Get notes, summary, questions and answers, workbook solutions (Beeta Publication/Morning Star), critical analysis, word meanings, extras, and pdf of Satyajit Ray’s story Indigo: ISC Class 12 English (Prism). However, the notes should only be treated for references and changes should be made according to the needs of the students.
Summary
Aniruddha is a 29-year-old bachelor living in Calcutta. He works at an advertising agency and lives in a flat on Sardar Shankar Road. He owns an Ambassador car. He has been writing stories and getting them published in magazines, though lately he has just been reading about 19th-century indigo plantations in Bengal and Bihar.
Aniruddha’s father was a well-known physician in Monghyr where Aniruddha was born. His older brother is 5 years older. Their father died when Aniruddha was 16, so he and his mother moved to Calcutta where he studied at St. Xavier’s and got a job in advertising due to his fluent English.
Aniruddha’s childhood habits stayed with him, including a desire to get away from the noisy, hectic city. His friend Pramode, a former classmate now posted with the Forest Department in Dumka, invited him to visit. Aniruddha set off on April 27, a date he’d never forget. Dumka was 200 miles away but Pramode didn’t suggest driving.
As Aniruddha prepared to leave after an early breakfast, his father’s friend Uncle Mohit and neighbour Bhola Babu delayed him with questions. He finally started his car at 10 past 11. He reached Burdwan at 12:30 and had a flat tyre at the Panagarh military camp. A few miles later he hit a thunderstorm and then had another flat. Lost in the rain, he made a wrong turn and reached a dead end, blocking the road for an oncoming truck. The Sikh driver and helper pushed his car aside. Realising his mistake, Aniruddha backtracked 3 miles to the right road.
Realising he likely wouldn’t reach Dumka that night, Aniruddha continued on until he saw a house’s orange light through tree branches. He locked his car and walked to the cottage, where a strong, moustached man answered his knock. Aniruddha explained his situation and was directed to a nearby Dak Bungalow for the night. The man and his wife gave Aniruddha food.
The large bedroom reminded Aniruddha that the bungalow was from British rule. The caretaker, Sukhanram, said it belonged to an old indigo planter whose factory was nearby. Settling in for the night, Aniruddha worried about his car on the road.
He was suddenly awakened by scratching at the door, realising it was a hound’s howl. His watch and suitcase were gone. His hands seemed pale, his voice was English, and his clothes had changed. Though his mind was his own, his body was acting independently.
He uncontrollably began writing a letter dated April 27, 1968. He wrote, fearing his impending death and regretting his greed and unfairness towards family. He wished to be buried with his wife and son and was worried for his dog Rex’s fate. Then he suddenly shot the dog dead.
The gunshot woke Aniruddha back to normal on April 28th. His car was repaired, and the caretaker offered tea. To Aniruddha, it had been a terrifying, unbelievable night—the 100th death anniversary of an English indigo planter. He doubts anyone will believe his strange tale.
Workbook answers
Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)
1. Why did Aniruddha write stories in his spare time?
(a) To make a living
(b) To earn extra money
(c) Writing was his passion
(d) To describe indigo planters
Answer: (c) Writing was his passion
2. Besides his maternal uncle’s influence, Aniruddha could get a job in the advertising agency because ____________________.
(a) He was a good student
(b) He could speak English fluently
(c) He knew how to carry himself in an interview
(d) All of the above
Answer: (d) All of the above
3. Which habit was instilled in Aniruddha during his early years in Monghyr?
(a) To run away from hectic city life
(b) To drive his car himself
(c) To learn from his experiences
(d) All of the above
Answer: (a) To run away from hectic city life
4. What was the ‘snag right at the start’ of his journey to Dumka?
(a) His tyres become flat
(b) Visit of his father’s friend to his house after ten years
(c) The engine of the car developed a fault
(d) All of the above
Answer: (b) Visit of his father’s friend to his house after ten years
5. What advice did Bhola Babu give Aniruddha?
(a) To arrange for a driver.
(b) To take someone with him on his trip
(c) To keep a stepney
(d) Not to go by car.
Answer: (a) To arrange for a driver.
6. How did Aniruddha feel during the first thirty miles of his trip through dingy towns?
(a) Mind blowing
(b) Exciting
(c) Boring
(d) Fearful
Answer: (c) Boring
7. Which figure of speech is used in the line given below? ‘…such a norwester could strike terror into the heart.’
(a) Metaphor
(b) Simile
(c) Personification
(d) Assonance
Answer: (c) Personification
8. Why was the truck standing behind his car blowing its horn?
(a) The truck’s tyre had got
(b) His car had stopped in the middle of the road.
(c) The truck’s driver got hurt
(d) To warn him of the storm
Answer: (b) His car had stopped in the middle of the road.
9. Which figure of speech is used in the line given below? ‘…the truth struck me like a hammer blow.’
(a) Personification
(b) Metaphor
(c) Alliteration
(d) Simile
Answer: (d) Simile
10. Where had Aniruddha seen ruins of indigo factories before coming to the Dak Bungalow?
(a) Calcutta (Kolkata)
(b) Monghyr
(c) Dumka
(d) Burdwan
Answer: (b) Monghyr
11. What type of narration is used in the story Indigo?
(a) First person
(b) Third person
(c) Second person
(d) None of the above
Answer: (a) First person
12. Which of the following cities Aniruddha did NOT pass on his journey to the Dak Bungalow?
(a) Suri
(b) Chandernagore
(c) Dumka
(d) Burdwan
Answer: (c) Dumka
Complete the Sentence
1. Aniruddha did not take up writing as a profession because ______
Answer: he knew that he lacked the capability to earn a livelihood solely through his writing.
2. Aniruddha had not been writing for the last few months because ______
Answer: he had become deeply engrossed in reading books about indigo farming in Bengal, to the point where he considered himself an authority on the subject.
3. Aniruddha said that he was not an unworthy candidate for getting the job in the advertising agency because ______
Answer: besides his maternal uncle’s recommendation, he had a good academic record, was fluent in spoken English, and possessed an innate self-confidence and smartness that helped him in the interview.
4. Aniruddha used to take solo trips to various places from Monghyr because ______
Answer: his childhood in Monghyr had instilled in him a strong desire to escape the mundane and hectic life of the city, and he could never find anyone else who was interested in joining him on these outings.
5. Aniruddha would not be able to forget the date April twenty-seventh because ______
Answer: it was the day he embarked on his journey and had the terrifying, surreal experience at the Dak Bungalow, which he later realized was the hundredth death anniversary of the indigo planter.
6. Aniruddha could not give Uncle Mohit a short shift because ______
Answer: Mohit Kaka was a respectable elder and his father’s old friend, whom he had not seen in almost ten years, so it would have been improper to rush him.
7. After waiting for a quarter of an hour after on the road when his second tyre became flat Aniruddha realised that he had taken a wrong turn because ______
Answer: he noticed that there were no other vehicles or people on the road, which seemed highly unlikely, and his suspicion was later confirmed by a lorry driver.
8. Aniruddha recalled Bhola Babu’s warning after he had taken a wrong turn because ______
Answer: he found himself stranded and helpless with two flat tires in a storm, a predicament where having a driver, as Bhola Babu had advised, would have been immensely useful.
9. Aniruddha felt relieved when the chowkidar said that there were no ghosts in the Dak Bungalow because ______
Answer: he was about to spend the night alone in an old, desolate building with a grim history, and the chowkidar’s assurance that no one had ever made such complaints was satisfying.
10. Aniruddha congratulated himself after reaching the Dak Bungalow because ______
Answer: he was stranded in a storm with a broken-down car and no other options, so he felt incredibly lucky to have found any place at all to take shelter for the night.
11. When Aniruddha looked into the mirror, the person reflected in it was not he because ______
Answer: he had been supernaturally transformed into a nineteenth-century British gentleman with a pale complexion, golden hair, and light eyes.
12. The English indigo planter did not go back to his country because ______
Answer: people in England were aware of his evil deeds as a planter, and he lacked the courage to return and face them.
13. The English indigo planter felt that nobody would mourn his death in India because ______
Answer: he had been a brutal master and had tortured the local natives so much that he knew none of them would shed a tear for him.
14. The English indigo planter was worried about his watchdog Rex because ______
Answer: he feared that after his death, the resentful natives would kill the dog by stoning it or beating it with sticks out of hatred for its master.
Short Answer Questions
1. Who was Aniruddha Bose? Although he enjoyed writing stories in his spare time, why did he stop writing stories?
Answer: Aniruddha Bose is the twenty-nine-year-old bachelor protagonist and narrator of the story. He worked at a merchant firm, or an advertising agency, in Kolkata. Born and brought up in Monghyr, Bihar, where his father was a well-known physician, he moved to Kolkata with his mother after his father’s death when he was sixteen. He completed his B.A. from St. Xavier’s College and secured his job with the help of his maternal uncle’s recommendations, his good academic record, and his fluency in spoken English.
He stopped writing stories because for the last few months before his journey, he had failed to produce any creative work. Instead, he had been reading a lot of books dealing with indigo farming in Bengal and Bihar in the 19th century. He read so much on the subject that he felt he had become an authority on it, and this hyper-focus on indigo replaced his creative writing.
2. Explain in about a short paragraph of about 100-150 words, the hitches in Aniruddha’s plan of leaving for Dumka.
Answer: From the very beginning, there were a few hitches and snags in Aniruddha’s plan to leave early for Dumka. The first delay occurred right after his lunch was ready. Just as he was about to leave, his father’s old friend, Mohit Kaka, arrived. As he was a respectable elder whom Aniruddha had not seen for almost ten years, he could not tell him he was in a hurry. He had to offer him tea and listen to his personal updates for one long hour. After finally bidding him goodbye, another hitch occurred when his neighbour, Bhola Babu, stopped him to ask questions and advised him that he should have arranged for a driver for such a long journey, which was a warning of the troubles to come.
3. Aniruddha gives the impression of being a nature lover but fears it when he faces the vagaries of nature. Describe how he contrasts the two states.
Answer: Aniruddha shows himself to be a nature lover who dislikes the mundane and hectic life of Kolkata. He wishes to run away from the city’s crowds and hardships. This desire is fulfilled when his journey to Dumka takes him into the countryside. He feels a magical effect upon seeing the clear blue sky unstained by chimney smoke and breathing the sweet and pristine air dipped in the smell of the earth. He feels that this escape to nature is the very reason he came on the trip.
However, his love for nature turns to fear when he faces its ferocious side. When an ominous thunderstorm arrives, he finds it menacing. He had enjoyed storms from the snug corner of his room, but in a moving car in the open countryside, he feels it is one of the evil faces of nature. He feels its motive is to tease a hapless man with its gargantuan strength. The blinding lightning and ear-splitting thunder make him feel as if the lightning bolts were targeting his car, turning his appreciation of nature into terror.
4. What happened to Aniruddha when he suddenly woke up at night in the Dak Bungalow?
Answer: When Aniruddha woke up at night in the Dak Bungalow, he was first alerted by a scratching noise at the door and the growl of a sahib’s hound. When he raised his hand to check the time, he was shocked to find his automatic wristwatch was gone. He then discovered that his flashlight and his suitcase had also vanished. He was confused as to how a thief could have entered through the barred windows. He then noticed he was wearing a long-sleeved silk shirt and skintight trousers, not the undershirt he had gone to bed in. The room itself had changed: his cot was replaced by a bed with a frilled pillow, the hurricane lamp by an ornate kerosene lamp, and the furniture looked new and polished. Looking in a mirror, he saw the reflection of a nineteenth-century British gentleman with a pale complexion, golden hair, and light eyes. He realized that due to some horrible and ghostly magic spell, he had been metamorphosed into an English indigo planter, and though his consciousness was his own, his body was not acting of its own accord.
5. What did Aniruddha write in the letter as an English indigo planter?
Answer: As the English indigo planter, Aniruddha’s hand was forced to write a diary entry dated 27th April, 1868. In the letter, the planter expressed his loneliness, noting that his friends Eric, Percey, and Tony had all left and returned to England. He felt he could not go back to England because people there were aware of his evil deeds and his shady past. He knew he was about to die in India, destined to rest beside the grave of his wife Mary and three-year-old son Toby. He acknowledged that he had been a brutal master who had tortured the natives, and so nobody would mourn his death except perhaps his loyal butler, Mir Jaan. His main worry was for his watchdog, Rex, as he was sure the dog would be stoned to death by the villagers after his demise.
6. What according to you, could be the reason for Aniruddha’s act of not acting of his own accord and yet having his own consciousness?
Answer: I believe the reason for Aniruddha not acting of his own accord, yet retaining his own consciousness, was a paranormal experience, possibly a kind of temporary possession or a hyper-realistic nightmare. This was triggered by a combination of factors. His mind was already saturated with information about the brutal history of indigo planters from his recent, intense reading. He had also seen the ruins of indigo factories in his childhood in Monghyr. This deep knowledge was ingrained in his subconscious mind.
When he slept in the Dak Bungalow, a place that was formerly the home of a cruel English indigo planter, on a day that happened to be the 100th death anniversary of that planter, his subconscious mind likely projected this historical trauma. His consciousness became a helpless spectator trapped inside the planter’s body, forced to re-live the planter’s last moments. This explains why he was aware of his own identity as Aniruddha Bose but had no control over the actions of the body he was in, which was being driven by the planter’s memories and despair.
Long Answer Questions
1. Describe Aniruddha Bose’s journey from Kolkata towards Dumka.
Answer: Aniruddha Bose’s journey from Kolkata to Dumka, a trip he decided to take by car to visit his friend Pramod, was beset with difficulties from the very beginning. His plan to leave early in the morning was immediately delayed by an unexpected, hour-long visit from Mohit Kaka, an old friend of his father. Just as he was finally setting off, his neighbour Bhola Babu advised him that he should have arranged for a driver for such a long trip.
He finally started his car at a quarter to eleven. The first thirty miles of the journey were hectic and unpleasant, with atrocious roads that diminished his excitement. However, once he reached the open countryside, his spirits lifted as he enjoyed the clear blue sky and the pristine air. Around one-thirty in the afternoon, he stopped near Burdwan for a meal at a restaurant. The journey took a turn for the worse when he got a flat tire near the military camps of Panagar. After the irritating task of changing the tire, he was soon caught in a menacing thunderstorm. The situation became hopeless when, on the road to Massanjore, a second tire went flat. It was dark, raining torrents, and he had no more spare tires. A helpful lorry driver informed him that he had taken a wrong turn and that while Dumka was only three miles away, there were no repair shops nearby. Stranded and alone, he realised there was no chance of reaching his destination that night.
2. Do you think ‘Indigo’ is an appropriate title for the short story by Satyajit Ray? If you have to give another title to the story, what would it be? Give a reason to support your answer.
Answer: The title ‘Indigo’ is both apt and intriguing for the story. The word is central to the narrative’s development and its supernatural climax. The story introduces the theme when the narrator, Aniruddha, states that he had stopped writing for months to read extensively about 19th-century indigo plantations, to the point where he considered himself an authority on the subject. This obsession, rooted in his childhood memories of seeing indigo factory ruins in Monghyr, primes his subconscious for the events to come. The setting for the story’s main conflict is a Dak Bungalow that was once a Neel kothi, or an indigo planter’s home. As he tries to sleep, his thoughts turn to Nildorpan, a play about the plight of indigo farmers. The supernatural experience itself involves him being possessed by the spirit of a brutal English indigo planter. The entire horrifying incident can be seen as a nightmare manifesting from his deep knowledge of the history of indigo, thus making the title perfectly suitable.
If another title were to be given, ‘The Hundredth Anniversary’ would also be fitting. This title would point directly to the specific temporal trigger of the paranormal event. The story concludes with Aniruddha realising that his terrifying experience occurred on the hundredth death anniversary of one of Birbhum’s indigo planters. The diary entry he was forced to write was dated April 27, 1868, and he woke up on April 28, 1968. This alternative title would highlight the idea that the haunting was not random but a cyclical event, a violent re-enactment of the past that could only occur on this very significant anniversary, adding a layer of fateful inevitability to the story.
3. Discuss ‘Indigo’ as a story about supernatural.
Answer: ‘Indigo’ is a story that centrally explores the theme of the supernatural, presenting a haunting experience that defies logical explanation. The narrative builds a paranormal atmosphere that culminates in Aniruddha Bose’s terrifying night at an old Dak Bungalow, which was once the home of a brutal English indigo planter from a century ago. The supernatural events begin after Aniruddha falls asleep. He is woken by strange noises and discovers that his watch, flashlight, and suitcase have vanished, even though the room was securely bolted from the inside.
The paranormal experience intensifies as he undergoes a complete physical and environmental transformation. He finds himself changed into a nineteenth-century British gentleman, with pale skin, golden hair, and a different voice, wearing a silk shirt and skintight trousers. The room around him has also reverted to its past state, with new furniture, an ornate kerosene lamp, and the belongings of the planter, including a coat, a whip, and knee-high boots. While his consciousness as Aniruddha remains, his body is not under his own control. He is compelled by an external force to write a diary entry as the planter, dated April 27, 1868, expressing despair and guilt. The possession culminates in him being forced to take a pistol, shoot the planter’s beloved dog, Rex, and then place the still-warm muzzle against his own head. The entire phenomenon is tied to the hundredth death anniversary of the planter, making it a powerful and unsettling story of a supernatural haunting.
4. Suppose yourself as Aniruddha Bose and you had to spend the night at the same Dak Bungalow. With reference to the happenings in the story, write whether you would have faced the similar situations or quite different from what Aniruddha had to face.
Answer: If I were to spend a night at the same Dak Bungalow under the same circumstances as Aniruddha Bose, I believe my experience would have been quite different from his. The horrifying events that Aniruddha faced were not merely a random haunting but a unique convergence of a tormented spirit with a perfectly susceptible mind. The planter’s ghost seemed to require a host who could understand its history and guilt, and Aniruddha was the ideal candidate.
Aniruddha’s entire life had prepared him for this encounter. He grew up in Monghyr, surrounded by the ruins of indigo factories. More importantly, he had spent the last few months obsessively reading about the brutalities of indigo cultivation, becoming an authority on the subject. His mind was saturated with the history, the exploitation, and the despair associated with the indigo trade. When he lay down to sleep in the planter’s former home, his subconscious was a fertile ground for the spirit’s story to take root and manifest.
My own background lacks this deep, personal, and recent immersion. While I may have a student’s knowledge of history, I do not possess the formative connection or the intense focus that made Aniruddha’s mind such a perfect conduit. The spirit’s ability to possess him and force him to re-enact its final moments seems dependent on this unique psychological alignment. Therefore, while I might have experienced a sense of unease, heard unexplained noises, or felt a chilling presence in the bungalow, I do not think I would have undergone the complete physical transformation or been forced to live out the planter’s tragic end. The haunting was tailored to Aniruddha’s psyche, and without that specific key, the lock to that particular horror would likely have remained shut.
Extra MCQs
1. What is the narrator’s profession?
A. Doctor
B. Teacher
C. Advertising professional
D. Engineer
Answer: C. Advertising professional
30. What kind of man was the chowkidar of the dak bungalow?
A. lean and thin
B. strong and stout
C. irritable
D. cheerful
Answer: B. strong and stout
Extra questions and answers
1. What is the narrator’s full name?
Answer: The narrator reveals right at the start that his full name is Aniruddha Bose.
45. What do you learn about the indigo planter? Who was Aniruddha Bose? What kind of life was he leading?
Answer: The indigo planter was a greedy Englishman who exploited the poor Indian laborers working on his indigo plantations. He amassed wealth by forcing the workers into indentured labor and harshly punishing those who resisted. The planter’s guilty conscience is evident from the letter Aniruddha writes in a trance – he knows people will not mourn his death and he has been unfair to his family. His wife and son have died. He dies a lonely death, with only his dog for company.
Aniruddha Bose is a 29-year old bachelor living in Kolkata. His father was a well-known doctor in Monghyr, Bihar where Aniruddha grew up before moving to Kolkata after his father’s death. He completed his Bachelors from St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata and works at an advertising firm. Aniruddha has a habit of taking short trips to the countryside to get away from the hectic city life. He stays in his own flat and owns an Ambassador car. Just before the supernatural events, he was planning to visit his schoolmate Pramode who worked in Dumka. Aniruddha was living a normal, urban middle-class life until it was disrupted by the paranormal experience.
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