Answer Key - SSLC English Exam March 2021

 

SSLC English Exam March 2021 Question Paper

Answer Key

SSLC English Exam 2021 - Language Elements - Practice Questions and Answers

 

A) There are some errors in the following passages.  Edit them.

1. The spreading branches of the banyan tree, who (a) curved to the ground and took root again, forming a maze of arches, gave I (b) endless pleasure. The tree were (b) older than the house, older than Grandfather, as older (d) as the town of Dehra, nestling in a valley at the foot of the himalayas (e).

2. It was a (a) April afternoon. And the warm breezes of approaching summer had send (b) everyone, including Grandfather, indoors. I am (c) feeling drowsy myself and was wondering if I should went (d) to the pond behind the house for a swim, when I saw an (e)huge black cobra gliding out of a clump of cactus. 

3.  Moving forward quickly untill (a) he was just within the cobras (b) reach, he made a feint to one side. Immediately the cobra strucked (c). His great hood down came (d) so swiftly that I thought nothing couldn’t (e) save the mongoose.

4. Grandfather had never saw (a) white squirrels before, and we gazed at them in wonder. We were puzzle (b)for some time, but when I mentioned the white rats (c) frequent visits to the tree, Grandfather told me that the rat must be the father. Rats and squirrels was (d) related to each other, he said, and so it was quiet (e) possible for them to have offspring--in this case, white squirrels! 

5. Every animals (a) in a Hollywood film are (b) well-trained. It is not difficult to training (c)  a horse or a dog. But has (d)you ever heard of trained ravens? Not just one or two, but nearly an (e) hundred of them? Even these (f) was made possible in Hollywood.

Answers

1. a. which b. me  c. was  d. old  e. Himalayas

2. a. an  b. sent  c. was  d. go  e. a

3. a. until  b. cobra's  c. struck  d. came down  e. could

4. a. seen  b. puzzled  c. rat's  d. were  e quite

5. a. animal  b. is  c. train  d. have  e. a  f. this

   B) Replace the underlined words with suitable  forms of the Phrasal Verbs given in brackets:

1.     At first the squirrel could not tolerate (a) the invasion of the boy into its privacy. But the boy protected (c) it as his best friend. Soon they made friends (b) with each other, and their friendship continued (d) for a long time. The boy was very proud to explain (e) to anybody who asked about his friendship with the squirrel. (put across,  put up with,  get along,  go on,  look after, get away)

2.     From the cactus clumps, a huge black cobra arrived (a) in a clearing in the garden. Soon a mongoose also emerged there and followed (b) the cobra. Both of them started (c) to fight to death. A myna and a crow also participated (d) in the fight. The crow got killed and the myna abandoned (e) interfering in the fight anymore. (give up,  go after,  set out,  take part,  turn up,  turn down)

3.     They started (a) to search for Grandma’s knitting everywhere in the house.  They found (b) it together with three white squirrel babies in a hole in the banyan tree. At first they could not understand (c) how the white squirrel babies came there. The boy said that the white rat used to visit (d) the banyan tree. Then Grandfather explained (e) to them that the white rat must be the father of the white squirrel babies because rats and squirrels were related to each other and they could have offspring.  (make out, call at, put across, set out, put off, come across)

4. The homeopath wore (a) his black coat and went outside. After having meals at a restaurant, he arrived (b) back in his room at around ten o’clock in the night. He ignored (c) the strange noise he heard and started to read (d) a medical book. Suddenly a cobra landed on his shoulder and he was terrible shocked (e). After a short while the cobra abandoned (f) the doctor and moved towards a mirror on his table. Soon he escaped (g) from the snake and ran till he reached his friend’s house.    (taken aback, give up, turn down, get away, turn up, put on,                                  go through, put out)

Answers:

1. a. put up with  b. looked after  c. got along  d. went on  e. put across

2. a. turned up  b. went after  c. set out  d. took part  e. gave up

3. a. set out  b. came across  c. make out  d. call at  e. put across

4. a. put on  b. turned up  c. turned down  d. go through e. taken aback f. gave up 

    g. got away

5. Complete the following sentences with suitable phrasal verbs given in brackets:

1. The doctor ……….. with the tale and his friends listened attentively.

2. The house was full of rats, but the doctor ……… all annoyance.

3. He ………… to shave daily to make himself more handsome.

4. He had recently ………… his medical practice and his income was meager.

5. The doctor …………. from the snake and …….. in his friend’s house.

6. When the doctor …….. in trouble, his friends were ready to ……… him.

(put up with, went on, set up, made up his mind, turned up, got away, look after, ended up, put aside) 

Answers:

1. went one 2. put up with 3. made up his mind 4. set up 5. got away, turned up

 6. ended up, look after  

6. Complete the following conversation using suitable phrasal verbs given in  brackets:

Mother: Why do you look very happy?

Rahul: I .......a..... my old friend today.

Mother: Why didn’t you invite him to dinner?

Rahul: I did. But he…….(b)….my invitation.

Mother: Why? Did he want…..(c)….all his old friends.

Rahul: No, we still……(d)…..very well.

Mother: Then why?

Rahul: His mother is sick. He has to…(e)……..her.

Mother: Oh, I thought he didn't want your friendship any more.

(give up,  come across,  turn down,  look after,  get on)

Answers:

a. came across b. turned down c. give up  d. get on  e. look after

C) complete the following conversations:

1. Conversation between the boy and his Grandma.

The boy: Grandma, you are searching for something, ………..a………….?

Grandma: Yes, dear.

The boy: …………b………………?

Grandma: I’ve lost my knitting.

The boy: …………c………………….?

Grandma: Yes, I need your help. We can find it easily if………d……… .

The boy: Okay, let’s together search for it. By the way, …………e……….?

Grandma: No, I did not ask Grandpa about it.

The boy: You had better ………f……….. .

Grandma: Okay, I’ll ask Grandpa too.

Answers: 

a. aren't you? b. What have you lost? c. Do you need my help? d. if we search for it together. e. Did you ask grandpa about it? f. ask grandpa too.

2. Complete the following conversation between the homeopath and a news reporter:

Reporter: You miraculously escaped from a cobra, …….a………..?

Homeopath: Yes. I would say a mirror saved me!

Reporter: …………………b…………….?

Homeopath: Yes, I really mean it.

Reporter: ……….c…………….?

Homeopath: Yes, I would explain it to you. A cobra coiled around my left arm. But when it saw its reflection in the mirror on my table, it left me and moved towards the mirror.

Reporter: O, God! If the mirror hadn’t been there, …………….d…………; right?

Homeopath: Yes, definitely I would have been in trouble.

Reporter: What do you think why the snake came into your room?

Homeopath: ………………….e………………. .

Reporter: We had better…………f………….. .

Homeopath: You’re right. We should keep rats out of our houses. 

Answers:

a. didn't you? b. Do you really mean it? c. Would you explain it to me? d. you would have been in trouble. e. I think the snake came into my room to catch the rats. f. keep rats out of our houses.

3. Complete the following conversation between Mr. John and Mrs John.

Mr. John: Darling, look at the gentleman walking along the deck.

Mrs. John: ................a...................?

Mr. John:  That’s Dr. AJ Cronin, whom I’ve been in search of for the last 25 years.

Mrs. John: Why? .......................b...............?

Mr.  John: Yes, there is something special about him. If this man hadn’t helped me, .........c............ (alive now)

Mrs. John: Don’t create suspense. Please tell me everything in detail.

Mr. John: It’s a long story; we had better..................d....................

Mrs. John: Ok, we can sit somewhere here and talk.

Mr. John: I want to talk to him, but I’m too shy to approach him. I wish I ........e..........

Mrs. John: Don’t worry; I’ll also come with you. Let’s go to him now, .........f............?

Mr. John: Yes, thank you dear!

Answers:

a. Who is that? b. Is there anything special about him? c. I wouldn't have been alive now. d. sit somewhere here and talk. e. could approach him. f. shall we?

____________________________________________________________________

SSLC English Model Exam 2021 - Answer Key

 

              SSLC English Model Exam 2021 Question Paper   

Answer Key                         

SSLC English Exam 2021: Poems in out of Focus Area - Notes of Appreciation

 

Blowin’ in the Wind   ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’ is a song by the American singer and song writer Bob Dylan. It is considered to be a protest song against human rights violations. The song was an anthem of the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. War and violence destroy peaceful life; human rights violations and injustice prevail everywhere. People should unite against the injustices, open their eyes and ears to hear and see the sufferings of their  fellow beings and fight for their rights.  These are the messages and theme of this song.  The poet asks “how many roads must a man walk down before you call him a man?” That means how much trouble a man should suffer in his life before he is recognized as a human being.  He asks again how many seas a white dove must sail before it finds a peaceful place to sleep. How many times the cannon balls must fly before they are banned forever?  White doves are symbol of peace, and banning cannon balls means ending wars and violence. But no peaceful place without war and violence is found anywhere in this world. The oppressive rulers are as huge and powerful as mountains. But they cannot exist for long before the more powerful seas of people’s protests.  No ruler can keep the people of a nation under slavery for ever. No one can pretend for a long time that he does not see or hear the sufferings and cries of the oppressed people. Everyone should have eyes to see the sky - the symbol of freedom - and ears to hear people cry in pain.  The poet finally asks how many people should die before we realize that too many have died. All these questions are Rhetorical questions.  The poet says that the answers to them are known to all and are blowing in the wind repeating the lines “the answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind, the answer is blowin’ in the wind”. This kind of repetition of lines is the best example the poetic device, Refrain.  The oppressive rulers are compared to mountains and people’s protest to seas. These comparisons are examples of Metaphor. There are many examples of Alliterations in the song as in “How many roads must a man…”. There is an Auditory Image in the expression “…people cry?” ‘White dove’, ‘cannon balls’, ‘mountain’, ‘sea’ etc. can be seen as Visual Images.

Poetry – A Note of Appreciation The poem ‘Poetry’ is written by the very famous Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. The  ecstatic feeling that the poet experienced when he was embraced by the poetic creativity is celebrated in the poem. And this is the theme of the poem as well. This poem is composed in the Free Verse style, so that the poem does not have a consistent stanza system, metric pattern and rhyme scheme. There are three stages of the poet’s experiences depicted in this poem – the period when he wished to become a poet, when poetry arrived and touched him and after he composed his first faint lines. The poet says that the poetry arrived in search of him and touched him. But he does not know where it came from when and how. He was a man without a face before the arrival of poetry. When it touched him he became like a dumb and blind person, but he felt something started in his soul. He could not name exactly what it was – it was something like fever (poetic passion)  or forgotten wings (nameless emotions or inborn but unknown abilities) Deciphering that poetic passion or fire, he wrote his first lines. The lines seemed faint and substance-free, pure nonsense or pure wisdom of someone who knew nothing. When he wrote his lines he could suddenly saw the heavens opened in front of him. He could see everything in the universe from planets to palpitating plantations. Though he was an infinitesimal being and similarity of ignorance, he could enjoy the beauty of the starry sky and feel himself to be a part of the abyss. He could travel with the stars and his heart became as free as the wind! This poem is in the Free Verse style. Poetry “arrived in search of me”… “it touched me” is an example of Personification. The poet doubts whether poetry came from ‘winter’ or a ‘river’.‘Winter’ indicates a ‘frozen state’ and ‘River’ a ‘flowing state’ and thus the poet creates the figure of speech Contrast. Expressions like ‘not voices’, ‘nor silence’ ‘pure nonsense’, ‘pure wisdom’, ‘from the others or returning alone’ are also examples of Contrast. There are many instances of Alliteration such as ‘Something Started in my Soul’, ‘fever or forgotten’, ‘palpitating plantations’, ‘fire and flowers etc. The poem is rich with various images.

Mother to Son The poem ‘Mother to Son’ is written by the very well-know American poet and social activist Langston Hughes. He was one of the leaders of the Harlem Renaissance, a movement which paved the way for the social and intellectual enlightenment of the Negro community.  This is a dramatic monologue composed in Free Verse style. In this monologue poem, the speaker is the mother and the son is a passive listener. The tone of the poem is didactic – that is advising and encouraging the son to face the difficulties of life.  The mother is an Afro-American woman and appears to be very poor and illiterate. The mother talks to her son about her miserable life experiences. She compares her life to a crystal stair and says that her life has never been luxurious, comfortable or beautiful as a crystal stair. Her stair of life is full of tacks, splinters and is made up of torn-up boards, which means that her life is difficult, sorrowful and poverty-stricken. Her struggles for existence have never been easy. Her life has always been painful and bare of all comforts. While climbing the life’s stairs, very rarely only she reaches a landing place – gets a comfortable time. Most often she has to turn corners and sometimes she reaches in complete darkness without any light. She means that sometimes she reaches completely in hopeless and helpless situations without having anyone to help. But even in her old age, she has never given up hopes or hard work. She wants her son also to work hard and face challenges in life boldly.  The mother advises her son not to turn back or sit down or fall down on the steps of the life’s stairs. She also encourages him to face the difficulties and to succeed in life looking at her and learning lessons from her life. The poem is in Free Verse so that it has no consistent stanza system, no rhyme-scheme or no metric pattern (consistency in line-length).The life of the mother is compared to a crystal stair and the journey of life is compared to climbing the steps. Thus the figure of speech the extended metaphor is very aptly used in the poem. The language of the poem is an Afro-American dialect, which depicts the mother’s backwardness, poverty and illiteracy.  Examples of Alliteration can be seen in the line “Don’t you set down on the steps”. Also, there is an example of Assonance in the line “So boy don’t you turn back” where the vowel sound /o/ is repeated.  Examples of Anaphora can also be seen in the poem, by which the word ‘And’ is repeated consecutively at the beginning of several lines.

 

SSLC English Exam Preparations: Character Sketches of some important characters

 

The boy in the story  ‘Adventures in a Banyan Tree’  The boy, who is the protagonist in the story ‘Adventures in a Banyan Tree’, appears to be a lover of books and nature. He is enchanted by nature and likes to be in company with various creatures in nature. In his grandpa’s English model garden, there is an old magnificent banyan tree. The boy has made the tree his domain and built a platform half way up the tree where he spends his afternoons reading books. He likes various kinds of books including adventure stories and novels. Whenever he is not in a mood of reading he sits on the platform and enjoys the sights and sounds in nature.   He loves all the creatures in nature and likes to have pet animals. He has made friendship with one of the squirrels living in the banyan tree, which delves into his pocket and takes food from him.  He has also made a white rat his pet, which his grandfather bought from the bazaar. He often takes this white rat to the banyan tree and it mates with one of the squirrels there. Thus the squirrel gives birth to three white baby squirrels. The boy and his grandparents are in the thrill of having this nature’s rarest gift, a wonderful family in nature. The boy is proud of his new friends – the white rat, the grey squirrel, and the white baby squirrels.

 

The Grandfather in the story  ‘Adventures in a Banyan Tree' The grandfather in the story ‘Adventures in a Banyan Tree’ is a sixty-five year old man.  He lives happily with his wife and their grandson in their house. He has made an English model garden near his house. In the garden there is a huge banyan tree which is older than him. He is sixty-five years old and he cannot climb the trees now. His wife often teases him about this. He is very loving and caring towards his grandson and at the same time fond of nature and its creatures.  He maintains his garden well and sometimes talks and complaints to the plants growing there. He is happy to hear that the mongoose has won in the fight with the cobra.  He wants the mongoose to be there in his garden to keep snakes away. He is a man who loves pets. Once he brings home a white rat which he bought from the bazaar. He amuses himself with it and at the same time wants to make his grandson happy. He seems to be a happy man as he gets enough delight and relief in his old age from his pet animals and plants in the garden. He lives comfortably with his wife and grandson loving and caring nature.

 

The Homeopath in the story  ‘The Snake and the Mirror’ The homeopathic doctor is the protagonist of the story The Snake and the Mirror by the renowned Malayalam writer Vaikom Mohammed Basheer. The story is a humorous account of the doctor’s encounter with a cobra. He was a young and unmarried doctor recently set up his medical practice, and therefore, his income was very meagre. He  was staying alone in a rented house, and there were lots of rats to share the room with him. He was very beauty-conscious and often lived in the world of dreams.  He was very proud of himself for being a young, handsome bachelor and a doctor by profession. He wanted to marry a rich, young woman doctor having a good medical practice.     The doctor was really a funny character. He wanted his future wife should be a fat woman. She should not be able to run after him and catch him if he did any mistake and wanted to escape from her.    He appeared to be very bold too. Even when a cobra landed on his shoulder he did not tremble or cry out.    He sat still like a stone image thinking about the mercy of God. When the snake left him and moved towards the mirror, he cleverly made use of the opportunity to escape. The doctor was a jovial person having a good circle-of-friends. He liked to spend time with them smoking beedis, discussing various topics, joking and telling stories. The ‘snake story’ is one of such stories.

Mr. Thorat Mr. Thorat was the ringmaster of the Bharat Circus. He played a major role in realising Ray’s film Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, and  Ray gratefully remembered him in Ray’s memoir ‘Project Tiger.  He was a South Indian, but looked like a Nepali. He was very well-built and around forty years of age. He was in charge of the risky tasks of training and keeping wild animals in the circus company. He had to face many tiger attacks, and he had a scar on his forearm which had been caused by a tiger.  He  was a man with enough practical wisdom. He brought two tigers instead of one to the shooting location.  His idea was that if one tiger did not behave well, the other one could be used. He seemed not to be confident enough about setting his tigers free on their own at the shooting location. But he himself suggested a solution. A thin but strong iron wire could be fixed around the neck of the tiger and it would not be visible to the camera.  He was seen very much frightened and helpless at the unexpected behaviour of the ferocious tiger. He failed to control the animal when it turned violent.  But Mr. Thorat was hard working and adventurous and a man of high regard for others. When the first shooting attempt failed, he readily agreed to take the risk of bringing the tigers for the second time.  He was a very cooperative person, and without his cooperation Ray’s film ‘Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne’ would not have been realized.

Mr. John The Character Mr. John has an equally important role as that of the narrator Dr AJ Cronin in the anecdote ‘The Best Investment I Ever Made’. He is in his early 40s, and  rather short in build with a fair complexion and clear blue eyes. His thin hair has begun to recede from his forehead.  He looks serious and reserved in his dark suit, sober tie and rimless spectacles.  Mr. John was an orphan and had an unhappy and miserable past.  When he was young, he led a loose life. To enjoy pleasures of life, he pledged all his belongings, borrowed huge amount from others, stole some money from his workplace and gambled.  Lost everything , finally he tried to commit suicide, but was fortunately saved by Dr. AJ Cronin. All these happened 25 years ago. He learned a good lesson from his tragedy and determined to change himself.  Now he is a solicitor by profession and director of a charitable organisation. He wished for a second meeting with Dr. Cronin. But when Mr. John unexpectedly meets him after 25 years during a voyage , he cannot approach him. His diffidence prevents him from approaching Dr Cronin. Finally encouraged by his wife, he approaches and tells him his story. Dr. Cronin becomes extremely happy to know that Mr. John is now a social worker.

Martha  Martha, the central character in the story 'The Scholarship Jacket' is a character of mixed feelings. She is bold and brilliant and sensitive too. She is a 14 year-old eighth grade student maintaining a consistent ‘A’ level since her first grade. She is qualified enough to win the prestigious scholarship jacket, an award to the class valedictorian of her school.  Martha is the daughter of a poor Mexican farm labourer. Owing to the poverty in her family, she has been living with her grandparents. In appearance she is very lean and her friends call her ‘beanpole’ and ‘string bean’.  Once she happens to overhear a heated argument between her two teachers. She understands that a conspiracy is going on to undermine her chance of winning the jacket. Eventually the principal asks her to pay 15 dollars for the award.  Although bold and brilliant, this incident makes her cry in despair. But when Martha's granddad tells her that a paid award is not an award at all, she accepts his words.  She strongly believes that she deserves the award by merit and it should come on her way. She determines to tell the principal looking straight into his eyes that she is not ready to pay for the award. Here, we see a bold Martha. However, later when Martha hears the happy news that she is going to get the jacket, she cannot control her happiness. While rushing back home to impart her happy news to her grandpa and grandma, she can’t help crying – but this time it was a cry of joy. Martha's words and deeds show that she is quite bold and sensible but at the same time sensitive and childlike too.

Martha’s Grandfather  Martha’s grandfather is probably the most important character in the story, The Scholarship Jacket.  He will have the place of a hero in the minds of the readers of the story. His words “if you pay for it, it won’t be a scholarship jacket” made even the principal change his decision. He is somewhat a rich farmer owning two hundred acres of ranch. He is seen in the story always working in his farm field. He is a sort of reserved type but a man of strong determination. Though he is uneducated, he believes that it is injustice to pay for a deserving award. So he strongly stands with his belief even when his granddaughter cried for money. Finally, his words win and Martha gets the award. On both the occasions when he hears the sad and happy news regarding the scholarship jacket, his reaction does not change. When his granddaughter tells him about her winning the jacket, he still doesn’t express his rejoice in words. He just gives her a smile and a pat on her shoulder. As the proverb ‘still waters run deep’ says, some people will not show overtly their deep love and affection. We are sure that Martha’s grandfather is a man of this sort.

Aunt Jane in the one-act play ‘The Never-Never Nest’  Aunt Jane is one of the major characters in the one-act play ‘The Never-Never Nest. Her words and deeds make the play humorous and interesting. She appears to be a lady with a generous and philanthropic mind.  She loves her nephew Jack and his wife Jill very much and shows much concern in their well-being. Aunt Jane had given Jack and Jill a gift-cheque for two hundred pounds at the time of their wedding. Now she doubts whether it was really two hundred pounds or by mistake she had written two thousand! The reason is that now when she visits their house and sees their comfortable and luxurious life with all modern facilities, she cannot just believe it. Jack and Jill have a cosy and luxurious house with all facilities like refrigerator, radio, various items of furniture, piano, car, etc. They say that they own the house and all the household things on instalment system and they do not pay rent. But Aunt Jane disapproves the instalment system and opposes the way of using others’ things as theirs.  She even refuses to sit on the furniture and travel in Jack’s car because she believes that these things actually belong to someone else. She proclaims that her motto is cash down payment, and she dislikes owing a penny to others. She feels restless and wants to leave the house immediately. But even when she leaves Jack and Jill being displeased in their way of life, she shows her love and generosity by giving them a cheque for ten pounds.

Vanka Vanka is the central character in the story Vanka by Anton Chekhov. He is a nine year old orphan. He was living in a village with his mother and grandfather. After his mother’s death, he was sent to Moscow to apprentice under a shoe-maker named Alyakhin.  At a very tender age he became a child labourer. He was deprived of all his child rights. He did not get his primary education other than what he learned from his play-mate Olga. Vanka has to suffer a lot at Alyakhin’s house. It has been only three months since he reached Moscow. But his sufferings are so severe and beyond description that made him write a letter pleading his grandpa to come and save him as quickly as possible. Vanka is very much afraid of his master, mistress and other senior apprentices. When he wrote the secret letter, he was watchful not to be seen by others. He is very nostalgic about his village life, especially of the Christmas time when he used to spend with his mother, grandpa and Olga.  Vanka’s child-like innocence is very visible in his letter. Even when he wrote about his miserable life, which was worse than that of a dog, he did not forget to write about the wonderful sights of the big town of Moscow. In a little village boy’s eyes, shops selling fishing-hooks, guns and even butchery are sights of surprise.  The boy is very innocent and he does not know even the basics of sending a letter. He posted the letter without proper address and postage stamp. Then the innocent boy spends days in the dreams of his grandpa’s arrival, his sole saviour!

Konstantin Makarich Konstantin Makarich is the grandfather of Vanka, the protagonist in the story Vanka. He is a night watchman on the estate of the Zhivarev family. He is a small, lean, old man about sixty-five years of age. He is remarkably lively and agile with a smiling face and eyes bleary with drink. He is a fun-loving man. In the day time either he sleeps in the back kitchen or spends time cracking jokes with the cooks and other kitchen maids.  In the night he does his watchman duty walking round and round the estate, sounding his rattle, wearing a large sheepskin coat and felt boots. He has two dogs named Kashtanka and Eel. He will always be in the company of his beloved dogs. He has the habit of snuffing tobacco and he will offer the snuff to kitchen maids and even to his dogs. He enjoys seeing them sneeze, breaking out into jolly laughter.  This grandfather is the only relative of Vanka  now remaining in this world for him. When we read  about Vanka’s miserable plight at Alyakhin’s house, we might ask ourselves why this man has sent the boy to such a cruel person. But we cannot blame the old, innocent and illiterate man. We are sure that while sending Vanka to Moscow, he must have in his mind only the thought that his grandchild should learn a trade and earn a living!

Kiran in the story ‘The Castaway’  Kiran is a major character in the story ‘The Castaway’ having equal importance with the protagonist Nilkanta. She is a favourite of all in her native village. Once she fell seriously ill and her husband Sharat and mother-in-law took her to a riverside house in Chandernagore Village for a change. She believes now that she has become fully recovered. She is very active and always wants to be in the company of the villagers. She cannot bear the lonely life in the riverside house and wants to get away from there as early as possible. Though she is a grown-up woman and wife of Sharat, she still loves lots of fun like a child.  When Nilkanta comes to the riverside house unexpectedly, she becomes much delighted and forgets about going back to her home in the village. Soon Kiran and Nilkanta become good friends. She likes his presence and enjoys his various theatrical performances. She always supports him and ignores all the mischief he and his naughty friends make, without paying any attention to the complaints of her husband and mother-in-law. She takes the role of his mother and sister combined. But when Satish, her brother-in-law, comes to stay with them, she ignores Nilkanta. Like a playful child, she engages in all merry-making activities with Satish .  At the time of leaving the riverside house, she wants to take Nilkanta with them and argues for him. But she has to yield before the opposition of all other members of the family. She tries to protect Nilkanta from being termed as the thief when Satish’s inkstand is missing. She feels enormous pity on the homeless boy and puts in his box two new suits of clothes, a pair of shoes and a bank note as a surprise gift.  Kiran is a kind-hearted and trustful woman but at times appears to be rather childish than a matured and responsible wife.

Nilkanta in the story ‘The Castaway’  Nilkanta is the protagonist of the story ‘The Castaway’ by Rabindranath Tagore. He belonged to a theatrical group. One stormy evening he reached the riverside house as a castaway after his boat perished in the river. It was hard to tell his age from his innocent and hairless face. But his way of talking and the habit of smoking suggested that he was beyond seventeen.  Soon he became the favourite of Kiran as he could give her good company and entertain her with his theatrical performances. He made a bad friendship with the naughty village boys and made a mongrel dog his pet. Together they made all the mischief. This irritated Sharat and his mother. Sharat often punished him, but he did not take it serious. He was happy because he got enough to eat and enjoyed much care and love from Kiran.  When Satish - Kiran’s brother-in-law -  came to live with them, Kiran’s attention diverted from Nilkanta to Satish. This made Nilkanta angry, and his behaviour became wild towards all his friends and even to his pet dog. He took secret revenge upon Satish. He took Satish’s favourite inkstand intending to throw it into the river. When the family decided to go back to their native village, he wished to join them, but in vain. All except Kiran opposed to take him with them. This pained him too much. When Kiran found out the missing inkstand from his box, he could not face her as he was unable to prove that he was not a thief.  Soon he left the place without anybody’s notice.  Nobody knew, including  the police, where he disappeared.