CBSE

Class 11 English Core

Revision Notes
Hornbill CHAPTER – 1
The Portrait of a Lady

Khushwant Singh is one of the prominent Indian writers and columnists. He has written on
various themes and issues. In this lesson he gives a detailed account of his grandmother who
had a long association with him. He had intimate relations with her since his chilhood.Their
friendship was broken when they had to move to the city. The English school, science and
music did not appeal to her. The narrator went abroad for higher studies. His arrival after
five years from abroad was an occasion for celebration. The old lady tired herself and fell ill.
Her death was mourned not only by the narrator's family but also by the sparrows she fed
regularly in the afternoon. The old, stout, short and a little bent grandmother is clad in white
clothes and keeps on telling beads of her rosary.

During their long stay in village, the grandmother used to wake up the narrator in the
morning and accompanied him to school. She took care of all small things and continued her
regular prayers and reading of scriptures. On the way back home she fed stray dogs with
stale chapatis.Circumstances did have a bearing on the relationship between the author and
his grandmother. They had most intimate relationship when they were in the village.
Shifting to city home was a turning point as it increased distances in their relationship. Now,
the author was going to a city school and studying all modern day subjects. The grandmother
was not able to help the author in his studies and she felt disturbed as there was no teaching
of God and scriptures. As the years rolled by they saw less of each other. But their feelings
for each other did not change. The grandmother was a very strong lady. She was very rigid
in her ways so she did not like the modern ways of the city. She led her kind of life and never
compromised with her kind of life. She loved the narrator deeply but never tried to be
emotional and sentimental.

The grandmother devoted her time in praying, spinning and feeding sparrows. She did not
get disturbed when the author was leaving for abroad and saw him off maintaining her
peace and calm. After a span of five years the grandmother was there to receive him. She
celebrated her grandson’s home coming in an unusual way by beating a drum and singing.

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She had a peaceful end and everyone including sparrows got grieved at the demise of a bold,
religious, practicable, responsible and loving person. She was no more in this world but her
memories kept her alive in the heart of the narrator.

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 CBSE Class 11 English Core
Revision Notes
Hornbill CHAPTER – 3
We are Not Afraid To Die.........If we can all be together

Its a first person account of an adventurous ordeal that a family experiences. There are three
sections of the text. The narration of events matches with the mood of the voyage. The
narration of the events mirrors the hectic efforts of the captain and the crew to protect
Wavewalker. The second section describes their struggle for survival for the last fifteen
hours. In the last section the narration shifts back to the relaxed style.

It is a description of a sea adventure experienced by the narrator and his family. The
narrator, his wife Mary, son Jonathan and daughter Suzanne were accompanied by two
experienced sailors ​ American Larry Vigil and Swiss Herb Seigler. On July 1976 they set sail
from Plymouth, England in Wave Walker, a specially built boat. The first part of the journey
was pleasant and everything went on smoothly up to Cape Town.

Unfriendly weather and gigantic waves of Southern Indian Ocean compelled the sailors to
slow their speed, drop storm jib and take other precautions. The danger was so implicit that
the sailors completed life raft drill and attached life lines and life jackets. On 2 January 1977
waves hit Wave walker and caused much damage to it. The sailors got injured and the
narrator was thrown overboard but he managed to get hold of Wave walker’s guard rails.
Inspite of his multiple injuries, he took hold of the wheel.

In an atmosphere of fear and panic Mary took charge of the wheel whereas Larry and Herb
started pumping out water. The narrator managed to stretch and cover canvas across the
gaps to prevent water from entering the ship. Their hand pumps stopped working and
electric pumps short​ circuited.

They were distressed and busy in pumping, steering, repairing and radio signaling. They
studied charts and calculatively decided to reach a nearby island. They all were too busy in
rescue work and did not take any meal for two days. Children were injured too but they did
not draw attention of their parents and just allowed them to save Wave walker. The children
said that they were not afraid to die if they could all be together. The narrator became more

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determined and strong seeing children’s courage. Finally they reached. Ile Amsterdam, a
volcanic island where they were welcomed by 28 inhabitants. Thus, the collective strength
and never failing optimism of the sailors made it possible to come out of the jaws of death.
Though, Jonathan and Suzanne did not do anything to save Wave walker but their courage,
forbearance, faith and optimism gave extra strength and persistence to the narrator and his
team.

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 CBSE Class 11 English Core
Revision Notes
Hornbill CHAPTER – 4
Discovering Tut: The Saga Continues

The present given chapter describes the boy king Tut who was the last heir of a very
powerful family that ruled Egypt for centuries. It also describes how CT scan of Tut's mummy
revealed interesting but startling facts about him.

A powerful dynasty ruled Egypt. Tut the last king of this dynasty died when he was just a
teenager but the cause of his death was not known. That tomb was discovered in 1922 and
investigation was done on 5 January, 2005. Some people opposed the investigation and
thought that it would disturb pharaoh’s peace.

That was buried with gold arte facts and every day things like board games, bronze razor,
lines garments, cases of food and wine. Howard Carter faced tough time in removing Tut’s
mummy from the solid gold coffin. In 1968 an anatomy professor revealed that Tut’s breast
bone and front ribs were missing. Amenhotep IV promoted the ‘Aten’, the sun disk and
moved his capital from Thebes to Akhenaten.

He smashed the images of Amun and closed its temples. Tut restored the old God and
traditional ways. After scanning and X-raying Tut’s mummy, it was placed back in his tomb.
Zahi Hawaas, the secretary general of Egypt’s council of Antiquities was relieved to know
that nothing wrong had gone with their popular child king.

The writer also throws light on the advancement in the field of archaeology. It was not what
it used to be decades ago. It has moved on with the times. Actually it has changed
substantially within a few decades. Now the focus is not on Tut's treasure. On the other hand,
the focus is on the fascinating details of his life and the mysteries surrounding his death.
Archaeology now employs more sophisticated tools like CT scanning machines. It employs
medical technology. More than 40 years after Carter's discovery, Tut's mummy was X-rayed.
It revealed a surprising fact. His breast bone and front ribs were missing.

Today diagnostic imaging can be done with computed tomography or CT scan. Hundreds of
X-rays are put together in slices to create three dimensional virtual body. CT scan can answer

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two of the biggest questions. It can tell how Tut died and how old he was at the time of death.
Tourists from around the world came to see Tut's rock cut tomb. They gazed at the wall
paintings and the gilded face and gold coffin of Tut. Some of them pondered over his
untimely death while others feared 'the Pharaoh's curse falling upon those who disturbed
him.

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 CBSE Class -XI English Core
NCERT Solutions
HORNBILL Chapter-4
Landscape of the Soul

Page No: 34

1. Notice these expressions in the text. Infer their meaning from the context.

i. anecdote
ii. illusionistic likeness
iii. delicate realism
iv. conceptual space
v. figurative painting

Answer:

1. anecdote : From the text, the meaning of anecdote can be inferred as a short account of a
particular incident or event, especially of an interesting or exciting nature.
2. illusionistic likeness : It refers to an adjective of the technique of using pictorial methods
in order to deceive the eye. The reference is to an illusion created by the semblance of
something.
3. delicate realism : It refers to the alluring quality of the art which makes it seem real. It is
an interest in or concern for the actual or real as opposed to abstract.
4. conceptual space : It refers to relation with the abstract than the factual representation.
This is the incalculable dimension of the understanding of concepts.
5. figurative painting : A figurative painting refers to the metaphoric representation of a
piece of art, through the eyes of the creator’s imagination.

Page No: 38 Understanding the Text

1.

i. Contrast the Chinese view of art with the European view with examples.
ii. Explain the concept of shanshui.

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Answer:

i. The Chinese paintings are based on imaginative, inner or spritiual approach whereas the
european paintings reproduce an actual view, of an external or real object. The painintgs
of Wu daozi and mater painters of Europe illustarte the difference.
ii. Shanshui, meaning “mountain-water”, refers to a style of Chinese painting that involves
natural landscapes, the landscape which is an inner one, a spiritual and conceptual
space. It represents the two complementary poles (`yin’ and `young’) reflecting the
Daoist view of the universe.

2.

i. What do you understand by the terms ‘outsider art’ and ‘art brut’ or ‘raw art’?
ii. Who was the “untutored genius who created a paradise” and what is the nature of
his contribution to art?

Answer: '

i. Outsiders art' refers to those art who have no right to be artists as they have recieved no
formal training yet show talent and artistic insight. 'Art brut' or 'raw art' are the works of
art in their raw state as regards cultural and artistic influences.
ii. The “untutored genius” who created “paradise” was Nek Chand, an 80- year old creator-
director who made the world famous rock garden at Chandigarh. His was an ‘outsider
art’ in which he sculpted with stone and recycled materials. He used anything and
everything from a tin to a sink to a broken down car to form an artistic piece. One of his
famous creations are ‘Women by the Waterfall’.

Talking about the Text

Discuss the following statements in groups of four.

1. “The Emperor may rule over the territory he has conquered, but only the artist
knows the way within.”

Answer: This sentence explains the fact that even though an Emperor might rule an entire
kingdom and have power over his conquered territory, only an artist would be able to go

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beyond any material appearance. He knows both the path and the method of the mysterious
work of the universe. True meaning of his work can be seen only by means known to him,
irrespective of how powerful an emperor is.

2. “The landscape is an inner one, a spiritual and conceptual space.”

Answer: This phrase explains The Chinese art from where a Chinese painter wants you to
enter his mind rather than borrow his eyes. This is a physical as well as a mental
participation. It is a landscape created by the artist to travel up and down, and back again,
through the viewer’s eyes. The landscape is not `real’ and can be reached from any point.

Thinking about the Language

1. Find out the correlates of Yin and Yang in other cultures.

Answer: The Indian culture lays stress on Nature and God. Nature is the 'yen' or female part
whereas God the creator, is the male part. This concept also known as 'Maya' or Brahma' The
combination of two creates the whole world, all it objects and also inhabitants.

2. What is the language spoken in Flanders?

Answer: 'French 'language spoken in Flanders which is a region in Belgium.

Working with Words

I. The following common words are used in more than one sense.
panel, studio, brush, essence, material
Examine the following sets of sentences to find out what the words, ‘panel’ and
‘essence’ mean in different contexts.
1.

i. The masks from Bawa village in Mali look like long panels of decorated wood.
ii. Judge H. Hobart Grooms told the jury panel he had heard the reports.
iii. The panel is laying the groundwork for an international treaty.
iv. The glass panels of the window were broken.
v. Through the many round tables, workshops and panel discussions, a consensus was
reached.
vi. The sink in the hinged panel above the bunk drains into the head.

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Answer: 1. Panel

i. boards of decorated wood

ii. group of men selected to give unanimous verdict on a legal case.
iii. group of experts.
iv. window panes.
v. group discussions.
vi. a flat board fixed with a hinge.

2.

i. Their repetitive structure must have taught the people around the great composer
the essence of music.
ii. Part of the answer is in the proposition; but the essence is in the meaning.
iii. The implications of these schools of thought are of practical essence for the teacher.
iv. They had added vanilla essence to the pudding.

Answer:

i. the most important quality of something that makes it what it is.

ii. the main part.
iii. practical importance.
iv. liquid taken from vanilla that contains its smell and taste in very strong form.

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 CBSE Class 11 English Core
Revision Notes
Hornbill CHAPTER – 2
A Photograph

The poet describes a photograph that captures interesting moments of her mother’s
childhood when she went for a sea holiday with her two cousins. Poet draws a contrast
between the sea in which the girls are standing and their transient feet to suggest shortness
of human life and slow changing sea Poet also recollects how her mother would have
laughed at the photograph and felt disappointed at the loss of her childhood joys. Poet’s
mother has been dead for twelve years. In this situation she feels very sad and lonely. This
loss has left her speechless. But she has learned to reconcile with this loss with great
difficulty.

It throws light on the childhood of the poet's mother. She led a very beautiful and
adventurous childhood. At the age of twelve she used to pass her sea holiday with her girl's
cousins walking in shallow water at the beach. She wore very attractive and colourful
dresses befitting the place and occasion.

The poem ends with a fact that everything changes with time. Some changes are taken as loss
and make us unhappy. Photographs reflect the changes. Happiness and beauty are lost with
the passage of time. They make the people sad and distorted. Change is the law of nature.
Everything changes with time like physical beauty of a human being but natural beauty like
beauty of a sea or mountains remains forever.

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 CBSE Class 11 English Core
Revision Notes
Hornbill Chapter – 5
The Laburnum Top

The Laburnum Top presents a reciprocating relationship between the laburnum tree and the
goldfinch, a small bird with yellow feathers. The goldfinch arrives in her nest, built on the
top of the laburnum tree, to feed her young ones.

The poem begins with the description of the laburnum ‘top’. On a September afternoon, the
top of the tree stands silent and still. The leaves of the tree have started turning yellow and
the seeds have already fallen. The scene depicts the season of autumn.

The silence of the tree is broken with the sudden arrival of the goldfinch. The bird arrives at
the end of the branch with a chirrup. Her entry into the thickness of the branches is sleek,
alert and abrupt just like that of a lizard. As she arrives, it seems as if a machine (that had
been silent till then) has started up as the young ones of the goldfinch are filled with
excitement and start creating noise on the arrival of their mother. They sing, chirp, twitter,
and create commotion. With their chirrups and movements, the whole tree comes alive and
it ‘trembles and thrills’. Thus, it becomes the engine of her family. She feeds the young ones
and, after feeding them, flies to a branch-end, peeping out her dark-coloured striped face.

Finally, with a whistle-chirrup, she heads towards the vast sky leaving the tree once again
with emptiness.

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 CBSE Class 11 English Core
Revision Notes
Hornbill CHAPTER – 7
THE VOICE OF THE RAIN

The chapter opens with a question asked by the poet to the falling shower of rain,’and who
art thou?'One more voice is there that the voice of the rain which answers the poet. And it’s
strange to tell that the poem gives an answer-it was in the voice of the rain. The poet
understood it but could not repeat as he did not know how to speak it. So she translated it.

Then he tells that it rises upward out of the land and the bottomless sea. She later descends
to earth to wash the dryness of land, atomies and dust-layers of the globe. Thus it makes a
complete cycle of how rain clouds rise up and descend to wash down and beautify her birth
place.

The water cycle in science also gives us the similar view how water evaporates, rises up,
forms clouds, roams about condenses and then rains making earth clean and green. The
eternal rain bends down as drop from the clouds. It washes the droughts, tiny particles and
layers of the dust of the globe it washes and gives life to the hidden, in germinated seeds in
dust. It blossoms life and greenery all around, the rain, very strange it sounds, gives back life
to its own origin. The rain beautifies the land and makes the seas pure.

The rain tells a lot about her in the poem. It even reveals,' I am the poem of the Earth’. The
rain is the gift of heaven. She has been personified as she has told everything to everyone
about herself.

The rain gives a new lease of life to the earth. The rain makes the seeds sprout in the form of
saplings. Rain makes the earth pure and beautifies it. Actually it is the voice or the song of
the earth. The earth finds its expressions only through the showers of the rain. The poet is of
the view that there is a close similarity between the rain and the music. Both the rain and the
music always share certain features. He explains that just as a song takes birth from the
heart of a poet and after pleasing the listener goes back to the place of its origin i.e. heart of
the poet, the cyclic movement of the earth goes on in the same manner.

The title of the poem is very appropriate, just and logical. The cycle of rain is a natural

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phenomenon. Actually the rain rises out of the earth and the bottomless sea in the form of
water vapours. In the sky they take the shape of the rain. The light and soft music of the
falling rains actually the song of the earth itself. After wandering from the earth to the sky, it
comes back to the place of its origin.

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 CBSE Class 11 English Core
Revision Notes
CHAPTER – 1
The Summer Of The Beautiful White Horse

This is a story of two tribal Armenian boys who belonged to the Garoghlanian tribe.For their
family, even at times of extreme poverty nothing could match the importance of honesty.
They never did anything wrong and never lied or never even stole anything. The story talks
about an incident that revolves around two cousins Aram who is nine years old and Mourad
who is thirteen. The world, for Aram, at that time, seemed to be a delightful and extremely
joyous yet mysterious dream. People believed in every imaginable kind of magnificence.
Mourad was considered to be crazy by everybody he knew.

The story opens with Mourad coming to Aram's house at four in the morning one fine day.
He tapped on the window to Aram's room. When Aram looked out of the window, he was
taken aback and startled to see Mourad riding a beautiful white horse. In fact, he was so
dazed that Mourad had to say “Yes, it's a horse. You are not dreaming.” All this was too
unbelievable because Aram knew that they were too poor to be able to afford to buy a horse.
The only way Mourad could possess it could be by stealing. They were too honest to lie
but too crazy to ride a horse.

Thus, they kept the horse for two weeks, enjoying its ride in cool air and singing to their
heart's content on the country roads. They hid it from the rest of the world by keeping it in a
barn of the deserted vineyard. Meanwhile, Aram came to know that the horse was stolen
from John Byro. They planned not to return it to him so soon although it pricked their
conscience that they stole it, which was completely against their ethics and tribal
norms.Finally they suffered from pangs of conscience.

One fine day they came across John, the farmer. Such was the boys' family famous for their
honesty that the thought of his horse being stolen by the boys never crossed John's mind. He
was just amazed at the resemblance and said: “I would swear it is my horse if I did not know
your parents.”

This moving experience led the boys towards John's vineyard the very next morning. They

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left the horse in the barn after patting it affectionately. Later that day, John seemed to be
very pleased and shared the news of the return of his horse with Aram's mother. The story
teaches us the importance and necessity of honesty even in the face of greed and passion.The
writer weaves a simple story into an interesting tale.The description is lucid and simple.The
pace is relaxed but natural.The storykeeps the readers engaged till the end.

No doubt the story lacks puffs and punches but the narrator holds the interest of the readers
by revealing the natural urge of children for fun and adventure.In short the story has a
pleasant ending.

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 CBSE Class 11 English Core
Revision Notes
CHAPTER – 2
The Address Summary

The story The Address is all about human predicament that follows war. The story narrates
how a daughter goes to her native place in Holland in search of her mother's belongings after
a war.

In the beginning of the story it is narrated how the narrator was given a cold reception when
she went to her native place after the war in search of her mother's belongings. After ringing
the bell of a House Number 46 in Marconi Street, a woman opened the door. On being
introduced,the woman kept staring at her in silence. There was no sign of recognition on her
face. The woman was wearing her mother's green knitted cardigan. The narrator could
understand that she had made no mistake. She asked the woman whether she knew her
mother. The woman could not deny this. The narrator wanted to talk to her for some time.
But the woman cautiously closed the door. The narrator stopped there for some time and
then left the place.

In the subsequent sections, the memories of the narrator's bygone days come to light. Her
mother had provided 'the address' years ago during the war. She went home for a few days.
She could find that various things were missing. At that time her mother told her about Mrs
Dorling. She happened to be an old acquaintance of the narrator's mother. Lately she had
renewed contact with her and had been coming there regularly. Every time she left their
house she took something home with her. She told that she wanted to save all their nice
possessions. The next day the narrator saw Mrs Dorling going out of their house with a heavy
suitcase. She had a fleeting glimpse of Mrs Dorling's face. She asked her mother whether the
woman lived far away. At that time the narrator's mother told about the address: Number
46, Marconi Street. After many days the after the war, the narrator was curious to take a
view of the possessions that must still be at Number 46, Marconi Street. With this intention
she went to the given address.

The concluding part of the story describes the second visit of the narrator. As the narrator's
first visit yielded no result so she planned to go once again. Interestingly, a girl of fifteen

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opened the door to her. Her mother was not at home. The narrator expressed her wish to
wait for her. The girl accompanied her to the passage. The narrator saw an old fashioned
iron candle holder hanging next to a mirror. The girl made her sit in the living room and
went inside. The narrator was horrified to find herself in a room she knew and did not
know. She found herself in the midst of familiar things which she longed to see again but
which troubled her in the strange atmosphere. She had no courage to look around her. But
she no longer had desire to possess them. She got up, walked to the door, and left the room.
She resolved to forget the address and moved on.

Through the story the narrator brings to light the miseries and the loss,mental as well as
physical,brought by war. Every war brings a lot of upheaval.The normal life is disturbed.The
narrator wants to forget the address because the memories of her mother are associated
with it.Now she gets sentimental and does not care for the possessions. They are useless as
their true owner was no more in the world.

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 CBSE Class 11 English Core
Revision Notes
CHAPTER – 3
RANGA’S MARRIAGE

Ranga’s Marriage, by Masti Venkatesh Iyengar, is a story about a boy who returns to his
village after receiving education in English medium from Bangalore. The boy is the son of
an accountant of the village named Hoshali in Mysore. The boy when returns, the whole
village floods over him to see if there is any change in his personality. However, to their
dismay, he still has the same eyes and mouth and everything else. He did the traditional
namaskar and all dispersed.

The story is a first person narrative and a major part of the story is in flash back. The
speaker directly addresses the reader.The narrator is a neighbour of the protagonist. He
introduces the story with a difference by first giving a detailed description of their village
Hoshali. He praises the mangoes from his village. He asks the reader if he/she has ever heard
of the village. He replies to the question himself, for the village was not located in any of the
maps for the English babus and the ones in our country forgot to put it there. Then he
introduces Ranga, the protagonist, in a time ten years ago. Ranga had gone to Bangalore for
studies and returned home after six months. It was the time when English was a language
not popular and a few people used it. All used to converse in Kannada.

All the villagers arrived at Ranga’s place and began scrutinising him. To their dismay, he was
still the same old Ranga and they left disappointed. However, the narrator stayed back and
shared a few jokes with the boy and then left.Later in the afternoon, Ranga arrived at the
narrator’s home with a few oranges. The narrator judged the boy and felt it appropriate to
marry such a well educated and humble boy. However, Ranga had no plans to settle as a
married man. He put his views on marriage in front of the narrator that he wanted to get
married to a girl who is mature enough and someone Rangappa could admire.

Ranga left after the discussion and the narrator decided then that he would get the boy
married. Determined, he began considering Rama Rao’s niece Ratna as a suitable bride for
Ranga. She was from a big town and knew how to play veena and harmonium. He came up
with a plan. He asked Rama Rao’s wife to send Ratna to his place to fetch some buttermilk. So

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she came on Friday wearing a grand saree. He requested Ratna to sing and sent for Ranga.
Ranga reached the narrator’s place and stopped outside the room as he did not want to
disrupt the singing but was curious to see her face so peeped in. Ratna noticed the stranger
and stopped abruptly. Ranga came in and the girl left.

Curiously he inquired about the girl and narrator cleverly played at his words. He told Ranga
that the girl was married off a year ago and noticed the disappointment flaring Ranga’s face.
He was infatuated with the girl. The narrator was happy as his plan was working.As his next
step, the next day the narrator took Ranga to an astrologer who he had already been tutored
what to say. It was the meeting with the astrologer when the narrator’s name is disclosed.
Shyama. The astrologer pretended to read the horoscope and predicted that the boy was in
love with a girl who had a name of something found in the ocean. Shyama said it could be
Ratna, Rama Rao’s niece. Ranga’s smile was not hidden from Shyama. But the girl was
married!

The narrator took the boy to Rama Rao’s home and asked him to wait outside. When he came
outside he confirmed that the girl was not married, that there had been some confusion.
After all, the narrator had to come up with something. Even Ranga then admitted that he had
been attracted to the girl. Later a conversation between the astrologer and the narrator is
described how the astrologer says that though the narrator had given him clues, he could
have found it all out by himself through astrology.

The story moves forward ten years, or to say, returns to the present. Rangappa came one day
to the narrator, inviting him at his son Shyama’s third birthday. Obviously, Ratna and Ranga
had been married. And now they have a three years old son whom Ranga named after the
narrator.Thus the narrator tactfully arranges to develop love between Ranga and Ratna
which results successfully in their marriage.

Through a well-knitted love-story the narrator not only amuses the readers but also gives
them glimpes of that time when English was supposed to be a 'priceless commodity' and a
love marriage was a far-off thing.People had some misconceptions about English language
that if a person received Eng. education he lost his caste but Ranga proves that Eng.language
does not have any adverse effect on the religious and cultural practices of the people.

The narrator also highlights the time when old values and customs still dominated our social

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scene.But today the time has changed.The twenty first century is not the age of arranged
marriages.Certainly the Indian society has moved a long way from the way the marriage is
arranged in the story.The narrator impresses us with his presence of mind.He is pragmatic
and cares for results only.He facilitates the marriage of Ranga and Ratna with the help of an
astrologer and ,thus,earns their respect.The couple names their child Shyama as a mark of
respect for him.The story ends up giving a message to the readers to be pragmatic in life.

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 CBSE Class 11 English Core
Revision Notes
CHAPTER – 4
Albert Einstein at School

The father of modern physics, Albert Einstein is famous to have discovered the theory of
relativity which marked a revolution in physics. However, how many of us know the fact
that in his early school days he did not believe in rote learning as a student and got expelled
from his school. No teacher liked him and he too, in turn, disliked attending school. This led
to the school finally taking a decision to expel him.

The narration begins with Albert being asked about a date by his history teacher. This was
when he was very abrupt and crude in replying that he found it pointless to memorise dates
when one could flip through the necessary pages whenever one needed to. He believed in
education but didn't consider learning facts as education. He hated school because he hated
the conventional form of education and the teachers found him to be a 'disgrace.' Finally, the
teacher, disgusted and fed up, asked him to be taken away by his father. Einstein also hated
going home, not for the obvious reasons of bad food and lack of comfort, but because he
hated the atmosphere of 'slum violence.'

He was so against the idea of going to school and adapting to the set educational pattern that
he once confided in his friend that he thought he would never pass the exams for the school
diploma. He once told his cousin Elsa that he wanted to study science simply because he
liked it. He didn't need additional reasons to study the subject he was interested in. He was
sent to Munich to study where within six months he grew disinterested and found it useless
to waste his father's money, especially when it was so unfruitful and unproductive.

This was the moment of Albert's childhood craze when he gleamed with a sudden bright idea
of averting school forever. He asked his friend Yuri to search for a friendly doctor who
would certify him that he had nervous breakdown so that he could stay away from school.
To this doctor, Albert revealed his love for mathematics and his maths teacher. Later, in
school, he asked for a reference letter from his maths teacher. This is when he heard the
most surprising comment from his maths teacher who said: “I knew you were going to leave
before you knew yourself.”

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Finally, the day when Albert was called by the headmaster he was not worried. However, he
was taken aback when the headmaster said that he couldn't tolerate Albert's attitude towards
education and his behaviour in the classroom which disturbed an ideal environment for
studying. Thus, he wanted Albert to leave school. Albert felt the medical report burning a
hole in his pocket.

He left the school where he had spent five miserable years, without turning his head to give
it a last look. He felt like seeing only Yuri before he left Munich. Elsa was back in Berlin when
he left. Yuri bade him farewell and wished him good luck.

Thus the story ends up giving glimpses of Einstein's early life and his dynamic concept of
education. Since he had a flair for science, he viewed things in logical and reasoning way. He
did not believe in traditional and conservative way of rote learning, the contemporary
system of education which was outdated and unproductive, rather he was interested to know
the ideas behind facts what the real source of knowledge was. He possessed revolting ideas
in connection with education and later he emerged as a great scientist like many other well
known personalities.

The lesson winds up giving a message to the stakeholders that the students should be allowed
to choose the subjects of their choice.Music, fine-arts and sports should be made the integral
part of school education. It should be made inspiring ,interesting and purposeful. What
children needs freedom. Without freedom no mental or physical growth is possible.
Entertainment and education must go hand in hand. Ideas must dominate our education.
only then our schools will produce geniuses like Einstein.

It also leaves a message for students also that they should put their queries to their teachers
in a respectful manner to avoid any sort of unpleasant environment in the class as every
teacher is, after all, a human being and demands a little respect.

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