WBCHSE English Brotherhood : Homage To Claudius Ptolemy Leela’s Friend

Leela’s Friend

Q.What problem was Sivasanker thinking about?
Answer: Sidda was hanging about the gate at a moment when Mr.Sivasanker was standing in the front veranda of his house, brooding over the servant problem.
Q.Why did Sidda tell Leela that he knows the moon?
Answer: Sidda’s company made Leela supremely happy. She flung (=threw) a red ball at him and he flung it back. And then she asked him to throw the ball into the sky. He clutched the ball, closed his eyes for a second and threw the ball up. When the ball came down again, he said that the ball touched the moon and came back. Then he asked to see a little bit of the moon sticking. She keenly examined the ball for traces of the moon and said that she did not see the mark. He told her that he knew the moon because to make her happy.
Q.Describe Leela’s character.
Answer: Leela is five years old cute and sweet girl. She is the only child to her parents. Her mother’s name is Kamala and her father’s name is Sivasanker. She is difficult to manage girl. She likes to listening stories at bed time. Leela is a very good girl. She is interested to play and listening stories. When Sidda came to her home her father called Leela and introduced Sidda to Leela. Leela tested him and told to their parents he is ok. This shows the intelligence and confidence of Leela. Adnd she liked to play with her servant Sidda. If Leela believes any one she is not able to live without seeing them. Parents love Leela very much. Leela believes Sidda more than their parents and spent more time with Sidda. One day Sidda tells to Leela that he saw moon she believed the words by Sidda. The innocent girl believes every word of Sidda. Immediately he expressed her desire to touch the moon. This shows the interest and excitement to learn about new things of Leela. One day she lost her gold chain her mother doubted Sidda as a thief. Leela asked her mother why Sidda was not sleeping inside the house because she does not know that he is a servant. She knows only playing with Sidda and spent time with Sidda. She has not get maturity of mind to know about the people and the society. Basing on these we understand that Leela is innocent and good.
Q.How did Leela try to teach Sidda?
Ans:-Leela used to make Sidda squat on the floor with a pencil between his fingers and a catalogue in front of him. She then used to command him to write and Siidda had to try to copy whatever Leela wrote in the pages. When Sidda would fail to copy Leela’s writings and drawings, Leela would rebuke Sidda and redouble her efforts to teach him. But Sidda, though he had an excellent rapport with the Moon, was incapable of studying and Leela used to keep him there, pinned to his seat, till his still, inflexible wrist cracked. Sidda then used to say that he thought Leela’s mother was calling her to dinner and that would end the school hour.
Q.Describe the character of Sidda.
Ans:-Sidda has been described in the story as a very responsible servant of the Sivasanker household and a reliable and constant companion of Leela. He performed all his duties faithfully and took good care of Leela. He had a great imaginative faculty and from his imagination sprung stories that enthralled Leela. He had great power of convincing little Leela and he made her believe that he had the power to control the moon. He had no interest in studies and never learnt anything that Leela tried to teach him. He also had no idea how to prove his innocence when he was accused of stealing the chain. He remained speechless throughout and fell victim because he belonged to the lower class whose voice is never heard.