We are all Indians – Class 2 English Chapter 13 Notes & NCERT PDF

Class 2EnglishChapter 13NCERT book: Mridang - English Class 2

Notes and a simple summary of Chapter 13 of the NCERT Class 2 English book, with the official chapter PDF, flashcards, an MCQ quiz and an AI tutor for your doubts.

🎧 Listen to the content

Chapter 13: We are all Indians

Introduction

We are all Indians is Chapter 2 of Unit 5, Harmony, and the last chapter of Mridang (Class 2). Children from many states introduce themselves — their language, festival, dance, food, places and hobbies — and end with a proud message: "But we are all Indians. Each of us is unique." The chapter also includes a play about Gandhiji's charkha and short notes on festivals from different parts of India.

What's in this Chapter

The children and their states:

  • Meenakshi – Tamil Nadu, speaks Tamil, favourite festival Pongal.
  • Ramu – Gujarat, speaks Gujarati, likes to dance the Garba, is seven years old.
  • Gulabo – Rajasthan, likes colourful clothes and puppet shows, travels by camel.
  • Badal – Bengal, speaks Bengali, likes painting and music, studies at Santiniketan.
  • Vibha – Maharashtra, speaks Marathi, visited the Ellora and Ajanta caves.
  • Surinder – Punjab, speaks Punjabi; his neighbour Mallika likes to do Bhangra.
  • Neerja – Uttar Pradesh, has seen the Taj Mahal.
  • Nonglik – Manipur, speaks Manipuri.
  • Kamala – Karnataka, speaks Kannada, plays the Mridang.
  • Bharti – Andhra Pradesh, speaks Telugu, visits friends Salma and Suresh in Kashmir in the summer holidays.
  • Two sisters – Odisha, speak Odia, decorate walls and floors.
  • Unni – Kerala, speaks Malayalam, favourite tree is the coconut tree.

    • After each child, a question invites the reader to answer about themselves (What is your name? How old are you? Which dance do you like? What language do you speak?).

    New words (as listed): festival, puppet, travel, painting, neighbour, fingerprints.

    "Something New" (a play): Class 2 children find an unfamiliar wooden object with one wheel and a thread. The teacher explains it is Mahatma Gandhi's charkha (spinning wheel). Gandhiji led the Indian freedom movement, gave the message of non-violence, used the charkha to spin thread, and saw it as a symbol of self-reliance and independence. A guest comes to show them how to spin.

    Festivals: Phool Dei (a festival of flowers marking the start of spring; children offer flowers to elders and get rice and jaggery), Sharad Poornima (full-moon night in Ashvin, September–October, marking the end of the monsoon), Aadi Perukku (a Tamil monsoon festival in Aadi, July–August, when people worship the river Cauvery), Pang Lhabsol (a Sikkim festival in August or September when Mt Kanchenjunga is worshipped as a protector).

    Key Ideas

  • India has many languages, festivals, dances, clothes and foods.
  • We are different, yet we are all Indians — and each of us is unique.
  • Every answer about ourselves is different, and all are correct.
  • Gandhiji's charkha stands for self-reliance.

    • Activities from the Book

  • Let us speak: what to say when you want to enter the class, borrow a book, hurt someone by mistake, or are given a pencil (May I come in? Please… Sorry. Thank you.). Ask a partner about their languages, favourite dish and tree.
  • Blends br and fr: bread, bridge, brown; frock, frame, frog.
  • Let us write: people who live in India are called Indians; the festival of colours is Holi; unscramble language names — Hindi, English, Urdu, Telugu; join sentences with but ("I like milk but I don't like tea.").
  • Match fruits to where they grow: banana – banana tree, coconut – coconut tree, apple – apple tree, grapes – grapevine, mango – mango tree.
  • Project work: learn a folk song from parents or grandparents and present it with your name, place and mother tongue.

    • Words to Learn

  • festival – a special day of celebration (त्योहार)
  • language – the words people speak (भाषा)
  • puppet – a doll moved by strings or hands (कठपुतली)
  • travel – to go from place to place (यात्रा करना)
  • neighbour – someone who lives near you (पड़ोसी)
  • monument – a famous old building (स्मारक)
  • unique – special; unlike anyone else (अनोखा)
  • charkha – a spinning wheel (चरखा)
  • self-reliance – doing things on your own (आत्मनिर्भरता)
  • harvest – gathering crops (फ़सल काटना)

    • Tips for Parents & Teachers

  • Pause after each child's introduction so learners can fill in their own answer.
  • Make a class map of India and pin each child's name, state and language.
  • Invite a local folk musician to sing or play an instrument, as the book suggests.
  • Practise polite words — please, thank you, sorry, may I — in daily routines.
  • Talk about local festivals when they come.

    • Common Mistakes

  • Mixing up states and languages (for example, Kannada is spoken in Karnataka, Telugu in Andhra Pradesh, Malayalam in Kerala).
  • Thinking there is one correct answer to "Which dance do you like?" — every child's answer is different and correct.
  • Calling the charkha a bicycle — it has one wheel, no handle and no pedals, and it spins thread.
  • Forgetting "but" joins two opposite ideas: "My grandfather is old but he is strong."

    • 💡 Key Learning Points

    • ✓Name children from different states with their language, festival, dance or special place.
    • ✓Understand that India has many languages and cultures, yet we are all Indians and each of us is unique.
    • ✓Use polite expressions: May I come in? Please. Thank you. Sorry.
    • ✓Know that Gandhiji used the charkha to spin thread as a symbol of self-reliance.
    • ✓Join sentences using 'but' and read words with the blends 'br' and 'fr'.

    👨‍🏫 Teaching Tips

    • →Pause after each paragraph so children can fill in their own answers; point out that all answers are correct.
    • →Use a map of India to show where each child in the lesson comes from.
    • →Let children discover they can speak more than one language, even a few words.
    • →Read the 'Something New' play in parts with children taking roles.
    • →Invite a local folk musician, as the teacher's note suggests.
    • →Explain local festivals on their eve, and talk about festivals that respect the sun.
    • →Help children with the folk-song presentation format.

    📋 Assessment Questions

    1. Can the child match at least four children to their states and languages?
    2. Can the child say what to say when they hurt someone by mistake or receive a pencil?
    3. Can the child say what the charkha is and why Gandhiji used it?
    4. Can the child join two sentences using 'but'?
    5. Can the child unscramble INHDI, GNIELHS, RUUD and ELUTGU?

    Ask the AI tutor about Class 2 English Chapter 13

    Get question answers, important questions, a quick MCQ quiz or a simple explanation of “We are all Indians”. Free — sign in with Google.

    How the AI tutor works →

    Keep learning

    All chapters in Mridang - English Class 2

    1. 1. My Bicycle
    2. 2. Picture Reading
    3. 3. It is Fun
    4. 4. Seeing without Seeing
    5. 5. Come Back Soon
    6. 6. Between Home and School
    7. 7. This is My Town
    8. 8. A Show of Clouds
    9. 9. My Name
    10. 10. The Crow
    11. 11. The Smart Monkey
    12. 12. Little Drops of Water
    13. 13. We are all Indians