PDF chapter test TRY NOW
The author begins the lesson by informing the readers that she had recently re-located to Patna. Rather than discussing in detail about the general homesickness that a person gets when he/she moves from her home, the author chooses to talk about the activities that she takes part in to explore the new city. It is also clear that she might be used to these occasional shifting, as she says that the reason she had to move was because of the posting her father had got in Patna. This gives a picture that her father was either working for the government or was in the police force.
The shady roads of Patna
She describes about the weekend which she chose to explore the city. It was a Sunday morning and the author along with her brother decide to take their bikes and go on rounds to help them understand the city better. They explore the place. Since it was a Sunday and early in the morning there were only few people around, who were mostly out on their morning walks or on their way to buy milk cartons. People get an off on Sundays and prefer to stay in late. This gives the siblings enough space and freedom to explore on their own. The fact that Patna was not a metro like Delhi was yet another advantage. The roads were good with space for them to ride and the trees provided them with enough shade. It was not a busy city with numerous tall buildings and monuments, which would have made it difficult to explore deeper. The author also emphasises on the fact that she had just shifted from Delhi. But rather than complaining and staying indoors she loves the space that Patna gives her.
Brother and sister explore in their cycle
Like any other sibling, her brother challenges her to spice things up, when he gets bored of riding the cycle for more than half-an-hour. He urges her to race with him in the cycle. He fixes the winning destination and also lays out the rules. He also decides that the one who loses the bet would have to get the winner a chocolate. Upon agreeing, they give the countdown to three and start the race. The author recalls that it was not a new sport between them, rather they have raced several times previously. The author's brother had always won the race, which makes her determined to win the race, probably to give her some self confidence and to have an upper hand in the siblings rivalry. She pedals the cycle fast to pace up to him. She was very young and her little feet ached due to the constant peddling. The faster motion of the cycle made her skirt to fly in the opposite direction and the green trees on either side of the road seemed like a blur due to the speed she was picking up. Her hair also flew behind her similar to the skirt. She was panting for breath due to the constant pedalling. But she somehow manages to level up with her brother and slowly even picks up more speed than him, making her ahead of him in the race.
The girl rides her cycle
The siblings have a race between them, which the author is determined to win. She needs to win this race as she had never won a race with her brother and wants to prove him wrong. As she picks up speed, she notices that the corner her brother had fixed as the winning destination was looming near. She could not believe her eyes as her success lay only a few meters apart. She started shouting in happiness, but her cry of joy froze on her lips all of a sudden as she sees an obstacle between herself and the destination. It was a cow which stood alone in the middle of the road, unaware of the racing bike that was heading towards it.
The cow standing in the middle of the road
The author steps on the breaks of the cycle all of sudden due to her instincts. But just like the cause of any other accident, she had to react on her whim as she had totally not expected to come across the cow. She did not have time to plan her next move, which made her apply the brakes all of a sudden. She could not control her body movements because she was riding the cycle with a high speed to race along with her brother. She falls in a forward direction, because when she applies the brake, both the cycle and the upper part of the body are in motion. Thus it is difficult to gain control over one's body when one is racing at a maximum speed. She therefore flies away from her seat, leaving the clutches of her handlebar, and lands on the back of the cow.
She flies from the cycle losing balance
The poor cow who was not expecting this sudden attack, gets startled and starts running. This is because of the shock and confusion caused due to the sudden movement in his body. The cow thinks that there is danger approaching it and therefore runs for its dear life. It is not aware of what is happening around, and acts on an impulse just like the author. The author clings on to her dear life as she sits on top of the cow. The cow races across the road as it is fully charged up due to the commotion. It had been disturbed and awakened from its routine lethargic mood. It is funnily portrayed as to how the author wanted to win the race with her brother but ends up going on a race with the cow. The cow takes her round the same corner that her brother had fixed as destination. She had not expected to finish off the race and reach the winning point sitting on top of a cow, instead of a cycle.
The cow is startled by the sudden movement
The author sits on the top of the cow and as she takes a turn around the corner, she witnessed someone approaching her. She did not want to be seen in this awkward position, but had to face them. To make things more worse for her, it was not a single person that was approaching her, nor was it any normal townsfolk. She saw two rows of Cavalry officers mounted on their magnificent horses riding towards her direction. Cavalry officers are soldiers or warriors who fight for the government. They mostly fight mounted horses that are especially trained for this purpose of war.
Cavalry officers
The author easily guessed that they belonged to the governor's bodyguard, as only highly influential people would need cavalry officers. The cow who was already confused by the sudden attack, was even more triggered by the horses' hooves and the extra noise of the cavalry officers parading the roads. He makes a straight dash towards the horses direction, not realising the consequences it would cause. It was also frightened by the confusions. Generally one tends to make illogical decisions when one is scared. The same theory applies to animals, especially as they do not have the sixth sense to feel or think.
The author clings onto the cow's body not knowing a way to escape. The horses who saw the cow raging towards them, also got confused and scared and started running. They scattered to every corner, thereby pulling the riders down. The cavalry officers who were the symbol of protection and bravery, come tumbling down the horse's backs. There was a stampede, with people falling down and animals running across in every direction. The cow, who had by now had enough, loses control and falls into a ditch. In the process of falling into the ditch the cow brushes off the author into the side of the ditch. Every ditch has fresh earth near it, which is the part that is removed from the ground to make a ditch. The author is lucky to fall in the fresh earth, and escape without bruises.
The horse panicked and ran in all directions
The cow in a fit of fright, throws the author into the ditch, thus escaping from the hustle. It had happened because of the horses that were racing towards them. When the author sits up shaking herself of the shock of falling on the fresh earth near the ditch, she is faced with yet another situation. She sits up making a slight cry, as she sees that the horses are still out of control due to the commotion she had caused. Animals generally run in circles when they are confused or chased around. Similarly the horses who had just experienced a rush saw this as a puzzle which they could not solve. They act like mad horses, as their riders try to control them. The warriors who had controlled battles and armies find it difficult to control the scared horses, as they have little power over animals.
The horses ran in all directions
The author then explains what she witnessed. She sees a horse who has panicked so much that it throws down its riders. Two horses had escaped from the fear of danger approaching them. The man who was thrown down from the horse landed straight in the ditch, in which the cow had fallen. The author describes the series of events that followed humorously. The cow who was already in a state of shock, was not given a minute to rest. The man landing next to it, made it startle even more as it thought it was another attack. It started mooing loudly and stared at the man by lowering his eyes towards him. It wanted to protect itself from another commotion and gets prepared to eliminate all obstacles. The author calls him unfortunate, as he had done nothing wrong to experience all these. But, in an attempt to escape from the cow, the man gets himself into an awkward situation.
The horse threw the man from its back
The man was in such a hurry to escape from the cow's attack that while doing so, he gets his pants torn in a very awkward place. He had to sit down and refuse to get up, as the back of his pants were torn from the attempt to escape. Although the author is narrating the incident as a serious situation, a humorous touch is given to the whole narration.
Just like any other sibling, who is ready to make fun of each other, the author's brother walks towards her with a winning smile on his face. He also makes sure to take her bicycle along with him. His face shows that he wants to laugh at her and tease her. The author who is at the receiving end, is irritated and angry, not only for losing the race, but because of all the embarrassments that she had to put up with. She feels like hitting him.
The author's brother, being the one who had started the race, which led to the commotion, had been watching everything from a distance. He had seen the hilarious incident of the author clinging to the cow, her falling into the ditch and the man's pants getting torn. As her brother, he takes this chance to tease her. He teasingly says that it was so nice to see her sitting on top of the cow. He is not able to control his laughter as he is reminded of the incident. But since the relationship between sibling is not just about teasing and poking fun, his brotherly instincts show up. He cares for her as he is reminded of the fact that, she could be hurt from the whole incident as she had been carried across by a cow and thrown at the side of a ditch. He caringly enquires if she was alright, to confirm that the incident had not hurt her in any way showing that although siblings fight amongst themselves, they would be there for each other at a time of crisis.
The brother tows the cycle with a smile
Siblings can also have ego issues. The author is visibly shaken by the incident and there is a chance that she might be hurt. But she does not let her brother know about it. She feels that it would be embarrassing to let him know the truth. She does not want to reveal that she has lost in the race as well. It is very general for people to act as though they are strong, when they face a problem. The author also does the same thing. She says that nothing on earth would make her accept that she was frightened and shaken from the incident. As they are having this conversation, her brother spots one of the horse riders who was part of the commotion, heading towards them. The riders were cavalry officers and they would also have the same feeling of being embarrassed in front of everyone, by falling down, not being able to control the horses, and getting pants torn. They do not like the fact that people could see their emotional and weaker side. Since it was caused by the author and her actions, they are angry with her. The officer walks towards them with an angry face. Followed by him is another angry face, which is that of the owner of the cow. He must also be upset because his cow had fallen into the ditch and was chased across the roads. The cow had done nothing but stood in a corner. He was also walking towards them, probably to demand an explanation.
The officer is angry with her
The author's brother again becomes protective, as he knows that they had caused trouble and will be questioned for it. He does not want any harm on both of them. He therefore suggests that they leave immediately from the place, in order to escape further embarrassments. The author does not argue with her brother in this case, as she realises that he is right. She realises that if she does not move immediately along with her brother, she would be required to explain the situation to all of them. The brother and sister finally agreed upon one thing, that they had to leave. They did not wait for further orders. They took their bike and rode back home. The excitement that had prevailed in the morning had drained out of them. They had got a handful from the morning events and did not choose to ruin their day by the questioning.
The brother leads his sister away
Register for free to see more content