1.

The Fun They Had ______________________________________________________ 2

2. The Sound of Music ____________________________________________________ 5
3. The Little Girl __________________________________________________________ 9
4. A Truly Beautiful Mind _________________________________________________ 11
5. The Snake and The Mirror ______________________________________________ 13
6. My Childhood _________________________________________________________ 14
7. Packing _______________________________________________________________ 16
8. Reach for the Top _____________________________________________________ 18
9. The Bond of Love _____________________________________________________ 21
10. Kathmandu __________________________________________________________ 23
11. If I Were You _________________________________________________________ 25
 1. The Fun They Had

Margie writes her diary

Margie even wrote about the book in her diary. On the page headed 17 May, 2157,
she wrote : ‘Today Tommy found a real book !’. The real book

It was a very old book. Margie’s grandfather once said that when he was a little boy
his grandfather told him about a time, all stories were printed on paper. They turned
the pages. These were wrinkled and yellow. The words stood still. They did not move
on the screen as they do now.

Telebooks
Tommy called it a waste. When they read the book they threw it away. Their
television screen must have been very big to have many books. It was still good for
many more books. It was same for Margie, though she had not seen many
telebooks.

Margie’s hatred for ‘school’

Margie was eleven and Tommy was thir-teen. She asked him where he had found
that book. He replied that he found that in his house. She asked what it was all
about. He replied that it was about school. Margie ex-claimed ‘School !’ What was
there to write about school as she hated that ?

Why Margie hates ‘school’ ?

She always hated school. But now she hated it more. It was because her mechanical
teacher had been giving her test after test in geography. She had been doing worse
and worse. At last, her mother sent for the County Inspector.

Television teacher set right

The Inspector was a round little man. He had a red face and a box of tools, dials and
wires. He smiled at Margie and gave her an apple. He took the television teacher
away. Margie hoped he wouldn’t know how to set it right. But after one hour it was
brought again before her with its big screen. Lessons were shown and questions
asked on it.

Margie’s learning
She hated its slot in which she had to put | her homework. She had to write them in a
punch code. She had been learning since she was six years old.

Geography sector set right

The Inspector smiled and patted Margie’s head. He told Margie’s mother that it was
not Margie’s fault. The geography sector was geared a little too quick. He had
slowed that ‘ to an average ten-year level. Margie’s progress had been quite
satisfactory. Then he went away.

Margie’s wish about her television teacher

Margie hoped that they would take her mechanical teacher away. They had done so
to Tommy’s for nearly a month. The history sector of Tommy had blanked out.
Margie said to Tommy why anyone would write about school.

Tommy tells her about old schools

Tommy told her that it was not their kind of school. That was a kind of old schools
which they had there hundreds and hundreds of years ago.

Margie’s knowledge about old schools

Margie was hurt. She told that she did not know about these schools. She read the
book over Tommy’s shoulder. She then said that they had had a teacher anyway.
Tommy replied that it wasn’t a regular teacher. It was a man.

Students in those schools

The teacher told the boys and girls things and gave homework. He also asked them
questions. Margie told Tommy that man couldn’t be smart enough. But Tommy said
he was so.

Old schools explained

Margie was not prepared to dispute that. She said that she wouldn’t want a strange
man to live in her house and teach her. Tommy told Margie that the teachers did not
live in the house as the mechanical teachers lived. They had a special building. All
the kids went there. And they learned the same thing. Also they were of the same
age group.

Adjustment of television teacher

But Margie said that as per her mother a teacher had to be adjusted to fit the mind of
each boy and girl it taught. So each kid had to be taught differently.

Margie’s schopl time

Margie’s mother Mrs Jones called that it was time for her ‘school’. Margie asked
Tommy if she could read the book some more with him after school. Tommy walked
away. He had put the dusty old book under his arm.

Margie thinks of old schools

Margie put her work in the slot with a sigh. She was thinking about the old schools.
They had them when her grandfather’s grandfather was a kid. All the kids from the
neighbourhood came laughing and shouting in the schoolyard. They sat together at
the end of the day. They learnt the same things so that they could help one another
in their homework. And the teachers were human beings.
Thinking continues
The mechanical teacher was flashing on the screen the fractions of a question.
Margie was thinking about how the kids must have loved the school in the old days.
She was thinking about the fun they had.
 2. The Sound of Music

Evelyn glennie listens to

Sound without hearing it

Little girl Evelyn at Royal Academy of Music

Rush hour crowds pushed for place on the underground train platform. A little girl of
about seventeen was nervous for the coming train. It was her first day at the famous
Royal Academy of Music in London. She was deaf. So she was facing a bigger
challenge in life. Evelyn’s deafness detected Evelyn Glennie was from Scotland. She
lost her hearing gradually. Her mother saw it when Evelyn was eight-year-old. Evelyn
hid this growing weakness from her friends and teachers. By eleven, her marks
lessened. The headmistress told her mother to take her to a specialist. It was known
that her hearing loss was due to gradual nerve damage. She was advised to wear a
hearing aid.

How Evelyn ‘hears’

But Evelyn was determined to lead a nor-mal life. She wanted to pursue her interest
in music. One day she saw a girl playing xylo-phone. She too decided to play it. Ron
Forbes recognised Evelyn’s talent in it. He told her to listen it not through ears but
sense it some other way. Evelyn said that suddenly she could feel the higher and
lower drums differently. She could also sense certain notes in different parts of her
body. She could open her mind and body to different sounds.

Evelyn’s height of success

She never looked back. She toured the United Kingdom with a youth orchestra. She
had decided to make music her life. She auditioned for the Royal Academy of Music
in London by playing the xylophone. There she scored the highest in its history. She
moved from orchestral work to solo performances. After her three-year course she
had got most of the top awards.

Evelyn world’s most wanted multi per-cussionist

She is not proud of her achievements. She says that if one knows one’s goal, one
can get it. She is now at the top. She is the world’s most wanted multi percussionist.
She has mastery over 1,000 instruments.

Evelyn’s other interest

Without hearing she functions with ease. She speaks fluently with a Scottish lilt. She
learnt French and mastered basic Japanese.

Evelyn’s ‘hearing’ the music

She says that music pours in through every part of her body. At times, she plays the
xylophone. She can sense the sound passing in her fingertips. She feels the sound
of the drums when she leans on them. She removes her shoes on a wooden
platform. She does so to feel the vibrations in her body.

How God has blessed Evelyn

In 1991, she was awarded the Soloist of the Year Award. It is the most famous
award of the Royal Philharmonic Society. Master percussionist James Blades says
that God may have taken her hearing. But He has given her something
extraordinary.

Evelyn as inspiration for the handicapped

Evelyn says that she is a workaholic. She has to work more harder than classical
musicians. She gives regular concerts. She also gives free concepts in schools and
hospitals. She gives priority to young musicians. Ann Richlin of the Beethoven Fund
for Deaf Children says that Evelyn is a shining inspiration for deaf children.

Evelyn a source of pleasure also

Evelyn has brought percussion to the front of the orchestra. She is an inspiration to
the handicapped. She has given great pleasure to millions.

II

The shehnai of bismillah khan

History of ‘shehnai’
Emperor Aurangzeb banned the playing of pungi in the palace. The reason was that
it had a sharp and unpleasant sound. A barber thought to improve it. He chose a
pipe with a natural hollow stem. He made seven holes on its body. He played on it
closing and opening some of these holes. It produced a sweet sound. He played it
before the royalty. It needed a name. So it was named after the player. He was a
‘nai’ (barber). It was first played in the Shah’s chambers.

‘Shehnai’ and Bismillah Khan

The sound of the shehnai was considered auspicious. So it is played in temples and
at weddings in north India. Earlier it was part of the traditional music groups. Ustad
Bismillah Khan has brought it onto the clas-sical stage.

Bismillah’s childhood
As a five-year old Bismillah Khan played gilli-danda near a pond in Dumraon in
Bihar. He would go to the nearby Bihariji temple. There he would sing the Bhojpuri
chaita. At the end he would earn a big laddu weighing 1.25 kg. It was on behalf of
the local Maha-raja. This happened 80 years ago. This little boy later earned the
Bharat Ratna. It is the highest civilian honour.

Bismillah Khan’s birth and parents

Bismillah Khan was bom on March 21,1916 in a family of musicians in Bihar. His
grand¬father Rasool Bux Khan was the shehnai- nawaz of the Bhojpur king’s court.
His father Paigambar Bux and other ancestors were great shehnai players.

Bismillah as a young singer

The young boy Bismillah Khan took to music early in life. At three, his mother took
him to his maternal uncle’s house in Benaras. He was attracted towards his uncle’s
practise the shehnai. Soon he started going with his uncle Ali Bux to the Vishnu
temple in Varanasi to play the shehnai. Soon he started practising the playing of the
instrument. For years the temple of Balaji and Mangla Maiya and the banks of the
Ganga became the places where he could practise. The flowing waters of the Ganga
inspired him to invent new raagas.

Bismillah’s rise
At the age of 14 Bismillah accompanied his uncle to the Allahabad Music
Conference. The opening of the All India Radio in Lucknow in 1938 became a big
break for him. He became a shehnai player on radio.

Bismillah as ‘the first Indian’

Bismillah Khan became the first Indian to greet the nation with his shehnai on August
15, 1947. He played Raag Kafi Irom Red Fort to people like Mahatma Gandhi and
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.

Bismillah Khan goes abroad and his effect on film world

Bismillah Khan has given many memorable performances both in India and abroad.
His first trip abroad was to Afghanistan. King Zahir Shah was deeply impressed by
his shehnai. He gave him priceless Persian car¬pets. Film director Vijay Bhatt was
greatly impressed. He named his film Gunj Uthi Shehnai after the instrument. The
film was a hit and his composition Dil ka khilona hai toot gaya became a record
breaker.

Film world not Bismillah’s like

Bismillah Khan’s music in films didn’t go beyond Vijay Bhatt’s Gunj Uthi Shehnai and
Vikram Srinivas’s Kannada film Sanadhi Apanna. He found the film world artificial
and glamorous. He could not compromise with it.

Bismillah Khan’s awards

Awards came in plenty for him. He became the first Indian to perform at the Lincoln
Centre Hall in the USA. He took part in the World Exposition in Montreal, in the
Cannes Art Festival and in the Osaka Trade Fair. An auditorium in Teheran was
named after him ‘Tahar Mosiquee Ustaad Bismillah Khan’. National awards like the
Padmashri, the Padma Bhushan and the Padma Vibhushan were conferred on him.

‘Bharat Ratna’ awarded

In 2001 he was awarded India’s highest civilian award the ‘Bharat Ratna’. At this he
said, “Teach your children music. This is Hindustan’s richest tradition : even the
West is now coming to learn our music”.
Bismillah Khan’s love for his roots
Bismillah Khan has travelled all over the world. But he is greatly fond of Benaras and
Dumraon. A student of his once wanted him to head a shehnai school in the USA.
He promised to recreate an atmosphere of Benaras by making temples there. But
Khansaab asked him if he would transport River Ganga there. He says that
whenever he is abroad, he yearns to see Hindustan. While in Mumbai he thinks of
only Varanasi and the holy Ganga. And while in Varanasi, he misses the ‘mattha’ in
Dumraon.

Bismillah Khan’s life—a great example

Ustad Bismillah Khan’s life is a perfect example of the rich cultural heritage of India.
It accepts that a Muslim like him can play the shehnai every morning at the Kashi
Vishwanath temple.
 3. The Little Girl

Kezia’s fears about her father

Kezia’s father was a figure of fear for her. She avoided him. Before going to work, he
would come to her. He would give her a casual kiss. But when he went, Kezia would
feel a great relief.

How Kezia comes before father in the evening

In the evening Kezia’s father came home. Kezia would hear his loud voice calling for
tea. Kezia’s mother would ask Kezia to be a good girl to take off father’s shoes.
When she would take off his shoes, he would ask if she had been a good girl that
day. But she was terrified of him. She would stutter due to fear. She, in fact, would
try to speak. But she would hesitate due to fear. For Kezia, her father was like a
giant.

What happened on a Sunday afternoon

On a Sunday afternoon grandmother asked Kezia to have a nice talk with father and
mother. But Kezia always found mother reading and father snoring. So she waited
for father. She continued staring at father. She waited till he awoke. When he
actually awoke, he asked her not to stare. She looked like an owl.

Kezia makes a birthday gift for father

One day Kezia’s grandmother told her that her father’s birthday was next week. She
suggested to Kezia to make him a pin-cushion of yellow silk. So Kezia made a pin-
cushion for father. She needed something to stuff the pin-cushion. So she gathered
a few sheets of fine paper and put them into it. These sheets belonged to her father.
They had an important speech which he was to deliver.

A hue and cry in the house

That night there was a hue and cry in the house. Father’s great speech for the Port
Authority had been lost. Rooms were searched. Servants were questioned. Father,
went to Kezia’s room. He asked her about them. Kezia didn’t tell a lie. She told him
that she had tom those papers.

Father summons Kezia and beats her

Father asked Kezia to come to the drawing-room. He was very angry. He was pacing
to and fro. Kezia was greatly frightened. He asked Kezia if she had done that. She
whispered. Father asked mother to go to Kezia’s room and fetch those torn papers.
Meanwhile he asked Kezia to. hold out her hands. He beat her on her hands. He did
so to teach her not to touch anything that didn’t belong to her.

Kezia’s reaction
Kezia heard this. She replied that what she did was for his birthday. Kezia was
beaten on her hands. Hours later, her grandmother had wrapped Kezia in a shawl.
She clung to her when she was being rocked in the rocking chair. She sobbed,
“What did God make fathers for ?”

The Macdonalds, Kezia’s neighbours

The Macdonalds lived next door to Kezia’s house. They had five children. Father
played with the children. Kezia thought that there were different fathers.

Kezia’s mother and grandmother at hospital

One day Kezia’s mother fell ill. She had to be hospitalized. Kezia’s grandmother was
with her Kezia was all alone with Alice, the cook. Kezia asked Alice what would
happen if she had a nightmare. But Alice asked her to sleep. She also asked her not
to scream and not to wake up her poor father.

Kezia’s nightmare
But Kezia had a nightmare. She saw a butcher with a knife and a rope. He came
near Kezia but she couldn’t move. She screamed and woke up father. Father came
to her bed. He asked her what was the matter. After hearing her, he took Kezia with
him.

Kezia’s changed opinion about father

Kezia’s father lay down beside her. Kezia crept close to him. He asked Kezia to rub
her feet against his legs to get them warm. Kezia felt a funny thing. She thought that
father was harder than grandmother. But it was a nice hardness. Everyday he had to
work harder. He got too tired to be a Mr. Macdonald. And she had torn up his writing!
She stirred. Father asked what was the matter. Kezia told him that her head was on
his heart. She told him that he had a big heart. It was beating.
 4. A Truly Beautiful Mind

Albert Einstein is born

Albert Einstein was bom on March 14,1879 in the German City of Ulm. He had no
signs of greatness. His mother thought that he was a freak.

Albert as uncommon
When he learned to speak he spoke everything twice. He was boring for other
children. So he played by himself much of the time. He loved mechanical toys.
Looking at his new bom siste, Maja, he asked where her wheels were.

Albert belies the headmaster

A headmaster told his father that Einstein would never make a success at anything.
Einstein began playing at the age of six. Later he became a gifted violinist.

Leaves school for good

But Einstein was not a bad pupil. He joined a high school in Munich. He scored good
marks in every subject. He clashed with his teachers. He did not like strict discipline
and order in schools. He left school for good at the age of 15.

Education in Switzerland
A year before his parents had moved to Milan. They left him with relatives. He was
able to continue his education in Switzerland.

Goes to University
Einstein was highly gifted in mathematics. He was interested in physics also. He
decided to study at a University in Zurich.

Falls in love
He had a special interest in a fellow student. Her name was Mileva Marie. She was a
‘clever creature’. She was a Serb. The university in Zurich was one of the few
universities in Europe where women could get degrees. Therefore, she had come to
Switzerland. The couple fell in love. However, their love was expressed in science.

Gets a job
At the age of 21, Albert Einstein got his university degree. He also got a job. He
became a technical expert in the patent office in Bern in 1920. He was also actually
developing his own ideas in secret. He called his desk as the ‘bureau of theoretical
physics’.

His ‘Special Theory of Relativity’

One of the famous papers of 1905 was Einstein’s ‘Special Theory of Relativity’.
According to it time and distance are not absolute. For example, two perfectly
accurate clocks will not show the same time if they come together after a journey.
From this followed the world’s most famous formula. It describes the relationship
between mass and energy, E = me2 (E stands for energy, m for mass and c for the
speed of light in a vacuum which is about 300,000 km/s.)

Einstein’s mother on Mileva

Einstein was solving the most difficult problems in physics. His private life was
starting to fail. He wanted to marry Mileva. But his mother was against it.. She
thought Mileva was too old for him. She was three years older than him. She was
also bothered by Mileva’s intelligence.

Einstein marries
The pair finally married in January 1903. They had two sons. But a few years later,
the marriage failed. The couple finally divorced in 1919. Einstein married his cousin
Elsa the same year.

Receives the Nobel Prize

Einstein’s new chapter brought him world fame. In 1915 he had published his
‘General Theory of Relativity’. An eclipse of the sun in 1919 proved its accuracy. The
newspapers called his work as a scientific revolution. He received the Nobel Prize for
Physics in 1921. He received honours and invitations from all over the world after
that.

Einstein emigrates to US
The Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933. Einstein emigrated to the United
States. Five years later, nuclear fission was discovered by the Nazis in Berlin. It
upset the American physicists. They were afraid that the Nazis would build and use
an atomic bomb.

Einstein’s letter to US President

Einstein wrote a letter to the American President Franklin D. Roosevelt on August 2,
1939. In it he warned that a single bomb of this type might destroy the whole part. It
bore fruit. The Americans developed the atomic bomb in secret. They dropped it on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.

Einstein work for peace and democracy

Einstein was deeply shaken by the extent of destruction. This time he wrote a public
letter to the United Nations. In it he proposed the formation of a world government.
But this did not prove effective. Einstein in the next decade involved himself in
politics. He wanted to bring an end to the arms buildup. He worked for peace and
democracy.

Einstein dies
Einstein died in 1955 at the age of 76. He was celebrated as a visionary and a world
citizen.
 5. The Snake and The Mirror

Story of a doctor and a snake

This is the story about a snake. It had entered (into) the narrator’s room. The
narrator is a doctor. He had just started his practice those days.

Doctor sees his face in the mirror

It was a hot summer night. The doctor had his meals at the restaurant and returned
home. The rented house was not electrified. So he lighted the kerosene lamp. Then
he took off his coat and, shirt and opened the two windows. After some time, he
settled on the chair and took out a book. There was a large mirror on the table.
Those days the doctor bothered much about his looks. He, therefore picked up the
comb and parted his hair. He looked at his reflection in the mirror. Then he practised
an attractive smile. The room had many rats. They constantly made a noise.

Fall of a snake on him

The doctor got up. He lit a beedi. He paced up and down the room. The thought of
his marriage came to him. He thought of marrying a wealthy doctor. His wife had to
be fat. So she won’t catch him if he ran away. He came back and sat at the table.
The sounds of rats had stopped. Suddenly, there was a dull thud. As he turned his
head a fat snake landed over his shoulder. Before the doctor could think of anything,
the snake had coiled around his left arm above the elbow. His hood was spread out.
His head was hardly three or four inches from his face.

Doctor’s thoughts and escape from the snake

The doctor sat there as if he were a piece of stone. He thought of only one help—the
help from God. It seemed God appreciated that. The snake turned its head and
looked into the mirror. The snake, then, unwound itself from the doctor’s arm. He fell
into his lap. From there it crept on the table. Then it moved towards the mirror.
Apparently, it wanted to see its reflection more closely. This was the doctor’s
opportunity. Very slowly, he got up from the chair. He ran out of the house in no
moments.

Doctor shifts elsewhere

He reached a friend’s house and spent his time there. He came back to his house
only next morning. It was about eight-thirty. He had with him his friend and one or
two others. They had to move his things from there. However, they had little to carry.
Some thief had taken away most of his things. There was no sign of the snake also.
 6. My Childhood

Prof. Abdul Kalam’s birth and childhood

This lesson tells us about Prof. Abdul Kalam’s childhood. He is one of the world’s
greatest scientists. His father’s name was Jainulabdeen. His mother’s name was
Ashiamma. He was bom in 1931 at Rameswaram. His parents were neither much
educated nor rich. Yet they were very generous and kind. Many outsiders ate with
the family everyday.

His house andt family

Abdul Kalam had three brothers and one sister. They lived in their old ancestral
house. It was a large pucca house. It was on the Mosque Street in Rameswaram.

His first earning

Abdul Kalam was only eight years old when the Second World War broke out in
1939. There was suddenly a great demand for tamarind seeds. Abdul Kalam would
collect these seeds and sell them in the market. His cousin Samsuddin distributed
newspapers. He employed Abdul Kalam as a helping hand. In this way, the child
Abdul earned his first wages.

New teacher’s casteist action

Abdul Kalam’s parents highly influenced him. Some of his friends and teachers also
influenced him. He was in the fifth standard at Rameswaram Elementary School. A
new teacher came to the class. Abdul was sitting with his close friend Ramanadha
Sastry in the front row. The new teacher could not tolerate a Hindu priest’s son
sitting with a Muslim boy. He asked Abdul to sit on the back bench.

Effect of teacher’s action

He was very sad and so was Ramanadha Sastry. Abdul found Sastry weeping as he
went to the last row. This made a lasting impression on Abdul. Later Ramanadha
Sastrjr’s father called the teacher. He asked him not to spread the poison of social
separation among the children. The teacher felt sorry for the same.

His science teacher’s anti-casteist action

Abdul’s science teacher Sivasubramania Iyer was a high-caste Brahmin. His wife
was very conservative. But he did his best to break social barriers. One day he
invited Abdul to his home for a meal. His wife refused to serve Abdul in her kitchen.
Then Sivasubramania served Abdul with his own hands. He sat down beside him to
eat his meal. The teacher invited Abdul to come again the next weekend. He went to
his house next week. His wife took Abdul inside henkitchen. She served him food
with her own hands.

Abdul’s inheritance of human values

From his father, Abdul inherited honesty and self-discipline. Abdul grew up. He
asked his father’s permission to study at Ramanathapuram. His father allowed him to
do so. He consoled his wife who had grown emotional.

How Abdul Kalam’s father consoled Kalam’s mother

Abdul Kalam’s father referred to Khalil Gibran, the Persian philosopher. He told her
that her children were not hers. They were the sons and daughters of life’s longing
for itself. They came through her and not from her. She might give them her love. But
their thoughts were theirs.
 7. Packing

The narrator decides to pack

Jerome, the narrator, felt pride on his packing. Three friends decided to go on a
holiday. He offered to do packing. George and Harris, his friends, were impressed by
that. They relaxed by lighting a cigar and pipe respectively that the narrator would do
the packing.

The narrator had intended it otherwise

But the narrator had intended that George and Harris would pack. And he would
boss over them. When they relaxed, he was irritated. People’s not doing anything
greatly irritated him. He couldn’t sit still and see others working. He would enjoy
getting up and overseeing others working. He hated seeing people doing nothing
when he was working.

Packing done but many things forgotten

The narrator started the packing. He had finished packing in a short time. Harris told
him that he had forgotten to put the boots in. He opened the bag and packed the
boots in. He was going to close it. Just then he had an idea had he packed his tooth-
brush ? He had some wild memories with his tooth-brush.

Packing searched for tooth-brush

He turned everything out. But he could not find the tooth-brush. He found brushes of
George and Harris more than eighteen times over. But he couldn’t find his own. So
he put the things back one by one. Then he found the tooth-brush inside a boot. He
repacked the things once more.

Packing done and undone

The narrator finished packing the bag. Soon George asked if the soap was in. But
the narrator was in anger. He won’t open the bag again. However, he found that he
had packed his tobacco-pouch in it. So he had to re-open the bag. Then George and
Harris undertook to do the rest of the packing.

Things become exciting

Harris and George were not good packers. The narrator could see piles of plates,
cups, kettles, cakes, tomatoes, etc. Soon the packing became exciting. Cups were
broken. Harris packed the strawberry jam on top of a tomato and squashed it.
George walked over the butter. The narrator sat and saw them packing.

This irritated George and Harris. They stepped on things. Then they didn’t find what
they wanted to find. They packed the pies at the bottom of the bag. They squashed
them after putting heavy things on them.
Excitement over packing continues
George and Harris upset everything. George trod on the butter, while packing.
George got the butter off his slipper. Then they tried to put it in the kettle. It won’t go
and what was in wouldn’t come out. They at last got it. They put it down on a chair.
Harris sat on it. It stuck to him. Then they went looking for it over the room.

Montmorency adds to the confusion

The dog, Montmorency, had an ambition in life. It was to get in the way and be a
nuisance. He felt that his day was not wasted if he had made people mad. He had a
high aim. It was to get somebody stumble over him and curse him.

So Montmorency came. He sat down on things when these were to be packed. He

put his leg into the jam. He pretended the lemons were rats and put those into the
hamper. Harris said that the narrator only made the dog do all that. But it was natural
for a dog to do like that.

They decide to sleep after packing was done

The packing was done. Harris said that he hoped nothing would be found broken.
Then they decided to sleep. Harris asked the narrator if he preferred to sleep inside
or outside the bed. George asked when he should wake them. They started to argue
over the time. Finally, they decided to wake up at 6.30.
 8. Reach for the Top

Part I. Santosh Yadav

Santosh’s family background and birth Santosh Yadav has twice climbed Mount
Everest. She is the only woman in the world to do so. She was bom in a society
where the birth of a son was regarded as a blessing. Daughter was not welcome. A
“holy man’ blessed Santosh’s mother thinking that she wanted a son. But Santosh’s
grandmother Haryana as the sixth child. She is a sister to five brothers.

Non-traditional Santosh
She was named ‘Santosh’ meaning contentment. Santosh began living life on her
own terms. Other girls wore traditional Indian dresses. But she wore shorts. She said
that she was determined to choose a correct path. Others were to change
themselves, not she.

Santosh’s great desire for education

Santosh’s parents were rich landowners. They could send her for education to
nearby Delhi, the Capital. But they sent her to the village school. Santosh decided to
fight the system. When she turned sixteen, she refused to marry. Most of the girls in
her village used to get married at that age. She warned her parents that she would
never marry if she did not get a proper education.

Santosh in a Delhi school

So she got admission in a school in Delhi. Her parents refused to pay her fees. But
she told them that she would work part time to earn money. They agreed to pay for
her education.

Goes to college in Jaipur

Santosh passed the high school. She went to Jaipur to join Maharani College. She
got a room in Kasturba Hostel. It faced the Aravalli Hills. She used to see the
villagers going up the hill and disappearing.

Takes to climbing
One day she decided to check herself why the climbers disappeared. She went
there. She found nobody except a few climbers. They encouraged her to take to
climbing. Then there was no looking back.

Joins Institute of Mountaineering

Santosh saved money. She enrolled herself in a.course at Uttarkashi’s Nehru
Institute of Mountaineering. She went there directly from Jaipur. She wrote a letter to
her father from there. In it she apologised for taking admis-sion in Uttarkashi.
A remarkable climber
There Santosh went on an expedition every year. She developed a remarkable
resistance to cold and the altitude. She had an iron will, physical endurance and
mental toughness. Her efforts started bearing fruits.

Conquers Mount Everest

In 1988 she had asked the Aravalli Moun-taineers if she could join them. 1992
became the year of her grand success. She conquered Mt. Everest when she was
barely twenty years old. She thus became the youngest woman in the world to
achieve it. She proved equally helpful to the fellow-climbers.

The other side of Santosh as a climber

During the 1992 Everest mission, Santosh Yadav provided special care to a climber.
He lay dying at the South Col. She could not save him. But she managed to save
another climber, Mohan Singh. He would have died if Santosh had not shared her
oxygen with him.

Conquers Everest the second time

Within twelve months, Santosh was invited by Indo-Nepalese Women’s Expedition.
She became its member. She then conquered the Everest a second time. She set a
record as the only woman to have climbed the Everest twice.

Honoured by the Govt.

The Indian Government recognised her achievement. She was honoured with the
Padmashri. It is one of the nation’s top honours.

Indescribable moments at the top

Santosh described her feelings when she was on the top of the world . She said that
it took her some time for that moment to be understood. She unfurled the Indiem
tricolour. She can’t describe that moment. She saw the Indian flag flying on the top of
the world. It was a spiritual moment for her. She felt proud lift to be an Indian.
Santosh acted as an environmentalist also. She brought down 500 kilograms of
rubbish from the Himalayas.

Part II. Maria Sharapova

Maria Sharapova’s number one position in world tennis

There is something at odds with Maria Sharapova with her smile and dress. This
lifted her on 22 August 2005 to the world number one position in women’s tennis.
She is a Siberian teenager. It took her four years to achieve the top position.

Maria’s trip to US .
Maria’s climb upwards started nine years before. She was not yet 10 when she was
sent to train in America. That trip to Florida with her father Yuri put her on the line to
success and stardom. But it meant a separation also of two years from her mother
Yelena. Yelena had to live in Siberia due to visa restrictions.
Maria’s stay and training in the US
Maria recalls that she felt lonely in the US. She missed her mother greatly. Her father
also couldn’t see her mother. He earned only as much as to keep her tennis-training
going. She was young. She used to tidy up the room and clean it. The seniors would
make her do so.

Maria’s toughness
This made her determined and mentally tough. She also learnt how to take care of
herself. She never thought of quitting. She knew what she wanted. This toughness is
still there in her.

Maria becomes number one

She bagged the ladies’ single crown at Wimbledon in 2004. She became world’s
number one in 2005.

Her mantra for success

Maria has journeyed from Siberia to the top of women’s tennis. It has touched the
hearts of tennis fans. She looks straight and answers clearly. These tell that her
sacrifices were worth it. She says that she works hard at what she does. This is her
mantra for success.

Maria on her Russian roots

Maria speaks with an American accent. She shows her pride to be a Russian. She
says that her blood is Russian. However, the US is a big part of her life. She will play
the Olympics for Russia if they wanted her to play.

Sharapova’s hobbies
Sharapova’s hobbies are fashion, singing and dancing. She loves reading the novels
of Arthur Canan Doyle. She is fond of evening gowns. She loves pancakes with
chocolate spread and orange drinks.

Sharapova’s thoughts on tennis etc.

Sharapova can’t be put in a category. She has talent, a desire to succeed and
readiness to sacrifice. These qualities have lifted her to the top of the world. She
finds money as motivation. Tennis is a business and a sport. But the most important
thing is to become number one in the world. This dream has kept her going.
 9. The Bond of Love

The author gets a baby bear by chance

‘The Bond of Love’ is the story of love and friendship between a pet bear cub and the
author’s wife. He got the bear cub for her by accident. Two years ago, they were
passing through the sugarcane fields near Mysore. People were driving away the
wild pigs from their fields. Some were shot dead and others escaped. Suddenly a
sloth-bear came out of the f fields. She was panting in the hot sun.

The actual incident

The author dfdn’t want to shoot at her. One of his companions shot the bear on the
spot. They came near the fallen animal. They saw a baby-bear riding on his mother’s
back. The little bear ran around the dead body of his mother. He was making a pitiful
noise. Then ‘ he ran away into a sugarcane field.

Author’s present to his wife

At last, the author was able to catch him The little bear struggled to free himself. He
tried to scratch him with his long, hooked claws. They put him in a gunny-bag. They
brought him to Bangalore. The author presented the little creature to his wife. She
was really delighted. The cub was a male. She named it Bruno.

How baby bear is brought up

The author’s wife looked after the baby-bear like her own child. Bruno soon took to
drinking milk from a bottle. He started eating and drinking a lot of things. He ate
porridge, vegetables, fruit, nuts, meat, rice, eggs etc. He drank tea, milk, coffee and
even beer and liquor.

How baby bear spends time

They had two Alsatian dogs. The baby bear became friendly with the dogs and all
the children. He enjoyed himself freely. He spent his time in playing and running into
the kitchen. He also slept in their beds.

A strange incident
One day an accident befell him. The author had put down barium carbonate in the
library. It was a poison. It was put down there to kill rats. Bruno entered the library
and ate some of the poison. He suffered from a stroke of paralysis. But he dragged
himself slowly to the author’s wife. He was weakening rapidly. He was vomiting and
breathing heavily.

Taken to a veterinary surgeon

He was taken to a veterinary surgeon. 10 c.c. of anti-dote was given to him. His
condition remained unchanged. Another 10 c.c. was injected. Brupo got up and
enjoyed a good meal. Another time the little bear drank a gallon of old engine oil. But
it had no ill-effects whatever on him.
His joyful feats
Months rolled on. Bruno had grown in size. He had equalled the two dogs in height.
He even looked bigger than them. At times, he was playful and mischievous. He was
very fond of them all. Above all, he loved the author’s wife. She loved him too. She
had changed his name from Bruno to Baba. The baby-bear could also do a few
tricks. At her command, Baba could Nvrestle’ or “box’. He would hold a stick like a
‘gun’. But because of the tenants’ children, he had to be chained most of the time.

Bruno sent to Zoo in Mysore

The author, his son and friends advised her to give Baba to the Zoo at Mysore. He
had become very big. He couldn’t be kept at home. At last, she consented. A letter
was written to the curator of the zoo. The zoo sent a cage from Mysore in a lorry.
Baba was packed off.

Bruno missed at home

But all of them missed Bruno greatly. His wife wept and was inconsolable. For a few
days she would not eat anything. She wrote a number of letters to the curator of the
Zoo. Even Baba was inconsolable there. He refused food too. He was well but
looked thin and sad. The author stopped his wife from visiting Mysore for 3 months.
She was adamant. At last, he took his wife to Bruno or Baba.

Author’s wife visits Bruno in the Zoo

Friends had guessed that the bear would not recognise her. But the moment Baba
saw her he recognised her. He cried with happiness. She ran up to him. She patted
him through the bars. He stood in delight. She would not leave the cage for 3 hours.
She gave him tea, cakes, ice-cream etc. At last, the ‘closing time’ came. They had to
leave now.

Getting Bruno back home

The author’s wife wept bitterly. Baba also cried bitterly. Fven the hard curator was
sad and moved. She requested him to send Baba back. He showed his
helplessness. Baba was now the government property. Then, they went to the
superintendent. She pleaded with tears in her eyes. The superintendent was a kind-
hearted man. He consented. He also lent them a cage for transporting Baba back to
Bangalore. Baba was driven into a small cage. He was hoisted on the top of the car.

Bruno at home
At home, an island was made for Baba. It was twenty feet long and fifteen feet wide.
It was surrounded by a moat. It was six feet wide and seven feet deep. A wooden
box was kept for Baba to sleep in at night. Straw was placed inside to keep him
warm. In a few days Baba was released in the island: He was delighted. The
author’s wife spent hours sitting there. Baba sat on her lap. Baba was fifteen months
old and quite heavy now.

Love between man and animals

It is the story of man’s love and friendship with a baby-bear. The baby-bear has
many human qualities. He has sense of love, affection and loyalty.
 10. Kathmandu

Two famous temples in Kathmandu

The lesson ‘Kathmandu’ is a description of the two famous temples of that city. One
is the Pashupatinath temple. The other is the Baudhnath stupa, the Buddhist shrine
of Kathmandu.

Pashupatinath temple
At Pashupatinath temple, a sign proclaims ‘Entrance for the Hindus only’. There is
much crowd and utter confusion. All sorts of animals roam around through the
grounds. There are so many people. They are pushing each other to somehow make
their way to the Lord. A group of Westerners claims itself to be Hindus. It struggles
for permission to come in. But the policeman at the gate is not convinced. Monkeys
can be seen fighting.

Belief about it and the river

The holy Bagmati flows by the side of the temple. It has washer women at its banks.
There is a small shrine also on the river bank. It seems that half of the shrine is in the
river. The other half out of it. The people believe that the whole of the shrine will
come out of the river, one day. Then the goddess inside will escape. Then the evil
period of Kaliyug will come to an end.

Baudhnath stupa
At Baudhnath stupa, there is a sense of stillness. There is a road running round the
temple. Small shops of Tibetan immigrants stand on its outer edge. There are no
crowds here.

What the author says about Kathmandu bazaar

Kathmandu is a crowded place. There are deities in the busiest streets. These
streets are r crowded with fruit sellers, flute sellers, hawkers of postcards etc. The
shops sell “ Western cosmetics, film rolls and chocolate.
Film songs can be heard. Car horns play. Cycle bells ring. Stray cows low at people.
In the r market place, the author indulges himself mindlessly. Then, he plans to go
back home. He enters a Nepal Airlines office and buys a ticket for Delhi. He comes
back to his hotel.

About the flute seller

In a comer of the square near the hotel a flute seller catches his attention. His
carefree style pleases him. He doesn’t sell his flutes like others. They cry to sell their
wares. In fact, flute music always attracts him. It reminds him of the commonality of
all mankind.

Different flutes and flute music

There is no culture that does not have its flute. The deep bansuri is of Hindustani
classical music. The flutes of South America are clear and breathy. The Chinese
ones are high pitched. The music of the flutes is universal. Its motive force is the
breath. It unites all in one single thread of universality.

The author’s analysis about the ‘bansuri’

The author is affected by the phrases on the bansuri. It surprises him. He returns
home after a long absence abroad. He did not think earlier of the details and their
significance.
 11. If I Were You

About the story

This is the story of an Intruder. He entered the house of a playwright, Gerrard. He,
however, did not know that the owner of the cottage was a playwright. He only knew
him as Gerrard. He had heard about him a few things. He knew that Gerrard was
something of a mystery man. He lived in the wilds of Essex. Gerrard gave his orders
on phone and never met the tradesmen.

The Intruder enters Gerrard’s house

The Intruder was a criminal. He had also killed a policeman. He was, now, being
chased by police. He thought that he resembled Gerrard in body. He decided to kill
Gerrard and then live himself as Gerrard. So, he broke into the cottage of Gerrard
one day.

Gerrard ready to go out

Gerrard was then preparing to leave his house. He was going to attend a rehearsal
of his drama. He had prepared his bag in which there were props for the rehearsal.

Intruder threatens to shoot Gerrard

The Intruder threatened Gerrard with his revolver. He asked him to answer his
questions. Then, he told him that he intended to kill him and then live in his house as
Gerrard. He resembled Gerrard in body. Not many people came to see him. The
Intruder thought he could live as Gerrard the rest of his life. He learnt to imitate
Gerrard’s voice.

Gerrard cautions the Intruder

The Intruder was about to shoot Gerrard. Then Gerrard warned him to be careful and
not to kill him. He told the Intruder that he was also a criminal and a murderer. In
case, he killed Gerrard he was sure to be hanged. They would hang him if not as
himself then as Gerrard.

How the Intruder reacts

Hearing this, the Intruder began to think. This was an opportunity for Gerrard. He
asked him to hurry and run with him in his car to a safer place. The police were likely
to come there soon. He opened a door which was, in fact, the door of a cupboard.
The Intruder looked in to see what it was.

How the Intruder is trapped

Just then, Gerrard gave him a push. The revolver fell as the Intruder stepped into the
cupboard. Gerrard shut the door in a moment and picked up the revolver. Then he
telephoned to call in the police to arrest the Intruder.