(

~~-=--·_ ~~
Indian Desert . --

,._. On Your Marks ... I Shall Learn

0 The Great Indian Desert
Look at the two images. Tick (✓) the box you 0 States of the desert region
agree with and cross (x) the one that you disagree
with in the given table.

Factor Image 1 lmage2

High temperature
Very little rain
Humid climate
Large variety of flora and fauna

~ eserts are areas that receiye very little or no rainfallh he temperatures here are extreme,
either very hot or very coldj~ here is little vegetation hi-such regions)

The Great Indian Desert

Geography
( The Thar Desert or the Great Indian Desert is a large arid region lying in the northwest
}art of the Indian subcontinent . This physical feature spreads across India and Pakistan
and forms a natural boundary between the two countries1,Most part of the desert lies in
the state of Rajasthan. It also extends to Gujarat in the south and Haryana and Punjab
 '\
J

s to the e~st. '

· n the norrl~~t has the A.raval~i mo unt ain
(:be Thar rfe sett is covered wit h sheets of san
d wh ich ,
form sand dunes at pla ceJ The region is
cha rac teri sed
by uncultivable soil and dw plants and tree
s wit h special
features tha t help the m survive in the se con
diti ons .
Du e to little vegetation to hold the san dy
soil tog eth er,
strong win ds in this region can shi ft larg
e.am oun ts of
sand. Such events are called dus t sto rm~
Th ey lead to
shifting of the san d dun es from one plac
, e to ano the r~,
I
Oases are also fou nd in som e places. 1An
oasis is a poo l
or lake in the desert, wh ere und erg rou nd
wat er comes
to the surface and bec aus e of wh ich som s
e gre ene ry is
seen aro und it' ..Som etim es wh en it is ver
y hot , travellers Des ert
(
...ji ,,,,j see oasis from a distance but on
com ing near the y find tha t it is
not the re. It is caused by the way
ligh t ben ds as it passes thro ugh
the layers of air of different
tem per atu res. Thi s ima gin ary sigh t
An oasis
of wat er is called mirage .' , A dust stor m in the d
esen
Veg eta tio n
Du e to sho rtag e of water, very little vegetat I
I
ion grows in deserts) Den se thick shrubs with
lon g roots tha t go deep into the gro und to
get wat er are more co¥ roo nly seen rather tha
tall thic k trees. Examples of such plants incl n
ude cactus, keekar and babul. Some plants
develop fleshy stems whi ch store water.
Animals like the blackbuck, chinkara and
great Ind ian bus tard are found in large numb
as they have adapted to the har sh conditi ers
ons of the desert!Oth,_er animals like red fox,
snakes, caracal (a type of cat), lizards, etc.
, are also found {;;,r4,_Cam el is the m~ t ~omm
desert animal and is used to carry goofis and on
people from one place to anothe It 15
therefore called the 'ship of the desert'.
I:
Climate
Th e Th ar Des ert has an extreme type of
climate and the temperature can vary
dramatically between day and nigh~ urin
g summer, the days are very hot, w~il~ the
t nights are cooler. In winter, the days are war
m and the nights are very cold. This ids to
Clt -~'1
becaus e dun.ng the day, the san d gets hea
ted up fast by the stro ng rays O f the sun ue
._

~ ;-------- ~ -- -- -- -- lb Q l g
 . ,,.. rjon.H owewr, it cools down quick!)' at ru· ahr
1 f \°t'!!"C. ''1 b ·
~ ,n· little rninfall in the desert. Sometimes it does
1
Li-·=- ) . •

'1•1.1C!·' •. l '' \;_ Cr ·w,u-s aJroged1er.\

,, r 11ll
1 1 .
11, ' •

water scarcity
, . -rYlittle nunfall in the region, people livina here
p·•t' f 1) \C . b
'- . ,. . r, " ,ner shortage and often use covered or uncovered The Indir" Gandhi Canal near
.,
t· ... l , ll c
·" ~. :
1
,rore warer. '\ Vater is also e:\'tracted from wells and Jaisalmer
r. !'. ; :,.~ fl -
. '
~
·r""''"c'
"I Il~-
T'.~,- :!'-1 ,-emmenr has built the Indira Gan~ Canal in the northern region\ Ri,·er Satluj
( : .:._, rriburnries suppl~· water to this canal.Jr provides drinkina water and 'supports
h ,·
;Uh• "> b
ir.:;:rion in the region. Ir also pr°'ides water to help people grow vegetables and pulses

l,:.:.: ~'- I

Ri,·c•r Lun.i is the onl~· ri,·er of mis desert region~Ir is a seasonal ri,·er. Ir starts from the
\ \ :-.:r .illi Hills ,md tlow-s in d1~ southwest directi~. The crops grown here include wheat,
,. -=-e. b,rrle.-.
J. .... - • .
jo,Y,lf and bajra.

Scares of the Desert

Re~·on ;
Rajasthan
Geography
R.::.:~d1:1n is located on the \
1'\..
wr~:r.:11 side of the cow1rr.-.
\.T::t ~r.ue sh,u-es its borders
w::.: Gui,1rar.
. ~ladlffa
.
P:-.:,~,-~::. PW1_jab. H,10·,m,1.
L:.1. :- Pr.1desh and also
ODISHA
w:::: :he Punjab and Sind.11 ,\l.\HARASHTRA

P:-,,·.~:~..-e oi Pakim~.:faipur is ::\hp of dr:· western states of Incfo

'k., •
t.,
tl "R . cl "I
.
d_?H: or •~F1S l ,Ul.

0::.\ the ,,·esrem p,u-t of cl1e srnre i~ a deser~. The A.r~n-alli Hills run through the centre of
' ~
L"::~ :: c:l (c:'. Jodhpur. l_Td,lipur. Bikmer. :r,.,:,ora and --\.jmer ,lfe important cities.

t
Language
H:c,~ '; the o!D.ci,tl language Of the ,rare of Raj aschan\ DiftCrent di,tlects of Raj asthani
~,- ,\)Jl:~10nl:· spoken b:· the people here.
1

~~
 Food
Scarcity of wat er and fresh gree n vegetables have
' thei r effe ct on trad · .
. .
Foods o-rown in the stat e are used 1n cook ing. Mil . 1t1ona1
lets and grai ns ar
e used • Cool.I\Jn
·
b , .
of dishes. Delicacies incl ude dal batz churma (wh eat g
balls, lent ils and in Prep ·
cereals), /aal maas (red mea t in gravy), gatte ki sabz coarse! a.rar
ee (gra m flour) k YPowd 111
bean prep ar~t ion) are pop ular here . Swe ets like soha , er sang · ( er .
. n halw a, maw a k h ~z a berh, cc
also enJoyed. ~~~ -,~
ghe'1J
llr a
Festivals and culture Think about it!
The rich hist ory of the state is reflected in Banjaras are nomads w
mov e on camels fro ho
the forts and palaces mad e by the kings and 1 .rn one
p ace to anot her in the T
rulers of the past. Citi es have buil ding s and Des ert. Why do ba . har
pucca houses. In villages, kachcha houses or move from one pla11]aras
ce to
I ,,
huts are still mad e usin g sand and cow dun g. anot her? Wha t type of
houses do they live in?
Teej, Diw ali and Gan gau r are som e
imp orta nt festivals cele brat ed with grea t fanfare . Des 1J
ert Festival
in Jaisalmer, Pus hka r Fair ,Jaip ur Lite ratu re Festival
(where
celebrated writers from across the globe come toge
ther ) are
som e othe r festivals celebrated in Rajasthan.
Folk music and dance is a big part of Rajasthani cult
ure.
Pop ular examples include J(athputli, Bhopa, Kalbelia
and
,I
Ghoomar dances.
Dancers performing
Kalbelia dance
Agriculture
I I
Farmers in Raja stha n g:ow crops like whe at, maize,
barley, jow ar and bajra. With the
availability of water, the cultivation of vegetables has
also become possible. Pulses,
oilseeds, cott on and tobacco are othe r crops grow n
in the state.
Tourism
Ajm er Sha rif Dar gah is a popular religious site. Haw
a Mahal, Chittorgarh Fort, Amber
Fort ,Jan tar Man tar, temples of Mou nt Abu (home to
I I
I
the
I '
famous Dilw araJ ain temples), stepwells ofJo dhp ur
attract
thousands of tourists each year. Mou nt Abu is a famous
hill
\ station of Rajasthan.
Ran tham bore Nati onal Park, Keolade o Nati onal Park
and
Sariska Tig er Reserve attract wild life lovers.
H awa Mah al in Jaipur

.-J
 ( I I )
,. t. ' I
( I
( )

1.,dustrY . . .
• •- 1 mining and textile
Che1111c,u,
mdustn es are located You know what f'
. than Handicraft items like jewellery The Taj Mahal was built fr~m 8
in RaJas . -
iprecious stones and lac, leather items, white marble which was mined
with sen1 .
dcrafted items made from wood, marble, ivory, from a town called Makrana in
han . . . . . dd Rajasthan.
e ade paper, miniature pamtmgs, tie-an - ye
hand111,
. and blue pottery are popular industries of
fabncs
the state.
---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- -- --~
~
f The cities in Rajasthan have been given different names. For example,Jaipur is called
the Pink City. Find out more such examples of other cities in R~jasthan and the reason
•
1 behind these names. I

...
---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---
Gujarat
Geography
Gujarat is located in western part oflndia. In India, it shares its borders with the state
of Rajasthan in the north, Madhya Pradesh in the east and Maharashtra in the south.
The state shares its western borders with the Arabian Sea and the Sindh Province of
Pakistan. Gandhinagar, named after Mahatma Gandhi, is the capital city.
Some important cities of the state are Ahmedabad, Vadodara,Jamnagar and Junagadh.
Narmada is the largest river flowing through Gujarat. Gandhinagar is located on the west
banks of this river. The other major rivers are Narmada, Tapi, Puma and Damanganga.
Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli are union territories of India that lie in this
region.

languages

Majority of people living in Gujarat speak Gujarati language. It is the official language of
the state. In the Kutch region, people speak Kutchi.
Food

Al th0 ugh the state is situated on a coastline having access to fresh seafood, a vast majority
of th e population prefers vegetarian food.

f /

~L
 l
)

l\!Iany of dishes cooked are sweet, spicy and salty at the same time. S
dishes are undhiyo (mixed vegetables) and kichu (rice flour halwa) D;rne of th
khakra and sev are popular snacks. Gujarati food also includes var~ ok./a,fo/'d.e Pop
. iety of r0 . fl,kh
bajra, jowar and maize. tzs lnarj q
e'
Festivals and culture
Many religious festivals and fairs are celebrated in different
parts of Gujarat. Navratri is a major festival of the state.
Famous dance forms dandiya and garba are performed
during Navratri when women wear traditional outfits like
ghagra-chofi and men wear kedia dress. Some other important
festivals celebrated are Diwali, Makar Sankranti, Holi and
Janmashtami. Dancers p f, :~
er or,,,·1
' .. d.andi11a " 10!'
Agriculture J raaJ

The main occupation of rural people is farming. Cotton, tobacco and oil d
see s are .
crops grown in the state. Other important crops are rice,jowar, ba1·ra mai fi . rn~1
' ze, rlllts d
vegetables. an
A well-known milk and milk products factory is
located at Anand. The farmers living near this area You 1<nowl f.l(i1Gj
work together to produce and collect milk through Every year, the International
Kite Festival, Uttaravan •

l cattle farming. It is a cooperative that produces milk . d J ' , IS

organise in Gujarat on Maki!J
and milk products including butter, cheese, curd and Sankranti. Kite makers and kil,
I t
ice cream. These products are sent to different parts flyers from all over the world
participate in this competition
of the country.

/
\ Every year, 26 November is celebrated as National M ille. Day. Collect information
\
regarding the origin and importance of this day.

~ ----- ---- -- -- ------ -------- --- - - - -

,I
I

Tourism
\ •'I
'
. Nal Saro":1
Some major national parks and sanctuaries of Gujarat are Gir National Park,
~
Bird Sanctuary and Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary.
II
.r
 ' )

11.T ti'onal Park is the only place in India wher

e the Asiati·c
Gir pa '
found. Wilson Hills and Saputara are know n hill
uons are . '
. GuJ·arat has many devot 10nal cente rs and temp les
· ·,
st uons.Dwarka, Shankheshwar, Palitana and Junagadh
ah
sue as
Buddh ist Caves .
Diu is a popular tourist destination·
5ilvasSa, 1.n Daman and Asiati c Lion at Gir Fom:it

industry
in
Abig part of the urban population are traders. Some of the important industries
, textiles,
Gujarat are Information Techology (IT, an industry related to comp uters)
ns along the
jewellery ma~ng and ~etrochemi_cals industry. The people in marshy regio
edabad.
coastline are mvolved m salt-makmg. Many cotton mills arc there in Ahm
ani (tic-and-dy(;)
The state is famous for handicraft s, mirror-work and embroidery, bandh
saris and dupattas.

part of India.
• The Thar Desert or the Great Indian Desert lies in the northwestern
• Sand dunes and dust storms are common in the desert region.
grows here.;. Plants and
• Due to shortage of water and high temperatures, very little vegetation
animal s have special features which help them survive in such conditions.
• Days arc hot and nights are cold.
's dkt.
• Bajra, jowar, gram flour and other seeds form an important part of people
lc industries arc also
• Trade and business arc the two main industries. Petrochemical and tc.;xti
cs tab]ished.

sec
Mirage: an effect prod uced by hot air in deserts or on roads, making a person
something (like water) but it is actua!Jy not there
Stepwell: a well or pond in which water is reached by moving down a set of steps
Mining: the process of digging out substa nces from undc.;r the ground
Petrochemicals: chemicaJs made using petroleum