Short & Long Question Answers: The Diary of a Space Traveller

Short Questions

Q1: Who gave the narrator Professor Shonku's diary?
Ans: Tarak Chatterjee gave the narrator Professor Shonku's diary.

Q2: What was unusual about the ink color in the diary?
Ans: The ink colour in the diary kept changing. It was green at first, then it changed to red, then to blue, and finally to yellow.

Q3: What was the name of the narrator's dog?
Ans: The narrator's dog was called Bhulo.

Q4: Why did Professor Shonku decide to take Prahlad with him on the trip?
Ans: Professor Shonku believed that slow and foolish people, like Prahlad, might take longer to feel fear and so could show unexpected courage in dangerous situations; for this reason he chose to take Prahlad along.

Q5: Who is Bidhushekhar?
Ans: Bidhushekhar was Professor Shonku's robot.

Q6: What was the initial reaction of Newton, the cat, when they left Earth?
Ans: Newton, the cat, was restless during the first few days of the journey because he was not used to being kept in a confined space.

Q7: How was the Martian landscape different from Earth?
Ans: The Martian landscape felt soft, almost like rubber. Trees, ground, stones and rocks all had different colours. The sky was green, and grass, trees and plants appeared blue.

Q8: What did the creatures on Mars look like?
Ans: The Martian creatures were about four feet high. They had legs and feet, but instead of arms they had huge fins like a fish. Each had a very large head with a single large green eye in the centre. Their mouths were wide but had no teeth, and their bodies were covered with fish-scales.

Q9: What happened to the narrator before they left Mars?
Ans: Just as the narrator was about to shut the rocket door, he felt something cold and damp against his feet and then everything went black, causing him to lose consciousness.

Q10: How did the inhabitants of Tafa live?
Ans: The inhabitants of Tafa lived underground; when they wished to disappear they simply slipped into holes in the ground.

Long Questions

Q1: What was the purpose of Professor Shonku's trip and what preparations did he make for it?
Ans: The purpose of Professor Shonku's trip was to explore space, in particular Mars. He prepared carefully: he packed food to last five years, including special fish pills for Newton the cat; he took pills that would prevent hunger and thirst for twenty-four hours for himself and Prahlad and carried an additional 200,000 such pills. He also took his robot Bidhushekhar and his cat Newton with him.

Q2: Describe the changes in ink color the narrator noticed in the diary. How did the narrator react to these changes?
Ans: The narrator observed that the diary's ink kept changing colour - green at first, then red, then blue, and finally yellow. He was shocked and surprised by this strange behaviour; in his alarm he even tried to destroy the diary by burning it, but the book remained intact while only the ink altered its colour.

Q3 What were some of the challenges and experiences Professor Shonku and his companions faced on Mars?
Ans: On Mars they faced several difficulties. The terrain and vegetation were unlike Earth's and felt soft like rubber, which made movement unfamiliar. They met strange creatures that looked part human, part fish; these creatures chased them and forced them to retreat quickly back to their rocket.

Q4: When they arrived on Tafa, how did the inhabitants receive them and what was their lifestyle like?
Ans: The visitors were warmly received; a large crowd gathered to welcome them. The inhabitants led a primitive lifestyle, living underground without visible buildings, trees or plants. Despite this, they offered Professor Shonku and his companions a proper house to stay in.

Q5: Describe the fate of the original diary after the narrator had made a copy for printing.
Ans: After the narrator had made a copy for printing, he discovered that the original diary had been eaten by nearly a hundred hungry black ants. Although the diary had seemed indestructible, it was completely destroyed by the ants, leaving the narrator in disbelief.