Bibha Chowdhuri: NCERT Class 8 English Lesson (Poorvi)

etmantra3 Nov 20267 min read

Few people know the name of Bibha Chowdhuri, though she was India's first woman physicist and was once nominated for a Nobel Prize. This chapter tells her quiet, determined story and links it to the women who lead India's space missions today. Students learn about courage in science, and practise the passive voice that science writing uses so often.

Open now: the CALP Class 8 English course (Poorvi)
Every chapter of Poorvi, NCERT’s new Class 8 book, with notes in English and Hindi, say-it-aloud practice with a score, listening, grammar, speaking and writing with feedback. ₹1,599 for the whole year, and “Start here” and the first chapter’s notes are free to try.
See the free lessons and enrol →

From NCERT’s new English book Poorvi for Class 8, unit “Science and Curiosity”. Unit 5.

What your child learns

Strong words for describing achievers: trailblazer, pioneer, persistence, tenacity, beacon, luminary
The passive voice: 'A star was renamed', 'The rover is released', and when to use it
Making nouns with -ship, -ment and -hood (membership, government, childhood), acronyms like ISRO and STEM, and clipped words like lab and phone
Writing a school magazine report and speaking in a panel discussion

What the lesson is about

Bibha Chowdhuri was born in Kolkata in 1913, at a time when very few Indian women could get a good education. Through hard, steady work she found a place at the Bose Institute and became the first Indian woman to excel in high-energy particle physics. In 1945 she went to the University of Manchester, where she studied cosmic rays under the Nobel Prize winner Patrick Blackett, and newspapers there called her India's new woman scientist. Her most important work was on pi-mesons, a tiny subatomic particle, and in 1950 the famous scientist Erwin Schrödinger nominated her for a Nobel Prize. Back in India in 1949, Homi J. Bhabha chose her as the first woman faculty member of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. She later worked at the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad under Vikram Sarabhai and at the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics in Kolkata. She never won an award in her lifetime, and when she died in 1991 her name was almost forgotten.

The chapter then shows how her story is finally being honoured. In 2019 the International Astronomical Union named a star in the constellation Leo 'Bibha', which means 'beam of light', and in 2020 the Government of India set up a chair professorship in her name. The writer connects her to today's women scientists, such as Dr. Ritu Karidhal Srivastava, the 'Rocket Woman of India', who played a key role in the Mars Orbiter Mission and led work on Chandrayaan-2 and Chandrayaan-3, where over 50 women contributed. The message is that the road has been long and hard, there is still further to go, and pioneers like Bibha Chowdhuri lit the way.

New words, with Hindi meanings

trailblazer: a person who is the first to do something that others do later (हिंदी: पथप्रदर्शक, अग्रणी)
equitable: fair and equal for everyone (हिंदी: न्यायसंगत, समान)
persistence: going on with something difficult without giving up (हिंदी: लगन, दृढ़ता)
delved: looked into something deeply to learn more (हिंदी: गहराई से खोजा)
sceptical: doubtful; not ready to believe (हिंदी: संदेहपूर्ण)
notable: important and worth noticing (हिंदी: उल्लेखनीय)
periphery: the outer edge, away from the centre (हिंदी: किनारा, परिधि)
acclaim: public praise (हिंदी: प्रशंसा, वाहवाही)
arduous: very difficult and tiring (हिंदी: कठिन, मुश्किल)
beacon: a guiding light; a good example that gives others hope (हिंदी: प्रकाश-स्तंभ, मार्गदर्शक)

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.

Why is Bibha Chowdhuri called a pioneer of Indian science?
What does her nomination for a Nobel Prize by Erwin Schrödinger tell us about her?
Why was her name almost forgotten when she died in 1991?
How was she honoured in 2019 and 2020?
Think of a woman you know who did something difficult that few women did before her. What did she do, and what can you learn from her?

Answers for parents

She was India's first woman physicist and the first Indian woman to excel in high-energy particle physics, at a time when very few women could study science. She opened the path for the women scientists who came after her.
It shows that her work was of the highest quality. A great scientist like Schrödinger thought her talent was worthy of the world's top science prize, even though she did not win it.
She worked quietly, never received an award in her lifetime and stayed away from the centre of public praise, while the men around her became famous.
In 2019 the International Astronomical Union named a star in the constellation Leo 'Bibha', meaning 'beam of light'. In 2020 the Government of India set up a chair professorship in her name.
For example: My aunt was the first girl in our village to become a doctor. People said it was too hard, but she studied every night and never gave up. She taught me that hard work can open doors for others too.

Grammar corner: The passive voice

In the active voice the subject does the action (Scientists discovered a particle). In the passive voice the subject receives the action, and we use is/are/was/were + the past participle (A particle was discovered). We use the passive when the action matters more than the doer, when the doer is obvious, or when the doer is unknown. The 'be' verb must agree with the subject: a sample was taken, samples were taken.

Cosmic rays were studied in the laboratory for many years.
Bibha's work is now remembered by students across India.
The spacecraft was launched towards the Moon early in the morning.

Practice at home

Change into the passive voice: The scientists tested the new rocket.
Add -ship, -ment or -hood to make a new word: child, govern, member.
Make a sentence using the word 'persistence'.

Answers: 1. The new rocket was tested by the scientists. · 2. childhood, government, membership · 3. For example: Her persistence helped her finish the science project even after it failed twice.

Try this

Play 'Who did it?' at home. One person says an active sentence about the kitchen or school, such as 'Papa cooked the dal' or 'The teacher checked our copies', and the other turns it into the passive: 'The dal was cooked by Papa'. Then make a family list of women you admire in science, sport or your own neighbourhood, and say one line about why each one is a 'beam of light'.

Tip for parents

Tell Bibha Chowdhuri's story in Hindi first: वे भारत की पहली महिला भौतिक वैज्ञानिक थीं, उन्होंने बिना किसी पुरस्कार के जीवन भर काम किया, और अब एक तारे का नाम उनके नाम पर रखा गया है. Then ask your child to tell it back in English, mixing in Hindi words where needed. For the passive voice, say a Hindi pair like 'मैंने खाना बनाया' and 'खाना बनाया गया', and let your child give the English for both; praise every try.

Questions parents ask

Who was Bibha Chowdhuri?

She was India's first woman physicist, born in Kolkata in 1913. She researched cosmic rays and subatomic particles, was the first woman faculty member at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, and was nominated for a Nobel Prize in 1950.

Why is Bibha Chowdhuri called a 'beam of light'?

'Bibha' means 'beam of light'. In 2019 a star in the constellation Leo was named after her, and the chapter says she lit the path for the Indian women in science who came after her.

Is Bibha Chowdhuri in the new NCERT book?

Yes. It is Chapter 15 of Poorvi, NCERT's new English book for Class 8, in Unit 5 (Science and Curiosity).

Learn every Class 8 chapter with CALP

Every chapter of Poorvi, NCERT’s new Class 8 book, with notes in English and Hindi, say-it-aloud practice with a score, listening, grammar, speaking and writing with feedback. ₹1,599 for the whole year.

See the free lessons and enrol →