NCERT Solutions for Class 9th English Chapter 1 How I Taught My Grandmother to Read
Updated on 2026-09-19
About this chapter
How I Taught My Grandmother to Read (prose, pages 1–22): The story is built around a serial novel, Kashi Yatre by Triveni, running in the Kannada weekly Karmaveera . Krishtakka, the narrator’s grandmother, cannot read, so the narrator reads her the episode every Wednesday. One week the narrator is away at a wedding; the magazine arrives and the old woman can do nothing with it but rub her hands over the pages. That helplessness — not the missing episode — is what makes her cry. The turn of the story is a decision, not an accident. Krishtakka sets herself a syllabus, a teacher and a deadline: “I will keep Saraswati Puja day during Dassara as the deadline.” The narrator, aged twelve, laughs at her; the grandmother answers with the line the whole chapter rests on — “For a good cause if you ar
- How I Taught My Grandmother to Read (prose)
- How I Taught My Grandmother to Read
- Bharat Our Land (poem)
Quick revision
| Word or term | What it means | Where it appears in the chapter | Used in a fresh sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| ardent | keen; passionate | “her ardent desire to go to Kashi or Varanasi” (glossed on page 3) | She is an ardent reader of Kannada poetry. |
| punya | spiritual merit earned by a good or holy act | “worshipping Lord Vishweshwara is the ultimate punya” | Feeding the hungry is considered punya in every tradition. |
| savouring | enjoying it to the fullest | “savouring the freedom because all the elders were busy” (glossed on page 5) | We sat by the river, savouring the last hour of the holiday. |
| immensely | extremely | “I knew I loved her immensely” (glossed on page 7) | The crowd enjoyed the match immensely. |
| taken aback | surprised by something unexpected | “I was surprised and taken aback” when the grandmother touched her feet | I was taken aback when my name was read out first. |
| namaskara | a respectful greeting with folded hands or by touching the feet | “I did return her namaskara to her by touching her feet” | He offered a quiet namaskara before entering the shrine. |
| passed with flying colours | performed outstandingly | “my student had passed with flying colours” — the last line of the story | She passed with flying colours in the district test. |
| binomial | two words joined by and or or in a fixed order | “hide and seek”, taught on page 13 | “Part and parcel” is a binomial you cannot reverse. |
| peerless | having no equal | the refrain, “she’s peerless, let’s praise her!” | Her control over the veena is peerless. |
| hoary antiquity | very great and venerable age | “Of hoary antiquity is Bharat” | The temple’s hoary antiquity draws scholars from abroad. |
| sanctified | made holy | “many a sage has sanctified this land” | Years of prayer had sanctified the little courtyard. |
| refrain | a line repeated at fixed points in a poem | “she’s peerless, let’s praise her!” ends stanzas 1 and 3 | The refrain returns like a chorus after every verse. |
| allusion | an indirect reference the reader is expected to recognise | “the Buddha preached his dhamma here” | Calling him a Karna was an allusion to loyalty and sacrifice. |
| ode | a lyric of formal, elevated praise | Bharat Our Land itself, as item IX explains | Keats wrote an ode to a nightingale. |
Exercises
- How I Taught My Grandmother to Read (prose) — Reflect and Respond Page 1–2
- How I Taught My Grandmother to Read — Check Your Understanding Page 6–7
- How I Taught My Grandmother to Read — Check Your Understanding Page 9–10
- How I Taught My Grandmother to Read (prose) — Critical Reflection Page 10–13
- How I Taught My Grandmother to Read (prose) — Vocabulary and Structures in Context Page 13–16
- How I Taught My Grandmother to Read (prose) — Listen and Respond Page 17
- How I Taught My Grandmother to Read (prose) — Speaking Activity Page 17–18
- How I Taught My Grandmother to Read (prose) — Writing Task Page 19–20
- How I Taught My Grandmother to Read (prose) — Learning Beyond the Text Page 20–22
- Bharat Our Land (poem) — Reflect and Respond Page 23
- Bharat Our Land (poem) — Check Your Understanding Page 25–28
- Bharat Our Land (poem) — Critical Reflection Page 28–29
- Bharat Our Land (poem) — Vocabulary in Context Page 29–30
- Bharat Our Land (poem) — Listen and Respond Page 30–31
- Bharat Our Land (poem) — Speaking Activity Page 31–32
- Bharat Our Land (poem) — Writing Task Page 32
- Bharat Our Land (poem) — Learning Beyond the Text Page 32