Jharkhand Board Class 9TH English Notes | ISWARAN THE STORYTELLER
JAC Board Solution For Class 9TH English S Reader Chapter 3
Long Answer Type Quesions
■ Answer these questions in about 80-100 words each :―
Q.1. Draw a character sketch of Iswaran, the storyteller.
Ans. Iswaran is a lively character having all phrasable qualities.
He is a skilled cook who can produce a variety of dishes even in
the lonely area with no shop around him. He is very dedicated and
attached with his master. When Mahendra is ready for office. Iswaran
hands over the food packet to him. He cleans up his house, washes
clothes and enjoys a full bath. He prays to God all the time. He
reads Tamil books and is fond of ghost stories and adventurous
tales. Iswaran is also a great story teller. He narrated even the
simplest incident in the most interesting manner. Iswaran would
start his story with suspense and ended it surprisingly. Everyday
he recounted some or the other story full of adventure and fearful
scenes. He just concocted the story all of itself suddenly. He was
confident enough to have his answer ready.
Q. 2. What part did Mahendra's imagination play in his
vision of the ghost?
Ans. Mahendra experienced a strange vision at night. He was
fully terrified. This matched the description given to him by
Iswaran. He was in sweat and panted. But he reasoned with his self.
He concluded that this all must have been some trick of his
subconscious mind. Obviously, Mahendra's imagination created
such a horrible scene of a ghost before him.
Q. 3. Describe the story of the elephant as narrated by
Iswaran.
Ans. Iswaran told Mahendra a story of an elephant. One day
he escaped from the timber yard. He wandered here and there. He
tore up creepers and broke branches of trees. He reached a town.
He broke fences like match slicks. He caused a lot of loss to the
sellers. He smashed fruit stalls and mud pots. People ran to escape
from the tusker. Then he entered the school. The students ran into
the classroom. The teachers climbed up to the school terrace.
Iswaran was then a junior student. He grabbed a cane and followed
the elephant. The elephant grunted and stumped its feet. Iswaran
him the third toe nail of the elephant. The beast was stunned. He
shivered and collapsed.
Q. 4. What was Mahendra's reaction on hearing Iswaran's
ghost story?
Ans. Mahendra was an educated man. He did not believe in
the existence of ghosts. When Iswaran narrated the story of ghost
woman, he did not believe it as true. He said that it was nothing
but Iswaran's own imagination. He even asked him to get his
digestive and nervous system checked up by a physician.
Q. 5. Describe Iswaran's amazing capacity of narrating
stories and anecdotes.
Ans. Iswaran had a strange method of narrating stories. These
were greatly influenced by the Tamil authors that he read. He
would also add up the dramatic gestures to make the story
interesting. He would work in suspense. He would also give a
surprise end. He would get caught up in the excitement of his own
story. He would also jump about and stamp his feet in excitement.
Iswaran never told anything in a simple way. For example, instead
of saying that he had come across an uprooted tree, he would say
it differently. He would give it a human shape. He would say. "The
road was deserted and I was alone. Suddenly I spotted something
like a huge bushy beast. It was spread across the road. When I went
near it, I found it was a fallen tree."
Q. 6. Describe the horrible experience of Mahendra during
the full-moon night.
Ans. There is no doubt that Mahendra's mind was uneasy.
This was after he heard Iswaran's story of a female ghost. He would
look out into the night to see any such thing. One night, he was
woken up by a low moan. It was near his window. He thought it
could be of a cat. But the wailing became louder and louder. He
then looked out at the white sheet of moonlight outside. There he
saw a cloudy form clutching a bundle. His mind was under a grip.
He thought this was the female ghost. She was clutching a foetus.
Iswaran had told Mahendra about this female ghost earlier.
Mahendra broke into a cold sweat. He fell back on the pillow
panting.
Next morning he had forgotten about it. But Iswaran
reminded him of it. A chill went down Mahendra's body. He decided
to leave the haunted place the very next day.
Short Answer Type Quesions
Answer these questions in about 30-40 words each :―
Q. 1. In what way is Iswaran an asset to Mahendra?
Ans. The cook was quite attached to Mahendra who was a
bachelor. Iswaran followed him wherever Mahendra was posted.
He cooked, washed clothes and entertained Mahendra with his
stories. He produced vegetables out of nowhere. Thus he was an
asset to Mahendra.
Q. 2. How does Iswaran describe the uprooted tree on the
highway? What effect does he want to create on his listeners?
Ans. Iswaran's descriptions were greatly influenced by the
books that he read. Describing an uprooted tree, he would say that
he saw a hunge animal lying across the road. He was half willing to
go back. But as he came closer, he discovered that it was a fallen
tree. Thus Iswaran tried to create suspense and give a surprise
ending to his story.
Q. 3. How does he narrate the story of the tusker? Does it
appear to be plausible?
Ans. Iswaran said that he came from a place known for timber.
Elephants were used there for lifting the logs. One day an elephant
went mad. It broke the fences and smashed the stalls. People ran
for life. The streets were empty. But he performed a great task.
With a cane, he hit the third toenail of the tusker, and it collapsed.
The story does not appear believable. But Mahendra still enjoyed
listening to it because of the way it is told.
Q.4. Why does the author say that Iswaran seemed to more
than make up for the absence of a TV in Mahendra's living
quarters?
Ans. Mahendra was a bachelor. Iswaran alone was his constant
companion at the worksite. He was a multipurpose helper. Above
all, he used to entertain Mahendra with his horror and adventure
tales. In this way he more than make up for the absence of TV in his
lodging.
Q. 5. Mahendra calls ghosts or spirits a figment of the
imagination. What happens to him on a full moon night?
Ans. Though Mahendra does not believe in ghosts, on a full
moon night he see a dark figure and hears low cry. It matches
Iswaran's description of a ghosts. He feels terrified and shocked.
Q.6. Who was Mahendra? What did he do?
Ans. Mahendra was a young bachelor and a junior supervisor
in a firm. His job was to keep eye on the activities at the
construction sites. He travelled from place to place as ordered by
his officers. These sites could be factories, bridges, dams etc.
Q. 7. Describe Iswaran's 'amazing capacity to produce
vegetables etc.
Ans. Iswaran was a specialist in producing vegetables and
cooking ingredients out of nowhere. He would incredibly make
delicious dishes with fresh vegetables even in the middle of a
lonely landscape with no shops around.
Q. 8. How did Iswaran manage to make even the simplest
incident interesting? Give an example.
Ans. Iswaran would also give the incident a surprise ending.
For example, instead of saying that he had come across an uprooted
tree on the high way, he would say that the road was deserted, he
was all alone. He saw something that looked like and enormous
bushy beast, lying across the road. But soon he would find that it
was a fallen tree.
Q.9. Who was Iswaran? What were his duties?
Ans. Iswaran was mahendra's cook. He was attached greatly to
his master. He followed him without any complaint. He cooked for
Mahendra. He washed his clothes and talked with him at night. He
could weave out endless stories on different subjects.
Q. 10. Describe Mahendra as a man.
Ans. Mahendra was a bachelor. His needs were simple. He
could adjust himself to all kinds of odd conditions. He could
remain satisfied in an ill-equipped circuit house. He could also
live in a makeshift tent in a stone quarry.
Q. 11. How did Mahendra react to Iswaran's story ofthe
ghost woman?
Ans. Iswaran's story of a ghost woman had no effect on
Mahendra. He called him crazy. He said there were no ghosts.
What he told was a figment of imagination. He asked Iswaran to
get his digestive system examined.
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