Std 10 English chapters › Unit 2
In short: A review of R. K. Narayan’s novel about Swami, a lively ten-year-old schoolboy in Malgudi, which also teaches how to write a book review.
(आर. के. नारायण यांच्या ‘स्वामी अँड फ्रेंड्स’ या कादंबरीचे परीक्षण; मालगुडीतील दहा वर्षांच्या खोडकर स्वामीची ही गोष्ट असून पुस्तक परीक्षण कसे लिहावे हेही हा धडा शिकवतो.)
- Type: Book review (prose)
- Book reviewed: Swami and Friends by R. K. Narayan
- Setting of the novel: The fictional small town of Malgudi, South India
- Main character: Swaminathan (Swami), a ten-year-old schoolboy
- Unit: 2
2.5 Book Review: Swami and Friends: English Workshop Question Answers
Answers to every activity in the Std 10 English Kumarbharati textbook (Maharashtra Board), written by a practising English teacher. Read the lesson in your textbook first, then try each activity here before you check the answer.
Warming up 1: Share your favourite book
✍️ Fill in the details for your own favourite book first.
Show a sample answer
| Point | Sample answer |
|---|---|
| Favourite book | Wings of Fire |
| Type of book | Autobiography |
| Author | Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (with Arun Tiwari) |
| Main character | Abdul Kalam himself |
| Background (time and place) | Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, and India from the 1930s to the 1990s |
| Problem / dilemma | Poverty in childhood, and the failure of the first SLV-3 rocket launch |
| Special message | Dream big, work hard and never give up after a failure. |
Warming up 2: Strengths and weaknesses of a book (tree diagram)
✍️ Write 3 strengths and 2 or 3 weaknesses of a book you read recently.
Show a sample answer
Book: Wings of Fire by Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Strengths: (1) It is a true and inspiring story. (2) The language is simple and honest. (3) It shows how a poor boy became a great scientist through hard work.
Weaknesses: (1) Some chapters have many technical details about rockets. (2) There are many names of scientists, which can be hard to remember.
Rating: ★★★★★ (5) Excellent
Short questions from the lesson (margin questions)
- In what ways is Swami a typical boy in his growing years?
Like most boys of his age, Swami cannot stay in one place and hates school, especially Mathematics. He only wants to play under the sun, kick something, climb a tree, break something and harass somebody. He often gets into trouble and gets a beating from his father. - What is the most striking quality of 10-year-old Swami?
He is very talkative. He thinks he can talk himself out of everything, though he learns the truth the harsh way. Behind his mischief, he is also loving, tender and very sensitive. - Find out what “spoilers” are.
A spoiler is information about the important events or the ending of a story, given before someone has read or watched it. It “spoils” the surprise. That is why the reviewer does not describe the events or the plot. - What does the review say about R. K. Narayan’s style and language?
Narayan writes in plain and simple English, without any troubling words for children. He uses short, simple sentences. He goes deep into the workings of Swami’s ten-year-old mind and explains exquisitely how he thinks, so readers feel attached to the character. - What are the two advantages of reading this book?
Children of all ages can (1) simply enjoy a good read, and (2) improve their English skills.
Quick check: true or false?
👉 Tap True or False for each statement from the review.
The reviewer tells the full story of the book in detail.
Answer: False. The reviewer avoids events and plot so that there are no spoilers.
Swami lives in the time when India was under British rule.
Answer: True. The review says so in the first paragraph.
The book is full of heavy grammar and technical jargon.
Answer: False. The review says the truth is the opposite: the English is plain and simple.
Swami is mischievous but also loving, tender and sensitive.
Answer: True. This is the main point the reviewer makes about Swami’s character.
The book is used as a study text in schools in Asia.
Answer: True. It is widely used for students who study literature at school.
Q1. Write a review of “The Boy Who Broke the Bank” (Lesson 2.2)
✍️ Write your own review using points (a) to (i) first.
Show a model review
| Point | Model answer |
|---|---|
| (a) Name of story and writer | The Boy Who Broke the Bank by Ruskin Bond |
| (b) Type of story | A humorous short story about how a rumour spreads |
| (c) Background and setting | The small town of Pipalnagar in North India, on a hot summer day; the Pipalnagar Bank and the bazaar |
| (d) Main characters | Nathu the sweeper, Sitaram the washerman’s son, Mrs Srivastava, Mrs Bhushan, Kamal Kishore, Deep Chand the barber, Seth Govind Ram (owner of the bank) and the bank manager |
| (e) Problem faced | Nathu complains that his wages have not been paid. His small complaint becomes a rumour that the bank is failing. Everyone rushes to withdraw money, and the bank really collapses. |
| (f) Language used | Simple, lively English with humour and natural dialogue |
| (g) What I liked | The funny chain of gossip, the realistic small-town characters, and the ironic ending, where Nathu is surprised that the bank has collapsed |
| (h) What I did not like | It is hard to keep track of so many characters in a short story. |
| (i) General opinion | An entertaining story with a strong message: never believe or spread a rumour without checking the facts. I rate it 4 out of 5. |
Q2. Look inside your thinking hat: what happened in this house?
✍️ Complete the web and write your story first.
Show sample answers and a story
- Children’s footprints in the kitchen: (a) maybe they were looking for something to eat (b) maybe they were making something secretly
- The kitchen was messy with: (a) flour and sugar spilt on the floor (b) broken eggshells and milk
- The children were planning: (a) a surprise birthday cake for Mother (b) a midnight feast
- Mother found empty jars of: (a) jam (b) honey and chocolate spread
- “Mischievous” brings to mind: (a) naughty (b) playful (c) trouble others (d) full of fun
Questions to gather more information: When did it happen? Who was at home? Why did the children go into the kitchen at night? What were they hiding?
Story: The Midnight Cake
It was Mother’s birthday the next day. At midnight, Riya and her little brother Sahil tiptoed into the kitchen to bake a surprise cake. They poured flour, cracked eggs and stirred in sugar, but half of it fell on the floor. Sahil kept tasting the jam and honey “to check” them, until the jars were empty. In the morning, Mother found tiny floury footprints everywhere and a sticky kitchen. She was about to get angry when the children came in singing “Happy Birthday” with a lopsided cake. Mother laughed and hugged them. It was the messiest and sweetest birthday she ever had.
Q3. Important words from the review: complete the table
🎯 Game: tap each word and its meaning to make pairs.
Words and their meanings
Show the completed table
| Word | Meaning | Synonym / Antonym | Word class | Other forms | Marathi |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mischievous | naughty but innocent | S: naughty; A: well-behaved | Adjective | mischief, mischievously | खोडकर |
| nightmare | a very frightening experience | S: bad dream; A: sweet dream | Noun | nightmarish | भयानक स्वप्न |
| perspective | point of view | S: viewpoint | Noun | perspectives | दृष्टिकोन |
| exquisite | in a very pleasing manner | S: beautiful; A: ugly | Adjective | exquisitely | अतिसुंदर, उत्कृष्ट |
| harass | to trouble someone | S: bother; A: help | Verb | harassment, harassed | त्रास देणे |
| sensitive | quick to understand others’ feelings | S: caring; A: insensitive | Adjective | sensitivity, sensitively | संवेदनशील |
| essence | spirit; the most important quality | S: core | Noun | essential, essentially | सार, गाभा |
Language Study: Determiners
Determiners come before a noun and tell us which one, whose, or how many. They are of five kinds: articles (a, an, the), demonstratives (this, that, these, those, which), possessives (my, your, his, her, our, their, my friend’s), quantifiers (few, many, much, some, every, each) and numerals (one, four, first, hundredth).
Practice: what kind of determiner is it?
👉 Choose the type for each determiner, then tap Check my answers.
Answer key
| Determiner | Type | Why |
|---|---|---|
| the | Article | "a", "an" and "the" are articles. |
| those | Demonstrative | It points to things that are far away. |
| their | Possessive | It shows who owns something. |
| many | Quantifier | It tells us how many. |
| fourth | Numeral | Ordinal numbers are numerals too. |
| an | Article | Used before a vowel sound. |
| this | Demonstrative | It points to something near. |
| Rahul's | Possessive | A noun with 's works as a possessive. |
| every | Quantifier | It refers to all, one by one. |
| hundred | Numeral | A cardinal number. |
Textbook activity 4: underline only the determiners
👉 Tap the option that shows all the determiners in the sentence.
My brother bought a few magazines.
Answer: My, a few. “My” is a possessive and “a few” is a quantifier.
What is your friend's name?
Answer: your, friend's. “your” goes with “friend”, and “friend’s” goes with “name”. Here “What” stands alone as a question word (pronoun).
Which writer was also the President of our country?
Answer: Which, the, our. “Which” comes before the noun “writer”, so it is a determiner here.
These are some toys.
Answer: some. Trap! “These” is not followed by a noun here, so it is a pronoun. Only “some” is a determiner.
These toys are new.
Answer: These. Here “These” comes before the noun “toys”, so it is a determiner.
That doctor is an expert dentist and he has many patients.
Answer: That, an, many. “That” (demonstrative), “an” (article) and “many” (quantifier).
मराठी टीप: this / that / these / those नंतर नाम (noun) आले तरच ते determiner असतात. नाम नसेल तर ते pronoun (सर्वनाम) असतात. उदा. These toys are new (determiner) पण These are toys (pronoun).
Q4. Word Forms: Question Answers
(A) Find the noun forms
👉 Choose the noun form of each word, then tap Check my answers.
Answer key
| Word | Noun form | From the lesson |
|---|---|---|
| happen | happening | "the happenings of this kid" |
| true | truth | "he does learn the truth the harsh way" |
| simple | simplicity | "adds to the simplicity of the book" |
| conclude | conclusion | "So in conclusion…" |
(B) Find the verb forms
👉 Choose the verb form of each word.
Answer key
| Word | Verb form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| hatred | hate | He hates school. |
| thought | think | how he thinks |
| meaning | mean | This does not mean… |
| improvement | improve | improve their English skills |
| description | describe | Describe your favourite book. |
| attribution | attribute | the work attributes a lot of literary values |
(C) Find the adjective forms
👉 Choose the adjective form of each word.
Answer key
| Word | Adjective form | From the lesson |
|---|---|---|
| talk | talkative | "a talkative little kid" |
| interest | interesting | "an interesting read" |
| purity | pure | "harmless and pure" |
| technique | technical | "technical jargon" |
| literature | literary | "literary values", "literary genius" |
मराठी टीप: शब्दाचे शेवट (suffix) लक्षात ठेवा: -ity, -ion, -th (noun); -ive, -ing, -al, -ary (adjective); -ment, -tion काढले की verb.
Project: A Complete Book Review (Sample)
✍️ Write a review of a book you read recently, using points (a) to (j).
Show a sample book review
Book: Wings of Fire by Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam with Arun Tiwari
(a) Introduction: Wings of Fire is the autobiography of Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, the “Missile Man of India” and a former President of India.
(b) Selectivity of contents: The book focuses on his childhood, his education and his work in India’s space and missile programmes. It does not cover his years as President.
(c) Title appropriacy: The title suits the book well. It stands for the fire of a dream inside every person, and for the rockets he built.
(d) Sequence of contents: The events are told in order of time, from his childhood in Rameswaram to his success with the Agni missile.
(e) Language: The language is simple, honest and easy to follow, with a few technical terms.
(f) Good points: His love for his parents and teachers, his humility, and the way he turns failures into lessons.
(g) Advantages: It inspires students to dream big and teaches the value of hard work and teamwork.
(h) Shortcomings: Some chapters with many technical details and names may feel slow to young readers.
(i) Personal opinion: I found it deeply inspiring. It taught me that a poor background cannot stop a determined person.
(j) Conclusion: Every student should read this book at least once. I rate it 5 out of 5.
मराठी टीप: परीक्षणात कथेचा शेवट (ending) सांगू नका. त्याला spoiler म्हणतात.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who wrote 'Swami and Friends'?
'Swami and Friends' was written by R. K. Narayan, one of India's greatest writers in English.
How old is Swami in 'Swami and Friends'?
Swami is a mischievous boy of about ten years, living at the time when India was under British rule.
Why does the reviewer not describe the events of the story?
The reviewer does not want to give spoilers, that is, to reveal the events and the ending before the reader reads the book.
What does the review say about the language of 'Swami and Friends'?
The English is plain and simple, with short and simple sentences and no troubling words, so children and teens can enjoy it easily.
What are the two advantages of reading 'Swami and Friends'?
Readers can enjoy a good read and also improve their English skills.
Summary in English
The chapter reviews Swami and Friends, R. K. Narayan’s novel about Swaminathan, or Swami, a ten-year-old boy in the small town of Malgudi. Swami dislikes school, especially arithmetic, and loves playing and getting into mischief with his friends.
The review praises the way Narayan shows the world through a child’s eyes. Swami is naughty, but he is also sensitive and loving. The language is simple, with short sentences, so the book is easy for children and teenagers to enjoy.
Through this example, the chapter shows what a good book review contains: the title and author, the type of story, the setting, the main characters, the main problem, the language, the reviewer’s opinion, and a recommendation.
मराठीत सारांश (Summary in Marathi)
हा धडा आर. के. नारायण यांच्या स्वामी अँड फ्रेंड्स या कादंबरीचे परीक्षण आहे. मालगुडी या छोट्या गावातील दहा वर्षांचा स्वामीनाथन (स्वामी) हा तिचा नायक आहे. स्वामीला शाळा, विशेषतः गणित आवडत नाही; मित्रांसोबत खेळणे आणि खोड्या करणे त्याला आवडते.
नारायण यांनी मुलाच्या नजरेतून जग कसे दाखवले आहे, याचे परीक्षणात कौतुक केले आहे. स्वामी खोडकर असला तरी संवेदनशील आणि प्रेमळ आहे. भाषा सोपी आणि वाक्ये छोटी असल्याने मुले आणि किशोरवयीनांना हे पुस्तक सहज आवडते.
या उदाहरणातून चांगल्या पुस्तक परीक्षणात काय असावे हे धडा दाखवतो: शीर्षक व लेखक, कथेचा प्रकार, पार्श्वभूमी, मुख्य पात्रे, मुख्य समस्या, भाषा, परीक्षकाचे मत आणि शिफारस.
Theme and Message (मध्यवर्ती कल्पना)
A good book review tells readers what a book is about and honestly judges it. Swami’s story shows that childhood, with all its mischief, is full of feeling.
चांगले पुस्तक परीक्षण वाचकांना पुस्तक कशाबद्दल आहे ते सांगते आणि त्याचे प्रामाणिक मूल्यमापन करते. स्वामीची गोष्ट दाखवते की खोडकर बालपणही भावनांनी भरलेले असते.
Book Review Checklist (पुस्तक परीक्षणाचे मुद्दे)
- Title and author
- Type of book (novel, short stories, biography…)
- Setting: time and place
- Main characters
- The main problem or plot, without giving away the ending
- Language and style
- What you liked and did not like
- Your recommendation: who should read it, and why
Useful Words (शब्दार्थ)
| Word | मराठी अर्थ | Use it in a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| review | परीक्षण | I wrote a review of my favourite book. |
| mischief | खोडकरपणा | The boys got into mischief after school. |
| protagonist | नायक, मुख्य पात्र | Swami is the protagonist of the novel. |
| setting | पार्श्वभूमी (स्थळ-काळ) | The setting of the story is a small town. |
| recommend | शिफारस करणे | I recommend this book to every student. |
| sensitive | संवेदनशील | He is a sensitive and caring boy. |
For the Exam (परीक्षेसाठी)
- You may be asked to write a book review of a book you have read. Use the checklist above, and do not reveal the ending.
- The activities practise determiners (a, an, the, this, some, many). Revise articles in Lesson 4: Articles and the articles practice set.
Think and Write (विचार करा, लिहा)
- Write a short review of a book or a Marathi story you enjoyed.
- Which of Swami’s qualities do you share?
- Why should a reviewer not reveal the ending of a story?
🎮 Practice Games: Book Review: Swami and Friends
Extra practice for revision, beyond the textbook activities. Play every game, then check your total score and stars! (उजळणीसाठी खेळ.)
📚 Parts of a book review
Put the points of a good book review in a sensible order.
Writing a book review
- Title and author
- Type of story and setting
- Main characters
- Main problem or plot
- Language and style
- Your opinion
- Recommendation
🔤 Word meanings
🎯 Tap the English word and its Marathi meaning.
English ↔ मराठी
⚡ Quick quiz
👉 Tap the correct answer.
Who wrote Swami and Friends?
Answer: His first novel, set in Malgudi.
Where is the story set?
Answer: An imaginary small town in South India.
Which subject does Swami dislike most?
Answer: He prefers playing with his friends.
Why is the book easy for young readers?
Answer: The world is shown through a child’s eyes.
🎯 Review vocabulary
🧩 Match each term with its meaning.
Term → meaning
Online test · 15 questions
2.5 Book Review: Swami and Friends: Lesson Test
Multiple choice · instant score with answers · certificate for 80% and above · free, no login
शिक्षकांसाठी: धडा शिकवून झाल्यावर ही test वर्गाला पाठवा. प्रत्येक विद्यार्थ्याचे गुण तुम्हाला आपोआप मिळतील.
These are original study notes and answers by englishresources.in to help you revise. Read the chapter in your Balbharati textbook first: these notes do not replace it. Only short phrases from the review and the activities are quoted, for reference.