A SEED TELLS A FARMER’S STORY - TEXT

A SEED TELLS A FARMER’S STORY

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

CBSE-V

I am a small seed!

I am a small bajra seed. I have stayed in this beautiful wooden box since 1940. I want to tell you my story. This is a long story but not mine alone. It is also the story of my farmer Damjibhai and his family. If I do not tell my story now, it might be too late!

I was born in Vangaam in Gujarat. That year there was a good bajra (millet) crop. There was a festive mood in the village. Our area was famous for its grain and vegetables.

Each year Damjibhai kept aside some seeds from a good crop. This way

our bajra family went on from one generation to another. Good seeds were stored in dried gourd (lauki ) which was coated with mud.

But that year Damjibhai himself made a strong wooden box to store us. He put in neem leaves to protect us from insects. He put different seeds in different compartments of the box. That was our beautiful home!

In those days Damjibhai and his cousins lived together. It was a large family. Everyone in the village helped each other, even in farming. When

the crop was ready and harvested, everyone celebrated together.

Oh! Those wonderful days! With big feasts and lots to eat! In the winter, it would be time to enjoy the undhiya (a kind of stew). All the vegetables were put into a clay pot, along with fresh spices. The pot was sealed and kept between hot coals. The vegetables cooked slowly in this special cooker, on the fields.

Oh, I forgot, the pot was placed upside down! That is why the dish was called undhiya or “upside down” in Gujarati. Undhiya would be eaten with bajra rotis, freshly cooked on the chulha. Oh, what an earthy delicious flavour!

Along with that, home-made butter, curd and buttermilk was served.

Farmers would grow many different kinds of crops – grains and vegetables according to the season. The farmers kept enough for their needs and sold the rest to shopkeepers from the city.

Some farmers also grew cotton. At home, family members spun cotton on a charkha (spinning wheel) to make cloth.

When times changed:

Over the years, many changes took place in the village. Some places could get water from the canal. They said the canal brought water from far away – where a dam had been built on a big river.

Then electricity came. Switch on the button and there was light! People found that only one or two crops, like wheat and cotton, got better prices in the market.

So most farmers began to grow only these. Soon we – old friends bajra and jowar, and also vegetables – were forgotten and dismissed, even from

Damjibhai’s fields! Farmers even began to buy seeds from the market.

People said they were new kinds of seeds. So farmers did not need to store seeds from the old crop.

Now people in the village cooked and ate together only on very special days. As they ate, they would remember how tasty the food used to be in the past – fresh from the fields.

When the seeds have changed, how could food ever taste the same! Damjibhai was getting old. His son Hasmukh looked after the fields and the family. Hasmukh was making a lot of money from farming. He rebuilt the old house.

He brought new machines for farming. He used an electric motor to pump water. He bought a motorcycle to go to the city easily and also a tractor to plough the field. The tractor could do in a day, what the bullocks would take many days to do.

Hasmukh would say, “Now we are farming wisely. We grow only what we can sell in the market at a good price. With profits from our fields we can improve our life.

We can make progress.” Lying forgotten in the wooden box, I and

the other seeds had our doubts. Is all this really progress? There is no longer any need for seeds like us, and animals like the bullocks. After the tractor has come, even people who worked on the fields, are no longer needed. How will they earn money? What will they live on?

More and more expenses:

The next twenty years saw even more changes. Without cows and buffaloes, there was no cow dung, to be used in the fields as fertilizer. Hasmukh had to buy expensive fertilizer.

The new kinds of seeds were such that the crops were easily affected by harmful insects. Medicines had to be sprayed on the crops to keep away

the insects.

Oh, what a bad smell these had, and how expensive they were! The canal water was not enough for the new crops. All the farmers used pumps to lift

water from deep under the ground.

To meet all these expenses, loans had to be taken from the bank. Whatever little profit was made, was used to repay the loan. But there was little profit!

Everyone was growing cotton, so the cotton prices were not as high as before. The soil itself was no longer the same. Growing the same crop

over and over, and using so many chemicals, had affected the soil so much that now nothing could grow well there.

It was becoming difficult to earn a living by farming alone. Hasmukh too changed with the times. He is often tense and angry most of the time. His educated son Paresh did not want to do farming. He now started work as a truck driver.

After all, the bank loans still had to be repaid. Often Paresh doesn’t come home for days. At times he is away for a week. Two days back when he came home, Paresh started looking for something.

“Ba”, he asked his mother, “Where is Dadaji’s wooden seed box? It will be useful to keep the screws and tools for the truck.” Now do you understand why I told you my story?

Read the report from a newspaper and discuss it:

Tuesday, 18 December 2007, Andhra Pradesh Farmers in Andhra Pradesh have been sent to jail for not being able to pay back their loans.

They had suffered a big loss in farming. One of these farmers, Nallappa Reddy, had taken a bank loan of Rs. 24,000. To repay the loan, he had to take another loan from a private moneylender, at a very high rate of interest.

Even after repaying Rs. 34,000 Reddy could not repay the entire loan. Reddy says, “The bank sends farmers to jail for not paying back small loans. But what about the big businessmen? They take loans of crores of rupees.

Nothing happens to them when they do not return the money!” Nallappa Reddy’s story is shared by thousands of farmers in India who are suffering huge losses.

The situation is so bad that many farmers see no way out of this except to commit suicide. According to government figures 1,50,000 farmers have died like this between 1997 and 2005. This number may be much higher...

Bhaskarbhai’s Farm (Dehri village, Gujarat)

As we entered his farm, we were surprised. There were dead leaves, wild plants, and grass everywhere! Some of the tree branches seemed so dry, as if eaten by insects. At places we saw some plants with colourful leaves.

Why these? Bhaskarbhai said they were croton plants which gave him a signal when the soil became dry. We were surprised! How? He explained that the roots of the croton do not go deep in the ground.

So when the top layer of the soil becomes dry, the croton leaves bend and become limp. This signal tells Bhaskarbhai which part of his farm needs to be watered.

We found the soil soft and crumbly. We could see tall coconut trees, full of fresh coconuts. We thought he must be using some special fertilisers.

Bhaskarbhai said he does not buy fertilisers made in factories.

His soil is fertile because of all the dried leaves which slowly rot and mix with it. He dug the soil a little and told us to look. We saw thousands of earthworms! “These are my soil's best friends”, he said.

The earthworms soften the soil as they keep digging underneath to make tunnels. This way air and water can easily get into the soil. The earthworms also eat the dead leaves and plants, and their droppings fertilise the soil.

Pravin told us about his uncle in the city, who has dug a pit in his garden. He puts dried leaves in the pit, along with all the kitchen waste – peels of vegetables and fruits, and leftover food. He also has earthworms in the pit.

They turn the waste into compost (a natural fertiliser). So his uncle gets good fertiliser without spending extra money. We all had some fresh coconuts from the farm. They were really tasty! We also learnt so much about a new way of farming! Group members : Praful, Hansa, Krutika, Chakki, Praveen, Class–5C

Journey of a bajra seed–from a field to a plate

What can you see in each picture on the next page?

In picture 2 you can see the bajra cobs in the mortar (okhli, usedfor crushing). The cobs are crushed with a pestle (moosli ) andthe seeds are separated from the cob.

You can see the separatedseeds in picture 3. Now this work is also done by big machines,like threshers. We call both these as different ‘technologies’ –using our hands or big machines – to crush the seeds.

THAKYOU,

NANDITHA AKUNURI

NO PLACE FOR US -TEXT

NO PLACE FOR US?

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

CBSE-V

Jatryabhai

Jatryabhai was sitting at the door with his daughter Jhimli. They were waiting for Sidya. It was almost night but Sidya had not come home. Two years back Jatrya’s family came to Mumbai from Sinduri village.

Here, they only knew the family of a distant relative. With their help, Jatryabhai began to repair torn fishing nets. But the money he got

was not enough.

They had to pay for the medicines, food, school fees and rent for the house. Here, they even had to buy water. Young Sidya also had to work in the nearby fish factory to earn some money.

From four o’clock till seven o’clock in the morning, he cleaned and sorted the big and small fish. Then he would come home, take a nap, and go to school in the afternoon. In the evening he would wander around the vegetable market.

He would help some memsahib (lady) to carry her bags, or go to the railway station to pick up empty bottles and newspapers to sell to the kabadiwalla (junk seller).

Somehow they were managing their life in the city. It was night, but Sidya had not come home. Jhimli was watching a dance on TV, through the neighbour’s window.

But Jatrya did not like watching TV. Here, everything was so different. The day would pass running around for work, but the evening brought back old memories.

Thinking of old days:

Jatrya was born in Khedi village, in the middle of thick green jungles and hills. His people had been living here for many years even before his grandfather was born.

There was peace in Jatrya’s village, but not silence. There were so many soothing sounds – the gurgle of the flowing river, the murmur of trees and the chirping of birds. People did farming.

They would go to the nearby forest, chatting and singing together, to collect wild fruits, roots and dried wood. While working with elders, children also learnt many things – to dance together, to play flute and dhol, to make pots of clay and bamboo, to recognise birds and imitate their sounds, etc.

People collected things from the forest for their use. Some of those they would sell in the town across the river. With that money they would buy salt, oil and some clothes.

It was a village, but people here lived together like a big family. Jatrya’s sister was married in the same village. People helped each other, in good and bad times. The elders would arrange weddings, and settle quarrels.

Jatrya was now a strong young man. He worked hard in the fields and caught fish from the big river. He and his friends would go to the forest to collect fruits, roots and plants for medicines, and fish from the river, to sell these in the town.

During festival time, Jatrya would dance and play the drum, with boys and girls of his age.

Across the river:

One day the people of Khedi heard that a big dam was to be built on the river. For this, a big wall would be built to stop the flow of the river. Khedi and many nearby villages in that area would be drowned under water.  The people would have to leave their villages and their lands, on which their forefathers had lived for centuries.

After a few days, government officials along with the police started visiting these villages. Small children of the village saw the police for the first time. Some children would run after them, and some would get scared and start crying.

The officials measured the width and length of the river, the fields, forests and houses. They called meetings with the elders of the village.  They said, “Villages on the bank of the river would have to be removed. People having land at Khedi will be given land far away, on the other side of the river.

They will have everything there – a school, electricity, hospitals, buses, trains, etc. They will have all that they could not even dream of here in Khedi.”

Jatrya’s parents and most elders were not happy about leaving

their village. Listening to all this, Jatrya would get a little scared, but also feel excited. He would think that after getting married, he would take his bride to the new house in the new village.

A house where he could just press a button for the light and turn on the tap for water. He could go by bus to see the city. When he would have children, he could send them to school. They will not be like him, who had never been to school.

A new place:

It was a summer afternoon. Jatrya was feeling faint in the hot sun and wind. His feet were burning on the coal tar of the pucca road. There wasn’t a single tree to offer some shade.

Just a few houses and shops. Jatrya was on his way home after buying

medicines. He had an old tyre on his back. These days, he had to light his stove with just these rubber pieces of old tyres.

These caught fire fast, and also saved some firewood. But the smoke and smell of burning tyres were terrible! In this new Sinduri village, they had to pay money for everything— medicines, food, vegetables, firewood, and fodder for the animals.

They could just not afford to buy kerosene. But from where to get the money for all this? Thinking of all this, Jatrya reached home. The roof made of a tin sheet made the house hot like an oven.

Jatrya’s wife had high fever. His daughter Jhimli was rocking her little brother Sidya to sleep in her lap. After all, there was no other older person with them.

Jatrya’s parents had been so sad about leaving Khedi that they had died before he moved here.

In Sinduri there were only eight-ten families he could call his own, those from his old village. The whole village had got scattered and people had gone wherever they had been given land.

This was not like the new village Jatrya had dreamt about. There was electricity, but only for sometime in a day. And then, the electricity bill had also to be paid. There were taps, but no water!

In this village, Jatrya got just one room in a tin shed. It had no place to keep the animals. He also got a small piece of land. But that was not good for farming. It was full of rocks and stones.

Still Jatrya and his family worked very hard. But they could not grow much on the field, and could not make enough money even to buy seeds and fertilisers. In Khedi, people did not fall sick often.

If someone fell ill there were many people who knew how to treat them with medicines made from plants. People felt better after taking those medicines. Here in Sinduri, there was a hospital but it was difficult to find doctors, and there were no medicines.

There was a school here, but the teacher did not care much about the children from Khedi village. These children found it difficult to study in a new language.

The people of Sinduri did not welcome the newcomers from Khedi. They found their language and way of living strange. They made fun of the Khedi people by calling them ‘unwanted guests’. Not much of what he had dreamt had come true!

Some years later:

Jatrya stayed for a few years in Sinduri. The children were also getting older. But Jatrya’s heart was not here in Sinduri. He still missed his old Khedi.

But there was no Khedi now. There was a big dam and a big lake of collected water in and around Khedi. Jatrya thought, “If we are to be called ‘unwanted guests’, then at least let us go to some place where our dreams can come true.”

Jatrya sold his land and his animals and came to Mumbai. Here, he started a new life with his family. His only dream was to send his children to school, to give them a better future, a better life.

Here too, things were not easy. But he hoped that things would get

better. Jatrya started saving money to repair his one-room shack. His

relatives would tell him, “Don’t waste money on this. Who knows, we may have to move from here too. In Mumbai there is no place to stay for

outsiders like us.”

Jatrya was scared and worried. He thought, “We left Khedi for Sinduri, we then left Sinduri for Mumbai. If we have to move from here too, then where can we go? In this big city, is there not even a small place for my family to stay?”

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

DIFFUSION-TEXT

DIFFUSION

UPTAKE OF WATER AND SALT BY PLANTS

BIOLOGY

You have learnt earlier that plants survive if water, minerals ans others nutrients are provided to them. In this lesson, we will learn how these substances enter the plant cell. To understand this we have to understand the terms diffusion and ‘osmosis’ and the processes associated with them.

Diffusion
We will do a simple experiment to understand the process of diffusion. Take a beaker full of water and carefully add two or three crystals of copper sulphate or potassium permanganate.

When the crystals settle down on the bottom of beaker, leave it on the table and do not distrub this and Watch it from time to time and record the changes in the colour of water.

The crystals starts dissolving in water. The water around the crystals will appear dark in colour. As time progress, all the wter in the beaker becomes coloured- initially pale in colour and slowly all the water in the beaker becomes uniformly coloured.

Let us now understand the changes that have taken place.
When the permanganate crystal settles at the bottom of the beaker, a small amount of water comes in contact with the surface of crystal. This water dissolves permanganate and results in the formation of a concentrated solution of the salt at the point. 

This is the reason for the appearance of small dark coloured spot at the bottom of the beaker in the intial stages.

From this spot, the molecules of permanganate move away and get dispered all over the water in the beaker. As this goes on, rest of the water becomes coloured.

As the concentration of dissolved permanganate increase, the colour of water also becomes darker. Finally, after along time, all the molecules of permanganate are uniformly distrusted in the water and water in the beaker becomes uniformly coloured.

From this experiment we cleared that:
1. All the molecules in a solution are in a state of       continuous motion.
2. They move randomly in all the directions.
3. Molecules move from higher concentration to         lower concentration.
4. this movement from higher to lower                  

    concentration occurs till the concentration    

    becomes equal at both the points..

The process of movement of molecules or ions from appoint of high concentration to a point of low concentration till the concentration at both the points become equal is called diffusion.

We have not supplied and additional energy for the movement of the molecules. The energy required for the movement of molecules comes from the kinetic energy of the molecules its self. The process of diffusion occurs nor only in water but also in air.

The process of diffusion occurs not only in water but also in air. This is commonly amounts in the bottle is opened- molecules responsible for perfume are in the air amounts in the bottle while there are no perfume molecules in the air surrounding the bottle. Hence , perfume molecules diffuse through air to all the areas in the room.

Diffusion is physical process and no external energy is required for the movement of molecule by diffusion.

THANKYOU,
NANDITHA AKUNURI

http://www.sonuacademy.in/2016/03/diffusion-text.html

WALLS TELL STORIES-TEXT

WALLS TELL STORIES

ENVIRONMENTALSTUDIES

CBSE-V

Golconda (sometimes spelled as Golkonda) Fort was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Golconda which flourished in the 14th to 16th century. It is situated 11 kilometers from Hyderabad, the capital of the state of Telangana.

The walls ranging from 17 to 34 feet broken by 87 semi-circular bastions in shape, some reaching 60 feet in height, and built on a granite hill that is 400 feet high and it remains one of India’s most magnificent fortress complexes.

Even before the kingdom of Golconda rose in prominence, the beginning of the fort was thought to be in 1143, when the Kakatiya Dynasty ruled the region.

According to legend, a shepherd boy found an idol in the area. When this was reported to the Kakatiyan king, he ordered a mud fort to be built around it. The fort eventually became known as Golla Konda, which in Tegulu meant Shepherd’s Hill.

In 1686, the Mughal prince Aurangzeb started to lay siege on the fort of Golconda, with the intent of claiming Hydebarad, the wealthy capital of the Qutub Shahi dynasty.

The fortress proved to be as impregnable as its reputation claimed. It wasn’t until the year after, in 1687, when Aurangzeb finally managed to breach the fort after a nine-month long siege. It was said that the fort only fell down because of a traitor who sabotaged the gate.

Today, even after almost 800 years, the fort still stands as one of Hyderabad’s greatest architectural wonders. One of it’s gratest engineering marvels is the fantastic acoustic effects: one handclap at a certain point below the entrance dome can be heard at the highest point of the pavilion almost a kilometer away. This was said to be used for warning the royals in case of an attack.

Reached Golconda
At last we reached Golconda. We were glad that didi was with us. Didi studies history and we enjoy visiting different places with her.

Shailja: My goodness! This fort is so huge.
Shreedhar: And see at what a height it is built!
Kalyani: Just look! Have you ever seen such a huge gate?
Shailja: It must be very heavy. I wonder how many people would be needed to open and close this gate.
Kalyani : Look at these sharp ironSpokes. I wonder why they were made?
Shailja: Look at these thick walls too.
Shreedhar: I have never seen such thick walls.
Kalyani: At some places, a part of the wall comes out in a round shape. I wonder why?
Didi:These are called bastions (burj).

See these are even higher than the wall. The outer wall of this fort has 87 bastions. Thick walls, a huge gate and so many bastions! So many ways to ensure security

What did we find inside the fort?
Shailja: I wonder how old this fort would be? Do you think the
king built the fort so that he could live here?
Kalyani : It was written outside that Qutubshahi Sultans ruled here one after another, from 1518-1687.
Didi : Much before that, in 1200, this fort was made of mud and different rulers lived here.

Shailja: Oh look! This board has a map of the fort.
Shreedhar: This map shows so many gardens, fields and factories. See, there are many palaces also inside the fort.
Shailja: That means that not only the Sultan, but many other people like farmers and workers must also have been living here.
Kalyani: It must have been a complete town.

The Sultan’s Palace
Shreedhar: These steps seem to go on and on. Shailja: Even in those days they used to have buildings with two floors!
Kalyani: Now, the building is in ruins. But one can imagine that earlier there were many big halls and rooms here.
Shreedhar: Look at this beautiful carving on the walls. It is so fine
Kalyani : We also saw something like a fountain on one of the roofs.
Didi : Yes, there were many big tanks and fountains here. They used to be full of water.

Wow, what engineering!
Think, even today when engineers design houses, sometimes there is dampness in the walls. And here, so long ago, there were fountains on the terrace!

The building must have been made with such good understanding. If we think how the people lived five hundred years ago, so many questions come to our mind. For example, how was water lifted to such heights? Can you guess how?

Why these attacks?
While we were all talking, Shreedhar called us to see a big gun (cannon). We ran up the steps.

Shailja: This must have been the Sultan's big gun.
Didi : This was used by Aurangzeb. His full army came with their guns and cannons to attack but they could not even enter the fort. For eight months they camped outside the fort.
Shailja: Why would the army come here all the way from Delhi?

Didi: In those days, emperors and kings, played such tricks. They tried to make smaller kingdoms a part of their own kingdom. This was done sometimes by friendship, sometimes by flattery, or even by marriage between families. And when nothing else worked, they also attacked them!

Kalyani: Why is it that Aurangzeb’s army could not get into the fort? He had so many soldiers and big guns.

Shailja: Didn’t you see these strong thick walls? In the map there is a long deep ditch (pit) along the wall. How could the army enter?

Shreedhar: If the army tried to come from a different side, then the soldiers in the bastions would have seen it from a distance. No wonder it was difficult to attack the fort!

Kalyani: Imagine! The army is coming on horses and elephants, with all their guns. Here, the Sultan's army stands fully prepared.

Shailja: Oh no! How many people and soldiers on both the sides must have been killed in all this fighting? Why do people attack and have wars?

Shreedhar: Guns and cannons are things of the past now. These days many countries have nuclear bombs. A single bomb can cause so much destruction!

When there was no telephone:
Didi asked us to wait at the king's palace. She herself went to Fateh Darwaza. A while later we heard Didi’s voice, “Alert! I am Sultan Abul Hassan. I am very fond of music and Kuchipudi dance.” We all laughed. We were surprised how didi’s voice could be heard from so far. She later told us that if you stand at Fateh Darwaza whatever you speak can be heard at the king’s palace.

Arrangements for water:
The picture shown here is made after seeing a very old painting of
those times. Can you think why bullocks have been used here? Use your hand movement to show in which direction the drum attached
to the rod moves when the bullocks move. In which direction would the ‘toothed wheel’ move?

Look, this pole shown under the ground joins with another
wheel which has a number of pots on it.
Now imagine, how would this garland of pots lift water from the well?

Do you now get some idea about how the tanks could have been filled by lifting water from the wells? Even today we can see clay pipes in the walls of the fort. These pipes would have been used to carry water to different places in the palace.

What a sad sight!
Talking, whistling and listening to our own echo we were walking
through this mehrab (arch).

Shreedhar: Oh! The breeze feels so cool in this tunnel.
Shailja: It was written that soldiers stayed here.
Shreedhar: See this board, but look what the wall is like!
Shailja: Oh! Think how this wall has seen thousands of years go by. It has seen kings and queens, horses and elephants, war and peace... But we have spoilt it in just a few years.
Kalyani: I don’t understand, what kind of fun do people get in writing their names all over the place like this?

Close your eyes and go back in time!
Imagine that you are in those days when there was a busy town inside Golconda. Think about the questions given below and discuss in class. You could even put up a play.

What is the Sultan doing in the palace? What kind of clothes is he wearing? What dishes are being offered to him? But why does he seem so worried? And in what language is he talking?

Going to the museum:
After seeing Golconda, the children also went to a museum in Hyderabad. Many old items are kept there. Many things were found when the place around Golconda was dug – like pots, jewellery, swords, etc.

Shailja: Oh! Why are these broken pieces of pots kept in the almirah? See that small plate made of bronze. That blue piece seems to be made of ceramic (clay).

Didi : It is through all these things that we come to know how people of those times lived, what they used and what things they made. If all these would not have been kept here, how would you know so much about those times?

Make your own museum:
Rajni teaches in a Government school in Mallapuram district in Kerala. Together with the children of her class, she has collected many old things from all the houses. Like old walking sticks, locks, umbrellas, wooden slippers (khadaun), pots, etc. 

They also saw what these things look like today. Rajni and the children put up an exhibition, which people from the neighbourhood came to see. You could also do this.

THANKYOU,
NANDITHA AKUNURI

UP YOU GO-TEXT

UP YOU GO

ENVIRNOMENT STUDIES

CBSE-V

Mountaineering Camp: 2nd February 1984 by Kalyani Raghunathan:

Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) is rated as one of the best mountaineering institutes in India and also considered as the most prestigious mountaineering institute in Asia.

The proposal to have a mountaineering Institute at Uttarkashi was mooted by the Ministry of Defence, Government of India and the Government of Uttar Pradesh in 1964.

Uttarkashi was specially selected as the home of NIM, primarily because of its close proximity to the Gangotri region in western garhwal, which undoubtedly has the best climbing and training potential in India and perhaps in the world. 

The Institute took shape in 1965 at the Provincial Armed Constabulary Campus at Gyansu on the north bank of the river Bhagirathi.

The present location, about 5 Km away across the Bhagitrathi River, was selected in 1970 by a team comprising Late Shri Harish Sarin (then Secretary), Captain M.S.Kohli and the architect, Mr. Rahman and NIM moved to its new location in 1974.

It is now located at 4300 AMSL in the Ladari Reserve Forest, amidst a dense pine forest, overlooking the sacred river and the valley of gods. It has a sprawling campus, spread over almost seven hectares of prime forest land. 

The Institute is headed by a Principal who is handpicked officer by the Ministry of Defence. It has Training and an Administrative wing. The Training Wing comprises of the Vice Principal, the Medical Officer, the intrepid NIM instructional and Kitchen staff. The Administrative Wing which deals with account, rations and equipment are looked after by the Registrar and the Equipment Officer, respectively.

The aim of the Institute is to introduce and initiate young men, women and school children to the mountains and nature through its various Mountaineering and Adventure courses.

Emphasis is laid on instilling the concept of Adventure and following conventional environmental guidelines to ensure environmental awareness and conservation

​

NIM was established at Uttarkashi on 14th Nov 1965 to honor the great desire of Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, who was an ardent mountain lover

he Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, Uttarkashi is planning to conduct seven days (07 days) Preliminary Skiing course

Preliminary Skiing Course - Fee structure in Indian Currency

Indian                     Foreigner                      Students(Indian)

5000/-                     12000/-                          4000/-

TERMS & CONDITIONS:

Fee includes: Expenses on food, accommodation, equipment, transportation, medicines and other training expenses during the course.

​

Admission to Foreigners: Have to report to the Principal one day in advance along with the Passport and valid Visa for direct admission into a course, UDS 400 for adventure course and USD 800 each for remaining courses is to be paid as course fee.

​

Refund of Fee: Cancellation of seat 2 months earlier entitles refund of fee with 25% deduction.

​

Armed Forces & Para Military Personnel: Serving Armed forces, Para Military and NCC Personnel, should apply through their respective Service Headquarters and Departmental Channels. They can also however apply as private trainees.

Repetition of Course : The courses conducted in NIM are subsidized and the vacancies are limited. Repeating a course by an individual leads to denial of opportunity to someone else.

This Institute also conducts special courses for schools and establishments on full cost basis i;e. Rs 1200/- per individual per day for 15 days. These are open and anyone can apply for their confirmation.

​

Transfer of Seat: Request of transfer of seat on compassionate ground may be considered only once. No Refund of fee is permitted thereafter.

​

Arrival: Trainees must arrive an evening before commencement of the course, also late arrivals even by a day will not be permitted to join the course.

​

Forms should be submitted through registered post on the following address:-

The principal

Nehru institute of mountaineering

Uttarkashi (uttarakhand)-249 193.

On receipt of Form and Training Fee Applicant will be informed by us by Email/Telephone on Provisional basis and will be subsequently informed for final date on short notice.   

                                                                         

Arrival:

Trainees must arrive an evening before commencement of course. Late arrivals even by one day will not be permitted to join the course.

Let us know some our  kendriya vidyalayas teacher experience when they went training for  Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, Uttarkashi. We were at the mountaineering camp and were very excited. Twenty of us were teachers from Kendriya Vidyalayas.

There were other women from banks and other institutions. Today was the second day of the camp. In the morning as I got out of bed and put my foot down, I screamed in pain.

I remembered yesterday’s 26 kilometre walk with the heavy rucksack on

my back. I was afraid to go back to that steep climb and the rough narrow path.

With tears in my eyes I started walking slowly towards the room of Brigadier Gyan Singh, the Director of our adventure course. I was thinking of what I would say to excuse myself from that day’s trek. Suddenly, I heard his deep voice from behind.

“Madam, what are you doing here at breakfast time? Hurry up! Otherwise you will have to trek on an empty stomach.”

“Sir, Sir….,” I could not say any more. “You have came to tell me that you have blisters on your feet, that you cannot walk, isn’t it?” “Yes, sir.” “That is nothing new. Now get ready quickly.”

I hung my head and rushed back to get ready. I had just turned when I heard his voice again, “Listen, madam. You will lead group number 7. You will have to help any member who has difficulty climbing the mountain. You have already been told about the responsibilities of a group leader in the mountains.”

A big responsibility:

I started thinking about what a leader must do:

Help others in carrying their bags.

Let the group go ahead and keep to the last.

Help those who cannot climb properly.

Find a good place to stop and rest.

Look after those who are not well.

Arrange for food for the group.

The most important thing is to be ready to be punished even when some one else may have made a mistake. I realised that there was a special kind of discipline here. I wondered whether the camp will still be fun!

Group No: 7

Group No. 7 included girls from Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Nagaland. I was the only teacher from Kendriya Vidyalaya in this group. I was happy to meet my new group members.

Most of them could not speak Hindi well. I still feel bad that after being together for 21 days, I could not talk even once with Khondonbi from Mizoram. She spoke only Mizo. But in our hearts we grew close to each other.

Crossing the river:

We got vitamin C, iron tablets and hot chocolate milk with our breakfast. These were given for strength and to keep us warm in the cold. Every morning there would be a medical check up. We tied our bandages and counted the days left!

After an eight kilometre trek we reached a river. There was a thick rope tied across the river, from one bank to the other. The rope was tightly fixed to pegs or ‘pitons’ on both the sides. I was feeling nervous. I started thinking what would happen if the rope came out. I was trying to estimate how wide the river was.

Our instructor tied a rope around his waist and put a sling (type of hook) in it. He then put the sling on the thick rope tied across the river. Walking through the icy water, he went to the other side.

No one was ready to step into the fast flowing river. Everyone was pushing each other to go first. I stood last in the line hoping that no one would see me.

Just then our instructor came near me with the sling and rope in his hands. I knew there was no escape now. I was ready, but did not have the courage. Sir could guess my fears. He called out loudly, “Three cheers for Sangeeta madam!” And before I knew it, someone had gently pushed me into the water.

I felt as if my feet were frozen. I started shivering, my teeth were chattering. I caught hold of the rope and started putting my feet firmly on the river bed.

As I walked further in, the river got deeper and slowly the water reached upto my neck. In the middle of the river I lost my balance and started slipping. I was so scared and felt so cold, that the rope slipped from my hands. I started shouting for help.

I was sure I would be carried away by the river. But no, I found that I was tied with the rope to the sling. “Hold the rope! Hold the rope”, I could hear the shouts. I somehow managed to get hold of the rope and pull myself forward.

Slowly, with some courage, I reached the river bank. I felt a special kind of happiness as I came out of the water. Happiness on finishing a challenging task. Now, standing on the bank, I was calling out to the others to hold the rope tightly. I knew that this confidence was a result

of facing a challenge with courage.

Rock climbing:

We had to climb 15 km to reach Tekla village. It was at a height of 1600 metres. Our rucksacks had all that we may need – food packets, water bottle, rope, hook, plastic sheet, diary, torch, towel, soap, windcheater, whistle, glucose, jaggery, chana and some other snacks.

We could see fruits and vegetables growing in the step fields. We saw Colonel Ram Singh standing on a 90 metres high flat rock with pegs and ropes.

We had been told to first observe the rock carefully and identify holds – places where we can put our hands and feet. Today I was not going to back out.

I stood first in the line. Our instructor tieda rope around his waist. He put the sling, and held the thick rope which was hanging. He started climbing as if he was running up.

I also put my sling. But as I took my first step, I slipped. And there I was – swinging from the rope! “Keep your body at an angle of 90° while

climbing,” I heard. “Keep your back straight.

Do not bend.”

Keeping this in mind, I imagined the rock as flat ground and started to climb up. Again while coming down we had to use the rope, in a special way called ‘rapling.’ I did this with the same fearlessness.

A funny incident:

It was evening. Khondonbi was feeling hungry. We did not have anything to eat. She jumped over the fence and got into a field. She quickly plucked two big cucumbers and came back.

Just then a woman came from behind and caught hold of her bag. She started saying something to Khondonbi in her own language. We could not understand what she was saying.

Khondonbi was trying to explain in her Mizolanguage which we could not understand. I tried to explain in Hindi but neither of them could understand it. Finally, I folded my hands to say that we were sorry.

By then our group had gone far ahead. It was already dark. I thought we had lost our way. Now we were really scared. We could not see anything even with our torches.

I started sweating even though it was cold. I tightly held Khondonbi’s hand. I called out loudly, “Where are you all? Can you hear me?” My voice echoed in the mountains.

We both started to whistle loudly and flashed our torches. Probably the group had noticed that we were missing. We heard some whistles at a distance. I understood the signal.

We held each other's hand tightly and waited. Khondonbi felt that we should keep talking. She started singing a Mizo song loudly. After some time, we saw them coming towards us. At last! We were with the group again.

A special guest:

After dinner we met a special guest – Bachhendri Pal. She had just been

Up You Go! 83 selected as a part of the team to climb Mount Everest. She had come to seek the blessings of Brigadier Gyan Singh. It was a happy evening – we were all singing.

Bachhendri also joined us in singing and dancing on the famous Pahadi song ‘Bedu Pako, bara masa, kafal pako chaita, meri chhaila.’ At that time we had no idea that Bachhendri would become the first Indian woman to reach Mount Everest and create history.

Camp in the snow:

We were standing at a height of 2134 meters. We were to spend the night here. Everyone was busy trying to put up the tent. We used double layered plastic sheets for the tent and for the ground.

The air between the layers would help to keep us warm. We put in the pegs and began to put up the tent. As we tied it from one side, the wind flew the tent from the other side.

After quite a lot of pulling and tugging, we managed to get the tent up. Then we dug a drain around the tent. We were feeling very hungry. We collected some firewood and stones to make a chulha and cooked some food.

After the meal, we collected all the waste in a bag to clean the camp site. Soon we got into our sleeping bags. I was not sure if I would be able to sleep in it. Would it be comfortable?

Would I not feel cold? But the bags were filled with soft feathers, which help in keeping us warm. We were all very tired. So very soon we fell asleep.

The next morning we woke up and found that it was snowing. White soft fluffy snowflakes were gently falling. Wow! It was so beautiful ! The plants, the trees, the grass and the mountains – everything looked white.

Today we were to climb higher, to 2700 metres. We walked carefully on the snow with the help of sticks. It was difficult because we kept slipping. By afternoon we had reached snow covered mountains. We enjoyed throwing snowballs at each other and making a big snowman.

Last day at camp:

We were getting ready for the camp fire. Each group presented a programme. We were enjoying – telling jokes and laughing, singing and dancing around the camp fire. Soon it was midnight.

Brigadier Gyan Singh got up and called me. I thought, “Oh, no!

what have I done this time?” But when Sir announced my name for the ‘Best Performance Award’ I stood still. He blessed me and tears of joy rolled down my face.

Alone on the mountain top

A twelve-year old girl living in the mountains was out on a school picnic. She climbed a mountain peak of 4000 metres with her friends. The girls had done this for fun and adventure. Soon it was dark and they could not come down. It was also cold and scary.

They were alone without any food and it was a long night. This happened to Bachhendri Pal, played when she was a young girl. Bachhendri grew up in Nakuri village in the Garhwal area of Uttarakhand.

When she grew older, she joined Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, Uttarkashi. Her guide was Brigadier Gyan Singh. Bachhendri did very well in her training. She started to train women in mountaineering courses. In 1984, Bachhendri was selected as a team member to climb the Mount Everest.

Snow storm:

There were seven women in that 18 member team. On the night of 15th May the team was very tired after having reached a height of 7300 metres. The team put up their tents and went to sleep. Around midnight they heard a loud sound and then a bang.

Before they were fully awake, the tent flew off and something very heavy hit them. There was a terrible snow storm. Bachhendri was almost buried under the snow and was hurt on the head. Many of the team members were also injured. The others used snow-picks and axes to dig out those who had been buried under the snow.

The rest of the team members returned to base camp but Bachhendri went ahead, climbing slowly but steadily towards the peak. It was seven minutes past one o’clock in the afternoon of 23th May when Bachhendri Pal stepped onto the peak of 8900 metre high Mount Everest also called Sagarmatha in Nepal.

There was another team member with her. There was no space for two people to stand on the top at the same time. One slip and they would fall straight down-thousands of feet below! Bachhendri and her team-mate dug into the snow and pitched their axe firmly in the ice. Using this as a hook, they tied themselves to it with a rope.

 Only then two of them could stand there. She was shivering with cold but filled with the warmth of achievement. She bowed her head, pitched the national flag and took photographs. She spent 43 minutes on the highest peak in the world. Bachhendri Pal became the first Indian woman and the fifth woman in the world to reach the peak of Mount Everest.

THANKYOU,

NANDITHA  AKUNURI