Worksheet Solutions: Iswaran the Storyteller

Multiple Choice Questions 

Q1: Which art helped Iswaran to bring down the beast? 
(a) boxing
(b) wrestling
(c) ju-jitsu
(d) yoga  
Ans: (c)
Explanation: Iswaran used ju-jitsu, a fighting art, to subdue the mad elephant. His precise strike at the animal's third toenail stunned and immobilised the tusker, allowing him to bring the beast down.

Q2: Where did the school boys hide themselves to see the mad elephant?
(a) on trees
(b) in their houses
(c) in their classrooms
(d) in the Headmaster's room
Ans: (c)
Explanation: The boys hid in their classrooms to watch the chaos caused by the elephant safely from inside the school building.

Q3: What happened to the elephant when Iswaran hit the third toenail of the elephant?
(a) grunted loudly and collapsed on the
(b) ran away from their ground
(c) caught Iswaran in his trunk and threw him
(d) made friendship with Iswaran away
Ans: (a)
Explanation: When Iswaran struck the elephant's third toenail, the blow stunned the animal. It gave a loud grunt, shivered and then collapsed, unable to continue its rampage for the moment.

Q4: From where was Iswaran watching this incident
(a) from a room
(b) from the cupboard
(c) from a tree
(d) from the rooftop
Ans: (d)
Explanation: Iswaran watched the events from the rooftop, which gave him a clear view of the elephant and the surrounding scene before he intervened.

Q5: Why did the people run helter-skelter in panic?
(a) to see the tiger
(b) to see a giant
(c) to see a giant
(d) none of these 
Ans: (b) 
Explanation: The people panicked because they saw a huge, frightening creature moving about and thought it was something terrible like a giant, so they ran in all directions.

Q6: In Iswaran's story, from where did the tusker escape?
(a) cage
(b) timber yard
(c) forest
(d) circus
Ans: (b) 
Explanation: The tusker had escaped from the timber yard, which is why it was roaming near the settlement and causing damage.

Q7: What was the special feature of his stories?
(a) light humour
(b) satire on the system
(c) tragic ending
(d) suspense and a surprise ending
Ans: (d)
Explanation: Iswaran's tales were known for building suspense and finishing with a surprise ending. He deliberately shaped events to keep listeners eagerly awaiting an unexpected finish.

Q8: What was Mahindra's marital status?
(a) married
(b) widower
(c) engaged and going to be married soon
(d) bachelor
Ans: (d)
Explanation: Mahendra was a bachelor; he was unmarried and lived a simple, solitary life that allowed him to move frequently for work.

Q9: How did Iswaran say the elephant was revived?
(a) He said he gave the elephant an injection.
(b) He said he gave the elephant artificial respiration.
(c) He said a veterinary doctor was called there.
(d) He said a man from the zoo helped to revive the elephant.
Ans: (c) 
Explanation: Iswaran claimed that a veterinary doctor was called and that the specialist revived the elephant; this explanation fits his habit of offering dramatic, plausible-sounding details.

Q10: What kind of books did Iswaran usually read?
(a) Some popular Tamil religious book.
(b) Some popular Tamil love story.
(c) Some popular Tamil thriller.
(d) Some popular Tamil folk songs.
Ans: (c)
Explanation: Iswaran usually read popular Tamil thrillers. These long, dramatic books influenced his style and led him to add suspense and surprise endings to his own tales.

Short Answer Questions

Q1: Who is Mahendra in the given story?
Ans: Mahendra was a junior supervisor employed by a firm that posted supervisors to various construction sites, such as factories, bridges and dams. His duty was to oversee work at these sites and he had to move often as directed by the head office. He was unmarried, lived simply and adjusted easily to different and odd conditions.

Q2: What harm does the elephant cause in the story narrated by Iswaran?
Ans: The elephant escaped from the timber yard and roamed about wildly. It stamped on bushes, tore up creepers, broke branches and smashed down fences. It also destroyed market stalls selling fruit, mud pots and clothes. The animal broke into the school, pulled out the football goal-post, tore down the volleyball net, flattened a water drum and uprooted shrubs, causing great damage and panic.

Q3: What happens to Mahendra after hearing Iswaran's ghost story?
Ans: After hearing Iswaran's ghost account, Mahendra became uneasy and began to look anxiously into the darkness each night from his bedroom window. He stopped enjoying moonlit nights and, whenever the moon was full, he avoided looking out of his window for fear of seeing something frightening.

Q4: Explain the daily routine of Mahendra and Iswaran.
Ans: Mahendra rose early, had breakfast and left for work carrying some prepared food. Iswaran stayed behind to tidy the shed, wash clothes and take a leisurely bath, pouring several buckets of water over his head while muttering a prayer. By lunchtime Iswaran ate and read for a while, then often dozed off. He usually read long popular Tamil thrillers; these books influenced his storytelling, and he regularly tried to add suspense and a surprise ending to even small incidents.

Q5: How was Iswaran useful to Mahendra?
Ans: Iswaran was very useful to Mahendra in daily life. He cooked meals, washed Mahendra's clothes and kept him company in the evenings. He entertained Mahendra with countless stories and anecdotes and had a remarkable ability to produce vegetables and cooking ingredients when needed.

Q6: How does Iswaran describe the female ghost to Mahendra?
Ans: Iswaran described a terrifying female ghost that appears at midnight during full moons. He said it had matted hair and a shrivelled face and looked like a skeleton clutching a foetus in its arms, a picture meant to frighten his listener.

Q7: Why did the elephant collapse?
Ans: Iswaran, using all his strength, struck the elephant's third toenail. The blow stunned the animal, it shivered from head to foot and then collapsed. The strike temporarily paralysed the creature and stopped its rampage.

Q8: Explain, in brief, why Mahendra resigns from the job and leaves the haunted place.
Ans: On an auspicious evening Iswaran prepared a rich dinner and then launched into a lurid account claiming the area had once been a burial ground and that a horrible female ghost appeared at midnight during the full moon. After that night Mahendra heard a low moan close to his window and saw, in the moonlight, a dark cloudy form clutching a bundle. Terrified and convinced that the place was haunted, Mahendra panicked and hurried to the office to resign.