Indigo Story Questions and Answers & MCQs

ISC Prism Workbook Solutions Chapter 9 Indigo

Indigo Story Long Answer Questions

Question 1.
Satyajit Ray’s short story, “Indigo” is out and out a supernatural story. Do you agree? Give reasons in support of your answer.
Answer:
Supernatural stories or fictions normally concern itself with the matters of god, the soul, archangels and resurrection. Subgenres include horror fiction, gothic, ghost stories, supernatural thrillers and other macabre stories in the horror genre. But the primary essence of a supernatural story is to create an atmosphere of uncanny, ominous world where ‘’fair is foul, and foul is fair.” Besides, the reader must be mentally ready to suspend their disbelief.

Ray’s “Indigo” is necessarily a supernatural story in all respect. The rain soaked, frog croaking night, the old dilapidated Dak bungalow, the old chowkidar, the spooky big room with only a charpoy- all create in reader a readiness for a mystery and omen. Aniruddha, the central character in the story and the only occupant of the Dak Bungalow at that night, slowly observed changes in the dimly lit room. His wrist watch was gone and so was his torch from under the pillow.

He jumped out of the charpoy and looked under it. His suitcase too, was gone. He wondered because no thief could come in as the door was neatly bolted. While undoing the bolt, he suddenly noticed that his hands had become white. He found to his utter surprise that his erstwhile vest was replaced by a long-sleeved silk shirt. His surprise knew no bounds when he shouted from the veranda, ’’Chowkidar”, and the voice and the accent were unmistakably that of an Englishman.

In the distance, was a building with a high chimney-reminiscent of an Indigo processing unit, that added to the eerie of the situation. The surroundings were unusually quiet. The dimly lit lantern had actually made the room darker but now Aniruddha could clearly see through the darkness.

He could see clearly that his charpoy was replaced by a costly cot covered with mosquito net. The pillow had a border with frills. The table and chair had lost their aged look. Instead of a lantern, there stood a kerosene lamp with an ornate shade. There were other paraphernalia which he had not brought with him.

Aniruddha was terrified now and went to bathroom to look at his reflection in the mirror. All he found there was a nineteenth century Englishman with a sallow complexion, blond hair and light eyes from which shone a strange mixture of hardness and suffering. The spirit of the Englishman had possessed Aniruddha. It was the Englishman who moved, spoke and acted in the body and mind of Aniruddha, who was in his full senses but was helpless.

Then the ghost of the Englishman came to the writing desk and made Aniruddha write some confessions. How malaria, played havoc in his life, how his ill reputation barred him to go back to England etc. Then he drew out a revolver from the drawer, called ‘’Rex”, his pet hound, and shot him. He also shot at the right ear with the same revolver. Aniruddha fainted and that signified that the ghost had left him. Thus, the story is perfectly supernatural only.

Question 2.
What were the “snags” for Aniruddha from the start of his journey till Dumka?
Answer:
To start with Aniruddha’s father’s old friend uncle Mohit suddenly turned up when Aniruddha was ready to set out from home. Then came Bholababu, Aniruddha’s ground-floor neighbor, whose advice for an additional driver for this long journey, was to be heeded to. The first thirty miles of journey through dinghy towns took out from him the fun of driving.

Close to Panagarh military camp, one of his car’s rear tyres became flat. He brought out the jack from the boot of the car and replaced the flat tyre. It was half past two of the day and Aniruddha was back to his driving seat. Seeing a patch of blue-black clouds in the western sky, he doubted about the impending strike of a norwester, but he couldn’t help it anyway.

So, he drank some hot tea from the flask, and concentrated on driving faster. Before he could cross Ilambazar, the violent norwester pounced on his car and it seemed that the shafts of lightning were sure to make the car its mark in no time.

Somehow Aniruddha passed Suri and was on way to Massanjore when another tyre of the car gave in. By the time, the cloud, had burst out and were raining in all their might. The wiper was moving but it hardly cleared the frontal view. Looked liked the world was enveloped in a dusky wrapper whereas the April sun still should be in the sky. After waiting there for quarter of an hour, Aniruddha found that no other vehicle had passed by that road. He must have mistaken to keep up the right road.

Then suddenly there blew a horn from behind. It was a truck. Aniruddha got down from his car and found that his car stood swerved in the middle of the road and that had blocked the way of the truck. Aniruddha, the truck driver and his helper came out in the drizzling street and struggled hard to push the car at a side of the road. The truck left and Aniruddha went back to his car.

Minutes later, Aniruddha found the mild gleam of a lantern light and following it, he arrived at an old, dilapidated Dak bungalow where the main story began. We, however, do not know whether or not Aniruddha reached his destination after what happened at the Dak bungalow. These were the “snags” for Aniruddha from the start of his journey to Dumka.

Indigo Story Short Answer Questions

Question 1.
What information does Aniruddha Bose share with readers in the beginning?
Answer:
Introducing himself to the reader, the main character Aniruddha Bose, a bachelor of twenty-nine, informs the reader that he works for an advertising agency He resides in a flat at Sardar Shankar Road in Calcutta. He possess an Ambassador car. He takes infacy in writing which gets published in various magazines. Recently he is reading a lot about the 19th century “Indigo” plantation in Bihar and Bengal. This research work has made him quite expert.

Question 2.
Why did Aniruddha Bose consider himself an expert on indigo plantation.
Answer:
Aniruddha Bose, a bachelor of twenty-nine is considering himself an expert on indigo plantation because he is reading a lot and making research on the events related with the 19th century indigo plantation in Bihar and Bengal under the British era.

Question 3.
Who was Pramode? Why did Aniruddha Bose went to visit Dwnka?
Answer:
Pramod was Aniruddha Bose’s friend and classmate. He was posted in Dumka in the Forest Department. Pramode invited Aniruddha to visit Dumka on 27th April and Aniruddha readily accepted it to escape from the noisy hectic city in to the open

Question 4.
What glitches did Aniruddha face on the day of her visit to Dumka?
Answer:
Aniruddha decided to start early but there were some glitches which prevented him from a good start. Uncle Mohit visited him after ten year. Aniruddha catered him with tea and light refreshments. His neighbour Bhola Babu stopped him and enquired about his visit. Satisfying them somehow, Aniruddha left Calcutta for Dumka around ten minutes past eleven.

Question 5.
Describe Aniruddha’s family background.
Answer:
Aniruddha Bose in his autobiography narrated that his father was a well-known physician who practiced at Monghyr – where he was born. His brother was five years older than him. His father died when Aniruddha was just sixteen. After his father’s death, they shifted to Calcutta and he studies at St. Xavier’s College for his bachelor degree. As he could speak English. Fluently, he easily got a job in an Advertising agency.

Question 6.
Why did the Sikh truck driver honked so loudly.
Answer:
On his way to Dumka, Aniruddha relaxad himself for a short while with his cigarette. He was oblivious of the fact that he had left his Ambassador right in the middle of the road and had blocked the road, for traffic to pass. The Sikh driver at first became annoyed and honked loudly for his clear exit. Later realising that Aniruddha’s tyre was flat, the driver and his helper helped Aniruddha to push his car on one side of the road.

Question 7.
What did Aniruddha decide when he realised that it was quite difficult to reach Dumka?
Answer:
When Aniruddha realised that it was difficult for him to reach Dumka that night, he decided to continue his journey until he seeks for himself a night shelter. Meanwhile, the rain turned into a drizzle. While continuing his journey he identified a rectangle of orange light and guessed out that it was a type of shelter for him and approached towards it.

Question 8.
Who was Sukhanram?
Answer:
Sukhanram was the caretaker of the old Dak Bungalow, of the indigo planters, where Aniruddha took his night refuge. He was a stocky, middle aged man with a thick moustache. He offered food and
shelter to Aniruddha

Question 9.
How did Anirud dha feel on getting transformed?
Answer:
Due to excessive journey and rain. Aniruddha took refuge in an old British Dak Bungalow on the night of 27th April. The Dak Bungalow belonged to the old British indigo planters. That night Aniruddha experience shocking change in him and he transformed into an English indigo tax collector. He was not in his self. He wrote letter dated 27th April,1868. He also lost his self control and shot Rex with his pistol. But the very next day Anirnddha awakes and find everything normal.

Question 10.
What kind of story is the ‘Indigo’
Answer:
Satyajit Ray’s short story ‘Indigo’ is a well knit gripping horror story where suspense plays a beautiful part. The story is narrated by the main character, Aniruddha Bose, who had to spend an unplanned night in an old bungalow wherein he has to encounter an almost paranormal phenomenon. He begins to doubt if anybody would believe his story of nightmares which took place of 27th April – the 100th death anniversary of one of the indigo tax lords.

Question 11.
What was the first snag at Aniruddha’s journey from Calcutta to Dumka?
Answer:
Uncle Mohit, Aniruddha’s father’s old friend paid a visit at the material hour after ten years. Aniniddha had to offer him tea and listen to his chit-chat for over an hour. That was the first snag.

Question 12.
What was the second snag?
Answer:
The second snag was Bholababu, Aniruddha’s ground floor neighbour who walked up with his four year old son Pintu in two. After knowing about his solo driving to Dumka, he expressed his concern and being assured that Aniruddha was a cautious driver, he left wishing good luck

Question 13.
Where did Aniruddha have a light meal?
Answer:
When Aniruddha was driving near Burdwan, he stopped his car by the station and had a light meal of toast, omelette and coffee. It was about half past 12.

Question 13.
when did Amruddha have his second tyre of the car flat?
Answer:
It was through a heavy shower of the norwester that Aniruddha was on his way to Massanjore when his second tyre became flat

Question 14.
Why did the truck blow its horn from behind when Aniruddha’s car had stopped on the road?
Answer:
When Aniruddha’s car stopped on the road having a flat tyre, it had swerved at an angle that blocked the road. The truck-driver wanted Aniruddha to remove his car at a side of the road. So, he blew his horn.

Question 15.
After the truck went away and Aniruddha resumed his seat in the car, he saw a rectangle orange light through the branches of tree. What was that?
Answer:
It was a small cottage with a corrugated tin roof under which there were a hurricane lantern and a charpoy.

Question 16.
Who was the “Stocky, middle-aged man”?
Answer:
He was Sukhanram, the chowkidar of the Dakbungalow.

Indigo Story Logic Based Questions

Complete the following sentences by providing a REASON for each:

Question 1.
Aniruddha was doing a bit of writing work also because ………….
Answer:
some of his stories were published in some magazines.

Question 2.
Aniruddha considered himself an expert on “Indigo plantation” because ………….
Answer:
For last few month he was reading a lot about the 19th century indigo plantation in Bihar and Bengal. He consider himself an expert from the knowledge he gained from such research.

Question 3.
Aniruddha and his mother had to shift to calcutta because
Answer:
his father, a well-known physician in Monghyr, the place where he was bom, died. After his father’s death he shifted from Monghyr to Calcutta with his mother.

Question 4.
Aniruddha got job in an Advertising Agency because ……..
Answer:
he could speak English fluently.

Question 5.
He had made several trips in his car bee mse ……..
Answer:
he had a strong desire to get away from the noisy hectic city in the open to breath in fresh air.

Question 6.
Aniruddha left for Dumka because ……..
Answer:
his friend and classmate Pramode, who was posted in Dumka in the Forest Department insisted him to visit Dumka.

Question 7.
Uncle Mohit could not be treated lightly because ……..
Answer:
he was Animddha’s father’s old friend who came after ten years to meet hitn. Aniruddha had to offer him tea and listen to his chat for over an hour.

Question 8.
Aniruddha watch turned muggy because ……..
Answer:
at Panagarh his car tyres went flat. He had a spare tyre and he set for the repair work. The work made him dripping with sweat and his watch turned muggy in the meanwhile.

Question 9.
Aniruddha recited Tagore’s poems to himself because ……..
Answer:
he wanted to blend his mood. He wanted to make his long drive enjoyable and relaxing.

Question 10.
The truck driving was honking again and again because ……..
Answer:
Aniruddha was relaxing with his cigarrette placing his car in the middle of the road and blocking the road and making it difficult for the truck to pass.

Indigo Story MCQs

Question 1.
Aniruddha is – years old
a. 35
b. 25
c. 45
d. 29
Answer:
d. 29

Question 2.
Aniruddha has been working in an ………..
a. Steel factory
b. Aluminum factory
c. Publishing house
d. Advertising agency
Answer:
d. Advertising agency

Question 3.
Aniruddha has a car ……….
a. Fiat
b. Maruti
c. Honda
d. Ambassador
Answer:
d. Ambassador

Question 4.
Besides job, Aniruddha works as …………
a. Freelance artist
b. Musician
c. Journalist
d. Writer
Answer:
d. Writer

Question 5.
Aniruddha read a lot about
a. Ian Fleming
b. Feluda
c. French Revolution
d. Indigo plantation
Answer:
d. Indigo plantation

Question 6.
“Golders green” is a – in England
a. Sugar cane factory
b. Gold extraction unit
c. Residential complex
d. Hospital
Answer:
d. Hospital

Question 7.
Aniruddha was – when his father died
a. 17
b. 18
c. 14
d. 13
Answer:
a. 17

Question 8.
“there was snag right at the start”. The snag was ……………
a. A flat tyre
b. A thief broke in
c. Uncle Mohit came in
d. The servant fainted
Answer:
c. Uncle Mohit came in

Question 9.
The second snag was …………
a. When a rain started.
b. When Bholababu came.
c. When he was allowed to leave Calcutta.
d. His bike collided.
Answer:
b. When Bholababu came.

Question 10.
The first tyre became flat when Aniruddha was closed to …………
a. Burdwan
b. Bankura
c. Panagarh
d. Barasat
Answer:
c. Panagarh

Question 11.
Predicament means-
a. An invitation
b. A dress
c. Difficulty
d. Journey
Answer:
c. Difficulty

Question 12.
FroJicsome means-
a. Lively and playful
b. Troublesome.
c. Dangerous.
Answer:
a. Lively and playful

Question 13.
The second tyre fell flat when Aniruddha was on his way to
a. Mussourie
b. Mathabhanga
c. Massanjore
d. Mashagram
Answer:
c. Massanjore

Question 14.
The driver of the truck was
a. A Bihari
b. A Haryanvi
c. A Sikh
d. A Marathi
Answer:
c. A Sikh

Question 15.
The name of the Chowkidar at the Dakbungalow was ……….
a. Tukaram
b. Bitthalrarn
c. Sukhanram
d. Hariram
Answer:
c. Sukhanram

Prism A Collection of ISC Short Stories Workbook Answers

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