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Maharashtra Board Class 10 Solutions for English Reader – To My Beloved Motherland, India
Pre-reading Activities
Question 1:
Unity in Diversity
We know that India is a land of diversity. Form groups of four students each and complete the following table. Remember to write down the points that reveal the unity.
Answer:
Question 2:
Our Heroes
Look at the photographs in your textbook and complete the following table. Within your group select the personality and after discussion complete the following table. The group leader will present the information to the class.
Answer:
Question 3:
Duty towards the Motherland .
Form pairs and complete the web with appropriate responses. Think how you would like to serve the Motherland.
Answer:
i. Spread feeling of brotherhood
ii. Preserve historical monuments
iii. Help the poor
iv. Mutual trust and respect
v. Maintain unity
vi. Protect from enemies
Question 1:
Read the extract carefully and state whether the following statements are True or False.
i. The poet’s heart fills with sorrow for being bom here.
ii. India is referred to as the Motherland of the poet.
iii. The poet’s ancestors came from some other country.
iv. He will not spare any alien for a sum.
v. The soil has given him food to eat.
Answer:
i. False
ii. True
iii. False
iv. True
v. True
Question 2:
Match column A with B.
Answer:
(i – f), (ii – a), (iii – b), (iv – c), (v – d), (vi – e), (vii – h), (viii – i), (ix – g)
Question 3:
Match the following expressions from the extract.
Answer:
(i – c), (ii – d), (iii – a), (iv – b)
A2. Understanding the Extract
i. Answer in a paragraph.
Question 1:
Who is proud to be the son of India?
Answer:
The poet is proud to be the son of India.
Question 2:
Why does the narrator fell proud?
Answer:
The poet is ready to sacrifice his life for the sake of the Motherland. He would protect and safeguard it and is not ready to give even an inch of it to an alien in exchange of money
Question 3:
When is the poet’s soul filled with anguish?
Answer:
The poet’s soul is filled with anguish to see the havoc done to his Motherland.
Question 4:
Who is referred to as beloved in the poem?
Answer:
The poet’s motherland-India is referred to as beloved in the poem.
Question 5:
What should not be spared for a sum?
Answer:
Even an inch of the Motherland should not be spared to an alien for a sum.
Question 6:
Why is the poet not ready to give an inch of land?
Answer:
The poet is not ready to give an inch of land because it is his Motherland. It is the place where he was bom and his ancestors came from. He loves and respects his Motherland. So, he is not ready to give it to anyone.
Question 7:
What are the things that the poet has received from his Motherland?
OR
Mention the things received by the poet from his Motherland.
Answer:
The poet’s Motherland is the place where he had taken his first breath. The soil of his Motherland has given him food to eat and water to quench his thirst. The poet says that his Motherland has given him his heartbeat.
Question 8:
What is the poet ready to sacrifice for the Motherland?
Answer:
The poet is ready to sacrifice his life, his blood for the Motherland. ‘
Question 9:
What is the poet ready to do for the sake of the Motherland?
Answer:
Carter and wealth. He is ready to shed his blood anytime in future for his Motherland.
Question 10:
Complete the web with suitable responses. Write all the things the poet is ready to do for the motherland.
Answer:
i. adorn his Motherland with his life
ii. reduce all the havoc done to his Motherland
iii. protect every inch of his Motherland from aliens
iv. keep the dignity of his Motherland unchallenged
A3. Vocabulary
Question 1:
Glance through the extract and you will come across many words that are now old fashioned. Make a list of such words along in the table?
Answer:
Question 2:
Form a pair and find out the various rhyming words from the extract. Complete the following table after reading the extract.
Answer:
Question 3:
Find the rhyming words from the poem for:
i. dart ii. stare
Answer:
i. heart
ii. spare
Question 4:
Find and write down from the extract the words that describe the following.
i. Situation in which a lot of damage, destruction, etc. happens.
ii. Coming from a different country, race or group.
Answer:
i. havoc ii. alien
Question 5:
Find from the extract opposites of the following words.
i. sorrow ii. death
iii. last
Answer:
i. joy
ii. life
iii. first
Additional Questions for Practice
Question 1:
Read poem again the and after discussing with your partner answer the following questions.
*a. Why does the narrator feel proud?
Answer:
The narrator feels proud because he is a son of India. He also feels proud for taking birth in India.
*b. What feeling does the poem create in your mind?
Answer:
The poem evokes a patriotic feeling in my mind. It inspires me to respect and be proud of my motherland. It fills my heart with a strong desire to protect and safeguard it by sacrificing my life, if needed.
c. Are you proud of being an Indian? Why?
Answer:
Yes, I am proud of being an Indian. I feel that India offers a lot of career opportunities to students and people here are warm and welcoming. We have a rich cultural heritage and we celebrate vibrant festivals throughout the year. Our land is blessed with natural beauty. Apart from that, we are making progress towards being a developed country. With all these qualities, India is indeed a nation one can be proud of.
Question 2:
Complete
Look at the following starting expressions. Complete them with the thoughts of your own. One is done for yoii.
For example:
This is the place ……………….
This is the place of my dream.
i. This is the place of ……………..
Answer:
This is the place of my ancestors.
ii. This is the country ……………..
Answer:
This is the country of rich and varied heritage.
iii. This is the school ……………..
Answer:
This is the school that taught me to be myself.
iv. This is the family ……………
Answer:
This is the family that inculcated good values in me.
v. This is the mother ………………
Answer:
This is the mother who nurtured me with love and care.
Question 3:
Observing a poem
Observe the poem again with the following things in mind.
i. Number of stanzas ………..
Answer:
There are four stanzas in the poem.
ii. Number of lines in each stanza ………….
Answer:
There are four lines in each of the first three stanzas. There are only two lines in the last . stanza.
iii. Total number of lines …………….
Answer:
There are 14 lines in the poem.
This poem is a ‘sonnet’ where the 14 lines are broken down into sections called quatrains. The first three quatrains contain four lines each and the last quatrain contains two lines.
Question 4:
Changing word-order
i. Look at a line taken from the poem and the sentence prepared by changing the order of words.
a. Even an inch of it, I cannot hand, Now read..
Answer:
I cannot hand even an inch of the land.
b. Observe which line makes the meaning more clear.
Answer:
Line (b) makes the meaning more clear. It is written in the correct prose order (subject + verb + object).
ii. Now, select any line from the poem and change the word order and rewrite.
Answer:
a. My heart with joy leaps for being here bom
Correct order: My heart leaps with joy for being bom here.
b. My soul with anguish fills for havoc done
Correct order: My soul fills with anguish for havoc done.
Maharashtra Board Class 10 English Solutions
Question 5:
Be a poet
Look at the expressions that begin with
My India, I am ………………..
Now, try to complete these lines in the way you feel appropriate.
Answer:
My India, I am glad to be your son.
This is the air that gives life to each one.
This is the soil so very fertile.
This is the water that flows for a mile.
This is the place where the sun shines bright.