Chapter 5 — Culture and Tradition

Unit 5 includes a passage on Bharat's unity in diversity, a story called "Kalakritiyon ka Bharat" set at an Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat event, the poem "The Kites" by Daphne Lister, and a biographical passage about Ila Sachani titled "Embroidering Dreams with her Feet".

According to the unit, the Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat programme aims to enhance interaction and promote mutual understanding between people of different states and Union Territories through state/UT pairing. Its vision is to celebrate unity in diversity, strengthen emotional bonds between citizens, and contribute to nation-building by highlighting the inter-connectedness of various cultures and traditions.

Four children share their regional art forms: Aakansha from Uttarakhand explains Aipan (white rice flour patterns on brick-red geru walls, made by women for festivals and family functions); Priyaranjan from Odisha explains Dhokra (a 4,000-year-old metal craft using the lost-wax method with clay, wax, and brass scrap); Chitra from Kerala explains coconut shell craft (a biodegradable craft that produces bowls and jewellery); and Balamurali from Andhra Pradesh explains Kondapalli toy-making (a 400-year-old tradition using soft wood, makku paste, and vegetable dyes or enamel paints).

Aipan is a folk art form from Uttarakhand. According to the text, it is made with white rice flour paste on brick-red walls coloured with geru (red clay). It is drawn on floors and walls of puja rooms and outside the main door of the home on family functions and festivals. The designs are described as beautiful and mathematical, based on cultural traditions and observations of nature, and is an art form made by the women in the family.

The text describes Dhokra, a 4,000-year-old metal craft from Odisha, in these steps: a figure is made with clay and dried, then covered with a layer of wax on which fine details are carved. The figure is then covered with clay again and put in fire — the wax melts and comes out of small openings. Brass scrap is melted and poured into the empty space, taking the same shape as the wax. Finally, the outer clay layer is removed and the metal figure is finished.

"The Kites" is a poem by Daphne Lister in which a child watches kites fly in a wind-whipped sky, comparing them to coloured birds. The child wishes to be small and light as air so they could climb on a kite, drift on its paper wings, hear the songs the wild wind sings, and look down over parks and rooftops. The unit notes that the poet uses simile (like, as) and alliteration as literary devices.

The unit mentions that Kite Festival is celebrated in India, that the International Kite Festival is named Uttarayan, and that it is mainly celebrated in Gujarat but also in other states. It also states that the Punjab region celebrates Basant Panchami and Baisakhi by flying kites. The unit also notes that the mention of kites exists in ancient Indian texts, including the poetry of the thirteenth-century Marathi saint Namadeva, who called a kite a gudi.

Ila Sachani is a Kathiawar embroidery artist from Moti Vavdi village, Bhavnagar, Gujarat. The text explains she was born in Amreli, Gujarat into a farmer's family with her hands hanging loose by her sides and could not use them in the usual way. Her mother and grandmother, who were skilled in Kathiawar embroidery, taught her to create beautiful patterns using her feet. She became an expert, learned multiple embroidery styles including Kachhi, Kashmiri, and Lucknawi, displayed her work at a state exhibition in Surat, and eventually received the President's Medal. The text states she proved that challenges can be turned into victories with focus, hard work, positivity, and never giving up.

The unit covers several language skills: sequencing words used to describe processes (to begin, first, then, after that, next, finally, at last); present tense with he/she/it requiring -s/-es on the verb; simile using 'like' and 'as'; alliteration (words beginning with the same consonant sound); the cinquain poem structure (a five-line poem describing a person, place, or thing); and words of quantity (many, lots of, much, some, any, little, few, a lot of) with countable and uncountable nouns.

Kondapalli is a 400-year-old art form from Balamurali's village in Andhra Pradesh. According to the text, soft wood is taken from nearby hills, each part of the toy is carved separately, and the pieces are joined using makku — a paste made of tamarind seed powder and sawdust. Details are then added, and the toys are coloured with oil and water-colours, vegetable dyes, or enamel paints. The toys are based on folk stories, animals, birds, bullock carts, and rural life.

Kathiawar embroidery is a traditional embroidery style from Gujarat described in the unit as requiring a lot of skill. It appears on cushions, bedcovers, pillows, and more. The text mentions that Ila Sachani's mother and grandmother were skilled in this art and that it is also known to include chain stitch. The unit also mentions Kachhi embroidery as a related style that Ila learned.

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