Part 1 : Santosh Yadav
Short Questions (2 Marks)
Question 1 : What kind of society was Santosh Yadav born in? How was her grandmother different from others?
Answer : Santosh Yadav was born in a society where the birth of a son was regarded as a blessing and a daughter was generally not welcomed. Her grandmother was different from others as she wanted a girl. In general, the society was orthodox and conservative.
Question 2 : What surprised the travelling ‘holy man’? Did his blessing work?
Answer : The travelling ‘holy man’ assumed that like everyone Santosh’s family also wanted a son. When Santosh’s grandmother requested him for a daughter, he was surprised for he never anticipated so. Yes, his blessings seemed to work because as per grandmother’s wish, a daughter was born.
Question 3 : How did Santosh fulfil her wish to study in Delhi?
Answer : Santosh’s wish to study in Delhi was fulfilled when she threatened her parents of never getting married if she didn’t get proper education. She left home and enrolled herself in a school in Delhi. This is how she fulfilled her wish to study in Delhi.
Question 4 : What happened when Santosh’s parents refused to pay for her fees?
Answer : When Santosh’s parents refused to pay for her fees, she politely informed them of her plans to earn money by working part time to pay her school fees. Then, they agreed to pay for it.
Question 5 : Why did Santosh want to fight the system?
Answer : Santosh’s parents were affluent. They could have sent her to the best schools but as per the tradition, she was sent to the local village school. As a result, she felt discontented and decided to fight the system. She wanted education for her and she got it.
Question 6 : What motivated Santosh for mountain climbing?
Answer : When Santosh was in Maharani College, Jaipur, she lived in Kasturba hostel. From her room, she could see the Aravalli Hills. She used to see villagers climbing up the hills and suddenly disappearing. She decided to check it out herself. She met some mountaineers. When she asked if she could join them, they answered in the affirmative. This motivated her to take to climbing.
Question 7 : What made Santosh scale Mt Everest the second time? How was it important?
Answer : Santosh scaled Mt Everest the second time as she was invited to the member of an Indo-Nepalese women’s expedition.
It was important as she secured a unique place for her and India by becoming the only woman in the world to have scaled the Everest twice within a year.
Question 8 : What is the secret of Santosh’s success?
Answer : Santosh had a strong will power, great physical endurance and an amazing mental toughness. The single-minded determination and dedication helped her overcome all hurdles to emerge as a winner. She had qualities of hard work and sincerity.
Long Questions (8 Marks)
Question 1 : What qualities in Santosh Yadav helped her get into the record books both times she conquered Mt Everest? What values can one learn from her?
Answer : Success comes at a cost. It is never without a cost. You have to pay for it in the currency of dedication, hard work, focus and will power. The same was with Santosh when she achieved success for herself. Santosh Yadav was born in an orthodox society where the girl child was not welcomed.
From her early childhood, she showed the qualities of a rebel. She went to study out of her village despite her parents’ unwillingness. She also enrolled herself to pursue mountaineering which required a lot of hard work, dedication and determination. Santosh showed qualities in her training like physical endurance, iron will, mental toughness and resistance to cold and altitude. These qualities helped her to scale Mt Everest twice and get her name into the record books. She is an inspiration for all of us but specially for girls.
One can learn the values of being mentally tough, determined, dedicated and helping others from her. Her life shows us that nothing is impossible if one is passionate and determined about one’s goal.
Question 2 : Santosh Yadav defied all orthodox social customs to choose her own path. What traits do you admire in her that made her a successful woman? Write about the lesson that we learn from the life of Santosh Yadav.
Answer : Santosh Yadav was born in a society where women did not have much freedom but she lived life on her own terms.
Where other girls in her village used to wear traditional Indian dresses, she wore shorts. In place of getting married like other girls at sixteen, she wished to study in Delhi. She threatened her parents that she would never marry if she did not get proper education. When her parents refused to pay her fees, she told them that she would work part time to pay her school fees. This made her parents agree to pay for her education. These incidents prove that she was a rebel and defied all orthodox customs to choose her own path.
Her determination, passion for work, dedication and strong will-power are the main traits which made her a successful woman. Her life teaches us that we can also touch the sky and achieve our goals if we are determined and honest with our work. Despite the problems and obstacles in our path, we should not lose hope and give our best.
Question 3 : Santosh Yadav possesses a deep feeling for others. What did she do on her expedition to Mt Everest to make a special place in the hearts of fellow climbers? Which important value does her deep feeling for others teach us?
Answer : A human being is identified by the compassion, love, care, sympathy and other virtues. It is obvious the if someone cares for others then this is inevitable. If Santosh Yadav has these values then she is a real human being. Santosh Yadav is a good human being. She was a true team-member and companion. She got a special place in the hearts of fellow climbers because of her concern for them and desire to work together.
During her expedition to Mt Everest in 1992, she provided special care to a climber who lay dying at the South Col. But, she couldn’t save him.
However, she managed to save another climber, Mohan Singh, who would have died if she had not shared her oxygen with him. With such characteristics, she becomes a role model for us. We should also help our classmates, friends, family members or anyone who is in need or facing trouble. Humanity is always bigger than any personal achievement and it makes a person a real hero.
Part 2 : Maria Sharapova
Short Questions (2 Marks)
Question 1 : Why did Maria have to stay away from her mother? How did she feel about that?
Answer : Maria had to stay away from her mother because she had to go to the United States for her professional training and her mother could not accompany her due to visa restrictions. She felt very lonely and depressed about that. She had to bear with this separation.
Question 2 : Why did Maria not retaliate against the humiliation at the hands of the other athletes?
Answer : Maria did not retaliate at against the humiliation at the hands of the other athletes because she was working hard to become the world’s number one tennis player.
So, she took it as a challenge and worked harder to achieve success. Had she retaliated against these then she would not have reached there.
Question 3 : Why does Maria call herself totally Russian?
Answer : Though Maria lives in the USA, but at heart she is a Russian. She says that her blood is totally Russian, and wants to represent Russia in the Olympics.
This is just an indication of her patriotism and her true love for her country.
Question 4 : Detail some of the hobbies of Maria Sharapova?
Answer : Like all the teenagers, Maria, too, has the same hobbies. It was no less than the hobbies of common youngsters. Maria’s hobbies are fashion, signing and dancing. She also loves reading novels of Arthur Conan Doyle.
Question 5 : How are Maria’s achievements significant?
Answer : Maria’s achievements were significant as she worked very hard and sacrificed her childhood for being the number one in tennis. Se had scarce resources and the economic condition of her father was no better. Under the constraints, anything achieved is substantial.
Question 6 : What does Maria declare to be her ‘Mantra’ for success?
Answer : Maria considers herself very competitive and works hard to be the best in the whatever she does. She does not allow herself to be emotional and sentimental. This is her ‘Mantra’ for success.
Question 7 : Maria’s parents played an important role in her success. How?
Answer : When Maria went to the US for tennis training she was only nine-years old. So, her father accompanied her there and worked hard to keep her tennis training going. So, her parents played an important role in her success.
Long Questions (8 Marks)
Question 1 : Was it money or her dream of becoming number one in the world that motivated Maria to play tennis? What traits in one’s personality are reflected when one is motivated in the right direction? What values one develops when motivated?
Answer : Everybody needs something in order to excel in the walk of life. Some can motivate themselves with power, some can with money, some can with attitudes etc. But, in the modern days, money rules the most. So , we can say it to be one of the greatest motivation but not the ultimate means to any thing. Maria Sharapova became the world’s number one player in women’s tennis at the age of eighteen. She became famous and earned money through tennis. She considers money as her motivation as tennis is both a business and a sport.
But she considers being number one in the world more important than anything else to her and dreams to achieve her goal at any cost. She works hard as success has not made her arrogant and wants to represent her native country ‘Russia’ in the Olympics. One can learn from her life that success comes after hard work and dedication. One should not become arrogant after success if one wants to remain on the top of the world.
Question 2 : Mental toughness and determination became a key to Maria’s success. How these qualities in an individual can help him in pursuing his dream?
Answer : Success demands the best of your efforts. If you can put the best then success comes to you. One can get depressed and would surely be deprived of success in this case. But, the young Maria was not the one to lose her hope. Maria Sharapova, a Russian tennis player, moved to the USA at the age of nine for her training. She was accompanied by her father as her mother was unable to join her due to the visa restrictions. She shared her room with other girls who bullied her but she did not get depressed. She became more determined and due to this, she achieved her goal of becoming world’s number one in women’s tennis. Her mental toughness and determination helped her reach the top at the age of eighteen.
She teaches us that success comes after hard work, dedication and sacrifices. One has to conquer the hurdles of life. If one sacrifices the luxuries of life in the start, one can reap the fruit of hard work and taste success. So, to achieve one’s goal , one has to be ready to work hard and sacrifice because hard work never goes waste. One, who hesitates from doing the hard work. can’t taste it. Since, Maria was devoted to her sports she achieved what she wished.
Question 3 : Why did Maria Sharapova’s mother not accompany her to USA? What did Maria feel for her mother? How this separation from her mother helped her accomplish her goal? What important values do we learn from this incident?
Answer : Maria Sharapova’s father Yuri wanted her to be trained in the USA so that she could be a better player of tennis. She was only nine years old when due to visa restrictions, her mother Yelena could not come with her to the USA.
This heart-wrenching (breaking) separation was for two years. She terribly missed her mother. But it was like a boon for her as she became more determined and mentally tough to achieve whatever she has thought. She learnt how to take care of herself. She used to say that with nothing, one can be more determined and hungry. She never felt depressed and she worked hard for her success and became world’s number one player in women’s tennis in 2005. This incident teaches us that hard work and determination help us achieve the goal of our life but it requires sacrifices also. If one is ready to sacrifice the immediate comfort then one can achieve what one wishes. Remember, success comes at a cost.