English: Class 6 — Chapter 5: Culture and Tradition

Bharat is known worldwide as a land of wise and heroic individuals. Its rich and diverse culture has attracted travellers since ancient times. The people live in unison, presenting unity in diversity to the world. The land is rich with rivers, lakes, high mountains, and green forests that are home to diverse flora and fauna.

An exploration of traditional crafts and folk arts from different states of India, presented through the Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat programme:

• Aipan (Uttarakhand): A traditional folk art drawn by women on floors and walls of puja rooms and main doors during festivals. It is made using white rice flour paste on brick-red walls coloured with geru (red clay). The designs are beautiful, mathematical, and inspired by nature.
• Dhokra (Odisha): A 4000-year-old metal craft. A clay figure is made, dried, and covered with wax. Fine details are carved on the wax before covering it with clay again and heating it. The wax melts out, and molten brass scrap is poured into the empty space to take the shape.
• Coconut Shell Craft (Kerala): A biodegradable craft where brown coconut shells are cleaned, smoothed with sandpaper, shaped, made stable with a base, and polished to create household items like bowls and jewellery.
• Kondapalli Toys (Andhra Pradesh): A 400-year-old toy-making art using soft wood from nearby hills. Parts are carved separately and joined using makku (a paste of tamarind seed powder and sawdust). They are painted using vegetable dyes and enamel paints.

Written by Daphne Lister, this poem captures a child's imaginative desire to fly high in the sky like a kite.

Stanza Breakdown:

• Stanza 1: Kites fly high in the "wind-whipped sky" like coloured birds.
• Stanza 2: The child wishes to be small and light as air to climb on a kite and sail up.
• Stanza 3: The child imagines drifting on paper wings and hearing the songs of the wild wind.
• Stanza 4: The child looks forward to the fun of looking down over parks and rooftops.
• Stanza 5: People below would stand, stare, and wish they were high up in the air too.

Literary Devices:

• Simile: Comparison using 'like' or 'as' (e.g., "Like coloured birds", "light as air").
• Alliteration: Repetition of consonant sounds (e.g., "wind-whipped", "stand and stare").

Parts of a Kite:

The key parts of a kite include the Nose, Spine, Cover, Kite line, Tail, and Reel.

The inspiring story of Ila Sachani, a resilient woman from Gujarat who overcame physical challenges to become a celebrated embroidery artist.

• Early Life: Born in Amreli, Gujarat, with non-functional hands hanging loose by her sides. She could not perform regular tasks like other children.
• Determination & Support: Encouraged by her mother and grandmother, who were single-minded in helping her. They taught her the traditional art of Kathiawar embroidery using her feet.
• Success: She mastered various styles including Kachhi, Kashmiri, and Lucknawi. Her work was exhibited at a state exhibition in Surat, leading to national fame, financial independence, and the prestigious President's Medal.

Vocabulary:

• challenges: difficulties
• single-minded: focused
• determination: will power
• awestruck: amazed
• popularity: fame

Located in New Delhi and established in February 2019, this national monument was built by the Government of India to honour brave soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the nation.

• The Eternal Flame: Known as the Amar Jawan Jyoti, it glows in silence, paying homage to the courage of the soldiers.
• Significance: It stands with pride, keeping the memories and stories of the soldiers etched in stone and forever in our minds.

• Present Tense: Used to describe regular actions. With singular pronouns (he, she, it), verbs take -s/-es (e.g., "He speaks very loudly").
• Ordering Words: Words used to show sequence: to begin, first, then, after that, next, finally, at last.
• Words of Quantity: Words like many and lots of indicate large, unmentioned quantities.