Class 9 English Chapter 3 Previous Year Questions - Iswaran the Storyteller

Very Short Answer Type Questions 

Q1: Which book did Iswaran read after his lunch?

Ans: Iswaran used to read some popular Tamil thrillers after his lunch.

Q2: What did the fences seem like for the elephants?

Ans: The fences seemed like matchsticks for the elephants.

Q3: Who made the elephant frightened?

Ans: Iswaran made the elephant frightened.

Q4: Why did Iswaran leave the story unfinished?

Ans: Iswaran left the story unfinished as he had to go warm the dinner for them.

Q6: What is the culinary skill?
Ans: Culinary skill refers to skills related to cooking.

Q7: Why did Iswaran take permission for preparing a special dinner from Mahendra?
Ans: Iswaran took permission for preparing a special dinner as it was an auspicious day, and according to tradition, special food should be prepared to feed the spirits of their ancestors.

Q8: According to Iswaran, what was the factory site before?
Ans: According to Iswaran, the factory site was a burial ground before.

Q9: Describe the woman ghost seen by Iswaran?
Ans: The woman ghost was horrible looking and appeared on a full moon night. She was very ugly and had matted hair with a wrinkled face. She was seen holding an unborn baby in her arms.

Short Answer Type Questions

Q1. How did Iswaran manage to make even the simplest incident interesting? Give an example.
Ans. Iswaran had a talent for making even the most ordinary incident interesting by adding suspense to his storytelling. For example, instead of simply saying he saw a fallen tree on the highway, he would describe it as a "enormous bushy beast" before revealing that it was just a fallen tree.

Q2. What did Iswaran do after Mahendra had left for office?
Ans. When Mahendra left for the office, Iswaran would do his work and take a leisurely bath. While taking bath, he kept muttering a prayer. After lunchtime, he would read for a while before going to sleep. He read popular Tamil thrillers. The stories that he narrated were greatly influenced by these novels.

Q3. How did Iswaran add a prologue to his story of an elephant?
Ans. Before starting the story,.Iswaran gave a detailed description of the place. He said that the place was a richly wooded forest. The logs of wood were hauled by elephants on lorries. But sometimes, the elephants turned mad. When an elephant turned mad, not even a skilled mahout could control it.

Q4. Why did Mahendra resolve to leave the haunted place the very next day?
Ans. Mahendra had almost forgotten the incident of the previous night. But in the morning, lswaran told Mahendra that he had also heard the moan at night. He had come to his room. He had seen that Mahendra was looking out of the window at the ghost of the woman. Mahendra was cold with fear. As soon as he reached the office, he handed in his papers for transfer from that place

Q5. Do you think the ghost seen by Mahendra was only a trick played by his cook, Iswaran? Give reasons for your answer.
Ans. First, Iswaran created the background by telling Mahendra that the place used to be a burial ground. Then he told the story of a ghost. One night Mahendra saw a figure outside his window. The figure looked like the ghost described by Iswaran. The next morning, lswaran told Mahendra that he had seen Mahendra looking out of the window at the ghost. This shows that it was only a trick played by Iswaran.
Q6. Mahendra calls ghosts or spirits a figment of the imagination. What happens to him on a full moon night?
Ans. Mahendra calls ghosts or spirits a figment of the imagination as he did not believe in ghosts. One day Iswaran told him about a female ghost holding a foetus in her arms. On a full-moon night, he woke up from his sleep and looked outside the window. He was shocked to see the same figure and began to sweat profusely.

Q7. How did Iswaran build up his ghost story?
Ans. Iswaran did not give the proper beginning to his stories. He was also in the habit of leaving the story incomplete in between. He prepared the background of the ghost story by saying ‘he saw a human skull lying on the path’. After this, he told the ghost story.

Q8. Who was Mahendra? What did he do?
Ans. Mahendra was a young man. He was a bachelor. He was a junior supervisor in a firm. Mahendra’s job was to keep an eye on the activities at the work-site. 

Long Answer Type Questions 

Q2. What did Iswaran tell Mahendra about a ghost? Describe Mahendra’s horrible experience one night. Why did he resolve to leave that place?
Ans. Iswaran told Mahendra that entire factory area where he worked was once a burial ground. lswaran told Mahendra that he often saw ghosts at night. Sometimes, there appeared a horrible ghost of woman. She held a foetus in her arms. Hearing this tale, Mahendra shivered. But he told lswaran that there were no ghosts in reality. From that time, Mahendra felt somewhat uneasy at night. One night, Mahendra was awakened up from sleep by a moan. The moan became louder. He looked out of the window. He saw a dark cloudy form of a woman, not very far away from window. She was carrying a bundle in her arms. Mahendra began to sweat with fear. The next morning, Iswaran told Mahendra that he had also heard the moan at night. He had come to his room. He had seen that Mahendra was looking out of the window at the ghost of the woman. Mahendra was cold with fear. As soon as he reached office, he handed in his papers for transfer from that place.

Q3. How does Iswaran describe the uprooted tree on the highway? What effect does he want to create on his listeners?
Ans. Iswaran describes the uprooted tree by first adding suspense and then a surprise ending to the account. He uses his eyes and hands quite dramatically while recounting that he was alone on a deserted road when he saw something that looked like an enormous bushy beast. Later, on a closer look, he saw that it was a fallen tree with dry branches spread out.
He adopts this style of description because he wants to catch the attention of the listener. He employs suspense and adds details so that the story captivates his audience. His style of narrating stories was influenced by Tamil thrillers that were quite long. He knew from his experience of reading that elaborate descriptions made the story enjoyable and interesting. He wanted to give the same experience to his listener.

Q4. How does Iswaran narrate the story of the tusker? Does it appear to be plausible?
Ans. Iswaran narrates the story of the tusker in his unique style. He starts by giving an introduction in which he describes elephants that turn wild and become uncontrollable. He then gives an account of how one day a tusker escaped from the timber yard and destroyed the bushes, creepers and branches that came its way. While describing, Iswaran gets carried away by the narrative and jumps about on the floor. He continues narrating the details regarding the forced entry of the elephant first in the town and then in his school. He builds up the suspense by describing the fear that gripped the people of his town, his teachers and the boys in his school. He then very cleverly assumes the role of a hero and goes on to narrate how he, merely a junior student, grabbed a cane from a teacher and ran down to challenge the tusker. It tried to scare him by stamping its feet and kicking up mud. But Iswaran said that he was so brave that he hit hard on the third toenail of the elephant and the stunned animal shivered and collapsed.
The early part of this story that describes the havoc wreaked by the mad tusker is plausible. We often get to read news reports of such incidents in areas close to elephant habitats. However, the later part when Iswaran claims to disempower the elephant is impossible but hilarious. Taming a wild elephant in a snap with a cane held by a junior class student is far fetched but interesting.

Q5. “Iswaran is a fascinating storyteller”. Discuss.
Or
Iswaran was a master storyteller. Describe his amazing narrative’ skills.
Ans. Iswaran is a fascinating storyteller who could weave out endless stories and anecdotes. He acquired this talent by reading Tamil thrillers. He would read these novels every day after lunch and relate them to his master in his leisure time. He always added suspense and surprise even to the smallest incident and could make up innumerable stories on different subjects. He would use facial and body expressions to add interest to the story. He would raise his eyebrows, wave his hands, and jump about imitating the characters in his stories. He would narrate a story in instalments and purposely leave it unfinished midway. On returning, he would not pick it up right away till reminded by his listener. He would narrate a new story every day and fill it with adventure, horror and suspense, thus entertaining Mahendra as television does.