English LiteratureICSE Class 9 · Chapter 7

The Boy who Broke the Bank by Ruskin Bond: ICSE Class 9 Summary and Questions

Updated 15 October 2026 · Draft, not yet fact-checked

In Ruskin Bond's The Boy who Broke the Bank, Nathu, the sweeper boy of the Pipalnagar Bank, grumbles that his wages are late. His complaint passes from person to person, growing at each step into a rumour that the bank is failing. Depositors rush to withdraw their money, the bank collapses, and Nathu never learns that he started it.

What The Boy who Broke the Bank – Ruskin Bond is about

The Boy who Broke the Bank is a short story by Ruskin Bond (born 1934), the much-loved writer of stories set in the small towns and hills of North India. It is one of the five Treasure Chest stories prescribed for ICSE Class IX in CISCE's 2028 syllabus.

The story is a comic, chain-like tale about rumour. A small, true complaint, that a sweeper has not been paid, is passed on by a washerman's son, two housewives, a shopkeeper, a barber and his customers. Each speaker adds a little exaggeration until the whole town believes the bank is about to fail. Their panic then makes the false rumour come true: a self-fulfilling prophecy. The irony is completed when Nathu, the 'boy who broke the bank', blames 'hooligans' and has no idea of his part in the collapse.

The story is in copyright and the Treasure Chest text was not available to us. This page keeps to the outline corroborated by published study guides and avoids long quotations; check all details in your Treasure Chest.

Weightage: CISCE publishes no Class IX paper layout; the Class IX examination is set by schools on Acts I-II of Julius Caesar and five stories and five poems from Treasure Chest. In the board pattern, prose supplies one-mark MCQs and 16-mark extract questions.Source: CISCE ICSE 2028 English syllabus (Paper 2, Class IX portion); CISCE ICSE 2027 Specimen Question Paper, Literature in English

The Boy who Broke the Bank – Ruskin Bond: summary

In our own words, in the order of the text. Read the NCERT text itself too: the board quotes from it.

Nathu, a boy who sweeps the steps of the Pipalnagar Bank, owned by Seth Govind Ram, grumbles as he works. It is already the twentieth of the month and he has not been paid. He says he will leave the job as soon as he gets his money. Sitaram, the washerman's son, hears him and promises to look out for another job for him.

On his rounds delivering clothes, Sitaram mentions to Mrs Srivastava that the bank has not paid its sweeper and that Nathu wants to leave. Mrs Srivastava repeats this to her friend Mrs Bhushan in the market, and Mrs Bhushan draws a dramatic conclusion: if the bank cannot pay even its sweeper, it must be in serious trouble.

The story spreads to the shopkeepers. Kamal Kishore passes it to his neighbour Deep Chand, the barber, who is so startled that he nicks an elderly customer's ear while shaving him. The customer tries to telephone Seth Govind Ram, only to learn that the Seth is away on holiday in Kashmir. To the townspeople this sounds suspicious, and wild guesses follow: the Seth has run away, gone bankrupt, or worse.

Soon people hurry to withdraw their savings. Even Ganpat, an old beggar who has long pretended to be crippled, leaps up and runs to the bank to take out his money, revealing that his lameness was a sham. By noon a crowd has besieged the bank. It runs out of ready cash, the manager cannot calm the crowd, and angry depositors throw stones and rubbish. The bank collapses.

Next morning Nathu arrives to find the steps covered with broken glass and stones, and grumbles about the hooligans who have made a mess for him to clean. Sitaram cheerfully tells him that the bank has failed and he should be ready for his new job. Nathu is puzzled: how could a bank collapse? He never realises that his own complaint began the chain of events.

Themes and message

The power of rumour

A small, true fact (a sweeper's late pay) becomes, through retelling, the 'news' that the bank is failing. Each person adds their own interpretation. Bond shows how quickly gossip grows and how much damage it can do.

From the text: The chain: Nathu, Sitaram, Mrs Srivastava, Mrs Bhushan, Kamal Kishore, Deep Chand, the customer, the crowd.

Panic and the self-fulfilling prophecy

The bank was not failing, but when everyone tries to withdraw money at once, it runs out of cash and collapses. Belief, not fact, causes the disaster.

From the text: The run on the bank: everyone demands cash on the same day.

Irony

The 'boy who broke the bank' is the humblest person in the story and never knows what he did; he even blames 'hooligans'. Ganpat the 'crippled' beggar runs fastest of all.

From the text: Nathu's puzzlement at the end; Ganpat's sprint.

Small-town life and the treatment of the poor

Bond paints a lively, gossiping small town. At the same time, the story begins with a poor boy's unpaid wages, an injustice nobody cares about until it seems to threaten their own money.

From the text: Nathu's grumble on the twentieth of the month.

Characters

Nathu

The sweeper boy at the bank.

Grumbling and discontented about his late pay.
Innocent and unaware: never knows he caused the collapse.
Hard-working: sweeps the steps even after the disaster.

The opening and the ending.

Sitaram

The washerman's son.

Friendly and helpful to Nathu.
Talkative: passes the news on his rounds.

His promise of a new job and his conversation with Mrs Srivastava.

Mrs Srivastava and Mrs Bhushan

Townswomen who spread the story.

Gossiping and imaginative: Mrs Bhushan turns the news into a crisis.

Their meeting in the market.

Deep Chand and the townspeople

The barber, shopkeepers and depositors.

Excitable and easily panicked.
Self-interested: each rushes to save his own money.

The nicked ear, the phone call, the run on the bank.

Ganpat

An old beggar.

A fraud: pretends to be crippled.
Comic: his panic exposes his trick.

He jumps up and runs to the bank.

How it is written

Device	Example	Effect
Chain structure	The news passes from one character to the next.	Lets the reader watch the rumour grow step by step.
Situational irony	Nathu, who started it, blames hooligans; the sound bank collapses.	Creates humour and makes the point about rumour.
Humour and exaggeration	The barber nicking a customer's ear; the 'crippled' beggar running.	Keeps the tone light and comic.
Ironic title	'The Boy who Broke the Bank'.	A poor sweeper 'breaks' a bank without intending to or knowing it.

Key quotations

Short lines worth knowing by heart: who says them, when, and why they matter.

hooligans
Nathu: The next morning, finding broken glass and stones on the steps (as quoted in study guides).
The final irony: he blames others for a disaster his own words began.

The Boy who Broke the Bank – Ruskin Bond in real life

Each concept, met in an everyday situation. Read the situation, answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

Forwarding unverified messages

Suppose a message in your family group claims a local bank is shutting down and everyone should withdraw money today.

What should you do, and how does the story help?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Check official sources.
Do not forward unverified claims.

Answer: Pipalnagar's bank fell because nobody checked a rumour. Verifying before forwarding prevents the same panic.

Memory hook: Check before you chat.

Chinese whispers

Imagine playing a game where a sentence is whispered along a line of ten classmates.

Why does it change, and how is this like the story?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Each person mishears or adds.
The final version is very different.

Answer: Like the game, each teller in the story adds a little; the end result is a disaster.

Memory hook: Each mouth adds a bit.

Fair treatment of workers

Suppose a school bus driver's salary is delayed for weeks.

What does the story suggest about such small injustices?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

The grievance is real.
Ignoring it can have unexpected effects.

Answer: Nathu's unpaid wages were a real problem that nobody addressed; paying workers on time is both just and wise.

Memory hook: Small wrongs, big ripples.

Topics in this chapter

How a Rumour Grows and the Irony of the Bank Collapse

How the school exam asks The Boy who Broke the Bank – Ruskin Bond

The question patterns to expect, and the method that works for each.

Question type	How it is asked	Method
MCQ (1 mark)	Who said what to whom, the sequence of the rumour, Ganpat's secret, or the meaning of the title.	Learn the chain of characters in order.
Extract question	An extract from Nathu's complaint, the market conversation, the barber's shop or the ending.	Place it in the chain; say how the rumour changes at that point.
Theme	'How does a rumour lead to the collapse of the bank?' / 'Comment on the title.'	Trace the distortion; explain the self-fulfilling prophecy and the irony.
Character	Nathu, Sitaram, Mrs Bhushan, Ganpat.	Trait plus incident.

Tricks to remember The Boy who Broke the Bank – Ruskin Bond

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

The rumour chain
N-S-S-B-K-D: Nathu, Sitaram, Srivastava, Bhushan, Kamal Kishore, Deep Chand.
Use it when: Order of the rumour.
Fact → guess → panic → collapse
Four steps of a rumour.
Use it when: Theme answers.
Ganpat's legs
The fake cripple runs the fastest.
Use it when: Irony questions.

The Boy who Broke the Bank – Ruskin Bond: exam-level solved questions

Ordered from exam level to HOTS. Cover the solution, write your own, then compare step by step.

Example 1: MCQ: Nathu's complaint · 1 mark · MCQExam level

Nathu grumbles because:
(a) the bank manager scolded him (b) he has not been paid his wages (c) the steps are too dirty (d) Sitaram took his job

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

It is the twentieth and he has not been paid.

Answer: (b) he has not been paid his wages.

Example 2: MCQ: the Seth's absence · 1 mark · MCQExam level

When the elderly customer phones Seth Govind Ram, he learns that the Seth is:
(a) ill in hospital (b) on holiday in Kashmir (c) in a meeting (d) at the bank

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

His absence fuels suspicion.

Answer: (b) on holiday in Kashmir.

Example 3: Tracing the rumour · 4 marks · Short answerHarder exam level

Trace how Nathu's complaint changes as it passes from Sitaram to Mrs Bhushan.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Fact: the sweeper is unpaid and wants to leave.
Sitaram passes the fact to Mrs Srivastava.
Mrs Bhushan's inference: the bank must be in trouble.

Answer: Nathu's fact is that he has not been paid and will leave. Sitaram reports it fairly accurately to Mrs Srivastava: the bank is not paying its sweeper. Mrs Srivastava tells Mrs Bhushan, who turns it into a conclusion: if the bank cannot pay a sweeper, it must have no money. The fact becomes an alarming inference, the first big distortion.

Example 4: Ganpat · 3 marks · Short answerHarder exam level

What does the Ganpat episode add to the story?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Humour.
Another example of appearance vs reality.
Shows the extent of the panic.

Answer: It is comic: the 'crippled' beggar leaps up and runs to the bank. It shows appearance versus reality, like the 'failing' bank that was really sound. It also shows how complete the panic is: even a beggar has savings and fears losing them.

Example 5: Self-fulfilling prophecy · 4 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency

Explain how the bank collapses even though it was not in trouble.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Banks lend out deposits; they keep limited cash.
Everyone withdrawing at once exhausts the cash.
Panic and violence finish it.

Answer: A bank keeps only part of its deposits as cash. When the rumour makes everyone demand their money on the same day, the bank runs out of ready cash. The crowd, now sure the rumour was true, turns angry and violent. Thus the belief that the bank would fail caused it to fail: a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Example 6: Who is to blame? · 4 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency

Is Nathu responsible for the collapse? Give your view.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

His complaint was true and harmless.
Others distorted it.

Answer: Not really. Nathu only stated a true grievance about his own wages. The responsibility lies with those who exaggerated it (Mrs Bhushan's inference, the speculation about the Seth) and with the townspeople who panicked without checking facts. The title is ironic precisely because the 'boy' is the least guilty. (A view that the bank was partly at fault for not paying its sweeper is also reasonable.)

Where the marks are

How a typical answer is marked: the value points the examiner looks for and the marks each earns.

4 marks: 'Explain how the bank collapses even though it was not in trouble.' Indicative split (Class IX papers are marked by schools). (4 marks)

Step	Marks
Rumour leads everyone to withdraw at once	1
Bank runs out of ready cash and cannot pay everyone	1
Crowd refuses; violence; collapse	1
Term or idea: self-fulfilling prophecy / belief causes the event	1

Where students lose marks in The Boy who Broke the Bank – Ruskin Bond

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

Mistake: Getting the chain out of order
Many minor characters.
Do this: Learn the chain with the memory trick.
Usually costs: Sequence MCQs.
Mistake: Saying the bank really was bankrupt
Pupils miss the self-fulfilling prophecy.
Do this: The bank failed because of the run caused by rumour.
Usually costs: Theme marks.
Mistake: Blaming Nathu
The title misleads.
Do this: Explain the irony: his complaint was true and innocent.
Usually costs: Interpretation marks.
Mistake: Adding details not in the text
Pupils elaborate the riot.
Do this: Stick to the text: crowd, no cash, anger, collapse.
Usually costs: Accuracy.

Practice questions on The Boy who Broke the Bank – Ruskin Bond

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

Q1 · 1 mark · MCQExam level
Who promises to find Nathu a new job?
(a) Mrs Srivastava (b) Deep Chand (c) Sitaram (d) Seth Govind Ram
Hint
The washerman's son.
Answer
(c) Sitaram.
Q2 · 2 marks · Short answerExam level
What happens in the barber's shop?
Hint
An accident.
Answer
Deep Chand the barber, startled by the news from Kamal Kishore, nicks an elderly customer's ear while shaving him; the customer then tries to phone the Seth.
Q3 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder exam level
What happens at the bank by noon?
Hint
Crowd, cash, stones.
Answer
A big crowd gathers to withdraw money; the bank runs out of cash; the manager cannot satisfy them, and the angry crowd throws stones and rubbish at the bank.
Q4 · 2 marks · Short answerHarder exam level
Why is the title ironic?
Hint
Nathu's knowledge.
Answer
A poor sweeper boy, the least powerful person in town, 'breaks' a bank, yet he never intended it and never learns that he did it.
Q5 · 3 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency
Suggest two ways the townspeople could have stopped the rumour.
Hint
Checking facts.
Answer
Check the fact at the source (ask Nathu or the bank manager); avoid passing on guesses as news; the bank could have issued a reassurance. Any two reasoned ways.
Q6 · 4 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency
How is the story relevant in the age of social media forwards?
Hint
Speed of rumours.
Answer
Rumours now spread in minutes through messages; false 'news' about banks, medicines or people can cause real panic and harm. The story teaches us to verify before forwarding.

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

1.Who wrote The Boy who Broke the Bank?Show answer
Ruskin Bond.
2.Who owns the Pipalnagar Bank?Show answer
Seth Govind Ram.
3.What is Nathu's job?Show answer
Sweeping the bank's steps.
4.Who is Deep Chand?Show answer
A barber.
5.What is Ganpat's secret?Show answer
He pretends to be crippled.
6.Whom does Nathu blame at the end?Show answer
Hooligans.

Quick revision checklist

The night before the exam: can you do each of these without looking?

Can you list the rumour chain in order?
Can you explain how the rumour changes at Mrs Bhushan?
Can you explain the run on the bank?
Can you explain the irony of the title and ending?
Can you relate the story to rumours today?

The Boy who Broke the Bank – Ruskin Bond: frequently asked questions

Did the bank actually have money problems?

The story suggests not: it collapsed because everyone withdrew their money at once in panic.

What is a 'run on the bank'?

When many depositors try to withdraw their money at the same time out of fear, which can make even a sound bank run out of cash.

Why are there so few quotations on this page?

The story is in copyright and the Treasure Chest text was not available to us; read the original for exact wording.

Is this story in Class X?

No. It is one of the five Class IX stories in CISCE's 2028 syllabus.

Based on: CISCE ICSE 2028 English (01) syllabus (Classes IX and X); CISCE ICSE 2028 Appendix I: List of Prescribed Textbooks; CISCE Regulations for ICSE Examination Year 2028; CISCE ICSE 2028 Appendix I: List of Prescribed Textbooks; The Boy Who Broke the Bank: summary (Englicist); The Boy Who Broke the Bank: summary and explanation (SuccessCDs)