Maharashtra Board Class 10 English Kumarbharti Unit Three Chapter 3.2 The Night I Met Einstein PDF Download

The Night I Met Einstein

Warming Up!

1. With your bench-mate prepare a profile of Albert Einstein.

Albert Einstein

Profession:

Field of Science:

World famous theory proposed:

Awards:

Disability in childhood:

Books written:

2. Look at the pictures of musical instruments and write their names; what the player of the instrument is called and a famous player of the instrument.

3. Separate the words in the columns they belong to.

(chorus, ballet, melody, swar, kathak, raga, salsa, symphony, mudra, serenade, choreography, tune, audience, tango, allegro, duet, odissi, choir, concert, performance, hip-hop)

Teacher's Note

Albert Einstein is one of the greatest scientists in the world. In India, many students learn about him in science classes just like in other countries.

Exam Trick

Remember: Einstein = great scientist with white hair and a pipe. Think of him like India's A.P.J. Abdul Kalam - both were teachers who helped others learn new things.

Points to Remember

A concert is a music performance where singers or players play instruments.
A pianist is a person who plays the piano.
Bach is a famous German composer of old times.
Tone-deaf means you cannot hear the difference between high and low musical notes.
A hostess is a lady who invites guests to her home for dinner or other events.

The Night I Met Einstein

Jerome Weidman (1913-1998) was an American playwright and novelist.

In 1960 he won the Pulitzer Prize for his work - a musical (drama) titled "Fiorello". He collaborated with George Abbot, Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick to for its music and lyrics.

His book "I Can Get It For You Wholesale" has also been used for a movie of the same name.

When I was a very young man, I was invited to dine at the house of a philanthropist. After a wonderful dinner, our hostess took us to a large drawing room. Chairs were being arranged. "I'm arranging the chairs for a concert", my hostess said, "We're going to listen to a very good pianist."

Though everyone else was very happy, I was not. I did not understand classical music. I thought I was tone-deaf. I sat down so that I would not be impolite and waited for the concert to begin. I did not pay attention to the music after it began.

After a while, I heard everyone clapping, so I realised that the piece was over. Just then I heard a gentle, but firm voice saying, "You're fond of Bach?"

I knew as much about Bach as I did about nuclear physics. I was going to say something ordinary so that I could get out of the situation. I turned in order to look at my neighbour and I saw a very famous face. It was someone with a shock of white hair and a pipe.

I knew that I must tell this man the truth. He looked at me as if my answer was very important.

"I do not know anything about Bach", I said, "I have never heard any of his music." He looked surprised.

"You have never heard of Bach?" he asked.

He made it sound as if I had said that I had never taken a bath!

"I'd like to understand music so that I could understand Bach," I said, "but I'm not able to. I'm tone-deaf."

dine: have dinner

hostess: a woman who invites guest to a social event

concert: performance of music by players or singers

pianist: someone who plays the piano

tone-deaf: unable to hear the difference between high and low notes of music

Bach: Johann Sebastian Bach, a German organist and composer of the 17th century

What was the entertainment arranged for by the hostess?

What was the writer's reaction to classical music?

Teacher's Note

The narrator in the story did not like classical music at first because he thought he could not hear music properly. Many children feel the same way when learning something new.

Exam Trick

Remember: The writer meets Einstein at a concert but does not enjoy it. Einstein will teach him to enjoy music step by step, just like learning math - first add, then multiply!

Points to Remember

The writer thought he was tone-deaf and could not understand music.
He met a man with white hair and a pipe.
This man turned out to be the famous scientist Albert Einstein.
Einstein asked if the writer liked Bach and classical music.
The writer told Einstein the truth that he did not understand music.

The old man got up. "You will come up with me?" he asked. I just remained seated. "I'm requesting you to come with me", he said again.

So I went up with him. He took me to a room which had a gramophone in it and asked, "What kind of music do you like?"

"Well," I answered, "I like songs that have words, and the kind of music where I can follow the tune."

He smiled and nodded, obviously pleased. "You can give me an example, perhaps?"

I told him I like anything by Bing Crosby. At once, I could hear Bing Crosby's voice filling the room.

"Now, can you please tell me what you just heard?", he said.

The simplest answer seemed to be to sing the lines. So I sang it back to him.

He smiled. "You're not tone-deaf," he said.

I told him this was one of my favourite songs, something I had heard hundreds of times, so it didn't really prove anything.

"Nonsense!" said Einstein. "It proves everything! Do you remember your first arithmetic lesson in school? Suppose, at your very first contact with numbers, your teacher had ordered you to work out a problem in, say, long division or fractions. Could you have done it?"

gramophone: machine for playing recorded music

nodded: moved head up and down to indicate agreement

Bing Crosby: American singer and actor

What do you learn from Einstein's treatment of the young man?

Do you think the comparison between music and arithmetic was a good one? In what ways?

Teacher's Note

Einstein teaches the writer like a good teacher teaches students in India. He starts from simple things and then moves to difficult things, just like how we learn maths from addition before learning division.

Exam Trick

Remember: Einstein compares learning music to learning maths. First you learn simple adding, then you can do hard multiplication. Same with music - first listen to songs with words, then you can enjoy music without words!

Points to Remember

Einstein took the writer to a room with a gramophone.
The writer liked songs with words and simple tunes.
The writer liked Bing Crosby's songs.
Einstein said the writer was not really tone-deaf.
Einstein compared learning music to learning maths - you must start with simple things first.

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