NCERT Solutions Poorvi Chapter 2 The Chair — Let us think and reflect

The chair is special and invisible.

Both words are the grandfather's own: “It's a very special chair. As it's invisible, it's rather tricky to sit on it.” (‘Magic' and ‘tricky' are also acceptable.)

Because the chair was invisible — Mario could not see it, so he had no way of knowing exactly where the seat was.

The grandfather says it plainly: “As it's invisible, it's rather tricky to sit on it.” When Mario tried, “having difficulty seeing it, he missed and fell straight onto his backside.”

He calls it ‘special’ because it can do something no ordinary chair can do — it shows you who your real friends are.

His promise is: “if you take it to school and manage to sit on it, then the magic will work and you'll be able to tell who your real friends are.” An ordinary chair only holds you up; this one sorts true friends from mere companions.

Mario says there was a technical problem because he had just fallen in front of the whole class and wanted to save himself from embarrassment — he wanted them to believe the fault lay in the chair, not in him.

Other correct ways of completing it:

• … because he could not see the invisible chair and kept missing the seat.
• … because he wanted to hide his failure and get one more chance without being laughed at.

True — but only of his real friends.

Guneet, Asma and Deepa proved to be caring and helpful: they came forward and held Mario up “so he wouldn't fall”, without being asked. That is the answer the question is looking for.

Be clear about the rest, though. The others were not friends at all — they “had done nothing but made fun of him, enjoying each and every fall”. The whole point of the story is that only three out of the many turned out to be true friends.

Answer: a. strong-willed

A strong-willed person keeps at a task in spite of failure and mockery. Mario “kept trying to sit on the magic chair and kept falling to the ground” while the whole class laughed — and still he would not stop. The story also calls him “brave and determined”, which means the same thing.

The bet was about whether Mario really had as many friends as he boasted of.

The grandfather challenged him: “Mario, I bet you a fruit chaat. You don't have as many friends as you think you have. I'm sure many of them are nothing more than companions or partners.” Mario “accepted the bet readily”, sure that he would win. The prize was a fruit chaat — and in the end the grandfather won it.

He fell down. “Having difficulty seeing it, he missed and fell straight onto his backside. His classmates had a pretty good laugh.”

Instead of admitting the failure, he said, “Wait, wait, just a slight technical problem,” and tried again — only to miss the seat once more, “causing more surprised looks and laughter”.

He found them at the moment he stopped falling.

After many attempts, “he tried again and didn't fall. This time he sat, hanging in mid-air.” When he looked around to see how this was possible, he saw Guneet, Asma and Deepa — “three of his buddies — holding him up, so he wouldn't fall”. At the same time he saw the others, “many he'd thought of as friends”, who “had done nothing but made fun of him, enjoying each and every fall”.

Yes, the test was a good one, because it showed Mario the truth without anyone having to say a word against his classmates.

• It was honest — no one was accused; each child simply chose, on his own, to laugh or to help.
• It worked — Mario won three friends for life and used the same test “on many occasions” afterwards.
• It cured his boasting, which no amount of scolding by his grandfather could have done. As the story says, he understood “that true friends are those who care for us. A friend wouldn't be someone who takes joy in our bad luck.”

One can also argue the other side, and it is worth saying so: the test was a little unfair and painful. Mario had to be laughed at again and again, and some children may have stayed back out of shyness rather than unfriendliness. But since the test cost nothing but a few falls and gave him the truth, it was on the whole a good idea.

‘Friends for life’ means friends who stay with you for as long as you live — through school, work, distance and old age — and not only while you sit on the same bench.

In the story the phrase is earned, not given: “they used the magic chair test on many occasions and whoever passed became friends for life.” Only those who cared enough to hold someone up were counted.

Any way that puts a friend in a situation where helping costs him something will show you the truth. You do not need magic — you only need to watch.

• See who stands by you when you fail. After a bad test result or a lost match, notice who comes to sit beside you and who moves away.
• See who is happy at your success. A real friend claps loudest when you win the prize he wanted.
• See who keeps a secret. Tell something small and private, and watch whether the class hears it by evening.
• See who speaks the same way behind your back. A friend defends your name when you are not there to hear it.
• See who helps when there is nothing to gain — carrying your bag when you are hurt, sharing a tiffin on a day he has very little.