Reading 1
1. What was the sight that the narrator found
amusing? Was it really so?
An elderly paraya man was carrying a snack packet
with the help of a string. He could easily hold the packet with his hands. Instead,
he was bringing it without touching it. The manner in which he carried the
parcel made the narrator laugh. The narrator found it amusing.
No. There is nothing amusing in the incident. The
elderly man was treated as an untouchable. People thought that anything an
untouchable person touches gets polluted.
2. Why was the narrator’s Annan not amused by her
story?
The narrator’s Annan understood the meaning of the
incident. He knew that the elderly paraya man had to be humble and humiliated
before a higher caste person. It is not funny and the narrator’s Annan was not
amused.
3. What feeling did the realization of truth evoke
in the narrator?
The narrator felt provoked and got angry after
realizing the truth that lower caste people were being humiliated.
4. What humiliation did the lower castes have to
face?
The lower castes had to do all the chores of the
household without touching things. They had to do all the hard work like
sweeping cow sheds, collecting cow dung. They had to eat the leftovers. They
had to treat upper caste people including children with respect. They had to be humble. They had to do whatever the higher caste people demanded. They were
treated badly.
5. ‘Naicker was furious.’ (Page 73, paragraph 1)
Why? Was this justified?
Annan, a paraya boy, a grandson of one of his
servants had the courage to talk to the Naiker disrespectfully. So the Naicker
was furious.
No. It was not justified.
6. What discrimination did the narrator undergo on
daily basis at school?
The narrator along with other children of her
caste had to do all the hard work at school. They carried water to the teacher’s
house. They watered the plants. They did all chores of the school. If something
unwanted had happened in the school, the lower caste children were blamed.
7. Relate the humiliating incident that the
narrator experienced at school?
There was a coconut tree that grew at a convenient
slant in the narrator’s school. One day, the children were playing a game on the
tree. They ran up the tree and touched the coconuts and came back. The coconut
bunch was twisted by some excited children. Just as the narrator was about to
touch the coconuts, when her turn came, the coconuts had fallen down with a
thud. Everybody scattered but the narrator, being a lower caste girl, was
blamed.
During the school assembly the following day, she
was humiliated. She was not allowed to attend her classes.
8. Justify the title of the narration?
The title of this lesson, ‘Can we change this?’
tells us about certain bad practices in our society. We have to put a stop to such
practices as untouchability. The title challenges us and asks us to do
something to change the bad practices of our society. The title is justified and
appropriate.
Reading 2
1. What socio-economic strata did the narrator
belong to? Quote words and phrases from the text to support your answer.
The narrator belonged to a lower caste known as
paraya. They were poor and treated as untouchables. The word ‘paraya’ means ‘the
other people’. The narrator was from Cheri Street where parayas lived. She says
‘parayas’ as ‘our people’. These words and phrases support that the narrator
belonged to paraya community.
2. How was the narrator different from others who
faced discrimination?
While the others who faced discrimination suffered
silently, the narrator felt provoked and became angry. She was inspired by her
Annan’s suggestion and concentrated on her studies. She studied well and
achieved the top rank in her class.
3. What alternative did Annan suggest to the
narrator? Do you agree with him?
Annan suggested the narrator that the best way to
be respected and accepted among her friends was through learning and education.
Yes. I agree with his suggestion.
4. As the narrator, write a page in your diary
after a humiliating day at school.
Day:
Date:
Dear diary,
Today was the most sorrowful day in my life. I was
blamed without any reason. I was humiliated before our class. All this is
because I am a lower caste student.
Pardhu, an upper-caste student had lost his new
pen. The pen was really beautiful. Every student was jealous. During the last period,
Pardhu complained that he had lost his pen. He said that somebody stole it.
Everyone in the class, including the class teacher
blamed me and called me a thief. They said that lower caste people are thieves
by nature. They searched my bag thoroughly, but the pen is not in the bag. How
could it be? I wept silently. Later they found the pen in the playground.
So, this was the saddest day of my life.
Bye, bye dear diary.
Vocabulary
Unscramble the words in brackets to discover more
about an anti-apartheid activist.
Stephen Biko (1946-1977) was an illustrious
anti-apartheid __________ (tactivis) in South Africa. He began as a student
leader, and went on to found the Black Consciousness Mvment which he hoped
would __________ (peomrwe) and mobilize much of the urband black population.
He was arrested on 18 August 1977 and died in
police custody on 12 September. He is often called the greated __________
(artrym) of the anti-apartheid movement. He was famous for his slogan ‘Black is
beautiful’. His __________ (uteqs) for black identity continues to __________
(nirisep) people to this day.
Answers
activist, empower, martyr, quest, inspire
