Welcome dear students! Today we are going to learn about India through the Eyes of a Foreigner from Class 7 English_FL.
Let us begin with Section A, our Pre-Reading Activity for Listening and Speaking. Please listen carefully as I read the introduction your teacher would share with you. In this short account of his experiences in India, Mark Tully tells us why he likes India and Indians very much. He gives word-pictures of India’s natural beauty and the beauty of India’s social, religious and cultural activities. There are beautiful descriptions of the ways in which we worship the Almighty. In the end, he says he has been accepted as a part of India. This thought makes him feel good. Now, pause for a moment and think about what you just heard. Be ready to answer questions about why Mark Tully feels connected to India and what makes him feel good.
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Moving to Section B, Reading. Please read this passage at home before your teacher gives the model reading in class. Follow your teacher’s model reading carefully. Keep reading the passage at home to strengthen your reading ability. Now, let us go through the passage paragraph by paragraph so you understand it fully. Mark Tully begins by telling us that he soon realized it would not be difficult to get involved in India. From day one, he was surrounded by friends. These included friends introduced by his predecessors, the staff of All India Radio, members of the press club, and his new neighbours. Many of them are still his good friends today. It is through these people that he became involved in their country. When asked why he stays on in India, he simply replies, because of my friends.
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However, he tells us that this is only part of the truth. He is also deeply drawn to India by its beauty, particularly its natural beauty. He shares a recent memory of sitting beside a campfire in the Great Himalayan National Park, watching snow covered mountains glitter in the sunset. Just a week later, he was in Kerala, in the extreme south, sitting in his bathing trunks, looking out over the Arabian Sea as the sun slid like a great red dome below the horizon. He also speaks of the smells of India, which evoke such nostalgia.
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He describes the dry scent of early summer in Delhi when the blue jacarandas, the scarlet gulmohars, and other trees come into flower. He mentions the sweet smell of the queen of the night, and the freshness of the first pine trees in the foothills of the Himalayas after a long, hot and dusty drive across the plains. He talks about the folk songs and classical music with ragas that start with such austerity and end in ecstasy. He mentions the great epics and love poetry. He points out the art of the Pradhan tribe in Central India, which occupies an entire wall of his flat. He describes the colour of the festivals, the solemn dignity of the courtyards of the great Mosques filled with line after line of worshippers bowing their heads in prayer, and the colourful informality of the pujari performing the evening rites in a Hindu temple.
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He also hears the sound of priests singing the Sikh scriptures carrying across the water of the sacred tank where the Golden Temple stands. He praises the great monuments of India, noting that he has never known anyone to be disappointed by the Taj Mahal or the forts of Rajasthan. He remembers the fresh cooked parathas for breakfast in open air dhabas or restaurants along the Grand Trunk Road, and the delicacy of a vegetarian thali or tray in Gujarat. All these experiences kept him in India. But he says they are not the whole story. He believes it would need a poet to describe what India means to him, and he is no poet. He can only say that he is not alone among foreigners in believing there is nowhere like India, and no people like Indians. He adds that he is perhaps more unusual for a foreigner in that he has been accepted as a part of India.
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Let us review the glossary words from this chapter. The word involved means closely connected in relationships and activities of others. The word austerity means simplicity. The word solemn, with the letter n silent, means very serious. The word informality here means not grand. The word unusual means interesting because different from others. The word ecstasy means a state of a strong feeling of happiness. Now we come to Section C, Listening, Speaking and Writing. The textbook instructs you to take turns with your partner to ask or answer these questions. Explain to your partner why you think your answer is correct. Quote from the text if necessary, and write down your answers. I will guide you to the exact lines so you can write accurate responses. Question one: Mark Tully thought he would be closely connected with others in many activities in India. True or Not True? Look at paragraph one. He says he soon realized it was not going to be difficult to get involved. So, write True.
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Question two: Mark was not able to make friends in India. True or Not True? The text says from day one he was surrounded by friends. So, write Not True. Question three: That, of course, is only part of the truth, he says. What is the part of the truth? Quote paragraph one where he says he stays because of my friends. Explain that this is the part of the truth, but paragraph two reveals the other part: he is also drawn by India's natural beauty. Question four: He watched the sunset in two places. What was the difference? Quote paragraph two. In the Great Himalayan National Park, he saw snow covered mountains glitter in the sunset. In Kerala, he saw the sun slide like a great red dome below the horizon. Question five: He says he liked the early summer smells of India. What are they? Why do they evoke nostalgia in him? List the dry scent of Delhi, jacarandas, gulmohars, queen of the night, and pine trees. The textbook does not explicitly explain why they evoke nostalgia, but you can note that these familiar natural scents connect to his personal memories and feelings of home.
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Question six: Why was the smell of pines particularly refreshing for him? Quote the text: he smelled it after a long, hot and dusty drive across the plains. Question seven: The author tells us about his experiences in India, about the things he saw, smelled and heard. Do you remember anything like that? Try to imagine some memorable experience and tell it to your partner. This is your turn to speak. Think of a place you visited and describe what you saw, smelled, or heard. Question eight: Mark tells us about the great works of our literature, our folk art, ways of worship, our monuments and the Indian food. Give examples of these things in your own words. Use your own knowledge to list examples like the Ramayana, tribal paintings, temple prayers, ancient forts, and regional dishes. Question nine: Mark says he is perhaps the only foreigner who believes India and Indians are very special. True or Not True? Quote paragraph four where he says, I am not alone among foreigners in believing there is nowhere like India, and no people like Indians. This means many foreigners share his view, so write Not True. Question ten: Why do you think we Indians accept Mark, a foreigner, as one of us? The text states he has been accepted as a part of India. Reflect on his long stay, his genuine appreciation for our culture, his respect for our diversity, and his deep connection with the people. Discuss your thoughts with your partner.
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Now, let us learn about Grammar in Section D. The Participle has two forms: the Present Participle and the Past Participle. You add ing to a verb to make a present participle. You add ed or en to a verb to make a past participle. This chapter focuses on the Present Participle. Let us look at its uses. First, use it to make a compound form of a verb. Example: Listen! That bird is singing again! Here, is singing is the present continuous form of the verb sing. Second, use the ing form as an adjective that comes before a noun. Example: Ah! yes! that bird is a singing bird. Here, singing is an adjective modifying the noun bird. Third, use the ing form as an adjective that comes after a verb. Example: This book is interesting. Here, is is the verb and interesting is the adjective. Please note the difference in meaning between is singing, which is a verb form, and is interesting, which is an adjective.
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Fourth, use the ing form as an adjective that comes after a noun or pronoun. Example: Can you hear someone ringing the bell? Here, someone ringing functions like someone impatient. Fifth, sometimes the ing form behaves like an adverb too. Example: The children ran out shouting as soon as the long bell was given. Here, ran out shouting is similar to ran out quickly. Now, let us work through Exercise one. You must answer these questions using the present participle and say how it is used. The textbook provides four questions for you to practice: a. What is the peacock doing? b. What was the bird doing? c. What will you be doing this evening? d. What is mother cooking all morning? Please pause your audio now and write your own answers. Remember to use the ing form to create your responses, and then identify whether the participle is used as a compound verb, an adjective before a noun, an adjective after a verb, or an adjective after a noun or pronoun. Discuss your answers with your partner or teacher.
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Moving to Exercise two, you will respond to given sentences using the present participle, following the example. The example shows: Some birds do not fly becomes Some birds are not flying birds. Your practice sentences are: a. The peacock dances. b. Is that book good? c. There are no buses today. d. Why did you open the door? For the last one, the prompt begins with I heard. Pause your audio and complete these sentences by adding the ing form appropriately. Think about how the participle changes the sentence structure, just like in the example. Once you have written your responses, compare them with your classmates to see how you used the present participle as an adjective or verb form.
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Moving to Section E, Writing. The activity says: Working with your partner, supply the missing words in the passage below. I will read the completed passage so you can check your work. Please note this is a model answer key for your reference. A long time ago an old gentleman lived in London. His name was Benjamin Lewis Rice. One morning he went to a Book Exhibition to see some books. He went into a stall and looked at some titles. Then he went up to the guide in the exhibition, greeted him, and introduced himself. After talking to the man pleasantly about things in general he burst out: Ayya, Kannadadalli mathanadonave? Muddada Kannada kiviya mele biddu thumba dinagaladavu.
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Born in Bengaluru in 1837, this scholarly type of Englishman had also held high administrative positions in the old Mysuru State in India. He was Director of Public Instruction, Secretary for Education and the Mysuru Archaeological Department’s first Director. What is more, he was a scholar. He had mastered Kannada and translated into English almost 9000 inscriptions from Karnataka. His most notable works are the Epigraphia Carnatica and the Gazetteers. Next, use these phrases and make a sentence: Mahabaleshwar / If you are game / is the place for you / farm-fresh strawberry munching / located close to the bustling city of Mumbai / not to mention spectacular views / and monkey-watching afternoons / for wonderful walks and treks. Using only the provided phrases, a correct arrangement is: If you are game for wonderful walks and treks, Mahabaleshwar is the place for you, located close to the bustling city of Mumbai, farm-fresh strawberry munching, not to mention spectacular views, and monkey-watching afternoons.
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Finally, let us solve the Puzzle. In the olden days people used two devices to know the time of the day. One device had only one moving part. The other had thousands of moving particles. What were the two devices? The answer is hidden in these jumbled phrases. Reorder them to find out the answer. The first jumbled phrase is: made narrow in the middle / can run slowly / An hour glass / from the top half to the bottom / like a figure 8 / is a glass container / taking just one hour / so that the sand inside. Reordering it gives: An hour glass is a glass container made narrow in the middle like a figure 8 so that the sand inside can run slowly from the top half to the bottom taking just one hour. The second jumbled phrase is: used especially in former times / on a scaled dial / which shows the time / is an apparatus / by the shadow of a rod / A sundial. Reordering it gives: A sundial is an apparatus used especially in former times on a scaled dial which shows the time by the shadow of a rod. So the two devices are the hour glass and the sundial.
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To conclude, let us learn about the author. Mark Tully was born in Calcutta and educated in England. He was correspondent for the British Broadcasting Corporation in South Asia for twenty five years. He now works as a journalist in New Delhi. Mark Tully’s books on India, including No Full Stops in India, The Heart of India, and India in Slow Motion, are highly acclaimed. I hope this lesson has helped you understand the chapter thoroughly. Remember to practice the grammar rules, complete the writing activities with your partner, and review the vocabulary. Thank you for listening! Keep revising and practicing. Goodbye! [CHAPTER_COMPLETE]