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A world apart

  • People from South India

    © Perfect Lazybones/Shutterstock

    Photo of a girl selling bangles on the street

  • People from South India

    © Fuse/Getty Images

    Photo of a boy in a school uniform who is reading

  • People from South India

    © uniquela India/Getty Images

    Photo of woman working in the field

  • People from South India

    © ImagesBazaar/Getty Images

    Photo of a male doctor and his staff at a hospital

A world apart

A world apart

Read about these four people from South India.

Ananya has a full-time job, although she is very young.

Jignesh has a well-paid job and has been abroad.

Pallavi has very little money and has never been to school.

Vivaan is a schoolboy who enjoys using his computer.

  1. I have a little brother and a little sister. Naany, my grandma, looks after us after school until my mother comes home. My father’s a brain surgeon and my mother’s an engineer on the Indian Space Program. They‘re really strict about me doing my homework. They check what I’ve done every day, and I have to do things again if they don’t think it’s good enough. I have extra maths and English lessons online with a tutor every week, as well. We have superfast broadband, so I do lots of gaming in my spare time.
  2. My name means fearless, and that’s what my mother says I must be. Especially at work. I live with my uncle and auntie in the city. My uncle buys sacks of bangles and I have to sort them and sell as many as possible. If he’s not pleased, Auntie beats me and doesn’t give me any dinner. My younger brother, Arjun, is also here, but I don’t see him very often. He sells vegetables, and sleeps at the market. I really miss my mother and playing with my friends in the village.
  3. It is essential that people get a good education and access to good healthcare. That is what I am working for. They are the key to the future of India. My grandfather was a Professor of Medicine, and my father started his own engineering company. He’s a very successful businessman. I decided to follow in my grandfather’s footsteps and am now doing research as well as high-level surgery. My wife and I both have demanding jobs, but it brings its rewards. We have been to Malaysia, Australia and the USA for conferences, and also on holiday with our children.
  4. I was born in this village, and I’ve never been anywhere else. We used to have some land, but my husband’s family got that when he died. I work in my neighbour’s fields now. Things were very difficult until my brother took my youngest children to live with his family. We didn’t have enough food. I hope one of my sons will get a good job and a nice wife, then I can live with them when I’m old. All the boys have been to school and can read. It’s not as important for girls.

DOCUMENT Getting the gist


DOCUMENT Checking details


DOCUMENT Word building


DOCUMENT Your turn to write


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