1) "It shouted through the belfry-tower/ Awake oh bell! proclaim the hour".- What is 'belfry tower'? What does the poet imply by the 'hour'? What does the poet want to imply?
Ans:- The 'belfry tower' is the highest tower of a church where a bell is hanging.
 
             Here the poet wants to imply the daybreak by the hour.

1) What makes the worm joyful?
Ans:- The worm is joyful as it finds in the rose a rseting place.
2) What does the worm do to the rose?
Ans:- The worm sickens the rose and gradually perishes it
3) When did the worm creep into the rose's bed?
Ans:- The woman crept into the rose's bed in the night of howling storm.
4) "Has found out thy bed
      Of crimson joy"- Who is joyful?
Ans:- The worm that resides in the rose is joyful.
5) What has the worm found out?
Ans:- The worm has found out the bed of the rose.
6) What biblical reference does the poem contain? 
Ans:- Blake's poem 'The Sick Rose' contains the biblical reference of the Fall of Man.
7)"In the howling storm..."-What happens in the howling storm?
Ans:- In the howling storm comes flying the invisible worm and takes shelter in the bosom of the blooming rose.
8) Why does the rose fail to prevent the attack of the worm?
Ans:- The rose fails to prevent the attack of the worm because of its dark secret love.

1) Assess the significance of the title of Browning's "Meeting at Night".

Ans:-"Meeting at Night" is a story of a lover. He is keen on meeting his beloved on a moonlit night. Before him lies a long stretches of sleepy sea. He crosses the sea. The lover walks along the sea-scented beach. He crosses three fields. Now he stands before the door of his beloved. To give her sign of his arrival, he makes a tap on the window pane. From inside a whisper invites him to come. Two hearts meet each other.This complete process of meeting at night secretly justifies the use of the title.

2) Discuss Browning's use of symbolism in his poem "Meeting  at Night".

Ans: Browning makes an wide use of symbolism in his poem, "Meeting at Night".  We come across some major symbol such as night, colours and heat.  The poem opens with a description of the Grey sea which gives a negative impression. Then comes the description of a cove,waves and beach. These are  symbols of hurdle the lover must overcome. Then comes the description of the night. It  is a symbol of secrecy. The  half moon is symbolic of love not yet fulfilled. The  warm beach symbolises the warmth of love that the poet feels for his beloved and the length of the beach signifies the distance between the lover and his beloved. The  meeting that takes place is clearly and illicit or covert encounter.

3) Evaluate ''Meeting at Night'' as a love poem.

Ans:- " Meeting at Night" by Robert Browning  is a beautiful love poem expressing the poet's lusty optimism and positive attitude towards love. The title denotes that the poem is about the journey of love and its achievement. The poem depicts the  rigorous venture of a passionate lover undertaking a formidable journey through sea and land to meet his ladylove secretly in a faraway place. His voyage was very much hazardous. His heart swings in the excitement of the secret journey. At last the lover arrives and meet with his ladylove. The whispering voice of the body, expressing joys as well as fears, fades away at the beating of their hearts united in fulfilment of their cherished desires. Thus the poem is a unique instance of love poem.        

     

        



1) How does Mother Teresa fight against abortion?

Ans:- Mother Teresa regards abortion as the greatest destroyer of peace. She fights abortion by adoption. She collects unwanted children from hospitals, police stations, clinics. She appeals to all not to destroy the children. She shelters them in her Home for orphanage. Her nurses nurture them with loving care. Then they are handed to the childless families. They take the orphans as blessings of god. Mother Teresa also adopts another method of fighting abortion. She teaches the beggers, the slum dwellers the natural family planning. She advises them to practise the natural family planning. She teaches them the temperature meter.

2) " I feel the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion"- Describe Teresa's observation on abortion.

Ans:- In her noble lecxture, Mother Teresa sharply criticise the practise of abortion. She regards it as the greatest destroyer of peace. She does not hesitate to call it a direct war, a direct killing,- a direct murder by the mother herself. In this connection, Mother quotes from the holy scriptures, "Even if a mother, could forget her child,- I will not forget you- I have carved you in the palm of my hand."This shows that human beings are created by God. Obviously, abortion is against the will of god. It is the violation of God's order. But Mother Teresa has offered a remedy. She thinks that adoption is the best answer to abortion. And she fights against abortion with the weapon of adoption.

3) "Smile at each other, make time for each other in your family."-What is Mother's observation about smile?
Ans:- Mother says a lot about the importance of smile. She believes that smile is the beginning of love. We may sometimes find it difficult to keep our smile intact. But we cannot give it up. For life claims a smile. Mother advises us to greet all we meet with a smile. Only a smile does half the work. Once some professor of the USA met mother. They wanted to keep something which would always remind them of Mother.  Mother advised them to give their smile on. For, smile radiates joy and the joy of smile opens up our hearts.

4) what is Mother's message to mankind?

Ans:- Mother's life is Mothers message to mankind. Her heart is full of human kindness. She wants all people go above their mental narrowness. Mother reminds us of the great sacrifice of Jesus. To her, every human being counts much. She advises us to feel the real understanding of love to all the sufferers of the world. She inspires us to smile and pray. She motivates us to build happy home. she expects that man will jealously and selflessly love each other and feel the presence of God or Jesus among the poor, the needy and the helpless.

                        Karma
                                  Khushwant Singh

1) "I am with my master"- What is the significance of the line? What did Lachmi come to know about the condition of the trains in the route?

Ans: Sir Mohan, to Lachmi, is more of a master than a husband. Sir Mohan stays inside the first class waiting room while Lachmi remains outside. In the train, Sir Mohan travels by first-class while Lachmi accommodates herself in the Zenana compartment. So, Sir Mohan prefers commanding while Lachmi obeys him faithfully.

                Lachmi came to know that the trains in the route were mostly packed with passengers. It was difficult to get a seat. But the zenana compartment was relatively less crowded, and one could easily have a seat there.

2) "I am only a native women"- Give a short estimation of the speaker's character in the light of the above comment 

Ans: The speaker, Lachmi, is the wife of Sir Mohan Lal, the pivotal character in Khushwant Singh's short story "Karma". Lachmi is short and healthy in her physical structure. She may not be pretty, but there is no lack of goodness in her character. The most striking feature of her character is that she is down to earth, unlike her husband. She timidly obeys her husband and has resigned to the fact that she will never get proper recognition from him. But she is an extremely lovable character and is surely the representative of the Indian women in a male dominated society. The author presents her as an Indian who is fond of her own culture and language.

3) What is the role of irony of fate in the short story of Karma?

Ans: Irony plays an pivotal role in the short story "Karma". Sir Mohan travels in the first-class because he presumes that he knows the British manners. His wife Lachmi is made to travel in the zenana compartment because she does not know the British ways. But at the end of the story, it is ironical that Sir Mohan is thrown out of the compartment in spite of his adequate knowledge of British ways. On the other hand, Lachmi, his uneducated wife, gets respect from poor Indians and travels comfortably in the zenana compartment. So, fate, ironically, plays an important role in the short story, "Karma".

4) "Nor was he loud, aggressive and opinionated like them"- Who is referred to as 'he' and 'them'? In what context are the words spoken? Does Lachmi feel more at ease with common people?

Ans: 'He' refers to Sir Mohan Lal. 'Them' refers to the average Indians.

             Sir Mohan Lal desired to have an impressive conversation with an Englishman. But, unlike other average Indians, neither did he show any eagerness to talk to the Englishmen, nor was he 'loud, aggressive and opinionated' as an average Indian.

              Lachmi being an ordinary woman herself, felt at ease with common people. This is evident from the fact that she went on gossiping with the bearer and then with the railway coolie. This shows that she was more comfortable in talking with these ordinary people rather than with her aristocrat husband.

                     Leela's Friend


1) Where does the chain found at last? How did Leela and her parents react thereafter?
Ans: The chain was found in the tamarind pot in the kitchen. It was found by Leela's mother.
           
               The Sivasanker family did not show any notable regrets for their misconduct toward Sidda when they found the chain. Leela wanted to wear it right away and there was no evidence of her earlier warmth about sidda then. When Mr. Sivasanker arrived, Leela was blamed for the incident and he decided to go and tell the police about finding the chain, but he refused to appoint Sidda in their house as he was a criminal according to him.

2) "Doesn't seem to be a bad sort...'- Who says this? What is the context ? Why was Mr. Sivasanker 'unable to make up his mind'?

 Ans: The above words are expressed by Mr. Sivasanker.
     
       Mr. Sivasanker noticed Sidda quite well. He found that the man looked tidy, and in this context, he thought that the man searching for a job is not a bad sort.

          Mr. Sivasanker enquired the whereabouts of Sidda. But Sidda gave vague answers. Sidda told Mr. Sivasanker about his past working experience and when Sivasanker asked why his employer sent him away, Sidda gave a stock answer. He said that his employer had left the town. So Mr. Sivasanker was unable to make up his mind and wanted to know the opinion of his wife.

3) "Long ago, the other day"- Who said this? In what context was it said? What was the reaction of the hearer? 

Ans: These words were said by Leela.
       
           When the gold chain was found inside the tamarind pot, Leela said these words casually.

           These words have vexed the parents of Leela. Her mother asked when it was done. Leela's father blamed his daughter for being so careless. He even blamed his daughter for the incident. But what is striking is that Mr. Sivasanker still considered Sidda a criminal.

4) "It gave her great joy to play the teacher to sidda"- Who is 'she' and how did 'she' play the teacher to Sidda?

Ans: The word 'she' refers to Leela.
       
                   Leela was the five year old daughter of Mr. Sivasankar. Leela held a class for at dusk. She had a box filled with catalogues. There were illustrated books and stumps of pencils. Leela played the teacher to Sidda in great joy. The catalogue lay infront of him. Leel knew two or three letters of the alphabet. She could draw a kind of cat and crow. She then commanded him to copy what she had drawn or written. But Sidda could neither write nor draw anything. Leela then pitied him and redoubled her efforts to teach Sidda. Thus the class continued and Sidda's wrist got almost cracked.