14. Summary of the lesson "The Attic"

The lesson 'The Attic' is written by Satyajit Ray. The story opens with the narrator and Aditya were driving through National Highway 40. Reaching a bifurcated point, the narrator asked Aditya whether he was interested in revisiting his ancestral home. Aditya left his hometown after completing his matriculation examination. Aditya agreed to go to his birthplace. He tried to recall memories of his two-hundred-year-old ancestral house, school, and the tea shop. After driving for about ten minutes, they reached the local school. Next, they went to Nagen's uncle's tea shop. They noticed only one other man sitting at a corner table, with his head bent as though he were sleeping. Nagen's uncle reminded the man (Mr Sanyal) to go home. Mr Sanyal stood up, stretched himself, raised his lean right arm and recited Tagore's poem and left the place. Aditya then asked Nagen uncle more about Sanyal. After hearing that, Aditya went straight to his house. He went up to the attic, climbed over a wooden packing case, and retrieved something from the ventilator. He then met a jeweller to know the price for the article he had found. After knowing that the article was an antique, he met Sanyal. Aditya then gave him a packet with fifteen ten-rupee notes. Mr Sanyal refused to buy it, and he admitted that he had recognized Aditya at Nagen uncle's tea shop. Later, Sanyal asked him to hand over his medal if he had it with him. Aditya, a changed man, restored the medal to its owner and sought forgiveness.