The Adventure Past Paper PDF

PRUDENCE SCHOOL DW22 CLASS – XI ENGLISH (Core) SECTION – C (LITERATURE) HORNBILL (PROSE) THE ADVENTURE...

PRUDENCE SCHOOL DW22 CLASS – XI ENGLISH (Core) SECTION – C (LITERATURE) HORNBILL (PROSE) THE ADVENTURE This lesson belongs to the science fiction genre. Written by Jayant Vishnu Narlikar, well known cosmologist and astrophysicist it revolves around the existence of an alternate universe. Narlikar was born in 1938, Kolhapur, Maharashtra. He obtained his bachelor's degree from Banaras Hindu University. He later went to Cambridge to obtain his Ph.D. INTRODUCTION Our leading protagonist, Prof. Gaitonde had a collision with a truck. At that time, he was thinking of the catastrophe theory and its implications for history. He found himself in another Bombay-which looked more like England (cleaner, big English shops). The East India Company was flourishing. In this different Bombay, he went to the Asiatic Society library in the town hall, to read some History books, including the ones he had written. Most of the history was as he knew it in his world–but the point where history had changed was the Battle of Panipat. In this different world, the Marathas had won. The Marathas had not allowed the East India Company to expand. In fact, its influence was limited to a few places like Bombay, Calcutta and Madras. India had become a democracy but allowed the British to carry on for commercial reasons. Prof. Gaitonde wanted to find out how the Marathas had won the battle. In the fifth volume of his history book, the Maratha army’s morale was boosted when Vishwasrao managed to escape death narrowly. Next morning, he went for a stroll to Azad Maidan. There was a lecture and Prof. Gaitonde went and sat on the vacant presidential chair. It turned out that in this world people were fed up of long speeches and had abolished the ‘chairing’ custom. They got angry because he would not stop talking. They threw things at him and then got onto the stage to throw him out. He was found in the Azad Maidan, in his own familiar world. Where had he been for two days? He showed Rajendra Prasad the proof that he had been somewhere else and not just imagining things– the torn- off page of the history book from the other world, about Vishwasrao escaping death. In his book in his own world, the account was given as Vishwasrao being hit by the bullet and dying. So, in our world, the Marathas had not won, the East India Company had flourished and so on. Rajendra Prasad came to the conclusion that there could be many ‘different worlds……at different points of time.’ They could all have a different history. Prof. Gaitonde had been to another world. The time was the present but their history was completely different!  DETAILED SUMMARY Earlier Part of the Story (Not the Part of Text) Professor Gangadharpant Gaitonde was an eminent historian and a leading public figure of Pune. He was much in demand for presiding over public functions. He had just completed his 999th occasion for presiding at a function. He had decided that his thousandth appearance on the stage would be for history. That occasion was to come two weeks later at a seminar devoted to the Third Battle of Panipat. While he was walking home, a truck on the road hit him. He lost consciousness. When he regained consciousness, he had transited to a parallel world (although he was not aware of this). He was in hospital. After recovering, he was discharged from the hospital the next morning. He tried to reach his home, but he found that it did not exist in the parallel world. He decided to go to Bombay because his son was working in a British company there. He went to Pune railway station and took a train to Bombay. The extract starts from here. ~Summary~ Gaitonde's Journey to Bombay When Gaitonde had to get a permit to visit Bombay, he was told that Bombay was British territory while the rest of India was independent. On the journey in a first-class compartment of the Jijamata Express, he sat beside Khan Sahib, who would be going on to Peshawar from Delhi on business. Then he realised that there had been no partition of India (in this parallel world). On the route, the train stopped only at Lonavala, Karjat and the border town of Sarhad, where the permits were checked. It did not stop at Kalyan, but finally terminated at Victoria Terminus in Bombay. While going through Bombay's suburbs, he observed that the carriages of the local trains had the British flag painted on them, indicating that they were passing through British territory. Gaitonde Finds the Information he Needed He visited the Town Hall building in which the library of the Asiatic Society was located. Luckily for him, it also existed in the parallel world. In the library he also found the five books on Indian history which he had written. Ongoing through the fifth volume, which gave India's history after the death of Aurangzeb, he found that the result of the third battle of Panipat in 1761 was written differently from what he knew, although he was the author of this book in the parallel world. It said that the Marathas had won the battle, whereas he knew that they had lost it. From here onwards, the history of India changed, which explained what Gaitonde had been experiencing for the last few hours. He found confirmation in a Marathi journal about how exactly the Marathas had won the battle. The Marathi journal stated that a bullet fired by the Afghans in the battle just brushed the ear of the leader of the Marathas, Vishwasrao. Gaitonde in the real world had written in his fifth volume that Vishwasrao had been killed by a cannon shell in the battle and the Marathas lost their morale and the battle subsequently, because that was what earlier historians had written. In the parallel world, Vishwasrao survived, rallied his troops and won this battle. India’s Remaining History in the Parallel World The remaining history of India, as recounted in the fifth volume Gaitonde was reading, can be summarised by saying that India never went under British rule. The Marathas did not allow the East India Company to expand its influence in India. In fact, its influence was limited to a few places like Bombay, Calcutta and Madras. India gradually became a democracy but allowed the British to carry on in Bombay on a lease for commercial reasons. The lease was due to expire in the year 2001, 15 years after the time of this story. Gaitonde Returns to the Real World Gaitonde left the library when it closed in the evening, indicating to the librarian that he would come back next morning. After taking a meal, he went for a stroll to Azad Maidan. There was a lecture going on there. When Gaitonde saw a vacant presidential chair on the stage, he went and sat on it, thinking that it was for him, because in the real world he had been invited for such a seminar. The audience reacted by strongly protesting against Gaitonde sitting on the presidential chair. The reason was that, in this world, the people had become sick of hearing long introductions, vote of thanks and remarks of the chair. They were only interested in what the speaker was speaking and had abolished the custom of having a chairman long ago. The chair kept on the platform was only symbolic. Gaitonde got up and started speaking, but the audience pelted him with tomatoes, eggs and other objects as they did not want any remarks from him. When Gaitonde still did not stop speaking, the audience swarmed on to the stage to remove him. During the commotion, Gaitonde disappeared. Actually, he had suffered another catastrophe by being knocked unconscious by the mob and returned to the real world, as he was found on the Azad Maidan the next morning with his clothes torn. He had no idea what had happened and so he returned to Pune. Rajendra Deshpande Explains What Happened to Gaitonde. Gaitonde narrated his adventure to his friend Rajendra Deshpande, a mathematical and scientific expert. Rajendra tried to explain to him what had happened by explaining how the Catastrophe theory and the lack of determinism in Quantum theory applied to his adventure. When Rajendra felt that Gaitonde had imagined things because he may have been thinking about the third battle of Panipat at the time the truck hit him, Gaitonde showed Rajendra the torn-off page of the history book from the other world, about Vishwasrao escaping death. In the book in the real world, the account was given as Vishwasrao being hit by a bullet and dying. So, in the real world, the Marathas had not won, the East India Company had flourished and so on. At first, Rajendra was perplexed by this new evidence. But, after further discussion with Gaitonde, Rajendra Deshpande explained that he had come to the conclusion that there could be many different worlds existing at different points of time'. They could all have a different history. Professor Gaitonde had been to another parallel world. The time was the present but its history was quite different. Gaitonde Refuses to Chair any More Seminars When Rajendra suggested that Gaitonde could recount his adventure at the thousandth seminar he was presiding over after a few days, Gaitonde told him that he had already declined the invitation, as he did not want to chair any more seminars. Probably he remembered the treatment he had received from the audience in the parallel world when he tried to chair a seminar. Conclusion of The Adventure To sum up, The Adventure summary, we learn that there are other realities too apart from the ones we sense and they may seem real but are all in the head only. NCERT SOLUTIONS Questions (Page No. 69-70) (Understanding The Text) Question 1. Tick the statements that are true. a. The story is an account of real events. b. The story hinges on a particular historical event. c. Rajendra Deshpande was a historian. d. The places mentioned in the story are all imaginary. e. The story tries to relate history to science. Answer: a. False b. True c. False d. False e. True Question 2. Briefly explain the following statements from the text. a. “You neither travelled to the past nor the future. You were in the present experiencing a different world.” Answer: “You did not travel to the past or the future. You were in the present, but you were in a different world.” These words were spoken by Rajendra Deshpande while attempting to explain his strange experience to Professor Gaitonde. When the professor was involved in an accident, he began to reflect on the Battle of Panipat and the consequences that occurred in his life. His thoughts wandered between what we know about history and what might have been. The professor was experiencing two worlds at the same time by thinking. According to the same theory, there must be many more different worlds emerging from unrealistic thoughts. b. “You have passed through a fantastic experience: or more correctly, a catastrophic experience.” Answer: “You’ve had a fantastic experience, or, more accurately, a catastrophic experience.” Professor Gaitonde was told by Rajendra Deshpande that he had an exciting experience. He claimed that we lived in a one-of-a-kind world with a one-of-a-kind history. Gangadhar Pant’s mind jumped to another world as a result of the accident, which was unrealistic. History took a different turn in that world after the Marathas won the Battle of Panipat. Rajendra explained this using the catastrophic theory, which holds that reality is full of misinterpretations. c. Gangadharpant could not help comparing the country he knew with what he was witnessing around him. Answer: “Gangadhar Pant couldn’t help but compare his home country to what he was seeing around him.” Gangadhar Pant witnessed two different perspectives on the same reality, albeit one at a time, during his extraordinary experience. The India he knew was described in history books as the result of the 1761 Battle of Panipat, in which the Marathas were defeated. The other India he saw was the result of the Marathas’ victory in the battle. In this version, he saw India as a prosperous country that can meet its own needs. d. “The lack of determinism in quantum theory!” Answer: Quantum theory’s lack of determinism. If a bullet is fired from a gun in a specific direction at a specific speed, one can predict where it will end up, but the same cannot be said for an electron. When an electron is emitted by a source, it can come from anywhere. This is due to quantum theory’s lack of determinism. According to this theory, reality is never one-sided. At the same time, alternate worlds may exist. e. “You need some interaction to cause a transition.” Answer: To cause a transition, some interaction is required. According to Rajendra Deshpande, Professor Gaintonde made a change as a result of the interaction that occurred in the professor’s mind at the time of the collision. The professor was thinking about catastrophic theory and its role in wars at the time of the collision. He was thinking about the Battle of Panipat and its aftermath. The transition was caused by the interaction in his brain. Questions (Page No. 70) (Thinking about language) Question 1. In which language do you think Gangadharpant and Khan Sahib talked to each other? Which language did Gangadharpant use to talk to the English receptionist? Answer: Gangadharpant and Khan Sahib communicated in Marathi, and they used a translator to communicate with the English-speaking receptionist. Question 2. In which language do you think Bhausahebanchi Bakhar was written? Answer: Bhausahebanchi Bakhar was written in Maratha language. Question 3. There is mention of three communities in the story: the Marathas, the Mughals, the Anglo-Indians. Which language do you think they used within their communities and while speaking to the other groups? Answer: When they spoke to each other, they used their traditional slang, but when they spoke to other groups, they used the language that is understood by people from all three communities. Reference to Context Read the extract and answer the questions that follow. Yes, to his relief, the Town Hall was there, and it did house the library. He entered the reading room and asked for a list of history books including his own. His five volumes duly arrived on his table. He started from the beginning. Volume one took the history up to the period of Ashoka, volume two up to Samudragupta, volume three up to Mohammad Ghori and volume four up to the death of Aurangzeb. i. Why did the professor go to town hall? A. to check facts from history books B. to pass time C. to read books D. to meet someone ii. What did the Professor start investigating at Town Hall? A. American History B. Battle of Plassey C. The period of Asoka to the third battle of Panipat. D. About East India Company iii. What did the Professor find in the fifth volume of ‘Bhausahebanchi Bakhar’? A. Marathas had won the Battle of Panipat B. India has never been under British Raj C. Marathas had won battle of Plassey D. None of the above Multiple Choice Questions Choose the correct answer i. Where was Professor Gaitonde travelling to?  a. From Pune to Bombay b. From Pune to Delhi c. From Bombay to Pune d. Nowhere ii. What is the name of the train by which Professor Gaitonde was travelling? a. Deccan Queen b. Rajdhani Express c. Jijamata Express d. Shatabdi Express iii. Whom did Professor Gaitonde meet during his train journey? a. Khan Sahib b. Pathan c. Gupta d. Professor George iv. What did the Professor notice at the Hornby road? a. shops were different b. road was constructed c. new shopping complex d. new residential complex v. Whom did Professor Gaitonde enquire about on entering the Forbes building? a. President of the company b. Mr. Vishal Gaitonde c. Mrs. Vishala Gaitonde d. Mr. Vinay Gaitonde vi. What happened after the Battle of Panipat in India? a. India merged with neighbouring nations b. India moved to the path of democracy c. New ruler d. British rule ended vii. Why did the Professor start liking the new India that he was reading about? a. This country knew how to stand on its feet b. It was different from the one he knew c. in this form, India was a wealthy nation d. as he liked the ruler in this new country viii. What book did the Professor slip into his pocket before leaving the library? a. Bakhar b. English Literature c. Newspaper d. Money SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS Answer the following questions in about 30-40 words each. 1.‘That is, assuming that in this world there existed someone called Rajendra Deshpande!” Why does Professor Gaitonde feel so? 2.What were the things that Professor Gaitonde noticed as the train entered the British Raj territory? 3.What books did he browse through in the library? What did he discover? 4.How did the victory of the Peshwas in the Battle of Panipat help them? 5.What happened when Professor Gaitonde went ahead to occupy the chair on the dais? 6. What is the ‘Catastrophe theory’? 7. Why was Prof. Gaitonde going to Bombay? LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS Answer the following question in about 120-150 words. a. The story is an account of real events. Discuss. b. The story is called “The Adventure”. Compare it with one adventure described in “We’re not Afraid to Die…“ c. How did Rajendra explain the concept of reality with the example of movement of an electron? ***********