The Story of Ikat

TS 8th Class English Guide Unit 6A The Story of Ikat PRE-READING (Motivation/Picture interaction): Look at the pictures and answer the questions that follow.

Question 1. What do you see In these pictures? Where do you find them?

Answer: In the first picture we see Kondapalli Bommalu. In the second picture we see the Rudrakshamalas (Chains of beads). In the third picture we see the statues of Vinayaka made with plaster of paris. We generally find these three kinds of handicrafts in stalls, shops, emporiums, exhibitions, etc. In the fourth picture we see Perini Thandavam, a popular dance form originated in Telangana

Question 2. Why did the woman make up herself differently? Do you find anything unique in the make up of the woman in the picture? What could be the occasion for this make up?

Answer: [Note : This question is not relevant to the pictures given above.]

Question 3. Are these handicrafts and the make up a part of our culture? Give reasons to your answer?

Answer: Yes, these handicrafts and the make up are a part of our culture. Handicrafts promote our cultural heritage. They make the younger generations know our ancestry, the richness of culture and traditions. Since old ages, our land is famous for these handicrafts. The art forms such as Perini Thandavam, Kuchipudi, Bharatanatyam, etc. need the make up. These art forms originated in our country and there have been so many well known artists in our country. Hence, I can say that these handicrafts and make up are a part of our culture

ORAL DISCOURSE

Question . Talk on - "Art and cultural forms of your area." ?

Answer: I am a resident of Nirmal, a small town which is located in Adilabad district of Telangana. Nirmal has been considered the land of arts and crafts. The big community of craftsmen in Nirmal are referred to as Nakkash. Nirmal is famous for its paintings known as Nirmal paintings. In Nirmal paintings, traditional art scenes are painted from the Hindu epics - Ramayafia and Mahabharata. The paintings have been influenced by the Indian Schools of Art like Ajanta, Kangra and from Mughal miniatures. The colours used in these paintings especially the familiar gold colour are produced indigenously from extracts of herbs, gum, vegetable dye and minerals

Comprehension

Answer the following questions.

Question 1. Whu is the main theme of the story?

Answer: The story deals with the richness of Pochampally handloom saris and rumals. It also deals with the use of science by the handloom weavers in an amazing manner. The narrator of the story, Janaki also has a heartfelt attachment to handlooms. She feels sorry to recollect how machines overtook handlooms. However, there is a mention of journey of Ikat from Orissa to Gujarat en route (on the way) Nalgonda

Question 2. How was chitiki rumal used by different people?

Answer: Chitiki Rumal was used as the favourite headgear of fishermen and other labourers. It was also the towel on the shoulders of traders in Gujarat

Question 3. The teacher became silent when she was discussing handloom? Why?

Answer: Handloom was used in weaving for centuries. It was now overtaken by power looms. In this race with the machine, we forgot our heritage. The teacher became nostalgic and became silent

Question 4. Childrens attention was divided between her words and the fabrics as she opened silk patola sari. Why?

Answer: Childrens attention was divided between her words and the fabrics. In the beginning the children were enthused by the way she described the fabrics. Their attention was completely paid to her words. After that she opened a silk patola sari. It had a red design on a black background with rows of flowers in the border. Looking at the excellent design of the sari (saree), and the compelling description of the teacher, their attention was divided between her words and fabrics

Question 5. The writer described some designs, historical things and the weaving. Which part of the: story do you like most?

Answer: The writer described design of chitiki rumals, and patola saris. She also explained the words warp and weft. She also outlined the historical facts behind the journey of Ikat. All of them were interesting to the reader

Vocabulary

I. Read the following sentences. V.V.S. Lakshman is a top class batsman. Sruthi is in class VIII. We have ten minutes left for the show. The minutes of every official meeting remain an important document. The words underlined in the above sentences have the same spelling but they differ in mean¬ing. These words are called Homonyms. I. Find the meaning of the following homographs with the help of a dictionary.

1. a) fair (adj) : ____________?

• fair (noun) : ____________

Answer:

• fair (adj) : acceptable and appropriate
• fair (noun) : an event at which people show and sell their goods

2. a) mind (noun) : ____________?

• mind (verb) : ____________

Answer:

• mind (noun) : ability to think
• mind (verb) : to be worried by somebody

3. a) quiet (adj) : ____________?

• quiet (noun) : ____________

Answer:

• quiet (adj) : making very little noise
• quiet (noun) : the state of being calm without noise

II. Use the above homonyms in your own sentences?

Answer:

• We get out provision from fair price shop
• Every Monday we have a fair in our village. We buy vegetables there
• Playing chess is good for mind
• Anitha I am Sorry. I have broken your pen. Lalitha : Never mind
• The surroundings are quiet. We can live here peacefully
• In the quiet of the night, the moon and the clouds played hide and seek

Additional information with Examples

The words which have the same spelling and different meaning are called homonyms. Here are a few homonyms and their meanings:

• accent - stress or emphasis OR a manner of speaking or pronunciation influenced by the region in which one lives or grew up
• agape - with mouth open OR love
• attribute - a characteristic or quality OR to think of as belonging to or originating in some person, place or thing
• axes - the plural of ax or axe OR the plural of axis
• bass - a deep voice or tone OR a kind of fish
• bat - piece of sports equipment OR an animal
• bow - to bend at the waist OR the front of a boat OR a pair of tied loops
• buffet - to hit, punch or slap OR a self-serve food bar
• bustier - an undergarment OR more busty
• compact - small OR to make small OR a small case for holding makeup
• compound - to mix or combine OR an enclosed area with a building or group of buildings inside
• content - happy or satisfied OR all that is contained inside something
• contract - an agreement OR to get, acquire or incur
• coordinates - brings into proper place or order OR a set of numbers used to calculate position
• desert - a hot, arid region OR to leave
• digest - a condensed version of some information OR to change food in the stomach into a form that can be absorbed by the body
• discount - a reduction in price OR to underestimate the significance of or give no credence to
• does - female deer (plural) OR present, third person singular form of the verb "do"
• down - in a lower position OR soft, furry feathers
• entrance - the place of entry OR to bewitch, delight or enrapture
• evening - late afternoon OR making more even
• fine - very good OR sharp or keen OR delicate or subtle OR a sum of money paid to settle a matter
• fine - of good quality OR a levy
• frequent - occurring regularly OR to visit a place with regularity
• incense - a substance that produces a pleasant odor when burned OR to infuriate or make very angry ,
• lead - to go first with followers behind OR a type of metal
• learned - past tense of learn OR knowledgeable
• minute - 60 seconds or 1 OR 60th of an hour OR extremely small
• moped - acted sad or gloomy OR a bicycle with a motor
• moped - gloomy OR motorcyle
• number - a numeral OR to count OR more numb
• object - a thing you can see or touch OR a goal OR a noun that receives the action of a verb OR to be opposed to
• proceeds - advances or continues on OR the money or profit gained from some sale or venture
• produce - to create or make OR fresh fruits and vegetables
• project - a plan or proposal OR to throw or hurl forward OR to cause a shadow or image to fall upon a surface
• putting - the present participle of put OR the present participle of putt
• refuse - waste or garbage OR to reject or decline to accept
• row - a fight OR to propel a boat forward using oars OR a line
• second - 1 / 60th of a minute OR after the first
• sewer - drain OR person who sews subject - under some authority or control OR to bring under authority or control OR to make liable or vulnerable OR a topic OR the noun in a sentence about which something is said in the predicate
• tear - to rip OR a drop of water from the eye
• wave - move the hand in greeting OR sea water coming into shore to
• wind - turn OR moving air
• wound - turned (past tense of wind) OR an injury

III. Read the following sentences carefully. The students have some knowledge about Ikat. This sum from chapter III is very tough. The words underlined in the above sentences have the same pronunciation but differ in spelling and meaning. Such words are called Homophones. Read the following passage carefully and replace the underlined words with correct homophones. One day Janaki teacher said to the class, "We all no that the boy in the blew dress has one the best student price for this year." She added this is the write hour to felicitate him. Here is the gift for the boy but can anyone help me to untie the not of the died ribbon. One boy came forward and helped her. There is a wonderful gift inside the box?

Answer: One day Janaki teacher said to the class, "We all know that the boy in the blue dress has won the best student prize for this year." She added this is the right hour to felicitate him. Here is the gift for the boy but can anyone help me to untie the knot of the dyed ribbon. One boy came forward and helped her. There is a wonderful gift inside the box!

Grammar

I. Read the following pair of sentences taken from the narrative "The Story of Ikat".

Ramya asked, "Are these fabrics from Indonesia?"

The teacher said, "What can be the origin of the word?"

Who are the speakers

What are the exact words spoken by them

If you want to report the above sentences, how will you do

Lets analyse the sentences 1 and 2. The first part of the sentence Ramya aksed has a subject Ramya and a verb asked. This clause is called the reporting clause. The verb is called the reporting verb. The part within the quotation marks is called the reported clause, which gives the exact words spoken by the speaker. Lets look at the answer to the question c.

Ramya asked if/whether those fabrics were from Indonesia

The teacher asked what the origin of the word could be. Lets look at the changes that have taken place. You will find the following changes.

Change of the pronoun (these - those)

Change of the verb in the reported clause (are - were)

Change of question to a statement by adding if/whether All the above changes are made when the reporting verb is in the Past tense

Exercise

Report the following conversation. Ramya visits a weaver at Pochampally. She asks him a few questions. Ramya : Uncle, What are you doing? Weaver : Im making a sari. Do you like it? Ramya : Oh! Yes. What is the price? Weaver : Five hundred rupees. Do you want to buy it? Ramya : Oh! Yes. Can you pack it for me? Weaver : Sure, here you are?

Answer: Ramya visited a weaver at Pochampally and asked him a few questions. She asked him what he was doing. He replied that he was making a sari and asked her whether she liked it. Ramya said that she liked it and asked what the price was. The weaver said that its price was five hundred rupees. He enquired her whether she wanted to buy it Ramya expressed her willingness and asked him whether he could pack it for her. The weaver packed it and gave it to her

OR Ramya visited a weaver at Pochampally. She called him uncle and asked what he was doing. The weaver said that he was making a sari and asked her whether she liked it. Ramya said that she liked it and asked him its price. The weaver said that it cost five hundred rupees and asked whether she wanted to buy it. Ramya said that she did and requested him to pack it for her the weaver readily agreed. Detailed Notes on Direct Speech and Indirect Speech: We may report the words of a speaker in two ways.

Direct Speech We may quote the actual words of the speaker. This method is called Direct Speech

Indirect Speech We may report what he said without quoting his exact words. This method is called Indirect Speech or Reported Speech

Example: Direct: Clinton said, "I am very busy now." Indirect: Clinton said that he was very busy then. Direct: He said, " My mother is writing letter." Indirect: He said that his mother was writing letter. How to change Direct to Indirect Speech? It will be noticed that in Direct Speech, we use inverted commas to mark off the exact words of the speaker. In Indirect Speech we do not use the inverted commas. It will be further noticed that in changing the above Direct Speech into Indirect speech, certain changes have been made. Thus:

We have used the conjunction that before the Indirect Statement

The pronoun "I" is changed to "HE". (The Pronoun is changed in Person)

The verb "am" is changed to "was"

The adverb "now" is changed to "then"

Rules for changing Direct into Indirect Speech :

When the reporting or principal verb is in the Past Tense, all the Present Tenses in the Direct Speech are changed into Past Tense

A simple present tense becomes simple past tense

Example : Direct : He said, "I am unwell." Indirect : He said that he was unwell.

A present continuous tense becomes a past continuous

Example : Direct : He said, "My mother is writing letters." Indirect : He said that his mother was writing letters.

A present perfect becomes a past perfect

Example : Direct : He said, "I have passed the examination." Indirect : He said that he had passed the examination.

As a rule the simple past tense in the Direct Speech becomes the past perfect tense in Indirect Speech

Example : Direct: He said, "His horse died in the night." Indirect: He said that his horse had died in the night. NOTE : The shall of the future is changed into should. The will of the future is changed into would. The can and may of the future are changed into could and might respectively. Look at the following changes while reporting.

The tenses will not change if the statement is still relevant or if it is a universal truth. We can often choose whether to keep the original tenses or change them. Examples: Direct : "I know her address", said John. Indirect : John said that he knows/knew her address. In this Indirect Speech, both the past tense and the present tense make the sentence a correct one. Direct : The teacher said, "The earth goes round the sun." Indirect : The teacher said that the earth goes/went round the sun. Direct : She said, "German is easy to learn." Indirect : She said that German was/is easy to learn. The past tense is often used when it is uncertain if the statement is true or when we are reporting objectively.

If the reporting verb is in present tense, the tenses of the Direct Speech do not change. For example, we may rewrite the above examples, putting the reporting verb in the present tense

Examples: Direct : He says, "I am unwell." Indirect : He says that he is unwell. Direct : He says, "My mother is writing letters." Indirect : He says that his mother is writing letters. Direct : He says, "I have, passed the examination." Indirect : He says that he has passed the examination. Direct : He says, "His horse died in the night." Indirect : He says that his horse died in the night.

The pronouns of the Direct Speech are changed where necessary, so that their relations with the reporter and his hearer, rather than with the original speaker are indicated

Examples: Direct : He said to me, "I do not believe you." Indirect : He said that he did not believe me. Direct : She said to him, "I do not believe you." Indirect : She told him that she did not believe him. Direct : I said to him, "I did not believe you." Indirect : I told him that I did not believe him. Direct : I said to you, "I do not believe you." Indirect : I told you that I do not believe you.

Words expressing nearness in time or places are generally changed into words expressing distance

Examples: Direct : He said, "I am glad to be here this evening." Indirect : He said that he was glad to be there that evening. Direct : He said, "I was here yesterday. " Indirect : He said that he was there the day before. Now, let us see the words which get changed when the Direct Speech is changed into Indirect Speech.

Now becomes then

Here becomes there

Ago becomes before

Thus becomes so

Today becomes that day

Tomorrow becomes the next day

Yesterday becomes the day before

Last night becomes the night before

This becomes that

These becomes those

How the questions used in the Direct Speech^ are changed into the Indirect Speech

In reporting questions, the Indirect Speech is introduced by such verbs as asked, inquired etc. Examples: Direct : He said to me, "What are you doing?" Indirect : He asked me what I was doing. Direct : A stranger asked me, "Where do you live?" Indirect : A stranger enquired where I lived. Direct : The policemen said to us, "Where are you going?" Indirect : The policemen asked us where we were going. Direct : He said, "Will you listen to such a man?" Indirect : He asked them whether they would listen to such a man. Indirect : Would they, he asked, listen to such a man. Direct : His angry mother jeered, "Do you suppose you know better than your father?" Indirect : His angry mother jeered and asked whether he supposed that he knew better than his father.

How the Commands and the Requests in the Direct Speeches are changed when the Direct Speeches are changed into the indirect Speeches

In reporting commands and requests, the indirect speech is introduced by some verb expressing commands and requests, and the Imperative Mood is changed into Infinitive Mood. Examples: Direct : Raja said to John, "Go away. " Indirect : Raja ordered John to go away. Direct : He said to Mary, "Please wait here till I return." Indirect : He requested Mary to wait there till he returned. Direct : "Call the first witness," said the Judge. Indirect : The Judge commanded them to call the first witness. Direct : He shouted, "Let me go. " Indirect : He shouted to them to let him go. Direct : He said, "Be quite and listen to my words." Indirect : He urged them to be quite and listen to his words.

How the Exclamation and the Wishes in the Direct Speeches are changed when the Direct Speeches are changed into Indirect Speeches? In reporting exclamation and wishes, the Indirect Speech is introduced by some verb expressing Exclamation and Wishes

Examples: Direct : He said, "Alas! I am undone". Indirect : He exclaimed sadly that he was undone. Direct : Alice said, "How clever I am!" Indirect : Alice exclaimed that he was very clever. Direct : He said, "Bravo! You have done well." Indirect : He applauded him, saying that he had done well. Direct : "So help me, Heaven!" he died, "I will never steal again." Indirect : He called upon Heaven to witness his resolve never to steal.

II. Editing Read the following passage. Every numbered sentence has an error. Identify and edit it. (1) Lalitha, a ten-year old girl sowed some tomato seed in the kitchen garden. The seeds grew into little plants after a few days. (2) Lalitha plant them in the middle of the garden. (3) She pulled every weed and never allowed a insect or a worm near her pet plants. (4) When the days was hot, she poured water to the plants at night also. She planted flowers all around her plot to make it beautiful. (5) The flowers also grew but blossomed?

Answer: (1) Lalitha, a ten-year old girl sowed some tomato seeds in the kitchen garden. The seeds grew into little plants after a few days. (2) Lalitha planted them in the middle of the garden. (3) She pulled every weed and never allowed an insect or a worm near her pet plants. (4) When the days were hot, she poured water to the plants at night also. She planted flowers all around her plot to make it beautiful. (5) The flowers also grew and blossomed

The Story of Ikat Summary in English

It was a small break before the next class. The bell rang forthe next class. Janaki was to come and handle the class. Ramya, Ahmed, Raghav, and Ravi were some of the students of the class.Ramya loved Janaki who was teaching them social studies. Janaki was fair to everyone. So everyone liked her

Coming to the class, Janaki carried bundles of cloth and walked towards the class. There were rumals and shawls in the clothing. She pinned them on the soft board. The whole class i became suddenly attentive. Then the teacher went on to discuss Ikat of Andhra Pradesh. The word Ikat had its origins in Indonesia. It means to to tie or knot. The teacher explained that for centuries a hand operated loom wove those fabrics. Now power loom has overtaken it

Ikat is called Chitiki in Telugu, Patola in Gujarat and Ikat in Oria. The teacher started showing different clothes and explained two important concepts Warp and Weft. The threads stretched length wise are called warp and threads intersecting them width wise weft. Ahmed explained the concept in terms of X-axis and Y-axis of graph sheet. The teacher then explained how the threads are dyed and how the clothings are woven. Then there was a discussion on the word Chukka and Chitiki RumaT. The teacher was not sure whether the word Ikat originated in the coastal belt of Andhra Pradesh and travelled to Nalgonda and finally reached Gujarat or vice versa

Interestingly, the centre of the whole topic is Pochampally of Nalgonda district and the Saris and rumals woven there

Glossary

enough (adj) : sufficient

mandatory (adj) : compulsory

wonder (v) : wish to know

grin (v) : smile

dash (v) : go somewhere very quickly

partial (adj) : liking somebody very much

patterns (n) : design

eager (adj) : very interested and excited by something

drab (adj) : dull

vibrant (adj) : active

fabrics (n) : material made by weaving for making clothes, curtains etc.,

pelt (v) : throw ; shoot

textiles (n) : any type of clothes made by knitting or weaving

yell (v) : shout loudly

giggle (v) : laugh in a silly way

persist (v) : continue to do something

clue (n) : hint

babble (n) : a talk different to understand

gaze (d) : look steadily

heritage (n) : history and traditions that a society has had for a long time

pensive (adj) : serious

hesitantly (adv) : unwillingly/uncertainly

mesmerising (adj) : having a strong effect

expectantly (adv) : hopeful of something

intersect (v) : crossing each other at a point

warp (n) : threads stretched lengthwise

weft (n) : threads stretched widthwise

criss-cross : with many straight lines that cross each other

motif (n) : designs or patterns used for decortaion

knot (n) : a joint made by tying together

absolutely (adj) : completely

headgear (n) : a piece of cloth worn on head

comprehension (n) : the ability to understand

jubilant (adj) : vary happy

trade (n) : business

vigorous (adj) : active

dye (v) : change the colour of something by using some liquid

dispute (n) : a disagreement between people

resolve (v) : solve ; find an acceptable solution to a problem

tradition (n) : a belief followed by a group of people

compelling (adj) : extremely interesting