Granny Granny Please Comb My Hair: NCERT Class 2 Poem, Marigold Unit 9

etmantra9 Apr 20219 min read

Many Indian children know the feeling of sitting with a grandparent while their hair is oiled and combed. This gentle poem brings that loving moment to life and helps children talk about the people who care for them.

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From the NCERT English book Marigold for Class 2, unit 9. NCERT’s newer Class 2 book is Mridang, but many schools still teach Marigold.

Watch: Granny Granny Please Comb My Hair

Play the video three or four times. The first time, just listen. Then point at the pictures, and from the third time, say the lines along with the video. Short, repeated listening is how CALP builds a child’s English.

What your child learns

Family and body words: granny, hair, knees
Asking politely with “please”
Gentle describing words: soft, gentle
Talking about the people who care for us

What the poem is about

In this poem, a little girl asks her granny to comb her hair. She loves it because granny never hurries. Granny always takes her time and does it with great care.

The girl sits on a cushion between granny’s knees. Granny rubs a little coconut oil into her hair and makes a parting as gentle as a breeze. When she has finished, granny turns the girl’s head and asks who is a nice girl. The poem is full of warmth, patience and love between a grandmother and a child.

New words, with Hindi meanings

granny: grandmother; your father’s or mother’s mother (हिंदी: दादी / नानी)
comb: to make hair neat using a comb (हिंदी: कंघी करना)
care: doing something gently and carefully (हिंदी: ध्यान)
cushion: a soft pillow to sit on (हिंदी: गद्दी)
knees: the parts in the middle of your legs where they bend (हिंदी: घुटने)
parting: a line in the hair where it is divided to two sides (हिंदी: माँग)
gentle: soft and kind, not rough (हिंदी: कोमल)
breeze: a light, soft wind (हिंदी: हल्की हवा)

Sing and dance

Once your child knows the poem, sing it together with actions. Children who can’t sing yet can still do the moves.

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.

Where does the girl sit while granny combs her hair?
What does granny rub into the girl’s hair?
What does granny say when she has finished?
Who combs your hair at home, and how do you feel when they do it?

Answers for parents

She sits on a cushion between granny’s knees.
A little coconut oil.
She turns the girl’s head and asks who is a nice girl.
For example: My mother combs my hair before school, and I feel loved.

Grammar corner: Asking politely with “please”

When we ask someone to do something for us, we say “please”. It makes the request kind and polite. The girl in the poem says “please” when she asks granny to comb her hair.

Please pass me the comb, Didi.
Granny, please tell me a story tonight.
Please sit on this soft cushion.

Practice at home

Fill in the blank: Granny rubs a little ___ oil into the girl’s hair.
Match the word to its meaning: knees, breeze → a soft wind, where your legs bend.
Make a polite request with “please” to someone at home.

Answers: 1. coconut · 2. knees – where your legs bend; breeze – a soft wind · 3. Sample: Papa, please help me tie my shoes.

Try this

Take turns to “comb hair” with your child, using just your fingers. One person sits on a cushion and the other pretends to oil and comb, saying the lines of the poem softly. Then swap places. Afterwards, your child can draw a picture of a grandparent or someone special who looks after them.

Tip for parents

While you oil or comb your child’s hair, talk about it in Hindi first: “मैं तेल लगा रही हूँ, माँग निकाल रही हूँ.” Then say the English words: oil, comb, parting. Let your child answer in whichever language comes first, and praise them for trying the English.

Questions parents ask

What is the poem Granny Granny Please Comb My Hair about?

It is about a little girl who loves having her hair oiled and combed by her granny, because granny is patient and takes great care.

Who are the characters in Granny Granny Please Comb My Hair?

There are two: a little girl and her granny, who combs her hair and calls her a nice girl at the end.

Which book is Granny Granny Please Comb My Hair from?

It is Unit 9 of NCERT’s older Marigold book for Class 2. The newer NCERT books are Mridang for Class 1–2 and Santoor for Class 3–5.

Learn every Class 2 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 →