Extra Questions And Answers of Iswaran the Storyteller || Cbse Class -9 English || Moments ||

     2 Marks Question:-

1. Tell us about the profession of Mahendra. How he would move about
different places for his work?

~Mahendra
was a junior supervisor in a firm that offered to hire supervisors at various
types of construction sites. His job was to keep an eye on the activities at
the worksite.
Mahendra
had to keep moving from place to place as ordered by his head office: from a
coal mining area to a railway bridge construction site, from there after a few
months to a chemical plant which was coming up somewhere.


2. Tell us about the adaptability of Mahendra at different places.

~
Mahendra’s needs were simple. He was able to adjust himself to all kinds of odd
conditions, whether it was an ill-equipped circuit house or a makeshift canvas
tent in the middle of a stone quarry.


3. How was Iswaran an asset for Mahendra? What work would he do for
Mahendra?

~
Iswaran was an obedient person. He was Mahendra’s cook. He was very caring and
hardworking. He obeyed his master with full dedication.
Iswaran
cooked for Mahendra, washed his clothes, and chatted away with his master at
night.


4.Acquaint us with Iswaran’s excellent skills of cooking at off
place at an odd time.

~Iswaran
also had an amazing capacity to produce vegetables and cooking ingredients,
seemingly out of nowhere, in the middle
of a
desolate landscape where there were no shops available. He would miraculously
conjure up the most delicious dishes made with fresh vegetables within an hour
of arriving at the zinc-sheet shelter at the new workplace.







5. What does Iswaran do every day?

~
Iswaran would tidy up the shed, wash the clothes, and have a leisurely bath,
pouring several buckets of water over his head, muttering a prayer all the
while. By then it would be lunchtime. After eating, he would read for a while
before dozing off. The book was usually some popular Tamil thriller running to
hundreds of pages.


6. How is Iswaran into the habit of reading?

~
Reading books was a part of Iswaran’s daily routine. He would read for a while
before dozing off. The book was usually some popular Tamil thriller running to
hundreds of pages. Its imaginative descriptions and narrative flourishes would
hold Iswaran in a thrill.


7. How would Iswaran make a small incident a special one? Explain
with example.

~
While narrating even the smallest of incidents, Iswaran tries to work in
suspense and a surprise ending into the account.
Iswaran
describes the uprooted tree by first adding suspense and then a surprise ending
to the account. He uses his eyes and hands quite dramatically while recounting
that he was alone on a deserted road when he saw something that looked like an
enormous bushy beast. Later, on a closer look, he saw that it was a fallen tree
with dry branches spread out.


8. Acquaint us with the prologue of the elephant story.

~
Iswaran starts the story saying that one day a tusker escaped from the timber
yard and began to roam about, stamping on bushes, tearing up wild creepers, and
breaking branches at will. He asked his master if he knew how an elephant
behaves when he is mad. Iswaran in the excitement of his own story gets up from
the floor and jumps about, stamping his feet in emulation of the mad elephant
.







9. How did the wild elephant make destruction in and around?

~ The
elephant reached the outskirts of the town breaking the fences down like
matchsticks. It came into the main road and smashed all the stalls selling
fruits, mud pots, and clothes. The elephant then entered a school ground where
children were playing, breaking through the brick wall. The beast grunted and
wandered about, pulling out the football goal-post, tearing down the volleyball
net, kicking and flattening the drum kept for water, and uprooting the shrubs.


10. What did the school teacher and the students do? How did the
elephant destroy the school property?

~ The
elephant entered a school groundbreaking through the brick wall. All the boys
ran into the classrooms and shut the doors tight. The elephant grunted and
wandered about, pulling out the football goal-post, tearing down the volleyball
net, kicking and flattening the drum kept for water, and uprooting the shrubs.
All the teachers helplessly watched the depredations of the elephant from the
terrace of the school building. No one dared to face him.


11. How did Iswaran tame the wild elephant?

~ No
one had the courage to face the elephant. The elephant kept destroying the
premises. Iswaran moved forward and, mustering all force, whacked its third
toenail on the quick. The elephant looked stunned for a moment and then it
shivered from head to foot and
collapsed.


12. Why did Iswaran stop his story in the middle? How did the
narrator react on his return? Do you think he did it on purpose?

~
Iswaran would leave the story unfinished, and get up mumbling, for lighting the
gas and warming up the dinner.
Mahendra
who had been listening with rapt attention would be left hanging. On returning
he would never pick up the thread of the story right away until reminded by his
master Mahendra that the conclusion was pending.
Yes,
Iswaran did it with purpose. He wanted to bring suspense and surprise the
listeners.


13. What explanation did Iswaran give behind his ability to control
the elephant?

~Iswaran
said that it was a Japanese art, Karate, or ju-jitsu by which he controlled the
elephant. He revealed that he had read that it temporarily
paralyzes
the nervous system.







14. How did Iswaran fillup the absence of TV and other means of
recreation?

 ~ Iswaran besides being Mahendra’s cook was also an excellent
storyteller. It was his daily routine to entertain his master at night after he
returns from his work. Iswaran was his best company. He was never bored, he
enjoyed his stories. He was a good listen. He never felt the necessity to get a
TV, Iswaran was the best substitute for TV.


15. What was the auspicious day? What did Iswaran cook? How did
Mahendra enjoy the food?

~
According to tradition in an auspicious day, various delicacies are prepared to
feed the spirits of our ancestors today.
Iswaran
cooked special delicious food for his dinner.
Mahendra
was fond of his cooking. He enjoyed the delicious dinner and complimented
Iswaran on his culinary skills. He seemed very pleased.


16. What horrible information did Iswaran share which spoiled the
meal? How did he try to bring logic in his support?

~
While having dinner Iswaran shared that the entire factory area occupied by
them was once a burial ground. Mahendra was jerked out of the pleasant reverie
he had drifted after the satisfying meal.
Iswaran
also says that the first day itself he saw a human skull lying on the path and
came across a number of skulls and bones. He had even seen ghosts at night.


17. Which ghostly experience did Iswaran talk about the place?

~Iswaran
shared his experience of how he sometimes saw ghosts at night but never got
frightened by these things. He exclaimed to be a brave fellow with irony.
The horrible ghost of a woman he saw appears at midnight during the full moon
was an ugly creature with matted hair and a shrivelled face, like a skeleton
holding a fetus in its arms.







18. How did Mahendra discard and showed irritation about his ghost
story?

~
While Iswaran was sharing his spooky experience Mahendra shivered and
interrupted sharply saying that he was crazy. For Mahendra, there was no
existence of ghost or spirits. It is all a figment of the imagination.  He asked Iswaran to get his digestive system
examined and head as well. Being was mad at him, he said that Iswaran was
uttering nonsense.


19.How on every night Mahendra sleep with fear due to the story of
Iswaran?

~
Mahendra avoided looking out of the window when the moon was full. He went to
bed with certain unease and peered into the darkness to make sure that there
was no movement of dark shapes outside.


20. When and how did Mahendra experience ghost?

~ One full-moon night, Mahendra was woken up from
his sleep by a low moan close to his window. At first, he thought it to be some
cat looking for mice but soon realized that it was not the case. However, he
did not look out because he was afraid that he might find a ghost. When the
sound grew louder, he could not resist anymore and lowered himself to the level
of the windowsill to look out. There he saw a dark cloud-like form holding a
bundle. Mahendra got so frightened at this sight that he broke into a cold
sweat and fell back on his pillow, breathing heavily.


21. How did Mahendra discard the possibilities of seeing a ghost
with his logic?

~
Mahendra gradually recovered from the ghastly experience he began to reason
with himself, and finally concluded that it must have been some sort of
autosuggestion, some trick that his subconscious had played on him.







22. What shocking information did Iswaran give and how was it
shocking news?

~
Iswaran knew what happened last night. He
teasingly asked him about his reaction at having seen the female ghost. He said
that he came running at night hearing the sound of moaning that was coming from
Mahendra’s room.
It was
very shocking. Even though Mahendra has not shared anything with Iswaran, he
knew everything. Thinking about that, a chill went down his spine. He did not
wait for Iswaran to complete his sentence.


23. Why did Mahendra decide to leave his job?

~
Mahendra was convinced that there were ghosts around his house. He was scared
and did not want to live there any longer, he decided to resign his job
.


     8 Marks Question:-

1. Consider the story to be an embodiment of a perfect spooky story.

~
Iswaran was a perfect storyteller. He narrated many stories for his master, one
of that was the story of the ghost which frightened Mahendra and also created a
scary atmosphere. He told Mahendra that entire factory area where he worked was
once a burial ground. lswaran told Mahendra that he often saw ghosts at night.
There appeared a horrible ghost of a woman. She held a fetus in her arms.
Hearing this tale, Mahendra shivered. But he told lswaran that there were no
ghosts in reality. From that time, Mahendra felt somewhat uneasy at night.
Mahendra claimed that he was a brave and rational man. He scolded Iswaran when
he latter talked about ghosts or spirits. He told him that such things were
merely a figment of the imagination. However, deep inside he got scared when
Iswaran told him that he had seen a female ghost and that the entire factory
area where they lived was earlier a burial ground. One full-moon night,
Mahendra was woken up from his sleep by a low moan close to his window. At
first, he thought it to something else but soon realized that it was not that.
However, he did not look out because he was afraid that he might find a ghost.
When the sound grew louder, he could not resist anymore and lowered himself to
the level of the windowsill to look out. There he saw a dark cloud-like form
holding a bundle. Mahendra got so frightened at this sight that he broke into a
cold sweat and fell back on his pillow, breathing heavily. Without taking any
time he decided to quit his job and leave that place.







2. How far do you consider Iswaran as a good storyteller?

~  A good storyteller has the quality to put the
readers in a thrill. Iswaran had an inborn skill for story-telling. Iswaran is a
fascinating storyteller who could narrate out endless stories. He acquired
this talent by reading Tamil thrillers. He would read these novels every day
after lunch and relate them to his master in his leisure time. He would use
facial and body expressions to add interest to the story. He would raise his
eyebrows, wave his hands, and jump about imitating the characters in his
stories. He would narrate a story and purposely leave it unfinished midway. On
returning, he would not pick it up right away till reminded by his master. He
would narrate a new story every day and fill it with adventure, horror, and
suspense, thus entertaining Mahendra as television does. He would add up
suspense and surprise even to an ordinary incident. He keeps the interest of
the listener lively. He has got a good imagination and good skills, he has all
the good qualities of a good storyteller. He seems to be a good dramatist.
Instead of saying uprooted tree, he would say that he saw a huge bushy beast
lying across the road. He had an amazing capacity to make stories.


3. Do you think that the story reflects the fiction at its height?

~
Iswaran was Mahendra’s cook. Besides cooking, he had a habit of reading popular
Tamil thriller fiction. He was greatly impacted by the Tamil authors of these
thriller stories. Iswaran was an imaginative and good narrator as he used his
facial expressions and physical gestures to create a picture of the story he
used to narrate. He was an imaginative person because most of the tales he used
to tell were imaginative and inspired by the Tamil thrillers he read. He
narrated interesting tales that left Mahendra entertained. He filled suspense
and thrill to his stories, instead of saying that he had come across an uprooted
tree on the highway, he would say, with eyebrows suitably arched and hands held
out in a dramatic gesture, “The road was deserted and I was all alone. Suddenly
I spotted something that looked like an enormous bushy beast lying sprawled
across the road. I was half inclined to turn and go back. But as I came closer
I saw that it was a fallen tree, with its dry branches spread out.”He narrated
the story of an elephant by giving a prologue in which he called elephants
‘huge well-fed beasts. The tusker destroyed everything that came into the way.
When the elephant was ready to rush towards him, he moved forward and whacked
its third toenail. It looked stunned and then collapsed. It was not at all
plausible, it can be possible virtually. Iswaran builds up the ghost story by
narrating how he sometimes saw ghosts at night. He told details about having
seen an ugly female ghost holding a fetus in her arms. Mahendra was a rational
man and did not believe in ghosts or spirits but could not help getting
influenced by what Iswaran told him about the female ghost.








4. Compare the character of Iswaran and Mahendra.

Mahendra
was the master of Iswaran. He was a bachelor. He was a contractor. His job was
as that of type in which he moves from place to place. Iswaran was his servant.
Iswaran would recount a new story filled with adventure, horror, and suspense.
Mahendra loved his stories and listened with rapt attention even if they were
unbelievable. Iswaran thus entertained Mahendra just as TV does. Iswaran
enjoyed his job and would not sit idle when Mahendra was at work. Mahindra’s
decision to leave the place shows that he was fearful in nature. Iswaran became
a master storyteller by adopting the art of storytelling from these novels. His
character displays a shade of comedy as well when he teasingly asks Mahendra
about his reaction at having seen the female ghost.
Mahendra
was very fond of his cook Iswaran whom he considered to be an asset. He enjoyed
the food cooked by him and also enjoyed listening to his stories. He was a good
listener and never interrupted Iswaran. He was very patient and would wait for
Iswaran to return and complete the unfinished story when Iswaran used to leave
the story in the middle. He was also curious as he would insist on knowing all
the details. Mahendra was a brave man and did not believe in ghosts or spirits
but could not help getting influenced by what Iswaran told him about the female
ghost. Mahendra’s character appeals to the reader as a devoted worker, a
kind-hearted master, and a trusting man.


5. Iswaran is a perfect representation of the real-life character in
our society. Discuss.

~
Iswaran was a multitalented person, besides cooking he was also good at
narrating stories. His character teaches us the values of dedication,
cheerfulness, and creativity. He carried off his duties as a cook by preparing
the most delicious dishes like a magician. He was dedicated to Mahendra and
served him uncomplainingly regardless of the situation or the place. He lived
his life. He enjoyed his job and would not sit idle when Mahendra was at work.
In Mahendra’s absence, he would finish off cleaning and washing tasks. Iswaran was
a curious learner. He developed the art of storytelling by reading Tamil
thrillers. He could narrate a story every day by mixing suspense, adventure,
and horror to the episodes. He knew how to grab the attention of the readers.
He was a good and loyal companion to Mahendra and entertained him more than a
TV. He was large-hearted and did not react even after getting a scolding from
Mahendra. He acted normal life everything.