ACROSS THE WALL - TEXT

ACROSS THE WALL

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

CBSE-V

Stars in her eyes (Indian Express, 2007)

Just 13 years old, Afsana Mansuri has already jumped over the wall. The wall between her jhuggi and the local basketball court. The wall made by society, for a girl who washes utensils for a living.

The gender wall her mother had put up for her. Today, Afsana herself has become a strong wall of NBA, the Nagpada Basketball Association of Mumbai.

Today, she is the source of strength for five other girls who have come to the basketball court, leaving behind the problems of their everyday lives.

Today, she is the star of a young team. This team has managed to surprise some of Mumbai’s club teams. With a lot of guts and courage, the team has reached the semi-finals of a district-level tournament.

Meeting the team

We read in the newspaper about Afsana and the Nagpada basketball team. We thought of meeting these girls and introducing them to you. We took the train and got off at Mumbai’s Victoria Terminus Station (railway station). From there we walked towards Nagpada. It took us just twenty minutes to reach there.

There we met Afsana and the other girls of the Nagpada Basketball Association. Read the interview with the team members.

Meet this special team!

Meet Afsana, Zarin, Khushnoor and Afreen. At first the girls were

quiet, but once they started, they just did not stop!

Zarin began, “My house is just in front of this ground. My brother used to play here. I would stand in my balcony and watch the boys play. I was in Class VII at that time. Whenever the boys played a match, many people came to watch.

The winning team got a lot of praise. Everyone cheered the players. On

seeing all this, I wished I could also play. Would I too get a chance to show my talent? I asked the coach, but was afraid. He is a good friend of my father.

The coach said, “Why not? If you bring some more girls, you can

make a team. Then I will teach you.”

We asked – Was it easy to make a beginning?

Khushnoor: At first my parents refused. But when I insisted they agreed.

Afsana: My mother works in the flats and sends us to school. I also help her. When I told her about my plans to play basketball, Ammi got angry.

She said, “Girls do not play basketball. Do your work, go to school and study hard. No need to go to the ground to play.” But when my friends and Coach Sir talked to her, Ammi agreed.

Afreen : We were not allowed, because we are girls. My grandmother gets very angry with all of us. But still, we three sisters come here to play. Grandmother scolds us and even scolds our Coach Sir!

She tells us, “You need proper equipment to play. You need to have a lot of milk for strength. Where will the money for all this come from?” But daddy understands our feelings. He even teaches us some special moves used in the game.

My daddy also used to play on this ground when he was young. He did not have proper shoes or clothes. He used to practice with a plastic ball.

Daddy tells us that Bacchu Khan was the coach when he used to play. He saw my daddy playing once. He realised that the boy played very well and that he should be trained properly.

He gave proper shoes and clothes to my daddy. My daddy could have become a very good player. But because of his responsibilities at home, he

left the game and took up a job. So he wants us to play and become good players.

We asked – Tell us about your team

One girl: We felt a bit strange in the beginning. We were the first girls’ team here. People used to come and watch us practicing.

They were curious to see how girls would play basketball. Now people are no longer surprised. They have begun to accept that we girls can also play well.

Afsana: I was eleven years old when we first started playing. At that time we were not allowed to go anywhere else to play a match.

It has been two years since then. Now we go to other places also for matches. But all this could happen only because of our hard work and Sir’s coaching.

Another girl : Yes, we really work hard. Sir is also very strict. We first jog together and then do our exercises. Sir teaches us how to play the game well. We practice how to keep the ball with us, to dodge the players of the other team, how to throw the ball in the basket, to score a goal, to pass the ball well, and to run fast on court.

Afreen: Sir says, “While playing, don’t think you are girls. Play like a player. Keep playing even if you get a little injured.” We support each other and say – Come on, get up, you will be fine!” Now our game has improved a lot. Everyone says that we play as well as the boys’ team.

One girl: We also play with boys’ teams. We want them to play with us as equals. They should not be lenient because we are girls. Sometimes we get angry when the boys imitate us. But we take it as a challenge and correct our mistakes. If the boys try to cheat, we scold them!

We said – Tell us more about your team.

One girl : Our team is very special. Our team is united. Even if we quarrel, we quickly make up and forget about it. Here we have learnt how to stay and play together. Some of the girls from our team got a chance to play as part of the Mumbai team. The match was at Sholapur.

Zarin : When we went to Sholapur we found that the team had girls from different parts of the state. They did not talk to us nicely and treated us like juniors. They would not even give us a chance to play properly. We felt very bad. There was no cooperation at all in that team.

During the match I threw the ball to one of the team members. But she could not catch it. In turn, she started scolding me, blaming me for the mistake. In all this misunderstanding we lost the match.

But this never happens in our own team. If we do miss a basket

because of someone’s mistake, we do not get angry. We say, “Never

mind, next time we will do better!” It is most important to support each other, because we are all part of a team.

Afreen: After playing in Sholapur we realized what was special about our team. Cooperation between us is our strength. We understand and support each otherwell.

 Even if every player is excellent, the team can lose a match if all do not play together as a team. To play as a team it is important to understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

We said – You have done so much. What next?

Afsana: We have been playing well. So we have got a chance to go to many places. We have played for our city and our state. We hope to work hard and play for our country some day.

Yes, then we will also be popular like the cricketers! We all want to play well. We should bring glory to our area and our country. We want to show that the Indian girls team can win a gold medal! We will make this happen.

We asked – Did you face some other difficulties?

Khushnoor: To tell the truth, we have not got all this very easily. As girls, even to be able to start playing was difficult.

We had to convince our families. Sometimes we even had to fight. Even today not many girls can play like this. Forget games, earlier some people did not even allow girls to study.

My mother wanted to do many things, but she never got a chance. So my mother encourages me to take part in all activities – like games, swimming and drama.

Afsana: Even now, we are supposed to go home as soon as we finish playing. The boys go here and there, and can chitchat till late. No one says anything. After coming from school, I help my mother with the cleaning work in two or three houses, do my studies and then come here to play. I also help at home. If my brother wants tea and he makes it for himself, then mother says, “He has three sisters. Yet, he has to work.”

One girl : Now, just look at Zarin’s younger brother. He is only five years old but he says, “Mummy, why do you send didi to play? She does not look nice playing like that on the ground.” Ask him if he will play and he says, “I am a boy, of course I will play!”

Afsana: But it is good for everyone to play. We have now realised, how much we benefit from playing. I want to be such a good player that other girls and boys would wish to be like me.

What next?

Afreen: I just want to say that if you have some dreams for yourself, give your best to fulfil them.

Khushnoor: If you have a wish or a dream, have courage to speak about it. If you don’t do this now, you may regret later.

We said – The newspaper wrote about all of you. Now students

will read about you in this book. How do you feel?

Afreen: We are so happy about it that we have no words to explain our happiness. We now feel we must play even better, to make our area and our country famous.

All Girls : Yes, this is our wish too.

Coach Sir

The coach who made this team, Noor Khan told us – “This part of Mumbai is very crowded. This is the only playground in this area. This is our small ‘Bacchu Khan playground.’ A person named Mustafa Khan used to live in our area.

Everyone was afraid of him. But children were very fond of him, so everyone started calling him Bacchu Khan. There was no ground then, it was just muddy land. Bacchu Khan used to train children to play. We were among those children.

It is because of Bacchu Khan’s devotion and training that players from this area are able to compete with the teams of other countries. Like Bacchu Khan, I have trained the children of this area.

Today our team has some who play at the international level. Some have even won the

Arjuna Award.” Noor Khan continued – “In the last few years we have also prepared a girls team here.

Our girls play for the Maharashtra State team. They practice well with good discipline. Our girls and boys come from different types of families.

Some are from poor homes, some from richer. Some study in Urdu medium and some in English. But once they come here, they all make a team.”

THANKYOU,

NANDITHA AKUNURI

WHO WILL DO THIS WORK -TEXT

WHO WILL DO THIS WORK

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

CBSE-V

Have you seen such scenes around you? Have you ever thought of people who do this work? Can you imagine how they would feel?

Why do you think people need to do this kind of work?

Our friends spoke to some staff who do cleaning jobs. Here are some of the things they told us.

Since when have you been doing this work?

A. About twenty years. Since I completed my studies.

Q. Why did you not study further? You could have got some other job?

A. You need money for studies. And even after that most of our people continue to do this kind of work.

Q. What do you mean?

A. Since our great grandfathers’ times... or even before that, most people of our community have been doing this work. Even after getting a college degree, our people do not get any other kind of job. So they have to do this work.

Q. Why is that so?

A. That is the way it is. In the entire city, all the people who do this kind of work are from our community. It has always been so.

Interview (adapted) from the documentary film ‘India Untouched’ by Stalin. K.

Imagine

What would happen if nobody did this work? If nobody cleared the garbage lying outside your school or your house for one week, then what would happen?

Think of some ways (machines, or other things) so that people would not have to do the work they don't like to do. Draw a picture of what you thought. (These pictures are also made by children)

Do you think that anyone has ever tried to change this situation? Yes, many people have tried. People are trying even today. But it is not easy to change this.

One such person was Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhiji had a friend Mahadevbhai Desai. Mahadevbhai’s son Narayan also stayed with Gandhiji when he was young. This incident is from Narayan's book.

Teacher’s Note

Remembering those days

When Narayan (Babla) was about 11 years old, he was staying in Gandhiji’s Sabarmati Ashram. Like everyone else in the Ashram, he had to do various kinds of work. One of his jobs was to teach the guests how to clean the toilets.

In those days, the toilets were not what we know today. There used to be holes under which baskets were kept. People sat on the holes. Later the baskets had to be lifted by hand, to be emptied.

It was the usual practice that people from a particular community would do this work. But in Gandhiji’s Ashram, every person had to carry the basket to the compost pit and empty it there. No one was excused from this task - not even the guests. Narayanbhai remembers how some people used to try and avoid this work. Some even left the Ashram because of this.

Some years later Gandhiji went to stay at a village, near Wardha in Maharashtra. Gandhiji, Mahadevbhai and others started to clean the toilets in the village. They did this for some months. One morning a man coming from the toilet, saw Mahadevbhai.

He pointed to him and said “There is a lot of dirt over there. Go and clean that!” When Babla saw this, he was very angry. He thought, the villagers felt that this was not their work. This was for Gandhiji and his team to do. He asked Gandhiji why this was so. Gandhiji replied, “Untouchability is a serious matter.

Lot of hardwork will be required to change this.” Narayan knew that the people who usually did this work were thought to be untouchable. He asked “What is the use if the village people do not

change their thinking? They have become used to someone else doing this work for them.”

Gandhiji replied, “Why”? Don’t you think the people who clean also benefit from it. They also learn a lesson. To learn something is like learning a new skill. Even if it is a cleaning job.”

Little Narayan was not convinced. He again argued, “Those who make a place dirty but do not clean it should also learn lessons.” Gandhiji and Narayan continued to argue about this. But when he grew up Narayan always followed the path shown by Gandhiji. From the book in Gujarati by Narayanbhai Desai – Sant-Charan-Raj, Sevita, Sahaj

A childhood story

This story is almost a hundred years old. Seven-year old Bhim went to Goregaon

in Maharashtra with his father to spend his holidays. He saw a barber cutting the long hair of a rich farmer’s buffallo.

He thought of his own long hair. He went to the barber and asked for a hair cut. The barber replied, “If I cut your hair both my razor and I will get dirty.” Oh, so to cut human hair can be dirtier than cutting an animal’s hair, wondered little Bhim.

Later this little Bhim was known as Bhim Rao Baba Saheb Ambedkar.

He became very famous across the world. Baba Saheb fought for justice for people like him. After India’s freedom the Constitution was prepared under the leadership of Baba Saheb.

Narayan and Gandhiji discussed all this many years ago. Have

things changed now? A conversation in school - the reality today

Hetal : I am Hetal, and this is Meena. We both study in Class III.

Q: What all do you do in school.

Meena: We clean the ground

Q: Do all children clean

Hetal : No, not all.

Meena : We also have to clean the toilets. We do it on different days. I

clean on Monday, she does on Tuesday, and she on Wednesday … All

the children from our community do this.

Hetal : We have to carry twenty buckets of water for this. We have to

sweep and wash.

Q : Why only you? Why not all the children?

Hetal : Only we have to. If we don’t we get beaten.

Interview (adapted) from the documentary film ‘India Untouched’ by Stalin. K.

THANKYOU,

NANDITHA AKUNURI

BLOW HOT, BLOW COLD -TEXT

BLOW HOT, BLOW COLD

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

CBSE-V

There was a woodcutter. Everyday in the morning he used to go to the forest to cut wood. In the evening he would sell the wood in the city. One day he went deep into the forest.

It was a very cold winter. His fingers were becoming numb. Every now and then, the woodcutter would put down his axe and bring his hands close to his mouth. Then he would blow hard on them to warm them.

While he was cutting wood Mian Balishtiye was watching him from a corner. Mian Balishtiye saw that the woodcutter kept blowing on his hands.

He began to wonder what all that was about! But he could not understand it. He got up thinking that he would go and ask the

woodcutter. After walking a little, he came back thinking that the woodcutter may not like being asked.

Finally, Mian Balishtiye could not help himself. He went hopping to the woodcutter and said, “Hello brother, if you don’t mind can I ask you

something?”

Seeing this tiny person the woodcutter was amazed and amused. But, he hid his smile and said, “Of course, of course, ask what you want to.” “All I want to ask is why do you blow from your mouth on to your hands?” said Mian Balishtiye.

It would be good for the children to know that this story has been written by Dr. Zakir Hussain, former President of India. He has written many stories for children. It could be discussed why an imaginary character like Mian Balishtiye could have been use

The woodcutter replied, “It is too cold. My hands are frozen, so I blow on them to warm them up a little. Then, when they get cold again I warm them again by blowing.”

Mian Balishtiye nodded, “Oh, ho, so that’s it!” And with that he moved off. But he stayed nearby and kept a close watch on him.

Soon it was afternoon.

The woodcutter began to think of lunch. He picked up two stones and made a chulha. He lit a fire and put a small handi (pot) filled with potatoes to boil.

The wood was damp, so the woodcutter bent down and blew on the fire to help it burn. Balishtiye was watching him from a distance. “Arre”, he said to himself, “There he goes again – blowing from his mouth! Does fire come out of his mouth?”

The woodcutter was feeling very hungry. He took out a potato from the handi. He tried to eat it but the potato was too hot. He again began to blow on it – ‘foo, foo’.

“Arre,” said Balishtiye to himself, “He’s blowing again! Now what? Is he going to burn the potato?” After blowing a few more ‘foo, foos’ on it, the woodcutter put it in his mouth and began to eat it.

Now Mian was very surprised! He just could not stop himself and off he went hopping to the woodcutter. “Hello brother”, he said, “If you don’t mind, can I ask you a question again?”

The woodcutter replied, “Not at all. Ask whatever you want.” Mian Balishtiye said, “This morning you told me that you blew on your hands to warm them up. Now you are blowing on this potato, which is already so hot. Why do you want to make it hotter?”

“No, no, my little friend. This potato is too hot. I am blowing on it to cool it down.” When he heard this, Mian Balishtiye’s face became white. He began to tremble with fear, and started to back away.

The woodcutter was a good man. He said, “What’s wrong Mian? Are you trembling because of the cold?” But Mian Balishtiye kept going backwards.

When he was a safe distance away, he said to himself, “What kind of a creature is this? Surely he must be a ghost or a djinn. Blow hot, blow cold with the same breath! It is just not possible! That’s right there are some things which just cannot be – but they are!

The clock inside you

You have all heard the ‘tick tick’ of the clock. Have you seen a doctor using a stethoscope to listen to our chest? What do you think she hears? Where is the sound coming from? Is there a clock inside your chest that keeps ticking away?

Do you want to listen to your heartbeat? Take a rubber tube as long as the distance from your shoulder to your elbow. At one end of the tube fix a funnel. Place the funnel on the left side of your chest. Put the other end of the tube to your ear. Listen carefully. Did you hear a dhak dhak sound?

THANK YOU,

NANDITHA AKUNURI

WHEN THE EARTH SHOOK! - TEXT

WHEN THE EARTH SHOOK!

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

CBSE-V

A bad dream

Help! Help! Save me! Aaahhh! Ooooww… There was screaming and shouting everywhere. The ground was shaking and people were running all around.

Screaming loudly I got up. On hearing me my mother also woke up. She came running and held me tight. It was the same bad dream! It has been more than six years now since the earthquake. But in my sleep I still feel the earth shaking and trembling.

I am Jasma. I live in the Kutch area of Gujarat. I was eleven years old when there was an earthquake. It was 26 January, 2001. Everyone from the village – children and old people – had gathered in the ground of the school to watch the parade on TV. Suddenly the ground was shaking. People were scared and started running here and there. No one knew what was happening and what to do. There was total panic!

In a few minutes, our village was flat on the ground. All our things – clothes, pots, grains and food – were trapped under the stones, mud and wood from the fallen houses. At that time everyone thought of two things – to save the people who were trapped and to treat the injured.

The village hospital was also damaged. Many people were seriously injured. My leg also got fractured. The doctor treated people with the help of the villagers.

Six people of our village died. My grandfather (Nana)was also buried under the houses. My mother wept all the time. Seeing my mother, I also cried. The entire village was sad and disturbed.

House of Motabapu who is the sarpanch of our village was not much damaged. He gave rice and wheat to everyone from his godown. For many days, the village women cooked food together at Motabapu’s house and fed everyone.

Imagine, being without a house in the cold winter! Fear and the cold kept us awake in the nights. All the time we were worried that there may be another earthquake.

Help arrives

For some days after that, people from the cities kept coming to see what had happened. They came with food, medicines and clothes. Everyone used to rush to take these things. The clothes that we got were very different. We had never worn such clothes before. People from different groups from the city, helped us to put up the tents. Staying in these plastic tents in the cold winter months was very difficult.

Some of these people were scientists. They tried to find out which areas have more chances of having an earthquake. People from our village talked to them many times.

They had suggestions about building our houses again. Engineers and architects showed us some special designs for houses. They said that with this design, houses would not get damaged much in an earthquake. But our people were a little afraid.

They thought if these people build our houses, our village will not look like our old village. So, the villagers thought they would build their own houses with their help. The groups would build the village school.

We all worked together to rebuild our village. Some people dug and brought the clay from the pond. We mixed the clay with cow dung and made large cakes.

We put these on one another to make the walls. We whitewashed the walls and decorated them with beautiful designs and small pieces of mirrors. We put up the thatched roof. Now our house shines like a diamond in the dark night!

Who helped?

Read this TV report on the Bhuj earthquake.

Ahmedabad, January 26, 2001 At least a thousand people are feared dead in the earthquake that struck Gujarat this morning. Many thousands have been injured. Army jawans have been called in to help.

At least a hundred and fifty buildings have fallen in the city of Ahmedabad. In these, there are a dozen multi-storeyed buildings. By this evening, around 250 bodies have been removed from these buildings. It is feared that several thousand people may still be trapped.

Rescue efforts are on. There is perhaps no building in the city which has not developed cracks.

The situation in Bhuj is even worse. People are running around in shock and panic. Within an hour of the earthquake the fire engines had reached and started work along with the local people. Offers to help are coming from all corners of the country and abroad.

If there is no rain, crops can fail and there can be a drought. But food for people can be brought from other places so that there is no famine, which means people don’t have to stay hungry, and they don’t die of hunger.

THANKYOU,

NANDITHA AKUNURI

A SHELTER SO HIGH!-TEXT

A SHELTER SO HIGH!

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

CBSE-V

I am Gaurav Jani and this is ‘Loner ’ – my partner – my motorcycle.

But, Loner is never lonely. We are together all the time. I and my motorcycle wait for a chance to get away from the busy, crowded and noisy city of Mumbai. We like to travel to different parts of this wonderful country. Let me tell you about our amazing journey on the highest roads in India.

Getting ready

This journey took about two months. I had to carry everything on my motorcycle. I had to plan and collect all the things I needed. I packed a small tent, sleeping bag, plastic sheet, warm clothes and food that would remain fresh for some days. I also took my camera and extra cans for petrol. Loner and I left Mumbai, passing through small villages and towns of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan to reach Delhi.

It took me three days to cover 1400 kilometers from Mumbai to Delhi. I was hoping to see something new and different in Delhi. But Delhi looked just like Mumbai! I am tired of looking at the same kinds of houses, made of cement, bricks, glass and steel. I was looking forward to my journey ahead.

I was excited that I would be able to see wooden houses, houses

with sloping roofs and those covered in snow. I had seen pictures of such houses in many books.

I packed more things in Delhi and continued. In two days we were in Manali. It was so refreshing to be in the mountains and breathe the clean air! Now the real journey was to begin. We had to travel through difficult roads of the state of Jammu and Kashmir to reach Leh in Ladakh.

New home

Loner and I were covering long distances each day. All I needed was food and a tent to protect myself from the cold night air. My nylon tent was so small that I could just about fit in it to sleep.

Loner stood guard outside the tent. The breeze and the sound of the birds woke me up to see the sunrise.

Cold desert

At last Loner and I reached Leh. For the first time I saw such an area – high, dry and flat called a cold desert. Ladakh gets very little rainfall. Here there are high snowcapped mountains and a cold, flat ground.

In Leh, I found myself in a quiet street with beautiful white houses. As I rode slowly, I found that I was being followed by a group of children. They called out ‘jule, jule’, meaning ‘welcome, welcome’. They were all amazed to see my ‘Loner’. Everyone wanted me to come to their home.

At home with Tashi

Tashi dragged me to his home. It was a building with two floors. The house was made of stones which were kept one over the other. The walls were coated with a thick layer of mud and lime.

The house looked like a shed from inside with a lot of hay stored there. We took the wooden steps and reached the first floor. “This is where we stay,” explained Tashi.

“The ground floor is for our animals and for storing necessary things.

Sometimes when it gets too cold, we also move downstairs.” I noticed that the ground floor had no windows. Thick tree trunks were used to make the

roof strong.

Tashi then took me to the roof of his house. What a view! I could see the same flat roofs all around. On some red chillies were, laid out to dry and on some there were orange pumpkins and golden yellow corn. Some had stacks of paddy and on some cow dung cakes were laid out to dry.

“This is the most important part of our house,” said Tashi. “During summer season we dry many fruits and vegetables. We store them for winters when we do not get fresh fruits and vegetables.”

As I stood there with Tashi I could see how every part of the house was built specially to suit the needs of his people. I could understand how the thick walls, a wooden floor and a wooden ceiling protected them from the cold.

People living on top of the world

Now was the time to climb higher. Loner had a tough time zigzagging along narrow, rocky mountain roads. At many places there were no roads at all.

I was moving towards the rocky plains of ‘Changthang’. This place is at a height of almost 5000 metres. It is so high that it is difficult to breathe normally. I had a headache and felt weak.

Then I slowly got used to breathing in such air. For many days we kept wandering in this area with not a single human being in sight. No petrol pumps, no mechanics!

Only clear blue sky and many beautiful lakes around. Many days and nights passed. Loner and I kept moving ahead. Suddenly one morning I saw before me flat grassy land. Many sheep and goats were grazing there. Far in the distance I saw some tents. I wondered who lived there and what they were doing in this far out place.

The Changpa

There I met Namgyal and came to know about the Changpa – a tribe

living on the mountains. The Changpa tribe has only about 5000 people. The Changpas are always on the move with their goats and sheep.

 It is from these that they get all that they need – milk, meat, skin for tents and wool for coats and sweaters. Their goats are their only treasure. If a family has more animals it is considered more rich and important.

From these special goats they get wool for making the world famous pashmina wool. The Changpa graze their goats at higher and colder places so that the goats have more and softer hair (fur).

They stay high up on these mountains in very difficult conditions because that is where these goats can live. This is their life and their livelihood.

I was carrying very little of my belongings on my motorcycle.

But the Changpas carry everything that they own on their horses and yaks. It takes them only two and a half hours to pack everything and move ahead. Within no time they put up their tents at the chosen place, the luggage is unpacked and their homes are ready.

“You are most welcome into our home,” said Namgyal as he led me to the big cone-shaped tent. They call their tent Rebo. Yak hair is woven to make strips which are stitched together.

These are strong and warm and protect them from the icy strong winds. I saw that the strips were tightly tied with nine sticks. The ground is dug about 2 feet deep. The tent is then put up around this on the higher part of the ground.

The world famous pashmina

It is believed that a pashmina shawl is as warm as six sweaters! It is very thin yet very warm.

The goats from which the soft pashmina wool is collected, are found on very high altitudes of

5000 metres. In winter, the temperature here drops below 0°C (–40°C). A coat of warm hair

grows on the goat’s body which protects it from extreme cold. The goats shed some of their hair

(fur) in summer.

This hair is so fine that six of these would be as thick as one hair of yours! The fine hair cannot be woven on machines and so weavers of Kashmir make these shawls by hand. This is a long and difficult process. After almost 250 hours of weaving, one plain pashmina shawl is made. Imagine how long it would take to make a shawl with embroidery.

As we stepped into the tent I realised that I could stand up straight. It was not like my tent. I also saw that the Rebo was as big as a room of my flat in Mumbai! It was held up by two wooden poles in the middle.

There was an opening to let out the smoke from the chulah. Namgyal told that, the design of this tent is more than a thousand years old. The tent protected the Changpas from extreme cold.

How cold must it be? In winters the temperature drops many degrees below zero! The wind blows at 70 kilometres per hour. Imagine–if you were on a bus which was going at this speed, how far from your house would you reach in one hour? Near the Rebo there was a place to keep sheep and goats.

Changpas call this lekha. The walls of a lekha are made with stones. Each family puts a special mark on their own animals. The women and young girls count and take the animals out of the lekha. They count them again everyday when they bring them back in the evening.

Towards Srinagar

I spent a few days with the Changpas but, sadly, it was time to move on. My return journey would take me away from this special part of the world, towards towns which looked like a totally different world.

This time I took a different route from Leh. I was going towards Srinagar via Kargil. I saw many more amazing buildings and different houses.

I stayed in Srinagar for a few days. I was amazed by the houses there. They took my heart away! Some houses are on the mountains, while some are on water. I took many pictures of these. See my photo album .

Houses of Srinagar – My photo album

Tourists who come to Srinagar love to stay in houseboats. Houseboats can be as long as 80 feet and around 8 to 9 feet wide. Beautiful carving.

Many families in Srinagar live in a ‘donga’. These boats can be seen in Dal Lake and Jhelum river. From inside the ‘donga’ is just like a house with different rooms.

Beautiful carving on wood can be seen on the ceiling of houseboats and some big houses. This design is called ‘khatamband’, which has a pattern that look like a jigsaw puzzle.

In villages of Kashmir, houses are made from stones cut and kept one on top of the other and coated with mud. Wood is also used. The  houses have sloping roofs.

Some old houses have a special type of window which comes out of the wall. This is called ‘dab’. It has beautiful wood pattern. It is wonderful to sit here and enjoy the view!

When I started my journey, I had not imagined that in one state I would see so many different kinds of houses and lifestyles. I had a wonderful experience of living on the mountains in Leh and another of living on water in Srinagar. I saw how both the houses in these areas were made to suit the climate.

Return journey

Again it was time to move on. In Jammu I saw houses like I have

been seeing in Mumbai. The same– cement, brick, steel and glass. These houses are very strong. But they are not as special as the houses I was lucky to see in Leh and Srinagar. After a long journey Loner and I were about to reach Mumbai. My heart felt heavy. I also felt that my motorcycle did not want to come back.

I was happy that I had learnt and experienced so many new things. I had also brought back some memories in my camera. And of course, this was not the end!

Next time when Loner and I get bored of the city, we will again set out for a new journey!

THANKYOU

NANDITHA AKUNURI

WHAT IF IT FINISHES...?-TEXT

WHAT IF IT FINISHES...?

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

CBSE-V

A BUS JOURNEY:

Today, we were going on a school trip to the Adalaj stepwell (baoli ), about eighteen kilometres from Ahmedabad. We began counting the vehicles on the road.

Some of us counted the bicycles, others counted the buses, cars, and motorcycles. Abraham, who was counting bicycles, soon got bored. There were hardly any bicycles on this highway.

Screeeech! The driver suddenly braked at the red light. It was a big

crossing, and we could see the traffic lined up on all sides. Honk, honk,

the sound of loud horns, and smoke coming out of the vehicles! May be that is why a little boy in a rickshaw was coughing so much.

I smelt something, familiar. I remembered this smell – it came from Baba’s tractor in the village.

ON THE PETROL PUMP:

After sometime our bus stopped at a petrol pump. There was a long queue. It seemed as if we would have a long wait. We all got down from the bus and started looking around the petrol pump. We saw many large boards and posters.

Petrol and diesel will not last forever. Save it for your children.

• Make every drop go a long way.

• Switch off the engine when you stop the car.

We could not understand why it was written that petrol and diesel will not last forever. We thought of asking an uncle who works at the petrol pump.

Abraham : Uncle, from where do we get petrol and diesel?

Uncle (who works at the petrol pump) : From deep, deep down under the ground.

Manju : But how does it get made there?

Uncle: It is formed naturally, but very slowly. It is not made by a human being or a machine.

Abraham : Then we don't need to buy it. We can take it out ourselves using a borewell, like we pump out water!

Uncle : It is not found everywhere, but only at a few places in

our country. We need big machines to pump it out and clean it.

Petrol: Rs 47.74 per litre

Diesel: Rs 35.21 per litre

Divya : Is petrol going to finish? The poster said that petrol is not going to last forever.

Uncle : It does not get made as fast as we take it out. It takes lakhs of

years for it to be formed under the earth.

Abraham : How will vehicles run if the oil finishes?

Manju : On CNG. I had seen on TV that vehicles which run on CNG

give less smoke.

Uncle (laughing) : That too comes from below the earth. It is also

limited.

Divya : Electricity can be used to run vehicles. I have seen an electric bicycle.

Abraham : We will have to do something. Or else, how will we travel

when we grow up?

Divya : If fewer vehicles run on the road my dadi (grandmother) would be happy. She says, “Look! vehicles line up like ants. What

will you do when you grow up?”

Manju : See, only one or two people are sitting in these cars. Why

doesn’t everyone use a bus?

Abraham : That will save petrol. One bus can carry many people.

Manju : When I grow up I will invent a car that runs on sunlight.

Then we won't have to worry about it getting finished. We can use

it as much as we want!

TREASURE FROM THE EARTH:

It is not easy to find out where oil is, deep down below the earth. Scientists use special techniques and machines to find this out. Then through pipes and machines petroleum is pumped up.

 This oil is a smelly, thick, dark coloured liquid. It contains many things mixed in it. To clean and separate these, it is sent to a refinery. Have you

heard of a ‘refinery’?

It is from this ‘petroleum’ or oil that we get kerosene, diesel, petrol, engine oil and fuel for aircrafts. Do you know that L.P.G. (cooking gas), wax, coaltar and grease are also obtained from this? It is also used in making several other things like plastics and paints.

I started thinking about saving oil. I remembered that sometimes Baba keeps the engine of the tractor on, while doing something else. At times, the pump in the field is also left on. How much oil would be going waste! I thought I will surely talk to Baba when I get home.

WOOD FOR CHULHA:

Durga lives in a village in Haryana. Everyday she spends many hours collecting wood for the chulha (stove). Her daughter also has to help her in this.

For the past three months she has a cough. There is a lot of smoke when damp wood is burnt. But Durga does not have any other option. When there is not enough money to buy food, where will there be money to buy wood?

Today, about two-third (2/3) people in our country use uple, wood and dry twigs, etc. These are used not only for cooking food but also for keeping warm, for heating water and for lighting. Many other things are used for all activities at home – kerosene, LPG, coal, electricity, etc.

Kancha had seen a bar chart in a book. The chart shows the number of houses out of 100 that use each type of fuel. It also shows the use of which fuel has increased and which fuel has decreased over the past twenty years.

In year 1976, out of 100 how many houses used uple and wood?

Which was the fuel used the least in 1976?

– In 1976, LPG and kerosene were used in______houses and in 1996

this increased to______. This means that in twenty years their use

increased by________%. Year 1976.

THANKYOU,

NANDITHA AKUNURI