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Chapter 8. Jalebis

NCERT Exercise

Lesson- 8. Jalebis

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EXERCISE

Q.1 Select and read sentences that show

• That the boy is tempted to eat jalebis.

Answer- “What are you thinking about? Those fresh, hot jalebis coming out of the Kadhao in the shop over there, they’re not coming out for nothing. Jalebis are meant to be eaten and only those with money in their pocket can eat them. And money isn’t for nothing. Money is meant to be spent and only they spent it, who like jalebis”.

• That he is feeling guilty.

Answer- “Just this once saves me. Order a farishta to pass by and drop just four rupees in my pocket. I promise I will use them only to pay my fees and not to eat jalebis”.   

• That he is justifying a wrong deed.

Answer- so all right, I admit I made a mistake. I didn’t eat them all by myself, though I fed them to a whole lot of children too. If I’d known the scholarship money would be given next month, I would neither have eaten them nor fed them to others.

Q.2 Discuss the following points.

• Is the boy intelligent? If so, what is the evidence of it?
• Does his outlook on the jalebis episode change after class VIII? Does he see that episode in a new light?
• Why are the coins made to ‘talk’ in ths story? What purpose does it serve?

Answer- The boy is tempted to eat jalebis.

“What are you thinking about? Those fresh, hot jalebis coming out of the kadhao in the shop over there, they’re not coming out for nothing. Jalebis are meant to be eaten and only those with money in their pocket can eat them. And money isn’t for nothing. Money is meant to be spent and only they spend it, who like Jalebis.”

• The boy is feeling guilty

“Just this once save me. Order a farishta to pass by and drop just four rupees in my pocket. I promise I will use them only to pay my fees and not to eat jalebis.”

• The boy is justifying a wrong deed

So, all right, I admit I made a mistake. I didn’t eat them all by myself, though I fed them to a whole lot of children too. If I’d known the scholarship money would be given next month, I would neither have eaten them nor fed them to others.

Q.3 Discuss the following points.

• Is the intelligent? If so, what is the evidence of it?
• Does his outlook on the jalebis episode change after class VIII? Does he see that episode in a new light?
• Why are coins made to ‘talk’ in this story? What purpose does it serve?

Answer- The boy is intelligent

The boy is intelligent. He won a scholarship. He can think and argue with himself. He can rightly think out the consequences of his actions. But he is human. He is unable to suppress his temptation to eat jalebis for too long.

• Outlook of the boy changes after class VIII

God does not send the money the boy prays for. There is no miracle. The boy thinks that god could do it and it would have done no harm to anybody.

But after class VIII his outlook changes. He realizes that if god granted everybody’s prayer like that, then nobody would need to do any work. Everybody would just pray and get whatever one asked for. God wants us to learn new things and work hard to fulfil our needs.

• Coins are made to talk

They say money speaks. When the boy has money in his pocket, he has a desire to spend it and eat jalebis. If he had no money, ha would not have been tempted like that.

In the story the coins are made to talk. In fact, there is a conflict in the boy’s mind. The coins express his wish to eat jalebis. But he tries to suppress that desire.