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Question
Which is more desirable-friendship or enmity? When does a person hear strongly the voice of his conscience?
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Solution
It goes without saying that friendship is based on goodwill and respect for one another. Enmity is created by hatred and ill-will. Friendship is definitely far better than enmity. Every person has a weakness for friends. But the moment he occupies the seat of judgement, he hears the voice of his conscience and gives a fair verdict.
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- When I was a girl of about twelve, I used to stay in a village in north Karnataka with my grandparents. Those days, the transport system was not very good, so we used to get the morning papers only in the afternoon. The weekly magazine used to come one day late. All of us would wait eagerly for the bus, which used to come with the papers, weekly magazines and the post.
- At that time, Triveni was a very popular writer in the Kannada language. She was a wonderful writer. Her style was easy to read and very convincing. Her stories usually dealt with complex psychological problems in the lives of ordinary people and were always very interesting. Unfortunately, for Kannada literature, she died very young. Even now, after forty years, people continue to appreciate her novels.
- One of her novels, called Kashi Yatre, was appearing as a serial in the Kannada weekly Karmaveera then. It is the story of an old lady and her ardent desire to go to Kashi or Varanasi. Most Hindus believe that going to Kashi and worshipping Lord Vishweshwara is the ultimate punya. This old lady also believed in this, andher struggle to go there was described in that novel. In the story, there was also a young orphan girl who falls in love but there is no money for the wedding. In the end, the old lady gives away all her savings without going to Kashi. She says, 'The happiness of this orphan girl is more important than worshipping Lord Vishweshwara at Kashi.
- 'My grandmother, Krishtakka, never went to school. So, she could not read. Every Wednesday, the magazine would come and I would read the next episode of the
story to her. During that time, she would forget all her work and listen with the greatest concentration. Later, she could repeat the entire text by heart. My grandmother too never went to Kashi so she identified herself with the novel's protagonist. More than anybody else, she was the one most interested in knowing
what happened next in the story and used to insist that I read the serial out to her. - After hearing what happened next in Kashi Yatre, she would join her friends at thetemple courtyard, where we children would also gather to play hide and seek. Shewould discuss the latest episode with her friends. At that time, I never understoodwhy there was so much of debate about the story.
- Once I went for a wedding with my cousins to the neighbouring village. In thosedays, a wedding was a great event. We children enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.
We would eat and play endlessly, savouring the freedom because all the elders were busy. I went for a couple of days but ended up staying there for a week. - When I came back to my village, I saw my grandmother in tears. I was surprised,for I had never seen her cry even in the most difficult of situations. What had happened? I was worried.
- 'Avva, is everything fine? Are you alright?'
- I used to call her Avva, which means mother in the Kannada spoken in north Karnataka.
- She nodded but did not reply. I did not understand and forgot about it. In the night, after dinner, we were sleeping in the open terrace of the house. It was a summer night and there was a full moon. Avva came and sat next to me. Her affectionate hands touched my forehead. I realized she wanted to speak. I asked her, 'What is the matter?'
- When I was a young girl I lost my mother. There was nobody to look after and guide me. My father was a busy man. He got married again. In those days, people never considered education essential for girls, so I never went to school. I got married very young and had children. I became very busy. Later I had grandchildren and always felt so much happiness in cooking and feeding all of you. At times I used to regret not going to school, so I made sure that my children and grandchildren studied well ...'
- I could not understand why my sixty-two-year-old grandmother was telling me, a twelve-year-old, the story of her life in the middle of the night. One thing I knew, I loved her immensely and there had to be some reason why she was talking to me. I looked at her face. It was unhappy and her eyes were filled with tears. She
was a good-looking lady who was almost always smiling. Even today, I cannot forget the worried expression on her face. I leaned forward and held her hand. - 'Avva, don't cry. What is the matter? Can I help you in any way?'
- 'Yes, I need your help. You know when you were away, Karmaveera came as usual. I opened the magazine. I saw the picture that accompanies the story of Kashi Yatre and I could not understand anything that was written. Many times, I rubbed my hands over the pages wishing to understand what was written. But I knew it was not possible. If only I was educated enough... I waited eagerly for you to return. I felt you would come early and read for me. I even thought of going to the village and asking you to read for me. I could have asked somebody in this village but I was too embarrassed to do so. I felt so very dependent and helpless. We are well-off, but what use is money when I cannot be independent?'
- I did not know what to answer. Avva continued.
- 'I have decided I want to learn the Kannada alphabet from tomorrow onwards. I will work very hard. I will keep Saraswati Pooja day during Dassara as the deadline.
That day I should be able to read a novel on my own. I want to be independent.' - I saw the determination on her face. Yet I laughed at her.
- 'Avva, at this age of sixty-two you want to learn the alphabet? All your hair is grey, your hands are wrinkled, you wear spectacles and you have so much work in the
kitchen...' - Childishly I made fun of the old lady. But she just smiled.
- 'For a good cause if you are determined, you can overcome any obstacle. I will work harder than anybody but I will do it. For learning, there is no age bar.'
- The next day onwards, I started my tuition. Avva was a wonderful student. The amount of homework she did was amazing. She would read, repeat, write and recite. I was her only teacher and she was my first student. Little did I know then that one day I would become a teacher in Computer Science and teach hundreds of students.
- The Dassara festival came as usual. Secretly, I bought Kashi Yatre which had been published as a novel by that time. My grandmother called me to the pooja place and made me sit down on a stool. She gifted me a frock. Then she did
something unusual. She bent down and touched my feet. I was surprised and taken aback. Elders never touched the feet of youngsters. We have always touched the feet of God, elders and teachers. We considered that as a mark of
respect. It is a great tradition but today the reverse had happened. It was not correct. - She said, "I am touching the feet of a teacher, not
my granddaughter; a teacher who taught me so well, with so much of affection that I can read any novel confidently in such a short period. Now I am independent. It is
my duty to respect a teacher. Is it not written in our scriptures that a teacher should be respected, irrespective of the gender and age?' - I did return namaskara to her by touching her feet and gave my gift to my first student. She opened it and read the title Kashi Yatre by Triveni and the publisher's
name immediately . - I knew, then, that my student had passed with flying colours.
About the Author
Sudha Murty was born in 1950 in Shiggaon in North Karnataka. A prolific writer in Kannada, she has written seven novels, four technical books, three travelogues and two collections of short stories. Her previous English book 'Wise and Otherwise' has
been translated into thirteen Indian languages. Her stories deal with common lives and human values such as charity, kindness and self-realisation. As a sensitive writer, she writes about the suffering of the people. The main characters in all her
books are highly educated, non compromising, highly principled women.
What does he plant who plants a tree? a
He plants a friend of sun and sky;b
He plants the flag of breezes free;
The shaft of beauty, towering high;
He plants a home to heaven anigh;
For song and mother-croon of bird
In hushed and happy twilight heard____
The treble of heaven's harmony_____
These things he plants who plants a tree.
Read the lines given above and answer the question that follow:
'All right!' you 'll cry.'All right!' you'll say,
'But if we take the set away,
What shall we do to entertain
Our darling children?Please explain!'
We'll answer this by asking you,
'What used the darling ones to do?
'How used they keep themselves contented
Before this monster was invented?'
Have you forgotten? Don't you know?
We'll say it very loud and slow:
THEY ... USED ... TO ... READ! They'd READ and READ,
AND READ and READ, and then proceed
To READ some more. Great Scott! Gadzooks!
One half their lives was reading books!
The nursery shelves held books galore!
Books cluttered up the nursery floor!
And in the bedroom, by the bed,
More books were waiting to be read!
Read the lines given above and answer the question given below.
What should be done to keep the children occupied?
The angel wrote and vanished.
The next night, It came again with a great wakening light,
And show's the names whom love of God had blest,
And Lo! Bin Adhem's name led all the rest.
Read the lines given above and answer the following question.
Mention two other words used by the poet to refer to the angel.
Answer the following question.
Kari learnt the commands to sit and to walk. What were the instructions for each command?
From the first paragraph
(i) pick out two phrases which describe the desert as most people believe it is;
(ii) pick out two phrases which describe the dessert as specialists see it.
Which do you think is an apt description, and why?
Answer the following question.
Why did Golu go to the river?
Answer the following question.
Where did the lady find the bear cub? How did she bring it up?
Answer the following question.
When was the bear tied up with a chain? Why?
By pressing the red button, Tilloo made the mechanical hand from the spacecraft cease to work.
Describe the hermit in one or two sentences.
Whose knucklebones were collected by Willy Wonka?
Multiple Choice Question:
When do strange questions strike the poet?
The words helper, companion, partner and accomplice have very similar meanings, but each word is typically used in certain phrases. Can you fill in the blanks below with the most commonly used words? A dictionary may help you.
tennis / golf / bridge …………….
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
| An angry athlete is an athlete who will make mistakes, as any coach will tell you. I was no exception. On the first of my three qualifying jumps, I leaped from several inches beyond the take-off board for a foul. |
- When and where is this narrative set? [2]
- What reason does the narrator Jesse Owens give for the heightened nationalistic feelings at this time? [2]
- In which event had Owens been confident of winning a gold medal? Why? [3]
- What had made Owens angry enough to make mistakes? Name Owens’ rival who approached him at this point. [3]
Referring closely to the poem, Dover Beach, show how the poet correlates the gradual receding of the "Sea of Faith" with the gradual loss of human faith in religion.
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:
|
One day I found the pond occupied by several buffaloes. Their keeper, a boy a little older than me, was swimming about in the middle. Instead of climbing out on the bank, he would pull himself up on the back of one of his buffaloes, stretch his naked brown body out on the animal’s glistening hide, and start singing to himself. When he saw me staring at him from across the pond, he smiled, showing gleaming white teeth in a dark face. He invited me to join him in a swim. I told him I couldn’t swim, and he offered to teach me. His name was Ramu, and he promised to give me swimming lessons every afternoon, and so it was during the afternoons — especially summer afternoons when everyone was asleep — that we usually met. Before long I was able to swim across the pond to sit with Ramu astride a contented buffalo. Sometimes I would slip into the water. Emerging in shades of green and khaki, I would sneak into the house through the bathroom and bathe under the tap before getting into my clothes. One afternoon Ramu and I found a small tortoise in the mud, sitting over a hole in which it had laid several eggs. I presented the tortoise to Grandfather. He had a weakness for tortoises, and was pleased with this addition to his menagerie, giving it a large tub of water all to itself, with an island of rocks in the middle. If one of the dogs bothered it too much, it would draw its head and legs into its shell and defy all its attempts at rough play. Ramu came from a family of bonded labourers and had received no schooling. But he was well-versed in folklore and knew a great deal about birds and animals. “Many birds are sacred,” said Ramu, as we watched a blue jay swoop down from a peepul tree and carry off a grasshopper. Both Ramu and Grandfather were of the opinion that we should be more gentle with birds and animals and should not kill so many of them. “It is also important that we respect them, said Grandfather. We must acknowledge their rights. Birds and animals are finding it more difficult to survive, because we are trying to destroy both them and their forests.” Ramu and I spent long summer afternoons at the pond. I still remember him with affection, though we never saw each other again after I left Dehra. |
- For each word given below choose the correct meaning (as used in the passage) from the options provided: [2]
- hide (line 4)
- blanket
- fur
- undisclosed
- skin
- contented (line 12)
- cheerful
- lazy
- satisfied
- container
- hide (line 4)
- Which word in the passage is the opposite of ‘easy’? [1]
- sneak
- difficult
- labourer
- survive
- Answer the following questions briefly in your own words.
- What did Ramu like to do once he had climbed on the back of a buffalo? [2]
- What offer did Ramu make to the narrator? [2]
- Why do you think the narrator would bathe before entering the house? [2]
- Who was the large tub of water for? [1]
- How would the tortoise protect itself from the dogs? [2]
- Despite the lack of schooling what did Ramu know? How, according to Ramu and Grandfather, should we treat birds and animals? Answer in not more than fifty words. [8]
