Question 255
MediumOriginal questionHis name was Iswar. He had been a village schoolmaster before. He was a , proper and dignified personage. The Earth seemed too earthy for him, with too little water to keep it sufficiently clean; so that he had to be in a constant state of warfare with its soiled state. He would shoot his water-pot into the tank with a lightning movement so as to get his supply from an depth. It was he who, when bathing in the tank, would be continually thrusting away the surface till he took a sudden plunge expecting, as it were, to catch the water unawares. When walking his right arm stood out at an angle from his body, as if, so it seemed to us, he could not trust the cleanliness even of his own garments. His whole bearing had the appearance of an effort to keep clear of the imperfections which, through unguarded avenues, find entrance into earth, water and air, and into the ways of men. was the depth of his . With head slightly tilted he would mince his carefully selected words in a deep voice.
This schoolmaster had discovered a way of keeping us quiet in the evenings. Every evening he would gather us round the cracked castor-oil lamp and read out to us stories from the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Some of the other servants would also come and join the audience. The lamp would be throwing huge shadows right up to the beams of the roof, the little house lizards catching insects on the walls, the bats doing a mad dance round and round the verandahs outside, and we listening in silent open-mouthed wonder.
What is the writer's attitude towards Iswar?
Show the answer and explanation
Correct answer: C
Explanation
The writer smiles at Iswar's fussiness: plunging into the tank "to catch the water unawares", holding his arm away from his own clothes.
But the second paragraph ends in "silent open-mouthed wonder" at his stories, remembered with warmth.
Worth noting
The descriptions are playful, not bitter. The fond memory of the readings shows affection.
- Concept
- Identifying a writer's attitude
- Typical timeTypical
- 45 s
- Your timeYours
- —
Ten questions from Literary passages, at your own pace.