NCERT Solutions Poorvi Chapter 4 The Winner — Let us do these activities before we read
Book page 115 Updated on2026-09-05
Q1.
Look at this picture. What are these children doing?
Answer
The four children in the picture are playing outdoors on the grass — blowing soap bubbles and running about to catch them.
The boy sitting on the right has a small bowl of soapy water and is blowing bubbles through a ring. The other three are chasing them: one girl runs forward with her arms out, a boy in an orange shirt bends and reaches for a bubble, and the boy in red jumps up with both hands raised to catch one before it floats away. They are all laughing.
Tip for a picture question: do not stop at “they are playing”. Say what they are playing and what each child is doing. That is what earns the marks.
Q2.
Where do you think they are?
Answer
They are outdoors on a wide, open patch of grass — most probably a park, a playground, or an open field near their homes.
The clues in the picture are the flat green ground stretching away on all sides, the flowering bush at the left edge, and the fact that there is no wall, furniture or road anywhere — only grass and sky. Children are also free to run in every direction, which they could not do in a courtyard or on a street.
Link to the poem: The children in ‘The Winner’ also play in an open outdoor space — “next to the creek / in our neighbour’s field”. This picture is preparing you for that setting.
Q3.
What is the time of the day?
Answer
It is evening — late afternoon, close to sunset.
Two clear clues prove it. First, the sky behind the children is a warm orange-golden colour, the colour of a sky just before the sun goes down. Second, and more definitely, every child throws a long shadow across the grass in front of him. Shadows are long only when the sun is low — early morning or late evening — and the golden sky settles it in favour of evening.
Why the book chose an evening picture: the poem you are about to read begins with a single word — “Evenings,” — and ends when the light finally runs out. The picture puts you in the right hour before you read the first line.
Q4.
Discuss the given questions with your classmates and teacher. When do you go to play after school?
Answer
Begin as the book suggests — I go to … — and give a clear time.
Sample answer: I go out to play at about half past four, after I have had my milk and finished the homework that has to be handed in the next morning. On Saturdays I go out much earlier, at three o’clock.
Tip: Use time expressions confidently — at four o’clock, after school, before sunset, as soon as I finish my homework, around dusk.
Q5.
Who do you play with?
Answer
Begin with the cue I play with … and name the people, not just “my friends”.
Sample answer: I play with the children of my lane — Ritu and Salma from the house next door, my cousin Arun, and my younger brother, who is only six but insists on joining every game.
Notice: the poem never names anybody either, but it says “we play ball” and “cold grass aches our feet”. Those two words are enough to tell us the speaker is one of a group of friends.
Q6.
Where do you go to play in the evening?
Answer
Use the cue The place I go to for playing … and describe the place in one or two details.
Sample answer: The place I go to for playing is the small park at the end of our lane. It has a neem tree in one corner, a broken swing, and enough flat ground for a kho-kho court that we mark out with chalk every evening.
Tip: If you play in a courtyard, a terrace, a school ground or the street outside your gate, say so honestly. The question is about your life, not about a perfect playground.
Q7.
Which games do you like playing?
Answer
Use the cue I like playing … and add why you like it. That one extra clause turns a list into an answer.
Sample answer: I like playing kho-kho best, because it is fast and everybody in the team gets a turn to run. I also like badminton, but only when there is no wind. On rainy days we play carrom on our veranda.
Q8.
When do you come back home?
Answer
Use the cue Sometimes I come back …, and mention what makes you stop — the time, the light, or someone calling.
Sample answer: I come back home at about six, when the street lights come on. Sometimes I come back later than that, when it is too dark to see the ball, and then my grandmother stands at the gate and scolds me all the way to the door.
This is exactly the poem’s ending: “trees creep close— / game’s over. / Night wins!” The children do not decide to stop; the darkness decides for them.