A Visitor From Distant Lands (Prose)

Unit 3 – Prose

A Visitor from Distant Lands

Warm Up

Look at the pictures. What do their expressions tell you?

Fill in the blanks with the item that tastes the same. One example is given for each.

1. Sweet : sugarcane ____
2. Sour : lime ____
3. Bitter : bitter gourd ____
4. Salty : salt ____
5. Astringent : betel nut ____
6. Pungent : ginger ____

Prose – A Visitor from Distant Lands

Mani’s family lived in a village near Gingee in Villupuram district.
Mani liked only a few vegetables. Potatoes and ladies’ fingers were the two that he liked very much.

One day, when Amma served potato curry…

Mani: I don’t want to eat potatoes today, because they are foreign vegetables.

Selvi: No, they are not, Amma bought them from the vegetable shop near the bus stop!

Appa: Selvi is too small to understand that potatoes are not from India.

Mani: Our teacher told us that we should buy and eat locally grown food.

Appa: What else did your teacher tell you?

Mani: She also told us to use things made in our country.

Appa: Then you cannot eat popcorn the next time we go to watch a movie. And you cannot order tomato soup either, or even pineapple juice.

Mani: Why? Why can’t I eat popcorn or soup or… or anything that I want to?

Appa: Don’t you know that corn, tomatoes and even ladies’ fingers all came from other countries?

Mani: Really? How did they come to our country, Amma? Did they get on an aeroplane and come here?

Amma: No, no. Some merchants brought them here long ago by sea.

Selvi: Why did they bring vegetables to India?

(Amma and Appa laughed.)

Selvi: They could have brought some sweets. Why didn’t they?

Amma: People came to India in search of spices, especially black pepper. A man from Portugal named Vasco da Gama sailed to Kerala.

Imagine the joy of the sailors when they reached Kozhikode and found black pepper!

They took a lot of pepper back to their country.

Mani: Yes, but who brought the vegetables into India?

Amma: The Portuguese brought them to India. Potato was one of those vegetables.

Mani and Selvi looked at the potato curry on their plates—and quickly began to eat it.

Selvi: Wow! This potato has travelled so far!

Amma: Careful, Selvi, don’t upset our foreign visitor!

(Selvi pulled a long green chilli out of the curry.)

Selvi: Who? Who is our foreign visitor?

Mani: Amma, you are making fun of me!

Amma: No, Amma is not making fun; she is talking about the foreign fruit—chilli!

Chillies were very popular in South America, but no one else in the world knew of this spicy fruit.

One day a sailor named Christopher Columbus sailed to South America.

This sailor was actually looking for India. He wanted to buy black pepper. Instead, he found South America—and the chilli!

Selvi: How sad for Columbus.

Amma: It was a little sad, but because he went to South America, he found the chilli. It was as spicy as black pepper. And so, Christopher Columbus packed the chilli and took it back to his country with him!

Mani: Do you know chillies are cultivated more in Ramanathapuram District of Tamil Nadu?

Selvi: But how did it come here?

Amma: Chilli was one of the things that the Portuguese brought to India.

In India, chilli was first brought into Goa, and the people there learnt to use this new spice in their cooking. Before the entry of chillies, pepper was used in cooking.

Chillies were first known as Govai-mirchi. Soon, there were many different kinds of chillies. Some were long and thin, and some were fat and stubby. People in India and Sri Lanka began to use these in their cooking. Soon it spread to many other parts of the world.

Selvi and Mani looked at the chilli on their plate.

Together: What a long distance you have travelled! And how you make our food delicious!

(They shouted and quickly took a bite of the chilli!)

Both: Ah! It’s hot and spicy!
To waste you would be very bad, and so we are going to eat you!

Glossary

• foreign – belongs to another country
• merchants – people who trade
• sailed – travelled in a boat or ship
• Portuguese – people of Portugal
• popular – well known
• delicious – tasty

Read and Understand

A. Work in pairs. Tick the best option.

1. When Amma said, “Don’t upset our foreign visitor” she meant ____.
   a) potatoes b) pepper c) chilli

2. Selvi asked, “Did they come in an aeroplane?” because she ____.
   a) was joking b) did not understand her mother c) thought it would be fun

3. Amma bought the vegetables from the ____.
   a) shops b) shopping mall c) super market

B. Answer these questions.

1. Who first brought these vegetables to India?
   The Portuguese first brought these vegetables to India.

2. Who came to India from Portugal in search of pepper?
   Vasco da Gama came to India from Portugal in search of pepper.

3. What did Amma mean when she said tomatoes, ladies’ fingers and corn came from other countries?
   She meant that these foods are not originally from India; they were brought here from foreign lands.

C. Read the comic strip again.

Make groups of four and frame some questions on what you have read. Each group should ask a question in turns. You cannot repeat the same question. The team which asks more questions is the winner.

Example questions:
1. Which are the foreign vegetables mentioned?
2. Why was Columbus sad?

Discuss in Groups

• What is your favourite dish? Do you know the spices that go into it?
  Share your views in three or four sentences with others in the class.

Vocabulary

E. Add -r, -er, or -or to get the name of the person who does the activity.

Take turns in class to make sentences with the words you have formed.

Example:
teach + er → teacher
A teacher is a person who teaches.

Words:
use – user
buy – buyer
sail – sailor
watch – watcher
operate – operator
foreign – foreigner
bake – baker
write – writer
govern – governor
act – actor

F. Complete the table.

Country	Nationality
Portugal	Portuguese
France	French
China	Chinese
America	American
Sri Lanka	Sri Lankan
Spain	Spaniard
Myanmar	Burmese
India	Indian
Thailand	Thai

Listening

G. Listen to some interesting facts about spices and choose the best option.

1. Red peppers have Vitamin C.
2. Red chilli is also called Paprika.
3. One pound is equal to 450 grams.
4. Mint leaves help to cure upset stomach.

(Listening text is on page 150.)

Speaking

H. Work in pairs. Take turns and speak about spices.

Saritha: Hi Divya, how are you?
Divya: Hi, I’m fine Saritha.
Saritha: What did you have for breakfast?
Divya: Idli with onion chutney.
Saritha: Do you know onions came from?
Divya: Central Asia.
Saritha: Do you know chilli too has come from somewhere else?
Divya: Is it from South America?
Saritha: Yes, that’s right.
Divya: Many of the spices came from other countries.

Pictogrammar

Nouns are words that name people, places, animals or things:
e.g. chilli, boy, box, puppy

To make nouns plural, we mostly add -s, -es, or -ies:
boxes, tomatoes, chillies, puppies

In a sentence, some words come before the noun to tell us more about the noun. These words together form a noun phrase.

Examples:
- a chilli
- a green chilli
- some green chillies
- a round chilli
- many tomatoes
- some red tomatoes

Use Grammar

Use two or three words from the box to describe each picture.

Words:
red, hot, chilli, cute, cubs, icy, tall, mountain, boy, tiger, kangaroo, two, little, chillies, book, wooden, table, cat, round, big, black, three, windows, blue, snow, brown, smiling, ball, tail, house, long

Example descriptions:
- Three cute tiger cubs
- A tall icy mountain
- A big round wooden table

Language Check Point

Don’t Say	Say	Note
You should go to your house now.	You should go home now.	House is any building; home is the particular house you live in.
Stand in the middle of the circle.	Stand in the centre of the circle.	Centre is the exact midpoint; middle is a general area.
It was a long travel.	It was a long journey.	Journey is a single trip; travel is the general idea.

I. Correct the order of the words in bold.

1. The little green chilli was very hot.
2. Many brave sailors tried to find a sea route to India.
3. The big brown dog barked at the children.
4. The most common spice used today is the red chilli pepper.
5. The long mud path led to a beautiful lake.

J. Play this game in class.

Make two teams. Each team describes something in the class using at least three words. The other team guesses it.

Example:
Team A: A long thin glass rod.
Team B: Is it a tube light?
Team A: Yes!

Writing

K. Recipe – How to Cook Rice

What you’ll need:
- 1 cup uncooked white rice
- 2 cups water
- pinch of salt

Steps:
1. Wash the rice until the water runs clear.
2. Drain the water and keep aside.
3. In a medium-sized pan, bring water to boil.
4. Add the salt, stir, and then add the rinsed and drained rice.
5. Reduce the heat, cover the rice, and let it simmer on low heat for 20 minutes.
6. Check after 15 minutes to see if all the water has evaporated. If it has, the rice is ready.
7. If not, replace the lid and let the rice simmer for 5 more minutes.
8. Remove from heat and serve.

L. Work in Groups

• Discuss how rice is cooked in your house.
• Write down the ingredients you need.
• List the steps in cooking.
• Each person tells others how rice is cooked in their house.
• Now write down the recipe.

Creative Writing

M. Write a message to your father after finishing lunch.

Father’s message:

Your lunch is in the kitchen. Please warm before eating it. There is some curd in the pot, if you want it. Clean up the kitchen after you finish eating. I will be back at 4 p.m. You can go out to play at 3.30 p.m, if you want, but be back by 5.30 p.m.

Your message:
- You ate lunch at 1 p.m.
- What you liked: The potato curry was delicious!
- You have cleaned the kitchen and washed the dishes.
- You are going out to play at 3.30 p.m. and will be back by 5.30 p.m.

Practice Practice Exercises

Divya: with onion chutney.

Saritha: Do onions ?

Divya: central Asia.

Divya: Is it from ?

Saritha: Yes right.

Divya: Many of the came .

1. Green little the chilli was very hot.

2. Sailors many brave tried to find a sea route to India.

3. Brown dog the big barked at the children.

4. The spice most common used today is the red chilli pepper.

5. The path mud long led to a beautiful lake.

1. the rice until the runs clear.

2. Drain the water and aside.

3. In a medium sized pan, bring water to .

4. Add the salt, stir, and then add the rinsed and drained

5. Reduce the heat, cover the rice, and let it simmer on heat for 20 minutes.

6. Check after 15 minutes to see if all the evaporated. If it has, the rice is

7. If not, replace the and let the rice simmer for 5 minutes.

8. Remove from and serve.

• You ate lunch

• What you liked (mention the dish).

• You have cleaned the kitchen .

• You are going out to play. (mention when you will be back).

1. When Amma said,'Don’t upset our foreign visitor' she meant

2. Selvi asked, 'Did they come in an aeroplane?' because she

3. Amma bought the vegetables from the .

1. Who first brought these vegetables to India?

2. Who came to India from Portugal in search of pepper?

3. What did Amma mean when she said tomatoes, ladies' fingers and corn came from other countries?

1. Which are the foreign vegetables mentioned?

2. Why was Columbus sad?

1. Red peppers have .

2. Red chilli is also called

3. One pound is equal to grams.

4. Mint leaves help to cure