How I Taught My Grandmother to Read – Class 9 English Chapter 1 Notes & NCERT PDF

Class 9EnglishChapter 1NCERT book: Kaveri - English Class 9

Notes and a simple summary of Chapter 1 of the NCERT Class 9 English book, with the official chapter PDF, flashcards, an MCQ quiz and an AI tutor for your doubts.

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Chapter 1: How I Taught My Grandmother to Read

Chapter Overview

Chapter 1 of Kaveri celebrates learning at every age and pride in our land. It has two main texts:

How I Taught My Grandmother to Read — a memoir-style story by Sudha Murty about a twelve-year-old girl who teaches her sixty-two-year-old grandmother to read Kannada.

Bharat Our Land — a poem (an ode) by Subramania Bharati praising India's mountains, rivers, scriptures, warriors, sages and spiritual heritage.

Both texts show that what we value most — independence, knowledge, heritage — is worth effort and respect.

How I Taught My Grandmother to Read (Sudha Murty)

Type: autobiographical short story, narrated in the first person.

Part I — the grandmother's longing

When the narrator was about twelve, she lived with her grandparents in a village in north Karnataka. Transport was poor: the morning paper came only in the afternoon and the weekly magazine a day late.

Triveni, a popular Kannada writer, wrote a novel called Kashi Yatre, serialised in the Kannada weekly Karmaveera. It tells of an old lady who longs to go to Kashi (Varanasi) but finally gives away all her savings so that a poor orphan girl can marry. She says:

'The happiness of this orphan girl is more important than worshipping Lord Vishweshwara at Kashi.'

The grandmother, Krishtakka (whom the narrator calls Avva, "mother" in north Karnataka Kannada), never went to school and could not read. Every Wednesday the narrator read the new episode aloud; Avva listened with the greatest concentration, could repeat it by heart, and identified with the heroine because she too had never been to Kashi.

The narrator went to a wedding in a neighbouring village for a couple of days but stayed a week. When she returned, Avva was in tears — something the narrator had never seen.

That night on the terrace, under a full moon, Avva explained: she lost her mother young, her father remarried, girls were not educated then, and she married very young. She regretted never going to school.

Part II — the decision and the lesson

While the narrator was away, Karmaveera came, but Avva could only look at the picture. She rubbed her hands over the pages, too embarrassed to ask anyone else. She felt dependent and helpless:

'We are well-off, but what use is money when I cannot be independent?'

She decided to learn the Kannada alphabet, setting Saraswati Puja day during Dassara as her deadline to read a novel on her own.

The narrator childishly laughed at her grey hair, wrinkled hands and spectacles. Avva replied:

'For a good cause if you are determined, you can overcome any obstacle… For learning there is no age bar.'

Avva was a wonderful student — she read, repeated, wrote and recited. The narrator was "her only teacher" and Avva "my first student"; later the narrator became a teacher of Computer Science.

On Saraswati Puja day, Avva gave the narrator frock material and touched her feet — honouring her as a teacher, "irrespective of the gender and age". The narrator touched her feet in return and gifted her a copy of Kashi Yatre, which Avva read aloud at once. The student "had passed with flying colours".

Message: Education brings independence and dignity; age is no barrier to learning; teachers deserve respect.

Bharat Our Land (Subramania Bharati)

Type: an ode — a lyrical poem of deep praise.

The mighty Himavant is ours— there's no equal anywhere on earth.

The generous Ganga is ours— which other river can match her grace?

The poet praises the Himavant (Himalaya), the Ganga, the Upanishads and "this sunny golden land".

He honours gallant warriors, sages who "sanctified this land", the "divinest music", and all auspicious things.

He recalls Brahma-knowledge and the Buddha, who "preached his dhamma here", and calls Bharat a land "of hoary antiquity".

The refrain "she's peerless, let's praise her!" builds pride and a chant-like rhythm.

Devices: hyperbole ("no equal anywhere on earth"), personification (the Ganga's grace; Bharat as "she"), allusion (Upanishads, Buddha), metaphor ("sunny golden land"), rhetorical questions, and hyphens that pause before a strong claim.

Word Power

ardent – keen, passionate (उत्सुक)

savouring – enjoying to the fullest (आनंद लेना)

immensely – extremely (अत्यधिक)

taken aback – surprised by something unexpected (चकित)

protagonist – main character (मुख्य पात्र)

episode – a part of a story (अंश/कड़ी)

convincing – believable (विश्वसनीय)

community – people living in one area (समुदाय)

determination – firm resolve (दृढ़ निश्चय)

independent – not relying on others (आत्मनिर्भर)

peerless – without equal (अतुलनीय)

sanctified – made holy (पवित्र किया)

auspicious – favourable, lucky (शुभ)

hoary antiquity – very ancient times (प्राचीनता)

Grammar & Language Focus

Binomials — fixed word pairs joined by and/or: hide and seek, sink or swim, on and off, mix and match, all or nothing, part and parcel, pick and choose, sooner or later, leaps and bounds.

Prefixes that give opposite meanings: un- (unhappy, unusual, unpopular, unimportant, uninteresting), ir- (irrespective), in- (independent, incorrect), im- (impossible), dis- (disbelief, disrespect, discontinue), mis- (misunderstand), extra- (extraordinary).

Idioms about learning: hit the books (study seriously), draw a blank (be unable to remember), learn the ropes (understand how to do an activity), rack one's brain (think very hard), learn by heart (memorise), burn the midnight oil (study late into the night), pass with flying colours (outstanding performance).

Past perfect tense — for the earlier of two past actions: I knew then that my student had passed* with flying colours.* / By the time I reached the party, everyone had finished* eating.*

Poem vocabulary: suffixes -ous (generous), -ity (antiquity), -est (divinest), -less (peerless).

Speaking & Writing Tasks

Turncoat debate — speak for and then against a topic for one minute each (e.g. "Learning can happen only when you are young").

Letter to the Editor — on student participation in adult literacy camps: sender's details, date, subject, salutation, three paragraphs (problem, analysis, suggestions), "Yours truly".

Poem tasks: speak about an asset of your village/town/city; write a paragraph about a memorable place you visited.

Learning beyond the text: NLMA runs the Adult Education Programme; financial literacy and the NCFE; cultural literacy and the CCRT.

Common Mistakes

Thinking the grandmother went to Kashi — she never did; the heroine of Kashi Yatre also gave up her trip.

Saying Avva asked someone else to read to her — she was too embarrassed to ask.

Mixing up names: Triveni is the author of Kashi Yatre; Karmaveera is the magazine; Krishtakka/Avva is the grandmother.

Using simple past for both actions — the earlier action takes past perfect (had passed).

Calling "Bharat Our Land" a ballad — it is an ode; "she's peerless, let's praise her!" is its refrain.

💡 Key Learning Points

✓Retell the story of Avva's decision to learn to read and how she met her Saraswati Puja deadline.
✓Explain how literacy gives independence and dignity, using Avva's words about money and dependence.
✓Identify the ode form, refrain, allusion and hyperbole in Subramania Bharati's 'Bharat Our Land'.
✓Use binomials, opposite-forming prefixes and learning idioms correctly.
✓Use the past perfect tense for the earlier of two past actions.

👨‍🏫 Teaching Tips

→Begin with the 'Reflect and Respond' word web on why reading and writing matter; collect answers on the board.
→Read Part I aloud and pause at the wedding episode — ask students to predict why Avva is crying.
→Stage a short role-play of the terrace conversation and the Saraswati Puja scene to bring out the characters.
→Build a two-column timeline (earlier action / later action) from the story to teach the past perfect.
→Run the 'turncoat' debate on 'Learning can happen only when you are young', with a signal to switch sides.
→Recite 'Bharat Our Land' chorally so students feel the refrain; then hunt for hyperbole and allusion.
→Link to the NLMA and adult literacy camps; ask students to draft the Letter to the Editor in pairs.

📋 Assessment Questions

Why did Avva decide to learn the Kannada alphabet at sixty-two?
What does Avva's touching the narrator's feet teach us about respect for teachers?
Complete: 'By the time Varun ___ (recognise) the importance of budgeting, he ___ (exhaust) most of his savings.'
Identify the refrain and one allusion in 'Bharat Our Land' and explain their effect.
How does the story link education with independence?

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Next: Chapter 2 →The Pot Maker