• You will mainly see two types: joint families (several generations together) and nuclear families (a couple and their children, or one parent and children). Some may be single-parent families.
• Example list: Nuclear families — 18 households; Joint families — 9 households; Single-parent — 3 households.
• Which is more frequent & why: in towns and cities, nuclear families are usually more common — because of jobs in different places, smaller homes, and the cost of living. In many villages, joint families are still common. Compare your findings with your classmates.

Notice: a single, precise word like chacha or mausi needs a whole phrase in English (“father’s younger brother”, “mother’s sister”). Indian languages have far richer kinship terms — and often no single word for ‘cousin’, because cousins are treated as brothers and sisters.

• Answer honestly for your own home — e.g. “My mother and father together decide the shopping; my grandmother and mother cook; my grandfather is the oldest; we children help clean and wash utensils; my elder sister helps with my homework.”
• Then compare with classmates. You will notice that in a happy family, work is shared among members and is not the duty of only one person (and not only of women). Sharing chores shows cooperation and equality.

This is a personal question — your answers will be different from your classmates’, and that is fine.

• Family tree: see the diagram above. At the top is Acchamma (grandmother). Her two sons are Shalini’s father and Chittappa (paternal uncle), married to Shalini’s mother and Chitti. In the next generation are Shalini and her younger brother, and their cousin Chinni (Chittappa and Chitti’s daughter).
• Why the parents bought clothes for everyone: because in a joint family, members support each other and share what they have. Chittappa had lost his job and could not buy festival clothes, so Shalini’s parents bought new clothes for the whole family so that everyone could enjoy Onam. It shows the values of sharing, care, and sacrifice (tyāga).
• What I would have done: I would have done the same — happily accepting a simpler dress so that my uncle’s family could also celebrate. Being part of a family means caring for each other’s happiness, which matters more than getting a fancy dress for myself.

Note: the book calls this a ‘seven-member’ family; counting the cousin Chinni, eight people are named across the three generations shown above.

• Why he consults his wife: important decisions in a family should be taken together. Both parents share responsibility and money, respect each other’s views, and plan wisely. It reflects cooperation, equality and joint decision-making.
• His sharing of chores: this is a good and healthy thing. Housework is everyone’s responsibility, not only a woman’s. His help shows equality, care and cooperation in the family.
• Roles of the grandparents: the grandmother tells stories full of humour and wisdom and helps cook; the grandfather helps Tenzing with homework, takes him to the bus stop, and does social work in the colony. They pass on values, care for the grandchildren, and help both the household and the community.

Why some couples choose a nuclear family: jobs in different cities (moving for work), smaller homes in cities, the cost of living, the wish for privacy and independence, and both partners working.

The other two parts — creating a family story and staging a drama — are activities to do in class.

• Attitude towards community: one of caring and giving back — a sense of responsibility towards those less fortunate, helping others without expecting anything in return.
• Values shown: compassion, sevā (service), generosity, dedication and a belief that every child deserves education (he even gave the children free dinner and taught after his own work hours).
• Was society unfair to them? In a way, yes — these children faced poverty and lacked access to schools, so they were denied equal opportunities. This shows the inequality that still exists.
• What society should do: provide free and accessible schools, mid-day meals and scholarships, enforce the Right to Education, support poor families, and encourage volunteers and NGOs — so that no child is left out.

• People outside the family who support you: teachers, doctors and nurses, farmers, shopkeepers, bus and auto drivers, the postman, police, municipal / sanitation workers, electricians, plumbers, tailors and delivery workers. This shows how everyone is interdependent.
• Communities you belong to: your family, your class and school, your neighbourhood/locality, your religious or language community, and groups like a sports team, science or drama club, NSS, NCC or Scouts.
• How a school club functions: it has members and a teacher-in-charge, holds regular meetings and activities (practice, projects, events), and members share duties — just like a small community.