Unit
17 War and Peace
Train
to Pakistan
-Khushwant Singh
Before
you read
a. Have
you ever travelled by trains? Share your experience.
Ans:-
No, I have never travelled by Trains but I have travelled in crowded buses
several times. I have shared my experience in the last question under writing
section.
b. What
does it fell like while travelling on a crowded train like in the second picture?
Ans:-
Travelling on a crowded train like is the second picture is really trouble
some. It is risky to travel in such a train. Moreover, the travel experience
will be miserable because of suffocating crowd. People of various types travel
in such a train and to bear them through out the travel time is awful. The
noise, trifles, baby cries, suffocation really make us feel irritated.
Working
with words
A.
What do the underlined words in the following sentences mean? Tick the best
answer.
a. The shouting and clamour
would continue long after the train had left the station.
i. clapping
ii. music
ü iii.
a loud and confused noise
iv. train whistle.
b.
There were dozens outside perched precariously on footboards holding on
the door handles.
ü i. not securely
ii. carefully
iii. joyfully
iv. prudently
c.
The book had gone round the compartment for scrutiny.
i. appreciation
ü ii. examination
iii. entertainment
iv. religious ritual
d.
But Jugga had run away, absconded.
i. committed suicide
ii. killed a fellow friend
iii. surrendered
üiv. hid somewhere secretly
e.
His countrymen's code of morals had always puzzled him, with his anglicized
way of looking at things.
i. characteristics of Indians
ü ii. Characteristics of English
iii. Characteristics of Pakistani
iv. Characteristics of Aryan
f.
Iqbal felt a little silly for coming out with these platitudes.
üi. commonplace remarks
ii. philosophical remarks
iii. critical remarks
iv. doubtful remarks
B.
Many words have been borrowed in English from different languages. Find the
meaning of the following words which are borrowed from Hindi language.
veranda - a roofed platform
along the outside of a house, level with the ground floor.
khaki -
a strong cotton or wool fabric of a dull brownish-yellow colour, used
especially in military clothing
pashmina -
a shawl made from fine-quality goat's wool.
pajamas -
a loose-fitting jacket and trousers for sleeping in
pukka -
genuine
pundit -
an expert in a particular subject or field who is frequently called upon to
give their opinions to the public
avatar -
a manifestation of a deity or released soul in bodily form on earth; an
incarnate divine teacher
bangle -a
rigid ornamental band worn round the arm or occasionally the ankle
cheetah -
a large slender spotted cat found in Africa and parts of Asia. It is the
fastest animal on land.
guru -
a Hindu spiritual teacher
jungle -
an area of land overgrown with dense forest and tangled vegetation, typically
in the tropics
karma -
the sum of a person's actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed
as deciding their fate in future existences
nirvana -
a transcendent state in which there is neither suffering, desire, nor sense of
self, and the subject is released from the effects of karma and the cycle of
death and rebirth. It represents the final goal of Buddhism
shampoo -
a liquid preparation for washing the hair
raita -
an Indian side dish of yogurt containing chopped cucumber or other vegetables,
and spices
C. Add the given suffixes to the following words to make new words.
Notice whether 'e' is retained or dropped.
a. change
+ -able = changeable
change
+ ing = changing
change
+ -ed = changed
change
+ - less = changeless
b. time
+ -ly = timely
time
+ -ing = timing
time
+ -ed = timed
time
+ -less = timeless
c. notice
+ - able = noticeable
notice
+ - ing = noticing
notice
+ -ed = noticed
d. praise
+ -worthy = praiseworthy
praise
+ - ing = praising
praise
+ - ed = praised
e. home
+ -less = homeless
home
+ - ing = homing
home
+ - ly = homely
Comprehension
Answer the following questions.
a. Why
did Iqbal want to sleep in the afternoon?
Ans:- Iqbal wanted to sleep in the
afternoon because he had spend the night sitting on his bedroll in a crowded
third class compartment in a train.
b. How
did people react with each other in the train?
Ans:- People in the train shouted and produced clamor
and they argued with each other in different trifles.
c. Why
did the book Iqbal was reading bring commotion in the compartment?
Ans:-
The book Iqbal was reading brought commotion in the compartment because
the book was written in English language.
d. Why
did Iqbal have to give clarification with his personal details?
Ans:- Iqbal had to give clarification with his
personal details because all the Muslim people travelling in the same room
guessed him to be a Muslim and he looked educated and belonging to a rich
family from a city.
e. Who
was Meet Sing and What did he report to Iqbal?
Ans:- Meet Sing was a priest of gurudwara, a
sacred place of worship for Sikhs in Mano Majra, Punjab and he reported that
Jugga Singh had murdered his fellow villager Ram Lal.
f. How,
according to Meet Singh, was Jugga Sing different from his forefathers?
Ans:-
According to Meet Singh Jugga Sing was different from his forefathers though
all were dacoits. His forefathers never robbed their own village folk but Jugga
Singh robbed and murdered his own villagers.
g. How
does the author show contradiction in Meet Singh's character?
Ans:-
The author shows contradiction in Meet Singh's character by revealing his inner
virtue. Meet Singh said that he would have saved Jugga Sing from being arrested
by the police vowing on the holy scripture that Jugga had been praying in the gurudwara
at the time of the murdered if he had not murdered a people from neighboring
village.
h. Who
was Hukum Chand and how did he succeed in his career?
Ans:-
Hukum Chand is the Deputy sahib or
magistrate of Mano Majra. He succeeded in his career by pleasing the sahibs.
Critical thinking
a. Iqbal
is addressed as Babu Sahib by general
folk simply because he knew English. Are Nepali people who can speak English
taken with respect? Discuss the importance of learning English in the Nepali
context.
Ans:- English is an international language out of
almost 4000 languages in the world. This is the native language of Canada,
Australia, the USA, and the UK. It is also used as official languages in some
countries. Being such an important language, people who can speak English, is
taken with respect. We we hear people speaking fluently in English, a different
kind of respect arises in us towards them. Our respect goes towards them
because they can speak English. Much impressive those people will be when they
speak like native speakers. People with good command over English languages get
job opportunities easily. Not only this, the important books in the worlds are
written in English or translated into English and to read those books we must
have efficiency in English language. In our country, this language is taught as
a foreign language. In every field English language is important. If we want to
go abroad study, peruse a prestigious profession of a doctor, an engineer, or a
pilot, we must have proficiency in English. From every angle English language
is important in the context of Nepal.
b. Do you
agree with Iqbal's comments on crime and punishment? In you view, what should
the state, society and individuals do for peace and order in social lives?
Ans:-
Most of people like Meet Sing believe on this theory that the offerings or
criminals also become criminal by blood.
But Iqbal doesn't think so. According to him, "There is no crime in
anyone's blood any more than there is goodness in the blood of others."
Criminal instinct doesn't transfer from one generation to another. Some people
commit crime because of various reasons but nobody tries to find out those
reasons. Instead, they are put in a cell or hanged off. Peace and order don't
reside in our locality until we wipe out the problems such as hunger,
discrimination, inequality, biasness etc. Murdering and stealing do not come to
halt unless we alleviate hunger or unemployment problems. State, society and
individuals have their own respective roles to reduce and eliminate crimes. The
state must create employment opportunities. Once people have job and earning
and can fulfill their familial needs they never indulge in criminal activities.
There should not be any kind of discrimination in our society, cooperation and
mutual help make out society a better place to live.
Writing
A. Meet
Singh says Jugga a badmash. There can
be such people in your locality too. Write a paragraph describing him/her.
Ans:
- No society is imagined without either one or two bad people. No matter how
much civilized my society is, we are troubles by such badmash. Badri is
such a bad guy in our locality. He is over 45 years jobless person. Though he
carried a profession of driving in the past, he was not employed by anyone
because of his alcoholic nature. He heavily drinks alcohol and smokes
marijuana. He is also known as Gajedi Badri. He has been arrested
several times by police because of his various criminal acts. He threatens
innocent people, loots them if he finds them alone. Every night he comes back
in his small cottage having drunk scolding villager bad words. He speaks bad
words loudly making people irritated in his surroundings. We never expect good
works from him. His is a notorious person in our locality.
B. You
may have travelled by bus or train. During you travel, you might have got
different experiences. Write a letter to your friend describing about your
unforgettable journey.
Ans:-
21th Feb. 2022.
Dear Hari,
I am very happy today that I am writing this
letter to you after a long time. You have also not written any letter to me
since long. Tell me Hari, how are you doing these days? I hope you and all your
family members are fine by the grace of the God. I am fine here. The purpose of
writing this letter to you is to know about your condition as well as to tell
you about an unforgettable latest travel experience, I made by bus.
Last week I travelled to Rasuwa in a local bus.
I had an important work in Dhunche so I caught an early morning local bus to
Dhunche. The journey began at around 7:00 am from Machha Pokhari. The bus was
full of passengers and as it headed ahead several people got in the bus at
different stops. By the time we got at Kakani the bus was full of local
passengers as if it was about to burst out. People of different ages made the
bus crowded. Some women were carrying infants who cried through out the ways.
There were also some working-class people who talked in a loud voice. Some of
them were drunk. I was feeling suffocated though I was sitting in a seat. It
was difficult to travel in summer season in a crowded bus. After 8 hours
suffocating travel, I got off at Dhunche. When I got off the bus, I felt fresh
and relaxed.
This much in this letter and If I have any such
kind of experience, I will write to you. I hope you will also share me such
kind of experience.
Best regards,
Anup
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