Leela's Friend by R.K Narayan Class XI English 1st Lesson

 

Leela's Friend by R.K Narayan Most Important Question Answer | Class XI English 1st Lesson Question Answer 2023-24

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Q : Justify the title of the story Leela's Friend'.

Or, Does the story revolve round Leela's Friend?

Ans : Siddha is Leela's friend in R. K. Narayan's short story 'Leela's Friend'. The entire story revolves around him. In Shivsanker's household, Siddhas were employed as servants for various tasks. The Siddha proves to be able to perform all the tasks very well as per his master's instructions. But Siddha did not remain a servant of the family, he quickly became Leela's friend. They find simple yet extreme joy when they play together. Leela happily runs a school for Siddhas in the evenings with her best efforts. After dinner, Sidda tells Leela all the incredible stories. Siddha indeed becomes Leela's friend. But the chain being lost and Sidda being caught by the police changed the situation completely. In between, Leela mentions some crimes committed against her friend. Sidda were not allowed to sit on their sitting chairs or beds and were not allowed to sleep inside their houses. Leela protests against her parents and the police. Rather than being known as a disenfranchised servant, Sidda remains Leela's friend at the end of the story, thus justifying the title.

Q : "He looked at her mutely, like an animal." - Who looked at whoom ? What was the situation when this occurred ?

Ans : Sidda looked at Leela, mutely as an animal.

Mr. Sivashanker's wife blamed Sidda for losing Leela's chain and the incident was reported to the police. After four days a police inspector brought Sidda back home. Leela is excited to see Sidda back. She wanted to be released. She reiterated that Siddha did not take the chain. When the constable takes Sidda's hand to take him to the police station, Leela grabs Sidda's hand. At that time the said incident occurred.

Q : "What a risk we took..."- What was the risk taken ? What assurance did Mr Sivasanker get from the police ?

Ans : Mr. Sivashanker told his wife that they had taken a big risk by employing Sidda as a servant. According to the police report, Sidda is an old criminal. who has been jailed at least six times for stealing children's ornaments. The police inspector could easily identify Sidda from his description and he got angry with Mr. Sivashanker. To keep Siddha at home without any consultation. Mr. Sivashanker was assured by the police that Sidda would be arrested very soon. As Sidda is an old jail convict. So they know his deras very well. So there is a good chance of getting the gold chain back.

Q : How did Leela try to make sidda write and what was the result?  Or, Describe Leela's class for Sidda.  Or, How did Leela try to educate Sidda?  Or, Briefly discuss Leela's role as a teacher to Sidda.  Or, Describe the teaching episode between Leela and Sidda.

Ans : Little Leela, daughter of Mr. Sivasankar, had just begun to learn the alphabet and had learned to draw some pictures of animals and birds and had mastered two or three letters. Sidda entertained Leela but she was illiterate. She thought she would be doing him a good turn by teaching him. After all it was the only occasion when the youngest member of the family could take the place of an elder. So he started teaching the Siddhas and it gave him great pleasure. At that time Sidda's condition was critical. He could not draw a perfect 'crow' or shape his 'B' correctly. His wrists would become stiff and rigid. Sidda used to send him away saying that his mother was calling him for dinner to get rid of the tough taskmaster.

Q : Describe how Sidda made Leela 'supremely happy'? Or, How does Sidda's company make Leela 'supremely happy'?

Ans : Leela and Sidda gradually develop a unique relationship between themselves. Sidda seems to know the magician's tricks. He can touch the ball to the moon. He can even make the moon move at will. He tells wonderful stories to Leela. He gives Leela his pleasant company whenever she wants it. All this makes Leela extremely happy.

Q : "Sidda, come and play!"-What would Sidda do when he heard this call? What kind of games did the speaker play?

Ans : The quoted line is from the story 'Leela's Friends' by Rk Narayan. In the story whenever Leela would call Sidda saying the quoted line then Sidda would leave any work and rush to Leela.

The little girl and the house servant used to play with a red ball and the moon. Leela throws the red ball at him and Sidda throws the ball back to Leela. As per Leela's wishes, Siddha throws the ball up and tells her that the ball touched the moon and came down. Leela was shocked. Sidda told Leela that he had asked Chand to follow them from the rose tree to the well, and Leela would have easily believed it. But whatever the game, they both enjoyed each other's company.

Q : What did Leela's mother do when she found the gold chain in the tamarind pot? How did Leela's father react?

Ans : Leela's mother found the chain in the tamarind pot a few days later. After finding the chain, he washed the tamarind lining off the chain. Upon finding the chain, the Sivashankar family expressed no remorse for their mistreatment of Sidda. When Leela's father Mr. Shivashankar learns about the recovery of the chain, he blames Leela for the incident. He decides to go and tell the police about finding the chain himself, but he refuses to hire Siddha at their house. According to him, Sidda is a criminal.

Q : What is your idea about Leela, the friend of Sidda?

Or, Discuss in short the relationship between Leela and Sidda.

Ans : Leela takes the final role in hiring Sidda as a housekeeper. Although he is a bit cute, you want to love him when you see him. Her sweet demeanor easily attracts Sidda. Sidda enjoys fulfilling her childish needs. He keeps Sidda busy with his various antics. She is very sensitive about understanding Siddha's position in the family and sympathetic towards Siddha. Siddhar's company is dearer to him than a chain of gold. He does not hesitate to blame his mother for misbehaving with Sidda. Sidda is an outcast from society and an easy victim. But through Leela we understand that she also has a human soul.

Q : Give a brief character sketch of Sidda?

Ans : Siddha is one of the two main characters in the story Leela's Friend. He is a young poor boy who works as a domestic servant for two meals a day and a monthly salary of four rupees. He is clean, tidy and hardworking. In addition to all his hard work and work, he has the additional responsibility of taking care of Leela, which he does with great pleasure. The sweet and charming side of his character comes out when he interacts with little Leela. She is imaginative, creative and can keep a little girl like Leela happy and calm. He understands the psychology of children very well. He has endless stories to tell. So it is not at all surprising that in no time Leela becomes addicted to him. But unfortunately Leela's gold chain is lost and Sidda is declared a thief. Sidda's only fault is that he is poor and mean. So though he denies the theft but at the same time he runs away from home. Such is the irony of fate when the gold chain is found in a tamarind container at home. Mr. Sivashankar then decided to report the matter to the police but he was adamant about not re-employing Sidda in any way. Because he is labeled as a criminal. Finally Siddha is the tragic character whose low social position deprives him of the taste of healthy and smooth life.

Q : "Sidda had vanished into the night."- Why did Sidda vanish into the night ? Narrate what happened after Sidda vanished into the night ? OR, Briefly discuss the missing chain episode and its consequences.

Ans : When Leela's mother saw that the chain that Leela was wearing was missing, she slapped Leela. Then he shouted and called Sidda. He was scolded for asking about the chain and threatened to call the police. When Sidda said she didn't know anything about it, she went back to the kitchen and that's when Sidda disappeared into the darkness of the night. Sidda had left home at once probably on the hint of some harsh decision against him. Leela's father Shivshanker got very excited after hearing this and went to the police station to file a complaint. After four days, a police inspector and a constable arrested Sidda. Sidda denied the allegations against him. Leela supported him. The police did not listen to them. The chain was recovered from a pot of tamarind a few days later, but Sidda was not reinstated as a domestic servant.

Q : How do Mr and Mrs Sivasanker react to Leela's missing chain ? How does Leela herself react ? What does this suggest about each of them ?

Ans : Mrs. Sivashanker noticed that the gold necklace is not on Leela's neck. When questioned both Leela and Sidda claimed to know nothing about the missing chain. Mrs. Sivashankar then directly accused Sidda of stealing the necklace and threatened to inform the police. Siddha ran away in fear. When Mr. Sivashankar was informed of the incident, he became quite agitated. He went to the police station and lodged a complaint in the name of Siddar.

Only Leela remained indifferent to the loss of the chain.

It indicates that Mr. and Mrs. Sivashanker are very materialistic and skeptical. They are narrow-minded and judge by appearances, but Leela is really an innocent child who wanders in her own play and fantasy world. Like his parents, he doesn't have the financial value of losing money, and she has a firm trust in people she knows.

Q : "Don't send him away. Let us keep him in our house." - Who was the speaker and to whom was it spoken ? About whom was it said ? How did the person or persons spoken to react ?

Ans : Leela is the speaker of these words and she says these words to her father Mr. Shivashanker.

The words are told about Sidda who has come to their house for work.

Mr. Sivashanker and his wife could not make up their minds whether to employ Sidda or not. But Leela liked him and when she insisted, they agreed with Leela. They decided to employ Sidda as their household worker. So, they responded to Leela's words in favor of hiring Sidda.