The Ganga . Questions Amswers

 

Lesson 3 .  The Ganga 

COMPREHENSION

Read the following passages and answer the questions that follow :

[A] I have received..............accompany them.

Q1 : What has the author received from his countrymen?

Ans: The author has received love and affection from his countrymen. 

 Q2 : What according to the writer, is not repayable?

Ans: According to the writer love and affection is not repayable. 

 Q3 : Why is the writer feeling overwhelmed? 

Ans: The writer is feeling overwhelmed by the affection of all classes of Indian people. 

 Q4 : What hope does the writer have in the remaining years of his life?

Ans: The writer hopes that in the remaining years of his life he would not be unworthy of his people and their affection. 

 Q5 : What does the writer owe to his comrades and colleagues?

Ans: The writer owes a deeper debt of gratitude to his comrades and colleagues, because they had been joint partners in great works and in triumphs and sorrows.

[B] When I die................their flowing waters.

Q1 : What does the writer desire after his death?

Ans: The writer desires that after his death  his body should be cremated .

 Q2 : What does the writer wish in case he dies in a foreign country? 

Ans: If the writer dies in a foreign country he wishes that his body should be cremated there and his ashes should be sent to Allahablad. 

Q3 : Why was the author deeply attached to Ganga?

Ans: The author was deeply attached to Ganga because he has been watching the changing moods of the Ganga and Jamuna since his childhood. As the seasons changed he has thought of their history, myth, tradition, song and story. 

Q4 : Whose varying moods have been discussed here?

Ans: Ganga and Jamuna’s varying moods have been discussed here. 

 Q5: Why does the writer want a handful of his ashes to be thrown in Ganga?

Ans: The writer wants a handful of his ashes to be thrown in Ganga at Allahabad because he had been attached to the Ganga and Jamuna since his childhood

[C] The Ganga especially................ocean of the future.

Q.1: Why is Ganga said as beloved of Indian people?

Ans: The Ganga is beloved of Indian people because her racial memories, her hopes and fears, her songs of triumph, her victories and defeats are intertwined around her.

 Q2 : Why is Ganga considered as the symbol of India’s culture and civilization?

Ans: The river Ganga is considered as the symbol of Indian’s culture and civilization because Ganga is as old as Indian culture and civilization.

 Q3 : What does Ganga remind Pt. Nehru of?

Ans: The Ganga reminds Pt. Nehru of the snow-covered peaks and deep valleys of Himalaya and the rich and vast plains below. 

 Q4 : How does Ganga look in the morning sunlight as told by Pt. Nehru?

Ans: According to Pt. Nehru Ganga looks smiling and dancing in the morning sunlight.

Q5 : How does the Ganga look when evening shadows fall?

Ans: When evening shadows fall, Ganga looks dark and gloomy and full of mystery.

 Q6 : How does the Ganga look during monsoon?

Ans: During monsoon the Ganga looks broad-bosomed and with sea’s power to destroy.

 Q7 : What does Ganga symbolize as told by Pt. Nehru?

Ans: The Ganga symbolizes India’s age-long culture and civilization. 

[D] And though I ................. part of India.

Q1 : Why has the author discarded much of the past traditions?

 Ans: The author has discarded much of the past traditions and customs because they bind and constrain India, and divide her  people .

Q2 : What does the author want India to get rid of ?

Ans: The author wants India to get rid of all shackles that bind and constrain and divide her people.

Q3 : What is the author proud of ?

Ans: The author is proud of India's great inheritance.

Q4 : What is the writer conscious of ?

Ans: The writer is conscious of, that he too, like all of us is a link in the unknown chain which goes back to the dawn of history in the immemorial past of India. 

Q5 : What request does the writer make to the people of India?

Ans: The writer requested the people of India that a handful of his ashes be thrown into the Ganga at Allahabad.

Q6 : What does the author want to be done with the major portion of his ashes? Why?

Ans: The author wants that a major portion of his ashes should be scattered over the fields of India so that he becomes an indistinguishable part of India.

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Q1 : What is the most precious gift that Nehru has received from his countrymen?

Ans: Nehru has received love and affection from his countrymen.

Q2 : What was Nehru unable to repay to the Indian people?

Ans: Nehru was unable to repay the love and affection which he received from the Indian people. 

Q3 : What is that Nehru doesn’t want to be unworthy of ?

Ans: Nehru doesn’t want to be unworthy of his people and their affection. 

Q4 : What has Nehru said about his comrades and colleagues?

Ans: Nehru said that his comrades and colleagues have shared many joys and sorrows with him. So, Nehru felt a debt of gratitude towards them.

Q5 : What does Nehru desire to be done to his body after his death?

Ans: Nehru desires that after his death his body should be cremated where he dies. 

Q6 : What are the two wishes Nehru expresses in his will regarding the disposal of his ashes? 

Ans: The two wishes that Nehru expressed in his will are: 

(i) He wanted that a handful of his ashes should be thrown in the Ganga at Allahabad.

(ii) The major portion of his ashes should be scattered over the fields of India. 

Q7 : How is Ganga the river of India?

Ans: Ganga is the river of India because it has been the symbol of India’s culture and civilization. It reminds of the hopes, fears, success and defeats of the people of India.

Q8 : What does Ganga symbolize?

Ans: The Ganga symbolizes India’s age-long culture and civilization. 

Q9 : What does the Ganga remind Nehru of?

Ans: The Ganga reminds Nehru of snow covered peaks and deep valleys of the Himalayas and its rich vast plains. 

Q10 : How does the Ganga look to Nehru at different times of a day and in different seasons?

Ans: The Ganga looks smiling and dancing in the morning sunlight, and dark, gloomy and mysterious as the evening shadows fall, a narrow, slow and graceful stream in winter, and a vast roaring things during the 

monsoon. 

Q11 : How is Ganga an important part of India's past, present and future?

Ans: The Ganga is a symbol of India’s past, running into the present that will continue flowing on to the great ocean of the future. 

Q12 : Which past tradition of India does Nehru want Indians to get rid of and why?

Ans: Nehru wants that Indians should get rid of the past traditions and customs which bind, divide and suppress her people. They prevent the free development of one’s body and spirit

Q13 : Why does Nehru not want to cut off himself completely from Indian past?

Ans: Nehru does not want to cut himself off the past completely because he was proud of that great inheritance. It is like an unbroken chain of which he himself is a link.

Q14 : Why does Nehru want a major portion of his ashes to be scattered over Indian fields?

Ans: Nehru wants that a major portion of his ashes should be scattered over the fields of India so that the ashes of his body should be mixed in the soil of India of which he was made.

Q15 : When was Nehru’s Will and Testament written?

Ans: Nehru’s Will and Testament was written on June 21, 1954.

LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Q1 : What was Nehru’s will? Describe its main points.

Ans: Pt. Nehru wrote this will and testament in New Delhi on June 21st 1954. He wrote in his will that after his death, his body should be cremated wherever he dies. If he dies in a foreign country, his body should be cremated there. But his ashes should be brought to Allahabad. A small handful of these ashes 

should be thrown into the Ganga.

The major portion of his ashes should be scattered over the fields of India from a high place. He wanted to become a part and parcel of India.

Q2 : Why did Nehru call the Ganga ‘The river of India’?What did the Ganga mean to him?

Ans: Nehru called the Ganga ‘The river of India’ because it is loved by her people. The songs of India’s triumph, victories and defeats, racial memories, hopes and fears are intertwined round the Ganga. It is also a symbol of India’s age-long culture and civilization which have ever been changing and ever flowing like the Ganga. The Ganga reminded Nehru of snow-covered peaks and the deep valleys of the vast plains below, where his life and work had been shaped.

The Ganga and Jamuna meant a lot to Jawaharlal Nehru. He had been attached to them ever since his childhood. His attachment had grown with years. He had watched their changing mood with the change of seasons. They had been a source of great inspiration for him. His attachment to the Ganga was not religious.

Q3 : What is Pt. Nehru anxious about?

Ans: Pt. Nehru has discarded much of past tradition and customs. He is anxious about India’s past customs and traditions. These are very harmful. They divide her people. They prevent the free development of spirit. Nehru wants the people to get rid of all such customs and traditions. But, he wants some of our 

past customs and traditions to be preserved. They remind us of our glorious past. They serve as a link between the past and the present. Nehru wants to preserve this part of our past customs and traditions. He values it greatly. He calls it a treasure. He gets inspiration from it.

Q4 : Give a description of the different moods of the Ganga in different seasons.

Ans: The Ganga is especially the river of India and is the beloved of her people. She has been a symbol of India’s age-long culture and civilization.She has different moods in different seasons. She looks smiling and dancing in the morning sunlight, and dark and gloomy as the evening shadows fall. She becomes a narrow, slow and graceful stream in winter and a vast roaring thing during the monsoon having the power of sea to destroy. 

The Ganga has been a symbol and memory of the part of India. It runs into the present. It flows on to the great ocean of the future.

Q5 : What is it that Nehru is proud of ?

Ans: Nehru is proud of the cultural heritage of India and seeks inspiration from it. He is conscious that he is a link in the unbroken chain which goes back to the dawn of history. He does not wish to break that chain. 

He treasures it and seeks inspiration from it. As his last homage to India’s cultural inheritance, he wishes a handful of his ashes to be immersed in the Ganga so that they might be carried to the great ocean that 

washes India’s shores. He wants the major portion of his ashes to be scattered over the fields of India so that they might become an inseparable part of India.