Chapter - 8

The Lagori Champions

Let us Read

Part I

Prakash : Ravi! How are you?

Ravi : I am fine, Prakash! Let’s go and play outside; it’s a sunny day.

Prakash : Yes, let’s go.

(Ravi and Prakash went to the children’s park near their house. A few children were playing there. They waved at Ravi. Ravi waved back and introduced Prakash as his cousin to all his friends. After playing for a while, they started talking.)

Guneet : Tomorrow is the Lagori match. We should include Prakash in our team; he’s a good runner.

Deepa : Yes, he is quick.

Prakash : Will somebody please tell me what this Lagori match is about?

(Everybody looked at Prakash with great surprise.)

Guneet : Don’t you know Lagori game?

Prakash : No, I don’t.

Nidhi : Wait, I will tell you. Lagori is actually a game of seven stones.

Prakash : Seven stones game? How is it played? (Imran joins them)

Nidhi : Look! Imran is here. He is also a champion of this game. He will explain.

Imran : In Lagori the seven flat stones are stacked one above the other. After that, one team knocks down the stones with a ball, and the other team tries to rebuild the stack while avoiding the ball thrown by the members of the first team or the opponent team.

Prakash : Oh! Okay, you mean Satoliya.

Deepa : What is Satoliya now?

Prakash : In Rajasthan, we call this game Satoliya.

Guneet : Wow! We learned another name of our favourite game. So, in our Sundarpur village, we call it Lagori, and in Rajasthan, it is called as Satoliya.

Imran : Now we know that this game is played in Rajasthan too!

Guneet : Do you know, Prakash, our Lagori team is called by the name of Sundarpur Tigers and our friend Deepa is our captain.

Ravi : No doubt! She runs fast!

Nidhi : Ravi, tell him about our opponent team.

Ravi : Yes, Prakash, we are playing this match with the ‘Green Warriors’ team from the nearby village.

Deepa : We have to tell Prakash about the game rules also.

Prakash : Yes, please do tell me.

Imran : The field is marked with a boundary. The players are not supposed to go beyond the boundary. Seven flat stones are stacked one over the other, in the centre of the field.

Prakash : Yes, these are the same rules we have while playing Satoliya.

Ravi : It seems we are all ready for the match.

On the basis of your understanding the text, answer the following.

1. Who joined the group in the end?

2. How many and what kind of stones are used in this game?

3. In which state of India is the game of lagori is also known as Satoliya?

4. What is the name of the opponent team of Sundarpur Tigers?

Part II

(The next day, all children gathered for the match. The referee blew the whistle and Deepa took the first shot. She threw the ball straight at the stack, and the stones scattered. Everyone cheered. The Sundarpur Tigers began to rebuild the stack of stones. The Green Warriors took the ball and aimed to hit the Sundarpur Tigers. Ravi stacked two stones and ducked when the ball was about to hit him. Deepa added a stone to the pile while a Green Warrior threw the ball at Guneet and Deepa.)

Imran : Deepa, watch out! Here comes the ball.

Deepa : Thanks Imran! I dodged the ball just in time.

(Nidhi came running. She placed the fourth and fifth stones and ran away from the ball.

Ravi came running with sweat dripping down his face. He put the sixth stone in place. Only one stone was left to be placed. The Green Warriors tried one last time to hit Ravi with the ball. Before that, Prakash came and set the seventh stone on top. The final whistle blew.)

Referee : The Sundarpur Tigers have won! (The match was over. The players from both teams shook hands and appreciated each other for a good game. The villagers clapped and cheered the teams. The Refree lifted the hands of both the captains and everyone celebrated with laughter and joy. The Lagori match had brought the villagers together, reminding everyone of the simple joys of teamwork.)

Deepa : That was so much fun! Even better than our video games!

Ravi : Indeed! We should play our traditional games more.

On the basis of your understanding the text, answer the following.

1. Who blew the whistle to start the match?

2. Who took the first shot?

3. What did Prakash do before the final whistle.

4. Who shook hands at the end of the match? Why?

New Words

match, stacked, opponent, boundary, referee, dodged, teamwork, warriors, cousin

Let us Think

A. Answer the following.

1. What is Lagori, and how is it played?

2. What is the name of Deepa’s team, and who are they competing against?

3. Why is Prakash selected by the captain for playing the Lagori match?

4. Who told Prakash about Lagori, and what name does he use for it?

5. What did the villagers do after the Sundarpur Tigers won the match?

B. Think and discuss.

1. The Sundarpur villagers clapped for both the teams and the refree lifted the hands of both captains. Why did they do so? Do you agree with them?

2. How does teamwork help in winning games?

3. According to Deepa, Lagori was more exciting than video games. Do you think she is right? Why or why not?

C. True or False.

1. Satoliya is played in Sundarpur village. .................

2. Ravi plays for Green Warriors team. .................

3. Prakash set the seventh stone on top. .................

4. Imran helped Nidhi to dodge the ball. .................

5. The Sundarpur Tigers won the match. .................

D. Fill in the blanks.

1. Ravi came ........................ with ........................ dripping down his face.

2. ........................ is the captain of Sundarpur Tigers.

3. The Lagori match reminded everyone of the simple joys of ........................ and ........................ .

E. Number the sentences in order as per the events given in the story.

1. The Sundarpur villagers lifted the hands of both the captains and everyone celebrated. .......

2. The Green Warriors took the ball and aimed to hit the Tigers........

3. Nidhi threw the ball with precision, and the stones scattered........

4. Cheers erupted from the Tigers’ side........

5. All the players from both the team shook hands and appreciated each other for a good game........

6. The referee blew the whistle and Nidhi took the first shot........

7. The Sundarpur Tigers began to rebuild the stack of stones........

Let us Learn

A. Circle the word that does not have the same meaning as the word in bold.

1. Together, the students built a large sand castle during recess.

2. The whole school praised the victory of the basketball team.

3. Diksha coloured the margin of the page.

4. Today there was an exciting football contest at school.

5. The loud noise caused a jolt to everyone in the room.

6. The parents worked together to repair the playground for the children.

7. Her most-liked subject in school is art.

8. Her rival in the game was her best friend.

B. Let’s unscramble the letters as per the meaning of the words given.

1. Hint: “a place or region beyond a boundary”

D E O T I U S ..........

2. Hint: “to raise your hand and move it from side to side as a way of greeting someone”

V E A W ..........

3. Hint: “a sports competition or event in which two people or two teams compete against each other”

H M T A C ..........

4. Hint: “a child of a person’s aunt or uncle”

I O U N S C ..........

Note to the Teacher

Let us Listen

1. I’m learning the rules of different sports like football, basketball, reading, running and swimming.

2. After school in the playground, we play Gilli Danda, hide and seek, Satoliya, swimming, hopscotch, skipping and hockey.

3. My brother likes to play Kabbadi, basketball, badminton, kho-kho, knitting and Lagori.

4. In the sports class, we get training for climbing, sprinting, jumping, stretching and writing.

5. We use a ball while playing cricket, hockey, skipping, tennis and volleyball.

Let us Speak

A. Speak to your playmates and find out who.

B. Talk about any one community game or match organised in your village/locality/colony. Have you participated in it?

Let us Write

Word Treasure Hunt

A. Some words from the story are hidden in the word grid below. One word has been done for you. Find at least six words in the box.

Use these words in sentences of your own.

B. Rearrange the words to form meaningful sentences.

1. boundary / field / is / the / marked / a / with

.............................................

2. looked / prakash / at / surprise / everybody/with

.............................................

3. peacock / saw / a / dancing / I / the / in / rain

.............................................

4. white / there / and / grey / are / the / clouds / sky / in

.............................................

5. fresh / need / every day / water / plants

.............................................

C. Tick () the right box.

Let us Do

A. Divide the class into small groups and imagine that you are forming a Lagori team. Each team will create your own ‘Lagori Team Badge’ using art and creativity, reflecting your understanding of teamwork and traditional games.

B. Point out the eight differences between the two pictures given below.