CBSE Class 11 English The Adventure Worksheet Set 02

Short Answer Questions 

Question. Who was Professor Gaitonde? What was his plan in Bombay?
Answer: Professor Gaitonde was a historian who lived in Pune. He had authored five volumes of books on History. He was on his way to Bombay to visit the library and consult the history books there to find out how the present state of affairs was reached.

Question. Who was Khan Sahib? What was his travel plan?
Answer: Khan Sahib was a co-passenger who was enroute to Peshawar. After the train reached Victoria Terminus, he planned to take the Frontier Mail out of Central Station the same night. Therefore, he’d be travelling from Bombay to Delhi and from there to Lahore and finally reach Peshawar. It would be a long journey and he would reach Peshawar only two days later.

Question. Why was Professor Gaitonde surprised to see the name of East India Company on an imposing building in Bombay?
Answer: Prof. Gaitonde was a professor of history who lived in Pune during the 20th century. But through a transition in time, he was taken to a different period of history. Thus, he was surprised to see the name of East India Company, as he had studied that it had been wound up after 1857.

Question. For what did Professor Gaitonde enter the Forbes building? What was his experience there?
Answer: The professor went to Forbes building to meet his son Vinay Gaitonde. The receptionist consulted their directory of employees only to inform him that there was no person bearing that name in their organisation. The blow was not totally unexpected. He concludes that if he himself were dead, there was no guarantee that his son would be alive or even born.

Question. What did the professor do in the Town Hall library?
Answer: He entered the Town Hall library and asked for a list of history books, including the ones he had written. While reading through them he gathered that there was no change in the events up to the death of Aurangzeb. The change had occurred in the last volume. Reading the fifth volume in and out, Gangadharpant finally converged on the precise moment when history had taken a different turn. He read the description of the Battle of Panipat. It mentioned that Abdali was defeated by the Maratha army led by Sadashivrao Bhau and his nephew, Vishwasrao. It established the supremacy of the Marathas.

Question. How did the Peshwas establish supremacy over the northern part of India?
Answer: Their victory in the battle was not only a great morale booster to the Marathas but it also established their supremacy in northern India. The East India Company were observing these events, and thought it wise to temporarily defer its plan of expansion. For the Peshwas the immediate result was that the influence of Bhausaheb and Vishwasrao increased and Vishwarao succeeded his father in 1780 A.D. Dadasaheb, who was a spoke in the wheel was pushed to the background. He eventually had to retire from state politics.

Question. What was the effect of the victory of the Peshwas on the East India Company?
Answer: The East India Company was alarmed when the new Maratha ruler, Vishwasrao, and his brother, Madhavrao, expanded their influence all over India. The Company was limited to pockets of influence near Bombay, Calcutta and Madras. For political reasons, they kept the puppet Mughal regime alive in Delhi. However, in the nineteenth century the Marathas were aware of the importance of the technological age starting in Europe. Hence, when they set up their own centres for science and technology, the East India Company saw another chance to extend its influence, it offered support and experts. But they were accepted only to make the local centres self-sufficient.

Question. What ensued in the twentieth century?
Answer: During the twentieth century, inspired by the West, India moved towards a democracy. By then, the Peshwas had lost their enterprise and democratically elected bodies slowly but surely replaced them. The Sultanate at Delhi survived even this change because it exerted no real influence. The Shahenshah of Delhi was a nominal head to rubber stamp the ‘recommendations’ made by the central parliament.

Question. Why could Gangadharpant not help comparing the country he knew with what he was witnessing around him?
Answer: As the train passed through the suburban rail traffic, he saw trains bearing the name ‘Greater Bombay Metropolitan Railway’, a service that was run by the British. When he got off at Victoria Terminus, he found the station to be very neat, and the staff were Anglo-Indians and Parsees along with a few British officers. Outside the station he found an imposing building that had the letters ‘EAST INDIA HOUSE HEADQUARTERS OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY’ inscribed on it. He was shocked that while he was living in the late 20th century, the sites he was seeing around him were a replication of India under the British.

Question. “But why did I make the transition?” What explanation did Rajendra give to the professor?
Answer: Rajendra guessed that the transition must have been caused by some interaction. Perhaps, at the time of the collision the professor had been thinking about the catastrophe theory and its role in wars. The professor admitted that he had been wondering at that time what course history would have taken if the Marathas had won the Battle of Panipat.

Question. “That is, assuming that in this world there existed someone called Rajendra Deshpande!” Why does Professor Gaitonde feel so?
Answer: Professor Gaitonde was travelling to Bombay to clarify the distortion of history, that was being visualised by him due to a transition in the time zone. Though he was living in the 20th century, he was noticing around him a period in history that had already passed by. He decided to go to a big library in Bombay and browse through the history books. He felt that it would be the surest way to find out the reason for the changed state of affairs. He also planned to have a discussion with Rajendra Deshpande who could probably help him understand what was happening. However, he doubts the existence of such a man because of all the distortions in history that he was experiencing.

Question. Explain the professor’s experience at Azad Maidan.
Answer: After a frugal meal, Prof. Gaitonde decided to go on a stroll to Azad Maidan. There, he noticed a throng moving towards a pandal, where a lecture was in progress. He was surprised to see that the presidential chair was lying vacant. Like a piece of iron that gets attracted to a magnet, the professor swiftly moved towards the chair. The entire programme was disrupted as the audience dissapporved of the professor’s action and told him to get off the chair and the stage. Being a speaker himself, he tried to pacify the crowd and explain the significance of the symbolic chair. The crowd was agitated. They began throwing eggs, tomatoes and objects at him. They swarmed to the stage to eject him bodily. And after a while, Gangadharpant was nowhere to be seen.

Question. What were the things that Professor Gaitonde noticed as the train entered the British Raj territory?
Answer: As the train touched Sarhad, from where the British Raj began, an Anglo-Indian in uniform went through the train checking permits. The blue carriages of the train carried the letters GBMR on the side, an acronym for ‘Greater Bombay Metropolitan Railway’. There was a tiny Union Jack painted on each carriage as a reminder that they were in British territory. As the train stopped at its destination, Victoria Terminus, the station looked remarkably neat and clean. The staff was mostly made up of Anglo-Indians and Parsees along with a handful of British officers.

Question. What came as the biggest blow to Professor Gaitonde?
Answer: Professor Gaitonde was shocked to see the East India Company flourishing. He found a different set of shops and office buildings at Hornby Road. But when he turned right along Home Street and entered Forbes building, a greater shock awaited him. He asked for his son Mr Vinay Gaitonde. The English receptionist looked through the telephone list, the staff list and then through the directory of employees of all the branches of the firm but could not find anyone with that name.

Long Answer Questions 

Question. How did Rajendra Deshpande analyse the professor’s experience as a catastrophic experience? 
Answer: Gangadharpant narrated to Rajendra his experience at the Azad Maidan meeting. He informed him that for two days he was in coma as a result of the accident. He asked Rajendra to explain where he had spent those days. He admitted that before the accident, he had been thinking of the catastrophe theory and how it could change the course of history. He produced a page from the Bakhar which he had accidently taken from the library, to prove that his mind was working normally. The page described that, “... And then Vishwasrao guided his horse to the melee where the elite troops were fighting and he attacked them. And God was merciful. A shot brushed past his ear. Even the difference of a til (sesame) would have led to his death.” This was contrary to what his own history book said. And he wanted to know the facts. It was after hearing these details that Rajendra chose to infer, that catastrophic situations offer radically different alternatives for the world to proceed. It seems that so far as reality is concerned, all alternatives are viable but the observer can experience only one of them at a time.

Question. How did Rajendra explain the concept of reality with the example of movement of an electron?
Answer: Rajendra Deshpande tried to rationalise the professor’s experience on the basis of two scientific theories. Gangadharpant had passed through a strange catastrophic experience. The juncture at which Vishwasrao was killed in the battle proved to be a turning point. The Marathas lost their morale and the battle. Rajendra then moved to his second explanation. Reality is not exactly what we experience directly with our senses. It can have other manifestations. He elaborates his thought by giving the example of an electron that doesn’t follow the laws of science. It is called as the lack of determinism in quantum theory. It can be found in different places and each one of them is real. It happens by transition. The professor also experienced two worlds–one that was in the present, and the other that took him to a completely ancient period in history.

Question. Describe the observations made by the professor as he entered the alternative universe.
Answer: Professor Gaitonde was shocked when the train stopped beyond the long tunnel at a small station called Sarhad. An Anglo-Indian in uniform was checking the train permits. Then the train passed through the suburban rail traffic. The blue carriages carried the letters, GBMR, on the side that stood for ‘Greater Bombay Metropolitan Railway’. There was a tiny Union Jack painted on each carriage as a gentle reminder that they were in British territory. The station at Victoria Terminus looked impeccably neat and clean. The staff comprised mostly of Anglo-Indians and Parsees along with a handful of British officers. Coming out of the station, he found himself facing an imposing building. It was the office of the East India Company. As he walked along the Hornby Road, as it was called, he found a different set of shops and office buildings. There was no Handlooom House building. Instead, there were Boots and Woolworth departmental stores, imposing offices of Lloyds, Barclays and other British banks, as in a typical high street of a town in England. The greatest shock that awaited him was when he entered Forbes building and wished to meet his son, Mr Vinay Gaitonde. The receptionist searched through the telephone list, the staff list and then through the directory of employees of all the branches of the firm and finally shook her head and said that nobody of that name was either here or in any of their branches.

Question. What was the outcome of the Battle of Panipat in the alternative universe?
Answer: Their victory in the battle increased the morale of the Marathas. The East India Company temporarily shelved its expansionist programme. The Peshwas expanded their influence all over India. The Company was reduced to pockets of influence near Bombay, Calcutta and Madras. The Peshwas kept the puppet Mughal regime alive in Delhi. With the dawn of the technological age in Europe, they set up their own centres for science and technology. Here, the East India Company saw another opportunity to extend its influence but its aid and experts were accepted only to make the local centres self-sufficient. The twentieth century brought about further changes inspired by the West. India moved towards a democracy and democratically elected bodies and replaced the Peshwas. After reading this, Professor Gaitonde began to appreciate that India because it had not been subjected to slavery for the white man; it had learnt to stand on its feet and knew what self-respect was. From a position of strength and for purely commercial reasons, it had allowed the British to remain.

Question. ‘But we live in a unique world which has a unique history.’ Why did the professor say so?
Answer: Rajendra tried to rationalize Professor Gaitonde’s experience on the basis of two scientific theories known today. He had passed through a catastrophic experience. He applied it to the Batte of Panipat. The Maratha army was facing Abdali’s troops on the field of Panipat. There was no great disparity between the latter’s troops and the opposing forces. So, a lot depended on the leadership and the morale of the troops. In the history known to us, Vishwasrao, the son of and heir to the Peshwa, was killed. This proved to be the turning point in the battle. Whether Bhausaheb was killed in battle or survived is not known. The soldiers lost their morale and fighting spirit and were defeated. However, in the alternative universe, the bullet missed Vishwasrao, and it boosted the morale of the army and provided that extra force that made all the difference. Professor Gaitonde felt that similar statements are made about the Battle of Waterloo, which Napoleon could have won. But all this is an assumption. We live in an inimitable world which has a distinctive history. This idea of ‘it might have been’ is not acceptable for reality.

Extract-based Questions

Read the following extracts carefully and answer the questions that follow.

“Vacate the chair!”
“This lecture series has no chairperson...”
“Away from the platform, mister!”
“The chair is symbolic, don’t you know?”
What nonsense! Whoever heard of a public lecture without a presiding dignitary? Professor Gaitonde went to the mike and gave vent to his views. “Ladies and gentleman, an unchaired lecture is like Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’ without the Prince of Denmark. Let me tell you...”

Question. What did the professor do when he noticed the empty chair?
Answer: When the professor noticed the empty presidential chair, he moved towards it and sat on it, believing it was unethical for a symbolic chair to remain unoccupied during a public lecture.

Question. How did the crowd react when he sat on the empty chair?
(i) They threw several objects at him and pushed him away.
(ii) They politely asked him to leave.
(iii) They heard his speech.
(iv) They did nothing but ignored him.
Answer: (i) They threw several objects at him and pushed him away.

Question. What happened after the empty chair incident?
Answer: After being forcibly ejected from the stage by the agitated crowd, Professor Gaitonde was found lying in Azad Maidan and subsequently found himself back in the world he was familiar with.

“That is all I have to tell, Rajendra. All I know is that I was found in the Azad Maidan in the morning. But I was back in the world I am familiar with. Now, where exactly did I spend those two days when I was absent from here?” Rajendra was dumbfounded by the narrative. It took him a while to reply. “Professor, before, just prior to your collision with the truck, what were you doing?” Rajendra asked.

Question. Where are Rajendra and Gaitonde in the given extract?
Answer: They are in a hospital room where Professor Gaitonde is being treated after his accident.

Question. What mishap had occurred to professor Gaitonde?
Answer: Professor Gaitonde had met with an accident where he was hit by a truck while he was deeply engrossed in his thoughts.

Question. Where did Gaitonde spend his two days?
(i) He was in an alternative world.
(ii) He was under coma in a hospital.
(iii) He was looking for evidence.
(iv) He was studying his own theory of alternative worlds.
Answer: (i) He was in an alternative world.

At eight o’clock the librarian politely reminded the professor that the library was closing for the day. Gangadharpant emerged from his thoughts. Looking around he noticed that he was the only reader left in that magnificent hall. “I beg your pardon, sir! May I request you to keep these books here for my use tomorrow morning? By the way, when do you open?” “At eight o’clock, sir.” The librarian smiled. Here was a user and researcher right after his heart. As the professor left the table he shoved some notes into his right pocket. Absent-mindedly, he also shoved the Bakhar into his left pocket.

Question. What is the scene described in the given extract?
Answer: The scene is set in the reading room of the Town Hall library at closing time, where Professor Gaitonde has been researching history books.

Question. What does ‘emerged from his thoughts’ mean?
(i) To come out of one’s thoughts
(ii) To speak about one’s thoughts
(iii) To expose your thoughts to others
(iv) To go down deep into your thoughts
Answer: (i) To come out of one’s thoughts

Question. Why did the professor want to come again to the library?
Answer: The professor wanted to return to the library to continue his research and find out exactly how and when history had taken a different turn during the Battle of Panipat.