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NCERT Solutions for Class 5th The World Around Us Chapter 5 Make a headgear — Activity 6

Book page 87 Updated on2026-09-19

Q1.
In small groups, take a dupatta or scarf and help each other make a traditional headgear.
Answer

Work in threes. One person is the wearer, one ties, one holds the loose end. A long dupatta, a stole or a big scarf works. Nothing is cut and nothing is stitched, so the cloth is not spoiled.

A simple safa-style turban:

  1. Fold the dupatta lengthwise two or three times, so you have a long flat band about a hand's width across.
  2. Place the middle of the band on the wearer's forehead, just above the eyebrows.
  3. Take both ends back over the ears, cross them at the back of the head, and bring them to the front again.
  4. Now wind them round and round the head, each round slightly above the last, so a neat cone builds up.
  5. Tuck the last end firmly into a fold at the back. Nothing must dangle.
  6. Pull out one small corner at the top and fan it, like the plume on a Rajasthani safa.

A simple cap-style topi: fold the scarf into a triangle, lay the long edge across the forehead, take the two side corners round the back, tie them in a flat knot, then tuck the hanging point in under the knot.

If it keeps slippingWhat to fix
The turban comes looseYour folds were too wide. Make the band narrower and pull each round snug before the next.
It sits too high and wobblesStart lower, right on the forehead, and keep the first round flat.
The end will not stay tuckedTuck it under two layers, not one. A small safety pin at the back is allowed.
What you learn by doing it: A turban is one long piece of cloth and nothing else — no stitching, no buttons. The whole shape comes from the way it is wound. That is why the same cloth is tied differently in Rajasthan, in Punjab, in Karnataka and in Maharashtra, and why people from those places can recognise each other's tying at a glance.
Be careful and be kind: Ask before you tie anything on someone's head. Some people wear a headgear for their faith, and that one is never a costume. Try it out on each other with a plain scarf, in a spirit of learning.
Q2.
Create a headgear or cap using waste materials.
Answer

You need no new material at all. Old newspaper, a cardboard carton, gift-wrapping paper, bottle caps, wool ends, old bangles, dry leaves, feathers found on the ground — all of it works.

A newspaper cap in six steps:

  1. Open one full newspaper sheet and fold it in half, with the fold at the top.
  2. Fold the two top corners in to meet at the middle. You now have a triangle with a strip at the bottom.
  3. Fold the bottom strip up on the front side. Turn the whole thing over.
  4. Fold the bottom strip up on this side too.
  5. Press all the folds hard with your thumbnail.
  6. Open the cap out at the bottom and put it on. It is the Gandhi-topi shape.

A cardboard crown-style headdress in five steps:

  1. Cut a strip of card long enough to go round your head, and about four fingers wide.
  2. Measure it round your head, leave two fingers extra, and staple or tape the ends into a ring.
  3. Cover the ring with wrapping paper or paint it in one bright colour.
  4. Decorate: bottle-cap circles for mirrors, wool for tassels hanging at the sides, folded paper points at the top.
  5. Line the inside edge with a strip of soft cloth so it does not scratch.
Waste materialWhat it can become
NewspaperA folded topi, or paper rolls for the frame
Cardboard cartonThe band of a crown or a helmet shell
Bottle caps, old banglesMirror-work and shiny discs
Wool ends, jute stringTassels and hanging strings
Old gift paper, cloth scrapsThe bright covering and the border
Why waste material is the right material here: Real headgear was always made from what a place already had — cane and leaf in the north-east, wool in the hills, cotton in the plains. Making yours from what is lying about follows the same idea, and nothing goes into the dustbin.
Hold a small parade: Each maker wears the headgear and says one sentence — what it is made of, and which part of India gave the idea. That is the whole activity finished.
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