Iswaran the Storyteller Explanation, Line by Line, Meaning of Difficult Words, Class 9 CBSE English Chapter 3 NCERT Moments

Iswaran the Storyteller Explanation, Line by Line, Meaning of Difficult Words, Class 9  CBSE English Chapter 3 NCERT Moments

ISWARAN THE STORYTELLER

(Explanation, Meaning of Difficult words)

Author – RK Laxman

 

Word	Meaning
Narrated	Described, Told
Supervisor	A person who supervises works
Firm	Organisation, Company
Offered	Provided
Site	Location
On hire	On a certain fees
And so on	And others

Mahendra had told this story to Ganesh. Mahendra was a young person. He was a supervisor in an organisation. This company made available supervisor. For this service the organisation charged some fees. The supervisors were need at the locations where factories, bridges, dams and other structures were built.

 

 

Word	Meaning
To keep an eye on	To supervise, to watch
Site	Location
Keep moving	Shift regularly
Now and then	Often, From time to time
Head office	Main office
Coming up	Being constructed
Plant	Factory

Mahendra was required to supervise the activities being carried out at the location of construction or the location of work. He was required to shift from one place to another quite often. Orders for moving from one place to another were issued by the main office of his company. He had to shift from a coal mining area to a location where railway bridge was under construction. After some month he would shift from there to a chemical factory which was being constructed at some location.

 

 

Word	Meaning
Bachelor	Unmarried male person
All kind of odd conditions	All types of different situations
Ill-equipped	Not having good facilities, With inadequate facilities
Circuit house	Guest House, Place where visiting officials stay
Makeshift	Temporary, Interim
Canvas	A type of cloth
Quarry	Small mine
Asset	A useful person or thing

Mahendra was an unmarried person. He believed in leading a simple life. His requirements were minimum. Therefore he was able to adjust to all types of different situations. He could live in a guest house that had inadequate facilities. He could also live in a temporary tent made of canvas which was installed in a stone mine. But he had one very useful person with him. His name was Iswaran. Iswaran was a cook.

 

Word	Meaning
Attached to	Close to someone, Full of affection
Uncomplainingly	Without complaining
Posted	Deputed
Chatted away	Talked a lot
Weave out	Create, Narrate
Anecdotes	Incidents, Short story
Varied subjects	Several topics

Iswaran, the cook, was very close to Mahendra. Without making any complaints Iswaran stayed with Mahendra to whichever location he was deputed. Iswaran cooked food for Mahendra, washed his clothes. Before going to bed Iswaran talked a lot to Mahendra. He could narrate a large number of stories and incidents on several topics.

 

 

Word	Meaning
Amazing	Wonderful, Surprising
Ingredients	Constituent, Components
Seemingly	Apparently, Superficially
Desolate	Without any population
Landscape	Area, Locality
For miles around	Upto a great distance

Iswaran had a wonderful capability. He could find vegetables and other things required for cooking even in those places where nobody lived upto a great distance. Even when not a single shop could be seen, Iswaran arranged constituents for cooking apparently from nowhere.

 

Word	Meaning
Meticulously	Skillfully, To the perfection
Conjure up	Make or create as if by magic
Delicious	Tasty
Workplace	Location where someone works

Sometimes they stayed in a shed that was made zinc coated iron sheets. Within an hour of reaching new place of work, Iswaran would make very tasty food. He would use fresh vegetables. The food would be made very skillfully. It appeared as if the food was made by magic.

 

Word	Meaning
Up early in the morning	To wake up early in the morning
Tidy up	Clean and arrange things
Leisurely	In a relaxed manner without hurry
Muttering	Whispering, Reciting in a low voice

Mahendra used to get up early in the morning. He would go to his work after taking breakfast. He would carry some prepared food with him for lunch.  After Mahendra had gone to work, Iswaran would clean the shed and arrange things at their proper place. He would wash clothes. He would take his bath without any hurry. He would use several buckets of water for bathing. While taking bath he would recite prayers in a low voice.

 

Word	Meaning
By then	At that time, Till that time
Dozing off	Sleeping
Thriller	Story having suspense, Detective book
Imaginative	Full of imagination
Narrative	Description
Flourishes	Attractive, Actions
Hold in thrall	To have all the attention

It would usually be lunch time till Iswaran completed these activities. After taking his lunch, Iswaran used to read for some time before sleeping. He usually read some detective novel written in Tamil. The book used to have couple of hundreds of pages. Iswaran liked description of imagination and action packed descriptions. He would give his complete attention to reading a book.

 

Word	Meaning
Greatly	To a large extent
Influenced	Affected,
Ending into the account	Describing the last part of the story

When Iswaran narrated a story, his descriptions were also affected by the books of Tamil authors he read. Even when he was narrating a small incident, he would try to create a suspense. After that he would describe the last part of the story or incident.

 

Word	Meaning
Come across	See, Find, Meet
Uprooted	Fallen
Arched	Curved
Gesture	Manner
Deserted	Empty, Without any traffic or people

If Iswaran were to describe that he had seen a fallen tree on highway, he would describe in a different way. He would curve his eyebrows, extend his hands in strange way, and start saying – The road was empty. I was alone on the road.

 

Word	Meaning
Spotted	Saw
Enormous	Huge, Very big
Bushy	Like a bush
Beast	Animal
Sprawled	Spread out, Laid
Half inclined	Had some intention

Suddenly I saw something that looked similar to a huge animal with lot of bushes on it. The animal was lying across the width of the road. I had some intention to turn around and go back. But I went nearer to that animal. Then I realised that it was a fallen tree. Its dry braches had spread all over the road.

 

Word	Meaning
Stretch	Pull
Uncritically	Without criticizing it, Without making assessment of  it

Mahendra would then pull himself in his chair that was made of canvas. He used to listen to stories of Iswaran without making any assessment about its reality.

 

Word	Meaning
Richly wooded forest	Forest having many trees
Logs	Big piece of wood
Hauled	Carried
Lorries	Trucks
Well-fed	Those who are given proper food

Iswaran used to say that his native place is famous for timber. All around our village we have a forest which has a large number of trees. The big pieces of wood is carried and loaded into the trucks by elephants. Those elephants are given proper diet.

 

Word	Meaning
Turns wild	Becomes angry
Mahout	Person who controls an elephant
Prologue	Introduction
Launch	Start
Elaborate	Detailed, Lengthy
Anecdote	Incident

Iswaran would say that when an elephant becomes angry even an experienced mahout cannot control it. After this brief introduction, he would start narrating details of an incident about an elephant.

 

Word	Meaning
Tusker	A male elephant with big teeth
Roam about	Wander about, Walk around
Stamping	The act of loudly putting feet on something
Tearing up	Breaking
Creepers	Climber, A plat that grows against a support
At will	As per wish

One day a tusker ran away from the timber yard.  It started walking freely. It crushed many bushes under its feet. It pulled away many climbers. It broke braches of many trees. An elephant behaves absurdly when it gets mad.

 

Word	Meaning
Caught up	Involved, Engrossed
Emulation	Copy, Imitation

Iswaran would get so excited that he would be completely involved in storytelling.  He would get up floor and start jumping around. He would copy the action of stamping of the mad elephant.

 

Word	Meaning
Outskirts of town	Outer parts of town
Smashed	Broke
Helter-skelter	In confusion, Hurriedly, Haphazardly
Panic	Fear

The elephant reached outer part of our village. It broke the boundary wall of many house as if these were matchsticks. Then it came to main road of the village. It broke all the stalls that were selling fruits, earthen pots and clothes. People were afraid. In confusion, people hurriedly started running here and there.

 

Then the elephant broke the brick boundary wall of a school and entered the playground of a school. Children playing in the playground. All the boys got afraid. they ran into their classes and shut the doors of classrooms.

 

Word	Meaning
Grunted	Made a sound through throat
Flatten	To make flat
Uprooting	Pulling out of the ground

The animal made a sound through his throat. It broke the boundary wall of the school which was constructed in bricks. It entered into the playground of the school. It pulled out goal-posts of football ground. It tore the volleyball net. Many drums had been kept in the playground. The elephant kicked all the drums and made them flat. It also pulled out many bushes that were planted around the playground.

 

Word	Meaning
Meanwhile	During this time. In the meantime
Terrace	Rooftop
Depredation	Destruction, Havoc

In the meantime all the teacher had climbed on the rooftop of the school building. From the terrace they watched the destruction being caused by the elephant. They were helpless. They could not do anything.

 

Word	Meaning
Soul	Person (in this para)
Inhabitants	Residents
Entire	Complete

Not a single person remained on the ground. All had either climbed to rooftop or had shut themselves behind doors. Every street of the village was empty.  It seemed as if all the residents of the village had suddenly disappeared.

 

Word	Meaning
Junior class	Between class 6 to 10
Came over me	Influenced me, Occurred to me
Grabbed	Snatched, Grasped, Held
Cane	Stick

During those days I was studying in junior class of my school. I was observing the total incident standing on rooftop of the school. Suddenly something occurred to me. I did not know what that was. I snatched a stick from hands of a teacher. I then ran down the staircase and in the open paly ground.

 

Word	Meaning
Menacingly	Dangerously, Threateningly
Kicking up	Throwing in air
Frightening	Fearsome, Terrifying

The elephant made a sound through its throat. It dangerously started swinging a brach of tree. It was holding the branch by its trunk. It stamped its feet on ground. Lot of mud and dust was thrown in air because of stamping. It all lokked so terrifying. But I slowed moved towards the elephant. I was holding the stick in my hand.

 

Word	Meaning
Hypnotised	Fully engrossed, With full attention
Rush	Move quickly
Trumpeted	Made a voice, Shouted

People were standing on the rooftop of nearby houses. They were observing the scene with full attention. Eyes of elephant were red. It looked at me and started running towards me. It lifted its trunk and made a loud voice.

 

Word	Meaning
Mustering	Gathering, Summoned
Whack	To strike with full force
Toenail	Nail of the feet
Stunned	Surprised
Shivered	Trembled, Shook
From head to foot	Whole body
Collapsed	Fell down

Then, that very instant, I moved forward. I gathered all my force and with full force hit the third finger of it feet on the nail. The big animal was surprised for a moment. Then its whole body trembled and it fell down.

 

Word	Meaning
Mumbling	Speaking in a low and unclear voice
With rapt attention	With full attention
Would be left hanging	In suspense, Waiting for further discussion

After narrating to this extent, Iswaran would get up. He would not complete the story. He would start speaking in a low and unclear voice that he had to light the fire to heat the dinner. Mahendra had been listening to the story with full attention. Now he will have the suspense as to what had happened after that part of the story.

 

Word	Meaning
Pick up the thread	Start from where it was discontinued
Right away	Immediately

When Iswaran returned, he would not start narrating the balance part of the story. Mahendra had to remind him that story was yet to be completed.

 

Word	Meaning
Veterinary doctor	A doctor that treats animals
Summoned	Called
Revive	To make conscious
Shrug	Move shoulder

Then a veterinary doctor was called to bring the elephant to consciousness. Iswaran moved his shoulders and said that after two days the elephant was taken by its mahout to the jungle. Mahendra asked Iswaran how could he bring down the elephant and make it unconscious.

 

Word	Meaning
Something to do with	Related to
Paralyses	Stops movements

Iswaran replied that it is related to a Japanese martial art, which called either Karat or ju-jitsu. He had read about it in a book. This trick stops movements of the nervous system for some time.

 

Word	Meaning
Not a day passed	Everyday
Recounting	Narrating, Recalling
Packed with	Full of
Credible	True,
Inimitable	Unique, Special

Every day Iswaran used to narrate a story. Every story used to be full of adventure, horror and suspense. Mahendra did not know if the story was a true story or just a narration. Mahendra enjoyed listening to the story because it was told in a unique and special manner.

 

Word	Meaning
Make up	Compensate, Be a good replacement of something

Mahendra did not have a TV in his house. But stories of Iswaran were a good replacement of TV.

 

Word	Meaning
Auspicious	Fortunate, Pious, Religious
Delicacies	Special food, Special dishes
Ancestors	Forefathers, Those who lived before present generation

One morning while Mahendra was having his breakfast, Iswaran asked him a question. He wanted permission of Mahendra to make special food for dinner. He said that that was a religious day. According traditions, special food was to be prepared. It was to feed the souls of forefathers.

 

Word	Meaning
Delicious	Tasty
Complimented	Congratulated, Appreciated
Culinary skill	Cooking skill
Launched into	Started narrating
Garish account	Unpleasant narration, Unpleasant description
Supernatural	Spirit, Ghost

That night Iswaran prepared very tasty food for dinner. Mahendra certainly liked taste of that food. He appreciated the cooking skill of Iswaran. As such Iswaran was very happy to receive appreciation. But without any prior indication, he started narrating most unpleasant description about spirits and ghosts.

 

Word	Meaning
Burial ground	Graveyard,
Jerked out	Taken out, Pulled out
Reverie	In a happy mood
Drifted into	Moved to

Iswaran told Mahendra that once upon a time the entire are of factory was a graveyard. The factory has been constructed on the graveyard. Mahendra had been in a happy mood after consuming an excellent food. But after listening to Iswaran he suddenly came out of the happy mood.

 

Word	Meaning
Come across	See, Find

Iswaran told Mahendra that he knew about it from the first day of their arrival .he had seen skull and bones of human being on a path of factory. Even these days Iswaran had seen many skulls and bones in the factory.

 

Word	Meaning
Went on	Continued

Iswaran continued to narrate. He told that sometimes he had seen ghosts at night. Iswaran did not easily get afraid because he was a brave person.

 

Word	Meaning
Horrible	Terrifying
Off and on	Periodically, Often, Usually
Matted hair	Hair tied together, Braid
Shriveled face	Wrinkled face, A face having lines and folds
Skelton	Bone structure of human being
Foetus	Small baby

Iswaran further narrated that one terrifying ghost of a woman usually appears during full moon nights. It is very ugly looking ghost. It hair are tied together in the form of a braid. It has lot wrinkles on its face. It usually holds a small baby in its arms.

 

Word	Meaning
Shivered	Trembled
Interrupted	Speak before other person has stopped talking
Sharply	Aggressively, Angrily

After kistening to the narration Mahendra started trembling. He started speaking even before Iswaran  completed his description. Mahendra angrily told Iswaran that he had become mad. In this world things like ghost or spirits do not exist.

 

Word	Meaning
Figment	Invention, Creation

Mahendra told Iswaran that such things were merely creation of his imagination. Iswaran should go to doctor get his digestive system and his mind examined. Iswaran was talking nonsense things.

 

Word	Meaning
Sulk	Stop talking, Get annoyed
Cheerful	Happy
Talkative	One who talks a lot

Mahendra went out of the room and went sleep. He thought that Iswaran would be annoyed for some days. But next morning Mahendra was surprised to see that Iswaran was happy. He was also talking a lot as he would usually do.

 

Word	Meaning
Brave talk	Fearless words, Talks of bravery
Peered	Looked
Vicinity	Nearby

Though Mahendra had talked about being fearless but after that day he was bit uneasy while sleeping.  During every night he looked his room outside through his window. He would try to find if any movement was happening near his room in the darkness.

 

Word	Meaning
Sea of darkness	Darkness spread every where
Twinkling	Sparkling, Shine that increases and decreases

But Mahendra could see only a darkness that was spread till very far from his room. Many miles away from his room he could see the twinkling lights of the factory.

 

Word	Meaning
Admire	Appreciate
Landscape	Area
Altogether	Completely, Totally

Durign full moon night, the moonlight falls on earth. This creates a milk white appearance to the entre landscape. Mahendra had liked to look at the such milk-white landscape appearance of landscape. But after hearing the story of female ghost. Mahendra completely stopped looking outside his window on a full moon night.

 

Word	Meaning
Moan	Voice of crying, Groan, Whine
Put it down	Assigned, Thought
Prowling	Moving in search of prey
Guttural	Harsh sound produced through throat

Mahendra woke up during one night because of a low voice of crying of an animal. It seemed to him that the animal was crying just outside his window. Initially he thought that it was the voice of a cat that was searching for mice to eat. But the sound was a bit harsh. So it could not have been sound made by a cat.

 

Word	Meaning
Resisted	Tried to avoid, Control
Curiosity	Eagerness
Lest he should	Otherwise he would
Behold a sight	See a scene
Wailing	Sound of crying
Feline	Related to cat, Cat-like
Temptation	Allure, Desire to do something that one should not do

Mahendra tried to control his eagerness to look out of his window. He hought if looked outside he might see a scene which would be very frightening. His heart may stop beating and he may die because of fear. But the sound of crying of the animal became louder and louder. The sound did appear to have been made by a cat. Now he was not able to control the desire to look side.

 

Word	Meaning
Windowsill	Bottom most part of window
Not too far away	Not at a great distance away
Clutching	Holding
Broke into sweat	Suddenly started sweating
Panting	Breathing quickly through mouth

Mahendra came near the window. He bent upto the windosull and looked outside. The whole area appeared white because of the moon light of the moon. Not very far away from the window, Mahendra saw a figure which was not clearly visible. It appeared like a dark cloud. It was holding something.  Mahendra got afraid and suddenly he started sweating. He came to back to his bed. He was breathing had increased. 

 

Word	Meaning
Gradually	Slowly
Recovered	Became normal,
Ghastly	Frightening
Reason	Logic
Reason with himself	Think alone, Try to convince oneself
Auto suggestion	Because of thoughts of oneself
Subconscious	Imagination
Subconscious played on him	His imagination affected him or overpowered him

Mahendra slowly became normal after that frightening experience. He began to think why did he see such a scene. He concluded that it must have been because of his own thoughts. Or his imagination had somehow affected him so much that he saw such a figure. Mahendra was trying to convince himself that such figures did not exist  in realty.

 

Word	Meaning
Horror	Fear
Faded	Decreased

Mahendra got up in the morning, came out of his room to have breakfast. By this time, the fear of last night had reduced by a great extent.  He did not remember much about it. When Mahendra was going out to his work place, Iswaran met him at the gate of the quarter. Iswaran gave lunchbox and the bag to Mahendra.

 

Word	Meaning
Grinned	Smiled
Foetus	Small child

The very moment Mahendra was going out of his house, Iswaran came smiling to him. Iswaran asked mahendra to recall the narration he had describe about the female ghost carrying a baby in her arms. At that time Mahendra had become very angry with Iswaran for imagining such things. But last night Mahendra had himself seen the ghost. Iswaran heard the groaning sound coming from the room of Mahendra. Iswaran had come to the room of Mahendra at that time.

 

Word	Meaning
Chill	Fear
Spine	The main bone of back
Chill went down his spine	He got frigthened
Handed in his papers	Resigned from his job
Resolve	Decide
Haunted place	Place visited by where ghosts and spirts

Mahendra got frightened. He did not wait at the doorstep to listen to full sentence of Iswaran. He quickly went to his office. He resigned from his job. He did not want to stay at the place that was visited by ghosts and spirits. He wanted to leave the place the very next day.

RK Laxman

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