Class 7 English · Original EZT practice
North, South, East, West (Class 7 English Chapter 9): Shaana's postcard journey
Shaana, who lives on Rameswaram island, travels the length of India with her Amma and Appa - and writes postcards to her school friends from every stop. A glacier in Kashmir, the quiet mountains of Himachal, the Sundarbans wetlands, a hot desert, a wild rafting day on the Narmada, Goa's plateaus and tunnels, surfing near Puducherry, and finally home. C.G. Salamander's excerpts turn one family's trip into a friendly tour of India's landscapes. This page gives a summary, word meanings and practice questions. (Note: this is original practice, not a textbook exercise key.)
6 original worked examples, 6 fresh self-check questions and 4 mixed questions, with explained answers. These are not copied textbook exercises, an official chapter index or a full answer key. No affiliation with NCERT is claimed.
Official sources for topic and edition context, checked 23 October 2026:
1. Story summary - the postcard journey
The story is told through Shaana's dated postcards to her class. She starts 'way up north' at the Thajiwas glacier in Kashmir (30 April), moves to quiet Himachal Pradesh (10 May), east to the Sundarbans wetlands in West Bengal (24 May), into the hot dry desert (30 May), rafting on the Narmada river (7 June), through Goa's plateaus and train tunnels (12 June), surfing on the way from Chennai to Puducherry (17 June), and back to Olaikaadu beach near home on Rameswaram island (22-24 June), ending with a postcard about the whole trip (25 June).
2. Reading for detail - people and changes in nature
The postcards also record small worries about nature. In Kashmir, her parents say there was much more snow last year; at the Narmada, Appa says there used to be a lot more water; in the Sundarbans, Amma is sad about frequent flooding. Shaana also grows: she used to be afraid of tunnels, but is not any more.
3. Word meanings
Travel words from the margin - chirping, snoring, rafting, surf, plus postcard phrases like 'way up north'.
4. Maps, states and 'Pradesh'
The chapter's activities ask students to place their own State or Union Territory on the map - its capital, language, river(s), food and a tourist attraction - and to recall states with 'Pradesh' in their names and where they lie (North, East, Northeast, West, South or Centre).
Choose, solve, check, then try a fresh question.
Before calculating, read the method prompt and name the condition that makes it useful. Write your own attempt. Open the steps only when you need them, and use the check to catch a wrong sign, unit or interpretation. Finish with the fresh question before reading its answer.
Fix the writer and home
Choose the method: Rameswaram to the class.
EZT practice question
Where does Shaana live, and who does she write her postcards to?
Show the worked solution
- Shaana lives on Rameswaram island.
- She travels the length of India with her Amma and Appa.
- She writes postcards to her friends back at school.
Answer: Shaana lives on Rameswaram island; she writes postcards to her friends back at school.
Check: The postcards run from 30 April to 25 June - a two-month trip told in dates.
Watch for this: Do not say she writes a diary - the excerpts are postcards, short and addressed to her class.
Now try it yourself
Which place does the first postcard come from?
Check your answer
The Thajiwas glacier in Kashmir, 30 April.
'I'm way up north, at the Thajiwas glacier in Kashmir.'
Trace the route in order
Choose the method: Follow the dates.
EZT practice question
Name the parts of India Shaana's postcards touch, in order.
Show the worked solution
- North - Kashmir (Thajiwas glacier) and Himachal Pradesh.
- East - the Sundarbans wetlands in West Bengal; then the hot dry desert.
- Central India (the Narmada), Southwest (Goa's plateaus and tunnels), and South (Chennai to Puducherry, then home to Rameswaram).
Answer: North (Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh), East (West Bengal - the Sundarbans), the desert (west), central India (the Narmada), Southwest (Goa), and South (Chennai, Puducherry, Rameswaram).
Check: The title is the map: North, South, East, West - the trip touches them all.
Watch for this: Do not place the Sundarbans in the desert - they are wetlands in West Bengal; the desert stop comes after.
Now try it yourself
What does Shaana mean by 'the same state again' (17 June)?
Check your answer
She has travelled south back into Tamil Nadu - her home state - and will be home soon.
Chennai and Puducherry are on her way back.
List the nature worries
Choose the method: Less snow, less water, more floods.
EZT practice question
What changes in nature do Shaana's parents notice during the trip?
Show the worked solution
- In Kashmir, her parents say there was much more snow last year.
- At the Narmada, Appa says there used to be a lot more water.
- In the Sundarbans, Amma is sad about frequent flooding.
Answer: Less snow on the glacier than last year, less water in the Narmada than before, and frequent flooding in the Sundarbans - small signs of environmental change.
Check: The worries are tucked into happy postcards - a gentle lesson in noticing.
Watch for this: Do not credit these observations to Shaana alone - the parents voice them.
Now try it yourself
How has Shaana herself changed by the end of the trip?
Check your answer
She used to be afraid of tunnels, but is not any more.
Travel has made her braver.
Pick the adventures
Choose the method: Rafting and surfing.
EZT practice question
What adventure does Shaana try on the Narmada, and what new skill does she learn on the way from Chennai to Puducherry?
Show the worked solution
- On the Narmada she goes rafting - wild and scary.
- Appa is so scared he decides never to go rafting ever again.
- On the way from Chennai to Puducherry she learns surfing - and falls only twice.
Answer: Rafting on the Narmada (Appa vows never to repeat it), and surfing on the way from Chennai to Puducherry, where she falls only twice.
Check: Her parents splash water on each other at the beach 'like children' - she jokes she must control them.
Watch for this: Do not swap the two - rafting is the river, surfing is near the coast.
Now try it yourself
What does Shaana learn the Sundarbans are called?
Check your answer
Wetlands.
Amma and Appa tell her places like the Sundarbans are called wetlands.
Match travel words to meanings
Choose the method: Fix each word to one plain meaning.
EZT practice question
Match: chirping, rafting, surf - with their meanings.
Show the worked solution
- chirping - the short, sharp sound made by birds.
- rafting - travelling down a river in an air-filled rubber boat.
- surf - a water sport where you stand on a long lightweight board and ride a wave to the seashore.
Answer: chirping - the short, sharp sound made by birds; rafting - travelling down a river in an air-filled rubber boat; surf - a water sport where you ride a wave to the seashore on a long lightweight board.
Check: Birds chirp in Himachal, the family rafts on the Narmada, and Shaana surfs near Puducherry.
Watch for this: Do not confuse surf (the sport or the waves) with turf - the margin note defines the sport.
Now try it yourself
What does 'way up north' tell us about Kashmir in Shaana's journey?
Check your answer
It is far in the northern part of the country - her trip begins at the top of the map.
The phrase fits the title's map idea.
Do the map activity
Choose the method: Your state on the map.
EZT practice question
What does the chapter's map activity ask students to do?
Show the worked solution
- Place their own State or Union Territory on the map of India.
- Name its capital, language, river(s), food and a tourist attraction.
- Recall states with 'Pradesh' in their names and where they lie - North, East, Northeast, West, South or Centre.
Answer: Place their own State or Union Territory on the map with its capital, language, river(s), food and a tourist attraction, and recall the 'Pradesh' states and where they lie.
Check: Himachal Pradesh is on Shaana's own route - the others can be recalled from the map.
Watch for this: Do not list only 'Pradesh' states for the first task - the first task is about your own state.
Now try it yourself
Which of Shaana's stops would you most like to visit, and why?
Check your answer
Open response - pick a stop and give a reason from the postcards.
The journey offers glaciers to beaches.
Try a mixed set
Choose a method or explanation before opening each answer.
1. Who wrote the story?
Show answer and reason
C.G. Salamander (the textbook carries excerpts).
Told through Shaana's postcards.
2. The first postcard?
Show answer and reason
Thajiwas glacier, Kashmir - 30 April.
'Way up north.'
3. The Sundarbans are called?
Show answer and reason
Wetlands (in West Bengal).
Amma is sad about flooding there.
4. Appa's vow after the Narmada?
Show answer and reason
Never to go rafting ever again.
The rafting was wild and scary.
Try it yourself
Work these on paper before checking any notes. Answers are deliberately not shown here.
- Name two signs of environmental change Shaana's parents notice.
- What new skill does Shaana learn near Puducherry?
- Write a two-line postcard from a place you have visited.
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Questions about this practice page
- What is North, South, East, West about?
- Shaana, a girl from Rameswaram island, travels across India with her parents and sends postcards from glaciers, wetlands, deserts, rivers, plateaus and beaches.
- Who wrote North, South, East, West?
- C.G. Salamander (the textbook carries excerpts).
- How is the story told?
- Through dated postcards Shaana writes to her school friends, from 30 April to 25 June.
- What does the story show about India?
- Its huge variety of landscapes, languages, food and people - and small signs of environmental change like less snow and flooding.
- Are these the NCERT exercise questions for Class 7 English Chapter 9?
- No. EZT pages are original practice following the chapter's section order - use them to prepare for the textbook exercises, not as a substitute for your book.