Question

The postmaster first took up his duties in the village of Ulapur, Though the
village was a small one, there was an indigo factory nearby, and the
proprietor, an Englishman, had managed to get a post office established. Our
postmaster
belonged to Calcutta. He felt like a fish out of water in this remote
village. His office and living-room were in a dark thatched shed, not far from
a green, slimy pond, surrounded on all sides by a dense growth.
The men employed in the indigo factory had no leisure moreover, they were
hardly desirable companions for decent folk. Nor is a Calcutta boy an adept in
the art of associating with others. Among strangers he appears either proud or
ill at ease. At any rate, the postmaster had but little company, nor had he much
to do. At times he tried his hand at writing a verse or two. That the movement
of the leaves and the clouds of the sky were enough to fill life with joy-such
were the sentiments to which he sought to give expression. But God knows
that the poor fellow would have felt it as the gift of a new life iſ some genie of
the Arabian Nights had in one night swept away the trees, leaves and all, and
replaced them with a macudamised road, hiding the clouds from view with
rows of tall houses.
The postmaster's salary was small. He had to cook his own meals, which he
used to share with Ratan, an orphan girl of the village, who did odd jobs for
him. When in the evening the smoke began to curl up from the village cow-
sheds, and the cicadas chirped in every bush, the postmaster would light his
little lamp, and call out 'Ratan.' Ratan would sit outside waiting for this call,
and, instead of coming in at once, would reply: "Did you call
me, sir?''
What
are you doing?" the postmaster would ask. I must be going to light the kitchen
fire, 'would be the answer. And the postmaster would say: 'Oh, let the kitchen
fire be for awhile; light me my pipe first. Ai lust Ratan would enter, with
puffed-out cheeks, vigorously blowing into a flame a live coal to light the
tobacco. This would give the postmaster an opportunity of conversing. 'Well,
Ratan, perhaps he would begin do you remember anything of your mother?
That was a fertile subject, Ratan partly remembered, and partly didn'ı, Her
father had been fonder of her than her mother; him she recollected more
vividly. He used to come home in the evening after his work, and one or two
evenings stood out more clearly than others, like picture in her memory. Ratan
would squat on the floor near the postmaster's feet, as memories crowded in
upon her. She called to mind a little brother that she had and how on some
bygone cloudy day she had played at fishing with him on the edge of the
pond, with a twig for a make-believe fishing-rod. Such little incidents would
drive out greater events from her mind.
Thus, as they talked, it would often get very late, and the postmaster would
feel too lazy to do any cooking at all. Ratan would then hastily light the fire,
and toast some unleavened bread, which with the cold remnants of the
morning meal, was enough for their supper.
a. Three words from the passage are given below. Give the meaning of each word
as used in the passage. One word answer or short phrases will be accepted. [3]
1. remote
ii. Adept
111. remnants
b. Answer the following questions:
i. What improvements were made in the village which made it better than
other villages?
[21
ii. Why did the postmaster feel like a fish out of water?
[2]
iii. Who was Rauan? What did she do for the postmaster?
[2]
iv. Why did the postmaster have little company?
[31
e. In not more than 50 words state how the postmaster kept himself occupied.
[8]​

Answer 1

Answer:

oohh this mich big question we can't read too.

Then how can we tell..

Explanation:

plz tell in short form..

then I can tell..okay