Weak eyesight, poor hearing, memory loss, loneliness, health issues, difficulty in walking, and feeling ignored by family members.

Old age, weakening of body organs, lack of company, busy lifestyle of children, generation gap, and shifting from familiar places to new surroundings.

Spending time with them, listening to their stories, giving medicines on time, taking them for walks, respecting their feelings, and never treating them like children.

Because once he got lost while taking a walk and forgot the way home. He had also absent-mindedly taken a double dose of medicines and had to be admitted to the hospital.

No. Ravi winced at the over-loud tone his mother used while speaking to Grandpa — as if she were speaking to a child who could not hear or understand.

No. Grandpa insisted on going out alone to buy the Tamil newspaper, and Ravi did not want to hurt his feelings. So he decided to follow Grandpa secretly instead of stopping him.

Ravi felt great delight and relief. He was overcome with affection for his grandfather, knelt down near his bed, put his cheek against the old man’s face, and gave him a warm hug.

Probably not. Ravi will not tell her — if he did, he would have to admit he had been following Grandpa and had failed his duty. Grandpa also enjoyed teasing Ravi without giving him away.

Ravi’s reaction shows deep love and affection for his grandfather. He felt great relief on hearing Grandpa snoring, knelt down, placed his cheek against the old man’s face, and gave him a warm hug. This proves Ravi truly cared for Grandpa, even when he felt annoyed by his stubbornness.

It shows Grandpa is a generous, loving, and selfless person. Instead of expecting gifts, he wishes to spread happiness. He still considers Ravi’s parents as his “babies” — he loves giving rather than taking.

Grandpa was fully aware that Ravi had been secretly following him the whole day. The twinkle in his eye showed he had played a clever trick on Ravi.

…he was used to the peace and quiet of his small brick house, where the air was calm and one could even hear a leaf fall.

He had slipped and fallen in his garden one evening and lay outside the whole night with no one to help him. So his daughter locked up the brick house and brought him to the city for his safety.

D — pin drop silence

C — calm.

Grandpa told his mother that Ravi had disappeared instead of staying home to look after him. Ravi could not defend himself because he had indeed gone out — to secretly follow Grandpa.

False

Grandpa had not forgotten. He was giving gifts because it was his own birthday — his habit was to give gifts to every child in the house on his own birthday.

Grandpa was cleverly hinting that Ravi had gone out of the house secretly to follow him. He implied that Ravi had disobeyed his mother’s instructions and had not stayed at home as promised.

Grandpa drank sugary tea, ate two bananas, and an ice cream — all of which were forbidden for him at home due to his health. Ravi feared that his mother would faint if she came to know.

No, not at all.

• Had to hide behind a bush in the park and was caught by a small child and scolded by the boy’s mother.
• Vendors near the tea stall surrounded him.
• Was thrown out of a Ladies’ Hairdressing Salon.
• Was ultimately fooled by Grandpa with the yellow cap trick.

Yes, fully aware. Evidence:

• He gave his yellow cap to a stranger to fool Ravi.
• He told Ravi’s mother that Ravi had “disappeared.”
• He gifted Ravi The Best Detective Stories with the hint about “avoiding getting fooled when trailing a suspect.”
• The twinkle in his eye made it clear he had played a clever trick.

In my opinion, Ravi’s mother (Vidya) needs Vitamin-M, not Grandpa. She forgot her own father’s birthday even after circling the date in red on her calendar — while Grandpa remembered everyone’s birthday and gave gifts to all.