English LiteratureICSE Class 9 · The Boy who Broke the Bank – Ruskin Bond

The Boy who Broke the Bank (Ruskin Bond): How a Rumour Grows and the Irony of the Collapse

Updated 18 October 2026 · Fact-checked

In Ruskin Bond's The Boy who Broke the Bank, Nathu, the sweeper of the Pipalnagar Bank, grumbles that his wages are late. His remark passes from person to person, growing 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.

Follow the arrows: one small grumble grows at each step into a bank collapse, and Nathu never knows he caused it, which is the irony.

Illustration drawn for QuestionBuddy.

Understand How a Rumour Grows and the Irony of the Bank Collapse

Author and genre. Ruskin Bond (born 1934) is a writer of stories set in small towns and hills of North India. The story is a comic, chain-like tale about rumour.

The chain. Nathu sweeps the steps of the Pipalnagar Bank, owned by Seth Govind Ram. It is the twentieth and he is unpaid. He says he will leave when he gets his money. Sitaram, the washerman's son, mentions to Mrs Srivastava that the bank has not paid its sweeper. She tells Mrs Bhushan, who concludes that if the bank cannot pay its sweeper it is in serious trouble. The news reaches Kamal Kishore and Deep Chand, the barber, who nicks a customer's ear in his surprise. The customer tries to telephone the Seth and learns he is on holiday in Kashmir, which sounds suspicious.

The run. People hurry to withdraw savings. Even Ganpat, an old beggar who pretended to be crippled, runs to the bank. By noon a crowd besieges it, the cash runs out and the bank collapses.

The ending. Nathu finds broken glass on the steps and grumbles about hooligans. Sitaram tells him to be ready for his new job. Nathu never realises that his complaint began the chain.

Themes. The power of rumour; panic and the self-fulfilling prophecy; irony; small-town life and the treatment of the poor.

Devices. Comic exaggeration, irony and a chain structure.

How a Rumour Grows and the Irony of the Bank Collapse: key facts

The chain: Nathu
Sitaram
Mrs Srivastava
Mrs Bhushan
Kamal Kishore
Deep Chand
Customer
Crowd; Order of the rumour.
Self-fulfilling prophecy: False belief
Panic
Run on the bank
Collapse; Belief causes the failure.
Themes: Rumour
Panic
Irony
Small-town life; Choose by the question.
Irony: Humblest person breaks the bank
Beggar runs fastest
Nathu blames hooligans; Three examples.

How to answer How a Rumour Grows and the Irony of the Bank Collapse questions

Use this for a rumour or irony question.

1State the first fact and how it changed.
2Show two links in the chain with their additions.
3Explain the result.
4Name the irony or the self-fulfilling prophecy.
5Link to the moral about gossip.

How a Rumour Grows and the Irony of the Bank Collapse in real life

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

A school rumour

Suppose a student spreads a rumour that the school canteen will run out of samosas today. By the break everyone believes it and rushes to the canteen at once, and the samosas really do run out.

Which idea from the story does this illustrate?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

A small remark grows with each retelling.
Belief changes behaviour.
The false news becomes true.

Answer: It illustrates a self-fulfilling prophecy, as in the story where the false rumour makes everyone rush to the bank, so the cash really does run out and the bank fails.

Memory hook: Belief makes it true.

Tricks to remember How a Rumour Grows and the Irony of the Bank Collapse

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

Chain of tongues
Each speaker adds a little.
Use it when: Rumour.
Cash runs out
A bank fails if everyone withdraws together.
Use it when: Self-fulfilling.
Hooligans
Nathu blames hooligans.
Use it when: Irony.

How a Rumour Grows and the Irony of the Bank Collapse: solved examples

Ordered from board level to HOTS. Try each one before you open the solution.

Example 1: The sweeper · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

Who sweeps the steps of the bank?
(a) Sitaram (b) Nathu (c) Ganpat (d) Deep Chand

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Nathu is the sweeper boy who sweeps the bank steps.

Answer: (b) Nathu.

Example 2: Start of the rumour (3 marks) · 3 marks · Short answerBoard level

How does Nathu's complaint begin the rumour?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Late pay (1)
Sitaram hears (1)
Passed on (1).

Answer: Nathu grumbles that he is unpaid and will leave. Sitaram hears him and tells Mrs Srivastava that the bank has not paid its sweeper, and from there the story is passed on.

Example 3: Growth of the rumour (4 marks) · 4 marks · Long answerHarder board level

Show how the rumour changes from Mrs Srivastava to Mrs Bhushan to the townspeople.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Unpaid sweeper (1)
Mrs Bhushan's conclusion (1)
Seth away (1)
Run on bank (1).

Answer: Mrs Srivastava repeats that the sweeper is unpaid. Mrs Bhushan concludes that if the bank cannot pay its sweeper it is in serious trouble. When the Seth is found to be in Kashmir, townspeople guess he has run away or gone bankrupt, and they hurry to withdraw savings.

Example 4: Self-fulfilling prophecy (4 marks) · 4 marks · Long answerHarder board level

Explain how the bank, which was not failing, collapses.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Rumour false (1)
Crowd demands cash (1)
Cash runs out (1)
Collapse (1).

Answer: The bank was not failing, but when everyone demands money on the same day it runs out of ready cash and cannot satisfy depositors. The belief in the failure causes the failure.

Example 5: Irony (4 marks) · 4 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency

"The boy who broke the bank" is the humblest person in the story. Discuss the irony.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Nathu low status (1)
Starts the chain (1)
Unaware (1)
Blames hooligans (1).

Answer: Nathu, a sweeper boy, starts the chain of rumour that destroys the bank, yet never knows. He blames hooligans for the mess and puzzles over how a bank could collapse. The irony is heightened by Ganpat, the pretend cripple, who runs fastest to withdraw his money.

Where students lose marks in How a Rumour Grows and the Irony of the Bank Collapse

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

Mistake: Retelling only
No analysis.
Wrong working
The bank failed.
Right working
The bank failed because everyone demanded cash after a rumour.
Do this: Explain the cause.
Usually costs: 1 to 2 marks
Mistake: Calling Nathu a clerk
Role confusion.
Wrong working
Nathu is a clerk.
Right working
Nathu is a sweeper boy.
Do this: Learn roles.
Usually costs: 1 mark
Mistake: No irony named
The device is missing.
Wrong working
Nathu blames hooligans.
Right working
Irony: the cause of the collapse blames hooligans.
Do this: Name the device.
Usually costs: 1 mark

Exam tips

List the chain in order.
Name the self-fulfilling prophecy.
Mention Ganpat for irony.
Use short phrases only.
Give two reasons in opinion answers.

Practice questions on How a Rumour Grows and the Irony of the Bank Collapse

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 · MCQBoard level
Who owns the Pipalnagar Bank?
(a) Seth Govind Ram (b) Deep Chand (c) Kamal Kishore (d) Sitaram
Hint
The Seth is the owner of the bank.
Answer
(a) Seth Govind Ram.
Q2 · 3 marks · Short answerBoard level
Where is the Seth when the rumour spreads? (3 marks)
Hint
Why it sounds suspicious.
Answer
He is on holiday in Kashmir, which makes townspeople suspect that he has run away.
Q3 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
What happens to Ganpat and why is it comic? (3 marks)
Hint
Pretend lameness.
Answer
He leaps up and runs to the bank to withdraw his money, exposing that his lameness was a sham.
Q4 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
How does the bank collapse? (3 marks)
Hint
Crowd and cash.
Answer
By noon a crowd besieges it, the cash runs out, the manager cannot calm the depositors and the bank collapses.
Q5 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
What do we learn about small-town life from the story? (3 marks)
Hint
Gossip and the poor.
Answer
The town is lively and gossiping, easily panicked, and indifferent to a poor boy's unpaid wages until its own money seems at risk.
Q6 · 4 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency
Is the townspeople's panic or Nathu's remark more to blame for the collapse? Give two reasons. (4 marks)
Hint
Use the chain.
Answer
The panic is more to blame. Nathu's remark was true and harmless, but each person added a worse meaning, and depositors acted on belief rather than fact. Nathu started the chain, but the exaggeration and rush caused the failure.

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 it?Show answer
Ruskin Bond.
2.Which bank?Show answer
The Pipalnagar Bank.
3.Who is the washerman's son?Show answer
Sitaram.
4.Who is the barber?Show answer
Deep Chand.
5.Who is the pretend cripple?Show answer
Ganpat.
6.Where is the Seth?Show answer
On holiday in Kashmir.

How a Rumour Grows and the Irony of the Bank Collapse: frequently asked questions

Which genre?

A comic story about rumour.

Is the text quoted?

The notes paraphrase the story rather than quoting it, so check your textbook for exact wording.

Which Class?

ICSE Class IX.