Reading – A (The Storeyed House - I)

UNIT – 5 (SOCIAL ISSUES)

Reading – A (The Storeyed House - I)

1. What was wrong with the bus? How was it settled?

   - The bus was moving very slowly. When it reached the dispensary building, it stood still like an obstinate bull. Then the conductor asked the passengers to get down from it. They all pushed the bus. The bus started after some time.

2. Do you have any bad experience with a bus journey? Explain.

   - Yes, I had a bad experience with the bus journey. When we went to Kanchi from Hyderabad recently, the road was not at all in good condition. There were many pits on the road. We suffered from severe back pain after the journey.

3. What was the bus compared with? Why?

   - The bus was compared with an obstinate bull, a truant child, a hen, and a sick man because it stood still at the dispensary building like an obstinate bull. It entered the village reluctantly like a truant child being dragged to school. It groaned and croaked like a hen about to lay eggs.

4. How did the bus move in the beginning? How was it halted at its destination?

   - The bus moved slowly in the middle of its journey. At the end, it halted by giving a big lurch, sending the passengers helter-skelter. It churned like water in a pitcher when the carrier stumbles.

5. How did Bayaji greet Bhujaba? According to the age-old custom, how should he have greeted?

   - Bayaji greeted Bhujaba by saying, 'Greetings to you, sir, how are things with you?' But according to the age-old custom, he should have greeted him with ‘my humble salutations to you, sir, who is my father and mother’.

6. Why did Bayaji control his anger and not knock him down as he wanted?

   - He realized that he couldn't afford to do so. Besides, now he had come back to his village for good. He was to spend the rest of his days on this soil and would be interred in the same soil. It was not a good idea to incur the hostility of anyone in the village.

7. Is it the correct way to treat Bayaji? Why?

   - The way Bhujaba treated Bayaji was not correct because he showed discrimination between people, i.e., between high caste and low caste people. There shouldn't be any barrier between people.

8. Do you support the caste system? Why or why not?

   - No, I don’t support the caste system. In my opinion, all the people are the same. Castes were formed in the past based on the professions of the people. Though the caste system exists, we should not segregate people based on castes.