NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Kaveri Chapter 1 – How I Taught My Grandmother to Read

• To become independent in daily life  • To gain knowledge and information  • To read books, newspapers and magazines on our own  • To communicate through letters and messages  • To get better job opportunities  • To live with confidence, dignity and self-respect

1. My grandparents speak Hindi at home and understand a little English. My grandmother also speaks her native dialect with her sisters.

2. They spend their time reading the newspaper, gardening and watching devotional programmes. I spend evenings with them — we take walks and they tell me stories of their childhood.

3. My favourite experience was cooking festival sweets with my grandmother, who narrated stories of her village while we worked.

4. They cannot easily use a smartphone, but they enjoy watching me make video calls to our relatives and show them old photographs on the screen.

No, the narrator did not expect to see her grandmother in tears. She herself says she had never seen her grandmother cry even in the most difficult situations, which shows that Krishtakka was a strong-willed woman who faced every hardship calmly. Moreover, the narrator had gone away only for a week, for a happy occasion — a wedding. So the sight of tears on her grandmother’s face was completely unexpected, and it surprised and worried her deeply.

The narrator could become her grandmother’s teacher. She could begin with the Kannada alphabet, move step by step to words and sentences, and fix a regular time for daily lessons. She could give her homework of reading, repeating, writing and reciting, check it patiently and encourage every bit of progress. Using Kashi Yatre itself as reading material would keep her grandmother motivated, since she already loved the story. Above all, the narrator could offer what every learner needs — patience, affection and constant encouragement.

A. strong-willed. Never crying even in the hardest situations shows her unusual inner strength.

emotional — she was too overcome by her feelings to speak at that moment.

The family sleeping in the open terrace of the house on a summer night, and the narrator calling her grandmother “Avva” — the word for mother in the Kannada of north Karnataka — indicate a rural setting with traditional customs.

The closing lines — “It was a summer night and there was a full moon. Avva came and sat next to me. Her affectionate hands touched my forehead” — establish a tender, loving atmosphere.

C. the grandmother’s regret over her lack of education — this is revealed only later in the story, not in this extract.

B. She desires self-sufficiency. She wants to depend on no one for her reading.

age limit

…she finds it amusing that an old lady with grey hair, wrinkled hands and spectacles, who works so much in the kitchen, now wants to start learning the alphabet like a small child.

Determination — she fixes a hard deadline and vows to work harder than anybody; and calm self-confidence — she only smiles at her granddaughter’s teasing and stays firm on her decision.

The narrator judges her grandmother by her age and appearance — grey hair, wrinkled hands, spectacles and kitchen work — and assumes that such an old lady cannot learn the alphabet. She measures ability by age rather than by will-power, and the grandmother’s success later proves this assumption completely wrong.

1. Why do you think the grandmother felt embarrassed to ask someone else to read to her while the narrator was away?
The grandmother had a strong sense of self-respect. In her village she was a respected elder; admitting before others that she could not read even a line would have hurt her dignity. With her granddaughter the relationship was close and safe, but before outsiders her illiteracy felt like a painful secret. That is why she waited eagerly for the narrator instead of asking anyone else.

2. Why does the narrator initially laugh at her grandmother’s determination to learn at the age of sixty-two?
Being only twelve, the narrator connects learning with school-going age. The idea of her grey-haired, wrinkled, bespectacled grandmother, always busy in the kitchen, starting from the alphabet sounds comical to her. Her laughter is childish innocence, not unkindness — she has not yet understood that determination matters more than age.

3. What significance does the story of Kashi Yatre have in both the grandmother’s life and the story?
The novel mirrors the grandmother’s own life — like its old heroine, she has never been to Kashi, and she identifies herself completely with the protagonist. Her love for this one story makes her dependence unbearable when she cannot read it, and it becomes the spark for her decision to learn. At the end, when she instantly reads the title Kashi Yatre on the gifted novel, the same book becomes the proof of her success — the emotional heart of the chapter.

4. What does the grandmother’s desire to learn the Kannada alphabet reflect about her?
It reflects her courage, self-respect and refusal to accept helplessness as fate. She values independence over comfort — instead of arranging for someone to read to her, she chooses the much harder path of learning herself at sixty-two. It also shows her deep love for stories and her belief that it is never too late to grow.

5. What lessons can we infer from the grandmother’s action of touching the narrator’s feet?
First, knowledge deserves honour irrespective of the teacher’s age — the moment the granddaughter became her teacher, the grandmother treated her as a guru. Second, true humility is a mark of greatness: a respected elder bowing to a child shows rare largeness of heart. Third, gratitude should be expressed openly and sincerely. As she herself says, the scriptures teach that a teacher should be respected, irrespective of gender and age.

6. What does the following line tell us about the broader theme of the story? ‘For a good cause if you are determined, you can overcome any obstacle.’
This line carries the central message of the story: determination in a worthy cause defeats every barrier — age, weak eyesight, household burden or embarrassment. The grandmother lives these words: she sets a deadline, works harder than anybody and learns to read within a few months. Her journey from helpless tears to confident reading proves that learning truly has no age bar.

7. How effectively does the story highlight the value of education in supporting personal independence?
The story highlights it very effectively because it shows rather than preaches. One helpless evening turns a strong woman into a weeping one — not poverty or illness, but the inability to read. Her words, “We are well-off, but what use is money when I cannot be independent?”, state the truth powerfully: education is not merely knowledge, it is dignity, self-reliance and the freedom to reach the world on one’s own. Her transformation makes this argument unforgettable.

Sentences: 1. Hard work is part and parcel of a student’s life. 2. It rained on and off the whole day. 3. Sooner or later, the truth always comes out. 4. Her reading skills improved by leaps and bounds after daily practice. 5. The new employee was left to sink or swim on his first project.

unhappy (un-) — Her face was unhappy and her eyes were filled with tears. • unusual (un-) — It was unusual for an elder to touch a youngster’s feet. • unfortunately (un-) — Unfortunately, the talented writer died very young. • independent (in-) — Education made the old lady independent. • irrespective (ir-) — A teacher deserves respect irrespective of age.

Sentences: 1. With exams near, I decided to hit the books. 2. I drew a blank when the teacher asked the date of the battle. 3. The new clerk took a month to learn the ropes of office work. 4. We racked our brains over the difficult puzzle. 5. Avva could learn by heart every episode of the story. 6. She burnt the midnight oil to meet her Dassara deadline.

1. Verbs: bought (simple past), had been published (past perfect).   2. Verbs: knew (simple past), had passed (past perfect).

Rule: of two completed past actions, the earlier one takes the past perfect (had + third form) and the more recent one takes the simple past.

A. When the delegates arrived at the conference, the keynote speaker had already begun the session.
B. After the students had learnt how to identify fake news online, they started verifying information before sharing it.
C. Before Kiran started using digital payment platforms, she had ensured her understanding of online fraud prevention.
D. By the time Varun recognised the importance of budgeting, he had exhausted most of his savings.
E. When Raghu logged in to the cybersecurity webinar, the instructor had already discussed the importance of strong passwords.

A. took   B. reviewed   C. had spent   D. had discussed   E. opened   F. set   G. had already introduced   H. hurried   I. had already completed   J. enjoyed

1. Literacy these days includes the ability to use digital tools.
2. Digital literacy is also about protecting personal data.
3. Digital literacy enables the elderly to stay connected.
4. Digital literacy encourages using the internet safely by helping us recognise misinformation and scams and cyber threats.
5. The National Digital Literacy Mission helps people across the country by imparting IT training.

Topic 1: It is important to learn a new language apart from your mother tongue.
For: To begin with, I would like to speak for the topic — a new language opens doors to new people, books and cultures; it improves memory and career prospects; in a multilingual country like India it builds unity and understanding.
Against: On the other hand, deep knowledge of one’s mother tongue keeps our roots and culture alive; learning many languages superficially may weaken mastery of any one; translation technology today bridges most gaps.

Topic 2: Learning can happen only when you are young.
For: There’s no doubt that young minds grasp faster, have fewer responsibilities and more time; school years build the foundation of all learning.
Against: I am pretty sure age is no barrier — Krishtakka in our lesson learnt to read at sixty-two; adults bring experience, focus and stronger motivation; so, to put it in a few words, learning is a lifelong journey.

I spoke to my grandfather and learnt that he loves a Hindi devotional magazine he used to read in his youth. I bought its latest issue and gifted it to him. His joy reminded me of Avva receiving Kashi Yatre — a small gift, but a big bridge between generations.

Q1. Who was Krishtakka, and what did the narrator call her?
Krishtakka was the narrator’s grandmother, who had never been to school. The narrator called her Avva, which means mother in the Kannada spoken in north Karnataka.

Q2. Why did the grandmother love the novel Kashi Yatre so much?
Like its old heroine, she too had never been to Kashi and identified herself with the protagonist. The story echoed her own ardent desire, so every Wednesday episode felt personal to her.

Q3. What deadline did the grandmother set and why was it apt?
She chose Saraswati Puja day during Dassara — the day dedicated to the goddess of learning — a fitting date to prove that she could read a novel on her own.

Q4. How did the grandmother behave as a student?
She was a wonderful student. The amount of homework she did was amazing — she would read, repeat, write and recite tirelessly despite her age and kitchen work.

Q5. What gifts were exchanged on Dassara day?
The grandmother gave the narrator frock material, and the narrator secretly gifted her the newly published novel Kashi Yatre, which the grandmother read immediately — title, author and publisher’s name.

Q1. “For learning there is no age bar.” Justify this statement from the chapter.
The grandmother proves this truth completely. At sixty-two, with grey hair, weak eyes and a day full of kitchen work, she begins from the alphabet like a small child. What she lacks in youth she makes up in discipline: daily lessons, honest homework and an unbending deadline of Saraswati Puja day. Her motivation is not a certificate but dignity — the wish never to feel helpless again. By Dassara she reads the title of Kashi Yatre on her own, succeeding where many young students fail for want of effort. The story thus proves that learning depends on will, not age; the right time to learn is whenever the learner decides.

Q2. Sketch the character of the grandmother, Krishtakka.
Krishtakka is the soul of the story — strong, sensitive and self-respecting. Though she never went to school, she is wise and emotionally rich, repeating whole episodes of Triveni’s novel by heart. Her tears are not weakness but wounded dignity, and her response to helplessness is heroic: she chooses the hard path of learning over easy dependence. As a student she is humble and hardworking; as an elder she is large-hearted enough to touch her young teacher’s feet. She embodies determination, humility and the courage to begin again at any age.

Q3. What role does the narrator play in her grandmother’s transformation?
The narrator is both witness and instrument of the change. Her Wednesday readings first open the world of Kashi Yatre to Avva, and her week-long absence unknowingly exposes the pain of illiteracy. Though she laughs at first, she takes up the role of teacher seriously — starting tuition the very next day, setting homework and guiding her first student till the deadline. Her thoughtful secret gift of the novel shows she understands what the achievement means. Interestingly, the experience also shapes her: the girl who taught her first student went on to become a teacher of Computer Science to hundreds of students.