Class -8, English (Honeydew), Chapter - 8 (A Short Monsoon Diary) Summary, Word Meanings, NCERT Solutions & Frequently Asked Questions

English 

(Honeydew)

Class -8, Chapter - 8

(A Short Monsoon Diary)

Summary, Word Meanings, NCERT Solutions & Frequently Asked Questions  

-- Summary --

⭐ Summary In English:- 

Part - I

• Introduction:- These are a few extracts from Ruskin Bond’s diary. They show the silent miracles of nature and life’s little joys and regrets. They are about author’s experiences during the monsoon months in Mussoorie. Monsoon starts in the last week of June and continues till the end of August.

• June 24:- It is the first day of monsoon mist. The mist has concealed the hills. It has also silenced the birds. The author hears Bijju calling to his sister. He can feel that Bijju is running. However the mist doesn’t let him see Bijju. The mist appears to change the hills in two ways. It conceals the hills from view. It also makes them silent. It is so because the birds fall silent in the mist.

• June 25:- The rain is warm and humid. So it is not as uncomfortable as the rain in winter. The flowers are coming up. The author describes the hill station and valley in one sentence. It is : ‘A paradise that might have been.’

• June 27:- The monsoon has brought leeches. A leopard has also been seen. It has been stealing dogs and other animals. Some seasonal flowers also appear. More importantly new birds appear. Among them are minivets. These are brightly coloured (birds). They sit silently among the leaves.

Part - II

• August 2:- It has rained all night. The sound of the rainfall on the tin roof pleases the author. One is untouched and yet in touch with the rain.

• August 3:- The rain stops. There is sunshine. People, animals and birds are out in the open once again. The song of a whistling thrush coming from a distance pleases the author.

• August 12:- It has been raining non-stop for more than a week. Everything is damp. One can go out only with an umbrella. But it is not cold. The hills are covered with flowers.

• August 31:- Monsoon growth is visible everywhere. The seeds of the cobra lily are turning red. This is an indication that the rains are coming to an end. All holes are full of rainwater. So snakes and rodents have taken shelter in roofs, attics and godowns.

• October 3:- This year monsoon rain continued much longer than usual. Now there is winter rain. A hailstorm has cleared the sky.

• January 26:- The author wrote a poem about winter rain. The winter rain makes the author more lonely. A friend who had been staying with him has left. Unlike the monsoon rain, there are no flowers in the winter rain.

• March 23:- It is the end of winter. After a hailstorm, there is a rainbow in the clear sky.

⭐ Summary In Hindi:- 

Part - I

• भूमिका:- प्रस्तुत अंश रस्किन बाँड की डायरी से लिए गए हैं। इनमें प्रकृति की शांत जादूगरी और जिंदगी के छोटे-छोटे सु:ख-दु:ख की चर्चा है। मानसून के महीने में मसूरी में लेखक के अनभव इसमें हैं। जून के अंतिम सप्ताह में मानसून का आगमन होता है और यह अगस्त के अंतिम दिनों तक रहती है।

• 24 जून:- मानसून की धुंध का यह प्रथम दिन है। धुंध ने पहाड़ियों को छिपा लिया है। इसने पक्षियों को भी शांत कर दिया है। लेखक बिज्जू की आवाज सुन रहा है जो अपनी बहन को आवाज दे रहा है। वह अनुभव कर सकता है कि बिज्जू दौड़ रहा है। पर धुंध के कारण वह बिज्जू को देख नहीं सकता है। दो प्रकार की बदल धुंध के कारण पहाड़ियों में आती लगती है। यह पहाड़ियों को नज़रों से ओझल कर देती है। यह उन्हें सन्नाटे से भी भर देती हैं। ऐसा इसलिए होता है कि पक्षी धुंध में शांत हो जाते हैं।

• 25 जून:- वर्षा गर्म और उमस भरी है। अत: यह उतनी असुविधादायक नहीं जितनी कि सर्दियों की वर्षा। फूल दिखने लगे हैं। लेखक पर्वत-स्थल और घाटी को एक ही वाक्य में वर्णित करता है। वह स्थान : “जो शायद कभी स्वर्ग रहा हो।”

• 27 जून:- मानसून के साथ जोंक आ गयी हैं। एक तेंदुआ भी देखा गया है। यह कुत्तों और अन्य पशुओं को चुराता रहा है। कुछ मौसमी पुष्प भी आ गए हैं। अधिक महत्त्व की बात यह है कि नए पक्षी आ गए हैं। इन्हीं में मिनीवेट (सहेली) हैं। ये चमकदार रंग के | (पक्षी) हैं। वे पत्तियों के बीच ये शांत बैठे रहते हैं।

Part - II

• 2 अगस्त:- सारी रात वर्षा होती रही है। टिन की छत पर गिरती वर्षा की आवाज लेखक को प्रसन्न करती है। लगता है जैसे कोई वर्षा से अछूता है फिर भी वर्षा के साथ है।

• 3 अगस्त:- वर्षा रुक गई है। धूप खिली है। एक बार फिर से मनुष्य, पशु और पक्षी खुले में आ गए हैं। दूर से आते हुए चिलबिल (whistling thrush) के गाने का स्वर लेखक को प्रसन्न कर देता है।

• 12 अगस्त:- लगातार एक सप्ताह से अधिक से वर्षा जारी है। हर वस्तु गीली है। केवल छतरी के साथ ही कोई बाहर जा सकता है। पर ठंड नहीं है। पहाड़ियाँ फूलों से भरी हैं।

• 31 अगस्त:- मानसून की पैदावार हर जगह दिखाई दे रही है। कोबरा लिली के बीज लाल होने लगे हैं। यह इस बात का चिह्न है कि वर्षा अब समाप्त होने वाली है। सारे गड्ढों में वर्षा का पानी भर गया है। अत: सांपों और चूहों ने छतों, टांडों और गोदामों में शरण ले ली है।

• 3 अक्टूबर:- इस वर्ष मानसून की वर्षा सदा से अधिक समय तक होती रही। अब सर्दी की वर्षा है। एक ओली बारिश ने आकाश साफ कर दिया है।

• 26 जनवरी:- लेखक ने सर्दी की वर्षा के बारे में एक कविता लिखी। सर्दी की वर्षा ने लेखक को और अकेला बना दिया है। एक मित्र जो उसके साथ रह रहा था, जा चुका है। मानसून की वर्षा के विपरीत सर्दी की वर्षा में कोई पुष्प भी नहीं हैं।

• 23 मार्च:- यह सर्दी का अंत है। ओलावृष्टि के बाद स्वच्छ आकाश में इंद्रधनुष चमक रहा है।

-- Word Meanings --

• Mist - कोहरा 

• Melancholy - उदासी 

• Conceal - छिपाना 

• Blanket - चद्दर 

• Deathly - मृत्‍युसमान

• Genuine - वास्‍तविक, असली

• Fern - लंबी पतली पत्तियों वाला पौधा जिसमें फूल नहीं लगते

• Herald - घोषणा करना

• Seasonal - मौसमी

• Leeches - जोंक 

• visitors – भ्रमण के लिए जाने वाला व्‍यक्ति

• Imprecations - शाप, अभिशाप

• Bloodletting - रक्तपात

• Scarlet minivets - एक छोटा गौरैया पक्षी

• Contrive - अविष्कार करना

• Drumming - ठकठकाहट

• Corrugated - लहरेंदार 

• Swish - सरसराहट

• Downpour - मूसलधार बारिश

• Tinkle - खनखनाहट

• Disconsolately - निराशाजनक रूप से

• Drainpipe - नाली का पाइप

• Damp - नमी 

• Soggy - दलदली, गीला 

• Lush - हरीभरी

• Squatted - उकड़ूँ बैठना

• Hail - ओला

• Hailstorm - ओलों का तूफ़ान

-- NCERT Solutions --

Comprehension Check 

Question 1.- Why is the author not able to see Bijju?

Answer:- The author could not see Bijju because of the mist that concealed the hills. He could only hear his voice but could not see him.

Question 2.- What are the two ways in which the hills appear to change when the mist comes up?

Answer:- When the mist comes up, it covers the hills and spreads silence.

Comprehension Check 

Question 1.- When does the monsoon season begin and when does it end? How do you prepare to face the monsoon?

Answer:- The monsoon season in Mussorie begins from June 24/25. By August 2, the people are fed up with rain. It ends by August 31. Then begins winter rains which end by late March. We take out our rain coats and umbrellas to face the monsoon.

Question 2.- Which hill-station does the author describe in the diary entry?

Answer:- Mussoorie

Question 3.- For how many days does it rain without stopping? What does the author do on these days?

Answer:- It rains non-stop for eight or nine days. The author keeps pacing the room and looking out of the window.

Question 4.- Where do the snakes and rodents take shelter? Why?

Answer:- The rodents and snakes take shelter in roofs, attics and godowns. They do so because their holes are flooded with rain water.

Question 5.- What did the author receive in the mail?

Answer:- The author received a cheque in the mail.

Working With the Text 

Question 1:- Look carefully at the diary entries for June 24-25, August 2 and March 23. Now write down the changes that happen as the rains progress from June to March.

Answer:- Rains in Mussoorie begin in June and end by March. June 24 is the first day of monsoon mist which covered the hills and spreads silence. On August 2 it rained all night and made sleeping difficult. By late March ends winter as well as the rains.

Question 2:- Why did the grandmother ask the children not to kill the Chuchundar?

Answer:- The grandmother told the children not to kill the Chuchundars because they brought good luck and money.

Question 3:- What signs do we find in Nature which show that the monsoons are about to end?

Answer:- By the end of the monsoon the greenery is at its peak. The seeds of the cobra lily turn red. A rainbow is formed in the sky.

Question 4:- Complete the following sentences.

a) Bijju is not seen but his voice is heard because__________ .

b) The writer describes the hill station and valley as _________ .

c) The leopard was’ successful in________ but had to flee when

d) The minivets are easily noticed because _________ .

e) It looks like a fashion display on the slopes when_________.

f) During the monsoon season, snakes and rodents are found in roofs and attics because _________.

Answer:-

a) dense mist covers and hides the hills.

b) ‘A paradise that might have been.’

c) killing a dog but had to flee when Bijju’s mother arrived crying curses.

d) of their bright colours.

e) they are covered by a variety of flowers.

f) their holes are flooded with water and these places provide them conve­nient shelter.

Question 5:- ‘Although tin roofs are given to springing unaccountable leaks, there is a feeling of being untouched by, and yet in touch with, the rain.’

a) Why has the writer used the word, ‘springing’?

b) How is the writer untouched by the rain?

c) How is the writer in touch with the rain at the same time?

Answer:-

a) The word ‘springing’ is used to show suddenness with which water starts leaking.

b) Because he is inside the room.

c) He hears the drumming of rain on the tin roof. He also looks out of the window to see the rains.

Question 6:- Mention a few things that can happen when there is endless rain for days together?

Answer:- A long spell of rain makes life miserable. One is closed up in his room. Everything becomes damp and soggy. Rodents, snakes and insects enter the house for shelter.

Question 7:- What is the significance of cobra lily in relation to the monsoon season, its beginning and end?

Answer:- At first cobra lily appears with the arrival of the monsoon. When the cobra seeds begin to turn red, it indicates the rains are coming to an end.

-- Frequently Asked Questions --

Question 1:- What is a diary? What do the extracts from Ruskin Bond’s diary portray?

Answer:- A diary is a record of personal experiences/events that occur in one’s life. It is written day after day over a long period of time. The extracts from Ruskin Bond’s diary portray monsoon season and the changes that occur as the rains progress from June to March.

Question 2:- How does the author describe the first day of monsoon mist?

Answer:- On the first day of monsoon mist all the birds suddenly fall silent and with it absolute silence is spread. The hills got hidden by the mist. The forest is deadly still as though it were midnight.

Question 3:- How does the author describe the scarlet minivets?

Answer:- The scarlet minivets are seen during rainy season. They flit silently among the leaves like brilliant jewels. No matter how leafy the trees, these brightly coloured birds cannot hide themselves.

Question 4:- Why couldn’t the author sleep on August 2 night?

Answer:- On August 2 it rained throughout the night. The rain had been drumming on the corrugated tin roof. There had been a steady swish of a tropical downpour. The author, therefore, couldn’t sleep.

Question 5:- What happened on August 12?

Answer:- Heavy downpour started on August 12. The rain continued for eight or nine days. Everything got damp and soggy. The author had to stay inside during these days.

Question 6:- Name the flowers that you come across in the lesson.

Answer:- Wild balsom, dahlias, begonias, ground orchids, cobra lilies etc.

Question 7:- Who are the seasonal visitors? How does the author describe them?

Answer:- The seasonal visitors are a leopard, several thousand leeches and different kinds of birds. The leopard created nuisance. It lifted a dog from near the servants’ quarter below the school. In the evening, it attacked one of Bijju’s cows. The scarlet minivets flitted silently among the leaves like brilliant jewels. No matter how leafy the trees, these brightly coloured birds could not conceal themselves. There was also a pair of drongos. They looked aggressive and chased the minivets away.

A tree creeper moved rapidly up the trunk of the oak tree, snapping up insects, all the way.

Question 8:- Sum up the main ideas of the author’s Monsoon Diary in about 100 words.

Answer:- The writer was in Mussoorie, a hill station in U.P. The first day of monsoon brought mist. The birds got silent and the hills became invisible. On June 25, came the early monsoon rain. He described the hill station as A paradise’ that might have been’ to a school boy. With the onset of the monsoon one could see leopards and leeches and the colourful minivet birds. There was no dearth of insects for the birds to eat. On August 2, it rained heavily and non-stop. The roofs began to leak. The rain stopped on August 3. The sunlight fell on the hills and the song birds began to sing. On August 12, there was heavy downpour and mist for more than a week. Everything was damp. Meanwhile wild flowers began to appear. August 31 saw the greenery at its peak. Snakes and rodents came out of their flooded holes and hid in roofs or godowns. Winter rain, hailstones and snow came on October 3. The author couldn’t go outside and he felt very lonely in his room. Late March saw the end of winter. He received a cheque in the mail.

-- By Durgesh Pandey

(Eklavya Coaching Institute)