Chapter 2.2 – The Worth of a Fabric
The story “The Worth of a Fabric” is written by the great Tamil saint-poet who lived around 2000 years ago. In this story, Thiruvalluvar eventually explains to a young man the importance of hard work. He also explains that tardiness and ignorance can prevent a person from living his life to the fullest, thereby rendering it useless. The story also tells us that one should be calm in all situations. It helps you choose the right path in all situations.
boll : pod of the cotton plant
spinning : process of making yarn or thread out of cotton wool
carded : cleaned and combed cotton to remove seeds
spun : drew out and twisted cotton (to make yarn or thread)
rewarded : when one is rewarded, one gets what he has worked for
idleness : laziness
POINTERS
1. Form pairs. Present in the class, the conversation between Thiruvalluvar and the young man.
Ans: Students must do this on their own.
2. Describe the following with the help of the story.
(i) Thiruvalluvar
Ans: Thiruvalluvar was a great saint-poet who is loved and respected even now. People said that he never got angry, never used bad words, and never shouted at anyone. He was polite, calm, and used a quiet tone even in the most infuriating situations.
(ii) The rich young man
Ans: The rich young man wasted his time by roaming around with his friends and, more often than not, making fun of others. He was arrogant beyond all bounds and decided to test the patience of Thiruvalluvar, which was an unethical thing to do. Despite his egoistical behaviour, he listened to the words of Thiruvalluvar carefully and put them to use, thereby changing his idleness and bad habits.
(iii) The fabric woven by Thiruvalluvar
Ans: The fabric wasn’t made in a day. Many people toiled in order to make it. The farmer who grew cotton in his field worked hard for months through sun and rain. He picked cotton from each boll and gave it to spinners. Then someone else carded the cotton and spun it into long, uniform threads. The threads were dyed carefully so that they took on lovely colours. Thiruvalluvar’s wife, and he then wove the threads together, putting in beautiful designs.
3. Read aloud the speech in which Thiruvalluvar explains how the fabric was made. Present the process in the form of a chart. Draw pictures for the chart and label them.
Ans: Students must do this on their own.
4. Classify the words in (a) and (b) into ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ words.
(a) great, beautiful, arrogant, impatient, quiet, worthless, proud, happy,
thoughtless, hasty
(b) shouted at, wasted, answered, offered, smiled, refused, toiled, grew,
dyed, rewarded, destroyed.
Ans:
Positive words:
great
beautiful
quiet
happy
answered
offered
smiled
toiled
grew
dyed
rewarded
Negative words:
arrogant
impatient
worthless
thoughtless
hasty
shouted at
wasted
refused
destroyed
proud
5. Write the antonyms of the following words :
politely × ……….
Ans: rudely
calmly × ……….
Ans: violently
softly × ……….
Ans: harshly
carefully × ……….
Ans: carelessly
6. Find the following adverbs in the story. What verbs do they tell us more about? Write down the pairs of verbs and adverbs.
ago
Ans: lived
greatly
Ans: loved
today
Ans: have
politely
Ans: answered
calmly
Ans: went
hard
Ans: worked
7. Use the following phrases in your own words.
(i) roam around
Ans: We roamed around Paris till dusk.
(ii) again and again
Ans: We chanted the shlokas again and again.
(iii) bring something back
Ans: Each and every student on the tour brought something back home.
(iv) there and then
Ans: Lokmanya Tilak decided there and then, that he would not tolerate injustice of any sort.
8. Discuss in groups and think about it.
(a) List a few occasions on which you had become angry. What do you do when you are angry?
Ans: Students must do this on their own.
(b) Mention three occasions on which you have made someone else angry. What made that person angry? Can you avoid such things in future?
Ans: Students must do this on their own.
9. Choose any one of the objects we use daily and find out how it is made. Present the information in the form of a chart.
Ans: Students must do this on their own.
10. Visit a library : Read the biographies of other Indian Saints. Share at least one story from their life with your friends. What message does it contain?
Ans: Students must do this on their own.
11. Form groups and display the quotes and messages from different saints in your classroom.
Ans: Students must do this on their own.