Question

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:
He would have gone on worrying and worrying in this way if an

unexpected distraction had not arrived in the form of a heavily loaded car

bumping over the grassy bank, dodging between the coconut trees and

raising a cloud of dust in the narrow path before it came to a standstill in

front of Mon Repos, the white bungalow that stood empty most of the year.

It was the de Silvas, the family that came from Bombay to spend an

occasional holiday in it and bring it suddenly to life for a few days. They

had bought Mon Repos a year ago from the Vakils who had been one of

the first Bombay families to build holiday cottages on the Thul beach. But

they had grown too old and frail to come often and, after the house has

stood empty for several years, sold it to the de Silvas who were young and

energetic and seemed heartily to enjoy life on the beach. Whenever they

came, life changed for the family and the little hut, too. Immediately there

was a hubbub, all kinds of excitement and expectations, and of course work

to be done, employment to be had and wages.

Hari, Bela and Kamal stood by their door under the frangipani tree,

tense with excitement watching and holding Pinto back as he barked at the unfamiliar sight of a car and stranger till his voice was quite hoarse. There

was a commotion in the marshy creek that separated the hut from the house,

too – herons, egrets, kingfishers and moorhens all flapping into the dense

greenery of the pandanus, the casuarina and the bhindi trees for shelter.

‘Do you think they have come here for good?’ Bela whispered.

‘Hunh – who would live here if he had a house in Bombay?’ Hari

scoffed.

‘But look how much luggage they’ve brought – it can't be just for a few

days,’ Bella said, and it was true that an unbelievable number of boxes and

bags and baskets were being taken out of the car, out of the boot and off the

luggage carrier so that anyone would have thought they had come to stay

forever.
Answer the following questions briefly, in your own words.

(i) Who were the Vakils?

(ii) Why was the house more suited to the De Silvas?

(iii) Who was Pinto?

(iv) What effect did the noise have on the natural surroundings?

(v) From Hari’s answer to Bela’s question what opinion does Hari have

of Bombay?

[2]

[2]

[1]

[2]

[2]

(c) In not more than 50 words describe how the arrival of the De Silvas

changed life for the family in the little hut.

Answer 1

they are the one whose family is beautiful but in my thoughts I think it would not be like that