📖 Non-Detailed Text 1 — The Trunk of Ganesha (by Jayant Mahapatra): A gripping story about an idol-maker, Gobinda Maharana, whose Ganesha idol's trunk mysteriously breaks every night. Is it the anger of the gods, a supernatural being — or something simpler? The story shows how superstition can be defeated by reason and observation. Everything you need — summary, theme, word-meanings and all textbook answers — is here.
The Trunk of Ganesha
📝 About the Story
Written by the famous Odia-English poet Jayant Mahapatra, the story is about an old and skilful idol-maker, Gobinda Maharana. For three nights in a row, the trunk of a large Ganesha idol he is making keeps breaking. Gobinda, a superstitious man, believes the gods are angry or that some supernatural power is at work. Finally, by keeping watch at night with his son, he discovers the real, natural cause, and his superstition is proved wrong.
👥 Characters
- Gobinda Maharana — a 61-year-old skilled idol-maker; superstitious and anxious.
- Sulochana — Gobinda's wife; simple, caring and secretly proud of her husband.
- Ranju — Gobinda's youngest son (13), who shows promise of taking up the family trade and helps his father.
- The eldest son — an irresponsible drifter who idles away his days fishing in the Mahanadi.
📚 Summary
Section I: It is a bad morning for Gobinda Maharana; a glass of tea slips from his hand. For three days in succession the trunk of the large Ganesha idol he is making has broken. A superstitious man, he fears the gods are angry with him for ‘meddling’ with their images, or that his greed (asking a high price) has angered ‘the Unknown’. His wife Sulochana, who is secretly proud of his skill, wonders if he is simply growing old.
Section II: The 61-year-old Gobinda has a large family. His eldest son is a lazy drifter, the second works in a paper mill, and only the youngest, Ranju (13), shows promise of the ancestral trade. Gobinda concludes there is ‘an element of the supernatural’ in the breaking. The idol stands near the open window, which he had shifted there for light. Ranju suspects the draught (wind) from the window, but Gobinda does not believe the wind could be the destroyer.
Section III: Father and son decide to keep watch at night from a dark corner. Ranju soon dozes off, but Gobinda stays awake. Late at night he hears a soft sound and sees, between the window bars, the shape of a cat crouched to jump. The cat leaps across and lands on top of Ganesha's trunk — breaking it. A smile beams across Gobinda's face: the ‘mystery’ was no god's anger or ghost, but only a cat. He gently wakes his son.
💡 Theme / Message
The story shows that superstition can be defeated by reason, patience and careful observation. What seemed a supernatural curse had a simple, natural cause — a cat. We should not blindly believe in supernatural powers; instead we should look for the real, logical reason behind strange events.
🏷️ Why ‘The Trunk of Ganesha’?
The whole story revolves around the repeated mysterious breaking of the trunk of a Ganesha idol. The trunk is the central object around which the suspense, fear and final discovery are built — so the title is apt.
📖 Glossary (Word Meanings)
| Word | Meaning |
|---|
| exorbitant | much bigger or much more expensive (than reasonable) |
| shards | pieces |
| surmise | guess |
| drifter | a person who leads an aimless life |
| carp | a large freshwater fish |
| flinched | moved back (in pain or fear) |
| draught | a current of air in an enclosed place |
| mannequin | a life-size dummy of a human body used in shop windows |
| superstition | a belief not based on reason or knowledge |
| icon / idol / image | a figure of a god made for worship |
| debris | scattered pieces / rubbish |
| intruder | one who enters a place without permission |
Section I — Answer the following questions
1Soon after his bath, what did Gobinda Maharana do?
At sunrise, after finishing his bath in the courtyard, Gobinda took a glass of tea from his wife's hand. But his fingers suddenly slackened and the glass slipped and fell from his hand.
2Why was he anxious in the morning?
He was anxious because for three days in succession the trunk of the Ganesha idol he was making had broken. The glass slipping from his hand was the first conscious sign of the fear (superstition) that was haunting him.
3What was Gobinda Maharana's trade?
He was an idol-maker (image-maker). He made clay idols of Durga, Ganesha and Siva. He had learnt this art from his father, who had learnt it from his own father.
4What was bothering him since the last three days?
The trunk of the large Ganesha idol he was making kept breaking — for three days in a row — and he could not understand why it was happening.
5Worried Gobinda gave reasons for the breaking of the trunk. What are they?
He thought: perhaps the gods were angry with him for meddling with their images; perhaps the clay lacked adhesive quality; perhaps the trunk was too heavy for the face to support; perhaps he was growing old; or perhaps his greed (asking an exorbitant price) had angered ‘the Unknown’.
6Sulochana did not want to question him about his work. What is the reason behind this?
She knew her husband was one of the best image-makers in the whole valley. The townsfolk often praised his work, and she nursed her pride in him secretly — so she did not want to question his skill.
7What thoughts came to Sulochana's mind when the trunk broke again on the third day?
She thought perhaps he was right that the gods were angry; or that he was growing older and his hands and eyesight were no longer as strong; or that his asking an exorbitant price for the idol had angered ‘the Unknown’.
8Do you think Gobinda had become old and weak, or was some supernatural power playing the trick?
It seemed possible that age had weakened his hands and eyes, and Gobinda himself feared a supernatural power. But as the story finally reveals, neither was true — the real cause was a natural one (a cat), which proves his superstition wrong.
Section II — Answer the following questions
1How old was Gobinda Maharana? Who were there in his family?
Gobinda was sixty-one years old. His family included his wife Sulochana; an eldest son (a drifter) with a wife and two children; a second son (an apprentice in a paper mill); and the youngest, Ranju, a 13-year-old.
2Was Gobinda happy with his eldest son? How did he spend his day?
No, he was not happy with his eldest son, who had turned out to be an irresponsible drifter. He spent his days away from home, fishing idly for shrimp and carp in the Mahanadi.
3List the changes that had come in the designing of the clay figures.
The idols were now given eye-catching new apparel, shades of luminous paint, and the goddesses were given slim and curved bodies — so that the gods would be ‘more in tune with the times’.
4Who was Ranju? What was his contribution to Gobinda's family?
Ranju was Gobinda's youngest son, aged thirteen. He alone of the three sons showed promise of taking up the ancestral profession of idol-making, which brought a measure of calm to his father's mind. He also helped his father mend the broken trunk.
5Where was the idol placed? Why did Gobinda keep the idol there?
The idol was placed close to the open window (about a metre away) on the northern wall. Gobinda had shifted it there deliberately so that more light would be available for his work and the wet clay would dry up sooner.
6Why did Ranju request Gobinda to close the window?
Ranju thought the draught (current of air/wind) coming from the open window might be breaking the trunk, so he suggested that the window should be closed.
7Did Gobinda think that the wind was responsible for the breaking of the trunk?
No. Gobinda thought the possibility of a gust of wind breaking the image was too remote. He decided, ‘Not the wind. It seems impossible.’
8Who could be the destroyer — the wind, the anger of God, or a supernatural element?
Gobinda ruled out the wind and feared a supernatural element or the gods' anger. But the truth, revealed later, was none of these — it was a cat, a simple natural cause.
Section III — Answer the following questions
1Why did Govinda tell his son to sit in the workroom?
He told his son to sit up and keep watch at night in the workroom, because he said, ‘That is the only way we will ever learn what's happening’ — i.e. to find out what was breaking the trunk.
2Why did he choose that particular place to sit?
He chose a dark corner about three metres from the window because from there they could watch the door, the window and the image all at the same time, unnoticed by any intruder.
3Was Ranju awake all through the night?
No. Ranju's initial excitement soon gave way to weariness. He yawned, dozed off and slumped to the floor, falling asleep, while his father stayed awake.
4What was Gobinda thinking in the darkness?
He was thinking about where the intruder would come from, whether it was really a supernatural act, and his own guilt. He kept his eyes glued to the darkness and the silence, waiting keenly for any sound.
5Who was the intruder? How was it coming into the room?
The intruder was a cat. It came crouched between the two vertical bars of the open window and then leapt across and landed on top of Ganesha's trunk — breaking it every night.
6Why did Govinda Maharana smile at the end?
He smiled because the mystery was solved — it was only a cat, not the anger of the gods or any supernatural power, that had been breaking the trunk. His superstitious fear was proved wrong, and in relief he gently began to wake his son.
D. Let's write — Answer in about 50 words each
1Why was Govinda Maharana worried? What thought came to his mind?
Gobinda was worried because the trunk of the Ganesha idol broke for three days in a row. A superstitious man, he thought the gods were angry with him for meddling with their images, or that some supernatural power was at work. This fear haunted and tormented him.
2What were Sulochana's reactions to the breaking of the trunk?
Sulochana looked at her husband with frightened eyes. She thought perhaps he was right that the gods were angry, or that he was growing old and his hands and eyesight were weakening. She lovingly told him he must be tired from working without a break.
3Why was she proud of her husband? How did she value his work?
She was proud because Gobinda was one of the best image-makers in the whole valley. She had often heard the townsfolk say it was hard to find better work than his. She valued his skill greatly and nursed her pride in secret, never questioning his work.
4Was Govinda Maharana superstitious? What proof do you get from the story?
Yes, he was deeply superstitious. When the glass slipped he took it as a sign of fear; he believed the gods were angry and that a supernatural power was breaking the trunk. His gloomy, tense, anxious behaviour throughout shows he was haunted by superstition.
5Who helped Govinda in repairing the trunk? How did they differ in their point of view about the breaking of the trunk?
His youngest son Ranju helped him repair the trunk. They differed in their views: Ranju believed the draught/wind from the open window was breaking it and wanted the window closed, but Gobinda did not believe the wind was responsible and thought it was something supernatural.
6Govinda Maharana thought of many reasons for the broken trunk. What are they?
His reasons were: the anger of the gods at his meddling; the clay lacking adhesive quality; the heavy trunk; his growing old with weak hands and eyes; his asking an exorbitant price that angered ‘the Unknown’; and the hand of a supernatural element.
7How did Govinda solve the mystery? What did he find?
Gobinda and Ranju kept watch at night from a dark corner of the workroom. Late at night Gobinda saw a cat crouch between the window bars and leap onto Ganesha's trunk, breaking it. Thus he found that a cat, not any god or supernatural power, was the real cause.