A Shelter so High!

• The ground floor is for animals and for storing necessary things.
• Sometimes when it gets too cold, people also move downstairs.
• Here ground floors have no windows.
• The thick tree trunks are used to make roofs strong.
• Red chilly, orange pumpkins and golden yellow corns are found in Ladakh.
• During summer season we dry many fruits and vegetables, We store them for winters when we do not get fresh fruits and vegetables.
• The thick walls, a wooden floor and a wooden ceiling protects the people of Ladakh from the cold.
• In Ladakh there are narrow, rocky mountain roads. At many places there are no roads at all.
• Changthang is at a height of almost 5000 metres. It has rocky plains there.
• At a very high place people feel difficult to breath, headache and feel weak.
• There are no petrol pumps and no mechanics there.
• Changpa – a tribe living on the mountains.The Changpa tribe has only about 5000 people.
• The Changpa’s are always on the move with their goats and sheep.
• They get all that they need – milk, meat, skin for tents and wool for coats and sweaters.
• If a family has more animals it is considered rich and important.
• From these special goats they get wool for making the famous pashmina wool.
• The Changpa graze their goats at higher and colder places so that the goats have more and softer hair (fur)
• They stay high up on these mountains in very difficult conditions because that is where these goats can live.
• This is their life and their livelihood.
• the Changpas carry everything that they own on their horses and yaks. It takes them only two and a half hours to pack everything and move ahead.
• The Changpas call their tents Rebo.
• Yak hair is woven to make strips which are stitched together.
• These are strong and warm and protect them from the icy strong winds.
• In winters the temperature drops many degrees below zero! The wind blows at 70 Kms per hour.
• In changpa language Changthang means a place where very few people live.
• In Shrinagar you will see some houses on the mountains, while some on water.
• In Kashmir every lane has a bakery. Kashmiri people don’t cook roties in their homes, they buy it from such bakeries.
• Different kinds of shelters in Jammu and Kashmir – some on high
mountains, some on water, some with beautiful designs in wood and
stone, and some mobile shelters that can even be packed and carried to another place.
• Near the Rebo there was a place to keep sheep and goats. Changpas call it Lekha. The walls of a Lekha are made with stones.
• Each family puts a special mark on their own animals.
• The women and young girls count and take the animals out of the lekha.
• Kargil comes in the way to Shrinagar from Ladakh

Houses of Srinagar!

 Houseboats- Houseboats can be as long as 80 feet and around 8 to 9 feet wide.
 Donga- These boats can be seen in Dal Lake and Jhelum river. From inside the ‘donga’ is just like a house with different rooms.
 Beautiful carving on wood can be seen on the ceiling of houseboats and some big houses. This design is called ‘khatamband’, which has a pattern
that look like a jigsaw puzzle.
 In villages of Kashmir, houses are made from stones cut and kept one on top of the other and coated with mud. Wood is also used. The houses have sloping roofs.
 Some old houses have a special type of window which comes out of the wall. This is called ‘dab’. It has beautiful wood pattern.
 The old houses here are made of stone, bricks and wood. The doors and windows have beautiful arches (mehraab ).

When the Earth Shook!

 On 26th January 2001, earthquake hit the Kutch area in Gujrat.
 We shold do these things when an earthquake comes…
– If possible leave the house and go to an open ground.
– If you cannot go out of the house, lie down under a strong thing like a table and hold on tightly, so that it does not slip away. Wait until the shaking stops.

Blow Hot, Blow Cold

 This story has been written by Dr. Zakir Hussain, former President of India.
 The air coming out of our mouth can be cold or hot as compared to the temperature outside.
 Stethoscope is used to listen our heartbeats.
 The cold air comes down as it is heavier.
 The breath can be cold or hot according to the outside temperature.

Who will do this Work?

■ To sensitise children to be respectful during their interactions with cleaning department of the school.
■ So that children can think of some ways (machines, or other things) so that people would not have to do the work they don’t like to do.
■ Gandhiji’s friend Mahadevbhai’s son Narayan stayed with Gandhiji when he was young.
■ Teacher can use news items on issues related to ‘untouchability’ in the class to develop sensitivity.
■ Bhimrao Ambedkar was from Goregaon in Maharashtra.
■ The Indian Constitution was prepared under the leadership of Baba saheb Ambedkar.
■ Interview (adapted) from the documentary film ‘India Untouched’ by Stalin. K.

Across the Wall

■ The Nagpanda and Afsana Mansuri Basketball teams are in Mumbai.
■ Victoria Terminus Station (railway station) is in Mumbai.
■ Discuss these to build children’s understanding on issues, such as, similar games for boys and girls, equal opportunities for all while playing etc.
■ Sholapur is in Mumbai.
■ Try to develop an understanding in children that players are recognized by their ability to play rather than by their caste or economic status.
■ Bacchu khan playground is in Mumbai named after a coach Mustafa Khan.
■ This chapter is about climbing the gender wall made by society

A Seed tells a farmer’s story

• Vangaam is in Gujrat.
• In old times good seeds were stored in dried gourd(lauki) coated with mud.
• Neem leaves protect seeds from insects.
• Undhiya is a kind of dish(sabji) prepared by keeping the pot upside down between hot coals. (undhiya means upside down in Gujrati).
• Undhiya is being eaten with bajra rotis and home-made butter, curd and buttermilk.
• By growing the same crop over and over and using so many chemicals the land becomes unfertile.
• Crotons plants give signal when the soil becomes dry.
• The roots of the crotons do not go deep in the ground. So when the top layer of the soil becomes dry, the croton leaves bend and become limp.
• The earthworms soften the soil by digging underneath to make tunnels

• WHOSE FORESTS?

• Kuduk is a community of Adivasi people in Jharkhand.
• The forests are disappearing – in their place mines are being dug, dams are being built.
• Torang means jungle in the kuduk language.
• Right to forest act was made in 2007.
• The land on which we grow one tin of seeds is called one tin of land.