Class : VII Sub. English
A Gift of Chappals
Author
Vasantha Surya
(from Mridu in Madras: Goruchaka Turns Up)
Prepared by :
Pankaj Kr. Jaiswal (TGT English)
JNV Champhai (Mizoram)
Characters of the story
Mridu : a young girl
Tapi : Mridu’s grandmother
Thatha : Mridu’s grandfather
Rukku Manni : Mridu’s aunt
Ravi,Meena,Lalli : Rukku Manni’s son & daughters
and Mridu’s cousins
Mahendran : a kitten
Gopu Mama , Music Master , a Beggar,
‘A Gift of Chappals’ is a south Indian story held in Madras(Chennai).It is a piece taken from Mridu in Madras: Goruchakan Turns Up.
Mridu is a young girl. Mridu’s grandmother takes her to her aunt Rukku Manni’s house to meet her cousins Ravi, Meena & Lalli. Mridu is welcomed warmly by her cousins. When she enters the house, she takes off her slippers at the gate near a pair of large black one.
Summary of the Chapter
Ravi takes her to the backyard where she finds a small kitten that was brought secretly inside the house by them in the same morning. They keep the kitten behind a thick bitter berry bush because they wanted to keep it hidden from others. Ravi feels hard to bring milk for it from the kitchen.
He calls the kitten Mahendran. They all together enjoy the company of the kitten.
Ravi presents a splendid description about Mahendran by calling it the descendant of Mahabalipuram Rishi-Cat. He says that it is a breed of Pallava dynasty.
Lalli is learning to play violin that creates a weird sound like Kreechhh. Music Master instructs Lalli how to produce melodious sound by handling it properly. Mridu enjoys the lovely music played by Music Master.
The arrival of a beggar upsets the elders in the family. The beggar shows a surprise on refusal to get alms.
He only begs to rest under the tree as he had large blisters on his feet and it was very hot. Mridu, Meena and Ravi search for chappals for him. They give him music master’s chappals to wear.
A little later music master came out of the house and search for his chappals but didn’t find. At last Gopu Mama’s chappals were given to the music master.
A Gift of Chappals�Animated Video
Text Book
Vocabulary
Rushed out : come out hurriedly
Protested : disapproval
Scrawny : thin/weak/worn out
Dragged : to pull forcefully
Breed : race
Fur : soft hair covering to skin
Emblem : symbol
Giggled : to laugh in a suppressed manner
Dynasty : a line of succession of kings
Descendant : descending from a biological ancestor
Stowaway : A person who hides on board a ship, train, etc. to get
a free passage.
Whoop : war-cry
Weird : strange
Startled : surprised
Scurried : hurriedly
Kreeching : a kind of unpleasant sound
Whizzing : a hissing sound
Awkwardly : in a awkward manner, carelessly
Stumbled : Miss a step and fall or nearly fall
Stained : dirty marks that are not easily removed
Rumble : a low, heavy continuous sound such as that of thunder or a
hungry stomach
Snooze : to nap / doze (short sleep)
Alms : something given to the poor as charity
Blister : sore
Shabby : dirty
Sturdy : strongly built
Nodded : moved head in agreement
Muttering : to mumble
Vanished : to disappear
Crouching : to sit in bent position
Lurking : to move about aimlessly
Shiver : to tremble with cold
Turns up here : comes here
Snapped : a quick breaking or cracking sound (here scold)
Moral of the Story
The story “ A Gift of Chappals” gives a valuable moral to us. The story teaches that we should be kindful to all whether they are the poor or animals.
We should think about others also . We should show caring attitude towards the needy. These feelings in us will make them happy and hopeful in their lives. We should always try to help them. We should never be selfish.
Chapter Based Jumbled words
1- always/to be/us/are/people are/telling us/to animals/kind/
2- little/is/name/this/kitty’s/Mahendran
3- that’s/the/to play/ Lalli learning/violin
4- for the/coming/has been/here/the beggar/every day/past week
5- wear/his chappals/doesn’t /thank God/your Gopu Mama/to work…
PISA based questions
Q1- What is the importance of chappals in one’s life ?
Q2- How will you feel when you walk without chappals?
Q3- Imagine if chappals & shoes had not been invented , how would our life be today?
Q4- What kind of material is used for making chappals and shoes?
Q5- Can you count how many brands of chappals and shoes are there in market?
Assignment