Q1.
I. Work in pairs to complete the table on pankha. Share your answers with your classmates and teacher.
Pages 73–74 — the table as printed, with its blanks left empty.
| State | Type of Fan | Material Used |
|---|---|---|
| Rajasthan | appliqué hand fan | ____________ |
| ____________ | gold thread | |
| temple hand fans | ____________ | |
| Gujarat | mirror work hand fans | ____________ |
| ____________ | beads | |
| ____________ | leather, decorated with thread and wool | |
| West Bengal | sola hand fans | ____________ |
| Uttar Pradesh | ____________ | pure gold, silver zari, silk and satin frills |
| Bihar | ____________ | bamboo |
Answer
The completed table (the answers in bold are the ones you had to supply):
| State | Type of Fan | Material Used |
|---|---|---|
| Rajasthan | appliqué hand fan | pieces of fabric in different shapes and patterns, sewn on to another cloth with ornamental needlework |
| Rajasthan | zardozi hand fan | gold thread (“glittering ornate and encrusted gold threadwork”) |
| Rajasthan | temple hand fans | engraved brass, with a long handle |
| Gujarat | mirror work hand fans | pure cotton, embellished with mirror work |
| Gujarat | beads hand fan (with a silver handle) | beads |
| Gujarat (Kutch) | hand-stitched leather hand fans | leather, decorated with thread and wool |
| West Bengal | sola hand fans | the milky-white spongy centre of the sola, a water grass |
| Uttar Pradesh | Phadh hand fans | pure gold, silver zari, silk and satin frills |
| Bihar | colourful and sturdy bamboo hand fans | bamboo |
Why the blanks are placed as they are: the table is a reading test in disguise. Three consecutive rows leave the State blank after Rajasthan and three after Gujarat, because the text keeps the state name only in the first sentence of each paragraph and then says “Furthermore, the zardozi hand fan of Rajasthan…”, “In Rajasthan, temple hand fans are popular too”, “Kutch is recognised for…”. The linking words — furthermore, too, and the place-name Kutch — are what carry the state forward. Track those and the blanks fill themselves.
Did you know? Two more fans appear in the same paragraphs but are left out of the table — Rajasthan’s painted hand fan, “a cardboard pankha featuring various images… usually offered to gods”, and Bengal’s palm-leaf Tal Patar Pankha. Odisha’s large palm leaf fans complete the list.