Chapter 3.4 - How the First Letter was Written
This lesson is divided into two parts. The first one is about the famous artist Sayed Haider. He was popularly known as Raza. Information about his personal life and private life is given in this lesson. His choice of colours, patterns and combinations have been described in detail. His early education and awards won by him have also been mentioned. The second part sheds light on ‘Gond art’. The Gonds are the largest Adivasi Community in India. They are Dravidians, whose origin can be traced to the pre-Aryan era. They are mainly found in Madhya Pradesh and its surrounding States. The word Gond comes from Kond, which means green mountains in the Dravidian idiom.
The medium on which the Gond Act is drawn and the various natural colours used in this process are also mentioned in the lesson.
Warming up!
1. List the materials that man has used for the following purposes in the different ages.
| Objects | Neolithic Age (Later Stone Age) | 1st Century CE | Modern Age |
|---|---|---|---|
Weapons | stone / bones / animal teeth | ||
Fuel | |||
Utensils | |||
Food | |||
Clothes |
Ans:
| Objects | Neolithic Age (Later Stone Age) | 1st Century CE | Modern Age |
|---|---|---|---|
Weapons | stone / bones / animal teeth | Weapons, armour made of metal; swords, daggers, and other sharp weapons; ivory | Guns, rifles, missiles, bombs, nuclear weapons |
Fuel | Wood, fire | Fat, wood, fire | Petrol, diesel, coal, kerosene, CNG |
Utensils | Hollow stones, mud vessels, hollow bamboo stems, coconut shells, shells of dried gourds | Iron mud, various alloys | Stainless steel, hindalium, various alloys and metals, plastic, glass |
Food | Raw meat, fruits and root, vegetables, fish | Cooked grains, vegetables and fruits from farms, meat and other animal products | Various types of grains, pulses, fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, animal products |
Clothes | Animal skins, bark of trees | Cloth made from cotton and other natural fibres; woven cloth | Cotton, synthetic fibres, natural fibres |
2. Write your name in Bold Capitals.
(a) Now, within 3 minutes try to make as many words as you can using the letters in your name. You cannot use the same letter twice in a word, unless it is so in your name.
Ans: Amaan
Man, an, am, Anam.
(b) You may use the above idea to devise a game with your friends.
Ans: Students must attempt this interesting activity with their friends.
3. List words from your mother tongue or from Hindi which do not have an exact English equivalent. Try to write their meaning in English.
Ans: Students must do this on their own.
4. Now, list at least twenty English words which do not have an exact equivalent in your mother tongue.
Ans: railway, petrol, bulb, mobile, tablet, xerox, burger, email, google, YouTube, WhatsApp, telephone, fax, telegram, tube light, wifi, train, bus, taxi, auto-rickshaw, etc.
5. Browse the internet to find names of people /places, etc. in any language that is not familiar to you. Can you pronounce the names correctly? How will you find the correct pronunciation?
Ans:
Name of people: The name Xi in Chinese is pronounced as ‘she’ and the English name ‘Sean’ is pronounced as ‘Shawn’
Name of place: The name of a town a ‘Muvattupuzhe’ in Kerala is not pronounced the way It is written. The last three letters are pronounced as ‘rh’ with a roll of the tongue.
I will get the information from the internet or ask people when I want to know the correct pronunciations of names or places.
In Between the Lesson!
Q1. Give one word for the meanings of each of the names:
a. Tengumai Bopsulai
Ans: cautious
b. Teshumai Tewindrow
Ans: curious/inquisitive
c. Taffimai Metallumai.
Ans: spoilt
Q2. Who is the author telling this story to?
Ans: The author is telling us the story.
Q3. Why had Taffy stamped her foot? What did the stranger make of it?
Ans: The stranger thought that Taffy was a very wonderful child because she stamped her foot at him and made faces.
Q4. Why did the stranger offer Taffy a big piece of birch- bark?
Ans: The stranger offered Taffy a big piece of birch-bark to show that his heart was as white as the birch-bark and that he meant no harm.
Q5. Why did the stranger’s admiration for Taffy grow?
Ans: The shark’s tooth on the stranger’s necklace was a magic shark’s tooth. He had been told that if anybody touched it without his permission, that person would immediately swell up and burst. Taffy had touched it without his permission. but she hadn’t swollen up or burst. This made the stranger’s admiration for Taffy grow.
Q6. Who does the author refer to when he says ‘some people’?
Ans: When he says ‘some people’ he means the city dwellers of the modern age. The author has created a humorous mixture of the past and the present.
Q7. Is Taffy’s drawing realistic? In how many ways does it fail to show the real picture?
Ans: Taffy’s drawing is not at all realistic. It does not show the true picture of Tegumai. The black- handled spear, which Taffy wanted the stranger to fetch, looked as if it was sticking in Tegumai’s back. Her hair was standing up in the picture, which it didn’t in real life. The stranger, who was nice, was not depicted as being ‘pretty’.
Q8. Write ‘fended’ and ‘splain’ with their proper spellings.
Ans:
fended – offended
splain – explain
Q9. How did the stranger interpret Taffy’s drawing?
Ans: When the stranger looked at Taffy’s drawing, he thought that the beavers she had drawn were the Chief’s enemies who were coming up from all sides with spears. According to the stranger, the Chief was afraid that his enemies were hiding in the bushes and would see him. Therefore he had turned his back on the stranger and let Taffy draw a picture showing his difficulties. This was the stranger’s interpretation of Taffy’s drawing.
Q10. What mistaken notions made the stranger race off like the wind?
Ans: After looking at the picture, the stranger thought that Tegumai would be slain by his enemies who were coming up from all sides with spears. Hence he raced off to get help for him from his tribe.
Q11. What was the stranger’s impression of Teshumai Tewindrow?
Ans: The stranger thought that Taffy was very like Teshumai Tewindrow, especially about the upper part of the face and the eyes.
Q12. Is it possible to promise that one will be surprised ?
Ans: No, it is not possible. Surprise is a spontaneous and not a pre-planned emotion. If one promises such a thing then one is prepared for it and will not be surprised. This is a promise one can make to a small child.
Q13. What terrible message had Taffy’s drawing conveyed to her mummy?
Ans: Taffy’s drawing conveyed the message that the stranger had stuck Tegumai full of spears and frightened Taffy so that her hair stood all on end. Teshumai thought that Tegumai’s arm was broken and he had a spear sticking into his back. She also thought that there was a man with a spear ready to throw, another man throwing a spear from a cave and a whole lot of people coming up behind Tegumai.
Q14. Point out two humorous expressions from -‘all the Neolithic ladies sitting patiently on the Stranger-man’.
Ans:
a. ‘all the Neolithic ladies
b. sitting patiently
ENGLISH WORKSHOP
1. Read the remaining part of the original story.
Ans: Continued from the last line of the lesson…
Mummy called bad people are my beavers. I drawded them to show him the way through the swamp; and I drawded Mummy at the mouth of the Cave looking pleased because he is a nice Stranger-man, and I think you are just the stupidest people in the world,’ said Taffy. ‘He is a very nice man. Why have you filled his hair with mud? Wash him!’
Nobody said anything at all for a longtime, till the Head Chief laughed; then the Stranger-man (who was at least a Tewara) laughed; then Tegumai laughed till he fell down flat on the bank; then all the Tribe laughed more and worse and louder. The only people who did not laugh were Teshumai Tewindrow and all the Neolithic ladies. They were very polite to all their husbands, and said ‘Idiot!’ ever so often.
Then the Head Chief of the Tribe of Tegumai cried and said and sang, ‘O Small-person-with-out-any-manners-who-ought-to-be-spanked, you’ve hit upon a great invention!’
‘I didn’t intend to; I only wanted Daddy’s black-handled spear,’ said Taffy.
‘Never mind. It is a great invention, and some day men will call it writing. At present it is only pictures, and, as we have seen to-day, pictures are not always properly understood. But a time will come, O Babe of Tegumai, when we shall make letters—all twenty-six of ‘em,—and when we shall be able to read as well as to write, and then we shall always say exactly what we mean without any mistakes. Let the Neolithic ladies wash the mud out of the stranger’s hair.’
‘I shall be glad of that,’ said Taffy, ‘because, after all, though you’ve brought every single other spear in the Tribe of Tegumai, you’ve forgotten my Daddy’s black-handled spear.’
Then the Head Chief cried and said and sang, ‘Taffy dear, the next time you write a picture-letter, you’d better send a man who can talk our language with it, to explain what it means. I don’t mind it myself, because I am a Head Chief, but it’s very bad for the rest of the Tribe of Tegumai, and, as you can see, it surprises the stranger.’
Then they adopted the Stranger-man (a genuine Tewara of Tewar) into the Tribe of Tegumai, because he was a gentleman and did not make a fuss about the mud that the Neolithic ladies had put into his hair. But from that day to this (and I suppose it is all Taffy’s fault), very few little girls have ever liked learning to read or write. Most of them prefer to draw pictures and play about with their Daddies—just like Taffy.
2. Make as many 5 to 8 letter words as you can within 5 minutes, from the name.
TESHUMAI TEWINDROW
Five-letter words –
Ans: drawn, shore, sword, humid, threw, width, wheat, where, maths
Six-letter words –
Ans: window, wander, estate, warmth, washed, harmed,
Seven-letter words –
Ans: shutter, smarter, maestro, thwarts, swither, misdraw
Eight-letter words –
Ans: estimate, minuest, meditate, dishware, whitened, unwashed,
3. How do the following characters in the story live up to their names ? Provide points from the story.
(a) Tengumai Bopsulai :
Ans: The meaning of Tegumai is Man-who-does- not-put-his-foot-forward-in-a-hurry. He lived up to his name when he showed patience in mending his spear and did not just rush off home or send Taffy back to get another spear. He also did not ask Taffy too many questions about what she had been doing when he was busy repairing his spear, or about her conversation with the Stranger-man. He was patient and cautious.
(b) Taffimai Metallumai :
Ans: The meaning of Taffimai is Small-person-without-any-manners-who-ought-to-be-spanked. She lived up to her name in the way in which she ordered the stranger ‘Come here’, stamped her foot and called him silly. She wanted the stranger to do her bidding and she succeeded in it. She pulled off the shark’s tooth from his necklace without his permission. She would not tell her father what she had done and she wanted him to promise to be surprised. This was a silly thing to do but he did it.
(c) Teshumai Tewindrow :
Ans: The meaning of Teshumai is Lady-who-asks- very-many-questions. Though she did not ask many questions, she talked and shouted continuously at the poor stranger. She drew wrong conclusions and she spoke continuously to her friends telling them all that she had understood from Taffy’s drawing.
4. The story is written in an informal, colloquial style – the way it would be told orally. Find and write the expressions where the author addresses the audience directly in the story – for example, ‘but we, O Best Beloved, will…’, ‘Now attend and listen !’
Ans:
‘but we, O Best Beloved, will…’
‘Now attend and listen !’
‘He did this, Best Beloved’.
‘ “Did you know he was a Tewara?” ‘
5. Write a character-sketch of the ‘Stranger-man’ using examples from the story to support the following attributes.
(a) ignorant, innocent and polite
(b) calm and cool
(c) jumps to wrong conclusions
(d) hasty and unwise at times
Ans: The ‘Stranger-man’ was a very simple and ignorant person. He was so innocent and ignorant that he thought that Tegumai was a great tribal chief merely because he ignored him. He was polite enough to disregard Tegumai’s rudeness in ignoring him. He admired every action of Taffy’s, drawing his own wrong conclusions from them. He did not even object when Taffy pulled the shark’s tooth from his necklace. He again jumped to wrong conclusions when he saw Taffy’s drawing, and without even waiting to consult Tegumai he rushed off to do Taffy’s bidding. This was very unwise of him, because Taffy’s mother drew her own wrong conclusions from the drawing. He was cool, calm and polite when he met Teshumai, even though he was tired, his legs were scratched with brambles and Teshumai was rude to him.
6. Note the punctuation used in the story. Here, single inverted commas or quotation marks have been used to show conversation. Rewrite the following using double quotation marks:
(a) ‘Here’s a pretty kettle of fish !’ said Tengumai.
Ans: “Here’s a pretty kettle of fish!” said Tegumai.
(b) ‘It will take me half the day to mend this.’
Ans: “It will take me half the day to mend this.”
7. Underline the main clauses in the following sentences:
(a) And she was Tegumai Bopsulai’s Best Beloved and her own Mummy’s Best Beloved, and she was not spanked half as much as was good for her; and they were all three very happy.
Ans: And she was Tegumai Bopsulai’s Best Beloved and her own Mummy’s Best Beloved, and she was not spanked half as much as was good for her; and they were all three very happy.
(b) One day Tegumai Bopsulai went down through the beaver-swamp to the Wagai river to spear carp-fish for dinner, and Taffy went too.
Ans: One day Tegumai Bopsulai went down through the beaver-swamp to the Wagai river to spear carp-fish for dinner, and Taffy went too.
(c) They were miles and miles from home and Tegumai had forgotten to bring any extra spears.
Ans: They were miles and miles from home and Tegumai had forgotten to bring any extra spears.
(d) Just then a Stranger-man came along the river, but he belonged to a far tribe, the Tewaras, and he did not understand one word of Tegumai’s language.
Ans: Just then a Stranger-man came along the river, but he belonged to a far tribe, the Tewaras, and he did not understand one word of Tegumai’s language.
8. Imagine Taffy comes to you for help to write a letter of apology, in the modern script we use. She wants to express her regret to the stranger-man for her mother’s action. Write that letter of apology (informal) on her behalf.
Ans:
Dear Stranger,
I, Taffy, the daughter of Teshumai Bopsalai, am writing this letter of apology to you to express my concern and care for you as a good human being.
First of all, really appreciate your polite behavior toward me and my family. Though you were unable to understand our language you tried your level best to solve our problem in the best possible way. I made the drawing, expecting you to find my mother near the cave and explain to her my situation.
As a good human being, you followed my order and found my mother in a short span of time. But I really feel sad about my mother’s behavior towards you. I feel so bad and shameful for her rude action towards you.
I sincerely apologize for her action. I hope that you will surely understand my feeling and forgive us for our impolite behavior.
Yours lovingly,
Taffy.
9. Imagine the Stranger-man narrates how the Neolithic ladies overpowered him. Write an account of the same making him the narrator.
Ans: I reached the cave and saw the little girl’s mother standing there with some other women. I recognized her immediately, for she looked very much like the little girl. Relieved. I handed over the birch-bark to her. I thought that she would immediately call upon the other members of the tribe to go to the Chief’s help; but she did nothing of the sort. She screamed something to the other ladies, and they immediately pounced on me and flattened me. I was caught completely unaware, and thrown onto the ground. Those heavy and strong ladies sat on my back to prevent me from escaping. The little girl’s mother began shouting and pulling my hair. I wonder why they are doing all this, instead of helping their poor Chief?
10. Making suitable groups, convert the entire episode into a short skit and write it down. Each group leader must discuss at first with the others and add a different end to the skit.
(1) Happy ending
(2) Sad ending
(3) Surprise ending
(4) Humorous ending
Ans: Students must do this on their own.
11. Write a short passage / essay on ‘Women Power’ in the Neolithic, Medieval and Present Times.
Ans:
‘Women Power’ in the Neolithic, Medieval and Present Times
The position of women in society and the power they wield have changed through the ages. During the Neolithic Age, women spent their days gathering berries, roots, nuts, etc. They also gathered materials to make pots and weapons. Women stayed on the home front and looked after the children, but were thought to be equal to men. The men hunted and brought home the food. Later on, with the start of agriculture, women also began to farm and weave cloth.
Medieval society, however, was patriarchal. Women were to fall under male control, and regardless of class, women had to submit to the male head of their household. Rural women had many domestic responsibilities, like caring for the children, preparing food, and tending livestock. They also had to lend a hand in other household activities like grinding, brewing, and spinning. During harvest time, women often helped their husbands in the field to bring in the crops. However, slowly, women were increasingly relegated to low-paying tasks like spinning. They suffered a lot of criticism, lacked freedom, and stood nowhere next to men.
Today, around the world, women’s status in each society and culture varies. In some societies, women’s status improved gradually, while in others it has declined or remained unchanged. This is due to the major changes that have taken place in areas such as legislation, education, employment, awareness of women’s rights, etc. In some societies, women have emerged as major political leaders, statesmen, doctors, lawyers, etc. In some places, she is still subjected to inhuman cruelty, sexual exploitation, domestic violence, etc.
12. Read : ‘Just So Stories’ and ‘The Jungle Book’ by Rudyard Kipling.
Ans: Students must do this on their own.