THE KABULIWALA

Understanding the Text

B. 1. The speaker is a writer. He seems to have imagination, patience and sensitivity. He

writes that the Kabuliwala must have travelled on the lap of mountains. This shows him
to be imaginative. We know he is patient because he listens patiently to his little
daughter’s chatter and says that he and the Kabuliwala were her most patient listeners.
We know he is sensitive as he feels sorry for the Kabuliwala when he is imprisoned,
sympathises with him as a father and decides to help him reunite with his daughter
even if it means letting go of a few things for the wedding celebration.

2. a. The grown-up—the Kabuliwala—and the child—Mini—were laughing at one of

their usual jokes. Mini asked what was inside the Kabuliwala’s bag and the Kabuliwala
replied,‘An elephant.’

b. Their laughter has been described as innocent as the joke was very simple, but it
made them laugh, even when they repeated it. This shows the two of them to be simple-
hearted.

c. The mention of an autumn morning makes this scene look even more pleasant. In
autumn, the weather is cool without being cold; sunny without being hot. An autumn
morning is thus a lovely setting for the sweet picture of the two friends chatting and
laughing.

3. a. Usually, Mini would ask Rahmat,‘Are you going to your father-in-law’s house?’ and
Rahmat would reply,‘I shall hit the father-in-law.’Mini would laugh at the joke.This
time,Mini was not amused because when she asked her usual question, Rahmat replied
yes, instead of his usual response.

b. Suggested answer (accept any logical answer): The Kabuliwala’s words are not funny;
in fact, they are sad and moving because instead of staying near his little friend to joke
and laugh with her, he was going to prison for several years. His words mark a change
from their happy past to a future that was not going to be happy for him.

4. a. The speaker found it regrettable that Mini forgot her old friend, the Kabuliwala,
very easily when he went away to prison, and made friends with the horse-keeper in his
place.The speaker says it was regrettable because Mini and Rahmat had been very good
friends and the speaker knew that Rahmat was very fond of her.

b. Mini’s behaviour was natural because after all, she was a five-year-old child who
could not understand the seriousness of Rahmat’s situation and who could not be
expected to remember a friend if she did not meet him for a long time. It would be
natural for her to find new friends with time. Her friend, Rahmat, did not change in a
similar manner—he was in prison, and there was little chance for him to make new
friends. He remembered Mini very well and very affectionately.


5. a. After being released from prison, the Kabuliwala came back to the speaker’s house
to meet Mini. It was her wedding day, and she was clad in her bridal attire, looking very
different from the five-year-old child the Kabuliwala had seen the last time. Just as Mini
had not trusted the Kabuliwala and had refused to take his gifts on their first meeting,
on this day too, she stood way from him and could not speak with him freely. Thus the
speaker was reminded of their first meeting.

b. The speaker felt a strange ache in his heart because he was saddened by certain
things.He remembered the friendship between his daughter and the Kabuliwala and
was sad that that beautiful, innocent friendship was no more. He was also sad to see
Rahmat in a poorer condition than before. Moreover, he knew that now that Mini was
grown up and getting married, there was little or no chance of her becoming friends
with the Kabuliwala again. Whereas Mini and Rahmat’s first meeting had marked the
beginning of a friendship, this meeting marked the end of their friendship, and that
made the speaker sad.

Appreciating the Text

1. a. At first, Mini was curious to see the Kabuliwala walking down the road. She called
out to him.
But as soon as he came to their house, she ran away, scared. She could not really trust
him. Soon, however, he won her over with gifts and bribes, and the two of them became
great friends. When the Kabuliwala was arrested and sent away to prison, Mini forgot
him quite quickly, and made new friends. Years later, when they met again, they did not
really meet as friends but almost as strangers who were not sure how to talk to each
other.

b. The speaker used to enjoy watching his daughter and the Kabuliwala chat and laugh
with each other. Although he was not really friends with the Kabuliwala himself, he
seemed to like him. When the Kabuliwala was arrested and imprisoned, the speaker felt
sorry for him. He could imagine how particularly difficult it must have been for someone
like the Kabuliwala to stay imprisoned for so long. When he met him again on Mini’s
wedding day, and remembered that he had been in jail all that time for fatally injuring
someone, at first, the speaker felt uneasy. He did not want a murderer in his house on
that happy occasion, so he asked the Kabuliwala to leave. However, when he saw the
paper the Kabuliwala had been carrying around and realised how much he missed his
daughter, the speaker felt very sympathetic—he realised that both of them were
fathers. He was also saddened to see that the Kabuliwala and Mini could not talk freely
as in the past and realised that their friendship was over. He felt much happier when he
helped the Kabuliwala to go home and meet his daughter.

2. a. i. The Kabuliwala is an adult Afghan vendor. Mini is an Indian girl who is only five
years old when they meet. In these respects, they are very different from each other.
However, when they become friends, Mini is happy to talk non-stop to the Kabuliwala
and he is happy to listen to her. They also share some simple jokes and laugh innocently
at them. Innocence and open-heartedness brings them together.
ii. The speaker is an educated Indian writer, patient and sympathetic by nature. He is
thus quite different from the Afghan merchant who is arrested and imprisoned for his
violent behaviour.

However, they are both fathers—both of them love their daughters very much, and that
brings them together. The Kabuliwala is also very fond of Mini, and that is another
common factor between them.

b. The contrasting features in the Kabuliwala’s character are violence and gentleness,
affection and anger. He is very fond of Mini and his own daughter, so we know that he is
soft-hearted. He is also polite and respectful towards the speaker. Yet, during a quarrel,
he gets so angry that he stabs the other person. This violence is especially surprising
and shocking from someone like the Kabuliwala, whom we see as a gentle and simple-
minded person when he is with his little friend.