The Call of the Soil: A Scent of Rice
Ice Breakers Activities :
A-1
Discuss the following with your partner and complete the following sentences. One is done for you.
Answer-
(a) Before eating apples brought from the market, I wash and peel them off.
(b) In a farmers’ market, we find vegetables and fruits.
(c) Food adulteration means adding small quantity of non – nutritious substances intentionally to improve the appearance, texture or storage properties of the food.
(d) Organic food is grown by using natural materials, methods and conditions.
(e) Organic fertilizer means the fertilizers derived from animal matter or wastes, human excreta, vegetable matter (e.g. compost and crop residues)
A-2
Complete the following web diagram:
Rice varieties available at my Grocer’s shop
Complete the following web diagram:
| ————– | ————– | |
| Rice variety available at my grocer’s shop | ||
| ————– | ————– |
Answer-
| Ambe Mohar | Basmati | |
| Rice variety available at my grocer’s shop | ||
| Chinor | Indrayani |
A-3
Find out from your grandparents or parents the names of vegetables and fruits they had eaten in their childhood and mention how the vegetables and fruits are different from the ones today.
Answer-
| Name of the vegetables or fruit | Shape | Colour | Taste |
| Mango | Oval, heart shaped | Green – yellow | Sweet |
| Banana | C – shape | Green – yellow | Sweet |
| Lady’s finger | Oblong | Green | Crunchy |
A-4
You might have learnt about organic farming. Make groups and discuss the difference between conventional farming and organic farming and write it down.
Answer-
| Sr. No. | Conventional Farming | Organic Farming |
| 1 | Produce larger quantities of food | Produce lesser quantities of food |
| 2 | Less manual labour | More manual labour |
| 3 | Extra use of chemicals and pesticides may affect eco system | More ecological and good for health |
The Writer-
Venkateshwaran (Venkat) Iyer:
He was born in 1966. Venkateshwaran (Venkat) Iyer is a science graduate and a certified project management professional. After seventeen years in the IT industry, he quit in 2004 to live on his organic farm in Peth village in Dahanu Taluka, Palghar District, Maharashtra. He did experiment of organic farming in Peth and tried to show its importance. He now delivers lectures on organic farming. He has also joined hands with organic farmers and NGOs working in the organic field to propagate organic farming.
The topic: The Call of the Soil
Venkateshwaran (Venkat) Iyer’s book ‘Moong over Microchips’ traces his transition from techie to farmer. It was not a career change, but a life style change for the writer. He insisted on doing organic farming. He was firm in spite of numerous challenges which he faced. He became successful in his attempt. The topic ‘The Call of the Soil’ describes his journey to become a farmer who does organic farming.
Activities given in the margin of the text book:
Activity No. 1
Guess the meaning of the word ‘lush’ in this context.
Answer:-
Meaning of the word ‘lush’:- rich, prolific or luxuriant
Activity No. 2
Find words related to agriculture.
Answer:-
Words related to agriculture:- green pods, crop, farmer, sowing, seeds, plough, farming, tractor, yield, chemical sprays, fertilizers, hybrid and desi variety, rice, moong etc.
Activity No. 3
The write disagreed with Moru Dada because——-
Answer:-
He did not want to spray some pesticides on the plants to give a higher yield. He did not think that it was essential to use such chemicals.
Activity No. 4
The writer wanted to grow the traditional variety of rice because – 1)—— 2)—–
Answer:-
1) The traditional varieties were quite strong and resisted pests.
2) They did not need very high inputs of fertilizers.
Activity No. 5
The writer almost gave up hope of finding the desi variety of rice because—-
Answer:-
Most of the farmers in and around the village of Peth had switched over to hybrids. The younger generation of farmers considered planting desi variety as crazy thing. Writer’s visits to the villages around searching for a good traditional variety also did not give any results so the he almost gave up hope of finding the desi variety of rice.
Activity No. 6
Mention the varieties of rice from the passage.
Answer:-
1) Kasbai
2) Basmati
Activity No. 7
List ways in which the Government officer cooperated with the author.
1) —————-
2) —————-
3) —————-
Answer:-
1) Gave the names of a number of latest hybrid varieties.
2) Offered to give the writer some of the latest varieties free of cost for a trial.
3) Asked not to believe on the words of the villagers.
Activity No. 8
Find synonyms for ‘insipid’.
Answer:-
tasteless or flavourless.
Brainstorming
(A1) (i) Read the extract and state whether the following statements are true or false. Correct the false statements.
(a) Growing in abundance is more important than the quality of the crop.
Answer:-
False : Quality should be given more important.
(b) The author wanted to grow the desi variety of rice.
Answer:-
True
(c) The author did not succeed in finding Kasbai.
Answer:-
False : The author finally succeeded in finding Kasbai at Asarvari village.
(d) The aroma of the ‘desi’ rice would spread around the village.
Answer:-
True
(e) Newer hybrid crops have a great appetite for chemicals.
Answer:-
True
(f) The author is an example of ‘reverse migration’.
Answer:-
True
Activity:-
Complete the flow chart. Consider this as an example of
Note-Making.
Discovery of Kasbai rice.
Answer-
| April 2005- Writer started search for Kasbai rice variety. |
| No help from Agricultural officer to find Kasbai variety. |
| Devu Handa knew about Kasbai variety. |
| Devu Handa suggested to visit Adivasi remote village Asarvari. |
| Got Kasbai from the Adivasi woman in the remote area. |
Activity :- Read the text and fill in the blanks. One is done for you.
(a) The author wanted to grow organic moong.
(b) Moru Dada wanted to spray pesticides on the moong crop.
(c) Baban’s father and some elders mentioned the name of Kasbai, the desi rice variety.
(d) “Hybrids need more water, fertilizers and pesticides”, said Devu Handa.
(e) The author bought 10 kilos of rice from an Adivasi woman who lived in remote hills.
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The Call of the Soil- Activity sheet
| Activity Sheet No. 1 |
Q. Read the extract and complete the activities given below. (12)
| The next thing Moru Dada wanted to do was spray some pesticide on the plants. He claimed that it would give a higher yield. This was something we did not want to do. We were clear that we would not use any chemicals and tried to explain it to him. He reacted as if we had suggested hara-kiri. It took a lot of convincing to ensure that Moru Dada and his friends did not use any chemicals on the farm. They refused to understand how crops could grow without sprays. Contrary to what everyone had told us, nature did her job and she needed no bribes to get the work done. Soon it was harvest time and we managed a respectable 300 kilograms. An awful lot of moong and with it a lot of confidence. Now I was certain the land was fertile and that it was possible to grow crops without chemicals. It was a major morale booster. The Scent of Rice The first year I was late for the rice-sowing season and had to resort to growing the GR4 variety that was short term and recommended by the agricultural officers at Kosbad. The next year we decided that we would start early and try to find some good traditional variety of rice to grow. We had read about traditional varieties of rice and knew that they did not require very high inputs of fertilizers. These varieties were also quite strong and resisted pests. We were sure that it was this type of rice that would grow well in our farm where we did not use any chemicals at all. Our previous year’s experience and low yield had taught us a lesson and we were sure we would not plant hybrids this year. In April 2005, we started to look for a good variety of traditional rice. It was one of our neighbours in the village, a businessman from Mumbai who owned land, who suggested that we plant a local scented variety of rice. Most of the farmers in and around the village of Peth had switched over to hybrids. The younger generation of farmers thought I was crazy to ask for the ‘desi’ variety, as they called it. My regular visits to the villages around searching for a good traditional variety also did not yield any results and we were almost giving up hope. |
A1. True or False (2)
Rewrite the following statements and state whether they are true or false.
1) Most of the farmers used hybrid seeds for sowing.
2) The writer needed traditional variety of rice.
3) The land of the narrator was not fertile.
4) The writer agreed to spray pesticides on the crop.
A2. Give reasons (2)
The writer wanted to grow the traditional variety of rice because————————-
A3. Guess (2)
The writer almost gave up hope of finding the desi variety of rice. Guess its reasons.
A4. Personal response. (2)
Note down any two major problems faced by the farmer nowadays in your locality.
A5. Language Study (2)
Do as directed.
1) It was a major morale booster.
(The correct transformation of this sentence into rhetorical question is—-)
i) It was a major morale booster, wasn’t it?
ii) What a major morale booster it was?
iii) Was it a major morale booster?
iv) Wasn’t it a major morale booster?
2) In April 2005, we started to look for a good variety of traditional rice.
(Choose the correct wh- type question giving the underlined words as answer)
i) Why did we start to look for a good variety of traditional rice?
ii) Where did we start to look for a good variety of traditional rice?
iii) When did we start to look for a good variety of traditional rice?
iv) How long did we start to look for a good variety of traditional rice?
A6. Vocabulary. (2)
Match word given under ‘A’ with their meaning under ‘B’.
| A | B |
| 1) morale | a) try to prevent |
| 2) resisted | b) capable of producing crops |
| 3) traditional | c) confidence |
| 4) fertile | d) conventional |
| Answer- |
A1.
1) Most of the farmers used hybrid seeds for sowing. – True
2) The writer needed traditional variety of rice. – True
3) The land of the narrator was not fertile. – False
4) The writer agreed to spray pesticides on the crop. – False
A2.
The writer wanted to grow the traditional variety of rice because-
1) They did not require very high inputs of fertilizers.
2) These varieties were also quite strong and resisted pests. They didn’t need pesticides.
A3.
Most of the farmers in and around the village of Peth had switched over to hybrids. The younger generation of farmers considered planting desi variety as crazy idea. Writer’s visits to the villages around searching for a good traditional variety also did not give any results. So he almost gave up hope of finding the desi variety of rice.
A4.
In my area the farmers face the problem of scarcity of water for farming and there is no guarantee of good price for their products. These are the two major problems faced by the farmers nowadays.
A5.
iv) Wasn’t it a major morale booster?
iii) When did we start to look for a good variety of traditional rice?
A6.
| A | B |
| 1) morale | confidence |
| 2) resisted | tried to prevent |
| 3) traditional | conventional |
| 4) fertile | capable of producing crops |
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