CG Board Class 10 English Solutions Lesson 10: Unit 4 Reading A: Swami Is Expelled From School (2026-27)

“Swami Is Expelled From School” is an extract from R.K. Narayan’s famous novel Swami and Friends. Set in the imaginary South Indian town of Malgudi, the story highlights the strict disciplinarian environment of schools during the British colonial period and the psychological pressure felt by students.

The story opens with the Headmaster entering the classroom with an angry, flushed face and an ominous look. The previous day, many students had protested and boycotted school due to a national political strike. The Headmaster reads out the names of the few who attended and then demands explanations from the absentees standing on their desks. The boys offer various excuses: headache, rumors of a school holiday, stomachache, or the death of a grandmother. The Headmaster rejects these excuses harshly, handing out punishments like fines, attendance cancellation, caning, and suspension.

When Swaminathan’s turn comes, he is paralyzed with fear and distracted by his friend Rajam’s pink ears three benches ahead. Swami tries to form explanations in his head about stone-pelting and national freedom protests, but he stammers out that he couldn’t come. The Headmaster calls the school peon, who testifies that Swami was seen breaking the ventilator glass panes in the Headmaster’s room. Unable to deny the charge, Swami receives several severe cane blows on his back. When he cries out in pain, the Headmaster orders him to remain standing on the desk until his dismissal is announced. Overwhelmed by pain, humiliation, and a sudden surge of desperate courage, Swami jumps off the desk, grabs his books, and runs out of the school, muttering, “I don’t care for your dirty school.”

1. Flushed face – Angry or red look /
2. Ominous look – Suggesting that something bad is going to happen /
3. Knuckle – Part of fingers at joints where the bone is near the skin /
4. Gaol – Jail or prison / ,
5. Discreet – Careful and cautious in speech / ,
6. Distress – A feeling of extreme unhappiness or pain / , ,
7. Stammered – Repeated sounds or words nervously /
8. Sinister – Evil, threatening / ,
9. Whack – A sharp, heavy blow with a stick / ,
10. Brigand – A member of a gang, bandit / , ,
11. Defiant – Disobedient, openly refusing to obey / ,
12. Desperation – State of despair, hopelessness / ,
13. Restrained – Controlled, kept in check / ,

• English Note: R.K. Narayan (1906 – 2001) was a legendary Indian author whose fictional works are set in an imaginary South Indian town named Malgudi. His notable novels include Swami and Friends, The Bachelor of Arts, The English Teacher, and The Financial Expert.

(Box Words: Active, Adventurous, Awesome, Beautiful, Bold, Bossy, Brave, Capable, Caring, Confident, Courageous, Curious, Dynamic, Energetic, Enthusiastic, Fascinating, Frugal, Fussy, Good, Greedy, Happy, Hardworking, Healthy, Helpful, Honest, Imaginative, Important, Interesting, Intelligent, Joyful, Kind, Likeable, Lively, Loyal, Motivated, Memorable, Natural, Open-minded, Optimistic, Positive, Precious, Proud, Quarrelsome, Responsible, Selfish, Sharp, Stingy, Sympathetic, Tactful, Thoughtful, Tolerant, Trustworthy, Unique, Valiant, Wise, Young, Zealous.)

Sample Answer:

• Qualities I possess: Active, Caring, Confident, Hardworking, Helpful, Honest, Intelligent, Kind, Responsible, and Trustworthy.
• Qualities I would like to possess and why: I would like to possess the qualities of being Courageous, Tactful, and Optimistic.
• Reason: Being courageous will help me face difficult situations without fear; being tactful will help me communicate gracefully with people during conflicts; and being optimistic will keep me positive during tough challenges in life.

Task: Complete the table with characters, excuses, reactions, and your opinion.

Crossword Grid Clues:

• Across:

1. F_____ : when your face becomes hot and red -> FLUSHED
2. D_____ : feeling that you have no hope and are ready to do anything to change the situation you are in -> DESPERATION
3. R_____ : calm and not showing emotions -> RESTRAINED

• Down:

1. H_____ : to make someone feel stupid or ashamed -> HUMILIATE
2. S_____ : to pause a lot and repeat sounds because of a speech problem or because you are nervous -> STAMMER
3. D_____ : refusing to obey someone or something -> DEFIANT
4. O_____ : making you think that something bad is going to happen -> OMINOUS

• 1. Flushed
• 2. Desperation
• 3. Restrained
• 4. Humiliate
• 5. Stammer
• 6. Defiant
• 7. Ominous

Task: Use the words from the crossword in their correct grammatical forms to fill in the blanks.

1. The teacher’s face flushed at the sight of a dirty classroom.
2. The frail boxer gave a massive blow to the opponent in desperation.
3. How could you humiliate me in front of all my friends.
4. He stammered an answer that he could not even reconstruct later, when he had calmed down.
5. If children are defiant in classroom, they should get punishment.
6. My mother’s ominous look let me know I was in trouble.

Task: Fill in the blanks in the poem using the clues given below.

(Clues: 1. superiority [eminence], 2. making you feel that something bad is going to happen [ominous], 3. to pause a lot and repeat sounds because you are nervous [stammer], 4. the feeling of being extremely upset or worried [distress], 5. to state something in an official manner [pronounces])

Completed Poem:

A personality with eminence, (1)

always with ominous looks, (2)

The moment he comes,

we look into our books.

By hearing his harsh voice,

our confidence is lost,

In spite of knowing the answer,

we stammer at any cost. (3)

The way he put the questions

our senses frost,

We try to recall, and storm our minds,

But alas! the fear all the lessons are lost,

We feel ourselves in distress, (4)

but nothing can be done

And then he pronounces the punishment, (5)

homeworks from his shot gun.

• Simple Past Tense (V2): Expresses a completed action in the past.
• Past Perfect Tense (had + V3): When two actions occurred in the past, the action that took place earlier uses Past Perfect (had + V3), and the action that took place later uses Simple Past (V2).

1. The Headmaster entered the class with a slightly flushed face.
2. Swaminathan wished that he had been anywhere but there at that moment.
3. Rajam sat on the third bench in front.
4. The peon eyed Swaminathan with a sinister look.
5. He jumped down, and grasping his books, rushed out.

1. When I reached the theatre, the movie had already started.
2. All of us ran out of the class when the bell rang for recess.
3. I had gone to the market before it started raining heavily.
4. After I had completed my work, I went to play football with my friends.
5. As I reached home, my mother gave me a glass of hot milk.

Task: Based on the map of Village Murhi for Republic Day flag hoisting procession, rearrange the given jumbled sentences to write a well-organized description of the route.

Rearranged Sentences in Correct Chronological Order:

1. First start from the Government Higher Secondary School, Murhi and then, move a few yards to the right and turn left.
2. When you reach the Bus stand move a few steps still further & then turn left towards the Primary School.
3. Now, return to the main road and go straight till you reach the gate of New Aangan Badi.
4. From the gate of New Aangan Badi move towards your right and after a few yards take a right-turn. When you reach near the temple, turn left towards the pond. Take a left turn towards the road along the fields.
5. Now go straight and turn left and you will reach the vegetable market ground.
6. After a few yards you will reach a split road. Take left from that point to reach Old Aangan Badi. Start moving back towards the split road point & take a left turn.
7. After taking the left turn from split road, walk a few yards & then take another left turn to reach the Health Centre on left side of the road.
8. Finally, turn back and go straight across the road and you will reach the Government Higher Secondary School, Murhi.

Organized Paragraph:

On Republic Day, the procession starts from the Government Higher Secondary School, Murhi, moving a few yards to the right and turning left. When you reach the Bus stand, move a few steps still further and then turn left towards the Primary School. Now, return to the main road and go straight till you reach the gate of New Aangan Badi. From the gate of New Aangan Badi, move towards your right and after a few yards take a right-turn; when you reach near the temple, turn left towards the pond and take a left turn towards the road along the fields. Now go straight and turn left to reach the vegetable market ground. After a few yards, you will reach a split road; take a left from that point to reach Old Aangan Badi. Start moving back towards the split road point and take a left turn. Walk a few yards and then take another left turn to reach the Health Centre on the left side of the road. Finally, turn back and go straight across the road to return to the Government Higher Secondary School, Murhi.

Task: Correct the misspelt words in the passage about bullying based on Appendix-I Listening Text.

Misspelt Words vs Correct Words Table:

Corrected Passage:

“It is difficult to understand bullying. Bullying means repeated act of putting someone into trouble. Why do people have to make the life of another person so miserable? Why do they think they have the right to punch and kick someone they think is weaker than them. I was bullied when I was a child. It was a living hell. I was really afraid to go to school, for many, many years. I knew I was not safe during break times. It was always a group of bullies that got me in the corridors, or on the playing fields. They made me hate school. I know they also changed me for life. I have no confidence now. I’m 32 years old but I’m afraid to speak up for myself. The school bullies took away my belief in myself. They didn’t know that they would scar me for life. The physical scars have gone but not the emotional ones.”

Task: Answer the questions based on the school timetable provided in the textbook.