NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Kaveri Chapter 4 – Vitamin-M

frail — weak and delicate; shuddered — trembled with fear or at an unpleasant memory; poky — small and cramped; forbid — to order someone not to do something; pottering — moving about doing small, unhurried jobs; winced — made a small expression of pain or embarrassment. (Tick the self-assessment columns as per your own familiarity with each word.)

My grandmother taught my mother — and now me — her recipe for festival kheer, made with hand-pounded rice and a pinch of saffron from a little silver box that belonged to her mother. Every time we make it, the kitchen fills with the same fragrance she grew up with. The recipe connects three generations: it reminds me that I carry my family’s story in something as simple as a sweet dish, and it makes festivals feel like a chain of memories rather than a single day.

I. Why did Grandpa dislike living in the city with his daughter?
Grandpa hated the noise and bustle of city life and found the flat poky and cramped. He longed for his small brick house in town, with its big mango tree and such silence that at dusk one could even hear a leaf fall. Above all, he resented losing his independence — being forbidden to go out alone after looking after himself for seventy-five years.

II. Why did Vidya not want her father to go out alone?
Because his recent record frightened her: he had absent-mindedly taken a double dose of his medicines and landed in hospital, he had got lost while out on a walk, and a month earlier he had slipped in his garden and lain outside all night with no one to help. She felt it was simply too dangerous for him to be out by himself.

III. Was Ravi in favour of his mother treating Grandpa like a child? How can you say so?
No. Ravi winced at the over-loud tone his mother used while speaking to Grandpa, as though addressing a child who could not hear or understand. When Grandpa suspiciously asked whether his mother had told Ravi to keep him a prisoner, Ravi loyally insisted that she would never treat him like a baby or a prisoner — showing he disliked the disrespect even while obeying his mother.

IV. Would Ravi be able to keep up his promise to his mother?
It seems unlikely. Grandpa is strong-willed, crafty and determined to keep his independence — he outwits Ravi within minutes by extracting an admission that he is not a prisoner. The best Ravi can manage is to follow him secretly and hope to keep him from harm.

Grandpa goes out to get the Tamil newspaper → Ravi follows Grandpa → Grandpa first stops at 1. the children’s park, buys 2. a paper-cone of peanuts and watches the children play → Ravi hides behind a bush to observe → Grandpa next goes to 3. the tea stall → Ravi hides behind a banyan tree and watches → Ravi gets scolded by 4. the little boy’s mother and the vendors → Grandpa drinks 5. a sugary cup of tea and eats two bananas (and an ice cream) → Grandpa then crosses the road and enters a 6. barber shop → Next Grandpa walks quickly to a 7. bus stop and boards the first bus → Ravi enters the bus only to discover that he had been fooled.

II. Was Grandpa lost as feared by Ravi’s mother?
Not at all. Grandpa enjoyed a perfectly planned outing — peanuts in the park, tea-stall treats, a visit to the barber shop, a bus ride — and reached home safely before Ravi did. Far from being lost, he was completely in command of his day.

III. How would Ravi feel after seeing Grandpa (asleep at home)?
Ravi felt immense relief and a sudden rush of love. After hours of panic, he knelt by the bed, pressed his cheek against his grandfather’s wrinkled face, breathed in the familiar smell of eucalyptus ointment and shaving cream, and hugged him.

IV. Do you think Ravi’s mother will get to know about what had happened?
Probably not the full story. Ravi cannot tell her without confessing that he let Grandpa go out and then lost him, and Grandpa — though he slyly mentions that Ravi “disappeared” — keeps the secret with a twinkle in his eye. The episode remains a private joke between grandfather and grandson.

I. Describe how Ravi’s emotional reaction upon finding Grandpa safe at home reveals his feelings towards his grandfather.
Ravi’s anxiety dissolves into pure tenderness. He kneels by the bed, lays his cheek against the old man’s creased face, notices lovingly its map-like wrinkles and its familiar smell, and hugs the sleeping Grandpa. The gesture shows that his care is not mere duty to his mother — he deeply loves and treasures his grandfather.

II. What might be the significance of Grandpa’s habit of giving gifts to everyone on his birthday rather than receiving them?
It reveals his generosity and self-respect. He does not wait to be remembered or honoured; instead he turns his birthday into an occasion of giving, treating even his grown daughter and son-in-law as his ‘babies’. The habit also quietly proves his memory is excellent — he remembers the date his own daughter forgot.

III. Why do you think Grandpa gave Ravi a detective story book as a gift? What might this suggest about Grandpa’s awareness of Ravi’s actions earlier in the day?
The gift is Grandpa’s mischievous way of saying “I knew you were following me.” His remark that the book teaches “how to avoid getting fooled when one is trailing a suspect” shows he had spotted his clumsy shadow all along — and perhaps even staged the cap trick to shake him off. It proves Grandpa’s sharp observation, sense of humour and affectionate forgiveness.

(i) Choose the emotion displayed by the Grandfather.
C. nostalgic — he speaks longingly of the home and life he has left behind.

(ii) Grandpa hated the busy and noisy city life because ______.
…he was used to the peace of his small-town house, where it was so quiet at dusk that one could even hear a leaf fall.

(iii) Why did Grandpa come to the city despite his dislike for city life?
Because one evening he slipped and fell while pottering in his garden and lay outside all night with no one to help him up. After that, his daughter locked up the brick house and brought him to live with her family.

(iv) Choose an expression similar in meaning to ‘you can even hear a leaf fall’.
D. pin drop silence

(v) State one advantage and one disadvantage of the Grandfather living in the house in town.
Advantage: peace, fresh air, his own garden with the big mango tree, and complete independence. Disadvantage: he lived all alone, so in an emergency — like his fall — there was nobody to help him.

(i) Choose the option that displays the tone of the Grandfather’s response.
C. calm — he answers “coolly”, enjoying his private joke.

(ii) Why was Ravi confused and embarrassed?
Because Grandpa had casually exposed his absence from home. Ravi could not defend himself without confessing the truth — that he had been secretly following Grandpa all day and had even been given the slip.

(iii) Ravi’s mother was impatient because ______.
…she thought her father’s memory had failed again — that he had confused the date and forgotten Ravi’s birthday was three months ago.

(iv) True or False: Grandfather forgot that Ravi’s birthday was three months ago.
False — Grandpa knew perfectly well; the gifts were for his own birthday, on which he always gives presents to every child in the house.

(v) Why did Grandpa say he didn’t know what kind of morning Ravi might have had?
It was his sly, playful way of revealing that he knew Ravi had not stayed at home — that the boy had “disappeared” to trail him. Without telling on Ravi directly, he let him know that the old detective had outdetected the young one.

1. Grandpa is portrayed as a person with failing memory in the beginning. Give two evidences to disprove the statement.
First, Grandpa remembers thousands of chess games in detail — he can quote the exact opening Karpov played against the computer and the mistake Bobby Fischer made against Spassky. Second, he remembers his own birthday and his lifelong custom of giving gifts on it — the very date his daughter forgot despite circling it in red on the calendar. (His spotting of Ravi trailing him is a third proof.)

2. Give two characteristic traits of each character.
Grandfather: fiercely independent and crafty-witted; generous and affectionate (gifts his cap to a stranger, gives presents to all). Ravi: caring and loyal towards both mother and grandfather; determined but comically inexperienced as a ‘detective’. Ravi’s mother: loving and anxious for her father’s safety; ironically forgetful and somewhat patronising in her manner towards him.

3. Why was Ravi worried about what Grandfather had at the tea stall?
Because Grandpa happily consumed everything forbidden to him at home — a sugary cup of tea, two bananas and an ice cream from a cart. Ravi knew these were banned for health reasons and that his mother would faint if she ever found out.

4. Do you think it was easy for Ravi to follow his Grandfather? If no, why not?
No, it was a comedy of disasters. He had to crouch behind an elephant-shaped bush, was threatened by a little boy’s umbrella-waving mother, was surrounded and scolded by loud vendors under the banyan tree, was thrown out of a ladies’ hairdressing salon amid shrieks, and had to sprint and leap onto a moving bus — only to discover he had been fooled by the yellow cap.

5. ‘Ravi is a good detective.’ Give one argument in favour of and against the statement.
For: he is persistent and quick — he keeps Grandpa in sight across a park, a tea stall and a road crossing, and even catches a moving bus. Against: he is clumsy and conspicuous — children, mothers and vendors all notice him, and he is completely taken in by the simple trick of the gifted yellow cap.

6. Was Grandfather aware that Ravi was following him? How do you know?
Yes. His birthday gift to Ravi is a book of detective stories, recommended “solemnly” for tips on how to avoid getting fooled when trailing a suspect; he also tells Vidya that Ravi “just disappeared” all morning. The twinkle in his eye suggests he not only spotted his shadow but may have planned the cap trick to escape him.

7. In your opinion, who needs Vitamin-M? And why?
Ravi’s mother. The story opens with her wishing for a memory vitamin for the old — and closes with the revelation that she has forgotten her own father’s birthday, a date she herself circled in red. Grandpa’s memory, by contrast, proves razor-sharp. The irony teaches us not to assume that age alone weakens the mind.

8. Give an example where opinions were disregarded because of age.
(Model answer) In our colony meeting, my seventy-year-old neighbour suggested rainwater harvesting, but the younger members brushed him aside as ‘old-fashioned’ — until an engineer made the same proposal a month later and everyone applauded. I have also seen the reverse: a class suggestion of mine was ignored ‘because children don’t understand these things’. Both show how age bias makes us deaf to good ideas.

Detective paragraph: 1. trailing  2. bustle  3. briskly  4. thudded  5. twirling  6. crouch  7. creeping  8. grunted  9. sprinted (sprinting)  10. snoring

1. QUANDARY   2. PREDICAMENT

1. embarrassed — (v) felt uncomfortable  |  2. countered — (iv) reply to an argument  |  3. flushed — (vi) became red in the face  |  4. stricken — (i) affected severely by an unpleasant feeling  |  5. gleam — (iii) expression of emotion (a flash in the eyes). Extra meaning: (ii) to be confused.

Prepositions in the phrases: 1. across (to)  2. over  3. under  4. behind

Paragraph: I walked (i) through the village, crossed a bridge (ii) over a brook, and found a quiet garden (iii) near a cottage. Sitting on a bench (iv) in the garden, I enjoyed the peaceful surroundings. Later, I strolled (v) along a riverbank, exploring the forest and heading (vi) towards the unknown.

A. The words in the quotes are (i) interrogative sentences.
B. Sentences 1, 4, and 5 are (ii) Yes/No type interrogative sentences.
C. Sentences 2 and 3 are (iii) Wh- type interrogative sentences.
D. So, there are (iv) two types of interrogative sentences.

Arvind asked Priya if she 1. helped in taking care of her grandparents at home, for which Priya replied in the affirmative and said that they 2. took turns making sure they were alright. Priya further asked Arvind 3. if he had grandparents living with him. Arvind replied in the negative and said that 4. he and his parents visited his grandpa every weekend. He further enquired 5. how she managed her grandparents’ medical needs. Priya responded by saying that they 6. had a schedule for giving medications and visits to the doctor.

1. Meditation is a form of yoga that usually refreshes the mind and helps with stress management.
2. Meditation leads to a better health condition both physically and emotionally.
3. Meditation also aids in lessening undesirable feelings and improving self-awareness.
4. It is advised that we meditate every day so that it becomes a routine.
5. Meditating on a daily basis is beneficial in comfortably tackling exam-related pressure.

Falling intonation (Wh-): “What did you both do today?” ↘ | Rising intonation (Yes/No): “Are you playing hide and seek?” ↗ “Have you forgotten?” ↗ | Rise-fall (choice): “Shall we play chess ↗ or watch the cricket match on TV?” ↘

The person I had the privilege of taking care of was my grandfather, during the fortnight after his knee operation. I took on the responsibility of giving him his medicines on time, reading the newspaper headlines to him and walking him slowly on the terrace each evening. Caring for him taught me valuable lessons about myself: I discovered patience I never knew I had, and I learned that I possess the ability to put another person’s comfort before my own entertainment. Understanding his needs, I learned that the elderly value conversation and respect even more than physical help; his frustration at needing support showed me how hard it is to surrender independence. Caring for him deepened my understanding of ageing — and, like Ravi in our story, I learned never to underestimate a grandparent’s spirit.

Choose the picture showing a shiny-black mahogany walking stick with a brass handle carved in the shape of an eagle’s head — that is Grandpa’s stick as described in the story.

Slide 1: A photo clicked at my grandparents’ village home during Diwali 2024. The people are my grandparents, my parents, my sister and I on the terrace, lighting diyas. It is memorable because it was the last Diwali at the old house before we moved — and the lamps in my grandmother’s hands look like the stars she always compared us to. (Prepare 4–5 such slides.)

In the story, a little boy at a spring fair desires sweets, flowers, balloons and a ride, but is refused or moves on, until he suddenly finds his parents gone. A kind stranger offers him everything he had wanted — the roundabout, the music, the balloons, the garland, the sweets — but the weeping child refuses each with the same cry: “I want my mother, I want my father!” The story shows that a child’s deepest need is not things but the security of loved ones — a fitting companion to Vitamin-M, where love across generations outweighs every other care.

Q1. What was ‘Vitamin-M’, and who first wished for it? (30–40 words)
Vitamin-M was an imaginary ‘memory vitamin’ that Ravi’s mother wished someone would invent for old people, to improve their memories. Ironically, by the end of the story Grandpa suggests that she herself needs it.

Q2. Describe Grandpa’s appearance when he set out for his walk. (30–40 words)
He wore his usual white pyjama and shirt with a bright-yellow cap, and carried his beautiful shiny-black mahogany walking stick with a brass handle carved like an eagle’s head, twirling it jauntily as he went.

Q3. How did Grandpa’s chess talk amaze Ravi? (30–40 words)
Grandpa played cool, cunning chess and quoted historic games — Karpov’s opening against the computer, Fischer’s mistake against Spassky. Ravi marvelled that a man who forgot people’s names could remember thousands of chess games.

Q4. How was Ravi fooled on the bus? (30–40 words)
Following the yellow cap, Ravi boarded the bus and pushed to the front — but the cap-wearer was a stranger in similar white clothes. The generous Grandpa had gifted his cap to the man because it was a hot day.

Q5. Sketch the character of Grandpa. (100–120 words)
Grandpa is the story’s triumphant hero — a seventy-five-year-old retired lawyer who refuses to be written off. He is fiercely independent, having cooked, shopped and kept house alone for ten years after his wife’s death, and he resents being caged in a poky city flat. His mind is needle-sharp: he remembers championship chess games, his own birthday and every detail of the day, including his clumsy young shadow. He is mischievous and crafty, outwitting both daughter and grandson, yet deeply generous — gifting his cap to a sweating stranger and presents to all his ‘babies’ on his birthday. Above all, he carries his age with dignity, humour and an unbeatable twinkle in the eye.

Q6. What message does the story ‘Vitamin-M’ convey about the elderly? (100–120 words)
The story gently dismantles our prejudices about old age. The family assumes Grandpa is frail, forgetful and helpless — needing supervision like a child — yet every event proves the opposite: he plans a full day out, navigates the city confidently, performs quiet acts of kindness and outsmarts his teenage ‘bodyguard’ completely. Meanwhile the ‘capable’ adult of the house forgets her own father’s birthday. The message is clear: age may slow the body, but it need not dull the mind or spirit; the elderly deserve respect, trust and independence, not patronising over-protection. Care for them must be built on dignity — talking with them, not down to them — for as Grandpa proves, the old can still teach the young a trick or two.