A1. True or False
State whether the following statements are true or false: (1)
(1) The author’s new house was situated at Bangalore.
Ans. (1) False. The author’s new house was situated in Allahabad.
(2) The writer was delighted because their new house, was the biggest they ever lived.
Ans. (2) True
One of the advantages of growing up in an Army household was the frequency with which we move. ‘Postings’ came with predictable regularity every three years. What was unpredictable and therefore exciting was the suspense. Where would we go this time? Ambala, Pune, Dehradun, Allahabad, Tejpur, Bangalore, Yo! … In my short span of thirteen years we had moved lock, stock and barrel eleven times!
Every move meant a change. New journeys, new places, new schools, my new books, new uniforms, new friends and new houses. We lived in tents, bashas, Nissen huts, flats and bungalows. No matter what the shape and size of the dwelling, mother soon put her own special stamps on it and transformed it into a familiar place our home complete with bright yellow curtains, coffee-brown carpet, assorted pictures, hanging ferns and potted palms providing a comforting sense of continuity in our essentially nomadic life.
I was thirteen, the year we moved to the Cantonment at Allahabad. In stark contrast to the razzle-dazzle of the city’s commercial areas like Katra and Chowk, the cantonment was a quiet, orderly place with broad tree-lined roads that still carried the names of long-dead Britishers. Our bungalow was on a sleepy by-lane called MacPherson Road. When we first saw it, my brothers and I were delighted. It was by far the biggest house we had ever lived in. The task of furnishing those huge, echoing rooms daunted Mother.
A2. Complete (2)
(1) The broad tree-lined roads were named after _______.
(2) Katra and Chowk are _______.
(3) Mother was daunted with the task of _______.
(4) The suspense was exciting because the posting was _______.
Ans. (1) The broad tree-lined roads were named after long-dead Britishers.
(2) Katra and Chowk are long-dead Britishers.
(3) Mother was daunted with the task of furnishing those huge, echoing rooms.
(4) The suspense was exciting because the posting was unpredictable.
A3. Personal Response What do you think are the problems faced by those who change households frequently? (2)
Ans. Those who change households frequently could possibly face some common problems like packing, the transportation and then the unpackings. They also don’t experience a sense of stability. It is difficult for them to have a sense of belongingness to a location as they move frequently. They are unable to make permanent friends. Finally, their education experiences various ups and downs as they are transferred from one institution to the other from time to time.
