Question 1 : Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
“Rizwan stood at a shop selling cold drinks, looking for someone who worked for a living but was not a shop-owner. At that instant his eyes fell on a man carrying a load on his head and walking in his direction.”
i) How has the scene of the market been described?
Answer : The market was very crowded. The shops were full of items waiting to be sold. Though the things were expensive, people were buying them anyway. People were eating and drinking in spite of the prevalent unemployment.
ii) What is Rizawn doing in the market?
Answer : Rizwan has got a new job as jounalist. He has been asked to interview five people and submit his report at the office. He was in the market searching for potential people he could interview.
iii) Who was the man coming towards Rizwan? What did Rizwan ask him?
Answer : The man coming towards Rizwan was Kasim, a middle-aged rag-seller. Rizwan firstly asked him his name and then asked him about his profession. He also asked him questions regarding his income and lodging.
iv) Was Kasim willing to answer Rizwan’s questions? Where was he going?
Answer : No, Kasim was certainly not willing to stand and answer Rizwan’s questions. It seems that this kind of thing has also happened earlier and that day, they slept empty stomach. He was going to sell clothes to the labourers. That was his business.
v) What did the man say when Kasim asked him about his lodging?
Answer : Rizwan asked Kasim about his address so that he could bring the form for him to fill up and submit. However, Kasim replied that there was no address. Sometimes he slept in front of some shop, sometimes under the bridge. He was a very poor person and did not have any lodgings.
Question 2 : Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
“Yes sir,” said Rizwan. He thought for a minute and then wrote his own name and address on Kasim’s interview and drew a deep breath. When he came out he had the satisfaction of knowing that he would be coming for work the next day, but the problem of finding another name and address for tomorrow was already beginning to worry him.
i) Where is Rizwan at this time? To whom is he talking? What satisfaction did he have?
Answer : Rizwan is presently at his office where he has been employed as a journalist. Most probably, he is talking to his employer. He has the satisfaction that he will be coming to work on the next day.
ii) Why did Rizwan write his own address and name on the interview?
Answer : Rizwan had been asked to interview five people and submit the interview along with the name and address of the interviewee. As he was unable to get an address, he wrote his own name and address on the interview. He had taken Kasim’s interview.
iii) Earlier, Rizwan was thinking of his unending problems. What problems was he facing?
Answer : Rizwan’s mother was ill. His father had died almost two years ago and his two brothers had to drop out of school. He had just got a job but was finding it difficult to do what he had been asked. He thought that the time to starve has come. Moreover, lack of money increased his problems.
iv) Why was Rizwan taking interviews?
Answer : Rizwan had got a new job. His employer told him that he must interview five people and submit the interviews at the office. His employment was based upon the contributions that he would make in some of the articles.
v) What did the person whose interview Rizwan had taken did for a living? Where did he live? Why was Rizwan not able to give him the form?
Answer : Rizwan had taken Kasim’s interview. Kasim sold rags to make a living. He told Rizwan that he did not have an address and slept anywhere he could get a place. He even slept in front of some shop or under the bridge. Rizwan was not able to give him a form as Kasim was leaving for his village the next day.
Long Answer Type Question
Question 1 : ‘Hunger’ is a poignant account of how hunger affects different people in the same way. Justify with reference to the given chapter. Has the author been able to do justice with the topic?
Answer : ‘Hunger’ surely is a moving account of hunger affects different people in the same way. The two protagonists of the story, Rizwan and Kasim, were both at its receiving end. Kasim, however, had felt the pangs of hunger in his stomach more than once and Rizwan was on the verge of doing the same. Kasim was a rag-seller. He sold clothes to make a living. But it was not enough as he could only earn a meagre five hundred rupees a month.
He had no home in the town and slept wherever he could find a place. He had no time to talk to people which meant he could not enjoy leisure time. There was only one thing on his mind and that was to earn something so that he might not starve. When Rizwan came to him to take his interview, he was reluctant as once earlier also he had to sleep on an empty stomach in the same way. He had been duped and didn’t want the same thing to happen to him again.
Rizwan on the other hand, was looking searching for some prospective interviewees. He had been asked to interview five people and submit the interviews along with the names and addresses of the five people at the office. His job depended on the contributions that he would make to certain articles.
His family condition was very poor. His father was dead and his mother was ill. He thought that the time to starve had come for him and his family. The day had not even ended and the worries of tomorrow were already muddled in his mind. There was only one thing in his mind and that was hunger.
The author, Nasira Sharma, had been able to aptly deal with the topic of hunger here. Firstly, she presented the scene of the market where people were eating and enjoying. Then on one hand, she gave as Kasim, a man who could not enjoy such things. He was worried about his stomach. He was not able to trust a stranger as he had been duped in the past. He only wanted to earn a living.
His father had starved and his fate had also been the same. Then on the other hand, we have Rizwan. His and his family’s future depended on the interviews that he was taking. His fortunes had been ill to him. The worries of the next day were already troubling him. He was thinking about the days of starving that were coming near.
He had not had a meal all day. He was hungry and suffering with the pangs of hunger.
Hence, we see that the whole chapter shows us how the same problem i.e., hunger, affects the life of different people in more or less similar fashion.