English Class 9 Notes Chapter 9
Why is Zarin Gul different from other businessmen?
Zarin Gul is different from other businessmen because he works honestly. He did not waste time and resources on extravagance and opulence. Zarin Gul knew his art like the back of his hand and never failed to satisfy his customers.
How did the author come in touch with Zarin Gul Brothers?
The author got in touch with Zarin Gul Brothers when his father took him to his shop in Ramadan for ordering a new pair of shoes for Eid.
Describe the shoemaker and his shop.
The owner of the shop, a middle-aged man called Zarin Gul Kaka, was authoritative and confident in his knowledge about shoes. He had wrinkles on his smiling face.
What were Zarin Gul’s priorities in making shoes?
The priorities of Zarin Gul when making shoes were durability and suitability. His shoes always lasted for a long time.
What is the setting of the story?
The setting of the story is a shop in a small but busy street of Qissa Khawani Bazar in Peshawar. The interior of the shop had dim lighting, and it was quiet and serene. It only contained some old wooden stools, pairs of shoes, a big smooth square stone, a heavy wooden mallet, an awl, and three-legged anvil. A small signboard showing Zarin Gul & Brothers hung at the far end of the wall, while the rest of the shop was completely barren. Zarin Gul only made shoes that were ordered.
What is the conflict about in the story?
The conflict in the story is about the big shoe-making companies that did not make good shoes. The business of brilliant shoemakers like Zarin Gul was affected by them. According to Zarin Gul, they got it all because of advertisements and not by work.
What was the author’s opinion about Zarin Gul as a shoemaker?
The author’s opinion about Zarin Gul as a shoemaker was of admiration and respect. He saw Zarin Gul as an authoritative shoemaker, who was the best at his art.
Why did the author visit the shop for a long time?
Answer:
The author visited Zarin Gul’s shop after a long time because he left Peshawar to pursue his higher studies and career. He did not have the opportunity to visit Zarin Gul’s shop until he returned after several years.
What was Zarin Gul’s complaint against ‘big firms’?
Zarin Gul’s complaint against ‘big firms’ was that they used advertisement instead of their work to move forward in the shoemaking trade. According to him, they had no self-respect.
Q.10) Retell the story in the form of a dialogue.
The Fantastic Shoemaker
(It is a day in the holy month of Ramadan, a young boy is going somewhere with his father down a small but busy street. They pause in front of a monstrous sign in black, “Peshawari Chappal” overhung a faint coloured wooden door of a shop. They enter the shop. Its inside is quiet and serene as that of a sacred place.
There were some old wooden stools and, in the window, some pairs of shoes were visible. A big smooth square stone, a heavy wooden mallet, an awl, and three-legged anvil can be observed on the right side of the shop.
The rest of the shop is empty because the shoemaker only made shoes that were ordered. At the far end of the wall of the shop there hangs a small signboard, showing Zarin Gul & Brothers.)
Author (the young boy): Isn’t it awfully hard to make shoes in such tough conditions?
Zarin Gul: It is an art.
(At another visit)
Author: Zarin Gul Kaka, my last pair of shoes made a creaking sound, you know.
Zarin Gul: It shouldn’t have creaked.
Author: It did, I am afraid.
Zarin Gul: Send them back. I will look at them. Some shoes are bad from birth. If I can do nothing with them, I will give back the amount you paid for them.
(After fifteen years, the author visits Zarin Gul’s shop)
Zarin Gul: Do you want any shoes? I can make them quickly because I have plenty of free time.
(Zarin Gul sees the author’s branded shoes)
Zarin Gul: Those are not my shoes. (places his finger on a place on the author’s shoes) It hurts you there. Do the big shoe making companies have no self-respect? The big multinationals have extended their tentacles into the shoe-making trade. These big firms use their hands not their brains and experience.
Author: Why didn’t you join these big firms if your trade isn’t doing well?
Zarin Gul: I am an artist, not a machine who will blindly follow their irrational and stupid dictations. They get it all by advertisement, not by work.
Author: (after ordering many pairs of shoes out of pity) Let me pay you in advance.
Zarin Gul: No, pay it when the shoes are ready to deliver.
(A week later)
Author: (looking for Zarin Gul although the signboard of his shop has been replaced by that of a famous brand) Zarin Gul Kaka?
A young man: No, but we can attend to anything with pleasure. We’ve taken the shop over.
Author: Yes, yes. But where is Zarin Gul Kaka?
Young man: Oh! Dead.
Author: Dead! But I have to receive the shoes that I ordered last week.
Young man: Ah! Poor old man starved himself. Slow starvation, the doctor called it! He never gave himself time to eat; never had a penny in the house. All went in rent and leather.
Author: (going back with a heavy heart) Do the big shoe making companies have no self-respect?
Vocabulary
A) Find and underline the direct quotations enclosed marks from the context.
Answer:
1) “Isn’t it awfully hard to make shoes in such tough conditions?”
2) “It is an art.”
3) “Zarin Gul kaka, my last pair of shoes made a creaking sound, you know.”
4) “It shouldn’t have creaked.”
5) “It did, I am afraid,”
6) “Send them back,”
7) “I will look at them.”
8) “Some shoes are bad from birth. If I can do nothing with them, I will give back the amount you paid for them.”
9) “Do you want any shoes?”
10) “I can make them quickly because I have plenty of free time.”
11) “Those are not my shoes.”
12) “It hurts you there.”
12) “Do the big shoemaking companies have no self-respect?”
13) “These big firms use their hands not their brains and experience.”
14) “I am an artist, not a machine who will blindly follow their irrational and stupid dictations.”
15) “They get it all,”
16) “by advertisement, not by work.”
17) “pay it when the shoes are ready to deliver.”
18) “Zarin Gul Kaka.”
19) “No, sir.”
20) “No, but we can attend to anything with pleasure. We’ve taken the shop over.”
21) “Yes, yes. But where is Zarin Gul Kaka?”
22) “Oh! Dead.”
23) “Dead! But I have to receive the shoes that I ordered last week.”
24) “Ah! Poor old man starved himself. Slow starvation, the doctor called it! He never gave himself time to eat; never had a penny in the house. All went in rent and leather.”
B) Rewrite five sentences from the story which have adverbs.
Answer:
1) The interior of the shop was was calm and quiet as that of a worship place.
2) The shoes made by Zarin Gul always fit and they were very durable.
3) Is it not very difficult to make shoes in such hard conditions?
4) I can make them very fast because I have lots of free time.
5) He spoke about the big multi-nationals with resentment.
C) Find the meanings of the following phrases and use in sentences
- 1) look up
- 2) look down
- 3) look after
- 4) look in
- 5) look out
Answer:
1) look up: I looked up the meaning of that word online.
2) look down: He looks down on poor people.
3) look after: I asked her to look after my cat.
4) look in: Did you look for the fabric in the other shop?
5) look out: My father always looks out for me.
Writing
A) Write down the summary of the story The Fantastic Shoemaker.
Summary – The Fantastic Shoemaker
The author, Waheedullah, recalls the story of Zarin Gul, the fantastic shoemaker. Through the first time he met Zarin Gul, the author describes his shop and the shoemaker’s personality. Zarin Gul Kaka was an authoritative man, confident in his art. The author tells us how Zarin Gul’s shoes had incredible durability. When the author visited the shop after fifteen years, he learned from Zarin Gul the condition of his business.
Zarin Gul told him bitterly about the big multinational companies who, according to him, have no respect. The author ordered several pairs of shoes. When he came back a week later to receive them, the shop had been taken over by a famous shoe brand.
He learned that Zarin Gul had passed away, dying from slow starvation because he never had enough money to eat. He goes back home with a heavy heart. From this story, we learn that hardworking people are suffering because of the unfair means that some use to move forward in their career. We must always work honestly and use our skills to live our best life.
B) Write a story at least 100 words with the help of the following beginning.
It was a stormy night. Saad was sleeping in his bedroom. All of sudden …………………..
It was a stormy night. Saad was sleeping in his bedroom. All of a sudden he heard a loud crashing noise. Alarmed, he jolted up from the bed and immediately ran out of his room into the hallway. The noise had stopped, and it was eerily quiet.
As he padded down the hallway, his mind supplied him with a scene from the horror movie he and his siblings had been watching a few nights ago. He paused and heaved a deep sigh, trying to calm his heart. It felt like it would jump out of his chest.
The noise had come from the kitchen. When he entered the kitchen, he saw something strange. A cat, as white as snow, sat nonchalantly in the moonlight in front of the kitchen shelf. The shelf had been toppled over. Before Saad could react, his parents joined him in the kitchen. They later learned that their neighbour’s cat had somehow gotten into their house and wreaked havoc. Saad tells this story often, making everyone laugh every time.
C) Write a personal narrative/autobiography.
As I blew the candles that flickered on my birthday cake, I looked at the smiling faces of my loved ones. I realized that even if I may forget it at times, and may cause damage to my relationships with these people, they have and will always love me. At age 14, I experienced a profound moment that impacted my mindset.
Even when I was younger, I always had a negative chain of thoughts. But that changed on my birthday. My father once told me that everyone experiences this awakening. Some experience it when they are older while others are lucky enough to mature at a young age. I think I might be one of those lucky few.
With 14 years of life experience (at least 8 of which I barely knew what I was doing), I cannot say I have many accomplishments. I have won sports competitions and earned high positions in my academics, and I have even volunteered at a shelter. These experiences seem insignificant to others, but to me, they made me who I am.
I was born in Peshawar on a chilly morning in November. At age 7, I came first in my class in my annual examinations and made my family proud. After that, I held a position every year until 8th grade, in which I failed in my midterms for the very first time. It shocked my family and teachers and shook me out of the slump I had been in. I realized that failure is possible and it is a terrifying thing. I again won the first position in the annual exams of my 8th grade.
I believe in challenging myself. I participate in activities that may tire me, and they make me grow. My life has only started, and I pray to Allah that I continue to excel in life and grow into a successful individual.
