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Kerala State Syllabus 10th Standard English Solutions Unit 1 Chapter 1 Adventures in a Banyan Tree (Short Story)
Adventures in a Banyan Tree Textual Questions and Answers
Adventures In A Banyan Tree 10th Standard Question 1.
“house and grounds were of Grandfather’s domain. But the magnificent old banyan tree was mine.” Why did the boy say so?
Answer:
IP The boy said so because he was free to do whatever he liked on the banyan tree. But in the house and the grounds, he was not so free as they were strictly controlled by the Grandfather.
Adventures In A Banyan Tree Question Answers 10th Standard Question 2.
How did the squirrel become a friend of the bõy?
Answer:
The squirrel found that the boy had no catapult or airgun. Then the boy started giving him pieces of cake and biscuits. He grew bolder and took food from his hands. He even searched for the boy’s pockets.
Adventures In A Banyan Tree Notes 10th Standard Question 3.
What did the friends of the squirrel think about his ‘ friendship with a human? What might have made them think so?
Answer:
They thought he was headstrong and foolish for trusting a human being. They thought so because human beings kill the squirrels for their meat, skin and even for fun. (Many people eat the meat of squirrels.)
Adventures In A Banyan Tree Summary 10th Standard Question 4.
How was the banyan tree the noisiest place during the fig season?
Answer:
It was the noisiest place during the fig season because different birds and animals came to eat the figs. The birds were mainly bulbul, rosy-pastors, parrots and crows. These birds and animals made different noises.
Adventures In A Banyan Tree Question Answers Pdf 10th Standard Question 5.
How did the boy make the spring season exciting for himself?
Answer:
He built a platform on the banyan tree and he spent the cool afternoons there. He brought cushions to sit on and he propped himself on a branch. Sitting there he read books or observed the things going on around.
Adventures In A Banyan Tree Question Answer 10th Standard Question 6.
What was the incident that triggered a long-lasting excitement for the boy in summer?
Answer:
It was a fight between a black cobra and a mongoose. A myna and a crow were also involved in the fight. At the end of the fight, the cobra and the crow die. Cobra dies because of the bites by the mongoose and the crow dies as it is struck by the cobra.
Adventures In A Banyan Tree Narration 10th Standard Question 7.
How did the cobra regard his opponent? Were they true warriors?
Answer:
The cobra regarded his opponent as a superb fighter, clever and aggressive. They were true warriors as they fought valiantly.
Adventures In A Banyan Tree Activities 10th Standard Question 8.
How did the mongoose manage to escape from the snake’s bite?
Answer:
The mongoose bushed his tail. The long hair on his spine stood up. The very thickness of his hair saved him from the bites of the snake.
Adventure In The Banyan Tree 10th Standard Question 9.
The cobra was a good fighter. Pick out one of his fighting techniques.
Answer:
The cobra stood on the defensive, swaying slowly from side to side, trying to mesmerize the mongoose into making a false move. His great hood came down so swiftly that the writerthought the mongoose would be killed.
Adventures Of Banyan Tree 10th Standard Question 10.
The mongoose proved that he was clever. Can you cite any instance of his cleverness?
Answer:
When the cobra struck, the mongoose jumped neatly to one side and darted in swiftly biting the snake on the back. Then he darted away from the snake, out of his reach.
Sslc English Adventures In A Banyan Tree Notes Question 11.
What were the reactions of the spectators when the cobra struck?
Answer:
When the cobra struck, the spectators, the crow and the myna, hurled themselves at him. But they collided in mid air and returned to the cactus making angry noises at each other.
Adventures In A Banyan Tree Notes Pdf 10th Standard Question 12.
How did the crow push itself into trouble?
Answer:
The myna and the crow dived at the cobra, but they missed him. The myna flew back to safety. But the crow tried to pull up in midair and turn back. In the second that it took him to do this, the cobra struck him with great force and it proved fatal forthe crow.
Adventures In Banyan Tree 10th Standard Question 13.
Why is the myna said to be wise? ‘
Answer:
When the myna saw it missed the cobra when it dived at it, it flew ^way into safety and perched on the cactus. That is why it is said to be wise. But the foolish crow got killed.
Adventures In A Banyan Tree Summary In Malayalam Pdf 10th Standard Question 14.
Who won the battle? What made the myna peer into the bushes?
Answer:
The battle was won by the mongoose. The myna peered into the bushes to see if the cobra was really dead so that it could congratulate the mongoose.
Adventures In A Banyan Tree Pdf 10th Standard Question 15.
What prevented the Grandfather from taming the mongoose?
Answer:
Grandfather knew that a wild mongoose was more useful than a tamed one. This knowledge prevented him from taming it.
10th Class English Adventures In A Banyan Tree Question 16.
Why would Grandmother forgive the mongoose for stealing the eggs?
Answer:
Grandmotherforgave the mongoose for stealing the eggs because it kept the garden clear of snakes and it did not do any harm to the chicken.
10th English Adventures In A Banyan Tree Question Answer Question 17.
Who was the new friend of the squirrel?
Answer:
The new friend of the squirrel was a white rat that Grandfather had bought from the bazaar. They enjoyed their friendship by going off together on excursions among the branches. Finally the squirrel and the white rat mated and had babies.
The Adventures In A Banyan Tree 10th Standard Question 18.
How did the boy come to know that the squirrel was building a nest?
Answer:
m The boy came to know that the squirrel was building a nest when he discovered straw and grass falling out of his pockets. Later he saw the knitting of his grandmother in the nest on the tree. There were three baby squirrels in the wool.
Class 10 English Chapter 1 Adventures In A Banyan Tree Question 19.
What was the wonder that nature had kept for them in the nest?
Answer:
The wonder nature had kept for them was the three white baby squirrels in the nest. Grandfather said that rats and squirrels were related and it was possible for them to have offspring if they mated.
Adventures in a Banyan Tree Textual Activities and Answers
Activity 1
Adventures In A Banyan Tree Activities Class 10 Question 1.
Revisit the story and complete the story tree:
Answer:
Activity 2
Question 2.
The boy was very much thrilled by his acquaintance with the squirrel. He writes a letter to his friend telling him about his new friend. Help him complete the letter.
Answer:
Activity 3
| The Squirrel | The squirrel was very young. It was small and grey in colour. Finding the boy not harmful, it became very friendly with him. It trusted the boy and even took food from his hands. |
| The snake | The cobra was huge and black. It was skilful and an experienced fighter. He could move swiftly and strike with the speed of light. The sacs behind his long, sharp fangs were full of deadly poison. But the mongoose proved too clever forthis cobra. |
| The Mongoose | The mongoose was grey in colour. It was three feet long. It was a superb fighter, clever and aggressive. When the snake raised high off the ground and spread his broad spectacled hood, the mongoose bushed his tail. The long hair on his spine stood to prevent the bite from the snake harm his body. Ultimately, it killed the snake and dragged it into the cactus bush. The Grandfather of the boy used to give the mongoose scraps from the kitchen. It also stole eggs from the poultry but it did not harm the chickens there. |
Answer:
| The Squirrel | The squirrel was very young. It was small and grey in colour. Finding the boy not harmful, it became very friendly with him. It trusted the boy and even took food from his hands. |
| The snake | |
| The Mongoose |
Activity 4
Question 3.
The boy was thrilled at seeing the fight between the cobra and the mongoose. You may also have the same feeling. Narrate the fight scene in your own words.
……………………………………………………………………………………….
……………………………………………………………………………………….
……………………………………………………………………………………….
……………………………………………………………………………………….
……………………………………………………………………………………….
Answer:
The boy was sitting on the platform half way up the tree. It was an April afternoon. Warm breezes had sent everyone indoors. The boy was thinking of going for a swim, when he saw a black cobra coming out of a group of cactus. It was looking for a cooler place in the garden. A mongoose also came out and went towards the cobra. They came face to face.
The Cobra knew that the 3 feet long mongoose is a fine fighter, clever and aggressive. But the cobra was also an experienced fighter. He could move with great speed and strike the mongoose. His sharp teeth were full of poison. It was a battle of champions.
The cobra hissed. His tongue darted in and out. It was6feet long. It raised its three feet high and raised its broad, spectacled hood. The mongoose was also ready to fight, its hair on the spine stood up like bristles. They would help him to prevent his body from getting bitten. A myna and a jungle crow were watching the fight. At one stage they dived towards the cobra, but they missed it. The myna went back. The crow was trying to turn around when it was struck by the cobra. It died soon. The mongoose proved too clever for the cobra and finally it was killed by the mongoose which dragged it into the bush.
Activity 5
Question 4.
‘And amongst the wool were the three baby squirrels – all of them white!’ The boy couldn’t stop wondering about the white squirrels. If he scribbled down this unforgettable sight in his diary, how would it be?
Answer:
When I saw the glint from the nest of the squirrel I went to investigate. To my utter surprise What do I see there? Among the wool, which was actually my Grandmother’s knitting, there were three white baby squirrels. I had never seen another squirrel in that area. Then how can the baby squirrels appear in the nest? I was puzzled. I decided to tell my Grandfather about it. Grandfather was also puzzled as he had never seen white squirrels. Then he said that rats and squirrels were of the same family group and they could cross-breed. The squirrel was the father and the white rat was the mother of the white babies. This world is full of wonders, isn’t it?
Activity 6
A. The silhouettes of some scenes from the story are given here. Identify the scenes and give cutlines.
Answer:
B. Based on the outlines, prepare a narrative:
The first friend of the boy was a small squirrel. He used to give the squirrel pieces of cakes and biscuits. The squirrel then became bold enough to eat from his hands. The boy built a platform in a banyan tree. He used to sit there and read books and watch the things around.
One day he saw a cobra and mongoose having a fight. As he was watching the fight he saw there were also a myna and a crow watching the fight. These birds wanted to attack the cobra. But the cobra kills the crow. Finally the cobra is killed by the mongoose and its body is dragged into the bush.
The Grandfather of the boy had bought a white rat and brought it home. The boy took it to the squirrel and soon the white rat and the squirrel became close friends. They mated. The squirrel built a nest and crammed it with the wool of the boy’s Grandmother’s knitting. When the boy went to investigate he was surprised to see 3 white baby squirrels. His Grandfather told him that the squirrel was the father and the white rat was the mother. Since rats and squirrels are related species, they could have offspring, if they mated. It was news to the boy.
Activity 7
a) A single banyan tree creates such beauty and harmony. How will it be if we have such beauty everywhere? What should we do for the conservation of nature? Discuss
Answer:
The great poet John Keats said, “A thing of beauty is a joy forever.” Indeed we would be happy to have beauty everywhere. But what do we see now? Even on the roads people throw their waste. We see plas¬tic bags and other things lying all around killing our environment.
We can do many things to conserve nature. We should plant trees. Reduce deforestation for cultivation and building industries and houses. Reduce the use of artificial fertilizers and pesticides. Keep our rivers, lakes, ponds and wells clean. Reduce our dependency on motor vehicles which use petrol and diesel.
b. Prepare a digital poster on the theme; “Conservation of Nature”.
Activity 8
The story “Adventures in a Banyan Tree’ portrays the happy childhood of the writer blended with enchanting nature. Can the future generation enjoy such a beautiful life? Analyse the following pictures and identify the environmental issues portrayed in them.
Issue : Cutting Down Trees – Deforestation What is the dreadful impact of this?
The dreadful impact is global warming. The trees give us oxygen. The roots protect the soil from erosion. The tree itself gives dwellings to various birds and animals. By cutting down the trees, we are making deserts.
Issue: Plastic Waste Dumps Everywhere How will this affect the environment?
The whole place becomes a Plastic waste dump. Water bodies will be clogged and polluted. There will be no clean water. People, animals and birds will be struggling to get good water. Peaceful and healthy life becomes impossible.
Issue: Carbon Emission – Over-Industrialization What are the reasons and consequences?
Overindustrialization pollutes the atmosphere and even the air becomes poisonous with dust and smoke. Diseases spread rapidly and people die of various diseases.
Discuss the following questions:
Question 1.
Do you think these are very serious threats to our earth? What are the possible solutions for these issues?
Answer:
Of course deforestation, dumping of plastic waste everywhere and excessive carbon emission are serious threats to our earth. They cause global warming and climate change.
But there are solutions to the problems:
- Afforestation
- Planting trees wherever possible
- Conduct awareness programmes
- Avoid plastic carry bags
- Use cloth bags
- Dispose the waste properly
- Control carbon emission
- As far as possible avoid using motor vehicles using petrol and diesel as fuel.
- Avoid the use of pesticide sprays and such polluting agents.
Things To Be Done By Students
Conducting a seminar on the topic “Save the Earth”. Making a documentary on the topic as suggested in the Text.
Let’S Learn About Words
Activity 1
Question 1.
Pick out the words and phrases used to describe the fight of each warrior.
| Snake | Mongoose |
| Moved swiftly Struck with the speed of light …………………………………………………………. …………………………………………………………. …………………………………………………………. …………………………………………………………. |
Made a feint to one side Darted swiftly …………………………………………………………. …………………………………………………………. …………………………………………………………. …………………………………………………………. |
Answer:
| Snake | Mongoose |
| Moved swiftly Struck with the speed of light Spread his broad, spectacled hood Swayed from side to side Tried to mesmerize the mongoose His great hood came down swiftly |
Made a feint to one side Darted swiftly Bushed his tail Refused to meet the un-winking eyes of the snake Jumped neatly to one side to avoid the bite Bit the snake on the back |
Activity 2
Question 2.
Rewrite passage using synonyms of the words underlined:
In the spring, when the banyan tree was full of small red figs, birds of all kinds would flock into its branches – the red-bottomed bulbul, cheerful and greedy; gossiping rosy pastors; and parrots and crows, sguabbling with each other all the time. During the fig season, the banyan tree was the noisiest place on the road.
Answer:
In the spring, when the banyan tree was full of small red figs, birds of all kinds would throng into its branches – the red-bottomed bulbul, happy and avaricious; slandering rosy pastors; and parrots and crows, Quarrelling with each other all the time. During the fig season, the banyan tree was the noisiest place on the road.
Now, read the following sentence:
He had never tried taming it, because a wild mongoose was more useful than a domesticated one.
- He – pronoun, subject,
- had – auxiliary verb helping to form the past perfect tense of the verb
- tried – verb
- because – conjunction
- wild – adjective
- mongoose – noun
- more useful – comparative adjective
See the word card in the text on below:
Prepare more word cards by picking words from the lesson.
Here are three examples:
1.
- word – magnificent
- category – adjecive
- synonyms – brilliant, elegant, excellent, glittering, gorgeous, grand
- antonyms – mediocre, common, ordinary Sentence using
- the word – Taj Mahal is a magnificent building.
Sentence using - antonym – His performance as a Minister was mediocre.
An activity with - the word – magnificently (adverb), magnify Dence (noun).
2.
- Word – invasion
- category – noun
- synonyms – aggression, assault, breach, incursion, incursion, intrusion
- antonyms – resIstance, retreat, surrender Sentence using
- the word – Hitler’s invasion of Poland was condemned by all peace-loving nations.
Sentence using - antonym – The Polish people put up a strong resistance when Hitler invaded their country
An activity with - the word – invade (verb) invading (participle).
3.
- Word – aggressive
- category – adjective
- synonyms – antagonistic, belligerent, bellicose, militant, pugnacious
- antonyms – amicable, unaggressive
Sentence with - the word – Powerful nations should be not aggressive.
Sentence with - antonym – Nations should be amicable towards one another.
An activity with - the word – aggression (noun).
Question 3.
Read the following sentences.
1. It was an old banyan tree.
2. The tree was older than the house.
3. It was the oldest banyan tree in the town.
In sentence 1, the adjective ‘old’ merely tells us that banyan tree was old.
In sentence 2, the adjective ‘older’ is used to show that it was olderthan the house. Thetree was already there when the house was built.
In sentence 3, the adjective ‘oldest’ tells us that it was the oldest banyan tree in the town. Oldest is the superlative degree of old.
Fill in the blanks Suitably:
Answer:
- clever
- more aggressive
- noisiest
- skillful
- hotter
- contented
- worst
- most unforgettable
- eldest
- swiftly
Adventures in a Banyan Tree About the author:
– Ruskin Bond
Ruskin Bond was born on 19 May 1934. He is an Indian author of British descent. His father was an officer at the Royal Air Force. Ruskin’s first novel, The Room on the Roof was written when he was only 17. His first children’s book was The Angry River’. In 1992, he got the Sahitya Akademi Award for his collection of short stories titled “OurTrees Still Grow in Dehra”. He got Padma Shri in 1999. He now lives near Mussoorie.
Adventures in a Banyan Tree Summary in English
The house and grounds of our home in India belonged to the Grandfather. But the beautiful old banyan tree was mine because grandfather could not climb it as he was 65 years old. Grandmother often teased him telling him the story of an English woman who died at the age of 117. She would have lived longer if she had not fallen while climbing an apple tree. The branches of the banyan tree curved to the ground and took root again. Thus there were many trees all connected together. It gave me much pleasure. Dehra was a valley at the foot of the Himalayas and the banyan tree was older than anything there.
My first friend was a small grey squirrel. At first he did not like my spoiling his privacy. But I did not have a catapult or airgun. So, soon the squirrel became friendlier. I started giving him pieces of cake and biscuit and he grew bolder. He even started taking food from my hands. Slowly he even started searching my pockets and taking whatever was there. He was very young. His friends and relatives must have thought he was foolish to trust a human being, In the spring, when the banyan tree had small red figs, different kinds of birds would come to eat them. The birds included bulbul, rosy pastors, parrots and crows. During the fruit season, the banyan tree was the noisiest place on the road.
Halfway up the tree I made a small platform. When it was not very hot I spent the afternoons there. I could sit and read there. Sitting here I read Treasure Island’, ‘Huckleberry Finn’, The Mowgli Stories and the novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs and Louisa May Alcott. When I did not read, I would look down through the banyan leaves at the world below. I could see grandmother hanging up or taking down the washing, the cook quarreling with the fruit seller or grandfather complaining that the strong Indian marigolds growing up all over his English garden. Usually only ordinary things happened. But one day there was something very exciting. I saw a mongoose and a cobra fight to death in the garden as I was sitting above them.
It was in an April afternoon. The warm breezes kept people inside their homes. My grandfather was also inside. I was feeling drowsy and was thinking of going for a swim in the pond behind the house. Soon I saw a black cobra coming out of a group of cactus. It was looking for a cooler place in the garden. A mongoose also came out and went towards the cobra. They came face to face.
The Cobra knew that the 3 feet long mongoose is a fine fighter, clever and aggressive. But the cobra was also an experienced fighter. He could move wjth great speed and strike the mongoose. His sharp teeth were full of poison. It was a battle of champions.
The cobra was not a coward. It hissed. His tongue darted in and out. It was 6 feet long. It raised its body three feet high and raised its broad, spectacled hood. The mongoose was also ready to fight. Its hair on the spine stood up like bristles. They would help him to prevent his body from getting bitten. Although the mongoose and cobra did not know I was sitting up, two other spectators arrived. One was a myna and the other was a jungle crow. They settled down on the cactus to watch the fight.
The cobra swayed slowly from side to side trying to make the mongoose make a false move. But the mongoose knew the power of the glassy eyes of the snake and did not look at them. He was looking at a point just below the cobra’s hood. Moving quickly near the cobra, he made a move to one side. The cobra struck immediately. I thought it was the end of the mongoose. But he neatly jumped to one side and bit the snake on the back and moved away from the reach of the snake.
The. moment the cobra struck, the crow and the myna flew fast towards it but they collided in mid-air, and making angry noises, they returned to the cactus.
There was some blood on the cobra’s back. He struck again but missed. The mongoose jumped again and bit the cobra. Again the birds flew towards the snake and bumped into each other and went back.
The 3rd round was different. The crow and the myna dived at the cobra, but they missed their mark. The myna went back, but the crow came again. The cobra struck the crow with great force and it died soon, a little away from the cobra.
The cobra was weakening. The mongoose raised himself on his back legs and picked the cobra by its nose. The cobra tried hard to get free! It coiled around the mongoose. But soon it stopped fighting. The mongoose then dragged it, catching it by the hood, into the bushes. The myna flew away making some noise as if congratulating the mongoose.
I also got down from the tree and went to*my house. I told my grandfather about the fight. He was happy that the mongoose had won. He had encouraged the mongoose to live in the garden to keep the snakes off. He often gave it food. He never wanted to tame it because a wild mongoose is better than a tame one.
I often saw the mongoose going round the garden. Once I saw him with an egg in his mouth and. he took it from the poultry house. But he did not harm the birds. Grandmother would forgive him because he kept snakes away from the house.
The banyan tree was also the setting for the Strange Case of the Grey Squirrel and the White Rat. The Grandfather had bought the white rat from the bazaar for four annas. I would often take it to the roots and branches of the old tree. It soon made friendship with the squirrel. They would together go for excursions among the branches.
Then the squirrel Started building a nest. First it tried to build the nest in my pockets. When I vent home I would find straw and grass falling out. One day my Grandmother’s knitting was missing. We looked for it everywhere without success. The next day I saw something shining in the banyan tree. I realized it was the end of the steel knitting needle of Grañdmother. The hole was filled with knitting. Among the wool there were three white baby squirrels.
Grandfather had never seen white baby squirrels. When I mentioned that the white rat often visited the tree, Grandfather told me that the squirrel must be the father of the white baby squirrels. He said that rats and squirrels were related to each other and it was possible for them to have babies if they mated.
Adventures in a Banyan Tree Summary in Malayalam
Adventures in a Banyan Tree Glossary
