I read this post recently and boy, I could nt help thinking about my high school days. Nothing could beat the excitement then of buying the freshly printed english text books and reading them much much before the school opened. I even remember, we had those silly moments between us friends as to who gets the books first and who finishes reading them all.
Well,the CBSE english syllabus was nt the best of its kind. However it did introduce me to a lot of good writing especially during those times when I had nt explored much beyond the Enid Blytons and Sidney Sheldons. I should say, I truly relished Anita Desai's close-to-the-soil writing style, Saki's black humor, Wilde's satire, O Henry's twists of plots, Emily Dickinson's poetry and many other writers' unique writing styles. Infact, most of the lessons that we had in our 8-12 standards are still fresh in my mind - Games at twilight, Lady at platform number 8, Kite maker,The gift of Magi, The importance of being Ernest, Mrs Packeltide's tiger, The last leaf, to name a few.
Do these stories ring a bell to any of you guys and do you have any such memories from high school?
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Ahh yes, the intoxicating smell of freshly printed english text books and the excitement in finishing them before even the school starts. Remember those all too well.
How could you forget 'The Tribute', 'The lady or the tiger'? Sidney Sheldon together with Enid Blyton in school. Boy that combination was something.:D
mrs.packletide's tiger remains a personal favourite.
`I've seen a week-end cottage near Darking that I should rather like to buy,'' said Miss Mebbin with seeming irrelevance.
seemingly irrelevant - only saki could come up with such phrase.
Cycling like crazy and getting caught by traffic men is one of my high-school memories..:P!!
good one..
nice to know that there are many like me...puerile at heart and nostalgic in mind.... ha ha...
i still have most of my english books. i still read the stories like gift of magi, lady or the tiger...do u know that i still get the same old pleasure??
Ya I do remember Kite Maker (the last line about marbles rolling - produced an eerie effect), Lady On platform number eight (the boys name was arun if i remember), Gigt of Magi (we had a different name to this lesson - I forgot the title, but remember it was byO.O.Henry and it came in 7th/8th std).
Do u remember the mark of vishnu (Gungaram..), A jinx on the land, The tribute...??
ok, am not from CBSE, so had a different set of books to chomp through.
Treasure Island, Mill on the floss, Pride and Prejudice are a few I remember. But yes, books were my best friend those days.. I'd dream of growing up with a room full o books and no one in sight.
*sigh
Leo, those were good old days. Tribute and Lady or the tiger, I quite remember them.
Anon, Mrs P's tiger remains my favourite too. I have always been in awe at his choice of words! Have you read any of his other stories?
Ju, lol ! I have other such memories too :D
Diwakar, Good to know that you still find them interesting. Btw, were you in msss till tenth?
KS, I do remember 'Mark of vishnu' and 'The tribute'. They were the first lessons in the reader. But my memory fails me on 'A Jinx on the land'. Do you remember which class we had that?
Rads, Books were my best friend too those days . Sadly for the last coupla years, I have nt been doing much of reading. But hoping to get back to books now.
Since we are like the two peas in a pod, will need your suggestion on some good books :D
Yeah defntly it does..but for me not on the books front though... I became a voracious rwader during my college days
Yes.I'm a massive Saki fan.got his entire collection.Reginald and Clovis.
My fav reginald quote is -I always say beauty is only sin deep.
Another beautiful one here - Reginald, in his way, was a pioneer.
None of the rest of his family had anything approaching Titian hair or a sense of humour, and they used primroses as a table decoration.
It follows that they never understood Reginald, who came down late to breakfast, and nibbled toast, and said disrespectful things about the universe. The family ate porridge, and believed in everything, even the weather forecast.
Even the weather forecast....pure Saki!:))
vokay! My roomie pea :D
Am pretty sure you've read most of whats out there, but will put together a list. :)
Apart from the ones mentioned ("Tribute," "Lady or the Tiger," "Gumsdrop Affair" etc.), I also remember "African Safari" (?) -- excerpts from Nadine Gordimer's account of a kid's journey with his (her?) elder sister and grandma through tall grasses and such after some disaster strikes their village.
Not just the new pattern, I simply loved the good old pattern (The "English Reader" and the "Read for Pleasure") as well. Anyone remember Kutchu ("Where are my glasses?" rings a bell?) and his family of primary school days here? What fantastic illustrations!
Me too was neither in CBSE in high school nor do I remember much of the text book stories of that time. But you bring back memories of stone soup, one legged stork(or something like that), Hiawatha etc. I used to love humourous and witty essays of Stephen leacock(my lost dollar) and Mark Twain.
In those days, as soon as the books came, we used to get it bound. I remember once how upset I was when I couldn't get my books bound the way my friend had got it done differently with the outer cover of the book visible(which made it easy to identify) unlike the coloured ones!!
hi..
no I was with MSSS till 7th..
I live in a whole new realm of delectation because of my books. The bliss is inexplainable. So when you wrote something about the books i love, i couldnt stop myself from leaving a comment.. but i was astonished to know that you like Anita Desai's works. I personally dont rate them high. She sounds chauvinistic to me.....
"The last leaf", truely mind over matter! :)
This is way off my league.. :)
Nice to hear ,still !
a good post.
your posting certainly kindled lot of memories and in a very nice and rewarding way.
though many of them were not on top of my mind I almost remembered everything listed in the post and comments. My favs would be The Last Leaf, Kite maker and The Lady on Platform No 8 (yes the kid's name is Arun I beleive too)
I keep myself updated with the current NCERT syllabus for Chemistry . After your post I checked out the English Syllabus and it is awesome. here you go
http://ncert.nic.in/textbooks/testing/Index.htm
Overwhelming response ! I am glad it brought you all a lot of memories :-)
CM, Guess you should do a post on your college memories.
Anon, Massive fan eh ! Thats impressive. I have read a coupla his works like The open window, The storyteller, Beasts and superbeasts. Another typical Saki,
He is one of those people who would be enormously improved by death
Rads, Thanks.
Zero, African safari..Yes remember that. Was it in class VII? And how can one not remember Kutchu, Pitchu and their stories!
MT, Stepehen Leacock eh. I have had that 'My lost dollar' in some class. Still remember that expression 'Back to honesty'
I used to hate getting the books bound. You know, they used to add that extra weight! But mom always got them bound for me.
Diwakar, Reading is indeed a bliss. I do like Anita Desai's short stories.
TBK, Yeah, thats an awesome story.
Bharat, You should try reading Saki and O Henry. I am sure you would appreciate them
Karthik, I did check the link. The syllabus is all changed huh.I thought some things never change and CBSE XI and XII english syllabus is one of them ;-)
Yeah...big fan of saki and wilde.
Here's another beautiful one from school.
http://www.ncert.nic.in/textbooks/XII/English_With_A_Purpose_Class_XII/CHAP9.PDF
Yah.. I too think so.. will do it soon
zero:
kutchu's glasses and his inside out shirt - family favourites.
dushti:
how about 'the extra passenger' and 'the face on the wall' - probably both of these have been out of the english text for more than a decade ;-).
- s.b.
"Do these stories ring a bell to any of you guys"
No,because high school and books don't mix well for me :) It's a miracle I got any education.
Anon, That was a good one.
CM, Glad you think so.
s.b, Guess I had 'The face on the wall' in class 8 or 9. Can't remember reading 'the extra passeger' though.
tdna, except english, I don't remember much of my high school stuff either :D
twisted:
"No,because high school and books don't mix well for me :) It's a miracle I got any education."
does 'the refund' or wasserkopf (i hope i am spelling it right) ring a bell? 'cos if it does not, it might be time you asked for one. :-)
dushti:
"the extra passenger" was a superb story. you guys' loss! i guess somewhere along the line, someone thought that the gore involved was not pc enough and yanked that chapter/story.
- s.b.
s.b:
LOL. I went to a government run school for Rs. 65 a year :) I should probably ask for refund for my text books which I never used :)
Love across the salt desert to add to your list....
Anon, oh yeah !
No one seems to have mentioned 'The Ransom of the Red Chief' by O'Henry! And, yes, Wasserkopf is the name of that guy in 'Refund'. And I rember a sequel of those days...like Ice Age 2....Kutchu looks for his glasses again!!
OMG!!! Before coming here, I thought this category of people will become extinct when I die!!
There are so many with these high school nostalgia!!
I came here looking for 'CBSE English Read for pleasure'. I just had a fight with my Mom coz i can't find those textbooks I've been treasuring for all these years....
Any body has ebooks of those books which we studied in our younger classes??
And which was that story that had this line - "Where women are concerned unexpected always happens"....
I actually remember a few lines
"Romance at Short Notice was her specialty"
And what about 'Never trust a lady"
Wasn't there a story in which there were two persons, one was very poor and the other one was bankrupt recently.... (The last few were given as some fine)... they were about to inherit someones wealth.... and at the end someone faints.... Which was that?
Can someone tell me which stories do those lines come from?
Last Leaf was my favorite too..
Yeah, those stories were really awesome. The literary reader was really amazing. The quality of english is remarkable.
We had some great stories like "Diamond cuts diamond", The last leaf, Life is a glorious Gift, A christmas carol, The Highway man and many more. but one that really struck me was "The Unexpected". It is a classic story. I feel like reading it again but sadly i don't have the book with me. does anyone know how to get an ebook maybe..
interesting article. I would love to follow you on twitter.
this is an awesome post! I was searching for Kutchu and his Glasses on Google and came across this blog. Sitting in office with a wide grin and the girl, sitting next to me, looking away with a weird expression.
I really miss those days. Brown wrapping paper cover for notebooks and name labels. I studied in KVs all my life and have been a CBSE student throughout. I don't think anything better than that has ever happened to me after school.
Now I really wish I had kept all my text books. I have practically every book I have read during my childhood except my textbooks. I never imagined I would miss those darn thing.
lol, even i came across this post while searching for kutchu's glasses and yes mee 2 from kv :P
man...i was reading this novel and at once my mind struck to Kutchu.I google it and misspelled it as Kucchu and gt wrong answers but in a few minutes i got what i wanted..dis sites great!!!
i was in army school throughout and now m done with my engg...but after so many f****** years now it came across my mind...man!!...i long for those days and Kutchu and his glasses is one of my best stories ever. Cheers to Kutchu!!!
Was googling for Wilde’s play – it *was* “The Importance of Being E(a)rnest” wasn’t it? – which had this line – “Where women are concerned, the unexpected always happens.” And Google only came up with 2 lady bloggers :)
You and http://meenu.wordpress.com/
Good stuff. :)
does anybody remember the story 'The Unexpected' in Literary Reader.. we had it in class 9 or 10...some 8 yrs back.. IF any of you could please get me the story on the net i would be grateful... Those stories in our cbse english syllabus were just classic..marvellous..
Dear Friends.
Mr. Sunil had asked for the availabilty of a Play "The Unexpected" on the internet. I'm also fond of two different Plays "The Phoenix" of Std. 10th and "The Other Side of the Hedge" of Std. 11/12th; other than "The Unexpected" of Std. 9th.
So, can anyone tell me whether now its available on the internet. Also, mention the names of the authors of these 3 plays, as unfortunately I've forgotten their names.
Mr. Jay Kumar.
Hey. I stumbled upon your blog while searching for "The Unexpected", and ended up reminiscing with an old friend. It is a play by Ella Adkins, and is available (at least partially) in google book results: http://books.google.co.in/books?id=STIF4HvTOBYC&pg=PT62&lpg=PT62&dq=where+women+are+concerned+the+unexpected+always+happens&source=bl&ots=LCI7pVbilN&sig=kt0jCprQZEltaDGKEGde9pHiWdM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=p6rwTpSeO4errAeC78n4Dw&sqi=2&ved=0CFEQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=where%20women%20are%20concerned%20the%20unexpected%20always%20happens&f=false
Hope this helps...
Just came across this blog while searching for a story that we read in our school days. I don't know the name of the story and its author. there are 2 actors in this story who tries to win a girl they love. Girl put a condition that she would marry the best actor. If anyone has any idea about the story. Plz tell me. Thanks
yes I remember ,the two actors are Nunez and Quinkart .Quinkart wins the girl.
yes I remember ,the two actors are Nunez and Quinkart .Quinkart wins the girl.
Thanks....but could you or anyone tell me the name of this story with Nunez and Quinkart characters in it?
No I don't remember the name of the story.But i remember the story
can ayone tell where i can get any one of those old texts...?
To my knowledge there were two publishers,namely frank brothers and pitambar who printing those text books.
Omg!! This blog is awesome!! Takes me 10 yrs back.. Nostalgic nostalgic!!!
Stumbled upon this while searching for the quote "where women are concerned, the unexpected always happens " from the play The Unexpected.
Reading this blog at 2.30 past midnight on my phone and could not resist leaving a comment..
Was hoping to find the whole play somewhere in the sea called internet. Sadly couldn't.
I really liked saki and O Henry! The eerie feeling while reading these stories! Man that used to be an awesome feeling...
To name a few.. My personal favourites being - the open window, face on the wall, box and cox, last leaf, lady at platform 8, the phoenix(i remember many didn't like this particular one as they didn't understand, though i doubt even if i did at that point of time but sure i liked it n the robo Bidhu in it :-P)
The bet was another really amazing one..
Will come back here to complete my list of favos!!! ;-)
amazing..i was googling for the name of story "games at twilight" and i landed here..thanks to all comments :D..feeling nostalgic
I thought this blog is dead but some pople have nade it alive again
thank you.
Hi this blog is active again ,good to see some responses.
Wow.. really nice blog. Nostalgia :)
could anyone name the play which had the line " where women are concerned the unexpected always happens "
some stories are available in the internet , I have checked some of them.
Hi,
I too like many others landed here while searching for the origin of lines "Where women are concerned the unexpected always happen", glad that there are others like me too :)
I in particular remember a poem where two farmers used to make a wall every spring, it also said good walls make good neighbors, there was chapter Adolf or something that had to do with hitler and rabbit.
The horror exam questions, "In the story , The earnest, what did the he mean when he said, .....?"
as soon as i used to buy new books, i used to read all the stories and skip all poems.
I became a Sherlock Holmes fan after reading one story that was part of the course.
Brown covers, again covered by transparent plastic covers, stapled and stuck by cello tape, corners getting folded back during usage, pencil and eraser, teacher's red pen and then mom's scolding.
I would give anything to relive that years.
Does anyone remember " the umbrella man" STORY and the banana split ;)????
Getting responses after a ghap
Glad that someone else also remembeted the Nadine Gordimer story. We also had a short story by Ngugi wathiango. I only have cbse to thank for getting me interested in English Literature. And feel sad to hear about Gordimer's death.
Cbse had all these amazing stories when I was a kid. I used to read every English textbook I could lay my hands on; mine own, my brother's, cousins'; they were simply excellent!
I remember one of the books was called 'The Web of Our Lives.'
By the time I reached 12, these had been replaced by books, which were not bereft of good lessons, but were not quite the same quality wise. Romance was lacking I suppose. Boy, was I disappointed!
You are right we had very stories from 4th std itself. Both in prose as well as in Non-detail.
I hope my comment is read by everyone here fervently looking for the play " the unexpected" by ella adkins..i found it!! There is a tiny book called "Seven one act plays" (second series)by K S Ramamurthy. Found it on amazon. Wish u all luck finding it too n happy reading:) --bluebelle
Hi guys..can you help me with the link to high school english text books (the old ones of course)? Please. And this forum is amazing.
I have a link for 3 rd std English text book for CBSE which was in the eighties.
rum pel pet skin
the adventures of a coin
seventeen oranges
the man who hated time
mr john mrs john mr bell mrs bell
Found this interesting blog while nostalgically searching for a humorous poem which was in CBSE curriculum about 30 years ago. Does anyone remember it? It was about perfect people, who touch their toes every morning, balance their chequebooks regularly...etc, the poet says he is envious of them, but its a satire.
Kutchu 's adventures
Swami's adventures
Pattu Sharma I don't remember the story "The man who hated time .All other stories I rem and eventually the std including which studied.
Typhoo mistake And even the srd in which I studied them.
This is a perfect example of nostalgia: blog written in 2007 and comments till date..all reminiscing about the same stories! Hope this stays at the top in google for all who like us search for "Unexpected" or Packletide :D
Little did we realize that these stories will be there always in our mind. I wish I can atleast a ecopy of those stories though some I got through googling.
God sees the truth but waits, the tempest 1 n 2, the liliput,
A Stitch too late is my fate by Ogden Nash
https://abbaspoetry.wordpress.com/2008/11/29/a-stitch-too-late-is-my-fate/
Oh, this is THE poem I was looking for...! Thanks a ton!
Came here looking for this.. Thanks to the Superb post.. Nostalgic!
Darn! I so wish that I had not thrown those books for sale...
Does any one remember clever story "Evan tries an O level"..? (10th or +1?) Don't remember the author.. But I remember at the end of the lesson everyone in the class had a hangover for quite a while... :D
https://librivox.org/short-story-collection-002/
The place where it all started(nostalgia)..
Heard the recorded version of the story The Diamond necklace" by Guy de Maupassant...
It's kind of different feel when you stumble upon long forgotten things and you're surprised that you still remember it :D
"My ordeal in an Jungle Air Crash" read in 11th std,googled it and the saw the real lady (then 16 years girl) giving interview.
Hi,
I loved reading those 'Read for Pleasure' NCERT books. There is one story ( I think it was in 7th or the 8th standard 1992/1993) which is etched in my mind. It was about a beautiful home as described by a lady. It was something to do with the outside world being bad, and she loves going back to her home. I am trying to find who the author was for a long time now. Does it ring a bell to anyone ?
really feeling nostalgic and remember many stories discussed here.
Its really nostalgic to read comments and recall lost memories of school days; I recall fragments of the stories and they keeps coming and disappearing every now and then. Some I remember the character's like locomotive-38, Some I remember the plot of the story but don't remember the title. This is a good initiative to recover the memories from grave :)
Here is the one which I was able to pull from the internet called "The Gumdrop Affair"
(Part-I)
The Gumdrop Affair was not much of a name for such an important assignment, but then the Department never had taken Addison Barnaby seriously.
It all started while secret agent Barnaby was stationed in Africa. Late one night he received a mysterious package. Inside was a coded message and a small, white paper bag filled with gumdrops. Barnaby started to eat one, but he decided to decode the message first. He was glad he did.
The message said that the gumdrops were sugar-coated lumps of a new jelly explosive. Barnaby was to take the gumdrops-that is, the explosives-to a contact man who would deliver them into the right hands. The contact's name was Brian Thompson, an agent who had spent most of his life in Africa and had made his living as a wild-game hunter and guide. .
The next morning Barnaby took a taxi to the hotel where the contact man was staying. As Barnaby rode along, he thought about how the Department always sent him to out- of-the-way places. He knew why, of course. He was over forty and getting fat and bald. He had never been a cold-blooded secret agent, probably because he liked people too much. Even though the Department insisted that he always carry a gun, he would never think of killing anyone. Lately, in fact, he had begun to carry his .38 unloaded just to be sure he would not shoot somebody by mistake.
Barnaby liked to think he made up for his lack of killer instinct by being dedicated to his work. On every assignment he always spent extra time learning about the country and the customs of its people. And what he learned often helped him get the job done without the use of anything more violent than judo.
Barnaby's thoughts were interrupted by the taxi's arrival at the small African hotel. In the lobby Barnaby went up to the desk and asked for Brian Thompson's room.
"Room 315, sir," the girl said. .
"Ahsante," said Barnaby, thanking the girl in Swahili. As he headed for the elevator, he carefully patted his coat pocket to make sure the small, white paper bag was there. No, he had not forgotten the sugarcoated explosives. He got off the elevator on the third floor and walked to Room 315. He checked his gun to be sure it was empty; then he knocked and waited. The door opened and a tall man said, 'Yes?"
"I'm Addison Barnaby."
The man looked him up and down. "Is this some kind of a joke?"
Barnaby frowned. Nobody ever took him for a secret agent. "The password is kwaheri," he said patiently.
"Oh, yes, so it is," the man said. "I'm Thompson. Come in, come in."
Barnaby stepped into the room, and the African hunter quickly shut the door and locked it. "I'm sorry," he said. "I had expected a-"
"Larger man?" Barnaby smiled. "Well, yes."
"Everybody does."
"You don't look like a secret agent," Thompson said. "In fact, you remind me very much of a barber that I used to know."
Barnaby did not mind the put-down. "Everybody looks like somebody else," he said. "What is the answer to the password, if you please?"
"Oh. Sorry. Hatari."
It was the right answer.
Barnaby pulled the white bag out of his pocket and handed it to the man. ."It's all there," Barnaby said.
"Fine," said Thompson, looking in the bag. "Ngiri."
(END of Part-I)
"The Gumdrop Affair" Continued
(Part-II)
Barnaby looked up in shocked surprise. The man had just said "wart hog" in Swahili. Why would he say that-unless he didn't really know the African language very well?
Meanwhile, Thompson had taken the bag and placed it on a little table near the bed. "Will you have coffee with me?" he asked. .
. .
"No, thanks, I just had breakfast," Barnaby said. "I did mean to ask you about your life as a hunter, though. It must have been. an interesting way to make a living."
"It was." The man sat on the bed, lit a cigarette, and took a long drag. "Even now I miss the lions and rhinos and herds of water buffalo."
.
"Yes, yes," Barnaby said, nodding his head. But he thought to himself, Water buffalo? They're found in Asia, not Africa. A real hunter wouldn't make such a mistake.
Barnaby watched the other man smoke and glanced at the bag of explosives that was just a few inches away. .
"Yes, I miss the tenting and the fresh air," Thompson was saying. He took another puff from the cigarette, and now Barnaby saw that he was wearing an elephant-tail bracelet on his right wrist.
"I see you have an elephant-tail bracelet," Barnaby said.
The man looked at his wrist. "Yes. Killed the poor devil. Stalked him for five hours. Two hundred pounds of ivory in his tusks."
"The bracelet is very nice," Barnaby said. But again Barnaby thought, A hunter wouldn't wear the bracelet on his right wrist if he'd killed the elephant. He'd wear it on his left wrist. The bracelet is worn on the right wrist only by tourists who don't know any better.
Quickly Barnaby pulled out his gun and aimed it at Thompson. Thompson's eyes narrowed, and he threw his cigarette into an ashtray near the bag of explosives. "What's the matter with you?" he asked.
"Nothing. It's you," said Barnaby. "You're not Thompson." The man looked at the gun. "How did you know?"
"Never mind," said Barnaby. "Just step away from that table." He wanted to get the explosives back, and then he would deal with Thompson.
"All right." The man moved away slowly; then he dived at Barnaby, hitting him hard and throwing him to the floor. When they had both struggled to their feet, Thompson had the gun.
"Sorry, Barnaby," he said. "I don't like to kill another agent, but this time it's necessary." He squeezed the trigger, but the gun just clicked harmlessly. He squeezed again. Another click.
"It's not loaded," said Barnaby.
"Not loaded?" the man said. He shook his head and frowned. Then he jumped at Barnaby and swung the pistol at him, but Barnaby grabbed the man's hand. The next moment the man who called himself Thompson flew through the air and sprawled on the floor, groaning.
"Sorry to have to do that," Barnaby said. He leaned down and handcuffed the man's left arm to the bed. Then he went to the table, put the bag of explosives in his pocket, and started to leave.
The man on the floor tried to sit up. "Hold everything, Barnaby," he said. "I'm really a Department man. We're on the same side. Let me show you."
Was this some kind of trick? Barnaby didn't move.
The handcuffed man took a long time fumbling through the things in his billfold. Finally he pulled out a small card. "Look at this."
It was an ordlnary-looklng card, but Barnaby could see that it carried the special serial number that the Department used for emergency identification.
"Good heavens!" Barnaby said.
The other man smiled. "Every once in a while, as you know, the Department tests its secret agents for loyalty, courage, and ability. You just passed."
"But you tried to kill me with my own gun," Barnaby said.
"N o. I aimed over your left shoulder."
(End of Part-II)
"The Gumdrop Affair" Continued
(Part-III)
:
"I see. Well, I'm sorry about having to use judo on you," said Barnaby. He unlocked the handcuffs, and the other man held out his hand.
"Frank Guthrie," he said. ."It's a real pleasure, Barnaby."
Barnaby shook his hand, and they both grinned.
"That barber bit was just part of the test," Guthrie said. "To make you believe the whole act.”
"Don't apologize," Barnaby said. "I do look like a barber." He pulled the paper bag out of his pocket, looked inside curiously, then glanced up at Guthrie.
"Do you mean-"
"Yes," Guthrie admitted.
Barnaby took a soft, sugary lump out of the bag and popped it into his mouth. He bit down on it. It was lemon, and delicious. .
Ralph Hayes
(end of Story)
Pbraju kudoos ,i forgot the story ,but remember the title read it in 10th std
Just like everyone I landed here looking for a poem back from school days! Does anyone remember a poem where a guy is humming a song and he hears another man humming the same song?
thanks to our text books, these were a relief while making my kids sleep and I keep narrating them before sleep. It seems like fresh stock to them.
Does anybody remember the story of detective agent I think it was in 10th class. By my diminishing memory I remember This Guy enters a hotel room with the author and Max (villain) puts a gun on him. He cleverly leads the bad guy to death by making him believe there is a Balcony and asks him to hide there when someone knocks the door of hotel room. Interesting story but I dont recall the title.
It is The midnight Visitor by Robert Arthur. Its still in syllabus- chapter 3- http://www.ncert.nic.in/ncerts/textbook/textbook.htm?jefp1=3-10
@ilajee, thanks a ton for giving the link. My kid loved that story. Also for handing over me to the other stories too, Thanks once again.
Gud work Ilajee.
Omg!!! This blog is really nostalgic.I stumbled upon it while searching for "Read For Pleasure book".So glad I found it and so happy to find amazing people here.
This is so nostalgic, while reading each and every comment, I can't stop smiling recalling each story and those old school days.
The stories were amazing,Still fresh in my mind, Mrs Packletides tiger, Kutchu, Swami, Story of a coin, Mark of Vishnu, The ultimate Safari, Ogden Nash's poem- Visit to a dentist, Vikram Seth's -Frog and the nightingale,The games at twilight, Lady Bracknell from The Importance of being Earnest,The banana Split from The Umbrella Man, Babuli-The Tribute,The Coin Diver,As you like it,The highway man and many more.
Does anyone remember "The Three surprises" from Read for Pleasure series? It was a story of Kid on summer vacations, he finds three surprises for his mother- An egg , a red feather and 3rd one I don't remember. Can anyone name the author.
Omg! this has taken me almost 25 years back, I think I was in 3rd or 4th standard then:-)
Its not Mr John,John is the son of Mr.bell.
Mr & Mrs Bell...John & Rita
Mr & Mrs Rana.
All in first std I read.
Anantdeep, the three surprises were a black red-tipped feather, two pale blue halves of a thrush's egg, and a smooth crystal pebble. Google those and you should be able to find the story online. :)
Kutchu..hahaha
.i read that in 1985
Who was the writer man. Still looking for it.
Love the blog and the comments thereafter!
Absolutely love this blog. Bought back so many wonderful memories of being a child again.
Hi everyone, I was in class 7 and 8 in the year 1993-94. I absolutely loved the read for pleasure NCERT books. Unfortunately I sold the books. Does anyone remember a story which very beautifully explained about a lady talking about her home and the big bad world outside. The sad part is I don't remember the title or the author. But any pointer will help, I will see search the book online. I vaguely remember it as a story which describes a beauty and homeliness of a house. Does it ring a bell ? It was most probably in the 1993-1994 edition. Please let me know.
Also, does anyone remember a story about a man who by mistake enters a land of blind people and at the end, becomes one of them ? ( becomes blind)
@ Meenal scroll up and see the comments someone has mentioned the story about the lady which u have mentioned .
I have with me 'Read for Pleasure - Book 5' (published in 1981) in PDF format if anyone is interested. Email me if you would like a copy.
The stories in this book are:
1. The Three Surprises
2. A Secret for Two
3. You Can't Kill the Spirit
4. The Dragon Who Grew
5. The Two Corporals
6. The Brave Hunter
7. The Poles
8. A Hero
9. The Divided Horsecloth
10. The Great Truth
11. Exploring the World
12. The Star Ducks
13. The Wonderful Story of the Coconut
14. The World Outside
15. The Legend of Pygmalion
Yes please. Can you please send it at meenaltamhankar123@gmail.com? Looking at the story 14, it looks like that is the one I have been looking out for so long.
Emailed you. I forgot to put something in the subject field, so please check your spam folder if you don't see it.
Ok checking now
Yes ! That’s the one . Thank you thank you so much ! Do you have anymore please ? Thanks once again !
Blistering barnacles I too need a copy of that book my email id moh_75@rediffmail.com.
Also I too have 3rd std Ncert text book of 8o's which has one kutchu story in it . Anybody whom wants I will mail the soft copy of it .
Anonymous,
Yes please , could you please email me the soft copy of the 3rd std NCERT textbook at
My email meenaltamhankar123@gmail.com ?
Thanks !
Meenal
Meenal and Hari i have mailed u both .
I found an archive for the old NCERT OR CBSE text books,it seems they have all the copy in Delhi ,we have to serach them based on edition year.
This blog is much about Kutchu stories and other Ncert eng text book stories.
https://heyithinkthisway.wordpress.com/2010/03/17/bits-pieces/
Thanks Anonymous. I got the book.
Thanks,
regards,
Meenal.
Thanks for taking pain and efforts to fulfill our nostalgic desires. Here is my email pbraju123@gmail.com. Please do email me the copy.
hi guys! nice to see people getting nostalgic about their English textbooks.I really miss those good old days.I hav d entire collection of d books u guys r talking abt.Kutchu's glasses was in d 2nd grade ,ncert-let's learn English'. Then we had mrsPackletide's tiger , mark of Vi shnu love across d salt desert in class 12th.Extra passenger,muscular son in law etc were in class 10th.After that class 10 book changed n we had lessons like gumdrop affair ,acup of tea .Then came communicative English n v had the chaps lady or d tiger,platform no 8.Then d textbook got changed.As far as 12th is concern ed- d textbook has been changed thrice
The country of blind
Elaborate carelessness - another one I think from the same story
Oxymoron
Hi Nanda Bhatt
do u have soft copies of all the text books which we studied.
"Where women are concerned....." Did you find out the title?
Respected Sir,
I have searched 'read for pleasure 'online but couldn't find them.Would you be kind enough to send me at nalebi22@gmail.com? really cherish those nostalgic memories.thanking you in anticipation.
I can never forget “Games at twilight”, made me an Anita Desai fan. Words fail me how beautifully it captures an Indian summer afternoon.
@ilajee, how can I ever thank you. I feel a great sense of exultation and relief on getting the name of the story and author for me to search the full text on Google. You saved my life. Thank you!
@ Krishna- You are welcome!
@ Meenal, you asked-
'Also, does anyone remember a story about a man who by mistake enters a land of blind people and at the end, becomes one of them ? ( becomes blind)'
It is 'The Country of the Blind' by H.G. Wells
http://www.online-literature.com/wellshg/3/
Thank you Krishna for providing that link.
Amazing collection of stories.
I read a comment by Unknown :
"I can never forget “Games at twilight”, made me an Anita Desai fan. Words fail me how beautifully it captures an Indian summer afternoon."
I fully agree. "Games at twilight" - It has got etched in my mind. Indian summer exquisitely described.
Hi bro can you plz share the Read for Pleasure ebook with me also... I'll be so grateful! :)
technostalgic@gmail.com
To Taher and Zakir:
Taher i have emailed u last week two ebooks and to Zakir i will email u today.
Sir please send it to nirmalsingh.iob@gmail.com....I will be very thankful to you
Plz email to prasadbrajkishore41@gmail.com
Its prasadbrajkishore41@gmail.com
Kishore I have mailed u two ebooks.
Hi Kishore and Nirmal i have mailed u both
Hello, could you please share the PDF at dollydayk@gmail.com.Would appreciate!
Hi, could you please share the PDF at dollydayk@gmail.com.Thankyou.
can you please email me the book with kutchu story in it?
anjali312671@gmail.com
Hi unknown your email id dollydayk@gmail.com is not working showing error.unanle to mail you the e copies.
anjali312671@gmail.com i have mailed u the copies
is there 2nd class book also ? please send me 2nd class book also ..thanks for sending 3rd standard book...
is there 2nd class book also ? please send me 2nd class book also ..thanks for sending 3rd standard book.. anjali312671@gmail.com
Hi - I am looking for the author of you can't kill the spirit. Any details are appreciated
I don't know who the author of that poem was but the story with that title in the NCERT textbook dealt with the death of mountaineer Willi Unsoeld.
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