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Question
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Baldeo, the watchman, was awake. He stretched himself, slowly unwinding the heavy shawl that covered him like a shroud. It was close on midnight and the chill air made him shiver. The station, a small shack backed by heavy jungle, was a station in name only; for trains only stopped there, if at all, for a few seconds before entering the deep cutting that led to the tunnel. Most trains only slowed down before taking the sharp curve before the cutting.
(i) What were Baldeo’s duties as a watchman? What question did his son ask him before he left for his nightly errand?
(ii) Describe the axe that Baldeo carried with him. Who had made the axe?
(iii) Which sound made Baldeo realize that the tiger was close by?
Why was he worried that the tiger may be going in the opposite direction? Why didn’t the tiger fear the man?
(iv) Give an account of the encounter between Baldeo and the tiger.
(v) How did the tiger die? Point out a similarity in the characters of Baldeo and his son Tembu. Give an example for each to justify your answer.
Solution
(i) Baldeo’s duties were to see if the tunnel is obstruction-free before the arrival of the mail train. He also has to see if the signal lamp is burning at night. His son asked, “Shall I come too, father?”
(ii) The ax was small and looked fragile. The ax-head was made of pure steel. It was made over a charcoal fire by his father.
(iii) The frightened cry of a barking deer followed by a crashing sound in the undergrowth made Baldeo realize that the tiger was close by.
He was worried because in the hut his son Tembu was sleeping unprotected.
The tiger didn’t fear the man as it was used to the ways of man as it has been preying on them for years.
(iv) The tiger pounced upon him with its right paw, Baldeo leaped and avoided the paw and brought his axe down on the animal’s shoulder. Unluckily the axe got stuck in the bone and so he was left without a weapon. The tiger roaring with pain sprang upon Baldeo, brought him down and tore his broken body and was killed.
(v) The tiger was wounded in the fight, as the train entered the cutting the tiger was trapped like the man. The flight was impossible though he ran as fast as his wounded leg could allow. At the next station, the driver was surprised to find a major portion of the tiger’s body. The tiger was cut off by the train.
Baldeo and his son Tembu both were brave and responsible. Immediately after his father’s death, Tembu takes over the responsibilities of his family. Baldeo was responsible and sincere towards his duties as a khalasi as well as a parent.
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