📌 Chapter-3 Iswaran the Storyteller

This chapter is about Mahendra, a junior supervisor who travels often for work. He lives a simple life. His cook Iswaran always accompanies him.
Iswaran is not just a cook — he is a brilliant storyteller. He narrates stories with suspense, drama, and excitement. He tells Mahendra thrilling tales about ghosts, animals, accidents, and supernatural events.
One day Iswaran narrates a dramatic story about an elephant (tusker) and about a female ghost carrying a foetus. Mahendra scolds him for talking nonsense.
But one night during full moon, Mahendra himself sees a strange dark figure outside his window. He becomes terrified. Next morning, Iswaran casually tells him, “Sir, you saw the ghost last night!”
Mahendra gets so scared that he resigns and decides to leave the place the next day.

📌 Hindi Summary

यह कहानी महेंद्र और उसके रसोइए ईश्वरन के बारे में है। महेंद्र नौकरी के कारण हमेशा अलग-अलग जगहों पर रहता है। ईश्वरन हमेशा उसके साथ रहता है और खाना बनाता है, कपड़े धोता है और रात को उससे बातें करता है।
ईश्वरन बहुत अच्छा किस्सागो था। वह छोटी-सी घटना को भी इतना दिलचस्प तरीके से बताता कि suspense और surprise पैदा हो जाते।
वह महेंद्र को एक पागल हाथी (tusker) की कहानी और बाद में एक भूतनी की कहानी सुनाता है। महेंद्र उसे डांटता है।
लेकिन पूर्णिमा की रात महेंद्र खुद एक डरावना साया अपनी खिड़की के बाहर देखता है।
अगले दिन ईश्वरन कहता है— “सर, आपने भी कल रात उस भूत को देखा था!”
यह सुनकर महेंद्र इतना डर जाता है कि वह नौकरी छोड़कर तुरंत उस जगह को छोड़ने का फैसला कर लेता है।

📌 Word Meanings

Word	Hindi Meaning
bachelor	कुंवारा
ill-equipped	अधूरी सुविधाओं वाला
makeshift	अस्थायी
conjure up	जादू की तरह तैयार कर देना
leisurely	आराम से
narrative	कहानी शैली
in thrall	किसी के जादू/प्रभाव में
prologue	शुरुआत / प्रस्तावना
outskirts	शहर के बाहरी हिस्से
menacingly	डराने वाले तरीके से
trumpeted	ज़ोर से आवाज़ निकालना (हाथी की)
summon	बुलाना
garish	डरावनी और रंगीन
shrivelled	सूखा और सिकुड़ा
foetus	भ्रूण
figment	कल्पना मात्र
auto-suggestion	मन का भ्रम
guttural	गले से निकली harsh आवाज़

📌 4. NCERT Questions & Answers

Q1. In what way is Iswaran an asset to Mahendra?

Answer:
He cooks food, washes clothes, keeps the hut clean, and entertains Mahendra with interesting stories. He makes Mahendra’s life comfortable.

Q2. How does Iswaran describe the uprooted tree on the highway? What effect does he want to create?

Answer:
He describes it like a giant “bushy beast” lying on the road to create suspense and excitement. He wants to make even a simple incident sound dramatic.

Q3. How does he narrate the story of the tusker? Is it believable?

Answer:
He narrates it with action— jumping, shouting, and describing destruction.
The story seems exaggerated and dramatic, so it doesn’t appear fully believable.

Q4. Why does the author say Iswaran made up for the absence of TV?

Answer:
Because his stories were so entertaining, full of thrill and drama, that Mahendra never felt bored even without a television.

Q5. Mahendra calls ghosts a figment of imagination. What happens on the full-moon night?

Answer:
Mahendra sees a dark ghost-like figure outside his window and gets terrified. He is unable to sleep and sweats with fear.

Q6. Suggest an alternate ending to the story.

Sample Easy Answer:
Instead of running away, Mahendra could have confronted the truth and realised it was only a woman or worker carrying something at night. Then both he and Iswaran would laugh about the misunderstanding.

3-Iswaran the Storyteller