NCERT Textbook: Glimpses of India | English Class 10 PDF Download

 Page 1


BEFORE YOU READ
Activity
Discuss in class
1. What images — of people and of places — come to your mind,
when you think of our country?
2. What parts of India have you lived in, or visited? Can you name
some popular tourist destinations?
3. You may know that apart from the British, the Dutch and the
French, the Portuguese have also played a part in the history of
our country. Can you say which parts of India show French
and Portuguese influences?
4. Can you say which parts of India grow  (i) tea,  (ii) coffee?
I
A Baker from Goa
This is a pen-portrait of a traditional Goan village baker who still
has an important place in his society.
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
has not yet been extinguished. The thud and jingle of
reminiscing
nostalgically
thinking fondly of
the past
Reprint 2024-25
Page 2


BEFORE YOU READ
Activity
Discuss in class
1. What images — of people and of places — come to your mind,
when you think of our country?
2. What parts of India have you lived in, or visited? Can you name
some popular tourist destinations?
3. You may know that apart from the British, the Dutch and the
French, the Portuguese have also played a part in the history of
our country. Can you say which parts of India show French
and Portuguese influences?
4. Can you say which parts of India grow  (i) tea,  (ii) coffee?
I
A Baker from Goa
This is a pen-portrait of a traditional Goan village baker who still
has an important place in his society.
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
has not yet been extinguished. The thud and jingle of
reminiscing
nostalgically
thinking fondly of
the past
Reprint 2024-25
First Flight
64
the traditional baker’s bamboo, heralding his arrival
in the morning, can still be heard in some places.
Maybe the father is not alive but the son still carries
on the family profession. These bakers are, even today,
known as pader in Goa.
During our childhood in Goa, the baker used to
be our friend, companion and guide. He used to
come at least twice a day. Once, when he set out in
the morning on his selling round, and then again,
when he returned after emptying his huge basket.
The jingling thud of his bamboo woke us up from
sleep and we ran to meet and greet him. Why was
it so? Was it for the love of the loaf? Not at all. The
loaves were bought by some Paskine or Bastine,
the maid-servant of the house! What we longed for
were those bread-bangles which we chose carefully.
Sometimes it was sweet bread of special make.
The baker made his musical entry on the scene
with the ‘jhang, jhang’ sound of his specially made
bamboo staff. One hand supported the basket on
his head and the other banged the bamboo on the
ground. He would greet the lady of the house with
“Good morning” and then place his basket on the
vertical bamboo. We kids would be pushed aside
with a mild rebuke and the loaves would be delivered
to the servant. But we would not give up. We would
climb a bench or the parapet and peep into the
basket, somehow. I can still recall the typical
fragrance of those loaves. Loaves for the elders and
the bangles for the children. Then we did not even
care to brush our teeth or wash our mouths
properly. And why should we? Who would take the
trouble of plucking the mango-leaf for the
toothbrush? And why was it necessary at all? The
tiger never brushed his teeth. Hot tea could wash
and clean up everything so nicely, after all!
Oral Comprehension Check
1. What are the elders in Goa nostalgic about?
2. Is bread-making still popular in Goa? How do you know?
3. What is the baker called?
4. When would the baker come everyday? Why did the children
run to meet him?
rebuke
an expression of
disapproval; a
scolding
fragrance
scent
heralding
announcing
Reprint 2024-25
Page 3


BEFORE YOU READ
Activity
Discuss in class
1. What images — of people and of places — come to your mind,
when you think of our country?
2. What parts of India have you lived in, or visited? Can you name
some popular tourist destinations?
3. You may know that apart from the British, the Dutch and the
French, the Portuguese have also played a part in the history of
our country. Can you say which parts of India show French
and Portuguese influences?
4. Can you say which parts of India grow  (i) tea,  (ii) coffee?
I
A Baker from Goa
This is a pen-portrait of a traditional Goan village baker who still
has an important place in his society.
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
has not yet been extinguished. The thud and jingle of
reminiscing
nostalgically
thinking fondly of
the past
Reprint 2024-25
First Flight
64
the traditional baker’s bamboo, heralding his arrival
in the morning, can still be heard in some places.
Maybe the father is not alive but the son still carries
on the family profession. These bakers are, even today,
known as pader in Goa.
During our childhood in Goa, the baker used to
be our friend, companion and guide. He used to
come at least twice a day. Once, when he set out in
the morning on his selling round, and then again,
when he returned after emptying his huge basket.
The jingling thud of his bamboo woke us up from
sleep and we ran to meet and greet him. Why was
it so? Was it for the love of the loaf? Not at all. The
loaves were bought by some Paskine or Bastine,
the maid-servant of the house! What we longed for
were those bread-bangles which we chose carefully.
Sometimes it was sweet bread of special make.
The baker made his musical entry on the scene
with the ‘jhang, jhang’ sound of his specially made
bamboo staff. One hand supported the basket on
his head and the other banged the bamboo on the
ground. He would greet the lady of the house with
“Good morning” and then place his basket on the
vertical bamboo. We kids would be pushed aside
with a mild rebuke and the loaves would be delivered
to the servant. But we would not give up. We would
climb a bench or the parapet and peep into the
basket, somehow. I can still recall the typical
fragrance of those loaves. Loaves for the elders and
the bangles for the children. Then we did not even
care to brush our teeth or wash our mouths
properly. And why should we? Who would take the
trouble of plucking the mango-leaf for the
toothbrush? And why was it necessary at all? The
tiger never brushed his teeth. Hot tea could wash
and clean up everything so nicely, after all!
Oral Comprehension Check
1. What are the elders in Goa nostalgic about?
2. Is bread-making still popular in Goa? How do you know?
3. What is the baker called?
4. When would the baker come everyday? Why did the children
run to meet him?
rebuke
an expression of
disapproval; a
scolding
fragrance
scent
heralding
announcing
Reprint 2024-25
Glimpses of India
65
Marriage gifts are meaningless without the sweet
bread known as the bol, just as a party or a feast
loses its charm without bread. Not enough can be
said to show how important a baker can be for a
village. The lady of the house must prepare
sandwiches on the occasion of her daughter’s
engagement. Cakes and bolinhas are a must for
Christmas as well as other festivals. Thus, the
presence of the baker’s furnace in the village is
absolutely essential.
The baker or bread-seller of those days had a
peculiar dress known as the kabai. It was a single-
piece long frock reaching down to the knees. In our
childhood we saw bakers wearing a shirt and
trousers which were shorter than full-length ones
and longer than half pants. Even today, anyone
who wears a half pant which reaches just below
the knees invites the comment that he is dressed
like a pader!
The baker usually collected his bills at the end
of the month. Monthly accounts used to be recorded
on some wall in pencil. Baking was indeed a
profitable profession in the old days. The baker and
his family never starved. He, his family and his
servants always looked happy and prosperous. Their
plump physique was an open testimony to this. Even
today any person with a jackfruit-like physical
appearance is easily compared to a baker.
Oral Comprehension Check
1. Match the following. What is a must
(i) as marriage gifts? – cakes and bolinhas
(ii) for a party or a feast? – sweet bread called bol
(iii) for a daughter’s engagement? – bread
(iv) for Christmas? – sandwiches
2. What did the bakers wear: (i) in the Portuguese days? (ii) when the
author was young?
3. Who invites the comment — “he is dressed like a pader”? Why?
4. Where were the monthly accounts of the baker recorded?
5. What does a ‘jackfruit -like appearance’ mean?
plump physique
pleasantly fat body
open testimony
public statement
about a character or
quality
Reprint 2024-25
Page 4


BEFORE YOU READ
Activity
Discuss in class
1. What images — of people and of places — come to your mind,
when you think of our country?
2. What parts of India have you lived in, or visited? Can you name
some popular tourist destinations?
3. You may know that apart from the British, the Dutch and the
French, the Portuguese have also played a part in the history of
our country. Can you say which parts of India show French
and Portuguese influences?
4. Can you say which parts of India grow  (i) tea,  (ii) coffee?
I
A Baker from Goa
This is a pen-portrait of a traditional Goan village baker who still
has an important place in his society.
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
has not yet been extinguished. The thud and jingle of
reminiscing
nostalgically
thinking fondly of
the past
Reprint 2024-25
First Flight
64
the traditional baker’s bamboo, heralding his arrival
in the morning, can still be heard in some places.
Maybe the father is not alive but the son still carries
on the family profession. These bakers are, even today,
known as pader in Goa.
During our childhood in Goa, the baker used to
be our friend, companion and guide. He used to
come at least twice a day. Once, when he set out in
the morning on his selling round, and then again,
when he returned after emptying his huge basket.
The jingling thud of his bamboo woke us up from
sleep and we ran to meet and greet him. Why was
it so? Was it for the love of the loaf? Not at all. The
loaves were bought by some Paskine or Bastine,
the maid-servant of the house! What we longed for
were those bread-bangles which we chose carefully.
Sometimes it was sweet bread of special make.
The baker made his musical entry on the scene
with the ‘jhang, jhang’ sound of his specially made
bamboo staff. One hand supported the basket on
his head and the other banged the bamboo on the
ground. He would greet the lady of the house with
“Good morning” and then place his basket on the
vertical bamboo. We kids would be pushed aside
with a mild rebuke and the loaves would be delivered
to the servant. But we would not give up. We would
climb a bench or the parapet and peep into the
basket, somehow. I can still recall the typical
fragrance of those loaves. Loaves for the elders and
the bangles for the children. Then we did not even
care to brush our teeth or wash our mouths
properly. And why should we? Who would take the
trouble of plucking the mango-leaf for the
toothbrush? And why was it necessary at all? The
tiger never brushed his teeth. Hot tea could wash
and clean up everything so nicely, after all!
Oral Comprehension Check
1. What are the elders in Goa nostalgic about?
2. Is bread-making still popular in Goa? How do you know?
3. What is the baker called?
4. When would the baker come everyday? Why did the children
run to meet him?
rebuke
an expression of
disapproval; a
scolding
fragrance
scent
heralding
announcing
Reprint 2024-25
Glimpses of India
65
Marriage gifts are meaningless without the sweet
bread known as the bol, just as a party or a feast
loses its charm without bread. Not enough can be
said to show how important a baker can be for a
village. The lady of the house must prepare
sandwiches on the occasion of her daughter’s
engagement. Cakes and bolinhas are a must for
Christmas as well as other festivals. Thus, the
presence of the baker’s furnace in the village is
absolutely essential.
The baker or bread-seller of those days had a
peculiar dress known as the kabai. It was a single-
piece long frock reaching down to the knees. In our
childhood we saw bakers wearing a shirt and
trousers which were shorter than full-length ones
and longer than half pants. Even today, anyone
who wears a half pant which reaches just below
the knees invites the comment that he is dressed
like a pader!
The baker usually collected his bills at the end
of the month. Monthly accounts used to be recorded
on some wall in pencil. Baking was indeed a
profitable profession in the old days. The baker and
his family never starved. He, his family and his
servants always looked happy and prosperous. Their
plump physique was an open testimony to this. Even
today any person with a jackfruit-like physical
appearance is easily compared to a baker.
Oral Comprehension Check
1. Match the following. What is a must
(i) as marriage gifts? – cakes and bolinhas
(ii) for a party or a feast? – sweet bread called bol
(iii) for a daughter’s engagement? – bread
(iv) for Christmas? – sandwiches
2. What did the bakers wear: (i) in the Portuguese days? (ii) when the
author was young?
3. Who invites the comment — “he is dressed like a pader”? Why?
4. Where were the monthly accounts of the baker recorded?
5. What does a ‘jackfruit -like appearance’ mean?
plump physique
pleasantly fat body
open testimony
public statement
about a character or
quality
Reprint 2024-25
First Flight
66
1. Which of these statements are correct?
(i) The pader was an important person in the village in old times.
(ii) Paders still exist in Goan villages.
(iii) The paders went away with the Portuguese.
(iv) The paders continue to wear a single-piece long frock.
(v) Bread and cakes were an integral part of Goan life in the old days.
(vi) Traditional bread-baking is still a very profitable business.
(vii) Paders and their families starve in the present times.
2. Is bread an important part of Goan life? How do you know this?
3. Tick the right answer. What is the tone of the author when he says the following?
(i) The thud and the jingle of the traditional baker’s bamboo can still be
heard in some places. (nostalgic, hopeful, sad)
(ii) Maybe the father is not alive but the son still carries on the family
profession. (nostalgic, hopeful, sad)
(iii) I still recall the typical fragrance of those loaves. (nostalgic, hopeful,
naughty)
(iv) The tiger never brushed his teeth. Hot tea could wash and clean up
everything so nicely, after all. (naughty, angry, funny)
(v) Cakes and bolinhas are a must for Christmas as well as other festivals.
(sad, hopeful, matter-of-fact)
(vi) The baker and his family never starved. They always looked happy and
prosperous. (matter-of-fact, hopeful, sad)
I. In this extract, the author talks about traditional bread-baking during his
childhood days. Complete the following table with the help of the clues on
the left. Then write a paragraph about the author's childhood days.
Clues Author’s childhood days
the way bread was baked
the way the pader sold bread
what the pader wore
when the pader was paid
how the pader looked
Reprint 2024-25
Page 5


BEFORE YOU READ
Activity
Discuss in class
1. What images — of people and of places — come to your mind,
when you think of our country?
2. What parts of India have you lived in, or visited? Can you name
some popular tourist destinations?
3. You may know that apart from the British, the Dutch and the
French, the Portuguese have also played a part in the history of
our country. Can you say which parts of India show French
and Portuguese influences?
4. Can you say which parts of India grow  (i) tea,  (ii) coffee?
I
A Baker from Goa
This is a pen-portrait of a traditional Goan village baker who still
has an important place in his society.
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
has not yet been extinguished. The thud and jingle of
reminiscing
nostalgically
thinking fondly of
the past
Reprint 2024-25
First Flight
64
the traditional baker’s bamboo, heralding his arrival
in the morning, can still be heard in some places.
Maybe the father is not alive but the son still carries
on the family profession. These bakers are, even today,
known as pader in Goa.
During our childhood in Goa, the baker used to
be our friend, companion and guide. He used to
come at least twice a day. Once, when he set out in
the morning on his selling round, and then again,
when he returned after emptying his huge basket.
The jingling thud of his bamboo woke us up from
sleep and we ran to meet and greet him. Why was
it so? Was it for the love of the loaf? Not at all. The
loaves were bought by some Paskine or Bastine,
the maid-servant of the house! What we longed for
were those bread-bangles which we chose carefully.
Sometimes it was sweet bread of special make.
The baker made his musical entry on the scene
with the ‘jhang, jhang’ sound of his specially made
bamboo staff. One hand supported the basket on
his head and the other banged the bamboo on the
ground. He would greet the lady of the house with
“Good morning” and then place his basket on the
vertical bamboo. We kids would be pushed aside
with a mild rebuke and the loaves would be delivered
to the servant. But we would not give up. We would
climb a bench or the parapet and peep into the
basket, somehow. I can still recall the typical
fragrance of those loaves. Loaves for the elders and
the bangles for the children. Then we did not even
care to brush our teeth or wash our mouths
properly. And why should we? Who would take the
trouble of plucking the mango-leaf for the
toothbrush? And why was it necessary at all? The
tiger never brushed his teeth. Hot tea could wash
and clean up everything so nicely, after all!
Oral Comprehension Check
1. What are the elders in Goa nostalgic about?
2. Is bread-making still popular in Goa? How do you know?
3. What is the baker called?
4. When would the baker come everyday? Why did the children
run to meet him?
rebuke
an expression of
disapproval; a
scolding
fragrance
scent
heralding
announcing
Reprint 2024-25
Glimpses of India
65
Marriage gifts are meaningless without the sweet
bread known as the bol, just as a party or a feast
loses its charm without bread. Not enough can be
said to show how important a baker can be for a
village. The lady of the house must prepare
sandwiches on the occasion of her daughter’s
engagement. Cakes and bolinhas are a must for
Christmas as well as other festivals. Thus, the
presence of the baker’s furnace in the village is
absolutely essential.
The baker or bread-seller of those days had a
peculiar dress known as the kabai. It was a single-
piece long frock reaching down to the knees. In our
childhood we saw bakers wearing a shirt and
trousers which were shorter than full-length ones
and longer than half pants. Even today, anyone
who wears a half pant which reaches just below
the knees invites the comment that he is dressed
like a pader!
The baker usually collected his bills at the end
of the month. Monthly accounts used to be recorded
on some wall in pencil. Baking was indeed a
profitable profession in the old days. The baker and
his family never starved. He, his family and his
servants always looked happy and prosperous. Their
plump physique was an open testimony to this. Even
today any person with a jackfruit-like physical
appearance is easily compared to a baker.
Oral Comprehension Check
1. Match the following. What is a must
(i) as marriage gifts? – cakes and bolinhas
(ii) for a party or a feast? – sweet bread called bol
(iii) for a daughter’s engagement? – bread
(iv) for Christmas? – sandwiches
2. What did the bakers wear: (i) in the Portuguese days? (ii) when the
author was young?
3. Who invites the comment — “he is dressed like a pader”? Why?
4. Where were the monthly accounts of the baker recorded?
5. What does a ‘jackfruit -like appearance’ mean?
plump physique
pleasantly fat body
open testimony
public statement
about a character or
quality
Reprint 2024-25
First Flight
66
1. Which of these statements are correct?
(i) The pader was an important person in the village in old times.
(ii) Paders still exist in Goan villages.
(iii) The paders went away with the Portuguese.
(iv) The paders continue to wear a single-piece long frock.
(v) Bread and cakes were an integral part of Goan life in the old days.
(vi) Traditional bread-baking is still a very profitable business.
(vii) Paders and their families starve in the present times.
2. Is bread an important part of Goan life? How do you know this?
3. Tick the right answer. What is the tone of the author when he says the following?
(i) The thud and the jingle of the traditional baker’s bamboo can still be
heard in some places. (nostalgic, hopeful, sad)
(ii) Maybe the father is not alive but the son still carries on the family
profession. (nostalgic, hopeful, sad)
(iii) I still recall the typical fragrance of those loaves. (nostalgic, hopeful,
naughty)
(iv) The tiger never brushed his teeth. Hot tea could wash and clean up
everything so nicely, after all. (naughty, angry, funny)
(v) Cakes and bolinhas are a must for Christmas as well as other festivals.
(sad, hopeful, matter-of-fact)
(vi) The baker and his family never starved. They always looked happy and
prosperous. (matter-of-fact, hopeful, sad)
I. In this extract, the author talks about traditional bread-baking during his
childhood days. Complete the following table with the help of the clues on
the left. Then write a paragraph about the author's childhood days.
Clues Author’s childhood days
the way bread was baked
the way the pader sold bread
what the pader wore
when the pader was paid
how the pader looked
Reprint 2024-25
Glimpses of India
67
II. 1. Compare the piece from the text (on the left below) with the other piece
on Goan bakers (on the right). What makes the two texts so different?
Are the facts the same? Do both writers give you a picture of the baker?
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.
2. 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.
1. In groups, collect information on how bakeries bake bread now and how the
process has changed over time.
2. There are a number of craft-based professions which are dying out. Pick one
of the crafts below. Make a group presentation to the class about the skills
required, and the possible reasons for the decline of the craft. Can you
think of ways to revive these crafts?
(i) Pottery (v) Carpentry
(ii) Batik work (vi) Bamboo weaving
(iii) Dhurri (rug) weaving (vii) Making jute products
(iv) Embroidery (viii) Handloom
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.
[Adapted from Nandakumar
Kamat’s ‘The Unsung Lives of Goan
Paders’]
Reprint 2024-25