Std 9 English chapters › Unit 2 · Question Answers ↓ · Take the lesson test ↓
In short: In the foolish kingdom of Andher Nagari, the king keeps passing the blame from one person to another until his own greed leads him to the gallows.
(अंधेर नगरीच्या मूर्ख राज्यात राजा दोष एकाकडून दुसऱ्याकडे ढकलत राहतो आणि शेवटी स्वतःच्या लोभामुळे स्वतःच फासावर जातो.)
- Type: Play
- Characters: King Chaupat, guards, a disciple, a sage, a thief, a merchant and others
- Unit: 2
Summary in English
In Andher Nagari, everything in the market sells at the same price. A disciple of a wise sage arrives and wants to settle there. In King Chaupat's court, a thief complains that his partner died when the wall of a merchant's house collapsed during a burglary. The king orders the merchant to be hanged.
The merchant blames the bricklayer, who blames the mortar-maker, who blames the potter, who blames the money-lender's daughter for distracting him with her anklets. She blames the goldsmith for delaying her jewellery, and the goldsmith blames the king's own order to make the queen's ornaments first. The king still orders the goldsmith hanged.
The noose is too loose for the goldsmith's neck, so the king orders it tried on everyone; it fits the disciple. The wise sage then arrives and claims that whoever is hanged that day will be the next king. The greedy king at once orders that he himself be hanged.
मराठीत सारांश (Summary in Marathi)
अंधेर नगरीत बाजारातील प्रत्येक वस्तू एकाच किमतीला मिळते. एका ज्ञानी साधूचा शिष्य तिथे येतो आणि तिथेच राहायचे ठरवतो. राजा चौपटच्या दरबारात एक चोर तक्रार करतो की चोरी करताना व्यापाऱ्याच्या घराची भिंत पडून त्याचा साथीदार मेला. राजा व्यापाऱ्याला फाशी देण्याचा हुकूम देतो.
व्यापारी गवंड्याला दोष देतो, गवंडी चुना बनवणाऱ्याला, तो कुंभाराला, आणि कुंभार सावकाराच्या मुलीला, जिच्या पैंजणांच्या आवाजाने त्याचे लक्ष विचलित झाले. ती सोनाराला दोष देते, कारण त्याने तिचे दागिने उशिरा दिले; सोनार राजाच्याच हुकुमाला दोष देतो, ज्यामुळे त्याला राणीचे दागिने आधी करावे लागले. तरीही राजा सोनाराला फाशी देण्याचा हुकूम देतो.
फास सोनाराच्या गळ्याला सैल होतो, म्हणून राजा तो सर्वांना घालून पाहायला सांगतो; तो शिष्याच्या गळ्यात बसतो. तेवढ्यात ज्ञानी साधू येतो आणि सांगतो की आज जो फाशी जाईल तो पुढचा राजा होईल. लोभी राजा लगेच स्वतःलाच फाशी देण्याचा हुकूम देतो.
Theme and Message (मध्यवर्ती कल्पना)
A foolish ruler without judgement brings injustice, and the blame game never solves anything; wisdom can defeat foolishness and greed.
विवेक नसलेला मूर्ख राजा अन्याय करतो आणि दोषारोपाचा खेळ कधीच प्रश्न सोडवत नाही; शहाणपण मूर्खपणावर आणि लोभावर मात करू शकते.
Useful Words (शब्दार्थ)
| Word | मराठी अर्थ | Use it in a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| complainant | तक्रारदार | The complainant waited in the court. |
| gallows | फाशीचा खांब | The thief was sent to the gallows. |
| noose | फास | The noose was too loose. |
| recluse | एकांतवासी | The old man lived like a recluse. |
| cranky | चिडचिडा | He was cranky because he was hungry. |
For the Exam (परीक्षेसाठी)
- Prepare the blame-game flow chart: thief → merchant → bricklayer → mortar-maker → potter → daughter → goldsmith → king’s order.
- Language study: find imperative sentences (orders), exclamations and sentences in the passive voice in the play.
2.5 A Play: English Workshop Question Answers (Part I and II)
Every English Workshop activity for both parts of the play, as games. Score points, earn stars and challenge a friend on WhatsApp! (खेळा, गुण मिळवा आणि मित्रांना आव्हान द्या!)
🎬 Warm-up: The blame game chain
Put the blame chain in order, starting from the Thief’s complaint.
Who is blamed next?
- The merchant (weak wall)
- The bricklayer (careless work)
- The mortar-maker (too much water)
- The potter (pot with a wide mouth)
- The money-lender's daughter (distracted the potter)
- The goldsmith (late with her jewellery)
- The King (ordered the Queen's ornaments first)
🤔 Think as you read
What is special about the market in Andher Nagari?
Answer: ‘Taka ser bhaji, taka ser khaja’: vegetables and sweets cost the same.
Can thieves be called ‘truly hard-working and honest’?
Answer: A thief cannot be honest. The phrase shows how upside-down the land is.
Why does the Sage want to be hanged?
Answer: He invents a prophecy that the man hanged today will be the next king. The greedy King falls for it.
Part I, Q1 and Q2. Characters and titles
🎯 Tap a character and the excuse he or she gives.
Character ↔ excuse
Characters and the King’s titles
Characters in Part I: First, Second, Third and Fourth Guards, the Disciple, King Chaupat, the Messenger, the Thief, the Merchant, the Bricklayer, the Mortar-maker, the Potter, the Money-lender, his Daughter, courtiers.
Titles for the King: most noble, most revered, most gracious, most learned King; Most Great King; Noble King; Most Kind Lord and King; Merciful King; Royal Lord; Your Majesty; Just King; Your Most Esteemed Highness.
Part I, Q3 and Q4. Exclamations and orders
🗂️ Exclamation or order (imperative)?
Sort the sentences
Part I, Q6 to Q8. What should they have said?
✍️ What should each person have said? Try, then compare
- Daughter: Walking past a shop is not a crime. The potter must be careful in his own work.
- Potter: I made a mistake and I will replace the pot, but a faulty pot did not kill anyone.
- Mortar-maker: I should have checked the water myself. It was my carelessness, not the pot’s.
- Bricklayer: I should have tested the mortar before using it.
- Merchant: A thief who breaks into my house cannot complain about my wall.
- King to the Thief: You broke into a house to steal. You are the guilty one, and you will be punished.
- Q8: A thief would not come to court on his own. This thief dares because he knows the King is foolish and gives strange judgements.
Part I, Q9. Subject and verb
👉 Tap the verb in each sentence.
You are a stranger.
Answer: Subject: You. Verb: are.
You have heard right.
Answer: Subject: You. Verb: have heard.
He must pay with his life.
Answer: Subject: He. Verb: must pay.
The king will not hang me.
Answer: Subject: The king. Verb: will (not) hang.
Part I, Q10. Passive voice
👉 Active or passive?
Find the passive sentences
Part II, Q2. True or false?
👉 Tap True or False.
(a) The Goldsmith blamed the King for the delay in his work.
Answer: He was busy with the Queen’s ornaments on the King’s orders.
(b) The King thought the Goldsmith had a good reason.
Answer: ‘Your excuse does not hold good.’
(c) The Goldsmith was hanged.
Answer: The noose was too loose for his neck.
(e) The noose did not fit the disciple’s neck.
Answer: It fitted the disciple.
(f) The Sage wanted to die on that day.
Answer: He only pretended, to save his disciple.
(h) The King wanted to be king again in his next birth.
Answer: That is why he asked to be hanged himself.
Part II, Q3 and Q4. Funny rules and proverbs
Funny rules, twisted logic and proverbs
Funny rules: everything costs the same; a thief’s complaint is taken seriously; whoever’s neck fits the noose is hanged; the man hanged that day becomes the next king.
Proverbs and sayings: Taka ser bhaji, taka ser khaja; A life for a life; Justice delayed is justice denied; Actions speak louder than words.
Language Study: main verb, auxiliary or modal?
🗂️ Sort the verbs.
Classify the verbs
Full table
Main verbs: give, following, commanded, get, spare, take, hand, fall, forgive, let, drag, return, try, resist, force, speak, thought, lost, says, demand, become, reign
Auxiliary verbs: has, been, does, have, is, be, are, were, had, was
Modal auxiliaries: can, will, must, should, would, may, cannot, shall, shouldn’t
Think and Write (विचार करा, लिहा)
- Which Marathi proverb does 'Andher Nagari, Chaupat Raja' remind you of? Explain it.
- What should the king have said to the thief?
- Is the king wicked, greedy, foolish, or all three? Give reasons from the play.
Online test · 15 questions
2.5 A Play: Lesson Test
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शिक्षकांसाठी: धडा शिकवून झाल्यावर ही test वर्गाला पाठवा. प्रत्येक विद्यार्थ्याचे गुण तुम्हाला आपोआप मिळतील.
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