Class 8 It So Happened    THE FIGHT         BY PREETI MAHAJAN
About the author    Ruskin Bond is an Indian author of  British descent. He lives with his adopted  family in Landour, Mussoorie, India. The  Indian Council for Child Education has  recognised his role in the growth of  children's literature in India. He was  awarded the Sahitya Academy Award in  1992 for Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra,  his novel in English. He was awarded the  Padma Shri in 1999 and the Padma  Bhushan in 2014
Comprehension Check (Page 49)    1. In what way is the forest pool different from the one which Ranji knew in the     Rajputana desert?    2. The other boy asked Ranji to ‘explain’ himself.     (i) What did he expect Ranji to say?     (ii) Was he, in your opinion, right or wrong to ask this question?    3. Between Ranji and the other boy, who is trying to start a quarrel? Give a reason     for your answer.    4. “Then we will have to continue the fight,” said the other.     (i) What made him say that?     (ii) Did the fight continue? If not, why not?
ANSWERS    1. In the Rajputana desert, the pools were sticky and muddy where women washed       clothes or buffaloes wallowed. But forest pool was clean, cold and inviting. So Ranji       leapt into the water for swimming.    2. (i) The other boy, Suraj, expected Ranji to say ‘sorry’.       (ii) Suraj was a bully. He was wrong to prevent Ranji from using the pool. The pool       was common property.    3. It is Suraj who starts the quarrel. He asks Ranji to run away from the pool. He even       threatens to beat him.    4. (i) Suraj spoke the above words because he was tired but he did not want to spare       Ranji who refused to accept defeat. So he deferred the fight for the next day.       (ii) No, the fight didn’t continue the next day. Both Suraj and Ranji needed each       other’s help, so they compromised. Suraj asked Ranji to teach him to dive and swim       under water. While Ranji agreed to become a wrestler with the help of Suraj
Comprehension Check (Page 53)    ◦ What is it that Ranji finds difficult to explain at home?    ◦ Ranji sees his adversary in the bazaar.   (i) What does he wish to do?   (ii) What does he actually do, and why?    ◦ Ranji is not at all eager for a second fight. Why does he go back to the pool, then?    ◦ Who was the better swimmer? How do you know it?    ◦ What surprises the warrior?    ◦ Now that they are at the pool, why don’t they continue the fight?    ◦ Ranji’s superiority over the other boy is obvious in the following:   Physical strength:, good diving, his being a fighter, sense of humour, swimming under water, making   a good point, willingness to help.   Underline the relevant phrases.    ◦ What, according to you, makes the two adversaries turn into good friends in a matter of minutes?   Explain it as you have understood it.
Answers    ◦ Ranji had several cuts and bruises on his face and arms. He finds it difficult to explain the injuries at home.    ◦ (i) At first Ranji felt like turning away and look the other way. His second thought was to hit his enemy with the   lemonade bottle.   (ii) He actually stands his ground and only scowls at Suraj.    ◦ Ranji decides to go back to the pool to gain self-respect. If he surrenders now, he will be beaten for all time    ◦ Ranji was decidedly the better swimmer. We know it when he swims across the pool as his opponent says. He   dived for long into the water.    ◦ Ranji executes another perfect dive. Swimming under water, he circles Suraj and comes upon him from behind.   The warrior, Suraj, is surprised to see Ranji’s skill.    ◦ At the pool, the two contestants forgot to continue the fight. Their interest shifts to swimming and swinging   (diving).    ◦ Good diving, swimming under water, willingness to help, sense of humour.    ◦ Ranji and Suraj, two adversaries, turned into good friends in a few minutes for a couple of reasons. Both were   tired of fighting. Both needed each other’s help, guidance and support. Suraj wanted to learn diving from Ranji.   While Ranji liked the idea of becoming a strong wrestler with the help of Suraj.
Word web                thin    courageous              Dark                         skinned     Good       RANJI      Young,  swimmer                 short               Healthy,  heighted                  fit
Word web              Tall            brave     Good               Courageous  wrestler              confident              SURAJ     rude,                      hostile  Healthy,     fit              thickset
Long answers    ◦ Question 1:   Narrate the episode of the fight between Ranji and Suraj in the forest in about 100-125 words.   Answer:   Ranji was a thin built boy, fond of swimming. Once he discovered a pool in the forest. It was a   hot summer day. He got into the pool. Soon a boy, taller and stronger than him, arrived there. He   said that it was his pool and he would swim alone. He tried to frighten Ranji. He called himself a   warrior. Ranji stood his ground and proclaimed himself a fighter. The two fought over the right   to the pool. Both were tired and exhausted in the very fist fight. In the second fight, they faced   each other across the pool. They challenged each other. Ranji was decidedly a better swimmer   than Suraj. He could dive and swim under water. He established his superiority over his   adversary. Now the two agreed to help each other rather than fight. Ranji promised to teach Suraj   the art of swimming. Suraj offered to make Ranji a wrestler. They became friends.
◦Question 2:   Compare and contrast the character traits of the two adversaries or contestants   in the story ‘The Fight’.   Answer:   Suraj was a tall, thickset wrestler. He was a bully. He proclaimed that he was   a warrior and he had exclusive right to swim in the pool. He tried to scare   Ranji away. But Ranji had a strong feeling of self respect. He accepted the   challenge to fight. He thought if he surrendered he would lose his right to the   pool for ever. He suffered cuts and bruises. But he went to the pool ready for a   second fight. This time he proved his excellence as a swimmer. Suraj got   influenced by Ranji’s art of swimming. He also wanted to be a good   swimmer. So he agreed to get training from Ranji and in return make Ranji a   wrestler.
◦Question 3:   In the fight between Ranji and Suraj, who was the winner?   Answer:   Ranji was physically no match for Suraj, the tall wrestler. Yet they fought   over the right to use the pool. Ranji suffered cuts and bruises all over his   body, but he refused to surrender or accept defeat. In the first round the fight   ended in a draw. Next day they faced each other across the pool for a second   round of fight. But Ranji this time proved himself a better swimmer than his   adversary. They fought together to learn something worthwhile. They   suspended the fight after a while and became good friends. Hence neither   was the winner.
Short answers    ◦Question 1:   How has Rajpur’s summer been described in the lesson ‘The Fight’?   Answer:   The earth was parched, the grass brown, the trees listless, hardly stirring,   waiting for a cool wind or a refreshing shower of rain.    ◦Question 2:   Why did the pool not dry even in the extreme summer?   Answer:   The pool didn’t dry up like the pools in the plains because the rocks held   the water in it
RTC    ◦“If you dare to come here again tomorrow, we will continue this   fight, and I will not show you mercy as I have done today.”    ◦ A) Name the lesson and the writer.  ◦ B) Who is the speaker and the listener?  ◦ C) What impression can you form about the speaker from the above lines?  ◦ D) Convert the above statement into indirect speech.  ◦ E) Write the adjective form of MERCY.  ◦ F) Why was the fight stopped that day?  ◦ G)HERE refers to ____________________
RTC    ◦“We have got our own cow! Be my friend and I will make you a   pahelwan like me!.”    ◦ A) Name the lesson and the writer.  ◦ B) Who is the speaker and the listener?  ◦ C) What impression can you form about the speaker from the above lines?  ◦ D) Convert the above statement into indirect speech.  ◦ E) Write the adjective form of FRIEND  ◦ F) Write a word for wrestler from the above line.
◦Imagine yourself to be Ranji. Today you  have befriended Suraj who was your  opponent two days before . Write a diary  entry describing how you both became  friends . Also write about your feelings  after your friendship.
                                
                                
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