MY ELDER BROTHER
My brother was five years older than me, but only three grades ahead at school. We had started school at the same age, but he didn't like to be hasty in such an important matter as education. He wanted to lay a solid foundation³ so that a magnificent structure could be raised upon it. So he would spend two years doing the work of one year, and sometimes even three. After all, how can one raise a strong building on a weak foundation!
Being the elder one, it was his birth right to supervise and
scold me. As the younger brother, I had to accept his commands as law.
He was studious¹ by nature, and always remained glued to his
books. Sometimes, perhaps to refresh his mind, he would sketch birds or dogs or
cats on the margins of his books. Sometimes he would write a set of words that
made no sense at all. I tried very hard to solve these riddles but without
success.
I disliked studying. To sit with a book for an hour was like
climbing a mountain. At the first opportunity I would walk out of the hostel to
the open ground and toss pebbles into the air or fly paper butterflies. If I
found a companion, we would play marbles, or swing to and fro upon the hostel
gates. But the moment I returned to the room I would freeze in my tracks on
seeing my brother's stony expression. His first question would be, Where have
you been?" The question was always asked in the same tone, and my answer
was only silence. I don't know why I couldn't tell him that I had just gone out
to play. My silence was proof of my crime, and that was all he needed. 'If you
study English like this you will go on and on forever, and learn nothing Learning
English is no child's play". Look at me. I devote all my time to studies,
yer I am stuck in each class for two or three years. At this rate, you will
keep rotting in this class your entire life. If you have to waste your life in
this manner, then it is better you go home and play gilli-danda". Why
waste our parents' hard-earned money?"
Listening to this tongue-lashing", I would burst into
tears. After a few hours I would pledge to devote my heart and soul to studies.
In no time I would work out a timetable, which would have no provision
whatsoever for play. However, on the very first day, the green fields, the
gentle breeze, the games, all these would beckon me outside. I would forget the
strict timetable and the pile of books, and my brother would once again get the
opportunity to lecture me.
The results of the annual examinations were declared. My
brother had failed once again, and I had passed with flying colours. Now he was
just two classes ahead of me. He was so heartbroken that I couldn't help
sympathizing with him. But I also grew bolder and no longer felt terrorized by
him. I began to participate freely in games and sports. My brother quietly
observed this change and one day, when I returned after spending the whole
morning playing gilli-danda, he pounced upon me.
'I can see you have become arrogant because you have secured
the first position this year. But, my brother, pride has caused the downfall of
many. Sometimes, even in gilli-danda we play a big stroke by chance. Does that
fluke" make us great players? When you come to my grade, you will have to
crack the tough nuts of geometry and algebra. If you write ach instead of abc,
you will lose all the marks. How does it matter whether you eat
curry-rice-chapatti or rice-curry-chapatti? But these examiners don't care.
They want students to cram" everything word for word, and this cramming
has been called "education". They ask you to write a short essay on
"Punctuality" in not less than four pages. Now, who doesn't know that
punctuality is a good thing? Why waste four pages on something that can be said
in one sentence? My boy, don't float in the air just because you have secured
the first position in this class. I might have failed many times, but I am
older than you and more experienced. So mark my words, or It was time for
lunch, but I had lost my appetite. The frightful image that my brother had
drawn of the studies in higher classes had terrified me. But even after all
this, I couldn't give up my outdoor activities. I studied only what was
necessary for class, while the rest of my time was spent playing outside and
avoiding the watchful eye of my brother.
The annual examinations came and once again I got through and
my brother flunked. I hadn't worked very hard but somehow I stood first again.
When the results were announced, he broke down. I also cried. The joy of having
passed was dimmed¹4. Had I also failed, my brother might not have grieved so
much, but who can alter the course of destiny!
Now he was just one class ahead and had mellowed's a lot
towards me. I began to take advantage of this leniency". I started
believing that my luck would get me through whether I studied or not. I had
developed a fondness for flying kites and most of my time was spent in this
activity. But I was still wary" of my brother's temper and would fly kites
away from his gaze. One evening, far away from the hostel, I was running to
capture a large kite floating freely in the sky. A group of boys was racing to
grab it from the opposite side. The competition was intense and my eyes were
fixed on the kite's gliding form. Suddenly I bumped into someone. A pair of
strong hands prevented me from falling and I looked up to see my brother
staring down at me angrily. Holding my arm, he shouted, 'Aren't you ashamed of
running after this worthless kite with these children? You don't seem to care
that now you are in class eight, just one class lower than me. Do you have no
sense of how to behave at your age? You must be thinking that I have no right
to rebuke18 you now. But you are wrong. I'm five years older than you, and will
remain so even if you become my classmate next year and in the present system
of examinations it is quite possible get ahead of me the year after. You cannot
ever match my experience of the world and life even if you earn many academic
degrees Our parents are not highly educated. We might accumulate" all the
knowledge in the world, yet they will always retain the right to correct us
because they have far greater experience of the world. They may not know the .
of political system America has, or the number of times a king got married, but
they know a thousand things that we are clueless about. If I were to fall ill
today, you would be helpless, with no idea what to do. So, brother, don't think
you are my equal now, and free. I know my words seem like poison to you.. This
new strategy" had quite defeated me. The words made me see my brother in a
different light. Ashamed of myself, I said with tearful eyes, 'Not at all.
Whatever you have said is true, and you have every right to say it.'
My brother embraced me and said, 'I am not asking you to stop
flying kites. I long to do all this too, but I'm bound by duty. If I tread¹¹
the wrong path myself, how would I stop you? You are my responsibility'
Just then the kite came floating over our heads. The end of
its string was dangling above us. My brother, who was quite tall, jumped and
caught hold of the loose end of the string. Then he bolted towards the hostel,
with me at his heels.
A.Write whether the following statements are true or false.
Correct the false statements.
1. The elder brother was eight years older than the narrator.
–False
The passage mentions that the elder brother was five years older than
the narrator.
2. After the last exam, the narrator was five grades behind
the elder brother.-False
After the last exam, the narrator was just one grade behind the elder
brother, not five.
3. The elder brother was hardworking and studious. True
Yes, the elder brother as studious by nature.
4. The narrator was very fond of studies. False
The narrator disliked studying.
5. The elder brother loved to play with marbles and fly
kites. –False
the narrator's fondness for flying kites, but not the elder brother's.
the
elder brother would sometimes sketch birds, dogs, or cats on the margins, and
sometimes he would write a set of words that made no sense at all.
B. Fill in the blanks with words/phrases from the story.
1. The
narrator was shocked to know that he had passed his exams with flying colours while his elder brother
had failed.
2.
The elder brother always remained studious by nature.
3. The
narrator would walk out of the hostel at
the first opportunity.
4. According
to the elder brother there was no difference whether one ate curry-rice-chapatti or rice-curry-chapatti.
5. The elder
brother considered the narrator his responsibility.
C. Answer the following questions.
1. 1.According
to the narrator, how did his elder brother prefer to go about his education?
Answer: The narrator explains that his elder brother
preferred to go about his education slowly and methodically. He believed in
laying a solid foundation by spending two or three years on the work of one
year so that a strong structure could be built upon it.
2. 2. What games
would the narrator play when he went outside?
Answer: When the narrator went outside, he would play games
like marbles, swing on the hostel gates, toss pebbles into the air, or fly
paper butterflies.
3. 3.What was
the narrator unable to tell his brother? Why?
Answer: The narrator was unable to tell his brother that he
had just gone out to play when asked where he had been. He remained silent
because he felt his silence was proof of his "crime," and he couldn't
bring himself to admit to his brother that he had been playing instead of
studying.
4. 4. What
encouraged the narrator to boldly participate in games and sports? What
precaution did he take while doing this?
Answer: The narrator was encouraged to boldly participate in
games and sports after he passed his exams with flying colours while his elder
brother failed. He took precautions to avoid his brother's disapproval by
flying kites away from his brother's gaze.
D. Answer
the questions with reference to the context.
'Sometimes, even in gilli-danda we play a big stroke by
chance. Does that fluke make us great players?'
a. Who is the speaker of the lines above? When did he say
this?
Answer: The speaker of the lines above is the elder brother. He said this
during a conversation with the narrator, when discussing the narrator's
participation in games like gilli-danda.
b. What was the 'big stroke' that the speaker is referring
to?
Answer: The 'big stroke' that the speaker is referring to is a fortunate and
unexpected success or achievement in the game of gilli-danda.
c. What were the tough challenges the speaker faced in his
grade?
Answer:
d. What warning did the speaker give to the listener?
Answer: The speaker warns the listener (the narrator) not to become arrogant
due to a temporary success, reminding him that even chance successes don't make
one great. He emphasizes the challenges of higher grades and the importance of
diligence in studies.
"I also cried. The joy of having passed was
dimmed."
a. Why did the narrator also cry?
Answer:
b. The narrator's joy was dimmed. What does this tell you
about his feelings towards his brother?
Answer:
c. What would have probably happened had the narrator failed?
If the narrator failed, he would have felt sad. He might have received
criticism from his brother and felt pressure to do better in his studies.
d. What effect did the narrator's success in the examination have on him?
When the narrator passed the exam, he felt happy at first. But then he saw his brother's sadness, and his own happiness became less bright.
3. 'You cannot ever match my experience of the world and life even if you earn many academic degrees.'
a.How had the speaker's brother fared in academics, compared to him?The speaker's brother hadn't done well in academics compared to him. The brother had failed exams multiple times while the speaker had passed with good grades.
b. Why did the speaker say that his brother could never match his experience?
The speaker said his brother could never match his experience because he
struggled academically and hadn't achieved success in school . The speaker
believed that life experiences and wisdom gained through struggles were more valuable than academic degrees.
c. What had the brother done to deserve this rebuke from the speaker?
The brother deserved to be scolded by the speaker because he didn't do
well in school and criticized the speaker without understanding life's broader viewpoint.
d. Whose example did the speaker give to prove that experience is more important than academic degrees?
The speaker said their parents were smarter than they seemed because they had more life experience, even though they didn't have many degrees.
E. Reflect and answer.
1. Do you think the narrator's success in academics made the elder brother feel inferior?
Give reasons for your answer.
The elder brother might have felt a bit inferior because the narrator did
well in academics while he struggled. But he also valued experience, so it's not clear-cut.
2. Do you agree with the elder brother's assertion that experience is always superior to natural ability? Why/Why not?
It depends. Experience is important, but natural ability can also be useful in certain situations.
3. The narrator managed to do well in his examinations again and again without working very hard. Do you think it was a fluke, as his elder brother had said, or was there another reason for his success? Justify your answer.
The narrator's success might not have been just luck. They might have understood the material well or had effective study methods that worked for them.
A. Read the following sentences and state what kinds they are.
1. 1 .Sushma and
her friends are going on a picnic on Sunday. Declarative sentence
2. 2.Where do
the gypsies live?Interrogative sentence
3. 3 .The poor
woman must see a doctor right away. Declarative sentence
4. 4 .Oh, what
beautiful flowers the daffodils are! Exclamatory sentence
5. 5 .Kanan's school
reopens after twenty days.Declarative sentence
6. 6 .Submit
your work on time. Imperative sentence
7. 7 .What are
the children planning for the summer vacation? Interrogative sentence
8. 8 .Where does
Ameena work? Interrogative sentence
9. 9 .Hurray,
the Indian team won the match! Exclamatory sentence
1 10.Please
pass me a pen.Imperative sentence
B. Complete the following sentences with suitable endings.
Remember to put the correct punctuation marks at the end.
1. Please
teach the children diligently.
2. What was
the purpose of that meeting?
3. Hina plays
for the school basketball team.
4. What
beautiful paintings adorn the walls!
5. When is the
next meeting scheduled?
6. Come inside
the room and sit down.
7. Oh, how
lovely is the sunset tonight!
8. Water and
oil do not mix well.
9. I will
surely attend the event tomorrow.
10. How is
Megha suitable for the role of team leader?
VOCABULARY
A. Find words/phrases from the story that mean the following:
1. 1. extremely grand and impressive: magnificent
structure
2. 2.a difficult puzzle: tough nuts
3. 3. to move backwards and forwards in a
continuous motion: swing to and fro
4. 4.very successfully: passed with flying
colours
5. 5. the quality of doing things or being
somewhere on time: punctuality
6. 6.very serious; demanding a lot of
concentration: studious
B. Replace the
underlined phrases with suitable words from the story. One has been done for
you.
1. It was my brother's right to be in charge of me.
It was my brother's right to supervise me.
2. To become a soldier, you must make a serious promise to
devote your life to the country.
To become a soldier, you must pledge to devote your life to the country.
3. His loss of position was caused by his extreme
arrogance and pride.
His downfall was
caused by his extreme arrogance and pride.
4. The illness had made me lose my desire for food.
The illness had made me lose my appetite.
5. The branch hanging loose from the tree could fall
down at any time.
The dangling
branch from the tree could fall down at any time.
GRAMMAR:-
A. Read the following sentences and state what kinds they
are.
1. 1. Declarative sentence: "Sushma and her
friends are going on a picnic on Sunday."
2. 2. Interrogative sentence: "Where do the
gypsies live?"
3. 3.Declarative sentence: "The poor woman must
see a doctor right away."
4. 4. Exclamatory sentence: "Oh, what beautiful
flowers the daffodils are!"
5. 5. Declarative sentence: "Kanan's school
reopens after twenty days."
6. 6. Imperative sentence: "Submit your work on
time."
7. 7. Interrogative sentence: "What are the
children planning for the summer vacation?"
8. 8.Interrogative sentence: "Where does Ameena
work?"
9. 9. Exclamatory sentence: "Hurray, the Indian team won the match!"
110.Imperative sentence: "Please pass me a pen."
B. Complete the following sentences with suitable endings.
Remember to put the correct punctuation marks at the end.
1. 1. Please teach the children manners.
2. 2.What was the purpose of your visit?
3. 3. Hina plays for the national team.
4. 4.What beautiful paintings you have!
5. 5. When is the next meeting scheduled?
6. 6. Come inside the room and have a seat.
7. 7. Oh, how lovely is the sunset tonight!
8. 8. Water and oil do not mix well.
9. 9. I will surely attend the event.
10.How is Megha suitable for the role?
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