“Driving from my parent’s home to Cochin last Friday morning, I saw my mother, beside me, doze, open-mouthed, her face ashen like that of a corpse and realised with pain that she was as old as she looked but soon put that thought far away,...”

Question: “Driving from my parent’s home to Cochin last Friday morning, I saw my mother, beside me, doze, open-mouthed, her face ashen like that of a corpse and realised with pain that she was as old as she looked but soon put that thought far away,...”

Q. Where is the poet at present?

Answer: The poet is on her way to Cochin Airport from her ancestral home. She is travelling in a car with her mother sitting beside her.

Q. How does she describe her mother?

Answer: Kamala Das describes her mother as old, pale and senile. As she was asleep, the poet noticed that her mother looked as pale and colourless as a dead body. She seemed to have lost the vitality of life.

Q. What thoughts had she given away?

Answer: The poet has put away the haunting thoughts of losing her mother.

Q. Mention the poetic device used here?

Answer: Simile e.g. face ashen like that of a corpse.

More Question-

1. Write a character sketch of Franz
2. How does M. Hamel prove to be an ideal teacher?
3. How can you estimate M. Hamel as a man with a ruler and as a man with a gesture?
4. What is ‘linguistic chauvinism’? Analyse the order from Berlin in this light. How do you justify M. Hamel’s views about French and the newfound love of the people towards their language?
5. In the lesson ‘Lost Spring’, Saheb and Mukesh are deprived of their childhood pleasures and education. Noble Peace prize winners Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai
6. Describe the circumstances which keep the workers in the bangle industry in poverty. [CBSE Delhi 2015]
7. Describe the difficulties the bangle makers of Firozabad have to face in their lives
8. ‘Lost Spring’ explains the grinding poverty and traditions that condemn thousands of people to a life of abject poverty. Do you agree? Why/Why not? [CBSE (AI) 2011]
9. Give a brief account of the life and activities of people like Saheb-e-Alam settled in Seemapuri. [CBSE Delhi 2011]
10. The bangle makers of Firozabad make beautiful bangles and make everyone happy but they live and die in squalor. Elaborate. [CBSE Delhi 2010]
11. The barefoot ragpickers of Seemapuri live on the periphery of Delhi yet, metaphorically speaking, miles away from it. Comment. [CBSE (AI) 2009C, CBSE (F) 2013]
12. How is Mukesh’s attitude towards his situation different from that of Saheb? Why? [CBSE Delhi 2015]
13. How is Mukesh more ambitious in life than Saheb? Give a reasoned answer. [CBSE (F) 2013]
14. Grinding poverty and tradition condemn the children of ragpickers or bangle makers to a life of exploitation. Such children are deprived of all opportunities in life. Mukesh
15. A big boy pushed Douglas into the deep end of the swimming pool which could have led to his death. Concerns regarding bullying and ragging persist in many teenage groups. Quoting examples from the text, discuss the problem of bullying and its effects on the victims. Also, suggest ways to deal with this problem. [CBSE Sample Paper 2015]
16. Fear is mankind’s greatest handicap. Do you agree? Give reasons in support of your views
17. ‘Practice makes a man perfect. Douglas tried hard to reach the level of perfection through perseverance. Comment.
18. How did Douglas develop an aversion to water [CBSE Delhi 2012]
19. How did Douglas try to save himself from drowning in the YMCA pool? [CBSE Delhi 2012]
20. How did the instructor make Douglas a good swimmer? [CBSE (AI) 2012, 2013]
21. How did the misadventure in the YMCA swimming pool affect Douglas? What efforts did he make to conquer his old terror? [CBSE (F) 2013]
22. “…there was terror in my heart at the overpowering force of the waves.” When did Douglas start fearing water? Which experience had further strengthened its hold on his mind and personality? [CBSE (AI) 2010]
23. Why did the ironmaster speak kindly to the peddler and invite him home? [CBSE (AI) 2016]
24. Why did the Crofter show the thirty kroner to the peddler? [CBSE (AI) 2016]
25. What do we learn about the crofter’s nature from the story, ‘The Rattrap’? [CBSE (AI) 2016]
26. What hospitality did the peddler receive from the crofter? [CBSE Delhi 2016]
27. Why was the peddler amused at the idea of the world being a rattrap? [CBSE Delhi 2016]