CHUSKIT GOES TO SCHOOL-(TEXT)

CHUSKIT GOES TO SCHOOL

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

CBSE-IV 

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.

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.

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.

Chuskit’s Chair

 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 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 wished that she could also go with them.

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 come on my chair because 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”.

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 wheel-chair by road to school.

For this, the uneven road had to be made level. One group of children started to level the road. Another group worked to make the area near the river even. But there was still a problem.

How would Chuskit cross the river?

The older children took teacher’s help to make a small bridge with flat pieces of 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!

THANKYOU,

NANDITHA

DEFENCE OFFICER: WAHIDA-(TEXT)

DEFENCE OFFICER: WAHIDA

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

CBSE-IV

Have you ever seen the wahida's  photograph anywhere?

She is Lieutenant Commander WahidaPrism, doctor in the Indian Navy. She is one of the few women who has worked on a naval ship. She is the first woman to lead a parade. This is considered to be a very big honour in the armed forces.We specially spoke to Wahida for this book. Let us read what we spoke.

Question – Wahida, tell us something about your childhood and school. Wahida- I come from a very small village called Thannamandi. This is in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir. I did my schooling from a government school. Most of the girls from the village studied in my school.

However, few of them ever thought of what they would do after finishing school. I always wanted to become someone special and move forward in life. I was very interested in higher studies and wanted to complete the tenth class.

In my area, it was a new thing at that time. My mother and father had to face many problems because of this. 

We even had to move out of our village. We then went to live with my grandmother in Rajouri. I did my twelth class from there.

Question- So you always thought differently right from the beginning? Wahida-Even when I was very young I wanted to do something different. I was very fond of riding a motor-cycle. We are three sisters. My father wanted one of us to become a doctor and one a teacher. He wanted the third daughter to become a lawyer or join the police force. I have become a doctor in the Indian Navy and my sister is in the Jammu Police Force.

Question- How did you become a doctor?

Wahida – I worked very hard. My friends and family members helped me a lot. I got admission in Jammu Medical College. I studied for five years and did my M.B.B.S.

Question – How did you get into the Defence Forces? Didn’t your family stop you?  Wahida – Oh, no! They felt that a job in the Forces would be the best thing for me. When I was very small, I would see army officers in our village. I wanted to be like them. This was really a very big dream for me! While in school, I attended camps, climbed mountains and was a ‘Girl Guide’. After I became a doctor, I appeared for an interview to join the Armed Forces. I got selected there and received a training for six months.

Question- – Why did you join the Indian Navy? Do you not have to live on the naval ship?

Wahida – Well, I am very fond of travelling. I like to see different places. I wanted to go to far-off places. I was born in the hills and now I am working in sea. I really enjoy it. Very few lady-officers have worked on a ship. I am one of them.

Earlier, women were not allowed to go on Naval ships. When anopportunity was given, I myself went forward and gave my name. I even want to go in a submarine. I want to do everything which people think women cannot do. At present women are not allowed to go in submarines, but whenever it is allowed, I will certainly go.

Question – So what happened to your degree of M.B.B.S? Wahida – I am a doctor, but in Indian Navy a naval doctor does not just give medicine to patients. She is in fact, a medical officer. The ship goes to sea for three-four months at a time. There, it is my responsibility to make sure that everybody on the ship stays fit and healthy. I carry out medical check-ups of all the officers and sailors.

I also have to make sure that cleanliness is maintained on the ship. I have to ensure that no garbage collects and there are no rats on the ship. Rats and garbage can spread diseases.

I must keep everybody, ready for any medical emergency on the ship. In case there is an accident on the ship, (like a fire), everybody must be ready to deal with it.

Question – Is there a hospital on the ship?

Wahida – ‘First aid’ is given on every naval ship. Each ship has one doctor and two or three assistants. Necessary medicines and some equipment are also available. All these things are kept in a small room.

Question – You are the first woman to lead a parade. You must have worked very hard for this.

Wahida – My seniors gave this opportunity to me after seeing my performance for three years. I felt happy that they had chosen me and showed faith in me. So I practiced very sincerely.

Question– Tell us something about that parade.

Wahida – In a parade, four platoons march behind the leader. Thirty-six commands have to be given during the entire parade. These must be given in a very loud voice so that it is heard till the rear. The voice should also reach the spectators sitting on the other side of the ground.

Question -Didn’t you feel nervous leading four platoons?

Wahida – I was not nervous, but one has to shout thirty-six commands. If you forget even one, the entire parade can get spoiled. I practised every morning and evening for a month. But, I have been participating in parades since school.

Question – What is the meaning of the word ‘Prism’ in your name?

Wahida – My father gave this name to me. A prism is a kind of glass which reflects seven colours. My father wanted me to be like a prism and that is why he started calling me by this name from my childhood itself.

This is the great story what we learnt about  of our Indian honour  woman Lieutenant Commander Wahida Prism, doctor in the Indian Navy.

THANKYOU,

NANDITHA
REFERNCE BOOKS:
1. INDIAN-NAVY OFFICERS

SPICY RIDDLES_(TEXT)

SPICY RIDDLES

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

CBSE-IV

HOME AND ABOARD_(TEXT)

HOME AND ABOARD

AENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

CBSE-IV

Today, there was a lot of activity at Maalu’s house. Chittappan and his family were coming home after five years. Chittappan had got a job in a country called Abu Dhabi five years ago.

Since then he had lived there. Maalu and her Appa went to the airport to receive them. 

After the plane landed, the passengers had to wait for some time to collect their luggage.

At last Chittappan, Kunjamma and their two children could be seen coming out. “How big Shanta and Sashi have grown,” Appa said. 

Many  suitcases and bags were fitted into the taxi and everyone was on the way to Maalu’s house. “Shanta, you must be very tired after your long journey, Appa told me that Abu Dhabi is another country, far from India,” said Maalu.

Chittappan – Father’s younger brother in Malayalam. Kunjamma – Father’s younger brother’s wife in Malayalam. “We are not tired. Even though it is far, our flight took only two hours,” said Shanta. “The plane flies very fast.” Maalu was surprised.

She remembered that when she had gone on a school trip to Chennai, they had spent almost 12 hours in the train. And on the map, Kochi and Chennai seemed quite near.

Maalu, Shanta and Sashi chatted all the way home from the airport. Maalu remembered how much fun she had on her school trips. She wanted Shanta to tell them all about her trip from Abu Dhabi.

Dust All Around!

“Did you see many interesting things from the plane?” asked Maalu.

“Most of the time we saw only clouds because the plane was flying so high, even higher than the clouds,” said Shanta.

“But before it went so high, we could see that we were flying over sandy areas. It was sand but the colour of the sand kept changing – white, brown, yellow, red, black.

We saw mountains made only of sand.”  “They are called sand dunes,” added Sashi. “I have seen sand only at the seashore,” said Maalu. “Then you should come to visit us,” said Chittappan.

“The countries around Abu Dhabi are located in a desert area. Even if one drives a little away from the city, one can see miles and miles of sand – no trees, no greenery – just sand.”

“I used to dream of the thick greenery and cool water around our home in Kerala,” said Kunjamma. “I am so happy to see all this after such a long time.”

“The children have almost forgotten how it feels when it rains. You know it almost never rains in desert areas,” said Chittappan. “Water is really very precious over there. No rain, no rivers, no lakes, no ponds.

Even below the ground there is no water.” “But,” added Sashi, “there is a lot of oil under the sandy soil. So petrol is easily available in these countries.” “In fact petrol is cheaper than water,” said Chittappan.

By this time the taxi had reached Maalu’s house. Shanta and Sashi were surprised to see so many fruit trees– coconuts, bananas, jackfruit, papaya, betelnut … so many kind of trees!

Sashi said, “We used to see only one kind of tree there – the date palms – because it is the only one that can grow in the desert. The date is the

most common fruit.”

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After they had met everyone, Kunjamma unpacked their bags. They had brought gifts for everyone.

They gave dates for everyone to eat. The dates were very sweet and tasty.

Sashi showed Maalu some notes and coins. Shanta explained that the money they used in Abu Dhabi was different and was called Dirham.

It had some writings in their local language – Arabic. They also showed many photographs of the place where they lived. Chitappan gave Maalu a globe. He said, “Maalu, why don’t you locate Abu Dhabi on this? Locate Kerala also.”

The children enjoyed playing with the globe and looking for different places on the globe. Maalu found Chennai and Kochi also. 

In the evening everyone sat in the verandah, enjoying the breeze and looking at the photographs.

They saw that in Abu Dhabi the buildings were tall with many storeys and big glass windows. Maalu said, “You must be getting nice cool breeze

through the big windows.” Chittappan said, “We cannot open the windows because of the heat. It is air-conditioned inside where everyone stays.

As the weather is very hot, people wear loose cotton clothes and keep themselves fully covered – even the head is covered. This protects them from the strong

sun.”

Maalu enjoyed looking at the pictures and finding out about the other country from her cousins. She constantly kept comparing her city with the things that they described about Abu Dhabi. She decided that she would make a project report about Abu Dhabi for her class.

THANKYOU,

NANDITHA