Chapter 8 A Short Monsoon Diary Within Important Questions Class 8 Honeydew English
Short Answer Type Questions
Question 1. For “how many days does it rain without stopping? What does the author do on these days?
Answer
It rained without stopping for eight or nine days. The author has nowhere to go but to sit in the room and look out of the window at few bobbing umbrellas.
Question 2. Why is the author not able to see Bijju?
Answer
The author is not able to see Bijju because of the mist that concealed the hills. So he could only hear the voice of Bijju.
Question 3. Why grandmother stops small children to kill chuchundars?
Answer
Shrews are weak of eyesight, Grandmother stops children to kill them because according to her “chuchundars are lucky they bring money”.
Question 4. What were the feeling of author on August 2?
Answer
On August 2, all night rain were falling on the corrugated tin roof. There was no storm, no thunder. His tin roofs were springing unaccountable leaks. So there was a feeling of being untouched by yet in touch with the rain.
Question 5. Write the name of seasonal visitors that rain heralded.
Answer
The rain heralded the arrival of some seasonal visitors i.e., a leopard, several thousands of leeches, scarlet minivets, drongos, a tree creeper etc.
Question 6. Why is mist called Melancholy?
Answer
Melancholy means very sad. And it is called so because as the mist comes climbing up the hills birds fall silent, forest becomes deathly still and it shows the unhappy environment.
Question 7. What signs do we find in Nature which show that the monsoon 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 8. Where do the snakes and rodents take shelter? Why?
Answer
The snakes and rodents take shelter in roofs, attics and godowns in order to save themselves from rain water.
Question 9. What are the two ways in which the hills appear to change when the mist comes up?
Answer
When the mist comes up, the hills cover with silence. It also conceals the hills with its cover blanket.
Question 10. Do you really think that “chuchundar are lucky”. Explain why?
Answer
Yes, we really think that chuchundar are lucky because the author received a cheque in the mail. Not a large amount of money but something was there.
Question 11. Where did the author find the leopard and what was he doing there?
Answer
The leopard was near the servant’s quarter below the school and he was lifting a dog. In the evening leopard attacked one of Bijju’s cows. He approached Bijju’s mother who was screaming imprecations.
Question 12. What happened on June 24?
Answer
June 24 was the first day of monsoon mist. Due the which birds become silent and all forests are deathly still as though it were midnight.
Question 13. How can you say that “Plants to know that monsoon rain had come”?
Answer
When monsoon rain (warm & humid) comes the first cobra lily rears its head from the ferns. So we can say that “Plants to know that monsoon had come”.
Question 14. What were creeper doing at the trunk of tree?
Answer
The creeper were moving rapidly up the trunk of the oak tree. They were snapping up insects all around. As there is rain so these is no dearth of insectivorous birds.
Question 15. What were the natural phenomenon which were showing that rains are coming to an end?
Answer
Lush monsoon growth has reached its peak, the seeds of the cobra lily are turning red, this all were signifying that rains are coming to an end.
Question 16. What happened in the late March or end of winter?
Answer
At the end of winter, he saw the blackest cloud over Mussorie and then it hailed marbles for half an . hour. As he wrote, he saw a rainbow forming.
Question 17. Why did the grandmother ask the children not to kill the chuchundar?
Answer
The grandmother asked the children not to kill the chuchundar because it was considered lucky. She said that it brought money.
Question 18. How did the author describe the hill station and valley?
Answer
When a school boy asked him to describe the hill station & valley in one sentence, he said that “A paradise that might have been”.
Question 19. Why can scarlet minivets not conceal themselves under the trees?
Answer
Scarlet minivets (bright red bird like a cuckoo) they flit among leaves like brilliant jewels. But they cannot conceal themselves. No matter how leafy the tree because they are very bright in colour.”
Question 20. Why were hillsides lush?
Answer
The hillsides were as late-monsoon flowers begin to appear wild balsam, dahlias, begonias and ground orchids.
Question 21. Why was author feeling alone on January 26?
Answer
The author was feeling alone in the hushed silence of house because his friend went away from him. So it was very lonely and quiet in the silence.
Question 22. What did the author receive in the mail?
Answer
The author received a cheque in the mail.
Long Answer Type Questions
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
June 24 was the first day of monsoon mist. All the birds fell silent as the mist climbed up the hills. The author calls the hills, it blankets them in silence too. On June 25, there was some genuine early monsoon rain. It was warm and humid, contrary to the cold high-altitude weather that the author had been experiencing all year. It seemed to the author that the plants knew it too, and the first cobra lily reared its head from the ferns. He described the weather as ‘a paradise that might ‘have been’ on August 2, it rained all night. There had been no storm or thunder. The. author experienced a feeling of “being untouched by, and yet in touch with, the rain”. March 23 marked the end of winter. The blackest cloud he had ever seen spread over Mussoorie and then it hailed marbles for half an hour. The hailstorm cleared the sky and he saw a rainbow forming.
Question 2. When does the monsoon season begin and when does it end? How do you prepare to face the monsoon?
Answer
The monsoon enters India from east and south somewhere around mid of May. It reaches northern part of the country around second week of June. The monsoon ends around September. We take out our rain coats and umbrellas to face the monsoon.
Question 3. What happened on August 3?
Answer
On August 3, the rain stops the clouds begin to break up, the sun strikes the hills, he heard the tinkle of cowbells and suddenly, clean & pure the song of whistling thrush emerges like a dark sweet secret from the depths of the ravine.
Question 4. What is the importance of diary entry? How does it reflect the mood and phases of the writer?
Answer
Diary entry is a form of literature when one expresses his thoughts without hesitation. A diary writer make entries that reflects his mood. He also writes to keep a record of events and happenings that he would like to remember forever. It is also helpful in understanding the journey a person go through.
Question 5. The lesson is a record of personal experiences that is helpful in understanding the nature. Give your opinion.
Answer
The lesson is a personal account of Ruskin Bond, who described nature and its bounties. It is a writer’s document that is helpful for any traveller. It gives confidence and detailed account of the hill station. The weather and miracle of nature is narrated so well, that anyone can feel association with the surrounding.
Extract Based Questions
Extract 1
The first day of monsoon mist. And it’s strange how all the birds fall silent as the mist comes climbing up the hill. Perhaps that’s what makes the mist so melancholy; not only does it conceal the hills, it blankets them in silence too. Only an hour ago the trees were ringing with birdsong. And now the forest is deathly still as though it were midnight. Through the mist, Bijju is calling to his sister. I can hear him running about on the hillside but I cannot see him.
Questions
(i) What was strange in monsoon mist?
(ii) What made the mist so melancholy?
(iii) Whom was Bijju calling?
(iv) What was special about June 24?
(v) Explain ‘the forest is deathly still’.
Answer
(i) It was strange how all the birds fall silent as the mist comes climbing up the hill.
(ii) Because it covered hills with silence.
(iii) Bijju was calling to his sister.
(iv) June 24 was the first day of monsoon mist. So it was special.
(v) Because of mist the forest was all quiet. There was no movement. Everything was still.
Extract 2
The rains have heralded the arrival of some seasonal visitors—a leopard, and several thousand leeches. Yesterday afternoon the leopard lifted a dog from near the servants’ quarter below the school. In the evening it attacked one of Bijju’s cows but fled at the approach of Bijju’s mother, who came screaming imprecations. As for the leeches, I shall soon get used to a little bloodletting every day. Other new arrivals are the scarlet minivets (the females are yellow), flitting silently among the leaves like brilliant jewels. No matter how leafy the trees, these brightly coloured birds cannot conceal themselves, although, by remaining absolutely silent, they sometimes contrive to go unnoticed. Along come a pair of drongos, unnecessarily aggressive, chasing the minivets away.
Questions
(i) Whom did the writer call ‘some seasonal visitors’?
(ii) How did Bijju’s mother manage to save his cow?
(iii) What are ‘brilliant jewels’?
(iv) How can these birds go unnoticed?
(v) Choose antonym of the word submissive from the passage.
Answer
(i) ‘Some seasonal visitors were a leopard and several thousand leeches.
(ii) When a leopard attacked one of Bijju’s cows, his mother came screaming and scared away the leopard.
(iii) Brilliant jewels are the scarlet minivets, moving swiftly through the leaves.
(iv) The brightly coloured birds cannot go unnoticed but if they remain quiet, they could go unnoticed.
(v) Aggressive.
Extract 3
It is the last day of August, and the lush monsqpn growth has reached its peak. The seeds of the cobra lily are turning red, signifying that the rains are coming to an end. In a few days the ferns will start turning yellow, but right now they are still firm, green and upright. Ground orchids, mauve lady’s slipper and the white butterfly orchids put on a fashion display on the grassy slopes of Landour.
Wild dahlias, red, yellow and magenta, rear their heads from the rocky crevices where they have taken hold. Snakes and rodents, flooded out of their holes and burrows, take shelter in roofs, attics and godowns. A shrew, weak of eyesight, blunders about the rooms, much to the amusement of the children. “Don’t kill it,” admonishes their grandmother. “Chuchundars are lucky – they bring money!” And sure enough, I receive a cheque in the mail. Not a very large one, but welcome all the same.
Questions
(i) What do seeds of cobra lily signify?
(ii) How did ferns look like?
(iii) What showed up from the rocky crevices?
(iv) Why did snakes and rodents run out of their holes?
(v) What do the homes of snakes rodents called?
Answer
(i) It signifies that the rains are coming to an end.
(ii) The ferns were still firm, green and upright.
(iii) Wild dahlias of red, yellow and magenta colour were showing up from the rocky crevices.
(iv) The snakes and rodents ran out of their holes and burrows because of the monsoon and incessant rains.
(v) The homes of snakes and rodents are called holes and burrows respectively.
Extract 4
Winter rains in the hills in the hushed silence of the house when I am quite alone, and my friend, who was here has gone, it is very lonely, very quiet, as I sit in a liquid silence, a silence within, surrounded by the rhythm of rain, the steady drift of water on leaves, on lemons, on roof, drumming on drenched dahlias and window panes, while the mist holds the house in a dark caress. As I pause near a window, the rain stops. And starts again. And the trees, no longer green but grey, menace me with their loneliness.
Questions
(i) What was the writer doing on January 26?
(ii) How did he describe the rhythm of rain?
(iii) Explain ‘the mist… dark cares’.
(iv) What did he observe by standing near a window?
(v) Find the suitable word from the extract which means ‘soaked thoroughly’.
Answer
(i) The writer was sitting alone on January 26.
(ii) He described the rhythm of rain, the movement of water on leaves, lemon, roof.
(iii) The mist surrounded the house giving it a cover as if the mist were touching the wall lovingly.
(iv) He observed that the rain stopped and started again.
(v) Drenched