Question

Answer any four of the following questions in 30 - 40 words each :
(a) What kind of gold did the people of Seemapuri look for in the garbage ? (Lost Spring)
(b) Why did Gandhi tell the court that he was involved in a 'conflict of duties' ?
(c) How do we get joy from life which is otherwise full of sorrows ? (A Thing of Beauty)
(d) For Aunt Jennifer, what do the tigers symbolise ?
(e) What made the chief astrologer place his finger on his nose ? (The Tiger King)
(f) On the seventh day after the American soldier was found by Dr. Sadao two things happened. Why did Hana feel scared of the second ?

Answer 1

a) To the people of Seemapuri, garbage was gold. Their rooting through the garbage would occasionally turn up a rupee, even a ten-rupee note and that would give them the hope to continue scrounging for more.
b) Gandhi told the court that he was involved in a conflict of duties because on one hand, he was obliged not to set a bad example as a lawbreaker and on the other hand, it was important for him to render humanitarian and national service for which he had come.
c) A thing of beauty brings a peaceful splendour into our lives and disperses the gloom that is a constant companion of our mortality. It brightens gloomy days and the unhealthy, darkened recesses of our minds. It removes the pall that our dark spirits cast upon us by the lightness of its beauty.
d) The bold images of the tigers are contrasted with the timidity of the woman, Aunt Jennifer, who creates them. They are fearless and assertive, unlike their creator who leads an ordered and conventional life under the shadow of her husband. The tigers are symbolic of her wish for a free rein to her womanhood, independent of her role as someone’s wife.
e) The chief astrologer had placed his finger on his nose in wonder. He was astonished at the remarkable feat of a barely ten days old baby who had opened its lips in speech and raised intelligent questions.
f) The second thing that happened on the seventh day was the arrival of a messenger at their door in official uniform. This frightened Hana because she feared that the servants might have told the authorities about the couple hiding an enemy soldier.