Extract-based questions are of the multiple-choice variety, and
students must select the correct option for each question by carefully reading
the passage.
He also planned eventually to return to Pune and have a long talk with
Rajendra Deshpande, who would surely help him understand what had happened.
That is, assuming that in this world there existed someone called Rajendra
Deshpande ! The train stopped beyond the long tunnel. It was a small station
called Sarhad. An Anglo-Indian in uniform went through the train checking
permits.
Q1. Who was Professor Gaitonde and where did he hail from?
Ans- The historian Professor Gaitonde was a native of Pune.
Q2. What was his destination and what was his purpose of visit?
Ans-. He was travelling to Bombay. He desired to visit the large
library and examine the history sections in order to learn how the current
situation came to be.
Q3. What did he feel about his duty as a historian?
Ans- Professor Gaitonde felt it was his responsibility as a historian
to have considered long ago how to determine the cause of the changed state of
affairs.
Q4. Could you guess the period when the story might have been written?
Ans- According to the paragraph, “An Anglo-Indian” entered the
carriage to look at the permits. He was obviously a government official. It
could only happen when Britain was in power.
Q5. Give the synonyms of the following :
(a) ultimately/in due course
(b) underpass
Ans-. (a) eventually
(b) tunnels
B. He thanked the girl politely and came out. It was characteristic of
him jot to worry about where he would stay. His main concern was to make his
way to the library of the Asiatic Society to solve the riddle of history.
Grabbing a quick lunch at a restaurant, he made his way to the Town Hall. Yes,
to his relief, the Town Hall was there, and it did house the library. He
entered the reading room and asked for a list of history books including his
own.
His five volumes duly arrived on his table. He started from the
beginning. Volume one took the history up to the period of Ashoka, volume two
up to Samudragupta, volume three up to Mohammad Ghori and volume four up to the
death of Aurangzeb. Up to this period history was as he knew it. The change
evidently had occurred in the last volume.Reading volume five from both ends
inwards, Gangadharpant finally converged on the precise moment where history
had taken a different turn.
Q1. Who is ‘he’ here? Do you know who is the ‘girl’ he thanked?
Ans- ‘He’ here is Professor Gangadharpant Gaitonde. Yes. The ‘girl’ he
thanked is the English receptionist at Forbes Building.
Q2. What was his main concern?
Ans- His major focus was getting to the Asiatic Society library so he
could figure out the historical riddle.
Q3. Which characteristic of the subject being talked about here, is
mentioned here?
What does it show?
Ans- Professor Gaitonde is the subject being talked about here. He’s
never given his housing much thought. It was his personality. It demonstrates
that he cared more about his value than his own bodily comforts.
Q4. Did he find what he wanted to do?
Ans- Yes, he did find what he was seeking. He had travelled there to
unravel a historical puzzle. He discovered the hint or point that solved the
riddle while reading the fifth volume of the history book.
Q5. Give synonyms of:
(a) worry
(b) intersect/merge/coincide
Ans- (a) worry – concern
(b) intersect/merge/coincide – converged
C. Their victory in the battle was not only a great morale booster to
the Marathas hut it also established their supremacy in northern India. The
East India Company, which had been watching these developments from the
sidelines, got the message and temporarily shelved its expansionist programme.
For the Peshwas the immediate result was an increase in the influence of
Bhausaheb and Vishwasrao who eventually succeeded his father in 1780 AD. The
trouble-maker, Dadasaheb, was relegated to the background and he eventually
retired from state politics.
To its dismay, the East India Company met its match in the new Maratha
ruler, Vishwasrao. He and his brother, Madhavrao, combined political acumen
with valour and systematically expanded their influence all over India. The
Company was reduced to pockets of influence near Bombay, Calcutta and Madras,
just like its European rivals, the Portu guese and the French.
Q1. What was the effect of the battle? What was its result?
Ans- The Marathas’ win in the battle gave them more confidence. As a
result, they established their dominance in Northern India.
Q2. How did this change in situation affect the British /East India
Company?
Ans-. As Maratha dominance was established in Northern India, the East
India Company was forced to temporarily postpone its imperialism plan. It
remained confined to certain areas in nearby Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras.
Q3. What impact did it have on Dadasaheb?
Ans- The Marathas viewed Dadasaheb as a troublemaker. As a result, he
was sent to the shadows and eventually left state politics.
Q4. How did Vishwasrao act as a ruler?
Ans- Vishwasrao and his brother Madhavrao very methodically increased
their power throughout India. The East India Company was only able to exert
influence in the areas close to Madras, Calcutta, and Bombay.
Q5. Give one word for the following-
(a) given less important place/rank
(b) ability to understand and judge things quickly and clearly.
Ans- (a) relegated
(b) acumen
D. He found a guest house to stay in and had a frugal meal. He then
set out for a stroll towards the Azad Maidan. In the maidan he found a throng
moving towards a pandal. So, a lecture was to take place. Force of habit took
Professor Gaitonde towards the pandal. The lecture was in progress, although
people kept coming and going. But Professor Gaitonde was not looking at the
audience.
He was staring at the platform as if mesmerised. There was a table and
a chair but the latter was unoccupied. The presidential chair unoccupied! The
sight stirred him to the depths. Like a piece of iron attracted to a magnet, he
swiftly moved towards the chair. The speaker stopped in mid-sentence, too
shocked to continue. But the audience soon found voice.
“Vacate the chair !”
“This lecture series has no chairperson…”
“Away from the platform, mister !”
“The chair is symbolic, don’t you know ?”
What nonsense! Whoever heard of a public lecture without a presiding
dignitary ? Professor Gaitonde went to the mike and gave vent to his views.
“Ladies and gentlemen, an unchaired lecture is like Shakespeare’s Hamlet
without the Prince of Denmark. Let me tell you.”
Q1. Where did he go for a stroll? What did he find there?
Ans- He took a stroll towards the Azad Maidan. He discovered a crowd
approaching on a pandal.
Q2. How did he feel after going there?
Ans-. He was mesmerised as he observed the platform. The presidential
chair was vacant when he arrived. He was incredibly impressed by that. Like an
iron rod being drawn to a magnet, he felt drawn to the chair.
Q3. What was the general reaction at his arrIval?
Ans-. Gangadharpant was approaching the presidential chair, and the
speaker was too frightened to continue. Mid-sentence, he paused. When this
happened, the audience responded angrily and demanded that Professor Gaitonde
leave the chair. They didn’t seem interested in paying attention to the
chairperson.
Q4. How did he try to explain- himself or his position?
Ans-. Professor Gaitonde had expertise speaking in front of large
crowds. Seeing that the chairperson’s seat was vacant, he moved to the
microphone. A lecture without a chair, according to him, is similar to
Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” without the Prince of Denmark.
Q5. Give the meaning of:
(a) Spellbound
(b) congregation
Ans- (a) mesmerised
(b) throng
E. “Don’t smile smugly. In case you think that it was just my mind
playing tricks and my imagination running amok, look at this.” And,
triumphantly, Professor Gaitonde produced his vital piece of evidence : a page
tom out of a book. Rajendra read the text on the printed page and his face
underwent a change. Gone was the smile and in its place came a grave
expression. He was visibly moved.Gangadharpant pressed home his advantage. “I
had inadvertently slipped the Bakhar in my pocket as I left the library. I
discovered my error when I was paying for my meal. I had intended to return it
the next morning.
But it seems that in the melee of Azad Maidan, the book was lost; only
this tom-off page remained. And, luckily for me, the page contains vital evidence.”
Rajendra again read the page. It described how Vishwasrao narrowly missed the
bul¬let; and howr that event, taken as an omen by the Maratha army, turned the
tide in their favour.“Now look at this.” Gangadharpant produced his own copy of Bhausahebanchi Bakhar, opened at the relevant
page. The account ran thus :‘… And then Vishwasrao guided his horse to the
melee where the elite troops were fighting, and he attacked them. And God
expressed His displeasure. He was hit by the bullet ’
Q1. Why did Gangadharpant produce a piece of paper?
Ans-. In order to demonstrate that Iris’ mind was not playing tricks
on him and that his imagination was not running wild, Gangadhar produced the
piece of paper as evidence. He was speaking from actual experience.
Q2. What influence did the evidence have on Rajendra?
Ans- The proof really shook Rajendra. He had previously dismissed it
as Gangadharpant’s imagination. But when he saw the proof, he became serious
and began reading the page (evidence).
Q3. How did that evidence come in the pocket of Professor Gaitonde?
Ans- Gangadharpant had visited the large library. While reading Bakhar
there, he unintentionally put it in his pocket as he was leaving the library.
As a result, the proof was in his pocket.
Q4. What is the point of discussion between Gangadharpant and
Rajendra?
Ans- Rajendra and Gangadharpant had been talking about the mystery of
where Gangadharpant had been during the two days during which he’d been away
from Bombay.
Q5. Give one word for the following-
(a) pleasantly for having achieved something.
(b) just accidently, unintentionally.
Ans- (a) pleasantly for having achieved something – smugly
(b) just accidently, unintentionally – inadvertently
F. “A good guess. I was indeed wondering what course history would
have taken if the result of the battle had gone the other way,” Professor
Gaitonde said. “That was going to be the topic of my thousandth presidential
address.”“Now you are in the happy position of recounting your real life experience
rather than just speculating,” Rajehdra laughed. But Gangadharpant was grave.
“No, Rajendra, my thousandth address was made on the Azad Maidan when I was so
rudely interrupted. No. the Professor Gaitonde who disappeared while defending
his chair on the platform will now never be seen presiding at another
meeting—‘I have conveyed my regrets to the organisers of the Panipat seminar.
Q1. What was going to be the topic of Professor Gaitonde’s thousandth
Presidential address? Could he deliver it?
Ans- ‘What direction history would have taken if the result of the
fight had gone the other way,’ was going to be the subject of Gangadharpant
Gaitonde’s thousandth lecture.
Q2. Why could he not deliver his thousandth presidential address?
Ans- Professor Gangadharpant Gaitonde was violently interrupted by the
audience and the speaker there, preventing him from delivering his thousandth
presidential speech. He was actually forcefully dragged off the stage.
Q3. What did Gangadharpant resolve as a result?
Ans- Gangadharpant resolved never to be seen presiding over a
gathering again after being so insulted (and surprised) by the harsh
interruption of the public at Azad Maidan in Pune.
Q4. Why did Professor Gaitonde convey his regrets to the organisers of
the Panipat Seminar?
Ans- Professor Gaitonde expressed his regrets to the Panipat seminar
organisers since he had resolved to never speak at or attend/address as
President of any of the meetings in future. It happened as a result of his
unpleasant experience in Pune.
Q5. Give one word for the following-
(a) telling something about your personal experience
(b) forming an opinion that you don’t know in detail
Ans- (a) recounting
(b) speculating
Multiple Choice Questions
Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) are a type of objective assessment in
which a person is asked to choose one or more correct answers from a list of
available options. An MCQ presents a question along with several possible
answers.
1. In the chapter “The Adventure”, Jijamata Express sped along the
___________ route
A. Pune-Madras
B. Pune-Bombay
C. Bombay-Lonavala
D. Kalyan-Lonavala
Ans- B. Pune-Bombay
2. Professor Gaitonde would go to a big library and browse through
________ books.
A. mathematics
B. history
C. political
D. literature
Ans- B. history
3. An __________ in uniform went through the train checking permits.
A. Anglo-Indian
B. Indo-Aryan
C. Indo-Greek
D. Indo-European
Ans- A. Anglo-Indian
4. Whom did the Professor meet at the Hospital?
A. Anglo-Indian
B. Professor Gaitonde
C. Rajendra Deshpande
D. Khan Sahib
Ans- C. Rajendra Deshpande
5. For how many days did the professor live in the alternative world?
A. three days
B. two days
C. five days
D. a week
Ans- B. two days
6. Why did Professor Rajendra say that the incidents narrated by
Gaitonde were not real?
A. as his hand was broken
B. as his leg was broken
C. as he was in coma for two days
D. as he had disability
Ans- C. as he was in coma for two days
7. What happened to Marathas in reality?
A. they lost the battle
B. they won the battle
C. they didn’t make any necessary arrangements to fight the battle
D. they signed a treaty
Ans- A. they lost the battle
8. What happens in the case of electrons in lack of determinism in
Quantum theory?
A. electrons move in a defined path
B. one cannot predict which path the electron takes at a point of time
C. electrons merge with other atoms
D. None of the above
Ans- B. one cannot predict which path the electron takes at a point of
time
9. How did the crowd react when he sat on the empty presidential
chair?
A. heard his speech patiently
B. ignored him
C. threw several objects at him and pushed him away
D. asked him to leave
Ans- C threw several objects at him and pushed him away
10. What did the Professor start investigating at Town Hall?
A. Kurukshetra War
B. Battle of Buxar
C. The period of Asoka till the third battle of Panipat
D. Battle of Plassey
Ans- C. The period of Asoka till the third battle of Panipat
11. What happened after the Battle of Panipat in India?
A. India merged with neighbouring nations
B. India moved to the path of democracy
C. British Rule came
D. Dutch rule ended
Ans- B. India moved to the path of democracy
12. Where did the train stop beyond the tunnel?
A. a small town called Sarhad
B. a small town called Kalyan
C. In Lonavala
D. a small town called Karjat
Ans. A. a small town called Sarhad
13. What is the name of the protagonist of the story ‘The Adventure’?
A. Professor Rajendra Deshpande
B. Professor Gangadharpant Gaitonde
C. Professor Shashidhar Gaitonde
D. Professor Ramprasad Gaitonde
Ans. B. Professor Gangadharpant Gaitonde
14. Why did the professor go to town hall?
A. to play football
B. to check facts from history books
C. to buy games
D. to meet a friend
Ans- B. to check facts from history books
15. What happened after the empty chair incident?
A. he was in the hospital
B. he went into depression
C. he went to library
D. he went to therapy
Ans – A. he was in the hospital
16. Whom did Professor Gaitonde enquire about on entering the Forbes
building?
A. Mr. Praneesh Gaitonde
B. Mr. Vinay Gaitonde
C. Mr. Sahil Gaitonde
D. Mr. Rohan Gaitonde
Ans – B. Mr. Vinay Gaitonde
17. Where did the lecture take place?
A. Pragati Maidan
B. Azad Maidan
C. Ramlila Maidan
D. Gandhi Maidan
Ans- B. Azad Maidan
18. Professor Gaitonde went to the mike and gave vent to his views.
“Ladies and gentlemen, an unchaired lecture is like Shakespeare’s-
A. Othello without the Moor of Venice
B. Macbeth without three witches
C.Hamlet without the Prince of Denmark
D. None of the above
Ans – C.Hamlet without the Prince of Denmark
19. The chapter “The Adventure” talks of lack of determinism in
________ theory
A. Quantum
B. Expectancy
C. Psychoanalytical
D. Behaviorist
Ans – A. Quantum
20. Choose the most appropriate meaning of “De facto”.
A. real and genuine
B. seize the day
C. in fact / in reality
D. other self
Ans-C. in fact / in reality
The Adventure Question Answers (including questions from Previous
Years Question Papers)
Q1. What sort of ‘Adventure’ has been narrated by Jayant Narlikar?
Ans. Professor Gangadharpant’s adventure wasn’t tangible or real. He
studied history. He was interested in what would have happened if Marathas had
lost the Battle of Panipat. He visited the new Bombay during his two-day coma
and had a traumatic experience on Azad Maidan.
Q2. Who was Professor Gaitonde? What was his plan in Bombay?
Ans. Professor Gaitonde, also known as Gangadharpant, was a historian.
He had penned five volumes on history. Yet, he was still conducting research.
He was travelling to Bombay. He intended to visit a large library and review
the history books there to learn how the current situation came to be.
Q3. What was Gangadharpant’s experience on the way to Bombay?
Ans. Gangadharpant took the Jijamata express to get from Pune to
Mumbai. His objective was to study some history books at the library. At Sarhad
station, an Anglo-Indian checked the permits. The British Raj was established
there. On the train, he was joined by a man named Khan Sahib. He observed that
the city was very dissimilar from what he had imagined it to be.
Q4. What was Gangadhar’s experience when he reached a small station
Sarhad?
Ans. Gangadhar was touring the new Bombay for the first time. The
words “Greater Bombay Metropolitan Railway” and a miniature Union Jack were
painted on each blue carriage. That gently prompted him to remember that he was
now on British territory. An Anglo-Indian verified the passengers’ railway
tickets.
Q5. What had Professor Gaitonde not expected in Bombay?
Ans. Although Professor Gaitonde had anticipated many surprises, he
had not anticipated to witness the dominance of the East India Company in
Bombay. According to history texts, the corporation was dissolved after 1857.
But it seemed to be still be alive and flourishing in Bombay. He discovered a
distinct array of shops, retail stores, and large bank structures than in
England.
Q6. What for did Professor Gaitonde enter the Forbes building? What
was his experience there?
Ans. The professor met his son, Vinaya Gaines, at the Forbes building.
The front desk agent looked through the staff directory and telephone book.
That name didn’t belong to anyone. It was a significant setback. He believed
that everything up to this point had been sudden and unexpected, so the blow of
his son’s absence wasn’t entirely unexpected.
Q7. What did the professor do in the Town Hall library?
Ans. The professor requested the history books he himself had written.
The circumstances up till Aurangzeb’s death remained unchanged. The
modification had been made in the prior volume. He read the account of the
Panipat Battle. The Maratha army under the command of Sadashiv Rao Bhau and his
nephew Vishwas Rao destroyed Abdali. Hence, there was a power struggle. It
confirmed the Marathas’ dominance. The British company was downsized to a few
influential enclaves close to Mumbai. The Marathas built their institutions for
scientific research. They agreed to have English experts help them.
Q8. What is the professor’s opinion that was the cause of expanding
British influence in India?
Ans. Professor Gangadhar was happy to find that the white men could
not have increased their influence if the Marathas had not permitted them to
remain in Bombay for commercial purposes. The 1908 deal stated that the lease
would end in 2001.
Q9. What did the professor wish to find out in history books?
Ans. He was looking for an answer to how the Marathas had won the
Battle of Panipat. In Bakhars, a history book, he discovered a clue. A bullet
that missed Vishwasrao’s ear caused him to narrowly avoid death. The Maratha
army’s spirit was raised by this, and they fought gallantly.
Q10. What two things did the professor put into his pockets at the
Town Hall?
Ans. He slid the book, “Bakhar,” into his left pocket and placed some
notes in his right pocket.
Q11. What bitter experience did the professor have at the meeting in
Azad Maidan?
Ans. A lecture was in process when the professor reached Azad Maidan.
When he noticed that the presidential chair was empty, he quickly sat on it.
The crowd objected. They claimed the chair had symbolic meaning. The professor
was violently escorted from the dais as soon as he started speaking to the
audience.
Q12. How did Bakhar’s account of the Battle of Panipat differ from
what other history books said?
Ans. In every history book the Maratha army was stated to have lost
the battle. A bullet struck Vishwasrao, causing him to fall. As a result, t he
army’s morale was damaged. The professor’s own copy of the Bakhar did not say
that. According to the report, Vishwas Rao narrowly avoided being hit as the
bullet missed his ear. The professor was delighted to learn the truth.
Q13. How did Rajendra rationalise the professor’s experience?
Ans. Rajendra made an effort to use two scientific theories to explain
the professor’s experience. The professor had just gone through a terrible
ordeal. The Abdali force was evenly matched with the Maratha army. Hence, a lot
rested on the leadership and troop morale. The killing of Vishwas Rao turned
out to be the decisive moment. They became discouraged and lost their will to
win. But, Bakhar’s page offered a different perspective. According to the
report, Vishwas Rao was not hit by the bullet, which helped the soldiers’
morale. The professor was thinking of this aspect when he was hit by the truck.
Q14. How did Rajendra try to explain the mystery of reality?
Ans. Normally, our senses allow us to directly experience reality.
However, what we see is not entirely accurate. The professor, said Rajendra,
had made a transition from one world that he knew to another that could have
been. Alternative realities exist in addition to the reality that the observer
can experience. When the professor fell unconscious after being struck by a
truck, he also had a physical experience of another world.
Q15. ‘But why did I make the transition?’ What explanation did
Rajendra give to the professor?
Ans. Rajendra surmised that some sort of contact must have brought
about the transformation. Perhaps the catastrophic theory and its application
to wars were on the professor’s mind at the moment of the collision. The
professor acknowledged that he had been considering the direction history might
have taken at the time if the Marathas had prevailed in the Battle of Panipat.
The Adventure Long Answer Questions
Q1. ‘Gangadharpant had not been to this Bombay before.’ Show how this
Bombay is different from the one he knew.
Ans.Gangadharpant found Bombay entirely different. The Bombay he now
toured had the trains that now paned through the suburban rail traffic. The
Union Jack and the G.B.M.R marking were printed on the blue carriages. The
station appeared incredibly organised and tidy. The majority of the staff
members were Anglo-Indians and Parsees, with a small number of British
officers. There was an impressive East India Company building. Gangadharpant
could locate a variety of stores and corporate buildings as he strolled down
Hornby Road. The only place under British rule was Bombay. The British did not
rule over any other regions of the country.
Q2. Gangadharpant was able to find the precise moment ‘where history
had taken a different turn for India’. What was this moment? How did it affect
India and the Indian people?
Ans. When Gangadharpant discovered that the Marathas had won the Third
Battle of Panipat, that is the precise moment when Indian history changed. The
Marathas’ success in the battle not only gave them a huge morale boost, but it
also secured their dominance in northern India. It was also obvious that
Vishwasrao survived the conflict. To its dismay, Vishwasrao, the new Maratha
ruler, proved to be the East India Company’s equivalent. With the help of their
combined political acumen, he and his brother Madhavrao increased their
influence throughout India. The East India Company, like its European rivals
the Portuguese and the French, was confined to small areas of control
surrounding Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras.
Q3. How did Rajendra Deshpande explain Gangadhar Pant’s experience?
Write in detail.
Ans. Using catastrophe theory and the quantum theory’s lack of
determinism, Prof. Rajendra provided an explanation for Prof. Gaitonde’s
theory. He examined the Battle of Panipat using catastrophe theory. While both
armies were well-equipped, much hinged on the leadership and troop morale. He
claimed that the killing of Vishwasrao served as a pivotal moment. At the time,
it was unknown if he perished in the battle or lived. But the fear of losing
their important leaders kept the army under constant pressure. They lost their
morale and will to fight. As soon as the bullet missed Vishwarao, the battle
shifted, giving the soldiers hope. Their spirits were raised, and they put in a
lot of effort to win the battle.
This occurred because quantum theory lacks determinism, which means
that no behaviour can be predicted. In the alternate India where the Marathas
had won in the Battle of Panipat, Prof. Gaitonde was able to enter a new world.
The shift occurred because, at the time of the collision, Prof. Gaitonde was thinking
of the catastrophe Theory and the Battle of Panipat.
Q4. Gangadharpant could not help comparing the country he knew with
what he was witnessing around him. Explain briefly.
Ans. When the train stopped outside the lengthy tunnel, at a small
station named Sarhad, Gangadharpant was stunned to see an Anglo-Indian in
uniform verifying permits. Mumbai, as Gangadharpant knew it, was very
different. He learned that this was the starting point of British rule.
This was the new Mumbai, according to Gandadharpant. He spotted blue
carriages with the markings GBMR and the little Union Jack painted on each
vehicle as the train passed through the Suburban rail traffic. The station
appeared to be pristine. Anglo-Indians, Parsees, and a few British officers
made up the staff. Together with a few other shops and office buildings, he
also saw the East India Company building. The Britishers had now fully taken
over control of Bombay.
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