PUSHPALATA VIDYA MANDIR

CLASS XI - ENGLISH – HORNBILL 7. THE ADVENTURE - NOTES

Briefly explain the following statements from the text.

1. “You neither travelled to the past nor the future. You were in the present
experiencing a different world.”

Rajendra says this to Professor Gaitonde. He makes a transition from one world
to the other and then back again. He is able to experience different worlds,
although one at a time, through a transition. He does not travel to the past
or even to the future. He is in the present but experiences a different world.

2. “You have passed through a fantastic experience: or more correctly, a

catastrophic experience.”

Rajendra makes this statement to Professor Gaitonde in the text. Gangadhar

has gone through a weird experience. He experiences living in two worlds –
the one where he lives now and the other where he spent two days.

3. Gangadharpant could not help comparing the country he knew with what he
was witnessing around him.

Gangadhar compares the two Indias that he saw. He knew about an India
which saw the fall of the Peshwas and was under British slavery. Then he talks
about India which he saw in two days. It was completely different. It was not
a slave of the British. It was independent and had self-respect. He was
comparing both these countries – the one he already knew and the one he was
seeing around him. Both these countries had very different histories.

4. “The lack of determinism in quantum theory!”

Professor Gaitonde thinks about going to a big library in Bombay and looking
through some history books to find out what has led to the present state of
affairs. He has a long conversation with Rajendra Deshpande, on his return to
Pune. He hopes to get some help from Rajendra to comprehend what happened.

5. “You need some interaction to cause a transition.”

The British Raj controlled Bombay. An Anglo Indian wearing a uniform checked
the permits. The tiny Union Jack was painted on each of the blue carriages of
GBMR. The Victoria terminus was very neat and clean. The staff mostly had
Anglo Indians and Parsee and a few British officers.

II. Discuss the following statements in groups of two pairs, each pair in a group
taking opposite points of view.

1. A single event may change the course of the history of a nation.

FOR

A single event may change the course of the history of a nation. For example,
The Battle of Panipat is considered to be the turning point in the history of
India. The Marathas lost it to the forces of Ahmed Shah Abdali. The history of
India changed after this event. The foreign forces took over the country
eventually. In the text, it is shown that in the beginning, Professor Gaitonde
was preparing to give a speech on how history would have turned out if the
Marathas had won the Battle of Panipat. This tells us how important an event
could be in the history of a country.

AGAINST

The statement that “A single event may change the course of the history of a
nation” is based on perspective only. It is a relative truth. We cannot just
claim that any one course of events is a reality because there could be
alternative outcomes of a single event in history. Since there could be
alternative outcomes, it is not fruitful to the debate over a single course. In
the text, a different version of the Battle of Panipat has been revealed to
Professor Gaitonde in which the Marathas won it. After that, the Marathas
expand their influence all over the country and India never succumbs to the
foreign forces. So, it is not reasonable to argue that a single course of events
may change the course of history. There could be alternative outcomes
following the event as well.

2. Reality is what is directly experienced through the senses.

FOR

For us, our different senses – a sense of touch, taste, sight, smell and hear,
provide the base or facts about the world we are surrounded by. Every
experience comes through these senses and serves as a source of knowledge to
us. Only what is experienced by the senses is considered reality. Anything
which is not revealed to the senses is unreal and does not exist.

AGAINST

Reality is not always experienced by the senses. There are so many things that
our senses cannot feel. Like atoms and molecules, but they are real and they
do exist. Because we cannot sense them, we cannot accurately understand the
behaviour of these objects. In the text, Rajendra proposes this point by talking
about the discoveries made by the scientists about the behaviour of atoms. A
prediction can be made regarding the position of a bullet fired in a particular
direction but the direction of an electron fired from a source cannot be
predicted. This shows that there could be alternative realities existing as well
and it is not just restricted to what is revealed to the senses.

3. The methods of inquiry of history, science, and philosophy are similar.

FOR

In the text, we can see that the perspectives of History, Science, and Philosophy
converge towards the same point of focus. In history, the course of past events
is understood by the methods of observation, analysis, and rationalism. The
methods involved in science are – observation, experimentation, and analysis.
The most fundamental principle in science is Rationalism. Philosophy follows
a methodology based on thorough criticism.

Philosophy includes examining everything like methodology and assumptions

of science and other disciplines like history. In the text, we can see History,
Philosophy, and Science converging as Professor Gaitonde experiences a
completely different consequence of the Battle of Panipat where the Marathas
come out as victorious, which is completely contradictory to the version given
in History textbooks where the Marathas lose. Professor Gaitonde failed to
understand the reasonableness of all this. Later, Rajendra interceded and tried
to explain this with the help of the catastrophic theory. This theory is used by
scientists to understand the behaviour of atoms. Here, we can see Science and
History are converging. Philosophy follows the same viewpoint where reality
is not absolute but relative. This shows that the methods of inquiry employed
in History, Science, and Philosophy are rather similar.

AGAINST

In the text, when Rajendra tries to explain Gaitonde's experience by using the
Catastrophic theory, it convinces Gaitonde. However, it does not impress us
enough. The phenomenon of the physical world could be explained using the
Catastrophic theory but History is about the behavioural world, showing the
behaviours of the people and society. Thus, the method of inquiry varies
individually. Philosophy has a theoretical method of inquiry that even questions
rationalism. The methods of Science and History do not converge with that of
philosophy. They are not similar. This text ‘The Adventure’ is basically trying
to show the union of Science, History, and Philosophy. However, in reality, all
of these disciplines employ different methods of inquiry according to the
matter of the subject.

4. Why do you think Prof. Gaitonde decides never to preside over meetings again?

Professor Gaitonde experiences a completely different consequence of the

Battle of Panipat where the Marathas emerge victoriously and then they extend
their influence all over the country. His mind witnesses a different version of
a historical event. However, he also experiences an event that does not
conform to the conventions. The event is actually a lecture session on the
outcome of the Battle of Panipat. Professor Gaitonde observes that the
President’s chair was vacant which was contrary to the conventions and he
rushed to occupy the chair. He then starts to explain why there is a need for
a President in a lecture session like this one. The public gets mad and starts
throwing things at him. He has a horrible experience and thus decides not to
preside over meetings again.

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CHECKED & APPROVED BY

MS. BLISS BERNARD