NCERT Textbook - The Treasure Within | English Class 8 PDF Download

 Page 1


Before you read
• Every child is a potential achiever and is different from other
children in her/his style of learning and area of interest.
• Read the interview that follows. It is based on a conversation
between Ms Bela Raja, editor of Sparsh, a newsletter from the
Resource Centre, The Valley School, Bangalore, and Mr Hafeez
Contractor, one of India’s leading architects.
I
• Hafeez Contractor was an unhappy school boy.
• He loved doing things but detested mechanical learning.
Mathematics gave him the shivers.
• What his Principal once said to him influenced him deeply.
HC: “I used to have this terrible nightmare. Only now, over the
last four to five years, it seems to have disappeared.
BR: What nightmare are you talking about and why do you think
it has disappeared now?
HC: I used to get continuous nightmares about appearing for a
maths examination where I did not know anything! Now the
psyche must have gotten over it, I don’t have to think about
education and there is absolutely no time to get nightmares.
The treasure within
4
nightmare: haunting fear/frightening dream  psyche: mind or mentality
Reprint 2024-25
Page 2


Before you read
• Every child is a potential achiever and is different from other
children in her/his style of learning and area of interest.
• Read the interview that follows. It is based on a conversation
between Ms Bela Raja, editor of Sparsh, a newsletter from the
Resource Centre, The Valley School, Bangalore, and Mr Hafeez
Contractor, one of India’s leading architects.
I
• Hafeez Contractor was an unhappy school boy.
• He loved doing things but detested mechanical learning.
Mathematics gave him the shivers.
• What his Principal once said to him influenced him deeply.
HC: “I used to have this terrible nightmare. Only now, over the
last four to five years, it seems to have disappeared.
BR: What nightmare are you talking about and why do you think
it has disappeared now?
HC: I used to get continuous nightmares about appearing for a
maths examination where I did not know anything! Now the
psyche must have gotten over it, I don’t have to think about
education and there is absolutely no time to get nightmares.
The treasure within
4
nightmare: haunting fear/frightening dream  psyche: mind or mentality
Reprint 2024-25
It so happened... 26 26 26 26 26
BR: Tell us something about your earliest memories in school.
HC: In the first and second year I was a good student. After I
reached the third standard, I simply lost interest and I
never studied.
I used to be interested in games, running around, playing
jokes and pranks on others. I would copy in class during
exam times. I would try to get hold of the examination paper
that had been prepared and study it, as I could not
remember things that had been taught to me in class.
However, later, one sentence spoken to me by my
Principal changed my life.
When I approached my eleventh standard, the Principal
called me and said, “Look here, Son, I have been seeing you
from day one. You are a good student, but you never studied.
I have taken care of you till today. Now, I can no longer take
care of you so you do it yourself.”
He talked to me for five minutes, “You don’t have your
father, your mother has worked so hard to bring you up and
paid all your fees all these years but you have only played
games. Now you should rise to the occasion and study.”
I used to be a very good sportsman. I had been the senior
champion for so many years and I also was the cricket captain.
I used to play every game, but that year I did not step out
onto the field.
I would go for prayers and all I would do was eat and
study. I normally used to copy and pass, but I realised that
once I was in SSC, I could not do that.
When I got a second class, 50 per cent, in my SSC my
Principal said, “Son, consider yourself as having got a
distinction!” This is my memory of my school days.
I did lots of other things. See, as far as my things are
concerned, I can’t remember. I forget things very easily. To
remember, I have to see things as a photograph. I read a
as far as my things are concerned: perhaps he is referring to matters other than course
materials and their details
Reprint 2024-25
Page 3


Before you read
• Every child is a potential achiever and is different from other
children in her/his style of learning and area of interest.
• Read the interview that follows. It is based on a conversation
between Ms Bela Raja, editor of Sparsh, a newsletter from the
Resource Centre, The Valley School, Bangalore, and Mr Hafeez
Contractor, one of India’s leading architects.
I
• Hafeez Contractor was an unhappy school boy.
• He loved doing things but detested mechanical learning.
Mathematics gave him the shivers.
• What his Principal once said to him influenced him deeply.
HC: “I used to have this terrible nightmare. Only now, over the
last four to five years, it seems to have disappeared.
BR: What nightmare are you talking about and why do you think
it has disappeared now?
HC: I used to get continuous nightmares about appearing for a
maths examination where I did not know anything! Now the
psyche must have gotten over it, I don’t have to think about
education and there is absolutely no time to get nightmares.
The treasure within
4
nightmare: haunting fear/frightening dream  psyche: mind or mentality
Reprint 2024-25
It so happened... 26 26 26 26 26
BR: Tell us something about your earliest memories in school.
HC: In the first and second year I was a good student. After I
reached the third standard, I simply lost interest and I
never studied.
I used to be interested in games, running around, playing
jokes and pranks on others. I would copy in class during
exam times. I would try to get hold of the examination paper
that had been prepared and study it, as I could not
remember things that had been taught to me in class.
However, later, one sentence spoken to me by my
Principal changed my life.
When I approached my eleventh standard, the Principal
called me and said, “Look here, Son, I have been seeing you
from day one. You are a good student, but you never studied.
I have taken care of you till today. Now, I can no longer take
care of you so you do it yourself.”
He talked to me for five minutes, “You don’t have your
father, your mother has worked so hard to bring you up and
paid all your fees all these years but you have only played
games. Now you should rise to the occasion and study.”
I used to be a very good sportsman. I had been the senior
champion for so many years and I also was the cricket captain.
I used to play every game, but that year I did not step out
onto the field.
I would go for prayers and all I would do was eat and
study. I normally used to copy and pass, but I realised that
once I was in SSC, I could not do that.
When I got a second class, 50 per cent, in my SSC my
Principal said, “Son, consider yourself as having got a
distinction!” This is my memory of my school days.
I did lots of other things. See, as far as my things are
concerned, I can’t remember. I forget things very easily. To
remember, I have to see things as a photograph. I read a
as far as my things are concerned: perhaps he is referring to matters other than course
materials and their details
Reprint 2024-25
The treasure within 27 27 27 27 27
book and I can
remember the matter
as a photograph but
not through my mind.
That is how it works.
BR: When you were in
school and you were
doing badly, did the
teachers pull you up
and how did you feel?
HC: I never felt anything
on being pulled up. I used to be so interested in playing. I
would receive a caning every week.
BR: When you knew that you had incurred the wrath of your teacher
by not doing your homework or by behaving badly, when you
knew you would get a caning, what was the state of your mind?
HC: State of mind? Just lift up the hand and they would cane
you. It would hurt badly and then I would have to forget
about it, because I would want to go and play.
BR: You never felt insecure or threatened?
HC: I was just interested in playing and nothing else. I was most inter-
ested in funny pranks. One day, I did not want to study, so I
created a distraction. For one whole hour we played ‘chor police’.
Every Saturday we were allowed to go into town to see a
movie. So what I would do was have no lunch and collect
money from 40 – 50 students, and run and buy the tickets.
On my way back, I would eat to my heart’s content.
I used to be the leader of a gang. We would have gang
fights and plan strategies. These things used to interest me
more than any academics.
caning: punishment/beating  incurred the wrath of your teacher: made your teacher
furious  distraction: something amusing and pleasurable  chor police: children’s game
in which one child (thief) hides and others (policemen) try to find him/her  eat to my
heart’s content: eat as much as I wanted; eat my fill  strategies: methods of winning
fights  academics: academic or educational matters (books, discussions, debates, etc.)
Reprint 2024-25
Page 4


Before you read
• Every child is a potential achiever and is different from other
children in her/his style of learning and area of interest.
• Read the interview that follows. It is based on a conversation
between Ms Bela Raja, editor of Sparsh, a newsletter from the
Resource Centre, The Valley School, Bangalore, and Mr Hafeez
Contractor, one of India’s leading architects.
I
• Hafeez Contractor was an unhappy school boy.
• He loved doing things but detested mechanical learning.
Mathematics gave him the shivers.
• What his Principal once said to him influenced him deeply.
HC: “I used to have this terrible nightmare. Only now, over the
last four to five years, it seems to have disappeared.
BR: What nightmare are you talking about and why do you think
it has disappeared now?
HC: I used to get continuous nightmares about appearing for a
maths examination where I did not know anything! Now the
psyche must have gotten over it, I don’t have to think about
education and there is absolutely no time to get nightmares.
The treasure within
4
nightmare: haunting fear/frightening dream  psyche: mind or mentality
Reprint 2024-25
It so happened... 26 26 26 26 26
BR: Tell us something about your earliest memories in school.
HC: In the first and second year I was a good student. After I
reached the third standard, I simply lost interest and I
never studied.
I used to be interested in games, running around, playing
jokes and pranks on others. I would copy in class during
exam times. I would try to get hold of the examination paper
that had been prepared and study it, as I could not
remember things that had been taught to me in class.
However, later, one sentence spoken to me by my
Principal changed my life.
When I approached my eleventh standard, the Principal
called me and said, “Look here, Son, I have been seeing you
from day one. You are a good student, but you never studied.
I have taken care of you till today. Now, I can no longer take
care of you so you do it yourself.”
He talked to me for five minutes, “You don’t have your
father, your mother has worked so hard to bring you up and
paid all your fees all these years but you have only played
games. Now you should rise to the occasion and study.”
I used to be a very good sportsman. I had been the senior
champion for so many years and I also was the cricket captain.
I used to play every game, but that year I did not step out
onto the field.
I would go for prayers and all I would do was eat and
study. I normally used to copy and pass, but I realised that
once I was in SSC, I could not do that.
When I got a second class, 50 per cent, in my SSC my
Principal said, “Son, consider yourself as having got a
distinction!” This is my memory of my school days.
I did lots of other things. See, as far as my things are
concerned, I can’t remember. I forget things very easily. To
remember, I have to see things as a photograph. I read a
as far as my things are concerned: perhaps he is referring to matters other than course
materials and their details
Reprint 2024-25
The treasure within 27 27 27 27 27
book and I can
remember the matter
as a photograph but
not through my mind.
That is how it works.
BR: When you were in
school and you were
doing badly, did the
teachers pull you up
and how did you feel?
HC: I never felt anything
on being pulled up. I used to be so interested in playing. I
would receive a caning every week.
BR: When you knew that you had incurred the wrath of your teacher
by not doing your homework or by behaving badly, when you
knew you would get a caning, what was the state of your mind?
HC: State of mind? Just lift up the hand and they would cane
you. It would hurt badly and then I would have to forget
about it, because I would want to go and play.
BR: You never felt insecure or threatened?
HC: I was just interested in playing and nothing else. I was most inter-
ested in funny pranks. One day, I did not want to study, so I
created a distraction. For one whole hour we played ‘chor police’.
Every Saturday we were allowed to go into town to see a
movie. So what I would do was have no lunch and collect
money from 40 – 50 students, and run and buy the tickets.
On my way back, I would eat to my heart’s content.
I used to be the leader of a gang. We would have gang
fights and plan strategies. These things used to interest me
more than any academics.
caning: punishment/beating  incurred the wrath of your teacher: made your teacher
furious  distraction: something amusing and pleasurable  chor police: children’s game
in which one child (thief) hides and others (policemen) try to find him/her  eat to my
heart’s content: eat as much as I wanted; eat my fill  strategies: methods of winning
fights  academics: academic or educational matters (books, discussions, debates, etc.)
Reprint 2024-25
It so happened... 28 28 28 28 28
Students used to book my textbooks for the following year,
because they were almost brand new. I probably opened them
one day before exams.
Comprehension Check
1. What did Hafeez Contractor have nightmares about?
2. What did the Principal say to him, which influenced him deeply?
3. “... that year I did not step out onto the field.” What was he busy doing
that year?
4. (i) What “distraction” did Hafeez Contractor create one day?
(ii) Would you have liked to participate in the “distraction” had you
been with him?
II
• He stumbled on architecture because he knew little French and
less German.
• He was offbeat even in the pranks that he played on others.
• When he found his calling, there was no looking back.
BR: How did you get into the field of architecture?
HC: In the college for architecture, nobody who had got below
80 – 85 per cent was allowed to enter. I had only 50 per cent.
I wanted to join the Army. I got my admission letter but
my aunt tore it up. Then I decided that I wanted to join the
police force.
My mother said, “Don’t join the police force, just do your
graduation!” So I went to Jaihind College in Bombay.
There, I was to either take French or German. Though I
had studied French for seven years, I did not know seven
words of French. So I took German. Then my German teacher
died. The college told me that I could change the college or
book: offer to buy in advance; reserve  stumbled on: got into (architecture) by chance
offbeat: unusual or unconventional  calling: work or vocation of his choice
Reprint 2024-25
Page 5


Before you read
• Every child is a potential achiever and is different from other
children in her/his style of learning and area of interest.
• Read the interview that follows. It is based on a conversation
between Ms Bela Raja, editor of Sparsh, a newsletter from the
Resource Centre, The Valley School, Bangalore, and Mr Hafeez
Contractor, one of India’s leading architects.
I
• Hafeez Contractor was an unhappy school boy.
• He loved doing things but detested mechanical learning.
Mathematics gave him the shivers.
• What his Principal once said to him influenced him deeply.
HC: “I used to have this terrible nightmare. Only now, over the
last four to five years, it seems to have disappeared.
BR: What nightmare are you talking about and why do you think
it has disappeared now?
HC: I used to get continuous nightmares about appearing for a
maths examination where I did not know anything! Now the
psyche must have gotten over it, I don’t have to think about
education and there is absolutely no time to get nightmares.
The treasure within
4
nightmare: haunting fear/frightening dream  psyche: mind or mentality
Reprint 2024-25
It so happened... 26 26 26 26 26
BR: Tell us something about your earliest memories in school.
HC: In the first and second year I was a good student. After I
reached the third standard, I simply lost interest and I
never studied.
I used to be interested in games, running around, playing
jokes and pranks on others. I would copy in class during
exam times. I would try to get hold of the examination paper
that had been prepared and study it, as I could not
remember things that had been taught to me in class.
However, later, one sentence spoken to me by my
Principal changed my life.
When I approached my eleventh standard, the Principal
called me and said, “Look here, Son, I have been seeing you
from day one. You are a good student, but you never studied.
I have taken care of you till today. Now, I can no longer take
care of you so you do it yourself.”
He talked to me for five minutes, “You don’t have your
father, your mother has worked so hard to bring you up and
paid all your fees all these years but you have only played
games. Now you should rise to the occasion and study.”
I used to be a very good sportsman. I had been the senior
champion for so many years and I also was the cricket captain.
I used to play every game, but that year I did not step out
onto the field.
I would go for prayers and all I would do was eat and
study. I normally used to copy and pass, but I realised that
once I was in SSC, I could not do that.
When I got a second class, 50 per cent, in my SSC my
Principal said, “Son, consider yourself as having got a
distinction!” This is my memory of my school days.
I did lots of other things. See, as far as my things are
concerned, I can’t remember. I forget things very easily. To
remember, I have to see things as a photograph. I read a
as far as my things are concerned: perhaps he is referring to matters other than course
materials and their details
Reprint 2024-25
The treasure within 27 27 27 27 27
book and I can
remember the matter
as a photograph but
not through my mind.
That is how it works.
BR: When you were in
school and you were
doing badly, did the
teachers pull you up
and how did you feel?
HC: I never felt anything
on being pulled up. I used to be so interested in playing. I
would receive a caning every week.
BR: When you knew that you had incurred the wrath of your teacher
by not doing your homework or by behaving badly, when you
knew you would get a caning, what was the state of your mind?
HC: State of mind? Just lift up the hand and they would cane
you. It would hurt badly and then I would have to forget
about it, because I would want to go and play.
BR: You never felt insecure or threatened?
HC: I was just interested in playing and nothing else. I was most inter-
ested in funny pranks. One day, I did not want to study, so I
created a distraction. For one whole hour we played ‘chor police’.
Every Saturday we were allowed to go into town to see a
movie. So what I would do was have no lunch and collect
money from 40 – 50 students, and run and buy the tickets.
On my way back, I would eat to my heart’s content.
I used to be the leader of a gang. We would have gang
fights and plan strategies. These things used to interest me
more than any academics.
caning: punishment/beating  incurred the wrath of your teacher: made your teacher
furious  distraction: something amusing and pleasurable  chor police: children’s game
in which one child (thief) hides and others (policemen) try to find him/her  eat to my
heart’s content: eat as much as I wanted; eat my fill  strategies: methods of winning
fights  academics: academic or educational matters (books, discussions, debates, etc.)
Reprint 2024-25
It so happened... 28 28 28 28 28
Students used to book my textbooks for the following year,
because they were almost brand new. I probably opened them
one day before exams.
Comprehension Check
1. What did Hafeez Contractor have nightmares about?
2. What did the Principal say to him, which influenced him deeply?
3. “... that year I did not step out onto the field.” What was he busy doing
that year?
4. (i) What “distraction” did Hafeez Contractor create one day?
(ii) Would you have liked to participate in the “distraction” had you
been with him?
II
• He stumbled on architecture because he knew little French and
less German.
• He was offbeat even in the pranks that he played on others.
• When he found his calling, there was no looking back.
BR: How did you get into the field of architecture?
HC: In the college for architecture, nobody who had got below
80 – 85 per cent was allowed to enter. I had only 50 per cent.
I wanted to join the Army. I got my admission letter but
my aunt tore it up. Then I decided that I wanted to join the
police force.
My mother said, “Don’t join the police force, just do your
graduation!” So I went to Jaihind College in Bombay.
There, I was to either take French or German. Though I
had studied French for seven years, I did not know seven
words of French. So I took German. Then my German teacher
died. The college told me that I could change the college or
book: offer to buy in advance; reserve  stumbled on: got into (architecture) by chance
offbeat: unusual or unconventional  calling: work or vocation of his choice
Reprint 2024-25
The treasure within 29 29 29 29 29
take French. Now, who would give me admission in another
college? I had got admission to Jaihind by influence.
So I thought, ‘Okay, I will take French’ and I started learning
French again. I learnt it from my cousin. She was an architect’s wife.
I was going to an architect’s office to learn French!
BR: Was it then that you decided you wanted to do architecture?
HC: Actually, it all happened quite by chance.
In the architect’s office, I saw somebody drawing a window
detail. A window detail is a very advanced drawing.
I told him that his drawing was wrong — that the window
he had drawn would not open.
He then had a bet with me and later he found that indeed, his
drawing was wrong! My cousin’s husband was surprised. He
asked me to draw a few specific things, which I immediately did.
He asked me to design a house and I designed a house.
After that, he told me to drop everything and join architecture.
We went to meet the Principal of the college.
The Principal warned me, “I will allow you to take part in the
entrance exams, but if you do not do well I will not allow
you to join.”
I got an ‘A+’ in the entrance exam and from that day it
was a cakewalk.
I had never made a plan, but I knew how something looked
like, from the top.
I had never known what a section was, but I knew if you
cut a plan what it would look like.
I stood first class first throughout, after that.
I believe that all this understanding came from what I used
to play and do during school.
I had a friend called Behram Divecha. We used to have
competitions between us for designing forts, guns and ammunition.
Each of us would design something in an effort to be different.
influence: an important person recommended him for admission/used his influence to
get him admitted  cakewalk: smooth ride/something easy to achieve
Reprint 2024-25