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Class 9
Lesson 1
Tales of Bhola Grandpa
The author and the text:
 |
Manoj Das |
Manoj Das (1934 - April, 2021) is an Indian award - winning bilingual writer who wrote in Oriya and English. He has written many novels, short stories, poems, travelogues and articles on history and culture.
This text is an edited version of Das's short story which narrates Bhola Grandpa's hilarious adventures seen through the eyes of a young man who had known him closely. The simplicity and forgetfulness of Bhola Grandpa provides an element of humour on ehich the story hinges.
Text:
Bhola Grandpa and his wife lived at the western end of our village. A large Bokal tree overshadowed their hut. In the Bokal tree lived a small troop of monkeys. Bhola Grandpa and his wife did not mind it.
One moonlit night, we were returning from a festival. The road was long and foggy. I was riding on the village chowkidar's shoulders. Suddenly Bhola Grandpa let out a loud wail. Everyone in our party was surprised. We halted. Enquiry revealed that Bhola Grandpa had taken his grandson to the festival. He had tightly held on to the two fingers of the boy. He did not realize when those fingers slipped out. Bhola Grandpa was continuing as before. Then someone asked Bhola Grandpa what he was gripping. He remembered his grandson and let out a loud wail.
My father chose two sharp-eyed men from our party to go back with Bhola Grandpa to the festival. The grandson was found before long. He had taken a cosy shelter under a cow's belly.
I remembered another funny incident about Bhola Grandpa related by my father. It had been a rainy afternoon. Bhola Grandpa wild with excitement told my father and his friends that he had seen a gang of pirates. They were burying a large box under one of the sand dunes on the seashore by our village. At once father and his friends started looking for the hidden treasure. Evening passed on to night. Moonlight came in through the clouds. A pack of jackals were howling. It was past midnight. At this point of time, Bhola Grandpa confessed that there was no real treasure. It was all a dream which he had during his midday nap.
Once Bhola Grandpa had adventure in the Sunderbans. In those days Royal Bengal tigers freely roamed the dense jungles of the Sunderbans. People took care to move about only in groups, particularly after sundown.
One evening, Bhola Grandpa was returning from the weekly market. Suddenly at a distance of about five yards behind him. He heard the growl of a Royal Bengal tiger, Bhola Grandpa turned and found the bright gaze of the tiger on his face.
Bhola Grandpa instantly climbed up a nearby banyan tree. The tiger roared and circled the tree about a hundred times. Then it settled down under a bush without taking its eyes off him. With nightfall, the forest grew dark and silent. Bhola Grandpa could hear the tiger beating its tail on the dry leaves. Hours passed.
Down broke with the cooing of doves. Bhola Grandpa came down. There was a group of men on a mound a little away. Bhola Grandpa climbed the mound and requested the first man he saw for some water to drink. The man had seen the tiger waiting. He was much bewildered. "What is your secret that you simply walked past the hungry beast and it did nothing?" he asked Bhola Grandpa.
The tiger was stretching its limbs and yawning. Then, Bhola Grandpa remembered the tiger and looked at it. Bhola Grandpa almost lost his senses in fear. He ran back home.
Half a century later. Bhola Grandpa left us forever one morning at the age of ninety-five. His eighty-year old wife lamented much. She said with a sigh, "The old man must have forgotten to breath.
Hindi Trnaslation:
भोला दादाजी और उनकी पत्नी हमारे गाँव के पश्चिमी छोर पर रहते थे। एक बड़े बोकल पेड़ ने उनकी झोपड़ी को ढक दिया। बोकल वृक्ष पर बंदरों की एक छोटी सी टोली रहती थी। भोला दादाजी और उनकी पत्नी को इससे कोई आपत्ति नहीं थी।
एक चांदनी रात में, हम एक उत्सव से लौट रहे थे। रास्ता लम्बा और धुँधला था। मैं गांव के चौकीदार के कंधे पर सवार था. सहसा भोला दादाजी ने जोर से विलाप किया। हमारी पार्टी में हर कोई हैरान था. हम रुके. पूछताछ में पता चला कि भोला दादा अपने पोते को महोत्सव में ले गये थे. उसने लड़के की दो उंगलियों को कस कर पकड़ लिया था. उसे पता ही नहीं चला कि कब वो उँगलियाँ छूट गईं। भोला दादाजी पहले की तरह ही चल रहे थे. तभी किसी ने भोला दादाजी से पूछा कि वह क्या पकड़ रहे हैं। उसे अपने पोते की याद आई और उसने जोर से विलाप किया।
मेरे पिता ने भोला दादाजी के साथ उत्सव में वापस जाने के लिए हमारी पार्टी से दो तेज-तर्रार लोगों को चुना। पोता बहुत पहले ही मिल गया था. उसने एक गाय के पेट के नीचे आरामदायक आश्रय ले रखा था।
मुझे भोला दादाजी के बारे में अपने पिता द्वारा सुनाई गई एक और मजेदार घटना याद आ गई। वह एक बरसाती दोपहर थी। भोला दादाजी ने बड़े उत्साह से मेरे पिता और उनके दोस्तों को बताया कि उन्होंने समुद्री डाकुओं का एक गिरोह देखा है। वे हमारे गाँव के समुद्र तट पर रेत के टीलों में से एक के नीचे एक बड़ा बक्सा गाड़ रहे थे। तुरंत पिता और उनके दोस्त छिपे हुए खजाने की तलाश में निकल पड़े। शाम से रात हो गयी. बादलों के बीच से चाँदनी आ गई। सियारों का एक झुंड चिल्ला रहा था। आधी रात से ऊपर जा चुकी थी। इस समय, भोला दादाजी ने कबूल किया कि कोई वास्तविक खजाना नहीं था। यह सब एक सपना था जो उसने दोपहर की झपकी के दौरान देखा था।
एक बार भोला दादाजी सुंदरबन में साहसिक कार्य कर रहे थे। उन दिनों रॉयल बंगाल टाइगर सुंदरबन के घने जंगलों में खुलेआम घूमते थे। लोगों ने केवल समूहों में ही घूमने का ध्यान रखा, विशेषकर सूर्यास्त के बाद।
एक शाम भोला दादा साप्ताहिक बाज़ार से लौट रहे थे। अचानक उसके पीछे लगभग पाँच गज की दूरी पर। उन्होंने रॉयल बंगाल टाइगर की गुर्राहट सुनी, भोला दादाजी मुड़े और बाघ की चमकीली निगाह उनके चेहरे पर पड़ी।
भोला दादाजी तुरंत पास के बरगद के पेड़ पर चढ़ गये। बाघ ने दहाड़ते हुए लगभग सौ बार पेड़ का चक्कर लगाया। फिर वह उससे नज़रें हटाए बिना एक झाड़ी के नीचे बैठ गया। रात होते-होते जंगल में अंधेरा और सन्नाटा छा गया। भोला दादाजी को बाघ के सूखे पत्तों पर पूँछ पटकते हुए सुनने को मिला। घंटे बीत गए.
कबूतरों की गुटरगूँ से टूट पड़ा। भोला दादा नीचे आये. थोड़ी दूर एक टीले पर आदमियों का एक समूह था। भोला दादाजी टीले पर चढ़ गए और जो पहला आदमी उन्हें दिखा उससे पीने के लिए पानी माँगा। उस आदमी ने बाघ को इंतज़ार करते हुए देख लिया था. वह बहुत हतप्रभ था. "आपका रहस्य क्या है कि आप भूखे जानवर के पास से चले गए और उसने कुछ नहीं किया?" उसने भोला दादाजी से पूछा।
बाघ अपने हाथ-पैर फैला रहा था और जम्हाई ले रहा था। तभी भोला दादाजी को बाघ की याद आई और उन्होंने उसकी ओर देखा। भोला दादाजी डर के मारे लगभग होश खो बैठे। वह घर वापस भाग गया.
आधी सदी बाद. भोला दादाजी 95 साल की उम्र में एक सुबह हमें हमेशा के लिए छोड़ कर चले गये। उसकी अस्सी वर्षीय पत्नी ने बहुत विलाप किया। वह आह भरते हुए बोली, ''बूढ़ा सांस लेना भूल गया होगा.
Sea Also:
(Click Here) →⮚ Tales of Bhola Grandpa
(Click Here) →⮚The Price of Bananas
(Click Here) →⮚A Shipwrecked Sailor
(Click Here) →⮚Hunting Snake
Word Nest:
Sand dunes: Small hills of sand formed by the wind.
Bewildered: confused
Textual questions:
Exercise 1
Tick the correct answer from the given alternatives:
1. In the bokal tree there lived
(a) crows(b) monkeys ✔(c) tigers(d) sparrows
2. On the way back from the festival, Bhola Grandpa tightly held on to the two fingers of his
(a) son(b) cousin(c) grandson ✔(d) nephew
3. Agang of pirates were burying a
(a) large box ✔(b) small box(c) large bag(d) small bag
4. Bhola Grandpa was returning from the
(a) yearly market(b) monthly market(c) daily market(d) weekly market ✔
5. Bhola Grandpa died at the age of
(a) eighty-five(b) ninety-five ✔(c) fifty-five(d) seventy-five
Exercise 2
2. Answer the following questions within fifteen words:
(a) When did Bhola Grandpa let out a loud wail?
Ans:- Bhola Grandpa suddenly realised that his grandson was not with him and he had lost him.
(b) Where had the grandson found a cosy shelter?
Ans:- The grandson of Bhola Grandpa took a cosy shelter under a cow's belly.
(c) What reuest did Bhola Grandpa make to the first man he saw on the mound?
Ans:- Bhola Grandpa requested the first man he saw to give him some water to drink.
(d) How old was Bhola Grandpa's wife when he died?
Ans:- Bhola Grandpa's wife was eighty years old when he died.
Exercise
3. Answer the following questions within twenty-five words:
(a) Why was no real treasure found under the sand dunes?
Ans:- Because it was all a dream of that Bhola Grandpa saw during his midday nap.
(b) What did the tiger do after Bhola Grandpa had climbed up the banyan tree?
Ans:- The tiger roared loudly and circled the banyan tree for about a hundred times and it settled down under a bush.
(c) What was the reason of Bhola Grandpa's death according to his wife?
Ans:- According to Bhola Grandpa's wife, the old Bhola Grandpa must have forgotten to breathe.
Grammar in Use:
Exercise 4
4. Change the mode of narration of the following sentences:
(a) Bulbuli said to his friend, “Will you come tomorrow?"
Ans:- Bulbuli asked his friend if she would go the next day.
(b) Paulami says,” I am fine."
Ans:- Paulami says that she is fine.
(c) The teacher said to the students, “Keep quiet.”
Ans:- The teacher told the students to keep quiet.
(d) My mother said to me, “May your dreams come true.”
Ans:- My mother wished me that my dreams might come true.
(e) The students said,” Sir, please allow us to play in the field.”
Ans:- The students requested their Sir that they might be allowed to play in the field.
Exercise 6
5. Write a dialogue within 100 words on the need to ban the use of animals like tigers and lions as circus attractions:
[Hints: wild animals decreasing, ill treatment to animals in circuses-criminal offence-laws against such-need to be humane to animals]
Here is a dialogue on the need to ban the animals in circus:
Sudip: Santu! How are you ? Where are you coming from ?
Santu: Hallo Sudip! I am coming from a circus show?
Sudip: Oh, That’s great! How enjoyable the show was?
Santu: Yes, it’s really amazing. But one thing hurts me.
Sudip: Really, What’s that?
Santu: The animals like tigers and lions that are in cage. Even they are tortured to jump through fire.
Sudip: You are absolutely right. It is very painful! They are fallen victims to the ruthless torture, negligence, and malnutrition.
Santu: They show their tricks with life risk.
Sudip: There are many laws to protect wild animals. But the corrupt circus owners do not want to obey anything.
Santu: The government should be strict to maintain law and order in this matter.
Sudip: I think so! And at the same time, public voice should be raised against the nexus.
Santu: Absolutely! Oh, I am going to attend a tuition class!
Sudip: Ok! See you!
Santu: Ok! Bye!
Exercise 7
6. Write a story within 100 words using the given hints. Give a title to the story:
[Hints: returning from educational excursion by bus-night journey-sudden breakdown-tyres punctured-had to wait for two hours at a lonely place-Tyres fixed-back home]
Ans:-
A Horrible Bus Journey
An excursion to Hajarduari in Murshidabad was organized by our school last Sunday. It was a one-day tour. We started our journey from our school ground at about 5 in the morning by bus. We all students and teachers walked around there all the day. When the sun sets at about 6.30 in the afternoon, we decided to come back. When evening came down, we started our back journey to come to our place. Suddenly, the driver of our bus realized that one of the tyres of our bus was punctured. I occurred at the mid of darkness in our way. We got down and kept on shivering in fear. We had to wait for two hours at a lonely place. The puncture took two hours to be fixed and we restart our journey to home. Anyway, we reached homes safe at day-break. It was a horrible experience for us.
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