AKBAR AND BIRBAL - REUNION

10

One day, when Akbar and Birbal were in discussion. Birbal happend to pass a
harmless comment about Akbars sense of humour. But Emperor Akbar was in a foul1
mood and took great offense to this remark. He asked Birbal, his court jester, friend and
confident to not only leave the palace but also to leave the the walls of the city of Agra.
Birbal was terribly hurt at being banished2.
A couple of days later, Akbar began to miss his best friend. He regretted3 his
earlier decision of banishing him from the courts. He just could not do without Birbal and
so sent out a search party to look for him. But Birbal had left town without letting anybody
know of his destination4. The soldiers searched high and low but were unable to find him
anywhere.
Then, one day a wise saint came to visit the palace accompanied by two of his
disciples5. The disciples claimed that their teacher was the wisest man to walk the earth.
Since Akbar was missing Birbal terribly6, he thought it would be a good idea to have a
wise man that could keep him company. But he decided that he would first test the holy
mans wisdom.
The saint had bright sparkling7 eyes, a thick beard and long hair. The next day,
when they came to visit the court, Akbar informed the holy man that, since he was the
wisest man on the earth, he would like to test him.
All his ministers would put forward to question and if his answers were satisfactory
he would be made a minister. But if he could not, then he would be beheaded8. The saint
answered that he had never claimed to be the wisest man on the earth, even though other
people seemed to think so, nor was he eager9 to display his cleverness, but as he enjoyed
1. foul - /faUl (adj)- very unpleasant, very bad
2. banish - /'b&nIS (v)- to order somebody to leave a place, especially a country, as a punishment
3. regret - / rI'gret /(v)- to feel sorry about something you have done or about something that you have not
been able to do
4. destination - / destI'neISn/ (n)- a place to which somebody /something is going or being sent
5. disciple - /dI'saIpl /(n)- a person who believes in and follows the teaching of a religious person (saint)
6. terribly - /terJbli / (adv)- very much, very badly
7. sparkling - /spA;klIN / (adj)- shining and flashing with light
8. behead - /bI'hed / (v)- to cut off somebodys head, especially as a punishment
9. eagar - / i;gJ(r)/ (adj)- very interested and excited by something that is going to happen or about
something that you want to do

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67

answering questions, he was ready for the test.

One of the ministers, Raja Todarmal, began the round of questioning.
He asked : Who is mans best friend on the earth ?
The saint replied : His own good sense.
Faizi asked : Which is the top most thing on the earth ?
The saint answered : Knowledge.
Abdul Fazal : Which is the deepest trench1 in the world ?
The saint answered : A womans heart.
Another courtier questioned : What is that which can not be regained after it is
lost?
The saint answered : Life
The court musician Tansen asked : What is undying in music ?
The saint replied : Notes.
And then he asked : Which is the sweetest and most melodious2 voice at night
time?
The saint answered : The voice that prays to God.
Maharaj Man Singh of Jaipur, a guest at the palace, asked : What travels more
speedily than wind ?
The saint replied : It is mans thought.
He then asked : Which is the sweetest thing on the earth ?
The saint said : It is a babys smile.
The Emperor Akbar and all his courties were very impressed with his answers, but
wanted to test the saint himself.
Firstly, he asked : What are the necessary requirements to rule over a kingdom?
The saint answered : Cleverness.
Then he asked : What is the gravest3 enemy of a king ?

1. trench - /trentS / (n)- a long deep hole dug in the ground

2. melodious - /mJ'lJUdiJs / (adj)- pleasant to listen to
3. gravest - /greIvJst / (adj) - very serious and important

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Text Book for General English

The saint replied : It is selfishness.

The emperor was so pleased that he offered the saint a seat of honour and asked
him whether he could perform any miracles1. The saint said that he could produce any
person the king wished to meet. Akbar was thrilled and immediately asked to meet his
minister and best friend Birbal.
The saint simply pulled off his artificial beard and hair much to the surprise of the
other courtiers. Akbar was stunned2 and could not believe his eyes. He stepped down to
embrace15 the saint because he was none other than Birbal.
Akbar had tears in his eyes as he told Birbal that he had suspected4 it to be him
and had therefore asked him whether he could perform miracles. He showered Birbal
with many valuable gifts to show him how happy he was at his return.
1. miracle - /mIrJkl/ (n) - an act or event that does not follow the laws of nature and is believed to be
caused by God
2. stun - /stVn / (n) - to surprise or shock somebody so much that they cannot think clearly or speak
3. embrace - /Im'breIs/(v) - to put your arms around somebody as a sign of love or friendship
4. suspect - /sJ'spekt/ (v) - to be suspicious about something

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69

EXERCISES

Word Power
(I)

Rearrange the letters to make meaningful word occurring in the text :

(a) marciles

(b) setscup

(c) flou

(d) terchn

(e) eegar
(II)

Write down antonyms of the following words :

(a) wisdom

(b) terrible

(c) ignorance

(d) suspect

(e) best
(III)

Given below are certain words. Derive as many new words as possible
from each word by rearranging their letters. The first one is done for you.
(a) beheaded

(b) manifest

(c) gravest

(d)

regret

(e) embrace
bed

bad

bead
dad

dead
bee

beheaded

add
heed
(IV)

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be

had

deed
behead

Find out the words from the text which mean the following :
(1)

to cut off someones head

(2)

follower

(3)

pleasant to listen to

(4)

very unpleasant

(5)

curious to know

(6)

shining
Text Book for General English

(7)

a long deep hole dug in the ground

(8)

very serious and important

How Much Have I Understood ?

(I)

Choose the correct option :

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

Akbar regretted (a)

banishing Birbal from the court

(b)

meeting Birbal in the court

(c)

banishing Tansen from the palace

(d)

seeing Tansen in the court

The eyes of the saint were (a)

sparkling

(b)

dull

(c)

full of tears

(d)

dry

In the opinion of the wise saint a best friend on the earth is (a)

his own good sense

(b)

his courage

(c)

his physical power

(d)

his smartness

Akbar was _________ to meet Birbal again.

(a)

happy

(b)

sad

(c)

angry

(d)

disappointed

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(II)

(III)

Answer the following questions in one or two sentences :

(1)

Who was Birbal ?

(2)

What was the question asked by Abdul Fazal ?

(3)

Which question do you like the most ?

(4)

Who was the wise saint ?

Answer the following questions in three to four sentences.

(1)

Why did Akbar order Birbal to leave the city of Agra ?

(2)

Why did Akbar want to appoint a wise man in his court ?

(3)

What was the condition put forth before the saint ?

(4)

What were the questions asked by Tansen ?

(5)

Which miracle was performed by the wise saint ?

Language Practice
So far you have learnt, how do we change statements into Indirect speech. Now
we will learn how to change imperative and interrogative sentences into Indirect
speech.
While reporting questions, the word order remains the same as in a normal
statement, not as in a question and there is no question mark. If or whether is
used to report yes/no questions :
He said to his wife, Are you ready? (Direct speech)
He asked his wife if she was ready. (Indirect speech)
with wh-questions, the wh-word stays in the sentence. Example :
Ramu said to me, When are you leaving? (Direct speech)
Ramu asked me when I was leaving. (Indirect speech)
Rewrite the following as reported questions :

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(i)

He said to me, Will you take part in the debate?

(ii)

Leela said to Dinesh, Can I borrow your book for a day?

(iii)

He asked me, When do you intend to go to Mumbai?

Text Book for General English

(iv)

The guest asked me, When did you purchase the house?

While reporting requests and commands, usually to-infinitive is used.

Examples:
She said to me, Pass me the plate please. (Direct speech)
She requested me to pass her the plate. (Indirect speech)
The captain said to the platoon, Halt. (Direct speech)
The captain ordered the platoon to halt. (Indirect speech)
Mother said to her son, Dont waste your time or youll regret. (Direct speech)
Mother advised her son not to waste his time or he would regret. (Indirect speech)
Rewrite the following sentences in indirect speech :
(i)

The doctor said to the patient, Dont eat too much sweet.

(ii)

The teacher said to the students, Work hard if you want to score good
marks.

iii)

The stranger said to me, Please give me a lift in your car.

(iv)

The officer said to his soldiers, Capture that hill at any cost.

Note for the teachers :

The above structure (reporting requests and commands, etc.) can be a good drill
for acquiring communicative skill in a classroom situation. The teacher says to a
pupil Dinaz bring me a piece of chalk. Then he says to another pupil, Sheelu,
what did I ask Dinaz to do ? The teacher should contrive to get this answer : Sir,
you asked Dinaz to bring you a piece of chalk. Other pupils can also be drilled in
this structure but with varying activities, such as walk to the door, Open your
book at page 19, etc.
Time permitting, teachers may take up changes concerning time and place, such
as now changing to then, here to there, tomorrow to the next day, and so on.
They may consult a standard English grammar for a fuller description of indirect
speech.

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73

Given below is an interview for the post of a teacher in the Central School.
Interviewer :

What are your qualifications ?

Devanshi

Im M.A., B.Ed.

Interviewer :

Which school have you taught in ?

Devanshi

Ive taught in Model School and Kendriya Vidyalaya.

Interviewer :

Why do you want to leave a secure Job of Kendriya Vidyalaya ?

Devanshi

It is a transferable job and I want to settle here with my family.

Interviewer :

Whats your present salary ?

Devanshi

I am getting Rs. 7000/- per month.

Devanshi goes home and tells her sister Mansi about the interview. Mansi later
report it to her father.
1.

The interviewer asked Denvashi what her qualifications were.

2.

She replied that ____________________________________________.

3.

_______________________________________________________.

4.

_______________________________________________________.

5.

_______________________________________________________.

6.

_______________________________________________________.

7.

_______________________________________________________.

8.

_______________________________________________________.

Some people are at the tourist information centre.

What they want to know is given here.
Meeta

What are the

most interesting
sights ?

Have
you got
a town map?
John

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Shabana

Sahil

How can I
find out about
the area?

Where
can
we stay ?

What shows
are on there ?

Manpreet
Tejinder
Text Book for General English

Convert these queries into indirect speech.

1.

She wants to know what the most interesting sights are.

2.
_________________________________________________________.
3.
_________________________________________________________.
4.
_________________________________________________________.
5.
_________________________________________________________.

Listening Time
Listen to your teacher carefully. He speaks four words in each series. One word
doesnt rhyme with the other three. Tick the numbers of odd words on the answer
sheet.
(I)

1. mind

2. wind (n)

3. find

4. kind

(II)

1. hang

2. sang

3. bag

4. sang

(III)

1. you

2. go

3. do

4. who

(IV)

1. I

2. bay

3. die

4. say

(V)

1. done

2. down

3. brown

4. crown

(VI)

1. head

2. bed

3. beat

4. red

(VII)

1. tree

2. hay

3. three

4. free

(VIII)

1. seen

2. sin

3. been

4. keen

Answer Sheet
I

1,

2,

3,

4.

II

1,

2,

3,

4.

III

1,

2,

3,

4.

IV

1,

2,

3,

4.

1,

2,

3,

4.

VI

1,

2,

3,

VII

1,

2,

3,

4.

VIII

1,

2,

3,

4.

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75

Speaking Time
Imagine that you are a coach who coaches some players. You hear about Atuls
behaviour. You call him and advise him about the nasty way in which he treated
Mukul. Complete this dialogue between the two.
Coach : _______________________________________________________.
Atul : Where did you hear about this, sir ?
Coach : _______________________________________________________.
Atul : Yes, sir, its true.
Coach : _______________________________________________________.
Atul : I did not mean to hurt him. I just felt that a sixth standard boy did not deserve
a place in the team :
Coach : _______________________________________________________.
Atul : I realize I was wrong.
Coach : _______________________________________________________.
Atul : Yes, sir I have understood the importance of team spirit in sports.

Writing Time
Write a letter to your friend telling him/her how Akbar and Birbal were reunited.

T hings to do
1.

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Read any other play story on Akbar and Birbal, then enact it in your classroom with
your classmates.

Text Book for General English