Q1.
Glass bangles are an important part of the Indian culture, especially during festivals. Are there any crafts or traditions in your region that are linked to festivals? Share with your class.
Answer
This is a speaking task about your own place, so first find out, then speak.
How to prepare — four steps:
- Ask at home. Ask your grandmother or an elderly neighbour what is made by hand in your area at festival time.
- Pick one craft or tradition. One is enough. Do not try to say everything.
- Find out three things about it: what it is made of, who makes it, and which festival it belongs to.
- Bring it, or a picture of it, to class if you can. Then speak for about a minute.
What a good answer needs: the name of the craft, the festival it is linked to, what it is made from, and one line about the people who make it.
Sample answer: In my town, potters make small clay diyas for Diwali. For weeks before the festival the whole potters’ lane is covered with rows of diyas drying in the sun. The potter shapes each one on his wheel, dries it, and then bakes it. On Diwali night we fill them with oil, put in a cotton wick and light them along the wall. My grandmother says that a house with clay diyas smells of Diwali in a way that an electric light never can. The potters wait all year for these few days, because that is when most of their diyas are sold.
More crafts and traditions you could speak about:
| Region | Craft or tradition | Festival it belongs to |
|---|---|---|
| Uttar Pradesh (Firozabad) | Glass bangles | Diwali, Karva Chauth, weddings |
| Kerala | Pookalam — a carpet of fresh flowers | Onam |
| Tamil Nadu | Kolam drawn in rice flour at the doorstep | Pongal, and every morning |
| West Bengal | Clay idols made by the potters of Kumartuli | Durga Puja |
| Maharashtra | Paper and clay Ganesha idols, and the gudhi | Ganesh Chaturthi, Gudi Padwa |
| Punjab | Phulkari embroidery on the dupatta | Lohri, Baisakhi, weddings |
| Rajasthan | Lac bangles and blue pottery | Teej, Gangaur |
| Odisha | Pattachitra painting on cloth | Rath Yatra |
| Assam | Weaving the gamosa on a handloom | Bihu |
| Bihar | Madhubani painting on walls and paper | Chhath, weddings |
Why crafts and festivals go together: A festival is the one time in the year when every family buys the same special things at once. That is when the craftsperson sells most of the year’s work. So the festival keeps the craft alive, and the craft makes the festival beautiful. Each one needs the other.