Chapter 7 — Jalebis

Chapter 7 of NCERT Class 8 English (It So Happened), "Jalebis", is a semi-autobiographical story by Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi, translated from Urdu by Sufiya Pathan. A fifth-standard boy at a government school in Kambelpur carries four rupees meant for school fees. When the fee-collector is absent, the coins seem to "speak" to him, urging him to buy jalebis. He eventually gives in, spends all four rupees on the sweets, shares them with neighbourhood children, and is left with nothing for fees. He skips school the next day, prays earnestly under a tree near the railway station for God to miraculously provide four rupees, but no miracle comes. He is later caught for bunking school. As an adult he reflects that if God fulfilled every wish instantly, human beings would never have developed the effort and ingenuity that produced civilisation — even the art of making jalebis.

A fifth-standard boy in Kambelpur (now Atak) carries four rupees to pay his school fees, but the fee-collecting teacher, Master Ghulam Mohammed, is on leave. Outside school, the coins seem to speak to him, tempting him with the sight of fresh, hot jalebis. After an internal struggle, he yields: he buys and devours a whole rupee's worth of jalebis, then distributes more to neighbourhood children, spending all four rupees. Expecting to repay the fees from his monthly scholarship, he discovers the scholarship will be paid the following month. Panicked, he skips school and sits near the railway station, praying fervently to Allah to place four rupees in his bag. No money appears. He is caught at home when his absence is reported. Years later, as an adult, he concludes that if God answered every prayer instantly, human beings would never have developed the effort and skill — including the art of making jalebis — that defines civilisation.

1. 01The boy attends Government School, Kambelpur (now called Atak) in the fifth standard and carries four rupees for school fees and the fund.
2. 02Master Ghulam Mohammed, the fee-collecting teacher, is on leave, so fees are deferred to the next day — leaving the coins 'free' in the boy's pocket.
3. 03The coins are personified: they seem to speak and jingle (khanak-khanak), arguing that money is meant to be spent and that the scholarship will cover the fees the next day.
4. 04The boy spends all four rupees on jalebis from the halwai — one rupee for himself, another rupee's worth distributed to neighbourhood children like a 'Governor' distributing rice, and the remaining two rupees also spent on jalebis for the crowd.
5. 05He plans to repay the fees the next day using his four-rupee monthly scholarship, but discovers at school that the scholarship will be paid the following month, not that day.
6. 06He skips school and prays under a tree near Kambelpur railway station, offering namaaz, reciting ten surats, ayat-al-kursi, and kalma-e-tayyab, and even proposing a 'game' with God — hiding four rupees under a rock — but finds only a hairy worm.
7. 07Caught at home when his school absence is reported, the boy is punished. As an adult he reflects that God's refusal to grant instant wishes is itself a gift: if every need were met on demand, human beings would never have developed the art, effort, and ingenuity that advances civilisation.