Anandi's Rainbow: NCERT Class 1 English Story (Mridang Unit 4)

etmantra3 Nov 20264 min read

Anandi's Rainbow is a gentle, colourful story about a girl who loves to paint. Children learn the colours of the rainbow and enjoy the magic of a garden full of flowers. It is a lovely story to read at bedtime.

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From NCERT’s new English book Mridang for Class 1, unit “Seasons”. Unit 4.

What your child learns

The colours of the rainbow
Colour words before naming words: a red flower
Following a short story in order
Talking about the sky and weather

What the story is about

It is raining, and Anandi is asleep, dreaming of rainbows. When she wakes up and looks out of her window, she sees a huge, bright rainbow in the blue sky. She runs into the garden with Milli, her favourite cat.

Anandi loves to draw and paint. She uses the rainbow's colours for the flowers: violet, indigo, blue, orange and red, and green for the leaves. She keeps yellow for the Sun so it can shine bright. Then the rainbow is gone, but the garden is full of beautiful flowers and the Sun shines yellow.

New words, with Hindi meanings

rainbow: colour bands in the sky after rain (हिंदी: इंद्रधनुष)
dream: pictures we see while sleeping (हिंदी: सपना)
garden: a place with flowers and plants (हिंदी: बगीचा)
paint: put colour on something (हिंदी: रंग भरना)
huge: very, very big (हिंदी: बहुत बड़ा)
bright: full of light (हिंदी: चमकीला)
sky: the space above us (हिंदी: आसमान)
violet: a purple colour (हिंदी: बैंगनी)

Talk about it

Ask these aloud after reading or watching. Let your child answer in English if they can, or mix in their home language. Both help.

What did Anandi see from her window?
Who is Milli?
Why did Anandi keep the yellow colour?
Have you ever seen a rainbow? Where?

Answers for parents

She saw a huge, bright rainbow.
Milli is Anandi's favourite cat.
She kept yellow for the Sun, so it would look bright.
For example: Yes, I saw a rainbow from my roof after the rain.

Grammar corner: Colour words before naming words

A colour word can come before a naming word to tell us more: a red flower, a blue sky. The colour word comes first, then the thing.

Anandi painted a red flower.
Milli sat on the green grass.
The yellow Sun was shining.

Practice at home

Fill in the blank: Anandi used ___ for the leaves.
Choose: The Sun was (yellow / blue).
Make a sentence with a colour and a flower.

Answers: 1. green · 2. yellow · 3. For example: I see an orange flower.

Try this

Draw a rainbow together with whatever colours you have at home. If you have no colours, find something at home for each colour: a red tomato, a green leaf, a blue cloth. Say each colour aloud in English as you find it.

Tip for parents

Ask your child to name colours in Hindi first, like 'laal', then say 'red' together. Point at things around the house and ask, 'Yeh kis rang ka hai?' Clap for every colour your child names in English.

Questions parents ask

Who are the characters in Anandi's Rainbow?

The main character is Anandi, a girl who loves to draw and paint. Milli is her favourite cat.

What is the story Anandi's Rainbow about?

After the rain, Anandi sees a bright rainbow. She paints her garden flowers with its colours and keeps yellow for the Sun.

Is Anandi's Rainbow in the new NCERT book?

Yes. It is Chapter 2 of Unit 4, Seasons, in NCERT's new Mridang book for Class 1.

Learn every Class 1 lesson with CALP

Every lesson of Mridang, NCERT’s new book, with read-along videos, new words with Hindi meanings, and listen-and-say practice with a score, made for young children with a parent nearby. ₹999 for the whole year.

See the free lessons and enrol →