NCERT Book Class 5 EVS Every Drop Counts

6. Every Drop Counts

Long Long Ago

This is a picture of Ghadsisar. Sar means a lake. King Ghadsi of Jaisalmer got it made 650 years ago with the help of the people. All around the lake there are ghats with steps leading to the water, decorated verandahs, large halls, rooms and much more. People came here to celebrate festivals and for programmes of music and dance. Children came to study in the school on the ghat. The talab belonged to everyone and everyone took care to keep it clean.

Rainwater collected in this lake spread over many miles. It was made in such a way that when the lake was full, the extra water flowed into another lake at a lower level. When that too filled up, the extra water flowed into the third lake and so on – f i l l i n g     n i n e s u c h interconnected lakes.

The collected rain water could be used throughout the year and there was no shortage of water. Today, Ghadsisar is no more in use. Many new buildings and colonies have come up in between those nine lakes. Now the water does not get collected in these lakes but just flows away and is wasted. 

Through the eyes of Al-Biruni

More than a thousand years ago, a traveller came to India. His name was Al-Biruni. The place that he came from is now called Uzbekistan. Al-Biruni carefully observed and noted down the details of all that he saw. He wrote especially about those things that he found very different from his own country. Here is a part of what he wrote about the ponds of that time.

The people here are very skilled at making ponds. My countrymen would be surprised to see them. They pile up huge rocks and join them with iron rods to build chabutaras (raised platforms) all around the lake. Between these, there are rows of long staircases, going up and down. The steps for going up and coming down are separate. So there is less crowding.

Today when we study history, we can learn a lot about those days from the writings of Al-Biruni. (This stamp came out in 1973, one thousand years after his birth.)

Think and find out

• Look at the area around your school. Are there any fields, farms, pucca roads, drains, etc. Is the area sloping, rocky or flat? Think, what will happen here when it rains? Where will the rain water go – into the drains, pipes or pits? Is some water also getting soaked into the soil?

Please refer to attached file for NCERT Class 5 EVS Every Drop Counts