Chapter 8 Solutions — Unity in Diversity, or Many in the One

Questions, Activities and Projects

1. 1.
   Conduct a class discussion on the two quotations at the start of the chapter.
2. 2.
   Select a few stories from the Panchatantra and discuss how their message is still valid today. Do you know of any similar stories from your region?
3. 3.
   Collect a few folk tales from your region and discuss their message.
4. 4.
   Is there any ancient story that you have seen being depicted through a form of art? It could be a sculpture, a painting, a dance performance, a movie. Discuss with your classmates.
5. 5.
   Discuss in class the following quotation by India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, when he travelled to many parts of India before Independence: "Everywhere I found a cultural background which had exerted a powerful influence on their lives. ... The old epics of India, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata and other books, in popular translations and paraphrases, were widely known among the…