summary of the adventure in hornbill
Answers
Answered by
1
60 HORNBILL
7. The Adventure
Jayant Narlikar
Notice these expressions in the text.
Infer their meaning from the context.
blow-by-blow account de facto
morale booster astute
relegated to doctored accounts
political acumen gave vent to
THE Jijamata Express sped along the Pune-Bombay* route
considerably faster than the Deccan Queen. There were no
industrial townships outside Pune. The first stop, Lonavala, came
in 40 minutes. The ghat section that followed was no different
from what he knew. The train stopped at Karjat only briefly and
went on at even greater speed. It roared through Kalyan.
Meanwhile, the racing mind of Professor Gaitonde had arrived
at a plan of action in Bombay. Indeed, as a historian he felt he
should have thought of it sooner. He would go to a big library
and browse through history books. That was the surest way of
finding out how the present state of affairs was reached. He also
planned eventually to return to Pune and have a long talk with
Rajendra Deshpande, who would surely help him understand
what had happened.
That is, assuming that in this world there existed someone
called Rajendra Deshpande!
The train stopped beyond the long tunnel. It was a small station
called Sarhad. An Anglo-Indian in uniform went through the train
checking permits.
The present story is an adapted version. The original text of the story can be.
THE ADVENTURE 61
“This is where the British Raj begins. You are going for the
first time, I presume?” Khan Sahib asked.
“Yes.” The reply was factually correct. Gangadharpant had
not been to this Bombay before. He ventured a question: “And,
Khan Sahib, how will you go to Peshawar?”
“This train goes to the Victoria Terminus*. I will take the
Frontier Mail tonight out of Central.”
“How far does it go? By what route?”
“Bombay to Delhi, then to Lahore and then Peshawar. A long
journey. I will reach Peshawar the day after tomorrow.”
Thereafter, Khan Sahib spoke a lot about his business and
Gangadharpant was a willing listener. For, in that way, he was
able to get some flavour of life in this India that was so different.
The train now passed through the suburban rail traffic. The
blue carriages carried the letters, GBMR, on the side.
“Greater Bombay Metropolitan Railway,” explained Khan
Sahib. “See the tiny Union Jack painted on each carriage? A
gentle reminder that we are in British territory.”
The train began to slow down beyond Dadar and stopped
only 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.
As he emerged from the station, Gangadharpant found
himself facing an imposing building. The letters on it proclaimed
its identity to those who did not know this Bombay landmark:
EAST INDIA HOUSE HEADQUARTERS OF
THE EAST INDIA COMPANY
Prepared as he was for many shocks, Professor Gaitonde had not
expected this. The East India Company had been wound up shortly
after the events of 1857 — at least, that is what history books said.
Yet, here it was, not only alive but flourishing. So, history had
taken a different turn, perhaps before 1857. How and when had it
happened? He had to find out.
As he walked along Hornby Road, as it was called, he found
a different set of shops and office buildings. There was no
Handloom 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.
7. The Adventure
Jayant Narlikar
Notice these expressions in the text.
Infer their meaning from the context.
blow-by-blow account de facto
morale booster astute
relegated to doctored accounts
political acumen gave vent to
THE Jijamata Express sped along the Pune-Bombay* route
considerably faster than the Deccan Queen. There were no
industrial townships outside Pune. The first stop, Lonavala, came
in 40 minutes. The ghat section that followed was no different
from what he knew. The train stopped at Karjat only briefly and
went on at even greater speed. It roared through Kalyan.
Meanwhile, the racing mind of Professor Gaitonde had arrived
at a plan of action in Bombay. Indeed, as a historian he felt he
should have thought of it sooner. He would go to a big library
and browse through history books. That was the surest way of
finding out how the present state of affairs was reached. He also
planned eventually to return to Pune and have a long talk with
Rajendra Deshpande, who would surely help him understand
what had happened.
That is, assuming that in this world there existed someone
called Rajendra Deshpande!
The train stopped beyond the long tunnel. It was a small station
called Sarhad. An Anglo-Indian in uniform went through the train
checking permits.
The present story is an adapted version. The original text of the story can be.
THE ADVENTURE 61
“This is where the British Raj begins. You are going for the
first time, I presume?” Khan Sahib asked.
“Yes.” The reply was factually correct. Gangadharpant had
not been to this Bombay before. He ventured a question: “And,
Khan Sahib, how will you go to Peshawar?”
“This train goes to the Victoria Terminus*. I will take the
Frontier Mail tonight out of Central.”
“How far does it go? By what route?”
“Bombay to Delhi, then to Lahore and then Peshawar. A long
journey. I will reach Peshawar the day after tomorrow.”
Thereafter, Khan Sahib spoke a lot about his business and
Gangadharpant was a willing listener. For, in that way, he was
able to get some flavour of life in this India that was so different.
The train now passed through the suburban rail traffic. The
blue carriages carried the letters, GBMR, on the side.
“Greater Bombay Metropolitan Railway,” explained Khan
Sahib. “See the tiny Union Jack painted on each carriage? A
gentle reminder that we are in British territory.”
The train began to slow down beyond Dadar and stopped
only 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.
As he emerged from the station, Gangadharpant found
himself facing an imposing building. The letters on it proclaimed
its identity to those who did not know this Bombay landmark:
EAST INDIA HOUSE HEADQUARTERS OF
THE EAST INDIA COMPANY
Prepared as he was for many shocks, Professor Gaitonde had not
expected this. The East India Company had been wound up shortly
after the events of 1857 — at least, that is what history books said.
Yet, here it was, not only alive but flourishing. So, history had
taken a different turn, perhaps before 1857. How and when had it
happened? He had to find out.
As he walked along Hornby Road, as it was called, he found
a different set of shops and office buildings. There was no
Handloom 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.
Similar questions