Back to: Kerala Board Class 6th English Guide and Notes
Table of Contents
Characters
- Durga: A eleven-year-old village girl and the central character.
- Apu: Another central character and Durga’s brother.
- Sarbojoya: She is a typical strict mother
- Shorno: The Milk woman
Introduction
The last story of the first unit ‘Making a Mango Pickle’ is taken from the famous Bengali novel Patherpanchali, written by Bibhuti Bhushan Bandopadhyay. The revolves around a poor family. The main characters of the story are Apu and Durga. Durga is a dark-complexioned beautiful girl, who loves to wander in nature, and Apu is her brother. The story reveals the beautiful relationship between the siblings. The story is set in a rural, village area where we find the beauty and innocence of nature.
Summary
Durga brings a mango
Durga is an innocent girl who is very close to nature, like all the girls she also picks some bidding mangoes from the pond side and eats them with salt and oil. Durga calls for Apu and shows the mango to him and asks if their mother was home yet. Since mother was not at home Durga asked her brother to bring oil and salt but also to be careful as if Mother knew about it, she would scold them both.
When Apu arrived with the ingredients Durga mixed it like an expert and gave a slice to Apu and asked him to bring chilli to have more slices. Apu was too short to reach the shelf where the chillies were kept so Druga asked him to leave it and promised to bring more mangoes later.
Apu and Durga prepare themselves a treat
While they were having their treat, Mother arrives and calls for Durga. The siblings gobbled the mangoes as soon as possible but when Durga couldn’t finish them, she hid them behind the jackfruit tree. Durga innocently then went to her mother and gets enquired for wandering around, Apu then suddenly appears telling her mother that he was hungry.
Apu accidentally tells the mother about their treat
Sarbojoya cut some cucumbers when Apu asked her to remove the white stuff as it sticks in his mouth. Durga takes her share and asks hesitantly if there was any rice fry left. At this moment Apu mistakenly reveals to his mother that the tart mangoes have set his teeth on edge. Durga frowns at his brother to stop talking but they get caught and the mother knows that Durga went out of the house without her permission.
Durga tries to fix the situation by saying that she was by the jackfruit tree and never left the house. Fortunately, the conversation gets cut short by the milkwoman and mother asks Durga to help Shorno. As they leave Apu followed his sister to watch the cow being milked. As soon as Apu steps out, he gets a good blow on his back by Durga for his stupidity.
Conclusion
Siblings are truly an excellent package of everything you would ever need. Not only can you fight with them but you can also get along with them, granted only for a little time. The story explores the bond between two siblings, Durga and her younger brother Apu. Their affection for each other is reflected in their actions.
