Very Short Questions
Question 1 : What made Hafeez Contractor feel that the phases of getting nightmares was now over?
Answer : Hafeez Contractor thought that now since he doesn’t need to think about examinations anymore, his psyche has got over with the phase of getting nightmares.
Question 2 : What was the designation of Bela Raja?
Answer : Bela Raja was an editor of Sparsh, a newsletter from Resource Centre, The Valley Schoo, Banaglore.
Question 3 : For how many years had Hafeez Contractor learnt Frech?
Answer : Hafeez Contractor had spent 7 years learning French. It is a different matter that he didn’t even acquire the skill of speaking a few phrases correctly.
Question 4 : Who was Behram Divecha?
Answer : Behram Divecha was a friend of Hafeez Contractor with whom Hafeez used to have competitions for designing forts, guns and ammunition.
Question 5 : Which were the subjects that Hafeez was good at?
Answer : Hafeez mentions that he could deal with science and geography. At everything else, he was extremely bad.
Question 6 : When and with whom did Hafeez Contractor commence his career?
Answer : Hafeez Contractor began his career in 1977 under the apprenticeship of T Khareghat.
Question 7 : Whom does Hafeez Contractor give credit for the lessons he had learnt about life?
Answer : Hafeez Contractor notes that life at boarding schools was difficult, but that made him street smart. He credits those lessons for what he has learnt about life than academics.
Question 8 : What does Hafeez Contractor have to say about class toppers?
Answer : Hafeez Contractor shares his observations about his class toppers and other good students. They were doing ordinarily in life.
Question 9 : What did Hafeez Contractor wish to do?
Answer : Hafeez Contractor wanted to join the Army. Later then, he thought of joining the police force. His aunt and mother were not in favour of these to professions, respectively.
Question 10 : What did Hafeez Contractor plan strategies for?
Answer : Hafeez Contractor planned strategies for fighting against the gangs.
Short Questions
Question 1 : Why did the students use to book Hafeez Contractor’s books in advance?
Answer : Hafeez Contractor hardly opened his books to study, except a little before the exams. His books were technically brand new. The students knew this. His juniors , therefore, used to book his books in advance for their next class.
They could thereby buy second hand books which were almost new.
Question 2 : What does Hafeez Contractor say about his memory?
Answer : Hafeez Contractor said that he used to forget things very easily. He could remember only those things that he saw as a photograph. If he read a book, he could remember the matter like a photograph, but not so through his mind.
Question 3 : What used to be Hafeez Contractor’s state of mind after incurring the wrath of his teachers?
Answer : Hafeez Contractor used to incur the wrath of his teachers quite often. However, he informed Bela Raja that he had hardly any time to reflect on the beating or scolding that he would have received from his teachers. He would be so busy playing.
Question 4 : Why did the Contractor opt for German in College?
Answer : Hafeez Contractor had to choose between either French or German at Jaihind College. He chose to opt for German because he had spent 7 years learning French and he could hardly utter any words in French. So, he thought of trying his hand at German.
Question 5 : Describe Hafeez Contractor’s activities during his eleventh grade.
Answer : During his eleventh grade, Hafeez Contractor was deeply stirred by the advise given to him by his school Principal.
That entire year, Contractor withdrew himself from the field and the various games he used to play and devoted his entire time to his studies. He used to merely eat, pray and study.
Long Questions
Question 1 : What did Hafeez Contractor do in the architect’s office that led to his becoming an architect himself?
Answer : In the architect’s office, Hafeez Contractor saw someone making a drawing of a window. He pointed out the mistakes in the drawing and said that according to the sketch the window would never open.
Later, he made some specific drawings on asked by his brother-in-law and was found to be impressive for that particular field. This led to the future course of actions which in turn facilitated his becoming an architect.
Question 2 : Give examples from the book to indicate that Hafeez Contractor looked at things differently.
Answer : There are many instances in the chapter that prove that Hafeez Contractor looked at things differently. For instance, when it began to rain outside while he was in class, his mind would drift to think about ways to build a dam in order to block the flowing water.
He would also probe questions like how much water could the dam be able to hold and so on. To save his friends, he would apply his skill to cut buttons from a chalk with the help of a blade.
Value Based Questions
Question 1 : Why were the students who are original in their thinking labelled as failures at school?
Answer : A school usually adheres to fixed and standard teaching and learning practices in accordance with a given curriculum. It , therefore, fails to acknowledge originality in children as it is constantly forcing them to be good in everything. However, in the process of becoming good in every subject, original thinkers at times forget what they are brilliant in. They end up being branded as failures.
Question 2 : What important lesson do we learn by looking closely at Hafeez Contractor’s life?
Answer : Hafeez Contractor’s life teaches us two important lessons. It, first teaches us that it is never too late to decide to work hard. In his eleventh grade, when Contractor decides to work hard, he fairs quite well in his exams. Secondly, his life also teaches us that we should not underestimate anyone’s powers. Just because someone is a different learner does not mean that he/she is a failure.