Class 8 English — Chapter 12: A Short Monsoon Diary

What you'll learn

• ▸Diary as a Literary Form
• ▸The Onset of the Monsoon
• ▸Author's Sensory Experience of Rain
• ▸Flora and Fauna during Peak and Late Monsoon
• ▸Seasonal Transition: Monsoon to Winter
• ▸Vocabulary of Nature and Weather
• ▸Observing Nature's Miracles
• ▸Grammar: Past Tense Usage

Chapter Summary

--- PAGE 1 --- 8 A Short Monsoon Diary 0849CH08 Before you read Do you know what a diary is? It is a record of personal experiences written day after day over a long period of time. You can also use a diary to note down things you plan to do immediately or in future. One of the most famous diaries published as a book is The Diary of Anne Frank. Here are a few extracts from Ruskin Bond's diary in which he portrays the silent miracles of nature and life's little joys and regrets. Read on. I June 24 The first day of monsoon mist. And it's strange how all the birds fall silent as the mist comes climbing up the hill. Perhaps that's what makes the mist so melancholy; not only does it conceal the hills, it blankets them in silence too. Only an hour ago the trees were ringing with birdsong. And now the forest is deathly still as though it were midnight. Through the mist Bijju is calling to his sister. I can hear him running about on the hillside but I cannot see him. melancholy: very sad …

Practice Questions from this Chapter

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1. Describe monsoon sounds in cities. Get Solution →
2. Identify unique hill station animals. Get Solution →
3. Name flowers that bloom during monsoon. Get Solution →
4. On June 24, what is the first sign of the monsoon that the author notes? Get Solution →
5. According to the June 24 entry, who is Bijju calling to through the mist? Get Solution →
6. What plant does the author see rearing its head from the ferns on June 25? Get Solution →
7. On June 27, besides a leopard, what other seasonal visitors have arrived with the rains? Get Solution →
8. What color are the female scarlet minivets? Get Solution →

Did you know?

• 💡 The word monsoon comes from an Arabic word for season.
• 💡 A single thunderstorm can release enough energy to power a small city for a day.
• 💡 Leeches have 32 brains, arranged along their segmented bodies.
• 💡 Many colourful birds get their vibrant hues from the pigments in their diet.
• 💡 The Cobra Lily plant traps insects to get its nutrients from them.

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