NCERT Solutions for Class 4th The World Around Us Chapter 2 On Our Way Back Home — Discuss
Book page 21 Updated on2026-09-19
Q1.
Letters took a long time to reach other persons. How do you think it affected communication between people in the past?
Answer
News reached people very late, so everything moved slowly.
A letter took days, and a reply took many weeks. Dada ji says so himself.
By the time an answer came, the news was already old.
Urgent news, like an illness, could not be sent in time.
People wrote long letters, because they could not write again soon.
They learned to wait patiently, and they kept the letters carefully.
Why it happened: the letter itself had to travel by train or by bus. It could not move faster than the vehicle carrying it.
Q2.
How is it different from the way people communicate now?
Answer
Today a message reaches in seconds, so we talk far more often.
Then
Now
A letter took days or weeks.
A message goes in seconds.
You wrote once a month.
You can write many times a day.
You could only read the words.
On a video call you see the face and hear the voice.
You needed paper, a stamp and a postbox.
You need only a phone and the internet.
One thing has been lost, though. Dada ji says he misses the joy of writing and receiving a handwritten letter.
Q3.
Today quick messages make sharing the news easier, but sometimes wrong information spreads very quickly too. How can we ensure the news we share is true?
Answer
Check the news first, and only then share it.
Ask who sent it. Do you know that person well?
Look for the same news in a newspaper, on television or on a government website.
Look at the date. Old news is often sent again as if it were new.
Ask an elder or a teacher if you are not sure.
If you cannot check it, do not forward it.
Why this matters: a wrong message travels as fast as a true one. It can frighten people or make them do the wrong thing.
Remember: forwarding is not proof. A message being on your phone does not make it true.