(12 Marks)
Read the following passage carefully.
(1) With my mother's permission and blessings, I set off exultantly for Bombay, but
friends told my brother that the Indian Ocean was rough in June and July, and as this wac
but on arrival there,
my first
er had
voyage. I should not be allowed to sail until NOvember, bomeone also reported that a steama
just been sunk in a gale. This made my brother uneasy, and he refused to take the risk of s.
sume his
me to sail immediately. Leaving me with a friend in Bombay, he returned to Raikot ta ros
duty. Time hung heavily on my hands in Bombay. I dreamt continually of going to England
England up to now, and ifI dared to do so, I ought to be brought to book! A general meetinc of the
caste was called and I was summoned to appear before it. I went. How I suddenly managed to
muster up courage I do not know. Nothing daunted, and without the slightest hesitation, I ea
(2) Meanwhile my caste-people were agitated over my going abroad. No Modh Bania had hor
came
before the meeting.
(3) The Sheth -
the headman of the community -
who was distantly related to me and was on vere
good terms with my father, thus accosted me: 'In the opinion of the caste, your proposal to go to
England is not proper. Our religion forbids voyages abroad. We have also heard that it is not
possible to live there without compromising our religion!' To which I replied: 'I do not think it is at
all against our religion to go to England. Iintend going there for further studies. And I have already
solemnlypromised to my mother to abstain from three things you fear most. I am sure the vow wil
keep me safe.'
(4) 'But,' rejoined the Sheth, 'You know my relations with your father and you ought to listen to my
advice. 'I know, saidI. 'You are as an elder to me. But I am helpless in this matter. I cannot alter
my resolve to go to England. My father's friend and adviser, who is a learned Brahman, sees no
objection to my going to England, and my mother and brother have also given me their permission.
'But will you disregard the orders of the caste?' 'I am really helpless. I think the caste should not
interfere in the matter. This incensed the Sheth. He swore at me and pronounced his order: This
boy shall be treated as an outcaste from today. Whoever helps him shall be punishable with a fine of
one rupee four annas.
(5) The order had no effect on me, and I took my leave ofthe Sheth.
Based on an excerpt from the story of My Experiments with Truth'by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
(8+4 12 Marks) On the basis of your reading of the passage, answer the following questions.
Short Answer Questions (4x2=8 Marks)
(a) Why was the author extremely happy while leaving for Bombay? Why was he restless after reacn
there?a) Who was the 'Sheth? What'proposal' ofthe narrator did he find'improper' and why?
(c) In what ways did the author's opinion about going abroad differ from that of his fellow caste men?
(d) Why was the Sheth upset at the author's refusal to agree to his advice? How did he express his anger?
Vocabulary (4x 1=4 Marks)
(e) Which word in paragraph 1 can be replaced by the word 'cheerfully'?
Which word in paragraph 2 of the passage is similar in meaning to 'frightened'? (
Find a word in paragraph 3 that means the opposite of'avoided or ignored'.
(h) Which word in paragraph 4 of the passage means 'extremely angry'?
Answers
Answer:
With my mother's permission and blessings, I set off exultantly for Bombay, leaving my wife with a baby of a few months. But on arrival there friends told my brother that the Indian Ocean was rough in June and July, and as this was my first voyage, I should not be allowed to sail until November. Someone also reported that a steamer had just been sunk in a gale. This made my brother uneasy, and he refused to take the risk of allowing me to sail immediately. Leaving me with a friend in Bombay, he returned to Rajkot to resume his duty. He put the money for my travelling expenses in the keeping of a brother-in-law, and left word with some friends to give me whatever help I might need.
Time hung heavily on my hands in Bombay. I dreamt continually of going to England.
Meanwhile my caste-people were agitated over my going abroad. No Modh Bania had been to England up to now, and if I dared to do so, I ought to be brought to book! A general meeting of the caste was called and I was summoned to appear before it. I went. Now I suddenly managed to muster up courage I do not know. Nothing daunted, and without the slightest hesitation, I came before the meeting. The Sheth – the headman of the community – who was distantly related to me and had been on very good terms with my father, thus accosted me:
'In the opinion of the caste, your proposal to go to England is not proper. Our religion forbids voyages abroad. We have also heard that it is not possible to live there without compromising out religion. One is obliged to eat and drink with Europeans!'
To which I replied: 'I do not think it is at all against our religion to go to England. I intend going there for further studies. And I have solemnly promised to my mother to abstain from three things you fear most. I am sure the vow will keep me safe.'
'But we tell you,' rejoined the Sheth, 'that it is not possible to keep our religion there. You know my relations with your father and you ought to listen to my advice.'
'I know those relations.' said I. 'And you are as an elder to me. But I am helpless in this matter. I cannot alter my resolve to go to England. My father's friend and adviser, who is a learned Brahman, sees no objection to my gong to England, and my mother and brother have also given me their permission.'
'But will you disregard the orders of the caste?'
'I am really helpless. I think the caste should not interfere in the matter.'
This incensed the Sheth. He swore at me. I sat unmoved. So the Sheth pronounced his order: 'This boy shall be treated as an outcaste from today. Whoever helps him or goes to see him off at the dock shall be punishable with a fine of one rupee four annas.'
The order had no effect on me, and I took my leave of the Sheth. But I wondered how my brother would take it. Fortunately he remained firm and wrote to assure me that I had his permission to go, the Sheth's order notwithstanding.
The incident, however, made me more anxious than ever to sail. What would happen if they succeeded in bringing pressure to bear on my brother? Supposing something unforeseen happened? As I was thus worrying over my predicament, I heard that a Junagadh vakil was going to England, for being called to the bar, by a boat sailing on the 4th of September. I met the friends to whose care my brother had commended me. They also agreed that I should not let go the opportunity of going in such company. There was no time to be lost. I wired to my brother for permission, which he granted. I asked my brother-in-law to give me the money. But he referred to the order of the Sheth and said that he could not afford to lose caste. I then sought a friend of the family and requested him to accommodate me to the extent of my passage and sundries, and to recover the loan from my brother. The friend was not only good enough to accede to my request, but he cheered me up as well. I was so thankful. With part of the money I at once purchased the passage. Then I had to equip myself for the voyage. There was another friend who had experience in the matter. He got clothes and other things ready. Some of the clothes I liked and some I did not like at all. The necktie, which I delighted in wearing later, I then abhorred. The short jacket I looked upon as immodest. But this dislike was nothing before the desire to go to England, which was uppermost in me. Of provisions also I had enough and to spare for the voyage. A berth was reserved for me by my friends in the same cabin as that of Sjt. Tryambakrai Mazmudar, the Junagadh vakil. They also commended me to him. He was an experienced man of mature age and knew the world. I was yet a stripling of eighteen without any experience of the world. Sjt. Mazmudar told my friends not to worry about me.
I sailed at last from Bombay on the 4th of September.
Explanation:
hope it will help you