Glimpses of India — RBSE Class 10 English (First Flight)

India is not one place but a thousand — its food, land and stories change every few hundred kilometres. This chapter is a short journey through three of them: the bread-loving lanes of Goa, the coffee-scented hills of Coorg, and the tea gardens of Assam — three "glimpses" that together hint at the whole country's variety.

Part I — A Baker from Goa (Lucio Rodrigues)

The writer nostalgically recalls his childhood in Goa, where the Portuguese left behind a rich tradition of bread-making. The baker (pader) was central to village life — his friend, companion and guide. Elders fondly remember the mixers, moulders and those who baked the loaves.

The baker came twice a day, announcing himself with the jingling sound of his bamboo staff; children rushed out not for the bread but for the sweet bol (bread-bangles). Bread was essential to Goan celebrations — marriages, festivals and feasts all needed it (sweet bread called bol for weddings, sandwiches for engagements). The baker (the pader) wore a peculiar dress, the kabai, made a good living, and was plump — a sign that baking was a prosperous, respected trade that still survives.

Theme: nostalgia for a vanishing tradition; the deep link between food, culture and community; Portuguese cultural influence on Goa.

Part II — Coorg (Lokesh Abrol)

Between Mysore and Mangalore lies Coorg (Kodagu), the smallest district of Karnataka — a land of rainforests, coffee plantations and spices, "a piece of heaven." Its people, the Kodavus (Coorgis), are famous for their bravery, hospitality and martial traditions; legend links their origin to a part of Alexander's army (or to Arab descent), reflected in their dress (the kuppia, like the Arab kuffia) and customs.

Coorg's men are noted for courage — the Coorg Regiment is one of the most decorated in the Indian Army, and General Cariappa, the first Indian Chief of the Army, was a Coorgi. The region offers adventure — river-rafting, canoeing, rock-climbing, trekking — amid rich wildlife (elephants, macaques, the Nishani Motte trek). The river Kaveri rises here.

Theme: the natural beauty, distinct culture and martial heritage of a unique Indian region; travel and adventure.

Part III — Tea from Assam (Arup Kumar Datta)

Two students, Rajvir and Pranjol, travel by train through Assam to Pranjol's father's tea estate. As mile after mile of lush green tea gardens roll past, Rajvir shares the legends of tea's origin:

• a Chinese legend — the emperor Shen Nung discovered tea by chance when leaves fell into his boiling water;
• an Indian legend — the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma cut off his eyelids to stay awake, and tea plants grew where they fell.

Rajvir, though it is his first visit, knows a lot about tea from reading. Assam has the largest concentration of tea plantations in the world; the second flush or sprouting period (May–July) gives the best-quality tea, and tea-plucking has just begun as they arrive.

Theme: the culture and romance of tea; India's rich tea heritage; curiosity and learning.

The three glimpses together

The three pieces are united by place, food/culture and travel — bread in Goa, coffee/valour in Coorg, tea in Assam. Each celebrates a distinct region's flavour and shows how deeply food, history and geography shape a community's identity. Read together, they are a small window onto India's astonishing diversity.

For the RBSE board, keep the three parts and their authors/regions distinct, remember the Goan baker (pader, kabai, bol), Coorg's Kodavus and their bravery (Cariappa, Coorg Regiment), and the two legends of tea (Shen Nung, Bodhidharma). Value-based questions on preserving traditions and India's diversity are common.