Lesson : 11

The Axe

R.K. Narayan

Resipuram Krishnaswami Narayan (1906-2001) was one of the foremost Indian writers in English. He wrote many short stories and novels. Some of his well-known books are The Man-Eater of Malgudi, The Guide, The Sweet Vendor and The English Teacher. He was awarded Padma Bhusan in 1964. The present text is an edited version of his short story 'The Axe'.

Let's share :

• ❓ What do you see in the picture?
• 🌳 Have you ever planted a tree?

UNIT I

Let's read :

Velan was perfectly contented and happy. He demanded nothing more of life.

As far as he could see, the people in the big house too seemed to be equally at peace with life. One saw no reason why these good things should not go on and on for ever. But Death peeped around the corner. One midnight he was awakened and told that the master was dead. "What is to happen to the garden and to me? The sons are no good,” he thought at once.

And his fears proved to be not entirely groundless. The sons were no good, really. They stayed for a year more, quarrelled among themselves and went away to live in another house. A year later some other family came in as tenants. The moment they saw Velan they said," Old gardener? Don't be up to any tricks. We know the sort you are. We will sack you if you don't behave yourself." Velan found life intolerable. These people had no regard for a garden.

Fortune, however, soon favoured him. The tenants left. The house was locked up for a few years. Occasionally one of the sons of the late owner came round and inspected the garden. Gradually even this ceased. They left the keys of the house with Velan. Occasionally a prospective tenant came down, had the house opened and went away after remarking that it was in ruins. A year later another tenant came, and then another, and then a third. No one remained for more than a few months. And then the house acquired the reputation of being haunted.

Even the owners dropped the practice of coming and seeing the house. Velan was very nearly the master of the house now. The keys were with him. He was also growing old.

When the mood seized him (about once a year) he opened the house and had the floor swept and scrubbed. But gradually he gave up this practice. He was too old to bother about these things.

Years and years passed without any change. It came to be known as the “Ghost House," and people avoided it. Velan found nothing to grumble about in this state of affairs. It suited him excellently.

Word Nest

contented: satisfied; peeped: looked through a narrow aperture; groundless: baseless; sack: to remove from the present position or office; tenant: a person who rents property from a landlord; acquired: gained; haunted: believed to be visited by ghosts; scrubbed: cleaned by hard rubbing; grumble: complain

Let's do :

Activity 1

Identify which of the following statements are True and which are False. Give a supporting statement for each of your answers:

1. Velan was very happy in the big house.
2. The other people of the big house were not so happy.
3. No tenant remained in the house for more than a few months.
4. People started avoiding the house.

Activity 2

Complete the following sentences with information from the text : a. One midnight he was told ............................................................................................ b. The sons of the late owner left the keys of the house................................................... c. The house acquired ...................................................................................................... d. Even the owners dropped .............................................................................................

Activity 3

Answer the following questions: a. Who was Velan ? b. Did the tenants have any regard for the garden ? c. Did the owners of the house visit the house frequently ? d. How did the house acquire the reputation of a 'Ghost House'?

Let's talk :

Have you ever seen a beautiful garden ? Where have you seen it? Tell the class why you liked the garden so much.

Unit II

Let's continue :

But one day a car sounded its horn angrily at the gate. Velan hobbled up with the keys.

"Have you the keys? Open the gate," commanded someone in the car.

"There is a small side-gate," said Velan meekly.

"Open the big gate for the car!"

Velan had to fetch a spade and clear the vegetation which blocked the entrance. The gates opened on rusty hinges, creaking and groaning.

They went round the garden and said, "We have to clear every bit of this jungle. All this will have to go.....” Some mighty person looked Velan up and down and said, "You are the gardener, I suppose? We have not much use for a garden now. All the trees, except half a dozen on the very boundary of the property, will have to go.

A week later one of the sons of his old master came and told Velan, “You will have to go back to your village, old fellow. The house is sold to a company. They are not going to have a garden. They are going to build small houses by the score without leaving space even for a blade of grass."

There was much bustle and activity, much coming and going, and Velan retired to his old hut. When he felt tired he lay down and slept; at other times he went round the garden and stood gazing at his plants. He was given a fortnight's notice. Every moment of it seemed to him precious. He would have stayed till the last second with his plants. The sound of an axe which stirred him out of his afternoon nap. It was just two days after he was given notice. The dull noise of a blade meeting a tough surface reached his ears. He got up and rushed out. He saw

four men hacking the massive trunk of the old margosa tree. He let out a scream: "Stop that!" He took his staff and rushed at those who were hacking. They easily avoided the blow he aimed. "What is the matter?" they asked.

Velan wept. "This is my child. I planted it. I saw it grow. I loved it. Don't cut it down..."

"But it is the company's orders. What can we do? We shall be dismissed if we don't obey, and someone else will do it."

Velan stood thinking for a while and said, "Will you at least do me this good turn? Give me a little time. I will bundle up my clothes and go away. After I am gone do what you like". They laid down their axes and waited.

Presently Velan came out of his hut with a bundle on his head. He looked at the tree-cutters and said, “You are very kind to an old man. You are very kind to wait." He looked at the margosa and wiped his eyes. “Brother, don't start cutting till I am really gone far, far away."

The tree-cutters squatted on the ground and watched the old man go. Nearly half an hour later his voice came from a distance, half-indistinctly: “Don't cut yet. I am still within hearing. Please wait till I am gone farther."

Word Nest

hobbled: walked lamely; meekly: quietly, without expressing one's own opinion; fetch: bring; creaking: harsh and grating sound; Score: twenty; bustle: busy movement; nap: short sleep; hacking: cutting roughly; massive: large and heavy; squatted: sat

Let's do :

Activity 4

Fill in the chart below with information from the text :

Cause	Effect
(i)	(i) Velan hobbled up with the keys.
(ii) Velan cleared the vegetation which blocked the entrance.	(ii)
(iii)	(iii) Velan was ordered to go back to his village.
(iv)	(iv) The tree - cutters laid down their axes.

Activity 5

Complete the following sentences with information from the text :

1. Someone from the car ordered Velan to ..........................................................................
2. One of the sons of the old masters told Velan that ....................................................
3. Velan retired to ...........................................................................................................
4. Velan rushed out and saw .............................................................................................

Activity 6

Answer the following questions:

1. Who bought the house?
2. Did they need a garden?
3. What was the order of the company?
4. What was Velan's request to the tree-cutters ?

Let's learn :

Sujoy runs faster than Rana. (Comparative adverb) Sujoy runs the fastest in class. (Superlative adverb) Leena dances more gracefully than me. (Comparative adverb) Leena dances the most gracefully among us. (Superlative adverb)

Thus we see that when we compare the actions of two people, we use comparative adverbs and when we compare the actions of more than two people, we use superlative adverbs.

Let's follow the chart to see how comparative form and superlative form of the adverbs are formed :

adverbs	one-syllable adverbs	more than one syllable adverbs
Comparative form	adverb + 'er' ending soon – sooner late-later	more + adverb beautifully-more beautifully slowly-more slowly
Superlative form	adverb + 'est' ending soon-soonest late-latest	most+adverb beautifully-most beautifully slowly-most slowly

• 📌 The comparative and superlative forms of the adverb early are earlier and earliest, respectively.

Some adverbs have irregular comparative and superlative forms.

Positive Adverbs	badly	less	much	well
Comparative Adverbs	worse	lesser	more	better
Superlative Adverbs	worst	least	most	best

Example: Runa sang well in the function. Mehuli sang better than her in the function. Sukanya sang the best among them.

Let's do :

Activity 7

Choose the correct alternative from the bracket and fill in the blanks: a. Binota studied ................................................ (harder / more harder) than me . b. Rupa sang ................................................(most sweetly / more sweetly) than her sister. c. Mita did (worse/ more badly) than Ruby in the music competition. d. Among the gymnasts in the championship, Mihir scored the (less / least).

Activity 8

Choose the correct adverb from the box and fill in the blanks. One is done for you.

more gracefully, radiantly, least nervous, earliest, more composed

There was no one in the hall when Sumana arrived. She was the earliest there. Soon, other dancers came. Sumana looked the ................................................ among the competitors. Her steps were ................................................ than the other girls on the stage . Her face glowed ................................................ as she performed ................................................ than the other dancers on the stage.

Activity 9

Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verb: a. The news ................................................ (is / are) shocking. b. The children ................................................ (plays /play) cricket in the park. c. Both Laboni and Soma................................................ (love/loves) outdoor games. d. The hotel manager and his staff ................................................ (make / makes ) the guests feel comfortable. e. Many women today ................................................ (works / work) outside the home.

Activity 10

Fill in the blanks with the words given below :

retired, blocked, excellent, orders, tenant

a. We have a new ................................................ in our house. b. The singer has an ................................................ voice. c. The road was ................................................ due to an accident. d. The job was done according to the ................................................ of the manager. e. My father ................................................ from his job last year.

Activity 11

Write the appropriate Plural Nouns of the following. One is done for you: a. more than one woman : Women b. more than one man : c. more than one person : d. more than one goose : e. more than one mouse : f. more than one barrack : g. more than one deer : h. more than one syllabus : i. more than one focus :

Let's write :

Activity 12 (a)

Write a letter to your friend inviting him / her to the marriage ceremony of your uncle.

Activity 12 (b)

Imagine yourself to be the friend whom the letter was sent to. Now write a reply to the letter accepting the invitation.

Activity 13

Write a story with the help of the following points: Frogs lived in a pond - boys hit stones and hurt the frogs - a frog asked, "Why are you throwing stones ?" — boys replied, "We are playing" - frogs said, "It is death to us" — boys felt sorry — stopped sport

Let's work together :

Making a garden with paper and cardboard

Things needed : paper, cardboard, scissors, glue, watercolour/colour pencils.

• 📝 Take a sheet of chart paper and a large square of cardboard.
• ✂️ Use your scissors to cut out shapes of trees, flowers, birds and butterflies from the cardboard.
• 🎨 Colour them.
• 🩹 Stick them with glue on the sheet of chart paper to form a pleasing composition.
• 🌈 Use your watercolours/colour pencils to colour around the cut-out cardboard shapes so that the entire sheet looks bright and colourful.
• ✨ Your garden is now ready. Show it to the class.
• ✍️ Write on a piece of paper how your garden is different from the other groups.