JALEBIS

BY AHMAD NADEEM QASMI

Make a list of INDIAN
SWEETS
LADDU

BURFI

MYSORE PAK

JANGARI

JALEBI
JALEBI

 Jalebi, or Jilawii is a sweet popular in countries of the

Indian Subcontinent as well as many other countries in the
Middle East. It is made by deep-frying a wheat-flour (Maida
flour) batter in pretzel or circular shapes, which are then
soaked in sugar syrup.
About the author - Ahmad
Nadeem Qasmi
 Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi was
an Urdu and English
language Pakistani poet,
journalist, literary critic,
dramatist and short story
author. He wrote 50 books on
topics such as poetry, fiction,
criticism, journalism and art,
and was a major figure in
contemporary Urdu literature.
Summary

 An honest boy is on his way to school carrying money in his

pocket to pay the school fees.
 The sight of crisp, syrupy Jalebis in the market excites him
and the coins in his pocket begin to jingle.
 After a long debate with himself, falls to the sweet
temptation of Jalebis.
 He spends all his school fees in buying them.
 He enjoys eating Jalebis and also distributes them among children.

 Though penniless now, he feels no less important than a mob leader.

 The real problem at hand is payment of school fees on time.
 Remorseful and scared, he prays to God for monetary help.
 He makes matters look normal but prays harder than ever.
 But he gets no help from god. Later in life he realises that God cannot meet
everybody’s demand.
 Were he so generous, Man would not have developed the skill of making
JALEBIS.
 The inevitable happens, though somewhere along the way he notices the divide
between the fanciful and the factual.
Glossary

 khanak-khanak: sound of jingling of coins

 Jalebis: syrupy Indian sweet
 Kadhao: large,open pot for cooking/boiling
 Clamour: loud noise
 Kissa khatam paisa hazam: end of story (literally: story
ends, money disappears)
 Blabbering: talking confusedly
 Prestige: respect
 Persuasion: coaxing
 Gali: narrow lane
 Chabutara: platform assault: attack
 Jalebi-wielding hand: the hand that held jalebis
 Gobbled: eaten quickly/greedily
 Summoned: sent for/called
 Virtuous: good and noble
 Farishta: angel
 Racket: uproar/loud noise
 Crouching: sitting (as if hiding)
 Surats: verses from the Holy Quran
 Ayat-al-kursi: title of a verse in the Holy Quran;
 Treasury: wealth
 Halwai: sweetmeat seller
 Tonga: two-wheeled, horse-drawnvehicle
 Chaprasi: peon
 Choo: sound of ‘blowing over the bag’ (to ward off evil)
 Bismillah: in the name of God (words spoken before starting something)
 Wazu: ablution (washing face, hands and feet before praying)
Key Points
1.Jalebis are central to this story.
  .
2. The school boy in this story carries four rupees to school in
order to pay the fee .
3. The coins in his pocket persuade the boy to go wrong .
4. He spends all the four rupees  in buying jalebis .
5. He repents his foolishness and prays to God for  the help of
four rupees in vain.
6. However this bitter experience teaches the sweet  boy a
valuable lesson
Summary

The school-going boy in this story is in fifth standard .

He is an obedient and meritorious student from a well-to-do Muslim family . One day he goes to school with four
rupees in his pocket in order to pay the school fee.
As the teacher -concerned is on leave that day , the boy spends all the four rupees in buying and eating jalebis .
Actually the boy is not interested in the jalebis sold in the bazaar . But the coins in his pocket persuade and get
him excited to buy and eat jalebis with the fee money . The coins suggest the boy that he could pay The fee with
his scholarship money that is to be received  the following day .

The next day in school he is asked to pay the fee  and it is informed that the scholarship money would be given
the following month . With this shocking news he feels confused and defeated  . He is afraid of his class teacher
and tries to escape from school without being noticed by  anybody . He goes to the Railway station only to spend
time till the evening .

Sitting under the tree the boy prays to God to send four rupees for him by His Farishta . He admitted his wrong
and promises that he will not repeat the same again in future . But he receives nothing from God .

The next day also the boy comes to the same spot near the Railway station . The starts requesting God only for
four rupees . He tries his best to prove before God that he is God – fearing , disciplined , hard working and
obedient one . He goes on persuading God till the evening in vain . Then he decides to come to the same place the
next day in order to observe Namaz to Allah Miyan very strictly after washing his body and changing clothes . 

Meanwhile his parents get the news of his continuous absence in school . We can imagine what happens
afterwards  .But the boy , up to his  class VIII , is not able to understand  as to why God has not given him a
single paisa . What loss He suffers from with the help of only four rupees to an innocent and  devoted child like
him .

When the boy gets his maturity he finally understands that if Allah Miyan  were to provide all for the asking  ,
then man would even today be living in nests like vultures and crows and would not have learnt the art of
making jalebis .

This interesting story reveals us  how an obedient boy is easily excited to do something wrong innocently . It also
tells us to be responsible and kind enough towards  small children .
Moral Of The Story:

The moral of the story is , “Look before you Leap “ .It means whatever  we want
to do in life we must be very careful  about the future consequences  . If our plans
fail we will suffer a lot and sometimes our future may get spoiled  if we are not
careful and mindful of what we are doing and what we want to do . 
One must be confident about ones success but one must not be over confident .
When we knowingly or unknowingly  commit a  mistake or do wrong somewhere ,
our reputation may get damaged and we may suffer from a great  loss . That is
why one should look before he/ she leap  . We must not count the chicks before
they are hatched . And we should be aware of the fact that God helps those who
help themselves 
Describe the character of the school boy in Jalebis ?

Ans. The school boy is honest , God fearing and brilliant student . He has won a
scholarship also . One day he carries four rupees to school to pay the school fees . But the
coins in his pocket persuade him to go wrong . He repents  his foolishness . He asks for god
help . He starts reciting the Namaz  and some portions from the Quran . Even then he has
not been given  any single pie by God . Finally he learns a good lesson with this bitter 
experience  . He remains  an obedient boy for ever .

How is the title , jalebis , appropriate to this story ?

Ans. The title , jalebis , is quite appropriate to this story as jalebis are central point of the
story . These are hot , fresh and syrupy . A school boy falls to the sweet temptation of
Jalebis . He spends all his school fee money in buying jalebis . He eats himself and also
distributes them among children . He realizes his mistake afterwards . He prays to God to
send him four rupees . But he gets no help from God . He realizes that God can not meet
everybody’s  demand . If God is so generous  , man would not have developed  the skill of
making jalebis even today . 
Textual Q’S & Ans’

Q1. Why did not he pay the school fees on the he brought money to the school?
Ans. The boy could not pay the fees at school because the teacher  Master Ghulam 
Mohammad was on leave .

Q2. (i) What were the coins ‘saying ‘ to him ?

Ans. The coins in the boy’s pocket urged him to buy hot and fresh jalebis  .

(ii) Do you think they were misguiding  him?

Ans. Yes , the coins are misguiding him because  the money was meant for paying school
fees .

Q3. Why did not  he take the coin’s advice ?

Ans. Initially the boy did not take the advice of the coins  seriously  for a couple of
reasons. He could not spend the money meant for paying school fees  on jalebis .
Secondly , the boy knew the harsh nature of the master and the punishment  .

Q4. (i) What did the oldest coin tell him ?

Ans. The oldest coin convinced him that they were telling  him for his  own good . He can
pay his fee next day with  his scholarship money . So he would not suppress his desire for
jalebis 
(ii) Did he follow his advice ? If not , why not ?
Ans. He did not follow his advice . He was a promising student . He was from a good
family of  repute .He did not want to defame for it .

Q5. He reached home with the coins in his pocket . What happened   then ?
Ans. After reaching home he could not suppress his temptation for fresh jalebis  . He
rushed  to the shop of halwai  . He bought jalebis and enjoyed them .

Q6. (i) Why did not he eat all the he had bought ?
Ans. He had bought jalebis  for one rupee . But he could not eat all of them  because of
their quantity .

(ii) What did he do with the remaining jalebis  ?

Ans. He distributed the remaining jalebis  among the boys from the neighborhood .  

Q7. “The  fear was killing me .” What was the fear ?

Ans. He had eaten so many jalebis that there was the problem  of digesting them all . His
fear was  that one jalebi or  two would come out with a burp .
Q8.“ Children’s stomachs  are like digestion machines .” What do you understand by
that ? Do you agree ?
Ans. It means that children have the  capacity to digest a lot of  things that they overeat .
I agree with the statement but partly . 

Q9. How did he plan to pay the fees the next day ?
Ans. He planned to pay the fees  the next day when  he would get his monthly
scholarship .

Q10. When it is time to pay the fees , what does he do? How is he disobeying the elders 
by  doing so ?
Ans. When the time draws  near to pay the fees  , he ticks the bag under his arm and
slips out of the school . He had disobeyed  his elders by crossing the railway track .

Q11. What was the consequence  of buying jalebis with the fees money ?
Ans. As a result of spending  his fee money on jalebis , he had to be absent from the
school for the first time in his life .
Q12. His prayer to God is like a lawyer‘s  defence of a bad  case . Does he argue his
case well ? What are the points he makes ?
Ans. He tries to please  God with his requests and the recitation of the entire Namaz  .
He admits that he made a mistake . He wouldn’t have spent his money on jalebis if
had known about the delay in scholarship . Thus he argues his case like a lawyer .
Q13. He offers to play a game with Allah Miyan  . What is the game ?
Ans- The game is that he will go up to the signal , touch it and come back . And in the
mean time God should put four rupees under a big rock .
Q14. Did he get four rupees by playing the game ? What did he get to see  under the
rock ?
Ans. No, he was hoping against hope . When he lifted the rock , he saw worm instead
of coins .
Q15. If he granted his wish that day , what harm would it have caused him in later life
?
Ans. If god had granted  his wish that day  he would not have learnt a lesson to do no
wrong in future . He would have been like a bird and learnt no skill.
Thank you