Ishwaran The Storyteller

NCERT Class IX | Complete Solution| Summary | Q&A Words Meaning

Summary: Ishwaran The Story teller

This story is about a cook named Iswaran who along with being a devoted house helper of Mahendra, was an expert storyteller. Since Mahendra was associated with a freelancing supervisor providing company, he had to move from one construction site to another as soon as he finishes the project.

And since sometimes Mahendra had to stay in the deserted areas, it becomes quite problematic for him to arrange for the food, but there comes the secret talent of Ishwaran, who was an expert in arranging the food even in the impossible situations.This story basically concentrates on Iswaran’s stories.

While narrating the stories, he would use his gestures and voice modulation; and would maintain a suspense in every part of it. And although Mahendra knew that his most stories were mere exaggerated frictions, he enjoyed his story telling skills. This story contains three of Iswaran’s stories—

First, in which he elaborated that once he was walking down the empty highway all alone, and there he saw a huge
beast lying on the road. Then, initially he thought of going back but as he got closer, he saw that it was a tree that had broken and had fallen on the road. Its branches appeared to be the beast’s limbs that had spread out on to the road.

In the second story, he talked about a mad elephant who after destroying the local street stalls, entered his school premises, and started destroying the school properties, and due to this, the frightened students and teachers locked
themselves in the school building, but this enraged Iswaran to such an extent that he took a stick and hit the elephant’s toenail with either Karate or Jujitsu technique in such a way that the elephant fainted instantly; and later the elephant was sent back to the jungle with the help of a vet and a mahout.

And in the third story, he said that the house in which they were living at that time was built on a graveyard. He supported his story by saying that he had seen many skulls on the way to that house. He also said that he had seen a female ghost on the full moon night with an unborn baby.

Although he couldn’t completely frame the third story as Mahendra scolded him for speaking the false, but this incident left Mahendra in utter uneasiness. It disturbed Mahendra to such an extent that thereafter he couldn’t gather the
courage to peep out of his bedroom window.

But one day, when it was a full moon night, and Mahendra was sleeping tightly, he woke up with the sound which initially appeared to be that of a cat, but as soon as he looked out of the
window, he saw the same ghost, Iswaran had talked about. At first, Mahendra tried to console his mind by saying that it might be a trick played by his mind, but as soon as Iswaran told him that he had heard him crying last night due to the ghost’s fear, Mahendra couldn’t resist but resigned from the project.

Summary In Hindi: Ishwaran The storyteller

यह कहानी ईश्वरन नाम के एक रसोइए की है जो एक समर्पित घर होने के साथ है महेंद्र के सहायक, एक कहानीकार थे। चूँकि महेंद्र एक फ्रीलांसिंग सुपरवाइज़र प्रदान करने वाली कंपनी के साथ जुड़े थे, इसलिए जैसे ही उन्होंने इस परियोजना को पूरा किया, उन्हें एक निर्माण स्थल से दूसरे स्थान पर जाना पड़ा। और चूंकि कभी-कभी महेंद्र को निर्जन क्षेत्रों में रहना पड़ता था, इसलिए उसके लिए भोजन की व्यवस्था करना काफी समस्याग्रस्त हो जाता है, लेकिन ईश्वरन की गुप्त प्रतिभा सामने आती है, जो असंभव परिस्थितियों में भी भोजन की व्यवस्था करने में एक विशेषज्ञ था।

ईश्वरन की कहानियों पर ध्यान केंद्रित करता है। कहानियों का वर्णन करते समय, वह अपने इशारों और आवाज के मॉड्यूलेशन का उपयोग करता था; और इसके हर हिस्से में एक रहस्य बना रहेगा। और यद्यपि महेंद्र जानता था कि उनकी अधिकांश कहानियाँ केवल अतिरंजित घर्षण थीं, उन्होंने अपनी कहानी कहने के कौशल का आनंद लिया। इस कहानी में ईश्वरन की तीन कहानियाँ शामिल हैं- पहली, जिसमें उन्होंने विस्तार से बताया कि एक बार जब वह खाली राजमार्ग पर अकेले चल रहे थे, और वहाँ उन्होंने एक विशाल देखा
जानवर सड़क पर पड़ा है। फिर, शुरू में उसने वापस जाने के बारे में सोचा लेकिन जैसे ही वह करीब आया, उसने देखा कि यह एक पेड़ था जो टूट गया था और सड़क पर गिर गया था। इसकी शाखाएं जानवरों के अंगों के रूप में दिखाई दीं जो सड़क पर फैल गई थीं।

दूसरी कहानी में, उन्होंने एक पागल हाथी के बारे में बात की, जो स्थानीय सड़क के स्टालों को नष्ट करने के बाद, अपने स्कूल परिसर में घुस गया, और स्कूल की संपत्तियों को नष्ट करना शुरू कर दिया, और इस वजह से भयभीत छात्रों और शिक्षकों ने ताला लगा दिया।
खुद स्कूल की इमारत में, लेकिन इसने ईश्वरन को इस हद तक नाराज कर दिया कि उसने एक छड़ी ले ली और हाथी की टोनेल को कराटे या जुजित्सु तकनीक से इस तरह से मारा कि हाथी तुरंत बेहोश हो गया; और बाद में हाथी को पशु चिकित्सक और महावत की मदद से वापस जंगल भेज दिया गया।

और तीसरी कहानी में, उन्होंने कहा कि जिस घर में वे रह रहे थे, वह एक कब्रिस्तान पर बनाया गया था। उन्होंने यह कहकर उनकी कहानी का समर्थन किया कि उन्होंने उस घर के रास्ते में कई खोपड़ियाँ देखी थीं। उन्होंने यह भी कहा कि उन्होंने एक अजन्मे बच्चे के साथ पूर्णिमा की रात एक महिला भूत देखा था।

हालाँकि वह तीसरी कहानी को पूरी तरह से फ्रेम नहीं कर सकता था क्योंकि महेंद्र ने उसे झूठ बोलने के लिए डांटा था, लेकिन इस घटना ने महेंद्र को बेचैनी में छोड़ दिया। इसने महेंद्र को इस हद तक परेशान कर दिया कि उसके बाद वह इकट्ठा नहीं हो सके
अपने बेडरूम की खिड़की से बाहर झाँकने का साहस। लेकिन एक दिन, जब यह एक पूर्णिमा की रात थी, और महेंद्र कसकर सो रहा था, वह उस आवाज से जाग गया जो शुरू में एक बिल्ली के रूप में प्रकट हुई थी, लेकिन जैसे ही उसने बाहर देखा

खिड़की, उसने वही भूत देखा, जिसके बारे में ईश्वरन ने बात की थी। सबसे पहले, महेंद्र ने यह कहते हुए अपने मन को सांत्वना देने की कोशिश की कि यह उनके दिमाग द्वारा निभाई गई चाल हो सकती है, लेकिन जैसे ही ईश्वरन ने उन्हें बताया कि उन्होंने भूत के डर के कारण कल रात उसे रोते हुए सुना है, महेंद्र विरोध नहीं कर सका, लेकिन इस्तीफा दे दिया परियोजना।

Difficult Words

Bachelor: a man who is yet to be married
Makeshift: a temporary substitute
Quarry: a place where sand, stone, etc. is dug out of the ground
Asset: a person or thing that is useful to somebody

Chatted: to talk lightly and casually
Anecdote: a short interesting story about a real person or event
Seemingly: in a way that appears to be true
Desolate: unpopulated
Conjure up: to gather or create with magic
Zinc sheet shelter: a temporary place to live with the roof made of metallic sheets
Tidy up: clean up
Leisurely: an action that is done in a relaxed way
Muttering: to utter words in a low tone
Dozing off: falling into a light sleep
Narrative flourishes: detailed description of something
In thrall: in state of submission
Arched: with a curve at the top
Gesture: A movement of hands for head to indicate something
Deserted: where no population exists
Enormous: gigantic
Tales: an imaginative narrative of an event
Uncritically: with a lack of criticism
Timber: wood that is going to be used for building purposes
Hauled: dragged
Mahout: a person who drives, trains and looks after elephants
Prologue: a piece of writing or a speech that introduces a play, poem, etc.
Elaborate: to give more details about something
Tusker: an elephant

Roam about: move around
Stamping: hitting with force
Emulation: Effort to match or surpass a person by imitation or copying
Outskirts: the parts of a town or city that are furthest from the centre
Helter skelter: a sort of confusion
Depredations: acts that cause severe damage or destruction to property, lives,
etc.
Inhabitants: the residents of a place
Grunted: to make a short low sound in the throat, usually because of anger or
pain
Menacingly: in a way that suggests the presence of danger
Stumped: to walk with loud heavy steps
Redeyed: angrily
Mustering: assembling
Whacked:  to hit somebody/something hard
Collapsed: sudden fall down of something
Rapt attention: showing complete involvement into something
Pick up the thread of the story: resume the story from where it has been
interrupted
Veterinary doctor: a doctor who expertises in treating domestic and wild animals
Summoned: to order a person to come to a place
Shrug: to raise your shoulders and then lower them in order to say you do not
know or are not interested
Credible: that can be believed
Inimitable: that can’t be copied
Auspicious: prosperous

Delicacies: a rare and desirable expensive food items
Culinary skills: cooking skills
Garish: unpleasantly bright
Reverie: the condition of being lost in thoughts.
Shriveled: to draw into wrinkles especially with a loss of moisture
Foetus: a baby which is yet to born
Figment: something that seems real but is not
Sulk: to be angry or irritable about something
Vicinity: neighbourhood
Moan: to make a low sound because you are in pain, very sad, etc.
Prowling: to roam in search of a prey
Guttural: harsh sounds that are produced at the back of a person’s throat
Wailing: to cry or complain in a loud, high voice, especially because you are sad or in pain
Feline: A cat or other member of the cat family
Panting: breathing heavily and loudly
Ghastly: extremely unpleasant
Autosuggestion: subconscious adoption of an idea which one has originated oneself
Grinned: smiling broadly
Resolving: to find an answer to a problem
Haunted place: place that is believed to be a center for paranormal activities
Spine: backbone
Handed the papers: resigning from a job

Questions and Answer: Ishwaran the Storyteller

1)In what way is Iswaran an asset to Mahendra?
Answer: Iswaran accompanies Mahendra everywhere, even in the deserted areas.
And in addition to that, he along with cooking the food and reciting the stories for
him, does the other household helps too.

2) How does Iswaran describe the uprooted tree on the highway? What effect does he want to create in his listeners?

Answer: Iswaran would raise his eyebrows in a curve and raise his arms in a dramatic gesture. He would say that once he was walking down the empty highway all alone, and there he saw a huge beast lying on the road. Then, initially,
he thought of going back but as he got closer, he saw that it was a tree that had broken and had fallen on the road. Its branches appeared to be the beast’s limbs that had spread out on to the road. Iswaran wanted to create suspense in his listeners about the next part of the story.

3)How does he narrate the story of the tusker? Does it appear to be plausible?

Answer: Firstly, he gave an introduction that his village was surrounded by a dense forest. The wood was processed at the timber yards and the logs of timber were transported onto the lorries by elephants. He added that the beasts were
huge and in case one of them went mad, it could not be controlled even by an experienced mahout. He would get so caught up in the excitement of his own story that he would get up from the floor and jump about, stamping his feet in
emulation of the mad elephant. Yes, Iswaran’s story telling skills are really plausible.

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?

Answer: Every night when Mahendra sat for dinner, Iswaran would recite him his exaggerated frictions. And while reciting the stories, he would use gestures and would maintain suspense throughout the story. All this summed up
to be a great substitute for television for Mahendra.

5)Mahendra calls ghosts or spirits a figment of the imagination. What happens to him on a full moon night?

Answer: After hearing the story recited by Iswaran, Mahendra scolded him for telling incredible stories, due to uneasiness which he started feeling after hearing that the house in which he was residing was once a part of a graveyard. So, although Mahendra displayed himself as a person who didn’t believe in superstitions, thereafter he couldn’t gather the courage to peep outside his window. And on the full moon night, when he was sleeping, he heard the sound of a cat outside his window. So, when he looked out of it, he saw a dark, shady figure holding a bundle in its arms. So, initially, he considered it to be a game of his subconscious mind, but later when Iswaran said that he heard him crying last night out of ghost’s fear, he believed it to be a true event.

6)Can you think of some other ending for the story?

Answer: Yes, story could have ended with the establishment of divine power over the evil spirits of that area, or it could have ended with Mahendra fulfilling the last desires of the spirits and thus making them free. Also, it could have ended with the discovery that Iswaran himself was a ghost, because it is mentioned in the story that he was an expert in arranging the food even in the deserted areas. So there were many ways to give this story a smooth ending. But on the contrary, this story met an abrupt ending where Mahendra simply left the place without having any struggle against that spirit or whatever it was.

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”