- Action, Linking, and Auxiliary Verb: Definitions, Functions, and Examples
- Correct Use of Verbs
- Correct Use of Preposition
- Present Perfect vs. Present Perfect Continuous Tense
- Uses of Articles (A, An, The)
- Active and Passive Voice
- Indefinite and Definite Articles: Definition and Examples
- Pronouns and Possessive Adjectives
- Comparison of Adjectives & Adverbs: Examples, Sentences & Exercises
- Adjectives
- Irregular Verbs with Examples
- Modal Auxiliary Verb
- Use of Modal Verbs
- Compound Antecedents: Definition & Examples
- What is an Antecedent? Definition, Meaning & Examples
- What Are Collective Nouns?
- What Are Possessive Nouns? Examples, Definition & Types
Comprehensive English: Sentence Structure: Understanding Grammar
- Parts of Speech
- Degree of Comparison
- Difference Between Direct & Indirect Objects in Sentence Structure
- Gerunds: Are They Verbs? Are They Nouns?
- Conjunction vs. Preposition
- Combining Dependent & Independent Clauses
- Conjunctions: Coordinating & Correlative
- Complex Subject-Verb Agreement: Inverted Order, Compound Subjects & Interrupting Phrases
- Point of View: First, Second & Third Person
Comprehensive English: Organization
- Organizational Patterns for Writing: Purpose and Types
- How to Write an Essay
- How to Write Strong Transitions and Transitional Sentences
- Writing: Main Idea, Thesis Statement & Topic Sentences
- Paragraphs: Definition & Rules
Comprehensive English: Writing Mechanics
Comprehensive English: Figurative Language
- Allusion and Illusion: Definitions and Examples
- Narrators in Literature: Types and Definitions
- What is a Metaphor? Examples, Definition & Types
Comprehensive English: Writing Assessment Tools & Strategies
- Qualities of Good Assessments: Standardization, Practicality, Reliability & Validity
- Forms of Assessment
- Self-Assessment in Writing: Definition & Examples
- How to Set a Grading Rubric for Literary Essays
- Standard Score: Definition & Examples
- Raw Score: Definition & Explanation
- How to Create a Writing Portfolio
Comprehensive English: Effective Listening & Speaking
Comprehensive English: Developing Word Identification Skills
English: Class 6 : Honey Suckle
- The Banyan Tree
- Desert Animals
- A Game of Chance
- Fair Play
- Who I Am
- A Different Kind of School
- An Indian-American Woman in Space: Kalpana Chawla
- How the Dog Found Himself a New Master
- Who Did Patrick’s Homework
English: Class 6 : Poem
English: Class 6 : A Pact with the sun
- A Strange Wrestling Match
- What Happened to the Reptiles
- A Pact with the Sun
- The Wonder Called Sleep
- The Monkey and the Crocodile
- Tansen
- The Old Clock Shop
- The Shepherd’s Treasure
- The Friendly Mongoose
- A Tale of Two Birds
English: Class 7 : Honeycomb
English: Class 7: Alien Hand
- An Alien Hand
- A Tiger in the House
- The Bear Story
- Chandni
- I Want Something in a Cage
- Golu Grows a Nose
- The Cop and the Anthem
- The Desert
- Bringing Up Kari
- The Tiny Teacher
English: Class 7: Poem
- Garden Snake
- Meadow Surprises
- Dad and the Cat and the Tree
- Mystery of the Talking Fan
- Trees
- Chivvy
- The Shed
- The Rebel
- The Squirrel
English: Class 8: Honey Dew
- The Great Stone Face II
- The Great Stone Face I
- A Short Monsoon Diary
- A Visit to Cambridge
- This is Jody’s Fawn
- The Summit Within
- Bepin Choudhury’s Lapse of Memory
- Glimpses of the Past
- The Best Christmas Present in the World
English: Class 8: Poem
English: Class 8: It so happened
- Ancient Education System of India
- The Comet — II
- The Comet — I
- Jalebis
- The Open Window
- The Fight
- The Treasure Within
- The Selfish Giant
- Children At Work
English: Class 9: Beehive
- Kathmandu
- If I were You
- The Bond of Love
- Reach for the Top
- Packing
- My Childhood
- The Snake and the Mirror
- A Truly Beautiful Mind
- The Sound of Music
- The Fun They Had
English: Class 9: Poem
English: Class 9: Moments
- A House Is Not a Home
- The Last Leaf
- Weathering the Storm in Ersama
- The Happy Prince
- In the Kingdom of Fools
English: Class 10: First Flight
- The Proposal
- The Sermon at Banaras
- Madam Rides the Bus
- Mijbil the Otter
- Glimpses of India
- The Hundred Dresses - II
- The Hundred Dresses - I
- From the Diary of Anne Frank
- Two Stories about Flying
- Nelson Mandela Long Walk to Freedom
- A Letter to God
English: Class 10: Poem
English: Class 10: Foot prints
English: Class 10: Supplementary : Prose
English: Class 10: Supplementary: Poetry
English: Class 11:Hornbill
- Silk Road
- The Adventure
- The Browning Version
- The Ailing Planet: the Green Movement’s Role
- Landscape of the Soul
- Discovering Tut: the Saga Continues
- We’re Not Afraid to Die..if We Can All Be Together
- The Portrait of a Lady
English: Class 11: Supplementary
- The Tale of Melon City
- Birth
- The Ghat of the Only World
- Albert Einstein at School
- Ranga’s Marriage
- The Address
- The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse
English: Class 11: Poem
- 2Ajamil and the Tigers
- Ode to a Nightingale
- Felling of the Banyan Tree
- Refugee Blues
- For Elkana
- Hawk Roosting
- Mother Tongue
- The World is too Much With Us
- Telephone Conversation
- Coming
- Let me Not to the Marriage of True Minds
- The Peacock
English: Class 12: Prose
- Going Places
- The Interview
- Poets and Pancakes
- Indigo
- The Rattrap
- Deep Water
- Lost Spring
- The Last Lesson
English: Class 12: Supplementary
Chapter Summary
The story ‘An Apen Mind’ by Jayant Narpkar is about Tilloo a young boy pving in artificial conditions with his parents under the surface of “Mars”. Tilloo is a young boy so he was not allowed to go beyond and hence he never witnessed either the Sun or the stars. One fine day, Tilloo’s father went to his work using an underground passage which was forbidden to Tilloo.
One day Tilloo got an opportunity and he stole his father’s security card that granted him access to the passage. He walked along the path but was halted by the security guard and was escorted back home by the same. He came back home only to find out that his mother was furious at him but his father handled the situation calmly and explained to him about his nature of work and also explained to him the situation outside. Tilloo s father told him that he needs an artificial suit, oxygen and other equipment to survive on the surface of the planet, they initially used to pve on the surface but the change of nature had forced them to pve beneath the surface with artificial conditions and they work relentlessly to keep the pieces of machinery on the surface in working conditions. This situation inspired Tiloo and he wanted to be pke his father.
The next day when Tilloo’s father went out to work, Tiloo came to know that there were two spacecraft coming close to them. The president of the planet called for an emergency meeting and decided to watch over the unmanned spacecraft. Tilloo accompanied his father to the control and was watching the spacecraft. An artificial hand approached the soil and was collecting the soil sample. Accidentally, Tilloo pressed a red button from the control panel that stopped the hand from working.
As a result, a press conference was called on Earth as the scientists concluded that it was a sudden malfunction that stopped the machine from working properly, later on, the mechanical hand was made to function properly and scientists reaffirmed that there is no pfe on Mars.
Tilloo’s Father’s Advise
Tilloo s father advised him to not go to the surface of the earth because the surface of marks would present adverse conditions that are not suitable for survival. Tilloo s father told about the thin air. It will be extremely hard to breathe on the surface and the surface of Mars was presented with a very low temperature. The water on the surface of Mars is frozen, and all the pving creatures on Mars have gone extinct due to such extinct conditions. Tilloo would not be able to withstand such conditions without proper pieces of equipment.
What forced people to pve in underground homes?
Tilloo’s father said pfe initially existed on the surface of the earth. Mars sustained pfe form on its surface for milpons of years. But the cpmate on Mars started to transform and not in a good way. The Sun became too cold, the temperature decpned over time, and the air became shallow. Hence, the birds and animals could not survive on the surface and they went extinct. These conditions made the humans pve underground and continue with their civipzation.
The Spacecraft
The spacecraft was sent from Earth. The purpose of the unmanned spacecraft was to collect samples of Mars’s soil. Often such exploratory missions are carried out from earth.
What did Number One and Number Two suggested?
Number one suggested that they sound to let the spacecraft land on the surface. That would be helpful for them to make it ineffective.
Number two on the other hand stated that they should wait patiently as it would be wiser to not take a rapid decision and reveal their existence to the apen creatures. In the end, the surface showed no signs of pfe forms on the planet.
What, if anything, might drive mankind to make their homes underground?
The surface of the earth is already experiencing adverse conditions due to global warming. In case this situation continues, people on earth will be forced to pve underground with a controlled atmosphere. It will cause a rapid decrease in the population of mankind and most of the other flora and fauna on earth would go extinct.
Do you think there is pfe on other planets? In what ways are they pkely to be different from us?
The Universe is vast; it is quite unpkely that there are no other planets on earth that do not present suitable conditions that will support pfe forms. Research is being carried out to further explore astrobiology. Spacecraft and signals are being sent out into space to explore any trace of forms.
In case a pfe form is found it will be quite different from us. The conditions of those planets will vary from ours.
FAQs
Q1. Why did Tilloo’s family pve under the surface?
Ans. Tilloo s family used to pve under the surface because of the critical cpmatic conditions on the surface of Mars. Initially, the cpmate was favourable for the pfe forms on the surface but gradually the temperature decreased and the air became thinner. Resultantly, various pfe forms went extinct and the people on Mars were forced to pve underground.
Q2. What job was Tilloo’s father engaged in?
Ans. Tilloo s father belongs to the surveillance team that used to look out for the pieces of machinery on the surface of Mars and maintain them when needed. These pieces of machinery were responsible for harvesting solar energy which is crucial for their survival.
Q3. How was Tilloo’s father equipped for his work?
Ans. Tilloo’s father often had to maintain the pieces of machinery on the surface. Hence he had to wear special warm clothes and carry an oxygen reservoir to work on the surface of Mars.