NCERT Solutions for Class 4th The World Around Us Chapter 9 In the Land of Endless Sand, with Ritika — In-text Questions
Book page 135 Updated on2026-09-19
Q1.
Look at the following picture and write your observations. What kind of land do you see?Redrawn from the picture on pages 134–135 of the textbook. Look carefully at the land, the plants, the animals, the way people travel and the clothes they are wearing.
Answer
Redrawn from the picture on pages 134–135: rolling sand dunes, a mud house with a thatched roof and a water tanka beside it, solar panels and windmills, a hamlet of thatched huts, a pond with palm trees, a khejri tree, cactus growing on a rock, a camel pulling a cart loaded with luggage, two women carrying pots on their heads and a boy running with a goat. The book’s picture also shows women dancing in ghaghras, a woman grinding grain, a man weaving a basket, a shepherd sitting with his sheep and a mobile tower.
The land is dry and sandy, with high heaps of sand called dunes. Such land is a desert.
Sand stretches far away on every side.
There is very little green — only a few plants here and there.
Water is seen only in one small pond.
Why it looks like this: the book says a desert is a dry place with very little rainfall. Without rain, grass and big trees cannot grow, so the sand shows everywhere.
Q2.
Look at the following picture and write your observations. What types of plants do you see in the picture? How are they different from the plants you see in your locality?Redrawn from the picture on pages 134–135 of the textbook. Look carefully at the land, the plants, the animals, the way people travel and the clothes they are wearing.
Answer
Redrawn from the picture on pages 134–135: rolling sand dunes, a mud house with a thatched roof and a water tanka beside it, solar panels and windmills, a hamlet of thatched huts, a pond with palm trees, a khejri tree, cactus growing on a rock, a camel pulling a cart loaded with luggage, two women carrying pots on their heads and a boy running with a goat. The book’s picture also shows women dancing in ghaghras, a woman grinding grain, a man weaving a basket, a shepherd sitting with his sheep and a mobile tower.
The picture shows cactus (thor), khejri and babool, and a few palm trees near the small pond.
How they are different from plants near most of our homes:
Desert plants
Plants in most other places
Thorns instead of broad leaves
Broad green leaves
Thick stems that store water
Thin stems, no water stored
Grow far apart, short and bushy
Grow close together, often tall and shady
Live on very little water
Need water often
Why it happens: very little rain falls in a desert. A plant with small leaves or thorns loses less water, and a cactus keeps water inside its stem. That is how these plants stay alive.
Q3.
Look at the following picture and write your observations. Is there something unique about the way people in this village are dressed?Redrawn from the picture on pages 134–135 of the textbook. Look carefully at the land, the plants, the animals, the way people travel and the clothes they are wearing.
Answer
Redrawn from the picture on pages 134–135: rolling sand dunes, a mud house with a thatched roof and a water tanka beside it, solar panels and windmills, a hamlet of thatched huts, a pond with palm trees, a khejri tree, cactus growing on a rock, a camel pulling a cart loaded with luggage, two women carrying pots on their heads and a boy running with a goat. The book’s picture also shows women dancing in ghaghras, a woman grinding grain, a man weaving a basket, a shepherd sitting with his sheep and a mobile tower.
Yes. The clothes are long, loose and very colourful.
Women wear a wide ghaghra with a bandhini dupatta and many bangles on their arms.
Men wear a colourful turban (pagri) with a kurta and dhoti.
Bright red, yellow, green and blue are used everywhere.
Why it happens: the desert sun is very strong. A turban and a dupatta cover the head and keep the sun and the blowing sand away. Loose cotton clothes let air pass, so the body stays cooler.
Did you know? Ritika brought colourful bangles and a bandhini dupatta from Rajasthan. Women wear these with ghaghras while dancing, and men play the khartal and the sarangi.
Q4.
Look at the following picture and write your observations. How do you think people travel in deserts?Redrawn from the picture on pages 134–135 of the textbook. Look carefully at the land, the plants, the animals, the way people travel and the clothes they are wearing.
Answer
Redrawn from the picture on pages 134–135: rolling sand dunes, a mud house with a thatched roof and a water tanka beside it, solar panels and windmills, a hamlet of thatched huts, a pond with palm trees, a khejri tree, cactus growing on a rock, a camel pulling a cart loaded with luggage, two women carrying pots on their heads and a boy running with a goat. The book’s picture also shows women dancing in ghaghras, a woman grinding grain, a man weaving a basket, a shepherd sitting with his sheep and a mobile tower.
People travel mainly on camels and in camel carts.
In the picture a camel is pulling a cart loaded with luggage.
People also walk short distances, and buses and jeeps use the roads.
Why the camel: a camel has long legs and broad feet, so it does not sink into soft sand. It can walk for days with very little water. That is why the book calls the camel the ship of the desert.
Q5.
Look at the following picture and write your observations. What do you like the most in the picture?Redrawn from the picture on pages 134–135 of the textbook. Look carefully at the land, the plants, the animals, the way people travel and the clothes they are wearing.
Answer
Redrawn from the picture on pages 134–135: rolling sand dunes, a mud house with a thatched roof and a water tanka beside it, solar panels and windmills, a hamlet of thatched huts, a pond with palm trees, a khejri tree, cactus growing on a rock, a camel pulling a cart loaded with luggage, two women carrying pots on their heads and a boy running with a goat. The book’s picture also shows women dancing in ghaghras, a woman grinding grain, a man weaving a basket, a shepherd sitting with his sheep and a mobile tower.
Pick one thing from the picture and say why you like it. There is no single right answer here, but your reason should come from the picture.
Things you could choose: the camel cart, the dancing women in bright ghaghras, the mud house with its painted white pattern, the tall sand dunes, the cactus, the small pond, or the tanka that stores water.
Sample answer: I like the camel cart the most. The camel walks easily on the soft sand and carries a full load of bags. It is like a bus that never needs a road.