NCERT Solutions Poorvi Chapter 5 Kalakritiyon ka Bharat — Let us think and reflect
Book page 136 Updated on2026-09-05
Q1.
Fill in the blanks: The designs for Aipan are taken from ________________ and ________________.
Answer
The designs for Aipan are taken from our cultural traditions and observations of nature.
Aakansha's own words are: “The designs are very beautiful and mathematical, and are based on our cultural traditions, and observations of nature.”
Did you know? Aipan designs are full of dots, squares, circles and triangles joined in exact patterns. That is why the text calls them mathematical.
Q2.
Dhokra metal craft is very old because it is ________________ old.
Answer
Dhokra metal craft is very old because it is 4000 years old.
Priyaranjan says, “My tribe practises a 4000-year-old metal craft named Dhokra.” That means it was already being practised at the time of the Indus Valley cities.
Q3.
A base is needed for coconut shell craft to make it ________________.
Answer
A base is needed for coconut shell craft to make it stable.
Chitra says, “Then we give it the shape we want, and make it stable by fixing a base under it.” A coconut shell is round, so without a flat base a bowl made from it would roll over and spill.
Word note: the footnote on page 135 explains stable as “not able to move”.
Q4.
Soft wood, ________________ and colours are used to make Kondapalli toys.
Answer
Soft wood, makku and colours are used to make Kondapalli toys.
Balamurali explains what makku is: “we use makku—a paste of tamarind seed powder and sawdust to join the pieces together.” It is the natural glue of the craft.
Q5.
Why does Akanksha’s family make Aipan?
Answer
Akanksha's family makes Aipan to decorate the home on happy and holy occasions — “on family functions and festivals”.
It is drawn “on floors and walls of puja rooms, and outside the main door of the home”, so it is both a decoration and a mark of welcome and auspiciousness. It is also a family tradition: the text says, “It is an art form made by the women in the family,” so each generation of women passes the designs on to the next.
Two reasons in one answer: a religious and festive reason (a beautiful, auspicious floor and doorway for a puja or a wedding) and a cultural reason (keeping alive the designs handed down by mothers and grandmothers).
Q6.
In Dhokra, why does wax come out of the small openings?
Answer
Because the clay-covered figure is put into the fire, and the heat melts the wax. Melted wax is a liquid, so it flows out through the small openings left in the clay.
Priyaranjan's words are: “we cover the figure with clay, and put it in the fire. The wax melts and comes out of small openings.”
Why the craftsman wants this to happen: When the wax runs out, it leaves behind an empty space inside the clay that is exactly the shape of the wax model. Molten brass is then poured into that empty space, “and the liquid metal takes the same shape as the wax.” The wax must leave so that the metal can take its place.
Did you know? This method is used all over the world and is called the lost-wax process. The famous ‘Dancing Girl’ of Mohenjo-daro was made in the same way.
Q7.
What is common in the toys made in Balamurali’s village and coconut shell craft in Kerala?
Answer
Several things are common between Kondapalli toys and Kerala's coconut shell craft:
Both use natural, eco-friendly material — soft wood from the hills, and the shell of a coconut. Nothing artificial is used, so both crafts are biodegradable.
Both are made by hand, step by step — shaping first, then joining or fixing, then finishing.
Both are polished or painted at the end to make them look beautiful — wood polish for the coconut shell, colours and enamel paints for the toys.
Both give us useful, everyday things — bowls and jewellery from the shells, toys and showpieces from the wood.
Both are old traditional crafts of a particular place, passed down in the community.
Tip: For a “what is common” question, do not describe the two things separately. Write only the points where they meet, one point per line.