Welcome dear students! Today we are going to learn about The Great Sacrifice - a Play from Class 8 English_FL. Let us begin with a pre-reading task. Read the following extract from the Mahabharata. Kunti went to her son Karna and requested him not to reuse an arrow at the battlefield against Arjuna. Karna happily gave the boon because he thought his mother was greater than his boon. Later, he was easily killed by Arjuna as he would not reuse the arrow. Now, answer these questions. Why did Kunti go to Karna? She went to request him not to reuse a specific arrow against Arjuna. Was Kunti right in taking away the boon? This invites discussion, but one perspective is that she acted out of maternal love to protect Arjuna, though it cost Karna his life. What was Karna’s sacrifice? He sacrificed his life and victory by honoring his mother’s request. Discuss these with classmates. Also reflect: what is the greatest thing you appreciate in your mother? Is it giving up everything for her child? Read this lesson to understand the true idea of sacrifice.
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Now, let us meet the characters. Panna is the nurse of the infant prince Udai Singh. Padma and Champa are maids. Banbir is a half-brother of Udai Singh, who was ruling Mewar for the infant prince. The scene opens in the bedchamber of the infant prince in the Palace of Chittor. The prince sleeps on an ivory bed. Panna, a young Rajput woman, sits nearby. Her own little son, the same age as the prince, sleeps beside her. A maid named Padma enters. Padma asks where the prince is. Panna points him out and notes her son is also asleep. Padma expresses worry. Panna agrees, explaining that everything has gone wrong since Ranaji’s death. The nobles are quarrelling, becoming mean and selfish. Padma notes Banbir’s ambition and asks if the nobles like him. Panna replies they have to like him because they are not strong enough to dislike him. Padma asks if Banbir is grateful. Panna scoffs, comparing him to a snake, stating Banbir and gratitude belong to different worlds. She calls him a curse to Mewar and warns Padma to be careful.
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Padma reminds her that Banbir is the late Rana’s son and the prince’s half-brother. Panna says she does not trust him. He has killed some nobles and crushed others. They are too afraid to oppose him. There is discontent among the people and in the army. Padma asks why the army does not remove him. Panna explains Banbir has formed his own party with strong supporters, and fear keeps everyone silent. Padma laments Mewar’s misfortune. Panna says they can do a lot when the time comes. Padma reveals the worst news: Banbir wants to be the permanent Rana and has resolved to kill the prince. Panna declares she has resolved to save him. She recalls the dying Rani’s words: she lost everything except her precious child and left him in Panna’s charge. The Rani asked Panna to be a mother to him and protect him. Panna promised to give her life to save the prince. The Rani died smiling. Panna vows Banbir cannot kill the prince while she lives.
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Suddenly, they hear running outside. Padma asks who it is. Panna thinks it is a guard. But Champa enters, panting. She urges them to make haste and save the prince immediately. Banbir will arrive in minutes, talking to a man outside, only a hundred yards away. Panna asks how Champa knows he intends to kill the prince. Champa replies he carries a naked sword. Panna calmly says the time to do or die has come. She must save the prince or die with him. She asks the maids to help save Rana Sanga’s child. Quickly, Panna lifts the prince, changes his clothes, places him in a basket, and covers him with flowers and leaves. She tells Padma and Champa to take the basket out, hide near the gate, and wait. Padma lifts the basket, saying she will carry it under her arm. Champa asks where they will take him, fearing no one in Mewar will shelter him. Panna says they will take him to Asa Shah, a good friend who will protect him. She tells them to hurry and be careful.
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The maids leave with the infant prince. Panna quickly dresses her own child in the prince’s clothes and places him in the prince’s bed. She looks at him, kisses him several times, and lies down. Footsteps approach. Banbir enters hurriedly. Panna gets up. Banbir demands to know where the prince is. Panna asks him to keep his voice down, saying the prince is asleep. Banbir asks where. Panna points with a trembling hand to her own child. Banbir rushes to the bed and kills the child with his sword. Panna shrieks and falls on her baby’s body. Banbir looks around and leaves. Panna, in a choked voice, cries out to her late mistress that she has kept her promise and saved the prince’s life. Now, let us review the vocabulary. Discontent means dissatisfaction or unrest. Resolve means to decide. Precious means valuable or dear. Trembling means shaking or quivering. Shriek means to scream or cry out. Choked means suffocated. Please remember these exact meanings.
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Let us now answer the comprehension questions in two to three sentences each. Question one: Why were Padma and Panna worried? They were worried because everything had gone wrong since Ranaji’s death. The nobles were quarrelling and becoming selfish, while Banbir’s dangerous ambition created fear and unrest in Mewar. Question two, part a: Name the ambitious person. Banbir was the ambitious person. Part b: What is he compared to? He is compared to a snake. Part c: Why were the nobles powerless? They were powerless because Banbir had formed his own party with strong supporters, and he had already killed or crushed opponents, making everyone too afraid to stand against him. Question three, part a: What did Banbir make up his mind to do? He resolved to kill the infant prince. Part b: Why? He wanted to become the permanent Rana of Mewar and saw the prince as the only obstacle to his absolute rule.
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Question four, part a: What did the Prince’s mother tell Panna when dying? She said she had lost everything except her precious child, left him in Panna’s charge, and asked Panna to be a mother to him and protect him from all harm. Part b: What did Panna promise? Panna promised she would give her own life to save the prince’s life. Question five, part a: What news did Champa bring? She brought urgent news that Banbir was coming to kill the prince and would arrive in minutes. Part b: What did Banbir have in his hand? He had a naked sword. Question six, part a: Why did Panna change the Prince’s clothes? She changed them so Banbir would not recognize the prince. Part b: Where did she put him? She placed him in a basket. Part c: What did she cover him with? She covered him with flowers and leaves to hide him completely.
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Question seven: Whose clothes did Panna make her baby wear? Whose bed did she put him in? Panna made her own baby wear the prince’s clothes and put him in the prince’s ivory bed. Question eight: Who did Banbir kill? Did he realize his mistake? Banbir killed Panna’s innocent baby, mistaking him for the prince. No, he did not realize his mistake before leaving the room. Question nine: What main qualities do you appreciate in Panna? Give reasons. I deeply appreciate Panna’s loyalty, courage, and selfless sacrifice. She kept her promise to the dying queen by risking everything, and she ultimately sacrificed her own child to save the royal heir, showing extraordinary devotion and bravery.
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Now, let us move to the grammar section. We will learn the difference between the Present Perfect tense and the Simple Past tense. Read these sentences. We have seen the new film on wildlife. This is Present Perfect. We saw the new film on wildlife. This is Simple Past. Similarly, She has given me some lovely flowers is Present Perfect, while She gave me some lovely flowers is Simple Past. In both sets, the activities happened in the past. Why use different tenses? We use the Present Perfect to emphasize the effect of the past action on the speaker’s present. When we say we have seen the film, it means we still remember it now. When we say she has given me flowers, it means I have them with me now. The Simple Past describes activities that happened in the past and have no direct effect on the speaker’s present. The Present Perfect is closely related to the present moment.
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The Present Perfect is used with present time expressions like still, yet, now, and just. For example: He has just made tea. He has not made tea yet. He has still not made tea. The Simple Past is used with past time expressions like yesterday, last week, or a month ago. For example: I took my sick neighbour to the hospital yesterday. Now, let us practice with Exercise Three. Rewrite these sentences using the words in brackets at the appropriate places. First: The children have just returned from the zoo. Second: I have never had a ride on a camel. Third: We have already had our lunch. Fourth: Lata has often sung before foreign audiences. Fifth: I have seen the Republic Day Parade only once in my life. Notice how the adverbs are placed between the auxiliary verb and the main verb, or at the end for phrases like only once in my life.
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Next, Exercise Four. Use the Present Perfect tense of the verbs in brackets to complete this conversation. Mrs Sharma asks: Have you drawn money from the bank? Mr Sharma replies: Yes, I have. Mrs Sharma asks: Where have you put it? Mr Sharma says: I have put it in my briefcase. The wife opens it and says it is not there. The husband gets worried and says he put it in the pocket. He asks: Has someone stolen it? The wife hopes he has not dropped it. The husband gets angry, says he counted the notes carefully, and asks what to do. The wife picks up his bush shirt and smiles. The husband exclaims: We have lost five hundred rupees and you are smiling? The wife says: We have not lost the money. The husband asks: Have you taken it out of my briefcase? She says no, it was never there. It is in the pocket of his bush shirt. The husband sighs: Pardon me, my dear, I have been careless. The wife smiles and says let us have tea. Practice reading this with appropriate stress and intonation, raising your pitch slightly on key words like drawn, put, stolen, lost, and careless.
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Now, Exercise Five. Part a: Match the antonyms. Strong matches with weak. Inside matches with outside. Like matches with dislike. Begin matches with end. Part b: Fill in the blanks with words from column A and add sentences using words from column B. First: Do not go outside. It is raining. Second: The hero dies at the end of the film. Third: All of us like ice cream. Fourth: This chair is strong. You cannot break it. Now, use the antonyms: The weak puppy could not stand. Please come inside the house. I dislike loud noises. Let us begin the lesson. Part c: Fill in the blanks with correct tense forms. The farmers and their families have been in their fields since six o’clock in the morning. The farmers have been ploughing their fields and their wives have been sowing the seeds. Their daughters have been putting earth on the seeds and their sons have been watering the fields. Note the use of present perfect continuous here to show ongoing action from the past until now.
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Part d: Rewrite the passage in singular form. Begin: A farmer and his family has been in his field since six o’clock in the morning. The farmer has been ploughing his field and his wife has been sowing the seeds. His daughter has been putting earth on the seeds and his son has been watering the field. Part e: Imagine the scene took place yesterday. Rewrite in past tense. At six o’clock in the morning the farmers were ploughing their fields. Their wives were sowing the seeds. Their daughters were putting earth on the seeds and their sons were watering the fields. Notice how we shift to past continuous to describe actions in progress at a specific past time.
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Exercise Six: Use the correct verb forms. My wife has been trying to get a job, but she has not succeeded yet. The patient has had biscuits and has also drunk a glass of milk. The bridegroom has decided not to take a single paisa as dowry. The farmers had known that the sheaf of corn would fall. The village Panchayat has nominated my father as a member of the Panchayat. Finally, Exercise Seven. Imagine Panna has just come out of the bedchamber and is talking to you. Complete the paragraph. Panna says: I have saved Udai Singh’s life. I have hidden him in a basket. Padma and Champa have taken the basket out. Banbir has killed my innocent little baby, but I am not heart-broken. I have done my duty. I have kept my promise to the late queen.
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That brings us to the end of our lesson on The Great Sacrifice. We have explored the powerful story of Panna’s devotion, understood the difference between Present Perfect and Simple Past tenses, and practiced various grammar exercises. Remember, true sacrifice often demands immense personal courage and love. Review the vocabulary, practice the dialogues, and revise the grammar rules we covered today. Thank you for listening! Keep revising and practicing. Goodbye! [CHAPTER_COMPLETE]