A Bond with the Wild

1. Bruno’s coming into the narrator’s family began with a tragedy. Explain.

Bruno was riding on his mother’s back when his mother was shot by a companion of the author. Bruno ran around his mother’s dead body making sorrowful noises. The author caught him and brought him home. The author gave Bruno as a pet to his wife. Like this, Bruno’s coming into the narrator’s family began with a tragedy.

2. In what way was Bruno’s diet remarkable?

Bruno could eat anything and everything. He could gulp down porridge made of any ingredients, vegetables, fruit, nuts, meat curry, and rice. He could eat bread, eggs, chocolates, sweets, pudding, and so on. He could drink milk, tea, coffee, aerated water, buttermilk, and everything liquid. He enjoyed whatever he ate or drunk.

3. Can we say that Bruno’s barium carbonate poisoning happened due to the narrator’s carelessness? Why/Why not? (Write any one of the answers)

1. Yes. We can say that Bruno’s barium carbonate poisoning happened due to the narrator’s carelessness. The narrator knows that Bruno eats everything. He should have kept Bruno safely locked in another room.

2. No. We cannot say that Bruno’s barium carbonate poisoning happened due to the narrator’s carelessness. The narrator didn’t realize that Bruno would walk into the library and eat barium carbonate. The narrator might be too preoccupied to think about this possibility.

4. The changing of Bruno’s name to Baba reflects the deep attachment which the narrator’s wife felt toward the bear. Explain.

‘Baba’ means ‘a small boy’ in Hindustani. The changing of Bruno’s name as Baba reflects a deep attachment which the narrator’s wife felt towards the bear. She never felt that Bruno is only a pet and an animal. She treated him as a part of the family. That is why she changed the name of Bruno as Baba.

5. What necessitated the decision that Baba should be sent to a zoo?

Baba has grown up. They are concerned about the safety of the tenants’ children. Poor Baba has to be kept chained most of the time. He has become too big to be kept at home as a pet. So, it is decided that he should be sent to a zoo.

6. Do you think the family’s decision of getting Baba back home from the zoo was wise? Why/Why not?

Yes. I think that the family’s decision of getting Baba back home from the zoo was wise. When Baba is in the zoo, both Baba and the narrator’s wife fretted. Baba couldn’t eat food properly. The narrator’s wife is worried about the well-being of Baba. Baba became habituated to the narrator’s home as his own home. Moreover, the narrator knows how to take care of Baba and keep him safe.