NCERT Textbook: Verghese Kurien — I Too Had A Dream | English Poorvi Class 8 - New NCERT PDF Download

 Page 1


Verghese Kurien — I Too Had A Dream
Let us do these activities before we read.
I Arrange the worldwide means of communication given below in the 
timeline provided. Share your answers with your classmates and teacher.
1. telephone 2. email 3. postcard
4. telegraph 5. mobile phone   6. carrier pigeons
II Work in pairs and discuss the following things. Share your answers with 
your classmates and teacher.
1. The reasons for change in the means of communication over 
the years.
2. The means of communication that you prefer to use and the reason 
for your choice.
3. Communication through social media: its benefits and precautions 
that one should take against its misuse.
old new
Unit 2.indd   82 13-05-2025   12:07:43
Page 2


Verghese Kurien — I Too Had A Dream
Let us do these activities before we read.
I Arrange the worldwide means of communication given below in the 
timeline provided. Share your answers with your classmates and teacher.
1. telephone 2. email 3. postcard
4. telegraph 5. mobile phone   6. carrier pigeons
II Work in pairs and discuss the following things. Share your answers with 
your classmates and teacher.
1. The reasons for change in the means of communication over 
the years.
2. The means of communication that you prefer to use and the reason 
for your choice.
3. Communication through social media: its benefits and precautions 
that one should take against its misuse.
old new
Unit 2.indd   82 13-05-2025   12:07:43
Values and Dispositions
83
addicted:
dependent on 
something
fleeting:
momentary or 
short-lived
abiding 
pleasure:
a feeling of 
happiness that 
continues for a 
long time
jottings: brief 
notes
foremost:
leading
humility:
modesty/ 
quality of being 
humble
pursue: follow
envisioned:
imagined 
or expected 
something to 
happen in a 
particular way
Let us read
TO MY GRANDSON
Anand, 2005 
My dear Siddharth, 
When did I write to you last? I have trouble even remembering! In today’s 
fast-paced world we have become so addicted to instant communication 
that we prefer to use a telephone. But speaking on the telephone only 
gives us an immediate but fleeting joy. Writing is different. Writing—
even if it is a letter—not only conveys our present concerns and views of 
the events taking place around us but it becomes a possession that can be 
treasured and re-read over the years, with great, abiding pleasure. 
You may not wish to read it all right away but, perhaps, a couple of 
decades or more from now, you will pick up these jottings of mine again 
and they will give you a deeper understanding of what I have done, and 
the reasons I pursued a life of service to our nation’s farmers. You will 
then discover in them a valuable reminder of the days just before the 
world entered the twenty-first century. And you may want to share my 
memories with those of your generation, or even younger, to provide a 
glimpse of the world your grandparents lived in and knew.
I started my working life soon after our country became independent. 
The noblest task in those days was to contribute in whatever way we 
could towards building an India of our dreams—a nation where our 
people would not only hold their heads high in freedom but would be 
free from hunger and poverty. A nation where our people could live with 
equal respect and love for one another. A nation that would eventually 
be counted among the foremost nations of the world. It was then that I 
realised, in humility, that choosing to lead one kind of life means putting 
aside the desire to pursue other options. This transformation took place 
within me fifty years ago, when I agreed to work for a small cooperative 
of dairy farmers who were trying to gain control over their lives. 
To be quite honest, service to our nation’s farmers was not the career I 
had envisioned for myself. But somehow, a series of events swept me 
along and put me in a certain time with a choice that would transform 
my life. I could have pursued a career in metallurgy and become the 
Unit 2.indd   83 13-05-2025   12:07:45
Page 3


Verghese Kurien — I Too Had A Dream
Let us do these activities before we read.
I Arrange the worldwide means of communication given below in the 
timeline provided. Share your answers with your classmates and teacher.
1. telephone 2. email 3. postcard
4. telegraph 5. mobile phone   6. carrier pigeons
II Work in pairs and discuss the following things. Share your answers with 
your classmates and teacher.
1. The reasons for change in the means of communication over 
the years.
2. The means of communication that you prefer to use and the reason 
for your choice.
3. Communication through social media: its benefits and precautions 
that one should take against its misuse.
old new
Unit 2.indd   82 13-05-2025   12:07:43
Values and Dispositions
83
addicted:
dependent on 
something
fleeting:
momentary or 
short-lived
abiding 
pleasure:
a feeling of 
happiness that 
continues for a 
long time
jottings: brief 
notes
foremost:
leading
humility:
modesty/ 
quality of being 
humble
pursue: follow
envisioned:
imagined 
or expected 
something to 
happen in a 
particular way
Let us read
TO MY GRANDSON
Anand, 2005 
My dear Siddharth, 
When did I write to you last? I have trouble even remembering! In today’s 
fast-paced world we have become so addicted to instant communication 
that we prefer to use a telephone. But speaking on the telephone only 
gives us an immediate but fleeting joy. Writing is different. Writing—
even if it is a letter—not only conveys our present concerns and views of 
the events taking place around us but it becomes a possession that can be 
treasured and re-read over the years, with great, abiding pleasure. 
You may not wish to read it all right away but, perhaps, a couple of 
decades or more from now, you will pick up these jottings of mine again 
and they will give you a deeper understanding of what I have done, and 
the reasons I pursued a life of service to our nation’s farmers. You will 
then discover in them a valuable reminder of the days just before the 
world entered the twenty-first century. And you may want to share my 
memories with those of your generation, or even younger, to provide a 
glimpse of the world your grandparents lived in and knew.
I started my working life soon after our country became independent. 
The noblest task in those days was to contribute in whatever way we 
could towards building an India of our dreams—a nation where our 
people would not only hold their heads high in freedom but would be 
free from hunger and poverty. A nation where our people could live with 
equal respect and love for one another. A nation that would eventually 
be counted among the foremost nations of the world. It was then that I 
realised, in humility, that choosing to lead one kind of life means putting 
aside the desire to pursue other options. This transformation took place 
within me fifty years ago, when I agreed to work for a small cooperative 
of dairy farmers who were trying to gain control over their lives. 
To be quite honest, service to our nation’s farmers was not the career I 
had envisioned for myself. But somehow, a series of events swept me 
along and put me in a certain time with a choice that would transform 
my life. I could have pursued a career in metallurgy and become the 
Unit 2.indd   83 13-05-2025   12:07:45
Poorvi
84
ardently: in a 
way that shows 
strong feelings
poise: in a calm 
and confident 
manner
adhered: to 
continue to 
support
integrity:
honest and 
strong moral 
principles
correlation:
a connection 
between two or 
more things
chief executive of a large company. Or, opted for a commission in the 
Indian Army and maybe retired as a general. Or, I could have left for 
the US and gone on to become a highly successful NRI. Yet, I chose none 
of these because somewhere, deep down, I knew I could make a more 
meaningful contribution by working here in Anand, Gujarat.
Your grandmother too made an important choice. She knew, in those 
days, life in Anand could not offer even the simple comforts that we take 
for granted today. However, she ardently supported my choice to live 
and work in Anand. That choice of your grandmother to stand by me has 
given me an everlasting strength, always ensuring that I shouldered my 
responsibilities with poise. 
Whenever I have received any recognition for my contributions towards 
the progress of our country, I always emphasised that it is a recognition 
of the achievements of many people with whom I had a privilege to 
be associated with. I would like to stress even more strongly that my 
contributions have been possible only because I have consistently 
adhered to certain values. Values that I have inherited from my parents 
and other family elders; values that I saw in my mentor and supporter 
here in Anand—Tribhuvandas Patel. I have often spoken of integrity as 
the most important of these values, realising that integrity—and personal 
integrity, at that—is being honest to yourself. If you are always honest to 
yourself, it does not take much effort in always being honest with others.
I have also learnt what I am sure you, too, will find out some day. Life 
is a privilege and to waste it would be wrong. In living this privilege 
called ‘life’, you must accept responsibility for yourself, always use your 
talents to the best of your ability and contribute somehow to the common 
good. That common good will present itself to you in many forms every 
day. If you look around you, you will find there is a lot waiting to be 
done: your friend may need some help, your teacher could be looking 
for a volunteer, or the community you live in will need you to make a 
contribution. I hope that you, too, will discover, as I did, that failure is not 
about not succeeding. Rather, it is about not putting in your best effort 
and not contributing, however modestly, to the common good. 
In life you, too, will discover as I did, that anything can go wrong at any time 
and mostly does. Yet, there is little correlation between the circumstances 
of people’s lives and how happy they are. Most of us compare ourselves 
with someone we think is happier—a relative, an acquaintance, or often, 
someone we barely know. But when we start looking closely we realise 
that what we saw were only images of perfection. And that will help us 
understand and cherish what we have, rather than what we don’t have. 
Unit 2.indd   84 13-05-2025   12:07:46
Page 4


Verghese Kurien — I Too Had A Dream
Let us do these activities before we read.
I Arrange the worldwide means of communication given below in the 
timeline provided. Share your answers with your classmates and teacher.
1. telephone 2. email 3. postcard
4. telegraph 5. mobile phone   6. carrier pigeons
II Work in pairs and discuss the following things. Share your answers with 
your classmates and teacher.
1. The reasons for change in the means of communication over 
the years.
2. The means of communication that you prefer to use and the reason 
for your choice.
3. Communication through social media: its benefits and precautions 
that one should take against its misuse.
old new
Unit 2.indd   82 13-05-2025   12:07:43
Values and Dispositions
83
addicted:
dependent on 
something
fleeting:
momentary or 
short-lived
abiding 
pleasure:
a feeling of 
happiness that 
continues for a 
long time
jottings: brief 
notes
foremost:
leading
humility:
modesty/ 
quality of being 
humble
pursue: follow
envisioned:
imagined 
or expected 
something to 
happen in a 
particular way
Let us read
TO MY GRANDSON
Anand, 2005 
My dear Siddharth, 
When did I write to you last? I have trouble even remembering! In today’s 
fast-paced world we have become so addicted to instant communication 
that we prefer to use a telephone. But speaking on the telephone only 
gives us an immediate but fleeting joy. Writing is different. Writing—
even if it is a letter—not only conveys our present concerns and views of 
the events taking place around us but it becomes a possession that can be 
treasured and re-read over the years, with great, abiding pleasure. 
You may not wish to read it all right away but, perhaps, a couple of 
decades or more from now, you will pick up these jottings of mine again 
and they will give you a deeper understanding of what I have done, and 
the reasons I pursued a life of service to our nation’s farmers. You will 
then discover in them a valuable reminder of the days just before the 
world entered the twenty-first century. And you may want to share my 
memories with those of your generation, or even younger, to provide a 
glimpse of the world your grandparents lived in and knew.
I started my working life soon after our country became independent. 
The noblest task in those days was to contribute in whatever way we 
could towards building an India of our dreams—a nation where our 
people would not only hold their heads high in freedom but would be 
free from hunger and poverty. A nation where our people could live with 
equal respect and love for one another. A nation that would eventually 
be counted among the foremost nations of the world. It was then that I 
realised, in humility, that choosing to lead one kind of life means putting 
aside the desire to pursue other options. This transformation took place 
within me fifty years ago, when I agreed to work for a small cooperative 
of dairy farmers who were trying to gain control over their lives. 
To be quite honest, service to our nation’s farmers was not the career I 
had envisioned for myself. But somehow, a series of events swept me 
along and put me in a certain time with a choice that would transform 
my life. I could have pursued a career in metallurgy and become the 
Unit 2.indd   83 13-05-2025   12:07:45
Poorvi
84
ardently: in a 
way that shows 
strong feelings
poise: in a calm 
and confident 
manner
adhered: to 
continue to 
support
integrity:
honest and 
strong moral 
principles
correlation:
a connection 
between two or 
more things
chief executive of a large company. Or, opted for a commission in the 
Indian Army and maybe retired as a general. Or, I could have left for 
the US and gone on to become a highly successful NRI. Yet, I chose none 
of these because somewhere, deep down, I knew I could make a more 
meaningful contribution by working here in Anand, Gujarat.
Your grandmother too made an important choice. She knew, in those 
days, life in Anand could not offer even the simple comforts that we take 
for granted today. However, she ardently supported my choice to live 
and work in Anand. That choice of your grandmother to stand by me has 
given me an everlasting strength, always ensuring that I shouldered my 
responsibilities with poise. 
Whenever I have received any recognition for my contributions towards 
the progress of our country, I always emphasised that it is a recognition 
of the achievements of many people with whom I had a privilege to 
be associated with. I would like to stress even more strongly that my 
contributions have been possible only because I have consistently 
adhered to certain values. Values that I have inherited from my parents 
and other family elders; values that I saw in my mentor and supporter 
here in Anand—Tribhuvandas Patel. I have often spoken of integrity as 
the most important of these values, realising that integrity—and personal 
integrity, at that—is being honest to yourself. If you are always honest to 
yourself, it does not take much effort in always being honest with others.
I have also learnt what I am sure you, too, will find out some day. Life 
is a privilege and to waste it would be wrong. In living this privilege 
called ‘life’, you must accept responsibility for yourself, always use your 
talents to the best of your ability and contribute somehow to the common 
good. That common good will present itself to you in many forms every 
day. If you look around you, you will find there is a lot waiting to be 
done: your friend may need some help, your teacher could be looking 
for a volunteer, or the community you live in will need you to make a 
contribution. I hope that you, too, will discover, as I did, that failure is not 
about not succeeding. Rather, it is about not putting in your best effort 
and not contributing, however modestly, to the common good. 
In life you, too, will discover as I did, that anything can go wrong at any time 
and mostly does. Yet, there is little correlation between the circumstances 
of people’s lives and how happy they are. Most of us compare ourselves 
with someone we think is happier—a relative, an acquaintance, or often, 
someone we barely know. But when we start looking closely we realise 
that what we saw were only images of perfection. And that will help us 
understand and cherish what we have, rather than what we don’t have. 
Unit 2.indd   84 13-05-2025   12:07:46
Values and Dispositions
85
Let us discuss
A fact is something that can be proven true or false. A fact is not based 
on people’s beliefs. An opinion on the other hand is a belief, feeling or 
judgement, and can vary from one person to another. An opinion cannot 
be proven. 
musings:
thoughts on 
something 
one has been 
thinking about 
carefully for a 
long time
Let us discuss
A fact is something that can be proven true or false. A fact is not based 
Do you remember when you accompanied me at the magnificent ceremony 
in Delhi where our President awarded me the Padma Vibhushan in 1999?  
With great pride, you slipped the medal around your neck, looked at it in 
awe and asked me very innocently if you could keep it. Do you remember 
the answer your grandmother and I gave you? We told you that of course, 
this medal was yours as much as it was mine but that you should not be 
satisfied in merely keeping my award—the challenge before you was to 
earn your own reward for the work that you did in your lifetime. 
And in the end, if we are brave enough to love, strong enough to rejoice in 
another’s happiness and wise enough to know that there is enough to go 
around for all, then we would have lived our lives to the fullest. 
I would like to dedicate these musings to you, Siddharth, and to the 
millions of other children of your generation in our country, in the hope 
that upon reading them you will be inspired enough to go bravely out 
into the world and work tirelessly in your chosen field for the larger good 
of the country, for the larger good of humanity. Remember, rewards that 
come to you then are the only true rewards for a life well-spent. 
With my fondest love, 
(V Kurien)
Unit 2.indd   85 13-05-2025   12:07:48
Page 5


Verghese Kurien — I Too Had A Dream
Let us do these activities before we read.
I Arrange the worldwide means of communication given below in the 
timeline provided. Share your answers with your classmates and teacher.
1. telephone 2. email 3. postcard
4. telegraph 5. mobile phone   6. carrier pigeons
II Work in pairs and discuss the following things. Share your answers with 
your classmates and teacher.
1. The reasons for change in the means of communication over 
the years.
2. The means of communication that you prefer to use and the reason 
for your choice.
3. Communication through social media: its benefits and precautions 
that one should take against its misuse.
old new
Unit 2.indd   82 13-05-2025   12:07:43
Values and Dispositions
83
addicted:
dependent on 
something
fleeting:
momentary or 
short-lived
abiding 
pleasure:
a feeling of 
happiness that 
continues for a 
long time
jottings: brief 
notes
foremost:
leading
humility:
modesty/ 
quality of being 
humble
pursue: follow
envisioned:
imagined 
or expected 
something to 
happen in a 
particular way
Let us read
TO MY GRANDSON
Anand, 2005 
My dear Siddharth, 
When did I write to you last? I have trouble even remembering! In today’s 
fast-paced world we have become so addicted to instant communication 
that we prefer to use a telephone. But speaking on the telephone only 
gives us an immediate but fleeting joy. Writing is different. Writing—
even if it is a letter—not only conveys our present concerns and views of 
the events taking place around us but it becomes a possession that can be 
treasured and re-read over the years, with great, abiding pleasure. 
You may not wish to read it all right away but, perhaps, a couple of 
decades or more from now, you will pick up these jottings of mine again 
and they will give you a deeper understanding of what I have done, and 
the reasons I pursued a life of service to our nation’s farmers. You will 
then discover in them a valuable reminder of the days just before the 
world entered the twenty-first century. And you may want to share my 
memories with those of your generation, or even younger, to provide a 
glimpse of the world your grandparents lived in and knew.
I started my working life soon after our country became independent. 
The noblest task in those days was to contribute in whatever way we 
could towards building an India of our dreams—a nation where our 
people would not only hold their heads high in freedom but would be 
free from hunger and poverty. A nation where our people could live with 
equal respect and love for one another. A nation that would eventually 
be counted among the foremost nations of the world. It was then that I 
realised, in humility, that choosing to lead one kind of life means putting 
aside the desire to pursue other options. This transformation took place 
within me fifty years ago, when I agreed to work for a small cooperative 
of dairy farmers who were trying to gain control over their lives. 
To be quite honest, service to our nation’s farmers was not the career I 
had envisioned for myself. But somehow, a series of events swept me 
along and put me in a certain time with a choice that would transform 
my life. I could have pursued a career in metallurgy and become the 
Unit 2.indd   83 13-05-2025   12:07:45
Poorvi
84
ardently: in a 
way that shows 
strong feelings
poise: in a calm 
and confident 
manner
adhered: to 
continue to 
support
integrity:
honest and 
strong moral 
principles
correlation:
a connection 
between two or 
more things
chief executive of a large company. Or, opted for a commission in the 
Indian Army and maybe retired as a general. Or, I could have left for 
the US and gone on to become a highly successful NRI. Yet, I chose none 
of these because somewhere, deep down, I knew I could make a more 
meaningful contribution by working here in Anand, Gujarat.
Your grandmother too made an important choice. She knew, in those 
days, life in Anand could not offer even the simple comforts that we take 
for granted today. However, she ardently supported my choice to live 
and work in Anand. That choice of your grandmother to stand by me has 
given me an everlasting strength, always ensuring that I shouldered my 
responsibilities with poise. 
Whenever I have received any recognition for my contributions towards 
the progress of our country, I always emphasised that it is a recognition 
of the achievements of many people with whom I had a privilege to 
be associated with. I would like to stress even more strongly that my 
contributions have been possible only because I have consistently 
adhered to certain values. Values that I have inherited from my parents 
and other family elders; values that I saw in my mentor and supporter 
here in Anand—Tribhuvandas Patel. I have often spoken of integrity as 
the most important of these values, realising that integrity—and personal 
integrity, at that—is being honest to yourself. If you are always honest to 
yourself, it does not take much effort in always being honest with others.
I have also learnt what I am sure you, too, will find out some day. Life 
is a privilege and to waste it would be wrong. In living this privilege 
called ‘life’, you must accept responsibility for yourself, always use your 
talents to the best of your ability and contribute somehow to the common 
good. That common good will present itself to you in many forms every 
day. If you look around you, you will find there is a lot waiting to be 
done: your friend may need some help, your teacher could be looking 
for a volunteer, or the community you live in will need you to make a 
contribution. I hope that you, too, will discover, as I did, that failure is not 
about not succeeding. Rather, it is about not putting in your best effort 
and not contributing, however modestly, to the common good. 
In life you, too, will discover as I did, that anything can go wrong at any time 
and mostly does. Yet, there is little correlation between the circumstances 
of people’s lives and how happy they are. Most of us compare ourselves 
with someone we think is happier—a relative, an acquaintance, or often, 
someone we barely know. But when we start looking closely we realise 
that what we saw were only images of perfection. And that will help us 
understand and cherish what we have, rather than what we don’t have. 
Unit 2.indd   84 13-05-2025   12:07:46
Values and Dispositions
85
Let us discuss
A fact is something that can be proven true or false. A fact is not based 
on people’s beliefs. An opinion on the other hand is a belief, feeling or 
judgement, and can vary from one person to another. An opinion cannot 
be proven. 
musings:
thoughts on 
something 
one has been 
thinking about 
carefully for a 
long time
Let us discuss
A fact is something that can be proven true or false. A fact is not based 
Do you remember when you accompanied me at the magnificent ceremony 
in Delhi where our President awarded me the Padma Vibhushan in 1999?  
With great pride, you slipped the medal around your neck, looked at it in 
awe and asked me very innocently if you could keep it. Do you remember 
the answer your grandmother and I gave you? We told you that of course, 
this medal was yours as much as it was mine but that you should not be 
satisfied in merely keeping my award—the challenge before you was to 
earn your own reward for the work that you did in your lifetime. 
And in the end, if we are brave enough to love, strong enough to rejoice in 
another’s happiness and wise enough to know that there is enough to go 
around for all, then we would have lived our lives to the fullest. 
I would like to dedicate these musings to you, Siddharth, and to the 
millions of other children of your generation in our country, in the hope 
that upon reading them you will be inspired enough to go bravely out 
into the world and work tirelessly in your chosen field for the larger good 
of the country, for the larger good of humanity. Remember, rewards that 
come to you then are the only true rewards for a life well-spent. 
With my fondest love, 
(V Kurien)
Unit 2.indd   85 13-05-2025   12:07:48
Poorvi
86
I Identify which of the following statements are facts and which are 
opinions. Share your answers with your classmates and teacher.  
1. But speaking on the telephone only gives us an immediate but 
fleeting joy. 
2. I started my working life soon after our country became independent. 
3. To be quite honest, service to our nation’s farmers was not the career 
I had envisioned for myself. 
4. I knew I could make a more meaningful contribution by working 
here in Anand, Gujarat. 
5. … values that I saw in my mentor and supporter here in Anand— 
Tribhuvandas Patel. 
6. Life is a privilege, and to waste it would be wrong. 
7. I hope that you, too, will discover, as I did, that failure is not about 
not succeeding. 
8. … the magnificent ceremony in which the President awarded me the 
Padma Vibhushan in 1999?
Let us think and reflect
I Read the given extracts and answer the questions that follow.
1. In today’s fast-paced world we have become so addicted to instant 
communication that we prefer to use a telephone. But speaking on the communication that we prefer to use a telephone. But speaking on the 
telephone only gives us an immediate but fleeting joy. 
Writing is different. Writing—even if it is a letter—not 
only conveys our present concerns and views of the events 
taking place around us but it becomes a possession that 
can be treasured and re-read over the years, with great, 
abiding pleasure.
(i) Fill in the blank given below by selecting the correct option 
from the brackets.
  When the writer refers to a ‘fast-paced world’, he is speaking of a 
world where _________________. (communication happens quickly 
but lacks depth/people have more time to write and reflect)
(ii) Select the option that applies correctly to both Assertion (A) and 
Reason (R).
  (A): Writing letters can be treasured and re-read over the years.
  (R): Speaking on the telephone provides long lasting joy.
Unit 2.indd   86 13-05-2025   12:07:49