Page 87 - English Expedition Class 6
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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
                             35
                    a hamlet  of Santhals on a mound less than a furlong  away. Bhola Grandpa climbed the mound
                                                                           36
                    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.
                                                                            37
                       He eyed Bhola Grandpa with perfect bewilderment . ‘What is your secret, sir, that you walked
                                                              38
                    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
                                                                                    39
                    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
                                                        40
                    then we shed tears and  lamented  his death             •  Why did he pass out after listening to
                                                                              the Santhal’s words?
                    volubly .
                           41
                       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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