Iswaran The storyteller class 9 book Moments, Explanations, Question and answers
Iswaran the storyteller By
(R.K Laxman )
Introduction to the lesson
The Title of this chapter Iswaran the storyteller tells us that this story is about Iswaran he is, called the storyteller because as story telling is an art he is good at it Iswaran uses special effects does voice Modulation uses his body language to make the story realistic so that the listener I:e Mahendra gets attracted captivaled in his story the writer wants to highlight this quality of Iswaran that he was so good at telling stories that they appeared to be real his stories were a source of entertainment for Mahendra ,
Characters
- Mahendra–he was a junior supervisor in a firm
- Iswaran –Mahendra,s cook
Explanations
The story was narrated to Ganesh by a young ,man Mahendra by name he was a junior supervisor in a firm which offered on hire supervisors at various types of construction sites, factories bridges, dams and so on Mahendra’s job was to keep an eye on the activities at the work site he had to keep moving from place to place every now and then as ordered by his head office , from a coal mining area to a railway bridge constructions site, from there after a few months to a chemical plant which was coming up somewhere
he was’s bachelor his needs were simple and he was able to adjust himself to all kinds of odd conditions whether it was an ill-Equipped circuit house or a makeshift canvas tent in the middle of a stone quarry, but one assets he had was his cook Iswaran the cook was quite attached to Mahendra and followed him uncomplainingly wherever he was posted he cooked for Mahendra, washed his clothes and chatted away with his master at night, he could weave out endless stories and anecdotes on varied subjects,
Iswaran also had an amazing capacity to produce vegetables and cooking ingredients seemingly out of nowhere, in the middle of a desolate landscape with no shops visible for miles around he would miraculously conjure up the most delicious dishes made with fresh vegetables within an hour of arriving at the Zinc sheet shelter at the new workplace,
Mahendra would be up early in the morning and leave for work after breakfast carrying some prepared food with him, Meanwhile Iswaran would tidy up the shed wash the clothes and have a leisurely bath, pouring several buckets of water over his head, muttering a prayer all the while it would be Lunchtime by then, after eating he would read for a while before dozing off, the book was usually some popular Tamil thriller running to hundreds of pages, its imaginative descriptions and narrative flourishes would hold Iswaran In thrall,
His own description were greatly influenced by the Tamil authors that he read when he was narrating even the smallest of incidents he would try tow work in suspense and a surprise ending into the account for Example, instead of saying that he had come across an uprooted tree on the highway he would say with eyebrows suitably arched and hands held out in a dramatic gesture the road was deserted and I was all alone suddenly I spotted something that looked like an enormous bushy beast Iying sprawled across the road, I was half inclined to turn and go back but as I came closer I saw that it was a fallen tree with its dry branches spread out, Mahendra would stretch himself back in his canvas chair and listen to Iswaran’s tales uncritically,
The place I come from is famous for timber Iswaran would begin there is a richly wooded forest all around the logs are hauled on to the lorries by elephants they are huge well-fed beats when they turn wild even the most experienced Mahout is not able to control them after this prologue Iswaran woud launch into an elaborate anecdote involving an elephant,
One day a tusker escaped from the timber yard and began to roam about stamping on bushes tearing up wild creepers and breaking branches at will you know sir, how an elephant behaves when it goes mad, “Iswaran would get so caught up in the excitement of his own story that he would get up from the floor and jump about stamping his feet in emulation of the mad elephant, the elephant reached the outskirts of our town breaking the fences down like matchsticks he would continue it Came into the main road and smashed all the stalls
selling fruits mud post and clothes people ran helter-skelter in panic! the elephant now entered a school ground where children were playing breaking through the brick wall all the boys ran into the classroom and shut the door tight the beast grunted and wandered about pulling out the football goal post tearing down the volleyball net, kicking and flattening the drum kept for water and uprooting the shrubs, Meanwhile all the teachers had climbed up to the terrace of the school building from there they helplessly watched the depredations of the elephant there was not a soul below on the ground the streets the were empty as if the inhabitants of the entire town had suddenly disappeared
I”was studying in the junior class at that time and was watching the whole drama from the rooftop I don’t know what came over me suddenly I grabbed a cane from the hands of one of the teachers and ran down the stairs and into the open the elephant grunted and menacingly swung a branch of a tree which it held in its trunk it stamped its feet, kicking up a lot of mud and dust it looked frightening but I moved slowly towards it stick in hand people were watching the scene hypnotised from nearly housetops the elephant looked at me red-eyed ready to rush towards me it lifted its trunk and trumpeted loudly at that moment I moved forward and mustering all my force whacked its third toenail on the quick the looked stunned for a moment then it shivered from head to foot and collapsed “
At this point Iswaran would leave the story unfinished and get up mumbling I” will be back after lighting the gas and warming up the dinner,” mahendra who had been listening with rapt attention would be left hanging when he returned Iswaran would not pick up the thread of the story right away Mahendra would have to remind him that the conclusion was pending well” a veterinary doctor was summoned to receive the animal Iswaran would shrug casually two days later it was led away by its mahout to the jungle well” how did you manage to do it Iswaran how did you bring down the beast?’ it has something to do with a japanese art I think sir, karate or jitu it is called I had read about it somewhere it temporarily paralyses the nervous system you see,” not a day passed without Iswaran recounting some story packed with adventure horror and suspense whether the story was credible or not Mahendra enjoyed listening to it because of the inimitable way in which it was told Iswaran seemed to more than make up for the absence of a TV in Mahendra’s living quarters
One morning when Mahendra was having breakfast Iswaran asked Can”I make something special for dinner tonight, sir ? after all today is an auspicious day—according to tradition we prepare various delicacies to feed the spirts of our ancestors today sir, that night Mahendra enjoyed the most delicious dinner and complimented Iswaran on his culinary skills he seemed very pleased but unexpectedly Launched into a most Garish account involving the supernatural ,
You” know sir this entire factory area we are occupying was once a burial ground ” he started Mahendra was jerked out of the pleasant reverie he had drifted into after the satisying Meal I knew on the first day itslef when I saw a human skull lying on the path Even now I come across a number of skulls and bones Iswaran continued he went on the narrate how he sometimes saw ghosts at night, I am not easily frightened by these things sir, I am a brave fellow but one horrible ghosts of a woman which appears off and on at midnight during the full moon,,, it is an ugly creature with matted hair and a shrivelled face like a skeleton holding a foetus in its arms,
Mahendra shivered at the description and interrupted rather sharply you are crazy Iswaran there are no such things as ghosts or spirts it is all a figment of your imagination Get your digestive system examined and maybe your head as well you are talking nonsense He left the room and retired for the night expecting Iswaran to sulk for a couple of days but the next morning he was surprised to find the cook as cheerful and talkative as ever,
From that day on Mahendra for all his brave talk went to bed with a certain unease Every night he peered into the darkness outside through the window next to his bed trying to make sure that there was no movement of dark shapes in the vicinity but he could only see a sea of darkness with the twinkling lights of the factory miles away he had always liked to admire the milk white landscape on full moon nights but the after hearing iswaran’s story of the female ghost he avoided looking out of his window altogether when the moon was full,
One night Mahendra was woken up from his sleep by a low moan close to his window at first he put it down to a cat prowling around for mice but the sound was too guttural for a cat he resisted the curiosity to took out lest he should behold a sigh which would stop any more lowering himself to the level of the windowsill he looked out at the white sheet of moonlight outside there not too far away was a dark cloudy form clutching a bundle Mahendra broke into a cold sweat and fell back on the pillow panting as he gradually recovered from the ghastly experience he began to reason with himself and finally concluded that it must have been some sort of auto suggestion some that trick that his subconscious had played on him,
By The time he had got up in the morning had a bath and come out to have his breakfast, the horror of the previous night had faded from his memory Iswaran greeted him at the door with his lunch packet and his bag just as Mahendra was stepping out Iswaran grinned and said, sir remember the other day when i was telling you about the female ghost with a foetus in its arms you were so angry with me for imagining things? well you saw her yourself last night, I came running hearing the sound of Moaning that was coming from your room,,,
A chill went down Mahendra’s spine he did not wait for iswaran to complete his sentence he hurried away to his office and handed in his papers, resolving to leave the haunted place the very next day!
word-Meanings
- Sweat-–पसीना
- keep an eye on—नजर रखना
- Mining—-खदान
- Makeshift—काम चलाओ
- Desolate—सुनसान
- shelter—आश्रय
- Miraculously—चमत्कारी ढंग से
- Smashed—कुचल डाला
- Thriller—रोमांचकारी
- spotted—दिखाई दिया
Question and answers
Question:1 In what way is Iswaran an asset to Mahendra?
Answer: Iswaran was Mahendra’s cook he not only cooked food for him but also washed his clothes he chatted away with his master at nigh he was quite attached to Mahendra and followed him where ever he was posted
Question:2 How does Iswaran describe the sprooted tree on the highway? what effect does he want to create in his listeners, ?
Answer: Iswaran is a good story teller he describes the sprooted tree like an enormous bushy beast, lying across the road he wants to create an expression in listeners that he is brave he also wants to create a mystery in his audience,
Question:3 how does he narrate the story of the tusker? does it appear to be plausible?
Answer: Iswaran narrates the story of a tusker he tells that once a tusker escaped from the timber yard, it began to roam about stamping on bushes tearing up wild creepers and breaking branches, then it reached the town by breaking the fences, it smashed all the stalls at the main road then it entered a school ground the children ran into classroom and shut their doors, the teachers climbed up to the terrace of the school building Iswaran says that he was a student of junior class at that time he grabbed the stick of a teacher and came to the elephant he struck the elephant ‘s toe nail it fell down on the ground the story of an elephant told by iswaran does not appear to be plausible,
Question:4 why does the author say that Iswaran seemed to more than make up for the absence, of a T.V in Mahendra’s living quarters?
Answer; Iswaran was an expert story teller he narrates, his fantastic stories to Mahendra his imaginary and mysterious stories would entertain mahendra at night so the author says that Iswaran seemed to more than make up for the absence of T.V in mahendra’s living quarters
Question:5 Mahendra calls ghosts or spirits a figment of the imagination what happens to him on a full moon night?
Answer: Mahendra never believed in ghosts and spirits he calls Iswaran’s narration of a ghosts a mere figment of his imagination but on a full moon light he looked a dark shadow of a woman carrying a bundle in her arms at this horrible scene, Mahendra broke into a cold sweat,