Gillu Summary

 

BSEB Class 10 English Lesson 3 Gillu Summary, Lesson Explanation with difficult word meanings from Panorama-II Book

 

Gillu – Are you looking for Summary and Lesson Explanation for Bihar Board Class 10 English Lesson 3  Gillu from Panorama-II Book. Get notes, summary of the Lesson followed by line by line explanation of the lesson along with the meanings of difficult words.

 

 

Gillu Bihar Board Class 10 English 

Mahadevi Verma 

 
 

Gillu Introduction

In the chapter “Gillu ” by Mahadevi Verma, we meet the narrator who finds a tiny baby squirrel in trouble. She rescues the squirrel and names it Gillu. Despite challenges, she takes care of Gillu, helping her grow strong and healthy. The story shows how love and kindness can make a big difference in someone’s life, even for a small creature like Gillu. It teaches us about caring for animals and the special bond between humans and nature. Through Gillu’s journey, we learn important lessons about compassion, friendship, and the beauty of helping others.
 

 
 

Theme of the Lesson Gillu 

The theme of the chapter “Gillu” revolves around compassion, care, and the bond between humans and animals. It teaches us the importance of being kind and helping others, even if they’re small or different from us. Through the story of Gillu, we learn how love and compassion can make a big difference in someone’s life, whether they’re a person or an animal. The chapter shows us that by caring for animals and nature, we can create a happier and more harmonious world for everyone.
 

 
 

Gillu Summary

In “Gillu” by Mahadevi Verma, the story begins when the narrator spots two crows playfully pecking at flower pots on the verandah. Then, she notices a tiny baby squirrel, later called Gillu, being bothered by the crows. Worried about it’s safety, the narrator steps in, picks it up carefully, and takes it to her room to keep it safe. Poor Gillu is hurt because the crows pecked at it. He has wounds from their attack. 

The narrator tends to Gillu’s wounds, cleaning them with care and applying medicine to help him heal. Despite initial difficulties in feeding Gillu, she continues, using a thin cotton piece dipped in milk to provide nourishment. Over time, Gillu starts to improve, showing signs of recovery.

As Gillu grows stronger, he becomes more active and playful, charming the narrator with his lively acts. The two develop a close bond, with Gillu often seeking the narrator’s company and affection. 

Gillu’s presence brings joy and warmth to the narrator’s life, brightening her days with his playful nature. In another instance the narrator meets a motor car accident and spends some time in the hospital. Gillu, sensing the narrator’s sickness, stays close to her, offering comfort and companionship. He sits near her head, gently stroking her forehead and hair, showing his affection and care.

However, tragedy strikes when Gillu falls ill. Despite the narrator’s efforts to care for him, Gillu’s condition worsens, and he eventually passes away. The narrator is deeply saddened by Gillu’s death, mourning the loss of her beloved companion. Despite her grief, she cherishes the memories of their time together, grateful for the love and companionship Gillu brought into her life.

Through Gillu’s story, Verma highlights the themes of compassion, friendship, and the bond between humans and animals. 
 

 
 

Gillu Summary in Hindi

महादेवी वर्मा की “गिल्लू” में, कहानी तब शुरू होती है जब कथावाचक दो कौवों को बरामदे में फूलों के गमलों पर चोंच मारते हुए देखता है। फिर, वह देखती है कि गिलहरी का एक छोटा बच्चा, जिसे बाद में गिल्लू कहा गया, कौवों से परेशान हो रहा था। गिल्लू की सुरक्षा के बारे में चिंतित होकर, कथावाचक आगे आती है, उसे सावधानी से उठाती है, और उसे सुरक्षित रखने के लिए अपने कमरे में ले जाती है। बेचारा गिल्लू बहुत दुखी हुआ क्योंकि कौओं ने उस पर चोंच मार दी। उनके हमले से उसे घाव हो गए हैं.

वर्णनकर्ता गिल्लू के घावों की देखभाल करता है, उन्हें सावधानी से साफ करता है और उसे ठीक करने में मदद करने के लिए दवा लगाता है। गिल्लू को दूध पिलाने में प्रारंभिक कठिनाइयों के बावजूद, वह पोषण प्रदान करने के लिए दूध में डूबी हुई पतली रुई की बाती का उपयोग करना जारी रखती है। समय के साथ, गिल्लू में सुधार होने लगता है और उसके ठीक होने के लक्षण दिखने लगते हैं।

जैसे-जैसे गिल्लू मजबूत होता जाता है, वह अधिक सक्रिय और चंचल होता जाता है और अपनी जीवंत हरकतों से कथावाचक को मंत्रमुग्ध कर देता है। दोनों के बीच घनिष्ठ संबंध विकसित हो जाता है, गिल्लू अक्सर कथावाचक का साथ और स्नेह चाहता है।

गिल्लू की उपस्थिति कथावाचक के जीवन में खुशी और गर्माहट लाती है, उसके चंचल स्वभाव से उसके दिन रोशन कर देती है। एक अन्य उदाहरण में कथावाचक की मोटर कार दुर्घटना हो जाती है और वह कुछ समय अस्पताल में बिताता है, गिल्लू, कथावाचक की बीमारी को महसूस करते हुए, उसके करीब रहता है, आराम और सहयोग प्रदान करता है। वह उसके सिर के पास बैठता है, धीरे से उसके माथे और बालों को सहलाता है, अपना स्नेह और देखभाल दिखाता है।

हालाँकि, त्रासदी तब घटती है जब गिल्लू बीमार पड़ जाता है। कथावाचक द्वारा उसकी देखभाल करने के प्रयासों के बावजूद, गिल्लू की हालत बिगड़ती जाती है और अंततः उसकी मृत्यु हो जाती है। कथावाचक गिल्लू की मृत्यु से बहुत दुखी है और अपने प्रिय साथी के खोने का शोक मना रही है। अपने दुःख के बावजूद, वह अपने साथ बिताए समय की यादों को संजोकर रखती है, गिल्लू द्वारा उसके जीवन में लाए गए प्यार और सहयोग के लिए आभारी है।

गिल्लू की कहानी के माध्यम से, वर्मा करुणा, मित्रता और मनुष्यों और जानवरों के बीच के बंधन के विषयों पर प्रकाश डालते हैं।
 

 
 

Gillu Lesson Explanation


Passage:
Unexpectedly, one morning, when I entered the verandah from the room, I saw two crows playfully poking their beaks at the flowerpots, as if engaged in the game of hide and seek.

Word Meanings:
Unexpectedly (adv): which was not expected to happen
Poking (gerund): pushing sharply

Explanation: One morning, when the narrator walked out onto the porch from her room, she saw two crows playing with the flowerpots. They were poking their beaks into the pots, as if they were playing a game of hide and seek. It was surprising and interesting to see the crows having fun like that.

Passage: Suddenly my assiduous critique of this mythical tale of the crow was intercepted by my gaze that fell on this tiny being, lying hidden in the gap at the junction of the pot with the wall. Moving closer, I saw that it was a tiny baby squirrel that must have accidentally fallen down from a nest and was now being considered by the crows to be an easy prey. Having sustained two wounds due to the assault by the pair of crows was enough for this tiny being and he was now motionless, clinging to the pot.

Word Meanings:
assiduous (adj): hardworking, delighted
critique (n): critical essay or revision
mythical (adv): belief about the early age, concept of primitive period
interception (v): stopped, caused interruption in action
prey (n): animal or bird hunted for food
assault (n): violent and sudden attack

Explanation: Suddenly, while the narrator was busy thinking about a story about a crow, she noticed something else. She saw a tiny baby squirrel hiding near a flowerpot, hurt from a fight with some crows. The squirrel seemed to have fallen from its home and was now scared and injured with two wounds struck by the crows. It was not moving and was hanging from the pot trying to be safe from the crows.

Passage: Everyone remarked that as he would not survive after having been so assaulted by the crows, he be left alone. But, my mind refused to accede to their views, and therefore, I gently lifted him up and brought him to my room, and after wiping the blood from his wounds with cotton wool, applied Penicillin ointment.

Word Meanings:
survive (v): to exist, continue to live
accede (v): assent, agree

Explanation: This passage explains how the people thought that the baby squirrel wouldn’t survive because it was hurt by the crows. They suggested leaving it alone. But the narrator didn’t agree. Instead, she gently picked up the squirrel and took it to her room. She cleaned its wounds with cotton and put ointment on them to help it heal. The narrator didn’t want to give up on the squirrel and decided to take care of it herself, despite what others said.

Passage: I tried to feed him by somehow putting the thin cotton wool wick, dipped in milk to his mouth, but he was unable to open his mouth and the drops of milk only slid down from both sides. Only after several hours of tending could I manage to put one drop of water in his mouth. But, on the third day he became so much better and assured me that he would use his two tiny claws to hold my finger and gaze all around with his blue, glass-beads-like eyes. And in three-four months, he astonished everyone with his smooth fur, bushy tail and naughty, refulgent eyes.

Word Meanings:
refulgent (adj): shining, bright
Wick (noun): a piece of string, here, in this case, made up of cotton wool used to feed the squirrel.

Explanation: The narrator tried to feed the baby squirrel with milk using a piece of cotton, but it couldn’t drink properly. After a while, the squirrel started feeling better and was able to hold onto the narrator’s finger. In a few months, the squirrel grew healthy and surprised everyone with its shiny fur, fluffy tail, and playful eyes.

Passage: A transformation from common to proper noun followed and we started calling him Gillu! I hung a light -weight flower basket lined with cotton wool on the window with the help of a wire. For two years, this was Gillu’s abode. All were pleasantly astonished at his antics and intellect.

Word Meanings:
antics (adj): queer or typical behavior
abode (n): home, residence
astonished (adj): surprised, wondered
intellect (n): power of the mind to reason, talent

Explanation: The passage talks about how the baby squirrel gets a name, “Gillu,” instead of just being called a squirrel. The narrator sets up a comfortable home for Gillu by hanging a basket on the window. Gillu lives there happily for two years, and everyone is amazed by its funny behavior and cleverness. This change shows how close the narrator and Gillu become over the years.

Passage: When I would sit down to write, he would be seized by such an acute desire to attract my attention that he devised a novel way of doing it. He would venture close to my feet, go swiftly up the curtains and descend with the same breakneck speed. This sequence would continue till the time I got up to catch him. On some occasions, I used to hold Gillu and put his tiny body in a long envelope. Sometimes, he would continue to stand on the table leaning against the wall in such an amazing condition for hours, and watch my activities with his radiant eyes.

When hungry, he would inform me by twittering ‘chik-chik’, and after having received some biscuits or Kaju. I wondered with the twittering of chik-chik, what transpired between him and the other squirrels that were often near the wire meshed window! Seeing Gillu sitting near the window and affectionately peering at the world outside, made me realize that it was necessary to set him free. 

By removing some nails, I made a small opening in a corner of the wire-mesh and on being able to go out from this opening Gillu was thrilled to be liberated.

Due to my important papers and letters, my room used to remain locked in my absence. The moment the room opened on my return from college and I stepped in, Gillu would rush on to me and climb up and down from head to toe. Since then, this has become a regular practice. On my leaving the room, Gillu would also make an exit through the wire-mesh opening of the window. He would spend the whole day with his lot, jumping and prancing up and down the branches.

I have several pet animals and birds and all of them are quite fond of me, but I don’t remember any of them daring to eat from my plate.

Gillu was an exception. The moment I would reach the dining room, he would emerge from the window, cross over the courtyard wall and the verandah, reach the table and would want to sit on my plate. With great difficulty, I taught him to sit close to my plate. His favorite food was Kaju and when not available for several days, he would refuse other food items and throw them down from the swing.

Around that time, being injured in a motor car accident, I had to spend some days in the hospital. Those days, whenever my room was opened, Gillu would rush down from his swing, but on seeing somebody else, he would, with the same alacrity, scuttle back to sit in his nest. Everyone would offer him Kaju, but when I cleaned up his swing on my return from hospital, I discovered it was full of Kaju, which only showed how little he was eating his favorite food those days! During the course of my indispositions, he would sit near my head on my pillow and gently stroke my forehead and hair, and his moving away was like the going away of a nurse or attendant!

 

Word Meanings:
alacrity (n): eager and cheerful readiness
acute(adj.): an undesirable situation or feeling is very severe or intense.
devised(verb): to work out, plan
seized(verb): to take hold of something
novel(noun): a long written story about imaginary people and events
venture(verb): to embark on a journey
twittering(verb): to utter a succession of chirping sounds
transpired(verb): to happen or occur
peering(verb): to look closely at something
liberated(adj.): given liberty, freed
exit(noun): a way out
fond(adj.): to have a liking
emerged(verb): to come out in view, to become apparent
courtyard(noun): an open area of ground surrounded by walls or buildings
scuttle(verb): to run with short quick steps
indispositions(noun): unwillingness

 

Explanation: In this part of the story, the narrator talks about the playful actions of Gillu, the baby squirrel. Whenever the narrator sits to write, Gillu wants attention and comes close by climbing curtains quickly. Gillu finds a special way to get the narrator’s attention. He quickly climbs up and down the curtains, doing it over and over until the narrator sees him. Sometimes, the narrator even puts Gillu in an envelope to keep him nearby.Sometimes, the narrator even puts Gillu in an envelope to keep him close.

Gillu sometimes stands on the table to watch the narrator’s activities with big eyes. When Gillu feels hungry, it makes a sound like “chik-chik,” and the narrator feeds it biscuits or cashews, which are his favorite. Seeing Gillu’s wish to go outside, the narrator makes a hole in the wire mesh to let Gillu out. 

When the narrator wasn’t at home, her room was locked to keep important papers and letters safe. But whenever she returned from college and opened the room, Gillu would eagerly rush in and climb up and down on her from head to toe. This became a regular habit. When she left the room again, Gillu would leave through the window’s wire mesh opening. He would spend the entire day with other squirrels, playing and moving around in the branches.

Despite having other pets, Gillu is special and even learns to sit near the narrator’s plate. 

The narrator teaches Gillu to sit close by instead. Gillu really loves Kaju, and when there’s none around, he won’t eat anything else.

When the narrator is in the hospital after an accident, Gillu stays near the swing, eating little, showing loyalty. He does this by eagerly coming down from his swing whenever the room is opened, even though he retreats upon seeing someone else. Despite being offered Kaju by others, Gillu hardly eats it, showing his strong attachment to the narrator. He also displays care by sitting near the narrator’s head and softly stroking her forehead and hair during her illness. These instances illustrate the strong bond between Gillu and the narrator. Gillu also comforts the narrator by stroking her hair gently, showing care and love and helping her nurse back to health just like a nurse or attendant.

Passage: When I used to work during summer afternoons, Gillu would abstain from going outside or sitting in his swing. To keep himself close to me and also to tackle the summer heat, he has discovered a totally new method. He would lie prostrate on the surahi kept near me and thus remain cool and also close to me!

Word Meanings:
prostrate (adj): lying on the ground
abstain (v): refrain, prevent
Tackle (v): to deal with a problem
Surahi (noun): an Indian clay pot with long neck, used for storing water

Explanation: In this passage, the narrator talks about Gillu’s behavior during summer afternoons. While the narrator works, Gillu avoids going outside or sitting in his swing. Instead, Gillu finds a new way to stay close to the narrator and keep cool in the summer heat. Gillu lies flat on the surahi, a vessel used to store water, near the narrator. By doing so, Gillu remains cool and stays near the narrator while they work.

Passage: Squirrels have a lifespan of barely two years; as such, Gilly’s lease life finally came to an end. For the whole day, he neither ate nor ventured out. In the night, even with the pain of going away, he came to my bed from the swing, and clutched the same finger with his icy claws, which he had clung to, in his near death-like state during his natal days.

The claws were getting so cold that I switched on the heater and tried to give him some warmth. But, as the first ray of the morning touched him, he departed. 

Word Meanings:
Barely (adverb): by the smallest amount
Icy (adj.): covered in ice, extremely cold
Natal (adj.): relating to the birth of an animal
ventured out (phr.): dared to go out

Explanation: The narrator mentions that squirrels usually live for only about two years. Sadly, Gillu’s life was also short, and he reached the end of his life. On his last day, Gillu didn’t eat or go outside. At night, despite being in pain, he came to the narrator’s bed from his swing and held onto the narrator’s finger tightly, just like he did when he was a baby. Gillu’s claws felt very cold, so the narrator tried to warm him up with a heater. However, as soon as the morning sunlight touched him, Gillu passed away.

Passage:  His swing was taken off the hook and the opening made in the wire-mesh window was closed. Gillu was put to eternal rest under the Sonjuhi Creeper-both, because he loved this creeper most and also because of the satisfaction I derived from my belief that some spring day I will find him flowering and blossoming in the guise of a tiny yellow Juhi flower!

Word Meanings:
Blossoming (v): to produce or yield blossoms.
eternal (adj): lasting forever
derive (v): to take from the original
Sonjuhi Creeper (n): an Indian yellow flower

Explanation: After Gillu’s death, his swing was removed from where it hung, and the opening in the wire-mesh window was closed. Gillu was laid to rest under the Sonjuhi Creeper. The narrator chose this spot because Gillu loved this creeper the most, and it made the narrator feel happy. They believed that one day, during spring, they would see Gillu in the form of a tiny yellow Juhi flower. This shows how much the narrator cared for Gillu and wanted to keep his memory alive, even in nature.

 

 

Related Link : BSEB Class 10 English Syllabus 2024-25

 

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BSEB Class 10 English Summary, Explanation Notes, Difficult words

 

 

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