GD GOENKA PUBLIC SCHOOL, SECTOR 22, ROHINI

CLASS XI ADVENTURE

Introduction

The story of The Adventure hinges on a particular historical event. It is the story of a historian
Gangadharpant who wonders what might have happened if the Marathas had not granted a concession
to the East India Company to stay on in Bombay and not sought their help in running their research wing
of science and technology. These steps cost the country and the Maratha ruler, dear. The British
expanded their influence and dominance in India. A little error of the Maratha soldiers in the Battle of
Panipat also would have turned the course of history. Mr Gaitonde reads an extract from Bakhar about
the narrow escape of the Vishwas Rao in the battle against Abdali. This sets him thinking. He meets with
a collision and for two days he travelled in the past and future. He clarifies certain points when he
discussed them with Rajendra Deshpande. Rajendra gave a scientific explanation of how and why the
transition took place from the present to past and future. The lesson is a wonderful combination of
history and science.

NOTES:

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Short Answer Type Questions (30 to 40 words)

1.What sort of ‘Adventure’ has been narrated by Jayant Narlikar?

Ans. The adventure of Professor Gangadharpant was not real or physical. He was a historian. He wanted
to know what would have happened if the Marathas had lost the Battle of Panipat. For two days during
his unconsciousness, he visited the new Bombay and had a bitter experience in Azad Maidan.

2. Who was Professor Gaitonde? What was his plan in Bombay?

Ans. Professor Gaitonde or Gangadharpant was a historian. He had written five volumes on history. But
his research work was still going on. He was on his way to Bombay. He planned to go to a big library and
consult the history books there to find out how the present state of affairs was reached.

3. What was Gangadharpant’s experience on way to Bombay?

Ans. Gangadharpant travelled by the Jijamata express along the Pune-Bombay route. His plan was to
consult some history books at the library. At Sarhad station, an Anglo-Indian checked the permits. That
was the place where the British Raj began. He got the company of one Khan Sahib on the train. He
noticed that the city was quite different from what he had known about it.

4. What was Gangadhar’s experience when he reached a small station Sarhad?

Ans. It was Gangadhar’s first visit to this new Bombay. Every blue carriage carried the words Greater
Bombay metropolitan railway’ and also a small Union Jack painted on it. It gently reminded him that he
had entered the British territory. An Anglo-Indian checked the train permits of the passengers.

5. What had Professor Gaitonde not expected in Bombay?

Ans. Professor Gaitonde was prepared for many shocks but he had not expected to see the domination
of East India Company in Bombay. History books said that the company had been wound up after 1857.
But here in Bombay it still seemed to be alive and flourishing. He found a different set of shops and
departmental stores and big bank buildings as in England.
6. What for did Professor Gaitonde enter the Forbes building? What was his experience there?

Ans. The professor went to Forbes building to meet Vinaya gained, his own son. The receptionist
searched through the telephone list and directory of employees. There was no one bearing that name. It
was a big blow. He felt that so far everything had been shocking and surprising so the blow of non-
existence of his son was not totally unexpected.

7. What did the professor do in the Town Hall library?

Ans. The professor asked for the history books he himself had written. There was no change in the
events up to the death of Aurangzeb. The change had occurred in the last volume. He read the
description of the Battle of Panipat. Abdali was defeated by the Maratha army led by Sadashiv Rao Bhau
and his nephew Vishwas Rao. This event led to a power struggle. It established the supremacy of the
Marathas. The British company was reduced to pockets of Influence near Bombay. The Marathas set up
their science research centres. They accepted the help of English experts.

8. What is the professor’s opinion was the cause of expanding British influence in India?

Ans. Professor Gangadhar felt glad to learn that the white men could not have expanded their hold if the
Marathas had not allowed them for commercial reasons to stay on in Bombay. That lease was to expire
in 2001 according to the treaty of 1908.

9. What did the professor wish to find out in history books?

Ans. He wanted to find the answer to his question about how the Marathas had won the Battle of
Panipat. He found a clue in the book on history titled Bakhars. Vishwasrao had a narrow escape from
being killed by a bullet that brushed past his ear. This boosted the morale of the Maratha army and they
fought bravely.

10. What two things did the professor put into his pockets at the Town Hall?
Ans. He put some notes in his right pocket and the book, the ‘Bakhar’, into his left pocket.

11. What bitter experience did the professor have at the meeting in Azad Maidan?

Ans. A lecture was in progress when the professor reached Azad Maidan. Seeing the presidential chair
vacant, he occupied it swiftly. The audience protested. They said the chair was symbolic. But when the
professor began to address the gathering, he was physically removed from the dais.

12. How did Bakhar’s account of the Battle of Panipat differ from what other history books said?

Ans. All the history books said that the Maratha army had lost the battle. Vishwasrao was hit by a bullet
and he fell. That broke the morale of the army. That was not what the professor’s own copy of the
Bakhar said. It said that Vishwas Rao had a narrow escape as the bullet brushed past his ear. The
professor was dying to know the facts.

13. How did Rajendra rationalise the professor’s experience?

Ans. Rajendra tried to explain the professor’s experience on the basis of two scientific theories. The
professor had passed through a catastrophic experience. The Maratha and the Abdali army were well
matched. So a lot depended on the morale of the troops and the leadership. The point at which Vishwas
Rao was killed, proved to be the turning point. They lost their morale and suffered defeat. But the
Bakhar’s page presented an opposite view. It said that the bullet missed Vishwas Rao, and that boosted
the morale of the soldiers. The professor was thinking of this aspect when he was hit by the truck.

14. How did Rajendra try to explain the mystery of reality?

Ans. We normally experience reality directly with our senses. But what we see is not the whole truth.
That is proved if we take the example of an electron. Fired from a source, it can go in any direction,
breaking all laws of physics. This is called lack of determination in quantum theory. The professor, said
Rajendra, had made a transition from one world that he knew to another that could have been. The
observer can experience one reality, but alternative realities also exist. The professor had also
experienced a different world without any physical movement when he became unconscious after being
hit by a truck.

15. ‘But why did I make the transition?’ What explanation did Rajendra give to the professor?

Ans. Rajendra guessed that the transition must have been caused by some interaction. Perhaps the
professor had been thinking at the time of collision about the catastrophic theory and its role in wars.
The professor admitted that he had been wondering at that time what course history would have taken
if the Marathas had won the Battle of Panipat.

16. Why did Gangadhar decide to cancel his thousandth address?

Ans. Gangadhar informed the organisers of the Panipat seminar that he won’t be able to keep his
commitment. The reason was his bitter experience at the Azad Maidan meeting when the hostile crowd
refused to listen to him and threw eggs and tomatoes at him.

Important Long/ Detailed Answer Type Questions- to be answered in about 100 -150 words each Value
based questions-

Long Answer Questions

1. Describe Gangadharpant’s journey by train from Pune to Bombay.

Ans. Professor Gaitonde (Gangadharpant) travelled from Pune to Bombay by train. The Jijamata express
had its first stop at Lonavala. The ghat section was quite familiar to him. The train passed through
Kalyan.

He made a plan of action in Bombay. He was a historian. He had written five volumes. He planned to go
to a big library and read history books to find out how the present state of affairs had been reached.
Thereafter, he would discuss his findings with Rajendra Deshpande.

The train stopped beyond the long tunnel at a small station, Sarhad. An Anglo-Indian checked the
permits. This was the place where the British Raj began. Pant had not been to this Bombay before. He
talked with his fellow passenger Khan sahib. The professor got some information on life in British India.
He also noticed the words written and the Union Jack painted on the carriage. He had not expected all
that.

2. Give a brief account of Professor Gaitonde’s stay and study of history books at Town Hall library.
What riddle was he keen to solve?

Ans. In Bombay, the professor went to the Town Hall library. He asked for the five volumes he had
written. Up to the death of Aurangzeb, there was no change in history. The change had taken place in
the last volume. Turning over the pages, he reached the exact point where history had taken a different
turn. It was the Battle of Panipat in which the Maratha army had defeated Abdali. The victorious army
was led by the young Vishwasrao. Thereafter began the power struggle in India. It was his own style of
writing.

The Maratha victory dampened the spirit and plans of the East India Company. its influence was reduced
to Bombay region. In the 19th century, the Peshwas needed the help of the British at their centres for
science and technology. They gave an opportunity to the company to extend its influence. Then came
democracy. The professor could not help comparing the country he knew with what he was witnessing
around him.

3. How did Rajendra Deshpande apply his theory of catastrophic experience regarding the Battle of
Panipat?

Ans. Gangadharpant narrated to Rajendra his experience at the Azad Maidan meeting. For two days he
was in a coma. He had met with an accident. He had now returned to the world he was familiar with. He
asked Rajendra to explain where he had spent those days.

He admitted that just before the collision he had been thinking of the catastrophic theory and how it
could change the course of history. He produced a page from the Bakhar to prove that his mind was
working normally. The page described that Vishwasrao had not escaped the bullet, he had rather been
hit and killed by the bullet. It was just contrary to what his own history book said. And he wanted to
know the facts.

4. How did Rajendra explain the concept of reality with the example of movement of an electron?

Ans. Rajendra Deshpande tried to rationalise the professor’s experience on the basis of two scientific
theories. It was true that Gangadharpant had passed through a strange catastrophic experience. The
juncture at which Vishwas Rao was killed in the Battle of Panipat proved to be the turning point. The
Maratha soldiers lost their morale and fighting spirit. They lost the battle.

Rajendra then moved to his second point about reality. Reality is not exactly what we experience
directly with our senses. Reality can have other manifestations also. For example, the electron does not
follow the laws of science when it moves. It is called the lack of determinism in quantum theory. The
electron can be found in different places, and each is real. It happens by making a transition. The
professor had also experienced two worlds—one that was present, the other that might have been.