Chapter 12: Waiting for the Rain
Six good years, then a year with no rain — and an old woman who says the land itself needs rest.
Original notes — ready CBSE (NCERT, English Medium) • Class 8 • English • Book: Poorvi Unit 4: Environment
Chapter 12: Waiting for the Rain — EG's own notes, in simple words
Book: Poorvi (CBSE, Class 8) | Chapter 12 | Unit 4: Environment | Medium: English
Diagram (labels are printed on the image): Diagram (labels are printed on the image): Dry cracked earth and thirsty crops under a hot sun, with dark clouds far away. A general picture about drought; it is not a scene from the book.
Farmers looking up hopefully at dark monsoon clouds over fields. A general picture about hope for rain, not a book scene.
What the lesson is about
This story opens with Velu, a farmer, waking at dawn and scanning the sky. The sun rises crimson like fire, and there is not a cloud. Velu is a hard-working man: for nearly six years, ever since he got his own piece of land, he has worked without rest or holiday, harvesting jowar one season and dhal the next, and his land has never failed him.
This year is different. Summer ends and the rains do not come. Days, weeks and months pass, the fields lie untended, the earth hardens, crusts and cracks, and the farmers live entirely on hope. Someone suggests consulting astrologers to learn what would please the heavens, but Velu disagrees: the rains came all these years without any such consultations, and he cannot see how talking to astrologers will bring rain.
Velu walks to the weather office in the city, but the officials are at a loss themselves: so many favourable conditions, yet still no rain — very odd. Tired, thirsty and dejected, coughing and sneezing in the dust, he rests under a large, shady tree, where an old woman is also sheltering from the sun. Her skin is wrinkled, but her eyes sparkle when she smiles, and her smile grows wider as she looks at him.
Velu pours out his bitterness: he has worked hard and honestly, yet he feels punished, because without rain he cannot till the land, and without tilling no crop will grow, and without a crop how shall he feed his family? The old woman answers with nature's wisdom, gently. Perhaps, she says, he has worked too hard. He has strength now and can work without a break — but has he thought about the land? The earth works too, when you plough and sow and plant, and it has worked for years, for centuries, for thousands of years. Should not someone let the land rest a bit? The extract leaves Velu's wait open: the question it asks readers is whether his wait will continue, or whether it will rain — and whether rest, for land as for people, is part of working well.
Key Terms
- Crimson — A deep red colour, here of the rising sun.
- Crusted — Formed a hard outer layer, as dry earth does.
- Forlorn — Sad and neglected, as the barren land looks.
- Dejected — Sad and disappointed.
- Consultation — A discussion seeking advice, here with astrologers.
- Fallowing — Letting land rest for a time so it recovers its strength.
Remember
- Velu's record: six years of unbroken work, jowar one season, dhal the next.
- Two false hopes are tested and set aside: astrologers and the weather office.
- The old woman's wisdom is a question, not a lecture: has he thought about the land?
- The extract ends with the wait unresolved — do not write that rain has come.
Velu hears 'let the land rest' as an attack on hard work. In answers, explain her distinction: rest is not idleness, it is how the earth recovers — the farming practice called fallowing.
Chart / Table: Velu's year without rain
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Before | Six years of steady work; land never failed him. |
| The drought | Fields untended; earth hardened, crusted and cracked. |
| Astrologers | Velu rejects them: rain came for years without consultations. |
| Weather office | Officials are at a loss despite favourable conditions. |
| The old woman | The earth works too — let the land rest a bit. |
Language focus — Let us learn
- Weather and agriculture crossword: solve a crossword from picture and word clues, with words connected to weather or farming — such as harvest for collected crops, breeze for a gentle wind, thunder for a rumbling sound with rain, plough for turning up field soil, sow for planting seeds, and crops for grains grown in large quantity in fields.
- Homophones: words pronounced the same but spelt differently — piece/peace, weather/whether, son/sun, rain/reign. Practise choosing the right spelling for the meaning, for example rain for water from the sky and reign for a ruler's rule.
- Determiners: the use of common determiners — articles a, an, the; demonstratives this, that, these, those; possessives such as my, our, your, his, her, its; and each and every. Fill blanks by choosing the determiner that points correctly.
Listen, Speak, Write, Explore
- Listen: a weather forecast; fill in blanks with the exact word you hear, listening for temperatures, skies and rain or drizzle.
- Speak: a tongue twister about weather — practise saying it as fast as you can, clearly, without dropping sounds.
- Write: a letter to the authority about difficulties faced by people in your neighbourhood from scarcity of water, especially in summer — state the problem, its effects, and the help requested.
- Explore: rest is important for us to function well, and even the Earth needs rest — the practice called fallowing. Find out how long fields are commonly left fallow, and why.
Practice set — try it yourself
- Why does Velu reject the idea of consulting astrologers?
Hint: Think about evidence: what happened in all the years before? - Why are the weather officials 'at a loss'?
Hint: Think about conditions: what is present, and what is still missing? - What does the old woman mean by 'the earth works too'?
Hint: Think about ploughing, sowing and planting as work done to the land, year after year. - How does Velu feel when he sits under the tree, and why?
Hint: Think about thirst, dust, disappointment and fear for his family. - Will Velu's wait continue, or will it rain? What makes you think so?
Hint: Think about the extract's open ending: what evidence is there, and what is left unanswered?
Questions with Answers
- Who is Velu, and what was his farming life before the drought?
A farmer who, for nearly six years since getting his own land, worked without rest or holiday, harvesting jowar one season and dhal the next, and whose land never failed him. - What happens in the year of the story?
Summer ends and the rains do not come. Days, weeks and months pass, fields lie untended, the earth hardens, crusts and cracks, and the farmers live entirely on hope. - Why does Velu go to the weather office, and what does he learn there?
Hoping to learn when rain will come, he finds the officials at a loss themselves: so many favourable conditions exist, yet still there is no rain. - What wisdom does the old woman offer Velu?
That he has worked too hard without thinking of the land: the earth works too, when people plough, sow and plant, and after years and centuries of work, it should be allowed to rest a bit. - What is the story's message about nature and work?
That working well includes rest — for people and for land. Endless taking without rest exhausts the earth, and patience and care are part of farming, not a failure of it.
Extension questions — go further
- Order the events: (a) six years of good harvests (b) the rains fail (c) Velu visits the weather office (d) he talks with the old woman.
(a), (b), (c), (d). - True or false: Velu consults astrologers to bring rain.
False. He rejects the idea, saying rain came for years without consultations. - What crops does Velu grow in alternate seasons?
Jowar one season and dhal the next. - Choose the correct homophone: The farmer waited for the _____ (rain/reign) to come.
Rain — water from the sky. - Choose the correct homophone: I want a _____ of cake (piece/peace).
Piece — a part of something. - Choose the correct determiner: _____ jump, the sound grew louder (each/every).
Each or every can fit by sense; the lesson practises both, and the mark comes from the pointing word matching the sentence. (Teacher to confirm the set answer.) - What is fallowing?
Letting land rest for a time so that it recovers its strength. - Why is the old woman smiling when Velu first sees her?
Her eyes sparkle when she smiles, and her smile grows wider as she looks at him — the story presents her as calm and wise, not frightened by the drought. - How is Velu's view of hard work challenged by the old woman?
He believes working without a break is virtue; she shows him that the land also labours, and that rest is part of the work, not its opposite. - Write a paragraph advising a farmer friend during a dry season, using the old woman's wisdom.
Open answer — checked for patience, care for the land, and practical steps, not for a promise of rain.
Six good years, then a year with no rain — and an old woman who says the land itself needs rest. Velu pours out his bitterness: he has worked hard and honestly, yet he feels punished, because without rain he cannot till the land, and without tilling no crop will grow, and without a crop how shall he feed his family? The old woman answers with nature's wisdom, gently.
- Read the summary and say the Key Terms in your own words.
- Try the practice set without looking.
- Check yourself with the Questions with Answers.
- Attempt the extension questions for full NCERT coverage.
- Ask your teacher or parent to check your answers.
How to use this page: Read the summary, say the Key Terms in your own words, then try the practice set without looking. Use the Questions with Answers to check yourself afterwards. Ask your teacher or parent to check your answers.