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NCERT Solutions for Class 5th The World Around Us Chapter 6 The mask; the Northeastern states — In-text Questions

Book page 101 Updated on2026-09-19

Q1.
Why would someone wear a mask on the back of their head?
Answer

To confuse a tiger. A tiger creeps up and springs from behind. If a face is looking back at it, the tiger thinks it has been seen — and a tiger usually gives up an attack once it believes its prey is watching.

How it works, step by step.

  1. A honey collector or a woodcutter goes deep into the Sundarbans, where tigers live.
  2. He ties a face mask on the back of his head, facing backwards.
  3. He works bending forward, so he cannot see behind him.
  4. A tiger following him sees a face. It does not attack a person who seems to be looking straight at it.
  5. The tiger waits, or moves away, and the person gets on with the work.
Why the trick makes sense: A tiger is a careful hunter. It wants to catch its prey unawares, from behind. Being seen means the prey may run, or fight, so the tiger loses the advantage and often gives up. The mask does not make anyone safe — it only takes away the tiger's surprise. People in the Sundarbans worked this out by watching tigers for generations.
An honest note: Masks are not a sure defence, and forest officers today rely more on staying in groups, keeping to allowed areas and going only in the permitted season. The mask is remembered as a clever, old and very local idea — one that could only have come from people who know a tiger's habits by heart.
Q2.
Can you name the seven Northeastern states?
Answer

The seven, called the Seven Sisters, are Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. Add Sikkim to them and you have all of Northeast India — eight states in all.

StateCapitalKnown for
AssamDispurThe Brahmaputra, tea gardens, Kaziranga's one-horned rhinoceros, Bihu
Arunachal PradeshItanagarThe first sunrise in India; the Apatani people of the Ziro valley
ManipurImphalLoktak lake with its floating islands; Manipuri dance
MeghalayaShillongLiving root bridges; Mawsynram, the wettest inhabited place on Earth
MizoramAizawlBamboo hills and the bamboo dance
NagalandKohimaThe Hornbill Festival; woven shawls whose patterns say who wears them
TripuraAgartalaBamboo and cane craft
Sikkim — the eighthGangtokKanchenjunga; India's first fully organic state
A way to remember the seven: Assam · Arunachal · Manipur · Meghalaya · Mizoram · Nagaland · Tripura
Two A's, three M's, one N, one T.
Why "Seven Sisters": These seven states are joined to one another and are cut off from the rest of India by a narrow strip of land only about twenty kilometres wide in places. Being neighbours in a tight corner, sharing hills, rivers and history, they came to be called sisters. Sikkim lies just beyond that strip and is often called the brother.
Look at a map while you say the names. A state you have found on a map with your finger is a state you remember. A state you have only read in a list is a state you forget.
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