Unni Katha

By M Mukundan Translated by K M SherrifAnd Neerada Suresh

Content

• Introduction

• Content Analysis of

“Unni Katha”

• Comprehension

• Conclusion

Introduction

• Technique used-Cinematographic, innovative

• Speciality- Story told by grand son to grand mother.

Main Characters

• Unni – a young boy

• Unni’s Mother

• Mutthashi - grand mother

• Melkkoran - a mason

• Kuruman - Panikkan = chief

of artisan community

Mutthashi’s Room

• Room- Bare walls, no framed

photographs, no showpieces,

aglow, faint light of

incandescent bulb.

• Mutthashi’s style- sits on the

cot, leaning against wall,

with legs stretched out.

Unni

• Young boy, imaginative, creative,

prowess story teller.

• A short stubby man, thick

golden ear rings, Pudgy fingers-

many golden rings, fan in hand,

carries fan even when raining,

insensitive, lacks vision,

kuduma.

Kuruman Panikkan-

Pudgy fingers with rings

Palanquin

Hand fan

Retinue of attendants

• A well dressed man, wore a

shirt, cropped hair, mason,

hailed from west, builds

mosques and temples.

Melkkoran

• Grand mother of Unni, frugal

meals, habit of chewing betel

and nut, a bad habit of listening

to a story before sleep.

Mutthashi

• Immense tree, graying tree,

lush foliage, gnarled bough,

Heavy with flowers, air with

heady fragrance, Nests of

karadan chathans- birds with

many colours rested.

Champaka tree

Champaka with birds

Champaka flower

• Oily stone idol, at the base of

Champaka tree, ancient oil

lamp, Champaka-Kaavilamma.

Champaka-Kaavu

Glass tree

• Description- Green glass

leaves, white glass flowers.

• Contrast- Flowers without

fragrance, glittering nests

without birds, never grows

old, never sheds leaves.

• No karadan chathans came.

• Sequence of building tree-

• First sculpted roots, trunk of

tree, branches, carved green

leaves, white flowers.

• Material- logs of glass-wood.

• Look- Exquisite glass tree,

wondrous glass tree,

unmatched in beauty.

Glass tree

Glass-tree

Plot of story

• Mutthashi requests Unni to tell a story. Appearance of Kuruman Panikkan,

• Appearance of Melkkoran,

• Melkkoran convincing Kuruman Panikkan

Plot of story continued

• Felling of champaka,

• Building glass tree,

• Panikkan showered Melkkoran with priceless gifts,

• People from far and near visited.

Expectations of Evaluators

• Spellings-correctness

• Key words

• Simple sentences

• Punctuation Marks

• Handwriting-Legible

• Completeness-

• Presentation- Overall

Types of Questions

• 1 Mark question-word / phrase /

sentence

• 4 marks question- 80 to 100 words.

• 6 marks question-about 200 words

Where

• Where was Kuruman Panikkan going in palanquin?

• To the champaka kaavu (Place) (Answer)

How

(Manner / The Way)

• How did Kuruman Panikkan appear on the wall?

• Short and stubby

Why

• Why was Unni’s mother object unni’s

telling a story to Muttashi?

• Unni was doing his home work.

(Reason)

Who

• Who was Melkkoran?

• A mason (Person)

What

• What kind of a story did Mutthashi plead Unni to tell her?

• Nice story/Story that would send her to sleep (Specific information)

• What had become a bad habit with Mutthashi?

• She could not sleep without a story.

Multiple choice questions

1) Mutthashi could not get sleep without

a. betel and nut

b. kanji

c. unni‟s story.

Answer - c.

2) Mutthashi wanted to listen

to a story which was

a. interesting

b. satisfying

c. that would send her to sleep.

Answer - c.

4 Marks Question

1) Describe the way Kuruman

Panikkan arrived at the

Champaka-kaavu?

Value Points

• Appearance

• Palanquin

• Attendants

• Lamp bearers

• Arrival - departure

2) Trace the stages of building

of glass-tree.

Value Points

•Use - glass – wood

•Sequence - roots, trunk, branches,

leaves, flowers, nests….

•Time taken - one and half a year

3) Does Melkkoran succeed

in substituting Champaka

tree with the glass-tree?

Give reasons.

Value Points

•No

•Replaced-not substituted

•Qualities of Champaka

•Qualities of glass-tree

Symbolism

• “The eastern sky was paling”-

Onslaught of the Western idea

and culture on East.

• “The oil in the pole lamp was

running out”

Symbolism

• Felling of champaka tree and destruction of eggs of birds-

• “The oil in the pole lamp was running out”

6 Mark Question

1) “Let us pull it down and build

a new tree”

a) Why does Melkkoran use the word

„build‟? What is unusual about it?

b) Panikkan and Mutthashi react

differently to this suggestion. What

this tells you about their concern?

Value Points

• Build refers to inanimate thing

• Grow refers to living thing

• Glass tree – inanimate thing

• Unusual- tree building

Value Points

• Panikkan- accepts

enthusiastically, egoistic, self

centered, not worried about the

bad effect.

• Mutthashai- apprehensive,

sensitive, feels for birds and

urchins , emotional, sympathetic.

2) At the end of the story, Unni

makes Mutthashi sleep but

awakens the sensibilities of

the reader. Explain.

• Unni Katha - story, cinematographic technique,

• felling champaka, building glass tree.

Value points

• Glass tree- against nature

• At the end Mutthashi sleeps,

• Awakens the sensibility in the reader