NCERT Solutions Poorvi Chapter 3 North, South, East, West (postcards by C.G. Salamander) — Let us do these activities before we read

Book page 118 Updated on2026-09-05

Q1.
I Work in pairs. Discuss the place that you have enjoyed travelling to. Talk about who you went with, how you travelled, and what you learnt from the experience.
Answer

Cover the three parts the question asks for — who, how, and what you learnt — and finish with the 'learnt' part, because that is what makes it more than a holiday report.

Sample answer: The place I enjoyed most was Hampi, where I went last December with my parents and my cousin. We took an overnight bus from Bengaluru and then walked and cycled almost everywhere, because the ruins are spread over nearly twenty-six square kilometres. What I learnt was two things. First, that a place can teach you history better than a chapter can — standing inside the Vittala temple and hearing a pillar ring like a bell told me more about Vijayanagara than any date I had memorised. Second, that travelling slowly is worth it: the day we cycled instead of taking an auto, we found a boulder field full of langurs and a coracle boatman who explained how the round boats are made from bamboo and buffalo hide.

Tip: If you have not travelled far, write about a nearby place — a fair, a relative's village, a school picnic. The question is about what you noticed, not about distance.
Q2.
II Which State or Union Territory of India do you live in? Write the following details about it. 1. Part of the country—North, East, Northeast, West, South or Centre 2. Its capital 3. Language 4. River(s) 5. Tourist attraction 6. Food
Answer

Fill in the six rows for your own State or Union Territory. Two filled examples are given below so that you can see the level of detail expected.

DetailSample 1 — Tamil NaduSample 2 — Uttar Pradesh
1. Part of the countrySouthNorth
2. Its capitalChennaiLucknow
3. LanguageTamilHindi
4. River(s)Kaveri, Vaigai, Thamirabarani, PalarGanga, Yamuna, Gomti, Ghaghara
5. Tourist attractionThe shore temple at Mahabalipuram; the Pamban bridge and RameswaramThe Taj Mahal at Agra; the ghats of Varanasi
6. FoodIdli, dosai, pongal, chettinad curry, filter coffeeTehri, bedhai-jalebi, Awadhi biryani, petha, malaiyo
Tip: Shaana comes from Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu — that is why the Pamban bridge postcard means 'almost home' to her. Keep your own State's row handy; you will need it again for the crossword on page 134.
Q3.
III Work in pairs. Recall the names of the states of our country which have 'Pradesh' in their names. Mention if it is in the North, East, Northeast, West, South or Centre of our country. Recall any special feature about each 'Pradesh'. Share your answers with your classmates and the teacher.
Answer

India has five States with 'Pradesh' in the name. (Pradesh simply means 'region' or 'province'.)

First part of the nameSecond partPart of the countrySpecial feature
HimachalPradeshNorth'Land of snow'; the Himalayan hill stations of Shimla, Manali and Dharamshala; apple orchards.
UttarPradeshNorthIndia's most populous State; the Taj Mahal at Agra and the ghats of Varanasi on the Ganga.
MadhyaPradeshCentre'Heart of India'; Khajuraho temples, the Bhimbetka rock shelters and Kanha tiger reserve.
ArunachalPradeshNortheast'Land of the dawn-lit mountains' — the Sun rises here first in India; thick forests, red pandas, the Tawang monastery.
AndhraPradeshSouthLong Bay of Bengal coastline; the Krishna and Godavari deltas; Tirupati; Amaravati as capital.
Why it happens: This is exactly Shaana's own discovery in her second postcard — 'Did you know that Arunachal Pradesh is far away from Himachal Pradesh? … I thought all the Pradesh states sat next to each other.' A shared word in a name says nothing about where a place is: Himachal is in the north-west Himalaya, Arunachal in the far north-east, roughly 2,000 km apart.
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