UP Board Solutions for Class 9 English Prose Chapter 4 Plants Also Breathe and Feel

UP Board Solutions for Class 9 English Prose Chapter 4 Plants Also Breathe and Feel

About the Author 

The writer of this lesson is anonymous, as no writer is mentioned for this work. The anonym sharply describes the high intellectual qualities of Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose and his patriotic attitude. From the article, we grasp that the author of this article is well versed in Bose's life as well as the incidents that happened during British rule in India. The writer has shown great perfection in narrating the good qualities, virtues, talent, and aptitude of the great Indian scientist. 

About the Lesson 

The lesson has a background of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. At that time India was not rich in the scientific field and it was ruled by Britishers. They had discrimination between Indians and Britons. Jagadish Chandra Bose is the protagonist of the lesson. He invented the scientific machine to prove life in the plant kingdom. India's scientific aptitude was established in the world by this research. He also fought successfully against salary discrimination between the ruling class and the ruled ones. He also explored India's glorious past and awakened hope for the future generation. 

[All of us know that plants have life, but how many of us know that they have hearts, can feel and see. Read about the scientist who made this dramatic discovery.] 

[1] It was an event that surprised the scientific world. It was undreamed of thing. Here was a man who had built a unique instrument-an instrument that could measure the growth of plants. Here was a man who had proved with this wonderful machine that plants have hearts and can feel. The machine showed that plants have sight and a sense which tells them that a stranger is approaching. "Your instrument is a wonderful thing," said the great men who had come to the Paris Congress of Science, 1900. They were amazed as the inventor showed them how to use the machine. "What do you call this instrument ?" they asked. "A Crescograph," replied Jagadish Chandra Bose, the great scientist, who had built this wonderful machine. "And where was it made ?" the scientists asked. "In India," was the answer. 

[2] The reply caused greater surprise. India in the nineteenth century was well known for its greatness in the fields of fine arts, literature, and philosophy. But in the field of science, it had not progressed much. Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose with his invention made a name for himself and his country in the scientific world. Bose was born in 1858 in a village in Bengal. After studying Physics at Calcutta University, he went to England for further studies. He graduated from Cambridge, then returned to India and was appointed Professor of Physics in Presidency College at Calcutta.

[3] A three-year struggle began between Bose and the government in which he was victorious. An Indian, in those days of British rule, usually received two-thirds of the salary paid to a European Professor. Bose's appointment was a temporary one, so he was given only half the rate for a European. Bose was not the man to take this quietly. He felt that people who did the same amount and same kind of work should be paid the same salary whatever race they belonged to. It is worth remembering that discoveries do not come from the faithful followers and the yes-men of science; they come from the doubters and the rebels. Bose was, by nature, a rebel. He refused to touch any part of his salary for three years. It was a question of his self-respect and he was not ready to give up his principles. In the end, victory was his. 

[4] Bose now began the work which has made him famous all over the world. He had, from boyhood, been interested in animal and plant life, and now his work in Physics led him back to his old love. He had noticed that his wireless receiver showed signs of 'tiredness' after it had been in use for some time, but in some strange way got back its power after being 'rested'. Here was food for thought, the kind of thought from which great discoveries come. Until the end of the Middle Ages, the world was looked on as one beautiful unity, created by God. The man believed that everything in the world, from man to rocks and stones, had its place and purpose. The discoveries of Galileo and Newton changed this world picture. The man began to study each branch of science separately in greater detail and there developed several different kinds of sciences. Bose, however, recognized a unity among all these different branches o science.

[5] He realized that there was a similarity in the behavior of lifeless and living things. It was, however, not easy to convince others. People hold on to their old beliefs and do not like to change them. Bose suggested that the animal, vegetable and mineral kingdoms were one and had a great deal in common. He said that plants and metals had a life of their own and could become 'tired', depressed' or happy'. People laughed at him. They did not take him seriously. Bose knew he was right and proved it. To begin with, he designed and built a machine that recorded his findings with maximum exactness. This was the Crescograph', the amazing instrument that records the growth of plants. It magnifies the movement of plant tissues ten thousand times and can record the reaction of plants to manures, noise, and other stimuli. The Crescograph proved that Bose had not been wrong. It showed that plants have hearts and are capable of feeling. The Crescograph indicated that plants have keen sight and react to rays of light and wireless waves. The machine proved that plants have a special sense which tells them of the approach of a stranger. The story of this great scientist will not be complete without some mention of his concern for India and her people. He had a deep faith in the intelligence of his countrymen. Bose was certain that they were as capable of doing great things today as their ancestors had done in the past. In an address at a convocation of the University of Mysore in November 1927, Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose spoke about India's glory in the past and declared that it was action and not idleness that was responsible for that glory. He believed that there could be no happiness for a single person unless it had been won for all. And this great scientist wanted his countrymen to have undying hope and faith in the future.