Expert Detectives Chapter 6 Summary and Question Answers

Here is a new blog post in Class 7th English. “Expert Detectives” is Chapter 6 taken from the newly introduced textbook Melody English for students of Class 7^th of JKBOSE and Honeycomb English for NCERT students. An Indian author and historian Sharada Dwivedi (from the Broken Flute) wrote it. This post concerns Expert Detectives Chapter 6 Summary and Question Answers. In my previous post, you read about Trees Poem 5 Melody English Summary and Question Answers with you. So, let’s not waste any more time and get started with today’s post.

Expert Detectives Chapter 6 Summary and Question Answers

Introduction

Two children Nishad and his sister Maya are curious to know about Mr. Nath. Maya thinks that he is a crook and an escaped criminal. Maya makes a list of points to know more about Nath Nishad and collects information about Mr. Nath from Ramesh, who takes meals and tea for him. In the end, Nishad decides to be friendly with Mr. Nath. He does not believe that Mr. Nath is a criminal.

Expert Detectives Chapter 6 Word Meanings

Expert Detectives Chapter 6 Summary in English

Maya and her 7-year-old brother Nishad were always curious about Mr. Nath, a thin and seemingly starved man living alone at Shankar House. Their mother, a patient of Mr. Nath, had been there for over a year. Maya, aged 10, considered him a criminal due to a suspicion of hidden money, while Nishad saw him as a lonely soul without proper means of support. Despite their differing views, both siblings agreed that there was something peculiar about Mr. Nath.

One day, during their playtime, a marble rolled into Mr Nath’s room, prompting Maya and Nishad to venture inside to retrieve it. This accidental encounter led to further speculation about Mr. Nath’s identity. Maya, not having witnessed the chocolate bar incident, suspected a conspiracy involving Mr Nath and his Sunday visitor, whom Nishad described as a chatty, tall, fair, heavy, and bespectacled man.

Nishad, on the other hand, found Mr Nath quite ordinary, and he was determined to befriend the lonely man. He took the initiative on a Monday after their mother’s birthday, offering Mr Nath a chocolate bar as a gesture of kindness. When Nishad shared this with Maya, she was sad to have missed the encounter but remained determined to uncover more about Mr. Nath’s background.

Nishad, curious about the man, spoke with Ramesh, who supplied food to Mr. Nath from a restaurant. Ramesh revealed that a visitor came every Sunday, but Mr Nath didn’t seem interested in the food. Maya, however, interpreted these details as part of a grand scheme, believing the visitor to be an accomplice in a crime. Nishad, perplexed by his sister’s suspicions, still considered Mr. Nath ordinary.

Despite Maya’s attempts to convince Nishad of Mr. Nath’s potential criminal nature, he remained steadfast in his decision to befriend the lonely man. Maya, realizing the futility of their prying, expressed frustration at Nishad’s inflexible attitude. As their school was set to reopen after the summer holidays, Maya decided to document their observations about Mr Nath. In her write-up, she highlighted the perceived fear people had of him, his unfriendly demeanour, and the absence of mail.

In the end, Maya and Nishad’s differing perspectives on Mr. Nath’s identity highlighted the complexity of human perceptions and the mysterious nature of the man living in Shankar House.

Comprehension Check

1. What does Nishad find out about Mr. Nath from Ramesh? Arrange the information as suggested below.

(i) What he eats

(ii) When he eats

(iii) What he drinks, and when

(iv) How he pays.

Ans. (i) He is not very particular about what he eats. It is always the same food – two chapatis, some dal and a vegetable. 

(ii) Mr Nath takes two meals a day, one in the morning and the other in the evening. 

(iii) He takes two cups of tea, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

(iv) He used to pay in cash and also used to give tips to Ramesh.

2. Why does Maya think Mr. Nath is a crook? Who does she say the Sunday visitor is?

Ans. Maya thinks that Mr. Nath is a crook because he hardly talks to anyone and has no friends She thinks that he is an escaped criminal who has a lot of money looted by him and he has scars on his face due to shoot out with police. Moreover, he does not work and sits in his room all day. Maya thinks that the Sunday visitor is his accomplice or a helper in crime visits to give him his share.

3. Does Nishad agree with Maya about Mr. Nath? How does he feel about him?

Ans. I don’t think Nishad agrees with Maya about Mr. Nath. He thinks that Mr. Nath is a lonely person and a poor person who is starving for food. He thinks that he was a kind man who give tip to Ramesh despite having less money.

Working with Language Page No. 93

1. The word ‘tip’ has only three letters but many meanings. 

Match the word with its meanings below.

(i) finger tips – be about to say something

(ii) the tip of your nose – make the boat overturn 

(iii) tip the water out of the bucket – the ends of one’s fingers

(iv) have something on the tip of your tongue – give a rupee to him, to thank him

(v) tip the boat over – empty a bucket by tilting it

(vi) tip him a rupee – the pointed end of your nose

(vii) the tip of the bat – if you take this advice

(viii) the police were tipped off – the bat lightly touched the ball

(ix) if you take my tip – the end of the bat

(x) the bat tipped the ball – the police were told, or warned 

Ans. (i) finger tips – the end of one’s fingers

(ii) the tip of your nose – the pointed end of your nose

(iii) tip the water out of the bucket – empty a bucket by tilting it

(iv) have something on the tip of your tongue – be about to say something

(v) tip the boat over – make the boat overturn

(vi) tip him a rupee – give a rupee to him, to thank him

(vii) the tip of the bat – the end of the bat,

(viii) the police were tipped off – the police were told, or warned. 

(ix) if you take my tip – if you take this advice 

(x) the bat tipped the ball – the bat lightly touched the ball. 

2. The words helper, companion, partner and accomplice have very similar meanings, but each word is typically used in certain phrases. Can you fill in the blanks below with the most commonly used words? A dictionary may help you. 

(i) business ……

(ii) my …. on the journey

(iii) I’m mother’s little……….. 

(iv) a faithful ……….. such as a dog

(v) the thief’s ……….. 

(vi) find a good ……….. 

(vii) tennis/ golf/ bridge ……….. 

(viii) his …….in his criminal activities

Ans. (i) partner

(iii) helper

(v) accomplice

(vii) partner

(ii) companion

(iv) companion

(vi) companion

(viii) accomplice.

3. Now let us look at the uses of the word break. Match the word with its meanings below. Try to find at least three other ways in which to use the word.

(i) The storm broke – could not speak; was too sad to speak

(ii) daybreak –  this kind of weather ended

(iii) His voice is beginning to break – it began or burst into activity.

(iv) Her voice broke and she cried – the beginning of daylight

(v) The heat wave broke – changing as he grows up

(vi) broke the bad news – end it by making the workers submit.

(vii) break a strike – gently told someone the bad news

(viii) (Find your own expression Give its meaning here.) 

Ans. (i) The storm broke – it began to burst into activity

(ii) daybreak – the beginning of daylight

(iii) His voice is beginning to break – changing as he grows up. 

(iv) Her voice broke and she cried – could not speak; was too sad to speak

(v) The heat wave broke – this kind of weather ended

(vi) broke the bad news – gently told someone the bad news 

(vii) break a strike ended it by making the workers submit 

(viii) (a) break up: – to end friendship or relations

(b) break down – start crying

(c) break the ice – to break the silence.

Speaking Page No. 95

1. Play detectives with each other. Find a person in your class (or some other acquaintance) to speak to. Find out the answers to the questions given below. Be careful to ask your questions in a polite and inoffensive way. Do not force the person to answer you. Then allow the person to ask you the same questions.

(i) Name?

(ii) What newspapers or magazines does the person read? 

(iii) How long has the person lived at the current address? 

(iv) What does she/he do during the day, i.e., the daily routine?

(v) What do neighbours and friends say about the person? 

(vi) Who are his/her visitors and what are his/her eating habits? (You can ask a few others about this.)

(vii) What do you think about the person?

Ans. This is a classroom activity to play the game of being a detective with each other. The answers will be different from each other. Still, a specimen of possible answers is given below:

(i) The person’s name is Ghulam Haider.

(ii) He reads Greater Kashmir, Kashmir Uzma, Times of India etc. 

(iii) That is his permanent address or he has been living here for 30 years.

(iv) His daily routine is going to the office, and attending his kids in the evening.

(v) Neighbours and friends find the person very friendly and ever-ready to help others.

(vi) His visitors are mostly his colleagues. He is very careless about his diet. He drinks hard liquor at least twice a week. But he remains well-behaved. Usually, he likes Chinese or fast food.

(vii) I think the person seems to be nice and helpful. I have never found him fighting with anybody.

Writing Page No. 95

1. Who do you think Mr. Nath is? Write a paragraph or two about him.

Ans. Mr. Nath is a thin man with scars on his face. He doesn’t have many friends and only gets a visitor on Sundays for lunch. He likes simple food and doesn’t go out much. He always pays for his meals in cash and gives good tips. Maya thinks he might be a criminal on the run, so she tries to find out more about him. Mr. Nath only has one friend, and some people, especially kids, are scared of him. However, Nishad doesn’t believe he’s a criminal and decides to be friends with him, feeling sympathetic towards him.

2. What else do you think Nishad and Maya will find out about him? How? Will they ever be friends? Think about these questions and write a paragraph or two to continue the story.

Ans. Maya still believes that Mr. Nath is a runaway criminal, but Nishad disagrees. Nishad thinks that Mr. Nath is just a lonely man who needs a friend. Determined to be that friend, Nishad keeps trying to get closer to him. Over time, Mr. Nath becomes more comfortable talking to Nishad.

Eventually, Mr. Nath shares his sad story with Nishad. He used to have a happy family and a successful business, but everything changed when his house burned down. Tragically, he couldn’t save his family, and since then, he has lived a lonely and isolated life. When Nishad tells Maya about Mr. Nath’s story, she feels regretful for misunderstanding him.

3. Conducting a Survey

STEP I: Study the following questionnaire and discuss the points in small groups.

A home is a place where                     Yes     No     Don’t know

you feel secure and happy.

you can be alone.

you can keep all your things.

you can bring up a family.

you can invite friends/relatives.

you can make a noise if you want to.

you can do whatever you like.

you are at peace.

you can look after your parents.

you receive and give love.

Ans.

A home is a place where            Yes     No      Don’t know

you feel secure and happy.        Yes

you can be alone.                       Yes

you can keep all your things.               No

you can bring up a family.         Yes

you can invite friends/relatives. Yes

you can make a noise if you want to.   No

you can do whatever you like.             No

you are at peace.                        Yes

you can look after your parents. Yes

you receive and give love.         Yes

STEP II: Collect information. Contact people in the school/your locality and put these questions to them.

Tick-mark () their answers in the relevant column.

Ans. It is a class activity. You have to contact people to collect information and fill out the questionnaire forms accordingly.

STEP III: Analyse the results in the group by asking

How many people think that a home is a place where you feel secure and happy?

How many people think that a home isn’t a place where you feel secure and happy?

How many people don’t know about it?

Ans. On the basis of your meeting people and filling out the questionnaire, you will be able to analyse the results by asking these questions. I think most people will say that a home is a place where you feel secure and happy.

STEP IV: Present a brief oral report on the result of your survey. Use phrases such as the following:

Most people think that…

Few people think that…

Hardly anyone thinks that…

No one thinks that…

Ans. On the basis of your findings, now you have to present a brief oral report. Your report may be somewhat like as mentioned below:

We had got filled out questionnaires and completed the survey accordingly. The result of the survey is that most people think that a home is a place where one can feel secure and happy. For them, home is the most happy place. Most people regard home as a place where we are free to do what we like. However, a very small percentage thinks that home is not a place where they feel secure and happy. Only 8 people said all that they didn’t know about it.

That’s it about Expert Detectives Chapter 6 Summary and Question Answers. Hope it has helped. Do share your views about this post in the comment section below.