Question: I am an engineering dropout currently pursuing BA in English literature after graduation will I be able to apply for UPSC?

Ans. Yes. If you complete your B.A., I think there is no way you cannot appear in UPSC Exams. But you will have to increase your knowledge in other subjects that are selected by you from the syllabus prescribed by UPSC.

The-Journey-Temsula-Ao-Questions-Answers

 

Lesson 3: The Journey by Temsula Ao

Part A: Very Short answer-type Qs

 

Q1. Which place or region has been described in the story?

Ans. A tribal village in the Naga Hills

Q2. Why was the journey so difficult?

Ans. The journey was difficult because Tinula was to reach her boarding school walking on foot and passing through the thick jungle and intricate (difficult) ways of the mountains.

Q3. Do you encounter such difficulties while coming to college?

Ans. No.

Q4. Who is Winnie?

Ans. She was Tinula’s friend.

Q5.What does the story focus on?

Ans. It focuses on Tinula’s physical and emotional journey.

Q6. Who is the main character in the story?

Ans. Tinula

Q6.At what time of the day does the story begin?

Ans. Early in the morning

Q7.At which place did Tinula spend her night in the town of Mariani?

Ans. She spent night in the loft of a kind shop-keeper.

Q8.How did Tinula wake up early in the morning?

Ans.

Q9.Why was the journey possible only in winter time?

Ans. There the water in the streams was not so deep in winter.

Q10. Why did Tinula’s brother ask her to walk faster?

Ans. It was getting dark and there was danger of wild animals after the sunset.

Q11.Where did Tinula keep her favourite dress?

Ans. She kept her favourite dress in a trunk made of tin

Q12. What was Tinula’s brother’s name?

Ans. Temjenba

Q13. What is ‘singaras’?

Ans. It is a snack item like a ‘samosa’ in the North East of India

Q14. Which was the last station nearest to her boarding?

Ans. Farkating

Q15. Who gave Tinula the pair of shoes she was wearing at that time?

Ans. It was given to her by a senior student at her school.

Q16.Where did they eat their midday meal?

Ans. They ate (had) their lunch at the bank of a river.

Q17. In which vehicle they reach school from the station?

Ans. They reached school in a car (ambassador car).

Q18. Where did the superintendent give shelter to Tinula?

Ans. The superintendent gave her shelter in the infirmary (medical room).

Q19. To whom did Tinula share the bed?

Ans. Tinula shared the bed with Winnie.

Q20. What information did Winnie share with Tinula?

Ans. Winnie told Tinula that her (Tinula’s) boyfriend had a new girlfriend.

Q21. What was the age of Tinula? Or how old was Tinula?

Ans. She was thirteen years old.

Q22. What kind of journey is mentioned by the author at the end of the story?

Ans. The author mentions Tinula’s emotional  journey at the end.

 

 

Part B: Answer the following questions in four or five lines.

Q1. Discuss the relevance of the title of the story ‘The Journey’?

Ans. The title of this story is quite appropriate. The author describes Tinula’s two types of journey. One is taken by her at the physical level. The second is her emotional one. She reaches her boarding school after passing through the difficult ways of the jungle and climbing up and down the mountains. After reaching there, she had to sleep with her friend Winnie. She told her about Hubert, her boyfriend, who had had a new girlfriend. It is then she had a new feeling that takes her on an emotional journey.

 

Q2.How does the story bring out the importance of the efforts of the community in helping an individual?

Ans. The efforts of the community in helping individuals like Tenula are very important. During the journey, she was helped by her brother and the other members of her community in one way or the other. Some women of the group dropped pieces of meat in her leaf plate at mealtime.. They catch each other’s hands while crossing the rivers or streams. A kind woman of the group took her shoes to make her comfortable. Once she was lagging behind, then, other members of the group waited for her. A co-passenger gave her a seat in the train. At the station, they were given a lift in a car. Such incidents show that community plays a very important role in helping individuals.

Video 1 Ends

Q3. Assess the brother-sister relationship as described in the story.

Ans. Temjenba and Tenula are siblings. Tenula is a girl of thirteen years. Both of them have a strong bonding between them. The text of this lesson shows that they have to undertake two difficult journeys on foot in the terrains of Naga Hills. First, Temjenba brings his sister back to their village from the boarding school. Then, after the summer vacation, he accompanies (goes with) her to her boarding school. During both the journeys, Temjenba shows a lot of concern for his sister. Sometimes, she lags behind and feels tired. Then he encourages her to move fast in order to reach the target before sunset. He helps her cross the streams and the rivers on the way. Temjenba brings some snacks and tea for her at the stoppage of the train. She felt obliged to him at that time.

 

Q6. Describe the train journey of Tenula and her brother.

Ans. Anyhow, Tinula and her brother reached the railway station. They had no time to purchase tickets, so they entered the train without tickets. After some time, a passenger adjusted Tinula on his seat. At a small station, her brother Tenjenba went out quickly and bought something for her to eat. It was a samosa-like snack. He also brought some tea also. Tinula felt obliged to her brother. After a tiring journey, the train reached Farkating. It was the nearest station to her boarding school.

 

Q7. Describe the experience of Tenula and her brother from the station to the school.

Ans. After coming out of the railway station of Farkating, now they were to reach School. It was three or four miles away. But it was late at night and darkness was everywhere. He was in confusion about what to do. Even the station master was locking his office. Temjenba was just thinking about it when a man from the dark came near them. He offered them a lift in his car. It was God’s blessing sent to them. They both followed the man up to the car. It was an Ambassador car. Tinula was almost squeezed among other passengers in the car.

The car reached the school gate. They came out of it and in this way they reached the school gate.

Q8. Write a note at the beginning of the story ‘The Journey’.

Ans. Tinula, a thirteen-year-old girl lives in a tribal village surrounded by jungles and hills in Nagaland. The day has dawned when she has to return to her boarding school, situated at a far-off place after two months’ vacation. She wakes up suddenly due to the squealing of a piglet. She has to travel on foot today through thick jungle and intricate ways of the mountains to reach her boarding school.

It was still dark when she woke up. She was alert because it was the day she reached her school after two months’ winter break.

She still remembered the minute detail of her previous journey when she had come up to her village by traversing the plains of Assam to her village in the Naga Hills.

Q9. Describe Tenula’s experience at the school boarding.

Ans. After reaching the school gate, Tinula and Temjenba moved towards the Superintendent’s bungalow. A lady opened the door. First, she seemed annoyed at being awakened at such an odd hour of the night. But when she saw them shivering, she told Temjenba to go back home.

The superintendent took the girl to the school infirmary (medical room). It was temporarily being used for the students who reached school late at night after their holidays. Tinula had to share the bed in which her friend, Winnie was sleeping. Before creeping into the warmth of the bed, she washed her feet as best as she could. She enjoyed the warmth of the soft bed.

Video 2 Ends

 

Part C: Long Answer-type Questions

Q1. With reference to the story ‘The Journey’, write about the natural beauty of the North-East. (In about ten to fifteen lines)

Or  What is special about the landscape portrayed in the story?

Ans. The writer gives a very minute (microscopic) detail of the landscape in this story. Tinula’s village is situated in Naga Hills. These hills are full of green trees and bushes. The way to reach anywhere is full of difficulties. Wild animals also live in dense forests. There are rivers and streams that have to be crossed. There are no bridges on them. It is very difficult to cross these rivers in the rainy season. The water in these rivers is reduced only in winter. Life in these hills is very tough. So, the people have to live from hand to mouth only.

Q2. Describe Tinula’s journey from her boarding school to her village.

Ans. After eating rice and curry in the morning, Tinula along with her brother and some other members of the group set out on their journey forming a line.

The way was rough and full of dangers. After traversing (walking with difficulty), she felt tired. But her brother was encouraging her to move faster and faster. The other members had reached the halfway mark on the bank of Disoi River.

As Tinula and her brother reached there, they started eating food. Some women dropped pieces of meat on the girl’s leaf plate to make her feel happy. Having eaten food, they resumed their journey. They entered a river. Her brother and a man held her up by putting their hands under her armpits and carried her safely to the river bank.

The road became steep soon after crossing the river. The girl was unable to walk further. She sat down on a stone step and started crying. She sat down on a stone-step and started crying. The others had gone far and they didn’t notice it. But, her brother was with her feeling worried. He tried to soothe her pointing to the sun that was moving westward and told her once again the dangers of the jungle.

The girl remembered now as to how she struggled over every step. The sun had almost set when they reached the village.

 

Q3. Describe the journey of Tinula and her brother from the village to her boarding school.

 

 Ans. After having a morning meal, Tinula and her brother, Temjenba, began their journey to reach the place where they could board a bus or a train to reach the town. It was a downward journey almost steep (straight).

Both of them were to reach their target Mariani by four in the afternoon. They ate their midday meal on the bank of the river. It was almost dry. Tinula was helped by her brother and the woman cross the river.

 Now, they had reached the plain. The girl felt thirsty because the direct rays of the sun were falling on her face. But she had to keep pace with others. Sometimes she had to run to join them under the fear of some wild animal. They reached the railway station almost at the sunset of the winter evening. They hurriedly boarded the train. They did not get seats. After some time, a passenger offered Tinula to adjust with him on his seat. At a station, her brother brought some snacks and tea for her. At last, the train reached Farkating. It was the last station that was also nearest to her boarding school. It was nearly midnight when they came out of the station.

Now they were to walk on foot to cover the distance of three or four miles to reach the boarding school. But a kind person offered them a lift in his ambassador car and then he left them near the school's main gate.

Video 3 Ends

Q4. Describe Tinula’s emotional journey mentioned at the end of the story.

Ans.  In this story, Tinula undergoes two types of journeys. Her first journey was at the physical level and the second one was at her mental level. After completing her first journey, Tinula had to experience a sudden change in her emotions. It was an emotion she had never experienced before. She had to share her friend Winnie’s bed to pass the night.                                      

 First Winnie told her about Herbert, whom she liked. She told Tinula that he had a new girlfriend. It was Winnie’s willing attempt to hurt her. That made her feel disturbed and hurt. But to save her face, she had giggled at that time. After many years, she recalls the incident but she did not know if she had laughed or cried at that time.

But Winnie’s attempt of mentioning Herbert’s girlfriend really brought about a change in her mind. She had a strange realisation that she had never had. It was the emotion that had overtaken her and was forcing her to look at the warm body lying next to her in a different way.

She wished to leave the bed and go somewhere else. But it was not possible as it was too late and the superintendent had gone to her room. Besides, she had also no reason to explain to her why she wanted to sleep elsewhere. So, she just turned her back and pretended to sleep though her body continued to shake for a long time.

Q5.How does the story bring out the importance of the efforts of the community in helping an individual?

 

Ans. In this story, we come to know how the efforts of the community in helping individual like Tinula are important. She had to undertake two journeys on foot along with her brother and a few members of her community through the thick jungle and all the difficulties of the intricate (complicated/very difficult) way.

 

 During the journey, she was helped by her brother and the other members of her community in one way or the other. We know how some women of the group dropped pieces of meat in her leaf plate at mealtime. A kind shopkeeper gave them shelter to sleep in the loft of his shop. While crossing the streams and rivers on the way, Tinula was helped by them. They catch each other’s hands while crossing the rivers or streams.

 

At one time, Tinula was facing a problem in walking while picking up her shoes in one hand. Then a kind woman of the group took her shoes to make her comfortable. Once she was lagging behind, then, other members of the group waited for her. A co-passenger gave her seat on the train. At the station, they were given a lift in a car. Such incidents show that community plays a very important role in helping individuals.

 

Q6. How do people of the hill community prepare for the journey?

Ans.  The people of the hill community form a group if a journey to somewhere is undertaken. Tinula’s brother also formed a group of his community members to help Tinula reach her boarding school. They make some necessary arrangements before starting on a journey.

Every member of the group has to take a basket at his or her back. It has salt, dry fish, some bottles of hair oil, and even kerosene oil for the lamps. The author also tells us that it was a custom to bring some rice and some other required material by each member of the group to prepare a meal during the journey. A big pot for preparing food is also to be carried by one of the members of the group. Each one would contribute one cup full of rice each time they prepare a meal.

Firewood is also collected for cooking meals before the start of the journey. After having the morning meal, they start their journey in a single file (line).

Video 4 Ends

 

 

 

The Journey-Temsula Ao-Questions-Answers-Video 1 of 4-English for B.A. I...