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TDC 1st Semester English Question Answer (GU) - The River - (General)

We will discuss here the question & answer of the TDC first semester English.

Model Question & Answer On TDC (1st Semester) English { Lesson- The River }


Model Question & Answer On TDC (1st Semester) English { Lesson- The River }


TEXTUAL QUESTIONS


Q.1: Here I was born and here I will die when the time comes. when does Lansina Nona say this and why? 

Ans: Lansina Nona used to squat on the bank of the river and watch men who went by on boats. These people used to talk to them and later started persuading her to go with them. They told her that it was of no use to stay out there by the unruly river. They asked her to go with them and promised to find her a good place where she could live. They told her to go and settle in the village which was situated round the hill and the people there were friendly too. They said that the river runs too low for it to rise up and flood the land and that the soil was also good and fertile. At this, Lansina Nona said that she was born in the valley and would die there itself when her time would come. According to her, it was no use to run here and there. And she also said that she was not aftaid of the river, and that she will not let it drive her away from the valley. She felt that the river could not hurt her. she had grown wise and cunning over the years, along with the river. Moreover, that time she had properly and wisely planted rice where the river could not reach and she had also made a plan to move to the cave up-hill when her hut would be flooded. She thought that there were many others ways of living if one wanted to, in spite of the river. Lansina Nona was a very courageous and brave woman who wanted to stand against the river. She wanted to defeat the unruly river and show it that it was possible to make a living even without the river. And she also claimed that whenever she would die, it would surely not be because of drowing in the river. This was why she wanted to live in that valley near the evil flowing river in spite of the hardships which followed. 


Q.2: And some say that to this day it can still be heard, if one cares to listen whenever the river floods that ill-fated valley. Describe the tragedy that befalls Lansina Nona at the end. 

Ans: After fighting the devastating flood, which ruined Lansina Nona's home, she took some coconuts and vegetables with her and some of her things which could be of some use to her. But soon, her food store was exhausted, and so she went uphill near the jungle where she discovered the rock, big and strong, rising out from the side of the hill . It was broad and flat and easy to walk. From the end, the drop down to the valley was terrifying. The whole valley could be taken there at a glance. She thought that it was safe up there and there was nobody in the jungle to fight with. But then suddenly she became aware that she had made a mistake. She became aware of the presence of someone else too. A shadow moved, and a leaf rustled just behind the rocks. Then a yellow head peered above the rock, followed rapidly by a yellow form streaking across the rock. It was a leopard which stood face to face with Lansina Nona. In terror her mouth dropped open and she began panting, as the leopard retreated a few steps. But her panting got louder and louder until it was the only sound her ears could hear. The leopar'd glared balefully at her and took a step towards her. Lansina Nona felt as if her eyes pro- truded out of her eyes and ran hither and thither. She was unaware of her body moving backwards. To the leopard's one step, she took back two steps. On and on the two moved across the surface of the rock until Lansina Nona felt her foot touched nothing but empty air. Her body jerked backwards and with twist, she fell off into thin air, being conscious of the wind roaring in her ears and the river gushing up to greet her. Closer and closer came the river, its face smooth and Smiling. Then at last she opened her mou th and gave a scream so pierced in agony that it echoed round and round the valley, long arter she was gone. Thus, she met her end.



BA 1st sem english (The River) question answer (G.U)


EXTRA QUESTIONS 


Q.1: What could one see from the highest hills? 

Ans: From the highest of hills, one could see the river very easily, if one would look down far far away. At the very bottom of the valley, the river might be mistaken for a road or a cart-rack, or even just an empty stretch of land or brown earth. One could never guess its depth nor its strength because it looked wide and shallow It looked very calm and powerful, like the valley itself. On some fine day one might even see little brown specks here and there and would wonder what they could be. But those were actually the boats which sailed on the river, The boats sailed when the river was quiet. But the river rarely remained quite and calm. Though it was hard for one to believe, but actually it was quite evident in the silence that lay over the valley and in the broken crushed walls of what once used to be a proud, prosperous and healthy village, that the river was actually a tyrant and evil thing. One would, not sea this devastating side of the river from the highest port of the hills. To see the black side of the river in proper light, to see beyond its flat deceiving face, one had to climb down into the valley The river which looked so calm and smooth from the height of the hills had actually overrun a very prosperous village, leaving behind the destruction of lovely homes and dead bodies of creaturs which lived there. The river proved to be a very evil part of the nature which seemed to have old clash with the living as it seemed to leave nothing safe and alive. Lansina Nona was the only one who stood in front of the river challenging its might. 


Q.2: Why was it not easy to get down to the river and what view those one get after that? 

Ans: It was not easy to get down to the river. At the foremost there was the jungle, which was very dark and misty. There was the leopard lurking always in search of meat, hunger stricken. There were the shiny and slimy rocks, with their smooth black surface hiding death. And under the thorny undergrowth, the snakes and the leeches were ever ready to get the warmth of human foOt and taste of fresh red blood. But, if someone was to battle through these difficulties, he would surely achieve good reward, as gradually the jungle loses its grip on the hill-slope and finally gives its way alto gether to the rich low land bordering the river. It was such a place where nature could deceive anyone's eyes, closing them to the dangers within the river. The river had very quickly and very clevery repaired the damage of the last flood that had destroyed the valley. The coconut trees, the buxom jack fruit trees were once again heavily loaded. The tasty scent of the ripe mangoes, the thick rich grass could make men forget everything and fill him with a false promise of security. But then, man cannot be deceived for long. The valley was empty of all living beings except for one solitary hut which stood undaunted and unafraid, inspite of the harsh truth of the evil and life taking river. It was the home of Lansina Nona. She lived there all alone, refusing to be defeated by the unruly river, trying to be brave. promising herself to die there itself as it was her home from her these childhood. 


Q.3: What did Lansina Nona do after the rice was destroyed? 

Ans: After the rice was destroyed, Lansina Nona lived on the few coconuts that had been left on the trees and on a wild yam two that she had dug up from the hillside. After the water had receded, Lansina Nona, taking her hoe, walked tirelessly up and down the hill looking for safe land to stay. She wanted the land to be safe from the river. She did find one such piece of land, behind a rock-cave, very near the jungle. That land was more or less flat there and she only had to break up the mud-clotted soil and then level and smoothen it down with a rake. She then brought out seeds which she had hoarded and saved, and scattered them over the land. She had to wait quite a long time before she could taste rice again in her mouth, but she did not mind that, as long as she could prove that life was still possible in spit of the evil river. Behind the rice, she also planted a bed of vegetables like bottle gourd, a few sweet potatoes, a handful of chilli plants, a little higher on the slope. She also brought sticks and branches from the edge of the jungle and built a low fence round her whole plot of land. She wanted to live in that valley without being disturbed or threatened by the river and continue life in a brave manner. She squatted on the banks and watched the men go in their boats, refusing the persuasion of the men on the boat. Lansina Nona lived a lone life after the river destroyed everything. She refused to budge, or get defeated by the evil river, as she thought that the valley was too rich to be deserted and it was her home. She thought and there were ways to outwit the old devil. 


Q.4: Explain Lansina Nona's experience with the men who passed the river on boat. 

Ans: On fine days when the river was calm and quiet, boats were seen passing by. Lansina Nona would squatt on the bank and watch them go. Sometimes, the curious men drew their boats close to the land and conversed with Lansina Nona. They were fascinated, as well as curious to see a lone woman in the wilderness of the valley. The men had never seemed to have seen a woman like Lansina Nona before. There was something cheery and indetatigable in her round plump face. She told the men that her father had been a white man who had passed through the village long ago, and so her mother named her Lansina Nona, which meant half-white. She learnt bits of gossips about what went on in the outside world and in return, she also entertained them with stories of her own. Once she even got them to bring a goat for her so that she could give them milk when they were thirsty. One by one, the men tried to persuade her to leave the valley. They told her that it was no use to live in that valley and promised to find her a good home to live. They told her that it was dangerous as well as foolish to shut one's eyes to the river. Being alone, she had no chance against the mighty and determined river. But she used to confront them saying them that the river could never harm her and that she knew it like the palm of her hand. She told them that she would never get defeated by the evil river and she would prove to be brave. But, the men still tried to persuade her to leave,for saftey .


Q.5:Was Lansina Nona a religious person? 

Ans: Lansina Nona was not a very religious person by nature She was never like those women who would spend their life worship ping at some shrine or other. But still she was scrupulous and me thodical about her daily devotions. This habit had been ingrained in her ever Since she had been a toddler who stood at her mother' s knees. An old bo-tree served as the worshipping place, which had withstood the fierce flood. Lansina Nona had nailed to the Bo-tree's trunk a small box and inside this she placed a small broken headless statue of the Buddha. Across it, she strung a bit of coloured cloth as a curtain and she always placed an oil lamp, which was always lit, beside the headless Buddha statue. There was no incense stick to light and no flowers either to offer. But her God did not seen to mind. She had found the statue of headless Buddha lying half-buried in 'the mud near the river. She also read her black bana potha, which was a book on Buddhist sermons. This was the only book she had read in her entire life, other than her old school books. Its pages had been worn out and sometimes torn and she practically knew every word by heart, but still she read it. She did not read it just because she was interested or either because she was religious minded. She read the black bana potha simply out of habit, and partly because she could never sit still! without doing something. She lacked a companion to be with. Thus, we see that Lansina Nona was not a hard core religious person, but she believed in worshipping and was methodical and scrupulous about it. 


Q.6: Write a note on Lansina Nona. 

Ans: Lansina Nona was a courageous and brave woman, who dared to live all alone in the flood devastated deserted valley, challenging the evil river. She was a very cheery and indefatigable kind of person with a round plump face. She had eyes which were the same colour as smoke from a woodfire. She had light coloured skin. Her skin was not the golden fairnesS of the hill country women, but a strange pale colour like milk which had been treated with water. Her father was a white man who had passed through the village long back.And that was why her mother named her Lansina Nona, which meant half-white. She had a very determined personality. She wanted to prove that life could go an without the river. She challenged the mighty river and refused to be defeated by it. She also had a friendly aspect in her personality. She had friendly relation with the people who passed on boat and conversed with her. about her days in the wilderness and they told her about the outside world. She was not a very deeply religiOus person, but she had a worshipping place, which was at a Bo-tree. She worshipped a headless Buddha statue which she had found lying half-buried in the mud. She was very scrupulous and methodical about this. She also read a black bana potha. She read this to pass time. Lansina met her tragic death by falling over the rock. meeting the river at the end, which seemed to be in a triumph. She proved her saying, " Here I was born and here I will die when time Comes. 


Q.7: What did Lansina Nona experience on the rock? 

Ans : Lansina Nana saw that the rock was rising out from the side of the hill. It was broad and flat and easy to walk, and it struck out many feet away from the hill. There was nothing there except a few wind blown tufts of grass. From the end of the rock, the drop down to the valley was however terrifying. Lansina Nona had never seen anything like that before and thus she felt dizzy and faint and stepped back hurriedly. The whole terrifying scene of destruction of the valley was visible from there at one glance. The valley seemed nothing but a sheet of water carrying upon it the stillness of death. She could see no life of any sort except for a few hawks that were circling round and round screaming hungrily. On the rock, she felt as if out of the entire world, she was the only person left alive. She felt dazed as never had she imagined that the river held such vast power to destroy. Then her heart began to beat with thankfulness that she had been saved and left alive to prove her courage and wisdom. She felt that now everyone would listen to her and agree to come back to a new life on the hill. She felt it was quite safe up there and from that rock One could sit and watch the whole land below getting flooded without even wetting one's foot. And there was nobody up there tO fight saying that the jungle belonged to him. She felt that the rich land was waiting for the one with great courage to come and take it. 


Q.8: Describe Lansina Nona's encounter with the leopard and its consequences. 

Ans : As Lansina Nona was in the jungle, suddenly, she became aware of someone else's presence in the jungle besides her. Next moment the yellow head of a leopard peered above the rock, followed rapidly by its yellow form streaking across the rock. Lansina Nona came face to face with the leopard, as it halted confusingly within a few paces from her. Then slowly the leopard retreated a few steps and stopped. Lansina Nona's mouth dropped open and she began to pant, softer at first, then louder and louder till the sound of her painting became the only sound she could hear. Her eyes seemed to protrude out of her head and roll hither and thither like loose pebbles. Without her knowledge her body began moving slowly backwards.. To the leopard's one step forward, she took two backwards. On and on both moved across the surface of the rock untill, Lansina Nona felt that her foot simply touched nothing but the empty air. Then her body jerked backwards and with a twist she fell off into thin air. She was still conscious of the wind roaring in her ears and also saw the river gushing up to greet her, with a smooth face, smiling as if in triumph. Then at last she opened her mouth and gave a scream so piercing in its agony that it echoed round and round the valley long after she was gone. And thus, the brave, Courageous and wonderful woman. Lansina Nona, met her death falling from the rock after encountering the leopard. She at last met her death by falling into the river.

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