FOOD AND MEMORIES
MANGO PICKLE JAR, Moinak Dutta
WORD MEANING
1. Slices – pieces
2. Prime – main
3. Terrace – roof of house
4. Flakes – pieces
5. Flurry – spread
6. Pungent – sharp taste
7. Quip – remark
C.3 FROM THE TEXT.
a. What kind of adventure do you like to
have during your holidays?
Life with adventure makes a life worth is During holidays
b. Why is mustard oil considered healthier
than many other oils?
Mustard oil is considered healthier than many other
oils due to its unique nutritional values.
C.4 Read the poem
and complete the task-web given below:
a. How do you feel when you read the
poem for the first time?
DO BY SELF
b. My favourite line in this poem is...
because….
DO BY SELF
c. My choice of another appropriate
title for the poem is…
because….
Ans: Our Pickle Party
I would like to focus on the activity done by the children as they all gather on the terrace and have a wonderful treat in the absence of their mother. I would not focus much on mango because whatever be the pickle made of, children would definitely enjoy it.
d. List any two things that you annually
do with a family member.
DO BY SELF
e. Identify the opposites of the
following words from the poem.
Come – go
Thick – thin
Deliver – keep
f. List the example of alliteration from
the poem.
My mother’s mango pickle jar, ‘m’
Ex. C.5 Choose the correct options.
(Page: 26)
The jar under sun is filled with thin slices of green mangoes,
Dipped in mustard oil, the prime attraction for us to go to terrace,
My mother’s mango pickle jar
Would be the one that would keep us for hours at the terrace,
We would chew those slices which would send a flurry of aftertaste…
a. Choose the option that
talks about the poet’s childhood memory.
iii. We would stay up on the terrace
enjoying the pickled mango slice.
b. What did the children
feel about the mango pickle jar and do with it, according to the excerpt given
above?
ii. enjoyed it
c. Read the five sentences
given below. Select the sentences that include what the excerpt helps us infer.
Sentence
1: The weather is sunny.
Sentence 2: The pickle
jar is partially filled.
Sentence 3: The pickled
mango slices are dry.
Sentence 4: The poet
spends more than an hour on the terrace.
Sentence 5: The pickle
jar contains chunks of mango.
i.
Sentences 1 and 4
d. Choose the option that describes
how the poet feels while chewing the slices of pickled mango.
iii. I get a burst of flavours as
the aftertaste on chewing the pickled slices.
e. Identify the option
which will take ‘prime attraction’ to fill in the blank.
iv. The children enjoyed the
programme but they missed the …………, the puppet show.
Ex. C.6 Choose the correct option. (Page:
27)
a. What would the children
replace in the mango pickle jar on the terrace?
i. oil
b. Based on your
understanding of the poem, select a title that is unsuitable for it.
ii. The Art of Pickling
c. Read the conversation
sets and select the option that includes a ‘quip’ by speaker Y.
1. X: Why are you so upset with Mr.
Shekhar?
Y: I’m not upset with him. Why do you think so?
2. X: Why are you so upset with Mr.
Shekhar?
Y: Because
those who think they know everything annoy those of us who do!
3. X: Why are you so upset with Mr.
Shekhar?
Y: Has to
be a reason. I’m figuring it out myself.
4. X: Why are you so upset with Mr.
Shekhar?
Y: I feel
he can be rather annoying sometimes and that irritates me you know.
ii. option 2
C.7 Answer the
following questions:
a. Summaries the poet’s description of
the taste of the mango pickle slices.
DO BY SELF
The poet is very specific about the taste of mango pickle
and has used the term like ‘curious mixture of sour, sweet and pungent.’ He
also adds the burning sensation of dried chilli flakes to the pickle. The poet
also uses the image like ‘thin slices of green mangoes’ to bring out the
vibrant juicy texture of mango appealing to our sense.
b. Why does the poet say, my mother’s
pickle jar, would give us little adventures in summer?
The mango jar was kept in the terrace. The poet along with
the children, used to steal the green slices of mangoes from the Mango pickle
jar and it was the prime attraction for them to climb up to the terrace. They
loved those mango slices so much as they would eat most of them; and to make
the jar look filled, they poured the mustard oil. This is seen as summer
adventure by the poet.
c. Analyze why the poet refers to the
taste of the pickle as a curious mixture.
The pickle contains different kinds of taste in
it. This process of making pickle involves
immersing vegetables in a solution of vinegar, salt, and spices, allowing it to
absorb a different taste. The combination of sour, sweet and pungent, and the
flavors of dried chilli flakes and spices creates the distinctive taste of
pickles. The poet calls it a curious mixture.
d. The poet has capitalized only the
word mango in the title of the poem and not the words pickle or jar. What
could be the most likely reason for doing so?
The reason ‘Mango’ is capitalized in the poem could be
its importance. Raw or unripe mangoes are firm and tangy, which makes them
suitable for pickling. Pickle is named after the fruits and vegetables like
lemon, gooseberry, carrot, ber etc. used in pickle. It is not named after the
spices or container like jar. Here, mother used mango, hence the poet
capitalized ‘Mango’.
C.8 Answer the
following questions in details:
a. “Hunger is the best pickle”, said
Benjamin Franklin, an American polymath.
i. What does it mean? Explain.
ii. Do you agree with this statement?
Why/Why not?
"Hunger is the best pickle" means that when
we are hungry, even the simple and ordinary food can taste delicious and
satisfying. It suggests that hunger enhances our appreciation for food. Hence, even
a basic meal or a humble pickle taste exceptionally good.
Yes, I agree with the statement. When we are truly
hungry, our senses are heightened, and the experience of eating becomes more
enjoyable.
b. Imagine that a thali and the
mango pickle have a conversation. Write the dialogue between them.
You may begin like this…
Mango Pickle: I feel I am insignificant
compared to the other food items in the thali. I lie in one corner and some
people don’t even notice me.
Thali: That’s not true at all. You’re as
important as anything else…
DO BY SELF
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