Articles

The variety of plants and animals found in a particular region contributes to the biodiversity of that region.

‘The Proposal’’ is a one-act play, a farce, by the Russian short story writer and dramatist Anton Chekhov. It was written in 1888-89.

This poem is a conversation between a young man and a young woman.

Gautama Buddha (563 B.C. - 483 B.C.) began life as a prince named Siddhartha Gautama, in northern India. At twelve, he was sent away for schooling in the Hindu sacred scriptures and four years later he returned home to marry a princess.

This poem is written in the style of a ballad - a song or poem that tells a story. This poem is a humorous ballad close to a parody.

n this sensitive story, an eight-year old girl’s first bus journey into the world outside her village is also her induction into the mystery of life and death. She sees the gap between our knowing that there is death, and our understanding of it.

By the 3rd century CE, the Kuṣhāṇa Empire, which spread over the north and northwest of the Subcontinent, started to weaken. New kingdoms emerged, setting the stage for a fresh period of consolidation with the Gupta dynasty.

The fog comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbour and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.

Early in the New Year of 1956 I travelled to Southern Iraq. By then it had crossed my mind that I should like to keep an otter instead of a dog, and that Camusfearna, ringed by water a stone’s throw from its door, would be an eminently suitable spot for this experiment.

The trees inside are moving out into the forest,
the forest that was empty all these days
where no bird could sit
no insect hide
no sun bury its feet in shadow
the forest that was empty all these nights
will be full of trees by morning.

Pranjol, a youngster from Assam, is Rajvir’s classmate at school in Delhi. Pranjol’s father is the manager of a tea-garden in Upper Assam and Pranjol has invited Rajvir to visit his home during the summer vacation.

Coorg is coffee country, famous for its rainforests and spices.

This is a pen-portrait of a traditional Goan village baker who still has an important place in his society.

Every child feels that she or he is controlled and instructed not to do one thing or another.

Anneliese Marie ‘Anne’ Frank (12 June 1929 - February/March 1945) was a German born Jewish girl who wrote while in hiding with her family and four friends in Amsterdam during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II.

This humorous poem suggests some dangerous ways to identify (or ‘tell’) wild animals!

The moon was coming up in the east, behind me, and stars were shining in the clear sky above me. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. I was happy to be alone high up above the sleeping countryside.

The young seagull was alone on his ledge. His two brothers and his sister had already flown away the day before. He had been afraid to fly with them.

The last Maurya emperor was assassinated around 185 BCE by his commander-in-chief Puṣhyamitra Śhunga. This led to a breakup of the empire - hardly half a century after Aśhoka.

This poem contrasts a tiger in the zoo with the tiger in its natural habitat. The poem moves from the zoo to the jungle, and back again to the zoo.

In this extract from his autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, Mandela speaks about a historic occasion, ‘the inauguration’.

Some say the world will end in fire
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favour fire.

The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree

The house - the only one in the entire valley - sat on the crest of a low hill. From this height one could see the river and the field of ripe corn dotted with the flowers that always promised a good harvest. The only thing the earth needed was a downpour or at least a shower. Throughout the morning Lencho - who knew his fields intimately - had done nothing else but see the sky towards the north-east.

The word ‘empire’ comes from the Latin ‘imperium’, which means ‘supreme power’. An empire is a collection of smaller kingdoms or territories over which a powerful ruler or group of rulers exert power, often after waging war against the smaller kingdoms.

In the early 2nd millennium BCE, the Harappan civilisation disintegrated. Some of its cities were abandoned and in others, some people continued living there, but reverting to a rural or village lifestyle.

Indian culture is several millenniums old. Like any ancient tree, it has many roots and many branches. The roots nurture a common trunk. And from the trunk emerge many branches, which are different manifestations of Indian culture, yet united by a common trunk.

Civilisation began at different times in different parts of the world. In the region known as Mesopotamia (modern Iraq and Syria), that happened about 6,000 years ago, and the civilisation in ancient Egypt followed a few centuries later.

Today, the India we know is a modern nation, with defined borders, defined states and a known population. However, it was very different 500 years ago, 2,000 years ago or even 5,000 years ago.

At present, the Gregorian calendar is commonly used worldwide. The conventional year for Jesus Christ’s birth has generally been taken to be the starting point for this calendar.

Nature is the totality of life and non-life forms that are part of our environment but have not been created by humans. When humans use these for their sustenance, or create new things from them for consumption, these elements of Nature become resources.

Weather is what we experience every hour or day. It might be raining, or there could be bright sunshine, a lot of wind, etc. The weather keeps changing. Climate is the pattern of weather an area or a region experiences over a long period of time - several decades at least. This pattern varies from region to region.

Weather is a state of the Earth’s atmosphere at a particular time and place. Atmosphere is the layer of gases (air) that surround the Earth.

India is the seventh-largest country in the world, and a part of Asia. Along with its neighbours - Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar - it forms the region known as the Indian Subcontinent.

Land has many forms and features. Its appearance changes a lot from one region to another. A landform is a physical feature on the surface of the planet Earth. Landforms take shape over millions of years and have a significant connection with the environment and life.

Almost three-fourths of the Earth’s surface is covered with water. The largest water bodies are called oceans. The land covers a little over one-fourth of the globe. A large body of land is called a landmass, and a large continuous expanse of land is called a continent.

A map is like a treasure guide. It shows you where things are and how to get to them.

1. What kinds of cloth had a large market in Europe?

The kinds of cloth which had a large market in Europe were chintz, cossaes or khassa and bandana.

1. Draw up a list of the different festivals celebrate in your locality. Which of these celebrations are shared by members of different regional and religious communities?

The festivals celebrated by members of different regional and religious communities include Holi, Diwali, Dushera, Rakshabandhan, Chrismtas, Id-ul-Zuha, Lohri, etc.

1. What are Prejudices?

Village people are, in everyone’s opinion, supposed to be ignorant and superstitious while city people are supposed to be greedy, lazy and money-minded. These opinions create negative impression in a human’s sub-conscious mind and are called Prejudices.

1. What is Universal Adult Franchise (UAF)?

In a democratic country like India, adult citizens, irrespective of their religion, caste, education, status, gender, race, colour or place, have the right to vote. This is called Universal Adult Franchise.

1. What is agriculture?

The primary activity that involves cultivation of crops, fruits, vegetables, flowers and rearing of livestock is called agriculture.

1. The world population has grown very rapidly. Why?

Development in medical science has caused decrease in death rate, so the world population has grown very rapidly.

1. What is a public activity?

An activity or service that is meant for all people in the country and is mainly organised by the government. This includes schools, hospitals, telephone services, etc. People can demand these services and also raise questions about their non-functioning.

1. Why do you think we need the government to find solutions to many disputes or conflicts?

We need the government to find solutions to several disputes and conflicts because it is trusted to adopt an impartial role and impart justice which is the prime duty of the government.

1. What is the difference between the work that MLAs do in the Assembly and the work done by government departments?

An MLA is responsible for the welfare of his people. He raises issued in the Assembly so that solution too the problem facing the masses can be taken. Government departments make and implements make and implement the solution.

1. Define natural resources.

Resources that are drawn from nature and used without much modification are called natural resources.

1. What is the main objective of village Panchayat?

The main objective of village Panchayat is to improve the conditions of the villagers and to make them self-sufficient.

1. What is "Khasra Record"?

Khasra record consists of a plot wise description of ownership, area, classification, share of ownership and the status there of. It identifies which plot of land is owned by whom.

1. “And no one buys a ball back. Money is external”. What does the poet imply by this expression?

Through this expression the poet implies that a lost ball cannot be bought back even with money. Money can only be used to buy valuable things but not to restore or compensate for a thing that is lost.