#so a lot of what we 'know' about Old English religion is inferred from what we know about the Norse beliefs

[nostalgia-tblr]

torn between "letting fandom have it's fun however it wants" and posting something like "the only reason we know so much about the Norse gods in the first place is that nobody was celebrating Christmas while they were writing that stuff down."

[epic-sorcerer]

Merlin would have been so much more gay if the writers stayed true to Celtic paganism(the historicaly accurate “old religion”)

Trigger warnings:

Main triggers: talk of sex, homophobia, religion, Catholics, colonization, anti Celtic, murder

Mention triggers: rape and sexual assault, creepy men, gore, insest, toxic masculinity

I will mark the sections with quick triggers with 2 red lines. Below the second one is when the trigger is gone.

_____________

I am posting this on December 21st, as today is the Winter Solstice, a Celtic Pagan holiday. It will be posted at 3:33 PM, as 3 is a sacred number among the celts. Because of the special occasion, I will be speaking on a subject that was important to many of them—homosexuality.

Some stuff first for introductions. Yes, yes, I know this may be boring but it helps with context. This religion didn’t have a name other than Celtic pagan or Celtic religion bc it seams everyone there believed it. This was until the Roman Empire concurred what is now the UK. Since Rome had adopted Christianity—more specifically, Roman Catholocism—they only allowed that religion to be practiced.

———(genocide)——

Once England was concurred in 43 A.D, the pagans were killed and their religion was surpressed. Not much is known about the pagans for this reason. However, we do know somethings from what the Romans have written down. Although, it is biased, as they believed the celts to be barbaric and also didn’t wright much about women.

——gore ——

First, we know they preformed human sacrifice on kings when the kingdom suffered along with some other groups.This could be from bad ruling to really bad weather. These kings died horribly, as they seamed to be stabbed multiple times, had thier nipples cut off, and left to die in a bog.

They had thier nipples cut off because the subjects would suck on the kings’ nipples to demonstrate submission, so cutting them off would fully dethrone the king.

—————

Now, background over. Here’s where it gets good.

Nipple sucking between too lovers or ‘special friends’ was seen as a preclemation of love, physical intimacy, and sexual expression. This, like other types of sex, was seen as something beutiful and sacred. Often, male soldiers would have these ‘special friend’ relationships with many fellow soldiers in groups. The Romans even observed that Celtic men seamed to prefer other males for love/sexual interest over women.

Nipple sucking was mostly described was between two men. Although, we must recognize that women may have been left out of written history. I would also like to point out, this may prove that aromantic people existed in that time, as these ‘special friends’ had sex and were not mentioned to be romantically involved.

The celts were known for their sex positivity and even eroticism because they loved it so much.This is one of the reasons why the pagans and the Chatholics clashed so badly.

Before the Romans really took over, Saint Patrick—yes, the Saint Patrick—started to try to convert the celts into Roman catholosim. He was appalled at the wide acceptance of polyamory(women were aloud to marry however many people they wanted) and homosexual relationships/marriages. Not to mention the celts could have sex with any one at any time as long as it is consensual.

——(Tw creepy men)——

That means no waiting til marriage, unless a Celtic chose to do so. Although we should take into consideration a statement made by Diodorus Siculus, an antient Greek historian, that “the young men will offer themselves to strangers and are insulted if the offer is refused.” In his series Bibliotheca historica. This could mean that either creepy men were comman place, or that homosexuality was so comman and done with everyone, it was wierd to be rejected.

————

Getting back to the Roman Catholics, the book Sextus Empiricus is published in the early 3th century and states,

“...amongst the Persians it is the habit to indulge in intercourse with males, but amongst the Romans it is forbidden by law to do so...”

It also goes on to say,

“...amongst us sodomy is regarded as shameful or rather illegal, but by the Germanic they say, it is not looked on as shameful but as a customary thing.”

For clarification, Germany is apart of Celtic society. So what we can infer is a very serious culture shock in terms of Rome and other places. During Emporor Serverus Alexander’s reign, openly homosexuals were deported.

In early 4th century, Emporor Constaine—the first Christian Roman Emperor—destroyed an Egyptian temple populated exclusively by femme, gay, pagan, priests. The Emproror then went on to eradicate all of them. However in 337 A.D., 3 emperors ruled, including Constantius II and Constans I, who where both in mlm relationships.

An odd thing these emporors went on to do was criminalize male bottoming during mlw sex 342 A.D.. 8 years later, Emperors Valentinian II, Theodosius I, and Arcadius ferther punished this act by killing these men by Public burning at the stake.

———(Tw toxic masculinity)———

I believe this was because masculinity was very important and a man acting in a more feminine role was seen as emasculating and humiliating. For the average man, he had to fight and defend his masculinity. Not doing so was seen as a personal failure.

——————

The last ever known peice of European literature containing a positive representation of homosexuality for 1,000 years was a large epic poem by Nonnus of Panopolis. It was titled Dionysiaca and the first part was published in 390 A.D., the last in 405 A.D..

So yeah, The catholics were very selective in terms of sex. One can only imagine how badly the celts and Catholics clashed. Back to 435 A. D., Saint Patrick began to preach Catholism and around that time wrote in his Confessio. He recounted that he found a boat to get out of Ireland and refused to suck on the nipples of those aboard.

“And on the same day that I arrived, the ship was setting out from the place, and I said that I had the wherewithal to sail with them; and the steersman was displeased and replied in anger, sharply: ‘By no means attempt to go with us.’ Hearing this I left them to go to the hut where I was staying, and on the way I began to pray, and before the prayer was finished I heard one of them shouting loudly after me: ‘Come quickly because the men are calling you.’ And immediately I went back to them and they started to say to me: ‘Come, because we are admitting you out of good faith; make friendship with us in any way you wish.’ (And so, on that day, I refused to suck the breasts of these men from fear of God, but nevertheless I had hopes that they would come to faith in Jesus Christ, because they were barbarians.) And for this I continued with them, and forthwith we put to sea.”

—(Tw very mild rape/sex assault mention—

So, as you can see, Celtic and Catholic ways clashed horribly. Something seen as good and sacred to the indigenous tribes was seen as barbaric and sinful to Saint Patrick. Also, don’t worry, the celts did not press the issue ferther, or else this would be a very different story.

—————

This only snowballed into a much bigger issue much later in medival English sexuality. They were VERY picky on what sex was aloud. Missionary was the only aloud position and it has to be the least pleasurable as possible. Making out and masturbation wasn’t aloud either, as that was also seen as a sin. Here’s a low Rez chart to help figure out when sex was okay.

While we are discussing such a queer topic, I would like to bring up the topic of Anam Cara, or Soul Friends in Antient Celtic culture. A Soul Friend was a word used to describe a Philosophy in which one is not completely whole without thier “other half.” This person can be in a platonic, romantic, or familiar kind of love. Really, all it boils down to is that 2 poeple were made to be together since the beginning of time and will be at thier strongest when they become companions.

There is a Celtic legend that seams to depict a mlm Anam Cara relationship. It tells the story of Cuchulainn and Ferdiad, two male worriors who have known and loved each other a long time. But they must kill each other in a duel. Both are vary reluctant, as at least one of them will have to die.

————(Tw insest)———

Before I go on, it is important to mention there is a lot of debate on wether or not this is homosexual. Mainly because they were foster brothers, but since insest wasn’t as much of a taboo, I do not think this would be as much of a set back as it is today.

—————

They had tried to kill each other each day for 3 days, but they ended up hugging each other and kissing 3 times. On the fourth day, however, Cuchulainn killed Ferdiad. The man then holds Ferdiad in his arms and sings peoms for a long time. Here are some:

“We were heart-companions once,

We were comrades in the woods,

We were men that shared a bed

When we slept the heavy sleep

After hard and weary fights.

Into many lands, so strange,

And side by side we sallied forth

And we ranged the woodlands through,When with Scathach we learned arms!”

Heart companions seams to be similar or the same as soul freind, because of how it’s used. Although sleeping in the same bed isn’t inherently sexual, Cuchulainn then goes on to complement Ferdiad’s physical features.

“Dear to me thy noble blush,

Dear thy comely, perfect form;

Dear thine eye, blue-grey and clear,

Dear thy wisdom and thy speech”

Although this is deeply sweet I would also like to caution that Chuhulainn may have simply been commenting on his healthiness, but blush is an odd word considering he is now dead.

Two male lovers, one dead in the other’s arms. Soul friends, maybe. Reminds me of a certain show..I don’t know I just can’t put my finger on it...

I would also like to point out that because Celtics did not pressure others to have sex, and that a soul friend can be any type of love, I do think that an asexual or someone on that spectrum could live without judgment.Unfortunately, I could not find much about intersex, androgynous, or trans people. Perhaps if I find anything in the future and will make a new post.

In conclusion, if Merlin were more historicaly accurate, he definitely would have been queer. Especially because he is said to be magic itself, it would make sense for him to be the personification of Celtic values. That may include homosexuality, because as previously stated, Celtic men really liked other men.

I’m excited to see what will come of this post, seeing as not a lot of people in the fandom seem to know this. More fanfiction? More fanart? It would probably inspire a lot of creators. So, if you do make something because of this post, please notify me in the notes, an ask, an @ or something. Basically anything but a PM. I would be happy to see/read the creation.

Sources:

Sexuality and love in Celtic society:

Same Sex Celts

Druid Thoughts: of Sex and Druids

Anam Cara, what’s a soul mate?

Sexuality in Ancient Ireland

The Celts, Women, and Sex

LGBT history

Sexuality and love in Medival Society:

Getting down and medival: the sex lives of the Middle Ages

Sex in the Middle Ages

Here’s What Sex Was Like In Medieval Times. It’ll Make You Feel Glad You Weren’t Born Back Then!

General Celtic Society:

Who Were the Celts

Celtic Religion and Belieifs

Saint Patrick

17 Things You Probably Didnt know about Saint Patrick

Confession of Saint Patrick

Cuchulainn and Ferdiad

Cuchulainn and Ferdiad, Gay Lovers?

The Combat of Ferdiad and Cuchulain

Insest in Antient Celtic Society

Ancient Irish elite practiced incest, new genetic data from Neolithic tomb shows

Homosexuality in the Roman Empire

Timeline of LGBT history

Timeline of LGBT history in the United Kingdom

[killianmesmalls]

Raising Alice: Historical(ish) Headcanons and Meta

Now, everything here is based on speculation and, though I’d love to spend weeks researching this because I love history, especially the time periods this lends itself to, I’m going open this up to discourse because there’s a lot of conjecture at a certain point with fictional people, fictional realms, and timeline discrepancies. 

However, I do headcanon Killian raised Alice within both the societal ideals of Victorian to Edwardian views of child rearing and what was accessible to him, but was also highly progressive. Part of this is based on when he grew up (clearly late 18th to early 19th century-ish regardless of realm in terms of style and etiquette) and how he adapted over the years, with a key factor being the fashions and beliefs of when he took in Bae for what one can speculate to be a few months as well as how his years of piracy which allowed a high level of democracy, tolerance of different lifestyles, and distaste for stringent authority. Part of this is also based on when their books were published, so 1865-1911. 

I am going to separate my personal headcanons into different categories: toys, lessons, nutrition, and other, the last of which is a catch-all for anything I either forgot to assess or doesn’t fit within the context of the previous categories nor does it merit its own (clothing, schedules, discipline, etc). All under the cut because I feel I may ramble. 

Here is what I cannot help but headcanon about Alice: It is no coincidence her aesthetic is from the time period that first started to truly understand late childhood and adolescence were stepping stones to a human’s development. Killian Jones never got that. We can only infer what his life was like, but I highly doubt a ~10-year-old indentured servant on a late 18th century ship would have lived the sort of life today’s child is gifted with. We can only speculate the abuses he went through, but we can (I hope) all acknowledge it wasn’t a privileged life. 

Then we have Alice. Now, we know she has a lot working against her: trapped in a very tight space, no doors, no indoor plumbing, only one other voice to listen to outside of her own (until she’s almost 11, which we won’t go there...), etc. Though there were some obvious struggles, there is no doubt to me she was raised with an abundance of love. The below, to me, will detail either what we’ve been already told, what I headcanon based on history, or what I headcanon based on what I believe about Killian. 

Toys

I’m not going to lie, I’m in love with some of the toys that started to develop around the late 19th century to the beginning of the 20th. It was such an enthusiastic time of development with all sorts of new technologies, cultures intermingling thanks to trains, automobiles, steam ships, the telegraph, music, moving pictures, etc. This also gave rise to what humans are wont to do, which is protect their traditions or “their own” in the face of progression, but this was such a beautiful time of progress in some aspects. Yes, the advancements can arguably be attributed to a causing factor of WWI and, as such, WWII, but let’s stick to the positive in this case? I can discuss WWI for days, but I’d like to focus on the happy and I’ve already detracted enough from Alice and Killian, my true purpose for this. 

Let’s take a couple looks at what she has. 

I’ve discussed this before, but I feel the desire to bring it up again. I cannot begin to count her dolls, she has a parasol, a wooden ship, a baby carriage, obviously the chess set, and so on. These toys do not come cheap, nor do her dresses or nightgown. She is, as far as we can infer, financially spoiled. We can only imagine why this may be, but it’s hard (for me) to not believe Killian kept her well-stocked in toys thanks to her inability to leave her home/prison. These toys all, also, keep with the style of late Victorian pieces. All of her dolls are dressed in late 19th century fashion, circa 1880-1910 if one were to take a guess, and well-crafted. In addition, Noah’s ark toys were highly popular in late Victorian years, as were parasols, and the shape of the baby carriage she is shown pushing is also in the style of this time period. 

If, based on her clothing and other toys (more on the former later....) we’re assuming other objects of a similar time period are around, here are some of toys the I don’t doubt he’d either like to gift her with or already has and they’re stashed away somewhere: skipping ropes, marbles, spinning tops, toy soldiers (because, let’s face it, he didn’t raise her strictly according to gender roles of the time), and my current headcanon favorite, a kaleidoscope.

Why a kaleidoscope I hear you asking silently? Because now I’m just imagining her beside him, pretending it’s a spyglass of her own, playing pirate and seeing all sorts of treasure in the distance. 

Lessons

We know she understands sword fighting enough to defeat a jabberwocky with being the sole survivor in addition to us seeing her having a lesson with her father. She knows stars well enough to know the date based on their location. She’s spent years on her own, traveling realms completely by herself, and surviving based on everything we can believe she’s been taught. Basically, that girl spent almost 11 years with her father’s studious voice speaking to her, and his voice in her head urging her to read and learn different subjects since then. 

Even in her cursed persona, Alice craves the knowledge of a bookstore. She focuses thanks to chess. Everything that makes Alice happy revolves around either her most loving relationships or in academic pursuits. When Henry brings up the idea that he thinks they may actually be cursed characters from his book, she immediately starts perusing through it. 

It’s canon she studied art, there were knitting materials in her cottage when she’s older, we can infer she’s able to bake based on her having the cupcake on her birthday (unless others have the headcanon that the tower magicked it there for her, but I don’t think the tower is that nice). While many young girls stopped learning more “masculine” subjects, such as mathematics and science, as they were expected to marry and align themselves to a more homemaker role, I have many doubts that Alice was raised with this mentality, at the very least due to what was mentioned above. 

While she does see the world in a “special” way, no one can claim that Alice is in any way stupid, and I don’t doubt her curiosity would prevent her from ever being considered truly ignorant. Like her father, if there is something worth knowing, she absolutely will learn it. Again, this is mostly based on some evidence but mostly headcanon, but I have a hard time believing otherwise. 

Based on time period and on what I believe about Killian, I think she’s aware of the etiquette in different realms, knows at least one other language and maybe more, knows some military history, and knows the basics of sailing even if she’s never been. I think he also taught her about the customs and beliefs of different people, though how much this included religion considering all the mixing of religions in the show is a mystery. 

Nutrition

Food at this time period, with a primary focus in this case for Irish and English foods, was heavy in beef, potatoes, pork, eggs, bread, cheese, and, as we know of Alice, various jams. Obviously, we know a bit about Killian’s diet and his aversion to sugar/“junk food” and we know how much Alice craves orange marmalade. In addition, we know they were close enough to a port for her to consider a 48-hour trip using Enchanted Forest methods of transportation to be cause for worry, and he was able to get her various vials of sand for her birthday. So I assume they were able to get seafood easily enough without worry of it spoiling before he could either cook it or get it on ice. 

Food-borne illnesses, gout, and afflictions easily handled these days with a dose of stomach medication was still a concern during this time, so I feel like Killian would have avoided any foods that were at risk of easily going bad unless they had a way of storing it. Though they were not poor, as evidenced by how well-stocked Alice was kept in pristine clothing and toys, there were still a lot of concerns, and I feel like he would have been extremely cautious considering she was unable to go see a doctor. 

Killian likely raised her on a healthy balanced diet with marmalade as a comfort food that was both a treat but also something healthy (guarding against scurvy) and could store well (up to six months). I also love the idea that “I had no idea you could put candy on fruit” is also a carryover from Alice’s time with fruit being the primary dessert and anything high in sugar being a very rare treat, perhaps mostly in the form of sea salt toffee or, on special occasions, cupcakes. 

The trick here is we don’t know how the tower kept stocked with food, let alone how generous it may have been or how well it kept any of it, so we can only speculate how much/how often they had anything that spoiled easily. It’s still worth knowing what may have been a typical spread in the Jones home for those of us that are insane nerds about them and this time period. 

Other

Speaking of Alice’s pristine clothing, we saw at least three different outfits compared to Killian’s one. Her puffy sleeves, embroidery, the fabrics used, and colors used indicate she was dressed relatively upperclass. Her clothing, like her toys, again shows how absolutely well-cared for she was. 

However, as spoiled as she was financially, there is no way in my mind she was spoiled in terms of a schedule. At the very least, for her to know the date by the stars, I feel like she could also look at the sun to know the time, and keeps to it. That, mixed with the fact that she needs help to focus, plus the fact that Killian was shown at times to be stringent on routine, she likely veered very little from the schedule they both adapted for years. Rise at this time, breakfast by this time, lessons by this time, lunch by this time, etc. You get the point. It’s also what, by the time she’s left alone, helps her keep some level of sanity. I also, as I’m writing this, somewhat headcanon part of her mind to be the White Rabbit, fretting about being late and later selling “time pieces”, strictly telling Rogers a time to meet her and only showing late when she had news she didn’t want to give him. 

Even with all this strictness when it came to making sure a schedule was in order, Victorian and Edwardian times could still be pretty tough on some children. They were still expected to be seen and not heard, often not listened to or respected as individuals, had others’ ideals impressed upon them, and were pretty severely dealt with from time to time. With everything Killian dealt with as a child, and how much Alice grew to be an inquisitive person with little shame in how she felt or how she appeared to others, I think he was most progressive in this regard. I am not going to go into too controversial of topics, but I do believe if he were ever firm it was very few and far between. We have to remember, beyond his past abuses, that Killian is aware that he is the only person she is exposed to. While he will make mistakes as he’s only human, and he is still a product of his time period, his hands are the only hands she’s going to hold or be near for a while. I don’t believe that he’d ever risk her fearing them. She was mostly respected in terms of her autonomy and her beliefs, and we know he is shown multiple times in supporting her, building up her self-esteem, and treating her like a smart, capable individual. There may have been slips and slides, but I truly believe with the way they came out of this and how she grew into the person she is, she felt mostly pure love and respect from her father. 

In Conclusion

FFS, did you guys stay through all of this? Wow. Props, guys. 

[drblovewrite]

A Winding Ramble About Damain R. B. K. by Yours Truly ✌

I can remember being younger and telling my family I loved them. Looking back, I believe that I did not feel love for them and that was due to a fear of a lack of my family and all they could provide and their familiarity as well as an acute sense of how they would supposedly feel awful and be hurt if I did not express that sentiment.

It is only now that I know without a doubt that I love them, with a great fondness and regard for their state of being and a wish for them to view me well and believe that they are loved.

A lot of the time I felt disconnected, like there was a distance between my family and I. I wanted to be protected. I said I loved my mom and dad, but at that age what I really would miss was my mom’s cooking and my dad’s financial support. That’s a pretty cold view, but what I had.

What curbed my actions at times was the idea that if I said something, I feared that they would analyse my words and find a meaning that implied a lack of regard- no care or consideration, or hatred. I did not like feeling that way, and so I would apologise if I felt that my words could chase those feelings. I used my feelings and way of thinking as the standard and reference point. That is perhaps why I doubted so much that persons meant what they said. I know I did not mean what I said, subconsciously, and so I attributed that to others.

Looking back, I recognise that I was filled less with genuine care for others.

Now I genuinely care for few, and wish to engender care from others or good regard so I can get them to feel what I want them to feel towards me and put them in a place where they are more likely to do what I want them to do and give me less resistance when I want something done.

I’m very friendly with few friends. However, I also now find that making others happy or less discontent makes me happy. I have found that my name precedes me and my actions pave the way to easier interactions and an easier time overall.

I don’t generally ask for favours, because I prefer to get what I want myself and be responsible for the greatest quality that can be assured. To ask, to me, is ceding power and acknowledging my inability to perform a task. Making the frequency that I ask for favours seldom, I am able to project the idea that I am competent, but am open to aid at times, but not to the point that I am viewed as incompetent or taking advantage of those who would aid me.

I experience more emotions from reading than in daily life. Hence why I read constantly and hundreds of thousands of words are read by me daily. I want to moved to tears. I want to jump for joy. I want to be conflicted and brought to rage and made to feel hurt. I want too feel more than muted emotions and rare bursts of high levels of emotions.

Music is a source of emotions for me as well, which is how I am also able to feel a specific emotion. It frustrates me that I can’t hold onto them and keep them solid to be accessed at all times. When a song is no longer able to move me is when I get annoyed with it and avoid it. It usually comes back.

I have one friend on here who cause me to feel genuine fondness and love and another on my dorm whose a year below me but 4 years older than me who feels like a younger sibling who I count on.

I kinda am disappointed that I am willing to send persons who I have regard for into situations I view as potentially harmful, but…

I am not brave…and I can’t get over the fear that prevents me from leaving the fucking *campus*…so I’m willing to let others do it for me.

A lot of the time I don’t mean what I say, but only because I want to.

I am manipulative, and that is true, so I won’t say I’m not. It’s just who I am and who my parents raised. I will say vague stuff or specific random stuff. But I avoid divulging deep stuff about myself, and I avoid saying anything that is truly potentially harmful in arguments, so that when the tale eventually flies away, I don’t appear in a truly negative and authority figures will have no reason to doubt my character. I will insinuate things, but that is mostly in reference to an individual’s ability to truly understand what I’m putting down and through twisting the other persons words to make them a appear in a negative light. I listen when people talk to me. And the North remembers. So I know what makes makes a person tick and what they have to say about others. If a relationship goes sour, I may pepper my conversations sparsely with vague mentions and inferences and ‘worries’ that this person with whom I’ve shared so much or spent so much time with had turned on me. This usually is resolved through strict avoidance and icy politeness that quickly warms until the relationship is just as it was before. Though I don’t forget.

That’s a positive for me though, my ability to scream at someone one week and then go to talking about our fucking dogs and what we like the next.

The same cannot be said for others however. I have realised that my intervention has caused some relationships to go sour for like, ever, and some to never come about.

I generally expect others to be like me though, so I’m not surprised when others try to do the same to me without actually succeeding.

I can greatly dislike a person and everything they stand for and not express a lik of it to them. Though for those who I don’t care to have in my corner, I am more free with my words. Like my fucking roommate who is a passive aggressive shit who mooches off me like nobodies business and makes efforts to appear benevolent in certain respect that are transparent and who is unable to even properly appear as such due to outbursts that make them obvious. They claim to be the most selfless person ever, when people know that they sabotage them self to ensure they get what they need and can still say that they are the “most giving person in the world. No one gives as much as me”. But…they purposefully waste others time by arriving hours later than promised and they also ensure that others *have* to help them. At first I thought “doormat?” and wanted to help… but really, they shoot them self in the foot.

I know I mislead others and shit, but I give them my best if only because that’s what I’d want.

Movin’ ON.

I weigh like 136 lbs. 5'4" and hoping for at least one more, And my fam and almost every one I know says I’m faaaaaat.

18 years old, going 19 in December.

Single. Never dated, never kissed, never had sex.

Am unable to take of myself in daily life and perform the necessary actions that make humans 'presentable’. (That means unless outwardly prompted, I’m more likely to just…not.) Makes me feel like a piece of shit a lot, but its all good 😆

I avoid reading or watching the same thing more than once. If I read it once, I’m unlikely to revisit unless I forget that I read it and then just power through with determination.

What do I watch? Impractical Jokers and Family Feud and Random Movies. On that note, the representation of religion and LGBTQPIA+ topics often is a miss for me, and so I’m the type to just kind of cover my eyes for fear of what I see. Also, my family regularly watches the shit I watch, so I can’t really watch stuff that is of good fibre without being in a rigid state of severe discomfort and mild fear.

What do I read? Fanfic and original fiction. Sci fi is a hard no go, and supernatural is a hit or miss.

Fanfic preferences? Time travel, fix-it, self insert, reincarnation, mpreg, coming out, outing, dysphoria, fake relationships, social media focus, sports RPF, and the *dark tags* on Ao3. A lot of it is because of morbid curiosity and an irresistible urge to see what can go wrong go horribly wrong- or right as the story would have it. My *issues* are always on my mind, so they appear in my preferred reading. Yes, that is a thing. That I do.

What else? How long can I make this?

I have shit eyes and teeth and skin. My fashion sense is to wear what fits and still is functional. I severely dislike shopping.

I like spicy food! I live in the Caribbean! I…go to a religion based school, as I’ve done my whole life! I study science! I have two bros. I speak English, but my country has a dialect that I am very capable in. I won a silver medal for performance arts once.

I have dark brown kinky hair that I perm and that is now just wavy and loosely curly and sentient at this point. My eyes are very dark brown. I’m of Irish and Scottish descent on my mom’s side and just something something Indian and some African on both sides with a great dash of one of the old local groups from my paternal grandma. My voice is kinda low, but of a scratchy register?(is that a thing) with a kinda smooth and yet stuffy undertone. It resonates and has the capacity to drown out everyone else in the room. I generally speak in a cutesy- yes I really mean it- voice when on the phone with my mom. I almost always have an electronic with me. I follow rules to the tee, so I’m rather rigid in that respect.

I wanna be a psychiatrist…but what I want to do is just raise children. I want kids baaaad. Like, if you are pregnant, I’d take your kid and raise it and expect like, nothing from you, except I’m a college kid dependent on my parents…so.

I have so much more to say, but don’t have the drive to write more and make this long ass post any longer.

If you actually read this tell me something about you! I mean, you know so much of my shit already! 😳

Love!

[margdarsanme]

NCERT Class 11 English Reading Discursive Passages

NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English Reading :: Discursive Passages

Unseen Passages for Class 11 CBSE With Answers PDF – Discursive Passages:

Read the following passages carefully:

Passage 1:  The art of reading right

Reading Comprehension (RC, as it is normally called) is the most peculiar section in almost all scholastic, entrance and employment tests. The skills in RC make a lot of difference to one’s chances of good grades/selection.

Most students find it difficult to tackle topics that are diverse from the field they are in or they are comfortable with. So one needs to develop a taste for even the most obscure and boring topic on this planet. For success in RC one should be able to understand. And even with an average speed one can succeed if one implements the strategies.

Broadly speaking, RC passages can be classified in a few categories. Fact based RC is the simplest form of RC. These types of passages have lot of information in the form of names, numbers etc. In this type of passages one should read very fast.

Don’t try to memorize any facts, numbers or names etc. In fact there is no need to even remember them. Just make yourself familiar with the structure of the passage. Just see in which paragraph author is talking about what. Mark it. Then when you go to the questions, identify in which paragraph information regarding that question is mentioned. Go to that paragraph, read the numbers, names etc. and mark the answer.

Inference based RC is the toughest form of RC. Here the passage is fairly tough to understand. This includes passages on topics like Religion, Spirituality, Philosophy, etc. Most of the students will be comfortable attempting these passages at least in RC. The reading speed is fairly slow in this type of passages. The way to master this type of passages is to read them again and again while practising.

Topic based RC includes passages on any particular topic like economics, astrology, medical science, etc. Generally what makes -these passages tough is usage of technical terms. If a topic is new to us then presence of technical term scares us even if they are defined in the passage. For success in this type of passages we need to have a fan-understanding of the definition of the term if it is defined in the passage. Read that definition twice if you need to. But don’t worry about technical terms if they are not defined in the passage. Assume them to be non-existent and proceed. Key principle in these passages is that don’t go to the next line unless the previous line is clear.

Reading passage first and then questions is the most popular strategy for RC. While answering the question you may come back to the passage to find answer as you have just read the passage initially and not crammed it. But you should not come back for each and every question. If you come back for majority of questions then you haven’t read the passage properly. The key to success for this strategy is that you should understand the passage very well. We will suggest students to follow this technique from the beginning and work upon this.

Reading questions first and then passage is the strategy followed by a few students. They just look at the questions and not options. The objective is that after seeing the questions when you read the passage then you read only that part carefully where the answer is given. The flaw with this is that you will not be able to remember all the questions. Besides this, this strategy fails when there are questions that require understanding of the passage.

A. Answer the following questions by choosing the most appropriate option:    6

Most students find Reading Comprehension difficult because……………………….(a) the language is tough(b) the vocabulary is difficult(c) the style is too involved(d) the topics are unrelated to their interest

Fact based RC is the easiest because……………………….(a) it is written in simple language(b) there are no allusions(c) it contains information(d) it can be memorised easily

For answering a question on RC, one should……………………….(a) memorise the facts, figures, etc.(b) mark what the author is talking about in the para(c) mark the essential details of the passage(d) remember the names, numbers, etc.

Topic based RC is tough as……………………….(a) it contains technical terms(b) it is based on different topics(c) it demands instant understanding(d) one can’t read them fast enough

Careful reading of the passage is essential for……………………….(a) answering difficult questions(b) saving time and effort(c) proper understanding and answering correctly(d) selective identification of relevant parts

The word ‘diverse’ in para 2 means……………………….(a) similar(b) same(c) variety(d) different

B. Answer the following questions in brief:    67. What should one do for finding the right answers?8. Why is topic based R C tough?9. Which step is considered more essential for finding right answers? Why?10. What is the most popular strategy for solving Reading Comprehension(RC)?11. Find the words similar in the meaning from passage.(a) Different (para 2)(b) Accept as true (para 6)

Answers

(d) the topics are unrelated to their interest

(c) it contains information

(b) mark what the author is talking about in the para

(a) it contains technical terms

(c) proper understanding and answering correctly

(d) different

One should mark what the author is talking about in para.

Topic based R C is tough as it contains technical terms.

Careful reading of the passage is essential for proper understanding and answering correctly.

Reading passage first and then question is the most popular strategy for solving R C.

(a) Diverse(b) Assume

Students can also read the unseen passage in Hindi

Passage 2:Playing the mind game

The Mastermind quiz is billed as a “battle of minds’. This battle is fought in two halves. In the first, each of four participants faces a barrage of questions, for two minutes, on any topic of his or her choice. In the second round, the questions are on general knowledge. There are two points for each correct answer and zero for wrong answers and passes. In the event of a tie, the person who has passed fewer questions wins.

Questions can be bizarre, but they are answered none the less. “It absolutely amazes you that these guys know so much. In KBC, it used to be, that this guy knows so little,” says Basu after the show. Siddhartha Basu was the director of Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC).

This year’s Mastermind final was won by Ramanand Janardhana, a 22 year-old software engineer from Pune. Janardhana had Agatha Christie’s ‘Tommy and Tupence’ novels as his specialist topic. He even knew that Tommy used asofoetida to create a stink in his room.

There are, of course, all sorts of quizzers. The diary-toting, Manorama yearbook, wielding variety will typically prepare for a contest by ‘studying’. He knows that the best questions, the ones that get the ‘wah-wahs’, are always repeated. He is a solid quizzer, because he knows the obvious.

There is the other kind, like Janardhana, who claim they do nothing extra to prepare for quizzes. They read the papers and magazines, watch TV, and become quizzers because they enjoy the test of recall.

It was a test the nation took when KBC fever was at its height. But long before KBC, there were quiz societies across the country, in places from Guwahati to Gandhinagar. Kolkata was the hub of the game; quizzing in India began here in 1967. Even now, the majority of quizzers are from Kolkata. Of the four 2002 Mastermind finalists, two were from that city.

Quizzing is big in school and college festivals. It’s the ‘literary’ highlight of all fests. There are even professional quizzers, who, like mercenaries, play for money and the thrill of the game. They represent various organisations at different times.

Most quizzers grow out of active quizzing after college. Some, the really hardcore devotees of the game, keep at it. “I don’t get tired of quizzing,” says Pinaki Prasad Roy, a Mastermind finalist. “I get excited.” Roy is a 46-year old finance professional from Kolkata, and has been a quizzer for three decades.

Curiosity is the most essential quality for a quizzer. A fantastic memory and instant recall help. And for Mastermind at least, the choice of specialist subject is critical. In this year’s event, Janardhana took an unassailable lead in the specialist round itself.

A. Answer the following questions by choosing the most appropriate option:    6

The Mastermind quiz is called a ‘battle of minds’ because……………………….(a) it is a duel of wits(b) the participants are the most intelligent persons(c) the participants face a shower of questions(d) the mind is on the anvil

The participants in the quiz seem ‘masterminds’ because……………………….(a) they seem to know so little(b) they have very polished manner(c) they show lot of self confidence(d) they seem to know so much

Ramanand Janardhana won as……………………….(a) he had mastery over the specialist topic(b) he had gone through the quiz columns in magazines(c) he had chinks in his memory/recall(d) he knew all the often repeated questions asked by quizmasters

The studious quizzers are called ‘solid’ quizzers because……………………….(a) they prepare expected questions(b) they know the obvious(c) they bank on general awareness(d) they enjoy the test of recall

The quality most essential for a quizzer is……………………….(a) love of learning(b) mathematical accuracy(c) curiosity to know(d) comprehensive learning

The word ‘mercenaries’ in para 7 means.………………………(a) those who seek mercy(b) those who work on machines(c) those who are lively and quick(d) those who fight for money

B. Answer the following questions in brief:    67. Why did Ramanand Janardhana win mastermind final?8. Who are called solid quizzers? Why?9. Which is the most essential quality of a quizzer?10. How is Kolkata associated with quizzing game?11. Find the words from the passage which are similar in meaning to these words.(a) Those who fight for money (para 7)(b) Enthusiasts (para 8)

Answers

(c) the participants face a shower of questions

(d) they seem to know so much    .

(a) he had mastery over the specialist topic

(b) they know the obvious

(c) curiosity to know

(d) those who fight for money

He had mastery over the specialist topic which blessed him with victory.

The studious quizzers are called solid quizzers they know the obvious.

The quizzer should have curiosity to know.

Quizzing in India began in Kolkata in 1967. Even now the majority of the quizzers are from Kolkata.(a) Mercenaries(b) Devotees

Passage 3:Living with foods

Floods are not new to India and this sub-continent, but in recent years the problem has received much greater attention perhaps largely because it has led to much greater damage than in the past. Even though information on the impending occurrence of floods is now more accurate and certainly more timely, often there is very little time or support infrastructure in place by which damage can be minimized. This is particularly true in the case of flash floods resulting from sudden and excessively heavy rain.

In the case of India flooding is very much a function of the seasonal nature of our rainfall. The monsoons are spread over a short period during the year and often bring a concentrated volume of rain, which cannot be absorbed by the earth and finds outlet only in the form of streams that join up with our major river systems. But, flooding is not confined only to the main rivers of the country, often smaller tributaries and streams can cause heavy damage as well. Once these streams spill over their banks they could cause excessive harm, mainly because those living near the banks of these streams particularly in mountain areas do not have easy recourse to moving away quickly.

One major factor that could lead to a higher severity of flooding in the future is the danger of climate change. While the evidence of the nature of impacts resulting from climate change on precipitation and flooding at the regional level is not entirely clear, it could happen that the Indian subcontinent witnesses and suffers the effects of a significantly changed pattern of monsoons. One set of scientists has estimated that the monsoons could be shorter in duration, but far more intensive. In other words, much greater precipitation would take place in a much shorter period of time, thereby increasing the danger of floods. Climate change is the result of human actions through the increased concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, of which carbon dioxide is the most prominent.

At the local level also human actions have heightened the danger of flood through the cutting of trees in the mountains as well as in the plains. In the case of India, the ecological damage through deforestation of the Himalayas has led to large-scale erosion of the mountain slopes and high levels of siltation. This leads to deposition of silt on the riverbeds in the plains and hence spill over of water whenever the volume in the river reaches a certain level. With siltation on the river beds, flooding occurs even at very shallow water levels. The vulnerability of the population has increased substantially because of population pressures, symbolized, for instance, by the stubborn and perhaps helpless settling of slum dwellers on the banks of the river Yamuna in Delhi, which is merely a trickle most of the year, but bursting its banks during the monsoons as has been the case this year.

Flood forecasting is critical to minimizing the damage from floods. It is for this reason that the Central Water Commission has set up a network of forecasting stations, which cover the most important flood prone inter state rivers in the country. These stations produce forecasts that are used to alert the public and to mobilize various official agencies so that they take both preventive as well as relief measures whenever required. However, even in cases where forecasts have been timely and generally accurate, people have often been reluctant to move away, because in most cases they lack the means and physical options for moving away from a danger zone to one that is relatively safe. In the case of flash floods, forecasts are difficult to make, and often the time available for relief is very short.

A. Answer the following questions by choosing the most appropriate option:    6

The problem of floods has been considered important recently because…………………..(a) there are flash floods(b) floods are unpredictable(c) the rivers change their courses(d) these cause much greater damage

The danger of floods is not minimised as…………………..(a) flood forecasting is inaccurate(b) there is little time available for safety measures(c) people are scared and act in panic(d) support infrastructure is poor

India suffers from floods during monsoons because…………………..(a) it rains very heavily and continually(b) the embankments of the rivers are weak(c) the streams and rivers spill over(d) the streams are full of silt

Climate change is the direct result of…………………..(a) increased concentration of green house gases(b) explosion of nuclear devices(c) fire in oil wells in the gulf region(d) significantly changed pattern of monsoons

The worst hit people are slum dwellers because…………………..(a) they are stubborn and helpless(b) they do not have means to move away quickly(c) they have concentrated in large numbers(d) they have settled on the banks of the rivers

The word ‘precipitation’ in para 3 means…………………..(a) forming a precipitate(b) separation of solid material from liquid(c) falling of rain in an area(d) the quality of being exact or accurate

B. Answer the following questions in brief:    67. Why does India suffer from floods during monsoons?8. What is the result of greenhouse gases?9. Who are the worst hit people?10. Which human action have heightened the danger of flood?11. Write the words from passage which are similar in meaning.(a) Fall of rain in an area (para 3)(b) Harshness (para 3)

Answers

(d) these cause much greater damage

(b) there is little time available for safety measures

(c) the streams and rivers spill over

(a) increased concentration of green house gases

(d) they have settled on the banks of the rivers

(c) falling of rain in an area

During monsoon the streams and rivers spill over and it results in flood.

Climate change is the direct result of increased concentration of greenhouse gases.

Slum dwellers are the worst hit people as they have settled on the banks of the rivers.

Cutting of trees in the mountains as well as in the plains have heightened the danger of flood.

(a) Precipitation(b) Severity

Passage 4:Great Indian digital divide

The revolution in information technology (IT), far from helping India to leapfrog to a post-industrial society, threatens to rupture the social fabric by enriching a few at the cost of many.

In a very short time and quite unexpectedly, India has risen to considerable eminence in the world of information technology. This year, software products are expected to account for $ 5.7 billion in exports and will account for a quarter of the growth in the economy, which is expected to grow nearly seven per cent. Within eight years, predicts a recent study by McKinsey & Co. and the National Association of Software & Service Companies (Nasscom), India’s annual IT exports could hit $ 50 billion about 33 per cent of global software exports. Such a surge is expected to generate 2.2 million jobs—and push our growth rate near the double digits that many East Asian Tigers enjoyed before the 1997 crash.

For the rapidly growing middle class, which was desperate to make its presence felt but remained mired in the great Indian outback of the global economy and regretfully watched the industrial revolution pass it by, this is the moment they have been waiting for. When countries like Japan and Germany, the objects of Indian admiration, should come knocking on our doors to solicit our talent to invigorate their industry, it is indeed redemption of sorts. And IT is the cause of it all.

The big question is, will IT do an encore for India as a nation, and not just for a wafer thin percentage of IT-literate Indians, mostly the poster boys of the IITs?

IT has, as yet, failed to touch the lives of the average citizen and India is nowhere close to being a knowledge economy or society. As per the International Data Corporation (IDC), in a survey of 55 countries, India ranks 54th on its Information Society Index.

The fact is, it is a straightforward reflection of the deep inequality of our education system which breeds a few ‘geniuses’ at the cost of the entire nation. A study by former director of the National Centre for Software Technology, R. Narasimhan, points out that nowhere is the digital divide more glaring than in IT education. The report warns that India’s ‘obsession’ with the software industry and its exports orientation is leading to the churning out of unemployable students on one hand and bright whiz-kids on the other. While the latter are lured away by overseas employers, the former remain unemployable.Narasimhan cautions against the ‘hype’ associated with the phenomenal growth of India’s software industry defying rational explanations and built up into a ‘mystique of sort’ which breeds false hopes. .

India’s software industry is a poor employment generator. In the mid-Nineties, some 20,000 people were actively employed in software export services. In contrast, there were three million registered unemployed graduates in the Nineties. While the ‘Narasimhan study doesn’t mention number of hobs lost due to computerisation, one could comfortably add a million to the number.

A. Answer the following questions by choosing the most appropriate option: 6

The revolution in IT threatens to break apart the social fabric because…………………………(a) the stocks of software companies have risen at BSE(b) it has helped India to rise beyond the industrial society(c) it is enriching a few at the cost of many(d) it has created a gulf between the rural and urban sector

Growth in export of Indian software products and national economy have been achieved because of…………………………(a) global recession(b) liberalised economy(c) public private cooperation(d) eminence of Information Technology

It is a time of pride for the middle classes in India because…………………………(a) developed industrial nations will require Indian software professionals to invigorate their industry(b) they are desperate to make their presence felt(c) they have remained stuck in the mud of global economy(d) they have regretfully watched the industrial revolution pass by them

The digital divide is clearly visible in IT revolution because…………………………(a) it has improved a lot of average Indian citizen(b) it has benefitted only the products of IITs or some IT-literates(c) it has made India a knowledge economy or society(d) non-IT trained students run the IT institutes

Narasimhan’s report cautions against ‘hype’ around IT software industry because…………………………(a) it is rational(b) it breeds false hopes(c) all look for foreign assignments(d) it attracts even the dullards

The word ‘redemption’ in para 3 means…………………………(a) recoupment(b) recumbent(c) recovery(d) redeeming

B. Answer the following questions in brief: 67. Why is the digital divide clearly visible in IT revolution?8. Why is IT not beneficial for average Indians?9. What does Narasimhan’s report highlight on IT software industry?10. How is it lucrative for the middle classes in India?11. Find the words from the passage which are similar in meaning.(a) Recovery (para 3)(b) Very easily seen (para 6)

Answers

(c) it is enriching a few at the cost of many

(d) eminence of Information Technology

(a) developed industrial nations will require Indian software professionals to invigorate their industry

(b) it has benefitted only the products of IITs or some IT-literates

(b) it breeds false hopes

(c) recovery

It has benefitted only the products of IITs or some IT-literates.

It has yet failed to touch the lives of the average citizen and India is nowhere close to bring knowledge economy or society.

Narasimhan’s report highlights it’s failure in India as it breeds false hope to invigorate their industry.

Indian software professionals are on high demand in developed Industrial nations.

(a) Redemption(b) Glaring

Passage 5 :Deleterious effects of drugs

“Cured yesterday of my disease, I died last night of my physician,” says Matthew Prior, a celebrated pharmacologist, while talking about the deleterious effects of drugs in his book, “The Remedy Worse Than the Disease”. There is no dearth of patients dying of misguided treatment.

disorder bound to disappear in a short duration.

In this era of drugs we must familiarise ourselves with the term “Iatrogenic disease (physician caused ailment)”. When a physician administers medicines without a complete understanding of the patient’s condition, drugs play havoc. A person may become the victim of a worse disease or even lose his life.

With Analgin, for instance, special precautions should be taken in case of pregnancy, bronchial asthma, renal and hepatitic dysfunctions and blood-related disorders. It has been banned in several countries, including the USA and Sweden, because of its unexpected and negative effects that lead one even to death through an anaphylactic shock. An anaphylactic shock is a process that leads to a severe fall in the blood pressure, bronchoconstriction, the swelling of blood and lymph vessels and sometimes death because of the loss of fluid in these vessels. Anaphylaxis usually occurs suddenly, in minutes after the administration of a drug. The well-known drug, penicillin, and many other drugs, may cause anaphylaxis.

The term “side-effects” is a part of an ailing layman’s vocabulary but adverse drug reactions are known only to a more aware and literate patient.

Ciprofloxacin, when given for an ear-infection, may cause vertigo and amoxycillin, while fighting a throat infection, may hurt the stomach. Similarly, while chemotherapy given for cancer may lead to indigestion and hair fall, steroids administered continuously may lead to obesity and diabetes.

Drugs are meant to eliminate disease. In the quest for avoiding the misery of sickness, man has invented medicines that may themselves cause diseases. The illness caused by a drug may be short-term or long-term. Side effects are short-term and predictable. The unpredictable and bizarre reactions are termed as adverse reactions. A variety of drugs cure many ills but are also known to cause irregular heart beat and even sudden death.

A strong sense of responsibility on the physician’s part and an attitude of extreme caution on the patient’s part can substantially help in covering at least some of the risks of medicines, if not all. There are many factors that help a doctor in his choice and use of the drug. The medical history of a patient, age, sex, personality, environment and education contribute in deciding the course of treatment. The very old and the very young are likely to suffer as their bodies are less tolerant. Older children may sometimes be more tolerant than the adults. The elderly tend to respond better to standard drug dosage. But the lower body size, slow blood flow to vital organs, decreasing metabolic capacity and tendency to multiple physical problems contribute to adverse reactions.

A. Answer the following questions by choosing the most appropriate option: 6

An “Iatrogenic disease” is an ailment caused by……………………………(a) infection in the hospital ward(b) overdose of anaesthetic(c) the wrong administration of drugs by a physician(d) self-medication and buying drugs over the counter

Analgin and penicillin must be used carefully because……………………………(a) these may cause suffocation(b) they may create bruises(c) some patients complain of leg cramps(d) these may cause anaphylaxis

An adverse drug reaction is an illness caused by……………………………(a) secondary effects of a drug(b) a drug having unpredictable and strange effects on a patient(c) a drug having predictable and unpleasant disorders(d) the use of drugs taken after their date of expiry

Man has invented drugs to eliminate……………………………(a) diseases(b) side effects(c) death(d) casualties

Elderly people are prone to adverse drug reactions because they have……………………………(a) larger body size(b) multiple emotional problems(c) slow blood flow to vital organs(d) stagnant metabolic capacity

The word ‘dysfunction’ in para 4 means……………………………(a) disorder of brain(b) indigestion(c) bad temper(d) not working properly

B. Answer the following questions in brief: 67. What is an adverse drug reaction?8. Why are elderly people prone to adverse drug reaction?9. What are the factors that help a doctor in his choice and use of drugs?10. Why has man invented medicines?11. Find words from the passage which are similar in meaning.(a) Not working properly (para 4)(b) Considerably (para 8)

Answers

(c) the wrong administration of drugs by a physician

(d) these may cause anaphylaxis

(b) a drug having unpredictable and strange effects on a patient

(a) diseases

(c) slow blood flow to vital organs

(d) not working properly

An unpredictable and strange effect on a patient is called an adverse drug reaction.

Elderly people’s blood flow to vital organs is slow so they are prone to adverse drug reaction.

The factors like medical history of the patient, age, sex, personality, environment and education help a doctor in his choice and use of drugs.

Man has invented medicine to eliminate the misery of sickness.

(a) Dysfunction(b) Substantially

Passage 6:Saving for a rainy day

The Food Bill is still in the works but has provoked a furious debate on the lack of grain storage facilities, rotting of grains and whether they should be distributed free to the hungry masses. Waking up to the fact that no food security programme can be effective without proper storage, the government is now planning to upgrade existing warehousing facilities and also adding new ones. However, between food security and large-scale storage, there’s a missing link that needs to be taken note of: storage at the farm level. No one can deny the importance of decentralised storage; at least 25-30 per cent grains in the country are stored at the farm level.

However, it’s not as if there hasn’t been enough thrust on this issue: there are State institutes to look into the storage problems.

Yet, policy-wise we did have a sound start: the Save Grain Campaign, which was initiated 43 years ago, was supposed to do what we are floundering on now. Through this campaign, the Centre was to initiate and train states in warehousing and storage of grains. The Centre wanted the states to take it up on a large scale but the latter did not want any “added responsibility”. Finding no takers, the campaign was withdrawn in 2008.

“Around 15-20 per cent foodgrain losses occur in large storage godowns. Along with investment in large storage capacities, we must encourage farm-level storage. This can be in the form of refining and improving the local/indigenous storage technologies and providing technical and financial support at that level,” says M.B. Chetti, Dean, College of Agriculture, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, Karnataka.

He and many experts like him suggest that if we want to leapfrog in storage capacity at the farm-level (since setting up large storages is time-consuming and expensive), new technologiese vacuum packaging could be the answer. They assure quality as well as a chance to store grains almost anywhere and that it can be done in villages by trained persons.

“Alternatively, we have to go for cold storage facilities for food grains, which is very costly since it involves electricity supply,” says Chetti. Instead, vacuum packing, say experts, helps preserve grains and seeds for long periods without any deterioration in quality. In fact, an experiment was carried out in the university on the usefulness of the packaging system (using chilli) and the results were satisfactory. The available technology offers a seven- layer packing to preserve quality for long periods of time and once sealed, climatic changes have no effect on it. Elimination of oxygen from the pack helps in extending shelf life.

“At present only three-layer plastic films are manufactured in India. The seven-layered film needs to be imported. But the import duty is high,” says Mohan Bajikar, of course, such technologies are expensive, but then delivering to the hungry isn’t enough—quality must be ensured.

Fool policy analyst Devinder Sharma, however, says expensive solutions like silos and warehousing are not the answer to procurement and storage problems. Instead, he says, “local production, local procurement and local distribution” is the answer, something like what Chhattisgarh has been doing. It procures paddy directly from farmers, buying it through cooperative societies and procurement centres at the village level. To store, he adds, the government can add a small godown next to each panchayat ghar.

Whichever way we look at it, decentralised storage cannot be left out of the loop if we want to ensure food security and reduce stock losses.

A. Answer the following questions by choosing the most appropriate option: 6

The necessity of proper storage has been realised because……………………(a) there is lack of grain storage facilities(b) grain is lying in the open and rotting(c) no food security is possible without it(d) masses are hungry and without grain

Decentralised storage stress upon……………………(a) storage at farm level(b) storage at block level(c) storage at district level(d) storage at state level

The ‘Save Grain Campaign’ was withdrawn after 43 years because……………………(a) the centre did not spare funds(b) proper training in warehousing was lacking(c) the states did not show any interest(d) the states did not want any added responsibility

The most cost-effective solution for storage of grain is……………………(a) cold storage facilities(b) decentralised storage(c) setting up large warehouses(d) vacuum packaging

Experts reject silos and warehousing because……………………(a) these are very costly solutions(b) local storage and distribution is more effective(c) these are inadequate for storage(d) these fail to reduce stock losses

The word ‘facilities’ in para 6 means……………………(a) aptitude(b) dexterity(c) conveniences(d) buildings for a particular purpose

B. Answer the following questions in brief: 67. Why was save green campaign withdrawn after 43 years?8. Which is the most cost effective solution for storage of grain?9. How are new technologies like vacuum packaging more successful in storing?10. Why do experts reject soil and warehousing?11. Find the words from the passage which are similar in meaning?(a) Improve (para 1)(b) Native (para 4)

Answers

(c) no food security is possible without it

(a) storage at farm level

(d) the states did not want any added responsibility

(b) decentralised storage

(a) these are very costly solutions

(d) buildings for a particular purpose

Save green campaign was withdrawn because the states did not want any added responsibility.

Decentralised storage is the most effective solution for storage of grain.

They assure quality as well as a chance to store grains almost anywhere.

Experts reject soil and warehousing because these are very costly solutions.

(a) Upgrade(b) Indigenous

Passage 7:The relevance of repetition

The painstaking memorisation of mathematical tables, historical dates, capitals of countries and even poems leaves an indelible mark on every adult who has attented school. However, all educators deprecate this rote system learning by orally reciting and consigning lessons to memory as mindless and mechanical, which goes against critical thinking and creativity. But is this dichotomy between creativity and rote learning part of a lazy binary thinking?

We often hear about people who can repeat the entire telephone directory or memorise the entire dictionary. Indians have a history of highly developed systems of memorisation, perfected through centuries of Vedic learning. From a typically Western perspective, the permanency of the written word has been pitted against the ‘unconscious operation of memory’ of oral cultures, and held to be more reliable in cultural transmission. However, refuting this thesis, Fritz Stall, an Indie scholar observes that the oral tradition in India is remarkable, “because it has led to scientific discoveries that are of enduring interest”. Of course, this mugging up can be aural (i.e. chanting aloud) or visual—mentally storing images in a visual map.

The advantages of rote memorisation—like it expands areas of the mind to great possibilities—are now becoming evident to the world. Various accounts from ancient India, including those from travellers like I-tsing, point to the fool-proof system of oral memorisation and the capacity to absorb volumes of data.

A parallel dimension of transmission of knowledge also existed in India, with a flexible mode of oral communication through which knowledge was disseminated. One instance is the narrative-performative tradition of recitation, which extended basic story through interpolations, conscious extensions and embedding of sub-narratives. Many Indian myths, legends, epics, and fables such as Kathasaritsagara and Jataka stories were spread though this process. While the story remains the same, the interpretation changes according to who says it, where it is said and how it is said. While communicating mathematics, philosophy and other scientific disciplines, cryptic text forms were created, that facilitated memorisation.

A related question pertains to cognition—how can we transmit principles using memorisation as a creative tool rather than as a mechanical process of repetition? Bhaskara’s Lilavati, the seminal 12th century illustrates how memorisation and creativity go together.

The fact that Bhaskara’s methods still figure in Indian pedagogic consciousness was recently brought home in a news report on the Ramanujan School of Mathematics in Patna, which trains youngsters from poor families to clear the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) entrance test. This year, all the 30 students of the school got through IITs. Anand Kumar, the school’s founder, called it the “sheer power of practice to break the so-called IIT code” and a student attributed the success to his teacher’s ability to teach differential calculus through a “thrilling story of a daring robber”.

A. Answer the following questions by choosing the most appropriate option: 6

All educators condemn rote learning as…………………..(a) it is a feat of memory(b) it is a parrot like learning(c) it is mindless and mechanical(d) it is against critical thinking and creativity

The dichotomy between creativity and rote learning is…………………..(a) increased by computer literates(b) initiated by western thinkers(c) the clash of the cultures of west and east(d) opposed by Indian scholars

The oral tradition in India is called remarkable because…………………..(a) it has helped to preserve Vedic learning(b) some of the old texts are still available(c) it has led to scientific discoveries of enduring interest(d) it provides capacity to absorb volumes of data

Rote learning has its own advantages as…………………..(a) it promotes learning without understanding(b) it does not add pressure to the mental faculties(c) mugging up can be aural as well as visual(d) it expands areas of the mind to greater possibilities

Cryptic texts were created for mathematics, philosophy, etc. because…………………..(a) these are very simple(b) these are easy to remember(c) these are short and easy(d) they are easy to interpret

The word ‘enduring’ in para 2 means…………………..(a) bear(b) transitory(c) lasting(d) indelible

B. Answer the following questions in brief: 67. Why is oral tradition in India called remarkable?8. How is rote learning advantageous?9. What does Bhaskara’s Lilavati illustrate?10. Why were cryptic texts created for mathematics, philosophy etc.?11. Write the word from passage similar in meaning to these words.(a) Separation (para 1)(b) Ascribed (para 6)

Answers

(d) it is against critical thinking and creativity.

(a) increased by computer literates.

(c) it has led to scientific discoveries of enduring interest

(d) it expands areas of the mind to greater possibilities

(b) these are easy to remember

(c) lasting

Rote learning in India is called remarkable because it has led to scientific discoveries of enduring interest.

Rote learning is advantageous as it expands areas of mind to greater possibilities.

Bhaskara’s Lilavati illustrate how memorisation and creativity go together.

These texts were created because these are easy to remember.

(a) Dichotomy(b) Attributed

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