Grand Father and the Python - By Ruskin Bond - ICSE - English Class - 8 Notes

ICSE - English Class - 8 Notes - Question and answers

Grand Father and the Python - By Ruskin Bond 

Ruskin Bond (born 19 May 1934) is an Indian author of British descent. He lives with his adopted family in Landour, Mussoorie, India. The Indian Council for Child Education has recognised his role in the growth of children's literature in India. He was awarded the Sahitya Academy Award in 1992 for Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra, his novel in English. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1999 and the Padma Bhushan in 2014.

He worked for a few years freelancing from Delhi and Dehradun. He sustained himself financially by writing short stories and poems for newspapers and magazines. On his youth, he said, "Sometimes I got lucky and some [work] got selected and I earned a few hundred rupees. Since I was in my 20s and didn’t have any responsibilities I was just happy to be doing what I loved doing best."In 1963, he went to live in Mussoorie because besides liking the place, it was close to the editors and publishers in Delhi. He edited a magazine for four years. In the 1980s, Penguin set up in India and approached him to write some books. He had written Vagrants in the Valley in 1956, as a sequel to The Room on the Roof. These two novels were published in one volume by Penguin India in 1993. The following year a collection of his non-fiction writings, The Best Of Ruskin Bond was published by Penguin India. His interest in supernatural fiction led him to write popular titles such as Ghost Stories from the Raj, A Season of Ghosts, and A Face in the Dark and other Hauntings. Since then he has written over five hundred short stories, essays and novels, including The Blue Umbrella, Funny Side Up, A Flight of Pigeons and more than 50 books for children. He has also published his autobiography: Scenes from a Writer's Life describes his formative years growing up in Anglo-India and a further autobiography, Lone Fox Dancing, was published in 2017. The Lamp is Lit is a collection of essays and episodes from his journal.

Since 1963 he has lived as a freelance writer in Mussoorie, a town in the Himalayan foothills in Uttarakhand where he lives with his adoptive family in Landour, Mussoorie's Ivy Cottage, which has been his home since 1980.  Asked what he likes the most about his life, he said, "That I have been able to write for so long. I started at the age of 17 or 18 and I am still writing. If I were not a professional writer who was getting published I would still write."  In his essay, "On being an Indian", he explains his Indian identity, "Race did not make me one. Religion did not make me one. But history did. And in the long run, it's history that counts." 

His sister Ellen lived in Ludhiana with his step sister until she died in 2014. He also has a brother, William, who lives in Canada.

Questions and answer

 1)Where did Grandfather find the python? Where did he do with it?

          Grandfather found the python with a snake charmer at the bazaar bought it for six rupees, slung it         across his shoulders and walked home.

        2) What was Grand Mother’s reaction on seeing the python?

            When Grandmother saw the python, she was afraid that the python might strangle Grandfather.

Reference to context

I) ’He’s gone’, announced Grandfather. ‘He must have felt hungry?

A) Who is being referred to in these extracts?

The python is being referred to in the exact.

B) Where did he go away from? How?

The python was missing from the bathroom where it had been kept by the narrator’s grandfather the narrator guessed that it may have gotten out through the bathroom’s window that had left open.

 Quick Answers:

c.       Who arrived at the narrator’s grandparents’ home, shortly?

               Shortly after the incidents, Aunt Mabel came to the narrator’s grandparents’ home.

      d.      Where did the guest first see the python?

              The guest saw the python on the guava tree

      Reference to Context :

    After this incident, the python began to make a series of appearances, often in the most un expected places.

    a.       After which incident did the python start making regular appearances?

    The incident being referred to here was the one in which Aunt Mabel saw the python on the guava tree.

    b.      What were some of these ‘unexpected places’?

        Later on the snake was seen under the cushion, in the garden and in front of the mirror of the dressing table admiring his own reflection.

    c.       Who was the most affected by the python’s visits? How did this person react to these visits?

        The one most affected by the python’s visits was Aunt Mabel.    

        She wailed and screamed, and yet when the snake persisted in making appearances before her, she            packed her bags and left.

      III)              He set about preparing a large cage with a mirror at one end. In the cage he left a juicy     chicken and various other delicacies, and fitted up the opening with a trap door

        a.       Who began to make this cage and for whom?

            The narrator ’s grandfather made the cage for the python.

        b.      Why was this cage being prepared?

            The cage was being prepared so that the snake could be caught.

       c.       Why were such elaborate arrangements being made while preparing the cage? What does this say             about who ever was expected to enter the cage?

            The elaborate arrangements were being made for a couple of reasons. First of all, the narrator’s             grandfather happened to know the weakness of the snake and secondly, they wanted to make sure         that the snake did not prowl in the garden for an indefinite period of time. The python was really             fond of admiring his own reflection in the mirror!

Read, Reflect and Write

 

5.  Describe Aunt Mabel’s reaction when she first saw the python.

When Aunt Mabel first saw the snake, she was extremely frightened and came running up the steps of the veranda. It seemed as if she had seen a ghost; she was also exasperated. When the narrator’s Grandmother tried to console her, she broke down saying she had seen a twenty feet long boa constrictor. She described its look like a ‘queer’ one and told the narrator’s Grandmother about how she felt that it would devour her.

 

6.  Why do you think Grandfather only made half-hearted attempts to get the python out of the house?

It was the Grandfather who brought the snake into the house, slinging it around his neck. It shows he was a brave soul. Through the various incidents described in the chapter, it is indicated that he wanted to keep it as a pet. Hence, he never perhaps made a very serious attempt to get rid of it

 

7. What about the python that was concluded to be its ‘weaknesses’?

It was found that the python loved its reflection in the mirror. This was construed to be its weakness.

 

8.  The author says that his Grandmother drew the line at snakes being brought to the house. Having read the story, do you believe that Grandmother was unkind to snakes or to the particular snake that Grandfather brought to the house?

 

The various depictions in the story, especially in the initial half suggest that Grandmother was not especially fond of snakes or any reptile for that matter. She tolerated all the various animals brought into the house but did not really like reptiles of any kind. Also, the impending arrival of a guest to their house was another reason why she felt they needed to get rid of the python. But there is no indication of her being unkind to snakes or this snake in particular in the story.