Rani Abbakka: NCERT Class 7 English Story (Poorvi)

etmantra3 Nov 20266 min read

Rani Abbakka is told as a comic strip, full of speech bubbles, battles and bold words. Children meet a queen who would not bow to a foreign power, even when her own husband and the other rajas were afraid. It is a lively way to learn history, new words and how to report what people said.

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From NCERT’s new English book Poorvi for Class 7, unit “Bravehearts”. Unit 5.

What your child learns

Story words: vassal, tribute, sovereign, resolve, wrath, dauntless
Changing direct speech into indirect (reported) speech
The spelling rule 'i before e except after c', and silent letters as in wrath
Expressions with laugh: laughing stock, have the last laugh

What the story is about

Ullal is a small kingdom on the west coast of Karnataka. Years ago the Portuguese captured it, and since then Ullal has had to pay them a tribute. As the old queen, Hiriya Abbakka, lies dying, her daughter Abbakka Devi promises to drive the Portuguese out of the west coast. Abbakka is crowned queen and decides to stop paying the tribute and to stop selling the Portuguese spices and cloth. Her husband, Veera Narasimha, king of Bangadi, fears the Portuguese and orders his soldiers to seize her, but not one soldier moves. The other rajas also refuse to help, so Abbakka decides to fight alone if she must. When a Portuguese envoy comes for the tribute, she tells him that Ullal is a sovereign country and takes no orders.

Abbakka builds merchant ships and, with the Zamorin of Kozhikode, trades with Arabia. The Portuguese navy catches her ships; all but her commander's ship escape. Abbakka sends an envoy to Mangalore, the Portuguese base, and the Portuguese answer with cannon fire. She attacks and takes their fort, and the commander Ribero escapes to Goa. The angry Governor sends his forces to attack Ullal, but after four days of battle the Portuguese retreat, never to trouble Ullal again. Abbakka tells her mother, in her thoughts, that her dream has come true: Ullal is free.

New words, with Hindi meanings

vassal: a land that is ruled by a stronger country and has to pay it money (हिंदी: अधीन राज्य)
tribute: money a weaker ruler has to pay to a stronger one (हिंदी: कर, नज़राना)
coronation: the ceremony at which someone is made king or queen (हिंदी: राज्याभिषेक)
successor: a person who comes after another, in a job or on a throne (हिंदी: उत्तराधिकारी)
rash: done quickly, without thinking about what will happen (हिंदी: जल्दबाज़ी भरा)
wrath: very great anger (हिंदी: क्रोध, कोप)
sovereign: free, with a government that takes orders from no one (हिंदी: संप्रभु, स्वतंत्र)
seize: to grab or catch suddenly and by force (हिंदी: पकड़ लेना)
resolve: strong determination to do something (हिंदी: दृढ़ निश्चय)
dauntless: not afraid of anything (हिंदी: निडर)

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 Abbakka promise her dying mother?
Why did Veera Narasimha think Abbakka's decision was rash and dangerous?
What happened when he ordered his soldiers to seize her?
How did the people of Ullal finally win their freedom?
Think of a time you stood up for what was right, even when others were afraid. What did you do?

Answers for parents

She promised that she would not rest until she had driven the Portuguese out of the west coast.
He feared that the Portuguese would think he was on her side, and that Bangadi would also face their anger.
Not one soldier moved. They were moved by the brave queen and decided to follow her.
Abbakka's forces took the Portuguese fort at Mangalore, and when the Portuguese attacked Ullal, they fought for four days until the Portuguese retreated in defeat.
For example: Some older boys were teasing a new student at the bus stop. My friends kept quiet, but I told the boys to stop and walked with the new student to class.

Grammar corner: Direct and indirect (reported) speech

Direct speech gives a speaker's exact words inside quotation marks. Indirect speech reports the same idea in our own sentence, without quotation marks. We usually move the verb one step into the past (will becomes would, is becomes was), change the pronouns to suit the reporter (I becomes she or he), and change words like this, here and now to that, there and then.

Direct: The envoy said, "The tribute is overdue." Indirect: The envoy said that the tribute was overdue.
Direct: The queen said, "I will fight alone." Indirect: The queen said that she would fight alone.
Direct: The soldiers said, "We are with you." Indirect: The soldiers said that they were with her.

Practice at home

Fill in 'ie' or 'ei': The th___f hid under the c___ling.
Change into indirect speech: The queen said, "I am not afraid."
Which letter is silent in each word? wrath, knife, honour, calm

Answers: 1. thief, ceiling · 2. The queen said that she was not afraid. · 3. w in wrath, k in knife, h in honour, l in calm

Try this

Play 'Reporter'. One person says a bold line as the queen, a soldier or the envoy, for example 'I will not pay the tribute!' The other person is a news reporter and must report it at once: 'The queen said that she would not pay the tribute.' Swap roles after each line. Then try lines from your own day: 'I am hungry', 'We will go to the market tomorrow.'

Tip for parents

Ask your child in Hindi first: 'रानी अब्बक्का ने अपनी माँ से क्या वादा किया था?' Let them tell the story in Hindi or a mix of Hindi and English, then help them say one sentence of it in English. When they report what someone said, say it together in Hindi too ('उसने कहा कि वह...'), because Hindi also uses 'कि' just like English uses 'that'. Praise every try.

Questions parents ask

Who was Rani Abbakka?

In the chapter, Abbakka Devi is the queen of Ullal, a small kingdom on the west coast of Karnataka. She refused to pay tribute to the Portuguese, fought them, and freed Ullal.

What is the moral of Rani Abbakka?

Courage and determination can defeat even a mighty power. Abbakka kept to her promise even when her husband and the other rajas would not help her.

Is Rani Abbakka in the new NCERT book?

Yes. It is Chapter 15 of Poorvi, NCERT's new English book for Class 7, in Unit 5 (Bravehearts). It is told as a picture story with speech bubbles.

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Every chapter of Poorvi, NCERT’s new Class 7 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.

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