The Scarecrow Summary
Mrigankoshekhar Mukhopadhyay, a popular writer from Calcutta, gets stranded near a paddy field as his car runs out of petrol on his return journey from Durgapur. While he sends his driver, Sudheer, to Panagarh to fetch petrol, Mriganko Babu decides to stay back and relax in the car. After his driver leaves, he gets out of his car, lights a cigarette and takes a look around. He finds himself standing all alone in the middle of a deserted road with endless stretches of barren paddy fields on both sides. On the western side of the road, where there are two huts in the distance with no signs of habitation, he notices a scarecrow wearing a red and black printed shirt. Mriganko Babu feels as though he has seen someone wearing that shirt before. As he tries to recall the person, the scarecrow suddenly comes to life and introduces himself as Abhiram, an old servant who had worked for Mriganko Babu's family for twenty years and was turned out on the charge of stealing a gold watch that Mriganko Babu had received as a wedding gift. Abhiram again pleads innocence and asks Mriganko Babu to look for the watch under his wardrobe at his house. Abhiram also tells the sad story of his death after being afflicted with dropsy following his return to his village. On reaching home, Mriganko Babu finds the watch under the wardrobe as stated by Abhiram."The Scarecrow" is the English version of the original story in Bengali named "Kaktarua".
The Scarecrow Questions Answers
Very Short Questions :Q.1: What was the name of Mriganko Babu's driver?
Ans: The name of Mriganko babu's driver is Sudheer.
Q.2: Where did he (Sudheer) go to fetch petrol?
Ans : He (Sudheer) went to fetch petrol to Panagarh.
Q.3: Name the magazine that asked Mriganko Babu for a story?
Ans : The Bharat magazine had asked Mriganko Babu for a story.
Q.4: Whose voice did Mriganko Babu recognise in the voice of the scarecrow?
Ans : Mriganko Babu recognised the voice of Abhiram, his old servant who worked for him.
Q.5: Where did the Scarecrow ask Mriganko Babu to look for his watch?
Ans : The Scarecrow had asked Mriganko Babu to look for the watch under his wardrobe at his house.
Short Questions :
Q.1: What did Sudheer not pay attention to?
Ans: The petrol gauge of Mriganko Babu's car had not been functioning properly for quiet a while. He had pointed that out to his driver Sudheer before they set out for a felicitation programme in Durgapur that morning. There had been in fact, less petrol than the gauge had shown and Mriganko Babu suspicioned that the car might run out of petrol. But Sudheer did not pay attention to Mriganko Babu's presuppositions.
Q.2: Why did Mriganko Babu go to Durgapur?
Ans: Mriganko Babu went to Durgapur because he had been invited to a cultural function organised by a club at Durgapur. He was to be felicitated by the Organizers.
Q.3: What kind of shirt was the Scarecrow wearing?
Ans: The Scarecrow was standing right in the middle of a small patch of land as seen by Mriganko Babu. It was wearing a torn red and black printed shirt earlier bought for his servant Abhiram by Mriganko Babu.
Q.4: Who was Abhiram?
Ans: Abhiram was Mriganko Babu's old Servant who had worked for his family for twenty years and was everyone's trustWorthy. However, he was turned out on the charge of stealing a gold watch that Mriganko Babu had received as a wedding gift. Later he got dropsy and became serious. He never recovered as he had no money to go to a doctor, buy medicines or even eat properly.
Q.5: What did Mriganko Babu decide never to do again?
Ans : Everyone's trustworthy, Mriganko Babu's servant Abhiram was acquited of the charge of stealing a gold watch that Mriganko Babu had received as a wedding gift. Mriganko Babu's father called a local witchdoctor's who caste a spell and made an ordinary wicker tray spin and rotate untill it Stopped. At last it stopped pointing at Abhiram and there was no doubt about his guilt. He had to loss his job inspite of his denial. After returning to his village he was affected with dropsy and became serious and never recovered as he had no money to consult a doctor, buy medicines or even eat properly and he passed away. But his heart longed to tell Mriganko Babu what he had learnt after his death. One day, Abhiram as planned by time, got the chance to meet Mriganko Babu. He asked him to look for the watch under his wardrobe at his house. On reaching home, Mriganko Babu went straight to his room and found the watch under the wardrobe as stated by Abhiram. Then, he decided that if something ever got stolen from his house, from then on, he would never seek a witch doctor's help.
Long Question Answers:
Q.1: Describe the Western side of the road as seen by Mriganko Babu.
Ans: When Mriganko Babu looked at the Western side of the road, he saw a pond about forty feet away from the road which did not have a great deal of water in it. He saw few trees quite far from where he was standing and some thorny bushes a little nearby there were two huts, but no sign of people. In the middle of a small patch of land he noticed a scarecrow, standing stiffly.
Q.2: Why did Mriganko Babu feel at tremor?
Ans: When Sudheer left to Panagarh to get petrol, Mriganko babu was sitting alone in his car. He got out of the car and looked around. He walked a few paces and stood in the middle of the road. He noticed a scarecrow on a small patch of land where someone had grown some plants. The scarecrow was standing right in the middle of it. It was wearing a torn, red and black printed shirt which reminded Mriganko Babu of someone. The Sun was about to set and a reddish light fell on the scarecrow. Suddenly, Mriganko Babu felt that the scarecrow was moving. He continued to feel that he was strangely drawn towards that figure. He stood steadily and noticed that the appearance had changed somewhat, the two farms had been lowered a little and it wasn't standing stiffly but more like a real man. His heartbeat became faster and this thing terrified him.
Q.3: What happened to Abhiram after he left Mriganko Babu?
Ans: After leaving Mriganko Babu's family, Abhiram did not walk anywhere else because he fail in. He suffered from the disease dropsy. He was even too poor to go to a doctor or buy medicines. He did not have money even for food and so he never recovered from his illness and eventually died.
Essay Type Questions:
Q.1 Describe the Scarecrow is seen by Mriganko Babu from the beginning to the moment when it addresses him as 'Babu!'
Ans: Mriganko Babu was a famous and popular writer who was invited for felicitation in a cultural function organized by a club in Durgapur. When he was returning from Durgapur with his driver he had to face an awful situation. His car ran out of petrol in the middle of the road. Mriganko babu told his driver Sudheer to bring Petrol from Panagarh (nearby town). After that he had to stay alone in the car. He went out of the car and looked around him. He saw a scarecrow standing on the middle of a small patch of land. When he noticed it carefully he felt that he had seen the shirt wore by the scarecrow somewhere before. He was trying to recall his memory with the red and black printed shirt. After trying hard to recognise finally he felt sure that he had seen his former servant Abhiram wearing that shirt and once he gifted such a shirt to him.The Sun was about to set and a reddish light fell on the scarecrow. Suddenly, Mriganko Babu felt that the scarecrow was moving. He continued to feel that he was strangely drawn towards that figure. He stood steadily and noticed that the appearance had changed somewhat, the two farms had been lowered a little and it wasn't standing stiffly but more like a real man and addressed Mriganko Upadhyay as Babu. His heartbeat became faster and this thing terrified him.
Q.2 Narrate the circumstances that led Abhiram to leave Mriganko Babu. What did the letter do on reaching home?
Ans: In the story "The Scarecrow" the character of Abhiram is presented as a servant working for the family of Mriganko Babu for twenty years. Everybody in the family trusted him. Accidentally one day he used to have lost his mind. He committed a crime by stealing the gold watch of Babu which he had received as a wedding gift. Abhiram denied the charge despite he have both the time and opportunity to remove the object. Besides the supernatural activity undertaken by Mriganko Babu's father had proved Abhiram's guilt and thus he lost job. On reaching home mriganko Babu charged for his watch under his wardrobe, which was lost three years ago and a witchdoctor confirmed it to be stolen by his servant Abhiram
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The Scarecrow Extra Questions Answers
Q.1: Where had Mriganko Shekhar Mukhopadhyay been invited and why?Ans: Mriganko Shekhar Mukhopadhyay had been invited to a cultural function organised by a club at Durgapur. He was to be felicitated by the organizers.
Q.2: Why was Mriganko Baby terrified?
Ans: When Sudheer left to Panagarh to get petrol, Mriganko babu was sitting alone in his car. He got out of the car and looked around. He walked a few paces and stood in the middle of the road. He noticed a scarecrow on a small patch of land where someone had grown some plants. The scarecrow was standing right in the middle of it. It was wearing a torn, red and black printed shirt which reminded Mriganko Babu of someone. The Sun was about to set and a reddish light fell on the scarecrow. Suddenly, Mriganko Babu felt that the scarecrow was moving. He continued to feel that he was strangely drawn towards that figure. He stood steadily and noticed that the appearance had changed somewhat, the two farms had been lowered a little and it wasn't standing stiffly but more like a real man. His heartbeat became faster and this thing terrified him.
Q.3: What was the view seen by Mriganko Babu on the Eastern side?
Ans : On the Eastern side, Mriganko babu saw the empty barren fields stretched for miles. All the crops had been removed from the fields. In the far distance, a small hut could be seen standing next to a tamarind tree. There was no other sign of habitation. He saw a row of palm trees stood further and beyond those trees there was a dense, dark forest. This was the scene that greeted him on one side of the road.
Q.4: What was the view seen by Mriganko babu on the Western side?
Ans: When Mriganko Babu looked at the Western side of the road, he saw a pond about forty feet away from the road which did not have a great deal of water in it. He saw few trees quite far from where he was standing and some thorny bushes a little nearby there were two huts, but no sign of people. In the middle of a small patch of land he noticed a scarecrow, standing stiffly.
The Scarecrow R.T.C.
Q.1: "He was not want to believe in superstition... before travelling anywhere".Ans : "He was not want to believe in superstition... before travelling anywhere".
The above line is extracted from Satyajit Ray' beautiful story, "The Scarecrow".
Here, Mriganko Babu told about his nature that he did not believe in Superstition. Mriganko Babu was a famous and popular writer who was invited to a cultural function by a club in Durgapur. He had started his journey quiet early in the morning. During the journey, Mriganko Babu faced an awful situation. His car ran out of petrol in the middle of the road, Mriganko Babu told his driver Sudheer about the problem that the petrol gauge of his car had not been functioning Properly. But Sudheer had paid no attention to that. When Mriganko faced this situation then he realised himself about his this believe in superstitions and never consulting the almanac before travelling anywhere.
Q.2: "Yet he felt sure that he had seen someone wearing such a shirt a long time ago".
Ans: "Yet he felt sure that he had seen someone wearing such a shirt a long time ago".
The above line is extracted from the prose piece "The scarecrow" written by Satyajit Ray.
Here, Mriganko Babu told about him recognising the shirt wore by Scarecrow which he saw when he had to wait on the middle of the road to Durgapur. Mriganko Babu was a famous and popular writer who was invited for felicitation in a cultural function organized by a club in Durgapur. When he was returning from Durgapur with his driver he had to face an awful situation. His car ran out of petrol in the middle of the road. Mriganko babu told his driver Sudheer to bring Petrol from Panagarh (nearby town). After that he had to stay alone in the car. He went out of the car and looked around him. He saw a scarecrow standing on the middle of a small patch of land. When he noticed it carefully he felt that he had seen the shirt wore by the scarecrow somewhere before. He was trying to recall his memory with the red and black printed shirt. After trying hard to recognise finally he felt sure that he had seen his former servant Abhiram wearing that shirt and once he gifted such a shirt to him.
Extra Questions
Q.1: What is an almanac?
Ans: An almanac is an annual publication containing a calendar with important information about events like anniversaries, sunsets and sunrises, religious functions, phases of moon, etc.
Q.2: What did Mriganko Babu do on reaching home and why?
Ans: On reaching home mriganko Babu charged for his watch under his wardrobe, which was lost three years ago and a witchdoctor confirmed it to be stolen by his servant Abhiram. This is why he decided that he would never call on a witch doctor. On the way back from Durgapur, where Mriganko Babu was invited for a felicitation programme, the car ran out of petrol in the middle of the road. He had to wait alone there and sent his driver Sudheer to fetch Petrol from Panagarh. When he looked along he saw a scarecrow on a small patch of land. He was able to recognise the shirt wore by the scarecrow, it was that which he once gifted his former servant Abhiram. After a period of time the scarecrow seemed to lightly and it took no time for Mriganko Babu to recognise that it was none other than Abhiram. The Scarecrow started telling all the incident about his lost watch and told that it was under the wardrobe. So, he went home and charged for the watch there.
Q.3: Why did Mriganko Babu state "All Bengali's are selfish"?
Ans: Mriganko Babu was invited for a felicitation programme in Durgapur. On his way back from Durgapur, he had to wait on the middle of the road as his car ran out of petrol. So, he send his driver to fetch petrol from Panagarh and had to wait there alone. When he was alone there, some cars, ambassadors and lorry passed by. But none of the drivers asked him for help and none stopped there. So, Mriganko Babu said about the selfishness of the Bengalis and said that- "All Bengalis are Selfish".
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