Colours of Rainbow | Summary

The author is looking out of the window. He was watching the beauties of nature. The rain had just stopped and drops of water dripping from plants. The kids were playing and making a lot of noise. Just then his daughter Munni came running up to him and asked him to come and see the swing of gudda – guddi. She pointed towards the rainbow in the sky. She told her father that she wants a swing of her own. The author told her to take the one in the sky which she refused. The author was lost in his own thoughts. He remembered how his grandmother had told her about the gudda – guddi. She had told him that he was a gudda and a guddi would come into his life. The guddi came in the form of his wife. She too had the same dreams as him. But life proved to be very tough for both of them. They with their four children found it difficult to cope up with his limited salary. The author often quarreled with his wife. This time round they also quarreled. The wife hurled choicest abuses at him and he left his home in anger.

The author returned home late at night. He took his meal outside and spent the afternoon in a cinema hall. The children had slept and his wife was waiting for him. She brought a Thali for him. She seemed to be normal. But the author insisted that he would not eat. But his wife insisted that he should eat or else she too will go hungry. She held his arm and the author had to oblige. He forced a morsel into her mouth. They laughed together. The next day the children told each other that their parents had reconciled and the swing of guddh and guddi was brighter that day.

Glossary

awning: a canvas supported by a frame to give protection against the weather
barely: almost not
oblivious: not aware of something
splendiferous: splendid; grand in appearance
musings: thoughts
convolutions: twists; (here) troubles, difficulties
hues: colours
tiff: a slight argument

brewing: about to happen
cherish: to love, care and protect good riddance: used to express happiness that someone or something unwanted has gone.

hauteur: excessive pride
awry: not right
well-to-do: rich, prosperous
remonstrate: to argue in protest
fortification: defence
breach: to break through
incarnation: human form

Q. 1. Working with the Text

(A) Answer the following questions.

1. What did the narrator observe when he looked out?
Ans. He observed the beauties of nature. He observed how the drops of water were dripping and sliding down the plants. He paid great attention to the raindrops.

2. Why was the narrator unable to pay attention to what his daughter was saying?

Ans. The narrator was lost in his own thoughts and thus was unable to pay attention to what his daughter was saying.

3. Why did the narrator have a tiff with his wife?

Ans. The family was hard up. The expenses had increased and the limited salary was insufficient for them to live a good life. The wife kept reminding the narrator of their poverty. This irritated him and he had a tiff with her.

4. What did the narrator find when he returned home late at night?
Ans. When the narrator returned the kids had gone to sleep. The wife was sitting all by herself. She had not eaten since morning and was waiting for her husband.

5. Why did the narrator not have an appetite?

Ans. The narrator had taken his lunch with his friends and thus had no appetite for more.

(B) The following phrases, phrasal verbs, and idioms occur in the text. Find the sentences in which they occur.

burst into laughter, close by, looked at, cope with, wan and weak, all by herself, feel homesick, grown-up, in a huff, lost sight of, get up, got fed up with, picked up, hard up

(C) There are many Hindi words used in the story. List those Hindi words and write them in the space provided.

Papaji

Gudda –guddi

Buddtic Prakash

Thali

Chapati

Language Work

Binomials

Binomials are expressions (often idiomatic) where two words are joined by a conjunction (usually ‘and’). The order of the words is usually fixed. It is best to use them only in informal situations, with one or two exceptions.

Odds and Ends: Small, unimportant things, e.g.: Let’s get the main things packed; we can do the odds and ends later.

Give and take: a spirit of compromise, e.g.: Every relationship needs a bit of give and take to be successful.

• Here are some jumbled binomials. Using similarities in sound, join them with ‘and’. Then check a dictionary that you have the right word order.

prim all high safe rough bread butter dry tough sundry proper sound

Ans. Prim and proper; all and sundry; high and dry; safe and sound; rough and tough; bread and butter.

Ans. Law and order; now and then; hit and trial; clean and tidy; pick and choose.

• The following binomials do not have and in the middle. What do they have? Check-in a dictionary if you are not sure.

1. Sooner …………………later

2. All ……………………..nothing

3. Back ………………….. white

4. Sink ………………….. swim

5. Slowly ……………….. surely

6. Make ………………… break

Ans. (1) Or; (2) For; (3) and; (4) or; (5) but; (6) or. Use the following binomials in your own sentences:
part and parcel
pick and choose
leaps and bounds
peace and tide
first and foremost
here and there
on and off
to and fro
ladies and gentlemen
black and white
sooner or later
hot and cold

Ans. Self Grammar Work

Question tags (Do you? Isn’t it? etc.)

Put a question tag at the end of the following sentences. The first two have been done for you.

1. Tom won’t be late, will he?

2. You’re tired, aren’t you?

3. You’ve got a camera, haven’t you?

4. You weren’t listening, were you?

5. She doesn’t know Aneeka, does she?

6. Mubashir is on holiday, isn’t he?

7. Ram’s applied for a job, hasn’t he?

8. You can speak Dogri, can’t you?

9. He won’t mind if I use his phone, would he?

10. There are a lot of people here, aren’t here?

11. Let’s go out tonight, should we?

12. This isn’t very interesting, is it?

13. I’m too impatient, aren’t I?

14. You wouldn’t tell anyone, would you?

15. You wouldn’t listen, would you?

16. I shouldn’t have lost my temper, should I?

17. Don’t drop that vase, will you?

18. You’d never met me before, had you?