A Birthday Letter (Prose)

Unit 7 – Prose

A Birthday Letter

Jawaharlal Nehru

Warm up

• Have you ever received a personal letter from your friends or relatives?
• If yes, from whom and about what?
• Have you ever written a personal letter to anyone?
• If yes, to whom and about what?

It was the summer of 1928, when Jawaharlal Nehru began writing letters to his young daughter, Indira, who was in Mussoorie at that time. In his letters, he speaks to his daughter on a wide range of topics, including languages, trade, history, geography, science, epics and evolution. When Indira was about to turn 13 in 1930, Nehru started sending her more detailed letters. These letters contained his understanding of the world which he wanted to further impart to his daughter. Even while he was in prison, he wanted to make sure that his child is not devoid of her father’s teachings. Over the next four years, Nehru continuously wrote to his daughter from prison and his words are still inspiring.

The letters written by Nehru from the various prisons in British India to his daughter Indira, were published in 1942 as a book called “Glimpses of World History”. It is a collection of 196 letters on world history.

A Birthday Letter

Central Prison, Naini
October 26, 1930

My dear Indira,

On your birthday you have been in the habit of receiving presents and good wishes. Good wishes you will still have in full measure, but what present can I send you from Naini Prison? My presents cannot be very material or solid. They can be of the mind and spirit. Things that even the high walls of prison cannot stop.

You know, sweetheart, how I dislike sermonising and doling out good advice. I have always thought that the best way to find out what is right and what is not right, what should be done and what should not be done, is not by giving a sermon, but by talking and discussing, and out of discussion sometimes a little bit of truth comes out. I have liked my talks with you and we have discussed many things, but the world is wide and beyond our world lie other wonderful and mysterious worlds. None of us need ever be bored or imagine that we have learned everything worth learning and become very wise.

But what am I to do then? A letter can hardly take the place of a talk; at best it is a one-sided affair. Imagine that I have made a suggestion to you for you to think over, as if we really were having a talk.

In history we read of great periods in the life of nations, of great men and women. Do you remember how fascinated you were when you first read the story of Joan of Arc, and how your ambition was to be something like her? Ordinary men and women are not usually heroic. They think of their bread and butter, of their children, of their household worries and the like. But a time comes when a whole people become interested in a great cause. Then history helps even simple, ordinary men and women to become heroes. Great leaders have something in them which inspires a whole people and makes them do great deeds. In India a great leader, full of love for all who suffer and eager to help them, has inspired our people to great actions and noble sacrifice. He has helped to make the starving, the poor and the oppressed free and happy.

Bapuji is in prison, but the magic of his message has stolen the hearts of India’s millions. Men and women, and even little children, come out of their little shells and become India’s soldiers of freedom. In India today we are making history, and you and I are fortunate to see this happening before our eyes and to take some part ourselves in this great drama.

If we are to be India’s soldiers, we have to respect India’s honour, and that honour is a sacred trust. It is no easy matter to decide what is right and what is not. One little test I shall ask you to apply whenever you are in doubt. Never do anything in secret or anything that you would wish to hide. For the desire to hide anything means that you are afraid, and fear is a bad thing and unworthy of you. Be brave, and all the rest follows.

You know that in our great Freedom Movement, under Bapuji’s leadership, there is no room for secrecy or hiding. We have nothing to hide. We are not afraid of what we do or what we say. We work in the sun and in the light. Even so in our private lives let us make friends with the sun and work in the light and do nothing secretly and if you do so, my dear, you will grow up a child of the light, unafraid and serene and unruffled, whatever may happen.

I have written a very long letter to you. And yet there is so much I would like to tell you. How can a letter contain it? Good-bye, little one, and may you grow up into a brave soldier in India’s service.

With all my love and good wishes.
Your loving father,

About the Author

Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was the first Prime Minister of India and a central figure in Indian politics before and after independence. He emerged as an eminent leader of the Indian independence movement under the tutelage of Mahatma Gandhi and served India as Prime Minister from its establishment as an independent nation in 1947 until his death in 1964. He is considered to be the architect of the modern Indian nation-state: a sovereign, socialist, secular, and democratic republic. He was also known as ‘Pandit Nehru’ while many Indian children knew him as ‘Uncle Nehru’.

Glossary

• sermon (n) – ceremony in which a priest gives a talk on a religious or moral subject
• fascinated (adj.) – extremely attracted
• deed (n) – a brave or noble act
• starving (adj.) – suffering or dying from hunger
• oppressed (adj.) – governed in an unfair and cruel way and prevented from having opportunities and freedom
• sacred (adj.) – considered to be holy and deserving respect
• serene (adj.) – peaceful and calm
• unruffled (adj.) – not nervous or worried, usually despite a difficult situation

A. Answer the following questions in one or two sentences.

1. Why could not Nehru send any presents to Indira?
2. What cannot be stopped even by the high walls of prisons?
3. Why did Nehru dislike sermonizing?
4. What does history tell us?
5. What do ordinary men and women usually think of?
6. When do ordinary men and women become heroes?
7. What does the phrase ‘great drama’ refer to?
8. Why are the freedom fighters under Gandhi not afraid of anything?

B. Answer the following in about 80–100 words each.

1. Explain the important elements of Nehru’s letter.
2. Imagine yourself as Indira and write a reply letter to your father, Nehru for the letter you received on your birthday.

C. Match the words with correct Synonym and Antonym from the table.

S.No	Word	Synonym	Antonym
1	wide	broad	narrow
2	noble	valuable	ignoble
3	oppress	subdue	freedom
4	honour	privilege	dishonour
5	worthy	valuable	unworthy
6	private	personal	public
7	brave	valiant	coward

Think and answer.

What is the difference between an opinion and a fact?
- An opinion is one’s feelings or thoughts about somebody/something.
- A fact is a piece of information that can be proved to be true.

D. Identify, whether the following statements are of OPINION or FACT.

1. On your birthday you have been in the habit of receiving presents and good wishes. (Fact)
2. I have liked my talks with you. (Opinion)
3. The best way to find what is wrong and right is by discussing. (Opinion)
4. A letter can hardly take the place of a talk. (Opinion)
5. For the desire to hide anything means that you are afraid. (Opinion)

LISTENING

E. Listen to the dialogue and answer the following questions.
1. Aadhav and Raghav are ___.
a. brothers b. friends c. colleagues d. classmates
2. The brothers are planning to celebrate their ___ wedding anniversary.
a. uncle’s b. parents’ c. grandparents’ d. sister’s
3. The wedding anniversary is on ___.
a. March 2nd b. April 2nd c. May 2nd d. June 2nd
4. As part of the celebration, the brothers have planned to make their parents to ____.
a. visit an orphanage b. donate some money c. plant a mango sapling d. conduct a game
5. State whether the statement is true or false.
The brothers have decided to borrow money for the wedding anniversary celebration.

READING

Anne Frank’s Diary Entry about her birthday.

Sunday, June 14, 1942
Dear Kitty,

I hope I will be able to confide everything to you (the diary), as I have never been able to confide in anyone, and I hope you will be a great source of comfort and support.
I’ll begin from the moment I got you, the moment I saw you lying on the table among my other birthday presents. (I went along when you were bought, but that doesn’t count.)

On Friday, June 12, I was awake at six o’ clock, which isn’t surprising, since it was my birthday. But I’m not allowed to get up at that hour, so I had to control my curiosity until quarter to seven. When I couldn’t wait any longer, I went to the dining room, where Moortje (the cat) welcomed me by rubbing against my legs.

A little after seven I went to Dad and Mom and then to the living room to open my presents, and you were the first thing I saw, maybe one of my nicest presents. Then a bouquet of roses, some peonies and a potted plant. From Dad and Mom, I got a blue blouse, a game, a bottle of grape juice, a puzzle, a jar of cold cream and a gift certificate for two books. I got another book as well, Camera Obscura (but my sister Margot already has it, so I exchanged mine for something else), a platter of homemade cookies (which I made myself, of course, since I’ve become quite an expert at baking cookies), lots of candy and a strawberry tart from Mother.

Then Hanneli my classmate came to pick me up, and we went to school. During recess I passed out cookies to my teachers and my class, and then it was time to get back to work. As it was my birthday, I got to decide which game my classmates would play, and I chose volleyball. Afterward they all danced around me in a circle and sang “Happy Birthday.”

F. Answer the following questions based on the given reading passage.

1. What is the name of her diary?
2. Why did Anne want to exchange the book ‘Camera Obscura’?
3. Who baked the homemade cookies?
4. What game did Anne choose to play?
5. Which gift did Anne value the most?

SPEAKING

G. Imagine you are going to celebrate your forthcoming birthday at an orphanage/old-age home.
Deliver a short speech about your birthday celebration by using the following hints.
- The reasons for choosing an orphanage/old-age home.
- The people who accompany you.
- The food which you are going to offer them.
- The useful gifts/articles which you are going to give them.
- Other events like cake cutting, conducting games etc.

WRITING

Developing Hints

Developing hints is developing the phrases into full sentences and then into a meaningful coherent paragraph.

Points to remember:
- Read the hints twice or thrice carefully.
- Understand the passage well.
- Jot down the points.
- If the events in the passage are in present tense, write the story in the past tense.
- Arrange the matter in two or three paragraphs.
- Give a suitable title.

H. Write a meaningful paragraph using the hints given below.
Mahesh – celebrates – 14th birthday – an old-age home – family, friends – informs home in advance – delegates tasks – friends buy things necessary – arrives home early – decorates place – balloons, colour papers – inmates gathered – cuts cake – sing song, claps – distributes cakes – expresses his feelings – gets blessings – offers things – bedsheets, footwear etc. needed – fun, entertainment – happy and content.

Grammar

Determiners

Observe the nouns in the following sentences and words before them.
- An apple is a healthy fruit.
- Two cats have drunk a bowl of milk.
- My father has many cars.

Determiners are the words that introduce a noun and provide some information about it (but do not describe it). Determiners are followed by a noun.
- The ball Five cats
- His son Some students

Types of Determiners

Articles	Demonstratives	Possessive Adjectives
a, an, the	this, that, these, those	my, our, your, his, her, its, their

Quantifiers	Cardinal Numbers	Ordinal Numbers
some, any, few, little, more, much, many, every	one, two, three, twenty, forty, hundred etc.	first, second, third, twentieth etc.

• The quantifiers all, any, enough, less, a lot of, more, most, no, none of, some etc., are used with both countable and uncountable nouns.
• The quantifiers both, each, either, fewer, neither etc., are used only with countable nouns.

A. Choose the Correct Determiner

1. Could you bring me __ tools I left in the garden? (this, those, these)
2. __ Earth revolves around the sun. (the, a, an)
3. I found __ one rupee coin in the playground while playing. (a, an, the)
4. There aren’t __ students in the library. (much, many, a lot)
5. It was __ unforgettable experience. (a, an, the)
6. I haven’t got __ pictures in my bedroom. (some, any, many)
7. He said that he wanted to become __ engineer. (a, an, the)
8. Kokila gave a pen to ______ child in the classroom on her birthday. (any, all, each)
9. I’ve got to solve __ math problems before I go to sleep. (all, some, any)
10. India is __ largest democracy in the world. (a, an, the)
11. My father doesn’t drink __ coffee. (much, many, a lot)
12. I always keep __ money in my wallet for emergencies. (any, every, some)
13. This year we are celebrating my sister’s __ birthday. (a, two, second)
14. I have __ pencils with me. (a, three, third)
15. ‘What is that noise?’ I think it is __ aeroplane. (a, an, the)

Reported Speech

Look at the following sentences
- She said, “I have won the first prize.” (Direct Speech)
- She said that she had won the first prize. (Indirect Speech)

• In direct speech, we reproduce the actual words of the speaker. We place spoken words within inverted commas (“ ”).
• In indirect speech (also called Reported Speech), we report the words of the speaker with a few changes.

Reporting Statements

We make the following changes when reporting the statements.
- Change the pronouns
- Reporting verb followed by ‘that’
- Change the tense, time and place

e.g. Kowsalya said, “We watched a film yesterday.”
Kowsalya said that they watched a film the day before.

Reporting Imperatives

To report an imperative, use the pattern –
request/order/suggest + someone + to infinitive

e.g. Karthi said to Ram, “Please, switch on the fan.”
Karthi requested Ram to switch on the fan.

Reporting Questions

When reporting questions, we use the pattern:
asked/ wanted to know + question word + pronoun + verb

e.g. She said to me, “Where did you go?”
She asked me where I went.

Note: If the 'wh' question is missing, if or whether is added.
e.g. Praveena asked, “Have you watered the plants?”
Praveena asked if/whether I had watered the plants.

Sometimes it is not necessary to report everything that is said word by word. It may be better to use ‘reporting verbs’ which summarise what was communicated.

Commonly used reporting verbs

accept advise apologise ask assure blame complain complement congratulate explain greet hope invite offer order persuade promise remind regret say suggest tell thank answer warn encourage regret sympathize refuse instruct

Rules of change

Pronouns	Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
I	he/she	-
You (Subject)	he/she/they	-
you (Object)	him/her/them	-
your	his/her/their	-
my	his/her	-
myself	himself/herself/themselves	-
we	they	-
us	them	-

Time & Position	Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
this	that	-
these	those	-
now	then	-
ago	before	-
last night	the previous night	-
next day	the following day	-
today	that day	-
yesterday	the previous day	-
tomorrow	the next day	-
next week	the following week	-
last week	the previous week	-
here	there	-

B. Observe the following call-outs. Reporter (C) has reported the sentences of Speaker (A).

Now, help Reporter (C) report the rest of the sentences of Speaker (A).

A (Speaker)	B (Questioner)	C (Reporter)
I won’t go to the party.	What did he say?	He said that he wouldn’t go to the party.
When did you come?	What did she say?	She asked when you had come.
Don’t touch the wire.	What did she say?	She warned you not to touch the wire.

C. Report the following sentences.

1. Pushpa said, “Do not spoil the eco-system.”
2. Ebin said, “Have you booked the tickets to Delhi?”
3. Rehman said to Tilak, “When are we leaving to our native?”
4. Maha said, “Lakshan, you should get up early in the morning.”
5. Gladin said to his mother, “Can you, please, buy me a hot-chocolate?”
6. “Tomorrow I have to take a test in English”, said Sudha.
7. Amali said to her sister, “I need your help to arrange the books in the shelf.”
8. “Why don’t you use crayons for colouring?” said Prabhu to his son.

Project

D. Write a Diary entry each day for a month and compile them into a book. You may also name your diary as Anne Frank did.

Diary writing is one of the most personal and informal categories of writing. A diary writing can be based on an experience, a scene, a description or narration of certain event or any other thing or activity that the writer considers worth writing in his/her personal diary. The style and tone is generally informal and personal. However, it depends on the subject. You can freely express your viewpoints and feelings. As the diary is writer’s personal document, the diary entry doesn’t need any signature. The more frequently you write entries in your diary, the more you will enjoy doing it and the more you will learn from them.

Practice Practice Exercises

1. Pushpa said, “Do not spoil the eco-system.”.

2. Ebin said, “Have you booked the tickets to Delhi?”

3. Rehman said to Tilak, “When are we leaving to our native?”

4. Maha said, “Lakshan, you should get up early in the morning.”.

5. Gladin said to his mother, “Can you, please, buy me a hot-chocolate?”

6. “Tomorrow I have to take a test in English”, said Sudha.

7. Amali said to her sister, “I need your help to arrange the books in the shelf.”.

8. “Why don’t you use crayons for colouring?”.. said Prabhu to his son.

1. Why could not Nehru send any presents to Indira?

2. What cannot be stopped even by the high walls of prisons?

3. Why did Nehru dislike sermonizing?

4. What does history tell us?

5. What do ordinary men and women usually think of?

6. When do ordinary men and women become heroes?

7. What does the phrase ‘great drama’ refer to?

8. Why are the freedom fighters under Gandhi not afraid of anything?

1. Explain the important elements of Nehru’s letter.

2. Imagine yourself as Indira and write a reply letter to your father, Nehru for the letter you received on your birthday.

1. On your birthday you have been in the habit of receiving presents and good wishes. (Opinion/Fact)

2. I have liked my talks with you. (Opinion/Fact)

3. The best way to find what is wrong and right is by discussing. (Opinion/Fact)

4. A letter can hardly take the place of a talk. (Opinion/Fact)

5. For the desire to hide anything means that you are afraid. (Opinion/Fact)

1. Aadhav and Raghav are

2. The brothers are planning to celebrate their wedding anniversary.

3. The wedding anniversary is on .

4. As part of the celebration, the brothers have planned o make their parents to

The brothers have decided to borrow money for the wedding anniversary celebration.

1. What is the name of her diary?

2. Why did Anne want to exchange the book ‘Camera Obscura’?

3. Who baked the homemade cookies?

4. What game did Anne choose to play?

5. Which gift did Anne value the most?

1. Could you bring me tools I left in the garden? (this, those, these)

2. Earth revolves around the sun. (the, a, an)

3. I found one rupee coin in the playground while playing. (a, an, the)

4. There aren’t students in the library. (much, many, a lot)

5. It was unforgettable experience. (a, an, the)

6. I haven’t got pictures in my bedroom. (some, any, many)

7. He said that he wanted to become engineer. (a, an, the)

8. Kokila gave a pen to child in the classroom on her birthday. (any, all, each)

9. I have got to solve math problems before I go to sleep. (all, some, any)

10. India is largest democracy in the world. (a, an, the)

11. My father doesn’t drink coffee. (much, many, a lot)

12. I always keep money in my wallet for emergencies. (any, every, some)

13. This year we are celebrating my sister’s birthday. (a, two, second)

14. have pencils with me. (a, three, third)

15. ‘What is that noise?’ I think it is aeroplane. (a, an, the)