Class 9th Eng. Ch-3“ Ishwaran The Storyteller (Supplimentary) Q/A Theme, Message NCERT/CBSE Based

Ch-3

Iswaran the Storyteller -R. K. Laxman

    

 Introduction of the Author

R. K. Laxman (24 October 1921-26 January 2015) was a renowned Indian cartoonist. He worked as an illustrator and humourist. As a college student, he used to illustrate for his elder brother, R.K. Narayan's stories in The Hindu. He started his career as a part time cartoonist, working for various local newspapers and magazines. He worked as a political cartoonist for The Free Press Journal in Mumbai. Later, he joined The Times of India. He became popular for his creation 'The Common Man, a silent observer representing the average Indian, and daily cartoon strip 'You Said It' in the Times of India. In addition to these, he wrote many short stories, essays and travel articles. He was awarded Padma Bhushan in 1973 and Padma Vibhushan in 2005.

Summary of the Chapter

Mahendra

This story about Iswaran was narrated by Mahendra to Ganesh. Mahendra was a junior supervisor who worked in a firm which offered supervisors at construction sites like factories, bridges, dams etc. As per need of his job, he had to move from one site to another. He was unmarried and could adjust well to odd conditions.

Iswaran

Iswaran was Mahendra's cook who not only cooked for him but also washed his clothes and chatted with him at night. The main quality of Iswaran was that he was an amazing storyteller. He had unending abilities and imagination to weave as many stories as he could. He was also an expert cook and could produce delicious dishes quickly, in remote area with minimum ingredients. After finishing domestic chores like serving breakfast and handing over lunch to his master, Iswaran would take his bath, have lunch and read popular Tamil thrillers and then take a short nap. At night, he would tell the story to Mahendra by employing imagination, suspense and surprise to every small incident.

His Style of Storytelling

His style of storytelling was unique and mesmerizing. He narrated even the small incidents in an elaborate and mysterious way. He won't simply describe that he saw an uprooted tree. He would describe the entire atmosphere in a suspenseful manner. Mahendra enjoyed listening to his stories even if they were unbelievable. Iswaran thus entertained him like a TV.

The Elephant Incident

Once he told Mahendra a story about an elephant that had gone rouge. He had escaped from the woods and caused destruction to everything that came in its way. When it reached Iswaran's school, it pulled the football goal post and volleyball net. Everyone was panic-stricken. Iswaran was a student of junior class at that time. But without getting afraid,

he took a cane from a teacher and ran towards the elephant. It tried to frighten Iswaran away by stamping its feet and kicking up mud. But Ishwaran courageously hit on the third toenail of the elephant. The elephant shivered and collapsed. Iswaran did not complete the story and left midway to warm up dinner. On returning, Iswaran did not pick up the story right away. Mahendra had to remind him to complete the story. Then Iswaran would wind up the story in an unexciting manner that a vet was called to attend to the elephant and then it was taken out to the jungle. However, Mahendra asked Iswaran to explain how he had brought down the beast. Iswaran named some Japanese art, Karate or ju-jitsu, which temporarily paralyzed the nervous system.

Story of the Ghost

One morning, Iswaran took permission to cook something special for dinner as it was a day when dishes were prepared to feed the spirits of ancestors. Mahendra enjoyed a heartily meal that night and was full of praise for Iswaran's cooking skills. The cook became happy but suddenly started narrating a terrifying incident involving the supernatural. He told that the area where they were at that time living was once a burial ground. He stated that he had come across many skulls and bones in the path. He also told that sometimes he saw ghosts at night and was particularly afraid of one horrible ghost of a woman. She appeared off and on at midnight during the full moon. She had matted hair and a wrinkled face. She looked like a skeleton and held a foetus in her arms.

Effect of the Ghost Story on Mahendra

Mahendra got terrified on hearing this description and scolded him by saying that there was no such thing as ghosts or spirits. He left the room to go to bed. He could not sleep comfortably after that night. He would look into the darkness outside through the window next to his bed to ensure that there was no one nearby. Earlier, he used to admire the view of the outside on full moon nights. But now he avoided looking out of the window on moonlit nights.

One night, Mahendra suddenly woke up hearing a low crying sound close to his window. First, he tried to ignore it thinking it to be of a cat, but soon realised that it was not the case. When the sound grew louder, he could not stop himself and looked out of the window. There he saw a dark cloudy form holding a bundle. He got so scared that he started breathing heavily. After he recovered, he convinced himself that it was just a trick played by his subconscious mind. However, he forgot everything about the previous night's experience next morning. When Mahendra was leaving for office, Iswaran told him that he had come to his room running last night when he heard a scream coming from his room. It was the sound of the female ghost he had told him about. Hearing this Mahendra went straight to his office and resigned from his post. He determined to leave the haunted place the very next day.

Thus it is an interesting story meant to delight the audience. It also deals with notions of superstition and reality.

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