Rani Abbakka | CBSE Class 7 English Notes

This note covers the graphic story "Rani Abbakka": where it comes from, a panel-by-panel summary, the characters, themes and style, the language work, and answers to every textbook task.

What is "Rani Abbakka", and where does it come from?

About the text

"Rani Abbakka" is a graphic story, a story told in drawn panels with captions and speech bubbles. It is the third and last piece in Unit 5, Bravehearts, of Poorvi, the English textbook for Grade 7.

The other two pieces in the unit are "A Homage to Our Brave Soldiers" and the poem "My Dear Soldiers". The unit sets out to build a sense of patriotism and gratitude by celebrating courage and sacrifice.

About the Book, at the front of the textbook, calls the story the tale of a fearless queen who defied the Portuguese colonial powers with resilience and military skill, and who showed great courage, valour and determination.

The story follows Abbakka Devi, who becomes queen of Ullal, a small principality on the west coast of Karnataka. It had to pay tribute to the Portuguese until Abbakka refused and led Ullal to freedom.

Sources: NCERT, Poorvi, Textbook of English for Grade 7, Unit 5 Bravehearts, "Rani Abbakka", printed pages 206 to 222, with the listening transcript on pages 224 and 225 (reprint 2026-27). The comic is credited to the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, from Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.

How is a graphic story read?

The story runs across twenty panels on six pages; the book does not number them, so the numbers 1 to 20 used here follow the reading order. The panels are read left to right and top to bottom, and the words appear in three kinds of shapes.

• Captions, the yellow boxes, hold the narrator's words: background, time and place.
• Speech bubbles, with a pointed tail, hold words a character says aloud.
• Thought bubbles, cloud shapes joined to a head by small circles, hold what a character thinks but does not say.

What do the before-reading activities ask?

The riddle

The first task is a six-line rhyming riddle that ends by asking who the woman is. Its clues point to a warrior queen who fought with a sword for her country, carried her young son on her back, and died defending her land.

The riddle does not print its answer. The student works it out from the clues and shares it with the class.

Note: Two of the riddle's clues, a son carried on the back and a death while defending the motherland, are not shown in the comic that follows. The student should test every clue before naming the queen.

Below the riddle, a woman in orange clothes and a jewelled headdress rides a rearing white horse with a decorated harness. She holds a long sword out in her right hand, an orange scarf streams behind her, and a small child looks out from her back. Horsemen with pennants ride behind her through dust.

Reference: NCERT Class 7 Poorvi, printed page 206

Other women warriors

The second task asks the student to think of other women warriors who made a significant contribution to India's struggle for Independence. Within this chapter, the listening task describes one: Rani Gaidinliu, a Naga leader who led an armed uprising against the British; her bio-table is in the listening section.

The exploring task at the end names more brave women. Any other names are the student's own answer, to be checked in class.

What happens in the story, panel by panel?

Panels 1 and 2: a promise at a deathbed

The old queen of Ullal, Hiriya Abbakka, lies on her deathbed. A caption explains that the Portuguese had captured Ullal years before and made it a vassal paying them tribute. Her daughter and successor, Abbakka Devi, sits beside her.

The mother begins to speak of the Portuguese, but her sentence breaks off. Abbakka calms her and vows not to rest until they are driven from the west coast.

The next day Abbakka Devi is crowned queen. She asks her court for full support to make Ullal stronger, secure and free, and the court pledges its loyalty and cheers her.

Panels 3 to 6: a quarrel with the king of Bangadi

After the coronation, Abbakka tells her husband, Veera Narasimha, the king of Bangadi, that she will stop paying tribute and stop selling spices and cloth to the Portuguese. He thinks the plan rash.

In a thought bubble, he fears that the Portuguese will take him for her partner and punish Bangadi too, so he means to change her mind.

Abbakka replies that he may fear the Portuguese, but she will not be frightened by them. When she walks away, he orders the soldiers to seize her, but not one moves: under the brave queen's spell, they choose to follow her.

Panels 7 to 11: standing alone

Abbakka urges a meeting of rajas to unite against the Portuguese. One says they are no match for them; another warns her not to provoke them.

Their reactions only strengthen her resolve. In her thoughts she decides that she will fight the Portuguese alone, single-handed if she must.

The next day a Portuguese envoy arrives to say that Ullal's yearly tribute is long overdue. Abbakka cuts him short: Ullal is a sovereign country and owes the Portuguese neither tribute nor obedience. The envoy warns that she will regret her stand.

Panels 12 to 14: ships, trade and a lost commander

Abbakka has merchant ships built and, in alliance with the Zamorin of Kozhikode, defies the Portuguese with a hugely profitable trade with Arabia. At a crowded harbour, departing traders are invited back.

Watching her fleet sail, Abbakka thinks of her mother: this is only the beginning, and she promises that the end will soon follow.

On their return, the Portuguese navy apprehends all of the ships. The crews fight bravely and every ship gets back except the commander's; a sailor reports that he held off the enemy so the others could escape.

This deeply angers the queen, and she vows to make the Portuguese pay. She sends an envoy to Mangalore, the Portuguese base.

Panels 15 to 17: attack and counter-attack

The Portuguese reply by attacking, with cannons booming across the river. On the fort battlements, Abbakka asks her mother's blessing and says the time to avenge her defeat has come.

Abbakka in turn sends her forces against the Portuguese fort. Ribero, the Portuguese commander, escapes with his life, planning in thought to bring help from Goa and still have the last laugh.

Panels 18 to 20: the decisive war

When Ribero brings news of the fall of Fort Mangalore, the Portuguese Governor of Goa is outraged that a woman has beaten them and blames Ribero for making them a laughing-stock. The Portuguese rally their forces to attack Ullal.

The caption calls Abbakka dauntless as she tells her soldiers that this will be the decisive war, and they cheer her.

The battle rages for four days until the Portuguese retreat in defeat, never to trouble Ullal again. From the fort wall, Abbakka tells her mother in thought that her dream has come true.

A last caption adds two later events: Abbakka helped Venkatappa Nayak, king of Keladi, to capture the fort of Mangalore, and Shivappa Nayak, the greatest king of Keladi, finally drove the Portuguese out of Mangalore.

In the last wide panel, Abbakka, in a yellow sari and green blouse, stands on the fort wall with one hand on the red parapet beside a cannon. Below her, smoke rises over a beach where a ship and a pile of wreckage burn, fallen soldiers and a ladder lie on the sand, and horses and men move along the shore. A wheeled wooden tower stands near the fort wall, and ships float on the sea beyond.

Reference: NCERT Class 7 Poorvi, printed page 212

Who are the characters, and what does each do?

Rani Abbakka (Abbakka Devi)

Hiriya Abbakka's daughter and successor, she becomes queen of Ullal and drives every turn of the plot, from refusing tribute to winning the final battle.

Hiriya Abbakka

The old queen speaks only in the first panel, and her sentence about the Portuguese breaks off unfinished. She stays present all the same, because Abbakka keeps speaking to her until the last panel.

Veera Narasimha

Abbakka's husband is the king of Bangadi; the cause-and-effect exercise spells his name Narsimha. His fear for his own kingdom, and his failed order to seize her, set off her courage by contrast.

The other characters

• The rajas are local rulers who refuse to unite against the Portuguese.
• The Portuguese envoy speaks for his Governor, demands the overdue tribute and warns Abbakka.
• Ribero, the Portuguese commander, escapes from the attacked fort and later carries the news of the fall of Fort Mangalore.
• The Governor of Goa scorns the defeat at Mangalore, after which the Portuguese rally their forces against Ullal.
• The court, soldiers and sailors of Ullal stand by their queen and win the final battle.
• The Zamorin of Kozhikode is Abbakka's ally in trade; Venkatappa Nayak and Shivappa Nayak of Keladi appear only in the last caption.

What qualities does Rani Abbakka show?

Every quality below is tied to a scene in the comic.

Her courage is not shown as recklessness. She tries to unite the rajas, builds trade and sends an envoy to Mangalore before her forces attack, so her boldness comes with planning.

What themes and message does the story carry?

Theme 1: freedom and self-rule

The story begins with Ullal as a vassal paying tribute and ends with the thought that Ullal is free. Abbakka's claim that Ullal is a sovereign country is the heart of the story.

Theme 2: courage and resolve against a mightier power

The rajas think they are no match for the Portuguese, and the Governor of Goa calls his own side mighty. Yet a small principality wins, which shows that courage and resolve can stand against greater strength.

Theme 3: a promise to a parent and a homeland

For Abbakka, freeing Ullal and keeping faith with her mother are the same task. Love for family and love for the land run together, which gives a war story a personal, emotional centre.

Theme 4: leadership, loyalty and unity

Her people's loyalty, from the court's pledge to the four-day defence, is earned by her leadership. Her appeal to the rajas, her alliance with the Zamorin and her later help to the king of Keladi show that she also values unity.

Theme 5: trade and self-reliance as strength

Abbakka stops selling spices and cloth to the Portuguese and builds merchant ships of her own. Her profitable trade with Arabia shows that a kingdom's strength also comes from its economy, not only its soldiers.

What is the message in one line?

Steady courage, planning and the loyalty of one's people can win freedom, even for a small land facing a powerful one.

How does a comic tell history through panels, speech and pictures?

What do the captions do?

The captions carry the history: names, places and the passing of time. They explain Ullal's capture, jump ahead with phrases such as the next day, and close with later events under the kings of Keladi.

What do speech and thought bubbles show?

Speech bubbles show what characters say in public: Abbakka's refusal, the envoy's warning and the Governor's scorn.

Veera Narasimha's fear for Bangadi, Abbakka's decision to fight alone, her silent messages to her mother and Ribero's plan to fetch help from Goa all sit in thought bubbles. The reader therefore knows more than any single character does.

How do the pictures add to the words?

The pictures show what the words leave out, such as the crowded harbour with bundles of cloth, ladders against fort walls and burning boats after the last battle.

The white-haired old queen lies propped on large pillows under a green cover, one hand raised, while Abbakka, in a yellow sari and green blouse with a gold band in her hair, leans towards her. Through the window behind them, a fort stands on a hill.

Reference: NCERT Class 7 Poorvi, printed page 207

A wide panel shows sailing ships on a blue sea under a heavy orange sky. On a wooden jetty at the right, Abbakka in a yellow sari raises her hand towards the ships while a woman in pink holds a parasol over her. On the shore at the left, men with spears stand near palm trees and huts.

Reference: NCERT Class 7 Poorvi, printed page 210

How is the story framed?

The comic is framed by the mother. It opens at her bedside and ends with Abbakka telling her, in thought, that her dream has come true. Two large panels echo her promise: the fleet sailing out in panel 13, which she calls the beginning, and the free fort in panel 20, the end.

How do punctuation and lettering show feeling?

Dots mark speech that is cut off. The dying mother cannot finish her sentence about the Portuguese, and the envoy's reminder about the tribute is interrupted by Abbakka's reply.

Exclamation marks show strong feeling, as in the double mark after the king's order to seize her and in Abbakka's declaration to the envoy.

What are the tone and style of the story?

Tone

The tone is respectful and heroic, and the story moves steadily from loss to freedom.

The story presents the Portuguese through their own actions and words: they demand tribute, warn, seize ships, attack, and retreat after four days of battle. The captions do not stop to judge them, which keeps the account plain.

Style

The language is short and direct, suited to speech bubbles. Forms of address such as Your Majesty give the court scenes a formal feel.

The voices differ sharply: Abbakka speaks with calm certainty, her husband worries, the envoy threatens, and the Governor sneers. These contrasts let the reader judge each character without being told.

Lively idioms such as the last laugh, laughing-stock and beat a hasty retreat show the Portuguese side's hurt pride and defeat.

The word brave appears again and again, for the queen, the leader and the soldiers. The repetition ties the story to the unit's title, Bravehearts.

Which key quotations matter most?

I will not rest till I have driven them out of the west coast!

Speaker: Abbakka. Context: her promise to her dying mother, which the rest of the story fulfils.

Isn't that a rather rash decision?

Speaker: Veera Narasimha. Context: his reply when she says she will stop paying tribute.

I refuse to be cowed by them.

Speaker: Abbakka. Context: her answer to her husband's fear; to be cowed is to be frightened into giving way.

We are a sovereign country.

Speaker: Abbakka. Context: her reply to the Portuguese envoy's reminder about the overdue tribute.

What! A mere woman defeating the mighty Portuguese!

Speaker: the Portuguese Governor of Goa. Context: after the fall of Fort Mangalore; his scorn is proved wrong by the decisive war.

Mother, your dream has come true. Ullal is free!

Speaker: Abbakka, in a thought bubble. Context: the end of the four-day battle, closing the promise made at the deathbed.

What words and spellings does the chapter teach?

What do the fourteen new words mean?

The student matches fourteen words from the story with their meanings. The pairs are below.

When is it ie and when ei?

The words seize, sovereign, their and soldiers all contain ie or ei. The spelling tip is i before e except after c, as in receive and deceive.

The ten blanks are filled like this: 1. ceiling; 2. believe; 3. thief; 4. achieve; 5. perceive; 6. protein; 7. society; 8. shield; 9. weight; 10. friend.

The tip works for most of the list, but not all: protein and weight take ei with no c before it, and so do seize, sovereign and their from the story, while society takes ie straight after c. These words have to be learnt by sight.

Which letters are silent?

In wrath, the first letter w is not pronounced. Letters that are spelt but not spoken are silent letters, as in campaign (g), knowledge (k), pneumonia (p), honour (h) and calm (l).

One possible list of more words, all taken from this chapter: sword (w), daughter (gh), fight (gh), might (gh), listen (t) and answer (w).

What do the laugh expressions mean?

The story uses two laugh expressions: the Governor's laughing-stock and Ribero's last laugh. A dictionary page for laugh gives the meanings of four more. The example sentences are one possible set.

How is direct speech changed into reported speech?

What changes when speech is reported?

Words quoted exactly as spoken are in direct speech; the same words reported without quotation marks are in reported speech, also called indirect speech. The chapter gives two examples from the story.

• Abbakka's vow to make the Portuguese pay for this becomes: Rani said that she would make them pay for that.
• The merchants' farewell to the Arabians, asking them to visit again, becomes: The merchants told the Arabian brothers to visit them again.

Three kinds of change are made. Time: verbs usually shift back from a present tense to a past form. Place: words for place are adjusted to fit the new context. Person: pronouns change to fit the reporter's point of view.

How do the tenses change?

How do pronouns and time words change?

Pronouns: I becomes she or he; we becomes they; my becomes her or his; our becomes their; me becomes her or him; us becomes them; mine becomes hers or his; ours becomes theirs. Words for the person spoken to change too: the singular becomes she or he, the plural becomes they, and the possessive forms become her, his or their, or hers, his or theirs.

Time and place words: now becomes then; ago becomes before; today becomes that day; tomorrow becomes the day after or the following day; yesterday becomes the day before or the previous day; next week, month or year becomes the following week, month or year; here becomes there; this becomes that; these becomes those.

What are the answers to the six sentences?

1. The teacher remarked that women of valour had made significant contributions throughout history.
2. Smitha shared that she enjoyed reading historical novels.
3. The captain told the coach that their team had won the championship the previous year.
4. The class teacher requested the students to turn off the lights when they left.
5. Mother advised Ravi to finish the work before dinner.
6. The vet instructed the pet owner to take the dog for a walk.

In sentence 3, last year is not in the book's list; the previous year follows the same pattern as yesterday. In sentence 4, the listeners are not named, so the students is one possible choice.

How is the captain's conversation reported?

1. The Captain remarked that they needed to focus on their strategy for the final match.
2. To which one of the players replied that he had some ideas on how they could improve their strategy.
3. The Captain advised the player to make sure to share those ideas with the team during practice.

In line 2, she can replace he if the player is a girl, since the conversation does not say.

What do the listening, speaking, writing and exploring tasks ask?

Listening: a bio-table on Rani Gaidinliu

The teacher reads a transcript about one more braveheart, Rani Gaidinliu, and the student fills nine blanks in a bio-table. The nine answers are in bold below.

The table prints the movement's name as Hereka, while the transcript spells it Heraka. The transcript also says that the then Prime Minister described her as the Daughter of the Hills and gave her the title Rani for her courage.

Beside the bio-table, a blue postal stamp marked India and 1996 shows Rani Gaidinliu in glasses and a headscarf, with her name in Hindi and English. Below it, a silver coin shows her portrait, ringed by the words Birth Centenary of Rani Gaidinliu and the years 1915 and 2015.

Reference: NCERT Class 7 Poorvi, printed page 220

Speaking: saying the new words

In pairs, the student pronounces seven words from the story using the notes in the book. Words of one syllable (monosyllabic words) carry no stress.

Writing: a conversation between Pratap and Tarana

The student writes a conversation between two students, Pratap and Tarana, about the role women have played in forming India's identity as a strong nation. The book supplies an opening line for each, and each speaker needs six to eight sentences in all.

The student first completes the two opening lines, for example with "women like Rani Abbakka" and a question about Rani Gaidinliu. One possible way to continue is below; each speaker then adds more sentences of their own.

Pratap: When the other rajas said they were no match for the Portuguese, Rani Abbakka decided to fight alone. Her courage freed Ullal.

Tarana: Rani Gaidinliu showed the same courage. She joined the Heraka movement at 13 and was kept in prison from 1932 to 1947.

Pratap: Women like them helped shape the idea of a strong India. Their stories show that courage matters more than size or strength.

Tarana: Women around us today inspire us in the same way. Let us choose one of them for our class presentation.

Exploring: a group presentation

In groups of five, students find facts about one brave woman remembered for her achievements and present them in class. The book suggests Rani Chennamma of Kittur, Rani Durgavati, Ahilyabai Holkar, Jhalkari Bai, Captain Lakshmi Sahgal, Kanaklata Barua and Kalpana Chawla, or anyone else.

The presentation covers five points: childhood, training or education, achievements, contributions, and what the group has learnt from her.

A smiling woman with long dark hair wears an orange spacesuit. A name badge with wings on her chest reads Kalpana Chawla, and a United States flag patch is sewn on her sleeve.

Reference: NCERT Class 7 Poorvi, printed page 222

How can the textbook questions be answered from the story?

Cause and effect

The student completes a table of causes and effects. Rows 1 to 5 are below; the parts the book leaves blank are filled from the story.

Questions on the extract

The extract runs from the envoy's reminder about the overdue tribute to the caption about trade with Arabia.

1. Tribute here means the money Ullal, as a vassal, had to pay every year to the Portuguese, the more powerful colonial power that controlled it.
2. Rani Abbakka says Ullal is a sovereign country because its own government has complete authority, so it owes no tribute to Portugal and takes no orders from the Portuguese.
3. True. The envoy warns that she will regret her stand, which is a threat.
4. Disobeyed. She disobeyed the Portuguese by trading with Arabia in alliance with the Zamorin; she had not yet defeated them.
5. Option C: (i), (iii) and (v), bold, capable and determined. She boldly refuses the envoy, capably builds ships and a profitable trade, and stays determined to defy the Portuguese.

Questions on the whole story

1. How might Abbakka's words at the deathbed have made her mother feel? It was the mother, Hiriya Abbakka, who lay on her deathbed. One possible answer: Abbakka's gentle hush and her promise not to rest until the Portuguese were driven out of the west coast would have comforted her, eased her worry, and made her proud and hopeful about Ullal's future.

2. What does the support of the people and soldiers suggest about their mindset? One possible answer: they were loyal, brave and shared her wish for freedom. The court pledged its support at her coronation, not a soldier obeyed the order to seize her, and her soldiers cheered her and fought for four days in the decisive war.

3. How might the people of Ullal have felt when the Portuguese were defeated? One possible answer: they would have felt joyful, proud and relieved. They no longer had to pay tribute, and the Portuguese retreated, never to trouble Ullal again.

4. Why might Abbakka's victory have inspired other rulers to go against a foreign power? One possible answer: the rajas had thought the Portuguese impossible to beat, yet a small principality defeated them. The Governor of Goa himself complained that the defeat had made the Portuguese the laughing-stock of the local rulers, which suggests those rulers knew of it. Later, the kings of Keladi also fought the Portuguese at Mangalore, the first of them with Abbakka's help.

Glossary

• Graphic story: a story told in drawn panels, with captions, speech bubbles and thought bubbles carrying the words, like "Rani Abbakka"
• Principality: a small state ruled by a prince or princess; Ullal is a small principality on the west coast of Karnataka
• Vassal: a country or state controlled by a more powerful country, which has to pay money when needed; Ullal became one after the Portuguese captured it
• Tribute: money a vassal state has to pay to the power that controls it; Ullal owed the Portuguese an annual tribute
• Colonial power: a foreign country that rules or controls other lands; the comic uses it for the Portuguese, to whom Ullal paid tribute
• Successor: a person who succeeds another in a role; Abbakka Devi is her mother's successor as queen of Ullal
• Coronation: a ceremony at which a person is made king or queen; Abbakka speaks to her husband about her plans after hers
• Sovereign country: a country with a government having complete authority; Abbakka tells the Portuguese envoy that Ullal is one
• Envoy: a messenger sent by one ruler to another; a Portuguese envoy reminds Abbakka about the tribute, and she later sends one to Mangalore
• Wrath: extreme anger; Veera Narasimha fears that Bangadi may have to face the wrath of the Portuguese
• Resolve: determination; the rajas' refusal to help only strengthens Abbakka's resolve to fight the Portuguese
• Alliance: an agreement to work together; Abbakka trades with Arabia in alliance with the Zamorin of Kozhikode
• Apprehend: to capture; the Portuguese navy apprehends Abbakka's merchant ships as they return home
• Dauntless: fearless; the caption calls Abbakka dauntless when she addresses her soldiers before the decisive war
• Reported speech: words reported without quotation marks, with changes of tense, pronoun and time or place words; also called indirect speech

Common errors and misconceptions

• Misconception: Abbakka dies in battle at the end of the comic. Correct: the comic ends with Abbakka alive on the fort wall, telling her mother in thought that Ullal is free.
• Misconception: Hiriya Abbakka and Abbakka Devi are the same person. Correct: Hiriya Abbakka is the old queen on her deathbed; Abbakka Devi is her daughter and successor.
• Misconception: Veera Narasimha supports his wife's plan. Correct: he calls it rash, fears for Bangadi, and orders the soldiers to seize her.
• Misconception: the soldiers arrest Abbakka on the king's order. Correct: not a soldier stirs; they decide to follow their brave leader.
• Misconception: the rajas join Abbakka's fight. Correct: they refuse, saying they are no match for the Portuguese, and she decides to fight alone.
• Misconception: all of Abbakka's merchant ships are lost to the Portuguese. Correct: the Portuguese navy apprehends the ships, but the crews fight bravely and every ship returns except the commander's.
• Misconception: Ribero is the Governor of Goa. Correct: Ribero is the Portuguese commander who escapes; the Governor of Goa is the one who scolds him.
• Misconception: "defied" in the extract means defeated. Correct: it means disobeyed; Abbakka traded in defiance of the Portuguese before any battle.

Exam-style questions with model answers

Q1. The first caption of "Rani Abbakka" explains that the Portuguese had captured Ullal, a small principality on the west coast of Karnataka, years earlier, and that Ullal had become a vassal paying tribute to them as the colonial power. State two things this tells the reader about Ullal when the story begins. [2 marks]

1. Ullal was not free: the Portuguese had captured it, and it had become a vassal controlled by a more powerful foreign power.
2. Ullal had to pay tribute to the Portuguese as the colonial power, which is why Abbakka's later refusal to pay is such a bold step.

Q2. Abbakka tells her husband, Veera Narasimha, the king of Bangadi, that she will stop paying tribute to the Portuguese. He calls the decision rash, and in his thoughts fears that the Portuguese will think he is in league with her and turn their wrath on Bangadi. Give two reasons why he opposes her plan. [2 marks]

1. He thinks the plan is rash, a decision taken without weighing the consequences of defying the Portuguese.
2. He fears for himself and his kingdom, since the Portuguese might believe he is in league with her and turn their wrath on Bangadi.

Q3. Abbakka urges a meeting of rajas to unite against the Portuguese. They say they are no match for the Portuguese and advise her not to provoke them, but their reactions only strengthen her resolve, and she decides to fight alone, single-handed if need be. Explain three things this scene shows about Abbakka. [3 marks]

1. She looks for unity first: before acting alone, she tries to bring the local rulers together against the Portuguese.
2. She is not discouraged by refusal: the rajas' fear strengthens her resolve instead of weakening it.
3. She is determined and brave: she is ready to fight the Portuguese single-handed, even without any other ruler's help.

Q4. In reported speech, the present tense becomes the past tense, the present perfect tense becomes the past perfect tense, I becomes she or he, we becomes they, our becomes their and me becomes her or him. Change these lines into reported speech: (a) Abbakka said to her husband, "I refuse to be cowed by the Portuguese." (b) The envoy said, "Our Governor has sent me." (c) Abbakka said to the envoy, "We are a sovereign country." [3 marks]

1. (a) Abbakka told her husband that she refused to be cowed by the Portuguese: refuse becomes refused, and I becomes she.
2. (b) The envoy said that their Governor had sent him: has sent becomes had sent, our becomes their, and me becomes him.
3. (c) Abbakka told the envoy that they were a sovereign country: are becomes were, and we becomes they.

Q5. In "Rani Abbakka", yellow captions give background and time, such as that Ullal had been captured years earlier and that the battle raged for four days. Speech bubbles hold spoken words, such as the envoy's warning that Abbakka will regret her stand. Thought bubbles hold private thoughts, such as Veera Narasimha's fear for Bangadi and Ribero's plan to get help from Goa. Pictures show settings, such as a harbour full of ships and boats burning after the final battle. Explain four ways in which these features help the comic tell history. [4 marks]

1. Captions give the history in a few words, explaining past events such as Ullal's capture and showing how much time passes.
2. Speech bubbles let each character speak in a distinct voice, so the clash between Abbakka and the Portuguese is shown directly.
3. Thought bubbles reveal hidden motives, such as Veera Narasimha's fear and Ribero's plan, so the reader knows more than any one character.
4. Pictures show places and events that words leave out, such as the busy harbour and the burning boats, making the history vivid.

Q6. In the story, Abbakka vows to her dying mother to drive the Portuguese out of the west coast, tells her husband she refuses to be cowed by them, and decides to fight alone when the rajas refuse to help. In alliance with the Zamorin of Kozhikode, she builds merchant ships and a profitable trade with Arabia. The soldiers refuse the king's order to seize her, and she leads them into the decisive war. Describe five qualities of Abbakka, each with the scene that shows it. [5 marks]

1. She is a loving and loyal daughter, as she promises her dying mother that she will not rest till the Portuguese are driven out of the west coast.
2. She is fearless, telling her worried husband that she refuses to be cowed by the Portuguese.
3. She is determined, deciding to fight the Portuguese alone when the rajas say they are no match for them.
4. She is capable and practical, building merchant ships and a profitable trade with Arabia in alliance with the Zamorin of Kozhikode.
5. She is an inspiring leader, since her soldiers refuse to seize her and follow her into the decisive war.

Q7. In the story, a Portuguese envoy reminds Abbakka that Ullal's annual tribute is overdue, and she declares Ullal a sovereign country. She builds merchant ships and trades with Arabia. The Portuguese navy apprehends the ships, and her commander's ship does not return. She sends an envoy to Mangalore, the Portuguese base, and the Portuguese reply by attacking. Her forces attack the Portuguese fort, and Ribero, the Portuguese commander, escapes. The Portuguese then rally their forces to attack Ullal, and after four days of battle they retreat in defeat. Trace the conflict between Ullal and the Portuguese in five steps. [5 marks]

1. Abbakka refuses the envoy's reminder about the overdue tribute, declaring that Ullal is a sovereign country.
2. She defies them further by building merchant ships and trading with Arabia, but the Portuguese navy apprehends the ships and her commander's ship is lost.
3. She sends an envoy to Mangalore, the Portuguese base, and the Portuguese reply to it by attacking.
4. Abbakka's forces strike back by attacking the Portuguese fort, and Ribero, the Portuguese commander, escapes.
5. After this defeat, the Portuguese rally their forces to attack Ullal, but after a four-day battle they retreat in defeat.

Q8. "Rani Abbakka" opens with Hiriya Abbakka lying helpless on her deathbed while Ullal is a vassal paying tribute to the Portuguese. At her coronation, Abbakka asks for co-operation to make Ullal stronger, secure and free. She tells the Portuguese envoy that Ullal is a sovereign country and builds a profitable trade with Arabia. Before the decisive war she urges her soldiers to defeat the Portuguese once and for all, and after four days the Portuguese retreat. She then thinks that her mother's dream has come true and Ullal is free. A final caption says she later helped Venkatappa Nayak, the king of Keladi, to take the fort of Mangalore. Explain in six points how the story develops the theme of freedom. [6 marks]

1. The story begins with Ullal not free: it is a vassal paying tribute, and its old queen lies helpless on her deathbed.
2. At her coronation, Abbakka makes freedom her aim, asking her people to help make Ullal stronger, secure and free.
3. She claims freedom openly by telling the Portuguese envoy that Ullal is a sovereign country, no longer a vassal.
4. She builds economic freedom through merchant ships and a profitable trade with Arabia, independent of the Portuguese.
5. Freedom is won through the decisive war: the Portuguese retreat after four days, and Abbakka tells her mother that her dream has come true.
6. The struggle reaches beyond Ullal, as Abbakka later helps Venkatappa Nayak, the king of Keladi, to take the fort of Mangalore.

Key takeaways

• "Rani Abbakka" is a graphic story of twenty panels, the third piece in Unit 5, Bravehearts, of Poorvi, the English textbook for Grade 7.
• Ullal, a small principality on the west coast of Karnataka, had been captured by the Portuguese and had to pay them tribute as a vassal.
• Abbakka Devi promises her dying mother, Hiriya Abbakka, to drive the Portuguese out, and is crowned queen of Ullal the next day.
• Her husband, Veera Narasimha of Bangadi, calls her plan rash, but the soldiers refuse his order to seize her and follow their brave leader.
• When the rajas refuse to unite, Abbakka resolves to fight alone, and she tells the Portuguese envoy that Ullal is a sovereign country.
• She builds merchant ships and, in alliance with the Zamorin of Kozhikode, sets up a hugely profitable trade with Arabia.
• After her forces take the Portuguese fort, the Portuguese attack Ullal, but they retreat after four days of battle and never trouble Ullal again.
• Captions carry the history, speech and thought bubbles reveal public words and private thoughts, and the story is framed by Abbakka's promise to her mother.
• The language work covers fourteen new words, ie and ei spellings, silent letters, laugh expressions, and changing direct speech into reported speech.

Test yourself

Who was Hiriya Abbakka?

She was the old queen of Ullal and Abbakka's mother, shown on her deathbed at the start of the story.

Why did Ullal have to pay tribute to the Portuguese?

Years earlier the Portuguese had captured Ullal, and it had become a vassal required to pay tribute to the colonial power.

What did Veera Narasimha order when Abbakka walked away, and what happened?

He ordered the soldiers to stop her and seize her, but not a soldier stirred, because they decided to follow their brave leader.

Who was Abbakka's ally in her trade with Arabia?

The Zamorin of Kozhikode was her ally when she defied the Portuguese and set up a hugely profitable trade with Arabia.

Who was Ribero?

Ribero was the Portuguese commander who escaped with his life when Abbakka's forces attacked the Portuguese fort, planning to get help from Goa.

How long did the final battle last, and how did it end?

It raged for four days; the forces of Ullal were enough, and the Portuguese beat a hasty retreat, never to trouble Ullal again.

What does "dauntless" mean, and whom does the story call dauntless?

Dauntless means fearless. The caption calls Abbakka dauntless when she addresses her soldiers before the decisive war.

Change into reported speech: Rani Abbakka said, "I will make them pay for this."

Rani said that she would make them pay for that: will becomes would, I becomes she, and this becomes that.