1) How was the season of Hilsa Fish? How did people talk only about Hilsa Fish?
= The season of Hilsa fish was filled with buying and selling of hilsa fishes all around.
The fishermen, courtiers and other people talked about nothing but Hilsa Fish. They talked about the sizes and prices of hilsa fish being sold in the market.
2) How were even the courtiers talking about Hilsa Fish? How did the king react to them?
= The courtiers also talked about the sizes and price of hilsa fish and how fishes are being sold in a lump at the market.
The king was very annoyed and vexed with all the people and courtiers talking only about hilsa fish. He didn’t want them to waste their time on such a trivial topic
3) Why did the king feel sorry after scolding? What did the king challenge?
=The king was very annoyed with hilsa fish being the only big fuss. Nobody talked about anything else but hilsa fish. He thought that nobody could stop all these people from talking about hilsa fish, not even Gopal.
The king wanted to bring a change in the air. He challenged Gopal to buy a hilsa-fish and bring it to the palace without anyone asking anything about the fish throughout the way to prove that he was clever.
4) Did Gopal accept the challenge? What did he say?
= Yes, Gopal did accept the challenge gladly.
Gopal gladly accepted the challenge in order to prove his wit.
5) How did Gopal prepare for buying Hilsa Fish?
= Gopal, being a very witty person, knew how to turn tables. A few days after that, he half-shaved his beard, smeared himself with ash, and wore disgraceful rags before he went to buy his hilsa-fish.
6) How did the wife of Gopal react about Gopal’s preparation?
= Gopal’s wife was shocked to see his husband going out with such a funny makeup look. She forbade him many times, apparently thought him a madman and shouted at him. But in any way Gopal didn’t pay any attention and went away in order to prove his wit.
7) How did people on the road react when they saw Gopal in that disgraceful attire?
= Everybody suddenly forgot about Hilsa fish and talked only about Gopal’s disgraceful attire. A kid addressed him as comical, some people thought him to be a madman and some thought him to be mystic. Gopal became the center of attraction and everybody talked about him.
8) What happened at the gate when Gopal wanted to enter?
= Gopal’s disgraceful attire and look made people laugh and drive their attention away from Hilsa fish. When Gopal reached the gate of the court, he requested to let him meet the king. But the gateman thought him to be a madman and hesitated. Gopal started to dance and sing loudly and frantically so that his voice could reach up to the King.
9) How did Gopal enter the palace at last?
= The guard thought him to be a madman and hesitated initially. But Gopal, being the witty one, started to dance and sing loudly and frantically which drove away from everybody’s attention further to him. And when the king heard his shouts, he ordered the gateman to bring him in and that’s how he entered the palace.
10) How did the other courtiers react when they saw Gopal in that way in the king of court?
= The other courtiers thought him to be a mad man. Some thought that to be n of his crazy jokes. Apparently, everybody whispered about his disgraceful appearance in the court.
11) How did Gopal make the king remember about the challenge?
= The king was initially shocked to see Gopal with such a disgraceful attire. He asked the reason for his ridiculous appearance. To which Gopal replied that nobody seemed to discuss hilsa fish anymore and everybody’s suddenly concerned about Gopal’s disgraceful look. And that’s when the king remembered about the challenge.
12) How did the king accept that Gopal had won and impossible, possible?
=The king was pretty sure that Gopal could do the impossible possible and therefore threw such a challenge. Gopal on the other hand, accepted the challenge because flattering his majesty was the only thing he looked forward to. He dressed ridiculously and came all the way from market to court without people being talked about hilsa fish. And even when the king didn’t find his courtiers talking about it, he accepted Gopal’s victory.
13) Evaluate Gopal to be a clever man?
= In Spite of Gopal being from a low caste family, he was quite intelligent. He could ridicule anybody with his finest wit and that we can see from this story. We find Gopal accepting the challenge and coming up with a very precise plan. He made people not talk about hilsa fish throughout from market to court. He was successful in doing that with his disgraceful look. He’s a person of pan and knew how to make tables turn. His victory in the challenge thrown at him proves him to be a very humorous and witty person.
14) What psychological trick do you think Gopal played to win his challenge?
= We people have the tendency to talk about things that are either weird, unique or funny. Hilsa fish, being the prime concern during the season, was everybody’s mouth of the word. But Gopal seemed to know human psychology nicely. He knew what exactly could be done to sway away all the people’s attention from that hilsa fish fuss. In a normal day with people dealing with regular Hilsa fish, it was really shocking for everyone to watch Gopal roam around with such a weird, disgraceful look. Hence, he was everybody’s center of attention and thus, he ticked human psychology and won in the end.