NCERT Solutions For Class 8 English Chapter 8 (Honeydew) - Prose -8. A Short Monsoon Diary

The seeds of the cobra lily turning red signified that the monsoons were about to end.

The author has described Mussoorie, where he lives.

When monsoon begins, the first cobra lily rears its head from the ferns. The seeds of the cobra lily turning red signify that the monsoon is coming to an end.

A long spell of rain makes life miserable.One is closed up in his room. Everything becomes damp and soggy. Rodents, snakes and insects enter the house for shelter.

The grandmother asked the children not to kill the Chuchundar because it was considered lucky. She said that it brought money.

The author received a cheque in the mail. It was probably a result of the visit by a shrew.

Snakes and rodents are unable to live in their flooded holes. So, they take shelter in rooftops, attics and godowns.

Mist takes away visibility and gives silence to the hills. The visibility drops, giving the hilly area a dreamlike appearance and the death-like silence gives it a sad tone.

Author can hear Bijju calling his sister but is unable to see him because of the mist. In the mist nothing is visible beyond a certain distance.

Rains in Mussorie begin in June and end by March. June 24 is the first day of monsoon mist which covered the hills and spreads silence. On August 2 it rained all night and made sleeping difficult. By late March ends, winter as well as the rains.

It rains for about eight or nine days. The author enjoys the sound of raindrops on the tin roof, leaves, lemons, dahlias and window panes. It helps him keep awake. The tin roof saves him from the incessant rain yet the sound of downpour gives him a sense of being a part of rain.

The monsoon season in Mussorie begins from end of June . By August ,people are fed up with rain. It ends by end of August. Then begins winter rains which end by late march. We take out our rain coats and umbrellas to face the monsoon.

(ii)

(a) Ramesh drummed on his desk in impatience.

(b) Rain water dripped from the umbrella all over the carpet.

(c) The pony was swishing its tail.

(d) The tinkle of breaking glass woke me up.

(e) The caw of the raven disturbed the child’s sleep.

(i)

a. drip

b. drum

c. swish

d. caw

e. tinkle

1. The traffic stopped. Some people were sitting on the road and they were shouting slogans.

2. I wore my raincoat. It was raining and people were getting wet.

3. She saw a film. She was narrating it to her friends who were listening carefully.

4. we went to the exhibition. Some people were buying clothes while others were playing games.

5. The class was quiet. Some children were reading books while the rest were drawing.

(i) The word springing is used to show suddenness with which water starts leaking.

(ii) The writer is untouched by rain because he is inside the room.

(iii) He hears the drumming of rain on the tin roof. He also looks out of the window to see the rains.

(i) Bijju is not seen but his voice is heard because of the mist in the surroundings.

(ii) The writer describes the hill station and valley as a paradise that might have been.

(iii) The leopard was successful in attacking one of Bijju’s cows but had to flee when Bijju’s mother came screaming curses.

(iv) The minivets are easily noticed because of their bright red and yellow colours.

(v) It looks like a fashion display on the slopes when ground orchids, mauve lady’s slipper and the white butterfly orchids bloom.

(vi) During the monsoon season, snakes and rodents are found in roofs and attics because they have been flooded out of their holes and burrows.

That was the end of the rain,

I was pondering, what did my heart gain?

Waking up in early hours,

I was amazes to see the beautiful flowers.

Your eyes city pollution blurs,

And in spring suddenly you see such gorgeous colours.

Road trip through Nilgiri Hills from Ooty to Coonoor is very pictutisque. It is an hour’s drive. That eventful night we were in Ooty. It was raining since a couple of days. Suddenly it started pouring, and we had to get back to Coonoor. We were on our way back when in the car ,we heard on radio about the cloud burst in certain parts of Nilgiri Hills. Shortly water started flowing through the roads along the hill. It seemed as if we were rowing through a stream in our car.

My mother started praying and chanting. When it was impossible to move on that road, then instantly my father changed the route. It was such a torrent rainfall that we could hardly look outside the window. Suddenly a tree fell just in front of our car, our car stopped with a screech.

When there was no way out, astoundingly a car honked from behind, a hand waved from the window and instructed us to follow. We reversed and started following it, it took some unknown route through bylanes. Soon enough we reached to the Coonoor highway.That magical car stopped and we reached home. I still get goose bumps when I remember that night.

Thunder, raincoat, umbrella, water, rain, hailstorm, lightning, lake, dam, sea, river, fog, dampness, soggy, water-logging, storm, drizzle, pouring, rain etc.

In my language Hindi, Bauchar, bunda-bandi, dhund, seet, samudra, nadi, barish, pani, andhi, geela, bijli, bandh, chatri etc.

(i) I saw thick black clouds in the sky. And sure enough it soon started raining heavily.

(ii) The blue umbrella was big enough for the brother and sister.

(iii) The butterflies are colourful enough to get noticed.

(iv) The lady was brave enough to chase the leopard.

(v) The boy was anxious enough to call out to his sister.

(vi) The man was kind enough to offer help.

(vii) The victim’s injury was serious enough for him to get admitted in hospital.

(viii) That person was foolish enough to repeat the same mistake again.

(ix) He told me he was sorry and he would compensate for the loss.

I said, ‘fair enough’