KING VIKRAM IN DISGUISE

13

King Vikramaditya was a just and fair1 ruler of the kingdom of Ujjain. Besides his
administrative duties he would also go in disguise to check on his citizens.
One day he said to his servant, Be ready tonight. I would like to see for myself
whether my subjects2 are safe or not. I wish to inspect areas outside the walls of the city.
It was decided by the king that he himself will play the role of a servant. Only one servant
was allowed to accompany the king. This servant would play the role of the king.
At midnight they set out3 for Baragaza via the west gate. They pretended4 to be
travellers from Java. There was silence everywhere except the occasional dogs bark or
an owls hoot. All of a sudden strange music was listened to by the king. It was coming out
form a hut in a poor locality. He thought why anyone so poor would be entertaining himself
at that hour in the night.
When the king reached near the cottage he was surprised to see a broken hut
where someone was singing merrily. Out of curiousity the king peeped into the hut through
a crack. He saw a weeping old man in a corner. There was a woman who seemed to be
a widow as her head was shaven, was dancing and a young man who appeared to be in
mourning5 was singing. The servant was, then, asked to peep inside by the king. The
servant was of the opinion that it was these peoples idea of fun, and they should not
intrude there. But the king was bent upon an explanation so he called out to the owner of
the house.
The young man came out and asked them what they wanted. The servant said,
We are travellers from Java. We are looking for an inn to rest. The young man replied
that there was no inn because it was a poor locality and they couldnt stay in his home
because his house was in mourning. The king asked him, Why are you mourning? After
long persuasion6 the reason was disclosed by the young man. He said that his father had
spent all his money on educating him so that he could get the job of a scribe7 in the court.
1. fair - /feJ(r)/ (adj)- acceptable and appropriate in a particular situation
2. subject - /'sVbdZIkt/ (n)- a person who has the right to belong to a particular country, especially one
with a king or a queen
3. set out - /set aUt /(idm) - leave a place and begin a journey
4. pretend - /prI'tend/- to behave in a particular way, in order to hide truth
5. mourning - /'mO;nIN/ (n)- sadness that you show and feel because somebody has died
6. persuasion /pJ'sweIZn / (n)- the act of persuading somebody to do something or to believe something
7. scribe - /skraIb/ - a person who made copies of written documents before printing was invented
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91

No examination had been held for a long time, since no post was available. Now they
were hand to mouth. On that day his father had a dream that the royalty1 was going to visit
them at night. So his father asked his daughter-in-law to get a silver bowl2 from the market.
But the night was almost over and none had come to visit them. His father was crying
because his foolish dream had made the young mans wife look like a widow. Now she
was dancing and he himself was singing to make the old man feel better but he still wept.
King Vikram was deeply moved by the young mans plight3. The family was admired
by the king. Then the king informed them that there was going to be a court examination
next morning. The young man was surprised to know this and was equally happy to have
an opportunity to prove his worth. He bade his unusual visitors farewell after thanking
them sincerely for their useful information.
The king returned to the palace. The first order that was issued by the king was to
the town-criers4. They were to announce the time of the court examination for a royal
scribe to be held that very day. The town criers call was heard by the young man. He
immediately made his way to the great hall of the Ujjain University where the examination
was to be held. The competitors had to write an essay on a given topic. The strange topic
was chosen by the king himself. The topic was a young widow dancing to the tune of
merry5 songs sung by a young man in mourning while an old man wept.
Everyone was confused about the odd topic but the young man made a perfect
presentation. Consequently6 he was awarded the first place by the examiners. He was
duly appointed as the royal scribe. Then he was taken to the king. The king smiled
graciously. He was totally unrecognizable from the way he had looked the previous night
in the faded clothes of a humble servant. He congratulated the young man on being awarded
the high office and told him he could now afford to buy his wifes tresses8 back. Later,
recounting the dazzle of the court of Ujjain to his happy wife, the young man wondered
aloud, How did king Vikram know about your shaven head ?
To him the mystery remained unresolved8. He did not know that his fathers dream
of having royal visitors the previous night had actually come true.
1. royalty - /'rOIJlti/ (n)- one or more members of a royal family
2. bowl - /bJUl/ (n)- a deep round dish with a wide open top
3. plight - /plaIt /(n) - a difficult and sad situation
4. town-crier - /taUn -kraIJ(r) / (n)- a person whose job was to walk through a town shouting news and
official announcements
5. merry - /'meri/ (adj)- happy and cheerful
6. consequently /'kQnsIkwJntli/ (adv)- as a result
7. tresses - /'tresIz/ (n)- womans long hair
8. unresolved - /%VnrI'zQlvd/ (adj)- having been resolved
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Text Book for General English

EXERCISES
Word Power
(1)

Match these words in column A with their meanings in column B :

2.

administrative

happening as a result of something

royalty

a person who has the right to belong to a

resolved

a member or members of a royal family

consequent

connected with organising the work of an

subject

to find an acceptable solution to a problem or

Given below are certain words. Use the letters of each word, in any order,
to derive five new words. The first one is done far you.
pain
maid
cone
map
coin

(3)

(1)

accompanied

(2)

administrative

(3)

persuasion

(4)

graciously

(5)

subjects

(6)

consequent

accompanied
panic

coined
come

Find words from the lesson which mean the following :

to behave in a particular way

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93

(ii)

a person whose job was to walk

(iii)

sadness that one shows and feels

(iv)

the act of persuading somebody

(v)

to impress somebody a lot with

How Much Have I Understood ?

(2)

(3)

Answer these questions in one or two sentences :

Who was king Vikramaditya ?

(ii)

What did the king see through the cracks in the wall of the hut ?

(iii)

Why was the young man mourning ?

(iv)

Who were the members of the young mans family ?

(v)

What was the topic given by the king for the examination ?

Answer these questions in three or four sentences :

What did the king hear that night ? What did he do then ?

(ii)

What did the king pretend to be ? Why ?

(iii)

In your opinion why did the king announce the examination for a royal scribe
immediately ?

(iv)

What was the old mans dream ? Was it fulfilled ? How ?

(v)

Why did the young woman sell her stresses ?

Choose the correct alternative :

94

Vikramaditya was the king of :

Indore

(b)

Ujjain
Text Book for General English

(ii)

(iii)

(iv)

(v)

(4)

(c)

Bhopal

(d)

Dhar

The king went out in disguise because he wanted to check on his

subjects

(b)

neighbours

(c)

ministers

(d)

princess

The young man wanted to become the kings :

friend

(b)

scribe

(c)

minister

(d)

town-crier

The topic for the examination was selected by :

the king

(b)

the minister of education

(c)

the competitors

(d)

the health minister

The king and his servant pretended to be the travellers from :

Sri Lanka

(b)

Surinam

(c)

Java

(d)

Sumatra

Arrange the following sentences in the order they occurred in the story :
(i)

They were hand to mouth.

(ii)

The young man came out asked them they wanted.

(iii)

King Vikramaditya was a just and fair ruler of the kingdom of Ujjain.

(iv)

At midnight they setout for Baragaza via the west gate.

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95

(v)

King Vikramaditya was deeply moved by the young mans plight.

Language Practice
Read the following sentences :
(1)

Strange music was listened to by the king.

(2)

The servant was asked to peep inside by the king.

In both the sentences above, the verb is said to be in its passive voice. The same
ideas can be expressed in this way as, (1)

The king listened to a strange music.

(2)

The king asked the servant to peep inside.

In both the sentences, the verb is said to be in its active voice.

Passive voice

(1)

The polic arrested the thief

The thief was arrested.

(2)

Vikramaditya gave a fair judgement.

A fair judgement was given by

Note : If it is important to mention the agent, i.e. the person who performed the
action, then only mention by........
A.

Make meaningful sentences from the table given below. Use passive voice.
Use proper form of the verbs.
The children
A cricket match

the tailor.

stitch

to

the newspaper.

The injured

sell

at

a shop.

The advertisement

take

in

the stadium.

organise

by

the hospital.

My uniform
The toys

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publish

rush

the zoo.

Text Book for General English

Example :
The children were taken to the zoo.

Listening Time
Charus grandfather is coming from Allahabad by the Kashi Express. Her father is
meeting her on the Railway Station. He wants her to find out what time the train is
expected to arrive. Charu inquires at the station through the telephone. She listens
to the recorded information.
[Information on the telephone was Train number 3075, Kashi Express from
Allahabad is running late by three hours. It is expected to arrive at 17 hours
on platform number two.]
Listen as your teacher reads this information twice for you. Then answer the
questions that Charus father is asking her.
(1)

Is the Kashi Express running late ?

(2)

What time is the train expected to arrive ?

(3)

What is the number of the train ?

(4)

Which platform will it come ?

Speaking Time
Rajeev wants to get a berth reserved for Delhi in the Shatabdi Express on 25th
March 2008. He comes to you for help. With the help of the following flow chart, tell
him how to get the reservation done.
Go to the Reservation office.
Get the application/reservation form.

Fill the form completely

Pay the desired sum.

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97

Writing Time
Look at the picture carefully. Try to frame a story with the help of the
following clues:

Clues : a king, throne, a woodcutter, a bag of coins, etc.

T hings to do
1.

In the past there had been many great kings and queens and their kingdom in our
country. With the help of your teachers or parents find out some of the kingdoms
and their rulers of Central India.
(Especially Madhya Pradesh) and put the information in the table given below :
Name of the kingdom

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Ruler (King/Queen)

1.

________________________

________________________

2.

________________________

________________________

3.

________________________

________________________

4.

________________________

________________________

5.

________________________

________________________

2.

Find out any famous and interesting story related to any of the above kings
or queens and read it aloud in your class.

3.

Draw a picture of the throne of king Vikramaditya and colour it properly.

Text Book for General English