Class 8 English Chapter 1 Question Answers - It So Happened

Ques 1: What surprise did Ranji discover after a month in Rajpur?
Ans: Ranji found a clean, cold and inviting swimming pool in Rajpur in a forest. It was such a pool as he had never seen.

Ques 2: Describe the atmosphere when Ranji was wandering about a good deal?
Ans: It was the height of summer. It was really the hottest month of the year. The earth was parched, trees seemed to be lifeless, hardly stirring waiting for a cool wind or a refreshing shower of rain.

Ques 3: How did Ranji’s brown feet become white?
Ans: Ranji was in his vest and shorts. Chalky dust was flying up from the ground that stuck to his feet.

Ques 4: Compare the pool in Rajpur and the pond in Rajputana village.
Ans: Pool in Rajpur- It was a beautiful pool. The water in it had a translucency and one could see the smooth round pebbles at the bottom of the pool.
Pond in Rajputana village- It was a muddy and sticky where buffalos wallowed and women washed clothes.

Ques 5: What did Ranji notice on the next day when he was resting on the yellow rocks?
Ans: He noticed another boy standing a little distance away, staring at him in a hostile manner. He was Suraj. He was a little older than Ranji. Suraj was taller, with a broad nose and red lips.

Ques 6: Describe the pool in Rajpur during monsoon and summer seasons.
Ans: During the monsoon season the pool would be a gushing torrent but during summer it was barely a trickle. It would never dry up like the pools in plains.

Ques 7: What were the feelings of Ranji when he saw Suraj approaching towards him for the first time?
Ans: Ranji was quite alone in Rajpur. He had no friends and his school had not yet opened. So he was prepared to be friendly with the stranger.

Ques 8: Do you Think that Ranji was a good in arguments? If yes, give a few examples.
Ans: Yes, I completely that Ranji was very good in arguments.
When Suraj said to him, “I don’t take replies from villagers like you.”
Ranji replied, “So you like to fight with villagers”
When Suraj said to him, “Then why are you not running away?”
Ranji replied, “I am waiting for you to run away.”
The above replies show that he was good in arguments.

Ques 9: Do you think that there was a severe fight between Ranji and Suraj? If yes how?
Ans: Suraj, the warrior slapped Ranji with full force, he staggered feeling quite dizzy. Then he swung up and pushed a hard bony fist into the other’s face. They were at each other’s throats, swaying on the rock tumbling on to the sand rolling over and over. Their legs and arms locked in desperate, violent struggle. Gasping and cursing, clawing and slapping, they rolled into the shallows of the pool.

Ques 10: What was the result of the first day’s fight?
Ans: After the fight nobody of them emerged to be victorious. Their bodies were exhausted. They were making a lot of efforts to speak but they could only decide that the fight would continue the next day.

Ques 11: When do you find a dilemmatic condition took place in the lesson?
Ans: At the end of the first day’s fight when they were extremely exhausted neither of them moved nor took initiative. The readers are in a dilemma what was going to happen.

Ques 12: “We will continue the fight tomorrow” Who spoke these words? What do you know about the speaker’s personality by these words?
Ans: Suraj, the warrior spoke these words. These words tell us that he himself was very much tired and did not want to continue the fight that day. Ranji had put a strong challenge before him.

Ques 13: What was the condition of Ranji when he reached home?
Ans: There were cuts and bruises on his face, legs and arms. He was extremely tired and afraid lest his parents should come to know about the violent fight.

Ques 14: What was Ranji afraid of when he reached home at the end of the first day?
Ans: He was highly afraid as he was thinking lest his parents should come to know about the violent fight.

Ques 15: Why was it difficult to conceal that he had had a violent fight that day?
Ans: It was difficult to conceal because all the marks were clearly visible on his face and one could observe very easily that something wrong had happened with him.

Ques 16: What image of Ranji’s parents do you form after reading the lesson?
Ans: Ranji’s parents were quite strict. They would not try to understand the matter thoroughly, instead they would have scolded Ranji for the fight. That’s why he was trying to conceal the whole episode. His mother also did not permit him to go out.

Ques 17: Describe the atmosphere of the market where Ranji went secretly in the evening.
Ans: In the market he felt relaxed in the beginning to see a bottle of vividly coloured lemonade, and a banana leaf full of hot, sweet jalebies. But at the end he became nervous to see his enemy coming from the another direction.

Ques 18: What were the feelings of Ranji when he noticed his enemy in the market?
Ans: There were mainly two thoughts in his mind one was to turn away and look elsewhere pretending that he had not noticed him. Second was to throw the lemonade bottle at his enemy and have a fight even there, but he did neither of them.

Ques 19: What were Ranji’s feelings about the second day’s fight?
Ans: Ranji was not fully ready for the fight. He felt very weak and lazy. His body was weak and stiff after the previous day’s fight but he thought that if he did not go he would be considered to be a loser.

Ques 20: How do you know that Ranji was a brave and courageous boy?
Ans: Even after being tired exhausted and knowing that he would be beaten he did not accept his defeat. He thought that he must defy his enemy.

Ques 21: What did Ranji find on reaching the pool the next day?
Ans: Ranji found that the opponent, Suraj had already reached there and rubbing oil on his body like professional warriors. That was opposite to the hopes of Ranji as he hoped that Suraj might have forgotten the challenge.

Ques 22: Where did the ego of both of the fighters strike?
Ans: When Suraj was calling Ranji on his side of the pool to resume the fight and Ranji was calling him on his side. Neither of them seemed to admit each other’s words. At this scene their ego seemed to be striking or clashing.

Ques 23: When was the warrior Suraj’s mouth hung open in amazement?
OR
When was Suraj’s thinking changed about Ranji?
Ans: Ranji slipped out of his vest into the swimming pool. He dived straight into water cutting through it like a knife and surfaced with hardly a splash. The warrior’s mouth hung open in amazement and his thinking about Ranji was changed.

Ques 24: Give a Character sketch of Ranji.
Ans: Ranji was a brave boy who had a friendly nature. He wanted to make friends. He was also a good swimmer. His talent of swimming gave him a chance to be the friend of Suraj. He was very good in arguments. As he gave all the piercing answers to Suraj when he was making arguments with him. He used to have a fear of his parents. As he was terrified to tell his parents that he had a fight that day. He was brave as even after being tired, exhausted and knowing that he would be beaten he did not accept his defeat. He thought that he must defy his enemy. Ranji was a good teacher also as he did not discourage his student while teaching him.

Ques 25: Give a Character sketch of Suraj.
Ans: Suraj was a warrior who used to have a negative thinking about villagers he said to Ranji “I know you people do not eat enough.”. He was very much possessive as he was readily willing to let Ranji down on the issue of using the swimming pool because he was a villager. At the same time he was clever also because when he saw that Ranji was a very good swimmer he extended a friendly hand towards him in order to learn swimming.

Ques 26: Which points of humour do you fing in the lesson?
Ans: The following situations show the touch of humour-
1. When Suraj jumped into water he landed flat on his belly and there was such a terrible sound that the birds flew terrified from the nearby trees.
2. Ranji asked Suraj if he was trying to empty the pool.

Ques 27: Ranji was a good teacher also do you agree? How?
Ans: I completely agree that Ranji was a good teacher as he did not discourage his student. He repeatedly told him that swimming is quite easy. Suraj committed mistakes again and again but he corrected him properly and said “It was not bad but you need a lot of practice”

Ques 28: What was Suraj’s dream? When do come to know about this?
Ans: Suraj’s dream was to be the world’s champion wrestler. We come to know about it when both of them became friends and they were introducing themselves.

Ques 29: At the end of the lesson what was the doubt in Ranji’s mind?
Ans: He thought whether he was getting of the same worth or not as he was giving.

Ques 30: What lesson do we get from the story?
Ans: We learn that fight is not the solution of any problem. We can settle down even the biggest issues if we think wisely. Solving the issues may be through games, exchange or something else. As we saw the both of the fighters who were fighting foolishly did not obtain anything till they continued their fight but when they thought wisely and made a compromise of exchanging their talents both of them were benefitted.