English (Core) · Class 11 Languages
Ch 9The Adventure — Class 11 English (Core), concept-first.
Jayant Vishnu Narlikar (born 1938) is one of India's most eminent astrophysicists and a gifted science writer. Trained at Cambridge, he worked with Fred Hoyle on theories of gravitation and cosmology and later helped found the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) in Pune.
31
Q&A
6
Concepts
31m
Section weightage
Section C · Literature Textbooks (Hornbill & Snapshots) · across all 16 lessons
Key concepts
Hover a concept to preview it and jump to its most relevant Q&A.
Historical Research Methodology
Imagine you walk into a room where a crime has just happened. You weren't there. You can't rewind time. All you have are the objects left behind — a broken cup, a muddy footprint, a half-written note.
Most relevant Q&A
- Tick the statements that are true. 1. The story is an account of real events. 2. The story hinges on a particular historical event. 3. Rajen…Free
- Briefly explain the following statement from the text: “You neither travelled to the past nor the future. You were in the present experienci…Free
- Briefly explain the following statement from the text: “You have passed through a fantastic experience: or more correctly, a catastrophic ex…Preview
- Briefly explain the following statement from the text: Gangadharpant could not help comparing the country he knew with what he was witnessin…Preview
- Briefly explain the following statement from the text: “The lack of determinism in quantum theory!”Preview
Chapter contents
The NCERT structure, section by section. Open a section to see its questions, then read the concept-first solution.
About the Author and the Text
Jayant Vishnu Narlikar (born 1938) is one of India's most eminent astrophysicists and a gifted science writer.
Summary of the Lesson
A strange journey begins. Professor Gangadharpant Gaitonde, a historian, is travelling by the Jijamata Express from Pune towards Bombay.
Themes
Parallel worlds and the many-worlds idea The heart of the story is the notion that more than one world can exist side by side.
Character Sketches
The story turns on two central figures — the historian Professor Gangadharpant Gaitonde, who lives the strange experience, and the scientist Rajendra Deshpande, who explains it — supported by the mino…
Professor Gangadharpant Gaitonde
Gangadharpant Gaitonde is the protagonist, a distinguished historian and the author of a five-volume history of India.
Rajendra Deshpande
Rajendra Deshpande is Gaitonde's friend and the story's voice of science. He is a scientist with a rational, open mind: at first he dismisses the professor's tale as fantasy, but when shown the torn p…
Khan Sahib
Khan Sahib is a minor character — a friendly businessman who shares Gaitonde's railway compartment in the parallel world and is travelling on to Peshawar by the Frontier Mail.
Title and Message
The title and the underlying message both point to the same idea: an ordinary man's brush with an extraordinary possibility, and what it teaches us about history, science and the nature of reality.
Significance of the Title
The title 'The Adventure' refers to Professor Gaitonde's astonishing, unplanned journey into a parallel world — a mental and almost physical adventure quite unlike an ordinary tale of physical daring.…
Message of the Lesson
The story carries several linked messages. First, that history can hinge on a single, small event — the difference of a 'til', a sesame seed, in the path of a bullet — so we should never assume the pa…
Summary
- Context: A science-fiction story by astrophysicist Jayant Narlikar exploring what if history had gone differently — blending history with modern physics.
Understanding the Text
+−Understanding the Texti6 questions
- Q1Tick the statements that are true. 1. The story is an account of real events. 2. The story hinges on a particular historical event. 3. Rajen…Free
- Q2Briefly explain the following statement from the text: “You neither travelled to the past nor the future. You were in the present experienci…Free
- Q3Briefly explain the following statement from the text: “You have passed through a fantastic experience: or more correctly, a catastrophic ex…Preview
- Q4Briefly explain the following statement from the text: Gangadharpant could not help comparing the country he knew with what he was witnessin…Preview
- Q5Briefly explain the following statement from the text: “The lack of determinism in quantum theory!”Preview
- Q6Briefly explain the following statement from the text: “You need some interaction to cause a transition.”Preview
Talking about the Text
+−Talking about the Texti2 questions
Thinking about Language
+−Thinking about Languagei4 questions
- Q1In which language do you think Gangadharpant and Khan Sahib talked to each other? Which language did Gangadharpant use to talk to the Englis…Free
- Q2In which language do you think Bhausahebanchi Bakhar was written?Free
- Q3There is mention of three communities in the story: the Marathas, the Mughals, the Anglo-Indians. Which language do you think they used with…Preview
- Q4Do you think that the ruled always adopt the language of the ruler?Preview
Working with Words
+−Working with Wordsi2 questions
Noticing Form
Things to Do
+−Things to Doi2 questions
About the Unit
The Hornbill textbook closes the chapter with a short descriptor of what each exercise section is designed to do:
Additional Practice
Extra exam-style practice questions written by us on this lesson — beyond the NCERT textbook's own exercises — for more CBSE board-exam preparation.
+−Additional Practicei14 questions
- Q1Why did Professor Gaitonde decide to go to a big library as soon as he reached Bombay, and whom did he plan to consult after returning to Pu…Free
- Q2What happened at the small station of Sarhad, and what did it reveal about the political geography of the India Professor Gaitonde was trave…Free
- Q3Why was Professor Gaitonde shocked by the imposing building he saw as he came out of Victoria Terminus? (Answer in 30–40 words.)Free
- Q4What enquiry did Professor Gaitonde make at the Forbes building, what answer did he receive, and how did he interpret it? (Answer in 30–40 w…Preview
- Q5How did Professor Gaitonde use his own five-volume history of India in the Town Hall library to locate the exact point where history had tak…Preview
- Q6According to the history books of the parallel world, what were the long-term consequences of the Maratha victory in the Battle of Panipat?…Preview
- Q7Why did the audience at the Azad Maidan lecture turn hostile towards Professor Gaitonde and finally eject him from the platform? (Answer in…Preview
- Q8What vital piece of material evidence did Professor Gaitonde produce before Rajendra Deshpande, and why did it change Rajendra's attitude to…Preview
- Q9What, according to Rajendra Deshpande's guess, triggered Professor Gaitonde's transition to another world at the moment of his collision wit…Preview
- Q10How does Rajendra Deshpande apply the catastrophe theory to the Battle of Panipat to explain why one small event — a bullet missing or hitti…Preview
- Q11Explain the idea of the lack of determinism in quantum theory and the many-worlds picture as Rajendra Deshpande presents them, and show how…Preview
- Q12Write a character sketch of Professor Gangadharpant Gaitonde, bringing out his scholarly method, his composure in an impossible situation, a…Preview
- Q13Compare the India Professor Gaitonde saw in the parallel world with the India he knew. What does the story suggest about self-respect and se…Preview
- Q14Justify the title 'The Adventure'. In your answer, explain in what senses Professor Gaitonde's experience was an adventure, and why he decid…Preview