ö Can you tell how many days will a bud take to bloom into a
flower ? Let us try and find out.
Ö Choose a bud that is growing on a plant and look at it
everyday. Write the name of the plant.

Ö When you first saw this bud, the date was _________. Now
when the bud has bloomed into a flower, the date is _______.
How many days did the bud take to become a flower ?

Ö Ask your friends the names of the different flowers that

they have seen. How much time did it take their buds to
become flowers? 89
Ö Also observe how many days the same flower took to dry.

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 Looking Around

So many uses!
Flowers are even eaten!
What are the different ways we use flowers in our daily life? Do
you know that flowers can be eaten as well? Many flowers are
cooked as vegetables.
In Uttar Pradesh, Firoza and Nilima enjoy eating a vegetable
made of kachnar flowers.
In Kerala, Yamini wants her mother to cook her a vegetable
made of banana flowers.
Mamta and Omar who are from Maharashtra love pakoras
made of sahjan flowers.
Ö Are flowers cooked in your home as a dry vegetable, a gravy
dish or as a chutney ? Find out which flowers are used for
these.

Flowers in medicines!
Flowers are used to make many medicines as well.
Ö Find out names of any two flowers which are used for making
medicines?

How is rose water used in your house? Is it used as medicine,

sweets, lassi or something else? Find out and tell others.

Colours from flowers

Colours are made from many flowers like marigolds, zenia, etc.
90 These colours can also be used to dye cloth.

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The Valley of Flowers

Ö Find out and write the names

of some more flowers that are
used for making colours.

Ö Can you think of a colour of You may have heard of some of

which there is no flower? Granny’s old recipes which use
flowers. Here is a recipe for which rose
water is used.
Ö Write the names of such flowers GRANNY’S RECIPE
which are used to make scents. Mix equal part of rose water and
glycerine. Fill this in a bottle. Add a
few drops of lemon juice. In winters
use this mixture on your skin. Your
skin will not crack or dry.

Have you experienced the smell on opening a small bottle

of Itr ? Do you know – even a small bottle of Itr is made
from lots and lots of flowers?
The Kannauj district in Uttar Pradesh is famous for
Itr. Truckloads of flowers are brought from neighbouring
areas for this purpose.Itr, rose water, Kewra water are
prepared from flowers here. Thousands of people in
Kannauj are engaged in this work.

For the teacher: Encourage children to locate Uttar Pradesh, Kerala

and Maharashtra on the Map. Discuss with children that Itr is a pure 91
extract of flowers.

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Other Uses
Ö Have you ever read or heard any songs about flowers? Let us
sing this song –

¶vPNh ekyu] esjs cUus dk cuk yk lsgjk]

ckxs tUur xbZ ekyu esjh iwQyksa osQ fy,]
iwQy u feysa rks dfy;ksa dk cuk yk lsgjkA¸
“Good gardener, make for my Banna a garland of flowers;
She went looking for flowers in the garden in heaven;
Make a garland of flower-buds if there are no flowers…”

Talk about it
Ö Do you know when such songs are sung?
Ö Do you or anybody else at home know other such songs?
Collect songs, poems, etc., on flowers. Write them down
and put them up in the classroom.
Ö Are any special flowers used on certain occasions/festivals
by your elders? Make a list of different occasions and the
flowers used at each.

Occasion/Festivals Name of flower

92 For the teacher: Banna - bridegroom. Ask children what they call
bridegroom in their area.

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The Valley of Flowers

Of course, if there are so many uses of flowers, then we need

lots and lots of flowers. Flowers are grown in many places. Imagine
fields full of flowers extending for miles together! How beautiful!

Let us know some more

Have you ever seen anyone selling flowers anywhere? If there are
any flower-sellers nearby ask them these questions and write –
Ö What are the different flowers that they sell? Ask them the
names of three flowers.

Ö Where do they bring these flowers from?

Ö Why do people buy flowers?

Ö In what forms do flower-sellers sell their flowers? Look at

these picture. Tick against those forms that you have seen.

93

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Any other form that you have seen –

Ö Have you seen flowers offered at many religious places?

Ö What do we do when they dry up?

Ö How will you use them?

Ö Some flowers are used in different forms – like rose and
marigold are used in garlands and as loose petals too.
Ö Find out the prices of these different forms.
One flower
One garland
One bouquet
Ö Has the flower-seller learnt to make bouquets or a
net of flowers from anybody? From whom?

Ö Would they like the other members of their family to

do this work? Why?

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The Valley of Flowers

Let us do this activity

You could do this in groups of five or six each.
Ö Collect flowers that have fallen from trees or plants and bring
them to the class.
Ö Spread these flowers neatly between the sheets of an old
newspaper.
Ö Make sure that the flowers do not touch each other.

Ö Now put a heavy object on the newspaper. Leave it pressed

for ten to fifteen days at one place.
Ö After this, take out all the flowers very carefully and prepare
a scrap book. You can take a used notebook or old
newspapers for this.
Ö You can also use these dried flowers to make pretty cards.

Draw a flower of your choice and write its name below :

For the teacher: Encourage children to observe flowers closely. The

children should be helped to group flowers based on easily observable
characteristics - like number of petals, colours, whether in bunches or 95
not, etc.

2020-21
Look carefully at the picture of the river. Read the words given below.
Boat, flowing water, blue, fish, water-plants, river, foul smell, big ship,
oil, river banks, factories, washing clothes, animals, other work,
change, city.
Use these words to make a story. Give a title to your story also.

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A River’s Tale

Look at the pictures and answer the following questions:

Ö What is the colour of the river where it begins?

Ö At some places, there are many

fish in the river, at others there
are only a few and at some places
there are dead fish. What could
be the reason for this? Discuss.
Ö What can be seen in the river
before it reaches the village?

Ö At which places did the colour of

the water in the river change? Why
did this happen? Discuss.
Ö Which of the places shown in the
picture would you like to live in?
Why?

Ö Would you like to change any of the things that you see in
the picture? Why and how ?

Ö Have you seen people throwing different things into rivers or

water bodies?
Ö What could be done to keep rivers clean? Discuss. 107

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 Looking Around

Ö If you wanted to drink some water, from which part of the

river would you like to drink? Why?

Ö In the last part of the picture the river flows into the sea. Have
you ever seen the sea? Where? In a movie, or somewhere else?

Ö Have you ever been near a river or sea? When?

Ö Show with your hands, how the waves in the sea move.

Ö Is the water from the sea drinkable? Why ?

Ö Do you think that there would be changes taking place in a

river, pond or stream at different times of the year ? What
108
kind of changes would these be? Discuss.

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A River’s Tale

Ö Will there be the same amount of water in the ponds or

rivers during the rainy season and in summer ?

Ö Is there a pond, river or lake near your town or city ?

Find out –
Ö Are there any changes in the water during summers, the
rainy season and in winters?

Ö What are the different kinds of water animals found there?

Ö What kind of trees and plants grow around it?

Ö What are the kinds of birds that come there?

Ö Have you ever seen or read about floods? Where?

Ö What happens when there is a flood?

Ö Have you seen dirty water in a river or pond? Where?

Ö How would you know if the water is dirty ? If the water

looks clean, can you be sure that it is alright to drink that
water ? Discuss. 109

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 Looking Around

becomee Dirty?
How does Water becom
You saw in the pictures that as the river flowed through or near
many villages, towns and cities the water changed. The people
used the river water for many different things such as washing
clothes, bathing animals and cleaning utensils. Many of these
activities made the water dirty. The water in the river kept
changing as it flowed through various places. Water in ponds
and lakes can also become dirty due to similar reasons.
From where do you get your drinking water? A river or a
lake? Do you think that like the river in the picture your river
or lake can also be affected?

Try this
Ö For this activity you will need to bring certain things from
your home. You will find most of these in the kitchen.
Ö 5 or 6 glasses or bottles.

Ö Salt, sugar, cooking soda, haldi, flour and dal (about half a
teaspoon each).
Ö Lemon Juice, soap water, sherbet, oil (one spoonful each).

What will you do?

Fill about half of each bottle or glass with water. Make sure
that all have the same amount of water. Now, one by one, put
each of the things in the water. For example – haldi in the first
glass, oil in the second glass, soda in the third glass until you
110 have one thing in each glass. Mix each thing in the water and
see what happens. Write your observations in the table.

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A River’s Tale

What did you observe? Put ( ü ) mark in the right places.

Things Dissolved Did not Colour of water Colour of water

(mixed) dissolve changes does not change
in water in water

Sugar
Salt
Lemon juice
Haldi
Soap water
Flour
Dal
Sherbet
Cooking soda
Oil (Mustard,
Til or any other)

Now on the basis of your observations tell –

Ö Do all things dissolve in water?

Ö Does the colour of the water always change?

Ö Did oil dissolve in water? How can you say whether it has
dissolved or not?
Colour of the water may not change even after some things
are dissolved in it. Would you say that these are absent in water ?
Imagine how it would be if things like sugar, salt, lemon
juice, sherbet, etc., could not dissolve in water !
Imagine how it would be if things like stones, chalk, plastic
and garbage would dissolve in water !
There are many things that dissolve easily in water. Some of
111
these can be very harmful for our body. Hence, it is important

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that we clean water before drinking it. One of the best ways to
do this is to boil the water. If for some reason this cannot be
done, can you think of some other ways to clean water ?
Ö How is drinking water cleaned in your house?

Ö Find out the many different ways of cleaning water at home.

Ö Draw pictures showing any two ways of cleaning the water.

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What to Drink?
Nallamada, Andhra Pradesh
Suguna was reading her
book, when she heard
someone at the door. She
saw that there was a visitor
from the city. Appa
welcomed the guest. He
told Selva to bring a cold
drink for him. The guest
said, “I do not take cold drinks. I will just have a glass of water.”
Appa said, “ These
days we are not getting
water that is fit for
drinking. It does not
even look clean. It
would be better if you
do not drink this water.
We do not have a
choice, so we drink it.”

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Too Much Water, Too Little Water

Discuss
Ö How can unclean or dirty water harm our body?

Ö Have you ever got dirty or unclean water in your area? What
was the reason for this?
Ö Do you know anyone who has fallen sick because of such
water? Talk about this.
Ö When the guest came to Suguna’s house, they offered him a
cold drink, because they thought he should not drink such
water. What do you think Suguna’s family must be doing for
their own drinking water?
Ö The guest said he did not take cold drinks. Why do you
think he said this?

Water Games
Bazaar Gaon, Maharashtra
There was a big
water park near
Bazaar Gaon. One
day Rohan and
Reena went with
their parents to the
water park. There
were many water-
fountains. Reena
said, “Look Rohan,
there are so many rides in the water.” “And look at all these big
ponds,” Rohan said. Splash! Splash! Splash! Both turned around.
They saw a long thick water hose going zoom, zoom, zoom. 147

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Children were sliding down a

big tall slide and landing in water
with a loud splash. Rohan got
into a swing high above –
whoosh!, Within a second, he
had landed in the water. Reena
gave a shriek of surprise!
Just then they heard a lot of
noise and loud voices from outside
the park. Everyone ran towards the
main gate. There was a crowd of
people, carrying empty buckets and pots. A small child carrying
an empty bottle was clinging to his mother. Rohan’s mother went
to one of the women in the crowd. “What is the matter?” She
asked.
The woman replied angrily,
“You ask what is the matter?
Our wells have no water. We
get our water only when the
tanker comes once a week.
Today, even that has not
come. And here, there is so
much water everywhere – just
for you all to play and enjoy. Tell me, what should we do?”

Read and Write

Ö Have you ever faced a shortage of water in your house? When?

Ö What did you do then?

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Too Much Water, Too Little Water

Ö Have you ever played in water? Where and when?

Ö Are there times when you are not allowed to play in water?
What are the reasons for this?
Ö

Ö Have you seen wastage of water in your area? Discuss.

Ö The water park had a lot of water to play in but the nearby
village people did not have water even to drink. Think about
it and discuss.
Ö If you go to a water park, find out from where the water
comes to the park.

Can We Drink This?

Cuffe Parade, Mumbai
The lift stopped at the 26th floor. Deepak
loves going in the lift. Today was a holiday
in school. Deepak had gone with his mother
to Raziya Madam’s house. His mother
worked there. The house was quiet and cool,
and shining clean. Raziya was reading a
newspaper. She smiled when she saw
Deepak. “Is it a holiday today?” she asked.
She switched on the TV and Deepak was
soon lost in the world of cartoons.
Raziya called out, “Pushpa, it says in the newspaper that
the gutter water has got mixed with the water in the drinking 149
water pipes, in this area. It says that many people are sick

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 Looking Around

with diarrhoea and

vomiting because of this.
Why don’t you throw away
the water that was filled
yesterday? Put some fresh
water to boil, for drinking.
Also take home some
boiled water for your
family.” Deepak was happy
to hear this. He thought, “At least today I will not have to stand
in a queue for hours to get water for our house. It is a real
holiday for me!”

Write in your notebook

Ö Why was Raziya worried when she read the newspaper?
Ö Raziya asked that all the water that was filled the previous
day should be thrown. Could this water have been used for
something else? What kind of things?
Ö In what way did she plan to clean the water?
Ö Do you know of different ways to clean the water ? Describe
them.
Ö Suppose, Raziya had not read the news and everyone had drunk
the water without boiling it, what could have happened?

Discuss
Ö Where Deepak lives, everyone has to stand in a queue to fill
water from the common public tap. In Raziya’s house, water
comes all day in the tap. Why is this?
Ö Raziya read news about the water in the newspaper. Have
150 you read any news about water in the newspapers? What
kind of news?

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Too Much Water, Too Little Water

Do and Discuss
Ö Look through the newspapers of the last one month. Look
for all news-items related to water. Cut them out. Stick all
the cuttings together on a big paper to make a big collage.
Talk about what you have collected. Discuss in the class.
Have you ever suffered from diarrhoea and vomiting ? How
did you feel? When we have diarrhoea and vomiting, we lose a
lot of water from our body. This can be dangerous, if we do not
take care. It is important that we make up for the water that we
lose from our body. We should drink a lot of water when this
happens. We should also mix some salt and sugar in the water.
For this, mix one teaspoon sugar and
a pinch of salt in one glass of boiled and
cooled water. Taste it to make sure that
there is not too much salt. The water
should not taste more salty than our
tears. Salt

When a person has diarrhoea and Sugar Water

vomiting, the water must be sipped slowly

by them. Light food must be taken.
Babies should continue to take their mother’s milk as this is
good for them. It is also necessary to take some medicines – they
can also be home-made remedies. If the diarrhoea does not stop,
it is important to get the advise of a doctor.

Water Survey in School

Make three groups of students in your class.
Ö One group will find out about the arrangements of drinking 151
water in the school.

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 Looking Around

Ö The second group will find out about the arrangement of

toilet in the school.
Ö The third group will find out about illness affecting children
in the class.
The questions given below will help the groups to collect
information.
Group 1
Observe and Note –
Ö Put a ( ü) in right box or boxes
Ö Where does the water in your school come from?
Tap Tank Handpump Any other
Ö In your school, from where do you take water to drink?
Tap Tank Handpump Any other

Ö If there is no tap, matka or handpump, then how do you get

drinking water?

Ö Is there water in all the taps or handpumps?

Ö Is there any tap which is leaking or dripping?

Ö Are all the matkas filled with water and are they covered?

Ö Are the matkas and other water containers cleaned regularly ?

Ö How is water made safe for drinking?

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Too Much Water, Too Little Water

Ö Is there a long-handled ladle to take water from the matka

or container ? How many ladles are there per container ?

Ö Is the place around the drinking water–taps or matkas

cleaned regularly?

Think and Discuss

Ö Why do the drinking water places get dirty?

Ö What can we do to keep these places clean?

Find out and write in your notebook

Ö How often (once a day, once in two days, etc.) are the
containers or matkas and ladles cleaned? Who cleans them?
Ö How many children are there in your school? How many
taps, matkas or handpumps are there? Are these sufficient
for children?
Ö Who cleans the places near the water?

Ö Where does the water that is spilt go?

Group 2
Observe and Note –
Ö Put ( ü ) in the box and write wherever it is required –
Ö What are the toilet arrangements in your school?
Built toilet Open area
Ö How many toilets are there?
153

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 Looking Around

Ö Are there separate toilets for girls yes no

and boys?
Ö Is there water in the toilets? yes no
Ö Where does the water come from?

Ö the tap yes no

Ö filled containers yes no
Ö has to be brought from home yes no
Ö Is there water for washing hands near yes no
the toilet?
Ö Do you wash your hands after using yes no
the toilet?
Ö Is there any tap that is leaking or yes no
dripping?
Ö Are the toilets kept clean? yes no

Find out and write

Ö How many boys and girls are there in your school?

Girls Boys
Ö How many toilets are there for girls, and how many for boys?

Girls Boys
Ö If there are no taps, who brings the water for the toilet? From
where does the water have to be brought?

Ö Who keeps the place clean?

154

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Too Much Water, Too Little Water

Talk about it
Ö What can be done to keep the toilets clean?

Ö What can each of us do for this?

Ö Have you seen toilets at bus stands or railway stations? How

are they different from the toilets at home?
Group 3
Talk with the children in your class and fill in the table given
below. In the last few months, how many children in the class
have suffered from any of these?

S. No. Diarrhoea, Vomiting Loose motion Yellow urine, Stomach ache

loose and vomiting yellow (pale)
motions skin and eyes,
mild fever

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Discuss with your teacher what you have found out from
your survey. Now make a report with your findings and
suggestions. Read your report in the assembly. Put it up on the
notice board.

For the teacher: The table lists common symptoms that children may
know about. If these are caused by cholera, then you can discuss them
with reference to this. It is not important that children should know the 155
names of all the diseases.

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 Looking Around

Children show the Way

Too little water, or no water… this was nothing new for the people in
the Holgundi area of Karnataka. The wells would have some water only
in rainy days. In the past three years, there was not even enough rain.
Everything had dried up there. There was no water for drinking, for
growing crops, or for animals. People had to leave their village and go
to nearby towns for some work. Children had to leave school to go with
the elders.

The village panchayat was worried. All the members discussed what
could be done. This panchayat had some special members – children.
The children’s panchayat was called Bhima Sangh.

“Has our village always had water shortage?” the children asked the
elders. “No, it was not so before,” replied village people. Some of the
elders recalled that up on the hill, there used to be a water tank. The
tank would fill with water when it rained. There used to be fish in the
tank, and greenery around it. Those days, even the village wells and
the pond used to have enough water. On hearing this, the Bhima Sangh
decided that they would first look for that tank.

The tank was on the hill. They found that the tank was full of mud
and stones now. How could water fill? The tank had many cracks. How
could the water remain in the tank? There were no trees and grass –
how could there be greenery?

The children said, “We must clean the tank and make the area green
again.” For this, it was important to first understand how things had
been before and why they had changed now. This would help them to
plan for solving the water problem. And, that too, not only for one year,
but for the years ahead.

156 For the teacher: Encourage children to locate Karnataka on the map of
India.

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Too Much Water, Too Little Water

The panchayat took help from some experts. Together, they made a
plan and together they worked for it.

The tank was first properly cleaned. The cracks were repaired. Grass
and trees were planted all around the tank. As the tank was on a hill, a
lot of rain water used to flow down the slopes. With this water, soil also
would flow away. So the children made a small dam on the slope, to
stop the water and soil.

Then everybody waited for the rains to come. When it rained, the
tank filled up with the water. The children put some fish in the tank.
They kept guard to make sure that nobody stole the fish or harmed the
plants. One monsoon went by, then another. Things got better every
year. The tank filled a little more, the plants grew, the fish multiplied.
After two or three years, the tank remained full of water even after the
rains had stopped. The wells and ponds in the village had water again.
There was greenery once again. The people did not have to leave their
village for work.

The hard work of Bhima Sangh had shown results. The children
had shown the way! Those children are now grown up. But the Bhima
Sangh continues, and every year more children are proud to become its
members and work together; to always lead the way.

For the teacher: Let children narrate such experiences in class and ask 157
them to compile these.

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Class Party
The school reopened today after the vacations. The
children share news about how they spent their holidays.
“When did you put mehendi on your palms?” Meena
asked Aarti. “At my uncle’s wedding,” Aarti said. “You must
have had a lot of fun at the wedding,” David said. “Oh,
yes! I enjoyed the wedding feasts the most,” Aarti said.
“At the wedding, we had fun with all my cousins and
other relatives eating and doing everything together.” Aarti
said, “Why don’t we do something like this in school? Let
us also have some fun together.” Rehana asked.
“I have an idea,” David said. “Why don’t we have a
class party ? Then we can also eat and have fun together.”
“We have parties in our colony whenever there is a festival.
We collect money from everyone for the party. We cook
some dishes and buy other things from the market,”
Rehana said.

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Eating Together

Reena said, “We don’t need

a festival to have a party.
Saturday is half-day. Why
don’t we plan to have our party
then?”
Everyone in the class
decided what each would bring
for the party. On Saturday the
children really enjoyed their party. There was so much variety
in food. They played so many games. Everybody was so relaxed.
There was singing and dancing too. They decided that they
would have such a party again.

Write in your notebook

Ö Do you like to eat with others?

Ö On what occasions do you eat together with your friends?

Ö Have you ever had a party in your class? When? What all did
you do to arrange a party?
Ö What did you and your classmates bring to the party?

Ö What all did you eat?

Ö Who were the people you invited for your party?

Ö Were there some people who work in your school, whom you
could not invite? Who were these people?
Ö Did you wear any special dress for the party?

For the teacher: A class party is a good opportunity to get children to

eat together. Children can also be encouraged to prepare songs, dances 167
and plays for the party.

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Ö What are the things that you can do to make the party greater
fun for everyone? Discuss.

Celebrating Bihu
Sonmoni woke up early and
ran to meet her friends
Tanvir, Fatima and Mazani.
Today was a special day in
Assam. The new rice crop
had been harvested. The
village was celebrating the
festival of Bihu. The four
Bhela Ghar friends sang and chatted
happily as they made the Bhela Ghar from bamboo.
Let us read how they celebrated Bihu.
Sonmoni – Hurry up ! We must finish making the Bhela Ghar
of grass and bamboo before the feast tonight.
Tanvir – Yes, today is Uruka. The whole village will eat together.
Fatima – Have they started preparing the feast?
Sonmoni – Yes, everyone has contributed money to buy the
bora rice, fish and vegetables. They also arranged wood for
mezi. Hariya and Bhadiya have not given money, but they are
helping with all the work.
Fatima – What about the meat, fish and vegetables?
Sonmoni – Some people have gone to market to buy all these
things. The bora rice has been soaked. The whole village is

For the teacher: Magh Bihu is celebrated on 14 and 15 of January

(1st and 2nd Magh, the tenth month of Assamese calendar). The first day is
called Uruka, and that day people build a temporary shed called Bhela Ghar
168 and have a community feast. Bora is a common variety of rice used in Assam.
These are ‘sticky’ rice. Encourage children to locate Assam on the map.

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busy making pitha. Some people are cooking and some are
roasting the sweet potatoes. Some will help to serve the food at
night. In the evening, everyone will be served tea and pitha.
Tanvir – I am waiting to eat the cheva rice that we will get at
the feast. I really love it.
Fatima – How will the cheva rice be prepared?
Sonmoni – They will light a fire and boil the water in the big
tao (a big vessel). On this vessel, they will put the Kadhahi
containing soaked rice and cover it with banana leaves. After
some time, the cheva rice will be cooked and ready to eat.

Let us talk
Ö Where is the festival of Bihu
celebrated?
Ö Which are the festivals you
celebrate together with other
families?
Ö Does everyone cook and eat
together on such festivals?
What are some of the special
dishes that are cooked? How
are they cooked?
Ö Are some special vessels used for cooking these items? What
are they?
Ö Which is the biggest vessel that is used? Can you draw a
picture of it ? Can you guess how many people can eat the
food that is cooked in it at one time?
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The Bhela Ghar was ready.

The four friends ran off to
change their clothes. Soon all
the people in the village got
together at one place. The
women were dressed in pat and
Muga mekhala-chador. Sonmoni
and her friends ran to the Bhela
Ghar. The drums started to play
and everyone started to sing and
dance. Everyone danced till they
Mezi
were tired. Then they all sat down
on the ground in rows and ready to eat. The food was served on
banana leaves. Everyone enjoyed the feast. That night they stayed
in Bhela Ghar.
Mazani: Sonmoni! We should go and sleep now. We have to
get up early tomorrow to light the Mezi and Bhela Ghar also.

Find out and do

Ö Can you guess how many people must have eaten together
in the village feast?
Ö Have you ever seen the Bihu dance? Did you like it?

Ö Find out from the students in your class, the festivals that they
celebrate and the special food that they eat on these days. Who
cooks the special food for festivals?
Ö Do you wear clothes of some special colours on some festivals?
Make a picture of these clothes in your notebook.
Ö Are there special songs that are sung at different festivals in
170 your place? Learn some of these songs and sing them in the
class.

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Ö Learn some special festival dances.

Perform these with your friends in your
school assembly.
Ö When you meet friends of your own age
do you do anything special – like play a
game, chat or watch a movie? What else
do you do?

Mid-day Meal
It is almost one o’clock in the afternoon. The smell of food
cooking is coming from the verandah and our stomachs are
rumbling. We are so hungry, we are not able to pay attention to
the lesson in the class.
Ding, Ding, Ding… at last, now the bell rang ! All the children
ran out and went to wash their hands. Master Moshai sent all
the children to the handpump at the corner of the courtyard.
“Anondo, see that everyone washes their hands properly,”
he called.
After washing our hands, we all stood in queue to take our
food. Some had their own boxes, and others had plates. Then
we all sat down in a circle with our food. Before we started to
eat, we sang together –
We play together,
we eat together.
For the good of everyone,
we will always be together.
Today there is bhat-shukto (rice with vegetable and gravy) in
our meal. Yesterday, we had luchi and chhola-dal. Outside Didi
Moni’s room, a list of food items has been displayed. It tells
what we will get on different days of the week. Would it not be
wonderful if on some days we got an extra treat – maybe 171
something sweet!

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There is another interesting thing about lunch time at school.

Everyday we change our places in the circle and sit next to a
different child. I really like this because I can meet new children
and make new friends.
The food was not always very nice. Sometimes, rice was of
poor quality, sometimes, it was not properly cooked. Some
parents did not like their children to eat such food.
Didi Moni explained to them it was everyone’s duty to make
sure that the children got fresh, hot and properly cooked food.
Also make sure that every child gets afternoon meal regularly.
The parents also decided to help.
Now things are better. We eat fresh, hot and properly cooked
food together. The younger children sometimes cannot finish all
the food, but my friends and I are sometimes still a little hungry
even after we eat.
Nowadays many schools give food in school during the day.
It was not always like this. When my didi was in the primary
school, children did not get afternoon meal in school. Some
children come to school in the morning without eating anything.
Imagine! Having to study on an empty stomach!

Find out and write in your notebook

Ö Write about the food given in your school. If you do not get
food in school, ask a friend or someone else who gets food in
school.
Ö What time is the meal served?
Ö What do you get in the meal at school?
Ö Do you like the mid-day meal that you get?
172
Ö Is the food that you get enough for you?

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Do you bring your own plate, or do you get it in school?

Ö Who serves the food?
Ö Do your teachers eat with you?
Ö Is the week’s menu put up on the school board?
Ö What will you get on Wednesday and Friday ?
Ö If you got a chance to change the menu for the meal in
your school, what would you like to change? What would
you like to eat? Make your own menu.
Day Food Items
Monday
Wednesday
Friday

Ö If you do not get food in the school, find out why?

Mid-day M eal
Meal
EVERY CHILD’S RIGHT
Many children in our country are not able to get even
one full meal every day. Many of them go to school
empty stomach and cannot study properly.
Some years ago, the highest court of our country gave
an important decision. All children up to elementary
school should be provided with hot, cooked food. This
is the right of every child.

Ö Where will you lodge your complaint about the mid-day meal?
173
Ö Find out the toll free phone number, the website or e-mail
address to make a complaint.

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Chuskit’s Dream
Today is a special day for Chuskit. It is so special that last
night Chuskit could not even sleep. Do you know why? Chuskit
is ten years old, but today she is going to school for the first
time. She has been waiting for this day since long.
Chuskit’s school is not very far from her house. You have to
take the big road and then walk along the lake. Cross the river
near the poplar trees, and then after a small climb, you reach
the school. This is how all the children of Skitpo Pul village reach
their school. All the children, but not Chuskit.

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Chuskit Goes to School

211
Chuskit amongst photographs from Ladakh

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Ö How do you go to school?

Ö Find out where Ladakh is. What kind of a place is it?

At first Chuskit did not know that she was different from
other children. But slowly she found that she could not do the
things that other children could. It was because of her legs.
Since birth, Chuskit could not use her legs.

Chuskit’s Chair
All day, Chuskit used to sit near the window and draw pictures.
Her mother (Aama-le) said that Chuskit made the best drawings.
This made Chuskit happy. But Chuskit was happier when one
day her father (Aaba-le) got a chair which had wheels. She
quickly learnt how to sit in the chair and how to move it – back
and forth. Chuskit was so
happy because now she
did not need her father to
carry her everywhere.
When she wanted to go out
she would tell her mother
to put her in the wheel
chair. Now, she could
come outside on her own.
Chuskit would see the
other children every
morning. They would be
laughing and playing on
their way to school. She
212 wished that she could also
go with them.

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Chuskit Goes to School

One day Abdul came to her house with a letter. When he saw
Chuskit, he asked her why she did not go to school. Chuskit told
him sadly, “I can not walk. Aaba-le cannot carry me all the way to
school everyday. I cannot even wheel my chair as the road to
school is not level. Also, how can I cross the river ?”
Abdul asked, “But would you want to go to school if you
could?” Chuskit was excited. She said, “Of course I want to go
to school just like all of you. I want to study and play… .”
Her Meme-le (grandfather) stopped her and said, “Chuskit do
not dream. You know that this is not possible.”
Ö What are the things that you enjoy doing in school?

Ö Do you like going to school?

Ö Would you like it if you never could go to school?

A Good Idea
Abdul went back from Chuskit’s house,
but he had started thinking of how to
get Chuskit to school. He explained
about Chuskit to the Headmaster and
talked to the teachers till they agreed
with his thoughts. Now everyone got
together to work so that Chuskit’s
problem could be solved. They made a
plan so that Chuskit could bring her 213
wheel-chair by road to school.

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For this, the uneven road had to be made level. One group of
children started to level the road. Another group worked to
level the area near the river. But there was still a problem. How
would Chuskit cross the river? The older children took help
from the teacher to make a small bridge with wood across the
river. Everyone happily worked hard. They wanted Chuskit to
come to school.
Chuskit’s Aama-le and Aaba-le gave hot tea and biscuits to
everyone. Chuskit’s Meme-le had tears in his eyes – not because
he was sad, but because he was very happy!
By the evening, the work was done. All the children were
happy. But the happiest of all was Chuskit. Her dream was about
to come true.
And today, it was that special day. Chuskit was all ready.
She was eager to go to school!

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Chuskit Goes to School

Talk about it
Ö Who all helped Chuskit to reach school?

Ö If you were Abdul what would you have done?

Ö At last, Chuskit could reach school. Do you think that she may
face some difficulties in school? What kind of difficulties? If you
were Chuskit’s friend, how would you help her?
Ö Do you have ramps in your school on which a wheelchair can
move?
Ö Do you know any child near your house who cannot go to school
because of some difficulty? Would you like to help such a child?
How will you help?
Ö Look at the buildings around your house. Can a wheelchair go
inside the building?

Let us do
Ö Draw pictures of a ramp and a wheelchair in your notebook.

Ö Why not make your own bridge? For this, use material that you
can find around you – Ice cream sticks, plastic spoons, small
sticks, rope, string etc. Your friends can also make bridge.
Ö In a group of friends make a model showing fields, rivers,
mountains, roads, and railway tracks, etc. You can use clay,
sand, pebbles, twigs, leaves. Place your bridges at different
positions on this model.

215

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Chuskit and her School

School

216 Help Chuskit to reach school

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