Notes For All Chapters English Footprints without Feet Class 10 CBSE
How the narrator (a thief) befriends Anil
The narrator was a thief when he met Anil. He was only 15. Anil had been watching a wrestling match when he went to him. Anil was about 25 and was lean and tall. He looked kind, simple and easy-going. The narrator soon made Anil his Mend. He lied that his name was Hari Singh. He changed his name every month. It was to avoid the police and his former employers.
Both the narrator and Anil at Anil’s room
Anil walked away. The narrator followed him. He smiled and told Anil that he wanted to work for him. Anil replied that he couldn’t pay him. He asked Anil if he could feed him. Anil asked if he could cook. The narrator lied that he could cook. So Anil took him to his room over the Jumna Sweet Shop. He told him that he could sleep on the balcony. The narrator cooked the food. But Anil gave it to a dog as it was tasteless. He asked the narrator to go. But he remained there. After some time Anil told him to stay. He also told him that he would teach him how to cook.
Narrator at his old game
The narrator made the tea in the morning. He would buy the day’s supplies. In that he would make a profit of about a rupee a day. Anil knew he made money that way. But he never spoke about it.
Trust between Anil and the narrator increases
Anil made money by fits and starts. When he made much of it, he would celebrate. One evening he came home with a small bundle of notes. He told the narrator that he had just sold a book to a publisher. By this time the narrator had been working for Anil for almost a month. By this time Anil had given him a key to the door. He could come and go as he liked.
The narrator steals Anil’s money
The narrator found it difficult to rob Anil because he was careless. That took all the pleasure of robbjng. However, he decided to steal money. He thought it right as Anil did not pay him any money. The narrator studied the situation. Anil was asleep. He had the money under the mattress. If he took the money he could catch the 10.30 Express to Lucknow. So he stole the notes and went out of the room.
Narrator escapes with money
The narrator held the notes by the string of his pyjamas. The notes were 600 in fifties. He could live like an oil-rich Arab for a week or two. When he reached the station, the Lucknow Express was just moving out. He could jump into it but he didn’t. He was on the platform. He had no idea where to spend the night. He did not want to stay in a hotel either. He walked through the bazaar slowly.
What the narrator thinks about Anil after theft
As a thief the narrator had studied men’s faces when they had lost their goods. The greedy man showed fear. The rich man showed anger. The poor man showed acceptance. But he knew that Anil would show sadness when he would know of it. This sadness would be for the loss of trust. Such a theft was always good for the thief.
The narrator in the rain
He went to the maidan and sat down on a bench. It was a chilly November night. A light drizzle added to his discomfort. Soon it began to rain heavily. He was drenched. He sat down in the shelter of the clock tower.
Narrator’s thoughts at this stage
It was midnight. The notes were damp. He felt that it was Anil’s money. In the morning he would probably have given him two or three rupees. It was for the cinema. Now he had it all. He couldn’t cook his meals and learn to write.
The narrator decides to return
The narrator had forgotten these things in the excitement gf the theft. He felt that writing could bring him more than a few hundred rupees. It was simple to be a thief. But to be really a big man, clever and respected, was something else. He decided to go back to Anil to learn to read and write.
How he puts the money back
He hurried back to the room. He was feeling very nervous. He opened the door and stood in the doorway. Anil was still asleep. He slipped the notes back under the mattress.
Friendship intact
He awoke late next morning. Anil had already made the tea. He offered a fifty-rupee note to the narrator. The narrator’s heart sank. He felt that he had been discovered. Anil told him that he had made some money the day before. Now he would pay the narrator regularly. He also told that they would start writing sentences. The narrator smiled at Anil in his most appealing way. Anil knew the theft but he did not say anything to him about it.
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