Summary: Hanuman and I
In Hanuman and I, the speaker is a little girl who is taking part in a play for her school’s annual day
program. She wants to play Rama, Laxmana or Hanuman, but is given the role of one of the monkeys in the Vanar Sena. On the day of the performance, Alka—the girl playing Hanuman—falls ill and cannot perform anymore. The speaker’s dream comes true when she is selected to play Hanuman in Alka’s place. But when she goes on stage, the speaker experiences stage fright.
The teacher prompts the speaker’s dialogues from the wings and the speaker repeats after the teacher
without realising what she is saying. This leads to a lot of confusion and laughter as the speaker says
things that are supposed to be instructions for her or she accidentally says someone else’s lines. For
example, the speaker tells Rama that he has forgotten to pin on his tail, when in fact her teacher had
been telling her that she had forgotten to do so. She also accidentally starts repeating Sita’s dialogues
and tells Sita that Ravana wants to marry her and not Sita! The teacher cuts the speaker’s role short
because of these mistakes.
During the last act of the play, Ravana comes on stage and the speaker is terrified because she thinks it
is the real Ravana. She throws her mask off and says that she isn’t Hanuman, causing the audience to
roar with laughter. The teacher is angry and drags her off stage.
Hanuman and I is a hilarious story about the embarrassing mistakes that we sometimes make as
children. It conveys the point that mistakes are a part of everybody’s life while growing up. The
humorous style of the text allows us to treat mistakes lightly and is a gentle reminder to us to not let
them become painful memories.
Comprehension
A. 1. The speaker’s dream was to play the role of Rama, Laxmana or Hanuman in the school annual day
play. Her dream came true when Alka—the girl playing Hanuman—fell ill and the teacher asked
the speaker to play Hanuman in her place.
2. The teacher helped the speaker during the play by reading out the dialogues she forgot.
3. The speaker started repeating whatever the teacher was saying without realising what she was
saying.
4. When the speaker made mistakes, the teacher cut her role as short as possible. Then, towards the
ending, the teacher dragged the speaker off the stage.
B. 1. a. The teacher was feeling dismayed because Alka, who played the role of Hanuman, had fallen ill
and she had to choose another student to replace her.
b. The teacher chose the speaker to replace Alka in the role of Hanuman.
c. The teacher was worried whether the speaker could play the role of Hanuman without any
practice. She was right to worry because the speaker was nervous and made many mistakes
with her dialogues, leading to a lot of confusion
2. a. Rama was talking to the speaker.
b. The speaker was repeating what the teacher said without realising what she was saying. In
this case, the teacher was telling the speaker that she had forgotten to pin on her tail and the
speaker repeated this to Rama.
c. When the teacher prompted the speaker to jump, the speaker said the words ‘jump’ instead of
actually jumping.
3. a. The speaker said these words.
b. The girl playing Sita was supposed to say these words.
c. The whole cast of the play was startled by the speaker saying these lines.
C. 1. The speaker suffered from stage fright. The following lines from the text tell you that—
“I almost fell on my face. For some time I could not see a thing. The drums were echoing in my ears
and my hands and feet were cold and numb. I opened my mouth to say my lines but my throat
was dry and I couldn’t remember them.”
2. In the last scene, the speaker sees the person playing the role of Ravana entering the stage. Ravana
is tall and is walking towards the speaker in a scary manner. The speaker hears Ravana speak to her
in a thunderous voice and is scared. She forgets that it is not the real Ravana and pulls off her mask,
begging Ravana not to hurt her. The audience finds this confusion very funny.
3. The school play would not have been considered a success by the teacher and the cast. The
lines forgotten by the speaker and the resulting confusion would have made the students
feel embarrassed and ashamed. But the mistakes made by the speaker were funny and made
the audience laugh repeatedly. The play entertained the audience, though not in the way
the students had planned. For this reason, perhaps, the audience would consider the play
successful.
D. 1. The speaker would have felt terrible after the play. Playing the role of Hanuman had been a dream
come true for her and she had not done a very good job. She would have felt disappointed in
herself. Also, the audience had found the mistakes she made hilarious. They had laughed at her
and this would have embarrassed her. The speaker’s classmates would have been angry at her for
causing the confusion and this would have made her unhappy. The speaker would also be feeling
ashamed for having let her classmates and her teacher down.
2. Free response. Suggested answer:
I think the speaker would not be willing to perform in front of an audience for a short while. She
would feel too embarrassed and miserable to perform right away. But the speaker is a brave girl.
She was willing to play the role of Hanuman without any practise. She is enthusiastic and she
had continued as Hanuman even after her first few mistakes. I think that she will learn from her
mistakes and start taking part in performances again.
E. You ‘laugh at someone’ when you think they have done something stupid or foolish. You’re enjoying
their embarrassment and are making fun of their weakness. For example, in the first case, Madhura’s
classmates are laughing at her pronunciation. This would make Madhura feel bad as they are making
fun of her mistakes and making her feel stupid.
When you laugh with someone, both you and the person who made the mistake are having fun and
laughing. You are not being mean or rude to anyone. For example, in the second case, Neel and Sam
are laughing together at the silly mistake they made. They do not make each other feel bad. ‘Laughing
with someone’ is always better than ‘laughing at someone’.
Grammar
A. Countable nouns: children, people, a difference, problems, role, character, choice, gym, muscles,
adults, planet
Uncountable nouns: theatre, empathy, feelings, compassion, practice, future
B. 2. Nobody 3. anything 4. Everyone 5. nothing 6. someone
C. 1. Nobody in my family likes cold food for dinner.
2. Somebody should sweep the classroom. They should also wipe the blackboard clean.
3. If anyone has a problem with the computers, they should report it to the teacher.
4. Somebody should be able to lend you their calculator.
5. Everybody was tired after the picnic.
Vocabulary
A. 2. mumbles 3. shining 4. sob 5. startled 6. mistakes
B. 2. I was overjoyed when I heard that the test had been postponed.
3. “I can do it,” said Tariq nervously.
4. My cat Fluffy’s newborn kitten is so large.
5. “Who are you?” he asked in a quiet voice.
Listening Text
The students of National School had their Annual Day yesterday. Listen to a few people talk
about their experiences. As you listen, circle the emotions they are expressing.
1. Students, you practised hard for two months and all that effort paid off. The Annual Day was a
great success! The audience loved every single performance. Congrats, children.
2. I fell ill and couldn’t perform yesterday. I hear the skit was wonderful. My friends all had a great
time and they were called back on stage for a second round of applause. And through all this, I was
at home with a high fever and a terrible headache.
3. My children took part in the group dances last night. I had a meeting at work and couldn’t attend
the performance. My kids were so disappointed. I wish I had cancelled the meeting and attended
the Annual Day instead.
4. Oh my god, you won’t believe what happened yesterday after the show. A woman from the
famous Little Theatre group attended the show. She came up to me after the play and told me
she loved my performance and offered me a role in one of Little Theatre’s productions. Isn’t that
amazing?
5. Last night, I took one look at the huge audience and was terrified. I couldn’t handle the thought of
singing in front of all of them. So I pretended to have a stomachache and they had to cancel my
performance. I feel terrible that I let my class and my teacher down.
Answers:
1. pride 2. sorrow 3. regret 4. excitement 5. guilt
Writing
Free Response. Suggested Answer:
Date: 16th March 2018
Time: 10 p.m.
Day: Friday
I just got home from the Annual Day performance. What was supposed to be a great night, turned
into a nightmare—I just couldn’t make myself get on that stage and sing.
Today, right before my turn, I peeked at the audience through the curtain. The auditorium was
huge and dark and there were so many people staring at the bright stage. I was suddenly terrified.
I couldn’t go up there! I ran to Anita ma’am and lied to her saying that I had a terrible stomachache
and felt too dizzy to sing. Anita ma’am looked so disappointed, but she asked me to sit and rest. They
cancelled my turn.
The show went on without me. All my friends looked so proud and happy at the end of their
performance. Only I was miserable and feeling terribly guilty. I had let Anita ma’am down. Next time,
if ma’am gives me another chance, I will definitely learn how to deal with stage fright first! I can’t lose
an opportunity like this again!
Saurabh
HANUMAN AND I
A. Answer in brief.
1. Do you think the little girl was happy when she was cast as one of the soldiers in Hanuman’s
army? Why?
Ans: She was not happy as she did not want to be one of the many in a crowd. She wished to play
a significant role in the play.
2. What happened when the girl in Hanuman and I was pushed on stage?
Ans: When the little girl was offered the role of Hanuman, her joy knew no bounds. She was
confident that she would play the role though she did not know the dialogues. But when she
was pushed on stage, she became very nervous. Her hands and feet became cold and numb. Her
throat went dry. She could not utter a single word and her mind became blank due to fear.
B. Answer in detail.
The Story of Rama turned out to be a comedy of errors on stage. Support your answer with examples
from the text.
Ans: The little girl acted as a substitute for the original actor, who was meant to play the role of
Hanuman. Since there was no time for her to learn the dialogues, she entered the stage with the
assurance from her teacher that she would prompt her from behind the stage. That was the main
reason for the comedy that ensued after the girl entered the stage. Both the teacher and the girl, in
their nervousness, erred as the communication between the two was not clear. While the teacher
gave some personal instructions to the girl, the girl thought that was the dialogue and delivered
it without realising that it was totally irrelevant. Throughout the play, such miscommunication
continued, leading to the embarrassment of both the teacher and the girl. The play turned out to be
hilarious due to the number of errors made.
C. Read the lines and answer the questions.
1. I am not supposed to have a tail. You’ve forgotten yours. (Hanuman and I)
a. Who says the above lines to the little girl?
b. Why does the speaker say so?
c. How does the little girl respond to the speaker?
Ans: a. The boy who played the role of Rama says the above lines.
b. When the teacher saw the girl, she realised that she had forgotten to pin her artificial
tail and she commented aloud. But the girl thought that was the dialogue and, without
thinking, repeated what she was told.
c. She manages by saying that she was talking only about her own tail and that she had
forgotten to pin it.
2. Not you, you silly girl, hissed my teacher. (Hanuman and I)
a. What prompted the teacher to say the above line?
b. How did the girl respond?
c. Did she realise her mistake in time?
Ans: a. The teacher was reading out lines meant for Sita. But the little girl saw that Sita was not
repeating the line. Hence she thought the lines were for her and started repeating Sita’s
dialogue.
b. The girl repeated even this line where the teacher was trying to tell her that the lines
were not for her.
c. Only when she saw the rest of the cast on stage shocked by her action, she realised her
mistake. But it was too late by then.
D. Answer in brief. (Think and Answer)
1. The girl was happy that she got the role of Hanuman. Could she act her part well? Explain.
Ans: The girl was excited and showed a lot of confidence before entering the stage. She thought
she would do justice to the role, but she did not, as she was not clear about the dialogues. Though
the teacher said she would prompt her, the teacher too was distracted by other things on stage.
There was total chaos due to lack of understanding between the teacher and the girl.
2. “Don’t kill me, I am not Hanuman.” Bring out the humour that precedes this remark.
Ans: The girl was already very upset and nervous because of the mistakes she had made on
stage. At that moment, entry of the person playing the role of Ravana, totally unnerved her. The
character had a huge figure and wore six-inch heels and in a thunderous voice asked who the
puny creature was. Terrorised by this, the little girl forgot she was on stage playing the role of
Hanuman. Instead of responding proudly to Ravana, she screamed and pleaded with him to spare
her life.
E. Answer in detail. (Think and Answer)
The comedy on stage was not intended to be so. The girl in Hanuman and I, became a laughing stock
in front of the large audience and the teacher was also very unhappy with her. Who would you blame
for this fiasco? Why?
Ans: It was the girl’s dream to act on stage but probably she was unaware of the difficulties that came
along with the responsibility. She relied on the teacher’s advice that she should only repeat what is
being prompted from the wings. The girl, on her part, did exactly that. The teacher should have kept
her word and should have just spoken only the lines meant for the role. She, instead, directed and
instructed her and prompted for others also. The little girl on the stage had no time to think and
repeated whatever was said. She became a laughing stock for no fault of hers.
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