Emperor Akbar wanted to know the birth of his child but was 150 miles away from the palace. He asked his minister Birbal for a solution. Birbal instructed Akbar to post 150 soldiers at 1 km intervals, with instructions to beat a drum once for a male child and twice for a female. When Akbar heard a single drum beat, he was overjoyed to learn he had a son. Birbal's idea of using drum beats to communicate the child's gender was praised as a stroke of genius.

1. Can you trace the progress of
communication?

2. Stroke of Genius
Paragraph:
 Emperor Akbar had
no heir to the throne.
He married many
Princesses. But his
hopes ended in vain.
 At last, he married
Jodha, a Rajput
Princess of Ameer.

3. Jodha became pregnant
Akbar celebrated the occasion.
Unfortunately, on the day of delivery, Akbar had to
travel 150 miles away from the palace.

4. Akbardiscussed withBirbal
He asked Birbal for a solution.
Birbal instructed to post 150 soldiers at a distance of one
kilometre.

5. The Soldiers had to beat the drum once for
male and twice for female child.

6. King’s Happiness
 Akbar heard one beat
and was
overwhelmed with joy.
 The idea of drum beat
was a stroke of
genius.
 Akbar appreciated
Birbal for his
intelligence.

7. Identify the Character / Speaker
 He approached Birbal and
asked for a solution.
 He asked the Shahenshah to
post one hundred and fifty
soldiers
 All were eagerly waiting to
hear the drum beat
 She was pregnant and the
happiness of the emperor
knew no bounds
 At last he heard a single
drum beat.
Akbar
Birbal
The people
Jodha Akbar
Akbar
Dialogue/ Sentence Character/Speaker

8. Match the following
1. Rajput Princess
of Ameer fort
2. Minister of
Akbar’s court
3. Emperor
4. Idea of drumbeat
5. Letters
a. Stroke of genius
b. Pigeon’s leg
c. Birbal
d. Jodha
e. Akbar
Ans: 1) Jodha2) Birbal 3) Akbar 4) Stroke of genius
5) Pigeon’s leg

9. MIND MAP
Jotha Akbar
was_______
The Palace
was decorated
with_________
Akbar’shappin
ess
knew______
He wanted to
know about the
birth of a baby
immediately.
He had to visit a
place______
Akbar
dis;tributed___
_
a) Wife of Akbar b) all festoons c) no bounds d) clothes and coins
e) 150 miles away from the place.

10. FILL IN THE BLANKS WITH APPROPRIATE PHRASES
Imagine how messages would have been sent in
days when facilities like _____1_____or telephone
were not available. Men ran from one place to
another carrying the messages. Letters were tied to
___2___ . and were trained to reach the destination
and deliver the ___3__. Let’s imagine a situation
like that. When ___4___ had to announce to his
empire about the birth of his son! He was confused
as to how to solve the problem. He approached
__5____ and asked for the solution. What do you
think would have been the solution given by Birbal to
him?
Ans:
1. E-mail or sms 2. Pigeon’s legs 3. letters 4. Akbar 5.

11. CHOOSE THE BEST ANSWER
1 Letters were tied to the _______legs.
(a) skylark’s (b)pigeon’s (c) swan’s (d) peacock’s
2 The air was thick with ___________.
(a)honesty and expectation (b)sincerity and expectation (c)
anxiety and expectation (d) anxiety and inspection
3 At last he heard a _____drum beat!
(a) single (b)double (c) several (d) few
4 The wisdom of ___________worked!
(a) Birbal (b) Akbar (c) Jodha (d) the soldiers
5 The stories of Akbar and Birbal have been handed down from
_____ (a)generation to generation (b)people to people (c) kingdom to
kingdom (d) place to place.Ans: (a) Pigeon’s (b)anxiety and expectation ( c )Single (d)Birbal (d)
generation to . . generation