Back to: CBSE Class 5th English Guide and Notes
Table of Contents
Introduction
Two brothers who are kind and courteous to one another are the subject of this little play. The tale also demonstrates the value of learning from real-world experiences in addition to what we study in the classroom. This play is based on Munshi Premchand’s well-known Hindi short tale ‘Bade Bhai Saheb.’ The speaker believes that by keeping up with the same grades, the older sibling built a solid academic background. The younger brother thinks that his older sibling is diligent and knowledgeable, and that he should blindly obey him because we have all been taught since we were small kids to respect and obey our elders. Munna enjoys playing more than studying unlike Bhaiya. However, he does not only succeed in his tests aces the test with flying colours.
Scene 1
The story’s narrator opens by describing that the older brother, Bhaiya was five years older than Munna in both age and class. Initially, the event occurs in a dormitory room. There was a study table with two brothers, aged 9 and 14, seated at it. The younger brother, Munna, is painting pictures of birds and other animals while the older brother, Bhaiya, is reading a book. Munna begs Bhaiya to accompany him to the village mela, but Bhaiya denies, claiming that he never wastes his time on such activities and prefers to study. He reprimands Munna for never studying and spending all of his time playing. He makes Munna realize that their father is wasting the hard-earned money he uses to pay their fees. Munna then breaks down in tears and expresses his desire to go home. However, Bhaiya persuades him and creates a systematic timetable for him to adhere to. Munna reads the schedule and asks why there is no time slot designated for playing. He is not required to spend any time playing, according to Bhaiya.
Scene 2
Bhaiya is visibly upset when the next scene begins because, despite his best efforts to excel, he failed once more, while Munna was now just two years his junior in class. Not only that, but he had also excelled in all of his classes. But Bhaiya was unsuccessful. Does this suggest the older brother is less intelligent? A resounding “no,” in the author’s opinion. Every person is capable of understanding things in a different way. The older brother places the blame on the unfair educational system. According to Bhaiya, the main issue is the bias towards assessing children only on the basis of memory.
Scene 3
In the third scene, the results had been released once more, and Munna had prospered while Bhaiya had once more failed. Bhaiya was quite angry and Munna too, was depressed to see his brother in such distress. But Bhaiya now treats Munna more kindly. This led to Munna getting into more mischief and studying even less than before. Munna is scolded for acting carelessly once more. He is informed by his older brother that while their parents are not sufficiently educated, they are much more knowledgeable than him, Similar to that, he is not free to act anyway he pleases just because he is one grade below Bhaiya. Munna acknowledges his brother’s point of view and expresses regret for his actions. After a heartfelt discussion between the two, Munna exclaims, “Bhaiya, I love you!”
