Learning Objectives
- Understand the humorous story and its twist ending
- Analyse character traits and motivations
- Identify the themes of memory, identity, and practical jokes
- Practice vocabulary and comprehension skills
Key Concepts
About the Story
Author: Satyajit Ray, the renowned Indian filmmaker and author. Translated from Bengali.
Theme: The power of suggestion, the fallibility of memory, and how doubt can be created in a person's mind. Also explores humour and the art of practical jokes.
Story Summary
Bepin Choudhury, a respectable businessman, visits a bookshop where a man named Parimal Ghose claims to know him from a trip to Ranchi in 1958. Ghose provides very specific details about the trip — that Bepin stayed with his host Haridas Bagchi, visited Dorajpur, Hudroo Falls, and Netarhat, and had a fall near Dorajpur that hurt his knee. Bepin has absolutely no memory of any such trip and is deeply disturbed.
Bepin's Confusion Grows
Bepin tries to verify the facts. He contacts Dinesh Mukerji, a friend who Ghose claimed was also on the trip, but Dinesh has gone abroad. He discovers that Haridas Bagchi, the supposed host, has moved to another city. He checks his knee and finds an old scar. Each piece of evidence seems to confirm the trip actually happened, making Bepin increasingly anxious. He fears he is losing his memory.
The Doctor and the Visit to Ranchi
Bepin consults a specialist doctor named Chanda, who says he has never encountered such a case and suggests Bepin revisit Ranchi to jog his memory. Bepin reluctantly goes to Ranchi but recognises nothing. He falls and injures himself at the Dorajpur temple, and returns home more confused and ill than before.
The Twist
While Bepin is ill in bed, he receives a letter from an old school friend named Chunilal. Chunilal had repeatedly asked Bepin for help finding a job, but Bepin had always refused and ignored him. In revenge, Chunilal engineered the entire scheme — he had coached Parimal Ghose to feed Bepin false details and created the elaborate hoax. The story ends with Bepin learning a lesson about treating old friends with more consideration.
Character Analysis
- Bepin Choudhury: Well-read, methodical, but somewhat self-centred and dismissive of friends in need
- Parimal Ghose: The stranger who convincingly plays his part in the practical joke
- Chunilal: The mastermind behind the hoax, driven by hurt feelings and a desire for revenge
Important Terms
- Lapse: A temporary failure or slip (especially of memory)
- Cranium: The skull; used humorously by the doctor
- Hallucination: Seeing or experiencing something that is not real
- Amnesia: Loss of memory
- Hoax: A deliberate trick or deception
- Practical joke: A prank played on someone for amusement
Quick Revision
- Author: Satyajit Ray (translated from Bengali)
- Bepin is told about a trip to Ranchi he does not remember
- Evidence seems to confirm the trip: old scar, specific details, missing witnesses
- Bepin fears memory loss; visits a doctor and then Ranchi itself
- Twist: the whole thing was a hoax planned by Chunilal as revenge for being ignored
- Moral: do not ignore old friends; be considerate to those who seek your help