1. Who is the author of the short story “Leela’s Friend” ?
Ø R. K. Narayan is the author of the short story “Leela’s Friend”.
2. From where has this story been taken?
Ø This story has been taken from Malgudi Days by R. K. Narayan.
3. In which year was Malgudi Days published?
Ø Malgudi Days was published in 1942.
4. Who is the main character of this story?
Ø Sidda is the main character of this story.
5. Who was Sidda?
Ø The main character of the story Leela’s Friend, Sidda was a poor boy and he was appointed in Mr. Sivasanker’s house as a servant.
6. Who was Leela?
Ø Leela was Sivasanker’s five-year-old daughter and she became a good friend with Sidda.
7. Who was Mr. Sivasanker?
Ø Mr. Sivasanker was Leela’s father and he worked in a office.
8. On which matter was Sivasanker brooding over?
Ø Sivasanker was brooding over the servant problem.
9. What was Sidda doing when Sivasanker was standing in the front veranda?
Ø When Sivasanker was standing in the front veranda, Sidda was hanging about the gate asking for job.
10. What was Sivasanker’s first thought about Sidda?
Ø Sivasanker thought that Sidda did not seem to be a bad fellow and also he looked tidy.
11. Where did Sidda worked before coming to Sivasanker?
Ø Before coming to Sivasanker, Sidda worked in a doctor’s bungalow near the market.
12. Why had Sidda no work?
Ø Sidda had no work as the doctor had left the town in whose house he worked before.
13. What were Sidda given in return for his work in Sivasanker’s house?
Ø In return for his work in Sivasanker’s house Sidda was given two meals a day and four rupees a month.
14. What was Sidda’s duty in in Sivasanker’s house?
Ø Sidda had to wash clothes, tend the garden, run errands, chop woods, and look after Leela in Sivasanker’s house.
15. What did Sidda do when Leela called him to play?
Ø When Leela called Sidda to play, Sidda had to drop any work he might be doing and run to her.
16. How did Sidda throw the ball up?
Ø Sidda clutched the ball, closed his eyes for a second, and threw the ball up.
17. “He called his wife”—who is’he’? when did he call his wife?
Ø Here ‘he’ is Mr. Sivasanker.
Ø When Sidda came to Sivasanker in search for job, he could not able to decide about Sidda. Then he called his wife.
18. What did Leela’s mothere opine about Sidda?
Ø According to Leela’s mother, Sidda did not seem worse than the other servants.
19. What finalized Sidda’s job?
Ø Seeing Sidda, Leela became very happy and he persuaded her father to keep Sidda as their servant. It finalized Sidda’s job.
20. “And that decided it”—What does ‘it’ mean here?
Ø Here ‘it’ means the decision to keep Sidda in Sivasanker’s house as a servant.
21. Which game did Leela and Sidda play with each other? How did they play?
Ø They played ball throwing game with each other with a red ball.
Ø Leela flung the ball at Sidda and he flung it back to her. Thus they played with each other.
22. Why did Leela always want to get Sidda’s company?
Ø Leela always wanted to get Sidda’s company because his company made her supremely happy.
23. What did Sidda say after throwing the ball up?
Ø After throwing the ball up Sidda said that the ball has touched the moon and a little bit the moon is sticking to the ball.
24. “I don’t see it”— who is ‘I’ here? What does ‘it’ refer?
Ø Here ‘I’ refers to the Leela.
Ø Here ‘it’ refers to the moon sticking to the ball.
25. “You must be very quick”—Why must she be very quick to see the bit of the moon sticking?
Ø Leela must be very quick to see the bit of the moon sticking because if she does not do that quickly, the moon sticking would evaporate and go back to the moon again.
26. How did Sidda allow Leela to see the moon sticking?
Ø Sidda covered the ball very tightly with his finger and allowed Leela to peep through a little gap to see the moon sticking.
27. How is moon according to Sidda?
Ø According to Sidda the moon is wet and he knew the moon very well.
28. What is in the sky according to Sidda?
Ø According to Sidda there is God in the Sky.
29. How could Sidda touch the moon? / When had Sidda touched the moon?
Ø Whenever there is a big moon in the sky, Sidda climbed a coconut tree and stretching his hand he had touched the moon.
30. Who first noticed the loss of Leela’s gold chain?
Ø Leela’s mother first noticed the loss of Leela’s gold chain.
31. “You see the moon there”—Which place is referred to here?
Ø The place near the rose plant where Sidda and Leela were standing, is referred to here.
32. “Now come with me”—Who said this and to whom? Which place is the person asked to come?
Ø Sidda said this to Leela. Sidda asked Leela to come backyard near the well.
33. “Sidda knows the moon”-- Who said this and to whom?
Ø Leela said this to her mother.
34. When did Leela hold a class? Who was her student?
Ø At dusk Leela held a class? Sidda was her student.
35. What were in Leela’s box?
Ø There were catalogues, illustrated books, stumps of pencils in Leela’s box.
36. What gave Leela a great joy?
Ø To play the teacher’s role to Sidda gave Leela a great joy.
37. What was Siidda’s duty during the class?
Ø During the class Sidda had to try or copy whatever Leela wrote or drew on the pages of her catalogues.
38. What did Leela know and what did she teach Sidda?
Ø Leela knew two or three letters in alphabet and could draw a kind of cat or crow. she taught Sidda only those.
39. “She pitid him”—Who pitied and whom? Why did she pity him?
Ø Here Leela pitied Sidda because he was fail to copy or draw what Leela wrote on her catalogue.
40. Why did Leela redouble her efforts?
Ø Leela redoubled her efforts only to teach Sidda how to write or copy.
41. How was Sidda as a student?
Ø Sidda was a very poor student and though Sidda was adept at controlling the moon, was utterly incapable of playing the pencil.
42. How much time did Leela keep Sidda, pinned to his seat?
Ø Leela kept Sidda, pinned to his seat until his stiff, inflexible wrist cracked.
43. How did Sidda seek relief from the class?
Ø Sidda sought relief from Leela’s class by saying that probably Leela’s mother was calling her to dinner
44. When did Leela run to bed?
Ø After dinner Leela ran to her bed.
45. Where did Sidda sit while telling Leela stories at the bed time?
Ø While telling Leela stories at the bed time Sidda sat down on the floor near Leela’s bed.
46. Who put Leela to sleep and how?
Ø Sidda put Leela to sleep by telling her so many incomparable stories at her bed time.
47. What type of stories did Sidda tell Leela?
Ø Sidda told Leela so many incomparable stories of animal in the jungle, Gods in the heaven, of magicians and of their powers.
48. What was mother’s reaction after seeing the loss the Leela’s chain?
Ø Seeing the loss of Leela’s chain, her mother asked Leela about the chain and then she slapped her.
49. When did Sidda’s throat go dry?
Ø When Leela’s mother asked Sidda about Leela’s missing chain, Sidda’s throat went dry.
50. Why did Leela’s mother go into the kitchen?
Ø Leela’s mother went into the kitchen because she had left something in the oven.
51. “Sidda vanished into the night”—Why did Sidda vanish?
Ø Sidda vanished into the night because he was afraid of being caught by police as Leela’s mother was suspecting his as the thief of Leela’s missing chain.
52. Why did Sivasanker go to the police station?
Ø Sivasanker went to the police station to lodge a complaint about the theft, probably committed by Sidda.
53. Why did Leela refuse to go to bed?
Ø Leela refused to go to bed as Sidda was not there to tell her stories.
54. Why was Leela angry with her mother?
Ø Leela was angry with her mother as mother always abused and worried Sidda.
55. Why was it impossible to tell Leela story for her mother?
Ø It was impossible to tell Leela story for her mother as her mother’s mind was disturbed by the thought of theft committed by Sidda.
56. Which thought made Leela’s mother panicky?
Ø The thought which made Leela’s mother panicky was that Sidda who knew the whole planning of the household, might come in at night and might rob.
57. What was Leela’s point of view on Sidda’s departure from their house?
Ø Leela thought that Sidda had gone as he was not allowed to sleep inside the house just as they did.
58. Where did Sidda sleep at night?
Ø Sidda slept outside of the house at the night.
59. What did Sivasanker come to know about Sidda from police?
Ø Sivasanker came to know about Sidda from police that he was an old criminal and he had been in jail for several times for stealing jewellery from children.
60. How many times did Sidda go to jail in previous time?
Ø In previous time Sidda went to jail for half a dozen times.
61. For what was Sidda in jail for many times?
Ø Sidda was in jail for many times for stealing jewellery from children.
62. Why was police furious?
Ø Police was furious as Sivasanker did not consult with him before employing Sidda in his house as a servant.
63. Who brought Sidda in Sivasanker house?
Ø A police inspector and a constable brought Sidda in Sivasanker house.
64. “I will tell the inspector tomorrow”—who will tell the inspector and what will he tell?
Ø Sivasanker will tell the inspector that Sidda has not taken Leela’s chain as that chain has been discovered from their house.
65. “All this bother on account of her”—For whom has the bother been occourred?
Ø All the bother has been occourred for Sivasanker’s daughter Leela.
66. “what a rough fellow he must be”—who said this and about whom?
Ø Sivasanker’s wife said this about Sidda whom they suspected as the thief of Leela’s missing chain.
67. Who discovered the missing chain and from where?
Ø Sivasanker’s wife discovered the missing chain from a tamarind pot in the kitchen.
68. “Don’t go near him”—who said this and to whom and why?
Ø The police said this to Leela. He prevented Leela to go near Sidda as he was a criminal and he had taken her chain away.
69. “ You are not at all a reliable prosecution witness”-- who said this and to whom and why?
Ø The police said this to Leela. He said this because Leela is only five years old.
70. “Baby, if you don’t behave…………”—who is the ‘baby’ here? Who says this?
Ø Here the ‘baby’ is Sivasanker’s five-year old daughter Leela. Sivasanker says this.
71. “He has not taken it”—what is ’it’?
Ø Here ‘it’ is Leela’s missing gold chain.
72. “Take him to the station”—what does the station mean here?
Ø Here the station means the police station.
73. “She clung to Sidda’s hand”—when did she cling to Sidda’s hand?
Ø When the constable was going to take Sidda to the police station, Leela clung to Sidda’s hand.
74. How was the gold chain missing in reality?
Ø In reality long ago Leela herself put her gold chain in the tamarind pot in their kitchen and later she refused everything what she had done. Thus the chain was missing.