Class:- 8 English (It So Happened) Chapter - 2 Children At Work Summary, Word Meanings, NCERT Solutions & Frequently Asked Questions

Class:- 8 English 

(It So Happened)

Chapter - 2

Children At Work

Summary, Word Meanings, NCERT Solutions & Frequently Asked Questions  

-- Summary --

⭐ Summary In English

Part - I

• Introduction:- Velu was an eleven year old boy. He had run away from home. He got into a railway train without a ticket. He had to do so because he had no money. He escaped the ticketcollector’s notice because he did not come to that unreserved compartment.

• Velu on the Platform:- He got off the train at Chennai Central. His legs were unsteady as if he was still standing in a moving train. It was because of tiredness, weakness and fear. The crowds and the way the people looked upon him, made him miserable. He sat on a bench on the platform with his small bundle beside him. He was very hungry. For two days, he had eaten nothing but some peanuts and a piece of jaggery.

• Velu Meets Jaya:- Suddenly he heard a rough voice calling him. He saw a girl around his age. She was wearing a very long banian. Velu stared at her vacantly. Then she asked his name. She guessed rightly that Velu had run away from home. She told him that he won’t get food sitting there. The girl was a ragpicker. She picked her sack and moved away. Velu thought she was his only hope. So he followed her.

Part - II

• Velu Had No English:- Velu caught up with the girl. The two came on the road. The girl helped him cross the road with her. They walked along the side of the road. There were huge signboards above them. The writing was all in English. Velu understood nothing. This showed that he did not know English.

• Central Jail:- They walked for a long time. The girl pointed out to the one building with the wall around it. Velu read the Tamil sign on it. It was Central Jail. The girl laughed. She told him to be careful if he wanted not to be inside that jail. Velu said that he hadn’t done any wrong. The girl said that it didn’t matter. The important thing was he shouldn’t be caught.

• The Garbage Bin:- After about an hour’s walk, they stopped in front of a big building. The sign on the building read : “Sri Rajrajeshwari Prasanna Kalyana Mandapam”. Velu read it as it was in Tamil like the sign on the Central Jail. Velu looked at the huge hall and the crowds of people inside. He asked the girl if they (Velu and the girl) were going to eat there. The girl ridiculed him. Then she led him to a garbage bin behind the hall.

• The Food:- The girl picked up a crushed banana and offered it to Velu to eat. Velu was shocked. He asked if they were going to eat the leftovers. The girl disagreed. She said that she ate only untouched food. She threw him a vada. Velu looked at it with distaste. However, he was too hungry to refuse any food. So he ate the banana as well as the vada. The girl could find only one more banana which she ate herself.

• The Girl’s Work:- This girl’s name was Jaya. She picked up a couple of bottles from the heap. She said she had to do her work. Seeing her going, Velu panicked. He followed her.

Part - III

• The Girl’s Home:- They walked on for half an hour. They came to a bridge across a dirty trickle of water. Jaya called it Buckingham canal. Near some puddles of water, there was a row of huts. These were the strangest huts Velu had ever seen. They were made of all sorts of things, metal sheets, tyres, bricks, wood and plastic. They stood crookedly and looked as if they would fall at any moment. To Velu these huts looked strange because in his village the houses were made of mud and palm leaves.

• Velu Becomes A Ragpicker:- Jaya dumped her sack outside a hut. Then she picked up an empty one. She gave Velu a pair of old shoes without laces. She handed him a sack and stick also. Velu was confused. Then Jaya explained that she was a ragpicker. This was the only work she could give to Velu if he wanted any. Children like her collected paper, plastic, glass etc. Then they sell them to Jaggu of Jam Bazar. Jaggu sells them to a factory. This time Velu hesitated. He hadn’t come to Chennai to dig through garbage. However, he felt he must do it until he finds a better job. So he followed her with a sigh.

⭐ Summary In Hindi

भाग - I

• भूमिका:- वेलू ग्यारह वर्ष का लड़का था। वह घर से भागा हुआ था। बिना टिकट वह रेलगाड़ी में चढ़ गया। वह ऐसा करने के लिए मजबूर था क्योंकि उसके पास पैसे नहीं थे। वह टिकट कलक्टर की नजरों से बच गया क्योंकि वह (टिकट कलेक्टर) उस अनारक्षित डिब्बे में नहीं आया।

• प्लेटफार्म पर वेलू:- वह गाड़ी से चेन्नई सैटूल पर उतरा। उसकी टांगें ऐसे कांप रही थीं जैसे अभी भी वह चलती गाड़ी में खड़ा हो। ऐसा थकान, कमजोरी और डर के कारण था। भीड़ और लोगों की उसके ऊपर पड़ती नजरों ने उसे पेरशान कर दिया था। अपने छोटे से बंडल को बगल में रखकर वह प्लेटफार्म पर पड़े एक बैंच पर बैठ गया। वह बड़ा भूखा था। दो दिनों से उसने सिवाय, मूंगफली और गुड़ के एक टुकड़े के अतिरिक्त कुछ नहीं खाया था।

• वेलू-जया मिलन:- अचानक उसने एक भद्दी आवाज सुनी जो उसे बुला रही थी। उसने एक लड़की देखी जो लगभग उसकी समवयस्क थी। वह बड़ी लंबी बनियान पहने थी। वेलू ने खाली नज़रों से उसकी ओर ताका। फिर उस (लड़की) ने उसका नाम पूछा। उसने सही अंदाजा लगाया कि वेलू अपने घर से भागकर आया था। उसने उससे कहीं कि वहाँ बैठे-बैठे उसे भोजन नहीं मिलना था। लड़की कूड़ा बीनने वाली थी। उसने अपना थैला उठाया और वहाँ से चलती बनी। वेलू को लगा कि वह लड़की ही उसकी एकमात्र आशा थी। अत: वह उसके पीछे-पीछे चल दिया।

भाग - II

• वेलू का अंग्रेजी न जानना:- वेलू लड़की के साथ आ गया। दोनों सड़क पर आए। लड़की ने अपने साथ सड़क पार करने में उसकी मदद की। वे सड़क के किनारे-किनारे चलते गए। उनके ऊपर बड़े-बड़े साइन-बोर्ड थे। सब कुछ अंग्रेजी में लिखा था। वेलू कुछ नहीं समझा। इससे पता लगा कि उसे अंग्रेजी नहीं आती थी।

• सैंट्रल जेल:- वे बड़ी देर तक चलते रहे। लड़की ने एक भवन की ओर इशारा किया जिसके चारों ओर दीवार थी। वेलू ने इसके ऊपर | लिखे तमिल शब्दों को पढ़ा। यह सैंट्रल जेल थी। लड़की हँसी। उसने उससे कहा कि अगर वह उस जेल के अंदर जाना न चाहे तो सावधान रहे। वेलू ने कहा कि उसने कोई अपराध नहीं किया है। लड़की ने कहा कि इससे कोई अंतर नहीं पड़ता था। महत्त्वपूर्ण बात यह थी कि वह पकड़ा न जाए।

• कूड़े का डब्बा:- लगभग एक घंटे तक चलने के बाद, वे एक बड़ी इमारत के सामने रुके। इमारत के ऊपर लिखा था : “ श्री राजराजेश्वरी प्रसन्ना कल्याण मण्डपम्”। वेलू ने इसे पढ़ लिया क्योंकि सैंट्रल जेल पर लिखे अक्षरों की तरह यह भी तमिल में लिखा था। वेलू ने विशाल | हाल और उसके अंदर लोगों की भीड़ देखी। उसने लड़की से पूछा कि क्या वे (वेलू और लड़की) वहाँ खाना खाने जा रहे थे। लड़की ने उसका मज़ाक उड़ाया। फिर वह उसे हाल के पीछे कूड़े के एक डब्बे के पास ले आयी।

• भोजन:- लड़की ने एक दबा हुआ केला उठाया और उसे वेलू को खाने को दिया। वेलू को धक्का लगा। उसने पूछा कि क्या वे जूठन | खायेंगे। लड़की असहमत थी। उसने कहा कि वह केवल अनछुआ भोजन ही करती है। उसने उसकी ओर एक बडा (एक दक्षिण भारतीय भोजन) फेंका। वेलू ने उसकी ओर अरुचि से देखा। पर वह इतना भूखा था कि किसी भोजन से इनकार न कर सकता था। अतः उसने केला और बड़ा भी खा लिया। लड़की को केवल एक केला और मिला जिसे उसने खुद खा लिया।

• लड़की का काम:- इस लड़की का नाम जया था। उसने ढेर में से दो बोतलें उठायीं। उसने कहा कि उसे अपना काम करना है। उसे जाता देख, वेलू घबरा गया। वह उसके पीछे-पीछे चलने लगा।

भाग - III

• लड़की का घर:- आधा घंटे तक वे लोग पैदल चलते रहे। वे गंदे नाले के ऊपर | बने एक पुल पर आए। जया ने इसे बकिंघम झील बताया। कीचड़ | भरे पानी के पास झोंपड़ियों की एक कतार थी। ये ऐसी विचित्र झोंपड़ियाँ थीं जैसी वेलू ने पहले कभी नहीं देखी थीं। वे सभी प्रकार की वस्तुओं से बनी थीं-धातु की परतें, टायर, ईंटें, लकड़ी और प्लास्टिक। वे टेढ़ी खड़ी थीं और लगता था कि किसी भी समय गिर सकती थीं। वेलू को ये झोंपड़ियाँ विचित्र लग रही थीं क्योंकि उसके गाँव में घर मिट्टी और ताड़ के पत्तों से बनाए जाते थे।

• वेलू कचरा बीनने वाला बनता है:- जया ने अपना थैला एक झोंपड़ी के बाहर पटका। फिर उसने एक खाली थैला उठाया। उसने वेलू को बिना फीते का एक जोड़ा जूता दिया। उसने उसे एक थैला और एक डंडा भी थमाया। वेलू कुछ भ्रमित हो गया। तब जया ने समझाया कि वह एक कचरा चुननेवाली थी। अगर वेलू को काम चाहिए तो वह केवल यही काम उसे दे सकती थी। उसके जैसे बच्चे कागज, प्लास्टिक, शीशा आदि इकट्ठा करते हैं। फिर वह उसे जाम बाजार के जग्गू को बेच देते हैं। जग्गू उसे किसी फैक्ट्री में बेचता है। इस बार वेलू हिचकिचाया। वह कूड़ा बीनने के लिए चेन्नई नहीं आया था। पर उसे लगा कि किसी बेहतर काम के मिलने तक उसे यही करना होगा। अतः वह एक लंबी सांस लेकर उसके पीछे-पीछे चल पड़ा।

-- Moral -- 

Child Labour & Alcoholism are the biggest evil of the society.

-- Word Meanings -- 

• Run away - भाग जाना 

• Wander around - भटकना 

• Pull in - आकर रुकना

• Get off - उतर जाना 

• Bump - टकराना

• Luggage - सामान, सामग्री

• Miserable - नाखुश 

• Exhausted - थका हुआ 

• Sack - बोरा, बोरी

• Stiff - गाढा

• Snatch - छीनना 

• Glumly - उदास हो कर

• Soak - भीगना 

• Squashy - दलदली, नरम 

• Panicked - घबराया हुआ

• Rubbish - अनाप शनाप 

-- NCERT Solutions -- 

Comprehension Check (Page 9)

Question 1.- Velu stood on the platform but he felt “as if he was still on a moving train.” Why?

Answer:- Velu had run away from home. Being a small boy he was naturally tired, hungry and afraid of the ticket examiner. He lay down near the compartment door. He could not get over the feeling that his train journey was over.

Question 2.- What made him feel miserable?

Answer:- Velu was alone, tired and hungry. He didn’t have a ticket also. So he felt miserable.

Question 3.- 

i) Velu travelled without a ticket. Why?

Answer:- Velu travelled without a ticket because he had no money.

ii) How did he escape the ticket collector’s attention?

Answer:- He escaped the ticket collector’s notice because the ticket collector did not come to that unreserved compartment.

Question 4.- Why had Velu run away from home?

Answer:- Velu had run away from home because of the misdeeds of his father, who used to snatch all the money from him and his sister. He also beat the children.

Question 5.- Why did he decide to follow the strange’ girl?

Answer:- Velu agreed to go after the ‘strange’ girl because he was hungry and the girl prom­ised to get food for him.

Comprehension Check (Page 13)

Question 1.- Can Velu read Tamil and English? How do you know?

Answer:- Velu could not read sign boards in English. But he read the Tamil sign on the Central jail.

Question 2.- “If you are not careful, you will soon be counting bars there,” the girl said. 

i) What is she referring to?

Answer:- She is referring to Central jail.

ii) What does she mean when she says “If you are not careful.”?

(She says something a little later which means the same. Find that sentence.)

Answer:- She pointed out to Velu that doing wrong was not so important as escaping the police or getting caught.

The sentence is:- ‘You don’t have to do anything. Just don’t get caught, that’s all’. 

Question 3.- 

i) Where did the girl lead Velu to?

Answer:- The girl led Velu to a marriage hall. 

ii) What did they get to eat?

Answer:- They got some food from the garbage bin. It was leftover food.

Question 4.- What work did she do? (Think of a one-word answer).

Answer:- Rag-picking. 

 

Comprehension Check (Page 15)

Question 1.- 

i) What material are the ‘strange’ huts made out of?

Answer:- The ‘strange’ huts are made out of tin sheets, bricks, wood and plastic.

ii) Why does Velu find them strange?

Answer:- Velu finds those huts strange because in his own village the huts were made of mud and palm leaves.

Question 2.- What sort of things did Jaya and children like her collect and what did they do with those things?

Answer:- Jaya and other children like her collected paper, plastic, and glass etc. They sold all that to a kabadi or junk-dealer.

Question 3.- Is Velu happy or unhappy to find work? Give a reason for your answer.

Answer:- Velu is not at all happy. He had never done such a dirty job in his village.

Exercise (Page 16)

Discuss the following questions in small groups. Write their answers afterwards.

Question 1.- Is Velu a smart boy? Which instances in the text show that he is or isn’t?

Answer:- No, Velu is not a smart boy. He runs away from his home to escape his father’s beatings. He felt miserable at the railway station. He found himself alone and hungry. He accepted rag picking because he wasn’t fit for any other job.

Question 2.- Do you think Jaya is a brave and sensitive child with a sense of humour? Find instances of her courage, kind nature and humour in the text.

Answer:- Yes, Jaya is a brave and sensitive girl. She takes pity on Velu and gets food for him. She herself earns her livelihood bravely by collecting discarded material and selling them. She has a sense of humour also. She calls the ‘dirty trickle of water Buckingham Canal’.

Question 3.- What one throws away as waste may be valuable to others. Do you find this sentence meaningful in the context of this story? How?

Answer:- Yes, the plastic, the paper and rusty metal sheets thrown away by the people, become valuable to ragpickers. They eat leftover food for survival. They sell junk food to some dealer to earn their livelihood.

-- Previous Year QUESTIONS -- 

Question 1.- How old was Velu when he left his home? Why did he leave his home?

Answer:- Velu was eleven when he ran away from home. He took this risk because he could not tolerate his drunkard father’s beating.

Question 2.- What problems did Velu face when he stood on Chennai platform?

Answer:- Velu was alone, tired and hungry. He felt miserable. For two days, he had eaten nothing except some peanuts. He was penniless and homeless too.

Question 3.- How did Jaya earn her livelihood?

Answer:- Jaya was a small girl who lived in a cottage near a dirty drain. She was a ragpicker. She earned her livelihood by collecting paper, plastic, glass and even food from the dustbins and heaps of rubbish.

Question 4.- What sort of girl was Jaya? How did she help Velu?

Answer:- Jaya was a poor little girl ragpicker who carried a bag on her back. She collected waste material from the dustbins. Though small, she was kind-hearted. She helped Velu with food as well as a regular job as ragpicker.

Question 5.- What problems do millions of poor children face in India? What basic issue does the story discuss?

Answer:- This story gives us a picture of children who are bound to work to support not only themselves but also their parents. They can’t go to school, they can’t play like other children of their age. The story draws our attention to the evil of child labour.

Question 6.- Under what circumstances did Velu become a ragpicker?

Answer:- Velu was an eleven year old boy. He ran away from home because his father was addicted to drinking. He used to beat him and his sister and snatched whatever they earned. He came to Chennai where he met a girl of his own age. The girl was carrying a big sack on her back. She was picking up plastic cups and putting them into the sack. Seeing Velu in a miserable condition she took pity on him and got food for him. She brought Velu to her hut, which was built out of wood, plastic and sheets. She gave him a pair of old shoes, a sack and a stick. He wondered what work she wanted him to do. She told him that he was now a ragpicker like her. He too now had to collect things from waste materials. Velu was alone in that big city. He had no option and therefore accepted the job of a ragpicker.

-- By Durgesh Pandey

(Eklavya Coaching Institute)

📞 8376976688, 9310533915

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