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Class 11th english chapter 1|Bihar Board Class 11 English Animals in Prison
A. Work in small groups and discuss these questions :
Question 1.
Make a list of the birds whose songs are sweet. Do you hear them often ?
Answer:
Bulbul and Koel are some of the singing birds. I don’t hear them often. But sometimes I hear one of the birds singing when I go out for a walk in the afternoon.
Question 2.
What is the relation between birds and trees ? Can you imagine birds without trees ?
Answer:
There is an intimate relation between birds and trees. Most birds make their nests in trees to lay eggs. They eat fruit of trees and find shelter from heat and cold in their leaves. They protect themselves from their predators by flying from tree to tree. Indeed I can hardly think of birds without trees.
Question 3.
Do you love animals How do you show your love to them ?
Answer:
Yes, I love animals.
Class 11th english chapter 1|Bihar Board Class 11 English Animals in Prison
B. 1. 2. Answer the following questions briefly :
Question 1.
How long did Nehru live in his little cell in Dehra Dun Jail ?
Answer:
Nehru lived for fourteen and a half months in his little cell in Dehra Dun jail.Bihar board calendar
Question 2.
Whom did Nehru treat as his old friends ? Can you make friends with them ?
Answer:
Nehru treated tufts of grass and bits of stones in the little yard outside his cell as his old friends.I cannot make friends with them.
Question 3.
Who were the other occupants of the little cell ? Did Nehru like them ?
Answer:
Lizards, wasps and hornets were the other occupants of the cell. Nehru liked them.
Question 4.
‘………. but in Dehra Dun I had one privilege. ‘What is the privilege Nehru is referring to ? Was it Nehru’s special privilege ?
Answer:
Nehru had the privilege to walk every morning and evening up and down in front of the gate (but not outside the gate).Bihar board calendarIt was not Nehru’s special privilege. All A and B class prisoners had this privilege.
Question 5.
What was European Lock-up meant for ? How was it different from the other jail ?
Answer:
The European Lock-up was meant for European convicts. It was different from the jail because it had no enclosing wall. A person inside his cell could have a fine view of the mountains and life outside.
Question 6.
‘Only a prisoner who has been confined for long behind high walls can appreciate the extraordinary psychological value of these outside walks and open views.’ What does Nehru mean by this ? Explain.
Answer:
In prison, Nehru greatly admired the mountains and enjoyed the traffic on the public highways outside the prison gate. But the people outside would not find much to admire them. We appreciate the value of a thing when we aie deprived of it. We value freedom when we are confined. Only a thirsty man in a desert knows the value of a drop of water.
Question 7.
How did the sight of the towering Himalaya move his heart ? What lesson did he derive from the mountains ?
Ans.
Nehru found a great comfort being in the proximity of the mountains. There was secret intimacy between Nehru and the mountains.Nehru learned to be calm when he was depressed, sad or lonely.
Question 8.
Which sight does Nehru call ‘gay’ and ‘cheering’ ? How does he describe it ?
Answer:
Nehru calls the budding of bare peepal trees ‘gay’ and ‘cheerful’. He describes it a wonderful sight to see green buds all over the naked tree. Then suddenly the buds turned into leaves. It is a mystery. It appears that some secret operations’ had been going on behind the scenes.
Class 11th english chapter 1|Bihar Board Class 11 English Animals in Prison
B. 2.1. Complete the following sentences on the basis of the lesson :
The monsoon rains were always welcome because
One longed for decent habitation, because of
The prisoners became more observant of nature’s way because
Nehru wanted to exterminates wasps because
Answer:
The monsoon rains were always welcome because they ended the summer heat.
One longed for decent habitation, because of a hail
The prisoners became more observant of nature’s way because the watched the various animals and insects that came their way.
Nehru wanted to exterminates wasps because they had stung him.
Class 11th english chapter 1|Bihar Board Class 11 English Animals in Prison
B. 2. 2. Answer the following questions briefly :
Question 1.
What is the colour of fresh mango leaves ? When do they become green ?
Answer:
The colour of the fresh mango leaves are of reddish-brown & chocolate (coffee) colour. But they soon change their colour and become green.
Question 2.
What made Nehru cooped up ?
Answer:
Within the first five or six weeks of the monsoon-break, there had been heavy rain, about fifty to sixty inches and so it was not pleasant for Nehru to sit in a small place.
Question 3.
What made noise like an artillery bombardment ?
Answer:
In Autumn or in winter some times it rained with thunder. Occassionally there would be hailstorm with hailstones bigger than marble coming down on the corrugated iron roofs and making a tremendous noise, something like an artillery bombardment.
Question 4.
Why does Nehru remember 24th of December 1932 ? How does it throw light on Nehru’s Love for Nature ?
Answer:
There was a thunder storm and rain all day, on 24th December, 1932 and it was bitterly cold : Nehru realised it as one of the most miserable days from the bodily point of view that he had spent in the prison. It was shivering cold that day. But in the evening there came a sudden change and his misery ended as the weather cleared up shortly. The next day—Christmas day was lovely
Question 5.
“I realized that while I complained of loneliness, that yard, which seemed empty and deserted, was teeming with life”. Which life is being referred to here ?
Answer:
During his confinement Nehru was prevented from indulging in normal activities, he felt loneliness. But soon he observed that he is not alone there. All sorts of insects were living in his cell and the open outer spaces. Those small creatures (insects) had removed the monotony. There presence had brought life in the cell. .
Question 6.
How was the problem of feeding the lost baby squirrels solved ? What was ingenious about it ?
Answer:
Nehru solved the problem of feeding the lost baby squirrels, with the help of a fountainpen filler. A little cotton wool had attached to it and made it an efficient feeding bottle.
Question 7.
What behaviour of the parrots does Nehru describe here ? Does it have any resemblance to human behaviour ?
Answer:
While Nehru was in Naini Jail, thousands of parrots were there and many of them lived in the cracked portion of the barrack walls. Sometimes there was fierce quarrels between the two male parrots over a lady parrot, to show their superiority and than sit calmly to see the reaction of the female parrot, as to whom she agreed to marry with.Such type of tendency is also found in human behaviour
B. 3.2. Answer the following questions briefly :
Question 1.
‘Dehra Dun had a variety of birds’. Make a list of the birds that make this variety.
Answer:
Dehra Dun had a variety of birds and there was a regular jumble of singing and lively chattering and twittering. They include the Koel’s plaintive call.
Question 2.
Why was “Bird-Fever” named so ?
Answer:
The brain fever bird was so named because it wonderfully went on repeatin the same notes continuously, in day time and at night, in sunshine days and in pouring rain.
Question 3.
How did the little monkey rescued ?
Answer:
The parent (presumably) of the little monkey saw from the top of the high wall that a bit of string was tied round the neck of him (the baby monkey). A huge monkey suddenly jumped down into the crowd which surrounded the baby monkey. The crowd fled terrified and thus the little monkey was rescued.
Question 4.
We often had animal visitors that were not welcome. Name the animals Nehru is referring to.
Answer:
Neliru is his reference is talking of those animals who were frequently found in his cells. After thunder storms scorpions were often visible there. Snakes were also found. Once a centiped had also visited his cell and was found on his bed in the middle of night. These were the animals frequently visling his cells, who were disliked by Nehru.
Question 5.
“As as matter of fact I welcomed the diversion.” Which diversion is Nehru talking about ?
Answer:
Actually prison life is dull enough, and everything that breaks through the montony is appreciated. Sometimes the most unimportant and undesireous creatures remove monotony and brings happy change. Nehru was leading a dull and isolated life in the prison. In support of his views he described his meeting with snakes, scorpions and centipades. He was neither horrified nor disliked them,
Question 6.
What made Nehru vault clear out of the bed ?
Answer:
In Alipore Jail in Calcutta one night Nehru felt something moving slowly over his feet. With the help of a torch he saw a centipede on his bed. He jumped out of his bed immediately with wonderful swiftness and almost touched the cell wall.
Question 7.
How did Nehru get tied to some dogs ?
Answer:
At Dehra Dun Jail dogs were not allowed. But Nehru got tied up with some dogs incidentally there. A jail official had brought a bitch. He left her at Dehra Dun Jail, when he was transferred to some other jail. She became homeless living in a covered drain and picked up bit of uneaten foods from the warders. She used to come to Nehru also for the needful. He (Nehru) began to feed her regularly.
Question 8.
What did Nehru do when the puppy fell ill ? Do you have a similar experience of your own ?
Answer:
One of the puppies, given birth by a bitch, in a covered drain of Dehra-Dun Jail fell ill with a violent distemper (a disease of dogs). She gave a shock of Nehru. He nursed her with great care and sometimes he would get up a dozen times in the night to look after her. I remember, similar incident had happened in my life few years back. There was a street dog in my neighbourhood.
C. 1. Long Answer Questions :
Question 1.
Pick out instances that show Nehru’s love for small animals.
Answer:
While in prison Nehru derives pleasure from watching different animals and gives respect even to the tiniest animals. His love for small animals comes true with his expression and action. He spent his lonely time in association with wasps, hornets, and Lizards.
Question 2.
How did the parent monkey rescue its baby ? Why does Nehru call its courage “reckless” ?
Answer:
Nehru narrates his experience relating to the efforts of parent monkey to the rescue of its baby. There was a large colony of monkeys in Bareilly jail. Nehru had referred to a particular incident. A baby monkey managed to come down into the barrack of the jail compound but he could not climb up the wall again.The parent, as presumed, of the monkey baby saw it with anger from the top of the wall.
.Question 3.
Does the parent monkey’s behaviour in saving its baby tell anything about the human nature ?
Answer:
The incident which took place in Bareilly jail shows that we are not kind to the animals. It very well throw light on human nature. At Bareilly jail, there was a large colony of monkeys. Monkeys used to jump and climb hither and thither, creating an interesting scene. In one occassion a baby monkey came down into the barrack enclosure but he could not mount up the high wall. The warder and other prisoners caught hold of him and tied a bit of sting round the neck. The parents monkeys watched it with angers. Suddenly a huge monkey jumped down fearlessly and get the baby monkey freed as the terriffied crowd of men fled. Thus the baby monkey was rescued.
Question 4.
What are the advantages and the disadvantages of the monsoon ? How did it effect Nehru’s life in jail ?
Answer:
Monsoon rains are most pleasant. When after the scorching heat of the summer season we get the comfortable showers we become happy. Trees, plants, bushes and creepers, they all become green and gives a nice look. But there is another aspect. But the heavy rainfall was disliked by Nehru. Torrential rain compelled him to confine in the jail’s cell. It had caused much discomfort to him as the rain water was dripping from the ceiling.
Question 5.
Why does Nehru say that worship and kindness do not always go together ? How does he show it ?
Answer:
Nehru says that Indians believe in non-violence and look upon all life as sacred. But they are indifferent to them. He shows this by the example of cows. Many Hindus worship cows. But they are indifferent and unkind to them. We can see hundreds of stray cows. But no one cares to look after them. Indeed worship and kindness do not always go together.
Question 6.
What does Nehru say about people and their patron animals ?
Answer:
Nehru says that different countries have adopted different animals as their patrons. Those animals are the symbols of their ambition or character. Eagle is the patron animal of the United States and that of Germany. Bull dog is the symbol of and Germany have adopted the eagle as the symbol of their countries.Nor it is surprising that the Hindu should be mild and non-violent for his patron animal, the cow.
Question 7.
‘We would not see most of these birds; we could only hear them as a rule, as there were no trees in our little yards.’ What light does it throw on the relation between the birds and plants ?
Answer:
Nehru wants to point out the close relationship between birds and trees. He could hear the chirp of birds in the jail of Dehra Dun but he could not see them as there were no trees in the yard. He used to watch the flying eagles and kites gliding gracefully high up in the air. Sometimes they were swooping down and then carried up themselves by a current of air.A hord of wild duck used to frequently fly over his head.
Question 8.
All animals, howsoever small they might be, deserve respect. Pick out instances from the lesson in favour of this statement
Answer:
The following instances in different jails tell us that Nehru’s point of view was in favour of the animals, however small they may be.
In the jail of Dehra Dun there were wasps, hornets and lizards in his cell. In the campus he could see mainas, koels and brain fever birds. He considered them the source of entertainment and to break the monotony in the jail life. In Bareilly jail he enjoyed the funny actions of monkeys. At Alipore jail he met with scoipions and snakes and did not have disliking for these uncalled visitors. He had similar sympathy and affection for all these animals.
Question 9.
A good autobiography is honest In what ways do you think Pandit Nehru is honest in writing about his life in jail ? Use specific references from the lesson as examples.
Answer:
Nehru has given a true account of his life in jail.
At Alipore jail he met with scoipions and snakes and did not have disliking for these uncalled visitors. He had similar sympathy and affection for all these animals.
Question 10.
A good autobiography is also very self aware. How self aware do you think the author has been in the personal statements contained in the work ? Use examples from the work to support your opinion.
Answer:
As autobiography is the description of true incidents drawn from one’s life in his own language. It is also self-awarded. The person expresses about all that he thought and felt in his life.
In this piece he has described his activities and reactions while he was in different jails. He broke his monotony enjoying the natural sights from the jail campus especially in Dehra Dun Jail.
