Paheli

Unit developed by Rajni Bhargava on Rajasthani culture and based the film Paheli (YHS Fulbright-Hays 2022)

A. Proficiency Level: Intermediate Mid/High; Time: 4X75min
B. Objectives: Students will be able to:

  • understand the sequence of events and retell the main plotline of the movie “Paheli”
  • identify and analyze main cultural aspects: elements of local folk tales and myths, water reservoir-based practices, etc.

C. Language Structures:

  • use elaborate cohesion markers, such as इस वजह से, इस लिए, के बाद, के पहले, फिर, के बावजूद, क्योंकि
  • become aware and/or use new vocabulary specific to Rajasthan region, geography and speech variations
  • use iterative construction with perfective participle + करना: किया करती है , jजाया करती है (in this case जाया remains the same, it does not become गया) emphasizes the habitual action. जाया, किया, हुआ remains in the masculine singular form.

D. Performance Assessment: 
Read the highlighted parts of the novella. Choose three parts and compare and contrast them with the movie scenes: write down the similarities and differences between each movie scene and the related story excerpt with 250+ words for each scene in detail. Make sure you include:

  • word bank: 20-25 words from each scene
  • cultural notes section: 5 cultural notes from overall movie
  • differences and similarities in visual and writing description
  • background setting in the movie and the book

Episode 1: Students watch the first 60 min of the movie. They are tasked to write down 10 words they are unfamiliar with and find their meaning working with a dictionary. (Note: Please don’t repeat the words which others have filled in). 

Episode 2: Students answer comprehension questions:

यह कहानी कैसे शुरू होती है ?
इस कहानी में कौन कौन है?
यह कहानी किस के बारे में है?
इस कहानी में शारुख़ खान किस समाज से है?
इस सम्मज में ज़्यादातर लोग क्या काम करते हैं?
इस काम को करने के लिए लोग कहाँ जाते हैं?
वे कितने दिन परिवार से दूर रहते हैं?
मारवाड़ियों के समुदाय का इतिहास क्या है?
मारवाड़ी समुदाय किस का व्यापार करते थे।

Episode 3: Students watch the rest of the movie and discuss the selected movie scenes.

Episode 4: Students are given the choice board for the movie.

Episode 5: Students are formed into teams and assigned a character whose appearance they describe, and action they narrate as a story. They are tasked to use the vocabulary which they have learned, 10+ words, and use iterative construction (in 3+ sentences) when narrating.
1.42.16 – 1.48.00
1.53.00 – 2.00.50

Episode 6: Students read the excerpts from the original story and compare the movie scenes from the scenes in the book.(Final Task)