Chapter 2.3 – Abdul Becomes a Courtier
erudition : learning, scholarly work
scares : sets of twenty
in kind : (payment) given in the form of goods or services and not money.
clerk : a person who keeps records, accounts, etc. quench : satisfy
office : position, responsibility
prayer : Here, it means a request
sagacious : wise
astute : intellegent. One who knows how to use a situation to his advantage
zeal : enthusiasm
to be in the pink (of health) : to be fit and fine
passion : great feeling
drive : an effort made to achieve a certain purpose
brains : intelligence
shirk : avoid
brocade : rich fabric woven with golden or silver thread
papers : official documents
won him name and fame : It means he became a famous person.
IN BETWEEN THE LESSON
Q1. Guess the meaning of ‘a brighter tomorrow’ in the context of the play.
Ans: a better future.
Q2. What does Abdul want to do? How does he plan to do it?
Ans: Abdul wants to gain knowledge and learn to rise high in the world. He plans to do it by buying plenty of books and studying hard.
Q3. Find pairs of rhyming words used in this passage.
Ans:
serve – deserve
clerk – work
care – rare
rare – fair
store – more
learned – yearned
Persian – million
notice – office
prayer – care
refuse – use
Q4. Guess the meaning of ‘a gem’ in the context of this play.
Ans: an outstanding, worthy person.
Q5. Find words/phrases that mean ‘rare’.
Ans: one in a million, a gem.
Q6. What request must Abdul have sent to the Emperor?
Ans: Abdul must have requested the Emperor to make him his courtier.
Q7. How did Abdul manage to feed the birds well without spending money?
Ans: Abdul fed the birds well on scraps, shells and waste from the royal kitchen, which did not cost any money. It was not only good for their health, but the hens also loved the taste. They developed well.
Q8. How did the Emperor reward Abdul for his good work? Do you think the Emperor’s action was right?
Ans: The Emperor rewarded Abdul for his good work by putting him in charge of the library. I don’t think the Emperor’s action was right. He should have recognized Abdul’s excellent qualities and made him his courtier.
Q9. How did Abdul manage to get expensive jackets for the books?
Ans: Official documents were sent to the Emperor in silk, velvet and brocade bags. These bags were later discarded. Abdul collected the bags and got the Royal Tailors to make jackets for the books, free of charge. Thus he managed to get expensive jackets for the books without spending any money.
Q10. Abdul got the Royal Tailors to work for making the jackets. What skills does it reflect?
Ans: It reflects Abdul’s skills of persuasion and tact.
ENGLISH WORKSHOP
1. From the play, find all the words that are related to the following :
(a) knowledge and learning
Ans: erudition, books, study, manuscripts, school, reads, student, learned, scholar. Philosophy, Astronomy, Arabic, Persian, brains, library.
(b) fabrics
Ans: silk, brocade, velvet.
(c) books
Ans: study, manuscripts, school, reads, student, scholar, library, jackets.
(d) work
Ans: clerk, office, keeper, duties
Add other related words you know to the list.
(a) knowledge and learning
Ans: intelligence, memory, teacher.
(b) fabrics
Ans: cotton, satin, linen.
(3) books
Ans: chapters, pages, titles.
(4) work
Ans: schedule, salary, chores.
2. Discuss the following.
(a) Abdul gets what he wants in the end. What is the major factor that contributes to this success?
- His learning of books
- His intelligence
- His attitude
- His relations with other people
- His luck
Ans: I think that the major factor that contributes to Abdul’s success is his attitude, for he had the perseverance, patience and determination to get what he wanted. He also cheerfully accepted whatever tasks he got and worked with zeal and sincerity.
(b) The Emperor says he had realised earlier that Abdul has great talent. Does this tally with his actions? Give your opinion.
Ans: I don’t think that the Emperor realised earlier that Abdul had great talent. If he had, then he would have made Abdul his courtier much earlier, instead of first making him a poultry-keeper and a librarian.
3. Write a letter from Abdul to the Emperor, requesting the Emperor to give Abdul a suitable job.
Ans:
Abdul Khan.
Kitaab Ghar,
Station Marg,
Daulatnagar – 000 111.
20th September 2023.
To,
His Majesty, the Emperor,
Chandni Mahal,
Nizamnagar – 000 222.
Sub: Humble request for the position of courtier.
Respected Jahapanah,
I, Abdul Khan, a resident of Daulatnagar, very humbly request that you appoint me as a courtier in your esteemed court.
I have been working as a clerk in Kitaab Ghar for the past year. I have studied philosophy, astronomy, Arabic, and Persian and am now considered a scholar. I am a hard worker and work with zeal and passion. I solemnly promise to give my best to whatever duties I am given at Your Majesty’s court.
I once again humbly request Your Majesty to respond to my sincere prayer. Many, many thanks.
Your obedient servant,
Abdul Khan
4. Rewrite the play in the form of a short story.
Ans: Abdul is an ambitious young boy who wishes to study and rise high in the world. He asks his father for money to buy books, but his father does not have it. His father, a schoolmaster, then tries to get some books for him but is unsuccessful.
Abdul decides to work for a merchant, who appoints him as a clerk in his store. Abdul works very well, and the merchant is pleased. When asked what he wishes for a reward, Abdul requests the merchant’s permission to read all the books in the store. He soon becomes a great scholar and writes to the Emperor, asking to be given a responsible position in his court. The Emperor makes him his poultry keeper. Though disappointed. Abdul accepts the offer and decides to put it to good use.
He works with great enthusiasm and intelligence. He hits on the plan of feeding the hens scraps, shells, and waste from the kitchen. Thus, he spends very little on the hens; at the same time, the hens relish this food and thrive on it. The Emperor is impressed and puts Abdul in charge of his library. Abdul, who wishes to become a courtier, is disappointed once again but accepts the new job cheerfully.
After a year, the Emperor visits the library and sees that all the books have expensive jackets made of silk, brocade, and velvet. Under the impression that a fortune has been spent here, he is shocked. Abdul assures him that the jackets were made from bags that were discarded after the official documents had been read by the Emperor. The Royal Tailors had been persuaded to make the jackets free of charge. The Emperor finally realizes Abdul’s worth and makes him his courtier.
Thus, by using his wits and brains and having the qualities of perseverance, determination, and patience, Abdul finally achieves his ambition of rising high and becoming a famous person.
5. Suggest at least one method of creating something useful or beautiful from waste.
Ans:
Waste Bottle Flower Vase?
Take an empty plastic bottle, clean it thoroughly, and then let your creativity shine by decorating it with bits of colourful paper, fabric scraps, or even small buttons. Once your bottle is ready, you can place some water and a few fresh or artificial flowers inside to make a beautiful and eco-friendly flower vase!
6. Write how you take care of your books.
Ans: I take great care of my books. I cover them in transparent paper or brown paper. I keep them carefully in a book case. While reading, I do not fold the edges or keep the book upside down. I do not eat while reading or scribble anything in the books. If they show signs of tearing. I immediately use glue and repair them. I lend my books only to people who I know will also take care of them.
7. Language Study : Common nouns – 3 :
Common nouns can be classified in one more way – concrete nouns and abstract nouns. Concrete nouns stand for things that you can actually touch or see.
Examples : school, house, bags, butterflies, child.
Abstract nouns stand for ideas, feelings, qualities, actions, states, etc. Examples :
life, time, goodness, progress, kindness, childhood, honesty, mathematics.
Can you spot at least three abstract nouns in the following paragraph?
‘We put the plan of action in motion immediately. We kept it a secret. We wanted to give Mrs Desai a surprise. But her intelligence is really appreciable. She spotted the change within a week.’
Ans: secret, surprise, intelligence.
Now you know that plural forms of nouns have -s, -es, or -ies at the end. But the plurals of some nouns are formed differently. Look at the following forms.
child – children
man – men
tooth – teeth
foot – feet
leaf – leaves
mouse – mice
Some nouns have the singular and the plural alike.
Examples : sheep, deer.