Poem - 1 : “A Photograph” by Shirley Toulson

Introduction
The poem captures three different moods and situations in three stanzas. The first one tells about
a snapshot or an instant cardboard-photo of three girls. They are cousins. The eldest one,12 years
old, became the mother of the poetess after marriage. They are enjoying a sea holiday, putting
on funny dresses. Their uncle clicks the camera and captures the smiling faces of all the three.
Some 20-30 years later, the mother looks at the photo and laughs. She tells the poetess how her
cousins Betty and Dolly had all dressed for the holiday. The outing on the beach in a quaint dress
was the mother’s past. But her laughter has become a thing of the past for the poetess. The mother
passed away some twelve years ago. The void created by her death has made life dull and
eventless.
Summary
The poetess looks at the photograph of her late mother, with her two cousins on a sea beach. The
mother was the eldest of the group, 12 years old, with a lovely face. They were escorted by the
uncle, who clicked the camera. The girls stood in shallow water. The sea waves seemed to be
washing their feet which changed fast with the passage of time. Only the sea has shown no
change in its behavior over the years.
The mother happened to see her photo after a time gap of some 20-30 years. She was amused
to see the strange dresses of all the three girls. She blushed and laughed. She told the poetess that
they had been dressed for the pleasure trip by her cousins Betty and Dolly.
The sea holiday was the mother’s past, but after she had passed away, her laughter became a
thing of the past for the poetess. Both had lost their newness with the passing of time. The
photograph is twisted and faded; the memory of the mother’s laughter has also grown faint.
The mother of the poetess died some 12 years ago. There is nothing but a pall of silence spread
all around. She has nothing to say about that period since the mother left.
Text of the Poem
The cardboard shows me how it was
When the two girl cousins went paddling,
Each one holding one of my mother, hands
And she the big girl-some twelve years or so.
All three stood still to smile through their hair
At the uncle with the camera. A sweet face.
My mother,s,that was before I was born.
And the sea, which appears to have changed less,
Washed their terribly transient feet.
Some twenty-thirty-years later
She’d laugh at the snapshot.”See Betty
And Dolly. ‘’she’d say.”and look how they
Dressed us for the beach.” The sea holiday
Was her past, mine is her laughter. Both wry
With the laboured ease of loss.
Poetic Devices Used in the poem
1.Alliteration – My Mother’s hands
- Stood still to smile
- Terribly transient
-Silence silences
2.Personification – The cardboard shows me how it was
3.Transfered Epithet – Washed their terribly transient feet
4.Oxymoron – Laboured ease

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Extracts/Stanzas for Comprehension
Read the stanza carefully and answer the questions that follow :
1. The cardboard shows me how it was
When the two girl cousins went paddling,
Each one holding one of my mother, hands
And she the big girl-some twelve years or so.
Questions
(i) The ‘cardboard ’here refers to:
(a) the note written on a hard thick paper (b) the note written on a sheet of paper
(c) album (d) the photograph pasted on a thick paper

(ii) Here three girls are:

(a) the poetess and her two cousin (b) the poetess’ mother and her two cousins
(c) the poetess’ three cousins (d) none of these
(iii) The three girls went to the…………for paddling.
(a) mall (b) river (c) beach (d) school
2. The cardboard shows me how it was
When the two girl cousins went paddling,
Each one holding one of my mother, hands
And she the big girl-some twelve years or so
Questions
(i) Who among the three girls was the eldest one?
(a) Betty (b) Dolly (c) The Poetess (d) Poetess’
mother
(ii) ------------are beautiful sides of nostalgia.
(a) Beach (b) Sea (c) Photograph (d) Camera
(iii) These lines have feelings of:
(a) love (b) togetherness (c) innocent pleasure (d) all of these

3. All three stood still to smile through their hair

At the uncle with the camera. A sweet face.
My mother’s, that was before I was born.
And the sea, which appears to have changed less,
Washed their terribly transient feet.
Questions
( i) Whose sweet face is referred to here?
a) Father (b) Poetess’ mother (c) Uncle (d) Cousins
(ii) The poetic device used in the first line of this stanza is
(a) alliteration (b) metaphor (c) simile (d) allusion
(iii) The endless------------------- has not changed much over time.
(a) Time (b) Sea (c) Transient Feet (d) Mother’s Face

4. All three stood still to smile through their hair

At the uncle with the camera. A sweet face.
My mother’s, that was before I was born.
And the sea, which appears to have changed less,
Washed their terribly transient feet.
Questions
(i) What does in this stanza symbolize eternity ?
(a) Beach (b) Sea (c) Photograph (d) Camera

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(ii) The literary device used in the last line of this stanza is :
(a) metaphor (b) repetition (c ) personification (d) transferred epithet
(iii) The girls’feet are called----------.
(a) Permanent (b)Temporary (c) Transient (d) Small

5. “See Betty And Dolly. ‘’she’d say.”and look how they

Dressed us for the beach.” . The sea holiday”
Was her past, mine is her laughter.
Questions
(i) The poetess’s mother laughed at:
(a) the funny dress they wore for the beach (b) the snapshot (c) her uncle (d) her
cousins
(ii) Being grown up the poetess’ mother lost the innocence and pleasure of her---------
(a) old age (b) Childhood (c) Adult age (d)
infancy
(iii) What was the past of the poetess’ mother enshrined in ?
(a) in book (b) in Childhood (c) in school (d) in
photograph
Answers:
(i) (a) (ii) (b) (iii) (d)

6. Now she’s been dead nearly as many years

As that girl lived. And of this circumstance
There is nothing to say at all,
Its silence silences.
Questions:
(i) The poetess ‘mother breathed her last:
(a) twenty four years ago (b) twenty years ago (c) twelve years ago (d) a few
days ago
(ii) The poetess failed to give exact expression to her deep.
(a) pleasure (b) happiness (c) Pain (d) agitation
(iii) The poetess is speechless because:
(a) she is afraid of her own death (b) of deep pain due to her mother’s death
(c) both (a) and (b) (d) neither (a) nor (b)

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who is the poet/poetess of the poem 'A Photograph'?
A. Shirley Toulson B. Rudyard Kipling C. Elizabeth Jennings D. Markus
Natten

2. What is the poem 'A Photograph' about?

A. About poet's childhood memories B. tribute to the poet’s mother
C. Poet's photograph D. Poet's father
3. What was the age of the poet's mother when the photograph was taken?
A. eleven years old B. thirteen years old C. twelve years old D. fourteen year old
4. When did her mother die ?
A. two years ago B. five years ago C. thirteen years ago D. twelve years ago
5. How many people were in the photograph?
A. two girls .B. three girls C. two girls and one boy D. only her
mother

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6. Which material was the frame of the photograph made of?
A. Cardboard B. Wood C. Steel D. Plastic
7. Who are on both sides of her mother?
A. Cousins, Betty and Dolly B. Parents C. Cousins, Dolly and Adam D.
Friends
8. What are the three of them doing in the photograph?
A. playing B. standing beside house
C. holding hands D. holding hands and went for paddling
9. Who took the photograph of her mother with her cousin?
A. Her grandfather B. Her uncle C. Her mother's friend D. Her
grandmother
10. What does 'Terribly Transient Feet' mean in the poem?
A. her feet represent the mother, who changed with time while the sea remained the same
B. temporary situation C. age is temporary D. None of the above
11. After how many years did her mother laugh on seeing the photograph?
A. twenty-one B. twenty-three C. twelve D. twenty-five
12. What was the favourite memory of her mother?
A. beach holidays B. school memories C. vacations D. None of
the above
13. What was the favourite memory of the poet?
A. her mother's memories B. her mother's laughter
C. her own vacation memories D. her childhood memories
14. What would the mother show to her daughter while showing her the photograph?
A. how her parents dressed her for the beach B. her cousins
C. her own childhood photograph D. the background
15. What is the meaning of the word 'wry'?
A. ironic B. cry C. sad D. None of the above
16. What Oxymoron literary device was used in the poem?
A. Terribly transient B. Through their C. Both wry D. Laboured
ease
17. What Epithet literary device was used in the poem?
A. Terribly transient B. Through their C. Both wry D. Laboured
ease
18. How many phases were depicted in the poem by the poet?
A. one B. two C. three D. four
19. What was the last phase in the poem?
A. after her mother died B. after she grown up
C. after her mother grown up D. None of the above
20. What does she feel in the last phase?
A. pain and grief B. happy and nostalgic C. sad and nostalgic D. pain and
nostalgic

Answers
Extract-1- (i) (d) (ii) (b) (iii) (c )
Extract-2- (i) ( d) (ii) ( c ) (iii) ( d )
Extract-3- (i) (b) (ii) (a) (iii) (b)
Extract-4- (i) (b) (ii) (d) (iii) (c)
Extract-5- (i) (a) (ii) (b) (iii) (d)
Extract-6- (i) (c) (ii)(c) (iii) (b)

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 POEM – 2 : The Laburnum Top

Introduction: The poem ‘The Laburnum Top’ is written by Ted Hughes. It is about a repaying
relationship between the Laburnum tree and the Goldfinch bird. The tree is yellow, silent and
death-like and is made alive by the bird and her young ones. The yellow bird has her shelter on
the tree where she feeds her young ones. But as soon as the bird leaves to fly in the sky, the tree
becomes silent and death-like again.

Summary:The poem starts with a description of the Laburnum tree whose top was still and
silent. Its leaves had turned yellow and seeds had fallen down. It was a daytime in the month of
September when the tree was standing still and death-like.
The life-less tree becomes alive by the arrival of the Goldfinch bird. She came to feed her
younger ones who are on the thickness of the branch. The tree is her shelter. She arrives at the
end of the branch with the chirping sound. She further moves to the other side of the branch with
rapid and precautionary movement like a lizard. As soon as she arrives, her younger ones start
chirping like a machine and vibrating and flapping their wings. The death-like tree becomes alive
and it trembles and shakes.
After feeding them, she flies to the other side of the branch. Her dark coloured face with the
yellow body was barely visible as she vanished behind the yellow leaves. She flew away in the
sky, leaving the tree death-like again.

THEME: • The poem presents the mutual reciprocating relationship between the laburnum tree
and the goldfinch bird. The laburnum tree gives shelter to the bird and its young ones and the
bird, in turn, takes away its dead silence. Thus, the poet wants to tell the readers the importance
of interdependence and having cordial relationships in life.
• Rejuvenation of nature and the celebration of energy is another theme of the poem. The
laburnum tree is silent until the goldfinch comes and enlivens the tree with its activities. There
are all sorts of sounds and movements on the tree. Soon she shoots away into the sky plunging
the tree into surging silence.
• The poet also wants to convey to the readers that life is a process of change and transformation.
TEXT OF THE POEM

The Laburnum Top is silent, quite still

in the afternoon yellow September sunlight,
A few leaves yellowing, all its seeds fallen
Till the goldfinch comes, with a twitching chirrup
A suddenness , a startlement, at a branch end
Then sleek as a lizard, and alert and abrupt,
She enters the thickness, and a machine starts up
Of chitterings, and of tremor of wings, and trillings -
The whole tree trembles and thrills
It is the engine of her family.
She stokes it full, then flirts out to a branch-end
Showing her barred face identity mask
Then with eerie delicate whistle-chirrup whisperings
She launches away, towards the infinite
And the laburnum subsides to empty

-Ted Hughes
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 VOCABULARY

*Laburnum : The Golden Chain tree - A commonly found tree with golden flowers that
hang in bunches
*Laburnum Top :The top of the laburnum tree - its highest branches
*Goldfinch :Wild canary - A small, yellow bird - The male of the species has black
markings across the face, on the wings and tail.
*Twitch :Small, often involuntary movement of a body part
*Chirrup :An onomatopoeic word capturing the sound made by a bird
*Startlement : Amazement - a sudden unexpected action which causes surprise
*Sleek :Smooth - In the context of the poem, it could imply a quick movement without
much disruption.
*Abrupt : Sudden or unexpected
*Chittering :An onomatopoeic word capturing bird sounds
*Tremor :Shiver - shake
*Trillings :Singing repeatedly - In the context of the poem, an onomatopoeic word,
capturing bird sounds
*Stokes :Adds fuel - In the context of the poem, the goldfinch feeds its family, providing
the fuel (nutrition) that the machine (the bird's family) needs to be energetic
*Flirts : In the context of the poem, move abruptly or jerkily with light steps
*Eerie : Strange in a frightening or mysterious way
*Infinite :In the context of the poem, the sky
*Launches :In the context of the poem, flies
*Subsides :Returns, reduces in intensity

EXPLANATION:
1.The Laburnum top is silent, quite still
In the afternoon yellow September sunlight,
A few leaves yellowing, all its seeds fallen.

- In the above lines, the poet says that he saw a Laburnum tree whose leaves were yellow. The
tree’s top is still and silent in the day time of September month. It is autumn season and all the
seeds of the tree had fallen.
The poet has used the word ‘yellow’ for leaves and sunlight. Yellow symbolizes silence, death,
and beauty. He describes the whole scene of the tree with this colour.

2.Till the goldfinch comes, with a twitching chirrup

A suddenness, a startlement, at a branch end.
Then sleek as a lizard, and alert, and abrupt,
She enters the thickness, and a machine starts up
Of chitterlings, and a tremor of wings, and trillings —
The whole tree trembles and thrills.

-A Goldfinch bird comes to end the death-like scene of the tree and makes a sudden chirrup
sound. The bird while being rapid, alert and precautiouns like a lizard, sits on the branches of
the tree. As she moved towards the thickness of the branch, her younger ones started chirruping
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and doing vibrations with wings, making a sound like a machine. Because of the movement of
the bird and her young ones, the tree starts to shake and thrill.
The poet has given two opposite scenarios of the tree. The tree first being death-like and still
and then giving life and shelter to bird and her young ones.

3. It is the engine of her family.

She stokes it full, then flirts out to a branch-end
Showing her barred face identity mask

-The Laburnum tree and the goldfinch bird is the engine of her family. She provides food to
her young ones and moves to the other branch end. Her dark coloured striped face is visible as
her body is yellow coloured and hides behind the yellow leaves of the tree.

4. Then with eerie delicate whistle-chirrup whisperings

She launches away, towards the infinite
And the laburnum subsides to empty.

After reaching the end of the branch, the bird makes a sweet chirping sound just like
whispering and flies away towards the infinite sky. It again makes the Laburnum tree silent and
death-like.

The Laburnum Top- Literary Devices

1. Alliteration –repetition of a consonant sound at the beginning of two or more consecutive

words. The instances of alliteration in the poem are as follows-
September sunlight
tree trembles

2. Simile– comparison between two things using like or as.

Sleek as a lizard

3. Metaphor– an indirect comparison between two things. Generally, a quality is compared.

“She enters the thickness, and a machine starts up” – the noise created by the movement of the
birds is compared to the machine’s noise
“It is the engine of her family.”
“Showing her barred face identity mask”

4. Personification– the attribution of personal nature characteristics to something non-

human
The whole tree trembles and thrills.

5. Transferred Epithet– the figure of speech where the adverb is transferred to another
noun
her barred face identity mask

KEY NOTES
• The poem begins with the description of the laburnum top which is still and silent on a
September afternoon.
• Due to the autumn season, the leaves have started turning yellow and the seeds have fallen
on the ground.
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 • The seemingly lifeless tree becomes alive on the arrival of the goldfinch.
• The goldfinch perches on the end of the branch with a chirping sound, thereby breaking the
silence of the tree.
• She enters the thickness of the tree and makes her way to the nest with a swift, abrupt and
alert movement of a lizard.
• A machine of chitterings starts up.
• The young ones start chirping and flapping their wings and the tree is filled up with a series
of short, high pitched, twittering sounds.
• Thus, the quiet and still tree becomes alive and begins to tremble and shake as if it is excited
and thrilled.
• After feeding her young ones, the goldfinch flies to the end of the branch.
• Her striped face with yellow body helps her to camouflage and she is only partly visible.
• She comes out of the branch end and flies away to the sky.
• The laburnum tree becomes calm and quiet again.

COMPREHENSION –Read the extract given below and answer the questions that
follow by choosing the correct options

1.The Laburnum top is silent, quite still in the afternoon yellow September sunlight, A
few leaves yellowing, all its seeds fallen.

Q1. What does ‘Laburnum top’ mean here?

(a) It means the top part of any tree (b) It means the top part of the Laburnum tree
(c) It means the top part of a fictional tree (d) It does not mean anything

Q2. What has happened to the tree?

(a) The tree is being worshipped (b) The tree has been cut down
(c) The leaves of the tree have turned purple and are falling down
(d) The leaves of the tree have turned yellow and its seeds falling down

Q3. Find a word from the extract which is the antonym of ‘noisy’.
(a) Quiet (b) Quite (c) Hush (d) Silent

II. Then sleek as a lizard, and alert, and abrupt,

She enters the thickness, and a machine starts up
Of chitterings and a tremor of wings, and trilling
The whole tree trembles and thrills.

Q1. Who is ‘she’ in the second line ? Where does she enter?
(a) She is the baby goldfinch who enters the thickness of the Laburnum tree
(b) ‘She’ is a squirrel who enters the thickness of the Laburnum tree
(c) ‘She’ is a lizard who enters the thickness of the Laburnum tree
(d) ‘She’ is the mother goldfinch who enters the thickenss of the Laburnum tree

Q2. What does ‘machine’ refer to in the extract?

(a) If refers to the machine used to drill a hole in the tree
(b) It refers to the machine used to cut the tree
(c) It refers to the nest of the goldfinch where its young ones are staying
(d) It refers to the nest of the squirrel

Q3. Find a word from the extract which is the synonym of ‘entire’.
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 (a) Abrupt (b) Hole (c) Whole (d) Tremor

II. Then with eerie delicate whistle-chirrup whisperings

She launches away, towards the infinite
And the Laburnum subsides to empty.

Q1. What does ‘launches’ mean in the extract?

(a) It means sleeping (b) It means flying (c) It means diving (d) It means
fluttering.

Q2. What effect does the last line create?

(a) It creates the contrast between the liveliness of the tree and its silence
(b) It creates the contrast between the change of seasons
(c) It creates an opportunity to plant more Laburnum trees
(d) It creates the scene for the arrival of new bird species on the tree

Q3. ……….from the extract means the same as ‘strange’ and ‘mysterious’.
(a) Delicate (b) Odd (c) Infinite (d) Eerie

MCQs

Read the following questions and answer by choosing the correct options –
Q.1. How did the poet describe the top of the Laburnum tree in the poem ‘The Laburnum
Top’?
a. Moving and Angry like b. Still and Silent c. Silent and fast d. None of the above
Q.2. How was the tree standing in the month of September?
a alive b. still and death-like c. green and happy d. still and green
Q.3. Where are the young ones of the Goldfinch bird?
a. On the thickness of the branch b. On the top of the tree
c. on other tree d. they were never there
Q.4. What role does the tree play for the Goldfinch bird?
a. As a shelter b. as a supporter c. as a means to feed her family d. as a resting place
Q.5. How did the bird move to the other side of the branch?
a. smoothly b. slowly c. like a lizard d. by flying
Q.6. Why was Goldfinch’s body barely visible?
a. .because she was brown in colour b. because she was small
c. because of the height of the tree d due to her dark coloured yellow body
Q.7 What happened to the bird in the end of the poem?
a. she flew away b. she stayed at the tree
c. she went to other tree d. she went to bring some food for her younger ones
Q.8 What does the phrase “her barred face identity mask” mean?
a. it has no identity b. due to her dark coloured yellow body
c. bird’s face became her identity and symbol of recognition d. None of the above
Q.9 What is described as ‘machine’ in the poem?
a. Lizard b. family of goldfinch c. Laburnum Tree d. None of the above
Q.10 While entering the thickness, the bird was –
a slow b abrupt c happy d sad
Q.11 Why is laburnum called empty even when there are young ones of goldfinch in the
tree –
a because they are sleeping b. because they are very young
c because they are inactive and not making any motion d.because they are busy with their food
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Q.12 What is the theme of the poem –
a. love for family b importance of silence in life
c importance of activities in life d interdependence and mutual love

Answer Key[Multiple Choice Questions]

A Photograph
Q. No. Answer Q. No. Answer
1 A 11 B
2 B 12 A
3 C 13 B
4 D 14 A
5 B 15 A
6 A 16 D
7 A 17 A
8 D 18 C
9 B 19 A
10 A 20 A

The Laburnum Top

ANSWER KEY
EXTRACTS
I. EXTRACT 1.b 2.d 3.d
II. EXTRACT 1.d 2.c 3.c
III.EXTRACT 1.b 2.a 3.d
MCQS
1. b 2 .b 3 .a 4 .a 5. C 6. d 7. A 8. C 9. B 10 b. 11 c 12 d

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TEXTBOOKS: HORNBILL

CHAPTER 1: THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY

KEY POINTS OF THE CHAPTER-
Introduction
• Khushwant Singh was one of the prominent Indian writers.
• In the story the author draws a pen portrait of his grandmother.
• He has beautifully written an account of his relationship with his grandmother.
Pen portrait of grandmother
• Khushwant Singh draws a pen portrait of his grandmother.
• Old woman
• Hard to believe that once she had been young and pretty
Appearance of grandmother
• Old, short, fat, slightly bent
• Wrinkled face
• She looks the same for last twenty years
• She couldn’t walk straight
• She wears white clothes and roams in the house.
• She keeps her one hand on her waist to balance herself.
• She held a rosary in the other hand.
• Her silver locks scattered over her pale face.
• Her lips constantly moved.
• She always prayed to herself.
Close friends
• Narrator and his grandmother were good friends.
• His parents had left him with her in the village.
• She used to wake him up in morning.
• She got him ready for school
• She used to wash his wooden slate and plaster it with yellow chalk.
• She takes an earthen inkpot and red pen and tie them in a bundle and hand it to him.
• Prepared his breakfast (thick stale chapatti) little butter and sugar spread on it.
• She also carry some chapattis for village dogs
Went to school with the narrator.
• Grandmother always went to school with him.
• Because school was attached to the temple.
• There a priest taught the children alphabet and Morning Prayer.
• Grandmother sat inside temple
• Spent her time reading holy books
• She would walk back home with him
Turning point in relationship
• Turning point came in their relationship when his parents call both to the city
• Narrator and his grandmother shared the same room.
• Now grandmother couldn’t accompany him to school, and she was not able to help him
with his lessons.
• Nor did she like science and music being taught at the new school.
• There was no teaching of God
• There were no dogs in streets
• Grandmother took to feeding the sparrows.
• Now they saw less of each other.

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Bond of relationship broken
• Their common link broken when the narrator went to the university.
• Grandmother accepted her loneliness quietly.
• She used to sit at her spinning wheel and recite prayers.
• In afternoon she used to feed the sparrows
• She broke the bread into little bits and threw them to the sparrows.
• Hundreds of sparrows collected around her.
Narrator went abroad
• Narrator went abroad for higher studies.
• Grandmother came to drop him at railway station. (kissed forehead)
• Narrator thought it was his last meeting with her.
• Narrator returned home after five years.
• She collected the neighbourhood women and celebrated his homecoming.
The grandmother’s death
• Next morning, she fell ill.
• She declared that her end was near.
• She continued praying and telling her beads, then her lips stopped moving, the rosary fell
down and she was dead.
• Evening time, sun was setting
• Thousands of sparrows sat near her dead body.
• They did not chirrup.
• Narrator’s mother brought some bread and broke it into little pieces, but birds took no
notice.
• When they carried her dead body outside, the sparrows flew away quietly………

VOCABULARY
1 Criss- cross a pattern of intersecting straight lines
2 Hobbled walked in an awkward way
3 spotless white she wore clean, white coloured dresses
4 Stoop bend one’s body forward
5 Rosary a string of beads for religious prayer
6 Locks hair
7 Scattered disorganized
8 Untidily not neat
9 Puckered a face contract into wrinkles
10 Inaudible unable to be heard
11 Serenity the state of being peaceful and calm
12 Contentment a state of happiness and satisfaction
13 Wrinkled having lines or folds
14 Portrait painting or picture
15 Mantelpiece A structure above and around a fireplace.
16 Revolting unpleasant
17 Absurd Illogical
18 Undignified disrespectful
19 Fables fictitious stories with a moral teaching
20 Prophets Saints
21 Monotonous dull and boring
22 Bothered to be concerned
23 Fetch to go for and bring back something
24 Slate a flat plate of slate used for writing
25 Plastered covered with a layer of plaster

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26 Earthen made of baked or fired clay
27 Stale no longer fresh and pleasant to eat
28 Scriptures the sacred writings of a religion
29 Growling making a low guttural sound in the throat
30 Courtyard a roofless area
31 Years rolled by time passed
32 Distressed suffer from extremely sorrow
33 Lewd Associations Indecent or Obscene
34 Harlots Prostitutes
35 Gentlefolk People of noble birth
36 Snapped break suddenly and completely
37Seclusion the state of being away from the people
38 Spinning-wheel a household machine with a wheel attached to it for spinning yarn
39 Veritable use to describe something interesting
40 Bedlam confusion
41 Chirruping the noise of a small bird
42 Perched alight or rest on something
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

1. Who is the author of ‘The Portrait of a Lady’?

A. Ruskin Bond B. Kushwant Singh
C. Naipaul D. Vikram Bhatt

2. Who is the main character of the chapter ‘The Portrait of a Lady’?

A. Mother B. Sister
C. Grandmother D. Daughter

3. How did the grandfather in the portrait hang on the wall look like?
A. Old, long white beard, worn big turban B. Old, skinny, wrinkly
C. Young, Handsome, Well-Built D. Old, Well-Built

4. How did the grandmother look?

A. Old, Fat, Long B. Long, Fat, Slightly Bent
C. Old, Short, Slightly Bent, Fat D. Slightly Bent, Fat

5. When did the author’s parents leave him with his grandmother?
A. When he was a kid B. When he was an infant
C. When he became a teenager D. When he failed and became a teenager

6. Which animal did the grandmother used to feed in the village?

A .Dogs B. Cows C. Sparrows D. Cats

7. What did the author eat for breakfast?

A. Thick and stale chapatis with a little butter and sugar spread in it
B. thick bread with butter C. Upma D. rice and curd

8. Why would grandmother accompany the author to his school?

A. to keep an eye on him B. to wait for him to take him back to
home
C. because of the temple attached to school D. she wanted to meet villagers

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9. Where were the parents of the author?
A. Abroad B. City C. Other Village D. Other state
10. What would the grandmother do in the temple on a daily basis?
A. Meditation B. Read Scriptures
C. Sing religious prayers D. teach other kids religious prayers
11. What was the turning point of the friendship between grandmother and author?
A. When he became an adult B. When his parents called both of them to the city
C. When he left her to live in the city with his parents D. When they stopped talking

12. Where did the author go to study in the city?

A. English School in motor bus B. by walking down to nearby
school
C. Hindi School D. No where

13. What made the grandmother unhappy about the author’s new English School?
A. the fact that she could no longer help him with the lessons
B. Because they were in city
C. Because she didn’t understand English
D. Because she didn’t understand English and could no longer help him with the lessons

14. Why didn’t the grandmother like music?

A. It was the monopoly of harlots and beggars and not meant for gentlefolk
B. She liked only religious prayers
C. She liked the traditional folk music
D. She thought it would distract him from studies

15. How did the grandmother spend her time in the city?
A. feedings dogs B. reading scriptures C. spinning the wheel D. talking to
neighbours

16. How did the grandmother spend her afternoon every day?
A. by feeding hundreds of sparrows B. by taking a nap
C. by talking to author’s mother D. by going to temple

17. What happened when the author moved abroad to study for five years?
A. grandmother bid goodbye by silently kissing his forehead
B. No one came to see him
C. Grandmother moved back to village
D. Parents moved with him

18. What change came in the grandmother’s evening schedule?

A. She collected the women of the neighbourhood B. She would go for a walk
C. She would sleep early D. She would talk to his parents

19. What happened when the grandmother didn’t pray for the first time?
A. She fell ill the next day B. She made this her routine
C. She took a break and went to the village D. None of the above

20. How did the grandmother react to her illness?

A. She said her end was near B. She ignored her health
C. She took care of her D. She was admitted to the hospital

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21. What did the grandmother do in her final hours?
A. Talked to everyone in the house B. worried about everyone
C. Silently praying and telling her beads D. Went to temple

22. How did the grandmother die?

A. during telling beads lying on the bed B. In the hospital
C. While sleeping D. None of the above

23. How did the sparrows express their sorrow at the death of their grandmother?
A. They didn’t come that day B. they came and sat silently in the verandah
C. They ate the bread crumbs D. they chirruped a lot
24. What happened when they took the grandmother’s corpse away?
A. Neighbours visited them to pay condolences B. they mourned her death in her room
C. birds flew away quietly D. Nothing happened

25. How do you feel about the character of the grandmother in the chapter?
A. Emotional B. Strong C. Selfless D. Loving

26. Where was the author’s grandfather’s portrait placed?

A. on a shelf B. hung above the mantelpiece
C. put on the mantelpiece D. on a table

27. Did the author bother to learn the morning prayers that his grandmother recited?
A. yes B. he listened but did not bother to learn C. he could not learn D. no

28. When was their common link of friendship snapped?

A. when he went to college B. When he went to the university, they were given
separate rooms
C. when he started working D. When he went abroad

29. What was grandmother’s reaction when the author was going abroad?
A. Happy B. sad C. not even sentimental D. Sentimental

30. What was her reaction when he came back after 5 years?
A. Overwhelmed B. clasped the author in her arms and said prayers
C. happy D. sentimental

Answer key
1 B 11 B 21 C
2 C 12 A 22 A
3 A 13 D 23 B
4 C 14 A 24 C
5 A 15 C 25 B
6 A 16 A 26 B
7 A 17 A 27 B
8 C 18 A 28 B
9 B 19 A 29 C
10 B 20 A 30 B

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Short Answer Type Questions- (TO BE ANSWERED IN 40-50 WORDS)
Question 1. Give a description of Khushwant Singh’s grandmother according to his earliest
memory of her.
Answer: Khushwant Singh felt that his grandmother could never have been any different from
what he had seen her to be. She must always have been old. She was short, fat and bent. Her
face was covered with wrinkles. She walked with a stoop and always dressed in white.

Question 2. Khushwant Singh said about his grandmother: ‘She could never have been pretty,
but she was always beautiful.’ Explain.
Answer: Khushwant Singh’s grandmother was not pretty in the conventional sense of having
physical beauty, but she had great inner beauty. She had a calm and serene personality.

Question 3. Why was it hard for the author to believe that his grandmother was once young and
pretty?
Answer: The author had seen his grandmother always as an old person. His earliest memory
was that of an old lady. Therefore, as a child, he found it difficult to believe that she had been
any different ever. He could not believe that once she was young and pretty.

Question 4. Khushwant Singh’s grandmother was not pretty but was always beautiful. Explain
the meaning of this statement.
Answer: Khushwant Singh’s grandmother was not attractive and good-looking, but she had an
extremely gracious personality. Her serenity and calmness gave her an inner beauty.

Question 5. What was Khushwant Singh’s and his grandmother’s routine in the village?
Answer: The grandmother used to wake Khushwant Singh up in the morning, bathe him, dress
him, and accompany him to school. While he studied, she sat in the temple and read scriptures.
On return, she fed stale ‘chapattis’ to the village dogs. She used to prepare his wooden slate by
plastering it lightly with yellow chalk.

Question 6. Describe the changing relationship between the author and his grandmother.
Answer: The relationship changed from total dependency during their village stay to a hint of
withdrawal during the city stay as the grandmother could not comprehend the efficacy of a
curriculum based on science, sans religious instructions. Later, this changed to an overall
affection for the author.

Question 7. What proofs of the friendship between the grandmother and the grandson do you
find in this story?
Answer: As a very young child, the author shared a very intimate relationship with his
grandmother. She went to school with him and helped him with his lessons. In the city, this
friendship weakened, but love for each other remained.

Question 8. The grandmother was a kind-hearted woman. Give examples in support of your
answer.
Answer: The grandmother was a kind-hearted person. In the village, she used to feed chapattis
to the street dogs. In the city, she started feeding sparrows.

Question 9. What caused a turning point in the friendship of Khushwant Singh with his
grandmother?
Answer: A turning point came about with the author’s shift to the city and admission in an
English school. Though they shared the same room, the grandmother did not accompany him to

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school and was disapproving of its academic and recreational curriculum, leading to further
distancing.

Question 10. Draw a comparison between village school education and city school education.
Answer: In the village school, the author learnt the alphabet and the Morning Prayer. He wrote
on wooden board slates. The city school gave him modern education in English and science.
There was no religious instruction. He was taught music, of which his grandmother
disapproved.

Question 11. Why was the author’s grandmother unhappy with city education?
Answer: The city school education made the grandmother’s help at lessons redundant as the
instructions were in English. She disapproved of science education, balked at his learning
music and was critical of the lack of religious instructions at the school.

Question 12. What was the happiest moment of the day for the grandmother?
Answer: The happiest moment of the day for the grandmother was when she fed bread crumbs
to the sparrows. In the afternoons, she used to feed the birds. They became so free with her that
they perched on her shoulders and made great noises.

Question 13. What was the happiest moment of the day for the Grandmother? Why?
Answer: When the grandmother fed the sparrows and they hopped around her. She remained
secluded from the family, but enjoyed the chirping and hopping of the sparrows.

Question 14. Which activity did the grandmother find most relaxing when she lived in the city?
Answer: In the city, the grandmother started feeding sparrows in the afternoon. She broke
bread into small crumbs and scattered around her for the sparrows. They came and ate and sat
on her head and shoulders. She loved this.

Question 15. What did the author think was the last physical contact with his grandmother?
Was it really so?
Answer: The author received a moist kiss on his forehead from his grandmother when he was
going abroad. He thought this was his last physical contact with her because she was so old that
she might not be alive when he would come back. But she hugged him when he came back
from abroad.

Long Answer Type Questions and Answers-(TO BE ANSWERED IN 120-150 WORDS)

Question 1. “Religion was the dominant feature of her life.” Comment on this statement in
regard to Khushwant Singh’s grandmother as projected in ‘The Portrait of a Lady’.
Answer: The first introduction of the grandmother made by the author depicts her telling the
beads of her rosary with her lips muttering an inaudible prayer.
As the custodian of her grandchild in the village, she said her morning prayers while engaged
in the task of bathing and dressing her grandson. While her grandson studied, the grandmother
studied the scriptures.
She also disapproved of the education at the English school because of the absence of religious
instructions.
In her last moments, she detached herself from her immediate family and preferred making
peace with God. Besides prayers, she was given to animal care, by feeding stray dogs at the
temple door and sparrows in the city home. Thus, her religion stepped beyond ritual to one of
showing kindness to the tiniest creatures of God. Indeed, the grandmother was religious in
body and spirit.
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Question 2. Draw a character sketch of Khushwant Singh’s grandmother as portrayed by him in
the lesson ‘The Portrait of a Lady’.
Answer: The grandmother had a strong character. She was a deeply religious woman. Prayer
was of paramount importance to her. She spent most of her time in prayer. She was kind to
animals too. In the village, she fed street dogs and in city, shifted to feeding sparrows. She
remained calm through the various changes in her life. She did not protest, even though she
disapproved of Khushwant Singh’s education. She accepted her seclusion quietly when he was
given a separate room.
When her grandson left for studies abroad, she did not show her emotions and kept remarkable
self-control. In her last moments, she withdrew herself from the family and devoted herself to
prayer. Khushwant Singh had a long and loving relationship with his grandmother. She was
very affectionate to him. She took excellent care of him while he was a child.

Question 3. Write a character sketch of the author’s grandmother by using the following words:
affectionate, caring, kind and benevolent, religious, a strong woman.
Answer: The author had a long and loving relationship with his grandmother. She was very
affectionate to him. She took excellent care of him while he lived with her as a child in the
village. The grandmother was a deeply religious woman. Prayer was of paramount importance
to her. She spent most of her time in prayer. She was kind to animals too. In the village, she fed
street dogs and in city, shifted to sparrows.
The grandmother was a woman of great strength of character. She did not show her disapproval
of her grandson’s education. She accepted her seclusion quietly. When her grandson left for
studies abroad, she did not show her emotion and kept remarkable self-control. In her last
moments, she withdrew herself from the family and devoted herself to prayer.

Question 4. The grandmother herself was not formally educated but was serious about the
author’s education. How does the text support this?
Answer: The grandmother took her grandson’s education very seriously. When he was in her
custody in the village, she prepared his wooden slate, accompanied him to school and helped
him with his lessons. In the city when he started learning English, science and music, which she
did not approve of. She did not voice her disapproval or insist on village-like education but
trusted that his father was doing the best for him. Nor did she protest when he was given an
independent room or was sent abroad for further study.

Question 5. Gradually, the author and the grandmother saw less of each other and their friendship
was broken. Was the distance in the relationship deliberate or due to the demands of the situation?
Answer: The relationship between the grandmother and the author traced the graph of gradual
change from a parental role to that of a grandmother, due to changing circumstances. Moving to
the city and the change in the educational curriculum with the author’s admission into an English-
medium school led to her first orientation to her changed circumstances. The grandmother
realized that her affection could no longer be a wholly possessive one.
As the author graduated to the university level, his lifestyle underwent changes and the
grandmother realized that her role as an educator had ceased altogether. She, therefore, adopted
the role of a loveable elder overseeing her grandson’s progress and basking in it. When he
returned from England, the grandmother, was no longer concerned with his day-to-day
achievements, but showed her elation by organizing a musical soiree, even overstraining herself
in her excitement, leading to dire circumstances.

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Question 6. Talk with your family members about elderly people who you have been intimately
connected with and who are not there with you now. Write a short description of someone you
liked a lot.
Answer:My Grandfather I was extremely fond of my grandfather. I sometimes felt that he was
fonder of my younger brother than of me. This did not stop me from spending as much time
with him as I could. Much later, I came to know that he had been a freedom fighter. He had
taken part in the freedom movement along with Gandhiji, Nehruji and others. He never spoke
about the hardships of those days, but only of the songs they sang and the help they gave to one
another. To my eight-year-old imagination, his accounts opened up pictures of a fascinating
life. It was my grandmother who told me of his imprisonment and the ‘lathi blows’ he received.
I rubbed his shoulders and arms hoping the chronic pain would ease. He died when I was
twelve. Ever since, I have felt that a strong support from my life has gone.

Question 7. Khushwant Singh’s grandmother wrote a letter to her sister describing her life with
her grandson in the village. Write this letter on her behalf.

Answer: Dear Parminder

May the Guru’s blessings be with you and your family. I am very happy these days as my
grandson, Khushwant, has come to live with me. His parents have gone to the city. The boy will
remain with me till they settle down. Khushwant is a serious and an adorable child. He listens
intently as I recite my prayers while getting him ready for school. I hope he learns them. I have
become busy and my lonely life has acquired meaning. I prepare his wooden slate and take him
to school. While he studies, I remain in the temple and read the scriptures, talk to the priest. After
school as we return, I feed chapattis to the dogs. Khushwant is delighted when the dogs follow
us. I pray that you and your family remain well.
With regards to your husband and love to your children.
Your sister
Satinder

Question 8. As Khushwant Singh’s grandmother, express your views on the education the boy
was receiving in the city school. Compare the situation with education in the village.
Answer: Khushwant now goes to an English medium school in this city. I am not at all happy
with the education he gets. In the city, there is no concern for God and spiritual matters. His
education does not tell him anything about our scriptures or other religious matters. He is
taught English. I cannot help him with his lessons; unfortunately, he has to manage by himself.
The scientific names and principles are totally new to me.
The most objectionable are the lessons in music. Music is for the lowly; beggars and harlots to
earn their livelihood. It is not for decent folk. However, I do not interfere. In the village school,
he learned about religion and prayer. I think that was better.

Question 9. Khushwant Singh’s mother observed closely the behaviour of his grandmother
when he returned home after studying abroad, her way of celebrating the occasion, her illness
and death. Write an account of this on her behalf.
Answer: This morning my son, Khushwant, returned from England after five years of studies.
All of us were excited including Beeji, his grandmother. Unlike others, she kept her excitement
under check. She insisted on going to the station to receive him. When he arrived, she hugged
him silently, all the time saying her prayers.
In the evening, she took out an old drum and called the women of the neighbourhood. Together
they sang for hours, celebrating the return of her grandson. I was anxious for Beeji and
implored her to stop and not tire herself unduly. This was the only time she was not praying.

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The next day she was down with fever and exhaustion. We were anxious, because in spite of
the doctor’s reassurance, Beeji was sure her end had come.
She stopped talking to us and lay quietly on the bed telling the beads of her rosary. Her end
came peacefully. We came to know only when her fingers stopped moving.

Page 99 of 175
 CHAPTER 2 :
WE’RE NOT AFRAID TO DIE……. IF WE CAN ALL BE TOGETHER
By: GORDAN COOK AND ALAN EAST

❖ THEME

The story has a string of themes woven into it. First is the human nature of knowing and
exploring the unknown and taking on challenges. Second is human instinct for survival. The
captain and his crew courageously fight the raging storm with intensity and ferocity and
victoriously emerge from the jaws of death. Third, human bravery, grit, courage and
determination exhibited not only by the elders but the children Sue and Jonathan too. Fourth,
being optimistic and having a sharp presence of mind, the qualities which are instrumental in
the Wave walker and its crew’s survival.

❖ CHARACTERS
• The narrator: a 37-year-old businessman. He wants to duplicate the round-the-world journey
made by Captain James Cook 200 years earlier. He spends a long time improving his seafaring
skills and finally begins his journey with his wife Mary, six-year-old son Jonathan and seven-
year-old daughter Suzanne.
• Mary: the narrator’s wife- a woman with courage. She supports her husband ‘s dream and
improves her sea skills. She joins her husband on their planned three-year voyage.
• Larry Vigil: An American who joins the narrator and Mary at Cape Town to help them tackle
one of the worlds ‘s roughest seas.
• Herb Siegler: A Swiss who also joins them at Cape Town to help them cross the southern
Indian Ocean.
• Suzanne: The narrator’s seven-year-old daughter with patience and perseverance who displays
immense courage throughout their voyage. She dares to endure pain and chooses to remain
silent, not to bother her father. She understands the severity of the situation and behaves way
ahead of her age
• Jonathan: He is the narrator’s six-year-old son who shows immense strength and optimism
even in difficult times. A little boy with great wisdom and understands the importance of family
and wishes to be together even if they all die
❖ KEY POINTS

* The Voyage Begins

• In July 1976, the narrator, a 37-year-old businessman, his wife Mary, 6-year-old son
Jonathan and 7-year-old daughter Suzanne started their sea voyage from Plymouth,
England.
• They wished to go round-the-world on a long sea journey just as Captain James Cook
had done 200 years earlier.
• The narrator and his wife had spent 16 years preparing for the round-the-world voyage and
improving their marine skills.
• Their boat Wave walker was a 23 metre, 30-ton boat that was professionally built and they had
tested it in the roughest weather they could find.
• The first part of their planned three-year, 105000-kilometre journey passed pleasantly as they
sailed down the West Coast of Africa to Cape Town.

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• Then they took two crewmen—the American Larry Vigil and the Swiss Herb Siegler before
heading east from Cape Town, to help them tackle one of the world’s roughest seas, the southern
Indian Ocean

* Problems Begin during the Voyage

• On the second day out of Cape Town, they encountered strong winds and high waves.
• The windstorms continued for the next few weeks.
• The size of the waves was up to 15 metres. On December 25, they were 3500
kilometres east of Cape Town, but the weather was very bad.
• Despite the bad weather, they celebrated Christmas Day wonderfully. New Year’s
Day saw no improvement in the weather and it worsened with the passing of time.
• On 2nd January, the waves were gigantic. They were sailing with a small storm jib,
but still they were going very fast.
• The boat moved to the top of each wave but the gigantic waves and dangerous wind
continued to terrorise them.
• To minimise the damage, they dropped the storm jib and lashed a heavy rope in a loop across
the stern.
• Then they fastened everything, went through their life-raft drill, attached lifelines and put on
oilskins and life jackets and prepared themselves for the worst case scenario.

* Disaster Strikes

• The first indication of impending disaster came at about 6 pm, with an ominous
silence.
• The wind stopped and the sky immediately grew dark.
• Then a loud roaring sound was heard. The narrator thought that he saw a cloud
coming towards them. With horror, he realised it was not a cloud but the biggest wave that he
had ever seen. It appeared vertical and double the height of all other waves.
• The wave hit the boat and a tremendous explosion shook the deck. Water poured into the boat.
• The narrator’s head smashed against the steering wheel of the boat and, he was
thrown into the sea.
• He thought that he was going to die but suddenly his head popped out of the water. He saw that
the boat had almost capsized.
• Suddenly, a wave hurled it upright and the narrator was tossed onto the boat.
• His left ribs were cracked; his mouth was filled with blood and some teeth were
broken. Somehow, he managed to find the wheel, lined up the stern for the next wave and hung
on.

* Frantic Survival Attempts

• The boat was flooding with water, but the narrator dared not abandon the wheel to
investigate.
• Suddenly, Mary came and informed him that the boat was sinking as water was
pouring in. He handed the wheel to her and crawled towards the hatch. Larry and
Herb pumped the water out like madmen.
• The wooden beams had broken. The whole starboard side had bulged inwards.
• Clothes, crockery, charts, tins and toys moved around noisily in water. The boat hadbeen
damaged.
• He somehow managed to reach the children. Sue had a big bump on her head to
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 which he did not pay much attention. He found a hammer, screws and canvas.
• Somehow, he managed to stretch the canvas and secure waterproof hatch covers across the
gaping holes. Some water continued to come in but most of it could be prevented from entering
the boat. But this was not the end of their troubles.

* Damaged and Lost Equipment

• The hand pumps started jamming with the trash floating around the cabins. Soon their electric
pump got short-circuited and the water rose threateningly.
• He found that their two spare handpumps had been pulled away by currents along
with the forestay sail, the jib, the lifeboats and the main anchor.
• He managed to find another electric pump to drain out the water.
• The night was an endless, bitterly cold routine of pumping, steering and working the
radio. However, there was no response to their Mayday calls as they were in a remote corner of
the world.
• Sue’s head had swollen alarmingly. She had two black eyes and a deep cut on her
arm. She didn’t tell the narrator more of her injuries as she didn’t want to worry him
when he was trying to save them all.

* Pinpricks in the Vast Ocean

• On the morning of January 3, the pumps had reduced the amount of water on board.
• Each of them took rest for two hours by turns.
• They had survived for 15 hours since the wave hit the Wavewalker, but the boat was
not strong enough to take them to Australia.
• The narrator knew that the boat wouldn’t hold together long enough.
• He checked his charts and calculated that the only one hope for them was if they
could reach lie Amsterdam, a French scientific base, one of the two pinpricks in the
vast ocean.
• Mary found some corned beef and cracker biscuits and they ate their first meal inalmost two
days.

* we’re not afraid to die……. If we can all be together

• The narrator went to comfort the children. And assure them that they were going to
make it.
• Jon said that they were not afraid of dying if they can all be together. This gave the
narrator hope and a reason to fight the sea.
• He tried his best to protect the weakened starboard side of the boat. However, later in the
evening, as more water came into the boat, they felt defeated again.
• On 6th January, the weather improved. The narrator again tried to calculate their
position.
• While he was at work, Sue came to him and gave him a card. She had drawn
caricatures of Mary and the narrator.
• The card said that she loved them both and hoped for the best.
• The narrator was filled with optimism. Somehow, they had to make it.

* The Most Beautiful Island in the World!

• The narrator made several calculations using a spare compass, made some
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 adjustments and asked Larry to steer a course of 185 degrees. He said that, if they
were lucky, they would see the island at about 5 pm.
• Dejected, he went down to his bunk and fell asleep. It was about 6 pm when he woke up.
• He thought that they must have missed the island. Just then, Jon and Sue came to him and gave
him a hug because he was the ―best daddy in the world‖.
• The narrator was confused. Sue announced that the island was just in front of them.
• He rushed out to the deck and saw the most beautiful island in the world! It was lie
Amsterdam, a piece of volcanic rock with little vegetation.
• When his feet touched land the next day, he thought of the cheerfulness and optimism of all the
people on the boat which made them pass through the worst stress.

VOCABULARY

• Voyage – a long journey by sea or space

• Leisure – free time
• Honing – sharpen, improving
• Seafaring – regularly traveling by sea
• Honing our seafaring skills – improving the skills required to travel by sea
• Wooden-hulled – a watertight body of a ship
• Gales – A very strong wind
• Mast – a tall upright structure on a boat or ship
• Atrocious – bad; of a very poor quality
• Gigantic – huge; of a big size
• Jib – a triangular staysail set forward the mast in a ship
• Knots – a unit of speed equal to one nautical mile per hour, used especially of ships,
aircraft, or winds
• Mooring – the ropes, chains, or anchors by or to which a boat, ship, or buoy is moored
• Loop – a shape produced that bends round and crosses; bent
• Stern – the back part of a ship or a boat
• Donned – put on, wore
• Oilskins – heavy cotton cloth waterproofed with oil
• Impending – about to happen
• Ominous silence – unpleasant or threatening silence
• Capsizing – be overturned in the water
• Hurled – throw with a great force
• Taut – stretched or pulled tightly
• Boom – pole that controls the angle and shape of the sail
• Scrambled – climb; claw one’s way
• Hatch – door
• Timbers – wood board used in building of a ship
• Debris – rubbish
• Wrenched – pull suddenly, removed
• Forestay – a rope to support ship’s foremast
• Dinghies – a small boat for recreation with mast or sail
• Mayday calls –words used to signal ships stuck in a disastrous situation through radio
• Smashed – badly broken
• Keel – steel structure along the base of the ship
• Pinpricks – a prick caused by a pin

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 • Pinpricks in the vast ocean – the two small islands in the vast ocean were very tiny like
the prick caused by a pin
• Abated – something unpleasant to become less intense
• Auxiliary engine – small secondary engine used to board ships to operate a windlass in
the ship
• Rigging – the ropes and wires supporting the structure of the ship
• Sextant – an instrument with graduated arc of 60 degrees for taking altitudes and
navigation
• Caricatures – picture of a person; cartoon
• Bunk – bed
• Dozed off – went off to sleep
• Bleak – an area of land lacking vegetation
• Stark – sharply defined
• Anchored – moor a ship to the sea bottom
• Offshore – situated at the sea some distance from the shore
• Ashore – on the shore of the land
• Optimistic – hopeful and confident
--------------------------***********************------------------------------

MCQ
1. From where did the ship sail for the voyage?
A. America B. Mexico C. Germany D. Plymouth, England
2. Why did the author decide to go for a round-the-world voyage?
A.to duplicate the voyage made 200 years ago by Captain James Cook B. to see the world
C. to settle down in different country D. to show his children the world through ship
3. What was the occupation of the author?
A. Businessman B. Sailor C. Teacher D. None of the above
4. What was the name of the ship of the author?
A. Amazon B. Wave walker C. Wave ship D. Sailor ship
5. What part of the journey was pleasant for them?
A. First leg – from England to Cape town B. Last part of the journey
C. First few months D. Never
6. What were the names of the two crewmen whom the author hired?
A. Shelly and Cabil B. Larry Vigil and Herb Siegler
C. Herb Siegler and Shelly Cooper D. Larry Vigil and Adam Moore
7. Why did the author hire the two crewmen?
A. to take rest from long the voyage
B. to help tackle one of the world’s roughest seas, the southern Indian Ocean
C. because he could no longer sail the ship
D. he wanted to spend some time with his family
8. When did the waves start getting gigantic?
A. December 25 B. January 2 C. November 30 D. December 31
9. What did they do to slow down the boat in the storm?
A. Stopped sailing B. dropped the storm jib and lashed a heavy mooring rope
C. just dropped the storm jib D. did nothing and waited for storm to calm down
10. What was the first indication of disaster?
A. around 6 pm when winds dropped and sky grew darker
B. next morning when the ship started creaking
C. when it started raining
D. when winds were strong
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11. What happened after the first indication of the disaster?
A. a wave appeared vertical and almost twice the height of other waves
B. it broke the ship from inside
C. the ship turned upside down
D. it didn’t affect the ship
12. How did the explosion affect the ship?
A. A torrent of green and white water broke over the ship B. the ship started sinking
C. the ship turned upside down D. None of the above
13. Why did the author accept his approaching death?
A Pirates had attacked the ship B because he was injured by the explosion
C he was thrown in the sea D he was stabbed
14. What did the author see when his head popped out of the water?
A. the ship was sinking B. the ship was nowhere to be seen
C. the ship was near capsizing, her masts almost horizontal D. it was still standing
15. What happened to the author’s body when he managed to reach the deck?
A. his head smashed again B. his left ribs cracked; mouth filled with blood and broken teeth
C. he broke his leg D. his broke his left hand
16. Who said, “We’re sinking!” ?
A. His crewmen B. Mary C. His daughter D. His son
17. What was the condition of the ship?
A. Broken timbers, starboard side bulged inwards; clothes, crockery, charts, tins and toys
sloshed
B. There personal belongings were missing
C. water filled in every room and their clothes were missing D. Can’t say
18. What had happened to Sue when the author entered their room to check on them?
A. her head hurt as there was a bump B. She was unconscious
C. her legs hurt D. she was fine
19. What was the age of Suzanne and Jonathan?
A. 8 & 9 years old B. 7 & 6 years old C. 10 & 7 years old D. 4 years & 6 years
20. How did the author manage to stretch the canvas?
A. by repairing the holes B. by asking crewmen for help
C. it happened on its own D. the problem got over as the storm had passed
21. What happened after the hand pumps started to block up with the debris floating
around the cabins?
A. the author connected an electric-pump to an out-pipe
B. by taking out water with the help of bucket
C. by repairing hand pump
D. the author found another hand pump
22. Where did they decide to reach to save themselves and the ship?
A. Australia B. Ile Amsterdam C. Mumbai, India D. Japan
23. What was their first meal in two days?
A. Meat loaves B. bread and milk C. noodles D. corned beef and
cracker biscuits
24. Who said, “we aren’t afraid of dying if we can all be together — you and Mummy,
Sue and I.”?
A. Jon B. Crewmen to each other C. Sue D. Mom
25. When did they reach lle Amsterdam?
A. around 6 pm in the evening B. never reached there
C. at 11 in the next morning D. they decided to take different route
26. What was the status of the ship on January 3?
A. "pumps had the water level sufficiently under control " B. condition was getting worse

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C. they were still struggling to control the pumps D. everything was just right
27. How long did they take for the ship’s testing and fitting?
A. months B. few days C. 2 years D. few weeks
28. Where had they reached on the 25th of December?
A. 3500 east of Cape Town B. they were suffering the waves away from CapeTown
C. 2500 km from Cape Town D. reached Cape Town
29. What happened when the author’s head smashed into the wheel?
A. he was hurt but steady B. he flew overboard sinking below the waves
C. he was not hurt D. he gained control immediately
30. What does ‘Mayday call’ mean?
A Call made in the month of May B Distress call for help
C Both A and B D None of these
Answer key

Q. No. Answer Q. No. Answer Q. No. Answer

1 D 11 A 21 A

2 A 12 A 22 B

3 A 13 A 23 D

4 B 14 C 24 A

5 A 15 B 25 A

6 B 16 B 26 A

7 B 17 A 27 A

8 B 18 A 28 A

9 B 19 B 29 B

10 A 20 A 30 B

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS :SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Question 1.Who was the narrator? What adventurous task did he take on? OR
Why did the author and his wife go for a sea voyage and how did they prepare for it?
Answer: Author and his wife wanted to duplicate the round the world voyage made 200 years
earlier by Captain James Cook. They got a large boat especially designed and professionally built

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for this purpose. They had been making formidable preparations for the last 16 years in the rough
British waters. OR
The narrator was a thirty-seven-year-old businessman, who along with his family, set from
Plymouth, England, on a round-the-world voyage like Captain James Cook had done 200 years
earlier in a 30-ton wooden-hulled boat.

Question 2. How did they prepare for this onerous task?

Answer: For sixteen years, they spent all their leisure time improving their seafaring skills in
British waters. They bought a boat, Wavewalker, a 23-metre, 30-ton wooden-hulled vessel that
had been professionally built. They spent months fitting it out and testing it in the roughest
weather that they could find.

Question 3. How many people were there in the boat? Who were Larry and Herb? What role did
they play?
Answer: Four; the narrator, his wife Mary, son Jonathan, and daughter Suzanne sailed for
105,000 kilometres to the west coast of Africa to Cape Town. They took on two crewmen with
them an American, Larry Vigil, and a Swiss, Herb Siegler, before settling sail on the southern
Indian Ocean.
They were to help them to tackle one of the world’s roughest seas, the Southern Indian Ocean.
They did their job quite well.

Question 4. What was the first indicator of rough weather?

Answer: On their second day out of Cape Town, they encountered strong winds. For the next
few weeks, the gales blew continuously. The gales did not worry the narrator but the sizes of the
waves were disturbing.

Question 5. What ordeal awaited them on 2 January?

Answer: After they celebrated Christmas, the weather changed for the worse. On the early
morning of 2 January, the waves became huge. As the ship rose to the top of each wave, they
could see the vast sea rolling towards them. The wind seemed to be howling.

Question 6. What measures did they take to counter this ordeal?

Answer: They dropped the storm jib and lashed a heavy mooring rope in a loop across the stem
to slow the boat, and then double-lashed everything, went through their life-raft drill, attached
lifelines, put on oilskins and life jackets.
Huge waves came rolling towards the boat. The howling of gales and spray was painful to the
ears. First of all, they decided to slow down the boat. The storm jib was dropped. Heavy mooring
ropes were looped across the stern. They went through their life-raft drill and attached lifelines.
Oilskins and life-jackets were donned. Larry and Herb were continuously pumping out water
like madmen.

Question 7. What happened on the evening of 2 January?

Answer: On the evening of 2 January there was a lull before the storm. As the sky grew dark,
they heard a growing roar, and saw a massive cloud rising at the rear of the ship. To their dismay,
it was a huge wave, almost twice the height of other waves, with a fearsome breaking top.

Question 8. What happened when they tried to ride over the wave?
Answer: When they tried to ride over the wave, there was a loud blast that shook the deck. Water
gushed over the ship, the narrator’s head hit the wheel and he was thrown overboard into the
water. He accepted his impending death, and while he was losing consciousness, he felt peaceful.

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Question 9. How did the narrator get back to the ship after having been thrown into the sea?
Answer: After the narrator felt he was losing consciousness, his head suddenly popped out of the
water. A few metres away, he saw Wavewalker, nearly overturned. Then, a wave threw it upright.
He grabbed the guardrails and sailed through the air into Wavewalker’s main boom. The waves
tossed him onto the deck like a rag doll.

Question 10. How did they manage to throw out water from the ship?
Answer: With the narrator’s wife, Mary, at the wheel, the narrator half-swam, half-crawled into
the children’s cabin, where he found a hammer, screws and canvas, and struggled back on deck.
He secured waterproof hatch covers across the wide-open holes. With Herb and Larry’s
assistance, he managed to throw out the water.

Question 11. What were the difficulties that they faced that night?
Answer: The night was bitterly cold, and they were pumping water out of the ship, steering the
ship and working the radio. Moreover, they were getting no replies to their calls for help, as they
were in a remote comer of the world.

Question 12. What injuries did Sue sustain? What does it reveal about her?
Answer: Sue had bumped her head and there was a big bump above her eyes. She had two black
eyes, and a deep cut on her arm. She showed remarkable maturity for a seven-year-old when she
said that she didn’t want to worry them when her father was trying to save all of them.

Question 13. After the water level receded, what was their next concern? What did they decide
to do?
Answer: Having survived fifteen hours since the wave hit, the narrator checked the charts and
calculated that there were two small islands a few hundred kilometres to the east. One of them
was lie Amsterdam. Knowing Wavewalker would not hold for much longer, they aimed to reach
the island.

Question 14. “But our respite was short-lived.” Why does the narrator say so?
Answer: By 4 January, they ate their first meal in almost two days after pumping out most of the
water. But their breather was short-lived. Soon after, black clouds gathered and the wind rose to
40 knots; the sea kept getting higher. The weather deteriorated and by dawn on 5 January, the
situation turned hopeless, again.

Question 15. What did Jon say that left the narrator speechless?
Answer: When the narrator tried to comfort and reassure the children, Jon said that they were
not afraid of dying if all four of them could be together. The narrator could find no words to
respond, but he left the children’s cabin determined to fight the sea with everything he had.

Question 16. What action did the narrator take, after having decided to fight the sea?
Answer: To protect the weakened starboard side, he decided to heave to with the undamaged
port hull facing the oncoming waves, using an improvised sea anchor of heavy nylon rope and
two 22-litre plastic barrels of paraffin.

Question 17. How did the narrator make his calculations to find out their position on 6 January?
Answer: The Wavewalker rode out the storm and by the morning of 6 January, the narrator
worked on wind speeds, changes of course, drift and current in an effort to calculate their
position.

Question 18. What instruction did the narrator give Larry? What did he expect?

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Answer: At about 2 p.m., the narrator asked Larry to steer a course of 185 degrees and said that
if they were lucky, they would see the island at about 5 p.m. He was not optimistic himself so he
went below, climbed on his bunk and slept off.

Question 19. Why did the narrator feel that he was not the best captain? What was the surprise
in store for him?
Answer: When Jon called him the best daddy in the whole world and the best captain, the narrator
was dejected for not being able to locate the island, so he refuted the statement. The truth was
that the island was just in front of them.

Question 20. Why did the narrator feel that it was the most beautiful island?
Answer: The narrator saw lie Amsterdam. It was an unwelcoming piece of volcanic rock, with
little vegetation, but to them it was the most beautiful island in the world because it held for them
the hope of their survival.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
Question 1. The narrator and his wife had longed to sail. What did they do to accomplish their
dream?
Answer: The narrator and his wife had always dreamt of sailing. They wanted to do a round-the-
world voyage like Captain James Cook had done 200 years earlier. For sixteen years they spent
all their leisure time improving their seafaring skills in the British waters. They took a boat,
Wavewalker, that was 23 metres, and weighed 30 ton. It had been professionally built and they
spent months fitting it out and testing it in the roughest weather that they could find. Finally, in
July 1976, the family set out to sail from Plymouth, England.

Question 2. What were the troubles that they faced on the morning of 2 January? How did they
counter nature’s wrath?
Answer: When they reached the southern Indian Ocean, one of the world’s roughest seas, they
began to encounter strong winds. Apart from the gales, the size of the waves was alarming. It
was as high as the main mast. Things became worse on 2 January when the waves became huge.
The ship rose to the top of each wave and they could see endless waves approaching them, and
the screaming of the wind seemed horrifying to them. To slow the boat down, they dropped the
storm jib and lashed a heavy mooring rope in a loop across the stem. Then they double-lashed
everything, went through their life-raft drill, attached lifelines, donned oilskins and life jackets.

Question 3. “The first indication of impending disaster came at about 6 p.m.” What was the
warning? What was the disaster that followed?
Answer: The first warning of the approaching disaster was the threatening stillness. The wind
dropped, and the sky grew dark. Then with a roar, an enormous cloud seemed to come after the
ship. It turned out to be a vertical wave, almost twice the height of the other waves, and had
fearsome breaking crests. When they tried to move over it, a monstrous explosion shook the
deck. Water broke over the ship, and the narrator’s head hit against the wheel and he was thrown
into the sea. The narrator accepted his impending death, and felt he was losing consciousness.
But soon, he was tossed back into the ship like a ‘rag doll’.

Question 4. How did they deal with the water that had gushed into the ship?
Answer: As Mary took control of the wheel, the narrator made his way towards the hatch. Larry
and Herb were pumping out water frantically. He saw broken timbers hanging, the starboard side
bulged inwards; clothes, crockery, charts, tin and toys sloshed about in deep water. So, he
struggled into the children’s cabin, found a hammer, screws and canvas, and laboured back on

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deck. He managed to stretch the canvas and secure waterproof hatch covers across the gaping
holes.
Some water continued to stream below, but most of it was now being deflected over the side.
The problems cropped up when the hand pumps started to block up with the fragments floating
around the cabins and the electric pump short-circuited. The water level rose ominously. On the
deck he missed the two spare hand pumps, forestay sail, jib, dinghies and the main anchor, which
were pitched overboard. He found another electric pump and connected it to an out-pipe, and
this worked.
Question 5. The children braved the situation more maturely than their years. Discuss.
Answer: The children, certainly braved the situation more maturely than their years. Sue had her
head hit and swollen, worryingly. She had two huge black eyes, and a deep cut on her arm. She
did not make much of her injuries because she did not want to worry her father when he was
trying to save them. Jon, the narrator’s six-year- old son, assured him that they were not afraid
of dying if the family could all be together.
When Sue’s head injury worsened with her blackened eyes narrowed to slits, she held on to her
spirit and gave the narrator a card with drawn caricatures of Mary and him with the words: ‘Here
are some funny people. Did they make you laugh? I laughed a lot as well.’ The underlying
message of love and positive hope overwhelmed the narrator. He was touched with the
thoughtfulness of a seven-year-old girl, who did not want her parents to worry about a head
injury, and that of the boy who was not afraid to die.

Question 6. What difference did you notice between the reaction of the adults and the children
when faced with danger?
Answer: There is a lot of difference between the way in which the adults and the children reacted
when faced with danger. The adults felt the stress of the circumstances but prepared themselves
to face the dangers. They took sufficient precautions to protect the ship when the rough weather
began. They equipped everyone with lifelines, water proof clothes, and life jackets. Larry and
Herb worked cheerfully and optimistically for three days continuously to pump out water from
the ship. Mary replaced the narrator at the wheel when the deck was smashed, and steered the
ship. She also served them meal after two days of struggle against odds. The narrator performed
his role as captain with courage, determination, resourcefulness and full responsibility. He
undertook repair work and provided apparatus and directions needed to protect the ship. He also
helped in steering the ship towards the island. The children suffered silently and patiently. Sue
did not want to bother her father with her troubles. Jon acted courageously. He was not afraid to
die if all of them perished together.

Question 7. Why do you think people undertake such adventurous expeditions in spite of the
risks involved?
Answer: Man is adventurous by nature. The greater the risk, the more the thrill. The thrill of
exploring unknown lands, discovering wealth and beauty lying hidden in far off lands inspires
brave hearts to stake their life of rest and repose. Perhaps they value one crowded hour of glory
more than a long uneventful life of sloth and inactivity. It is true that sometimes adventures are
quite risky and prove fatal. The failures of some persons do not daunt (discourage) the real lovers
of adventure. They draw lessons from the shortcomings and errors of others and make fresh
attempts with greater zeal. Part of the charm of an adventurous expedition lies in adapting oneself
to the circumstances and overcoming the odds. The success of an adventurous expedition brings
name, fame and wealth. History books are replete with accounts of famous explorers like
Columbus, Vasco da Gama, Captain Cook and Captain Scott.

Question 8. Write the character sketch of narrator.

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Answer: The narrator was a married man with two children who had set sail from Plymouth,
England to duplicate the round-the-world voyage made 200 years earlier by Captain James Cook.
He was a 37-year-old businessman who with his wife Mary had dreamt of sailing in the wake of
the famous explorer and for the past 16 years had spent all their leisure time honing their
seafaring skills in British waters until their boat Wave walker was ready. The captain of the ship
who is the narrator of the story was a courageous man who defines what a man can do with
perseverance and dedication when push comes to shove. The narrator had hurt himself when a
tremendous explosion shook the deck of his ship and he smashed his head into the wheel when
a huge wave broke over the ship. He was flung overboard and found himself sinking below the
waves. He thought death was approaching him and he lost consciousness. The narrator felt that
his death was imminent and he saw that his boat was going to capsize with her masts horizontal
and it was flooded with water. The impact of the waves on the narrator had nearly led him to
believe that he was dying and to accept that fact with composure. However, the thought of his
family's survival pulled him back and he fought really hard until he had brought them all to
safety. He loved his family, especially his two children who were already exhibiting signs of
possessing their father's indomitable courage and resilience.

Question 9. Character sketch of Suzzanne and Jonathan.

Answer: Suzanne: Suzanne was narrator’s seven-year-old daughter. She was very brave. She
was critically injured at the time the huge wave struck the boat. Her eyes were terribly swollen
because of the head injury. There was a cut on her arm also; however, she did not cry. She
repeatedly told her father she was alright; the truth was she was not. She had to undergo six
minor operations to remove the blood clotting from her brain.
Jonathan: Jonathan was Gordon Cook’s 6-year-old son who had accompanied him on the round-
the-world-journey. After the Wavewalker was terribly broken by the colossal wave, he also
behaved very courageously. He gave a new strength to his father when he said he was not afraid
to die if he could be together with the family. These words filled the author with new
determination and courage. He resolved to fight till the end to save his family from being
drowned in the stormy sea.

Question 10: Theme of We are not Afraid to die…

Answer: The story We’re Not Afraid to Die speaks about the adventures of a family which is out
on a voyage. This story is an encounter described by the author which he experienced while
taking the voyage. You will witness a stream of unfortunate events that lead to a disaster for this
family living its dream of sailing. The story brings many emotions which helps you to understand
the importance of bonding in a family and you will see how each member of the family
perseveres to survive this deadly situation.
The story also shows the struggle of a father determined to save his family and leaves no stone
unturned to bring the situation under control. It also brings the combined efforts of each character
to fight this situation. The little boy Jonathan exhibits a great deal of courage and is also ready
to die if all his family members are together. All that matters is that they are together. The young
girl Suzanne is seriously injured but chooses not to bother her father who is struggling to save
everyone.
This entire story revolves around the family and their positive attitude which saved everyone.
The whole family stands together and fights this situation with an indomitable spirit. The story
shows how unity might help you to overcome the toughest of situations. The family members
trust the author and how their faith in him boost his confidence to fight. In this chapter, you will
learn how your attitude can affect your performance in any situation.

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Chapter -3
DISCOVERING TUT: THE SAGA CONTINUES
INTRODUCTION

The chapter deals with the mysteries and various theories regarding the life and death of the
youngest teenaged Pharoah of ancient Egypt- Tutankhamun. Some speculated that he was
murdered. King Tut’s tomb was discovered in 1922 by the famous archaeologist Howard Carter.
After Carter’s investigation, Tut’s mummy was also subjected to an X-ray and a CT scan. These
investigations have answered a lot of questions and offered new clues on details of Tut’s life and
the mystery surrounding his death.

THEME
The chapter ‘Discovering Tut: the Saga Continues’ is a description of the exploration conducted
by a team of researchers. It gives an account of the struggles the team faced to unravel the
mystery of the death of a teenaged ruler, KingTut.
The story highlights changes in the methods of archaeology from a few decades back to the
present era of modern technology. It gives us an idea about the kind of exploration conducted in
1922 by Carter when there was no modern method to extract theremains.
It also helps us understand the revolution in the field of archaeology which is due to modern
equipments and sophisticated methods like computed tomography or CT scan which are being
used to give more accurateresults.
CHARACTERS
Howard Carter: The British archaeologist who discovered King Tut’s tomb in 1922. His
discovery was sensational as it was successful after years of futile searching. Carter’s
investigation caused great damage to the king’s mummy as the hardened material had to be
chiseled away from the body to raise the king’s remains.
Zahi Hawass:The Secretary General of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities. One of the
members of the team of researchers, Hawass scanned King Tut’s mummy for an accurate
forensic reconstruction. He was extremely focused and committed towards his work as he
could not sleep even for a second the night before Tut’s body was taken for scanning. He was
extremely worried thinking of the seriousness of the work of extraction and reconstruction
undertaken by him and felt relaxed only when the task was accomplished and he was sure that
everything was in proper place.
Amenhotep III: King Tut’s father or grandfather, was a powerful ruler who ruled for almost
four decades at the peak of the eighteenth dynasty’s golden age. He was succeeded by
AmenhotepIV.
Amenhotep IV: Successor of Amenhotep III, he promoted the worship of Aten, the sun disk
and changed his name to Akhenaten or ‘servant of the Aten’. He shifted the religious capital
from the old city of Thebes to the new city of Akhenaten, now known as Amarna. He further
outraged the country by
attackingAmun,amajorGod,bysmashinghisimagesandclosinghistemples.Hewascalledoddand
wacky by Ray Johnson.

Tutankhaten: Widely known as King Tut, he was the last heir of a powerful family that had ruled
Egypt and its empire for centuries. He was just a teenager when he became a ruler. He also
changed his name to Tutankhamun, reigned for about nine years and died unexpectedly. His
mummy was the first to be examined by using a CT scan.

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GIST OF THE LESSON
Death of King Tut
➢ King Tut just a teenager at time ofdeath
➢ last heir of powerful family that ruled Egypt and its empire forcenturies
➢ buried and forgotten over years
➢ discovery of his tomb in 1922 made world wonder about cause of untimely death.
➢ brought out of tomb, CT scan done to ascertain reason of death.

CT Scan of King Tut’s mummy

➢ King Tut’s mummy taken out from burial tomb on 5 January, 2005 at 6p.m.
➢ scan done to unearth medical mysteries surrounding untimely death
➢ rock- cut tomb lay 26 feet underground in Egyptian cemetery ‘Valley of theKings’
➢ angry winds stirred, dark clouds covered the stars when mummy put into scanner for
CTscan
➢ overcast weather entire day, night sky covered by dark-belliedclouds
➢ tourists from around the world visited tomb to payrespect
➢ murals on walls of burial chamber and King Tut’s gilded face on lid of outercoffin
➢ visitors curious, thoughtful; feared pharaoh’s curse would befall those who disturbedhim
➢ Zahi Hawass-blamed Howard Carter- bad condition of mummy

Howard Carter and his findings

➢ Tut’s tomb discovered by British archaeologist Howard Carterin1922
➢ tomb laden with gold; contents- richest royal collection ever found
➢ dazzling works of art in gold caused sensation then and even today
➢ Tut buried with everyday things- board games, bronze razor, linen undergarments, cases
of food, wine etc. needed in life after death
➢ three nested coffins investigated by Carter
➢ contents of first coffin- shroud decorated with garlands of willow and olive leaves,
wild celery, lotus petals, cornflowers- burial took place in March or April
➢ ritual resins hardened, cementing mummy to bottom of solid gold coffin

King Tut’s mummy chiseled out by Howard Carter

➢ Carter faced difficulty extracting mummy out ofcoffin
➢ ritual resins hardened, mummy cemented to bottom of coffin
➢ Carter tried to loosen resins-put mummy outside in sun for hours – mummy heated to149
degrees
➢ Fahrenheit- nothinghappened
➢ cut hardened material from under limbs and trunk to free Tut’sremains
➢ all this done to protect treasure- precious collars, inlaid necklaces, bracelets, rings,
amulets, ceremonial apron, sandals, sheaths for fingers and toe, inner coffin and mask-
all of pure gold, fromthieves
➢ removed mummy’s head and cut off nearly every major joint to separate king from
ornaments.
➢ reassembled remains of body on layer of sand in wooden box with padding to conceal
damage.
King Tut’s mummy x-rayed
➢ archaeology undergone changes -focuses more on details of life and death than treasures;
uses more sophisticatedtools
➢ anatomy professor x-rayed mummy in 1968, more than 40 years after Howard Carter’s
discovery; revealed astonishingfact
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 ➢ Tut’s breast bone and front ribs found missing beneath resins that caked Tut’schest
➢ mystery of Tut’s death stillunsolved

King Tut and his ancestors

➢ King Tut’s father or grandfather, Amenhotep III- powerful King, ruled for almost
fourdecades.
➢ son Amenhotep IV succeeded; very strangeKing
➢ Amenhotep IV promoted worship of Aten, the sun disk; changed his name to Akhenaten
(servant ofAten)
➢ moved religious capital from Thebes to Akhetaten, now known asAmarna
➢ shocked country- attacked major god ‘Amun’, broke images, closed downtemples
➢ Ray Johnson, Director of the University of Chicago’s research centre in Luxor, called
ithorrific time.
➢ after Akhenaten’s death mysterious ruler Smenkhkare- ruled for brief period, departed
withhardly any sign
➢ young King Tutankhaten took over throne; soon changed name to Tutankhamun, known
as King Tut
➢ Tut oversaw revival of old ways, ruled for nine years, then died unexpectedly

CT Scanning of King Tut’s mummy

➢ King Tut’s mummy-one among many in Egypt
➢ The Egyptian Mummy Project- recorded almost six hundred mummies, stillcounting
➢ King Tut’s mummy- first to be CT scanned to ascertain secret ofdeath
➢ scanned by portable scanner donated by National Geographic Society and Siemens, its
manufacturer
➢ team of specialists in radiology, forensics and anatomy worked uponTut
➢ on night of scan, workmen carried mummy its box, from tomb, rose it on hydraulic lift
into a trailer that heldscanner
➢ initially scanner could not function properly due to sand in cooler fan- plastic fans
brought as substitute
➢ king returned to coffin to rest in peace afterscan

➢ CT scan showed image of Tut’s entire body clearly- grey head, neck vertebrae, a hand,
several images of rib cage and a section of skull
➢ Zahi Hawass relieved- nothing had seriously gone wrong- nothinglost
➢ after observations, team left, wind stopped, completesilence
➢ technicians saw Orion constellation, known to ancient Egyptians as soul of Osiris, the
God of afterlife, above entrance totomb
➢ felt as if God was watching over the boyking

VOCABULARY

1. Heir – Inheritor, successor

2. Laden – loaded
3. Speculated- form a theory without evidence
4. Tomb- an enclosure to bury the dead
5. Forensic Reconstruction – the process of recreating the face of an individual
6. Pharaoh- a ruler in ancient
7. Stirred – move or cause to move slightly
8. Ghostly – eerie and unnatural; unreal
9. Resting place- here, the grave
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10. Cemetery- a large burial ground
11. Dark-bellied – dark in colour
12. Scudded across – moving quickly; it refers to the movement of the
dark- bellied clouds
13. Veiling – to cover something
14. Casket- a small ornamental box or chest for holding jewels,
letters, or other valued objects.
15. Casket grey – It means that the grey clouds were like a grey coloured
casket which
contained the stars. The stars are like jewels which are kept
in a casket.
16. Glided – quite, continuous motion
17. Probe – to investigate, find out
18. Lingering – long-lasting
19. Descended – moved or gathered
20. Cramped – very small to fit into
21. Rock-cut - made in a rock by cutting it
22. Gazed – to look in surprise or in admiration
23. Murals – a painting or other art work executed directly on the wall

24. 23.Gilded – covered with a thin sheet or coating of gold

25. Striking- prominent

26. Whisper- to speak in a low voice
27. Pondering – think about something carefully
28. 26. Futile – pointless; incapable of producing the result of
something.

29. Ransacked – raid; go through a place to steal or damage something

30. Antiquity – age, oldness

31. Resurrection – restoration to life
32. Afterlife- life after death, based on the belief that the essential
to the next life after the death of the physical body.
33. Funerary Treasures – the valuable things with which the king was buried
34. Shroud – a length of cloth in which a dead person is wrapped
35. Adorned – decorated
36. Garlands of willow – a wreath of flowers and leaves
37. Resins – a sticky flammable substance that is insoluble in water
38. Legitimate - reasonable
39. Blazing – very hot
40. Budged – moved or shifted; a slight movement
41. Chiselled away – to cut something with a chisel
42. Circumvented – find a way around; thieves would have found a way
to tackle the guards and remove the gold from the tomb
43. 43 Inlaid - a decorative pattern on a surface
44. Amulet - an ornament or small piece of jewellery thought to
give protection against evil, danger, or disease
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 45. Sheaths – a close-fitting cover
46. Adornments – ornaments
47. Concealed- hid
48. Intervening – occur in the time between events
49. Intriguing – to arouse one’s curiosity
50. Startling – unexpected or surprising
51. Computed Tomography – Also called a CT scan, it is a three-dimensional scan of
a body with the help of hundreds of X-Rays in
cross-section together
52. Wacky – amusing in a slightly odd way
53. Eerie detail – strange image of Tut’s head as visible with the help of
CT scan
54. Forensics – the application of the scientific method to investigate a crime
55. Anatomy – the branch of science which deals with the bodily structure
of humans, animals or other living beings
56. Burial – burying the dead
57. Pallbearers – a person who helps to escort a coffin at a funeral
58. Swirling – to spin or twist
59. Hydraulic lift – a lift that uses a machine to lift or move heavy objects with a
Pressure
60. Sprinted – ran at a high speed
61. stood Orion — the constellation that the ancient Egyptians knew as the soul
of Osiris, the god of the afterlife — watching over the boy
king.
62. Astonishing – amazing
63. Pixels - a pixel is a single point in a graphic image
64. Spun – to turn around
65. Vertebrae – – series of small bones which form a backbone

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS:

1. Who is Osiris?
(a) god of nature b.god of afterlife c.god of seasons d. god of
universe
2.What was Tut lavished with?
a) gold, silver, flowers (b) lots of jewels
(c) “glittering goods: precious collars, inlaid necklaces and bracelets, rings, amulets, a
ceremonial apron,sandals, sheaths for his fingers and toes all of pure gold”
(d) expensive clothing
3. “Tut was laid to rest, laden with ……….”
(a) platinum (b) aluminium (c) gold 1(d) silver
4. How did Tut die?
(a) It is a mystery (b) Due to heart attack (c) Due to Cancer (d) During a war
5. When did Tut die?
a.When he was a teenager b.When he was old
c. When he was in middle age d.When he was a child.
6. Who discovered Tut’s tomb and when?
a.Adam Cooper in 1901 b.Howard Carter in 1922
c.Howard Carter in 1930 d.Sam show in 1890
7.For almost show many years did Amenhotep III rule Egypt?
a. 5 years b.20 years c.10 years d.40 years

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8. When was Tut’s body taken back in his tomb after CT scan?
(a) After a day (b) After 3 hours (c) After 12 hours (d) After 5 hours
9. How did the workmen lift the body for the scan?
(a) through the stairs (b) on a hydraulic trailer (c) through sliding (d) through
lift
10. When was Tut’s body taken for CT Scan in the 21st century?
(a) January 05 2005 (b) January 10, 2007 (c) June 09, 2001 (d) February 12, 2009
11. When was the mummy examined in X-Ray by the anatomy professor?
(a) In 1945 (b) In 1986 (c) In 1968 (d) Never
12. How did Carter cut the body of Tut?
(a) First head and then every limb (b) first leg and then head
(c) first legs, head and then limbs (d) limb, hand only
13. Why did the third coffin put Carter in trouble?
(a) It was empty
(b) The resins used to cement Tut to the bottom of the solid gold coffin which was hardened
enough
(c) The material found inside was already looted (d) None of the above
14. How would you describe Tut’s tomb?
(a) gold-plated (b) rock-cut
(c) wall paintings with gold-plate (d) rock-cut, 26 feet underground, which had wall
paintings

15. For how many years did Tutankhamun rule Egypt?

(a) Nine (b) Eleven (c) Two (d) Five
16. What is the Cemetery of Tut called?
a) Valley of kings b.Tut’s resting place c.Resting peace d.Valley of
Flowers
17. What does CT scan stand for?
a) Computed Telegraphy b.Computed Tomography Scan
c.Car Topology d.Computer Technology
18. What were the facts revealed when the mummy was X-Rayed in 1968?
a) His several possessions were missing b.His hip bone was missing
c.His breast bone and front bones were missing d.His feet bone was missing.
19. Who said,” “the mummy is in a very bad condition because of what carter did in 1920’s?
a) Carter b.Zahi Hawass c.An anatomy Professor d.An Egyptian
Historian
20. How did Howard remove the resins?
a) with the help of chisel and hammer b.with the help of chemicals
c.with the help of machinery d.with the help of man power

21. What did Carter and his men do after cutting down his body?
(a) they sent it for X-Ray (b) they examined them carefully
(c) they placed it on the layer of sand in a wooden box (d) they clicked photographs
22. What was in the first coffin?
a) garlands of olives, lotus petals, and cornflowers b.flowers and coins
c.gold wealth, bronze razor, games, clothes, cases of food and wine d.it was empty
23. Why did the third coffin put carter in trouble?
a) It was empty b.The resins used had hardened
c.The Material found inside was already looted d.None of the above
24. What name did Amenhotep IV change to?
a) Amarna b.Atul c.Akhenaten d.Amenhotep III

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25. Why did the procedure stop in between?
(a)As spare fan stopped working (b) as the light went off
(c) As the lift broken (d) none of the above

26. Who promoted the worship of Aten (the sun disk)?

A. Tutankhamun B. Amenhotep III C. Amenhotep IV D. None of the above

Answers

Q. No Answer Q. No Answer

1 A 14 D

2 C 15 A

3 C 16 A

4 A 17 B

5 B 18 C

6 C 19 B

7 D 20 A

8 B 21 C

9 B 22 A

10 A 23 B

11 C 24 C

12 A 25 A

13 B 26 C

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QUESTIONS / ANSWERS

Short Answer Type Questions

Q1. Who was Howard Carter? What was his discovery?

Ans. Howard Carter was a British archaeologist. After years of searching he discovered King
Tut’s tomb in 1922 over 3300 years after his death. Tut died in his teens but his death was a
mystery for all. He was the last heir of the powerful family of pharaohs that ruled Egypt for
centuries. People believed that the king died under mysterious circumstances and his death
might involve every possibility of murder.

Q2. Why did King Tut’s mummy have to undergo CT scan?

Ans. The mummy of King Tut had earned worldwide fame for the riches it was buried with.
Further there arose a great controversy about the manner of his death and his age at the time
of death. Keeping in view this controversy, King Tut’s body was ordered to be scanned to
examine the delayed medical mysteries about his life and death.

Q3. What did the tourists in the burial chamber of King Tut do?
Ans. The tourists from around the world queued up as usual all afternoon into the narrowed
rock-cut tomb. They lined up to pay their homage to King Tut. They looked keenly at the
murals on the walls of the burial chamber. Some also peered at Tut’s gilded face. Some visitors
read from guidebook, whereas others stood silently thinking about the Pharoah’s curse which
stated that death or misfortune would befall those who disturbedhim.

Q4. Why did the artifacts in Tut’s tomb cause a sensation at the time of discovery?
Ans. The stunning artifacts of gold discovered in Tut’s tomb surprised all present there. They
were all made of pure gold. Their shine was brilliant and never fading. The funerary treasure
included precious collars, necklaces, bracelets, rings, amulets, a ceremonial apron, sandals,
sheaths, etc. All these things, including the coffin, were made of pure gold. It was believed
that the king would take these possessions with him in his journey beyond death. This eternal
brilliance of the artifacts was meant to guarantee the king’s revival from grave.

Q5. Why did Carter have to detach Tut’s mummy from the coffin? How did he do it?
Ans: When Carter and his men were working at the tomb of King Tut, they found that the
ritual resins had hardened and had cemented the mummy of King Tut to the bottom of his solid
gold coffin. The mummy could not be taken out. The solidified material could only be chiseled
away. They removed the mummy’s head and severed nearly every major joint. This they did
in order to separate the body from the adornments. Then they reassembled the remains on a
layer on sand in a wooden box with padding.
Q6. How did Carter defend his action of cutting the mummy free?
Ans. Carter, in his defense, wrote later that if he hadn’t cut the mummy free, thieves would
have escaped the guards and ripped it apart to remove all the gold. The mummy had been
kept with a lot of wealth in the form of gold ornaments and other riches, all of gold. The
funerary treasures would have surely attracted thieves had he not severed the mummy to
make it free from the adornments.

Q7. Why was King Tut’s coffin put in hot sun?

Answer: The resins used in the funeral rites of King Tut had dried and hardened and the body
was stuck to the coffin’s base. Carter ordered the coffin to be put in the sun hoping to melt
and loosen the resins. Even with 149 degrees Fahrenheit, the resins did not soften.

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Q8. What problem did Carter face when he reached the mummy of King Tut? How did
he find a way out?
Ans. King Tut’s mummy was stuck to the bottom of the coffin because the resins had melted
and hardened Carter decided to chisel the hardened resin from beneath the mummy.

Q9. How was Tut’s body carried to the C.T scanner?

Ans. On the night of the scan, workmen carried Tut from the tomb in his box. Like pallbearers
they climbed a ramp and a flight of stairs into the swirling sand outside. Then they rose it on
a hydraulic lift into the trailer that held the scanner.

Q10. How was King Tut’s mummy scanned by the CT scanner?

Ans. In order to remove the mystery over the death of King Tut, a portable CT scanner was
taken in a trailer to the sandy area near Tut’s tomb. Tut’s body was carried there from his tomb
in a box for scanning. However, a technical snag occurred when the sand entered the million-
dollar portable scanner. A pair of white plastic fans served as replacement or substitute fans to
help in the scanning. The CT machine scanned the mummy from head to toe, creating 1700
digital X-ray images in cross-section. His entire body was scanned in 0.62 milimetre slices for
intricate details.

Q11. What did the CT scan of Tut’s mummy reveal?

Ans. CT scanning gave surprising as well as fascinating images of Tut’s body. The image of
a grey head appeared on the computer screen. Neck bones appeared quite clearly. Other images
of Tut’s body appeared on the screen. They included a hand and several views of rib-cage and
the skull.

Q12. Carter had to take a drastic decision regarding the mummy. What was it? How did
he justify it?
Ans. The hard decision that carter had to take was to chisel away the hardened resins from under
Tut’s body. This could damage the skeleton. The workers had to remove Tut’s head and sever
nearly all the joints. Carter’s justification was that if he hadn’t cut the mummy free, thieves
would have ripped it apart to get the gold.

Q13. “King Tut’s body had been subjected to repeated scrutiny”. Why?
Ans: King Tut’s body and burial chamber were found intact. The archaeologists hoped to
discover many truths about King Tut and Egypt of his time. Therefore, they investigated them
repeatedly.

Q14.Why was Tut’s body buried with gilded treasures and precious things?
Ans:Tut’s body buried with gilded treasures and precious things because the Egyptians believed
King Tut would need those things in his life after death.

Q15. List some adornments on Tut’s body. Why had the adornments been buried along
with the body?
Ans: Stunning gold objects of great beauty like precious collars, inlaid necklaces, bracelets,
rings, amulet, all things needed by the King in his afterlife, board games, linen
undergarments, cases of food and drink. Egyptians believed that the king would need these
articles in his life after death.

Q16.What were the contents of ‘the richest royal collection ever found’?
Ans. Stunning gold objects of great beauty like precious collars, inlaid necklaces, bracelets,
rings, amulets, all things needed by the King in his afterlife, board games, linen

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undergarments, cases of food and drink.

.
Q 17. Why did the boy king change his name from Tutankhaten to Tutankhamun?
Ans. Tutankhamun means the living image of Amun. Tut took this name because he wanted
to restore the old ways which had been changed by his father.

Long Answer Type Questions

1. “He was the last of his family line.” What do you learn about Tut’s dynasty from the extract
‘Discovering Tut: The Saga Continues’?

Ans. Tut’s grandfather, Amenhotep III was a powerful Pharaoh who ruled for almost four
decades at the height of the dynasty’s golden age. His son Amenhotep IV promoted the worship
of the Aten, the sun disk. He changed his name to Akhenaten or ‘servant of the Aten` He moved
his religious capital fromthe old city Thebes to the new city of Akhenaten. He further shocked
the country by attacking Amun, a major God, breaking his images and closing his temples.
Thus, the ‘wacky’ king started one of the strongest periods in the history of ancient Egypt. After
Akhenaten’s death a mysterious ruler named Smenkhkare appeared briefly and departed
without leaving any sign. Then a very young Tutankhaten took over the throne. He is widely
known today as King Tut. The boy king soon changed his name to Tutankhamun, meaning
‘living image of Amun’. He supervised the restoration of the old ways. Tutankhamun ruled for
about nine years and then died unexpectedly. The details of his passing away are not known.
The modern world has speculated about what happened to him; how he died and how old he
was at the time of his death are two unanswered questions which remain unanswered even
today.

Q2. AR Williams says, “King Tut is …. in death as in life regally ahead of his countrymen.”
How far do you agree with the assertion and why?
Ans. Perhaps no other Pharaoh of Egypt has fascinated the public mind so greatly as the boyish
King Tutankhamun. Although King Tut died in his teens and ruled for about nine years only,
he introduced certain changes during his brief rule. These were significant as they marked
restoration of the old ways of the worship of Amun. The unanswered questions about the causes
and mode of his death as well as his age at the time of his death kept public curiosity alive.
After his death, his body has been a centre of scientific examination. Howard Carter, the British
archaeologist discovered Tut’s tomb in 1922. In 1968, an anatomy Professor X-rayed the
mummy. The Egyptian Mummy project began an inventory in late 2003. It has so far recorded
600 and is still counting. The next phase of CT scanning with a portable CT machine began on
January 5, 2005. King Tut’s mummy was the first one to undergo CT scan. Hence, the assertion
iscorrect.

Q3. How has Tut’s mummy fascinated the scientists and commoners alike over the previous
decades?
Ans. King Tutankhamun was the last Pharoah left of his line. His funeral marked the end of a
dynasty. He was laid to rest laden with gold as the royals in Tut’s time were extremely wealthy
and thought they could take their riches with them. His tomb was discovered by Howard Carter,
an English archaeologist in 1922, more than 3000 years after his death. The rich royal collection
of jewellery and golden artifacts fascinated Carter. Visitors thronged the boy King’s tomb. The
particulars of King Tut’s death and its aftermath are not clear. He revealed a startling fact. The
breastbone and front ribs of Tut were missing. On 5th January, 2005 a CT scan was done to
obtain precise data for an accurate forensic reconstruction of King Tut. It was hoped that it
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 would offer new clues about his life and death. Thus, Tut’s mummy has been the centre of
fascination throughout the previous decades.

Q4. Who was King Tut? What happened when his mummy was being CT scanned? What did
the tourists do?
Ans. King Tut was just a teenager when he died. He was the last heir of a powerful family that
ruled Egypt and its empire for centuries. He was laid to rest laden with gold and forgotten. In
1922, Howard Carter discovered his mummy and startling facts about him came to light. When
his mummy was CT scanned on January 5, 2005, an angry wind began to blow. Dark clouds
appeared in the sky. The tourists gazed at the murals on the walls in his burial chamber. They
peered at the gilded face. Some tourists stood silently. They wondered if the Pharaoh’s curse-
death or misfortune falling upon those who disturbed him–was really true. But except a change
in the weather nothing happened.

Q5. What problems did Howard Carter face in regard to King Tut’s mummy? What did he do
to solve them?
Ans. At last, Howard Carter, the British archaeologist, discovered King Tut’s burial chamber
and his gold coffin in 1922. When he opened the last coffin, he found that the ritual resins had
hardened. It had cemented Tut to the bottom of his solid gold coffin. He tried to loosen it by
putting the mummy in the scorching sunshine. But it did not happen. Then he said the material
had to be chiseled away from beneath the limbs and trunk. It was to be done before it was
possible to raise the King’s remains. Carter defended it saying that the thieves would rip the
mummy apart to remove the gold. So, his men removed the mummy’s head and severed nearly
major joint. Then they reassembled the remains on a layer of sand. They put the mummy in a
wooden box.

Q6. What light does the chapter throw on King Tut’s father or grandfather?
Ans. King Tut’s father or grandfather was a powerful Pharaoh. They ruled Egypt for 40 years at
the height of the 18th dynasty’s golden age. His son Amenhotep IV succeeded him. He started
certain changes. He promoted the worship of the Aten, the sun disk. He changed his name to
Akhenaten, or ‘Servant of the Aten’ He also moved the capital from Thebes to Akhenaten. It is
now known as Amarna. He shocked the country by breaking the images of Amun, a major God
images and closing his temples. After Akhenaten’s death, Smenkhare ruled Egypt briefly. Then
a very young Tutankhaten sat on the throne. He was the King Tut as known today. The boy King
changed his name to Tutankhamun, ‘living image of Amun’ He restored old ways. He ruled for
nine years and then died unexpectedly.

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Chapter-4: LANDSCAPE OF THE SOUL: Nathalie Trouveroy
SUMMARY
• The story “Landscape of the Soul” by author Nathalie Trouveroy is about art.
• The first narrative is about a famous medieval Chinese artist named Wu Daoji, who
lived in the 8th century under the Tang Emperor Xuan zong rule. He was asked by the
Empror to decorate the walls of his palace.
• Wu Daoji painted a beautiful midline of mountains, waterfalls, river, clouds and blue
skies, wildlife, and people living harmoniously in a radiant environment. He painted a
cave in the foothills of the mountains that was dwelled by a spirit. While painting Wu
clapped his hands near the cave, and the passage of the cave magically opened. Wu gets
inside the cave and vanishes.
• The story became a Chinese legend and part of rich folklore from writers and
philosophers such as Confucius and Zhuangzi.

• Another story is about another painter who believed in the spiritual magic of art. He
painted a magnanimous dragon. However, he did not paint the eyes of the dragon
because he was afraid that the dragon would come to life. The belief he had in his art
was such that he was frightened by the probability of bringing his art to life and falling
victim to a fiery dragon.

• In the third and final story, the writer cites a story representative of Europe during the
fifteenth century in Antwerp, Belgium. There was a blacksmith named Quentin, who
fell in love with a painter’s daughter. The difference between their profession led the
father not to accept their relationship. To earn his beloved hand for marriage, the
blacksmith sneaked into the painter’s studio and painted a fly on his latest panel. It had
such moderate realism that it resembled a real one and tried to fly it as a living
insect.Quentin’s skill, determination and simplicity convinced him and got his daughter
married to him. Finding his true love, Quentin became one of the greatest painters of his
age.
• The Chinese and the European arts are in direct contrast to each other and represent two
contrarian views of art. Western figurative paintings depict scenes exactly as they are,
whereas Chinese painters depict inner space—spiritual and conceptual. The European
painter wants the viewer to understand his art exactly as he sees it, whereas Chinese
painter wants the viewer to use his prudence, enjoy the art and come out with his
inference.
• Shanshui means mountain and water. The mountain is symbolic of the male and the
water is symbolic of’ the female element in creation. This is the fundamental notion of
‘Daoism’. In between, there is the Middle Void where their interaction takes place and
is also the space for man. Thus, the Chinese painter’s landscape has a spiritual
character.
• The writer has compared the concept of ‘Shanshui’ with the yogic practice of
‘Pranayama’ breathe in, hold, breath out—the time of the suspension of breath is the
void when meditation occurs. This middle void is crucial-as nothing can happen
without it.
• The concept of ‘art brut’ is about the art of the ones who have ‘no right’ to be artists. It is
because they lack any formal training yet somehow possess artistic talent and insight. The
writer cites the example of Nek Chand’s work at Rock Garden in Chandigarh is a form of
art brut.

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VOCABULARY
Dwells – live; stay
Splendid – very impressive; superb
Astonished – greatly surprised or impressed
Disciple – a follower or a pupil of a leader, teacher
Anecdote – a short interesting story of a real person
Flanders – a medieval country in Western Europe
Antwerp – a city of northern Belgium
Delicate Realism – the quality of art that makes it seem real
Swat – hit or crush something
Apprentice – trainee; learner
Illusionistic Likeness – an illusion created which resembles something
Figurative painting – metaphoric representation of an art
Leisurely – unhurried or relaxed
Conceptual Space – relation with an abstract representation
Void – empty; vacant
Conduit – channel; tube
Oppressed – burdened; worried
Lofty – tall or high

MCQ’S BASED ON THE CHAPTER

1. What two forms of art did the author contrast in this chapter?
A. Indian Ancient Art and Chinese Art B. Chinese art and European art
C. American Art ad European Art D. European Art and Greek Art
2. Whom did the Tang emperor Xuan zong commission to decorate a wall in the
palace?
A. Axi Xiami B. Viu Quizi C. Wu Daozi D. Wu Shawmi
3. Who was the Chinese Emperor during the Eighth Century?
A. Tang Emperor Xuanzong B. Yongle Emperor Zhu Di
C. Jianwen Emperor Zhu Yunwen D. Tiacheng Emperor Zhu Changluo
4. Where did the painter draw the attention in the painting?
A. Sun B. Palace C. Birds D. a cave at the foot of the mountain
5. What happened when the painter entered the cave?
A. the entrance closed behind him B. the painting vanished
C. Nothing happened D. It was only a dream
6. Why didn’t the painter want to draw an eye of a dragon?
A. he feared that the painting would not look good
B. he feared that the dragon would fly out of the painting
C. he feared that dragon will seem real
D. because he didn’t wanted to work
7. What do the books of Confucius and Zhuangzi teach?
A. to guide his disciple in the right direction B. to not fear the superiors
C. to not to suppress your thoughts D. None of the above
8. What was the name of the blacksmith in the fifteenth century Antwerp?
A. Adam Mulch B. Sadern Metsys C. Lori Adam D. Quinten Metsys
9. Why didn’t the father approve of the love of his daughter and the blacksmith?
A. due to his profession B. due to his caste
C. due to his appearance D. None of the above
10. What did the two forms of art depict?
A. a perfect, illusionistic likeness in Europe, the essence of inner life and spirit in Asia
Page 124 of 175
 B. a perfect, illusionistic likeness in Asia, the essence of inner life and spirit in Euorpe
C. perfect art form in Asia and realness in Europe
D. It depicted nothing
11. What does the word ‘Dao’ mean?
A. perfection
B. both the path or the method, and the mysterious works of the Universe
C. mystery D. royal
12. What does the Chinese Landscape depict?
A. They are not real and one can enter from any viewpoint
B. they produce an actual viewpoint
C. they are not imaginery
D. None of the above
13. What does ‘Leisurely movement’ mean?
A. relaxed movement B. hurried action
C. pleasure action D. None of the above
14. . What did the Chinese Painter want the viewer to do?
A. he wants the viewer to enter his mind
B. he wants the viewers to admire his painting
C. he wants them to imagine the scene
D. he wants them to feel like they are inside of the scene
15. What does the concept of ‘Shanshui’ represent?
A. Imaginery place B. worship
C. ‘mountainwater’ which when used together represents the word ‘landscape’
D. None of the above
16. What does Yin mean?
A. water; horizontal and resting on the earth, fluid, moist and cool
B. Mountain; vertically towards Heaven, stable, warm, and dry in the sun
C. Neutral action D. None of the above
17. What does Yang mean?
A. Mountain; vertically towards Heaven, stable, warm, and dry in the sun
B. water; horizontal and resting on the earth, fluid, moist and cool
C. Neutral action
D. receptive, feminine aspect of universal energy
18. What is the role of man in between Heaven and Earth?
A. He is in a path B. He is a sinner
C. He is meeant to do actions D. he becomes the conduit of communication
19. What was Francois Cheng’s expression?
A. the center of the landscape B. the eye of the landscape
C. the center of the universe D. the left side of the yang
20. What does the European Figurative painting mean to the viewer?
A. Illusion B. Imagination
C. exactly as he sees it from a specific angle D. view of the painter
21. What is the essential third element ?
A. Left Void B. Middle Void C. Yang D. Yin
22. What is the third element compared with?
A. prayer B. travel C. yogic practice of pranayama D. nirvana
23. "Antwerp, a master blacksmith called Quinten Metsys fell in love with a
…………… daughter"
A. emperor’s B. painter’s C. minister’s D. master’s
24. What according to the painter dwells in the cave?
A. a spirit B. magic C. mystery D. dragon

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25. Chinese art requires ………… participation of the viewer
A. passive B. emotional C. active D. methodological
26. What is true about Yang and Yin?
A. It is the balance of Good and Evil B.Yang is the darker element, Ying is the lighter element
C.If balanced, you can achieve Nirvana D.The two are opposites forces of nature
27. Which of these is NOT a quality of yin and yang?
A. Light and dark B.male and female
C. aggressive and submissive D.sun and moon

28. What is the most surprising thing about the garden?

A The rocks B The waterfalls C The sculptures D The plants
29. Which of the following is NOT true about the garden now?
A. There is a road for VIPs through the garden.
B. People are still making new sculptures there.
C The local government doesn’t manage the garden.
D You can volunteer to work there
30.Francois Cheng was
A. Chinese-born French academician and writer B.French writer
C.British cartographer D.American poet

MARKING SCHEME MCQ BASED QUESTIONS

QUES NO. ANSWER QUES NO. ANSWER

1 B 16 A
2 C 17 A
3 A 18 D
4 D 19 B
5 A 20 C
6 B 21 B
7 A 22 C
8 D 23 B
9 A 24 A
10 A 25 C
11 B 26 D
12 A 27 A
13 A 28 C
14 A 29 A
15 C 30 A

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SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
1. Briefly narrate the story of the Emperor and the Chinese artist.
2. How did stories such as the one about Wu Daozi play an important role in China’s
classical education?
3. Why did the artist agree to get his daughter married to the blacksmith?
4. What is the difference between the Chinese and European art?
5. How does shanshui express the Daoist view of the universe?
6. What is lacking in Shanshui?
7. How is the pranayama compared to the Middle void?
8. Describe the concept of ‘art brut’.

LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

1. Narrate the tale of the Chinese Emperor and the artist. What message does the story
convey?
2. Narrate the anecdote that brings out that Europeans endeavoured to achieve ‘a perfect,
illusionistic likeness’.
3. Explain the difference between Chinese and Western view of art.
4. What was the revolutionary idea in art that was put forward by Jean Dubuffet? How did
an Indian artist support his theory?
5. Nek Chand’s work is acclaimed as the work of a genius and is appreciated world over.
Justify.
6. Describe the Daoist view of the universe.

MARKING SCHEME: SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTONS

1. A painter Wu Daozi, who lived in the eighth century was asked to paint a
landscape by the Tang Emperor Xuanzong, to decorate a palace wall. The artist
concealed his work behind a screen, so that only the Emperor would see it. For a
long time, the Emperor admired the wonderful scene.One day the painter
showed him a cave at the foot of the mountain, and said that a spirit dwelt there.
The painter clapped his hands, and the entrance to the cave opened. He then
entered the cave and the entrance closed behind him. Since then nothing is
known of the artist or the painting as the painting vanished off the wall.
2. Such stories played a significant part in China’s classical education. They
helped the master to guide his pupil in the right direction. They were not merely
tales, but were deeply illuminating of the essence of art. The books of Confucius
and Zhuangzi are full of such stories. They reveal that art was considered the
essence of inner life and spirit in Asia.
3. Initially the artist was against the blacksmith, Quinten Metsys, marrying his
daughter. However, one day Quinten slyly sneaked into the painter’s studio and
painted a fly on his latest panel, that was so realistic that the master tried to swat
it away. The artist was so impressed that he admitted Quinten as an apprentice
into his studio and let him marry his beloved.
4. The Chinese and European art are different as the European art is trying to
achieve a perfect, illusionistic likeness in Europe, and the Chinese the essence
of inner life and spirit in Asia. While the European wants you to look at the
landscape through his eyes, the Chinese painter wants you to enter it from any
point, then travel in it. He creates a path for your eyes to travel up and down,
then back again, in a leisurely movement.

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 5. Shanshui means ‘mountainwater.’ It expresses the Daoist view. The mountain is
Yang and it stretches vertically towards Heaven. It is stable, warm, and dry in
the sun, while the water is Yin. It is horizontal and resting on the earth, fluid,
moist and cool. The interaction of Yin, the receiver, feminine aspect of universal
energy, and Yang, active and masculine, is the fundamental belief of Daoism.
6. The third element, the Middle Void where their interaction takes place, is
lacking in Shanshui. The Middle Void is indispensable. Hence nothing can
happen without it. This is the reason why the white, unpainted space in Chinese
landscape is important. This is also where Man finds a fundamental role, in that
space between Heaven and Earth, he becomes the medium of communication
between both poles of the universe.
7. The Middle Void is vital as nothing can happen without it. This is the reason
why the white, unpainted space in Chinese landscape is imperative. This is also
where Man finds a fundamental role, in the yogic practice of pranayama we
breathe in, retain and breathe out. The suspension of breath is the Void where
meditation occurs.
8. The notion of 'art brut' or 'raw art" was of works that were in their raw state as
regards cultural and artistic influence. Anything and everything from a tin to a
sink to a broken car could be material for a work of artist Nek Chand has
taken the notion of raw art to dizzying heights.

MARKING SCHEME: LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

1. Tang Emperor Xuanzong asked the painter Wu Daozi, to make a landscape to decorate
a palace wall. The artist had hidden his work behind a screen, so only the Emperor
would see it. The Emperor, for a long time, admired the wonderful scene, discovering
forests, high mountains, waterfalls, clouds floating in an immense sky, men on hilly
paths, birds in flight. One day the painter showed him a cave, at the foot of the
mountain.
He said that a spirit lived there. Just then, the painter clapped his hands, and the
entrance to the cave opened. The artist said that it was infinitely beautiful inside and he
entered the cave. The entrance closed behind him. Since then nothing has been known
of Wu Daozi.
The story underlines the message that the Emperor was only interested appreciating the
outer appearance of the painting but the artist makes known to him the true meaning of
his work. The Emperor admires the territory while the artist is filled with the ‘spirit’
within.
2. In fifteenth century lived a blacksmith named Quinten Metsys who fell in love with a
painter’s daughter. The father, being an artist, would not accept a son-in-law who was a
blacksmith. So Quinten crept into the painter’s studio and painted a fly on his latest
board. It seemed so real that even the artist thought it was real and tried to swat it away.
It was then he realised what had happened. He immediately took Quinten as a trainee
into his studio. Quinten then married his beloved and went on to become one of the
most famous painters of his age.This story exemplifies what European form of art was
trying to achieve. They wanted a perfect, illusionistic likeness.

3. Chinese art is meant to be metaphorical. An artist in China would not like the onlooker
to look at a particular landscape from a specific angle. The Chinese painter does not
choose a specific viewpoint. One can enter his landscape from any point, and then
travel in it. The artist creates a course for your eyes to journey up and down, then back
again, at an unhurried pace.
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 This is even truer of the horizontal scroll. The action of slowly opening one section of
the painting, then rolling it up to move on to the other, adds a dimension of time which
is unknown in any other form of painting. It necessitates the active contribution of the
viewer. It is the viewer who decides at what speed he will travel through the painting.
The interaction is physical as well as mental. The Chinese painter wants you to enter his
mind. The landscape is an inner one, a spiritual and abstract.
4. Before the French painter Jean Dubuffet, challenged the concept of ‘art brut’ in the
1940s, people were not interested in the art of the untutored creative thinkers. It was he
who defied this concept. As a consequence this ‘outsider art’ has steadily become the
fastest growing area of interest in modem art worldwide. He felt that there are artists
who have received no formal training, yet show talent and artistic insight. Their works
are a motivating contrast to a lot of conventional ones.
5. At the time Dubuffet was advocating his theory, in India ‘an untutored genius was
creating paradise’. Nek Chand made one of the biggest contributions by clearing a little
patch of jungle to make himself a garden sculpted with stone and recycled material.
This garden is known to the world today as the Rock Garden at Chandigarh. Nek
Chand’s work is acknowledged as India’s biggest contribution to outsider art. The
fiftieth issue of Raw Vision, a UK-based magazine that initiated the outsider art
publications, featured Nek Chand, and his Rock Garden sculpture ‘Women by the
Waterfall’ on its anniversary issue’s cover. It reported how Nek Chand had used every
thing from a tin to a sink to a broken down car to create a work of art that took him to
the pinnacles of glory. The Swiss Commission for UNESCO applauded his art as ‘an
outstanding testimony of the difference a single man can make when he lives his
dream’, and decided to honour him. They decided to put up an exhibition of his works.
The five-month interactive show, ‘Realm of Nek Chand’, is to begin in October. It is to
be held at leading museums in Switzerland, Belgium, France and Italy. However, the
greatest honour for him is seeing people enjoy the creation.
6. This concept is expressed as shanshui, literally ‘mountainwater’ which used together
represent the word ‘landscape’. More than two elements of an image, these represent
two complementary poles, reflecting the Daoist view of the universe. The mountain is
Yang — reaching vertically towards Heaven, stable, warm, and dry in the sun, while
the water is Yin — horizontal and resting on the earth, fluid, moist and cool. The
interaction of Yin, the receptive, feminine aspect of universal energy, and its
counterpart Yang, active and masculine, is of course a fundamental notion of Daoism.
What is often overlooked is an essential third element, the Middle Void where their
interaction takes place. This can be compared with the yogic practice of pranayama;
breathe in, retain, breathe out — the suspension of breath is the Void where meditation
occurs. The Middle Void is essential — nothing can happen without it; hence the
importance of the white, unpainted space in Chinese landscape.

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TEXTBOOK: SNAPSHOTS

CHAPTER - 1
THE SUMMER OF THE BEAUTIFUL WHITE HORSE
SUMMARY
Once there lived in Armenia a very poor family. Like other families of Garoghlanian tribe, this
family was very famous for trust and honesty. Honesty was the hallmark of their family. Aram,
who is the narrator of the story,was a nine year old boy.He was very fond of horses. His cousin
Mourad was 13 years old. Mourad was somewhat crazy but very confident and adventurous. He
was ready to take risks and even break rules if they did not cause any harm. He had a way with
animals,birds,farmers,etc.
One day in the early morning hours Mourad came to Aram’s house on a white horse. Aram was
wonder - struck on seeing Mourad on a horse. When questioned by Aram, Mourad told him that
he had stolen the horse for a pleasure ride. He had no intention of selling it. He wanted to give the
horse back to the owner after enjoying the ride of horse. He invited Aram for a ride. Aram tried
but the horse went out of control and he fell down. Mourad used the horse for sometime and then
hid it in a deserted vineyard.
Every family has a crazy streak in it somewhere. Mourad was considered to have inherited the
crazy streak from his uncle Khosrove who was a heavily built man with big moustache and black
hair. His usual refrain was “It is no harm, pay no attention to it”.
The owner of the stolen horse, John Byro, was an Assyrian. He came to Khosrove and told him
about his life without the horse. But Khosrove snubbed him about his worries and anxieties about
the horse. After the visit of John Byro,Aram went to Mourad and told him about the visit of John
Byro. He told Mourad that he should keep the horse until he (Aram) too learned to ride the horse.
One day Mourad and Aram came across John Byro. He studied the horse and felt that it was his
own horse. But he knew the honesty of the family to which the boys belonged. He concluded that
the horse must be the twin of his stolen horse. Saying this he left, somewhat puzzled.
Next day early in the morning they took the horse to John Byro’s vineyard and tied it in the barn.
When John Byro found the horse, he was overjoyed. He came to share the good news with
Garoghlanian family. Happily, he told them that his horse had been found and it was stronger and
better than before.

KEY POINTS
1. Aram and Mourad were cousins. They were two poor Armenian boys.
2. They belonged to the Garoghlanian tribe.
3. Their tribe was poverty-stricken but famous for its honesty and integrity.
4. One morning Mourad came to Aram’s house to invite him to take ride of the horse.
5. Aram who is the narrator of the story could not believe that the horse belonged to Mourad.
6. He thought that Mourad had stolen the horse but no member of the Garoghlanian family
could be a thief.
7. Aram was very fond of riding a horse so he justified stealing the horse saying that stealing
for a ride was not the same thing as stealing it for money.
8. The horse was hidden in the barn of a deserted vineyard.
9. Mourad had a good understanding with a horse while the narrator had none.
10. One day a farmer named John Byro, an Assyrian, came to uncle Khosrove’s house.
11. Uncle Khosrove was a crazy man. He was impatient and got irritated very soon. His usual
refrain was-It is no harm, pay no attention to it.
12. John Byro told that his white horse had been stolen.
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13. One morning Aram and Mourad met John Byro quite accidently.
14. He studied the horse very carefully and declared that it was his horse.
15. John Byro believed that no member of the Garoghlanian could be a thief.
16. He thought that their horse was the twin of his horse.
17.This made the boys realize their mistake.
17. Early the following morning, Mourad and Aram took the horse to John Byro’s house. They
tied it back in the barn.
18. John Byro was very happy after getting back his stolen horse. He informed the narrator’s
mother that he had found the horse and it was stronger and better than before.

VOCABULARY

1. Magnificence Very attractive and impressive

2. Crazy Mad, whimsical
3. Longing Strong desire
4. Garoghlanian An Armenian tribe
5. Pious Holy, sacred
6. Orchard Small garden
7. Descendant One who inherits
8. Furious Violent
9. Capricious Changing suddenly and quickly
10. Hind legs Back legs
11. Deserted A lonely place where no one lives
12. Parlour Sitting room
13. Have a way with know the way to deal with
14. Swear Take an oath
15. Whispered Spoke slowly in the ear

MCQ WITH MARKING SCHEME

Q1. Who is the author of “The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse”?
A. AJ Cronin B. William Wordsworth C. William Shakespeare D.
William Saroyan
Q2. What were the hallmarks of the Garoghlanian tribe?
A. Trust B. Honesty C. Both (A) and (B) D. None of the
above
Q3. “The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse” is a story of two _________ boys.
A. Armenian B. Arabian C. Assyrian D. African
Q4. Mourad enjoyed being _______ more than anybody else.
A. crazy B. alive C. funny D. None of the above
Q5. What according to Aram, was his first longing?
A. To own a horse B. To become rich C. To ride a horse D. To visit a vineyard
Q6. Why couldn’t Aram believe when he saw Mourad with the horse?
A. Because Mourad was crazy B. Because they were poor to afford a horse
C. Because he was sleepy D. Because he was dreaming

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Q7. Where did Aram live?
A. In the centre of the town B. In the country
C. Olive Avenue D. At the edge of town on Walnut Avenue
Q8. How does Aram describe the horse?
A. Magnificent & lovely B. Beautiful white horse
C. Both (A) and (B) D. None of the above
Q9. No member of the Garoghlanian family could be _______.
A. poor B. rich C. a thief D. crazy
Q10. Mourad was considered the natural descendant of his _________.
A. father B. uncle C. grandfather D. great-grandfather
Q11. How would you describe uncle Khosrove?
A. Hot tempered B. Irritable C. Impatient D. All of the above
Q12. What did uncle Khosrove do to stop anyone from talking?
A. By beating them B. By walking away C. By shouting at them D. By
ignoring them
Q13. What was uncle Khosrove’s customary line?
A. Ignore it; pay no attention. B. Forget it.
C. It is harmless; ignore it D. It is no harm; pay no attention to it.
Q14. When Aram rode the horse alone, it ran down the road to the _________.
A. vineyard B. irrigation ditch C. field D. countryside
Q15. Mourad had been hiding the horse _________.
A. in a stable B. in a barn of a vineyard C. at a secret place of his house D.
None of the above
Q16. What was the behaviour of the horse initially?
A. It wanted to be trained B. It wanted to rest C. It wanted to run wild
D. All of the above
Q17. What sort of an understanding did Mourad mention with the horse?
A. Mature B. Simple and honest C. Complicated D. Difficult
Q18. John Byro learned to speak Armenian out of ________.
A. necessity B. fun C. eagerness D. loneliness
Q19. Who was the true owner of the horse?
A. John Byro B. Fetvajian C. Dikran Halabian D. Zorab
Q20. For how long did Mourad have the horse before Aram got to know about it?
A. One day B. One year C. One month A. One week
Q21. At what time did Aram and Mourad ride the horse?
A. Late night B. Early morning C. Evening D. Afternoon hours
Q22. “I have a way with farmers.” Who says it to whom?
A. Aram to Mourad B. Mourad to John Byro C. Aram to John Byro D. Mourad to
Aram
Q23. John Byro said, “A suspicious man would believe his eyes instead of his heart.”
What does it tell about him?
A. He believed in the honesty of Garoghlanian family B. He was
impractical
C. He was foolish D. None of the above
Q24. Why did the boys return the white horse to its owner?
A. Because they were conscience stricken B. Because they were afraid
C. Because they found it difficult to hide the horse D. Because they were accused of
theft
Q25. After the horse was stolen and returned, it became ______.
A. Rougher B. sick & ill C. stronger & better-tempered D. Both (A) and (C)

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MARKING SCHEME - MCQ
Q. Answer Q. Answer Q. Answer Q. Answer Q. Answer
No. No. No. No. No.
1 D 6 B 11 D 16 C 21 B
2 C 7 D 12 C 17 B 22 D
3 A 8 C 13 D 18 D 23 A
4 B 9 C 14 A 19 A 24 B
5 C 10 B 15 B 20 C 25 D

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING IN 30-40 WORDS
Q.1. To which tribe did Mourad and Aram belong? Which traits of the tribe are highlighted in
the story ‘TheSummer of the Beautiful White Horse’?
Q.2. What were the unique traits of the Garoghlanian tribe?
Q.3. Why did Aram find it hard to believe that Mourad had stolen the horse?
Q.4. Why was Aram delighted and frightened at the same time when he saw his cousin Mourad
on a beautiful white horse?
Q.5. What were the peculiarities in Uncle Khosrove’s behaviour?
Q.6. How did uncle Khosrove react to John Byro’s complaint about the steal of his horse ?
Q.7 What did John Byro say to the boys when he found them walking with the horse one
morning?
Q.8 What do you think, induced the boys to return the horse to its owner?

MARKING SCHEME – SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Ans.1. Mourad and Aram belonged to the Garoghlanian tribe. The Garoghlanians were
extremely poor but they were known for honesty for centuries. They were proud first, honest
next and believed in doing the right deeds. No one of their tribe would ever steal. Everyone
trusted them.
Ans.2 .The unique traits of the Garoghlanian tribe were that they were extremely poor but still
they were 1 famous for their honesty for centuries. They were proud as well as honest; they
believed in doing the right deeds. No one o^ their tribe would ever steal. They were
trustworthy.
Ans.3. Though Mourad was too poor to buy a horse, Aram found it difficult to believe that he
had stolen it. This was because Mourad came from a family that firmly upheld honesty as their
special trait and were proud of it.
Ans.4. Aram was delighted because of the beautiful white horse. He wanted to ride. He was
delighted and frightened by ‘the pious stillness and humour’ in Mourad and the horse. This
means that he was frightened because Mourad was on a horse which he could never have
bought.
Ans.5. Uncle Khosrove, who had a furious temper was known to be crazy. He was so impatient
and irritable that he stopped anyone from talking by roaring, ‘It is no harm; pay no attention to
it.’ His son came to him to tell him that their house was on fire. He silenced him saying
‘enough’. ‘It is no harm, I say’. He was irritated and snubbed when John Byro told him about
his horse having been stolen.
Ans.6. John Byro was sad that his white horse had been stolen last month and it was missing
even then. Instead of showing any sympathy, uncle Khosrov became very irritated and shouted:
“It’s no harm. What is the loss of a horse? What is this crying over a horse”?

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Ans.7. John Byro met the boys walking with his horse which had been stolen. He studied the
horse, asked its name and examined its teeth. He said if he did not know their parents’ honesty
he would swear that it was his horse. He only called it the ‘twin’ of his horse.
Ans.8. The boys belonged to the Garoghlanian tribe which was well known for its honesty.
When John Byro met the boys walking with his horse which had been stolen, he studied the
horse, asked its name and examined its teeth. He said if he did not know their family’s honesty,
he would swear that it was his horse. The boys became conscience-stricken. They realized that
what they did was wrong and this could bring disgrace to their family. This made them return
the horse.
LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
ANSWER THE FOLLOWING IN 120-150 WORDS.
Q.1. What impression do you form of the narrator (Aram) after reading the story?
Q.2. The narrator mentioned ‘a crazy streak’ running in his family. Which two characters showed this
streak in their behaviour and words? Write briefly about them showing how they could be called crazy.
MARKING SCHEME – LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Ans.1. Aram is a nine year old Armenian boy who narrates the story. He is longing for a
joyride on a horse. He is the only character in the story who not only narrates incidents and
actions but also gives useful information about other characters and their traits as well. He also
provides the description of the Garoghlanian, tribe, their traits, etc.He finds it hard to believe
that Mourad has stolen a horse because he comes from a family that firmly upholds honesty as
their special trait and are proud of it. In his opinion, stealing a horse for a ride is not the
something as stealing something else, such as money. He convinces himself by saying this that
it would become stealing when they offer to sell it. Aram enjoys riding the horse.The
temptation to ride a beautiful horse cannot be resisted by him. Aram loves adventure that’s why
he decides not to talk about the stolen horse.
Ans.2. Mourad and Uncle Khosrove were the two characters who showed a crazy streak in
their behaviour. Mourad was a thirteen-year old Armenian boy. He belonged to Garoghlanian
tribe. He was fond of riding to the point of craziness. He sang out of joy when riding a stolen
horse. He said confidently that he had a way with horses.He was crazy like his uncle Khosrove
and was considered the natural descendent of his crazy uncle. Uncle Khosrove had a furious
temper1 and was known to be crazy. He was so impatient and irritable that he stopped anyone
from talking by roaring, ‘It is no harm; pay no attention to it’. He said this even when his son
came running to tell him that their house was on fire. He got irritated and snubbed John Byro
when he told him about his horse having been stolen.

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 CHAPTER-2
THE ADDRESS
SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTER
After the war had ended, the narrator felt confident and safe enough to visit her old place. She
started living in a small rented room. Remembering the old times, she decided to visit the address
– House Number 46, Marconi Street. This was the address of her mother’s old acquaintance Mrs
Dorling whom the narrator had only seen once and that was before the war. She had taken her
mother’s precious possessions like cutlery, utensils, silverware, etc. under the pretext of saving
them in case their family had to flee their house protecting themselves against the Nazi
repression. When the narrator reached the address, a broad-backed old lady opened the door
incompletely as if to hide some secret. She was wearing her mother’s green cardigan. The girl
recognized the woman but the woman claimed to know nothing about her. The girl reminded her
of Mrs S, her mother and their house. The woman realized who she was and enquired how she
survived when the rest of her family died in the war and repression. The girl said that she had
returned to the place after the war and wanted to see her mother’s things. The woman rebuffed
her advances and said that she did not have time to get into old stuff at that moment and that the
girl should return some other time. The woman’s daughter asked about the visitor from inside
the house but the woman claimed that it was nobody familiar. The betrayal of her mother’s old
friend shocked and hurt the narrator. She decided to return with a heavy heart and dashed hopes.
On her way back the narrator remembers the day she came back to her mother at the beginning
of the war. She may have returned from a hostel or a trip. She looked at the house and the rooms
and found that several pieces of furniture, crockery, silverware etc were not there. She became
worried and enquired about the missing stuff from her mother. Her mother downplayed the issue
and instead appreciated her keen observation. One morning when the girl was striding down the
stairs she saw a woman leaving her house and her mother escorting her out. This woman was
carrying their crockery and precious things. She asked her mother about the woman and why she
took their stuff. Her mother told her that she was Mrs. Dorling, an old friend of hers who had
reconnected with her in recent times. She was taking their things to keep them safe in case they
had to flee in an emergency. They would collect their things after peace was established and they
were safe in their place. The girl did not feel comfortable and found the woman mysterious and
sinister. Her mother asked her to refrain from suspecting her friend as she was helping them at
the risk of her own life. She told the narrator about the woman’s address at Marconi Street. It
was house number 46. Unfortunately, the family was driven to the concentration camps and none
survived but the narrator. Growing frustrated at her last visit, the narrator decided to go back to
the same address and reclaim her mother’s belongings. She was determined and approached the
door. But this time a new face opened the door. It was Mrs. Dorling’s daughter. She asked the
narrator to come inside and escorted her to the drawing-room. The room was filled with the
narrator’s old things that belonged to her mother. The burnt mark on the table cloth to the silver
spoons, everything reminded her of the past. The things looked the same but they were in a
different place, lifeless and strange. They lacked the life they had before; they lacked the touch
of her mother and the smell of their house. They were a reminder of what the narrator had actually
lost and that it could never be recovered. The girl obviously did not know that her mother was a
conniving and wicked woman. The narrator asked her if she knew where her mother had got
those things from. The narrator was soon overwhelmed by the flushing memories and decided to
leave the house and the possessions. Without giving any explanation to her host, she scampered
from the house which became hauntingly difficult for her to stay in. She made a commitment
never to return to the place and those forgotten things. In the end, she decided to forget the
address and all the history associated with it. For her, it was a burden she was relieved to get off
her mind and heart.

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VOCABULARY

1. Poignant – pathetic
2. Evoke- arouse
3. Chink- narrow opening
4. Fleetingly- for a short time
5. Musty –smelling damp
6. Jamb-side post of the door or window
7. Lugging-dragging heavy load
8. Crick- muscle problem
9. Reprovingly- in a scolding manner
10. Doing an errand – gone out on purpose
11. Cumbersome – heavy
12. Oppressed – troubled
13. Tasteless way – disorderly
14. Muggy – damp
15. Scarcely – hardly
16. Fancied – liked
17. Pewter – zinc, an alloy made of tin and lead
18. Intently – keenly
19. Jingling – metallic sound
20. Severed – separated
21. Beckoned- signalled

MCQs (1 mark each)

Q.1 What was the very first out of her mother’s possessions that the protagonist could
recognize?
(a) Hanukkah candle-holder (b) Woollen table-cloth
(c) White tea pot (d) Green knitted cardigan
Q.2 What was the ‘silver’ that the author was once asked to clean by her mother?
(a) Jewellery (b) Cutlery (c) Sculptures (d) Stones

Q.3 “Her face gave absolutely no sign of recognition.” Who is her?

A. Mrs. S B. Mrs. Dorling’s daughter C. Mrs. Dorling D. Mrs. S’s daughter

Q.4 What was the address that the author’s mother asked her to remember?
A. Number 50, Marconi Street B. Number 46, Baker Street
C. Number 54, Marconi Street D. Number 46, Marconi Street

Q.5. In total, how many times did the author visit the given address?
A. Twice B. Once C. Thrice D. Never

Q6. Why did the objects lose their value for the author?
A. Because their prices fell down B. Because they were difficult to take along
C. Because she had new objects D. Because she saw them in different surroundings

Q 7.Mrs.Dorling’s harsh behaviour shows that she is

A. Unfriendly B.Ungrateful C.Cruel D.Quarrelsome

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Q.8 What was the outcome of the interview between Mrs Dorling and the narrator
A. Mrs Dorling refused to see her and talk to her B.Mrs Dorling was very sweet
C. Narrator was welcomed D.Her belonging were returned

Q 9 What did the narrator learn about Mrs Dorling from her mother
A. Mrs Dorling was an old acquaintance of the narrator’s mother.
B.Mrs. Dorling was her neighbour.
C.Mrs.Dorling was her aunt
D.Mrs. Dorling was a spy

Q.10 How does Mrs Dorling react when the narrator said, “I am Mrs S daughter”?
A. She recognised her B. She was very happy
C She kept staring at the narrator without uttering a word D She fought with her

Q.11Who was Mrs. Dorling?

A. An old acquaintance B. A German Officer
C. A relative D. Best friend

Q12 What is the moral of the story ‘The Address’?

A.The redemption of the past and moving on
B. The post war effects
C.Never forget the old belongings and memories
D.Never trust anyone

Q13 Narrator was a

A.Jew B.German C.Christian D.Non-Jew

Q 14 What did narrator found on the table-cloth?

A. A burn mark B. A hole C. Embroidery D. Her name

Q.15 What was the age of Mrs Dorling’s daughter?

A. About 15 B. About 16 C. About 17 D. About 18

Q.16 In which country does the story take place?

A. Holland B. France C. England D. India

Q.17 How does the author describe the living room?

A. A. Muggy smell B. Strange atmosphere
C. Sophisticated D. Both (A) and (B)

Q.18What was the ‘silver’ that the author was once asked to clean by her mother?
A. Jewellery B. Cutlery C. Sculptures D. Stones

Q.19 Who is the author of “The Address”?

A. Manon Uphoff B. Marga Minco C. Marente de Moor D. None of the above

Q.20 In what condition did the author find the living room?
A. Haphazard B. Well-arranged C. Empty D. Old fashioned

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 A 6 D 11 A 16 A

B 7 A 12 A 17 D

2
C 8 A 13 A 18 B

3
D 9 A 14 A 19 A

4
A 10 C 15 A 20 A

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

All questions carry 2 marks. Word limit is 30-40 words

Q.1 Why did the narrator want to meet Mrs. Dorling?

Ans. She wanted to get her possessions back which were in the custody of Mrs Dorling. She
had insisted on keeping their things safely till the war was over.
Q.2 How was narrator’s first interaction with Mrs Dorling?
Ans. One day coming downstairs, the narrator saw her mother about to see someone out. It was
a woman, dressed in a brown coat and a shapeless hat, with a broad back; she nodded and
picked up the suitcase.
Q.3 What was the reaction of Mrs Dorling when the narrator said she is the daughter of
Mrs S?
Ans. She reacted weirdly on seeing her. She held her door against the door not wanting to open
it any further. She looked at her without uttering a word.
Q.4 What did the narrator’s mother tell her about Mrs Dorling?
Ans. She was an old acquaintance. She suddenly turned up to renew her contact with the
narrator’s mother. During every single visit she took something or the other valuable article
with her.
Q.5 Why did the author first hesitate to claim her belongings from Mrs. Dorling?
Ans. She began to suspect that the presence of her family articles would remind her of her dear
ones who were no more with her. Besides, she lived in a poor room that looked the oddest
place to accommodate her expensive possessions.
Q.6 Why did the narrator finally decide to forget the address?
Ans. She realised that the objects which are associated with the past had lost their value as
being cut off from them. The easiest way was to forget. So she decided to forget the address.

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LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
All questions carry 5 marks. Word limit is 120-150 words.
Q.1 Describe the narrator’s first visit to Mrs. Dorling’s house in Marconi Street
Ans Narrator went to Mrs. Dorling’s house in Marconi Street. She rang the bell. A woman
opened the door and looked at her searchingly. The narrator came closer and introduced herself
that she was Mrs. S’s daughter. The woman kept staring at her in silence. There was no sign of
recognition on her face. The narrator thought perhaps she had come to the wrong house. But
she saw the woman was wearing her mother’s green knitted cardigan. She knew at once that
she had made no mistake. She asked the woman whether she knew her mother. The woman
could not deny this. The woman regretted that she could not do anything for her. She asked the
narrator to come some other time and cautiously closed the door. The narrator realized that her
visit was in vain. She stood on the step for a while and then left the place.
Q.2. Describe the narrator’s second visit to Mrs. Dorling.
Ans During her second visit, Mrs Dorling’s daughter opened the door.The narrator said that she
would wait for her. Following her along the passage she saw their old fashioned candle holder
hanging beside the mirror. She saw woollen table cloth, cups, spoons , white tea-pot ,the
pewter plate everything which was a family belonging. But they all looked strange in the
strange surroundings.She no longer had desire to possess them. She got up, walked to the door,
and came out of the house.
Q.3 Write the character- sketch of Mrs. Dorling.
Ans. Mrs. Dorling is an acquaintance of Mrs. S, the narrator’s mother. In the story Mrs.
Dorling exploits Mrs. S’s fears and insecurity during the war. She insists Mrs. S and took away
all her valuable things after giving assurance that she would keep them safe until the war was
over. In fact, Mrs. Dorling had no intentions of returning the valuables as she was sure that
Mrs. S and her family would not survive the war. So when the narrator, Mrs. S’s daughter,
went to Mrs. Dorling’s house to claim those articles to which her mother’s precious memories
were associated, she even pretended not to recognize her. Instead of returning those articles to
the narrator, she shamelessly used them which actually belonged to the narrator’s mother and
also behaved rudely to the narrator.
Q.4 Do you think the title of the story ‘The Address’ is appropriate?
Ans. The story 'The Address' is about an address that the author had been given by her
deceased mother to go to and reclaim her belongings. The address Mrs Dorling, 46, Marconi
Street is the nucleus of the story around which the entire plot develops. The author goes there;
but she is not entertained encouragingly; she goes back; and again comes back to the same
address. Later the author decides not to take back her belongings as it lost its value due to the
tasteless arrangements. According to the author the things also contained the memories of her
mother so she decided not to take it back. The narrator in the end resolves to forget 46,
Marconi Street forever. Hence, the title The Address is quite appropriate and bears a definite
meaning for the story.

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 Chapter-3
Ranga’s Marriage
SUMMARY
It all begins when Ranga, the accountant’s son comes back to his village Hosahalli after
six months. He had gone to Bangalore to pursue his studies, which to mention, not many in the
village get this opportunity. The whole village gets excited to see Ranga and thus, they gather
around his home only to see how he would have changed.
The narrator has beautifully elaborated about their village Hosahalli and how every
authority responsible forgot to mention it in the maps. Moving on, he admires Ranga and wants
to get him married but to his dismay, Ranga has very different views about marriage at that
point. The Narrator stages the entire union of Ranga and Ratna, Rama Rao’s eleven-year-old
niece.
The girl has a very sweet voice and can play Veena and harmonium. At first, the
narrator tells him that she is married to see how it affects Ranga. As expected, Ranga was
disappointed. The narrator then manipulated the village Shastri to say things in his favor.
He then took Ranga to visit him where he predicted that Ranga has a girl on his mind
and her name resembles something found in the ocean. Shyama, the narrator guesses her name
to be Ratna but again, she is married. On their way back, they confirmed that Ratna is not
married only to find Ranga happy and full of hope.
On the other hand, the Shastri disagreed on having staged anything predetermined. He
claims to have said whatever his predictions showed. However, at the end, Ranga and Ratna
are happily married with a three- year old son named after the narrator. Ratna is also pregnant
with another child. To conclude, the narrator makes sure that he didn’t bore his readers.

VOCABULARY
Sahib- a polite title or form of address for a man
Like a flock of sheep- a group of people behaving in the same way or following what others
are doing
Cartographer- a person who draws or produces maps
Karigadabu- a South Indian fried sweet filled with coconut and sugar
Annayya- (in Kannada) a respectful term for an elder
Flea-pestered dog- A flea- pestered dog does not stick to one place but keeps
roamingeverywhere.Flea-pestered means being infested by fleas and ticks
which can cause uncontrollable itching in animals
Behold- see or observe (someone or something, especially of remarkable or impressive nature)
Rambling- (of writing or speech) lengthy and confused or inconsequential
Janewara- (in Kannada) the sacred thread worn by Brahmins
Considerate- thoughtful, concerned
Troupe- a group of dancers, actors or other entertainers who tour to different venues
Threshold- a strip of wood or stone forming the bottom of a doorway and crossed in entering a
house or a room
Betray- portray (here)
Shrivelled- shrunken and wrinkled; especially as a result of loss of moisture
Tutored- taught
Paraphernalia- miscellaneous items, especially the set of equipment required for a particular
activity.
Cowries- a marine mollusc which has a glossy, brightly patterned domed shell with a long,
narrow opening Palmyra- palm tree
Marvellous- causing great wonder; extraordinary

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Multiple Choice Questions:
Q1. What is the writing style of the author?
(a) Persuasive b.Rambling c.Technical d.None of the above

Q2. The story “Ranga’s Marriage” is set in a village of _________.

(a) Madurai b.Bangalore c.Mysore d.Bhubaneswar

Q3. What is the name of the narrator’s village?

(a) Hosahalli (b) Panchavalli (c) Hadinaru (d )None of the above

Q4. How does the narrator speak of his village?

a) Passively b.Vividly c.Inadequately d.Both (A) and (C)

Q5. What does the narrator mention as a ‘priceless commodity’?

a) To his native language b.To mangoes of his village
c.To flowers of his village d.To English language

Q6. Who was Ranga?

a) The narrator’s son b.The accountant’s son
c.The doctor’s son d.None of the above

Q7. Why was Ranga’s homecoming a big event?

a) Because he brought gifts for everyone
b) Because he was new in the village
c) Because he returned from Bangalore after studying there for six months
d) All of the above

Q8. An old lady checked for Ranga’s ___________.

a) Birthmark b.sacred piercing c.sacred tattoo d.sacred thread

Q9. After knowing that Ranga was the same, the crowd was __________.
a) Disappointed b.happy c.angry d.irritated

Q10. How does the narrator speak of Ranga’s character?

a) Poorly b.Highly c.Manipulatively d.Does not speaks of his character

Q11. “As for his namaskara to me, he did not do it like any present-day boy…” What does it
tell about Ranga?
a) He was well mannered b.He was disrespectful
c. He was forgetful d.He changed his caste

Q12. What was Ranga’s initial take on marriage?

a) He wanted to marry immediately b.He wanted to marry a girl chosen by his parents
c.He wanted to remain a bachelor d.He wanted an arranged marriage

Q13. According to Ranga, what type of girl should one marry?

a) Mature b.Admirable c.Both (A) and (B) d.Not mentioned in the
story

Q14. According to the narrator, who would make a suitable bride for Ranga?

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 a) Narrator’s own daughter b.Rama Rao’s niece
c. Narrator’s niece d.Rama Rao’s daughter

Q15. How does the narrator describe Ratna?

a) Pretty girl of eleven b.From a big town
c.Disrespectful d.Both (A) and (B)

Q16. When Ranga reached the narrator’s house, Ratna was __________.
a) Sitting b.painting c.singing d.waiting

Q17. Ranga was ________ about Ratna.

a) Curious b.uninterested c.envious d.annoyed
Q18. “She was married a year ago.” Hearing this, Ranga was ___________.
a) Thrilled b.disappointed c.unconcerned d.surprised

Q19. What is the name of the narrator of the tale?

a) Rangappa b.Shastri c.Rama d.Shyama

Q20. “Come, let’s go and see Shastri.” Who was Shastri?

a) The village doctor b.A village elder
c.The astrologer d.Not mentioned in the tale

Q21. Why was it not important to know Ranga’s star?

a) Because Shastri already knew
b) Because Shastri was taught beforehand by the narrator
c) Because Shastri was not well versed
d) All of the above
Q22. According to the Shastri, what was Ranga’s concern?
a) Concern for a girl b.Concern for his studies
c.Concern for a job d.Concern for his village

Q23. What sort of cue did Shastri suggest for the girl’s name?
a) Something found in the forest b.Something found in the ocean
c.Something found in the sky d.None of the above

Q24. Later on, Ranga got to know that Ratna was __________.
a) Divorced b.widowed c.unmarried d.engaged

Q25. “There’s greater truth in that shastra than we imagine.” Who said this?
a) Shyama b.Shastri c.Ratna d.Ranga

Q26. “Don’t forget, I developed on the hints you had given me.” What does the line suggest?
a) Narrator tutored Shastri for what to tell
b) Everything that Shastri told was based on his predictions
c) Both (A) and (B)
d) None of the above

Q27. Why does the narrator call the couple childish?

a) Because they were immature b.Because they named their child after him
c. Because they were playful d.Because they invited him for dinner

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Q28. “It’s Shyama’s birthday.” Who has been referred to in this line?
a) Ranga and Ratna’s child b.The narrator
c.A child in village d.None of the above

Q29. After reading “Ranga’s Marriage”, who (according to you) played a major role in Ranga
and Ratna’s marriage?
a) Rama Rao b.Shastri c.Ranga d.Shyama

Q30. What sort of intentions does the narrator seem to have towards Ranga?
a) He is mean b.He feels responsible for his marriage
c.He is manipulative d.He feels pitiful

Answer Key

Q. No. Answer Q. No. Answer Q. No. Answer

1 b 11 a 21 b

2 c 12 c 22 a

3 a 13 c 23 b

4 b 14 b 24 c

5 d 15 d 25 b

6 b 16 c 26 a

7 c 17 a 27 b

8 d 18 b 28 a

9 a 19 d 29 d

10 c 20 c 30 c

Extract based question– Ranga’s Marriage

(I)Ranga, the accountant’s son, is one of the rare breed among the village folk who has been
to the city to pursue his studies. When he returns to his village from the city of Bangalore, the
crowds mill around his house to see whether he has changed or not
1. Who is Ranga?
a. Accountant b.Accountant’s son c.Doctors son d.Tailor
2. Who is the rare breed among the village folk?
a. Ranga b.Ratna c.Shama d.Harsha
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 3. To which city did he go to?
a. Banagalore b.Hyderabad c.Mysore
d.Managalore
4. Why did he go to the city?
a. To work b.To visit his uncle c.To meet his friends d.To study
(II) Hosahalli is our village. You must have heard of it. No? What a pity! But it is not
your fault. There is no mention of it in any geography book. Those sahibs in England, writing
in English, probably do not know that such a place exists, and so make no mention of it. Our
own people too forget about it. You know how it is —they are like a flock of sheep. One sheep
walks into a pit, the rest blindly follow it. When both, the sahibs in England and our own
geographers, have not referred to it, you can not expect the poor cartographer to remember to
put it on the map, can you? And so there is not even the shadow of our village on any map.
1. Which village is the author talking about?
a) Hoshahalli b.Hamshahalli c.Bangalore d.Mysore
2. Why is the village not well known?
a) Because it is not mentioned in any book and was ignored by British
b) Because people are not educated
c) Because it is not beautiful.
d) Since its population was sparse
3. Who is a Cartographer?
a) A person who makes cars. b.A person who makes graphs.
c.A person who makes maps. d.A person who makes gems.

4. What does narrator compare the people to?

a) Monkeys b.Sheep c.Dogs d.Cats
(III) Just as the mango is special, so is everything else around ourvillage. We have a creeper
growing in the ever-so-fine water of thevillage pond. Its flowers are a feast to behold. Get two
leaves fromthe creeper when you go to the pond for your bath, and you willnot have to worry
about not having leaves on which to serve theafternoon meal. You will say I am rambling. It is
always like thatwhen the subject of our village comes up. But enough. If any oneof you would
like to visit us, drop me a line. I will let you knowwhere Hosahalli is and what things are like
here. The best way ofgetting to know a place is to visit it, don’t you agree?
1) Which fruit is mentioned as special by the narrator ?
a. Apple b.Banana c.Dates d.Mango
2)What is the best way to know a place?
a. To locate it on the map b. To read about it
c. To visit it. d. To dream about it.
3) What does the author do when the topic of the village come up?
a. Ramble on b. Dance c. Sing d murmurs
4) What is the use of the leaves from the pond?
a. Eat on them b. Drape them as clothes
c. Play with them d. Eat them
(IV) What I am going to tell you is something that happened ten years ago. We did not have
many people who knew English, then. Ourvillage accountant was the first one who had enough
courage tosend his son to Bangalore to study. It is different now. There aremany who know
English. During the holidays, you come acrossthem on every street, talking in English. Those
days, we did notspeak in English, nor did we bring in English words while talking in Kannada
1) The narrator is talking about an incident that happened ___ years ago
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 a. 10 b.15 c.20 d.3
2) Ten years ago what was the prevalence of English
a. Many people knew it b.Only a few knew it
c.None knew it d.Everyone knew it

3)Who was the only one to send his son to the city for higher studies?
a. Accountant b. Sarpanch c. Ranga d Rama Rao
4) What changed about the village from then to now?
a. Now many people know English b. Now all people know English
c. All people know Geography d Still many do not know English
(V) This priceless commodity, the English language, was not sowidespread in our village a
decade ago. That was why Ranga’shomecoming was a great event. People rushed to his
doorstepannouncing, “The accountant’s son has come,” “The boy whohad gone to Bangalore
for his studies is here, it seems,” and“Come, Ranga is here. Let’s go and have a look.”
Attracted by the crowd, I too went and stood in the courtyardand asked, “Why have all these
people come? There’s noperforming monkey here.”
1) According to the narrator what is the priceless commodity?
a. English b.French c.Kannada d.Allthe
above
2) What does the author compare the crowds at Ranga’s house too?
a. A crowd watching performing monkey
b. A crowd watching a street fight.
c. A crowd watching a film shoot.
d. A crowd watching a dance performance
3) Why was Ranga’s homecoming a great event?
a. Because he was the first to return from city after English Education
b. Because he was the first one to get a job
c. Because he went to the moon
d. Because he was the accountant’s son.
4) Who does I refer to?
a. Ranga b.Ratna c.Shyama d.Masti
(VI) Ratna came. It was a Friday, so she was wearing a grandsaree. I told her to sit in my room
and requested her to sing asong. I sent for Ranga. While she was singing the song—
Krishnamurthy, in front of my eyes — Ranga reached the door.He stopped at the threshold. He
did not want the singing tostop, but was curious to see the singer. Carefully, he peeped in.
The light coming into the room was blocked. Ratna looked upand seeing a stranger there,
abruptly stopped.Suppose you buy the best quality mango. You eat it slowly,savouring its peel,
before biting into the juicy flesh. You do notwant to waste any part of it. Before you take
another bite, thefruit slips out of your hand and falls to the ground. How do you
feel? Ranga’s face showed the same disappointment when thesinging stopped.
1) Where did Ratna go?
a. Ranga’s house b.Shyama’s house c.To Temple d.To pond
2) Why was Ratna wearing a grand Saree?
a. Because it was Friday b.Because it was her Birthday
c.Because it was Saturday d.Because she got bored of the regular dress.

3) Why did Ratna abruptly stop singing?

a. Because she noticed Ranga b.Because she was tired
c.Because she noticed she was out of tune d.Because she was hungry
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 4) What does the author compare Ratna’s singing to?
a. A sweet juicy mango b.An Apple
c. Fingernails on chalkboard d.Confectionary

Answer Key
Extract I - 1-b, 2-a, 3-a, 4-d
Extract II - 1-a ,2-a,3-c,4-b
Extract III-1-d, 2-c, 3-a, 4-a
Extract IV-1-a,2-b,3-a,4-a
Extract V-1-a,2-a,3-a,4-c
Extract VI-1-b,2-a,3-a,4-a

Short Answer Type Questions

Q.1. What does the narrator say about Hosahalli?
Ans. Hosahalli village is the scene of action. There is no mention of it in geography books
written by the sahibs in England or Indian writers. No cartographer has put it on the map. The
narrator highlights its importance by comparing it to the filling of the karigadubu—a festival
meal.
Q.2. What are the two special produce of Hosahalli and in what respect?
Ans. First is the raw mango. The sourness of its bite is sure to get straight to the
brahmarandhra, i.e. the soft part in child’s head where skull bones join later. Second specialty
is a creeper growing in the water of the village pond. Its flowers are a feast to behold. You can
serve afternoon meal to the whole family on its two leaves.

Q.3. What exactly had happened ten years ago? How important was it then?
Ans. Ten years ago, there were not many people in the village who knew English. The village
accountant was the first one who sent his son Ranga to Bangalore to pursue his studies. It was
quite an important event then. The narrator highlights it by saying that the village accountant
was the first one who had enough courage to send his son to Bangalore to study.
Q.4. What happened when Ranga returned to his village from the city of Bangalore?
Ans. Ranga’s homecoming was a great event. The crowds milled around his house to see
whether he had changed or not. People were quite excited as the boy was returning home after
studying English at Bangalore. Everyone was surprised to see that Ranga was the same as he
had been six months ago, when he had first left the village

Q.5. How did the old lady satisfy herself about Ranga?
Ans. The old lady ran her hand over Ranga’s chest. She looked into his eyes. She was satisfied
to find the sacred thread on his body. She was happy that he had not lost his caste.
Q.6. “What has happened is disgraceful, believe me” says the narrator. What does he refer to?
How does he illustrate his point of view?
Ans. The narrator refers to the practice of young persons who during the holidays in village, go
on talking in English or bring in English words while talking in Kannada. He calls this mixing
up of languages ‘disgraceful’. He gives the example of the use of the English word ‘change’ to
an illiterate person. The old lady, being asked to come the next day, went away disgruntled.
Q.7. Why does the narrator refer to the Black Hole of Calcutta?
Ans. During the British rule, hundreds of persons were kept inside a single room. The next
morning most of them were found dead due to suffocation. The narrator uses the expression
‘Black Hole of Calcutta’ to suggest the large number of people who had turned out to see
Ranga.
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Q.8. How did Ranga greet the narrator? In what respect did he differ from the present- day
boys?
Ans. Ranga greeted the narrator with full devotion. He not only folded his hands, but also bent
low to touch his feet. A present-day boy would stand stiff like a pole without joints, keep head
towards the sun and jerk his body as if it were either a hand or a walking stick. The narrator,
being old fashioned did not approve it.
Q.9. When did Ranga plan to marry and why?
Ans. Ranga did not want to get married at an early age. He wanted to find the right girl. She
should be mature enough to understand his love talk. Secondly, he wished to marry a girl he
admired. He was against marrying quite young girls who had no manners or were not careful of
their face or figure.
Q.10. What examples did Ranga give to explain the importance of marrying late?
Ans. Ranga gave two examples. An officer about thirty, married a girl about twenty- five.
Ranga hoped they would be able to talk lovingly to each other. The second example is that of
Dushyanta falling in love with Shakuntala, who was quite mature.
Q.11. “Ranga was just the boy for her and she the most suitable bride for him” says the
narrator. Who is ‘she’? What led narrator to this conclusion?
Ans. ‘She’ here stands for Ratna, the niece of Rama Rao. She was a pretty girl of eleven. Both
her parents having died, her uncle had brought her home. Being a girl from a big town, she
knew how to play the veena and the harmonium. She also had a sweet voice. All these qualities
made her a suitable bride for a young, educated man like Ranga.
Q.12. How did the narrator let Ranga have a glimpse of Ratna?
Ans. The narrator arranged the meeting very systematically. First he called Ratna on the
pretext of sending buttermilk through her. Then he asked her to sing a song. Meanwhile Ranga,
whom he had sent for, reached the door. He became curious to see the singer and peeped in.
His presence at the door blocked the light and Ratna stopped singing abruptly.
Q.13. How did Ranga and Ratna react at their unexpected encounter?
Ans. Ratna stopped singing abruptly on seeing a stranger outside the room. Ranga felt
disappointed when the singing stopped. Ratna stood at a distance with her head lowered. Ranga
repeatedly glanced at her. He blamed himself for the singing to stop and offered to leave. Ratna
was overcome by shyness and ran inside. Ranga enquired about her.
Q.14. How did the narrator handle Ranga’s inquiries about Ratna?
Ans. The narrator did not give him a straightforward reply. He said casually that it did not
matter to either of them who she was. The narrator was already married and Ranga was not the
marrying type. This aroused Ranga’s interest and excitement. He expressed the hope that she
was unmarried. His face showed signs of disappointment on learning that she was married a
year ago.
Q.15. Why did the narrator tell Ranga that the girl was married a year ago?
Ans. The narrator had made up his mind that he would get Ranga married early. First he
brought Ranga and Ratna face to face to arouse his interest in her. In order to test the strength
of his emotions, he told Ranga that she was married a year ago. The shrivelled face of the
young man betrayed his feelings.
Q.16. Why did the narrator visit the village astrologer?
Ans. The narrator wanted to exploit the common human weakness—eagerness to know the
future. He went to the village astrologer and told him to keep ready to read the stars. He tutored
him in all that he wanted the astrologer to say when he would revisit him with Ranga.
Q.17. In what mental /emotional state did the narrator find Ranga? What solution did he offer?
How did Ranga react to it?
Ans. Ranga seemed to be lost in thought. Perhaps he was emotionally upset to learn that the
girl he had seen that morning was already married one. The narrator offered to take him to

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Shastri to learn about the stars-whether Guru and Shani were favourable for him or not. Ranga
accompanied him without any protest.
Q.18. “What? Only this morning…” Why was this sentence cut off and by whom? What would
have been the likely impact if the speaker had completed the sentence?
Ans. The narrator got angry when the astrologer said with surprise that he had not seen the
former for a long time. The narrator shouted these words. The astrologer cut this sentence off
and completed it in his own way. If he had not done so, the narrator would have ruined their
plan by blurting out everything.
Q.19. What according to the astrologer was Ranga’s cause of worry? How did the name Ratna’
crop up?
Ans. According to the astrologer the cause of Ranga’s worry was a girl. She probably had the
name of something found in the ocean. When asked if it could be Kamla the astrologer did not
rule out the possibility. When suggested if it could be Pacchi, moss, the astrologer put a counter
question: “Why not pearl or ratna, the precious stone?” Thus the name Ratna cropped up.
Q.20. “There was surprise on Ranga’s face. And some happiness.” What do you think had
caused these feelings?
Ans. When the narrator learnt from Shastri—the astrologer, that the name of the girl Ranga
was worried about could be Ratna, he was at once reminded of Rama Rao’s niece Ratna. He
asked the astrologer if there was any chance of the marriage being fixed there, the astrologer
gave a firm assurance. This caused happiness and surprise on Ranga’s face.
Long Answer questions (120-150 words)
Q.1. Comment on the influence of English — the language and the way of life — on
Indian life as reflected in the story. What is the narrator’s attitude to English?
Ans. The story talks about the influence English language had decades ago in his village. Not
many people in the village at that time could understand or talk in English. Only a few
courageous people would send their children to study in cities like the village accountant sent
Ranga to Bangalore. When Ranga came back to the village, everyone was keen on seeing how
their culture had transformed him.
As far as cultural influence is concerned, the story mentions how Ranga wanted to
marry a girl who was mature, someone who understands him and is compatible with him. This
is completely in opposition to the arranged marriages that were widely prevalent in those times.
The narrator finds it disgraceful when people mix Kannada language with English. He
recounts how one day a lady delivered firewood to Rama Rao’s place and he told her to come
the next morning because he had no “change”. The lady did not know what “change” meant
and left while muttering to herself. The narrator confesses that he too did not know what it
meant until he asked Rama Rao.

Q.2. Astrologers’ perceptions are based more on hearsay and conjecture than what they
learn from the study of the stars. Comment with reference to the story.
Ans. The story throws light upon how Shastri predicted what was going on in Ranga’s mind.
He did it using two sheets of paper, some cowries and a book of palmyra leaves in the form of
his paraphernalia. He even revealed that Ranga has some girl on his mind whose name related
to something that belonged to the ocean. All this made Ranga believe in the power of
Astrology.
While in reality, it was our narrator Shyama, who had tutored Shastri to say so in a
meeting prior to the one with Ranga. Shastri made it seem like no big deal when Ranga left and
Shyama called it “his marvellous shastra”. He said he could have guessed it with his numbers
even if Shyama had not staged it for him.
Hence, the story portrays Astrologer’s perceptions to be based more on hearsay and
conjecture than what they learn from the stars.

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Q.3. Indian society has moved a long way from the way the marriage is arranged in the
story. Discuss.
Ans.It is true that Indian society has moved a long way from the way the marriage is arranged
in the story. Earlier, there was no concept of love marriage and only arranged marriages took
place like the one being talked about in the story. Ranga’s marriage was arranged by his uncle
Shyama. In present times, the bride and the groom have a say in the matter unlike decades ago
where even their consent was not considered important.
Our society has come a long way since then, especially when it comes to the rights of
females. Earlier, the bride’s families were pressurized into paying dowry which has been
illegalised now. It is also against the law to marry individuals who have not yet attained a
specific age; 18 in case of girls and 21 in case of boys.

Q.4. What kind of a person do you think the narrator is?

Ans.The narrator is a man of his land as he introduces his village with such enthusiasm that
every reader would want to visit it at least once. His hospitality can also be appreciated as he
promises to take good care of his readers. He is someone who believes in maintaining the
authenticity of his culture that is why, he thinks it’s a disgrace to mix Kannada with English.
He is a man with good judgement of character. He knew what type of man Ranga was
and that Rama Rao’s niece Ratna would be a perfect partner for him. Shyama seemed like
someone who knows how to make his own way. The whole set-up he staged with the village
Shastri in order to get Ranga and Ratna married, pose as evidence for that. He is also funny by
way of which he teased the village Shastri. Although clever, he seems to be a man with best
intentions at heart.

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