NCERT Book Class 8 English The fight

The fight

RANJI had been less than a month in Rajpur when he discovered the pool in the forest. It was the height of summer, and his school had not yet opened, and, having as yet made no friends in this semi-hill station, he wandered about a good deal by himself into the hills and forests that stretched away interminably on all sides of the town. It was hot, very hot, at that time of the year, and Ranji walked about in his vest and shorts, his brown feet white with the chalky dust that flew up from the ground. The earth was parched, the grass brown, the trees listless, hardly stirring, waiting for a cool wind or a refreshing shower of rain.

It was on such a day — a hot, tired day — that Ranji found the pool in the forest. The water had a gentle translucency, and you could see the smooth round pebbles at the bottom of the pool. A small stream emerged from a cluster of rocks to feed the pool. During the monsoon, this stream would be a gushing torrent, cascading down from the hills, but during the summer, it was barely a trickle. The rocks, however, held the water in the pool, and it did not dry up like the pools in the plains.

When Ranji saw the pool, he did not hesitate to get into it. He had often gone swimming, alone or with friends, when he had lived with his parents in a thirsty town in the middle of the Rajputana desert. There, he had known only sticky, muddy pools, where buffaloes wallowed and women washed clothes. He had never seen a pool like this — so clean and cold and inviting. He leapt into the water. His limbs were supple, free of any fat, and his dark body glistened in patches of sunlit water.

The next day he came again to quench his body in the cool waters of the forest pool. He was there for almost an hour sliding in and out of the limpid green water, or lying stretched out on the smooth yellow rocks in the shade of broad-leaved sal trees. It was while he lay thus that he noticed another boy standing a little distance away, staring at him in a rather hostile manner. The other boy was a little older than Ranji — taller, thickset, with a broad nose and thick, red lips. He had only just noticed Ranji, and when Ranji did not say anything, the other called out, “What are you doing here, Mister?”

Ranji, who was prepared to be friendly, was taken aback at the hostility of the other’s tone.

“I am swimming,” he replied. “Why don’t you join me?”

“I always swim alone,”

said the other. “This is my pool; I did not invite you here.”

The stranger strode up to Ranji, who still sat on the rock and, planting his broad feet firmly on the sand, said (as though this would settle the matter once and for all), “Don’t you know I am a Warrior? I do not take replies from villagers like you!” “So you like to fight with villagers?” said Ranji. “Well, I am not a villager. I am a Fighter!”

“I am a Warrior!”

“I am a Fighter!”

They had reached an impasse. One had said he was a Warrior, the other had proclaimed himself a Fighter. There was little else that could be said.

“You understand that I am a Warrior?” said the stranger, feeling that perhaps this information had not penetrated Ranji’s head. “I have heard you say it three times,” replied Ranji. “Then why are you not running away?” “I am waiting for you to run away!” “I will have to beat you,” said the stranger, assuming a violent attitude, showing Ranji the palm of his hand.

“I am waiting to see you do it,” said Ranji.

“You will see me do it,” said the other boy.

Ranji waited. The other boy made a strange, hissing sound. They stared each other in the eye for almost a minute. Then the Warrior slapped Ranji across the face with all the force he could muster. Ranji staggered, feeling quite dizzy. There were thick red finger marks on his cheek.

“There you are!” exclaimed his assailant. “Will you be off now?” For answer, Ranji swung his arm up and pushed a hard, bony fist into the other’s face.

 And then they were at each other’s throats, swaying on the rock, tumbling on to the sand, rolling over and over, their legs and arms locked in a desperate, violent struggle. Gasping and cursing, clawing and slapping, they rolled into the shallows of the pool. Even in the water the fight continued as, spluttering and covered with mud, they groped for each other’s head and throat. But after come here again tomorrow, we will continue this fight, and I will not show you mercy as I have done today.” “I will come tomorrow,” said Ranji. “I will be ready for you.” They turned from each other then and, going to their respective rocks, put on their clothes, and left the forest by different routes.

Comprehension Check

1. In what way is the forest pool different from the one which Ranji knew in the Rajputana desert?

2. The other boy asked Ranji to ‘explain’ himself.

(i) What did he expect Ranji to say?

(ii) Was he, in your opinion, right or wrong to ask this question?

3. Between Ranji and the other boy, who is trying to start a quarrel? Give a reason for your answer.

4. “Then we will have to continue the fight,” said the other.

(i) What made him say that?

(ii) Did the fight continue? If not, why not?

Please refer to attached file for NCERT Class 8 English The fight