Mother to Son

' ~, Well, son, I'll

tell you:
Life for me ain't been
. 1
no crystal stair .
It' s had tacks2 in it,
And splinters3,
And boards torn up,
And places with no
carpet on the floor-
Bare.
But all the time
l'se been a-climbln' on,
And reachin ' Ian d.in ' s4 ,
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes •
gain in
I •

the dark
Where there ain't been
no light.
So, boy, don't you
turn back.

'crystal stair (here) not an easy/smooth life * tacks pins/nails * 'splinters a

small thin sharp bit of wood, glass, or metal
in a staircase * 4 \andin's an intermediate ol;;,tfo-
 Don't you set down on the steps.
"Cause you f'.nds it's kinder hard.
Don't you fa ll now"
For J'se still goin', honey,
l'se still climbin',
And life for me ain't been no _crystal staiy

'I l()._1-i9rtb11 H&ghei

;<' ho h ho OOoh o o o Oh hno h "'- h < 0 hO O00 h h h h <> 0 _,,_ h h , _ _, 0 0 0 h h>h , _ , , . h Oho O'" 0 homm .

f lan9ston Hu9hes (1qo2-1q6l-) was an American poet, novelist, and I"

I playwri9ht. He wrote novels, short stories, plays, poetry, operas, essays,•
and works for children. Some of his most famous works include, Honfage :
I of aDream Deferred, The Way af Whife Folks, The Big Sea, etc.

I - Poem appreciation
\'Vhat kind of a life has the mother led? What does she compare her
1. lrfeto?

32. What is the mother's advice to her son?

. What character t ·t f h ·
4 0 O
· on ,t You set downrai s tht e mother does the poem bring out?
st
s. What• th · andonmood e eps, What does the speaker imply?
6 A
· metaphoris e ~one
is a Word h of the speaker?
to another th· 1. or P rase for one thing that is used to refef
11
Explai the rn~~ ~ or~er t~ s~ow or suggest that they are similar.
P or in th1 s hne:
stair. What do metaphor , for me ain't been no c,ystol
h Life
5
7 torn up' suggest?
· The Poern · · sue as tacks' ' 'splinters' and 'bo1rds
IS Written.
of the son's ch
aracter e
th
in e form of a monolnaue Do
-• · r•
we-•-
\t\(hat do You think is th v~n thouah we don't hear him IPMk?
Give reasons
8. What . e impact of the mother's Words •
f.Or Your answer.
1
niages in the
a. Poverty Poem Underttne the ~
b. struggle
9. Why do You l'hink h11 tile 00.
 The Happy
Prince

' ~ High above the city, on a tall column, stood the s~atue of
the Happy Prince. He was covered with thin leaves of fine gold,
for eyes he had two bright
sapphires, and a large red
ruby glowed on his sword
hilt.

One night, there flew over

the city a little Swallow.
His friends had gon e
away to Egypt six w ee ks
before, but he had
stayed behind. After
they were gone, he felt ii
lonely. So he decided
to go to Egypt too.

All day long he flew, and

by night he arrived in the
city. "Where shall I put up?'

he said, "I hope the town has made rmc:parations." Then he saw
t he statue on the tall column. "I wil l put up there," he med; "it
is a fi ne position, with plenty of fresh air." So he alighted 1 just
between t he feet of the Happy Prince.

"I have a golden bedroom," he sai d softly to

himself as he looked round, and he prepared to alight d perched

20
go to sleep; but just as he w as putting his hea d under his wing
a large drop of w at er f ell on him . "Wh at a curious thing !" he
cried; "th ere is not a single cloud in thf' sky, thP. stars are quite
clea r and bright, and yet it is raining. The climate in the north of
A
Eu rope is really dreadfu l." Jf,J)vlJ ~

Then another drop fell.

"What is the use of a statue if it cannot keep the rain off?" he

said; "I must look for a good chimney pot," and he determin ed
to fly away.

But before he had opened his wings, a third drop fell, and he
looked up, and saw-Ah ! What did he see? The eyes of the
Happy Prince were filled with tears, and tears were running
down his golden cheeks. His face was so beautiful in the
moonlig ht that the little Swallow was filled with pity. "Who are
you?" he said.

"I am the Happy Prince."

"Why are you weeping then?' asked the Swallow; "you have
quite drenche d 2 me."

"When I was alive and ha d a human heart," answered the statue

"I did not know what tears were, for I lived in the Palace, where
sorrow is not allowed to enter. I played with my companions in
the garden. Round the garden ran a very lofty wall, but I never
cared to ask what lay outside. My courtiers called me the Happy
Prince, and happy indeed I was. After I died, they set me up here
so high that I can see all the ugliness and all the misery ot my
cit y, and though my heart is made of lead yet I cannot choose
but wee p."

"What! Is he not solid gold ?" said th e Swallow

d n h d soaked
to himself. He was too polite to make any
personal remarks out loud .
"Far away," continue d the
statue in a low voice, "in a
little street there is a poor
house. One of the windows
is open, and through it I
can see a woman seated
at a table . Her face is
thin and worn, and she
has coarse, red hands, all
-----
ericke~ by the needle, for

---
she is a seamstress. She
is ,embroidering_passion-
flowers on a satin gown for
the loveliest of the Queen's
maids-of -honour 3 to wear at the next Court ball. In a bed in the
corner of the room, her little boy is lying ill. He has fever, and
is asking for oranges. His mother has nothing to give him but
river water, so he is crying. Swallow, Swallow, little Swa llow, will
you not bring her the ruby out of my sword hilt? My feet are
~r\ .'
fastened to this pedestal and I cannot move." ~vOJ" ~

"I am waited for in Egypt," said the Swallow. "My friends are
flying up and down the Nile, and talking to the large lotus- .
flowers. Soon they will go to sleep."

"Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow," said the Prince, "will you not
stay with me for one night, and be my messenger? The boy is so
thirsty, and the mother so sad."

"I don't think I like boys," answered the Swallow. "They were
always throwing stones at me. And I have to go to Egypt."

But the Happy Prince looked so

maids of honour the chief women-
sad that the little Swallow was attendants of the queen

22
sorry. "It is very cold here," he said, "but I will stay with you for
one night and be your messenger."

"Thank you, little Swallow," said the Prince. ,.. b.Jv)<,,

so the Swallow picked out the great ruby from the Prince's
sword, and flew away with it in his beak over the roofs of
the town.

He passed over the river. At last he came to the poor house and
looked in. The boy was j_Q.ssjog_ fever:ishly on his bed, and the
mother had fallen asleep, she was so tired. In he hopped, and
laid the great ruby on the table beside the woman. Then he flew
gently round the bed, fanning the boy's forehead with his wings.
"How cool I feel," said the boy, "I must be getting better;" and
he slept peacefully.

Then the Swallow flew back to the Happy Prince, and to ld him
what he had done. "It is curious," he remarked, "but I feel quite
warm now, although it is so cold."

"That is because you have done a good action," said the Prince.
The little Swallow began to think and then he fell asleep.

When day broke, he flew down to the river and had a bath.
"Tonight I go to Egypt," said the Swallow when the moon rose.
"Have you any commissions 4 for Egypt?" he cried; "I am just
starting."

"Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow," said the Prince, "will you not
stay with me one night longer?"

"I am waited for in Egypt," answered the Swallow.

Prince , "far away
"Swallow, Swallow,
. , said the
little Swallow"
across the city I see a young man in a garret He ·1 I ·
· - s eaning over a
desk covered with papers. He is trying to
finish a play for the Director of 4
commissions tasks; duties
the Theatre, but he is too cold to write and hunger has made
him faint."
"I will wait with you one night longer," said the Swallow, who
really had a good heart. "Sha ll I take him another ruby?"

"Alas! I have no ruby now," said the Prince; "my eyes are all that
I have left. They are made of rare sapphires. Pluck out one of
them and take it to him. He will se ll it to the jeweller, and buy
food and firewood, and finish his play."

" Dear Prince," said the Swallow, "I cannot do that"; and he
began to weep. "Swallow, Swallow, little!
Swallow," said the
Prince, "do as I command you." l ,i.fkt. ~
So the Swallow plucked out the Prince's eye
and flew away to the student's garret. It /J

was easy to get in, as there was a · ""-,.·•Q, Jrf , /&{Ji

11
hole in the roof. The young
man had his head buried
_->
in
his hands, and when
he looked up he
found the beautiful CJ
sapphire lying on
the tab~ ,d,,

"I am beginning to
be appreciated,"
he cried; "this
is from some
great admirer.
Now I can
finish my play,"
and he looked
quite happy. (V\o.Jrv~

24
I t ) 1 5 r
The next day, the Swallow flew around Wh h
• en t e moon rose he
flew back to the Happy Prince "I am . '
. · come to bid you good-bye "
he cried. '

"Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow" said the P . " .

. , rince, w1 11 you not
stay with me one night longer?"

"It is winter," answered the Swallow, "and the chilly snow will
soon be here. In Egypt the sun is warm. Dear Prince, I must leave
you, but I will never forget you, and next spring I will bring you
back two beautiful jewels in place of those you have given away."

"In the square below," said the Happy Prince, "there stands a
little match-girl. She has let her matches fall in the gutter, and
they are all spoiled . She is crying. She has no shoes or stockings
and her little head is bare . Pluck out my other eye, and give it to
her, and she will not cry."

"I will stay with you one night longer," said the Swallow, "but
I cannot pluck out your eye. You would be quite blind then." ( e;jt '
"Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow," said the Prince, "do as
I command you." So he plucked out the Prince's other eye and
darted down with it. He slipped the jewel into the palm of the
match girl's hand. "What a lovely bit of glass," cried the little girl;
and she ran home, laughing.
Then the Swallow came back to the Prince. "You are blind now,"
he said, "so I will stay with you always."

"No, little swallow," sa id the poor Prince, "you must go away to

Egypt." "I will stay with you always," said the Swallow, and he
slept at the Prince's feet.
All the next day, he sat on the Prince's shoulder a~d told him
stories of what he had seen in strange lands. R~ ,
25
"Dear little Swallow," said the Prince, "you tell me of marv
- e11 ous
~ ..
things, but more marvellous than anything is the suffering of -
men and of women . Fly over my city, little Swallow, and tell me
what you see there ."

So the Swallow flew over the great city and saw the rich making
merry in their beautiful houses, while the beggars were sitting at
the gates. He saw the faces of starving children on the streets.
Under the ~ chyv_ay of a bridge, two little boys were lying in one
another' s arms to try and keep themselves warm. "How hungry
we are!" they said.

"You must not lie here," shouted the watchman, and they went
out into the rain.

Then he flew back and told the Prince what he had seen. "I am
covered with fine gold," said the Prince, "you must take it off,
leaf by Ieat and give it to my poor." Leaf after leaf of the fine
gold the Swallow picked off, till the Happy Prince looked quite
dull and grey. He gave it to the poor, and the children's faces
~ew~ ?sier, and they laughed and play~d. &ames in the street.
2
"We have bread now!" they cried. ~ 1 . 1('.
Then the snow came, and then the _!.rost. The poor little Swallow
grew colder and colder but he would not leave the Prince.

But at last he knew that he was going to die. "Good-bye, dear

Prince!" he murmured.

"I am glad that you are going to Egypt at last, little Swallow,"
said the Prince, "you have stayed too long here."

"It is not to Egypt that I am going," said the Swallow. "I am going
to the House of Death."

And he kissed the Happy Prince, and fell down dead at his feet.
 crack so un de d
At th at m om en t a ,u rio us
m et hi ng had
inside th e st at ue , as if so
t had sn ap pe9 rig ht
br ok en . The leade n he ar
in tw o .

Early th e ne xt m or ni ng ,
1
th e M ay or wa s wa lki ng
in th e squ ar e be lo w
in co m pa ny wi th th e
ncillors.
- -wn_CQu
To
As th ey passed th e
co lu m n he lo ok ed up
at th e st at ue . "D ea r
m e! Ho w sh ab by th e
Happy Prince lo ok s! "
<::1 I J , .

he said. .-s:. .1. ,;,,U't : , _,,,.:

"H ow sh ab by in de ed !"
cried th e To wn
Councillors.
,
"In fa ct ," said th e M ay or
ggar! And
"h e is no be tte r th an a be
fe et !"
th er e is a de ad bi rd at his
th ey
pu lle d do wn th e st at ue of th e Ha pp y Princ e. Th en
So th ey
rn ac e .
m el te d th e st at ue in a fu
f ou n~ ry~.
ha t a str an ge th in g! " said th e wo rk m en at th e
"W must
ok en lea d he ar t wi ll no t m el t in th e fu rnac e. We
"Th is br ad
." So th ey th re w it on a du st he ap wh e re th e de
th ro w it aw ay
Sw al lo w wa s also lyi ng .
m os t pr ec io u s th in gs in th e cit y/ ' sa id God to
" Bring me th e tw o
e Ange l
one of Hi s Angel s; and th 5fou nd ,y place wh ere iro n is me
lte d
t Hi m th e lea de n he ar t
br ou gh
and th e dead bi rd .
27
J
 "You have rightly chosen," said God, "for in my garden of
Paradise this little bird shall sing f or ever, and in my city of gold
t he Happy Prince shall pra ise me." . . J ~ ~
1

OrcAr Wilde
Oscar Wilde (185~-1900) was an Irish playwright. poet and short story , ,
writer. He is most famous for his witty plays which often take a very •
critical but also comic view of late-nineteenth century upper class
English society. ~ J 1 ('<
I

a Reading
1. Why is the Prince called happy? Was he really happy ? Why?
2. Why does the Happy Prince send a ruby for the seamstress?
3. Fo r w hom does the Prince give away his eyes and why?
4. Why did the Swallo w not leave the Prince and go to Egypt?
5. Why does God consid er the leaden hea rt and the dead bird as
th e two most precious things in the city? ~

• Vocabulary
•• Solve the crossword puzzle with the help of words that appear in
the story. ·

28
 Life's ~JP
comedies

Starter
-
. . a . le and mak funnv chain storv.
\ s,t m c,rc e your own .
. Th e pe rs on si tt in g on hi s/ he r \e I
I Have one person start b saying somethi ft . \
y ng dd
funn y .
i

\ adds a line to it. Take to th e story. Make it as fu nn y as po

turns (clockwise) to ;r . ssible .
Remember that somet nonsensical ch ar ac te 1
1 imes unbehevable rs , si tu at io ns an d
I
occurrences a dd to th humour of a story·
1
e I
\ One student should ke . I
ep writing down t he story as ,t forms R d it ou t as a w ho le to
\ get some more laughs . ea
\
\ You could begin with
\ something like this :
\ My stomach rumbled
in class and I knew I w
'- - - - - - - - - - ---- - - - --·- - as hungry ...
·- ---- ---- - - -
Section 1

Bidesia Babu IJ
Read on to find ou
t about Bidesia Babu
0 In Pipli tOYl(O in Haz
's fantastic inventio
aribagh district of B
ns .
ihar, lived B id es ia B
to know why he w as ab u . Y ou m ig ht w
called Bidesia, or Vid an t
he ha d tr av el le d to es hi a, or Fo re ig ne r B ab
di st an t la nd s or an yt u . It w as n' t be ca us e
go ne to visit his gr an hi ng like th at . A bo ut
df at he r in village Kiri tw en ty ye ar s ag o
m he ha d
But be ca us e he ha d iri , an d st ay ed aw ay fo r
go ne far away in a tr tw o w ho le m on th s.
bo ot s w ith black la ce ai n , an d co m e ba ck
s an d a sola to pe el w ea ri ng sh in y ne w
o~ hi s br ow n
w el l- tr av el le d so rt of he ad , pe op le th ou gh t he
m an , so th ey called w as a ve ry
Chowdhury) bu t no him B1des1a Babu. H
on e called him th at is re al na m e w as 6
, no t ev en his ow n eb na!J l
w ho w as nearly 10 m ot he r,
0 ye ar s old . ·
1 so la to pe e su n ha t

118
t
 ·d sia Babu w as two peop le. On weekdays he worked as a geologist in
I Bl e
ciual Y surveY Office, and on Sundays he worked as an amateur INVENTOR and
eGovt. THIC DOCTOR. Once the Raja of Hathi paid him a visit to present him with
owiEO~A net embroidered with -ca n you believe itl · giant anopheles mosquitoes!
5qu1to· .. . d h"
111° . hilll of jungle malaria an 1ccoughs; and the Chief Engineer developed a
fOr c~nn~ back (which Bidesia Babu then had to cure) when he bent to thanlr B.B. for
crick ,n h Id coal quarry with water and turning it into a lake. Among the automatic
· the 0
nll ng
1
and five-second math-problem-solvers that B. Babu in 1ented, Nas his most
pener5
can·O . ention. This was the Immediate Upstart Finder, a little box with big artennae
ous ,nv
fa!Tl . k d up nervous responses typical to troublemakers. As you may imagine, this Nas
wat p!C e
•fi thing to have at a me/a, it always pointed out exactly who was going to pant
aterri ,c . 2
under the Head Hawaldar's seat, or who was planning to purloin the payesn
1crac ker . . . .
andi3 when the principal pu1an was having forty winks.
)Ometimes Bidesia Babu was heard singing:

Myself Bidesia
Babu am
Doing crazy things
Yes-ji
If problem develop
I glad to he/lop
Happy lnventoring-ji

ell WHAT do you think happened one very

~ietsu nd ay morning? The Immediate Upstart
inder ant
ight ennae began '[V~gling furiousl,Y;
0
or ntop Of B. Babu's inventing table. "Now
could b h
eshot et e matter?" said B. Babu, as
h out of h'
ecourt is small two-room house into
~0. Yard "A
t1a!" he · rre, Mohna, Barhna, Khichri,
ndth Yelled out to his neighbours "Kya ho raha hai bhai?4"
~di· en they h ... - '
',a Pe . ea rd someone come crashing through the trees towards them. It was
op1 °n 1n B
~~ ehave b · Babu's office. "Saheb! Some
~ant een ch . 2purloin steal • 3paye-,h handi (in Hindi) a
~~ rees in th opping down pilkhan and 4
kind of dessert in a clay pot • Kya ho raha
\4,holiv . e forest! And Saheb! The old ha, bhw? (in Hindi) What is happening?
ed in the .
Ju ngle now has fe w er places
 d
to hide in an rs
.
. the people
rus hing about frightening
;.:....___ o f Pipli ff" There
and soun ded like a ba . hconfusr
d was
ore estra Pl
hi W
t s ne s and everyone began talking .at once,No one w
anted to face the tiger of cours
. d.
nineteen different tunes at the same time.Then Khichri came up with a ma '.dea.
Hthey just wanted to be far away from him. d of the forest and FAST, Just like
said "Babuji I Motia and I will sit here at the e .ghet the tiger back into the forest!
e ' STING will fr,g en
the old sadhus. The POWER of our FA . REE-ward, Saheb, like a Week's
And then," added cunning Kh1c . h n,. " yo u can . ,,us a
give
supply of kachoris or even tickets to the movies. d f Pipl iwallas
t t
''Yes yas yas ! Oh vas ! Please fa S faS -faS t , ,, Yelled the small
, crow
·t " so oKh ich r i and Motia'
.
. ,, nd ·t cracked but lets try I • s
Bidesia Babu said, OK. It sou
families brought them two matssand qui spread
e '
em ut a little distance fro m t heir huts
th 0
and quarters, and then they said a little prayer:
Mother Nature
good and kind
Give us brains to
help our minds
We want to calm
down Tigerji
Make sure these
two donJt cheat us-ji

"Don't cheat, you two," said Badli with his hands on his hips, "if we catch you eating,
you've had your chips."
5
"Arre bhai , don't talk about chips, you're making me hungry," said Khichri, as M otia
gave him a dirty look. After a little while everyone wen t off to their jobs and household
chores and naps. Meanwhile Messrs K. and M . were fasting very hard. When all was
silent Motia heard a soft scuffling sound, and turned around to see Khichri trying to
stand up quietly. "Where are you going, Khich?" he asked, and Khich said, " Oh, just
to the, you know, the bathroom ." "Hokay," said Motia, and carried o n fasting. But of
course we know that K. wasn't going to the b-room at ALL. He spri nted off silently to
a Part of the thicket where there was guava tree laden With fruit. Shrimaan Khichri ate
three juicy guavas, nice big ones, drank some water from a stream nearby and came
back looking very innocent As he sat down he burped, a little tiny burp. Motia opened
one eye and said, "To the bathroom, huh?" and
K. said, "Er, yes yes of course." Well anyway 5

Arrp bho, (in Hindi) bhai means brother. H~re

· 120 this Phrase is used as an expression of irritation
 .Aat1a
1v•
. didn't say anyth ing becau se h e w as a peace ful f ell o w and t h o
•
e t,ge
·th
r away wi h . .
u ght he co uld chase
is own fast in g. But h e certai n ly su spect e d Kh1.chn. b ecaus e as
l
tl1
one knows no one burps wh en they come ba ck from the , y o u know they
..;erY , b - r oo m ,
h ,
e burP when t ey v e eaten some thing . For the next two days Kh1.chn• d.
,sap_e ea r ed
-
for
ori lY hour each aftern oon, and all the whil e K. wa s stuffin g him
alfa n se lf w ith guava s , poor
. . .
h . had been starvi ng, with only a few sips of water to keep him going
rv,otia .
w friends , on the eveni ng of the third day, ju st as twilig ht6 wa s begin n in
g to fall ,
NO was the bigge st SCENE in Pipli town . Becau se Tigerj i had seen with
there . . his keen little
es our friend Kh1chn come to sneak guava s for three aftern oons,
and he also saw
eY was no one nearb y where these two gents were fastin g so
there fast . "This one looks
II he thoug ht,
. . ,,
plUl11 P, as he saw Kh1chri on his mat "the other 's too skinn y . So he crept
, . . .
up silently and then JUST as he LEAPT on top of Khich ri, he stopp
ed . Kh1ch n was lyin_g_
there petrifi ed 7 trying to screa m but no voice came out of his throa
t, he was so ternf 1ed .
Then he, too, like the Tigerj i, heard it. A terrib le, horrib le sound
, enou gh to make eve n
atiger's hair stand on end. It was a rumbl ing, grum bling, growl ing,
roa ring sound , as if
AHU NDERD LIONS were appro achin g.
"GRROOOAAARRRUMMBLLE," it went, "GRR RUMB LE-RU MMBL
LERR ! ! !" T i gerji knew
when he was beate n. He could n't fight a hundr ed lions. With his
eyes still sh inin g li ke
headlights in the twilig ht, he retrea ted slowly into the fores t, very
.____ ~ ....i..
, very anno yed .
_ __.

Wel l, let's all run away fast-f ast, you'll say, now that we've got
rid of one tiger on ly
to get stuck with a hund red lions. But there was no real need for
that. The terrif ying
rum bling came from dear Motia bhaiy a's hungr y stoma ch crying
out truth fully for food.
__ 6
twilight faint light after sunset • pet t:ed paralyz ed from fear

--~ - ~ '~ ;.f~~ ~; \ ~

n~□
I

~.,_;,,~
-4,PJ , , r. . r (J

~ (J ~ '-t _\' •.,_" 0

 In fact th , . Revolver. He had
at s What Rurnbling "~ ~ ..1 . h
Watched th gave Bidesia Babu the idea of The ~ t TigerJ wit a Very
e Whal bout to a
strong Wat e thing from his window and was a Motia's honest fasting h
. er~hose t 1· ed that . a~
given hirn
a Wand f .
°
chase him away. Then he ~
· ers W1
·thout harming
•
them. Yes,
•
He has rnad . er ul idea for chasing away angrv tig . h •ncludes a m1croscoeic
e a fine h. . ide wh1c I ~--- 4'
su~arnpl·f_:_ , s my revolver with a fixture ins ride of lions roaring like
1 1er Th . fa huge P
thunder A d · e noise it makes resembles that O h wonderful reward of fre
· n Mor · dt e e
kacho · f ,a, who is the co-Inventor has receive
ns or life '
made by B. Babu's mother.
After this our f . . I'I eplant saplings in the Patch
whi h h nend Khichri had to help the people of Pip r d th .
. Ic ~ e tree-thieves had cleared and with the monsoons being so goo , e Jungle
ts ooking thi k ' h'de
1 in now and the tree
t h· c and green again. Tigerji has lots of places to ' d ·
1eves seem t h h en't returne .
0 ave heard that he's very angry. So they av

But Bidesia Babu is busier than ever before. All the Ministers in Delhi want to see his
Rumbling Revolver and his Immediate Upstart Finder too, as you will imagine they need
th
it badly because all the upstarts seem to collect in Delhi. No matter; after all e fame
he will have received, Bidesia Babu will still return to Pipli and sing:

I may rumb le but

I'm humble
Always at your /ser-
vice-ji
Myself Bidesia
Babu am
Crackpot
/n-
ven TORing-ji I

Ha La Harw
ah (b 19~8) is a writer and artist. She studied Fine Arts at HSU . • ·ty •
. f rt d
•
n1vers1 Baroda and
~I I
. . t the California College o A s an Crafts. She has served .t ' · •
painhnk~:mi and taught History of Art and Aesthetics at her alma m;:;:~" ant editor with the Lalit
Kala A_ th Llection of the National Gallery of Hodern Art, New Delhi Baroda. Her work can be J
ii

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lp,adfng 1
st n.
'IJ. ora the ba. sis of yo ur .understandlna of th e ory, tick the most 1ultable optio
ause he
Bides1a Babu go t his name bec
a. : ~
;. dressed like a foreigner. , , 111. travelled far on a train.
er
ii. returned to the village aft iv. all of the above
many days.
--
'I ... ,
I
\I

der could
--
The immediate Upstart Fin ,,-
b. --...
iii. transform reality .
\

;, detect miscreants.
I
I
\
, __ II ,I
I
,-

;;, foretell the fut ure . iv. beep at the wrong time. _, I

had eaten because

c. Motia knew tha t Khichri ,,- ...
rped.
;, Khichri could no t stay hu
ngry. ,,,- . . ,, iii. Khichri came back and bu --,
... _, \ I
, ,. - ,
'I
iv. all of the above ..._ .... '
;;, Khichri was no t afraid of ,- ...
' \

--'
I I
the tiger. \
...

ns.
. Answer the following questio
2 el at?
bu do? What job did he exc
a. What jobs did Bidesia Ba
s it special?
wa s Bid esia Ba bu 's mo st famous invention? Why wa
b. What
ay morning?
Im me dia te Up sta rt Fin der sta rt shaking on a Sund
c. Why did the
d to?
at wa s the so lut ion to the pro ble m tha t was agree
d. Wh
and wh at had scared it away?
e. What had t em pt ed the t iger
volver?
at ins pir ed Bid es ia Ba bu to make a Rumbling Re
f. Wh

Reading 2
•
Answer the following questions
.
u find most amusing?
1. Which part of the story did yo use
bo th through comical happenings as well as through th e
2. The writer brings out humour
ples.
of language. Explain with exam
t an oth er int ere sting ma chine. As Bidesia Babu write a
3. Bidesia Babu decides to inven too.
de sc ribing the inv en tion. Dr aw a picture of the invention
Page in your diary
ir loc al langu age along wi th English. How would yo u sa
4· In the story, the characters use the
story an
s they use in yo ur local lan guage? Pick a section from the
some of the expression
with your partner.
enact it in your local language