A Devoted Son

Anita Desai
The story

 The story is about a son who is very good. He does everything the way his
father wants him to. The son’s name is Rakesh.
 Rakesh’s parents are poor and never went to school. But they make sure
that Rakesh gets a good education.
 He comes first in his class. He becomes a doctor. He goes to the USA to
study but he comes back and marries an Indian girl. This shows that he
follows the rules his father has for him.
 But when his father becomes old and he starts taking care of him, his father
becomes angry. This is because the father was always the boss. But now
the son is telling him what to do – what to eat, what medicines to take,
when to go out in the garden, etc. he complains loudly to the neighbor.
 Actually, the son does not change. He is still doing his duty. He is taking care
of his father the way all Indian sons should. What has changed is how his
father sees him.
 His father used to see him and his good behavior as very nice. This was
because he was making the family look good.
 Now, the son’s good behavior is hurting him. He cannot eat the things he
likes (sweets, fried things, etc). He has to take many medicines. He cannot
enjoy his life. His son is stopping him from doing this. This is why he thinks
his son is bad.
 The story shows how the duty of a son is seen as good and then bad. The
son doesn’t change. The way the father sees him changes.

Themes

Devotion – The story shows how devotion without love can be bad. In the story,
the son always does his duty. He is devoted to his father. He follows his rules. He
takes care of him. But he does not show any love. This is why he does not let his
father enjoy himself. He wants to do his duty well. He doesn’t care if it makes his
father sad.

Tradition – The story shows how tradition can be a problem. According to

tradition, the father must be the boss. But when the son becomes the boss and
tries to control the father, there are many problems.

Father and son – It shows father-son relationship. When the power changes from
the father to the son, there is a bad change in the relationship.

Old age – The story shows how you should treat old people carefully. When you
are old, you already have many ways of doing things. You don’t want to change
them. But Rakesh tries to change his father’s food, sleep, etc. this is why his
father starts to hate him. We should let old people do things the way they want
to. We should not try to change them.

Title

 The title of the story shows the main theme of the story
 Rakesh is devoted. He follows all the traditions. He takes care of his father
but he doesn’t show love.
 –The story shows how devotion without love can be bad. This is why he
does not let his father enjoy himself. He wants to do his duty well. He
doesn’t care if it makes his father sad.

Summary

 The story is about Rakesh and his father.

 In the beginning, the father loves Rakesh because he follows tradition. But
when he tries to control his father, his father hates him.
 The main theme of the story is how devotion should also have love.
Otherwise it becomes very bad.
Epistle
Naiyer Masud

The story

 The story is about a man who goes back to the place of his childhood after
a long time
 His mother has become old. He has gone away from his home. His home is
in a bad part of the city. There are no proper houses or things like
electricity, bathrooms, etc.
 He goes back because his mother is sick. She is almost dead
 His mother is part of a group of people who used to make medicine. They
are called hakims. She used to go to the main Hakims house many times.
He used to love it there
 His mother is almost dead but she cares about her son’s health more. She
asks him to go to the Hakim’s house because he has a cough. He hasn’t
been there for many years.
 As he goes there he sees that many things have changed. There is a proper
road. There is a market. There are many proper houses (there used to be
only huts). He almost gets lost because of these changes.
 But when he meets the people in the Hakim’s house it is like they have
never forgotten him. They tell him stories of his childhood. They ask him if
he remembers them.
 He doesn’t remember many things. But as they talk about him, he
remembers more and more things. He sees his childhood friend Mehr but
he cannot remember her too well. Only after some time he remembers the
fun they had.
 The one thing he remembers properly is the ‘scary room’. He had locked up
Mehr there once. When he goes there he sees that it has not changed
much. He can see graves from there.
  He decides to leave from the back door not the front door. But he realizes
that now he can always find a way back to his family no matter how long
he waits.

Themes

Family – The story shows the importance of family. Even if we do not visit our
home for very long it doesn’t matter. They will always be family.

The story also shows a usual Indian family. There are many men and women
(cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, parents) all living together. The women stay
at home. They cook and gossip. The men go out to work. The women have to be
shy. They don’t talk to men who are strangers. Only when they realize who he is
do they come out and talk to him.

We also see the usual role of the mother. She is almost dead but she doesn’t care.
She wants to take care of her son so she sends him to the Hakim’s hopuse.

Traditions – The story talks about traditional medicines from the Hakims. It also
shows that even though there are many doctors, poor people and other people
still like to use traditional medicines.

Home – The main theme is home. The main person in the story feels like after his
mother dies he will not have a family anymore. But actually the Hakims family is
also his family. This is why he realizes in the end that it is always easy to find your
home if you look for it.

The title

The title of the story is epistle. An epistle is a long letter. The story starts with a
letter to the government asking them to change the bad state of this part of the
city. But the actual letter is his journey to his home and the many memories he
gets from it.

Summary

 The story is about going home and finding your family

 It talks about the main character’s visit to the Hakim’s house. His mother is
dying. But he realizes that his home is not just with his mother. It is with the
people who loved him and his mother from before
 The story also shows changes and development without any help. The
roads and houses have changed. But people still don’t have basic things
 The main theme if the story is that it doesn’t matter how long you are away
from home, if you try to go back, they will remember you like as if you
never left.
India is a Strange Country
Khushwant Singh

Story

 The story talks about how foreigners see India from ancient times to today
 It starts with Babar. Babar was the first Mughal king in India. He did not like
India very much. He said that Indians were not nice people. They were
stupid and didn’t have any skills. The weather was hot and the people were
not friendly. Many Europeans still feel like this.
 The author divides foreigners based on how they feel about India into 4
groups.
1. The people who hate India. They are like Babar
2. The people who hate India a little bit. They don’t like Indians (especially
educated Indians) but they like India (the big houses and servants, etc).
3. The people who love India. They think India is better than Europe. These
people are seen as a little mad even by the Indians.
4. The fourth group is the group that Mr. Tyson, the main character of the
story falls into
 Tyson seems to hate Indians. His wife hates Indians more. But he still works
in India. In a club, the Indians gossip about him when he comes to have a
drink. He sits with them and talks to them. But they all think he is a bad
person. They think he only likes India because he can have a big house and
many servants.
 Tyson has a dog called Martha. He loves her very much. He lets her do whatever
she wants. One day the author goes to a White friend’s house. Tyson is also
there. He brings Martha. Martha is killed when she runs in front of a car.
She was chasing a rat. She dies.
 Immediately after this Tyson leaves his job and goes off to England. The real
reason why he was staying in India is because the laws in England for pets
are very strict and bad.

Theme

Stereotypes – Stereotypes are wrong ideas that we have about particular

people. Foreigners have different stereotypes about India and Indians. Some
are good and some are bad. But both are wrong. India has good and bad
things.

The story also shows how we stereotype people. Just because Tyson is a
European we try to put him in either the group of haters or lovers. But we
don’t realize that he has different reasons for staying in India.

Title

The title makes us think that the story will be about how strange India is. But it
is actually trying to show that it is not India that is strange. It is the people who
come to India who are sometimes strange. Tyson is an example of that.

Summary

 The story is about how foreigners look at India

 It divides India into three main groups – haters, half-haters and lovers.
 The fourth group is the one for Tyson. He doesn’t love or hate India. He
is staying here because he loves his pet dog.
 The story shows how it is not India that is strange. It is how people are
that makes them see India as strange.
Estranged
Saudamini Vasuki

Story

 The story is about a girl called Radha. She marries a man from a higher
caste. At first his family doesn’t like her. But then they treat her like a
daughter.
 Radha has become pregnant after many years. She is very happy. She wants
to tell Seenu her husband.
 That day the husband Seenu decides he does not love Radha anymore. He
wants to marry another girl Neela. His parents are very angry.
 They love Radha very much. She is good, kind and takes good care of them.
She even gave up meat because they are Brahmins. Brahmins don’t eat
meat.
 They tell their son that if he wants to marry someone else then he has to
leave. They love Radha more than him. Radha will stay with them. He can
go wherever he wants.

Themes

Caste – At first Seenu’s parents don’t like Radha because she is from a lower
caste. She eats meat also. But when they meet her they see she is a very nice girl.
In the end they choose her not their son.

Family – The story shows a different idea about family. Family is supposed to be
the people you are married to and you children. But here, the parents choose
their family. They chose to make Radha their daughter. They give up the son that
they gave birth to. This shows that family is not just something you are born in to.
It is much more than that.

The title
The title is ‘Estranged’. Estranged means to be fully away from something. You
have no connection with something that you once loved. In the story, Seenu
becomes estranged from his wife when he decides to marry another woman. It
also makes him estranged from his parents.

Summary

 The story is about a girl called Radha and how she is chosen over her
husband by her husband’s parents.
 She is very nice and takes good care of them. In the end, Seenu’s parents
realize they love her more than their own son
 The story shows how family is important and it is bigger than just being
born into one.
Ecology
A. K. Ramanujan
Summary of poem

 The poet’s mother gets a headache because of the smell of the flowers of
the Champak tree. He wants to cut them down because of this.
 But his mother gets very angry. She will not let him cut it down
 Her reason for this is that the trees are older than even here. They have
been there for many years.
 They give her daughters flowers for decoration. They will give her
granddaughters also the same thing.
 Even if she has to get headaches every summer when the flowers bloom it
doesn’t matter.
 The trees must be respected

Meaning of the poem

 The poem talks about how important it is to save nature

 Trees and other things in nature have been there for many years before we
were even born. We don’t have the right to destroy it.
 The poet’s mother understands this. She knows that the tree gives us many
things like flowers, shade, etc. We should respect it not cut it down.

Title

Ecology means the connection between man and nature. Man depends on
nature for everything. But we do not respect it. the poem tries to show the
importance of respecting nature.
Girl in the Kitchen
Vaidehi

Summary of the poem

 The poem is about a girl who is forced to stay in the kitchen and cook.
 She hears many things happening outside. She hears children playing and
many auto rikshaws. She wants to go outside and see all these things. She
wants to see the outside world. But she has to stay in the kitchen because
she is a girl.
 She hears an airplane and this reminds her of the story of Rama. The Lord
Rama rescued his wife Sita from the bad man Ravanna on a flying chariot.
The girl sees herself as Sita. Sita is considered the perfect woman and wife
because she always does her duty.
 The girl is also like Sita. She wants to do many things like study and see the
world. But the place for her is the kitchen. She must learn to cook and take
care of the house.
 She wastes her life little by little never seeing the outside world.

Theme

The theme of the poem is how girls are treated even today in India. Many of them
are not allowed to study. They are supposed to get married very young and take
care of the house.

The kitchen becomes the main place for a woman. She must cook and clean. This
is what makes her a good wife. She should not see the outside world ot play or
have any fun.

Girls are treated badly. They are not allowed to do many things that boys are
allowed to do; the poet uses the poem to show an example of this.
Title

The poem is about how many people think that the correct place for the girl is the
kitchen. She should not study, play or see the outside world. She should only cook
and clean the house. That is the only job for her. This is why the title is ‘Girl in the
Kitchen’.
The Golden Boat
Rabindranath Tagore

Summary of the poem

 It is raining very heavily but the farmers are still trying to take their crops.
 The poet is feeling sad. He is sitting near a river alone.
 He imagines a golden boat. There is a beautiful lady on it. It comes and
takes all the crops.
 The poet says he has already given everything he has. He asks if he can
come on the boat and go up to Heaven. But the boat is full.

Theme

The poem talks about how the poet is feeling sad. He feels he has already given
everything he has to life. He thinks it is time his life ends. But he cannot do
anything about this. He has to continue living until the time comes for him to die.

The weather plays an important role in the is poem;. The poet is very sad and
alone. This is also seen in the weather which is very bad. It is raining heavily. Such
a thing is part of Romantic poetry. Romantic poetry also tries to show something
about nature and village people. This is also seen in the poem.

The Golden boat that he imagines is supposed to stand for the journey from life
to death. The poet wants to get on the boat but there is no room. His time to die
hasn’t come yet.

Title

The poem is called the ‘Golden Boat’. The Golden boat that he imagines is
supposed to stand for the journey from life to death. The poet wants to get on
the boat but there is no room. His time to die hasn’t come yet. He has already
given everything to the woman on the boat. It has already been taken away. He
only has himself left. But the Golden boat goes back without him.
Sketches from Life
RK Narayan

 This essay is about how artists make sketches. When they see something
they like they make a small drawing of it. Sometimes they use this to make
art. Sometimes they forget about it.
 Even writers do this. The writer wants to talk about many things he has
written in his notebook. They are from the world about him, mainly about
strange things.
 The author gives an example of how he can use these sketches to write a
story. He writes a story about a man called Gopal.
 Gopal is a student who wants to be a writer. He writes poetry and sends it
to many newspapers. But no one likes it.
 He writes about very common things that many people have already
written about like the sun, moon, etc.
 His friends tell him he is a good writer. His teacher only corrects his
grammar. This is why he continues to write.
 When he graduates he tries to become a writer. He goes to many cities in
India searching for someone who will print his books. But no one wants to.
 One person asks him to write how he feels about a big boring book. He
writes about it even though he will not get paid. He just wants to see his
work in a newspaper.
 In the end he becomes very poor. So he takes a job in a bank. Then he gets
married. His job and family make it hard for him to keep writing. He soon
forgets about his dream to be a writer.
 The main point of the story is that there are many people like Gopal. They
think they are very good writers even though they are not. In the end they
just give up.
 Many people will give different reasons for why they fail.
 1. The common man will say that his writing was too serious. It didn’t have
anything exciting in it like love or murder. So no one would read it
2. The teacher will say that he does not have the talent to write
3. Someone else will say it is because people don’t know their own culture.
They want to write in English but English is not their actual language.

 There is no one reason for his failure. It is not just his education or because
he doesn’t know about his culture. It is also not only because the way we
write and print things is based on Western countries. It is all these things
together.
This is the Way we go to School: Getting
Educated in Rural India
P Sainath

 There are many problems with the school system, especially in rural India.
These problems are:
 70% of children in rural areas go to school in the beginning. But only
5% actually finish High School. Many children stop going to school in
the middle.
 The way to school is very tough. Schools are supposed to be 1km
from the house of the student. But that 1km also is very hard to
travel. These children have to walk through forests and other things
to reach school
 60% of schools in rural India have only one teacher there.
Sometimes, there might be two. They take classes from Standard 1 to
5. Sometimes there is no teacher at all.
 The schools are only a building. There are no things like chairs,
computers, etc. sometimes there are no buildings at all.
 Some school buildings in Bihar are used to keep cows or rice.
 The amount of money spent on schools by the government has
become less and less.
 More boys than girls go to school. More girls leave than boys.
Children from tribes almost never go to school.
 Poor people have been stopped from going to school from the ancient
times. The holy books of India say that poor people should not be given
knowledge at all. He should not hear anything that will make him smart.
 In modern times, the government tries to get votes by saying they will give
money for schools. But they never actually do it.
 The government always tries to show that they care about education. There
is even a National Literacy Mission to take care of this. But nothing is being
done.
 The government is also scared to educate poor people and girls. If girls can
read and write they will know their rights. Then the government cannot
harm them.
 The new policy of the government for education is the New Education
Policy, 1985. This policy says that skilled teachers are not needed. Any
person is alright. There is no need for proper schools. A centre is enough.
This will help make schools cheaper for the government.
 The policy shows how caste plays a role in your education. Poor people
should not get a good education like rich people.
 If children were forced to go to school till the end (Standard 10), then there
would be no chance for many social wrongs like child labour.
 The main theme of the essay is that education should be given for free to
everyone. Everyone should get the same kind of education. Education will
solve many problems. Poor people and girls should be educated. Only then
will the country do well.
Bhopal Lives
Suketu Mehta

 Bhopal is the place where a very harmful gas was released from a gas plant
called Union Carbide. It was an American company. It happened on
December 2-3, 1984.
 The Head of the company Mr Anderson tried to come and see the horrible
effect for himself but he couldn’t because people wanted to arrest him. He
had to run away.
 Many people’s stories are given in this essay. There were many children
who were born during that day. They are given names like Gasdevi (God of
gas).
 Many parents lost their children while they were running away. Sometimes
they had to choose which child to save.
 There were so many dead people that you had to stand on the bodies to
bury them.
 Arun lost most of his family in the gas problems. He became a famous
person because of this. He went to America and many place in India to talk
about what happened. But in the end he has become a bad man. He gives
loans to people. He does many bad things. He uses all his money that he
gets because he is a victim to drink.
 The gas problem has made women more strong about their rights. Muslim
women had to stop wearing their burqa because their lungs had become
weak and they could not breathe. But many people like Sajda Bano want to
wear the burqa because it makes them feel safe. Sajda Bano lost her
husband and one son. Her other son will also die soon because of the gas.
 Hrishankar Magician used to show magic tricks. But he lost his leg when
running away. Now he cannot sit down. He does other magic tricks but it is
not the same. His son also died and he doesn’t even have a picture of him
 After the tragedy many lawyers came from America. They made the victims
sign many papers that they did not understand. They said that they will give
them money. But they actually cheated the people. They haven’t given
them any money.
 Some people feel that the government should not give the victims money.
They say it has made them lazy. They don’t work because they get enough
money from the government.
 The Government of India wanted to fight for these people. They wanted to
fight in India. The company agreed because it is cheaper here than there.
 Many people blame Carbide Company for the horrible thing that happened.
Other people say that it was probably a technical problem. But everyone
knows that how the company reacted was wrong. They only wanted to save
themselves. They didn’t care about the problems of the victims.
 Not all the American people were bad. A man called Brian Mooney was
part of the lawyers who had to fight for the company. But he felt that what
they did was wrong. So he left his job and became a teacher. He wants to
show children that they should love each other and respect other people.
 The truth is that Carbide Company has done better because of the Bhopal
Gas problem. They don’t have to waste money on side projects. They can
focus on their main projects. They make more now than they did before.