SEBA Class 9 English Supplementary Reader Chapter 3: Iswaran the Storyteller--- R.K. Laxman All Questions & Answers
Iswaran the Storyteller
TEXTUAL QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
1. In what way was Iswaran an asset to Mahendra?
Ans. Iswaran was an asset to Mahendra in many ways. He took care of all of Mahendra’s daily needs including his cooking, washing and cleaning. He had no qualms about following Mahendra to the remotest places and could cook a sumptuous meal with ingredients he seemed to procure from nowhere. Moreover Iswaran with his quick wit and imaginative way of recounting his many anecdotes provided Mahendra with a daily dose of entertaintment, more than making up for the loss of a TV in their living quarters.
2. How does Iswaran describe the uprooted tree on the highway? What effect does he want to create in his listeners?
Ans. Iswaran described the uprooted tree on the highway in his usual way of working up suspense and ending in a surprise. He said it looked like an enormous bushy beast that lay sprawled across the deserted street.
Iswaran wanted his listeners to be enthralled by his stories. He loved to create suspense and surprise into the smallest incidents and thus hold the unwavering attention of his audience. Supporting his narrative style with dramatic hand movements and arched eyebrows, he adds to the suspense by saying that he was almost tempted to turn back. However he ends with a surprise revelation that it was only a tree that had fallen with its branches spread out.
3. How does he narrate the story of the tusker? Does it appear to be plausible?
Ans. Iswaran narrated the story of the tusker in his usual imaginative way even emulating the elephant’s antics. He built up the drama with a description of the tusker and its fierce ways, including how in its crazed state it refused to even obey its mahout. Iswaran then proceeded to describe in detail the destruction and havoc wreaked by the animal and the panic it created. But then he sprung a surprise and let know that he (who was then only a student of junior class) was the one to finally tame the wild tusker and he managed to do it by whacking it on its third toenail, Iswaran claimed he knew the art of karate or jiu-jitsu and application of this Japanese martial art helped him take control of the raging elephant. No, Iswaran’s story, even though highly entertaining, was not plausible.
4. Why does the author say that Iswaran seemed to be more than make up for the absence of a TV in Mahendra’s living quarters?
Ans. The author says that Iswaran more than made up for the absence of a TV in Mahendra’s quarters because the many tales Iswaran narrated along with his imaginative way of narration was enough to keep Mahendra entertained in the absence of a TV.
5. Mahendra calls ghosts or spirits a figment of the imagination. What happens to him on a full-moon night?
Ans. Warned about apparition sighting in and around their quarters, Mahendra dismissed Iswaran’s claim as the workings of an imaginative brain and even rebuked him for the same. But Mahendra was soon forced to take back his words when one full moon night, on examining a guttural sound emanating from beyond his window, Mahendra saw the ghastly entity for himself.
6. Can you think of some other ending for the story?
Ans. A possible alternate ending for the story can be one in which when Mahendra is ridiculed by Iswaran the following morning for his cowardice, it dawns on Mahendra that the ghostly being he saw the previous night was none other than Iswaran who had donned the guise of a ghost to frighten Mahendra, all in the name of a good laugh. He would then rebuke Iswaran, who would now have another ale to add to his collection.
ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS
Answer the following questions :
1. Why did Mahendra have to keep moving from one place to the next?
Ans. Mahendra worked as junior supervisor in a firm which offered on hire supervisors at various types of construction sites. Mahendra’s job included keeping an eye on the activities at site, so as instructed by his head office, Mahendra had to keep moving from one place to another, according to the demand of new projects.
2. Describe Iswaran’s daily routine as mentioned in the text.
Ans. Iswaran would get up early to prepare breakfast for Mahendra. He would also prepare some lunch and pack it for his master. After Mahendra left for work he would broom and clean the quarters, wash the clothes and then himself have a leisurely bath. By then it would be time for lunch, which he would have and then sit down to read a Tamil thriller. He would then doze off for a while.
3. Iswaran’s narrations were greatly influenced by
(a) His own experiences
(b) Tamil authors he read
(c) Tamil movies
(d) Mahendra’s reaction to his stories
Ans. (b) Tamil authors he read
4. How did Iswaran manage to subdue the elephant?
Ans. Iswaran claimed he managed to subdue the raging elephant with his knowledge of the Japanese art of either Karate or Jiu-jitsu.
According to Iswaran, as the elephant wandered about the school yard causing destruction, he decided to put an end to its tyranny for once and all and grabbing a cane, he came down to face the elephant. A staring match ensued and just as the elephant was about to rush at him, he hit it with the cane on its third toenail, thereby paralyzing it.
5.Iswaran claimed the entire factory area was built on a burial ground. What evidence did he cite to prove his story?
Ans. To support his claim that the entire factory was built atop an old burial ground, Iswaran said he had spotted many human skulls and bones lying scattered around and had also sometimes seen ghosts wandering in the area at night.
6. Describe the female apparition as mentioned by Iswaran.
Ans. The female apparition as described by Iswaran was truly gruesome in appearance. It was an ugly creature with matted hair and a shriveled face, and it appeared like a skeleton clutching a foetus in its arms. Iswaran saw this ghost off and on at midnight on full moon nights.
7. “It is all a figment of your imagination. Get your digestive system examined-and maybe your head as well.”
(a) Who is the speaker?
Ans. The speaker of the above quoted sentence is Mahendra, Iswaran’s employer.
(b) Why did the speaker ask the person to get his head examined?
Ans. Mahendra asked Ishwaran to get his head examined because the latter had just finished recounting a dubious tale about how their current abode was located atop a burial ground and how he often saw spirits roaming about. Ishwaran even proceeded to describe a certain female ghost in great detail with her disheveled look and gruesome composure, frightening Mahindra in the process. So, Mahindra’s comment was also an attempt at putting an end to this garish topic.
(c) What was the other person’s reaction to this comment of the speaker’s?
Ans. Contrary to expectations, Iswaran was not put off by Mahindra’s comment. Instead Mahindra woke up next morning to find Iswaran in a cheerful mood and talkative as usual.
