Glimpses of India

Question 1. What are the elders in Goa nostalgic about?

Answer: The elders in Goa are nostalgic about the good old Portuguese
days and their love of bread and loaves. The writer says that the eaters
of the loaves have left but the makers still exist.
Question 2. How do we get to know that the makers of bread still
exist?
Answer: The narrator states that the eaters of loaves might have
vanished but the makers are still there. They say that those age-old,
time-tested furnaces still exist and the fire in the furnaces has not yet
been extinguished.
Question 3. Who invites the comment – “he is dressed like a pader?”
Why?
Answer: Any person who is wearing a half pant which reaches just
below the knees invites this comment. This is because the baker,
known as a pader, used to dress like that.
Question 4. What did the bakers wear -i) in the Portuguese days? ii)
when the author was young?
Answer: (i)The bakers were usually dressed up in a peculiar dress
called Kabai. It was a single piece long frock reaching down to the
knees.
(ii) During his childhood days, the author saw the bakers wearing
shirt and trousers which were shorter than full length ones and longer
than half pants.
Question 5. Is bread an important part of Goan life? How do you know
this?
Answer: Bread is still an important part of Goan life. Marriage gifts are
meaningless and a party or a feast loses its charm without bread.
Sandwiches are important for a daughter’s engagement. This shows
the fact that the bread makers are still there.
Madam Rides the Bus
Question 1. What was a source of unending joy for Valli? What was her
strongest desire?
Answer: The sight of the bus that travelled between her village and
the nearest town, filled each time with a new set of passengers, was a
source of unending joy for Valli. Her strongest desire was to take a
ride on the bus.
Question 2. Valli was an eight-year-old girl who was very curious
about things. What was her favourite pastime?
Answer: Valli favourite pastime was to stand in the front doorway of
her house. She did not play like most other children because there
were no playmates of her age on her street. Watching the street also
gave her many unusual experiences which were equally enjoyable.
Question 3. Why did Valli not get off from the bus when it stopped at
the bus stand?
Answer: She did not get off the bus at the bus station because she had
to go back on that same bus. She took out another thirty paise from
her pocket and handed the coins to the conductor. She just wanted to
ride on the bus.
Question 4. Why does the conductor refer to Valli as ‘madam’?
Answer: The conductor called Valli 'madam' because she behaved like
a woman. She declined his help and quickly answered the conductor's
questions, making the conductor call Valli as a madam.
Question 5. How did Valli manage to leave the house?
Answer: Valli knew that after lunch her mother would take a nap from
1 pm to 4 pm. It was Valli’s habit to engage in these hours for her
excursions and move outside the village.
Question 6. How did Valli calculate and plan?
Answer: Valli calculated and planned that if she took one o’clock on
the afternoon bus, she would reach the town at one forty-five. On
reaching town if she stayed in her scat and paid another thirty paise
she could return home by the same bus by about two forty-five.
Question 7. What was the most fascinating thing for Valli?
Answer: The most fascinating thing for Valli was the bus that travelled
between her village and the nearest town.

The Sermon at Benares

1. Who was Gautama Buddha? When and where was he born?
Answer: Gautama Buddha was a Prince who was named Siddhartha
Gautama by his parents. He was born in 563 B.C. in North India. He
had been shielded from the sufferings of the world.
2. Why did Prince Siddhartha leave the palace and become a monk?
Answer: While going out for hunting Prince Siddhartha saw a sick
man, an aged man and then a funeral procession. Then he saw a
beggar begging for alms. These sights mourned him very much. He
realised that the world is full of sorrows. He thus turned into a monk.
3. What is a sermon? Is it different from a lecture or a talk?
Answer: A sermon is a spoken or written address on a religious or
moral subject. It is a serious talk. It is different from a lecture or a talk.
It is because a lecture or a talk can be on anything. A sermon has to be
on religion or a moral subject.
4. What did the Buddha do after he had attained enlightenment?
Answer: When Buddha attained enlightenment, he started preaching
and telling people about life and its meaning. He spread his preaching
far and wide. He shared his knowledge with people through his
teachings.
5. Why was Kisa Gotami sad? What did she do in her hour of grief?
Answer: Kisa Gotami was sad because her only son had died. In her
hour of grief, she went from house to house in search of a medicine to
cure him. She had become selfish in wanting her son back.