Glimpses of India

What are the elders in Goa nostalgic about?

Is bread-making still popular in Goa? How do you know?

What is the baker called?

When would the baker come everyday? Why did the children run to meet him?

Match the following. What is a must (i) as marriage gifts? (ii) for a party or a feast? (iii) for a daughter's engagement? (iv) for Christmas?

What did the bakers wear: (i) in the Portuguese days? (ii) when the author was young?

Who invites the comment — "he is dressed like a pader"? Why?

Where were the monthly accounts of the baker recorded?

What does a 'jackfruit-like appearance' mean?

Is bread an important part of Goan life? How do you know this?

Tick the right answer. What is the tone of the author when he says the following?

Compare the piece from the text (on the left below) with the other piece on Goan bakers (on the right).

Our elders are often heard reminiscing nostalgically about those good old Portuguese days, the Portuguese and their famous loaves of bread. Those eaters of loaves might have vanished but the makers are still there. We still have amongst us the mixers, the moulders and those who bake the loaves. Those age-old, time-tested furnaces still exist. The fire in the furnaces had not yet been extinguished. The thud and the jingle of the traditional baker’s bamboo, heralding his arrival in the morning, can still be heard in some places.

May be the father is not alive but the son still carries on the family profession.

After Goa’s liberation, people used to say nostalgically that the Portuguese bread vanished with the paders. But the paders have managed to survive because they have perfected the art of door-to-door delivery service. The paders pick up the knowledge of bread-making from traditions in the family. The leavened, oven-baked bread is a gift of the Portuguese to India.

What makes the two texts so different? Are the facts the same? Do both writers give you a picture of the baker?

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.

Where is Coorg?

What is the story about the Kodavu people's descent?

Here are some nouns from the text: culture, monks, surprise, experience, weather, tradition. Work with a partner and discuss which of the nouns can collocate with which of the adjectives given below. unique, terrible, unforgettable, serious, ancient, wide, sudden

Complete the following phrases from the text. For each phrase, can you find at least one other word that would fit into the blank?

Look at these words: upkeep, downpour, undergo, dropout, walk-in. They are built up from a verb (keep, pour, go, drop, walk) and an adverb or a particle (up, down, under, out, in). Use these words appropriately in the sentences below. You may consult a dictionary.

Now fill in the blanks in the sentences given below by combining the verb given in brackets with one of the words from the box as appropriate. [over, by, through, out, up, down]

Think of suitable -ing or -ed adjectives to answer the following questions. How would you describe