8ENG2.3 The Little River

(Textbook pages 35 to 39) 

Warming upl

Chit-chat

NEW WORDS FROM  Chit- Chat

family picnic - कौटुंबिक सहल 

class picnic - वर्गसहल 

riverside - नदीकाठी / नदीकिनारी , नदीकाठ 

picnic spot- सहलीचे ठिकाण 

notice - पाहिलेले , लक्षात घ्या. 

What did you notice ? -  तुम्ही  काय पाहिले ? 

banks- किनारा 

on the banks - किनाऱ्यावर 

on the banks of the river - नदी  किनाऱ्यावर

domestic animals - पाळीवप्राणी 

reeds - वेळू 

season - हंगाम , मोसम 

gushing - उसळणारा 

gentle- शांत 

rainy season - पावसाळा 

picnickers - पर्यटक

fishing- मासेमारी

polluted- प्रदूषित 

utensils- स्वयंपाकाची भांडी 

defecation- मलविसर्जन, शौच 

household  wastes- घरातील कचरा 

industrial wastes - औद्योगिक कचरा 

Spring - वसंत 

Summer- ग्रीष्म 

Rainy Season- वर्षा 

Autumn- शरद 

Pre-winter - हेमंत 

Winter - शिशिर 

Alliteration- अनुप्रास अलंकार 

Onomatopeia - ( ध्वनि अनुकरणात्मक अलंकार)

roar  - गर्जना 

deafening- कानठळ्या बसवणे 

bang - मोठा आवाज 

swish - स्स स्स असा आवाज करणे

beep -बीप बीप असा सूचना वजा आवाज 

tweet - चिव चिव आवाज 

boom - खोल घुमणारा आवाज 

zoom- जोरात वेगाने जाणे 

whack- जोराचा तडाखा, तडाख्याचा  आवाज 

potion -औषधांचा लहान घोट  

patient - रुग्ण s

( Useful for Question For  Conversation )

You must have been for a family/ class picnic to a riverside picnic spot.

( Use the questions below and have a dialogue:) 

(1) What did you notice on the banks of the river? 

Ans. On the banks of the river we noticed some trees, birds, some domestic animals, reeds, river-sands and children bathing near the bank. Some womenwere washing clothes. 

(2) In which season did you go ? Was the river flow gushing or gentle? 

Ans. We went to the picnic spot in the rainy season. The river flow was gushing in those days.

(3) Did you notice other people by the river? What were they doing? 

Ans. Yes, there were some picnickers and other people. Some were enjoying the picnic, some were swimming in the river, some were fishing and some women were washing clothes by the river.

(4) What should we do to make sure that rivers do not get polluted?

Ans. We should not allow people to wash their clothes and utensils in the river. We should ban defecation and throwing household and industrial wastes in the river.

(1) (A) Fill up the table of seasons in   India. (Answers are given directly.)

(Table from Textbook page- 35) 

Time of the year - Season - English Name 

(1) Mid February to Mid April - Vasant- Spring

(2) Mid April  to Mid June - Grishma- Summer

(3) Mid June to Mid August - Varsha -Rainy Season

(4) Mid August to Mid October - Sharad- Autumn

(5) Mid October to Mid December - Hemant- Pre-winter

(6) Mid December to Mid February- Shishir - Winter

(B) Match the weather with the seasons : 

Ans:- 

(1) Winter- cold

(2) Monsoon- rainy

(3) Spring-  pleasant

(4) Pre-Winter- windy

(5) Summer - hot

(6) Autumn -  cool

 Poetic Device

  (A) Alliteration

( अनुप्रास अलंकार)

कवी  अनेक पद्यात्मक पद्धती वापरून कविता गद्यापेक्षा वेगळी व संगीतमय रचना करीत असतो. अशा रचनांपैकी एक Alliteration हा अलंकार आहे. Alliteration या अलंकारात भाषेचा गोडवा,  गेयता वाढवण्याकरिता एकाच प्रकारचे ध्वनी एकाच  ओळीत असलेल्या शब्दांचा उपयोग केला जातो. उदा., beautiful birds, 

sad song, 

stepping stone, 

city site, 

No one knows, etc. 

2. (A) Poets make the poems musical and different from prose by using many poetic devices.

One of them is using words that begin with the same sound in the same time.

For example:

● beautiful birds

● sad song

● stepping stone

● No one knows

● city site

Always Remember:- 

This device is called Alliteration and belongs to set of similar devices, named Figures of Speech. Figures of Speech add to the beauty of a poem.

(Please note: Here, the first sound is important, not the first letter in the spelling.)

 वरील अनुप्रास या अलंकारात पहिले अक्षर (letter) नव्हे, तर शब्दांचा पहिला ध्वनी (उच्चार) महत्त्वाचा असतो.

Now   write five pairs of words that begin with the same sound .

(1) uncle's umbrella

(2) tall tree

(3) high hills

(4) my mother may make dosa for me.

(5) loyal labourer

Poetic Device

(B) Onomatopeia - ( ध्वनि अनुकरणात्मक अलंकार)  :- या अलंकारात ध्वनी, आवाज (sounds) व्यक्त करणारे शब्द काव्यपंक्तीत वापरलेले असतात.

उदा., The roar of the waves was deafening. Sounds (ध्वनी) असलेले इंग्रजी शब्द : bang , swish , beep , roar , tweet , boom , zoom,  whack.  etc.

(3) Play a game :- 

Set a time limit of 5 minutes, Using letters from the word ONOMATOPOEIA make as many four/five/six letter words. and write them down. The one who makes maximum number of words, within the time limit is the winner.

Ans:- ● potion ● tomato ● onion ● poem

● opinion  ● open ● potato ● patient ● poet

● onto ● appoint ● note

The Little River

Our little river, it meanders along:

In summer, the water is only knee-deep,

And cows and carts can cross it with ease,

For the banks, though high, are not too steep

No sign of slime, the sands shine bright,

On one shore, kash fields blossom white.

Chirping mynahs through that site,

The jackal's howl is heard there at night. 

Across lie groves of mango and palm; 

The village priests dwell in their cool shade.

 Girls and boys bathe close to the bank.

Splashing with their gamchhas as they wade.

At dusk and dawn, once their bath is done, 

They dip washcloths to trap small fish.

 To their household tasks the wives return,

Having used river-sand to scour each dish.

In Ashadh, clouds gather, the waters rise;

The river's in spate, the current grows strong.

The air is rife with babbling sounds,

As the muddy torrent swirls along. 

The woods onshore stir to life again,

And our village wakens to celebrate the rain.

                           -  Rabindranath Tagore

meanders: flow with twists and turns

slime - thick slippery substance 

kash: tall grass with white feathery flowers

gamchhas: thin cotton towels

wade: walk in a source of water where it is not deep

washcloths: small cloth for washing face scour: scrub

in spate -  a sudden flood in a river

rife - full of

babbling -  talking rapidly

torrent - rapid flow of water

stir to life : become alive with sound and movement

NEW WORDS MEANING IN MARATHI 

The Little River -  लहानशी नदी 

meanders along -  वळणे घेत घेत वाहत जाणे 

summer - उन्हाळा 

knee-deep  -  गुडघाभर खोल 

cross - ओलांडणे 

ease- सहजपणे 

banks  - काठ, तीर, किनारा, तट

though - जरी

high -  उंच 

though high - जरी उंच असले 

steep-  मोठ्या चढाचा किंवा उताराचा 

too steep  -  अगदी तीव्र उतार 

slime - चिखल ( sludge)

sand - वाळू 

shine - चमकणे, चकाकणे, 

shore  - किनारा ,तीर, तट

kash - एक प्रकारचे पांढरी फुले येणारे उंच वाढणारे गवत 

fields- शेती 

kash fields  - काश गवताची शेती 

blossom - बहर येणे, मोहर येणे, फुलणे

white - पांढरा 

blossom white - पांढऱ्या रंगाने फुलणे, 

kash fields blossom white - काश गवताची शेती पांढऱ्या रंगाने बहरली आहे 

chirping mynahs - मैना पक्षांचा किलबिलाट 

site  - जागा, ठिकाण, स्थळ

jackal - fox ( कोल्हा )

howl - कोल्ह्यांचे किंवा कुत्र्यांचे केकाटणे, कोल्हेकुई

across - च्या पलीकडे, एकाबाजूकडून दुसरीकडे , 

      ओलांडून पलीकडे 

lie - पाहुडणे, आडवे होणे ,पसरणे,  

groves - small forest  (राई, झाडांचा समूह) 

groves of mango - आमराई, 

priests - डावपेच आखणे, 

dwell - राहणे, वस्ती करणे, थांबणे ,

in their cool shade - त्यांच्या थंडगार सावलीत 

bathe - धुणे, ओले करणे ,डुंबणे, स्नान करणे 

close -  एकदम जवळ 

gamchhas- पातळ टॉवेल 

splash - शिंतोडे उडवणे, पाणी उडवत फिरणे, 

wade-  ज्यातून चालणे कठीण आहे आशा पाण्यातून वाट काढत जाणे 

dusk - तिन्हीसांज , पूर्ण अंधार पडण्यापूर्वीचा काळ 

dawn - पहाट

dip - बुडणे, खाली जाणे, उतरणे, 

washcloths - हात तोंड साफ करण्याचा कपडा , उपरणे टॉवेल सारखे पातळ कापड 

to trap - सापळ्यात अडकवणे , डावपेच ,फसवणे

household - घरगुती 

tasks - सोपवले कमी वेळेतील काम 

household tasks - घरची कामे 

wives - बायका 

river-sand - नदीतील वाळू 

scour - घासून पुसून स्वच्छ करणे 

each dish -  प्रत्येक ताट /थाळी /ताटली 

Ashadh - आषाढ 

clouds gather - ढग जमतात 

the waters rise - पाणी वाढते 

in spate - नदीला अचानक आलेला पूर, उधाण 

current - प्रवाह 

grows - वाढतो, 

strong - भक्कम,  मजबूत, बलवान, ताकदवान 

current grows strong - प्रवाह मोठा होत जातो 

rife - सर्वत्र पसरणे, full of, 

babbling - बाष्कळ बडबड, वटवट, आवाज करत

babbling sounds - निरर्थक वटवट करणे 

muddy- चिखलाने माखलेला, गढूळ 

torrent - जोराचा प्रवाह, कशाचाही जोरदार ओघ 

swirls - झोका जाणे, 

wood - लाकूड, जंगल, वनराई 

onshore- किनाऱ्यावर, किनाऱ्याकडे  

stir- हालणे,हालचाल करणे, ढवळणे  

waken - जागृत करणे, जागे करणे ,उठणे 

celebrate- साजरे करणे 

to celebrate the rain - पावासाचा आनंद घेणे , एन्जॉय करणे 

MARGIN QUESTIONS 

(1) How do we know that the river is just knee deep?

Ans:-   The cows and carts can cross the river with ease. They can move and walk only in shallow water. This shows that the river is just knee-deep.

 And In summer water is only knee-deep. 

From this line  too we know that the river is just knee deep.

(2) What does one see along the banks of the river? 

Ans. One can see the sands shining brightly on the banks. Kash fields are blossomed with white flowers. Mynahs are chirping there and the jackals are howling at night. There are groves of mango and palm on the banks. The village priests live there in the cool shades of the groves. Girls and boys of the village are seen bathing and splashing water close to the bank.

(3) How do the young children enjoy in the river? 

Ans. The young girls and boys bathe close to the bank of the river. They are wading through the water and splashing water around.

(4) How does the river change in 'Ashadh'?

dusk ×  dawn, 

Singular- wife 

Plural - wives

Past Tense 

Wake -woke 

Form of verbs 

Wake -woke - waken - waking.

Reading for Understanding and Poetic Device.

Q. 1. Read the poem  and do the activities:

A1. Simple Factual Activities:

(1) Complete the following sentences with the help of the poem. 

(i) The water of the river was .................in summer.

(ii) In the cool .......................... live the village   priests.

(iii) On the other shore ..................... blossom.

(iv) The banks are not so .....................

Ans:  (i) knee-deep  (ii)  shades of grove  (iii)kash fields   (iv)   steep

(2) Name the following from the poem .

(1) Two trees: mango, palms. 

(2) Two animals : Cows, jackal

A2. Activities based on Device/Vocabulary:

●●(1) Write the rhyming pairs from the poem.

Ans. (1) Knee-deep-steep

  (2) bright-white, site, night

  (3) shade-wade

●●(2) Pick from the poem  words that describe sounds :

(i)........................... of mynals

(ii) jackal's...............................

Ans. (1) chirping of mynahs (2) jackal's howl

●●(3) Pick out words that describe the flow of the river-water:

Ans. meanders

●●(4) Find the lines from the poem  that contain the figure of speech-Alliteration Underline/ write  the initial sound of word repeated in each line :

Ans. (i) And Cows and Cats can Cross with ease.

(ii) No sign of slime, the sands shine  bright.

(iii) Girls and boys bathe close to the bank

Sounds :- 

(i) c 

(ii) s

(iii) b 

●●(5) Pick out the lines that contain the  figure of speech 'Onomatopoeia' : 

Ans. (1) Chirping mynahs through that site

(2) The jackal's howl is heard there at night.

●●(6) What aspects from the extract do the following phrase describe:

(1) Their cool shade - The phrase describes the cool shade of the mango and palm groves.

(2) only knee deep: The phrase describes the water in the river which is only knee deep during summer.

(3) not too steep: The phrase describes that both the banks of river which are not very steep (not rising sharply). ◆

◆

(1) Two seasons: 

(2) Two non-English words: 

(3) Two different times of the day: 

 Ans :-  

 (1) Summer and rainy season

 (2) Ashadh, and gamchha

 (3)  Dusk  and dawn.

●● A2. Complete Factual Activity:

◆◆Answer the questions in short:

● (1) When do women return to do their household work? 

Ans. The women return to do their household work after scrubbing their dishes with river-sand and washing them clean with river-water.

● (2) How does the river change in 'Ashadh'? 

Ans. In Ashadh, black clouds of rain gather and it starts raining heavily. Waters in the river rise. The river is flooded and the river's current grows strong and forceful. The air is full of babbling sounds and the muddy torrent swirls along the river. Everything around the land becomes alive and people celebrate to welcome the rain.

●● A3. Activity based on Poetic Device/Vocabulary:

●(1) Write the rhyming pairs from the poem: 

ANS:- 

(1) done - return

(2) fish - dish

(3) strong-along

(4) again-rain.

●(2) Pick from the poem  words that describe sounds:

Ans :- 

(1) babbling sounds (2) torrent swirls

●(3) Pick out words from the poem  that describe the flow of the river-water:

ANS:- 

(1) strong current

(2) in spate

(3) muddy torrent

●(4) Find lines from the POEM  that contain the figure of speech-Alliteration. Underline the initial sound of words, repeated in the lines: 

(1) At dusk and dawn, once their bath is done.

(2) They dip washclothes to trap small fish.

● (5) Pick the lines that contain the figure of speech-Onomatopoeia. 

Ans. (1) The air is rife with babbling sounds.

(2) As the muddy torrent swirls along. 

● (6) What aspects from the extract do the following phrases describe? 

(1) housework on the river bank :

(2) in spate : 

(3) rife with sounds: 

ANS:- (1) household work of wives (women)  (2)  river's flood.

(3) the air

★★Appreciation of Poem ★★

(1) The title of the poem is -The Little River

(2) The poem is written by- "Rabindrana Tagore.  " 

(3) The poem has 5 stanzas. Each stanza has 4 lines but the last stanza has 6 lines

(4) The poem describes the river  in-summer  and rainy seasons.

(5) Figures of speech in the poem are :- 

(1) Alliteration 

(2) Onomatopoeia

(6) Your favourite lines in the poem are :- 

The woods onshore stir to life again.

And our village wakens to celebrate the rain.

◆◆ English Workshop ◆◆ 

The poem describes two different  pictures of the river in summer and in rainy season. Write down four points   of contrast in the changing scene of the river. 

● In Summer ●

(1) little river, water only knee-deep

(2) meanders along

(3) banks not so steep

(4) no sign of slime, The sands shine bright

contrast lines from poem 

● In Monsoon● 

(1) flooded river

(2) current grow  strong

(3) water rises, torrent swirls along

(4) The village stirs to  life,  people celebrate rain.

Language Study

● Rearrange the words in Alphabetical order:

(1) summer, sign, slime, sand, shade, stir. scour, sound, swirl, strong. 

Ans. sand , scour, shade, sign, slime, sound, stir, strong, summer, swirl. 

(2) banks, blossom, boys, bathe, babbling

Ans. babbling, banks, bathe, blossom, boys.

 (3) these, though, too, throng, there, their, they, trap, torrent

Ans. their, there, these, they though, throng, too, torrent, trap.

Activity

◆◆ Riddle :- 

Guess who I am 

Try to translate the riddle in your medium of instruction, in a poetic form. 

I always run, I never walk.

I often murmur, but never talk.

I have a bed,  but never sleep.

I have a mouth, but hardly eat.

I love to fall, but can't climb up.

Guess who I am. Please don't give up.

Ans. River

 मराठी कवितेत रूपांतर

मी तर नेहमी धावतच असते, कधीच चालत जात नसते.

खूपदा कुजबुजत असते, बोलत मात्र केव्हाच नसते. 

मऊ  बिछान्याची जमीन असते, पण झोप कधी माहीतच नसते.

"मुख' तर मला असतेच असते, पण खाणे कधी होतच नसते. 

वरून कोसळायची हौस असते, पण वरती चढणे शक्यच नसते.

ओळखा पाहू मी कोण. सोडून देऊ नका पण,

उत्तर : नदी.

Writing Skill

Imagine you were at a river-side class picnic and slipped and fell into the river, while playing games. Write in about 12 -15 lines how your classmates saved you.

Ans. It was the rainy season. Our class teacher announced our class picnic to Lonavala to enjoy the scenery of rainy season. Forty students and three of our teachers went there. There we settled near a big river. We all were enjoying scenic surrounding. Some students wanted to enjoy swimming in the river. But our teacher did not allow it. So we started playing close to the bank of the river.

At once I slipped and fell into the river. The river was flooded with strong currents in it. I did not know swimming. I started moving away from the bank. I shouted for help. Our teachers and all other classmates gathered on the bank. Three of my classmates who knew swimming jumped in the river. I was drowning. The three of them rapidly came towards me. They held my hands firmly, pulled me towards the bank and brought me safe to the bank of the river. I was unconscious.

Our teacher turned me upside down and removed water from my stomach. I was uneasy and frightened for sometime. But I felt well afterwards. I thanked my classmates for saving my life. I shall always be grateful to them. I shall never forget my kind classmates.

Oral work

Recite the poem loudly with proper intonation : 

Project

Make your own riddles and present them in your class.