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NCERT Solutions Poorvi Chapter 3 Neem Baba — Let us think and reflect

Book page 81 Updated on2026-09-05

Q1.
You just read about the neem tree. Write any two facts that surprised you the most.
Answer

Pick any two facts and, in one sentence each, say why they surprised you. Choose facts you did not know before, not the ones everybody knows.

Sample answer:
  1. The fact that surprised me most was that the neem tree is millions of years old and was born in North India or Myanmar. I had always thought of the neem in our street as an ordinary tree, not as one of the oldest families of trees in the world.
  2. The second fact was that kajal made from neem flowers can cure itching in the eyes. I knew about neem datun and neem soap, but I never imagined that even the tiny white flowers are useful.
Other facts you could choose: that the name ‘Neem’ was given by the Iranians and not by Indians; that neem seed powder in stagnant water stops mosquitoes from breeding; that termites do not eat furniture made of neem wood; that scientists call neem the ‘bitter grace of God’.
Q2.
Complete the following sentence: Amber played in the shade of ______________________.
Answer

Amber played in the shade of the neem tree in her courtyard (Neem Baba).

Neem Baba himself reminds her of it: “I know you. You played in my shade in your childhood.” The opening lines also tell us that she “sat down in the shade of the neem tree in her courtyard”.

Q3.
Complete the following sentence: Neem seed powder protects crops from ______________________.
Answer

Neem seed powder protects crops from locusts, termites and other insects that eat crops.

Neem Baba says the sprayed powder keeps locusts away, “saves the crop from termites, which eat roots of the crop”, and “stops breeding of other insects that eat crops”.

Q4.
Complete the following sentence: ______________________ is a cost-effective method to stop mosquitoes from breeding in stagnant water.
Answer

Putting the powder of neem seeds (in the stagnant water) is a cost-effective method to stop mosquitoes from breeding in stagnant water.

This is Amber's own conclusion: “if we put the powder of neem seeds in stagnant water around our homes, mosquitoes won't breed in them! This must be a cost-effective method…”

Why it is ‘cost-effective’: The seeds cost nothing — they fall from the tree. Yet they do the work of an expensive spray. Least money, best result.
Q5.
Complete the following sentence: One reason why doctors advise us to use neem leaves for someone suffering from measles is ______________________.
Answer

One reason why doctors advise us to use neem leaves for someone suffering from measles is that neem leaves have chemical properties that destroy germs and do not allow them to breed.

A second reason is comfort: “Measles causes itching all over the body. Neem leaves give comfort…” — so lying on a bed of neem leaves reduces the itching as well.

Q6.
Which parts of the neem tree are used to make medicines?
Answer

Five parts of the neem tree are used to make medicines — its leaves, bark, flowers, fruits and even its roots.

Neem Baba says it in one line: “Neem leaves, bark, flowers, fruits and even roots can be used to make medicines to cure many diseases.” Amber's own family proves it — her grandmother cured her cough with a medicine made from neem bark, and cured her father's eye-itching with a kajal made from neem flowers.

Tip: The answer to a ‘which parts’ question is a list. Write all five, in the order the text gives them — you may lose a mark for leaving one out.
Q7.
Why is the story of neem tree thought-provoking?
Answer

It is thought-provoking because a tree born in India carries a name given by another country, and a tree we walk past every day turns out to be one of the most useful plants on earth.

Neem Baba himself calls the story of his name “very thought-provoking”. He was born in India and was given the Sanskrit names Arishta (‘the one who cures diseases’), Nimba and Nimbaca — yet the name the whole world uses, ‘Neem’, was given by the Iranians. In India alone he has seven more names, and scientists have added ‘bitter grace of God’, ‘nature's gift to man’ and ‘cleanliness-parting tree’.

It makes us think about two things. First, that knowledge travels between countries — India gave the tree, Persia gave the name. Second, as Neem Baba puts it, “we become well known for what we do” — the neem is famous not because it is beautiful but because it is useful.

Meaning check: ‘Thought-provoking’ = interesting in a way that makes you think. So the answer must say what it makes us think about — not merely that the story is interesting.
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