Class 11 English (hornbill) chapter – 7 The Adventure questions and answers.

NCERT Solutions for class 11 English (hornbill) chapter-7 The Adventure questions and answers

The writer

– jayant Narlikar

Understanding the text

Question 1.

I. Tick the statements that are true.

1. The story is an account of real events.

Answer : True

2. The story hinges on a particular historical event.

Answer : True

3. Rajendra Deshpande was a historian.

Answer : True

summary chapter -7 the adventure with words-meanings

4. The places mentioned in the story are all imaginary.

Answer : False

5. The story tries to relate history to science.

Answer : True

II. Briefly explain the following statements from the text.

Question: 1

“You neither travelled to the past nor the future. You were in the present experiencing a different world.”

Answer :

This statement was said by Rajendra to professor Gaitonde. He made a transistor from one world to another and back again. By making a transistor , he was able to experience two worlds Although out at a time.

He neither travelled to the past nor the future. He was in the present and was experiencing a different world.

Question: 2

“You have passed through a fantastic experience: or more correctly, a catastrophic experience.”

Answer :

This statement was made By rajendra to professor Gaitonde in the text the adventure By jayant vishnu narlikar. Gangadhar had passed through a strange experience. He had the experience of living in two worlds , one he lived in now and another where had spent two days.

Question: 3

Gangadhar Pant could not help comparing the country he knew with what he was witnessing around him?

Answer :

He compared the two Countries , the one that he knew already and the other that he was witnessing around him. Both had different histories.

Gangadhar pant knew india which had seen the decline of peshwas and experienced the slavery of the british. But the Indian he had seen in two days was completely different. It had not been subjected to slavery for the whiteman. It was self dependent and enjoyed self respect.

Question: 4

“The lack of determinism in quantum theory! ”

Answer :

Professor Gaitonde had decided to go to a big library at Bombay and browse through history books. Then he would find out how the present state of affairs was reached. On his return to pune , he would have a look and talk with Rajendra Deshpande. He hoped that Rajendra would help him understand what had happened.

Question: 5

“You need some interaction to cause a transition. ”

Answer :

Professor Gaitonde before the collision the track was thinking of catastrophe theory and its role in the war. He was wondering what might happen if the result was different in the battle of Panipat. When he hit the truck , the neuron in his brain made the transition. This was explained by rajendra to the professor when he failed to understand why only he made the transition.

Thinking about the Text

Question: 1

Discuss the following statements in groups of two pairs, each pair in a group taking opposite points of view.

(i) A single event may change the course of the history of a nation.

Answer :

(i) For A single event may change the course of the history of a nation. The battle of Panipat, for example, is said to be the turning point in the history of India. In the Battle of Panipat, the Marathas gave m to the forces of Ahmed Shah Abdali After this event the history of India took another tum Gradually, the country was overtaken by the foreign forces.

In the story The Adventure it IS mentioned how m the beginning Prof Gaitonde was preparing a speech on what course the history would have taken if the Marathas had won the Battle of Panipat This shows the importance of a single event m the history of a nation.

• Against

The motion that A single event may change the course of the history of a nation is a matter of perspective only. It is a relative truth.

If we apply the catastrophic theory of understanding history then we will find that there may be alternative outcomes of a single event so that we cannot proclaim that any one course of event is the reality. Since there may be alternate courses of history, debating on a Single course Is not fruitful.

In the story the Adventure due to catastrophic phenomenon the Battle of Panipat is revealed m a different version to Prof Gaitonde According to this version, the Marathas emerged victoriousm the Battle of Panipat after the event the Marathas extended influence over the entire country India never fell to the alien forces.

So, to argue that a single course of events may change the course of history is not tenable. There may be alternative effects following an event.

(ii) Reality is what is directly experienced through the senses.

Answer :

(ii) Our senses, that is the senses of touch, sight, taste and hearing and smell provide us facts about the world we live in. Knowledge from experience comes through these senses. The reality is what we directly experience through these senses. No other reality exists which is not revealed to the senses.

Reality is not what is directly revealed to the senses. We cannot experience so many entities like atoms and molecules but these are real. We cannot even predict the behavior of these entitles accurately. This point is mooted by Rajendra in the story Adventure when he points to the discoveries made by the physicists regarding the behavior of the atoms.

We can predict the position of a bullet fired in a particular direction from a gun but we cannot predict the position of an electron fired from a source. This proves that reality is not what is directly revealed to the senses, there can be alternative realities existing side by side.

(iii) The methods of inquiry of history, science and philosophy are similar.

Answer :

(iii) The methods of inquiry of History, Science and Philosophy are similar. In the story The Adventure one can find the perspectives of History, Philosophy, and Science converging towards a focal point. History employs the methods of observation, analysis and rationalism in understanding the course of past events.

Science is based on observation, experimentation, and analysis. Rationalism is the most fundamental principle that Science follows. Philosophy is thoroughly critical in methodology.

Philosophy examines everything including the assumptions and methodology of science and other disciplines like History. In the story Adventure History, Science and Philosophy converge. Prof. Gaitonde experienced an altogether different version of the outcome of the Battle of Panipat. Contrary to the version as provided in History textbooks the Marathas emerged as victorious in this battle. Prof. Gaitonde tried to understand this rationally but he failed to get any clue.

In this context, Rajendra intervened to explain this phenomenon in the light of the Catastrophic theory which is being employed by Physicists in understanding the behavior of atoms. Here we find Science and History converging.

The similar perspective is seen in Philosophy that truth is relative and not absolute. In fact, the philosophical movement of post Modernism is based on this.

In other words, the methods of inquiry of History, Science and Philosophy are similar

• Against

It is a misnomer that the methods of inquiry of History, Science and Philosophy are similar. The similarity is at a superficial level and not at the core. In the story The Adventure Rajendra tried to rationalize the experience of Prof Gaitonde by applying the Catastrophic theory.

But this explanation is not convincing though it convinced the professor. Catastrophic theory can best explain phenomena of the physical world but History deals with behavioural world. It is concerned with the behavior of society and individuals. The methods of inquiry will also vary accordingly

The method of inquiry of Philosophy is speculative. Philosophy even questions rationalism. Philosophy is highly critical of the methods of Science and History. In other words, the methods of History, Science and Philosophy are not similar.

The story The Adventure by Jayant Vishnu Narlikar is, in fact, a science fiction which is trying to show the convergence of Science, History and Philosophy. In reality, the three disciplines, namely, Science, History, and Philosophy have to employ the different methodologies of inquiry vis-a-vis the subject matter.

(i) The story is called ‘The Adventure’. Compare it with the adventure described in ‘We Are Not Afraid to Die…’

Answer :

(i) The underlying theme of both the stories, ‘The Adventure’ and ‘We Are Not Afraid to Die’ is the same. However, the application of the theme to events is different in both. One deals with the adventure in a real-life situation and the other one is about the adventure that was mentally experienced.
In the story, ‘We Are Not Afraid to Die’, the characters take a hazardous sea voyage, overcome the odds, and survive. Whatever the dangers were, they were very real.

In the story, ‘The Adventure’, the protagonist (Gaitonde) does not embark upon an adventurous journey. His collision with the truck triggers his mind to travel to a world which is different from the world that he lives in.

(ii) Why do you think Professor Gaitonde decided never to preside over meetings again?

Answer :

(ii) In the alternate reality of India, Professor Gaitonde attempted to take the empty chair on stage that he was so accustomed to take, only to be met with hostility from the crowd, who threw eggs and tomatoes at him and ran him off stage. The impact of this incident on him is so traumatic, at what he considers his thousandth address as chair, that when he returns to his actual reality he refuses to preside over any more meetings again.

Thinking about language

Question: 1

In which language do you think Gangadharpant and Khan Sahib talked to each other? Which language did Gangadharpant use to talk to the English receptionist?

Answer :

I think Gangadhar pant and khan Sahib talked in Hindi to each other gangadhar used english to talk to the English receptionist.

Question: 2

In which language do you think Bhausahebanchi Bakhar was written?

Answer:

It was written in Marathi.

Question: 3

There is mention of the three communities in the anglo – indian. Which language do you think they used within their communities and while speaking to the other groups?

Answer :

The Muslims were Urdu speaking, the Marathas spoke Marathi, while the Anglo-Indians generally used English to speak within their communities. But while interacting with other groups they must have used the local dialect of Hindustani

Question: 4

Do you think that the ruled always adopt the language of the ruler?

Answer :

Yes, the rulers generally impose their language also on those they rule. With the passage of time, the ruled have to adopt the language of the rule.

Working with words

I. Tick the item that is closest in meaning to the following phrases.

1. to take issue with

(i) to accept

(ii) to discuss

(iii) to disagree

(iv) to add

Answer: To discuss (ii)

2. to give vent to

(i) to express

(ii) to emphasise

(iii) suppress

(iv) dismiss

Answer: To express (i)

3. to stand on one’s feet

(i) to be physically strong

(ii) to be independent

(iii) to stand erect

(iv) to be successful

Answer: to be independent (ii)

4. to be wound up

(i) to become active

(ii) to stop operating

(iii) to be transformed

(iv) to be destroyed

Answer: to stop operating (ii)

5. to meet one’s match

(i) to meet a partner who has similar tastes

(ii) to meet an opponent

(iii) to meet someone who is equally able as oneself

(iv) to meet defeat

Answer: To meet someone who is equally able as oneself (iii)

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