Teacher: Suchitra Sharma · Google Classroom: mrssharmasclasses@gmail.com
Copy the lesson link, copy a ready-to-post assignment note, and then open Google Classroom to assign it to students.
Read straight through. After every few paragraphs, a quick checkpoint makes sure the story is landing before the next part unlocks. The open Ask Fred boxes are just for thinking — they never block you.
It was Monday morning. Swaminathan was reluctant to open his eyes. He considered Monday specially unpleasant in the calendar. After the delicious freedom of Saturday and Sunday, it was difficult to get into the Monday mood of work and discipline. He shuddered at the very thought of school: that dismal yellow building; the fire-eyed Vedanayagam, his class-teacher; and the Headmaster with his thin long cane.
By eight he was at his desk in his 'room', which was only a corner in his father's dressing-room. He had a table on which all his things, his coat, cap, slate, ink-bottle, and books, were thrown in a confused heap. He sat on his stool and shut his eyes to recollect what work he had for the day: first of course there was Arithmetic — those five puzzles in Profit and Loss; then there was English — he had to copy down a page from his Eighth Lesson, and write dictionary meanings of difficult words; and then there was Geography.
And only two hours before him to do all this heap of work and get ready for school!
Fire-eyed Vedanayagam was presiding over the class with his back to the long window. Through its bars one saw a bit of the drill ground and a corner of the veranda of the Infant Standards. There were huge windows on the left showing vast open grounds bound at the other extreme by the railway embankment.
To Swaminathan existence in the classroom was possible only because he could watch the toddlers of the Infant Standards falling over one another, and through the windows on the left see the 12.30 mail gliding over the embankment, booming and rattling while passing over the Sarayu Bridge. The first hour passed quietly. The second they had Arithmetic. Vedanayagam went out and returned in a few minutes in the role of an Arithmetic teacher. He droned on monotonously. Swaminathan was terribly bored. His teacher's voice was beginning to get on his nerves. He felt sleepy.
The teacher called for home exercises. Swaminathan left his seat, jumped on the platform, and placed his note-book on the table. While the teacher was scrutinizing the sums, Swaminathan was gazing on his face, which seemed so tame at close quarters. His criticism of the teacher's face was that his eyes were too near each other, that there was more hair on his chin than one saw from the bench, and that he was very very bad-looking. His reverie was disturbed. He felt a terrible pain in the soft flesh above his left elbow. The teacher was pinching him with one hand, and with the other, crossing out all the sums. He wrote 'Very Bad' at the bottom of the page, flung the note-book in Swaminathan's face, and drove him back to his seat.
Next period they had History. The boys looked forward to it eagerly. It was taken by D. Pillai, who had earned a name in the school for kindness and good humor. He was reputed to have never frowned or sworn at the boys at any time. His method of teaching History conformed to no canon of education. He told the boys with a wealth of detail the private histories of Vasco da Gama, Clive, Hastings, and others. When he described the various fights in History, one heard the clash of arms and the groans of the slain. He was the despair of the Head Master whenever the latter stole along the corridor with noiseless steps on his rounds of inspection.
The Scripture period was the last in the morning. It was not such a dull hour after all. There were moments in it that brought stirring pictures before one: the Red Sea cleaving and making way for the Israelites; the physical feats of Samson; Jesus rising from the grave; and so on. The only trouble was that the Scripture master, Mr Ebenezar, was a fanatic.
'Oh, wretched idiots!' the teacher said, clenching his fists. 'Why do you worship dirty, lifeless, wooden idols and stone images? Can they talk? No. Can they see? No. Can they bless you? No. Can they take you to Heaven? No. Why? Because they have no life. What did your Gods do when Mohammed of Ghazni smashed them to pieces, trod upon them, and constructed out of them steps for his lavatory? If those idols and images had life, why did they not parry Mohammed's onslaughts?'
He then turned to Christianity. 'Now see our Lord Jesus. He could cure the sick, relieve the poor, and take us to Heaven. He was a real God. Trust him and he will take you to Heaven; the kingdom of Heaven is within us.' Tears rolled down Ebenezar's cheeks when he pictured Jesus before him. Next moment his face became purple with rage as he thought of Sri Krishna: 'Did our Jesus go gadding about with dancing girls like your Krishna? Did our Jesus go about stealing butter like that arch scoundrel Krishna? Did our Jesus practice dark tricks on those around him?'
He paused for breath. The teacher was intolerable to-day. Swaminathan's blood boiled. He got up and asked, 'If he did not, why was he crucified?' The teacher told him that he might come to him at the end of the period and learn it in private. Emboldened by this mild reply, Swaminathan asked him another question, 'If he was a God, why did he eat flesh and fish and drink wine?' As a brahmin boy it was inconceivable to him that a God should be a non-vegetarian. In answer to this, Ebenezar left his seat, advanced slowly towards Swaminathan, and tried to wrench his left ear off.
Next day Swaminathan was at school early. There was still half an hour before the bell. He usually spent such an interval in running round the school or in playing the Digging Game under the huge Tamarind tree. But to-day he sat apart, sunk in thought. He had a thick letter in his pocket. He felt guilty when he touched its edges with his fingers. He called himself an utter idiot for having told his father about Ebenezar the night before during the meal.
As soon as the bell rang, he walked into the Head Master's room and handed him a letter. The Head Master's face became serious when he read:
Sir,
'I beg to inform you that my son Swaminathan of the First Form, A section, was assaulted by his Scripture Master yesterday in a fanatical rage. I hear that he is always most insulting and provoking in his references to the Hindu religion. It is bound to have a bad effect upon the boys. This is not the place for me to dwell upon the necessity for toleration in these matters.'
'I am also informed that when my son got up to have a few doubts cleared, he was roughly handled by the same teacher. His ears were still red when he came home last evening.'
'The one conclusion that I can come to is that you do not want non-Christian boys in your school. If it is so, you may kindly inform us as we are quite willing to withdraw our boys and send them elsewhere. I may remind you that Albert Mission School is not the only school that this town, Malgudi, possesses. I hope you will be kind enough to inquire into the matter and favor me with a reply. If not, I regret to inform you, I shall be constrained to draw the attention of higher authorities to these Unchristian practices.'
'I have the honor to be, Sir, Your most obedient servant, W. T. Sreenivasan.'
When Swaminathan came out of the room, the whole school crowded around him and hung on his lips. But he treated inquisitive questions with haughty indifference. He honored only four persons with his confidence. Those were the four that he liked and admired most in his class. The first was Somu, the Monitor, who carried himself with such an easy air. He set about his business, whatever it was, with absolute confidence and calmness. He was known to be chummy even with the teachers. No teacher ever put to him a question in the class. It could not be said that he shone brilliantly as a student. It was believed that only the Head Master could reprimand him. He was more or less the uncle of the class.
Then there was Mani, the mighty Good-For-Nothing. He towered above all the other boys of the class. He seldom brought any books to the class, and never bothered about home-work. He came to the class, monopolized the last bench, and slept bravely. No teacher ever tried to prod him.
It was said that a new teacher who once tried it very nearly lost his life. Mani bullied all strangers that came his way, be they big or small. People usually slunk aside when he passed. Wearing his cap at an angle, with a Tamil novel under his arm, he had been coming to the school ever since the old school peon could remember. In most of the classes he stayed longer than his friends did. Swaminathan was proud of his friendship. While others crouched in awe, he could address him as 'Mani' with gusto and pat him on the back familiarly. Swaminathan admiringly asked whence Mani derived his power. Mani replied that he had a pair of wooden clubs at home with which he would break the backs of those that dared to tamper with him.
Then there was Sankar, the most brilliant boy of the class. He solved any problem that was given to him in five minutes, and always managed to border on 90%. There was a belief among a section of the boys that if only he started cross-examining the teachers the teachers would be nowhere. Another section asserted that Sankar was a dud and that he learnt all the problems and their solutions in advance by his sycophancy. He was said to receive his 90% as a result of washing clothes for his masters. He could speak to the teachers in English in the open class. He knew all the rivers, mountains, and countries in the world. He could repeat History in his sleep. Grammar was child's play to him. His face was radiant with intelligence, though his nose was almost always damp, and though he came to the class with his hair braided and with flowers in it. Swaminathan looked on him as a marvel. He was very happy when he made Mani see eye to eye with him and admit Sankar to their company. Mani liked him in his own way and brought down his heavy fist on Sankar's back whenever he felt inclined to demonstrate his affection. He would scratch his head and ask where the blithering fool of a scraggy youngster got all that brain from and why he should not part with a little of it.
The fourth friend was Samuel, known as the 'Pea' on account of his size. There was nothing outstanding about him. He was just ordinary, no outstanding virtue of muscle or intellect. He was as bad in Arithmetic as Swaminathan was. He was as apprehensive, weak, and nervous, about things as Swaminathan was. The bond between them was laughter. They were able to see together the same absurdities and incongruities in things. The most trivial and unnoticeable thing to others would tickle them to death.
When Swaminathan told them what action his father had taken in the Scripture Master affair, there was a murmur of approval. Somu was the first to express it, by bestowing on his admirer a broad grin. Sankar looked serious and said, 'Whatever others might say, you did the right thing in setting your father up for the job.' The mighty Mani half closed his eyes and grunted an approval of sorts. He was only sorry that the matter should have been handled by elders. He saw no sense in it. Things of this kind should not be allowed to go beyond the four walls of the classroom. If he were Swaminathan, he would have closed the whole incident at the beginning by hurling an ink bottle, if nothing bigger was available, at the teacher. Well, there was no harm in what Swaminathan had done; he would have done infinitely worse by keeping quiet.
However, let the Scripture Master look out: Mani had decided to wring his neck and break his back. Samuel the Pea, found himself in an acutely embarrassing position. On the one hand, he felt constrained to utter some remark. On the other hand, he was a Christian and saw nothing wrong in Ebenezar's observations, which seemed to be only an amplification of one of the Commandments. He felt that his right place was on Ebenezar's side. He managed to escape by making scathing comments on Ebenezar's dress and appearance and leaving it at that.
The class had got wind of the affair. When the Scripture period arrived there was a general expectation of some dramatic denouement. But nothing happened. Ebenezar went on as merrily as ever. He had taken the trouble that day to plod through Bhagavad Gita, and this generous piece of writing lends itself to any interpretation. In Ebenezar's hand it served as a weapon against Hinduism.
His tone was as vigorous as ever, but in his denunciation there was more scholarship. He pulled Bhagavad Gita to pieces, after raising Hinduism on its base. Step by step he was reaching the sublime heights of rhetoric. The class Bible lay uncared for on the table.
The Head Master glided in. Ebenezar halted, pushing back his chair, and rose, greatly flurried. He looked questioningly at the Head Master. The Head Master grimly asked him to go on. Ebenezar had meanwhile stealthily inserted a finger into the pages of the closed Bible. On the word of command from the Head Master, he tried to look sweet and relaxed his brow, which was knit in fury. He then opened his book where the finger marked and began to read at random. It happened to be the Nativity of Christ. The great event had occurred. There the divine occupant was in the manger. The Wise Men of the East were faithfully following the Star.
The boys attended in their usual abstracted way. It made little difference to them whether Ebenezar was making a study of Hinduism in the light of Bhagavad Gita or was merely describing the Nativity of Christ.
The Head Master listened for a while and, in an undertone, demanded an explanation. They were nearing the terminal examination and Ebenezar had still not gone beyond the Nativity. When would he reach the Crucifixion and Resurrection, and begin to revise? Ebenezar was flabbergasted. He could not think of anything to say. He made a bare escape by hinting that that particular day of the week, he usually devoted to a rambling revision. Oh, no! He was not as far behind as that. He was in the proximity of the Last Supper. At the end of the day Swaminathan was summoned to the Head Master's room. As soon as he received the note, he had an impulse to run home. And when he expressed it, Mani took him in his hands, propelled him through to the Head Master's room, and gave him a gentle push in. Swaminathan staggered before the Head Master.
Ebenezar was sitting on a stool, looking sheepish. The Head Master asked: 'What is the trouble, Swaminathan?' 'Oh — nothing, sir,' Swaminathan replied. 'If it is nothing, why this letter?' 'Oh!' Swaminathan exclaimed uncertainly. Ebenezar attempted to smile. Swaminathan wished to be well out of the whole affair. He felt he would not mind if a hundred Ebenezars said a thousand times worse things about the Gods. 'You know why I am here?' asked the Head Master. Swaminathan searched for an answer: the Head Master might be there to receive letters from boys' parents; he might be there to flay Ebenezars alive; he might be there to deliver six cuts with his cane every Monday at twelve o'clock. And above all why this question? 'I don't know, sir,' Swaminathan replied innocently. 'I am here to look after you,' said the Head Master. Swaminathan was relieved to find that the question had such a simple answer. 'And so,' continued the Head Master, 'you must come to me if you want any help, before you go to your father.' Swaminathan furtively glanced at Ebenezar, who writhed in his chair. 'I am sorry,' said the Head Master, 'that you should have been so foolish as to go to your father about this simple matter. I shall look into it. Take this letter to your father.' Swaminathan took the letter and shot out of the room with great relief.
Read each item carefully. For Part A and Part B questions, answer Part A first, then choose the evidence that best supports your answer.
Use sentence structure to sharpen your ideas, not just to label grammar terms.
Write one simple sentence about Swami using the word reluctant.
Write one compound sentence about the Scripture lesson using and, but, or so.
Write one complex sentence that explains why Swami regrets telling his father.
| Tier | Words | Why they matter here |
|---|---|---|
| Spotlight | reluctant, monotonous, fanatic, emboldened, inconceivable, reverie | These words help students talk precisely about Swami's emotions, the teachers' personalities, and how the mood shifts. |
| Context | scrutinizing, droned, despair, canon, assaulted, provoking | These words are useful for following the action and understanding the power dynamics between students and teachers. |
| Glossary | embankment, hod carrier, Brahmin, Scripture period, First Form | These are setting-specific and culture-specific words that help students stay oriented in Narayan's world. |
Each question tests a target vocabulary word directly.
[1] Across history and around the world, students have sometimes found themselves in classrooms where the content being taught felt deeply unfair, insulting, or harmful. When this happens, students face a difficult choice: stay silent and accept what is being said, or speak up and risk punishment. This tension between personal conscience and institutional authority is one of the oldest conflicts in education.
[2] Psychologists who study moral development, such as Lawrence Kohlberg, argue that children develop a sense of justice at a relatively early age. By middle school, most students can recognize when a rule or a statement seems unfair, even if they lack the power to change it. Speaking up in these moments — even if the timing or method is imperfect — is a sign of what researchers call moral courage: the willingness to act on one's values at personal risk. Yet schools can also be places where institutional rules make it dangerous to disagree, especially when authority figures respond to challenge with force rather than reason.
[3] Historians note that some of the most meaningful social changes have begun with small individual protests. A student who refuses to accept an unfair statement, a child who tells a parent, a parent who writes a formal letter — these actions, though modest, represent the same instinct that has driven larger movements. Learning to voice disagreement with clarity, evidence, and respect is one of the most important skills any student can develop, both inside and outside the classroom.
Use evidence, not just opinions. Strong writing should show both clear thinking and close reading.
How does R.K. Narayan use Swami's thoughts and actions to show that he is both courageous and impulsive?
What does Chapter I suggest about what happens when a person acts on a sense of justice without thinking about consequences?
Write three original sentences about the story:
No teacher needed — Fred coaches every task here. Work through the analogies, then argue both sides, then carry the idea into the real world.
Find the relationship in the first pair, then pick the choice that repeats it. These are auto-graded and explained.
Was Swami right to question Ebenezar in class — an act of conscience — or was it a reckless mistake he should have kept quiet about?
Describe a real situation — from history, the news, school, or your own life — where a young or less powerful person spoke up against an authority. Then connect it to what Narayan shows about courage and consequences.