Page 87 - English Expedition Class 6

With nightfall, the forest grew dark and silent. Bhola Grandpa could hear the bored tiger
beating its tail on the dry leaves and scratching the ground from time to time. He could see its
bluish-yellow eyes rolling all over the tree. Hours passed.
Dawn broke out with the cooing of a couple of doves. Bhola Grandpa came down. Th ere was
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a hamlet of Santhals on a mound less than a furlong away. Bhola Grandpa climbed the mound
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and requested the fi rst man he saw for a little fi re to light his beedi.
Th e man had been a witness to all that passed between the tiger and Bhola Grandpa. In fact,
he had spent the whole night sitting at the threshold of his hut, waiting to see what would happen
next.
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He eyed Bhola Grandpa with perfect bewilderment . ‘What is your secret, sir, that you walked
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past that hungry beast and it just gaped at you and did nothing more?’ he mumbled out his
question at last.
Bhola Grandpa remembered the tiger and looked askance towards the bush. Th e tiger was
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seen stretching its limbs and yawning and preparing to leave the place as though its bewilderment
was giving way to a sense of disgust against itself.
Bhola Grandpa is said to have passed out for
a moment.
• How did Bhola Grandpa save himself
Half a century later, one winter morning
from the tiger?
Bhola Grandpa was found to have died
• How long did he remain on the tree?
peacefully in his sleep. He was ninety-fi ve. Even
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then we shed tears and lamented his death • Why did he pass out after listening to
the Santhal’s words?
volubly .
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But the most original of the laments • How many years later did Bhola
came from the eighty-year-old granny, Bhola Grandpa die?
Grandpa’s wife. ‘Th e old man must have • Why did his wife say that he ‘must
forgotten to breathe!’ she murmured with a have forgotten to breathe’?
sigh.

Manoj Das (born 1934) is an eminent author who writes in both English and
Odia. He is known for his eff ective use of words to reveal the hidden aspects
of a character’s thoughts and feelings. His stories are usually built around
everyday circumstances which are made memorable by the complex, often
quaint, reactions of the characters.

35 hamlet: a small village 38 gaped: stared with the mouth wide open in amazement
36 furlong: a unit for measuring distance, equal to or surprise
201 metres 39 askance: (here) doubtfully
37 bewilderment: confusion 40 lamented: expressed great sadness or disappointment
41 volubly: very strongly, using many words
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