The Adventure

Central Theme of The Adventure

It deals with the story where the protagonist Professor Gaitonde travels through time and
experiences very different events and is in a state of shock. He imagines the state of India where
Britishers have never ruled and this lesson is a complete juxtaposition of facts and historical
events.

KEY POINTS:

 Some of the important events from the story are:

 Professor Gaitonde, a historian, is seen time-travelling into the past. When he travels
through time, he discovers himself in Mumbai, in a parallel world, a place he has never
seen before. We see him in the real world, conversing with his friend Rajendra.
 The Mumbai he is now in is far different from what it is in reality. He arrives at the
Victoria Terminus Station, which he finds to be very clean. ‘Greater Bombay
Metropolitan Railway’ was written on the train’s carriages. The staff was also made up
of Anglo-Indians and a few British commanders.
 Gaitonde noticed the East India Company Headquarters as soon as he exited the station.
Likewise, there were primarily British-branded buildings and British banks. In reality,
his son’s Forbes office was nowhere to be seen. To tackle the puzzle, he visited the
library and read about the Battle of Panipat. After reading, he discovers that the
specifics differ from what actually occurred in his world. In fact, he learns that British
rule never reached India, which he finds surprising. And from here, the climax of The
Adventure starts.
 After visiting the library, he went to the Azad Maidan and got into a confrontation with
the crowd there. Gaitonde came out of his time-travel experience after being kicked off
the stage and was found comatose in Azad Maidan. As a result, he seeks clarification
from Professor Deshpande. During his tour, he discovers that reality differs from what
we see with our senses. Professor Despande, although reluctant initially to believe
Gaitonde’s account, finds it hard to reject the possibilities of a parallel world upon
seeing the piece of evidence from the book Gaitonde was carrying in his pocket. He
explains the Catastrophe theory and the lack of determinism in Quantum Theory to
elaborate that the reality we live in can take on different forms or aspects.
 Physicists feel that there are more universes other than the one we can perceive with
our eyes. He further reveals that Gaitonde went to a parallel reality and saw things based
on his last thoughts before hitting the coma. Since he was in a coma as a result of an
accident, he found himself in a world where catastrophe theory was applied in the
 context of the third battle of Panipat, the very last thought he was having before he hit
the comatose stage.

The Parallel world

Professor Gaitonde, a professor of History, headed straight from Bombay to Pune. He met
Anglo-Indians and the symbolic Union Jack on the carriages in the Greater Bombay
Metropolitan Railway. In his attempt to understand where the course of history went
otherwise, he visited a library and studied four books of history, beginning with Asoka and
ending with the third battle of Panipat. The story, ‘The Adventure’, presents an account of
parallel history, where the Marathas won the third battle of Panipat over the Afghans.
Following their success, India became a democratic country. Professor Gaitonde rolled up a
copy of the book into his pocket unconsciously. Then he arrived at Azad Maidan, where a
seminar was in progress. The meeting did not have a chairman to preside over. This was
surprising to the professor. When Gaitonde tried to occupy the chair and deliver a speech, the
audience did not want one. He was humiliated with rotten tomatoes and eggs.

Conclusion

To summarise the story ‘The Adventure’, we discover that there may be alternate realities other
than the one we perceive, and while they may appear realistic, they are all in our heads and a
result of our thoughts. ‘The Adventure’ was written by Jayant Narlikar in a way that was both
instructive and entertaining. It transports us to a parallel world where we get to see a different
India. The story is an ideal blend of history and science.

1) What was Gangadharpant’s experience in the Azad Maidan? Did it have any effect on
his life?
Gangadharpant was keen to address the people at Azad Maidan. He spoke as if he was
presiding over a public meeting. People did not allow him to speak. This happened in
the freak ‘adventure’ that he lived through. As a result, he decided in his real life
never to preside over any public function or to address a gathering.

2) Why do you think Prof. Gaitonde decided never to preside over meetings again?
Prof. Gaitonde decided never to preside over meetings again as he had a bitter
experience at one of the lectures going on in the Azad Maidan.

3) Who was Professor Gaitonde? Why was he surprised to see the name of East India
Company on an imposing building in Bombay?
Prof. Gaitonde was a history professor living in Poona in the 20th century. He was
surprised to see the name of East India Company on a building in Bombay because it
belonged to the 18th and 19th centuries when the Company was ruling India. It did
not exist in the present time.
4) What was a vital piece of evidence that Prof. Gaitonde had with him to show that he
had really experienced a different reality?
Prof. Gaitonde had a page from the history book Bhausahebanchi Bakhar that he was
reading in the library in Bombay.

5) Gangadharpant could not help comparing the country he knew with what he was
witnessing around him. Explain briefly.
Answer:
Mumbai was different. Gangadhar Pant saw the East India Building and mostly
Anglo-Indians, Parsee. and British officers-Railway by the name of Greater Bombay
Metropolitan, Railway Stations looked remarkably clean. He was living in the late
20th century. What he saw was India under the British.

6)
What sights did Prof. Gaitonde encounter to feel that he was going to a different
Bombay?
Prof. Gaitonde feels that he was going to a different Bombay because the trains had
marking of G.B.M.R with the Union Jack printed on them. The station looked neat
and tidy. He could see British offices on the platform. There was also the building of
East India company. He came across many shops and office buildings.

7) What important discovery did Prof. Gaitonde make on reading history books?
Professor Gaitonde found that the Marathas had won the Third Battle of Panipat and
that was a turning point in India’s history.

8) Why was the consequence of the Battle of Panipat important for the Peshwas?
The victory established the supremacy of the Marathas in northern India and later
over the rest of India East India Company was confined to some areas near Bombay,
Calcutta and Madras.

9) How did the Peshwas keep in step with the changing times in the 20th century?
The Peshwas kept apace with the changing times in the 20th century by setting up
centres of science and technology. They were highly inspired by the West, India
moved towards a democracy. For technology development, they also accepted help
from the East India Company.

10) What information did Prof. Gaitonde get from ‘Bhausahebanchi Bakhar,‘?
From ‘Bhausahebanchi Bakhar’, Prof. Gaitonde got the information about
Vishwasrao. He got to know that Vishwasrao was not killed in the battle. Moreover,
Vishaswasrao guided his horse to the battle.

11) How did Prof. Gaitonde behave in the Azad Maidan? Why did he behave so?
Prof. Gaitonde went on the dais and sat on the unoccupied presidential chair. He
refused to vacate and started speaking into the mike. He behaved so because he was
drawn by the empty chair.
 12) What is ‘the catastrophe theory’?
Catastrophe Theory means ‘a critical event’ which happens in a different way. This
changes the entire course of history.

13) How did ‘the catastrophe theory’ work in the battle of Panipat?
Catastrophe Theory in Panipat is that Vishwasrao did not die. Marathas won the
battle. As a result, Marathas became the dominant power, the British were contained.

14) What have we been told about the quantum theory in the story ‘The Adventure’?
Because of the lack of determinism in quantum theory, the bullet missed Vishwasrao
and the Marathas were victorious.

15) Why was Prof. Gaitonde going to Bombay?

Professor Gaitonde was going to Bombay to read history books and to find out how
the present state of affairs was reached.

16) Who was Professor Gaitonde? Why was he surprised to see the name of East India
Company on an imposing building in Bombay?
Prof. Gaitonde was a professor of history in Puna. He lived in independent India. He
was surprised to see the name of East India Company, as it had been wound up after
1857.

Long Questions and Answers

1) ‘Gangadharpant had not been to this Bombay before.’ Show how this Bombay is
different from the one he knew.

Bombay had completely changed for Gangadharpant. The Bombay he now visited had
the trains that now paned through the suburban rail traffic. The blue carriages had the
marking of G.B.M.R with the Union Jack printed on them. The station looked
remarkably neat and clean. The staff included mainly Anglo-Indians and Parsees
along with a few British officers. There was an imposing building of the East India
Company. Walking about Hornby Road, Gangadharpant could find a different set of
shops and office buildings. The British rule was prevalent only in Bombay. All the
other parts of the nation were not under the rule of The British.

2) Gangadharpant was able to find the precise moment ‘where history had taken a different
turn for India’. What was this moment? How did it affect India and the Indian people?

The precise moment where history had taken a different turn for India was the moment
when Gangadharpant learnt that Marathas had won the Third Battle of Panipat. Their
victory in the battle was not only a great morale booster to the Marathas but it also
established their supremacy in northern India.It was also clear that Vishwasrao was not
killed in the battle. To its dismay, the East India Company met its match in the new
Maratha ruler, Vishwasrao. He and his brother, Madhavrao, combined political acumen
and expanded their influence all over India. The East India Company was reduced to
pockets of influence near Bombay, Calcutta and Madras, just like its European rivals,
the Portugese and the French.
3) How did Rajendra Deshpande explain Gangadhar Pant’s experience? Write in detail.

Prof. Rajendra explained Prof. Gaitonde’s theory on the basis of catastrophe theory and the
lack of determinism in the quantum theory. He applied catastrophe theory to the Battle of
Panipat. Both the armies were’well-equipped, so, a lot depended on the leadership and the
morale of the troops. He said that the point at which Vishwasrao was killed proved to be
the turning point. Whether he was killed in the battle or survived was not known that
time.But, the troops were in constant stress of losing their crucial leaders. They lost their
morale and fighting spirit. Now, when the bullet missed Vishwarao, the battle took the other
way, and the troops felt encouraged. It boosted their morale and they applied a lot of efforts
to lion the battle.This happened due to the lack of determinism in quantum theory which
means that you cannot predict the behavior of anything, even the outcome may be vasthy
different. Prof. Gaitonde was able to experience a different reality because he made a
transition to the other India where the Marathas had won the Battle of Panipat. The
transition occurred because at the moment of the collision, Prof. Gaitonde was thinking of
the catastrophe Theory and the Battle of Panipat.

4) Gangadharpant could not help comparing the country he knew with what he was
witnessing around him. Explain briefly.

Mumbai, that Gangadharpant was familiar of was completely different when the train
stopped beyond the long tunnel, at a small station called Sarhad, Gangadharpant was
stunned to see an Anglo-Indian in uniform checking permits. He got to know that this
was the place from where the British rule began.For Gandadharpant, this was the new
Mumbai. When the train paned through the Suburban rail traffic, he noticed blue
carriages with the marking, GBMR and the tiny Union Jack painted on each carriage.
The station looked so spick and span. The staff included Anglo-Indians and Parsees
along with some British officers. He also noticed the building to be East India Company
along with some different shops and office buildings. Bombay was now completely
under the influence of British rule.