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.
