NCERT Solutions Poorvi Chapter 4 –183Harvest Hymn (Sarojini Naidu)

Q1.

I. In English, some letters are not pronounced in certain words. For example, in words like 'knife', 'knowledge', and 'know', the first letter 'k' is not pronounced. • In the words given below the letter 'n' is silent when it appears with 'm' at the end of the word: hymn, column, autumn, solemn. Now, say these words aloud. • In the words given below the letter 'b' is silent when it appears with 'm': womb, tomb, bomb, climb, comb. Now, say these words aloud.

Answer

Word	How it is said	Silent letter
hymn	him	final n
column	kol-uhm	final n
autumn	aw-tuhm	final n
solemn	sol-uhm	final n
womb	woom	b
tomb	toom	b
bomb	bom	final b
climb	klaim	b
comb	kohm	b

The pattern behind both lists: In every one of these words the silent letter comes after the /m/ at the end of the word — -mn or -mb. The letter is written because it used to be pronounced centuries ago, and because it comes back in related words. Say these pairs aloud and you will hear it return:

hymn → hymnal | column → columnist | autumn → autumnal | solemn → solemnity
bomb → bombard | crumb → crumble

Two more sets worth knowing: silent k before n (knee, knock, knit, knowledge), silent w before r (write, wrong, wrist, wrap), and silent t in listen, castle, whistle, often. Notice that hymn is the very word this unit's poem is named after.

Q2.

II. In our country, harvest is celebrated with the preparation of delicious dishes. Work in groups and make a presentation on any popular dish made during the harvest festival in your region. Use the prompts given in the box to make your presentation. Make sure that all the members share their views. Include: What is the dish called? Is it known by any other name in other parts of India? What ingredients are used? How is it prepared? How is it served? What does it taste like? What is the special ritual related to its preparation? Describe any special memory associated with it.

Answer

Method. Split the eight prompts among the group so that every member speaks — for example, one member on the name and ritual, one on ingredients, one on preparation and serving, one on taste and memory. Use the phrase table on page 183 to join the parts: greet the audience, introduce the members and topic, explain the structure, speak point by point, conclude, thank the audience. Practise once with a watch: three to four minutes is plenty.

Prompt	What to cover
Name and other names	the local name, and what the same dish is called elsewhere in India
Ingredients	list them; say which come from the new harvest
Preparation	three or four steps, in order — not a full recipe
Serving	what it is served on and with, and to whom first
Taste	use the taste words from this unit: sweet, tangy, bland, spicy
Ritual	the custom attached to it — offering, timing, direction, who cooks it
Memory	one short personal story, told by one member

Sample answer (Pongal, Tamil Nadu):
“Good morning to all of you gathered here. Today we, Meera, Arun and I, are here to tell you about Sakkarai Pongal, the dish that gives the Tamil harvest festival its name. Elsewhere in India the same sweet rice-and-jaggery dish is known as huggi in Karnataka and is close to what many of you call payasam or kheer.

We will start off with the ingredients. Sakkarai Pongal needs newly harvested rice, moong dal, jaggery, ghee, cashew nuts, raisins, cardamom and a little milk. The rice is the point of the dish — it must be from the new crop.

Following this, we will move on to how it is made. It is cooked outdoors in a clay pot, on a fire lit in the courtyard. When the milk and rice boil up and spill over the rim, everyone shouts ‘Pongalo Pongal!’ The spilling is not an accident — it is the whole ritual. Overflowing stands for a year of plenty, and the pot is always placed so that it faces the rising sun, because the festival is a thanksgiving to Surya, exactly as in the poem we have just read.

The next point we will deal with is how it is served and how it tastes. It is offered first to the sun, then served warm on a banana leaf. It is sweet and rich, with the deep smoky taste that jaggery gives, and soft cashews in it.

Finally, a memory. My grandmother will not let anyone else watch the pot. She says you must catch the exact second it boils over, or the shout comes too late.

To summarise, Sakkarai Pongal is not just a sweet dish — it is a way of saying thank you for the harvest. Thank you for your attention.”

What makes a presentation good rather than merely complete: one concrete detail the audience did not know (the pot facing the sunrise), and a real voice at the end. A list of ingredients delivered in a monotone answers the prompts and interests nobody.

NCERT Solutions Poorvi Chapter 4 –183Harvest Hymn (Sarojini Naidu) — Let us speak