Iswaran the Story Teller

 Summary

This is a story about Mahendra, a junior supervisor, and his cook, Iswaran. Mahendra had to keep moving from place to place as ordered by the head office. But he had, fortunately, an expert caretaker, Iswaran who cooked his meals, washed his clothes, and chatted with him at night.

Iswaran was very fond of reading Tamil thrillers during his spare time. As a result, he innovated his own thrillers and would tell them to Mahendra. Mahendra would listen and enjoy them without any criticism.

Iswaran told a story about how he paralyzed a mad elephant that had gone berserk. He told that there were timber logs loaded on trucks. But if an elephant went mad no mahout could control it. The elephant now entered a school ground where children were playing, breaking through the brick wall. Children and teachers ran helter and shelter to save their lives. The elephant was stunned when Iswaran then only a little boy took a cane and hit at the elephant’s third toenail. The secret was if the elephant is hit there, his nervous system gets paralyzed.

Finally, one day talking about spirits of the ancestors, Iswaran began to talk of ghosts. He said that the place where they had their shed was once a burial ground. He also had come across ghosts but he was not scared of them. He told Mahendra about a woman ghost seen only on a full moon night. She moaned and carried a fetus in her arms. This terrified Mahendra so much that he finally thought of that woman ghost on a full moon night. He could hear a low moan outside his window. He peeped from his window and there stood the ghost of the woman. He flung himself down and found that he was often dreaming of that woman ghost. He had forgotten all about it the next morning till Iswaran asked him, “Sir, you were angry with me the other day when I told you about the ghost but didn’t you see her yourself last night?” Mahendra felt that the place was really haunted by ghosts and decided to go away from the place.

Question and Answers

1. In what way is Iswaran an asset to Mahendra?

A. Iswaran is an asset to Mahendra as he accompanies him everywhere without complaining. He cooks food for him, washes his clothes, cleans the living place, and entertains him with his unique stories.

2. How does Iswaran describe the uprooted tree on the highway? What effect does he want to create in his listeners?

A. Iswaran would describe the uprooted tree dramatically by raising his eyebrows and making animated gestures with his hands. He would describe it as a huge beast lying on the road. Only after going near to it he realized that it was a fallen tree. He would say that its branches appeared to be the beast’s limbs that had spread out onto the road.

He wanted to create a scene in the listener’s mind so that he would get captivated in the story.

3. How does he narrate the story of the tusker? Does it appear to be plausible?

A. He gave an introduction that his village was surrounded by a dense forest. The wood was processed at the timber yards and the logs of timber were transported onto the lorries by elephants. He added that the beasts were huge and in case one of them went mad, it could not be controlled even by an experienced mahout. He told about a tusker that had gone mad. He would get so caught up in the excitement of his own story that he would get up from the floor and jump about, stamping his feet in emulation of the mad elephant.

No. The story doesn’t appear plausible.

4. Why does the author say that Iswaran seemed to more than make up for the absence of a TV in Mahendra’s living quarters?

A. Iswaran seemed to more than makeup for the absence of a TV in Mahendra’s living quarters because his stories were so entertaining that every night they made up for the absence of a TV in Mahendra’s living place. Mahendra would enjoy these stories which were full of adventure, suspense and horror.

5. Mahendra calls ghosts or spirits a figment of the imagination. What happens to him on a full moon night?

A. Mahendra scolds Iswaran and says that ghosts do not exist. On a full moon night, he woke up from his sleep as he heard someone crying. At first, he thought that it was a cat that was hunting mice but as the sound grew louder and harsher, he was tempted to peep out of the window. In the white moonlight, he saw a dark, shady figure holding a bundle in its arms. Initially, he got scared but overcame it as he felt that his subconscious mind had played a trick on him. The next day, the presence of the ghost was confirmed by Iswaran and Mahendra realized that he actually saw a ghost the previous night. He did not want to live at a haunted place and so, resigned from the job.

6. Can you think of some other ending for the story?

A. The story proved the narrating abilities of Iswaran. I think it would be interesting if both the characters Iswaran and Mahendra did some more investigation into the matter before coming to a conclusion. After all, the presence of the ghost was confirmed by the storyteller, Iswaran himself. There was no other proof.