Chapter 7 — Water — A Precious Gift

Chapter 7, called Water — A Precious Gift, is about where rain comes from, where rainwater goes after it falls, how water reaches our homes, how we store it in different vessels, and why we must save and share this precious resource.

Rainwater soaks into the soil and may flow underground to fill wells and groundwater between rocks. Some water collects in puddles, ponds, and lakes, while water flowing in streams later joins rivers and eventually reaches the seas and oceans.

Water travels through pipes to tanks on rooftops and then down to taps. Some homes get water from wells or borewells drawn up with pulleys, hand pumps, or electric pumps, and in some places water is brought by tankers.

Surya and Barkha are two children in the chapter who trace where their tap water comes from and discover a tank on their roof. The chapter also shows a scene where their society pipeline bursts and they have no water, but their family had stored two buckets.

The chapter lists clay pots, clay suraahis, copper vessels, brass pots, steel pots, aluminium pots, glass bottles, plastic bottles, and plastic buckets as examples of vessels used to store water at home.

People store water because they do not always get water from taps all the time. In some places there are no pipes at all and water must be fetched from a river or well, or delivered by a tanker, so storing water ensures they have enough for daily use.

Yes, the chapter says that dirty water left after washing or cleaning cannot be used for drinking or cooking, but it can be reused to water plants or to flush toilets. The chapter encourages children to reduce and reuse water whenever possible.

Water is called a precious gift because it is a natural resource essential for our survival. In some places where it rains very little and there are no big water bodies, people have to walk long distances just to get water.

A birdbath is a shallow container filled with water so birds and insects can drink and cool down, especially in hot summer months. Children can make one using a wide bowl less than 10 cm deep, add some stones for birds to perch on, fill it with fresh water, and clean it with a scrubber twice a week.

The chapter teaches children to reduce how much water they use, reuse waste water for plants or toilets, not add too much soap or chemicals to water, and not waste even a single drop. Discussing which activities at home pollute or waste water is also part of the lesson.

The chapter says water is sacred, and in many places there is a tradition of keeping pots of water outside homes so anyone who is thirsty, including postal workers and sanitation workers, can have a drink. Children are encouraged to offer clean drinking water to whoever comes to their door.

The chapter asks children to observe the sky every day and write at least two clues that make them think it will rain and two clues that make them think it will not rain. Children are also encouraged to ask elders how they guess when rain is coming.