1. Introduction to A Gift of Chappals
Hello students! Welcome to the complete study notes for Class 7 English Chapter 2: “A Gift of Chappals” (JAC Board & NCERT). Written by Vasantha Surya, this story beautifully captures the innocence, mischief, and pure-hearted compassion of children. The chapter highlights how children perceive the world differently from adults and how their innocent act of helping a poor beggar leads to a highly entertaining family drama. Let’s explore the chapter in detail!
2. Characters Detail
- Mridu: A young girl growing up in Madras (Chennai) who goes to visit her cousins.
- Ravi & Meena: Mridu’s mischievous but kind-hearted cousins who secretly adopt a kitten.
- Lalli: Another cousin who is struggling to learn how to play the violin.
- The Music Master: A strict, bony, and bald music teacher who wears a gold chain and a diamond ring.
- The Beggar: A poor old man with pink, peeling blisters on his feet due to walking barefoot on hot roads.
- Rukku Manni: Ravi’s mother, who is strict and gets angry easily.
3. Full Summary: A Gift of Chappals Class 7
Mridu’s Visit and the Secret Kitten
Mridu, a young girl from Madras, visits her aunt Rukku Manni’s house to meet her cousins Lalli, Ravi, and Meena. As soon as she arrives, Ravi secretly drags her to the backyard. Behind a thick bitter-berry bush, he shows her a tiny kitten drinking milk from a coconut shell. The children have secretly adopted the kitten and named it Mahendran. Ravi boasts about the kitten’s fictional royal ancestry, claiming it is a descendant of the Pallava kings.
Lalli’s Violin Lesson
Suddenly, Mridu hears a strange, screeching sound. Ravi explains that it is Lalli trying to learn the violin. They peek through the window and see the music master, a bony man with a bald head and a fringe of oiled black hair, playing beautiful melodies. Lalli, on the other hand, is struggling to play properly and keeps missing the notes, making terrible sounds.
The Beggar’s Arrival
Their attention is broken when a beggar comes to the gate, calling for alms. Rukku Manni is frustrated and tells Ravi to send the beggar away, saying he has been coming every day for a week. The beggar pleads that he just wants to rest under the neem tree for a few minutes because the tar has melted on the hot road, and he has large, peeling blisters on his bare feet.
The Gift of Chappals
Seeing the beggar’s blistered feet, the children feel deep pity. They decide he urgently needs a pair of slippers (chappals). Mridu remembers seeing an odd-looking, sturdy pair of chappals in the verandah when she arrived. The children quietly pick up those chappals and give them to the beggar. The beggar blesses the children and leaves the place in a hurry, overjoyed with his unexpected gift.
The Missing Chappals and Gopu Mama’s Sacrifice
Later, the music master comes out after his lesson and searches for his chappals. Everyone starts looking for them. Rukku Manni realizes the children might be involved. When questioned, Mridu tearfully confesses that they gave the master’s chappals to the beggar because he had boils on his feet. An angry Rukku Manni scolds them and quickly brings out Gopu Mama’s brand new, hardly-worn chappals to give to the music master. The music master pretends to be reluctant but is secretly thrilled to get new chappals. The story ends with a humorous thought: what will Gopu Mama say when he finds out his new chappals were given away?
4. Multiple Choice Questions (10 MCQs)
Q1. Who is the author of “A Gift of Chappals”?
(a) Ruskin Bond | (b) R.K. Narayan | (c) Vasantha Surya | (d) Leo Tolstoy
Answer: (c) Vasantha Surya
Q2. Where was the small kitten kept hidden?
(a) In the kitchen | (b) In the bedroom | (c) In the backyard behind a bush | (d) On the roof
Answer: (c) In the backyard behind a bush
Q3. What was the full name given to the kitten by Ravi?
(a) Tommy | (b) Mahendravarman Pallava Poonai | (c) Shera | (d) Kitty
Answer: (b) Mahendravarman Pallava Poonai
Q4. What was Lalli learning to play?
(a) Guitar | (b) Sitar | (c) Flute | (d) Violin
Answer: (d) Violin
Q5. Why did the beggar need the chappals?
(a) Because it was raining | (b) He had blisters on his feet from the hot road | (c) He wanted to sell them | (d) He was going to a party
Answer: (b) He had blisters on his feet from the hot road
Q6. Whose chappals did the children give to the beggar?
(a) Gopu Mama’s | (b) Rukku Manni’s | (c) The Music Master’s | (d) Ravi’s
Answer: (c) The Music Master’s
Q7. What was the music master wearing around his neck?
(a) A silver chain | (b) A gold chain | (c) A pearl necklace | (d) A tie
Answer: (b) A gold chain
Q8. How did the music master react when he got Gopu Mama’s new chappals?
(a) He threw them away | (b) He started crying | (c) He was secretly happy but pretended to be reluctant | (d) He complained to the police
Answer: (c) He was secretly happy but pretended to be reluctant
Q9. What did Ravi bring in a tumbler for the kitten?
(a) Water | (b) Juice | (c) Milk | (d) Tea
Answer: (c) Milk
Q10. Who was strict and ordered the beggar to be sent away?
(a) Mridu | (b) Rukku Manni | (c) Gopu Mama | (d) Paati
Answer: (b) Rukku Manni
5. Short Answer Questions (30-40 Words)
Q1. What is the secret that Meena shares with Mridu in the backyard?
Ans. Meena shares the secret that they have found a small kitten outside the gate that morning. They kept it hidden in the backyard behind a thick bitter-berry bush so the elders wouldn’t find out.
Q2. Why was Ravi frustrated with the elders?
Ans. Ravi was frustrated because elders always preach to be kind to animals, but when children actually bring an animal home, the elders scream and call it a ‘dirty creature’.
Q3. Describe the appearance of the music master.
Ans. The music master was a bony man with a mostly bald head and a fringe of oiled black hair. He wore a gold chain around his neck and a diamond ring on his hand.
Q4. Why did the beggar not want to leave immediately?
Ans. The beggar didn’t want to leave because the afternoon heat had melted the tar on the road. He had large, pink peeling blisters on his bare feet and just wanted to rest under the neem tree for a while.
Q5. How did the music master react to getting Gopu Mama’s chappals?
Ans. The music master was secretly delighted to receive the brand new, sturdy chappals. However, to maintain his dignity, he pretended to be reluctant and unhappy about losing his own old chappals.
6. Long Answer Questions (60-80 Words)
Q1. How did Ravi manage to get milk for the hidden kitten?
Ans. Getting milk for the kitten was a tough task for Ravi. Paati (grandmother) saw him holding a glass of milk. To avoid suspicion, he had to pretend he was very hungry. He drank most of the milk in front of her to prove it, leaving only a little. He then ran to the backyard, poured the remaining milk into a coconut shell for the kitten, and rushed back to wash the tumbler before Paati could get angry.
Q2. Why did the children give away the music master’s chappals? What does it show about their character?
Ans. The children saw the poor beggar’s bare feet, which were covered with large, pink, peeling blisters due to the hot tar on the road. Feeling deep pity, they searched the house and found an old, sturdy pair of chappals (which belonged to the music master) and gave them to him. This act shows that the children were highly innocent, compassionate, and possessed pure empathy. Unlike adults, they cared more about a suffering human being than the material value of an item.
Q3. What is the irony in the story “A Gift of Chappals”?
Ans. The irony lies in the behavior of the adults. Adults constantly teach children to be kind and generous to the poor. However, when the children practically applied this lesson by giving the music master’s chappals to a blistered beggar, they were heavily scolded. To fix the issue, Rukku Manni ironically gave away Gopu Mama’s brand new chappals to the music master, essentially doing the same thing the children did—giving away someone else’s belongings to solve a problem!
