NCERT Solutions for Class 4th English Chapter 9 Listen to the description of some traditional games of India. Identify each game and write its name in the space given below. — Let us Listen
Book page 98–99 Updated on2026-09-19
Q1.
1. In this game, we stack seven stones on top of each other. The first team throws a ball to knock them down. After the stones are knocked down, the members of the first team hurriedly rearrange the stack while the opponent team catches the ball to quickly hit the members of the first team before the stones are restacked. If you are hit by the ball, you are out. Can you guess the name of the game?
Answer
The game is Lagori. It is also called Seven Stones, and in many places Pittu or Lingocha.
The clues that give it away:
seven stones stacked one on top of another;
a ball thrown to knock the stack down;
one team rebuilding the stack while the other team tries to hit them with the ball;
a player hit by the ball is out.
You have met it before: Chapter 8 of this very unit is called The Lagori Champions. So this game should feel familiar.
How to do a listening question like this: Do not try to guess from the first line. Listen for the special detail — here it is the number seven and the word stack. No other Indian game uses a stack of seven stones.
Q2.
2. In this game, there are two teams. One player from the first team crosses into the second team’s side while chanting the name of the game continuously without taking a breath! The goal is to tag as many players as possible and return to their side before being caught. If the player is caught, the other team scores. Can you guess the name of this game?
Answer
The game is Kabaddi.
The clues that give it away:
two teams, each with its own side;
one player crosses over and keeps chanting the name of the game — “kabaddi, kabaddi, kabaddi” — without taking a breath;
he tries to tag players and run back;
if he is caught, the other team scores.
Why the chanting matters: The chant is really a way of checking the breath. A player may stay on the other side only as long as one breath lasts. The moment the chanting stops, he must be back on his own side.
Spelling note: The correct English spelling is kabaddi. On page 97 your book prints it as kabbadi. Use kabaddi when you write it yourself.
Q3.
3. This game is played with two wooden sticks—a short one and a longer one. The goal is to hit the shorter stick and make it jump in the air, then strike it again to send it flying. Players measure how far the shorter stick travels to score points.
Answer
The game is Gilli-danda.
The two sticks have their own names:
the gilli — the short stick, pointed at both ends;
the danda — the longer stick you hold and hit with.
The clues that give it away: two wooden sticks of different sizes, the short one flicked up into the air, then struck again, and the distance measured to score points.
Why the short stick jumps up: The gilli is pointed at both ends. When the danda taps one pointed end on the ground, that end is pushed down and the whole stick flips up into the air. Only then can the player hit it hard.
Did you know? Gilli-danda is played in villages all over India and goes by many names in different states.
Q4.
4. In this game, two children form an arch with their arms while others walk under it, singing a song. When the song ends, the arch drops, and the player caught joins in. It’s a fun and rhythmic game played in many parts of India.
Answer
The game is Poshampa.
The clues that give it away: two children making an arch with their raised arms, the others walking under it in a line, everyone singing, and the arch dropping at the end of the song to catch one player.
Why the caught player joins in: The song always ends at the same place, so the arch always falls on somebody. That player then becomes part of the arch or stands aside. Slowly the line of walkers grows shorter and the game comes to an end by itself.
Did you know? The song most children sing is “Poshampa bhai poshampa…”. That first word is what gives the game its name. In English-speaking countries a very similar game is called London Bridge.
Q5.
5. In this game, children use a small round shaped glass object, aiming to knock out other glass round objects placed in a circle. Players flick the glass object with their fingers, trying to hit the target objects and win them. This is a popular outdoor game played in many parts of India.
Answer
The game is Marbles. In India it is also called kancha, goli or goti.
The clues that give it away: small round glass balls, a circle drawn on the ground with the target marbles inside it, and the player flicking his marble with a finger to knock them out and win them.
Why the thumb does the work: The player holds the marble against a bent finger and shoots it out with the thumb. A flick like this sends the marble in a straight line along the ground, which is much more accurate than throwing it.
Notice the circle: Marbles and Hekko both use a circle drawn on the ground. In marbles, the aim is to knock things out of the circle — and in Hekko, to push players out of the circle!