Embedded Files
UNIT-5
The Felling of Banyan Tree by Dilip Chitre
The Bet by Anton Chekov
Oxymoron and Hyperbole
Main Verbs and Tenses
Paragraph Writing Essentials
Decision-making
The Felling of the Banyan Tree
The Felling of the Banyan Tree
Dilip Chitre
Pre-reading Questions
What all trees do you have in your place?
Do you have many Banyan trees in your place?
Do you know which is the oldest Banyan tree in Telangana?
What features of Banyan tree make it distinct from other trees?
Do you think Banyan tree has a special place in your culture. Give reasons.
Pre-reading Activities
Read about the issue regarding the threat to the Chevella Banyan Trees due to the widening of road, Chevella Hyderabad Highway and discuss with friends regarding the same.
https://www.savechevellabanyans.in/
About the Author
Dilip Chitre (1938-2009) was a teacher, painter and a magazine columnist. His major works in Marathi but he also wrote in English. Travelling in Cage was his first and only book of English poems.
About the Poem
The poem, 'The Felling of the Banyan Tree', is focused on the cutting of the huge Banyan tree that had stood there for ages. This difficult decision was made by the father of the speaker. He ordered to demolish the houses on the hills and cut down all the trees in the surroundings.
Click here to listen to the poem
While Listening attempt the following questions
1.The tenants lived in ____________________
2.After demolition, only ____________________remained and the trees
3.___________, _______________ and _______________were all cut down
4._____________________ stood like a big problem
5._________________ordered it to be removed
6.It's trunk had a circumference of ________________
7.Its __________________ fell to the ground
8. So first they cut the ______________
9.Sawing them off for __________________
10._______________ began to leave the tree
11.____________ men with axes chopped and chopped
12The great tree revealed its rings of ___________________
13. We watched in _____________ and ____________ this slaughter
14. We left from _____________ to ___________________
15. There are no trees in _________________ except one that grows and seethes in ones dream
Now go ahead and read the poem
My father told the tenants to leave
Who lived on the houses surrounding our house on the hill
One by one the structures were demolished
Only our own house remained and the trees
Trees are sacred my grandmother used to say
Felling them is a crime but he massacred them all
The sheoga, the oudumber, the neem were all cut down
But the huge banyan tree stood like a problem
Whose roots lay deeper than all our lives
My father ordered it to be removed
The banyan tree was three times as tall as our house
Its trunk had a circumference of fifty feet
Its scraggy aerial roots fell to the ground
From thirty feet or more so first they cut the branches
Sawing them off for seven days and the heap was huge
Insects and birds began to leave the tree
And then they came to its massive trunk
Fifty men with axes chopped and chopped
The great tree revealed its rings of two hundred years
We watched in terror and fascination this slaughter
As a raw mythology revealed to us its age
Soon afterwards we left Baroda for Bombay
Where there are no trees except the one
Which grows and seethes in one’s dreams, its aerial roots
Looking for the ground to strike.
Post-reading Questions
How was the Banyan tree different from other trees?
Describe the end of the Banyan tree in your own words
What kind of a personality does the father have? Which words and phrases in the poem reveal what the speaker feels about the father's actions?
Comment on the contrast between the grandmother and father; Baroda and Bombay.
Explain the meaning of the following lines:
a. roots lay deeper than all our lives
b. a raw mythology revealed to us its age.
c. no trees except the one which grows and seethes in one's own dreams.
Post-reading Activities
Watch the following videos on "The Forest Man of India" and "Encyclopedia of the Forest"
Write a paragraph about Jadev Payeng and Tulsi Gowda
Navigation Support Document
Navigation Support Document
The Bet
The Bet
Anton Chekov
The Bet.pdfPre-reading Questions
Have you ever won or lost a bet? How did you feel?
Have you ever made a rash bet in the heat of the moment tthat you regretted afterwards?
What do you think about the two pictures given here?
The two main characters in the story argue about whether it would be better to get death penalty or life imprisonment. What do you think? Give reasons.
Pre-reading Activities
Read the article on death punishment and make notes
·
Discuss on Capital Punishment with reference o Capital Punishment in the gang rape and murder case of a child in Telangana
https://telanganatoday.com/telangana-man-gets-capital-punishment-for-rape-murder-of-minor-girl
About the Author
Anton Chekov (1860-1904) was a brilliant Russian short story writer and playwright who wrote about human loneliness and frustration. His works have been widely translated and has had an immense influence on world literature.
About the Story
During a dinner party in November 1870, a wealthy banker claims that capital punishment is more humane than life imprisonment. The younger lawyer counters that to live under any circumstance is always better than death. The two debate and make a bet: if the lawyer can live in solitary confinement, the banker will give him two million rubles. The lawyer agrees to stay isolated in a lodge in the banker’s garden for fifteen years...
Post-reading Questions
What was the bet? Who made the wager and who motivated them?
What were the conditions of the lawyers confinement? What arrangements were made for it?
What were the thoughts and intentions of the banker on the eve of the end of the lawyers confinement?
Why did the lawyer give up the money he had won? What is your personal opinion on the banker's reaction to the lawyer's decision?
What do the many requests made by the lawyer over the 15 year period reveal about how he was changing as a person?
Listen to the audio book of 'The Bet' and write the summary in your own words
Post-reading Activities
1. Were you in Isolation during the COVID period? How did you pass time during the period of isolation. What were the new learnings you had?
2. Read about the transformation of the prisoners in Telangana. Do you agree that life imprisonment had been good for these prisoners? Discuss
Navigation Support Document
Navigation Support Document
UNIT-6
A Walk by Moonlight by Henry Derozio
How the Coronavirus sparked a wave of Innovation in India by Sreevas Sahasranamam
Loan Words
Auxiliary Verbs
Sequencing
Holistic Health
A Walk by Moonlight
A Walk by Moonlight
Henry Derozio
Pre-reading Questions
Do you live in a village with lots of trees around?
Have you ever been for a walk through beautiful landscape?
Do you enjoy the beauty of nature on a moon lit night?
Do you think that the emotions evoked by nature can also be experienced in urban settings?
Pre-reading Activities
Identify the presence of moon in Telugu Literature and Films. (Pair Work)
About the Author
Henry Derozio was one of the first Indian educators to promote Western Learning in India. He also led a group called Young Bengal which championed social reform. At the age of 17 he was appointed teacher of Literature. He had progressive views on women emancipation and encouraged free debate among students and teachers
About the Poem
This is essentially a romantic poem that sings in praise of a moon lit night and thereby brings out the ethereal qualities of the evening.
Click here to listen to the poem
While listening fill in the blanks given below
1.And I was very ____________
2.Hours which, at distance_____________
3. Shine on, but _____________
4.And some of these but ________________
I think it could have _____________
Like minds to like minds ever tend_____________
I straight was joined by _______________
And one was young, ut oh____________
There was a dance among the leaves _______________at her power
There was a song among the winds____________
...we not only saw But felt the ___________around us
How far they send into the heart Their tones of ____________
How lovely are the ________ dim
This earthliness goes by, And we behold the ___________
And feel the ______________melody Played on the forest's strings
The silken language of the stars becomes the _____________
The inward eye is __________then to glories...
I bless my nature that I am ____________ to all the bliss
My heart is _____________
The flowers, the stars, the sky _______________may deem
Go ahead and read the poem now
Post-reading Questions
Comment on the Speaker's views of the relationship between man and nature
Discuss the realisations that come upon the speaker during his walk.
Write a character sketch of the speaker in the poem
Post-reading Activities
Do you think moon has a special place in your culture?
Here is a story related to moon from Australian indigeneous people. Write about moon and your culture
How the Coronavirus Sparked a Wave of Innovation in India
How the Coronavirus Sparked a Wave of Innovation in India
Sreevas Sahasranamam
Pre-reading Questions
We have all been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in varying degrees. What were the technological innovations that you and your family were forced to use as alternatives to long established ways of interacting and functioning in society? (Think of changes in education, in the workplace, market place, etc)
Pre-reading Activities
Discuss the COVID experiences in your villages. What was he situation of people without technology, smartphones? How did they cope up with the situation? (Volunteering services, education, medical facilities, etc)
About the Author
Sreevas Sahrasranamam studies entrepreneurs and innovators who tackle big challenges especially in emerging markets. He leads the doctoral training centre in Socially Progressive Innvoation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Strathclyde and is a part of GEM, UK Team
About the Lesson
The essay was written during the COVID period. It talks about how COVID-19 has promoted innumerable innovations out of necessity.
Click here to listen to the lesson
Now, read the lesson on your own.
Post-reading Questions
What is 'jugaad' and what does the author credit it with?
What factors enabled the triple helix model of innovation during the pandemic?
Give two examples each of innovations that help maintain (a) social distancing and (b) public hygiene
Highlight any three examples of innovation from this essay and comment on how they change or deviate from the standard practice before the pandemic
What comment does the author end the essay with? Do you agree with the author's statement? Elaborate on your assessment
Post-reading Activities
Read the article on COVID Soldiers- Better India (Auto as ambulance, Teachers voluntarily distributing smartphones etc.)
https://www.thebetterindia.com/indias-covid-soldiers/
Do you have anyone in your area to nominate. Write a letter nominating anyone from your area.
UNIT-7
A Different History by Sujata Bhatt
Nobel lecture, 7 December 1993 (extract) Toni Morrison
Portmanteau Words
Non Finite Verbs
Descriptive Writing
Conflict Resolution
A Different History
A Different History
Sujatha Bhatt
Pre-reading Questions
Do you feel that there are significant broad differences between Eastern and Western cultures?
What languages are you most comfortable with? What languages do you speak (a) at home, (b) with friends and (c) with teachers in college? Do you feel like there is a difference in status among languages you know
Are you treated differently when speaking different languages(or different versions of the same language? What assumptions about people do you yourself make based on the language they speak and how they speak?
Pre-reading Activities
(Individual) Is there only one history or many versions of History?
(Group work and discussion) Reasons for the bifurcation of Andhra and Telangana? Do you think the language, literature, culture of Telangana had a second status in the then AP?
About the author
Sujata Bhatt was born in Ahmedabad, Gujarat and brought up in Pune until 1968, when she immigrated to United States with her family. She has an MFA from the University of Iowa, and for a time was writer-in-residence at the University of Victoria, Canada. She received the Commonwealth Poetry Prize (Asia) and Alice Hunt Bartlett Prize for her first collection Brunizem in 1987.
About the Poem
She writes about Indian traditions, lost identities, importance of language, cultural difference to create different moods and themes.
Click here to listen to the poem in author's voice
While Listening Questions
1._________________ is not dead
2. he simply ___________________to India
3.Here, the gods__________ freely, ____________ as snakes or monkeys
every tree is _______________________
it is a sin to be ____________ to a book
It is a sin to ____________ a book aside with your foot
We must learn how to _______________
without offending ______________ whose wood the paper was made
Which language has not been the _________________
Which language truly meant to _______________someone?
And how does it happen that after the __________
that after the soul has been ______________
with the ________________ swooping out
of the ______________ face
the unborn grandchildren grow to _________________
Post-reading Questions
Who is Pan? Why does the poet suppose he might have emigrated to India?
What is the tone of the first stanza? What point is the poet trying to make through the example of books?
What do you think the poet is referring to when she talks about the 'ling scythe swooping out /of the conqueror's face? What does the scythe do?
What is the connection between Saraswathi and Language? What connection do you think the poet wants you to make here?
What point does the poet make about the present reality of former colonies (Such as India)? How is this related to (a) the life of the poet and (b) the course you are studying right now?
Post-reading Activities
Trace out the differences between Indian culture vs. Western Culture. All languages, culture have its own importance. Comment
Nobel Lecture,7 December 1993 (extract)
Nobel Lecture,7 December 1993 (extract)
Toni Morrison
Pre-reading Questions
Do you think a language has significance beyond its use as a tool of communication?
Can a language be used for purposes other than communication?
Does a language and ways in which it is used change over time, or does it always remain the same? Have you noticed changes in the languages you use, or in the ways in which you use the language?
About the Author
The novels of Toni Morrison are considered landmarks in the history of American fiction. She was born into a Black working class family. Her work is crucial in understanding issues of racism and race relations in the US. Morrison's writings mostly focus on experiences of Black women characters, contexualising them against the backdrop of American history. The extract below is from the speech she delivered as the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993
About the Nobel Lecture
Toni Morrison was awarded the Nobel Prize of Literature on December 7, 1993
Click here to Listen to the Lecture given by Toni Morrison
https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1993/morrison/lecture/
Post-reading Questions
What question did the young people in the story pose to the blind woman? Why?
What, according to the author is the significance of the blind woman's answer?
How does the author relate the blind woman's answer to her own vocation as a writer?
What is Toni Morrison's main concern in this extract from her Nobel Lecture?
Who needs to be held responsible when a language dies? Why?
UNIT-8
Lady Macbeth's Speech Act 1, Scene 5
How I became a Public Speaker (abridged) by G. B. Shaw
Simile and Metaphor
Adverbs
Argumentative Writing
Ethical Behaviour
Coming Soon!
Note: The Lessons in the Section are taken from the textbooks prescribed by Osmania University for First, Second and Third years, The English Turf edited by C. Muralikrishna and Y.L.Srinivas , English in Use and English in Action edited by T.Vijay Kumar, K. Durga Bhavani, Y.L. Srinivas.
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