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प्रश्न
Think and write a short account of what life in Rameswaram in the 1940s must have been like. (Were people rich or poor? Hard working or lazy? Hopeful of change, or resistant to it?)
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उत्तर
In the year 1940s, the life in Rameswaram might have been very simple. From the account of Abdul Kalam, we gather that the people were not very wealthy. Though religious based segregation existed, people lived in harmony with one another. Yet there were people who did not like different social groups to intermingle. The religions were demarcated by the clothes they wore or the area where they lived. Orthodox Hindu Brahmin families were more rigid. Still, those who displayed their conservativeness and religious stringency were strongly opposed by the others.
The people of the town might have been hard working, as the author mentions how his cousin used to collect bundles of newspaper for distribution. Kalam’s family arranged for boats for the visiting pilgrims. Also, the author himself started earning at the tender age of eight years.
Besides, the Second World War might have affected the lives of the people. The author says that India was forced to join the war and subsequently a state of emergency was declared. Indians waited optimistically for independence.
(A model answer has been provided for students' reference. It is strongly recommended that students prepare the answer on their own understanding.)
संबंधित प्रश्न
Answer these question in a few words or a couple of sentence.
What things about the book did she find strange?
Read the newspaper clipping.
Listen to an interview between the police inspector in charge of the case, the housekeeper, Ms. Lakshmi and the watchman, Ram Singh. As you listen, note down the details of the burglar.
Inspector: Hello, madam. I am Inspector Maan Singh. I am in charge of the burglary
case which occurred in the flat of your employer, Mr. Ravikant. It must have
been a harrowing experience for you.
Lakshmi: Yes, it was a terrible experience. People like that should be locked up in a
prison.
Inspector: If you will cooperate with us, we will catch them in no time. Were you alone
in the apartment at that time?
Lakshmi: Yes, it was 11 :30 in the night and I was alone as my master and his wife had
left for Shimla.
Inspector: How do you think the burglar gained entry into the house?
Lakshmi: He might have come through the balcony and entered my room.
Inspector: Now tell me something about his physique. What about his build? How tall
was he?
Lakshmi: He was about 6 ft tall.
Inspector: What about his physique?
Lakshmi: He was not thin. He was well-built and rather plump.
Inspector: What about his dress? What was he wearing?
Lakshmi: I think his clothes were rather old and faded. He was wearing a black shirt
which was faded.
Inspector: Do you remember the colour of his trousers?
Lakshmi: They were of a dark shade -either black or blue.
Inspector: Can you tell me something about his face?
Lakshmi: Unfortunately no. When he entered my room I panicked. But then I
gathered courage and screamed and tried to run away. But I was a bit late.
He struck me with a staff and I really don't remember anything after that.
May be I was knocked out.
Later on, I came to know that he broke into the bedroom and ran off with the
jewellery. But Ram Singh, the watchman, who tried to catch him may be
able to describe him better.
Inspector: OK Lakshmi, thank you! If I need your help I will come again. You may have
to identify the burglar. Now, I will speak to Ram Singh.
Inspector to Ram Singh:
Ram Singh you were on duty and you tried to catch the burglar. You may be
able to give a good description of him. First, tell me about his hair.
Ram Singh: He had straight black hair.
Inspector: What about the shape of his face and his complexion?
Ram Singh: He had an oval face with grey eyes and I think he was dark complexioned.
Inspector: Did he wear spectacles?
Ram Singh: Yes, with a plastic frame and his nose was rather sharp.
Inspector: What else can you remember about him? What about his teeth and lips?
Ram Singh: His lips were quite thick.
Inspector: Is there anything else that you remember about him?
Ram Singh: When I heard some noise from inside, I ran in. I tried to stop the burglar and
we had a scuffie. During the struggle I noticed that he had six fingers on his
right hand. But he managed to run away and made good his escape on a
motorbike.
Inspector: Thank you Ram Singh. We will make sketches on the basis of your
description and nab him.
| DESCRIPTION | |
| Built | |
| Height | |
| Clothes | |
| Shape of the face | |
| Complexion | |
| Eyes | |
| Hair | |
| Nose | |
| Lips | |
| Teeths | |
| Special Features |
Discuss with your partner the similarities and differences between your dream houses.
Form pairs - one student will read the text for 'Hockey', and the second student will read the text for 'Football'.
Hockey
The game starts when the umpire blows his whistle for the opening pass-back. The passback is made at the centre of the field to start the game (also after half- time and after each goal is scored). The ball, which may be pushed or hit, must not be directed over the centre line. All players of the opposing team must stand at least 5 yard from the ball and all players of both teams, other than the player making the pass-back must be in their own half of the field.
There are two umpires to control the game and to administer the rules. These umpires are the sole judges of the game. The umpires are responsible for keeping time for the duration of the game.
In front of each goal is an area known as the penalty area. This is a rectangular area, 40.2m wide and extending 16. Sm into the field where the goalkeeper operates.
A standard adult football match consists of two periods of 45 minutes each, known as halves. Each half runs continuously, meaning that the clock is not stopped when the ball is out of play. There is usually a 15-minute half-time break between halves. The end of the match is known as full-time. Anytime during the match, a team can substitute upto three players maximum.
The game is controlled by a referee who is the official timekeeper for the match, and may make an allowance for time lost through substitutions, injured players requiring attention, or other stoppages. There are also two linesmen who keep guard of the touchlines or sidelines, signalling when the ball crosses the boundary lines. The referee alone signals the end of the match.
Handling the ball deliberately, pushing or tripping an opponent, or hitting a player from behind are examples of fouls, punishable by a direct free kick or penalty kick depending on where the offence occurred. Other fouls are punishable by an indirect free kick.
The referee may punish a player's or substitute's misconduct by a caution (yellow card) or sending-off (red card). A player is given a yellow card is said to have been 'booked'.
• Red - Serious misconduct resulting in ejection from the game. If a player has been sent off, no substitute can be brought in his place.
“If you are rested I would go,” I urged. “Get up and try to walk now.”
“Thank you,” he said and got to his feet, swayed from side to side and then sat down backwards in the dust.
“I was taking care of animals,” he said dully, but no longer to me. “I was only taking care of animals.”
There was nothing to do about him. It was Easter Sunday and the Fascists were advancing toward the Ebro. It was a grey overcast day with a low ceiling so their planes were not up. That and the fact that cats know how to look after themselves was all the good luck that the old man would ever have.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
Why could the Fascists planes not fly?
Of the seven hundred villages dotting the map of India, in which the majority of India’s five hundred million live, flourish and die, Kritam was probably the tiniest, indicated on the district survey map by a microscopic dot, the map being meant more for the revenue official out to collect tax than for the guidance of the motorist, who in any case could not hope to reach it since it sprawled far from the highway at the end of a rough track furrowed up by the iron-hooped wheels of bullock carts. But its size did not prevent its giving itself the grandiose name Kritam, which meant in Tamil coronet or crown on the brow of the subcontinent. The village consisted of fewer than thirty houses, only one of them built from brick and cement and painted a brilliant yellow and blue all over with
gorgeous carvings of gods and gargoyles on its balustrade, it was known as the Big House. The other houses, distributed in four streets, were generally of bamboo thatch, straw, mud and other unspecified material. Muni’s was the last house in the fourth street, beyond which stretched the fields. In his prosperous days Muni had owned a flock of sheep and goats and sallied forth every morning driving the flock to the highway a couple of miles away.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
Describe the other houses.
Unleashing the goats from the drumstick tree, Muni started out, driving them ahead and uttering weird cries from time to time in order to urge them on. Me passed through the village with his head bowed in thought. He did not want to look at anyone or be accosted. A couple of cronies lounging in the temple corridor hailed him, but he ignored their call. They had known him in the days of affluence when he lorded over a flock of fleecy sheep, not the miserable grawky goats that he had today.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
Describe Muni’s prosperous times.
The boy looked up. He took his hands from his face and looked up at his teacher. The light from Mr. Oliver’s torch fell on the boy’s face, if you could call it a face. He had no eyes, ears, nose or mouth. It was just a round smooth head with a school cap on top of it.
And that’s where the story should end, as indeed it has for several people who have had similar experiences and dropped dead of inexplicable heart attacks. But for Mr. Oliver, it did not end there. The torch fell from his trembling hand. He turned and scrambled down the path, running blindly through the trees and calling for help. He was still running towards the school buildings when he saw a lantern swinging in the middle of the path. Mr. Oliver had never before been so pleased to see the night watchman. He stumbled up to the watchman, gasping for breath and speaking incoherently.
What is it, Sahib? Asked the watchman, has there been an accident? Why are you running?
I saw something, something horrible, a boy weeping in the forest and he had no face.
No face, Sahib?
No eyes, no nose, mouth, nothing.
Do you mean it was like this, Sahib? asked the watchman, and raised the lamp to his own face. The watchman had no eyes, no ears, no features at all, not even an eyebrow. The wind blew the lamp out and Mr. Oliver had his heart attack.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
What was Mr Oliver’s reaction when he saw the faceless boy? Whom did he stumble into?
Margot stood apart from these children who could never remember a time when there wasn’t rain and rain and rain. They were all nine years old, and if there had been a day, seven years ago, when the sun came out for an hour and showed its face to the stunned world, they could not recall. Sometimes, at night, she heard them stir, in remembrance, and she knew they were dreaming and remembering an old or a yellow crayon or a coin large enough to buy the world with. She knew they thought they remembered a warmness, like a blushing in the face, in the body, in the arms and legs and trembling hands. But then they always awoke to the tatting drum, the endless shaking down of clear bead necklaces upon the roof, the walk, the gardens, the forests, and their dreams were gone. All day yesterday they had read in class about the sun. About how like a lemon it was, and how hot. And they had written small stories or essays or poems about it:
I think the snn is a flower,
That blooms for just one hour.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
What did the children read in class all day long?
What does the poet mean by 'tireless striving'? What does 'clear stream' refer to? Explain.
What is the significance of dream?
Was the old woman’s gift to Vijay Singh eccentric? Why?
What warning did the teachers give to Patrick?
Answer the following question.
Nasir wants to learn ______________________________________________
The hawker passes time _________.
What must be the main motto of a rebel, in your opinion?
Put each of the following in the correct order. Then use them appropriately to fill in the blanks in the paragraph that follows. Use correct punctuation marks.
- English and Hindi/both/in/he writes
- and only / a few short stories/many books in English/in Hindi
- Is/my Hindi / than my English/much better
Ravi Kant is a writer and ………….. Of course, he is much happier writing in English than in Hindi. He has written …………….. . I find his books a little hard to understand ………………… .
Play detectives with each other. Find a person in your class (or some other acquaintance) to speak to. Find out the answers to the questions given below. Be careful to ask your questions in a polite and inoffensive way. Do not force the person to answer you. Then allow the person to ask you the same questions.
- Name?
- What newspapers or magazines does the person read?
- How long has the person lived at the current address?
- What does she/he do during the day, i.e. the daily routine?
- What do neighbours and friends say about the person?
- Who are his/her visitors and what are his/her eating habits? (You can ask a few others about this.)
- What do you think about the person?
Complete the following sentence by providing a reason:
In the poem, The Darkling Thrush, the poet thinks the bird had some awareness which the poet did not because ______.
|
Antonio: |
(Aside to Sebastian) Let it be tonight; |
What does Antonio refer to when he says “Let it be tonight...” in Act III, Scene iii of the play, The Tempest?
