Littera Public School

Class – 8 English
Chapter – 8
A Short Monsoon Diary

Learning Outcomes :-

• Comprehend the extract and read it aloud

with fluency and expression

• Learn new words and their meanings

• Draw from personal experiences or real

life situations
About the Author :- Ruskin Bond (born 19
May 1934) is an Indian author . His first novel,
The Room on the Roof, was published in 1956,
and it received the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize
in 1957. Bond has authored more than 500
short stories, essays, and novels, including 64
books for children. He was awarded the
Sahitya Academy Award in 1992 for Our Trees
Still Grow in Dehra. He was awarded the
Padma Shri in 1999 and Padma Bhushan in
2014. He lives with his adopted family in
Landour, Mussoorie.

Theme of the Poem :- The diary of Ruskin

Bond records the personal experiences of the
author that he has written day after day over
a long period. In his diary, the author has
described the monsoon of Mussoorie from his
viewpoint. After a long Monsoon, when the
Winter rain finally arrives, the author feels
like something is missing like his friend had
left him and describes every experience of
weather change in his diary.
On the first day of the monsoon, June 24, the
birds had gone silent, the forest was quiet as
if it was midnight. Due to the mist that
covered the hills, he could hear Bijju calling
his sister but was unable to see him. The
rainfall was so heavy that mist covered
everything like a blanket, making it unable to
hear or see anything. On June 25, the weather
had become warm and humid, it felt
comfortable, unlike the usual cold, and the
author described the hill and valley as
paradise.
On June 27, Due to the monsoon, some
seasonal animals like the leopard, leeches,
and birds also visited. The leopard lifted the
dogs and attacked cattle and other animals. It
even attacked Bijju’s cows but fled when
Bijju’s mother approached it. The Scarlet
Minivet bird arrived and sat among the tree
leaves. It’s August 2, though there was less
thunder, it continuously rained. The author
sheltered under his roof was untouched by
the rain, yet he felt in touch with the rain by
the sound of drops falling on his tin roof.
On August 3, It had stopped raining, and the
clouds had parted, letting sunshine fall on the
hills. People were again out in the open doing
their chores. As nature shakes off the
rainwater, a song of the whistling thrush
coming from a distance sounds clean and pure
and pleases the author.

On August 12, the author explains how it has

been raining continuously for more than a
week, and the sun had not made its
appearance in the past 8-9 days. The rain has
made everything soggy and damp but not
cold. People need to use umbrellas to go out.
The hillside is lush with the arrival of new
flowers.

It’s August 31, the last day of august, and the

lush monsoon growth has reached its peak.
The seeds of the cobra lily are becoming red,
indicating that the rain is coming to an end.
The snakes and rodents left their holes filled
with rainwater and took shelter in attics,
roofs, and godowns.

It is October 3, and this year’s monsoon has

lasted longer than usual. After an evening
hailstorm, a beautiful golden light gradually
spreads over the sky and hills. Usually, the
monsoon rain starts in the last week of June
and continues until the end of August. Now
the monsoon rain has ended, and the winter
rain has begun.

On January 26, the winter rain is pouring. The

winter rain makes the author feel lonely; he
misses the monsoon rain. The author
describes the monsoon rain as a friend who
was staying with him but has now left. The
absence of this friend makes the author feel
lonely. The trees are no longer green, they are
rather grey, and this intensifies the loneliness
of the author.
It’s March 23, Winter is coming to an end, The
blackest clouds had squatted over Mussoorie,
but a hailstorm cleared the sky, and the
rainbow appeared across it.

Hard Words :-

Silent
Melancholy
Conceal
Mist
Altitude
Paradise
Heralded
Screaming
Imprecation
Minivets
Contrive
Aggressive
Corrugated
Whistling
Crevices
Amusement
Rhythm
Squatted
Loneliness
Drift
Suffused
Disconsolately

Word meanings :-

Melancholy :- very sad

Blankets :- covers
Fern :- a flower less plant with feathery green
leaves
Heralded :- announced or brought the news of
Imprecations :- curses
Bloodletting :- loosing blood
Scarlet minivet :- bright red bird like a cuckoo
Drongo :- a song bird with a stout bill
Drumming :- falling noisily
Disconsolately :- unhappily
Ravine :- valley
Crevices :- narrow openings or cracks in rock
and wall
Caress :- touching or holding lovingly
Menace :- threaten

Noun :-

Birds
Hills
Blankets
Bijju
Sister
Rain
Plants
Lily
Leopards
Trees
Sticks
Sun
Flowers
Butterfly
House
Leaves

Pronoun :-

I
They
Some
It
We
Preposition :-
Of
So
Although
But
And
Because
Into
With

Adjective :-

Deathly
Flitting
Silently
Brightly
Grassy
Golden
Lonely
Synonyms :-

Strange :- odd, unique

Warm :- heated, sunny
Brilliant :- intelligent, excellent
Aggressive :- threatening, combative
Damp :- cloudy, misty
Beautiful :- charming, elegant
Amusement :- enjoyment, pleasure

Antonyms :-

Strange :- normal, usual

Warm :- cold, chilled
Brilliant :- foolish, dumb
Aggressive :- friendly, peaceful
Damp :- dry, arid
Beautiful :- dull, ugly
Amusement :- boredom, sorrow

Past Present

Come Came
Know Knew
Walk walked
Ask Asked
Feel Felt
Break Broke
Emerge Emerged
Reach Reached
Hush Hushed