Class 10 English (Panorama Part-II)
Prose Chapter 3: "Gillu" (गिल्लू) by Mahadevi Verma
Complete 50 Subjective & Objective Questions and Answers for BSEB Board Examination
Section A: One-Liner & Objective Questions (Q1 – Q25)
Q1 Who wrote the story "Gillu"?
Answer: Mahadevi Verma (महादेवी वर्मा).
Q2 What was the lifespan (birth and death years) of Mahadevi Verma?
Answer: 1907 – 1987.
Q3 Which famous school of Hindi poetry did Mahadevi Verma belong to?
Answer: The Chhayavadi School of poetry (छायावादी युग).
Q4 Name the famous Hindi weekly edited by Mahadevi Verma.
Answer: "Chand" (चाँद).
Q5 Name three major poetic works composed by Mahadevi Verma mentioned in the author's note.
Answer: Deep Shikha, Yama, and Nihar (दीपशिखा, यामा, नीहार).
Q6 Which prestigious prose collections of Mahadevi Verma are mentioned in the text?
Answer: Shrinkhla ki Kadiyan and Mera Pariwar (शृंखला की कड़ियाँ, मेरा परिवार).
Q7 Which highest Indian literary award was conferred upon Mahadevi Verma?
Answer: The Jnanpith Award (ज्ञानपीठ पुरस्कार) along with Mangla Prasad Prize, Bharat Bharti Award, and Padma Bhushan.
Q8 What creature was Gillu?
Answer: A tiny baby squirrel (गिलहरी का बच्चा).
Q9 Which birds were assaulting the tiny baby squirrel?
Answer: A pair of crows (कौवे).
Q10 Where was the baby squirrel lying when the narrator first noticed it?
Answer: Hidden in the gap at the junction of the flowerpot with the wall (गमले और दीवार की संधि में).
Q11 How many wounds had the baby squirrel sustained from the crows' assault?
Answer: Two wounds (दो घाव).
Q12 What ointment was applied to the wounded baby squirrel?
Answer: Penicillin ointment (पेनिसिलिन मरहम).
Q13 On which day did the baby squirrel show clear signs of recovery?
Answer: On the third day (तीसरे दिन).
Q14 What was used as Gillu’s swing/abode inside the room?
Answer: A light-weight flower basket lined with cotton wool, hung on the window with a wire (फूलों की हल्की डलिया / झूला).
Q15 How long was the flower basket Gillu’s abode?
Answer: For two years (दो वर्षों तक).
Q16 How did Gillu inform the author that he was hungry?
Answer: By twittering "chik-chik" (चिक-चिक की ध्वनि करके).
Q17 What was Gillu’s favourite food?
Answer: Kaju (cashew nuts / काजू).
Q18 What did Gillu do to keep cool and close to the narrator during hot summer afternoons?
Answer: He would lie prostrate on the surahi (earthen water pitcher) kept near her (सुराही पर पेट के बल लेट जाना).
Q19 What is the natural lifespan of squirrels according to the text?
Answer: Barely two years (लगभग दो वर्ष).
Q20 What did Gillu clutch with his icy claws during his final night?
Answer: The same finger of the narrator that he had clung to during his infancy.
Q21 At what exact moment did Gillu depart/die?
Answer: As the first ray of the morning touched him (प्रभात की प्रथम किरण के स्पर्श के साथ).
Q22 Under which plant was Gillu buried (put to eternal rest)?
Answer: Under the Sonjuhi creeper (सोनजुही की लता के नीचे).
Q23 In what form does the narrator imagine finding Gillu blossoming in the spring?
Answer: In the guise of a tiny yellow Juhi flower (सोनजुही की पीली कली के रूप में).
Q24 What did the narrator do to the window wire-mesh after Gillu died?
Answer: The opening made in the wire-mesh was closed, and his swing was taken off the hook.
Q25 What did the narrator switch on during Gillu's last night to give him warmth?
Answer: The heater (हीटर).
Section B: Short Answer Questions (Q26 – Q42)
Q26 How did Gillu sustain wounds?
Answer: He accidentally fell from his nest and was attacked by a pair of crows poking their beaks at him as an easy prey.
Q27 What did visitors advise the narrator when they saw the injured squirrel?
Answer: Everyone remarked that the squirrel would not survive such a severe assault by crows and advised leaving him alone to die.
Q28 How did the author nurse the baby squirrel in the beginning?
Answer: She gently lifted him, cleaned the blood from his wounds with cotton wool, applied Penicillin ointment, and fed him drops of milk using a thin cotton wick.
Q29 Describe Gillu’s appearance three to four months after being rescued.
Answer: He transformed into a beautiful squirrel with smooth fur, a bushy tail, and naughty, refulgent (radiant) blue, glass-bead-like eyes.
Q30 What does the transformation from a "common noun" to a "proper noun" imply in the story?
Answer: Changing from "a squirrel" (common noun) to "Gillu" (proper noun) signifies that he was no longer treated as just an animal, but as a distinct, beloved individual member of the family.
Q31 How did Gillu attract the author's attention while she was writing?
Answer: He would venture near her feet, run swiftly up the curtains, and dash down with breakneck speed repeatedly until she stood up to catch him.
Q32 What novel resting place did the narrator sometimes find for Gillu while working?
Answer: She would place him inside a long envelope where he would rest quietly with only his head and radiant eyes peeking out.
Q33 What prompted the narrator to liberate Gillu from the room?
Answer: Seeing Gillu sit near the window mesh, peering out at other free squirrels playing outside, made her realize that his natural freedom was essential.
Q34 How was Gillu given access to the outdoor world?
Answer: The narrator removed some nails from a corner of the wire-mesh window to create a small exit opening for him.
Q35 What daily routine did Gillu establish after the opening was created?
Answer: When the narrator left for college, Gillu went outside to leap and prance with other squirrels, returning inside the moment she came back in the evening.
Q36 How was Gillu unique compared to the narrator's other pets at mealtimes?
Answer: While other animals never dared to approach her food, Gillu learned to sit gracefully close to her plate and eat grains of food.
Q37 How did Gillu react when the narrator was hospitalized following a car accident?
Answer: Gillu mourned her absence; although visitors offered him his favourite kaju, he refused to eat and let them pile up untouched in his swing.
Q38 How did Gillu serve the narrator during her indisposition after returning from the hospital?
Answer: He sat near her pillow, gently stroking her forehead and hair with his tiny claws, behaving like an attentive nurse.
Q39 How did Gillu tackle the oppressive summer heat?
Answer: Instead of going out or staying in his basket, he discovered a novel method: he lay flat and prostrate on the cool earthen surahi kept near the author.
Q40 What did Gillu do during the final day of his life?
Answer: Indicating the end of his two-year lifespan, he neither ate any food nor ventured outside, remaining listless in his swing.
Q41 Why was Gillu buried specifically under the Sonjuhi creeper?
Answer: Because the Sonjuhi creeper was his favourite playground, and the narrator derived solace believing he would blossom again as a yellow Juhi flower.
Q42 When was Gillu’s swing taken off the hook?
Answer: Immediately after his death, his swing was detached from the hook and the window mesh opening was permanently closed.
Section C: Long Subjective & Analytical Questions (Q43 – Q50)
Q43 Give a detailed character sketch of Gillu as portrayed by Mahadevi Verma.
Answer:
Gillu is depicted as an intelligent, affectionate, and sensitive companion rather than an ordinary pet:
- Playful & Mischievous: Rescued from near death, he scampered up curtains to attract the author's attention, peeked out of paper envelopes, and ran merrily with wild squirrels.
- Emotional Attachment: He was deeply loyal to the author. He ate directly beside her dining plate, communicated his hunger through gentle "chik-chik" chirps, and waited for her return every evening.
- Empathy & Tenderness: During the author’s hospitalization after a car accident, he fasted in grief. When she returned home ill, he stroked her hair like an attentive nurse.
- Graceful Departure: On his final night, he held the same finger that saved his life in infancy, demonstrating unconditional trust and love.
Q44 Discuss the central theme of the story "Gillu".
Answer:
The central theme of "Gillu" is the sacred bond of mutual love, compassion, and emotional communion between humans and animals (मानव और मूक पशु-पक्षियों के बीच का आत्मिक संबंध).
Mahadevi Verma demonstrates that love transcends the boundaries of species. By ignoring societal skepticism and nursing a dying creature back to life, she shows the transformative power of kindness. The narrative also emphasizes respecting an animal's innate desire for freedom—she created an opening in the window so Gillu could experience the natural world. Ultimately, the story reflects the philosophical truth that all life forms share a common divine harmony that endures beyond physical death.
Q45 Describe the initial rescue and miraculous recovery of Gillu.
Answer:
The story begins on a morning when Mahadevi Verma noticed two crows aggressively poking their beaks at the base of a flowerpot. Upon inspection, she discovered an infant squirrel that had fallen from its nest, bleeding profusely from two sharp beak wounds.
- Patient Nursing: While onlookers dismissed the case as hopeless, Verma brought the motionless creature to her study. She wiped away dried blood with cotton wool and applied Penicillin ointment.
- Feeding Efforts: Because the baby could not open his mouth, milk trickled down his chin. After hours of effort, she managed to get a single drop of water past his lips.
- Recovery: By the third day, the squirrel revived, held her finger with his tiny claws, and looked around with bright blue eyes. Within months, he grew a bushy tail and gleaming fur.
Q46 How does the author illustrate Gillu's emotional connection during her illness and hospitalization?
Answer:
Gillu’s actions during the author's motor car accident reveal an emotional depth uncommon in animals:
- Mourning and Fasting: While Verma was hospitalized, Gillu remained depressed in his swing. Whenever the door opened, he rushed down hoping to see her, only to scuttle back disappointed. Although visitors gave him kaju, he refused to eat; Verma later discovered his basket overflowing with uneaten cashews.
- Tending to Her Recovery: When she returned home weak and confined to bed, Gillu stayed by her side. He climbed onto her pillow and softly stroked her hair and forehead with his tiny paws, providing comfort like a nurse. His actions reflected genuine empathy and emotional attachment.
Q47 Explain the ingenious methods Gillu used to adapt to his environment (the envelope and the surahi).
Answer:
Gillu displayed remarkable intelligence in adapting to domestic living:
- The Paper Envelope: To keep Gillu safe and still while she wrote, the narrator would gently slip his body into a long mailing envelope, leaving only his head and paws exposed. Gillu would stay upright for hours on the table, leaning against the wall and watching her work with sparkling eyes.
- The Earthen Surahi: During intense North Indian summers, instead of leaving the room or staying in his stifling basket, Gillu discovered a cooling mechanism. He stretched out flat across the curved, damp surface of the earthen water pitcher (surahi) kept beside the author's desk. This allowed him to remain cool while staying close to his guardian.
Q48 Describe the final day and passing away of Gillu.
Answer:
Because a squirrel's natural lifespan rarely exceeds two years, Gillu’s vitality declined as his second year ended:
- Final Decline: On his last day, he refused all food, rejected his favourite cashews, and did not venture out of the window.
- The Final Night: Weakened by pain, he crawled down from his swing in the dark and approached the author’s bed. He clutched the very same finger with his cold, stiffening claws that he had held on his third day of life.
- The Author's Efforts: Feeling his icy limbs, Verma turned on an electric room heater and massaged him to provide warmth.
- Departure: As dawn broke and the first ray of the morning sun entered the room, Gillu breathed his last, passing away quietly.
Q49 Analyze the symbolic significance of the ending under the Sonjuhi creeper.
Answer:
The burial of Gillu beneath the Sonjuhi creeper carries deep emotional and symbolic resonance:
- A Resting Place of Love: Gillu spent his happiest moments playing among the green leaves of the Sonjuhi vine, making it his natural final resting place.
- Continuity of Life: The author rejects the finality of death, finding solace in the belief that matter and spirit cycle through nature. She imagines that Gillu’s vibrant soul will return in the spring, blossoming into life as a delicate yellow Juhi flower.
- A Memorial of Tenderness: It transforms a simple grave into a living, blooming tribute, reinforcing the eternal bond between human care and the wonders of nature.
Q50 Summarize the chapter "Gillu" in your own words.
Answer:
Summary:
"Gillu" is a touching memoir by Mahadevi Verma recounting her relationship with an orphaned squirrel. Rescuing the tiny creature from the deadly pecks of two crows, she nursed his severe wounds with Penicillin and fed him drop by drop. Renamed "Gillu," the squirrel grew into a charming pet with a bushy tail and glowing eyes. He made a suspended flower basket his home, communicating hunger through gentle "chik-chik" chirps and enjoying cashews.
Verma granted him outdoor freedom by cutting a small exit in the window mesh, yet he always returned to keep her company. During her hospitalization, Gillu grieved and fasted, and later comforted her during her illness like an attentive nurse. At the end of his natural two-year lifespan, Gillu passed away quietly at dawn, clutching Verma’s finger. He was laid to rest beneath his beloved Sonjuhi creeper, with the author holding the tender hope that he would bloom anew as a spring flower.
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