Hornbill Prose : Chapter 5 The Adventure English Core - Hornbill Prose : Chapter 5 The Adventure

“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.’

1. What was the intended topic of Professor Gaitonde's thousandth presidential address?
A) Speculation on historical events.
B) Real-life experiences.
C) The outcome of the battle.
D) The significance of the Azad Maidan incident.

2. How did Rajendra respond to Professor Gaitonde's comment about his thousandth presidential address?
A) He laughed.
B) He expressed surprise.
C) He became serious.
D) He disagreed.

3. Why did Professor Gaitonde convey his regrets to the organisers of the Panipat seminar?
A) He was unable to attend due to his disappearance.
B) He had already made his thousandth presidential address.
C) He disagreed with the seminar's topic.
D) He was too busy with other commitments.

“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 ’ 

1. What evidence did Professor Gaitonde present to Rajendra?
A) A torn page from a book.
B) A photograph.
C) A handwritten note.
D) A video recording.

2. How did Rajendra react after reading the text on the torn page?
A) He smiled smugly.
B) He became visibly moved and grave.
C) He expressed disbelief.
D) He ignored it.

3. What crucial information did the torn page contain?
A) A description of a battle.
B) A recipe for a traditional dish.
C) A list of historical figures.
D) A prophecy about Vishwasrao.

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.”
1. Where did Professor Gaitonde go for a stroll after finding a guest house to stay in?
A) Azad Maidan.
B) A nearby park.
C) A local market.
D) A historical monument.

2. What caught Professor Gaitonde's attention while he was at Azad Maidan?
A) A cricket match.
B) A political rally.
C) A lecture being set up.
D) A cultural festival.

3. Why did Professor Gaitonde feel compelled to speak out at the lecture?
A) The speaker was too shocked to continue.
B) The audience urged him to share his views.
C) He disagreed with the topic of the lecture.
D) The presidential chair was left unoccupied.

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 eventfully 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. 
1. What was the immediate result of the Marathas' victory in the battle mentioned in the passage?
A) The East India Company expanded its influence in northern India.
B) The Peshwas' influence increased, particularly for Bhausaheb and Vishwasrao.
C) Dadasaheb became the dominant figure in state politics.
D) The Marathas faced internal conflicts and divisions

2.How did the East India Company respond to the Marathas' victory in the battle?
A) By intensifying its expansionist program.
B) By withdrawing from its expansionist efforts temporarily.
C) By seeking alliances with other Indian rulers.
D) By initiating peace negotiations with the Marathas.

3. What characterized the rule of Vishwasrao and his brother, Madhavrao, according to the passage?
A) Political incompetence and military weakness.
B) Collaboration with European powers.
C) Systematic expansion of influence across India.
D) Withdrawal from state politics.

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.
1. What was Professor Gangadharpant's main concern upon arriving at the Town Hall?
A) Finding a place to stay.
B) Exploring the city's landmarks.
C) Sampling local cuisine.
D) Accessing the library of the Asiatic Society.

2. Which volume of history books revealed the change in historical events for Professor Gangadharpant?
A) Volume one.
B) Volume two.
C) Volume three.
D) Volume five.

3. How did Professor Gangadharpant attempt to pinpoint the moment where history had taken a different turn?
A) By reading volume five from beginning to end.
B) By reading volume five from both ends inwards.
C) By consulting historical documents.
D) By discussing with other historians.

How did Professor Gaitonde make the transition from one reality to the other?

How did Rajendra relate the lack of determinism in quantum theory to the Professor’s experience?

How did Rajendra explain ‘reality’?

‘… facts can be stranger than fantasies, as I am beginning to realise.’ Why did Rajendra say this?

What happened when Professor Gaitonde went ahead to occupy the chair on the dais?

Describe what Gaitonde read about the battle of Panipat in the library of the Town Hall. What were the immediate consequences?