Jalebis Summary Class 8 Summary Questions Answers NCERT Solutions

Jalebis Summary Class 8 | Questions Answers NCERT Solutions

Jalebis Summary

Jalebis Summary : Jalebis, written by Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi, is a moral story. It’s about an honest young boy, Munna, who went to school with money for paying the fees. But when he got there, his teacher was not there so he could not pay. On his way home, he saw jalebis and wanted them but his money was in the desk near the school where it would be seen if someone looked in. He ate them anyway and when he went back to get more they were gone because people saw him take them before and took them instead of giving him more jalebis. In his pocket, his coins were also jingling. The coins were telling him to buy jalebis with them. The oldest rupee told him he could use the money from his scholarship that was due tomorrow to pay for it. He realized that the sound of the coins was just a figment of his imagination.

Munna wanted to save the money for his fees, but he gave in and bought jalebi (a sweet) with one rupee. He ate a lot of jalebis and later used the rest of the money to buy more. Then Munna went home – but had a hard time eating because his stomach was full of jalebis! But he was worried about paying the fees for school the next day. He had spent all of his money on jalebis. The next day when he went to school, he didn’t get a scholarship because it was due one month later.

His teacher told him that he had to pay his fees during recess. Munna went outside of the school and walked until he reached the railway station. His elders told him not to cross the railway tracks on his own, so he remembered this when he ate sweets with the money that was meant for school fees. He felt guilty about eating them, but then wondered how to pay for his tuition.

In desperation, he thought God could help him. So he did prayers and read the Quran. He asked God for four rupees to pay for school fees. He said that it was his mistake to eat jalebi with this money. He promised not to do it again and asked God to put the four rupees in his bag. Later, when he checked his bag, there were no coins in it! Sad, he went home without telling anyone that he missed school that day.

The next day, he wore clean clothes and went to school. But when he came back from the school gate, he had no money. He prayed for God to give him four rupees, but there was no answer. When Munna went to get his money from under the rock, there was a small worm under it and no money. He continued praying every day but God never gave him any more money for his school fees. Soon, the news about him not going to school reached his house and he was scolded by his parents for not going to class.

Later, when Munna was in the seventh or eighth grade, he thought about what harm could it cause if God sent him four rupees to pay his school fees. He came to realize that if God gave everything we wanted, then there would be no difference between man and other living things. When Munna grew up, he understood that man needs to work for what he wants so that he can learn more than just what he already knows.

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NCERT Solutions of Jalebis

Comprehension Check (Page 65)

Question 1: Why didn’t he pay the school fees on the day he brought money to school?

Answer: As a way to pay school fees, the boy brought money to school. But his teacher was not there so the fees were not collected that day. The next day, Master Ghulam Mohammed who collects the fees was back at work and he collected from him then.

Question 2: (i) What were the coins ‘saying’ to him?

(ii) Do you think they were misguiding him?

Answer:

1. The coins in the boy’s pocket were his feelings that wanted him to buy fresh and hot jalebis.
2. The coins were misleading the boy because he thought that they were for paying school fees. But then when he saw some jalebis, which I know are sweet and syrup, he couldn’t resist his sweet tooth temptation.

Question 3: Why didn’t he take the coins’ advice? Give two or three reasons.

Answer: Initially, the boy didn’t take the coins’ advice because of the reasons given below

1. For he was an honest boy.
2. For he could not spend the money to be given for school fees on buying jalebis.
3. For he knew if he didn’t pay the fees on time, his teacher would punish him.

Question 4: (i) What did the oldest coin tell him?

(ii) Did he follow his advice? If not, why not?

Answer:

1. The oldest coin told him that he needed to buy jalebis for his own good. It also said that he could pay his fees with the scholarship money the following day. So, he should not resist himself from this temptation.
2. No, the boy did not follow the coins advice at first. He was a good and promising student and he thought that if he spent his school fees on jalebis, then people would say mean things about his family. Plus, he knew that the teacher would punish him if he didn’t pay back his school fees when they were due.

Question 5: He reached home with the coins in his pocket. What happened then?

Answer: The coins in his pocket kept bothering him. When he went to have lunch, they started screaming at him. So he left the house and ran towards the bazaar. He couldn’t resist temptation anymore and was really scared, so he asked the halwai to weigh one rupee worth of jalebis quick. The halwai opened up a whole newspaper and put some jalebis on it.

Comprehension Check (Page 68)

Question 1: (i) Why didn’t he eat all the jalebis he had bought?

(ii) What did he do with the remaining jalebis?

Answer:

1. He couldn’t eat all the jalebis that he had bought. There were so many, he was full after eating a lot of them. He felt like if someone pushed on his stomach, jalebis would come out of his ears and nose.
2. He gave the remaining jalebis to the kids. They were with him in a street where he ate jalebis. He bought a rupee’s worth of jalebis, but later he bought more jalebis with his own money.

Question 2: “The fear was killing me.” What was the fear?

Answer: After spending the school fees amount in buying jalebis and eating them, it made the boy realise that he had committed a big mistake. He was in complete fear of getting caught and thought that if his parents found out about his act, they would not spare him. With every breath came a burp, and with every burp, the danger of bringing out a jalebi or two; this fear was killing him.

Question 3: “Children’s stomachs are like digestion machines.” What do you understand by that? Do you agree?

Answer: This means that children have a digestive system. They do physical activity, like walking and playing games, every day. So they need to eat a lot of stuff because their digestion will work on it overnight. Yes, I agree with this statement because children can digest a lot even if they overeat sometimes.

Question 4: How did he plan to pay the fees the next day?

Answer: He planned to pay the fees with his monthly scholarship and receive it on that day.

Question 5: When it is time to pay the fees, what does he do? How is he disobeying the elders by doing so?

Answer: When it is time to pay school fees, the boy took his bag and left the school. He tried to follow his nose but he got lost. He was so worried about paying for his school fees that he forgot to worry about where he was going. Then he found himself at the place where the Kambelpur railway station begins. The elders had told him earlier never to cross railroad tracks or eat sweets while carrying your fee money, so he felt very sad for not obeying their words.

Comprehension Check (Page 72)

Question 1: What was the consequence of buying jalebis with the fees money?

Answer: The ultimate consequence of buying jalebis with the money for school was that he did not have any money to go to school. He felt bad because he disobeyed his parents and spent the money they gave him for school on sweets.

Question 2: His prayer to God is like a lawyer’s defence of a bad case. Does he argue his case well? What are the points he makes?

Answer: The boy tried to please God. He recited verses from the Quran and knew the last ten surats by heart. He could recite the ayat-al-kursi for God right away, too. The boy regretted his mistake of eating jalebis with his school fees money! If he had known about the delay in scholarship that month, he would not have spent it on jalebis. He also knew that there is nothing that is lacking in God’s treasury. The chaprasi at his place took a lot of money from him every month. The man said that he was related to a big officer and asked God to please give him just four rupees. After all this, the man prayed earnestly to God and argued his case like a lawyer in front of Him.

Question 3: He offers to play a game with Allah Miyan. What is the game?

Answer: The game was that he would go up to the signal. He would touch it and then come back. God should put four rupees under a big rock while he goes away. When he comes back, he should be able to find the four rupees under the rock.

Question 4: Did he get four rupees by playing the game? What did he get to see under the rock?

Answer: The boy didn’t get four rupees from playing the game with God. But when he lifted the rock, he found a big worm that was wriggling towards him.

Question 5: If God had granted his wish that day, what harm would it have caused him in later life?

Answer: Had the God granted his wish that day, he would never have learned from his mistake. He thought he would always do wrong and bad things and that God would always save him when he was persuaded.

Exercise (Page 72)

Work in small groups.

Question 1: Select and read sentences that show

1. that the boy is tempted to eat jalebis
2. that he is feeling guilty
3. that he is justifying a wrong deed

Answer: That the boy is tempted to eat jalebis

1. Jalebis are meant to be eaten, and those with money in their pocket can eat them.
2. But then, these jalebis are no common sort of jalebis either. They’re crisp, fresh and full of syrup.
3. My mouth watered.
4. Thoroughly fed up, I rushed out of the house bare foot and ran towards the bazaar.

That he is feeling guilty

1. My head started to spin.
2. When the recess bell rang I tucked my bag under my arm and left the school.
3. Now for the crime of eating a few jalebis, for the first time in my life I was absent from school.
4. Sitting there under the tree, at first I felt like crying.

That he is justifying a wrong deed

1. I didn’t eat them all by myself, though I fed them to a whole lot of children too.
2. ‘Allah Miyan! I’m a very good boy. I have memorised the entire namaaz. I even know the last ten surats of the Quran by heart.

Question 2: Discuss the following points.

1. Is the boy intelligent? If so, what is the evidence of it?
2. Does his outlook on the jalebis episode change after class VIII? Does he see that episode in a new light?
3. Why are coins made to ‘talk’ in this story? What purpose does it serve?

Answer:

1. The boy is very smart. The first evidence is that he was a good student who won a scholarship at school. He knew the difference between what is right and what is wrong. He never missed school and listened to his elders always. Besides, he puts valid points on his case before God just like a lawyer would do for his client.
2. After class VIII, his outlook changed. He kept wondering what harm it could have caused someone if God would have sent him four rupees the other day. He later realized that everything comes with a price, and if God gave everyone all they wanted, people would still be looking for nests like birds and never learn to make jalebis.
3. The coins in this story are made to talk. They show the greedy side of the boy, who is usually honest and virtuous. He resists his temptation to eat jalebis he earned with his school fees, but when he does give in, they say it was because the coins in his pocket pushed him to do it.

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