English: Class 9 — Chapter 7: Carrier of Words

• Extreme Conditions: Khetaram walks 20 km daily across soft sand dunes in scorching summer temperatures reaching up to 50°C.
• Physical Toll: His left shoulder is slumped from years of carrying a heavy mailbag that can weigh up to 28 kg.
• Sole Connection: He serves as the only link between the far-flung hamlets (dhaanis) and the rest of the world, where mobile networks are virtually non-existent.

• Workforce: GDS make up more than 50% of India Post's total workforce, serving inaccessible terrains like the frozen deserts of Ladakh, the islands of Lakshadweep, and riverine communities in the Northeast.
• Financial Trust: Beyond delivering mail, GDS help rural depositors manage their monthly savings, reflecting deep-rooted public trust in the postal system.

• Bearer of News: Khetaram reads letters and drafts replies for illiterate villagers.
• Good News: News of births or weddings is celebrated, and villagers offer him a piece of jaggery.
• Bad News: Letters bearing news of death have a torn right corner. Khetaram dreads these missives; he reads them outside the house and tears them to bits to symbolically destroy the bad news.

• Stanza 1: Words alone cannot satisfy the heart; they are fleeting like "summer birds" and leave behind empty air.
• Stanza 2: To a weary heart (a pilgrim on earth), empty words are as worthless as common weeds.
• Stanza 3: A few sincere words spoken truly bring deeper joy than a host of meaningless words that reach only the head but never touch the heart.
• Stanza 4: A cheerful voice that brightens a lonely home often uses the fewest words.
• Stanza 5 & 6: Empty words may make a "gaudy show" like fruitless plants, but they fail when put to the test.

• Simile: "words, like summer birds, depart" (comparing fleeting words to migratory birds); "words are of as little worth / As just so many weeds".
• Metaphor: "The heart, a pilgrim upon earth" (comparing the heart to a traveler); "walking sandman" (from the prose section).
• Hyperbole: "The world might hold a feast" (exaggerating the impact if words could truly satisfy).

• Mindful Speech: We must "weigh" what we say and only speak what we truly mean to save unnecessary talk and keep our conscience clean.
• The Danger of Idle Words: Careless words and empty promises can cause deep heartache to those who believe them.
• Permanence of Words: Once a hurtful word is written on someone's heart, it can never be erased.

• Sole: Only
• Hamlets: Small settlements
• Ply: Move or travel regularly
• Hefted: Lifted or carried something heavy
• Stipulate: Specify a requirement or demand
• Mojri: Traditional footwear of Rajasthan
• Riverine: Situated on a river bank
• Inaccessible: Unreachable
• Ambit: Range or scope
• Remitted: Sent as a payment or gift
• Scrap: Discard or remove
• Dwell: To stay or remain for some time
• Threshold: Entrance to a home
• Missive: A letter, especially a long or official one

• Gaudy: Brilliantly or excessively showy
• Credence: Belief in or acceptance of something as true
• Oft: Often

Used to describe actions completed in the past that have a direct impact on or connection to the present.

• Structure: Subject + has/have + Past Participle (V3)
• Examples of Functions:
  • Recently completed action: "I have just eaten a mango."
  • Life experiences: "Have you ever seen a play before?"
  • Action completed in the past with present impact: "I have studied in this school for six years."

• Active Voice: The subject performs the action.
  Example: "GDS delivers the mail at the border."
• Passive Voice: The subject receives the action.
  Example: "The mail is delivered by the GDS at the border."

A formal expression of sympathy sent to someone experiencing grief due to the death of a loved one.

• Key Elements: Expressing deep sadness, offering condolences, extending sympathy to the family, and praying for strength/peace for the departed soul.

Philately is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It serves as a medium to preserve and celebrate national heritage, historical figures, monuments, and festivals.