NCERT Book Class 5 EVS A Seed Tells a Farmer Story

19.A Seed Tells a

Farmer’s Story

I am a small seed!

I am a small bajra seed. I have stayed in this beautiful wooden box since 1940. I want to tell you my story. This is a long story – but not mine alone. It is also the story of my farmer Damjibhai and his family. If I do not tell my story now, it might be too late! 

I was born in Vangaam in Gujarat. That year there was a good bajra (millet) crop. There was a festive mood in the village. Our area was famous for its grain and vegetables. Each year Damjibhai kept aside some seeds from a good crop. This way our bajra family went on from one generation to another. Good seeds were stored in dried gourd (lauki ) which was coated with mud. But that year Damjibhai himself made a strong wooden box to store us. He put in neem leaves to protect us from insects. He put different seeds in different compartments of the box. That was our beautiful home!

In those days Damjibhai and his cousins lived together. It was a large family. Everyone in the village helped each other, even in farming. When the crop was ready and harvested, everyone celebrated together. Oh! Those wonderful days! With big feasts and lots to eat!

In the winter, it would be time to enjoy the undhiya (a kind of stew). All the vegetables were put into a clay pot, along with fresh spices. The pot was sealed and kept between hot coals. The vegetables cooked slowly in this special cooker, on the fields. 

Oh, I forgot, the pot was placed upside down! That is why the dish was called undhiya or “upside down” in Gujarati. Undhiya would be eaten with bajra rotis, freshly cooked on the chulha. Oh, what an earthy delicious flavour! Along with that, home-made butter, curd and buttermilk was served.

Farmers would grow many different kinds of crops – grains and vegetables – according to the season. The farmers kept enough for their needs and sold the rest to shopkeepers from the city. Some farmers also grew cotton. At home, family members spun cotton on a charkha (spinning wheel) to make cloth.

Tell

• Are rotis made in your home? From which grains are they made?
• Have you eaten roti made from bajra or jowar ? Did you like these?

Find out and write

• In your house what is done to protect grains and pulses from insects?
• Which are the different festivals related to farming, celebrated in different seasons? Find out more about any one such festival and write in your notebook – The name of the festival, in which season is it celebrated, in which states of India, what special foods are made, is it celebrated only at home with the family, or together with many people.
• Talk to the elders in your family and find out if there were some special foods cooked earlier that are not cooked any more?

Please refer to attached file for NCERT Class 5 EVS A Seed Tells a Farmer Story