Answer the following questions.

1. The narrator says 'It is to describe the terrible experience which instilled in me this interest in indigo,
that I have taken up my pen today'. Did he write earlier too? Justify your answer from the text.
Ans. The narrator says that he has taken up the pen to describe ~e terrible experience he has undergone.
This is not for the first time that he has written anything. He mentions three of his stories which were
published in magazines. These stories were well appreciated by his acquaintances and relatives. He also
admits that he cannot make a living by writing alone. It implies that he has been writing earlier too. He
seems to have given a pause to his writing to narrate the experience which has influenced him a lot. It is
only for a few months that he has not been wtjting at all. He has devoted this time to reading about indigo
plantation. The narrator has been writing one thing or the other earlier too.
2. The narrator was familiar to the areas falling on his way from Calcutta to Dumka. Pick evidence from
the text to support your answer.
Ans. Aniruddha, the narrator started his 200 mile long journey by his own car. Instead of hiring the services of
a driver, he preferred to drive himself. In order to avoid the rush at the Howrah Bridge he took the Bally
Bridge road. He reached Chandernagore in an hour and a half. During this time about thirty mile drive
was through dingy towns. He enjoyed the journey once he came to the open countryside.
He reached Burdwan at about half-past twelve. Panagarh was the small town where he had to leave the
Grand Trunk Road and take the road to Ilambazar. From Ilambazar he was to reach Dumka via Suri and
Massanjore.
The narrator deviated only once from his path that too due to the tempest and the confusion caused by
the bursting of two of the tyres. It shows that he knew his surroundings and the route to Dumka very
well.
3. What prompted Aniruddha to accept the invitation of his old friend Promode to visit him 200 miles
away at Dumka ?
Ans. Aniruddha's stay in Monghyr had ins_tilled in him some habits. One of them was his yearning to go away
from the hectic life of the city. When h~ bought a car he would often go to small towns near Calcutta. He
'\Jb
 usedal to visit Diamond Harbour , Port Canning, and Hassanab ad along the Oum Oum Road. But he had
go one as he did t ha tof
the offer no ve a close friend in Calcutta. It became an importan t reason for hi5 a cceptanc e o
from an old friend to visit him
Anirudd ha' 5 fri nd
.th him e had written that he •had his own quarter to live in. It ensured a comforta b1e 5 taY theret
-this • Apart from this, Anirudd ha had some leave due to him. He did not need to take extra lea~e
VlSoffl friend for a week or so. All these factors encouraged Anirudd ha to accept the invitatio n an se
on the journey to Dumka.
4
• Describe the circumst ances under which Aniruddha met Sukhanram.
• Ans.. The two tyres of Anirudd ha's car had burst during his journey from Calcutta to Ou.mka. He
could not
go on ~ere_ was neither a repair shop nor any spare tyre with him. As the rain was pouring hard,
h:
had to Sit m his car and wait. Suddenly he spotted a light through the branches of a tree. He could see
kerosene lamp burning in a window. It meant there must be someone in the house with that lamp.
Anirudd ha got out of the car and walked towards the house with the window. He saw a house which
was
a small cottage with a tin roof. A well built man with heavy monstach e came out of the house. The man
asked Anirudd ha where he was from. Anirudd ha wanted to know if there was a place where he could
stay for the night. The man took him to the Oak Bungalow and Anirudd ha came to know that he was
the
Otowkid ar, an attendan t at the Oak Bungalow and his name was Sukhanra m.
5. Commen t on Anirudd ha's observat ions about Nature. Base the answer on your understa nding
of the
story.
Ans. Anirudd ha's desire to go far away from the hectic life of Calcutta stands testimon y to his interest
in nature
and the countrys ide. When he drives his car to reach Dumka to meet his friend his close observat ion
of
nature comes to the fore. On coming away from the dingy towns on the way he feels happy to enjoy
the
magical effect of the open blue sky and fresh, pure air.•He even notices the redolent smell of the earth.
The
cool breeze, he notices while changing the tyre of his car, had stopped. The bamboo tress did pot sway
now. There was a blue-black patch in the west above the treetops. There were clouds and it seemed
that
a storm was taking shape. The claps of thunder appear to be a nasty side of nature to him. Anirudd
ha
observes the frogs croaking in the roadside pu<:i-dles. .
Anirudd ha's observat ions about nature reveal his interest in his surround ings. It also shows the way
he
can easily understa nd the changes in the weather. These details match the setting and the theme of
the
story also. .
6. What informa tion does ~ddh a Bose share with the readers in the beginnin g ?
Ans. The narrator Anirudd ha Bose talks about himself and his family. He is a twenty nine year old
bachelor .
He has been working in an advertisi ng agency for the last eight years. He lives in Calcutta and has
a flat
in Sardar Shankar R~ad. Anirudd ha bou~t a car ~o which he drives ~ l f . He is fond of writing
and three of his stones have been publishe d m magazine s. A strange expenen ce has instilled in him
an
interest in indigo plantatio n. Consequ ently, he has read a lot about indigo plantatio n.
The narrator also tells that he was born in Monghy r and father was a well-kno wn physicia n. He had
to leave Monghy r in Bihar ~hen his father died. He accompa nied his mother to live in Calcutta with
his
materna l uncle.
7. Why did Aniruddha Bose consider ~mself an expert in indigo plantations ?
Ans. Anirudd ha Bose undergo es a mysterio us and strange experien ce in Oak Bungalo w. It instills
in him
interest in indigo plantatio ns. He starts reading about indigo, its plantatio n and the way indigo peasan~
were exploite d by the British indigo 1:11er~ ~- He has _read a Io_t a~ut indigo plantatio ns in Bengal
and
Bihar in the nineteen th century. It gives him ~ormati o~ that indigo cultivati on disappea red after
the
discover y of synthetic indigo~ Germa n~-~ informat i~n about in~~o ~lantatio n, its disappea
rance
and the exploita tion caused by it makes him think ~at he IS_an expert m indigo plantatio n. He therefore
,
asserts, , 1 am something of an authority on the subject now.
 8
• Who was Promode ? Wh y did Anirudd
ha Bose want to visit Dumka ?
in Bihar. He did his
. Before_ com ing to Calcutta with his mother, Aniruddha Bose lived in Monghyr
Ans ka where he
one of his classmates. He now lives in Dum
schooling there. At that place, Promode was to visit Dumka and stay
works in the Forest Department. He writes a letter to Aniruddha asking him
there with him in his quarter. a as he does not
rud dha wan ts to visi t Dum ka to mee t his friend Promode. He gets ready to visit Dum
Ani
g away from the hectic life of the city.
have any freinds at Calcutta, and he likes goin
that came initially ?
9. Which snags does Aniruddha mention th . He
d Prom ode had invi ted him to visit Dum ka and stay there for a few days wi him
Ans. Aniruddha's frien e fo~ Dum ka,
y to trav el by his own car to mee t his frien d at Dumka. When he was about t~ leav
got read re this m~ as
Aniruddha was in a hurry, he could not igno
his uncle Mohit suddenly turned up. Though r some time,
an old frien d of Ani rudd ha's fath er. He had to attend to this unexpected guest. Afte
he was u. He started
hbour Bhola Babu came there with his son Pint
he again got ready to leave. This time, his neig yed
rudd ha and adv ised him to hire the serv ices of a driver. Aniruddha's journey got dela
talking to Ani
dents intial snags in the journey to Durnka.
due to these two incidents. He calls these inci _
a wro ng twn ?
10. Wh at hap pen ed whe n Ani rud dha took ging sou nd and realized that ano ther tyre of his car
ily. Ani rudd ha hea rd a loud ban
Ans. It was raining heav and looked
burs t. He look ed arou nd but noth ing was clearly visible. He opened the door of the car
had had taken the
cle had passed. It made him realize :that he
out. He suddenly realized that no other vehi
after his journey from Suri.
wrong turn. He thought that it had happened mov ed into the
that time , he hea rd the sou nd of a truc k blowing its horn loudly. In fact, his car had
At the truc k driver
t. He realized his fault and then requested
middle of the road after the tyre had burs in the Oak
com pan ion to pus h the car asid e. All thes e things, and the incident that took place
and his
ng turn.
Bungalow took place .after his taking the wro
twe nty seve nth of April ?
11. Wh y cou ld Aniruddha not forget the e on twe nty seventh of
: Ani rud dha set off on a jour ney to mee t his friend Promode at Durnka. He wen t ther
Ans rud dha
day nyo tyre s of his car bur st on the way . There was a tempest and hea vy rain. Ani
April. On that nge and
ng tum . He had to stay at a Oak Bun galow dur ing the night. There he had a stra
took a wro had actually
teri ous exp erie nce. He felt tran sfor med into an indigo planter Englishman. This man
mys eed star tlin g and
dred years ago. This coincidence was ind
died on twenty seventh of April one hun
him.
shocking. It mad e this day unforgettable for
rud dha face the norwester ?
12. Wh at is a nor wes ter ? How could Ani iced tha t the cool
his way to Dum ka, Ani rud dha was repl acing the pun ctur ed tyre of his car. He not
Ans . On blue-black patch
stopped. Everything was still. There was a
breeze which was blowing an hou r ago had
tree tops . The re wer e clou ds and a stor m was taki ng shape. Ani rud dha calls the
in the wes t above the
brew ing stor m a norwester.
ms to himself. Now
sitting in his roo m and reciting Tagore poe
Ani rud dha use d to enjoy suc h norwesters insi de the car. The
But he cou ld face this nor wes ter as he was
he was in the ope n to face the norwester. tnin g mig ht strike his
r, he faced this nor wes ter fear ing that ligh
nor wes ter frightened him much. Howeve
Ambassador.
ruddha 's car standing in the way ?
13. Ho w did the truck driver react at Ani dha sat
had got pun ctur ed. It was stan din g in the mid dle of the roa d whi le Ani rud
Ans. Ani rud dha 's car
the truc k com ing beh ind fou nd the roa d blocked by the car. The driv er ble w the hom
inside. The driv er of
of his truc k aloud.
pus h asid e the car
rud dha told him ho~ his car had got pun ctur ed. He ask ed the driv er to help him
Ani e.
join ed Ani rud dha in pus hin g the car asid
to clear the road . The driv er and his help er
-.
14. Who was Sukhanram ? What help did he render to Aniruddha ?
it. His wife also Hved
Ans. Sukhan ram Was the Chowk idar at the Dak Bungalow. He lived in a cottage near
.th him meal for him. He took the
wt • When the narrato r met Sukhan ram he got ready to cook a simple
r and put it on
narrato r to the Dak Bungal ow and prepare d a bed for him. He lit a lantern for the narrato
the table.
assured him that
It is Sukhan ram who tells the narrato r about the English indigo planter. His words also
there was nothing unusua l or to be afraid of in the Dak Bungalow.
15• What kind of bungal ow did Anirud dha spend the night in ? How did it affect him ?
The bungal ow was
Ans. It was an ancient bungal ow in a remote village. It was far away from the city.
rooms with high
constru cted during the time of the Raj i.e. the British rule in India. There were big
a broken arm.
ceiling s in the bungal ow. The only furnitu re there was a charpoy , a table, and a chair with
The room also had a lantern and a table for the lantern .
transfo rmation in
This bungal ow was an isolated and deserte d place. The narrato r experienced a kind of
transpl anter
his person ality while staying there for the night. He felt transfo rmed into an English indigo
man's death and
who had died one hundre d years ago at this bungal ow. Surprisingly, the date of that
of April. Thus, the
the day the narrato r felt transfo rmed into that person were the same, twenty seventh
narrato r's stay there affected him in a strange and mysteri ous way.
16. How did Aniruddha feel transformed ?
rule in India. The Oak
Ans. Anirud dha was sleepin g in the Dak Bungal ow constru cted during the British
Bungal ow was situate d in a remote village. When he was fast asleep, he sudden ly realized that his wrist
wearin g a long-
watch had disappe ared. He noticed that his dress had also underg one a change. He was
(

had change d. He
sleeved shirt instead of the vest he had worn before going to bed. His facial feature s too
spoke in a differe nt voice while address ing the Chowk idar.
to be under his
During his transfo rmatio n his mind was conscious but his body and limbs did not appear
his transfo rmation .
control . He was behavi ng like the English man, he had turned into indigo planter due to
This all surpris ed and startled him. .
17. What do you learn about the indigo planter ? What kind of a person was he
?
was a thirty years old
Ans. The narrato r had been transfo rmed into an indigo planter . This indig~ planter
English man. He had blond hair and light eyes. The Inan wore a silk shirt narrow
trouser s and socks.
way.
Despite his young age he looked old. He shoute d at the Chowk idar in an authori tative
resist the tempta tion
The indigo plante r was so greedy that despite repeate d attacks of malaria he could not
the natives . He knew
to get more and more money throug h indigo. He had been cruel and harsh toward s
that the people of his own countr y did not have a good opinion about him.
shoot his pet dog Rex
He appear s to be a tragic figure as his wife Mary and son Toby have died. He had to
dead. He did this to save hls pet from the cruelty of others.