Chapter 13 — We are all Indians

Chapter 13 of the Class 2 English NCERT textbook (Mridang), "We are all Indians", introduces children from twelve different Indian states who share their languages, festivals, and favourite things, ending with the message that each person is unique but all are Indians.

• Children from Across India — Twelve children introduce themselves, each from a different state — Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Bengal, Punjab, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Kerala. Each child shares their language, a favourite tradition, dance, or place, showing the variety of life across India.
• Unity in Diversity — Despite speaking different languages and following different customs, all twelve children share one identity. The chapter ends with the lines "But we are all Indians. Each of us is unique," teaching children that differences make each person special, not separate.
• Consonant Blends — Br and Fr — The chapter introduces initial consonant blends through word sets beginning with br (bread, bridge, brown) and fr (frock, frame, frog). Children listen to a model sentence using these blend words and then frame their own sentences.
• Writing with 'But' and Language Puzzles — In the writing section, children learn to join two sentences using the word 'but', for example "I like milk but I don't like tea." They also rearrange jumbled letters to spell the names of Indian languages such as Hindi, English, Urdu, and Telugu.
• Indian Festivals and Folk Music Project — The chapter introduces four Indian festivals — Phool Dei, Sharad Poornima, Aadi Perukku, and Pang Lhabsol — and links them to seasons and regional culture. A project activity asks children to find a folk song from their family and present it to the class in their mother tongue.

1. 01Twelve children from twelve Indian states introduce themselves — Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Bengal, Punjab, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Kerala.
2. 02Languages named in the chapter include Tamil, Gujarati, Bengali, Punjabi, Marathi, Manipuri, Kannada, Telugu, Odia, and Malayalam.
3. 03The chapter ends with the message: "But we are all Indians. Each of us is unique."
4. 04New vocabulary words introduced are: festival, puppet, travel, painting, neighbour, and fingerprints.
5. 05The chapter teaches consonant blends — br words (bread, bridge, brown) and fr words (frock, frame, frog).
6. 06Children practise joining two sentences using the word 'but', for example "My grandfather is old but he is strong."
7. 07Four Indian festivals are described: Phool Dei (spring), Sharad Poornima (full moon), Aadi Perukku (Tamil monsoon), and Pang Lhabsol (Sikkim).