Question

Summarise the story with the help of the points given below.

1. Meena’s initial attitude
2. Meena’s meeting with Sudha Murthy in Mumbai
3. Beggar’s incident
4. Change in attitude

Summary Maker

Dos	Don’ts
Use important/relevant points/incidents/events short forms of the text.	Select irrelevant/less important points/ incidents/events
Make a paragraph containing the message, theme etc.	exceed the word limit
Use your own language taking help of the sentences in a topic and key words.	reproduce/copy the text

Answer 1

Meena, an LIC officer in Bangalore and a friend of the writer, was a very pessimistic person. She always looked at the negative side of everything and never appreciated anyone or anything. Being with her often made the writer feel depressed. After Meena was transferred to Bombay, the writer did not meet her for a few years.

One rainy day, while the writer was in Bombay on official work, she happened to meet Meena. To the writer's surprise, Meena had become cheerful and optimistic. While having tea together at the Grand Hotel, Meena revealed that a beggar had changed her life. She narrated how she had seen the beggar and his granddaughter happily playing on a rainy day despite their poverty. Their happiness and contentment made Meena realise how fortunate she was and inspired her to change her attitude towards life.

It took Meena two years to become a positive person. She wished to offer 'gurudakshina' to her guru, the beggar, but he had passed away. Therefore, she expressed her gratitude by sponsoring the beggar's granddaughter to a boarding school. This incident shows that a positive attitude can completely transform a person's life.