Unit 6 (Mijbil the Otter)
Bishnois, Gangaram and pets
Punctuate a paragraph and write about coexistence with animals.
Editing: the Bishnois. Add capitals, full stops and commas. The Bishnois of Rajasthan treat caring for nature as part of their faith, and they have more than ten lakh followers. They protect blackbucks, chinkaras, vultures, great Indian bustards and peacocks (commas in a list), keep water in stone vessels for animals, and hang pots of water in trees for birds. Note the book's own typos here: 'Bisnois' and 'ishnois' should read Bishnois.
Rearranging sentences. Find the subject and verb first, then add the rest:
- Otters are found in large numbers in the marshes near Basra, a town in Iraq.
- We were fatigued on account of having walked so far to the market.
- The Nile is said to be longer than all other rivers in the eastern hemisphere.
One item reports a bombing in Pulwama in which 40 personnel were killed. Treat it as a grammar task only.
Listening: Gangaram. In Bawamohatra village (Chhattisgarh), people wept when their crocodile Gangaram died. He was over three metres long and, by a forest official's estimate, about 130 years old. He was friendly: children swam around him, he never harmed anyone, and he moved to the other side of the pond when people swam near. About 500 villagers came to his last rites. The village was called 'the Crocodile's village', and people plan a statue of him by the pond.
Speaking.
- Puppet dialogue: Mijbil has splashed water everywhere. Write short lines in character: Maxwell scolds, Mijbil pleads innocent, all is forgiven.
- Discussion (from 'The Bond of Love'): keeping big wild animals at home, unusual pets, animals in circuses, dancing monkeys and cock fights. Points to weigh: wild animals lose their habitat and freedom; circus training can be cruel.
Writing and projects.
- A paragraph on animal rights, using Gandhi's line that a nation's greatness can be judged by how it treats its animals, and Ingrid Newkirk's view that all animals feel pain and fear.
- Research: which animals may legally be imported or exported? (In India, the Wildlife (Protection) Act and the international agreement CITES control this trade.)
- Imagine a pet: draw it and fill a table: it has (webbed feet, soft fur), it can (swim, sing), it is (warm-blooded, a good hunter).
Practise this lesson
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