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NCERT Solutions for Class 5th English Chapter 6 B. Think and answer — Let us Think

Book page 68 Updated on2026-09-19

Q1.
An overhead water tank is a way to store water. Do you know any other ways of storing water?
Answer

Yes — there are many other ways, and the chapter itself names three of them.

From the chapter:

  1. Tanka — an underground tank in the Thar region of Rajasthan. It holds enough water for six to seven months.
  2. Oorani — a pond in Tamil Nadu that stores rainwater for drinking and farming.
  3. Panam Keni — a well in Kerala that does not dry up even in the hottest months.

Other ways you may have seen yourself:

Way of storing waterWhere you see itHow much it holds
Matka or ghara (clay pot)Almost every Indian kitchenA few litres — and it keeps the water cool
Bucket, drum and steel containersIn the house and the bathroomTen to two hundred litres
Underground sumpBelow the floor or the courtyard of a houseThousands of litres
WellIn villages and old town squaresWater from under the ground
Stepwell — baoli or vavRajasthan, Gujarat, DelhiVery large; steps go down to the water
Village pond — talab, johad, kundAll over rural IndiaEnough for cattle and for farming
Check dam on a small streamHilly and dry areasHolds back the rain water so it soaks into the ground
Rainwater harvesting tankNew houses, schools, officesCatches the rain that falls on the roof

Sample answer: Yes, I know several other ways. My grandmother keeps drinking water in a clay matka, which also keeps it cool. Our house has an underground sump below the courtyard, and a pump lifts the water from there to the tank on the roof. In my village there is an old well and a big pond where the cattle drink. My school has a rainwater harvesting pipe that takes rain from the roof down into a tank. All of these do the same job as an overhead tank — they catch water and keep it for later.

What all of them have in common: Every one of them does two things — it catches water when there is plenty, and it holds it for the days when there is none. Only the size and the shape change.
Q2.
If you had to build a water tank, what would you make it look like? Why?
Answer

This is your own answer, so nobody else’s will be the same. Think of the thing you love most, or the work your family does — that is what the people of Punjab do.

What a good answer needs: (1) the shape you have chosen, (2) a clear reason why you chose it, and (3) one line saying what it would tell people about you. Write in full sentences.

Sample answer 1: If I had to build a water tank, I would make it look like a big open book. I would paint the pages white and the cover dark blue. I chose a book because I love reading, and our house is full of books. Anyone walking past would look up and know at once that a reader lives here.

Sample answer 2: I would build my water tank in the shape of a cricket ball, bright red with white stitches. My brother and I play cricket every evening on the ground behind our house. A red ball sitting on the roof would tell the whole street that this is a cricket family.

Sample answer 3: My father is a potter, so I would shape our tank like a huge clay matka with a narrow neck. It would look beautiful, and it would show people the work my father does with his hands. It would also suit the tank, because a matka is itself a thing for holding water.

If your family…A shape you could choose
farms the landa tractor, a bullock cart, a bundle of wheat
keeps a dairya cow, a milk can
runs a sweet shopa giant laddoo, a kettle
loves musica dholak, a santoor, a flute
loves birdsa peacock, a rooster, an owl
Why the reason matters more than the shape: A tank shaped like a football is only funny until you know that a footballer lives there. Then it becomes a story. The chapter says every tank “tells us something about the people of the house” — so your answer must say what your tank tells about you.
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