Class 9 - Story 5

Treasure Chest
Story 5
The Boy who Broke the Bank

MCQs

1 - a

2 - b

3 - b

4 - a

5 - d

6 - b

7 - c

8 - d

9 - a

10 - c

11 - d

12 - c

13 - b

Contextual Questions

Extract 1

Ans 1: Nathu was a sweeper. He was annoyed and frustrated so he raised dust while sweeping the steps of the bank with a broom.

Ans 2: Nathu was annoyed. He was not paid his salary, nor the increment of two rupees a month which he had asked for. He was frustrated as he had no means of solving his problems. Due to this reason he was doing his duty hurriedly and carelessly.

Ans 3: Nathu banged his pan against the dustbin to show his annoyance. Nathu could do nothing other than raising dust and banging his pan to solve this issue. This shows us that Nathu was pragmatic.

Ans 4: Sitaram was the washerman's son. He was Nathu's friend and well wisher. He asked Nathu if he was angry because the bank didn't give him the increment that he had asked for. He helped Nathu by getting him a job. When he heard that Mrs. Shrivastava was looking for a sweeper he told her that he knew a sweeper who was looking for a job.

Ans 5: The incident of not paying the salary is introduced in the beginning of the story to set the tone of the story to show the main cause which led to the later events. Its consequences were the spread of rumours about the bank's financial stability which led to panic among the customers and eventually the collapse of the bank.

Extract 2

Ans 1: Mrs. Srivastava was a resident of Pipalnagar and a customer of Sitaram. She gave instructions to the ayah about the baby and told the cook to prepare the mid-day meal on time. So, we can say that she cares for her family.

Ans 2: She went to purchase cloth after making a 'customary tour'. Later, she went to stand under the shade of a tamarind tree at one end of the market. Yes, we think that it was a regular practice because she knew where to find her friend to chat up with her after shopping.

Ans 3: Mrs. Srivastava and Mrs. Bhushan first discussed the summer heat. Then they discussed about the shade, texture and design of the cloth purchased by Mrs. Srivastava. Finally, they discussed about the condition of Seth Govind Ram's bank.

Ans 4: Apparently, the bank was unable to pay its employees. The sweeper had not received his wages for a month. The news spread because the sweeper had complained about his situation to Sitaram. Sitaram informed the sweeper's situation to Mrs. Srivastava, who told it to Mrs. Bhushan, and Mrs. Bhushan to her husband and the shopkeeper with whom he was chatting.

Ans 5: Mrs. Bhushan knew her husband would be chatting with some shop owner. She claimed that she was looking for him. He replied that it would have been easy if she weren't busy in going from one shop to another. It says about them that, they are both middle-aged, comfortable with one another and have a lot of time to kill.

Extract 3

Ans 1: Deep Chand was the barber in the shop next to Kamal Kishore's shop. The news was given to him by Kamal Kishore. He gave him the news to inform him that the Pipalnagar bank was about to collapse and that he should withdraw all his money from there.

Ans 2: Deep Chand was startled by the rumour. He nicked his customer's right ear. He was distressed upon hearing the news. We believe that he followed the advice and rushed to the bank to withdraw his money.

Ans 3: The customer jumped up with one side of his face unshaven. He rushed to the store across the road and tried to contact Seth Govind Ram by telephone. He later went to his office to take his cheque book to withdraw money from the bank. Yes, his reaction was followed by other people in the town.

Ans 4: The customer had deposited money in the Pipalnagar bank, so he would lose his money if the bank collapsed. This concerned him more than his injury. It reflects that the customers of the bank were all insecure and did not trust the bank for the safekeeping of their money.

Ans 5: Mrs. Bhushan and Kamal Kishore are two of the many people who spread the rumour. Mrs. Srivastava told the news to Mrs. Bhushan, who told it to her husband and was overheard by Kamal Kishore. Kamal Kishore gave the news to Deep Chand, the barber in the next shop.

Extract 4

Ans 1: It means that Seth Govind Ram has fled the city with all the money of the bank. It confirms the rumours for the people that the bank was on the verge of collapse.

Ans 2: Deep Chand rushed to withdraw his money from the bank. The rumour from the market spread throughout the town. The shopkeepers and vendors told each other and their customers of the rumours. Everyone rushed to withdraw their cash.

Ans 3: Deep Chand concluded that the bank had collapsed because his customer was unable to contact Seth Govind Ram, the owner of the bank.

Ans 4: I think it was the elderly customer of Deep Chand who was responsible for the apparent collapse of the bank. He jumped up with his half unshaven face on hearing the news and ran to call the bank owner. He informed Deep Chand that the owner had fled the town. This caused a huge commotion in the market, leading to the other events which caused the collapse of the bank.

Ans 5: The story shows that the people trusted one another by depicting how quickly the rumour spread throughout the town. The residents of Pipalnagar did not seek to verify the information. They really believed and acted upon the rumour. This displays a strong sense of community trust, but also shows its negative consequences.