Waiting for the Rain: NCERT Class 8 English Story (Poorvi)

etmantra3 Nov 20267 min read

Every child in India knows the feeling of waiting for the monsoon. In this story by Kamakshi Balasubramanian, a farmer named Velu waits for rain that will not come, and a stranger under a tree helps him see the dry season in a new way. Students learn new words about weather and farming, and think about how people and the land both need rest.

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From NCERT’s new English book Poorvi for Class 8, unit “Environment”. Unit 4.

What your child learns

Weather and farming words: crimson, forlorn, dejected, plough, sow, harvest, fragrant
Homophones like weather and whether, piece and peace, rain and reign
Determiners (a, the, this, some, any, few, a few, each, every, neither) and three present tenses
Writing a formal letter to a ward Councillor asking for a rainwater harvesting unit

What the story is about

Velu is a farmer who has worked his own small piece of land for nearly six years, growing jowar one season and dhal the next, without ever taking a break. This year the rains do not come at the end of summer. Weeks and months pass, the fields dry and crack, and the farmers live only on hope. A neighbour suggests asking astrologers, but Velu does not agree. He walks to the weather office in the city, but the people there are puzzled too: the conditions look right, yet there is no rain. Tired and sad, Velu sits down to rest under a large tree, where an old woman is also sheltering from the sun.

Velu pours out his worries: he has worked hard and honestly, so why is he being punished? The old woman gently says that perhaps he has worked too hard. The earth also works every time he ploughs and sows, and it has worked for thousands of years. Nature, like a mother, gives her children the rest they need, and a dry season lets the land rest so that it can spring back fresh when the rains come. Velu walks home thinking about this. As he reaches the village in the evening, he feels a cool breeze and a drop of rain, sees clouds gathering, and runs home laughing and happy.

New words, with Hindi meanings

crimson: a deep red colour (हिंदी: गहरा लाल)
muttered: spoke in a low voice, often to yourself (हिंदी: बुदबुदाया)
untended: not looked after (हिंदी: बिना देखभाल के)
crusted: formed a hard outer layer (हिंदी: सख़्त परत जमी)
barren: dry land where nothing grows (हिंदी: बंजर)
forlorn: sad and neglected (हिंदी: उदास, वीरान)
consultations: meetings to ask for advice; discussions (हिंदी: सलाह-मशविरा)
dejected: sad and disappointed (हिंदी: निराश)
ceaseless: going on without stopping (हिंदी: लगातार)
fragrant: having a sweet, pleasant smell (हिंदी: सुगंधित)

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 were Velu and the other farmers worried this year?
What did Velu do instead of going to the astrologers, and what did he find out?
What did the old woman mean when she said Velu had perhaps worked too hard?
How did the story end, and why was Velu so happy?
Think of a time you waited a long time for something. How did you spend the waiting time, and how did you feel?

Answers for parents

At the end of summer the rains did not come. Without rain they could not till the land or grow crops, so they did not know how they would feed their families.
He went to the weather office in the city. The people there could not tell him when it would rain; they were puzzled because the conditions were favourable but there was still no rain.
She meant that the land also works when it is ploughed and sown, year after year. Like people, it needs rest, and a dry season lets it rest so it can be fresh for the next crop.
As Velu reached his village in the evening, he felt a cool breeze and a raindrop and saw clouds gathering. The rain he had waited for so long was finally coming, so he ran home laughing.
For example: I waited two months for my cousin to visit from Pune. I made a list of games we would play and kept counting the days. I felt impatient, but very happy when she came.

Grammar corner: Determiners: a, the, some, any, few, a few, each, neither

Determiners are small words that come before a noun to tell us which one or how much: a, an, the, this, my, some, any, many, each, every, either, neither. Use 'some' in positive sentences and 'any' in questions and negative sentences. 'A few' and 'a little' sound positive (some, enough), while 'few' and 'little' mean almost none.

The farmers did not have any water left in their wells.
A few clouds appeared in the evening, and Velu felt hopeful.
Neither farmer wanted to visit the astrologers.

Practice at home

Choose the right homophone: Velu wondered (weather / whether) it would rain that day.
Fill in the blank with 'some' or 'any': There weren't ___ clouds in the sky that morning.
Make a sentence using 'a few' about the rainy evening at the end of the story.

Answers: 1. whether · 2. any · 3. Sample: Velu felt a few drops of rain on his shoulder.

Try this

Play 'Rain and Earth' at home. One person is the Rain, who has come back after a long dry spell; the other is the Earth. The Rain asks how the Earth has been, and the Earth says how it felt during the dry months and why it needs the rain: for crops, plants and animals. Swap roles, then try saying the weather tongue twister from the chapter faster and faster.

Tip for parents

Ask your child in Hindi first: वेलु बारिश का इंतज़ार क्यों कर रहा था, और बूढ़ी अम्मा ने उसे क्या समझाया? Let them answer in Hindi, then help them say the same idea in one or two English sentences, for example 'The land needs rest too.' Share a memory of a dry summer or the first monsoon rain in your own childhood, in Hindi, and ask your child to retell it in English. Praise the effort, not just correct words.

Questions parents ask

What is the story Waiting for the Rain about?

It is about Velu, a farmer who waits anxiously for rain that does not come. An old woman tells him the land also needs rest, and just as he begins to accept this, the rain arrives.

What is the message of Waiting for the Rain?

Nature knows what it is doing. Like people, the land needs rest after years of work, and a dry spell can be a time for the earth to recover before the next crop.

Is Waiting for the Rain in the new NCERT book?

Yes. It is Chapter 12 of Poorvi, NCERT's new English book for Class 8, in Unit 4 (Environment). It was written by Kamakshi Balasubramanian.

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 →