The Call of the Soil - A scent of Rice
The Call of the Soil: A Scent of Rice
Ice Breakers Activities :
A-1
Discuss the
following with your partner and complete the following sentences. One is done
for you.
Answer-
(a) Before eating apples
brought from the market, I wash and peel them off.
(b) In a farmers’ market, we
find vegetables and fruits.
(c) Food adulteration
means adding small quantity of non – nutritious substances
intentionally to improve the appearance, texture or storage properties of the
food.
(d) Organic food is grown by
using natural materials, methods and conditions.
(e) Organic fertilizer
means the fertilizers derived from animal matter or wastes, human
excreta, vegetable matter (e.g. compost and crop residues)
A-2
Complete the
following web diagram:
Rice varieties available at my
Grocer’s shop
Complete the following web
diagram:
|
----------- |
|
----------- |
|
|
Rice variety available at my grocer’s shop |
|
|
----------- |
|
------------ |
Answer-
|
Ambe Mohar |
|
Basmati |
|
|
Rice variety available at my grocer’s shop |
|
|
Chinor |
|
Indrayani |
A-3
Find out from your
grandparents or parents the names of vegetables and fruits they had eaten in
their childhood and mention how the vegetables and fruits are different from
the ones today.
Answer-
|
Name of the vegetables or fruit |
Shape |
Colour |
Taste |
|
Mango |
Oval, heart shaped |
Green – yellow |
Sweet |
|
Banana |
C – shape |
Green - yellow |
Sweet |
|
Lady’s finger |
Oblong |
Green |
Crunchy |
A-4
You might have
learnt about organic farming. Make groups and discuss the difference between
conventional farming and organic farming and write it down.
Answer-
|
Sr. No. |
Conventional Farming |
Organic Farming |
|
1 |
Produce larger quantities of food |
Produce lesser quantities of food |
|
2 |
Less manual labour |
More manual labour |
|
3 |
Extra use of chemicals and pesticides may affect eco
system |
More ecological and good for health |
The Writer-
Venkateshwaran
(Venkat) Iyer:
He was born in 1966.
Venkateshwaran (Venkat) Iyer is a science graduate and a certified project
management professional. After seventeen years in the IT industry, he quit in
2004 to live on his organic farm in Peth village in Dahanu Taluka, Palghar
District, Maharashtra.
Iyer did experiment of organic
farming in Peth and tried to show its importance. He now delivers lectures on
organic farming. He has also joined hands with organic farmers and NGOs working
in the organic field to propagate organic farming.
The topic: The
Call of the Soil
Venkateshwaran (Venkat) Iyer’s
book 'Moong over Microchips' traces his transition from techie to farmer. It
was not a career change, but a life style change for the writer.
He insisted on doing organic
farming. He was firm in spite of numerous challenges which he faced. He became
successful in his attempt.
The topic 'The Call of the
Soil' describes his journey to become a farmer who does organic farming.
Activities given
in the margin of the text book:
Activity No. 1
Guess the meaning
of the word ‘lush’ in this context.
Answer:-
Meaning of the word ‘lush’:-
rich, prolific or luxuriant
Activity No. 2
Find words related
to agriculture.
Answer:-
Words related to agriculture:-
green pods, crop, farmer, sowing, seeds, plough, farming, tractor, yield,
chemical sprays, fertilizers, hybrid and desi variety, rice, moong etc.
Activity No. 3
The write
disagreed with Moru Dada because-------
Answer:-
He did not want to spray some
pesticides on the plants to give a higher yield. He did not think that it was
essential to use such chemicals.
Activity No. 4
The writer wanted
to grow the traditional variety of rice because - 1)------ 2)-----
Answer:-
1) The traditional varieties
were quite strong and resisted pests.
2) They did not need very high
inputs of fertilizers.
Activity No. 5
The writer almost
gave up hope of finding the desi variety of rice because----
Answer:-
Most of the farmers in and
around the village of Peth had switched over to hybrids. The younger generation
of farmers considered planting desi variety as crazy thing. Writer’s visits to
the villages around searching for a good traditional variety also did not give
any results so he almost gave up hope of finding the desi variety of rice.
Activity No. 6
Mention the
varieties of rice from the passage.
Answer:-
1)
Kasbai
2) Basmati
Activity No. 7
List ways in which
the Government officer cooperated with the author.
1)
----------------
2)
----------------
3)
----------------
Answer:-
1) Gave the names of a number
of latest hybrid varieties.
2) Offered to give the writer
some of the latest varieties free of cost for a trial.
3) Asked not to believe on the
words of the villagers.
Activity No. 8
Find synonyms for
‘insipid’.
Answer:-
tasteless or flavourless.
Brainstorming
(A1) (i) Read the
extract and state whether the following statements are true or false. Correct
the false statements.
(a) Growing in abundance is
more important than the quality of the crop.
Answer:-
False : Quality should be
given more important.
(b) The author
wanted to grow the desi variety of rice.
Answer:-
True
(c) The author did
not succeed in finding Kasbai.
Answer:-
False : The author finally
succeeded in finding Kasbai at Asarvari village.
(d) The aroma of
the ‘desi’ rice would spread around the village.
Answer:-
True
(e) Newer hybrid
crops have a great appetite for chemicals.
Answer:-
True
(f) The author is
an example of ‘reverse migration’.
Answer:-
True
Activity:-
Complete the flow
chart. Consider this as an example of
Note-Making.
Discovery of Kasbai rice.
Answer-
|
April 2005- Writer started
search for Kasbai rice variety. |
|
No help from Agricultural officer to find Kasbai
variety. |
|
Devu Handa knew about Kasbai variety. |
|
Devu Handa suggested to visit Adivasi remote village
Asarvari. |
|
Got Kasbai from the Adivasi woman in the remote
area. |
Activity :- Read
the text and fill in the blanks. One is done for you.
(a) The author wanted to
grow organic moong.
(b) Moru Dada wanted to
spray pesticides on the moong crop.
(c) Baban’s father and some
elders mentioned the name of Kasbai, the desi rice variety.
(d) “Hybrids need more water,
fertilizers and pesticides”, said Devu Handa.
(e) The author bought 10 kilos of
rice from an Adivasi woman who lived in remote hills.
|
Online test on The Call of the soil : The Saint of
Rice Do solve the test to understand the topic. |
See More-
On
to the Summit- We Reach the Top
The Call of the
Soil- Activity sheet
|
Activity Sheet No. 1 |
Q. Read the
extract and complete the activities given below. (12)
|
The next thing Moru Dada wanted to do was spray some
pesticide on the plants. He claimed that it would give a higher yield. This
was something we did not want to do. We were clear that we would not use any
chemicals and tried to explain it to him. He reacted as if we had suggested
hara-kiri. It took a lot of convincing to ensure that Moru Dada and his
friends did not use any chemicals on the farm. They refused to understand how
crops could grow without sprays. |
A1. True or
False (2)
Rewrite the
following statements and state whether they are true or false.
1) Most of the farmers used
hybrid seeds for sowing.
2) The writer needed
traditional variety of rice.
3) The land of the narrator
was not fertile.
4) The writer agreed to spray
pesticides on the crop.
A2. Give
reasons (2)
The writer wanted to grow the
traditional variety of rice because-------------------------
A3.
Guess (2)
The writer almost gave up hope
of finding the desi variety of rice. Guess its reasons.
A4. Personal
response. (2)
Note down any two major
problems faced by the farmer nowadays in your locality.
A5. Language
Study (2)
Do as directed.
1) It was a major
morale booster.
(The correct
transformation of this sentence into rhetorical question is----)
i) It was a major morale
booster, wasn’t it?
ii) What a major morale
booster it was?
iii) Was it a major morale
booster?
iv) Wasn’t it a major morale
booster?
2) In
April 2005, we started to look for a good variety of traditional rice.
(Choose
the correct wh- type question giving the underlined words as answer)
i) Why did we start to look
for a good variety of traditional rice?
ii) Where did we start to look
for a good variety of traditional rice?
iii) When did we start to look
for a good variety of traditional rice?
iv) How long did we start to
look for a good variety of traditional rice?
A6.
Vocabulary. (2)
Match word given under ‘A’
with their meaning under ‘B’.
|
A |
B |
|
1) morale |
a) try to prevent |
|
2) resisted |
b) capable of producing crops |
|
3) traditional |
c) confidence |
|
4) fertile |
d) conventional |
|
Answer- |
A1.
1) Most of the farmers used
hybrid seeds for sowing. – True
2) The writer needed
traditional variety of rice. - True
3) The land of the narrator
was not fertile. - False
4) The writer agreed to spray
pesticides on the crop. - False
A2.
The writer wanted to grow the
traditional variety of rice because-
1) They did not require very
high inputs of fertilizers.
2) These varieties were also
quite strong and resisted pests. They didn’t need pesticides.
A3.
Most of the farmers in and
around the village of Peth had switched over to hybrids. The younger generation
of farmers considered planting desi variety as crazy idea. Writer’s visits to
the villages around searching for a good traditional variety also did not give
any results. So he almost gave up hope of finding the desi variety of rice.
A4.
In my area the farmers face
the problem of scarcity of water for farming and there is no guarantee of good
price for their products. These are the two major problems faced by the farmers
nowadays.
A5.
iv) Wasn’t it a major morale
booster?
iii) When did we start to look
for a good variety of traditional rice?
A6.
|
A |
B |
|
1) morale |
confidence |
|
2) resisted |
tried to prevent |
|
3) traditional |
conventional |
|
4) fertile |
capable of producing crops |
Ice Breakers
Prof. Tushar Chavan
Rashtriya Junior College,
Chalisgaon
Dist. Jalgaon
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First Lecture-
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Second Lecture-
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Third Lecture-
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Fourth Lecture-
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Fifth Lecture-
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