Glimpses of India — Class 10 English
First Flight · Chapter 5
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Chapter summary
The story in steps
- The writer remembers Goa’s village bakers, whose bread and sweet loaves remain important in daily life and festivals.
- He recalls the baker’s dress, his musical entry, and how children wait eagerly for bread and buns.
- The next piece describes Coorg as a beautiful coffee land with forests, wildlife, brave people, and adventure activities.
- It tells of the Kodavus’ courage, hospitality, possible origins, and their special place in Indian military history.
- In the last piece, Rajvir and Pranjol travel by train to Assam and watch the wide green tea gardens.
- Rajvir shares tea legends and facts, and they finally enter Dhekiabari, Pranjol’s tea estate, through the plantations.
Key ideas & terms
- A Baker from Goa
- A piece on Goa’s traditional Portuguese-era bakers, the pader.
- Coorg
- A scenic coffee-growing region of Karnataka and its Kodava people.
- Tea from Assam
- A piece on Assam’s vast tea gardens and the legends of tea.
- Pader
- The traditional Goan baker whose bread is part of every celebration.
- Kodavas
- The hospitable, martial people of Coorg.
- Rajvir and Pranjol
- The two friends travelling through the Assam tea gardens.
शब्दार्थ · Word meanings
- bolinj
- a sweet Goan bread
- pader
- Goan village baker
- kabai
- a long single-piece frock
- jostling
- pushing roughly in a crowd
- patty
- small filled pastry
- verandahs
- open spaces in front of houses
- evergreen
- remaining green throughout the year
- martial
- connected with war or soldiers
- descent
- family origin
- sprightly
- lively and full of energy
- pruned
- cut back to help growth
- orchards
- gardens of fruit trees
Extra questions & answers
Why are the Goan bakers still important to the people of Goa?
Their bread and sweets remain essential to Goan festivals, marriages and daily life, keeping an old Portuguese tradition alive.
What makes Coorg a special place?
Its evergreen rainforests, coffee plantations, abundant wildlife, adventure sports and the brave, hospitable Kodava people make it like a piece of heaven.
What legends about the origin of tea are mentioned?
A Chinese legend about an emperor whose drink was flavoured by tea leaves, and an Indian legend about Bodhidharma using tea leaves to stay awake.
What is common to the three pieces in “Glimpses of India”?
Each celebrates the rich culture, traditions, landscapes and simple pleasures of a different region of India.
What childhood memories does the writer of “A Baker from Goa” cherish?
He fondly recalls the traditional Goan baker, the jingle of his bamboo staff, the morning and evening bread, and the sweet bread that is part of every celebration.
Why does the baker remain important in Goan society?
Goan festivals, marriages and feasts are incomplete without his bread and bol; his profession and cheerful presence remain woven into daily Goan life.
What makes the people and culture of Coorg special?
The Kodavas are brave, hospitable and proud of their warrior traditions; possibly of Greek or Arab descent, they have distinctive customs, valour and love of their land.
What attractions does Coorg offer visitors?
Evergreen rainforests, coffee and spice plantations, abundant wildlife, river rafting, rock climbing and trekking make it a place of natural beauty and adventure.
What legends about tea does Rajvir share with Pranjol?
He recounts a Chinese legend about an emperor and the story of the monk Bodhidharma, and explains that tea was first drunk in China before spreading worldwide.
What does “Tea from Assam” reveal about the tea gardens?
Assam has the world’s largest concentration of tea plantations; the lush green gardens, busy with workers plucking leaves, present a beautiful and orderly sight.
BEFORE YOU READ
1. What images — of people and of places — come to your mind, when you think of our country?
I imagine a varied country filled with villages, towns, forests, hills, plantations and busy communities. The chapter presents memorable images such as Goan bakers carrying baskets of bread, the misty hills and coffee estates of Coorg, and the vast tea gardens of Assam.
2. What parts of India have you lived in, or visited? Can you name some popular tourist destinations?
A sample response is: I have visited Goa and Karnataka. Goa is known for its distinctive cultural traditions, while Coorg in Karnataka attracts visitors with its rainforests, coffee plantations, hills, wildlife and adventure activities.
3. You may know that apart from the British, the Dutch and the French, the Portuguese have also played a part in the history of our country. Can you say which parts of India show French and Portuguese influences?
The chapter clearly shows Portuguese influence in Goa, especially in its tradition of baking leavened bread. The attached text does not identify the parts of India that show French influence.
4. Can you say which parts of India grow (i) tea, (ii) coffee?
(i) The chapter identifies Assam as an important tea-growing region. (ii) It identifies Coorg, or Kodagu, in Karnataka as a major coffee-growing region.
Oral Comprehension Check
1. What are the elders in Goa nostalgic about?
The elders in Goa fondly remember the old Portuguese days and the famous loaves of bread associated with them.
2. Is bread-making still popular in Goa? How do you know?
Yes. The mixers, moulders and bakers are still present, the old furnaces continue to operate, and the sound of the baker's bamboo can still be heard in some places.
3. What is the baker called?
The baker is called a pader in Goa.
4. When would the baker come everyday? Why did the children run to meet him?
The baker came at least twice a day: once in the morning during his selling round and again after he had emptied his basket. The children ran to meet him because they eagerly wanted bread-bangles and, at times, specially made sweet bread.
Oral Comprehension Check
1. (i) as marriage gifts?
sweet bread called bol
1. (ii) for a party or a feast?
bread
1. (iii) for a daughter's engagement?
sandwiches
1. (iv) for Christmas?
cakes and bolinhas
2. What did the bakers wear: (i) in the Portuguese days? (ii) when the author was young?
(i) In the Portuguese days, bakers wore the kabai, a single-piece long frock reaching down to the knees. (ii) During the author's childhood, they wore shirts with trousers that were shorter than full-length trousers but longer than half pants.
3. Who invites the comment — "he is dressed like a pader"? Why?
A person wearing half pants that reach just below the knees invites this comment because such clothing resembles the trousers worn by Goan bakers during the author's childhood.
4. Where were the monthly accounts of the baker recorded?
The monthly accounts were recorded in pencil on a wall.
5. What does a 'jackfruit-like appearance' mean?
It means a pleasantly fat, rounded or plump physical appearance.
Thinking about the Text
1. Which of these statements are correct?
Statements (i), (ii) and (v) are correct. Statements (iii), (iv), (vi) and (vii) are incorrect.
1. (i) The pader was an important person in the village in old times.
Correct. Bread was essential for marriages, engagements, feasts, Christmas and other festivals.
1. (ii) Paders still exist in Goan villages.
Correct. The text states that the baking tradition continues and that the sons of bakers still carry on the family profession.
1. (iii) The paders went away with the Portuguese.
Incorrect. Although the Portuguese and the old consumers may have disappeared, the bakers and their descendants remain.
1. (iv) The paders continue to wear a single-piece long frock.
Incorrect. The single-piece kabai belonged to the Portuguese period. Later bakers wore shirts and trousers of a distinctive length.
1. (v) Bread and cakes were an integral part of Goan life in the old days.
Correct. They were required for marriages, engagements, parties, feasts, Christmas and other celebrations.
1. (vi) Traditional bread-baking is still a very profitable business.
Incorrect. The text says that baking was profitable in the old days, but it does not establish that it remains very profitable today.
1. (vii) Paders and their families starve in the present times.
Incorrect. The text says that bakers and their families never starved and appeared happy and prosperous.
2. Is bread an important part of Goan life? How do you know this?
Yes. Sweet bread called bol is expected as a marriage gift, bread is necessary at parties and feasts, sandwiches are prepared for engagements, and cakes and bolinhas are essential at Christmas and other festivals.
3. (i) The thud and the jingle of the traditional baker's bamboo can still be heard in some places. (nostalgic, hopeful, sad)
nostalgic
3. (ii) Maybe the father is not alive but the son still carries on the family profession. (nostalgic, hopeful, sad)
hopeful
3. (iii) I still recall the typical fragrance of those loaves. (nostalgic, hopeful, naughty)
nostalgic
3. (iv) The tiger never brushed his teeth. Hot tea could wash and clean up everything so nicely, after all. (naughty, angry, funny)
funny
3. (v) Cakes and bolinhas are a must for Christmas as well as other festivals. (sad, hopeful, matter-of-fact)
matter-of-fact
3. (vi) The baker and his family never starved. They always looked happy and prosperous. (matter-of-fact, hopeful, sad)
matter-of-fact
Writing
I. the way bread was baked
Bread was baked in old, time-tested furnaces whose fires continued to burn.
I. the way the pader sold bread
The pader carried a large basket on his head, announced his arrival by striking a specially made bamboo staff on the ground and delivered bread from house to house.
I. what the pader wore
He wore a shirt and trousers that were shorter than full-length trousers but longer than half pants.
I. when the pader was paid
He collected payment at the end of the month.
I. how the pader looked
He looked plump, healthy, happy and prosperous.
I. Then write a paragraph about the author's childhood days.
During the author's childhood in Goa, the village baker was a familiar and welcome figure. He visited the houses twice a day and announced his arrival with the musical thud and jingle of his bamboo staff. He carried a basket of fresh loaves on his head and delivered bread to the household servant. The children eagerly climbed benches or parapets to look into his basket because they loved bread-bangles and sweet bread. The pader wore a shirt with trousers of a distinctive length, collected his bills at the end of each month and appeared healthy and prosperous.
II. 1. Compare the piece from the text (on the left below) with the other piece on Goan bakers (on the right). What makes the two texts so different? Are the facts the same? Do both writers give you a picture of the baker?
Both pieces present similar basic facts: Goan bakers survived after the Portuguese period, bread-making remained a family tradition, and Portuguese influence shaped Goan bread. However, their styles differ. The first piece is personal, descriptive and nostalgic. It uses memories, sounds and images to make the baker come alive. The second is more factual and explanatory, concentrating on the survival of paders, door-to-door delivery and the inheritance of baking skills. Both provide a picture of the baker, but the first creates a more vivid and emotional portrait.
II. 2. Now find a travel brochure about a place you have visited. Look at the description in the brochure. Then write your own account, adding details from your own experience, to give the reader a picture of the place, rather than an impersonal, factual description.
Coorg seemed to emerge from the mist as a quiet world of green hills, thick forests and coffee estates. The air felt fresh and carried the rich smell of coffee. Tall trees formed canopies over the plantations, while birds and butterflies moved through the greenery. From the Brahmagiri hills, the landscape opened into a wide, mist-covered view. The rope bridge to Nisargadhama and the colourful robes of Buddhist monks near Bylakuppe made the journey feel full of unexpected discoveries.
Group Discussion
1. In groups, collect information on how bakeries bake bread now and how the process has changed over time.
The text describes the older Goan method as a family-based craft using age-old furnaces, hand mixing and moulding, and door-to-door delivery by a pader carrying a basket. A group presentation based strictly on the chapter can explain that the traditional process depended on inherited skills, local furnaces, personal delivery and monthly household accounts. The attached text does not provide details of present-day machinery or modern commercial production.
2. There are a number of craft-based professions which are dying out. Pick one of the crafts below. Make a group presentation to the class about the skills required, and the possible reasons for the decline of the craft. Can you think of ways to revive these crafts?
Pottery requires the ability to prepare clay, shape it carefully, create balanced forms, dry the objects and fire them properly. A traditional craft may decline when handmade products lose customers, younger people choose other occupations or craftspeople do not receive fair payment. It can be revived through school exhibitions, local fairs, training programmes, direct sales, attractive modern designs and greater public awareness of handmade work.
Thinking about the Text
1. Where is Coorg?
Coorg, also called Kodagu, is the smallest district of Karnataka. It lies midway between Mysore and the coastal town of Mangalore.
2. What is the story about the Kodavu people's descent?
One story says that a part of Alexander's army travelled south along the coast and settled in Coorg when returning became impractical. They married local people, and their influence is believed to remain visible in Kodavu martial traditions, marriage customs and religious practices. Another theory connects them with Arab ancestry because their kuppia resembles the kuffia worn by Arabs and Kurds.
3. (i) the people of Coorg?
The people of Coorg are described as fiercely independent, brave and hospitable. They have strong martial traditions and willingly recount stories of courage connected with their families.
3. (ii) the main crop of Coorg?
Coffee is the main crop highlighted in the text, and coffee plantations are a defining feature of the region.
3. (iii) the sports it offers to tourists?
Coorg offers river rafting, canoeing, rappelling, rock climbing, mountain biking and trekking along numerous walking trails.
3. (iv) the animals you are likely to see in Coorg?
Visitors may see elephants, macaques, Malabar squirrels, langurs, slender lorises and mahaseer fish. The region also has kingfishers, other birds, bees and butterflies.
3. (v) its distance from Bangalore, and how to get there?
Coorg is about 250–260 kilometres from Bangalore by road. The most frequently used road route goes through Mysore, while another goes through Neelamangal, Kunigal and Chanrayanapatna. The nearest railheads are Mysore, Mangalore and Hassan, and the nearest airports listed are Mangalore and Bangalore.
4. (i) During monsoons it rains so heavily that tourists do not visit Coorg. (para 2)
During the monsoons, it pours enough to keep many visitors away.
4. (ii) Some people say that Alexander's army moved south along the coast and settled there. (para 3)
As one story goes, a part of Alexander's army moved south along the coast and settled here.
4. (iii) The Coorg people are always ready to tell stories of their sons' and fathers' valour. (para 4)
They are more than willing to recount numerous tales of valour related to their sons and fathers.
4. (iv) Even people who normally lead an easy and slow life get smitten by the high-energy adventure sports of Coorg. (para 6)
The most laidback individuals become converts to the life of high-energy adventure.
4. (v) The theory of the Arab origin is supported by the long coat with embroidered waist-belt they wear. (para 3)
The theory of Arab origin draws support from the long, black coat with an embroidered waist-belt worn by the Kodavus.
4. (vi) Macaques, Malabar squirrels observe you carefully from the tree canopy. (para 7)
Macaques, Malabar squirrels, langurs and slender loris keep a watchful eye from the tree canopy.
Thinking about Language
1. (i) culture:
unique culture; ancient culture
1. (ii) monks:
serious monks; ancient monks
1. (iii) surprise:
sudden surprise; terrible surprise
1. (iv) experience:
unforgettable experience; terrible experience
1. (v) weather:
terrible weather; sudden weather change
1. (vi) tradition:
ancient tradition; unique tradition
2. (i) tales of ______
valour; courage
2. (ii) coastal ______
town; region
2. (iii) a piece of ______
heaven; land
2. (iv) evergreen ______
rainforests; trees
2. (v) ______ plantations
coffee; tea
2. (vi) ______ bridge
rope; wooden
2. (vii) wild ______
elephants; creatures
Thinking about Language
I. 1. (i) A heavy ______ has been forecast due to low pressure in the Bay of Bengal.
downpour
I. 1. (ii) Rakesh will ______ major surgery tomorrow morning.
undergo
I. 1. (iii) My brother is responsible for the ______ of our family property.
upkeep
I. 1. (iv) The ______ rate for this accountancy course is very high.
dropout
I. 1. (v) She went to the Enterprise Company to attend a ______ interview.
walk-in
I. 2. (i) The Army attempted unsuccessfully to ______ the Government. (throw)
overthrow
I. 2. (ii) Scientists are on the brink of a major ______ in cancer research. (break)
breakthrough
I. 2. (iii) The State Government plans to build a ______ for Bhubaneswar to speed up traffic on the main highway. (pass)
bypass
I. 2. (iv) Gautama's ______ on life changed when he realised that the world is full of sorrow. (look)
outlook
I. 2. (v) Rakesh seemed unusually ______ after the game. (cast)
downcast
II. 1. (i) How would you describe a good detective serial on television?
interesting
II. 1. (ii) How would you describe a debate on your favourite topic 'Homework Should Be Banned'?
exciting
II. 1. (iii) How would you describe how you feel when you stay indoors due to incessant rain?
bored
II. 1. (iv) How would you describe how you feel when you open a present?
excited
II. 1. (v) How would you describe how you feel when you watch your favourite programme on television?
interested
II. 1. (vi) How would you describe the look on your mother's face as you waited in a queue?
bored
II. 1. (vii) How would you describe how you feel when tracking a tiger in a tiger reserve forest?
excited
II. 1. (viii) How would you describe the story you have recently read, or a film you have seen?
interesting
II. 2. Now use the adjectives in the exercise above, as appropriate, to write a paragraph about Coorg.
Coorg is an exciting destination with an unforgettable landscape of misty hills, evergreen forests and coffee plantations. Visitors interested in nature can watch birds, butterflies and animals from the walking trails. Adventure lovers feel excited by rafting, canoeing, rappelling and mountain biking. The panoramic view from the Brahmagiri hills is inspiring, and the region's unique culture and ancient traditions make the journey especially interesting.
Speaking and Writing
1. Collect information about tea, e.g. its evolution as a drink, its beneficial qualities. You can consult an encyclopedia or visit Internet websites. Then form groups of five and play the following roles: Imagine a meeting of a tea planter, a sales agent, a tea lover (consumer), a physician and a tea-shop owner. Each person in the group has to put forward his/her views about tea. You may use the following words and phrases.
Tea planter: I would like you to know that tea plantations are carefully maintained and that the second-flush period from May to July yields the best tea. Sales agent: I think that tea appeals to a large number of people and can be presented as a refreshing everyday drink. Tea lover: I feel that tea is enjoyable because of its warmth, flavour and ability to make an ordinary break pleasant. Physician: It is important to know that the passage mentions scientific attempts to establish tea's beneficial qualities and notes that Chinese and Japanese traditions attributed medicinal properties to it. Tea-shop owner: I agree that tea is widely popular, and I suggest serving it fresh so that customers can enjoy its taste and aroma.
2. You are the sales executive of a famous tea company and you have been asked to draft an advertisement for the product. Draft the advertisement using the information you collected for the role play. You can draw pictures or add photographs and make your advertisement colourful.
DISCOVER THE FRESH TASTE OF ASSAM TEA! Enjoy a steaming cup made from carefully plucked young leaves grown across Assam's beautiful tea country. Rich in flavour, refreshing in aroma and perfect for sharing, every cup brings the freshness of green plantations to your day. Begin your morning or brighten your break with a warm and satisfying brew.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Get your students to arrange an exhibition of photographs of different places in India — good sources are travel articles in Sunday newspapers, or in travel magazines, or in brochures available at travel agents. Ask students to bring in two or three pictures each, accompanied by a short, neatly hand-written write-up on the place shown in the pictures. Arrange them on your classroom walls. Let the students study them. They can then discuss, and later vote on the place they would most like to see.
A suitable exhibition can be organised around the three regions presented in the chapter. One display may show Goa's traditional bakers and bread culture, another may present Coorg's hills, forests and coffee plantations, and a third may show Assam's tea gardens and tea-pluckers. Each photograph should have a short description explaining what makes the place distinctive. After viewing the displays, students can discuss the scenery, culture and activities of each region and vote for the destination they would most like to visit.
The Trees
Can there be a forest without trees? Where are the trees in this poem, and where do they go?
A real forest cannot exist without trees. In the poem, the trees are confined inside a house, with their roots in the veranda floor and their leaves and branches pressing against the glass and roof. During the night, they struggle free and move out into the empty forest.
Thinking about the Poem
1. (i) Find, in the first stanza, three things that cannot happen in a treeless forest.
In a treeless forest, no bird can sit on branches, no insect can hide among leaves or bark, and the sun cannot bury its feet in the trees' shadows.
1. (ii) What picture do these words create in your mind: "… sun bury its feet in shadow…"? What could the poet mean by the sun's 'feet'?
The words create the picture of sunlight reaching the forest floor and disappearing beneath the deep shadows made by trees. The sun's 'feet' represent its rays touching the ground.
2. (i) Where are the trees in the poem? What do their roots, their leaves, and their twigs do?
The trees are inside a house. Their roots work to free themselves from cracks in the veranda floor, their leaves strain towards the glass, and their small twigs become stiff with the effort of moving out.
2. (ii) What does the poet compare their branches to?
The poet compares the long-cramped branches to newly discharged patients who are half-dazed and move slowly towards the clinic doors.
3. (i) How does the poet describe the moon: (a) at the beginning of the third stanza, and (b) at its end? What causes this change?
(a) At the beginning, the whole moon shines in an open sky. (b) At the end, it appears broken like a mirror, with its pieces flashing in the crown of the tallest oak. The change occurs because the branches of the trees divide the view of the moon into separate shining fragments.
3. (ii) What happens to the house when the trees move out of it?
The house becomes quiet and empty of the forest-like presence that had filled it. The smell of leaves and lichen lingers briefly in the rooms, but the whispers will become silent after the trees have departed.
3. (iii) Why do you think the poet does not mention "the departure of the forest from the house" in her letters? (Could it be that we are often silent about important happenings that are so unexpected that they embarrass us? Think about this again when you answer the next set of questions.)
The poet may avoid mentioning the departure because it is strange, unexpected and difficult to explain. She may also be so absorbed in witnessing the trees' struggle for freedom that ordinary words in a letter seem inadequate. Her silence suggests that people sometimes fail to speak about events that are important but unsettling.
4. Now that you have read the poem in detail, we can begin to ask what the poem might mean. Here are two suggestions. Can you think of others?
The poem may also represent a general desire for freedom. Anything confined in an unnatural space eventually struggles to return to its proper place. The movement of the trees can therefore suggest resistance to restriction, the recovery of identity and the renewal of a world that had become empty.
4. (i) Does the poem present a conflict between man and nature? Compare it with A Tiger in the Zoo. Is the poet suggesting that plants and trees, used for 'interior decoration' in cities while forests are cut down, are 'imprisoned', and need to 'break out'?
Yes. The poem can be read as a conflict between human control and the natural need for freedom. The trees have been brought indoors while the real forest stands empty, so they struggle to escape their confinement. Like the tiger restricted by a cage, the trees are separated from their natural environment. Their movement outward suggests that nature cannot remain permanently imprisoned for human display or convenience.
4. (ii) On the other hand, Adrienne Rich has been known to use trees as a metaphor for human beings; this is a recurrent image in her poetry. What new meanings emerge from the poem if you take its trees to be symbolic of this particular meaning?
If the trees represent human beings, their movement becomes a struggle against oppression and confinement. The roots, leaves and branches show people gathering strength, reaching towards freedom and escaping restrictions that have limited them for a long time. The empty forest may represent a society waiting to be filled by people who have regained their independence and rightful place.
5. You may read the poem 'On Killing a Tree' by Gieve Patel (Beehive – Textbook in English for Class IX, NCERT). Compare and contrast it with the poem you have just read.
The attached PDF contains the complete poem "The Trees" but does not include the text of "On Killing a Tree." From "The Trees," it is clear that nature is personified as actively struggling to escape confinement and return to the forest. A complete comparison of imagery, tone and treatment cannot be made from the attached file alone because the other poem is not reproduced here.
Homophones
Can you find the words below that are spelt similarly, and sometimes even pronounced similarly, but have very different meanings? Check their pronunciation and meaning in a dictionary.
The repeated words in the three sentences are refuse/refuse, dove/dove and invalid/invalid. Their spelling is the same, but their meanings and, in some cases, their pronunciations differ.
• The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
The first "refuse" is a verb meaning to reject or not accept. The second "refuse" is a noun meaning waste or rubbish.
• When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
The first "dove" is a noun naming a bird. The second "dove" is the past tense of "dive," meaning moved suddenly downward or into cover.
• The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
The first "invalid" is an adjective meaning not legally or officially acceptable. The second "invalid" is a noun referring to a person weakened by illness or injury.