Chapter 8 – A Short Monsoon Diary Solutions
Question - 1 : - Why is the author not able to see Bijju?
Answer - 1 : -
The author was unable to see Bijju due to the mist that covered the hills of Mussoorie like a thick white blanket. It completely concealed the hills and the author was unable to hear and see Bijju in this condition.
Question - 2 : - What are the two ways in which the hills appear to change when the mist comes up?
Answer - 2 : -
When the mist comes up, it covers and conceals the hills completely like a thick white blanket. Besides, the trees that usually ring with bird songs tend to appear deathly and silent as the birds do not make any chirping sound and react as though it were midnight.
Question - 3 : - When does the monsoon season begin and when does it end? How do you prepare to face the monsoon?
Answer - 3 : -
In India, the monsoon starts setting in from May-end every year. According to the author’s monsoon diaries, the monsoon mist first appears in Mussoorie on June 24 or 25 and continues until August 31 or mid-September. We usually carry umbrellas and raincoats to face the monsoon and protect ourselves from getting wet and falling sick unnecessarily.
Question - 4 : - Which hill-station does the author describe in this diary entry?
Answer - 4 : -
According to the diary entry, the author describes the beautiful and mesmerizing hill station named Mussoorie.
Question - 5 : - For how many days does it rain without stopping? What does the author do on these days?
Answer - 5 : -
It rained continuously for eight to nine days. As the weather was damp and soggy outside and he could not go outside, he kept pacing his room and looked out of the window at a few bobbing umbrellas.
Question - 6 : - Where do the snakes and rodents take shelter? Why?
Answer - 6 : -
Snakes and rodents come out of their holes and burrows and they take shelter in roofs, attics and godowns to save themselves from getting wet in the rain water.
Question - 7 : - What did the author receive in the mail?
Answer - 7 : -
The author received a cheque in the mail.
Question - 8 : - 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 - 8 : -
According to Ruskin Bond’s diary entries, June 24 is the first day of monsoon mist. The hills are concealed by a thick white blanket of mist and filled with utmost silence. From June 25, the real monsoon starts setting in and the entire Nature including human beings, birds, animals and trees welcome it. The first cobra lily rears its head from the ferns.
People get habituated with the monsoon season by August 2. Rain starts drumming on the corrugated tin roofs of their houses. Although there is no storm or thunder, there is just the steady swish of a tropical downpour. Snakes and rodents start coming out of their holes and burrows and they take shelter in roofs, attics and godowns to save themselves from getting wet in the rain water.
March 23 signals the end of winter. The blackest cloud slowly occupies the sky that is followed by a hailstorm. This clears the sky completely and soon a rainbow starts forming. This is one of the best and most splendid sights that anyone could visualize or experience about the beauty of Nature.
Question - 9 : - Why did the grandmother ask the children not to kill the Chuchundar?
Answer - 9 : -
The grandmother asked the children not to kill the Chuchundar because this animal is considered to be lucky and bring in good fortune and money.
Question - 10 : - What signs do we find in Nature which show that the monsoons are about to end?
Answer - 10 : -
The hillsides in Mussoorie become lush green as late-monsoon flowers begin to appear — wild balsam, dahlias, begonias and ground orchids. The seeds of the cobra lily slowly start turning red that signify the rains are coming to an end and the monsoon season is almost over.