NIOS Class 10 English Chapter 14 Stealing And Atonement

NIOS Class 10 English Chapter 14 Stealing And Atonement Solutions to each chapter is provided in the list so that you can easily browse through different chapters NIOS Class 10 English Chapter 14 Stealing And Atonement and select need one. NIOS Class 10 English Chapter 14 Stealing And Atonement Question Answers Download PDF. NIOS Study Material of Class 10 English Notes Paper 202.

NIOS Class 10 English Chapter 14 Stealing And Atonement

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Also, you can read the NIOS book online in these sections Solutions by Expert Teachers as per National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) Book guidelines. These solutions are part of NIOS All Subject Solutions. Here we have given NIOS Class 10 English Chapter 14 Stealing And Atonement, NIOS Secondary Course English Solutions for All Chapters, You can practice these here.

Stealing And Atonement

Chapter: 14

BOOK – I

14.2.1 PART – 1

A relative and I ………………. people smoking, I became choked.

This section tells about how and why Gandhiji tried to imitate a family member. We often imitate people we admire. Copying hairstyles, way of dressing, manner of speaking of habits of film stars, public figures, and/or friends and relatives is quite common. But have you ever thought whether the person you are imitating is a suitable role model? When Gandhiji was about twelve, he and his relative imitated an uncle who smoked. They thought it would be fun to blow out clouds of smoke. They picked up cigarette stubs and stole money from the servants so that they could buy cigarettes. Like all teenagers, they wanted independence. They decided that life was not worth living because they had to seek permission from their elders for everything they did. The got some seeds that they believed were poisonous. However, they couldn’t get the courage to eat all of them because they did not want to die. At that age, all kinds of thoughts and ideas cross one’s mind and often, some problems seem huge. But don’t you think there are better ways of solving a problem than suicide?

All of us make mistake and learn from them. This is just a normal part of growing up. Have you ever experimented or tried to do things which you knew were wrong and could put you at risk? Can young people correct their mistakes and then continue to live a normal life? Yes, they can. Gandhiji too made mistakes when he was young. But he realised his mistakes. He removed the thought of suicide from his mind forever He also decided that he would never smoke or steal.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 14.1

Q.1. Tick (✓) the correct answer: 

(a) Who did Gandhiji try to imitate as a child?

(i) his father.

(ii) his servant.

(iii) his friend. 

(iv) his uncle.

Ans. (iv) his uncle. 

(b) From where did Gandhiji first get money to smoke Indian cigarettes?

(i) he earned it. 

(ii) from his father.

(iii) he stole it. 

(iv) from his friend.

Ans. (iii) he stole it.

(c) Why did he and his friend go to Ramji Mandir?

(i) to pray. 

(ii) to make an offering. 

(iii) to ask for cigarettes.

(iv) to calm themselves.

Ans. (iv) to calm themselves.

Q.2. Why did their courage fail them when they would to swallow the Dhatura Seeds?

Ans. Their courage failed them because they realised that they would not die at once. They were not sure if killing themselve would solve their problem.

Q.3. When did Gandhiji give up the idea of smoking? 

Ans. Gandhiji and his friend gave up the idea of smoking after they had given up the idea of suicide.

Q.4. How did Gandhiji regard the habit of smoking when he grew up?

Ans. When he grew up, he regarded smoking as barbarous, dirty and harmful.

Q.5. Write the opposites of the following words from the text using the prefixes ‘un- ‘ or ‘in’ auspicious, available, dependence, decided, effective.

Ans. auspicious – in a auspicious.

available – unavailable.

dependence – independence. 

decided – undecided.

effective – ineffective.

14.2.2 PART – 2 

But much more serious ……………….. could not be a cleaning without a confession.

When Gandhiji’s elder brother fell into debt, he took a bit of gold from his brother’s armlet to help the brother repay his debt. Later, he felt guilty of his act of stealing. He repented for his action as he know that he had done something wrong. He decided that he would never steal again. He felt very disturbed and wanted to confess to his father but couldn’t get himself to face him. He also knew that his father would be very pained to know what he had done. Gandhiji did not want to hurt his father but he could not bear to live with the guilt. So he decided to confess to his brother. It requires courage to admit one’s mistake and to speak the truth. Don’t you think so? Gandhiji got the courage to confess because he know he was doing the right thing. Had you been in Gandhiji’s situation, what would you have done?

INTEXT QUESTIONS 14.2

Q.1. How much was Gandhiji’s brother’s debt? 

Ans. Gandhiji’s brother had run into a debt

of about twenty five rupees.

Q.2. Why did Gandhiji talk out a bit of gold from the armlet? 

Ans. Gandhiji took a bit of gold as he had a plan to use it to clear of the debt.

Q.3. What do you think Gandhiji did with a bit of gold? 

Ans. Gandhiji gave away the bit of gold in exchange for ending his brother’s debt.

Q.4. Why did Gandhiji decide to confess to his father?

Ans. Gandhiji decided to confess because he was disturbed after he had taken gold from brother’s armlet. He felt he had done wrong. So only if he confessed, he could clean himself properly.

Q. 5. Have you ever done something wrong to help someone close to you? How die you feel afterwards? Write about it in approximately 100 words.

Ans. There are many times when we try to help others. Such an incident took place when I was in ninth class. One of my friends had hurt his hand and could not write properly. So he was very upset during the exam first I wrote my paper and then I exchanged my sheet with his. I completed his paper I fast as I could. Things turned out to be very easy. But when it came to distribution of papers, our cheating got caught. The teacher deducted my marks and made me apologise in writing. Still I felt that I had done nothing wrong in helping a friend. Though it was cheating, but a intention was very fair.

14.2.3 PART – 3 

I decided at last to write……………… beyond measure.

This part of the lesson is about what happened when Gandhiji confessed his deed to his father. In a letter to his father, Gandhiji admitted that he had stolen and asked for suitable punishment for his wrong doing. He also requested his father not to punish himself for the act and promised that he would never steal again. When Gandhiji’s father read the letter, he did not scold his young son because he knew he was absolutely honest and sincere in his confession. Gandhiji’s father began to cry. These were not just tears of pain but also love and forgiveness. After reading the letter, he was sure that the mistake would never be repeated Gandhiji to started to cry. He learnt the first lesson on Ahimsa that day. Without any physical violence or angry words, the matter was taken care of Gandhiji understood the real meaning of Ahimsa from his father’s peaceful reaction to his confession of a wrong deed.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 14.3

Answer the following questions: 

Q.1. How did Gandhiji’s father react on reacting his letter of confession? 

Ans. Gandhiji’s father was very happy. He wept when he read letter of confession.

Q.2. Who thought Gandhiji the lesson on ‘Ahimsa’?

Ans. Gandhiji’s father taught him the lesson on ‘Ahimsa’.

Q.3. Ahimsa in the story means.

Ans. To avoid causing pain, being violent and to bring about change in a peaceful and loving manner.

Q.4. What according to Gandhiji is the present type of repentance? 

Ans. According to Gandhiji the present type of repentance is a clean confession. We should place request for adequate punishment. The other thing we should do is to promise never to do wrong again.

LET US TALK 14.1

In the lesson that you just read, Gandhiji wanted to help his brother who was in debt. To clear that debt, he steals some gold. However, he realises that wrong means cannot justify the right end. Given below is a short story about a man called Ratnakar who atoned for his life of theft and dishonesty and became Maharishi Valmiki. Read it aloud to two friends and/or relatives.

When Ratnakar was very young he got lost in a jungle. A hunter found him and brought him up. Ratnakar grew up to become an excellent hunter and married a beautiful girl. As his family grew, Ratnakar found it difficult to feed his wife and children. So he began to rob people travelling from one village to another.

One day he attached the holy man Narad who he heard playing his ‘Veena’ and singing God’s praises.

“Hand over whatever you have,” said Ratnakar, “else I’ll chop off your head.”

Narada said, “You can take my ‘Veena’ if you want but why do you want to chop off my head?”

Ratnakar shrugged and replied, “I make my living by stealing and hunting.”

“Brother, stealing is a sin and killing animals is also sinful,” explained Narada. “Why do you do such evil act?”

“What else can I do? My family is large. I

have to provide for them.”

“But will any member of your family share your sins? Go ask them and bring back their response to me.”

“All the members of my family love me and will certainly share the sins that I commit. You are saying all this just to escape from me.”

Narada said, “You can tie me to this tree, and then go.”

Ratnakar did so and went to ask his family members. All of them said that he was responsible for providing food for the family and he alone was responsible for the sins being committed by him in making a living Ratnakar rushed back to Narada, fell at his

feet and apologised. He told Narada that he wanted to become a good man and make his family happy. Narada asked him to meditate and chant God’s name until he returned.

Ratnakar obeyed him, and sat in meditation for a very long time. When Narada returned, he found that anthills had covered Ratnakar as he meditated Narada removed the anthills. Narada told Ratnakar that God was pleased with his atonement by meditation. Narada changed Ratnakar’s name to Valmiki, since he was reborn from the anthill (Valmika).

Valmiki built his ashram on the banks of the Ganga, where he wrote the Ramayana.

Discuss the following questions with the persons to whom you have narrated the story. Write down the main points in a notebook.

1. Do you think it is easy to accept that what one is doing is wrong, and then change?

Ans. No, it is not all easy to change or accept what one is doing once we adopt a habit then it becomes difficult to give up that habit. Those people who have the coverage to accept their wrong doing, are really true people.

2. Do you know of any person who changed for the better, or gave up a bad habit (smoking, drinking, drugs, stealing, etc.)? How do you think he/she could do it?

Ans. I know of such a person who had taken to drugs. Infact he had been one of my uncle, who by mistake took a pinch of drugs. This slowly developed him in the habit. But as the time passed, things become very difficult. His family tried to talk to him and earn took him to the counsellor. It was in front of the counsellor my uncle broke down. He said that he wanted to given up drugs and he needed constant support. He could do it because he had made up his mind strongly for the change.

14.3 LET US LEARN GRAMMER

Present Participle and Past Participle 

1. Present Participle

Observe how the underlined words function in the following sentences:

• The boy washed his hands in running water.

• The sleeping child woke up.

The underlined words in the above sentences are present participles. They qualify the nouns water and child. They work like adjectives.

Exercise – 1

Fill in the blanks with the appropriate form (present participle) of the words given in brackets:

(a) …………. dogs seldom bite. (bark)

Ans. Barking.

(b) Detergents are …………….. powders. (cleanse)

Ans. cleansing.

(c) Mala showed me her …………… doll. (dance) 

Ans. dancing.

(d) The king wanted a …………… bird. (sing)

Ans. singing.

(e) …………….. beings need air, water and food. (live)

Ans. living.

2. Past Participle

Observe the following sentences: 

• The tried traveller sat under a tree.

• Throw the broken glass away.

The underlined words in the above sentences are past participles which are formed by using – d, n, (tire + d, broke + n). They are used as – adjectives to qualify the nouns – traveller and glass.

Exercise – 2

Fill in the blanks with the suitable form of the verbs in brackets:

(a) Please open the ……………. (lock) cupboard.

Ans. locked.

(b) We should try to use …………… (recycle) products as they are eco-friendly.

Ans. recycled.

(c) It was a ……………… (plan) holiday

Ans. planned.

(d) Kamla comforted the …………… (frighten) child.

Ans. frightened.

(e) Please submit the ……………. (complete) assignments.

Ans. completed.

14.4 LET US WRITE

Message Writing

Gandhiji wrote a confessional note to his father expressing his feelings.

A note can be a message which you can create to give some information.

Suppose you go to your friend’s house and find that he is not at home.

What would you do? You could give your friend’s neighbour a message to be conveyed to him, or you could write a note and slip it under your friend’s door, or tape it on the door.

A message is that important information which you want your friend to know.

Consider the following situation:

Krishnan and Atul are classmates. Krishnan is out shopping when Atul comes to his house. Atul writes a short not for his friend. He leaves the note with Krishnan’s neighbour and requests him to give it to Krishnan.

The message

Discussion

A message:

• is always brief because it deals with only the important points.

• is clear and accurate.

• does not include direct speech.

• does not contain address. 

• sometimes contains a contact number.

• has a brief salutation, e.g, Krishnanie.

• includes only time and date.

• carries only the name of the writer at the bottom.

Exercise

Imagine that you need money to buy a book for school. You take fifty rupees from your father’s shirt pocket without telling him about it. You know that your father will be confused and angry when he finds the money missing. You decide to write a short note to explain to him what you have done and why. Write the note in about 5-6 sentences.

Ans.

WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNT

At some point of time, all of us make mistakes and wrong choices. It could be deliberate or unintentional (not done purposely). Like Gandhiji, many adolescents/ teenagers experiment with smoking and other risky behaviour even though they know that this is bad habit and will also upset their parents. Such behaviours can risk health and safety of young people. They are likely to get trapped in an unhealthy habit for the lifetime. You also hurt your loved ones when you do these things.

But if you take Gandhiji as a role model and confess your wrongdoing, explain to the person you have hurt why you behaved the way you did, ask for forgiveness and promise never to repeat it, you will have peace of mind and also be respected for your truthfulness.

A positive relationship with your parents where there is openness, trust and sharing is an important factor that will help you to correct your mistakes, overcome harmful habits and become a responsible human being.

TERMINAL QUESTIONS

Q.1. Gandhiji and his friends smoked cigarette stumps and stalks of some plants. Do you think they were right in doing so? Give you opinion.

Ans. It was not right for Gandhiji and his friends to smoke. This is because smoking is injurious to health.

Q.2. Why did Gandhiji and his friends want to commit suicide? Do you think suicide is a solution to problems? 

Ans. Gandhiji and his friends wanted to commit suicide because they felt unhappy. They did not like to take permission from elders for everything. They wanted to act without any permission from their elders. Suicide is not a solution to the problem Suicide would rather give us problems.

Q.3. Gandhiji took gold from his brother’s armlet. Do you think his action was correct or incorrect? Give reasons in 20-30 words? 

Ans. Gandhiji was wrong to take the gold from his brother’s armlet because he took without killing his brother. This act is same to stealing. At any cost stealing is not justified.

Q.4. Why did his father weep when he read Gandhiji’s confession? 

Ans. Gandhiji’s father was angry and sad that his son had stolen something. At the same time he was happy that he head shown honesty at wrong action. Gandhiji had confessed.

Q.5. You see your friend stealing. How will you deal with the situation? What will you say or do ? Answer in 20-30 words. 

Ans. I will try to talk to my friend. I shall not act rudely. I shall till him that stealing is a bad habit. One should have the courage to ask what one wants. We should not never be afraid to confess.

PASSAGE FOR COMPREHENSION

PASSAGE – 1

The stumps, however, were not always available and could not emit much smoke either So we began to steal coins from the servant’s pocket money in order to purchase Indian cigarettes. In the meantime, we heard that the stalks of a certain plant were porous and could be smoked like cigarettes. We got them and began this kind of smoking.

Questions

1. Who became fond of smoking?

Ans. Gandhiji and relative of his became fond of smoking.

2. What pleasure did they want to seek?

Ans. They wanted to seek pleasure to emit clouds of smoke from their mouths.

3. Which stumps did they begin to collect?

Ans. They began to collect the stumps of cigarettes thrown away by Gandhiji’s uncle.

4. Why did they start stealing coins?

Ans. They started stealing coins from the servant’s pocket money to purchase Indian cigarettes.

PASSAGE – 2

But how were we do it? From where were we to get the poison? We heard that Dhatura seeds were an effective poison. Off we went to the jungle in search of these seeds, and got them. Evening was thought to be an auspicious hour. We went to Kedarjee Mandir, put ghee in the tample-lamp, had the darshan and then looked for a lonely corner. But our courage failed us. Supposing we were not instantly killed? And what was the good of killing ourselves? Why not rather put up with the lack of independence? But we swallowed two or three seeds nevertheless. We dared not take more. Both of us fought shy of death and decided to go to Ramji Mandir to compose ourselves, and to dismiss the thought of suicide.

Questions

1. Write the trouble present in their minds.

Ans. It was to do suicide by consuming poison.

2. What efforts were made by them in this regard?

Ans. They went to the jungle and got the Dhatura seeds an effective poison.

3. How did they fail in their courage?

Ans. They failed in their courage lest they should be instantly killed.

4. What did they consume and why?

Ans. They took two or three seeds of Dhatura to committ suicide.

PASSAGE – 3

But much more serious than this theft was the one I was guilty of a little later. I stole the coins when I was twelve or thirteen, possibly less. The other theft was committed when I was fifteen. In this case I stole a bit gold out of my meat-eating brother’s armlet. This brother had run into a debt of about twenty-five rupees. He had on his arm an armlet of solid gold. It was not difficult to clip a bit out of it Questions

1. What theft was committed when Gandhiji was twelve or so?

Ans. It was the theft of stealing coins.

2. At what age did he commit the other theft? 

Ans. He was fifteen at that time.

3. Why did Gandhiji commit this theft?

Ans. Gandhiji committed this theft to repay his brother’s debt of twenty-five rupees.

4. Write the antonym of- difficult.

Ans. Difficult = easy.

PASSAGE – 4

Well, it was done, and the debt cleared. But this became more than I could bear. I resolved never to steel again. I also made up my mind to confess it to my father. But I did not dare to speak. Not that I was afraid of my father beating me. No. I do not recall his ever having beaten any of us. I was afraid of the pain that I should cause him. But I felt that the risk should be taken, that there could not be a cleansing without a confession.

Questions

1. What was done by Gandhiji?

Ans. Gandhiji committed the theft in order to repay the debt of his brother.

2. What did Gandhiji resolve?

Ans. Gandhiji resolved to make the confession of theft before his father.

3. How was the cleansing possible? 

Ans. The cleansing was possible only through confession.

4. Make sentence from “To make up one’s mind’.

Ans. Ram has made up his mind to stand first in the examination.

PASSAGE – 5

I decided at last to write out the confession, to submit it to my father, and ask his forgiveness. I wrote it on a slip of paper and handed it to him myself. In this note not only did I confess my guilt, but I asked adequate punishment for it, and closed with a request to him not to punish himself for my offence. I also pledged myself never to steal in future.

I was trembling as I handed the confession to my father. He was then confined to bed. His bed was a plain wooden plank. I handed him the note and sat opposite the plank.

Questions

1. What decision was taken by Gandhiji? 

Ans. Gandhiji decided to write out his confession and submit it to his father.

2. What did he demand in the letter? 

Ans. Gandhiji demanded for a adequate punishment for his offence.

3. What pledge did he take?

Ans. He pledged never to steal in future.

4. What type of bed did Gandhiji’s father use?

Ans. He used a plain wooden plank as his bed.

PASSAGE – 6

He read it through, and pearl-drops trickled down his cheeks, wetting the paper. For a moment he closed his eyes in thought and then tore up the note. He had sat up to read it. He again lay down. I also cried. I could see my father’s agony. If I were a painter. I could draw a picture of the whole scene today. It is still so vivid in my mind. Those pearl drops of love cleansed my heart, and washed my sin away

Questions

1. How did Gandhiji’s father react on reading the confession?

Ans. Gandhiji’s father started shedding tears on reading the confession.

2. Why did Gandhiji’s father close his eyes?

Ans. He closed his eyes to think about Gandhiji’s confession.

3. Why did Gandhiji cry?

Ans. Gandhiji cried on viewing agony of his father.

4. What did Gandhiji desire?

Ans. Gandhiji desired to paint the scene of his father if he had been a painter.