Back to: Kerala Board Class 9th English Guide and Notes
Table of Contents
Introduction
The story “The Race” revolves around a twelve-year-old boy named Tarun,who was an ordinary student and was always demotivated for his unsatisfactory marks by his parents. He loses his confidence after realising that he is good for nothing. However, he is driven by a desire to be a fast runner.
One day he meets a trained athlete and coach Ram Narayan, who admires his talent in the field of athelete and promises to teach him on the condition that he wins the Children’s Day race. Unfortunately, Tarun not only fails but also finishes the race at last.Despite the failure, Ram Narayan agrees to train him for his determination and courage.
Tarun’s family
Tarun’s elder brother always made the family proud unlike Tarun. However, Tarun was blessed with the strength of a great athlete and was an excellent runner. He would run for hours, be it day or night. At times, he would miss his school bus and would then run to school, which was five miles away from his home. Unfortunately, his parents hated his running and wanted him to concentrate more on his studies.
On the other hand, he belonged to a middle-class family, and knew that, to achieve his dream, he needed an intensive training, the amount for which was well beyond his family’s reach. His father was very aggressive as Tarun failed in his terminal examinations.His friends too made fun of him. It was a day he wanted to wipe out from his memory and so he ran all around the park. After about an hour, he was fully exhausted and sat bench and started panting heavily.
The meeting
On the same bench, an elderly gentleman, Ram Narayan, a sixty-year-old man came and sat beside him. He had won an Olympic medal in the 400-meter in the 1960s . He recognised a potential runner in him and promised him to train him only on the condition that he would win the Children’s Day race at the Nehru Stadium. Tarun began his practise with full enthusiasm. He would get up at four in the morning and run up to ten miles. In the evenings,he would time himself according to the 1,000 metre distance prescribed by the ccompetition
The final day
On November 14, Tarun was very excited. He was a little nervous, but then he noticed his mother cheering him on from the crowd,which instilled confidence in him. The race began with Tarun leading the way, however Tarun failed to see a shallow path on the track and slipped. He sat up and resumed his run. Unfortunately, he slipped once again after getting up. Tarun began to cry after realising that he would lose the race.
He heard his mother and Ram Narayan encouraging him to run at that same moment. He sat up and resumed his run. The crowd was cheering for Pawan, the boy who actually won the race. However,the audience cheered for Tarun too for his determination for not giving up. Even Ram Narayan appreciated him and asked him to come for training the next day as he had won the toughest race of his life.
