Ranga’s Marriage Summary Class 11 English

Ranga’s Marriage Summary In English

The story ‘Ranga’s Marriage’ is located in Hosahalli, a village in the former Mysore state, now a part of Karnataka. Ten years ago, the village didn’t have many people who knew English. The village accountant’s son, Ranga was the first one to be sent to Bangalore, to study. A decade ago, the use of English language was not widespread in the narrator’s village. That was why Ranga’s homecoming was a great event. People rushed to his doorstep announcing that Ranga who had gone to Bangalore for his studies had come back. They flocked together to have a look. The narrator, too, went and stood in the courtyard.

Seeing so many people there, Ranga came out with a smile on his face. Everybody was surprised to see that Ranga was the same as he had been six months ago, when he had first left the village. Once they realised that Ranga was unchanged physically, the crowd of people slowly disappeared. Only the narrator, Shyama continued to stand there. After everyone had gone, the narrator asked Rangappa how he was. Ranga noticed him, came near him and greeted him respectfully.

Ranga was a wordly-wise youngman. He knew when it would be to his advantage to talk to someone. He rightly assessed people’s worth. The narrator was resting in the afternoon, when Ranga came to his house with a couple of oranges in his hand. The narrator regarded him a generous, considerate fellow. He thought that it would be a fine thing to have him marry, settle down and be of service to the society. He asked Rangappa when he planned to get married. Ranga replied that he was not going to marry just then. He needed to find the right girl. She should be mature enough. Secondly, he wanted to marry a girl he admired. He was not in favour of the arranged marriages prevalent in society. If he could not get a girl of his choice, he would prefer to remain a bachelor.

The narrator felt distressed at Ranga’s decision to remain a bachelor. Ranga left after chatting for sometime. The narrator made up his mind that he would get Ranga married. He thought that Rama Rao’s niece Ratna, a pretty girl of eleven, would be the most suitable bride for him. She was from a big town and knew how to play the veena and the harmonium. She also had a sweet voice.

The next morning, the narrator went to Rama Rao’s house and told his wife to ask Ratna to fetch some buttermilk from his house. When Ratna came, he requested her to sing a song. On this Friday, she was wearing a grand saree. The narrator had sent for Ranga, too. While she was singing a song, Ranga reached the door. He was curious to see the singer and peeped in. The light coming in the room was blocked. Seeing a stranger there, Ranga stopped abruptly. She stood at a distance, her head lowered. Ranga repeatedly glanced at her. He said that his arrival had made her stop singing and offered to leave. But he didn’t leave. Ratna, overcome by shyness, ran inside.

Ranga asked the narrator who that girl was. He also expressed the hope that she was not married. The narrator noticed his excitement and said that she was married a year ago. The narrator noticed signs of disappointment on Ranga’s face. Ranga left after some time.

The next morning, the narrator went to the astrologer—Shastriji and told him to keep everything ready to read the stars. He tutored the astrologer in all that he wanted him to say. Then he escorted Ranga to the Shastri’s house. Shastriji praised astrology as an ancient science. He asked Ranga’s star. Ranga didn’t know. After making some calculations, Shastriji said that Ranga was thinking about a girl. To the narrator’s question as to who that girl was, the Shastri said that she had the name of something found in the ocean–Kamala, Pachchi, Moss, Pearl or Ratna–the precious stone.

The narrator remembered that the name of the girl in Rama Rao’s house was Ratna. He asked if there was any chance of their negotiation bearing fruit. Shastri gave a positive response. There was surprise on Ranga’s face and some happiness as well. The narrator observed that the girl was married. He noticed that Ranga’s face had fallen.

On the way, they passed by Rama Rao’s house. Ratna was standing alone at the door. The narrator went in alone. He came out in a minute and gave the news that the girl wasn’t married. He remarked that whatever Shastri told them had turned out to be true. He asked Ranga if he had been thinking of her. Ranga admitted it. So, Ranga was married to Ratna.

Years later, Rangappa invited the narrator for dinner on the occasion of three year old son Shyama’s birthday. He had named his son after the narrator. Young Shyama rushed to the narrator and put his arms round the narrator’s legs. The narrator kissed him on his check and placed a ring on his tiny little finger. The narrator also revealed that Ranga’s wife was eight months pregnant then. Thus Ranga was leading a happy married life with Ratna.

Ranga’s Marriage Summary In Hindi

कहानी ‘रंगा का विवाह’ पुराने मैसूर राज्य के एक गाँव होसाहल्ली में घटित होती है, जो कि अब कर्नाटक राज्य में है। दस वर्ष पहले गाँव में ऐसे अधिक लोग नहीं थे जो अंग्रेजी जानते थे। गाँव के लेखाकार का बेटा, रंगा, वह पहला व्यक्ति था जिसे अध्ययन करने को बंगलौर भेजा गया। एक शताब्दी पहले वर्णनकर्ता के गाँव में अंग्रेजी भाषा का प्रयोग इतना विस्तृत रूप से नहीं फैला हुआ था। यही कारण था कि रंगा को घर लौटना एक महान घटना थी। लोग यह घोषणा करते हुए रंगा के द्वार तक गए कि वह रंगा, जो अध्ययन के लिए बंगलौर गया था, अब लौट आया था। उसे देखने के लिए उन्होंने भीड़ लगा दी। वर्णनकर्ता भी गया और आँगन में खड़ा हो गया।

इतने लोगों को वहाँ देखकर, अपने चेहरे पर मुस्कान लिए रंगा बाहर आया। प्रत्येक व्यक्ति को यह देखकर आश्चर्य हुआ कि रंगा बिल्कुल वैसा ही था जैसा वह 6 महीने पहले पहली बार गाँव छोड़कर जाते हुए था। एक बार जब उन्होंने यह समझ लिया कि शारीरिक रूप से रंगा में कोई परिवर्तन नहीं हुआ था, लोगों की भीड़ धीरे-धीरे गायब हो गई। केवल वर्णनकर्ता श्याम वहीं रहा। जब प्रत्येक व्यक्ति चला गया तो वर्णनकर्ता ने रंगप्पा से पूछा कि उसके क्या हाल-चाल थे। रंगा ने उसे ध्यान से देखा समीप आया तथा आदर सहित अभिवादन किया।

रंगा सांसारिक रूप से एक बुद्धिमान व्यक्ति था। वह जानता था कि किसी से बातें करना कब उसके लिए लाभदायक होगा। वह लोगों के मूल्य (महत्व) को सही प्रकार से ऑकता था। अपराहन में वर्णनकर्ता आराम कर रहा था जब अपने हाथ में कुछ संतरे लिए रंगा उसके घर आया। वर्णनकर्ता ने उसे एक उदार तथा विचारवान व्यक्ति समझा। उसने सोचा कि यह भली बात होगी कि उसका विवाह हो जाए, वह बस जाए तथा समाज की सेवा करे। उसने रंगप्पा से पूछा कि उसकी कब विवाह करने की योजना थी। रंगा ने उत्तर दिया कि वह उसी समय विवाह नहीं करने वाला था। उसे सही लड़की ढूंढने की आवश्यकता थी। वह काफी परिपक्व होनी चाहिए। दूसरे, वह ऐसी लड़की से विवाह करना चाहता था जिससे वह अत्यधिक प्रेम करता हो। वह समाज में प्रचलित व्यवस्थित किए गए विवाह के पक्ष में नहीं था। यदि वह अपनी इच्छानुसार लड़की नहीं पा सका तो वह कुँवारा रहना पसंद करेगा।

रंगा के कुँवारे रहने के निर्णय पर वर्णनकर्ता ने व्यथित (दुःखी) महसूस किया। कुछ देर बातें करके रंगा चला गया। वर्णनकर्ता ने यह पक्का विचार (इरादा) कर लिया कि वह रंगा का विवाह कराएगा। उसने सोचा कि रामाराव की ग्यारह वर्षीया सुंदर भतीजी, रत्ना उसके लिए सबसे उपयुक्त दुल्हन होगी। वह एक बड़े नगर की थी तथा वीणा एवं हारमोनियम बजाना जानती थी। उसका कंठ भी मधुर था।

अगले दिन, वर्णनकर्ता रामाराव के घर गया तथा उसकी पत्नी से बोला कि वह उसके घर से छाछ (लस्सी) लाने के लिए रत्ना को भेज दे। जब रत्ना आई तो उसने उससे एक गीत गाने की याचना (प्रार्थना) की। इस शुक्रवार को वह एक शानदार साड़ी पहने हुए थी। वर्णनकर्ता ने रंगा को भी बुलवा लिया था। जब वह गाना गा रही थी, तो रंगा द्वार पर पहुँचा। वह गायक को देखने को उत्सुक था अतः उसने भीतर झाँककर देखा। कमरे में आता हुआ प्रकाश अवरुद्ध हो गया। वहाँ एक अजनबी को देखकर रत्ना अचानक रुक गई। वह अपना सिर नीचे को झुकाए, कुछ दूरी पर खड़ी रही। रंगा बार-बार तिरछी नज़र से उसे देखता रहा। उसने कहा कि उसके आगमन से उसने गाना बंद कर दिया था तथा उसने जाने की पेशकश की। किंतु वह गया नहीं। लज्जा से पीड़ित होकर रत्ना भीतर दौड़ गई।

रंगा ने वर्णनकर्ता से पूछा कि वह लड़की कौन थी। उसने यह आशा भी प्रकट की कि वह विवाहित न हो। वर्णनकर्ता ने उसकी उत्सुकता को ध्यान से देखा तथा कहा कि एक वर्ष पहले उसका विवाह हो गया था। वर्णनकर्ता ने रंगा के चेहरे पर निराशा के भाव देखे। कुछ समय उपरांत रंगा चला गया।

अगले दिन, प्रातः ही वर्णनकर्ता ज्योतिषी-शास्त्री जी, के यहाँ गया तथा उसे ग्रहों का अध्ययन करने के लिए प्रत्येक वस्तु को तैयार रखने को कहा। उसने ज्योतिषी को वह सब कहने के लिए सिखाया-पढ़ाया जो कि वह उससे कहलवाना चाहता था। फिर वह रंगा को शास्त्री के घर लेकर आया। शास्त्री जी ने ज्योतिषशास्त्र की एक प्राचीन विज्ञान के रूप में प्रशंसा की। उसने रंगा की राशि पूछी। रंगा यह नहीं जानता था। कुछ गणना करने के उपरांत शास्त्री जी ने कहा कि रंगा एक लड़की के विषय में सोच रहा था। वर्णनकर्ता के इस प्रश्न के उत्तर में कि वह लड़की कौन थी, शास्त्री ने कहा कि उसका नाम समुद्र में पाई जाने वाली वस्तु पर था–कमला, पच्छी, काई, मोती या रत्न-कीमती पत्थर।

वर्णनकर्ता को याद था कि रामाराव के घर में जो लड़की थी, उसका नाम रत्ना था। उसने पूछा कि क्या उनकी बातचीत सफल होने का कोई अवसर था। शास्त्री से सकारात्मक उत्तर दिया। रंगा के चेहरे पर आश्चर्य एवं कुछ प्रसन्नता भी थी। वर्णनकर्ता ने कहा कि लड़की विवाहित थी। उसने देखा कि रंगा का चेहरा उतर गया।

रास्ते में, वे रामाराव के घर के पास से गुजरे। रत्ना अकेली ही द्वार के पास खड़ी थी। वर्णनकर्ता अकेला ही भीतर गया। वह एक मिनट में बाहर आया तथा उसने समाचार दिया कि लड़की विवाहित नहीं थी। उसने टिप्पणी की कि शास्त्री ने उन्हें जो कुछ बताया था वह सत्य निकला। उसने स्वा से पूछा कि क्या वह उस लड़की के विषय में सोच रहा था। रंगी ने यह बात स्वीकार कर ली। अतः रंगा का विवाह रत्ना से किया गया।

कई वर्ष उपरांत, अपने तीन वर्षीय पुत्र श्याम के जन्मदिन पर रंगप्पा ने वर्णनकर्ता को रात्रि भोज पर आमंत्रित किया। उसने अपने पुत्र का नाम वर्णनकर्ता के नाम पर रखा था। छोटा श्याम वर्णनकर्ता के पास दौड़कर आया और उसकी टाँगों के गिर्द अपने बाजू रखे। वर्णनकर्ता ने उसके गालों को चूमा तथा उसकी छोटी उँगली में एक अंगूठी पहना दी। वर्णनकर्ता ने यह भी प्रकट किया कि तब रंगा की पत्नी को आठ महीने का गर्भ था। इस प्रकार रंगा, रत्ना के साथ सुखी विवाहित जीवन व्यतीत कर रहा था।

The Address Summary In English

This is a moving story of a daughter who goes in search of her mother’s belongings after the War, in Holland. The narrator is the daughter of Mrs S., who died during the war. The narrator went to number 46, Marconi Street to see Mrs Dorling who was an old acquaintance of her mother, and who had removed almost all the belongings of her mother during the war to this place. All this was done with Mrs S’s silent consent as Mrs Dorling wanted to save her things, which they would lose if they had to leave the place.

The narrator had seen Mrs Dorling for the first time during the first half of the war. She had come home for a few days and noticed the change in the rooms. She missed various things. Her mother informed her that Mrs Dorling had moved these things to safety and gave her the address 46, Marconi Street. After the war, the narrator visited the address her mother had given her. She remembered Mrs Dorling clearly. She was woman with a broad back. Mrs Dorling looked at the narrator searchingly and showed no sign of recognition. She kept staring in silence. She saw that the narrator, who had recognised her mother’s green knitted cardigan, was looking at it. She half hid herself behind the door and refused to see her. She was surprised to see the narrator who had survived from the war.

The narrator returned to the station and boarded the train. While in train she remembered the first time she had seen Mrs Dorling and how her mother had introduced her to her old acquaintance and given the address.

After the first fruitless visit to Mrs Dorling’s house, the narrator visited the place a second time. This time, a girl of about fifteen opened the door to her. She asked the girl if her mother was at home. Since she was away, the narrator decided to wait for her.

She followed the girl along the passage. The first thing that struck her was an old-fashioned iron Hanukkah candle-holder hung next to a mirror. Then they went into the living room. The narrator was horrified as she was in a room she knew and did not know. She found herself in the midst of things she had so wanted to see again, but which oppressed her in the strange atmosphere. The tasteless way of arrangement, ugly furniture and the muggy smell all contributed to arouse this feeling. She didn’t have the courage to look around her. She sat down and stared at the woollen table-cloth. As she followed the lines of the pattern, she remembered that it was their table-cloth, which had a burn mark that had never been repaired. Soon she found the hole.

The girl poured her tea from a white pot which had a gold border on the lid. She opened the box and took out some spoons. The narrator praised the box. Mrs Dorling’s daughter said that it was an antique. They had got lots more and she pointed round the room. The narrator knew very well which things she meant. She remarked that the cutlery-spoons, forks and knives was silver. The girl laughed. She walked to the side board and wanted to open a drawer.

The narrator fell perturbed. The objects linked with her mother, aroused memories of her former life. At first she was eager to see them, but now they had lost their value since they were severed from her mother and were stored in strange surroundings. Moreover, they were useless to her in her present state. She lived in a small rented room with space for no more than a handful of cutlery fitted in the narrow table drawer.

She resolved to forget the address. She wanted to leave the memories of her mother and the war behind her and decided to move on.

The Address Summary In Hindi

यह एक ऐसी बेटी की हृदयस्पर्शी कथा है जो हालैंड में युद्ध के उपरांत अपनी माँ की संपत्ति (वस्तुओं) की तलाश में जाती है। कथाकार श्रीमति एस० की पुत्री है जिसकी युद्ध के दौरान मृत्यु हो गई। वर्णनकर्ता मारकोनी स्ट्रीट के 46 नंबर मकान में उस श्रीमति डोरलिंग से भेंट करने गई जो कि उसकी माँ की पुरानी परिचित थी तथा जो युद्ध के दौरान उसकी माँ की सभी वस्तुओं को यहाँ ले आई थी। यह सब श्रीमती एस० की मौन स्वीकृति के साथ किया गया क्योंकि श्रीमति डोरलिंग उन वस्तुओं को बचाना चाहती थीं जिन्हें वे खो देते यदि उन्हें वह स्थान त्यागना पड़ता। वर्णनकर्ता ने श्रीमति डोरलिंग को पहली बार युद्ध के पूर्वाद्ध में देखा था। वह अपने घर पर कुछ दिन के लिए आई थी तथा उसका कमरों में परिवर्तन की ओर ध्यान गया। उसे कई वस्तुएँ नदारद (गायब) मिली। उसकी माँ ने उसे सूचित किया कि श्रीमति डोरलिंग इन वस्तुओं को सुरक्षित स्थान पर ले गई थी और उसे पता बताया- नंबर 46, मारकोनी स्ट्रीट।

युद्ध के उपरांत वर्णनकर्ता उस पते पर पहुँची जो उसकी माँ ने उसे दिया था। उसे श्रीमति डोरलिंग स्पष्टतया याद थी। वह चौड़ी पीठ वाली महिला थी। श्रीमति डोरलिंग ने वर्णनकर्ता को खोजने की दृष्टि से देखा किंतु पहचान के कोई भाव प्रकट नहीं किए। वह चुपचाप घूरती रही। उसने देखा कि वर्णनकर्ता, जिसने अपनी माँ का सलाइयों से बना हरा कार्डिगन पहचान लिया था, इसे ध्यान से देख रही थी। उसने स्वयं को आधा दरवाजे के पीछे छिपा लिया तथा उससे भेंट करने से मना कर दिया। उसे उस वर्णनकर्ता को देखकर आश्चर्य हुआ जो युद्ध के बाद जीवित बच गई थी।

वर्णनकर्ता स्टेशन पर लौट आई तथा रेलगाड़ी में सवार हो गई। जब वह गाड़ी में थी तो उसे श्रीमति डोरलिंग के साथ प्रथम भेंट याद आई और यह कि किस प्रकार उसकी माँ ने उसको परिचय अपनी पुरानी परिचित से कराया था तथा उसे यह पता दिया था।

श्रीमति डोरलिंग के घर, प्रथम निष्फल भ्रमण के उपरांत, वर्णनकर्ता दूसरी बार उसके घर गई। इस बार 15 वर्षीय एक लड़की ने उसके लिए दरवाजा खोला। उसने लड़की से पूछा कि क्या उसकी माँ घर पर थी। क्योंकि वह बाहर गई हुई थी, वर्णनकर्ता ने उसकी प्रतीक्षा करने का निर्णय किया।

वह लड़की के पीछे-पीछे गलियारे में गई। पहली वस्तु जिसने उसका ध्यान आकर्षित किया वह था पुराना लोहे का हानुका शमादान-नुमा फानूस जो एक दर्पण के समीप लटक रहा था। फिर वे बैठक में चले गए। वर्णनकर्ता भयभीत हो गई क्योंकि वह एक ऐसे कक्ष (कमरे) में थी जिसे वह जानती भी थी और नहीं भी। उसने स्वयं को उन वस्तुओं के मध्य में पाया जिनको देखने की उसकी इतनी अधिक चाह (इच्छा) थी, किंतु वे इस विचित्र वातावरण में उसे सता रही थीं। वस्तुओं को सजाने का रुचिहीन क्रम, भद्दा फर्नीचर तथा सीलन की दुर्गन्ध-सभी ने इस भावना को उभारने में योगदान दिया। उसमें अपने चारों ओर देखने का साहस नहीं रही। वह बैठ गई तथा ऊनी मेज़पोश को घूर घूरकर देखने लगी। जब वह नमूने की रेखाओं का ध्यान से अनुसरण करने लगी, तो उसे याद आया कि यह उनको ही मेज़पोश था, जिसमें जल जाने का ऐसा चिह्न था जिसकी कभी मरम्मत नहीं की गई थी। शीघ्र ही उसे वह छेद मिल गया।

लड़की ने उसके लिए एक सफेद चायदानी से चाय डाली जिसके ढक्कन पर सुनहरा किनारा था। उसने डिब्बा खोला तथा कुछ चम्मच निकाले। वर्णनकर्ता ने डिब्बे की प्रशंसा की। श्रीमति डोरलिंग की पुत्री ने कहा कि यह एक अति प्राचीन वस्तु थी। उनके पास काफी अधिक और भी थे तथा उसने कमरे के चारों और इशारा किया। वर्णनकर्ता को भली-भाँति ज्ञात था कि उसका तात्पर्य किन वस्तुओं से था। उसने कहा कि चम्मच, काँटे, छुरी आदि ये उपकरण चाँदी के थे। वह लड़की हँस पड़ी। वह साथ रखी दराजों वाली मेज के पास चलकर गई और उसने इसका एक दराज़ खोलना चाहा।।

वर्णनकर्ता परेशान (विचलित) महसूस करने लगी। उसकी माँ से संबंधित वस्तुएँ उसके विगत जीवन की स्मृतियों को उभारने लगी। पहले वह उन्हें देखने को लालायित (उत्सुक) थी, किंतु अब वे अपना मूल्य गंवा बैठे थे क्योंकि वे उसकी माँ से पृथक् हो गए थे तथा उन्हें अज़नबी वातावरण में सहेजकर रखा गया था। इसके अतिरिक्त, उसकी अपनी वर्तमान स्थिति में, वे उसके लिए बेकार थे। वह किराए के एक छोटे से कमरे में रहती थी जिसमें तंग दराजों वाली मेज में मुट्ठीभर चाकू, काँटे, छुरी आदि रखने से अधिक स्थान नहीं था।

उसने इस पते को भूल जाने का निश्चय किया। वह अपनी माँ तथा युद्ध की स्मृतियों को पीछे छोड़ना चाहती थी और उसने आगे बढ़ने का निर्णय लिया।

The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse Summary In English

This story revolves around two poor Armenian boys Mourad and Aram. They are members of the Garoghlanian family. The hallmarks of their tribe are trust and honesty.

The story begins in a mood of nostalgia. Aram, the narrator was then a boy of nine and his cousin, Mourad, a more adventurous but slightly crazy fellow, was thirteen.

The narrator remembers vividly the day when Mourad came to his house at four in the morning and woke him up by tapping on the window of his room. Aram jumped out of bed and when he looked out of the window, he couldn’t believe what he saw. His cousin Mourad was sitting on a beautiful white horse. Mourad asked him to be quick if he wanted to ride. The narrator had a longing to ride, but his whole Garoghlanian family was poor though well-known for their trust and honesty.

The narrator knew that his cousin Mourad couldn’t have bought the horse, and if he couldn’t have bought it, he must have stolen it. The narrator refused to believe he had stolen it because no member of the Garoghlanian family could be a thief.

The narrator, Aram, asked Mourad where he had stolen that horse. Mourad did not reply but asked him to leap out of the window if he wanted to ride. He knew that Mourad was crazy regarding horses. Stealing a horse for a ride was not the same thing as stealing money or selling a stolen horse.

The narrator leaped into his clothes. He jumped down to the yard from the window and leaped up onto the horse behind his cousin Mourad. From their house in Walnut Avenue, they reached Olive Avenue in less than three minutes. The horse began to trot as the air was fresh and lovely to breathe.

Mourad was considered one of the craziest members of their family. He begin to sing or rather roar. They reached the open country and let the horse run as long as it felt like running. At last Mourad asked Aram to get down as he wanted to ride alone. Aram asked him if he would let him ride alone. Mourad replied that it was up to the horse.

The narrator got down and his cousin Mourad kicked his heels into the horse and shouted, “Vazire, run!” The horse stood on its hind legs, snorted and ran forward at a fast speed. Mourad raced the horse across a field of dry grass to an irrigation ditch. He crossed the ditch on the horse, and five minutes later returned. He was dripping wet.

The sun was coming up. Now the narrator leaped to the back of the horse, but the horse did not move. At the suggestion of Mourad, he kicked into the muscles of the horse. It reared, snorted and began to run. The narrator didn’t know what to do. Instead of running across the field to the irrigation ditch the horse ran down the road to the vineyard of Dikran Halabian and leaped over seven vines before Aram fell. Mourad came running down the road. He was more worried about the horse than Aram. Both of them searched the horse in different directions.

It took Mourad half an hour to find the horse and bring him back. Mourad hid the horse in a deserted vineyard belonging to farmer Fetvajian. There were some oats and dry alfalfa in the barn. It occurred to narrator that Mourad had been taking early rides for some time and had come to him that morning only. He enquired, “How long ago did you steal the horse?” Mourad did not like the question. The narrator rephrased it: “How long did you begin riding every morning?” He replied, “Not until this morning”. He was, obviously, not speaking the truth, but he convinced Aram by saying so.

Mourad then told Aram that it wasn’t easy to get the horse to behave so nicely. At first, it wanted to run wild but since he had a way with a horse he developed an understanding with the horse. The narrator reached home and ate a hearty breakfast.

That afternoon his uncle Khosrove came to their house for coffee and cigarettes. While he was sipping coffee and smoking in the parlour, another visitor arrived. The latter was a farmer named John Byro. He was an Assyrian who, out of loneliness, had learned to speak Armenian. He was also served coffee and tobacco. Sighing sadly, he said that his white horse which had been stolen last month was still gone. Uncle Khosrove became irritated and snubbed him for crying over a horse.

Farmer John Byro was large man with a gentle heart. He had to walk ten miles to reach there and his left leg pained him. The horse had cost him sixty dollars and his surrey was no good without a horse. As soon as the farmer went away, Aram ran over to his cousin Mourad’s house and told him everything. He asked Mourad not to return it till he learnt to ride. He suggested keeping it for a year or at least six months. Mourad thought he was inviting a Garoghlanian to steal. He decided to return the horse to its true owner. Early every morning for two weeks Mourad and Aram took the horse out of the barn of the deserted vineyard where they were hiding it and rode it. Every morning, the horse would leap over grape vines and small trees and throw Aram and run away. Still Aram hoped to learn to ride as Mourad rode.

One morning on the way to Fetvajian’s deserted vineyard they came across farmer John Byro who was on his way to town. Mourad greeted him. The farmer studied the horse eagerly and wished them good morning. He asked the name of their horse. Mourad replied that they called it My Heart’. John Byro called it a lovely name for a lovely horse. He was certain that it was the horse which had been stolen from him many weeks ago. He asked if he might look into the horse’s mouth.

On examining the teeth of the horse, the farmer was ready to swear that it was his own horse. But since the fame of their family for honesty was well-known, he would not call it the stolen horse. Still it was the twin of his horse. Early the next morning, the boys took the horse to John Byro’s vineyard and put it in the barn. Mourad put his arms around the horse, pressed his nose into the horse’s nose, patted it and then they went away.

That afternoon John Byro came to their house in his surrey and showed the narrator’s mother the horse that had been stolen and returned. He was surprised to find the horse stronger than ever and better tempered too. He thanked God. Uncle Khosrove, who was in the parlour, became irritated and shouted at him to be quiet. He observed that his horse had been returned and repeated his pet phrase: “Pay no attention to it”.

The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse Summary In Hindi

कहानी दो निर्धन आर्मेनियाई लड़कों मौराद तथा आराम के गिर्द घूमती है। ये गारोघलेनियाई परिवार के सदस्य हैं। उनके परिवार के विशिष्ट गुण हैं विश्वास तथा ईमानदारी। कहानी अतीत की सुखद स्मृतियों की उदासी के भाव से आरंभ होती है। तब वर्णनकर्ता आराम 9 वर्ष का लड़का था तथा उसका चचेरा भाई मौराद, जो थोड़ा सा अधिक साहसी किंतु तनिक सनकी (झक्की) था, तेरह वर्ष का था|

कथाकार को वह दिन स्पष्ट रूप से याद है जिस दिन मौराद प्रातः चार बजे उसके घर आया था तथा उसके कमरे की खिडकी पर थपथपाहट करके उसे जगाया था। आराम अपने बिस्तर से उछलकर उठा और जब उसने खिड़की से बाहर देखा तो उसे जो कुछ उसने देखा उस पर विश्वास नहीं हुआ। उसका चचेरा भाई मौराद एक सुंदर सफेद घोड़े पर बैठा हुआ था। मौराद ने उससे कहा कि यदि वह घुड़सवारी करना चाहता है तो शीघ्रता (जल्दी) करे। वर्णनकर्ता को घुड़सवारी करने की तीव्र इच्छा थी, उनका पूरा गारोघलेनियाई परिवार निर्धन था यद्यपि वे अपने विश्वास तथा ईमानदारी (के गुणों) के लिए सुविख्यात थे। कथाकार जानता था कि उसका चचेरा भाई, मौराद् घोड़े को क्रय नहीं कर सकता था, और यदि उसने इसे क्रय नहीं किया था, तो अवश्य ही इसे चुराया होगा। कथाकार यह विश्वास नहीं कर पाया कि उसने घोड़ा चुराया होगा क्योंकि गोरोघलेनियाई परिवार का कोई भी सदस्य चोर हो ही नहीं सकता था।

कथाकार आराम ने मौराद से पूछा कि उसने घोड़ा कहाँ से चुराया था। मौराद ने उत्तर नहीं दिया किंतु उसे खिड़की से नीचे कूदकर आने को कहा यदि वह घोड़े पर सवारी करना चाहता था। उसे यह पता था कि मौराद घोड़ों के बारे में झक्की था। सवारी करने के लिए घोड़े को चुराना वैसी बात नहीं थी जैसे कि धनराशि चुराना अथवा किसी चुराये गए घोड़े को विक्रय करना (बेचना)।

कथाकार ने फटाफट वस्त्र पहने। वह खिड़की से आंगन में कूदा तथा अपने चचेरे भाई मौराद के पीछे घोड़े की पीठ पर उछलकर बैठ गया। वालनट एवेन्यु स्थित उनके मकान से वे तीन मिनट से कम समय में आलीव एवेन्यु पहुँच गए। घोड़ा दुलकी की चाल चलने लगा क्योंकि वायु ताज़ा तथा सांस लेने में मनोहर थी।

मौराद को उस परिवार के अत्यधिक सनकी सदस्यों में से एक समझा जाता था। वह गाना गाने लगा या अपेक्षाकृत दहाड़ने लगा। वे खुले (ग्रामीण) क्षेत्र में पहुँचे और घोड़े को दौड़ने दिया जब तक कि वह दौड़ना चाहता था। अंततः मौराद ने आराम को नीचे उतरने को कहा क्योंकि वह अकेला घुड़सवारी करना चाहता था। आराम ने उससे पूछा कि क्या वह उसे अकेले को घुड़सवारी करने देगा। मौराद ने उत्तर दिया कि यह तो घोड़े पर निर्भर करता है।

कथाकार नीचे उतर आया तथा उसके चचेरे भाई मौराद ने घोड़े को ऐड़ मारी तथा चिल्लाया, “वजीरे दौड़!” घोड़ा अपनी पिछली टाँगों पर खड़ा हुआ, नथुनों से घर-घर का शब्द निकाला तथा तीव्र गति से आगे की ओर दौड़ पड़ा। मौराद ने घोड़े को सूखी घास के खेत के आर-पार सिंचाई की खाई तक दौड़ाया। उसने घोड़े पर बैठे-बैठे खाई को पार किया और पाँच मिनट पीछे लौटा। उसका शरीर टपकते पानी (पसीने) से गीला था।

सूरज ऊपर चढ़ रहा था। अब कथाकार उछलकर घोड़े की पीठ पर बैठा, किंतु, घोड़ा टस से मस नहीं हुआ। मौराद के सुझाव पर उसने घोड़े की माँसपेशियों में ऐड़ मारी। वह पीछे हटा, नाक से घरै घर्राया तथा दौड़ने लगा। कथाकार नहीं जानता था कि वह क्या करे। खेत के पार होते हुए सिंचाई की खाई तक जाने के बजाए घोड़ा सड़क के ढलान की ओर दौड़ता हुआ डिकरन हैलाबियन के अंगूरों के बगीचे में घुसा तथा आराम के नीचे गिरने से पहले सात बेलों के ऊपर छलाँग लगा गया। मौराद दौड़ता हुआ सड़क के ढलान की ओर आया। वह आराम की अपेक्षा घोड़े के विषय में अधिक चिन्तित था। दोनों ने विभिन्न दिशाओं में घोड़े की तलाश की। घोड़े को ढूंढने तथा वापस लाने में मौराद को आधा घंटा लगा। मौराद ने किसान फेत्वाजियान के सूने पड़े हुए अंगूरों के बगीचे में घोड़े को छिपा दिया। वहाँ खलिहान में कुछ जई तथा हरे चारे वाले अल्फाल्फ के सूखे पौधे थे। कथाकार को यह सूझा कि मौराद तो कुछ समय से शीघ्र प्रात:कालीन घुड़सवारी का आनंद लेता रहा है तथा उसके पास तो केवल उस दिन प्रात:काल आया था। उसने पूछा, “तुमने कितने समय पहले यह घोड़ा चुराया था?” मौराद को यह प्रश्न पसन्द नहीं आया। कथाकार ने शब्द बदल कर पूछा, “तुमने कितने समय से प्रतिदिन सवेरे घुड़सवारी करना आरंभ किया था?” उसने उत्तर दिया, “आज प्रातः से पहले नहीं।” स्पष्टतया, वह सत्य नहीं बोल रहा था, किंतु उसने आराम को भी यह कहने को राजी कर लिया।

मौराद ने तब आराम को बताया कि घोड़े से इतने भले प्रकार का व्यवहार कराना आसान नहीं था। पहले-पहल, यह अनियंत्रित (अपनी इच्छा से) दौड़ना चाहता था, किंतु चूँकि उसे घोड़े से व्यवहार का ढंग आता था, उसने घोड़े के साथ समझ विकसित कर ली। कथाकार घर पहुँचा तथा उसने जी भर के नाश्ता किया।

उस अपराह्न उसका चाचा खोसरोव उनके घर कॉफी तथा सिगरेट पीने आया। जब वह बैठक (ड्योढ़ी) में कॉफी की पैंट भर रहा था तथा धूम्रपान कर रहा था, तब एक अन्य आगंतुक वहाँ पहुँचा। बाद में आने वाला व्यक्ति जॉन बायरो नामक किसान था। वह एक असीरियाई था, जिसने अकेलेपन से तंग होकर, आर्मेनियाई की भाषा बोलना सीख लिया था। उसे भी कॉफी तथा तंबाकू पेश किए गए। उदासी से आह भरते हुए उसने कहा कि उसका सफेद घोड़ा जिसे पिछले महीने चुराया गया था, वह अभी भी गायब था। चाचा खोसरोव क्रोधित हो गया तथा एक घोड़े (की हानि) पर विलाप करने के लिए उसे फटकारा।

किसान जॉन बायरो नर्म दिल का विशालकाय व्यक्ति था। उसे वहाँ पहुँचने के लिए दस मील पैदल चलना पड़ा और उसकी बायीं टाँग उसे पीड़ा पहुँचाती थी। उसे घोड़ा 60 डालर का मिला था तथा घोड़े के बिना उसकी चार पहियों वाली घोड़ा गाड़ी व्यर्थ थी। ज्यों ही किसान जॉन बायरो वहाँ से नया, आराम दौड़कर अपने चचेरे भाई मौराद के घर गया तथा उसे प्रत्येक बात बता दी। उसने मौराद से कहा कि वह घोड़े को तब तक ने लौटाए जब तक वह घुड़सवारी न सीख ले। उसने सुझाव दिया कि वह घोड़े को एक वर्ष या कम से कम छः महीने रख ले। मौराद ने सोचा कि वह एक गोराघलेनियाई को चोरी करने का आवाहन कर रहा था। उसने घोड़े को इसके सही स्वामी को लौटाने का निश्चय किया। दो सप्ताह तक प्रत्येक सवेरे तड़के ही मौराद एवं आराम घोड़े को सूने अंगूर के बगीचे से जहाँ उन्होंने इसे छुपा रखा था, निकाल लेते थे तथा इस पर सवारी करते थे। प्रत्येक सवेरे घोड़ा अँगूर की बेलों तथा छोटे वृक्षों के ऊपर से छलांग लगाता, आराम को फेंक देता तथा दौड़ जाता। फिर भी आराम को आशा थी कि वह मौराद की भाँति ही सवारी करना सीख लेगा।

एक दिन फेत्वाजियन के सूने अँगूरों के बगीचे को जाते समय उनकी किसान जॉन बायरो से जो कि नगर को जा रहा था, भेट हो गई। मौराद ने उसका अभिवादन किया। किसान ने उत्सुकता से घोड़े का अध्ययन किया तथा उन्हें ‘शुभ प्रभात’ कहा। उसने उनके घोड़े का नाम पूछा। मौराद ने बताया कि वे उसे ‘मेरा दिल’ कहा करते थे। जॉन बायरो ने इसे सुंदर घोड़े के लिए एक सुंदर नाम कहा। उसे पक्का विश्वास (यकीन) था कि यह वही घोड़ा था जिसे कई सप्ताह पहले उसके यहाँ से चुराया गया था। उसने पूछा कि क्या वह घोड़े के मुख (मुँह) में देख सकता था।

घोड़े के दाँतों का निरीक्षण करने के उपरांत, किसान शपथ लेकर यह कहने को तैयार था कि यह उसका अपना घोड़ा था। किंतु चूँकि उनके परिवार का ईमानदारी के लिए यश सुविख्यात था, वह इसे चुराया हुआ घोड़ा नहीं कहेगा। फिर भी यह उसके घोड़े का जुड़वाँ था। अगले प्रातः काफी पहले, लड़के घोड़े को जॉन बायरों के अँगूरों के बगीचे में ले गए तथा उसे खलिहान में छोड़ दिया। मौराद ने घोड़े (की गर्दन) के चारों ओर अपनी बाँहें लपेटी, अपनी नाक घोड़े के नाक में दबायी, इसे थपथपाया तथा फिर वे चले गए।

उसी अपराह्न जॉन बायरो अपनी चार पहियों वाली घोड़ा-गाड़ी में उनके घर आया तथा कथाकार की माता जी को वह घोड़ा दिखलाया जो चुरा लिया गया था तथा लौटा दिया गया था। उसे घोड़े को पहले से अधिक सुदृढ़ तथा अच्छे व्यवहार का पाकर सुखद आश्चर्य हुआ। उसने भगवान का धन्यवाद किया। चाचा खोसरोव, जो कि बैठक में था, क्रोधित (चिड़चिड़ा) हो गया तथा उस पर चिल्लाया कि चुप रहे। उसने टिप्पणी की कि उसका घोड़ा लौटा दिया गया था उसने अपना प्रिय शब्द समूह दोहराया, “इसकी ओर ध्यान न दो।”

Father to Son Summary Class 11 English

Father to Son Summary In English

This poem highlights a universal problem—the generation gap and the lack of communication between father and son. The poem begins with a father’s lament that he does not understand his child though they have been living together in the same house for so many years. He confesses that he knows nothing of him. In order to understand him, he tries to build up a relationship from what he knows about him when he was small.

However, the thread connecting the two is missing. He seems to have missed the link somewhere. Either he has destroyed this seed or misplaced it somewhere in an area which does not belong to him. The result is loss of affinity and closeness. They speak like strangers and there is no sign of understanding between them. The lack of communication between father and son highlights the growing chasm between the two generations. The father admits that the child’s physical shape is according to his own desires but their interests differ. He cannot share what the son loves.

The lack of common interests results in lack of communication. The son is busy in searching new avenues for himself and moving away to his own world. The father wishes that his son might return to him as the proverbial prodigal son. He would prefer his return to the place he is so familiar with rather than risk adventure to unknown and unfamiliar lands. Like the father in the old story about the prodigal son, he would also forgive his son. He hoped to build a new love from the sorrow of losing material wealth as a result of his son’s ventures.

A realization dawns on the father at last. He and his son must live on the same earth and on the part of land. Now when the son speaks, the father fails to understand it. It seems as if he cannot understand himself as the son is the image of father himself. The grief of separation causes anger. They make no special effort to make up the loss. The hand they extend is empty. However, there is a strong desire for something to help him in forgiving and forgetting the bitterness.

Father to Son Summary In Hindi

यह कविता एक विश्वव्यापी समस्या-पीढ़ियों में अन्तर तथा पिता-पुत्र के मध्य संचार की कमी को-आलोकित करती है। कविता पिता के इस दुखड़े से आरम्भ होती है कि वह अपने बच्चे को नहीं समझ पाती यद्यपि वे दोनों एक साथ इतने वर्षों से उसी मकान में रह रहे हैं। वह स्वीकार करता है कि वह उसके विषय में कुछ भी नहीं जानता। उसे समझ पाने के लिये वह उस आधार पर एक सम्बन्ध बनाने का प्रयास करता है जो कि उसे अपने पुत्र के विषय में उसकी छोटी उम्र में ज्ञात था।

किन्तु, दोनों को जोड़ने वाला सूत्र गायब है। ऐसा प्रतीत होता है कि इस सम्पर्क को वह कहीं गंवा बैठा है। या तो उसने इस बीज को ही नष्ट कर दिया है अथवा इसे किसी ऐसे क्षेत्र में गलती से रख दिया है जो (क्षेत्र) उसका अपना नहीं है। परिणाम है लगाव तथा निकटता की कमी। वे अजनबियों की भाँति बोलते हैं तथा उनके बीच आपसी समझ का कोई चिह्न दिखाई नहीं देता। पिता-पुत्र के बीच संचार की कमी दोनों पीढ़ियों के बीच बढ़ती हुई खाई को प्रमुखता से बताती है। पिता स्वीकार करता है कि बच्चे का शारीरिक रूप उसकी अपनी इच्छाओं के अनुसार है, किन्तु उनकी रुचियाँ भिन्न हैं। जो उसके पुत्र को प्रिय है, उनका वह आनन्द नहीं ले सकता।

आपसी (सांझी) रुचियों की कमी संचार (बातचीत) की कमी का कारण बनती है। पुत्र अपने लिये नये क्षेत्र खोजने में व्यस्त है। तथा अपने निजी संसार में आगे बढ़ा जा रहा है। पिता चाहता है कि उसका पुत्र उसके पास लौट आए चाहे उस कहावतों वाले अतिव्ययी (फिजूल खर्च) पुत्र की भाँति ही है। वह उसके उस स्थान पर लौट आने को अधिक अच्छा समझेगा जिससे वह परिचित है इसकी अपेक्षा कि वह अज्ञात एवं अपरिचित देशों में खतरे उठाये। कहानी वाले फिजूल खर्च बेटे के पिता की भाँति, वह अपने पुत्र को क्षमा कर देगा। अपने पुत्र के जोखिम भरे कार्यों (पूँजी निवेश) के कारण हुये भौतिक धन की हानि के दुःख से वह एक नये प्रेम का निर्माण करने की आशा करता है।

अन्त में पिता को समझ आती है। उसे तथा उसके पुत्र को उसी संसार तथा भू-भाग में रहना है। अब, जब पुत्र बोलता है, तो पिता उसे समझने में असफल रहता है। ऐसा प्रतीत होता है कि स्वयं (अपने आप) को नहीं समझ पाता क्योंकि पुत्र भी पिता की आकृति (छाया) ही है। पृथकता का दुःख क्रोध का कारण बनता है। वे इस हानि की क्षतिपूर्ति करने के लिये कोई विशेष प्रयास नहीं करते। जो हाथ वे आगे बढ़ाते हैं वह खाली है। किन्तु, किसी ऐसी वस्तु के लिये तीव्र इच्छा अवश्य है जो उन्हें कड़वाहट भूलने तथा क्षमा करने में सहायता करें।

Childhood Summary In English

The poet seems puzzled about the loss of childhood. It is natural in the process of growing up. Still, the poet tries to find an answer to his two queries: When did my childhood go?’ and Where did my childhood go?”

The first possibility of the time of departure of his childhood relates to the age when he had completed the age of eleven. It was then that he developed a power of understanding. Then he became aware that Hell and Heaven could not be found in Geography. Since they could not be located anywhere in world, he concluded that they did not exist. He thus reached a logical conclusion based on his reasoning power.

The second possibility relates to the time when he realized the hypocrisy of the adults. They were not all that they seemed to be. They talked of love and gave advice of love, but did not act so affectionately.

The third possibility relates to the time when he found that he was the master of his mind. He could use it whichever way he chose. He could now produce his own thoughts and need not repeat those of others. A sense of individuality dawned on him. He wonders whether he lost his childhood on one of these days.

In the final stanza, the poet dwells on the problem where his childhood has disappeared. On the basis of his limited knowledge he thinks that his childhood went to some forgotten place that was hidden in an infant’s face. The poet implies that adolescence follows childhood in the same way as childhood had replaced infancy. It is a stage in the process of growing up.

Childwood Summary In Hindi

कवि बाल्यावस्था (बचपन) की समाप्ति (हानि) के विषय में व्याकुल प्रतीत होता है। यह बड़े होने की प्रक्रिया में सामान्य है। फिर भी कवि अपने दो प्रश्नों के उत्तर ढूँढने का प्रयास करता है। प्रश्न है: ‘मेरा बचपन कब बीत गया?’ तथा ‘मेरा बचपन कहाँ गया?’

उसके बाल्यावस्था (बचपन) के प्रस्थान के समय में पहली सम्भावना उस आयु से सम्बन्धित है जब उसने ग्यारह वर्ष की आयु पूरी की थी। तब उसने अपने समझ सकने की शक्ति विकसित की थी। तब उसे यह ज्ञान हुआ कि नरक तथा स्वर्ग भूगोल में नहीं पाए जा सकते। क्योंकि उन्हें संसार में किसी निश्चित स्थान पर स्थित नहीं किया जा सकता, तो वह इस निष्कर्ष पर पहुँचा कि वे विद्यमान ही नहीं थे। इस प्रकार वह अपनी तर्कशक्ति के आधार पर एक तर्क संगत निष्कर्ष तक पहुँचा।

दूसरी सम्भावना उस समय से सम्बन्धित है जब उसने वयस्कों का पाखण्ड (मिथ्या चरित्र) समझ लिया। वे कतई ऐसे नहीं थे जैसे कि वे प्रतीत होते थे। वे प्यार की बातें करते थे तथा प्यार के परामर्श (उपदेश) देते थे किन्तु इतने स्नेह से व्यवहार नहीं करते थे।

तीसरी सम्भावना उस समय से सम्बन्धित है जब उसने यह पाया कि वह अपने मस्तिष्क को स्वामी स्वयं है। वह इसे जैसे चाहे वैसे ही प्रयोग कर सकता था। वह अब अपने विचार उत्पन्न कर सकता था तथा उसे दूसरों के विचार दोहराने की आवश्यकता नहीं थी। उसके ऊपर अपने निजी अस्तित्व की भावना प्रकट हुई। वह आश्चर्य करता है कि क्या उसने अपना बचपन इन दिनों में से किसी दिन गंवा दिया।

अन्तिम छन्द में, कवि इस समस्या पर बातें करता है कि उसकी बाल्यावस्था (बचपन) कहाँ अदृश्य (गायब) हो गई। अपने सीमित ज्ञान के आधार पर वह सोचता है कि उसकी बाल्यावस्था (बचपन) किसी ऐसे भूले-भटके स्थान पर चली गई है जो किसी शिशु के चेहरे में छिपी हुई थी। कवि का निहित (छिपा हुआ) अर्थ यह है कि किशोरावस्था उसी प्रकार बाल्यावस्था (बचपन)के बाद आती है जैसे कि बाल्यावस्था ने शैशव का स्थान लिया है। यह बड़े होने की प्रक्रिया में एक निश्चित अवस्था है।

The Voice of the Rain Summary In English

The poet asked the soft falling shower who it was. Strangely enough, the shower gave him an answer. The voice of the rain told him that it was the poem of earth. It is everlasting and perpetual. It is something that cannot be touched. It is born out of the land and the deep sea. It rises upward to heaven. There it gets a different form and is altogether changed. Yet it remains the same. Then it comes down to wash the dry/thirsty tiny particles and dust layers of the world. The rain helps the seeds which lie hidden and unborn under the layer of earth to take a new life. This process of rain is perpetual and goes on by day and night. Rain gives back life to its own source of beginning, makes it pure and beautiful. The rain sings a song. This song issues from its birth place. It keeps wandering here and there whether it is paid heed to or not. After accomplishment, the song returns properly with love.

The Voice of the Rain Summary In Hindi

कवि ने वर्षा की हल्के-हल्के गिरती बौछारों से पूछा कि यह कौन थी। अत्यन्त आश्चर्य की बात थी कि बौछार ने उसे उत्तर दिया। वर्षा की आवाज़ ने उसे बताया कि यह धरती का गीत (कविता) थी। यह सनातन तथा अनन्त है। यह स्पर्श द्वारा अनुभव नहीं की जा सकती है। यह पृथ्वी तथा गहरे सागर से जन्म लेती है। यह ऊपर आकाश की ओर चढ़ती है। वहाँ इसे एक अन्य रूप मिल जाता है तथा यह पूर्णतया बदल जाती है। फिर भी यह वह ही रहती है। फिर यह संसार के सूखे/प्यासे छोटे-छोटे कणों तथा रेत-मिट्टी की परतों को नहलाने के लिए नीचे आती है। वर्षा उन बीजों को नया जीवन प्राप्त करने में सहायता करती है जो भूमि की परतों के नीचे छिपे हुए तथा अजन्में पड़े हुए हैं। वर्षा की यह विधि सतत (लगातार) है तथा रात-दिन चलती रहती है। वर्षा अपने उद्गम स्थान को जीवन वापस देती है, इसे पवित्र तथा सुन्दर बनाती है। वर्षा एक गीत गाती है। यह गीत उसके जन्मस्थल से आरम्भ होता है। यह इधर-उधर भटकती (घूमती) रहती है चाहे कोई इसे ध्यान दे अथवा नहीं। अपनी पूर्ति (सिद्धि) करने के पश्चात् गीत उचित प्यार से लौट आता है।

The Laburnum Top Poem Summary in English

Laburnum is known as amaltas in Hindi.

On a bright September afternoon, the laburnum, a short tree with hanging branches and yellow flowers, stood soundless and motionless. A few leaves that had yellowed and some seeds lay scattered around it. Just then, all of a sudden a small singing bird with yellow feathers on its wings, the goldfinch, arrived chirping. She entered the foliage like a lizard—smooth, watchful and hasty.

As she entered, the tree suddenly seemed to come alive. It started up like a machine. There were shrill sounds of twittering arid the tree seemed to quiver with joy. The mother bird was like the engine of her family. Like an engine she added life to the tree and flitted from branch to branch, showing her striped face, with yellow and black markings that were peculiar to her. Then with a mysterious, low whistle she flew off into the sky. Once again the laburnum quietened down as it was before her arrival.

summary in hindi

लबरनम को हिंदी में अमलतास के नाम से जाना जाता है।

सितंबर की एक उज्ज्वल दोपहर में, लैबर्नम, लटकती शाखाओं और पीले फूलों वाला एक छोटा पेड़, ध्वनिहीन और गतिहीन खड़ा था। कुछ पत्ते जो पीले पड़ गए थे और कुछ बीज चारों ओर बिखरे पड़े थे। तभी, अचानक एक छोटा गायन पक्षी जिसके पंखों पर पीले पंख थे, सुनहरी चिड़िया चहकती हुई आई। वह छिपकली की तरह पत्तों में घुस गई-चिकनी, चौकस और उतावले।

जैसे ही उसने प्रवेश किया, पेड़ अचानक जीवित हो गया। यह एक मशीन की तरह शुरू हुआ। चहकने की तीखी आवाजें आ रही थीं और पेड़ खुशी से झूम रहा था। माँ पक्षी अपने परिवार के इंजन की तरह थी। एक इंजन की तरह उसने पेड़ में जान डाल दी और एक शाखा से दूसरी शाखा तक उड़ती रही, अपने पीले और काले निशानों के साथ अपने धारीदार चेहरे को दिखा रही थी जो उसके लिए विशिष्ट थे। फिर एक रहस्यमयी धीमी सीटी के साथ वह आसमान में उड़ गई। एक बार फिर श्रमदान शांत हो गया जैसा कि उसके आने से पहले था।

The Laburnum Top Poem Summary Questions and Answers

1. The Laburnum top is silent, quite still
In the afternoon yellow September sunlight,
A few leaves yellowing, all its seeds fallen.

a. Mention the poetic device used in the ‘The Laburnum top is silent, quite still’. Why has it been used? Alteration. The Laburnum top is silent, quite still. The repeated sound creates a musical effect.

b. Mention the colour suggested by the poet. Also mention the words that suggest colour.
The colour is yellow. The colour is suggested by the yellow September sunlight and the yellowing leaves.

c. What is the stillness disturbed by?
It is disturbed by the arrival of the goldfinch.

d. What season is the poet talking about? Mention the words that suggest the season.
Autumn. The words that suggest the season are September; leaves yellowing and all the seeds fallen.

2. Till the goldfinch comes, with a twitching chirrup
A suddenness, a startlement, at a branch end.
Then sleek as a lizard, and alert, and abrupt,
She enters the thickness, and a machine starts up
Of chitterings, and a tremor of wings, and trillings –
The whole tree trembles and thrills.

a. What changes the scene completely?
Answer:
The arrival of the goldfinch changes the scene completely.

b. What is the affect on the tree?
Answer:
There is a lot of movement and sound.

c. How does the bird enter the tree? Mention the poetic device.
Answer:
Like a lizard, watchfully and unexpectedly. Simile.

d. ‘… and a machine starts up.’ What is compared to a machine? What is the poetic device?
Answer:
The tree becomes noisy and trembles like a machine. Metaphor.

e. What is the mood of the poem now? How is it suggested?
Answer:
Happy and excited as if trembling with delight. The word that suggest it are ‘The whole tree trembles and thrills’. .

f. Mention the words that show movement?
Answer:
enters, machine starts up, tremor of wings, and trillings, trembles, thrills.

g. Mention the words that show sound. Name the poetic device,
Answer:
twitching chirrup, machine starts up; chitterings. Onomatopoeia.

h. Mention the adjectives used for the goldfinch.
Answer:
sleek, alert, and abrupt.

3. It is the engine of her family.
She stokes it full, then flirts out to a branch-end
Showing her barredface identity mask

a. Who is the‘she’in these lines?
Answer:
The goldfinch.

b. What is her arrival compared to?
Answer:
The starting of an engine.

c. What are the similarities in an engine and a tree then?
Answer:
Both are noisy and pulsating.

d. What does she do to the engine?
Answer:
She ‘stokes it full’ implying she adds fuel to it and causes it to come to life.

e. What is the ‘barred face identity mask’?
Answer:
It’s distinctive face with yellow and black markings.

f. What does she do on the tree?
Answer:
She moves about playfully from branch to branch.

4. Then with eerie delicate whistle-chirrup whisperings
She launches away, towards the infinite
And the laburnum subsides to empty.

a. What does the goldfinch finally do?
Answer:
It flies away from the laburnum after producing a whistling sound.

b. Why has the sound been described as ‘eerie delicate whistle-chirrup whisperings’?
Answer:
The sound of a goldfinch is peculiar. It is a liquid, twittering song with trills.

c. Where does she go?
Answer:
She flies into the sky.

d. What is the effect on the tree?
Answer:
It once again reverts back into silence.

e. What do the words ‘eerie delicate’ suggest?
Answer:
They suggest an unusual and weak sound.

A Photograph Summary In English

The photograph pasted on the cardboard shows two girl cousins Betty and Dolly who went paddling in the sea with the poetess mother. Each of them was holding one of the hands of the poet’s mother, who was a big girl of some twelve year or so at that time. Her uncle had a camera. All three stood still facing the camera. They pushed their hair aside to smile. Thus the photograph presents three smiling faces. The face of the poet’s mother is a sweet one. It was of a time before she was born. Their feet, which were being washed by sea water for a very short time, have been photographed along with the sea, which appears to have changed less. The poet thus indirectly hints that her mother’s face has changed over the years.

After a lapse of time, say some twenty or thirty years later, the poet’s mother would laugh at the snapshot. She would refer to the photograph and recollect how her cousins Betty and Dolly had dressed themselves for the beach when they went on a sea holiday. She laughs as she sees the scanty dress. This sea holiday was an event of her past. Her laughter is real and pleasant for the poet. It is a precious memory for her. Both—her holiday and her laughter are amusing in an ironic way as they are linked with her loss which requires a forced state of freedom from pain.

Now the poet’s mother is dead for nearly as many years as that girl in the picture lived. The poet feels at a loss of words to comment on this event–her death. It is a solemn moment and its silence makes her silent. Thus the poetess pays a tribute to her mother. It is the old photograph that moves her to silence.

A Photograph Summary In Hindi

गत्ते पर चिपका फोटोग्राफ, बेट् तथा डॉली, दो चचेरी बहनों को दिखाता है जो कवयित्री की माँ के साथ समुद्र में तैरने गई थी। उनमें से प्रत्येक कवयित्री की माँ का एक-एक हाथ पकड़े हुए थी। उस समय कवयित्री की माँ बारह वर्ष की लड़की थी। उनके चाचाजी के पास एक कैमरा था। तीनों कैमरे की तरफ मुख करके शान्त खड़ी रहीं। उन्होंने मुस्कराने के लिये अपने बाल एक तरफ झटके। इस प्रकार यह फोटोग्राफ तीन मुस्कराते हुए चेहरे प्रस्तुत करता है। कवयित्री की माँ का चेहरा अत्यन्त प्यारा है। यह उसके जन्म से पहले के समय का है। उनके पैर, जो कि समुद्र के जल द्वारा थोड़े समय के लिए धोए जा रहे थे, समुद्र के जल के साथ चित्रित किये गये हैं। समुद्र में बहुत कम परिवर्तन हुआ लगता है। इस प्रकार कवयित्री परोक्ष रूप से संकेत देती है कि समय बीतने के साथ माँ के चेहरे में परिवर्तन हुआ है।

समय बीतने के साथ, यूँ कह लीजिए 20 या 30 वर्ष पश्चात्, कवयित्री की माँ इस फोटो पर हँसती है। वह इस फोटो की ओर संकेत करके याद करती है कि जब वह समुद्र पर छुट्टियाँ मनाने गई थी तो बेट् और डॉली ने समुद्र तट के लिए स्वयं को किस प्रकार की वेश-भूषा से सुसज्जित किया था। वह इस संक्षिप्त पोशाक को देख कर हँसती है। समुद्र की यह छुट्टी उसके भूतकाल का एक अंश है। उसकी हँसी कवयित्री के लिये वास्तविक तथा सुखद है। यह उसके लिए बहुमूल्य स्मृति है। उसकी छुट्टियाँ तथा हँसी-दोनों ही एक विडम्बनापूर्ण ढंग से आनन्ददायक है क्योंकि वे उस हानि से जुड़ी हुई हैं जिसकी पीड़ा से मुक्ति के लिए बल देने की आवश्यकता पड़ती है।

अब कवयित्री की माँ को मरे लगभग उतना समय हो चुका है जितने समय तक चित्र वाली वह लड़की जीवित रही। कवयित्री अपनी माँ के देहावसान की घटना पर कुछ शब्द कहने में स्वयं को असमर्थ पाती है। यह एक गम्भीर क्षण है तथा इसकी चुप्पी उसे शान्त कर देती है। इस प्रकार कवयित्री अपनी माँ को श्रद्धांजलि समर्पित करती है। यह वह फोटोग्राफ है जो उसे द्रवित करके चुप करा देता है।

Silk Road Summary in English

The narrator was leaving Ravu and heading towards Mount Kailash to complete the kora. It was in the early hours of the morning that they were set to leave. Lhamo gave the narrator a long-sleeved sheepskin coat, which all the men wore, as a farewell present. Tsetan assessed him as they got into his car. They took a short cut to get off the Changtang. Tsetan knew a route that would take them south-west, almost directly towards Mount Kailash. It involved crossing several fairly high mountain passes, he said. Going that way would not be a problem if there was no snow but that one could never know till one reached there.

From the gently rising and falling hills of Ravu, the short cut took them across vast open plains, dry grazing land, with nothing in them except a few small antelopes. Moving ahead they noticed that the plains became more stony than grassy. Here they saw a herd of wild ass that were racing around and of which Tsetan had told them even before they appeared.

The drive again became steep. They crossed drokbas tending their flocks. Thickly clad men and women stared at their car and at times waved at them while the sheep would turn away from the vehicle. They passed nomads’ dark tents pitched in the isolated places usually with a huge black dog, a Tibetan big, smooth-haired dog guarding them. These dogs would observe them from a distance and as they drew closer, they would rush towards them and chase them for about a hundred metres. These hairy dogs were pitch black and usually wore bright red collars and barked angrily with enormous jaws. They were absolutely fearless of their vehicle and would run straight onto their way. Tsetan had to brake and turn sharply to avoid them. It was because of their ferocity that these Tibetan mastiffs were brought from Tibet to China’s imperial courts as hunting dogs.

As they entered a valley, they could see snow-capped mountains and the wide river but mostly blocked with ice that was sparkling in the sunshine. As they moved ahead, on their upward track, the turns became sharper and the ride bumpier. The rocks around were covered with patches of bright orange lichen. Under the rocks, seemed unending shade. The narrator felt the pressure building up in his ears so he held his nose, snorted and cleared them. Just then Tsetan stopped and the three of them—Tsetan, Daniel and the narrator walked out of the car.

It continued to snow. The snow that had collected was too steep for their vehicle to scale, so there was no way of going around the snow patch. The narrator looked at his wristwatch and realized that they were at 5,210 metres above sea level.

The snow didn’t look too deep, but the danger was that if the car slipped it could turn over. Tsetan grabbed handfuls of soil and threw it across the frozen surface of ice. Daniel and the narrator stayed out of the vehicle to lessen Tsetan’s load. He backed and drove towards the dirty snow, and with no difficulty the car moved on. But after ten minutes of driving, there was another obstruction. Tsetan assessed the scene and this time he decided to drive round the snow. It was a steep slope scattered with big rocks, but Tsetan got past them. The narrator checked his watch again; they were 5,400 metres above sea level and his head began to ache terribly. He gulped a little water for relief.

When they reached the top of the pass at 5,515 metres, they noticed large rocks decorated with white silk scarves and ragged prayer flags. All of them took a clockwise round them as is the tradition and Tsetan checked the tyres on his vehicle. He stopped at the petrol tank. The lower atmospheric pressure was allowing the fuel to expand.

The narrator was soon relieved of headache as they went to the other side of the pass. At two o’clock, they stopped for lunch and ate hot noodles inside a long canvas work tent, put up beside a dry salt lake. The plateau was covered with spots of salty desert area and salt lakes, leftovers of the Tethys Ocean, which surrounded Tibet before the steep climb. Here there was a lot of activity, men with pickaxes and shovels were moving around wearing long sheepskin coats and salt-covered boots. All of them were wearing sunglasses against the bright light of the trucks as they came laden with piles of salt.

By late afternoon they reached a small town, Hor, back on the main east-west highway that followed the old trade route from Lhasa to Kashmir. Daniel took a ride in a truck and went to Lhasa. Tsetan and the narrator bade him farewell.

Hor was a gloomy place covered with dust and rocks and devoid of vegetation. It was scattered with a lot of refuse that had gathered over the years. It was regrettable as this town was on the shore of Lake Manasarovar, Tibet’s most honoured lake. Ancient Hindu and Buddhist study of the universe pinpoints Manasarovar as the source of four great Indian rivers: the Indus, the Ganges, the Sutlej and the Brahmaputra. Actually, only the Sutlej flows from this lake, but the headwaters of the others all rise nearby on the sides of Mount Kailash. They had tea in Hor’s only cafe which, like all the other buildings in town, was built from badly painted concrete and had three broken windows but they had a good view of the lake through one of the windows.

After half an hour’s stop, they drove westwards out of the town towards Mount Kailash.

The narrator was surprised to see Hor because it was absolutely different from what he had read about it. Ekai Kawaguchi, a Japanese monk who had been there in 1900, was so stirred by the holiness of the lake that he burst into tears. A few years later, the place had a similar effect on Sven Hedin, a Swede visitor.

They reached a guesthouse in Darchen after 10.30 p.m. They were 4,760 metres above the sea level. It was a disturbed night. The narrator had terrible cold because of the open-air rubbish dump in Hor. With his nostrils blocked he found it difficult to breathe. He was tired and hungry and thus started breathing through his mouth.

But barely had he slept when he woke up abruptly. His felt a peculiar heaviness in his chest; he sat up and cleared his nasal passages. He felt relieved but the moment he lay down he intuitively felt that something was wrong. He was not breathless but simply could not sleep. The fear of dying in his sleep kept him awake.

The next morning Tsetan took him to the Darchen Medical College. It was a new building that looked like a monastery from the outside. It had a very solid door that opened into a large courtyard. In the consulting room was a Tibetan doctor who did not have the equipment that a doctor would have. Clad in a thick pullover and a woolly hat, he listened to the narrator’s symptoms and said it was because of the altitude and cold. He assured the narrator that he would be fine and gave him a brown envelope stuffed with fifteen screws of paper that contained brown powder that tasted like cinnamon. He was asked to take them with hot water. The narrator did not like the look of the contents but took them anyway. He slept very soundly.

When Tsetan was assured that the narrator was going to be well, he left him and returned to Lhasa. As a Buddhist, it didn’t really matter if the narrator died but he thought it would be bad for business. After the narrator got his rest and a good night’s sleep, Darchen didn’t look so awful. It was still dusty, and had heaps of rubble and refuse, but the bright sun gave him a view of the Himalayas. He saw the snow-capped mountain, Gurla Mandhata, with a small cloud hanging over its peak.

The town had a few general stores selling Chinese cigarettes, soap and other basic provisions, as well as the usual strings of prayer flags. In front of one, men collected in the afternoon for a game of pool on a strange table in the open air, while nearby women washed their long hair in the icy water of a narrow brook near the guesthouse. Darchen felt stress-free and slow but for the narrator this was a major disadvantage. There were no pilgrims. He had been told that in the peak of the pilgrimage season, the town was full of visitors. That was the reason for his being there in the beginning of the season, but it seemed that he was too early.

One afternoon he sat with a glass of tea in Darchen’s only cafe thinking about the paucity of pilgrims and the fact that he hadn’t made much progress with his self-help programme on positive thinking. After some contemplation, he felt he could only wait. He did not like the idea of going alone on a pilgrimage.

The kora was seasonal because parts of the road were likely to be blocked by snow. He had no idea if the snow had cleared, but he saw the large pieces of dirty ice on the banks of Darchen’s stream. From the time when Tsetan had left, he had not met anyone in Darchen who could answer even the basic questions in English till he met Norbu.

The narrator was in a small, dark cafe with a long metal stove that ran down the middle. The walls and roofs were covered with multi-coloured sheets of plastic that is made into shopping bags in many countries. Plastic is one of China’s most successful exports along the Silk Road today. He sat beside a window so that he could see the pages of his notebook. He also had a novel with him. Norbu saw the book, came to him, sat opposite and asked the narrator if he was ‘English’. They stated a conversation. The narrator could make out that he did not belong to that place as he was wearing a windcheater and metal-rimmed spectacles of Western style. He told the narrator that he was a Tibetan, but worked in Beijing at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, in the Institute of Ethnic Literature. He, too, had come to do the kora.

Norbu had been writing academic papers about the Kailash kora and its importance in various works of Buddhist literature for many years, but he had never actually done it himself. When the narrator told him what brought him to Darchen, he was excited and wanted to work with him as a team. He soon realized that Norbu was as ill-equipped as him for the pilgrimage. He kept telling the narrator how fat he was and how tough it was going to be for him to walk. He wasn’t really a practising Buddhist, it became known, but he had enthusiasm and he was a Tibetan.

Although at first the narrator had thought that he would make the trek in the company of religious people but then felt that Norbu would turn out to be the ideal companion. Norbu suggested that they hire some yaks to carry the luggage, as he said it was not possible for him to prostrate himself all round the mountain as that was not his style, and anyway his tummy was too big.

summary in hindi

वर्णनकर्ता रावू को छोड़कर कोरा पूरा करने के लिए कैलाश पर्वत की ओर जा रहा था। सुबह के शुरुआती घंटों में उन्हें जाने के लिए तैयार किया गया था। ल्हामो ने वर्णनकर्ता को एक लंबी बाजू वाला भेड़ की खाल का कोट दिया, जिसे सभी पुरुषों ने विदाई के उपहार के रूप में पहना था। टेसेटन ने उनकी कार में बैठते ही उनका आकलन किया। चांगतांग से निकलने के लिए उन्होंने शॉर्ट कट लिया। त्सेतान एक ऐसा मार्ग जानता था जो उन्हें दक्षिण-पश्चिम की ओर ले जाएगा, लगभग सीधे कैलाश पर्वत की ओर। उन्होंने कहा कि इसमें काफी ऊंचे पहाड़ी दर्रों को पार करना शामिल है। यदि बर्फ न होती तो उस रास्ते से जाने में कोई समस्या नहीं होती, लेकिन जब तक कोई वहाँ नहीं पहुँचता तब तक उसे पता नहीं चल सकता था।

रावू की धीरे-धीरे बढ़ती और गिरती पहाड़ियों से, शॉर्ट कट उन्हें विशाल खुले मैदानों, सूखी चरागाह भूमि में ले गया, जिसमें कुछ छोटे मृगों के अलावा कुछ भी नहीं था। आगे चलकर उन्होंने देखा कि मैदान घास से अधिक पथरीले हो गए हैं। यहाँ उन्होंने जंगली गधों का एक झुंड देखा जो इधर-उधर दौड़ रहा था और जिसके बारे में सेटन ने उन्हें प्रकट होने से पहले ही बता दिया था।

ड्राइव फिर खड़ी हो गई। उन्होंने अपने झुंडों को चराते हुए ड्रोकबास को पार किया। मोटे कपड़े पहने पुरुष और महिलाएं उनकी कार को घूरते रहे और कभी-कभी उन पर हाथ हिलाते रहे जबकि भेड़ें वाहन से दूर चली जाती थीं। वे आम तौर पर एक बड़े काले कुत्ते, एक तिब्बती बड़े, चिकने बालों वाले कुत्ते की रखवाली करते हुए खानाबदोशों के अंधेरे टेंट को अलग-थलग जगहों पर ले जाते थे। ये कुत्ते उन्हें दूर से ही देख लेते और जैसे-जैसे वे करीब आते जाते, उनकी ओर दौड़ते और करीब सौ मीटर तक उनका पीछा करते। ये बालों वाले कुत्ते पिच काले थे और आमतौर पर चमकीले लाल कॉलर पहनते थे और बड़े जबड़े के साथ गुस्से में भौंकते थे। वे अपने वाहन से बिल्कुल निडर थे और सीधे अपने रास्ते पर भाग जाते थे। सेटन को उनसे बचने के लिए ब्रेक लगाना पड़ा और तेजी से मुड़ना पड़ा। यह उनकी उग्रता के कारण ही था कि इन तिब्बती कुत्तों को शिकार कुत्तों के रूप में तिब्बत से चीन के शाही दरबार में लाया गया था।
जैसे ही वे एक घाटी में दाखिल हुए, वे बर्फ से ढके पहाड़ और चौड़ी नदी देख सकते थे, लेकिन ज्यादातर बर्फ से अवरुद्ध थे जो धूप में जगमगा रही थी। जैसे-जैसे वे आगे बढ़ते गए, उनके ऊपर की ओर जाने वाले ट्रैक पर मोड़ तेज होते गए और सवारी ऊबड़-खाबड़ हो गई। चारों ओर की चट्टानें चमकीले नारंगी लाइकेन के धब्बों से आच्छादित थीं। चट्टानों के नीचे, अंतहीन छाया लग रहा था। वर्णनकर्ता ने महसूस किया कि उसके कानों में दबाव बढ़ रहा है इसलिए उसने अपनी नाक पकड़ी, सूँघा और उन्हें साफ किया। तभी सेटन रुक गया और उनमें से तीन - सेटन, डैनियल और कथावाचक कार से बाहर चले गए।

हिमपात जारी रहा। जो बर्फ जमा हुई थी, वह उनके वाहन के लिए बहुत खड़ी थी, इसलिए बर्फ के ढेर के आसपास जाने का कोई रास्ता नहीं था। वर्णनकर्ता ने अपनी कलाई घड़ी को देखा और महसूस किया कि वे समुद्र तल से 5,210 मीटर ऊपर थे।

बर्फ ज्यादा गहरी नहीं दिख रही थी, लेकिन खतरा यह था कि अगर कार फिसली तो पलट सकती है। त्सेटन ने मुट्ठी भर मिट्टी पकड़ी और उसे बर्फ की जमी हुई सतह पर फेंक दिया। सेटन के भार को कम करने के लिए डैनियल और वर्णनकर्ता वाहन से बाहर रहे। वह पीछे हट गया और गंदी बर्फ की ओर चला गया, और बिना किसी कठिनाई के कार आगे बढ़ गई। लेकिन दस मिनट गाड़ी चलाने के बाद एक और रुकावट आ गई। त्सेटन ने दृश्य का आकलन किया और इस बार उसने बर्फ के चारों ओर ड्राइव करने का फैसला किया। यह बड़ी चट्टानों से बिखरी एक खड़ी ढलान थी, लेकिन सेटन ने उन्हें पार कर लिया। वर्णनकर्ता ने फिर से अपनी घड़ी देखी; वे समुद्र तल से 5,400 मीटर ऊपर थे और उनका सिर बुरी तरह से दर्द करने लगा। उसने राहत के लिए थोड़ा पानी पिया।


जब वे दर्रे के शीर्ष पर 5,515 मीटर पर पहुंचे, तो उन्होंने सफेद रेशमी स्कार्फ और फटे हुए प्रार्थना झंडों से सजी बड़ी-बड़ी चट्टानें देखीं। उन सभी ने परंपरा के अनुसार दक्षिणावर्त घूमा और सेटन ने अपने वाहन के टायरों की जांच की। वह पेट्रोल टैंक पर रुक गया। कम वायुमंडलीय दबाव ईंधन के विस्तार की अनुमति दे रहा था।

जैसे ही वे दर्रे के दूसरी ओर गए वर्णनकर्ता को जल्द ही सिरदर्द से राहत मिली। दो बजे, वे दोपहर के भोजन के लिए रुके और सूखे नमक की झील के किनारे रखे एक लंबे कैनवस वर्क टेंट के अंदर गर्म नूडल्स खाए। पठार नमकीन रेगिस्तानी क्षेत्र और नमक की झीलों, टेथिस महासागर के अवशेषों से ढका हुआ था, जो खड़ी चढ़ाई से पहले तिब्बत को घेरे हुए था। यहाँ बहुत चहल-पहल थी, फावड़े और फावड़े लिए आदमी भेड़ की खाल के लंबे कोट और नमक से ढके जूते पहने इधर-उधर घूम रहे थे। नमक के ढेर से लदे हुए सभी ट्रकों की तेज रोशनी के खिलाफ धूप का चश्मा पहने हुए थे।
कोरा मौसमी था क्योंकि सड़क के कुछ हिस्सों के बर्फ से अवरुद्ध होने की संभावना थी। उसे इस बात का कोई अंदाजा नहीं था कि बर्फ साफ हुई है या नहीं, लेकिन उसने डार्चेन की धारा के किनारे गंदी बर्फ के बड़े-बड़े टुकड़े देखे। सेटन के चले जाने के समय से, वह डारचेन में किसी से नहीं मिला था जो नोरबू से मिलने तक अंग्रेजी में बुनियादी सवालों का जवाब दे सके।

वर्णनकर्ता एक छोटे, गहरे रंग के कैफे में था जिसमें धातु का एक लम्बा चूल्हा था जो बीच में नीचे की ओर चलता था। दीवारों और छतों को प्लास्टिक की बहुरंगी चादरों से ढक दिया गया था, जिसे कई देशों में शॉपिंग बैग में बनाया जाता है। प्लास्टिक आज सिल्क रोड के साथ चीन के सबसे सफल निर्यातों में से एक है। वह एक खिड़की के पास बैठ गया ताकि वह अपनी नोटबुक के पन्ने देख सके। उनके साथ उनका एक उपन्यास भी था। नोरबू ने किताब देखी, उसके पास आया, सामने बैठा और वर्णनकर्ता से पूछा कि क्या वह 'अंग्रेज' है। उन्होंने एक बातचीत की। वर्णनकर्ता यह पता लगा सकता था कि वह उस स्थान से संबंधित नहीं था क्योंकि उसने पश्चिमी शैली का विंडचीटर और धातु की रिम वाला चश्मा पहन रखा था। उन्होंने कथावाचक को बताया कि वह एक तिब्बती थे, लेकिन बीजिंग में चाइनीज एकेडमी ऑफ सोशल साइंसेज, इंस्टीट्यूट ऑफ एथनिक लिटरेचर में काम करते थे। वह भी कोरा करने आया था।

नोरबू कई वर्षों से कैलाश कोरा और बौद्ध साहित्य के विभिन्न कार्यों में इसके महत्व के बारे में अकादमिक पत्र लिख रहे थे, लेकिन वास्तव में उन्होंने इसे स्वयं कभी नहीं किया था। जब कथावाचक ने उसे बताया कि वह क्या लेकर आया है, तो वह उत्साहित था और एक टीम के रूप में उसके साथ काम करना चाहता था। उन्होंने जल्द ही महसूस किया कि नोरबू तीर्थयात्रा के लिए उनके जैसे ही बीमार थे। वह कथावाचक को बताता रहा कि वह कितना मोटा है और उसके लिए चलना कितना कठिन होने वाला है। वह वास्तव में एक अभ्यासी बौद्ध नहीं थे, यह ज्ञात हो गया था, लेकिन उनमें उत्साह था और वे एक तिब्बती थे।

हालाँकि पहले तो वर्णनकर्ता ने सोचा था कि वह धार्मिक लोगों की संगति में ट्रेक करेगा लेकिन फिर लगा कि नोरबू आदर्श साथी बन जाएगा। नोरबू ने सुझाव दिया कि वे सामान ले जाने के लिए कुछ याक किराए पर लेते हैं, क्योंकि उन्होंने कहा कि उनके लिए पहाड़ के चारों ओर झुकना संभव नहीं था क्योंकि यह उनकी शैली नहीं थी, और वैसे भी उनका पेट बहुत बड़ा था।

The Adventure Summary in English

Professor Gangadharpant Gaitonde was travelling in the Jijamata Express on the Pune-Bombay route. This train was much faster than the Deccan Queen and he noticed that there were no industrial townships outside Pune. The train first stopped at Lonavala, 40 minutes after it started from Pune and then for a little while at Karjat. It went on even faster through Kalyan.

In the meantime, Professor Qaitonde, being a historian, was thinking of going to a big library in Bombay and looking through history books. He wanted to understand the present situation. He also decided to return to Pune and discuss with Rajendra Deshpande, who would surely help him understand what had happened. He hoped that a person called Rajendra Deshpande existed.

When the train stopped at a small station, Sarhad, an Anglo-Indian ticket-checker went around checking tickets. Khan Sahib informed Gangadharpant that that was where the British Raj began. He inquired if Gangadharpant was going to Bombay for the first time. Gangadharpant had not been to this Bombay before. He asked Khan Sahib how he would go to Peshawar. Khan Sahib replied that he would go to the Victoria Terminus and would take the Frontier Mail. It would go from Bombay to Delhi, then to Lahore and then Peshawar. He would reach the next day.

Then Khan Sahib discussed his business and Gangadharpant listened eagerly. As the train passed through the suburban rail traffic, Khan Sahib explained that the blue carriages carried the letters, GBMR, that meant Greater Bombay Metropolitan Railway. The Union Jack painted on each carriage was a reminder that they were in British territory.

When the train reached Victoria Terminus, the station looked remarkably neat and clean. Most of the staff was Anglo-Indian and Parsee along with a few British officers.

As Gangadharpant came out of the station he found himself facing an impressive building. It was the East India house headquarters of the East India Company. He was shocked, because as per the history books The East India Company had been shut down soon after 1857. But here it was prospering.

He walked ahead along Hornby Road but he found there was no Handloom House building. Instead, there were Boots and Woolworth departmental stores, grand offices of Lloyds, Barclays and other British banks, as in a typical high street of a town in England.

He entered the Forbes building and asked the English receptionist that he wished to meet Mr Vinay Gaitonde, his son. She searched through the telephone list and said that there was nobody with that name there. He was shocked. He had a quick lunch at a restaurant; he went to the Town Hall to the library of the Asiatic Society to solve the mystery of history.

In the library he started browsing through the five volumes of history books including his own. Volume one was about the history up to the period of Ashoka, volume two up to Samudragupta, volume three up to Mohammad Ghori and volume four up to the death of Aurangzeb. Reading volume five, Gangadharpant finally arrived on the precise moment where history had taken a different turn. That page in the book described the Battle of Panipat, and it mentioned that the Marathas won the battle. Abdali was defeated and he was chased back to Kabul by the triumphant Maratha army led by Sadashivrao Bhau and his nephew, the young Vishwasrao.

The book did not give a detailed explanation of the battle but explained in detail its impact for the power struggle in Ipdia. Gangadharpant read the account eagerly. The style of writing was definitely his, but much to his surprise he was reading the explanation for the first time.

Their victory in the battle had not only increased the confidence of the Marathas but it also established their domination in northern India. The East India Company, observing these developments for the time being postponed its policy of expanding in India’s territory.

For the Peshwas it resulted in an increased power of Bhausaheb and Vishwasrao who succeeded his father in 1780 A.D. The threat, Dadasaheb, was pushed to the background and he finally left state politics.

The East India Company was disappointed, as the new Maratha ruler, Vishwasrao and his brother, Madhavrao, combined political sharpness with bravery and extended their control all over India. The Company’s hold was then limited to places near Bombay, Calcutta and Madras. This was exactly like that of the Portuguese and the French.

The Peshwas kept the Mughal rule alive in Delhi to manipulate the situation. In the nineteenth century these rulers from Pune were shrewd enough to recognise the beginning of the technological age in Europe. They set up their own centres for science and technology. The East India Company saw another chance to enlarge its influence. It offered aid and experts. They were accepted only to make the local centres self-sufficient.

In the twentieth century more changes were brought about because of the Western influence.

Now, India moved towards a democracy. By then, the Peshwas had lost their zeal and democratically elected bodies slowly replaced them. The Sultanate at Delhi survived this change, mainly because it exercised no influence. The Shahenshah of Delhi was just a nominal head to rubberstamp the suggestions made by the parliament.

Gangadharpant began to understand India as a country that had learnt to be self-reliant and knew what self-respect was. It was in a position of strength but for only business reasons, it had allowed the British to be there. Bombay was the only colony on the subcontinent. That lease was to expire in the year 2001, according to a treaty of 1908.

Gangadharpant could not help comparing the country he knew with what he was viewing now. But he had to find how the Marathas had won the battle. For this he started looking for reports of the battle itself. Finally he found Bhausahebanchi Bakhar. Even though he rarely trusted the Bakhars for historical verification, he found them entertaining to read. He managed to find a brief mention of how Vishwasrao luckily survived his close brush with death.

At eight o’clock the library was to close. As Gangadharpant left the table he put some notes into his right pocket. Forgetfully, he also thrust the Bakhar into his left pocket.

After a measly meal at the guesthouse, he leisurely walked towards the Azad Maidan. There a lecture was to take place. Professor Gaitonde walked towards the pandal and was awestruck staring at the platform. The presidential chair was vacant. He was drawn to it. The speaker stopped his lecture, as he was too surprised to continue. But the audience shouted at him to leave the chair.

Professor Gaitonde went to the mike and expressed his views. He said that an unchaired lecture was like Shakespeare’s Hamlet without the Prince of Denmark. The audience was in no mood to listen but Gangadharpant was an experienced orator. He braved a shower of tomatoes, eggs and other objects. Finally, the audience came to the stage to throw him out but Gangadharpant had disappeared in the crowd.

This was all he had to tell Rajendra. All he knew was that he was found in the Azad Maidan in the morning. He was back in the world he was familiar with. But he did not know where he had spent the two days when he was absent from there.

The story astonished Rajendra. He asked him where he had been, just before his accident with the truck. Professor Gaitonde said that he was thinking of the disaster theory and its consequences for history. Professor Gaitonde produced the page tom out of a book as evidence that he had not been imagining things. Rajendra read the text and seemed equally surprised.

Gangadharpant said that he had intended to return the book to the library but in the episode of Azad Maidan, the book was lost and only this tom-off page remained. And that had the essential evidence.

Rajendra read the page; how Vishwasrao narrowly missed the bullet; and how that event, taken as a sign by the Maratha army, turned things to their advantage. Then Gangadharpant took out his own copy of Bhausahebanchi Bakhar, where the bullet hit Vishwasrao.

Rajendra and Professor Gaitonde were both very curious to know the facts.

Rajendra tried to explain Professor Gaitonde’s experience on the basis of two scientific theories. He explained that Professor Gaitonde had heard a lot about the upheaval theory at that seminar. He wanted to relate it to the Battle of Panipat. He said that wars fought face to face on open grounds offered excellent examples of this theory. The Maratha army was facing Abdali’s troops on the field of Panipat. There was no great disparity between them as their protection was similar. So, a lot depended on the leadership and the confidence of the troops.

When Vishwasrao was killed, it proved to be the important moment of change. His uncle, Bhausaheb, rushed into the fight and was never seen again. The troops were thoroughly demotivated as they had lost their important leaders. This led to their crushing defeat. The tom page was the path taken by the battle, when the bullet missed Vishwasrao, thus its effect on the troops was also just the opposite. Gangadharpant said that there was a likelihood of this as similar statements are made about the Battle of Waterloo, which Napoleon could have won. But since we live in a unique world, which has a unique history, this might just be guesswork but not reality.

Rajendra made his second point. He said ‘reality’ is what we experience directly with our senses or indirectly via instruments. But it is not limited to what we see.

Experiments on atoms and their constituent particles have proved that reality may not be exclusive. The Physicist discovered that the behaviour of these systems cannot be forecast conclusively even if all the physical laws governing those systems are known. For example if a bullet were fired from a gun in a given direction at a given speed, one would know where it would be at a later time. But one cannot make such an assertion for the electron. It may be here, there, anywhere. Professor Gaitonde felt that the quantum theory offered a lack of determinism.

Rajendra argued his case further. He asked Professor Gaitonde to imagine many world pictures. In each world the electron could be found in different location. Once the observer found where it was, he would know which world we were talking about. But all those alternative worlds could exist just the same.

Professor Gaitonde wanted to know if there was any contact between those many worlds.

Rajendra said that there was a possibility both ways. We know the exact route of the planet. The electron could be orbiting in any of a large number of specified states. These states may be used to identify the world. In state no. 1 the electron was in a state of higher energy. In state no. 2 it was in a state of lower energy. It could make a jump from high to low energy and send out a pulse of radiation. Or a pulse of radiation could knock it out of state no. 2 into state no. 1. Such transitions were common in microscopic systems. These transitions could happen on a macroscopic level as well.

He felt that Gangadharpant could have made a transition from one world to another and back again. He said that his theory was that disastrous situations offer completely different options for the world to proceed. It seemed that so far as reality was concerned all alternatives were viable but the observer could experience only one of them at a time.

By making a shift, Gangadharpant was able to experience two worlds although one at a time. The one he lived in and the one where he spent two days. One had the history we know, the other a different history. The separation or split took place in the Battle of Panipat. He had neither travelled to the past nor to the future but was in the present but experiencing a different world. There must be many more different worlds at different points of time.

Gangadharpant wanted to know why had he made the transition. Rajendra said that there were many unsolved questions in science and this was one of them. However, he made a guess. He felt that Gangadharpant needed some contact to cause a transition. Perhaps, at the time of the collision he was thinking about the catastrophe theory and its role in wars or perhaps he was wondering about the Battle of Panipat and the neurons in his brain activated the transition.

Professor Gaitonde said he found the explanation probable. He had been wondering what path history would have taken if the result of the battle had gone the other way. That was what he was going to speak about in the Azad Maidan.

Rajendra laughed and said that now he was in a better position, as he would talk of his real life experience rather than just an assumption. But Gangadharpant looked serious. He said that his thousandth address was made on the Azad Maidan where he was so rudely interrupted. The Professor Gaitonde who disappeared while defending his chair on the platform will now never be seen presiding at another meeting as he had expressed his regrets to the organisers of the Panipat seminar.

The Adventure Summary Questions and Answers

Question 1.
‘That is, assuming that in this world there existed someone called Rajendra Deshpande!’ Why does Professor Gaitonde feel so?
Answer:
Professor Gaitonde had gone through a strange and a harrowing experience. He had been literally transported into an alternative universe. In the alternative world the reality was very different. History had altered its course. Now back into the real world Professor Gaitonde, as a historian felt he would go to a big library and browse through history books and would return to Pune and have a long talk with Rajendra Deshpande, to help him understand what had happened. After the queer happening, he was unsure about the reality and wondered if Rajendra Deshpande existed.

Question 2.
What were the things that Professor Gaitonde noticed as the train entered the British Raj territory?
Answer:
As the train touched Sarhad, from where the British Raj began, an Anglo-Indian in uniform went through the train checking permits. The blue carriages of the train carried the letters GBMR on the side—an acronym for ‘Greater Bombay Metropolitan Railway’. There was the tiny Union Jack painted on each carriage as a . reminder that they were in British territory. As the train stopped at its destination, Victoria Terminus, the station looked remarkably neat and clean. The staff was mostly made up of Anglo-Indians and Parsees along with a handful of British officers.

Question 3.
Where was Khan Sahib going? How did he intend to reach there?
Answer:
Khan Sahib was going to Peshawar. After the train reached Victoria Terminus he would take the Frontier Mail out of Central,-the same night. From Bombay he would go to Delhi, then to Lahore and then Peshawar. It would be a long journey and he would reach Peshawar two days later.

Question 4.
What was the strange reality that Professor Gaitonde saw as he stepped out of the station?
Answer:
As Professor Gaitonde came out of the station, he saw an impressive building. The letters on it revealed that it was the East India headquarters of the East India Company. He was shocked as it was supposed to have had stopped operating soon after the events of 1857 but here it was flourishing.

Question 5.
What came as the biggest blow to Professor Gaitonde?
Answer:
Professor Gaitonde was shocked to see the East India Company flourishing, a different set of shops and office buildings at Hornby Road. But when he turned right along Home Street and entered Forbes building, a greater shock awaited him. He asked for his son Mr Vinay Gaitonde but the English receptionist, looked through the telephone list, the staff list and then through the directory of employees of all the branches of the firm but could not find anyone of that name.

Question 6.
What did Professor Gaitonde decide to do when the reality that he was living seemed very strange?
Answer:
When Professor Gaitoride saw unfamiliar sights and felt that he was reliving history he was very surprised but not finding his son as an employee in Forbes baffled him completely. He decided to go to the library of the Asiatic Society to solve the riddle of history. So he made his way to the Town Hall.

Question 7.
What books did he browse through in the library? What did he discover?
Answer:
In the Town Hall library, he asked for a list of history books including his own.

When he got the five volumes, he started looking through them from the beginning. Volume one dealt with the history up to the period of Ashoka, volume two up to Samudragupta, volume three up to Mohammad Ghori, and volume four up to the death of Aurangzeb. This was history as he had known. However in the last (fifth) volume, history had taken a different turn during the Battle of Panipat. The book mentioned that the Marathas won it handsomely and Abdali was chased back to Kabul by the triumphant Maratha army led by Sadashivrao Bhau and his nephew, the young Vishwasrao.

Question 8.
How did the victory of the Peshwas in the Battle of Panipat help them?
Answer:
The victory in the battle was not only successful in building their confidence tremendously but it also established the supremacy of the Marathas in northern India. The East India Company, watching these events temporarily deferred its plan to spread out further.

For the Peshwas the immediate result was that the influence of Bhausaheb and Vishwasrao increased and Vishwarao succeeded his father in 1780 A.D. The rabble-rouser, Dadasaheb, had to retire from state politics.

Question 9.
What was the effect of the victory of the Peshwas on the East India Company?
Answer:
The East India Company was alarmed when the new Maratha ruler, Vishwasrao, and his brother, Madhavrao, expanded their influence all over India. The Company was limited to pockets of influence near Bombay, Calcutta and Madras. However, in the nineteenth century the Marathas were aware of the importance of the technological age starting in Europe. Hence when they set up their own centres for science and technology, the East India Company saw another chance to extend its influence, it offered support and experts. But they were accepted only to make the local centres self-sufficient.

Question 10.
What was the final outcome of the Peshwas?
Answer:
During the twentieth century, inspired by the West, India moved towards a democracy. By then, the Peshwas had lost their enterprise and democratically elected bodies slowly but surely replaced them. The Sultanate at Delhi survived even this change because it exerted no real influence. The Shahenshah of Delhi was a nominal head to rubber-stamp the ‘recommendations’ made by the central parliament.