2. A Gift of Chappals

 

Ch 2. A Gift of Chappals

Vasantha Surya

 

 

Comprehension Check(Page No: 22)

1.
What is the secret that Meena shares with Mridu in the backyard?

Answer

Meena shared the
secret of having a kitten in the backyard inside a torn football lined with
sacking and filled with sand. They found him outside the gate in the morning.

2.
How does Ravi get milk for the kitten?

Answer

For getting milk for
the kitten, Ravi told Paati that he is hungry when she saw him with glass of
milk. Paati got suspicious so Ravi had to drink most of the milk and told
Paati that he will wash the tumbler by himself. After that, Ravi ran and pour
the milk into coconut shell and then ran back to wash the tumbler before Paati
got really suspicious.

3.
Who does he say the kitten’s ancestors are? Do you believe him?

Answer

He said the kitten’s
ancestors was the Mahabalipuram Rishi-Cat, which was the emblem of the Pallava
dynasty and the Mahabalipuram Rishi-Cat was descendants of the cat-goddess of
Egypt.

No, I don’t believe
him.

4.
Ravi has a lot to say about M.P.Poonai. This shows that

(i)
he is merely trying to impress Mridu.

(ii)
his knowledge of history is sound.

(iii)
he has a rich imagination.

(iv)
he is an intelligent child.

Which
of these statements do you agree/disagree to?

 

Answer

I agree to these
statements.

(ii) his knowledge of
history is sound.

(iii) he has a rich
imagination.

5.
What was the noise that startled Mridu and frightened Mahendran?

 

Answer

The sound of kreeching
startled Mridu and frightened Mahendran. It was the sound of Violin that Lalli
was learning to play.

Comprehension Check(Page No:
28)

1.
The music master is making lovely music. Read aloud the sentence in the text
that expresses this idea.

Answer

“The
music-master’s notes seemed to float up and settle perfectly into the invisible
tracks of the melody. It was like the wheels of a train fitting smoothly into
the rails and whizzing along”

This sentence in the
text that expresses the idea that the music master is making lovely music .

2.
Had the beggar come to Rukku Manni’s house for the first time? Give reasons for
your answer.

Answer

No, the beggar had not
come to Rukku Manni’s house for the first time because Paati said to Tapi that
he had been coming in their house every day for the past week, and it’s time to
found him another house to beg from!

3.
“A sharp V-shaped line had formed between her eyebrows.” What does it suggest
to you about Rukku Manni’s mood?

Answer

V-shaped eyebrow is
formed only when people are in anger. This suggest that Rukku Manni was very
angry in mood when she came to know about the missing chappals of the music
teacher.

 

 

Working with the Text(Page No:
29)

1.
Complete the following sentences.

 

(i)
Ravi compares Lalli’s playing the violin to
…………………………………………………………..

(ii) Trying
to hide beneath the tray of chillies, Mahendran
………………………………………………….

(iii)
The teacher played a few notes on his violin, and Lalli
…………………………………………………..

(iv)
The beggar said that the kind ladies of the household
……………………………………………………

(v)
After the lesson was over, the music teacher asked Lalli if
……………………………………………………

Answer

(i)  Ravi
compares Lalli’s playing the violin to derailing of the train
going completely off track.

(ii) Trying to hide
beneath the tray of chillies, Mahendran tipped a few chillies over himself.

(iii) The teacher
played a few notes on his violin, and Lalli stumbled behind him on her
violin, which looked quite helpless and unhappy in her hands.

(iv) The beggar said that the kind ladies of the household kept his
body and soul together on their

generosity for a whole
week. He couldn’t believe that they would turn him away.

(v) After the lesson
was over, the music teacher asked Lalli if she had seen his chappals.

2.
Describe the music teacher, as seen from the window.

 

Answer

As seen from the
window, music teacher had the bony figure. He had a mostly bald head with a
fringe of oiled black hair falling around his ears and an old-fashioned tuft. A
gold chain gleamed
around his leathery neck, and a diamond ring glittered on his hand as it glided
up and down the
stem of the violin. A large foot stuck out from beneath his gold-bordered
veshti edge, and he was beating time on the floor with the scrawny big toe.

3.
(i) What makes Mridu conclude that the beggar has no money to buy chappals?
(ii) What does she suggest to show her concern?

Answer

(i) Mridu conclude that the beggar had no money to buy chappals because his
feet were blistered.

(ii) She suggested Mridu and Ravi about the pair of old slippers so that they
could give it to the beggar.

4.
“Have you children…” she began, and then, seeing they were curiously quiet,
went on more slowly, “seen anyone lurking around the verandah?”
(i) What do you think Rukku Manni really wanted to ask?
(ii) Why did she change her question?
(iii) What did she think had happened?

Answer

(i) Rukku Manni actually wanted to ask the children if they had seen the
music master’s slippers.

(ii) She changed her question because children were curiously quiet and she
suspected that children must have done something with chappals.

(iii) She thought that the children have given the music-master’s chappals to
that old beggar.

5.
On getting Gopu Mama’s chappals, the music teacher tried not to look too happy.
Why?

Answer

The music teacher tried not to look happy because he did not wanted to reveal
his happiness of getting new chappals of Gopu Mama to others. He wanted to show
that his own chappals were more expensive and branded one. Actually, he was
very happy after getting Gopu Mama’s chappals.

6.
On getting a gift of chappals, the beggar vanished in a minute. Why was he in
such a hurry to leave?

Answer

On getting a gift of chappals, the beggar vanished in a minute because he did
not wanted to lose the gift of those chappals. His feet were blistered and he
couldn’t have got anything better from that house.

Page No: 30

7.
Walking towards the kitchen with Mridu and Meena, Rukku Manni began to laugh.
What made her laugh?

Answer 

Gopu Mama always in such a hurry to throw off his shoes and socks and get into
his chappals as soon as he comes home. Rukku Manni began to laugh while
thinking about the reaction of her husband after hearing this incident and when
he came to know about that they had given his new chappals to the music
teacher.

Working
with Language

1. Read the following sentences.
(a) If she knows we have a cat, Paati will leave the house.
(b) She won’t be so upset if she knows about the poor beggar with
sores on his feet.
(c) If the chappals do fit, will you really not mind?
Notice that each sentence consists of two parts. The first part begins with ‘if
. It is known as if clause.
Rewrite each of the following pairs of sentences as a single sentence. Use ‘if’
at the beginning of the sentence.
(a) Walk fast. You’ll catch the bus.
If you walk fast, you’ll catch the bus.
(b) Don’t spit on the road. You’ll be fined.
If you spit on the road, you’ll be fined.

(i) Don’t tire yourself now. You won’t be able to work in the evening.
(ii) Study regularly. You’ll do well in the examination.
(iii) Work hard. You’ll pass the examination in the first division.
(iv) Be polite to people. They’ll also be polite to you.

Answer

(i) If you tire yourself now, you won’t be able to work in the evening.

(ii) If you study regularly, you’ll do well in the examination.

(iii) If you work hard, you’ll pass the examination in the first division.

(iv) If you are polite to people, they’ll also be polite to you.

(v) If you tease the dog, it’ll bite you.

2.
Fill in the blanks in the following paragraph.

 

Today
is Sunday. I’m wondering whether I should stay at home or go out. If I
……………. (go) out, I

…………………….
(miss) the lovely Sunday lunch at home. If I …………………. (stay) for
lunch, I ……………..(miss) the Sunday film showing at Archana Theatre. I
think I’ll go out and see the film, only to avoid getting too fat.

Answer

Today is Sunday. I’m
wondering whether I should stay at home or go out. If I go out, I
will
miss
the lovely Sunday
lunch at home. If I stay for lunch, I will miss the Sunday film
showing at Archana Theatre. I think I’ll go out and see the film, only to avoid
getting too fat.

3.
Complete each sentence below by appropriately using any one of the following:

if
you want to/if you don’t want to/if you want him to

 

(i)
Don’t go to the theatre …………………………………

(ii)
He’ll post your letter ……………………………………

(iii)
Please use my pen ………………………………..

(iv)
He’ll lend you his umbrella …………………………

(v)
My neighbour, Ramesh, will take you to the doctor
……………………………

(vi)
Don’t eat it ………………………..

Answer

(i)
Don’t go to the theatre if you don’t want to.

(ii) He’ll post your letter if you want him to.

(iii) Please use my pen if you want to.

(iv) He’ll lend you his umbrella if you want him to.

(v) My neighbour, Ramesh, will take you to the doctor if you want him to.

(vi) Don’t eat it if you don’t want to.