3.2 Dreaming Big : Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar
Complete textbook exercise solutions — Maharashtra State Board (Balbharati), Grade Six English.
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About the chapter
This lesson is an interview with Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar, a great Indian scientist. He talks about his difficult childhood and his mother’s support. He explains how hard work and discipline helped him succeed. His life teaches us to dream big even in hard times.
Key points
- He was born in a small village called Mashel in Goa.
- His father died when he was six. His mother moved with him to Mumbai.
- He walked barefoot and studied under a streetlight.
- His mother was his first inspiration.
- He returned to India in 1974 to serve the nation through science.
- His secret of success: “work, work and more work”.
Words to remember
- innovation – a new idea or method
- inclusive – including everyone
- inspiration – someone who encourages us to do well
- discipline – following good rules and habits
- hardship – a difficult situation
(i) What difficulties did Dr. Mashelkar face in his childhood?
Dr. Mashelkar faced many hardships. His father died when he was only six. His mother moved with him to Mumbai to earn a living. He had no shoes and walked barefoot. He studied under a streetlight. After SSC, he almost gave up studies for want of money.
(ii) How did his mother inspire and support him?
His mother worked very hard for his education. She moved to Mumbai with him for this. He says she was his first inspiration. He started the ‘Anjani Mashelkar Inclusive Innovation Award’ in her memory.
(iii) Why did Dr. Mashelkar return to India even after studying and working abroad?
He worked in the UK for some time. But his heart was in India. He wanted to use his knowledge for his own country. So he returned to India in 1974.
(iv) Why is hard work and discipline important for success?
Talent alone is not enough. Regular hard work and discipline help us reach our goals. Dr. Mashelkar says his secret is “work, work and more work”. He wakes up early and keeps learning. This helped him become a great scientist.
- Padma Shri
- Padma Bhushan
- Padma Vibhushan
- Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS), London, in 1998
- (i) T O O N I N A V I N — INNOVATION
- (ii) O N I T A T S N A I — SANITATION
- (iii) C L I S U N V I E — INCLUSIVE
- (iv) M Z Y E N E S — ENZYMES
This is a field activity. Students should conduct their own interview.
Questions students may ask:
- Please introduce yourself.
- Where did you complete your schooling?
- What difficulties did you face as a child?
- Who inspired you the most?
- How did you choose your field of work?
- What are you most proud of?
- What message would you like to give to students?
Dr. Anandibai Joshi — India’s First Woman Doctor
Anandibai Joshi was born in 1865 in Kalyan, Maharashtra. She was married at the age of nine. When she was fourteen, her baby son died because there was no proper medical care. This sorrow changed her life. She decided to become a doctor.
In those days, very few Indian women studied medicine. People criticised her. But her husband Gopalrao supported her. In 1883, she went to America and joined the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania. She faced cold weather and poor health, but she did not give up. In 1886, she became one of the first Indian women to get a degree in Western medicine.
She returned to India, but her health was very poor. She died in 1887 when she was only twenty-one. Her life was short, but she opened the way for Indian women in medicine.
Anandibai Joshi teaches us that a strong will can overcome every difficulty.
- (i) to give up — He almost had to give up his studies for want of money.
- (ii) with the help of — He continued his education with the help of a scholarship.
- (iii) a lot of — I have learnt a lot of good values from my teacher.
- (iv) to be full of — Even if life is full of problems, we can reach great heights.
- (i) Will you give me your pen, please? — Rising ↗
- (ii) Could you please tell me this address? — Rising ↗
- (iii) Shut the door. — Falling ↘
- (iv) Sit down. — Falling ↘
Remember: Polite requests and yes/no questions usually have a rising intonation. Commands and statements have a falling intonation.
- /iː/ as in see — tree, meet
- /ɑː/ as in car — star, park
- /ɔː/ as in ball — saw, call
- /uː/ as in food — fruit, blue
- /ɜː/ as in bird — girl, word
- /iː/ — eat, feel, green, sheep, team
- /ɑː/ — father, farm, hard, arm, dark
- /ɔː/ — door, four, walk, talk, short
- /uː/ — moon, spoon, school, roof, soup
- /ɜː/ — her, turn, first, nurse, learn
These are listening activities. Students should listen to the links provided by the teacher and communicate the central idea in class.
After watching, think and share: What was the main idea of the talk? · How did the speaker inspire you? · Can you try one idea from the talk in your own life?