English Communication Skill Exam Paper PDF - April 2024 (2 Year Course)

Subject Code :- 90000001 Exam – April 2024 (2 Year Course) Group : All Groups Course: All Courses. Subject: English (Communication Skill) Theory Marks:- 70...

Subject Code :- 90000001 Exam – April 2024 (2 Year Course) Group : All Groups Course: All Courses. Subject: English (Communication Skill) Theory Marks:- 70 Time Allowed:- 3 Hrs General Instructions 1. If there is conflict among bilingual question, question in English should be considered. Q.1) A. Fill in the blanks. 5 1) The teacher ________ (teach) in the classroom. (Subject-verb agreement) 2) Rani or her friends _____ coming. (is/are) 3) I was running on the road. (Identify the tense) 4) Will you finish your homework? (Identify the tense) 5) I will write a book. (Change the tense to perfect past tense) B. State True or False. 5 1) Robert Browning wrote the poem Mourn for me Mumbai. 2) Frost chose the third path. 3) Preamble of the Indian constitution was written in 2000. 4) The Last Leaf is a short story. 5) Patriot is a poem about patriotism. C. State long form. 5 1) RTI- 2) FYI- 3) DIY- 4) CC- 5) BCC- D. Match the pairs. 5 Group-A Group-B 1) Robert Frost a) Patriot 2) Indu K. Mallah b) How I Began Life 3) Nissim Ezekiel c) The Homecoming 4) Mahatma K. Gandhi d) Mourn for me Mumbai 5) Rabindranath Tagore e) The Road Not Taken Q.2) Answer the following. (Any 1) 15 1) Describe in detail the physical barrier along with examples? 2) Differentiate between horizontal and vertical communication. Q.3) Answer the following. (Any 2) 15 1) Explain the significance of the title The Last Leaf. 2) Summarize the poem Work by D. H. Lawrence. 3) Explain in detail the RTI act. Q.4) Answer the following. (Any 4) 20 1) Write in detail the summary of The Panorama of India’s Past. 2) How according to Lawrence work has to be done? 3) Write a job application for the post of Sr. accountant in the Times of India. 4) Summarize the story The Homecoming by Rabirndranath Tagore 5) GIve a detailed note on channels of communication. OR Q.4) Answer the following. (Any 4) 20 1) Types of communication 2) Telephone Etiquettes 3) Email Étiquettes 4) Feedback loop 5) Communication  English Communication^^ DhruvPublications TTT..r ikthta — INDIA ; ----- PREAMBLE WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly rp constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR fr REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens : JUSTICE, social, economic and political; LIBERTY ofofthought, EQUALITY expression, status and belief, faith and wo S^P: of opportunity; and to promote among them all FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individ [unity and integrity of the Nation] Ua* and IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twentv e L ' November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVF rn„th daV of THIS CONSTITUTION. VE T° 01jRSELVes 4f$rcET rMI^I HH^d dPlfbbidl: folR, Rfwfe, R aDDendage of Britain, and all over and stability, was a slave co t y, and brutalilmg the world terrible and deva“ tbousand years gave me a new humanity. But “ ™d°en o the present seemed to grow lighter, perspective, and the burden P Rr;t;eU ruie in India were just The hundred and eighty yeai s.of B ti h rule in one of the unhappy interludes in her long sto y, The worW again; already the last page of this chapter was be g also will survive the horror of today and build itselt ane foundations. A  English Communication SkiH Dhruv Publications nT~ my EXPERIENCE BY TRUTH^IO-Gandhi HOW I BEGAN LIFE My elder brother had built high hopes on me. The esire or wealth and name and fame was great in him. He had a big heart, Sener°u to a fault. This, combined with his simple nature, had attracte o 1 many friends, and through them he expected to get me brie s. e assumed that I should have a swinging practice and ha , in a expectation, allowed the household expenses to become top- eavy. e had also left no stone unturned in preparing the field for my practice. The storm in my caste over my foreign voyage was still brewing. It had divided the caste into two camps, one of which immediate y readmitted me, while the other was bent on keeping me out. To please the former my brother took me to Nasik before going to Rajkot, gave me a bath in the sacred river and, on reaching Rajkot, gave a caste dinner. 1 did not like all this. But my brother's love for me was boundless, and my devotion to him was in proportion to it, and so I mechanically acted as he wished, taking his will to be law. The trouble about readmission to the caste was thus practically over. I never tried to seek admission to the section that had refused it. Nor did 1 feel even mental resentment against any of the headmen of that section. Some of these regarded me with dislike, but I scrupulously avoided hurting their feelings. 1 fully respected the caste regulations about excommunication. According to these, none of my relations, including my father-in-law and mother-in-law, and even my sister and brother-in-law, could entertain me; and I would not so much as drink water at their houses. They were prepared secretly to evade the prohibition, but it went against the grain with me to do a thing in secret that I would not do in public. The result of my scrupulous conduct was that I never had occasion to be troubled by the caste; nay, I have experienced nothing but affection and generosity from the general body of the section that still regards me as excommunicated. They have even helped me in my work, without ever expecting me to do anything for the caste. It is my conviction that all these good things are due to my non-resistance. Had I agitated for being admitted to the caste, had 1 attempted to divide it into more camps, had 1 provoked the castemen, they would surely have retaliated, and instead of steering clear of the storm, I should on arrival  English Commun; Dhruv Publications f0und myself in a whirlpool of agitatTo^ 3 P3rty mv reSX“^ my Wif' Were Sf" " i135 ' dl^d My r, d had not cured me of jealousy, i % stay in Englan $ iciousneSs in respect of every lim tlnUed J squeamishness desires remained unfulfilled. 1 had a ? he"Cfs±X X and writing and that, ££ SXbutS lust came in the way and she had to 's> Cj own shortcoming. Once I went the length of sending her awavS tohe's house, and consented to rece.ve her back only after I h' her thoroughly miserable. I saw later that all this was pure folly J"’* P j had planned reform in the education of children, My k had children, and my own child which I had left at home when I w’*' England was now a boy of nearly four It was my desire to teach t " little ones physical exercise and make them hardy, and also to giVe the benefit of my personal guidance, in this I had my brother's sup and I succeeded in my efforts more or less. I very much liked th, company of children, and the habit of playing and joking with them has stayed with me till today. I have ever since thought that I should make a good teacher of children. The necessity for food ’reform' was obvious. Tea and coffee had already found their place in the house. My brother had thought it fit to keep some sort of English atmosphere ready for me on my return, and to that end, crockery and such other things, which used to be kept in the house only for special occasions, were now in general use. My reforms put the finishing touch. I introduced oatmeal porridge, and cocoa was to replace tea and coffee. But in truth it became an addition to tea and coffee. Boots and shoes were already there. I completed the Europeanization by adding the European dress. Expenses thus went up. New things were added every day. e had succeeded in tying a white elephant at our door. But how was t e wherewithal to be found? To start practice in Rajkot would have meant sure ridicule. I had hardly the knowledge of a Vfo0| and yet I expected to be paid ten times his fee! No client woul enough to engage me. And even if such a one was to be found, s 0. add arrogance and fraud to my ignorance, and increase the bur debt 1 owed to the world? 8  English Communication SkiH phruv Publications " Friends advised me to go to Bombay for some time in order to gain experience of the High Court, to study Indian law and to try get what briefs I could. I took up the suggestion and went. In Bombay I started a household with a cook as incompetent as myself. He was a Brahman. I did not treat him as a servant but as a member of the household. He would pour water over himself but never wash. His dhoti was dirty, as also his sacred thread, and he was completely innocent of the scriptures. But how was I to get a better cook? 'Well, Ravishankar,' (for that was his name), I would ask him, 'you may not know cooking, but surely you must know your sandhya (daily worship), etc. '#Sandhya#, sir! the plough is our sandhya and the spade our daily ritual. That is the type of Brahman I am. I must live on your mercy. Otherwise agriculture is of course there for me.' So I had to be Ravishankar's teacher. Time I had enough. I began to do half the cooking myself and introduced the English experiments in vegetarian cookery. I invested in a stove, and with Ravishankar began to run the kitchen. 1 had no scruples about interdining, Ravishankar too came to have none, and so we went on merrily together. There was only one obstacle. Ravishankar had sworn to remain dirty and to keep the food unclean! But it was impossible for me to get along in Bombay for more than four or five months, there being no income to square with the ever- increasing expenditure. This was how 1 began life. I found the barrister 's profession a bad job - much show and little knowledge. I felt a crushing sense of my responsibility.  English Communion, __ llnb St. DlmvPubhcatfog r^AcUOOS The Rlgh transparency in governance and account!-? %, towards ensuring tra P |( a precondition t0 good gQ Jbilit, ' public ("Xcitizens to keep an eye upon the working ^te., empowers ordinary.$ transparent there is more J authority, f a 2° for corruption. The preamble of S fl* 2005 deClarC! forma“which are vital to its function! aC“1"'Tfos law to'been enacted by the parliament of |ndia. October 2005. Any Indian citizen can request for governin’* information by applying under the provts.on under RTI act. Moreover is mandatory for the concerned office bearer to respond it within th stipulated time. It is applicable to all States and Union Territories u India, except the State ofjammu and Kashmir, which is covered under; separate State-level law. Sweden is the first Nation which implemented RTI law in 1766 for the first time. Basically it was enacted by the Parliament of Sweden for access to the information held by the King. The Swedish example was followed by the US after 200 years by implementing its first law of Freedom of Information (FOI) in 1966 and then by Norway in 1970 However, the US passed a strong FOI law in 1976. The majority of western democracies such as France, Netherlands Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Denmark, Greece, Austria and Italy enacted their own laws of FOI in the succeeding years. By 2010, more than 85 countries have their own national level RTI. In India the Right to Information derives its basis from three sources constitutional, democratic and logical. The constitutional basis comes from Article 19(1) (a) of the Indian constitution, it states that "Al f? 3Ve dle t0 f|eecl°m of speech and expression." However, all and exPression obviously encompass the right of count wL 3nd be ,nformed' Secondly, India is a democrat; People. The publicTervanfoT * peOple'by the pe°ple “ley am either elected nr nn 1 derive power from the PeoP,e as th \ nominated by the people or by representatives oft 10 ^u^^^hHcations^^^^^^^^^^EngHsh^ConTmunication Skill _ people directly or indirectly. Therefore, they exercise power on behalf of people. Therefore, people must get information from their representatives if they desire. The third basis for RTI is logical. As the Citizens pay taxes, they have a right to know how their money is being spent, by whom, when and where. r1OQQ The RTI diminishes the influence of Official Secret Act of 1889 amended in 1923 and various other special laws that restricted information disclosure in India. The common citizens of India got an enormous power and full access to the government information throug l this act. Under the provisions of the Act, any Indian citizen excluding the citizens within Jammu and Kashmir may apply for information from a 'public authority' which is required to reply within the stipulated time. The Act also requires every public authority to computerised their records for wide dissemination of information and to take initiative to publish certain categories of information for the knowledge of the citizens. The RTI Act specifies that citizens have a right to request any information; inspect documents, works and records; take certified samples of materials; obtain information in the form of disks, floppies, tapes, video cassettes or in any other electronic mode or through printouts where such information is stored in a computer or any other device; take notes, extracts or certified copies of documents or records. The RTI act expects timely reply to the requests of the application for government information. It applies to all the states and Union Territories of India except the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The earlier FOI Act 2002 failed to disclose the information as per the expectations. Obviously, it led to a sustained pressure for a better National RTI enactment. The first draft of the RTI Bill was tabled to the Parliament on 22 December 2004. Subsequently, more than a hundred amendments to the draft were made before the bill was finally passed. The Law encompasses all constitutional authorities, including the executive, legislature and Judiciary; any institution or body constituted or established by an act of Parliament or a state legislature. The act is applicable to the bodies or authorities established or constituted by order or notification of government. It includes bodies owned controlled or substantially financed by government, or non­ Government organizations. However, the private bodies are not within the spheres of RTI act directly. The Public Information Officer (PIO) must be appointed by all authorities covered under the law. If any person 11  scheduled security agencies, the time limit is 45 days. In such cases*tU prior permission of the Central Information Commission is necessary However, if life or liberty of any person is involved in the information5 asked, the PIO is expected to reply within 48 hours. - The applicants, except Below Poverty Line (BPL) citizens have to c pay the prescribed fees for the requisite information. The PIO shouldr cither deny the request in whole or part and should provide a a computation of fees to be paid by the applicant. If information is note provided within the specified time limit, it is treated as deemed refusal, i Refusal with or without reasons may be ground for appeal or complaint. In such cases, further information not provided in the time prescribed is' to be provided free of charge. I RT1 is not applicable in some cases. Information received in ‘ confidence from foreign Government! information which mav obstruct 1 12 hruv Publications English Communication Skill_ le work audit of all RTI requests made to various public auth°r‘‘,eS' umber of cases when applicants were not given permission^to a c cess le documents which they requested, the provisions of the Act unoe 'hich these decisions were made and the number o 1 rovisions were filed; details of disciplinary action taken against a y fficer who avoids careful exercise of the Act; and the amount ox ees □llected by each public authority under the RTI Act. The Act has been criticized on several grounds. It provides formation on demand, but does not take initiative to voluntarily eclare information related to food, water, environment and other urvival needs by public authorities. In the scenario of high illiter acy and overty the Act does not emphasize on educating people about their ight to access information related to their welfare. Without widespread ducation and awareness about the possibilities under the new Act, its ffectiveness would be hampered. The Act also reinforces the controlling ole of the government officers, who retain wide discretionary powers o withhold information. Restrictions on information related to national ecurity, foreign policy, defence, law enforcement and public safety are icceptable. But the Right to Information Act also excludes Cabinet lapers, including records of the council of ministers, secretaries and ither officials, which effectively shields the whole process of decision- naking from mandatory disclosure. Another objectio is.□ the recent imendment which excludes disclosure of file notings from the purview )f the Act. It is these notes that explain the rationale behind policy naking process. By enacting the RTI Act-2005 India has moved from an arbitrary system of governance to the beginning of an era where there will be greater transparency and answerability. The citizens will be empowered ind become the true centre of power as expected in Gandhian Swaraj empowering the common citizen is a small but significant step towards 'Orruptmn free and transparent democracy in India. With the enactment )f this Act India has taken a small step towards transparency in governance and achieving real Swaraj. Introduction to the Author: This article is compiled and edited by the Board of Studies in English, North Maharashtra University, Jalgaon. The major source of this article is "The Right to Information Act", 2005, Current Publications Mumbai, 2012. '  English Communj Dhruv Publications PuMic p ? Information Officers; , ™ « ner law penaltoprovisions provisions for failure ensure maximum to disclosur° minimum exemptions, consistentwith the constitutional provisionj * Xtive mechanism for access^ information and disclos, J..1 It gives authorities. an enormous ~power to the common citibCl0SUre' ---------------- to fight against corruption and human rights violation. nS of ,nd IMPORTANT WORDS 1. Accountability - answerability, resp 2. Preamble: introduction 3. Vital: important 4. Mandatory: obligatory, compulsory 5. Concerned: related 6. Implement: put in practice 7. Access: entry 8. Derive: draw from, get 9. Encompass: include, cover 10. Diminish: reduce, 11. Enormous: huge, very big 12. Restrict: limit, confine 13. Disseminate: distribute, circulate 14. Initiative: enterprise, attempt 15. O'Train: achieve, set 14  English Communication SkiN ^Dhruv Publications 23. Discretionary, flexible, optional i 24. To shield (V): to protect i 25. Arbitrary: illogical, capricious H A ASSIGNMENT 1___________ — ------------------. Q. Answer the following in about 50 words each. (1) Define RTI Act -2005? j 2) What is the basis of RTI Act in India? -3) Which country took initiative in enactment of the information act? ! When? 4) What is the time limit to get the information? 5) What is the structure of information dissemination machinery? 6) How does RTI Act empower common citizens? 7) How does the RTI Act reflect transparency in democracy? 8) What positive changes has RTI brought in governance? 9) Which information and departments are exempted from RTI Act? i 10) Why is the RTI Act criticised? Q. Vocabulary exercise: 1) Give synonyms: ordinary, vital, mandatory, freedom, encompass, exercise, diminish, enormous, disclose, deny, obstruct, povei cy, hamper. 2) Give antonyms: public, ordinary, vital, succeeding, majority, freedom, literacy, poverty, deny, disclose. 3) Make nouns from: to implement, to table, vital, to exempt, enormous, to restrict, to obstruct. 4) Make verbs from: constitution, freedom, vital, succeeding, initiative, dissemination, prosecution. 5) Give acronyms of the following terms: a) Right to Information b) Freedom of Information c) Chief Information Commissioner, d) Public Information Officer e) United States. Q. Grammar Exercise: Do as directed 1) It is a precondition to good governance. (Make it exclamatory) 15  English Communications^, Dhruv Publications I > - Rabindranath TagOre THE HOMECOMING - leader of the gang, oftne gang, suddenly had..«u a bri Phatik Chakrab > Jog( just waiting to g. idea. Lying By the rive () R a|ong, without giving a a mast. Everyone M.nconvenience that would be caused to tt the surprise, annoy X al| {he boys fe|| jn person who need Jhe log a SU?8 iustfte^Phatik'syounger brother Makhanlal came andsole^ sat on the log. The boys were rather nonplussed by his haught d missive attitude.One of them went up to hurt and nervously tried i nush hin off but he refused to budge. Wise beyond his years, ( continued to ponder the vanity of allchildishgames/You'll pay for this said Phatik briindishing his fist. Clear old.’But Makhanlal mere adjusted his perch and settled down even more immovably on the log.) this kind of situation, Phatik ought to have preserved his supremacy ovi the other boys by delivering immediately a hearty slap on his waywar brother's cheek-but he didn't dare. Instead he assumed a mannt implying thathe could, had he so wished, have meted out this customar punishment, but hewasn't going to, because a more amusing idea ha occurred to him. Why not, he proposed, roll the log over with Makhanl; on it?Makhan at first saw glory in this; he did not think (nor did anyon else) thatlike other worldly glories it might carry dangers. The boy rolled up their sleeves and began to push - Heave ho! Heave ho! Over w go! 'With one spin of the log, Makhan solemnity, glory and wisdor crashed to the ground. The other boys were delighted at such ai unexpectedly quick outcome, but Phatik was rather embarrassec Makhan immediately jumped up endthrew himself onto him, hitting hin with blind rage and scratching his nose and cheeks. Then he made hi way home tearfully.The game having been spoilt, Phatik pulled up a fev reeds, andclimbing on to the prow of a half-sunk boat sat quietly chewinj them. Aboat-not a local one-came up to the moorjng-place. A middle aged gentleman with a black moustache but grey hair stepped ashore 'Where isthe Chakravartis 'house? he asked the boy. Over there, repliec Phatik, still chewing the reed-stalks. But no one would have been able tc understand which direction to take. 'Where?' asked the gentleman arain Don tknow/saidPhatik, and he carried on as before, sucking juicefrorr the stalks. The gentleman had to ask others to help him find the house 18  ^Dhruv Publications English Communication Skill Suddenly BaghaBagdi (a servant) appeared and said, Phatik - dada, Mothers calling you."Shan't go,' said Phatik.He struggled and kicked ^helplessly as Bagha picked him up bodilyand carried him home. His mother shouted furiously when she saw him:You ve beaten up Ma an ^again!"I didn't beat him up."How dare you lie to me?"I did not beat him t(up. Ask him.’When Makhan was questioned he stuck to his earlier ’iaccusation, saying, 'He did beat me up.' Phatik could not stand this any *i more. He chargedat Makhan and thumped him hard, shouting, So who s lying now?’ Hismother, taking Makhan's part, rushed and slapped I) Phatik's back several times heavily. He pushed her away. So you d lay }hands on your ownmother?' she screamed.At that moment the black- k grey gentleman entered the house and said, What's going on if here?"Dada!' said Phatik mother, overwhelmed with surprise and joy. ' When did you come?' She bent down and took the dust of his feet. Many Ij years previously her elder brother had gone to the west of India to work, r and in the meantime she had had two children; they had grown, her ji husband had died-but all this time she had never seen her brother. At ij long last Bis mbharBabu had ret home, and had now come to see his >i sister. j There were celebrations for several days. At length, a couple of d days before his departure, Bishvambhar questioned his sister about the il schooling and progress of her two sons. In reply, he was given a e description of Phatik's uncontrollable wildness and inattention to study; $ while Makhan, by contrast, was perfectly behaved and a model student. e 'Phatik drives me mad,' she said. u Bishvambhar then proposed that he take Phatik to Calcutta, keep j him with him and supervise his education. The widow easily agreed to I this. 'Well, Phatik,' he asked the boy, 'how would you like to go to Calcutta 1 with your uncle?' I'd love to,' said Phatik, jumping up and down. His $ mother did not object to seeing her son off, because she always lived in dread that Makhan might be pushed into the river by him or might split , his head open in some terrible accident; but she was a little cast down by the eagerness with which Phatik seized the idea of going. He pestered his uncle with 'When are we going? When are we going?' - and couldn't sleep i at night for excitement. When at last the day to leave came, he was moved to a joyous display of generosity. He bestowed on Makhan his fishing-rod, kite and reel, with permanent right of inheritance. * 19  English Communications^^ Dhruv Publications - —.. TTrruncle's housTin Calcutta, he fiP^^s When he arrived a ^not say she was over-pleased a’dl be introduced to h.s aui. she was used t0 |ooking unnecessary addition t h and sudden|y t0 loose hs house andthree'l’,lanedu(:ated country boy would probably be midst an unknovn had insight commensurate with L disruptive. If only js grea(er nuisance in the world than a boy years! fourteen There is no beauty in him, and he does noth] Ser He arouses no affection; nor is his company welcome. |f k speaks modestly he sounds false; if he speaks sense he sounds arroga, fPhe speaks at all he is felt to be intrude. He suddenly shoots Up h heieh SO that his clothes no longer fit him-which 4 is an ugly affront o her people. His childish grace and sweetness of voice sudden], d appear, and people find it impossible not to blame him for this. Mani faults can be forgiven in a child or a young man, but at this age ever natural and unavoidable faults are felt to be unbearable. He himself j< fully aware that he does not fit properly into the world, so he j< perpetually ashamed of his existence and seeks forgiveness for it. Yei this is the age at which a rather greater longing for affection develops it him. If he gets at this time love and companionship from some sympathetic person, he will do anything in return. But no one dares show affection, in case others condemn this as pampering. So he looks anc behaves like a stray street-dog. To leave home and mother and go to a strange place is hell for a boy of this age. To live with loveless indifference all around is like walking on thorns. This is the age when normally a conception forms ol women as wonderful, heavenly creatures; to be cold shouldered by them is terribly hard to bear. It was therefore especially painful to Phatik that his aunt saw him as an evil star. If she happened to ask him to do a job for her and, meaning well-he did more than was strictly necessary, his aunt would stamp on his enthusiasm, saying, That's quite enough, quite enough, I don't want you meddling any more. Go and get on with your own work. Do some studying.' His aunt's excessive concern for his mental improvement would then seem terribly cruel and unjust. He so lacked love in this household, and it seemed he could breathe freely nowhere. Stuck behind its walls, he thought constantly of his home village. The fields where he would let his 'monster-kite' fly and flap in the wind; the river-bank where he wandered aimlessly, singing a raga ol his own invention at the top of his voice; the small stream in which he 20  English Communicationskill Dhruv Publications would jump and swim now and then in the heat of the day; his gang of followers; the mischief they would get up to; the freedom; above all his harsh, impetuous mother; all this tugged continually at his helpless iiuai u A kind of instinctive love, like an animal's; a blind longing to be near; an A unspoken distress at being far; a heartfelt, anguished cry of Ma, Ma like a motherless calf at dusk; such feelings perpetually afflicted this gawky, nervous, thin, lanky, ungainly boy. 5 At school there was no one more stupid and inattentive than he. If asked a question he would just stare back vacantly. If the teacher cuffed him, he would silently bear it like a laden, exhausted ass. At break­ time, he would stand at the window staring at the roofs of distant houses, while his classmates played outside. If a child or two appeared for a moment on one of the roofs, in the midday sunshine, playing some game, his misery intensified. One day he plucked up courage to ask his uncle, 'Uncle, when will I be going home to see Mother?' When the school holiday comes,' said his uncle. The pujaholiday in the month of Kartik- that was a long way off! One day Phatik lost his school-books. He never found it easy to prepare his lessons, and now, with his books lost, he was completely helpless. The teacher started to beat and humiliate him everyday. His standing in school sank so low that his cousins were ashamed to admit their connection with him. Whenever he was punished, they showed even greater glee than the other boys. It became too much to bear, and one day he went to his aunt and confessed like a criminal that he had lost his school-books, 'Well, well,' said his aunt, lines of annoyance curling round her lips, 'and do you suppose I can buy you new books five times a month?' He said no more. That he should have wasted someone else's money made him feel even more hurt and rejected by his mother. His misery and sense of inferiority dragged him down to the very earth. That night, when he returned from school, he had a pain in his head and was shivering. He could tell he was getting a fever. He also knew that his aunt would not take kindly to his being ill. He had a clear sense of what an unnecessary, unjustifiable nuisance it would be to her. He felt he had no right to expect that an odd, useless, stupid boy such as he should be nursed by anyone other than his mother. The next morning Phatik was nowhere to be seen. He was searched for in all the neighbours' houses roundabout, but there was no trace of him. In the evening torrential rain began, so in searching for him 21  Dhruv Publications English_Communication Skjp man^eoplego^oaked to the skin-to no avail. In theend^ndin^^ nowhere, Bishvambhar Babu informed the police. 11)1 A whole day later, in the evening, a carriage drew up outsid Bishvambhar's house. Rain was still thudding down relentlessly, and tl° street was flooded to a knee's depth. Two policemen bundled Phatik o ? of the carriage and put him down in front of Bishvambhar. He vv^ soaked from head to foot, covered with mud, his eyes and cheeks we/ flushed, he was trembling violently. Bishvambhar virtually had to car/ him into the house, 'You see what happens,' snapped his wife, 'when y0Q take in someone else's child. You must send him home.' But in fact the whole of that day she had hardly been able to eat for worry, and had been unreasonably tetchy with her own children. 'I was going to go to mv mother,' said Phatik, weeping, 'but they brought me back.' The boy's fever climbed alarmingly. He was delirious all night. Bishvambhar fetched the doctor. Opening his bloodshot eyes for a moment and staring blankly at the ceiling joists, Phatik said, 'Uncle, has my holiday time come?' Bishvambhar, dabbing his own eyes with a handkerchief, tenderly tookPhatik's thin, hot hand in his and sat down beside him. He spoke again, mumbling incoherently: 'Mother, don't beat me, Mother. I didn't do anything wrong, honest! The next day, during the short time when he was conscious, Phatik kept looking bewilderedly round the room, as if expecting someone. When no one came, he turned and lay mutely with his face towards the wall. Understanding what was on his mind, Bishvambhar bent down and said softly in his ear, 'Phatik, I've sent for your mother. Another day passed. The doctor, looking solemn and gloomy, pronounce the boy's condition to be critical. Bishvambhar sat at the bedside in the dim lamplight, waiting minute by minute for Phatik's mother's arrival. Phatik started to shout out, like a boatman, 'More than one fathom deep, more than two fathoms deep!' To come to Calcutta they had had to travel some of the way by steamer. The boatman had lowered the hawser into the stream and bellowed out its depth, in his delirium, Phatik was imitating them, calling out the depth, in pathetic tones; except that the endless sea he was about to cross had no bottom that his measuring-rope could touch. 711 was then that his mother stormed into the room, bursting into loud wails of grief. When, with difficulty, Bishvambhar managed to calm her down, she threw herself on to the bed and sobbed, 'Phatik, my darling, my treasure.’ ‘Yes?1 said Phatik, seemingly quite relaxed. 'Phatik, darling boy,' cried his mother again. Turning slowly on to his side, and on  Dhruv^ubhcations^ English Communication Skill looking at no one, Phatik said softly, "Mother, my holiday has come now. I'm going home.' ASSIGNMENT Q. Answer the following questions: 1. How did Phatik tease his brother? 2. Why was Phatik mother unhappy? 3. Who was the new visitor? 4. What was the suggestion made by the visitor? 5. Why did Phatik's mother agree to send him to Calcutta? 6. Why was Phatik reluctant to go to Calcutta? 7. What kind of reception did Phatik receive in Calcutta? 8. Why did Phatik dislike his school? 9. What were the incidents that increased Phatik misery in Calcutta. 10. Why did Phatik run away from his uncle's house? 11. In what condition was Phatik brought back? 12. What was the doctor's advice? 13. What do you think happened to Phatik in the end? 14. List out three things Phatik Enjoyed in his village, which he missed in Calcutta. 15. What was the attitude of Phatik aunt towards Phatik? 23  - Mahasweta Devi Ariun j„ ““ ahayana is coming almost to an end. Pois will The month o Ag Y Yesterday, crops were cut in th(, follow. The weath* , ta Ketu shabar went with the other grain- paddy fields of Bis evening, Retu was thinking how t0 ge[ Se bill oSe. the country liquor. IHe knows well that he will not get Yer he relishes the thought of getting it his wife is Mahani. When the husband is in jail, she goes to Manbazar to work in others' farmyards. Reaping crops, digging soil, collecting woods from the jungle are her daily activities. Ketu very often remains in jail. The culprits like Ram Haidar force them to cut trees from the jungle in secret, and unfortunately the poor, illiterate and helpless men like Ketu are taken to the jail. What can ketu do! How many times he tried to make them understand, saying "Babu, we get only four rupees at the end of the day. If you ask us to cut the trees, we'll cut them. If you ask us to cut men, we'll cut them off too." Nobody gives him this megre four rupees to test whether he would really cut men or not. Nobody even takes his words literally. When Ketu is taken to the jail on the charges of cutting the government forest, Ram Halder searches for the other Ketus. Ketu has now stopped to think anymore. As they are born in the Shabar houses of Purulia, they are bound to cut the trees and go to jail. This has become almost a rule here. And when Ketu is imprisoned, Kahani goes out to find work in the re aim of this rule, frosts ooze and fill the lonely cottage. The body wants more wine. A little intoxication. Only to forget a little. At this moment, Bisal Mahata comes and stands before him all of a sudden And says in an endearing voice. "Oh Ketu! Let me have a word with you. "Is it something about vote Babu?" "No, no. In that case 1 know very well that you'll cast your vote to whomsoever I ask you to. Isn't that so?" "Yesbabu" "What was Ram Halder telling you?" "He said the same thing that you tell me now." "Then what did you tell him?"  Dhruv Publications English CommunicationSkiH "I also told him the same thing that I tell you now "What does that mean?". "Pardon me babu. We the foolish people can t spea well. I beg your pardon." However, let me stop talking about vote now. I've something more important to talk to you. Come and listen." Ram Halder and Bisal Mahata may be the people under two different political banners, bat in the eyes of Ketu, both are the seme. Ketu always pretends to be foolish before ther. He also replies to them in the same foolish manner. He needs both of them. Without satisfying both these gods, it is difficult to survive in this area. They too know well that in order to accomplish their works, they need these Shabar people. These Shabar have records of spending long times in jail. How can they say 'no' to the words of these political leaders! Ketu becomes curious. Vote is imminent. Bisalbabu is attending meetings everywhere, making thousands of promises, and asking for votes. Yet, he says that he has nothing to do with votes! Then what will he talk about! Is it something about some wicked things! "What do you have to say to me babu?" "You’ve to cut the Arjun tree in the crossing of the three roads." "Babu, is it so?" - "Yes. "But I’ve just returned from the jail babu. "If I want to send you to jail again, will you be able to resist - "Then why do you fear? Do you think that you are going to that?" "No, babu. They cut trees for Ram Halder so that you've to go to jail? You will cut the tree under my order. Who will take you to the jail? Fog seems to doud Ketu's head. This is true! He never thought it earlier. When they cut the trees at Farm Halder's order, they are to go to jail. Perhaps Bisalbabu is now all in all. His party too is ruling now! And that's why if he is to cut the old shadowy government tree now, there is no risk of going to jail. Suddenly, a ray of hope comes to his mind. Dhruv Publications feta™*" vote is coming, will thP^S ri metalled1 And Is, it for the the tree needs to ta“ e ty-. "Metalled road Here? 0 ketu! I: has not been i thirty'years. And it never will be done." Chilly sky. Chilly air. Ard from the distant cassette } opera Saatosi.Mu can be heard. Now everything, it seems for l0p‘ he truth. ' Ces to Speak out t 'No. no. for metalled Notsuch road! I myself need the tr