Where the Mind is Without Fear
Where the mind is without fear
and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken
up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the
depths of truth;
Q. What is “narrow domestic walls”? OR What are the feelings invoked by the phrase, ‘domestic walls’
Narrow domestic walls’ are the barriers of class, caste, creed, color, religion, and other elements that divide people from one another. In most cases, they are baseless superstitious beliefs that are good for nothing.
Who was the intruder and what kind of a man was he?
The intruder was a thief who specialized in robbing jewelry. He was also a murderer as he had killed a policeman. He was a cruel man.
Why did Baldeo consider himself lucky?
Baldeo considered himself lucky because his job as a Khalasi at the station gave him and his family additional income. Their small rice field did not provide them with more than a bare living
Q1. For how many years had Aradhana been with her adopted parents?
Q2. What did Aunt Pramela want Aradhana to know about her own self?
A1. Aradhana had been with her adopted parents for almost eighteen years.
A2. Aunt Pramela wanted Aradhana to know that she was an adopted child.
Name the qualities the poet wishes to see in his countrymen in the poem “Where the Mind is Without Fear”.
The qualities that the poet wants to see in his countrymen are fearlessness, self-dignity, knowledge, truthfulness, diligence, rationality, and a broad mind. These qualities are required if they are to enjoy their country’s freedom to the fullest.
What did the Intruder plan to do as Vincent Charles Gerrard?
The Intruder planned to live as Gerrard in his cottage after murdering him. Since he looked like Gerrard and would dress and talk like him no one would be able to catch him.
Q 1 What was Baldeo responsible for?
Q2 Why was Baldeo not scared of going into the forest?
A1. Baldeo was responsible for signaling whether or not the tunnel was clear of obstructions, also he had to make sure the lamp was burning.
A2. Baldeo was not scared of going into the forest because being a tribal he was used to the jungle and its ways. He always carried a sharp steel axe with him, which he was skilled and confident in using. He had encountered and killed many wild animals with it.
Q1. Why were Aradhana’s family members proud of her?
Q2. What is the truth Aradhana wanted to find out? What did she actually discover?
A1. Aradhana’s family members were proud of her because she had been selected to inaugurate the Annual Show of the Kamla Devi Dance School.
A2. Aradhana wanted to find out whether she was an adopted child or not. She discovered that in spite of being an adopted child, she was loved and cared for by her family.
What is the poet’s concept of true freedom? or, What is the ‘heaven of freedom’ according to the poet?
According to the poet, to make our country a heaven of freedom, the people should be fearless, knowledgeable, truthful, rational, hard-working and broad-minded. A place where everyone is happy and free from all bonds.
Who is the more intelligent — Gerrard or the Intruder? Give reasons for your answer.
Gerrard is more intelligent as follows: -
He handled the dangerous situation in a calm manner.
He got the intruder to talk about his plans.
He made the intruder believe his cooked-up story.
He quickly fooled him into believing the police were after him and got him locked in the cupboard.
Q1 What was Baldeo’s duty at night?
Q2 What two facts related to Baldeo’s place of work show that it was a very dangerous place?
A1 Baldeo’s duty at night was to make sure the lamp was burning so that the overland mail passed through safely.
A2
The two facts related to Baldeo’s place of work show that it was a very dangerous place. Baldeo had heard many tales of the famous tunnel tiger, a man-eater who was supposed to frequent the tunnel. In addition, Baldeo had occasionally heard the sawing of a panther calling to its mate.
Aradhana in the story, I Must Know the Truth appeared at the stage rather late. Why did she delay her appearance?
Aradhana was delayed at the stage because when she got to know that she was an adopted child she was shocked and confused for a while. Then she left the makeup room in pain and hate and fled towards the parking lot and took some time to think about what she had found out.
Where words come out from the depths of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection:
Where the clear stream of reason has not its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit:
(i) What kind of human interaction of thought or action must be there in a country that the poet envisions of India?
(ii) Explain: ‘tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection.
(iii) What are dead habits?
(iv) Find words from the passage which mean the same as:
Continuous efforts (b) dry.
(i) The human interaction of thought and action among human beings should be based on the depths of truth in that country which the poet envisions of India.
(ii) It means that there should be continuous efforts that should be aimed at achieving perfection.
(iii) Dead habits mean obsolete customs which have no relevance today.
(iv) (a) striving (b) dreary.
How did Gerrard defeat the intention of the Intruder? OR How and where did Gerrard trap the intruder?
Gerrard defeated the intention of the Intruder by making up a story about the police being after him. He asked the intruder to run away with him as the police would arrive at any time. He showed him the packed bag with the disguise. When the telephone ran he pretended to rush out of the house to the garage to get in the car. He opened a door and when the intruder peered in, he pushed him into the cupboard, knocking the revolver out of his hand, slamming the door and locking, picking up the revolver, and went to the phone.
Q1 What did Baldeo do when he saw the tiger trotting towards him? Why did he not run away?
Q2 Why did Tembu sit near the body of his father all night?
Q3 In what circumstances did the tiger enter the tunnel?
A1 Baldeo didn’t run because flight was useless, for in the dark the tiger would be more sure-footed than Baldeo and would soon be upon him from behind.
A2 Tembu sat near the body of his father all night because he was guarding the body against jackals and hyenas.
A3
The tiger entered the tunnel because as the train entered the cutting, the engine whistled once. Then the tiger raised his head, slowly got to his feet, and found himself trapped.
What fact related to Aradhana’s life disturbed her? Why did she feel that way? How did she convey it to others?
The fact related to Aradhana’s life that disturbed her was that she was an adopted child. She felt that way because her family kept it as a secret from her. Aradhana was extremely shocked and hurt. She did not want her grandmother or sister to console her. Instead, she wanted to be left alone and to know the truth. She fled sobbing from the makeup room into the carpark to be alone with her confused thoughts.
What does the poet mean by “head is held high” and “ever-widening thought and action”?
‘Head is held high’ indicates that we should not be ashamed of ourselves. Rather we should be proud of our country, for what we have. A sense of self-dignity is what we need to enjoy our freedom fully.
‘Ever widening thought and action’ means that we should not be narrow or shallow in our mentality. People should have a broad mind and a broad heart. They should enrich their thinking day by day. We should also better our works gradually. In short, we should develop ourselves to become a better thinker and a more efficient performer.
The Intruder had come to Gerrard’s house with a specific plan in his mind. What was his plan? Did he succeed?
The Intruder, Vincent Charles, was a criminal. He was a jewel thief. He had once killed a cop and was on the run from the police. He chanced to see Gerrard and decided to kill Gerrard and take on his identity. He found out that Gerrard had a car, he did not have many visitors, phoned his orders, and moved in and out of the cottage suddenly. His plan was foiled by Gerrard and he was locked up in a cupboard.
Q 1 Why was Tembu not afraid of going into the forest?
Q 2 What did Tembu start doing three days after his father’s death? Why?
Q3 What do you understand about tribal people and their way of life from the lesson, ‘The Tiger in the Tunnel’?
A1 Tembu was not afraid of going into the forest because his father had killed the tiger, and besides, he had his father’s ax and he now knew how to use it. He thought since his father had killed the tiger, the forest gods were happy.
A2. Three days after his father’s death Tembu was at the cutting, lighting the signal-lamp for the overland mail to go safely. He was doing this job because all the responsibility of taking care of his family now fell on Tembu.
A3. They live in a small tribal village on the outskirts of the forest in small huts. They are not afraid of wild animals because they always carried an axe or any other weapon. They are fearless and agile. In addition, they are knowledgeable about the environment and they pray to the forest gods.
What was Simmi’s attitude towards Aradhana?
Simmi’s attitude towards Aradhana was that she cared for her and she treated her like her actual sister and not adopted. She found her beautiful and was not jealous of her, in spite of Aradhana being more talented than her. She spent all the time with her before the show which shows that she cared.