From 2011 to 2024June
June, 2024
Note : Answer all questions. All questions carry equal marks.
1. Discuss with reference to the context, any four of the following passages : 4×5=20
(a) Cave roofs are pushed and splintered,
Mistakes are fine follies howl,
Every eye begets its many dreams,
(b) Love live thirst,
Though all the world is for you
Yet the most precious gift of all
(c) We’ll strive to untie the narcissus with you,
And she’ll be able to satiate her longings,
O bumble bee, the black bumble bee !
(d) What impudence in the sunlight.
The wind’s thoughts are wandering,
as though it has seen the long banished over.
(e) The moans that floated
into the still autumn nights
were borne by the cold winds.
(f) That can’t be
That can’t be
She had died many years ago
She cannot live any longer
2. What part does religion play in Tamas ? Discuss. 20 (400 words)
Or
Do you think Sanskara is a repudiation of Brahminism ? Discuss.
3. In what way is Tughlaq a well-structured play ? Substantiate. 20 (400 words)
Or
“There are opposing extremes in the characters of Sultan Mohammad Tughlaq.” Comment with reference to the play Tughlaq.
4. Write short notes on any two of the following
(in 400 words) : 20×10=20
(a) The role of memory in Birds
(b) Narrative technique in Salt
(c) The Compromise as an allegory
(d) Stark realism in Birthday
5. Discuss the salient features of the writer’s style in Manimahesh. 20 (400 words)
Or
What exactly was Premchand’s vision of truth and beauty ? Examine with suitable examples.
December, 2023
Note : Answer all questions. All questions carry
equal marks.
1. Discuss with reference to the context any four
of the following passages : 4×5=20
(a) Long live thirst
Though all the world is for you
Yet the most precious gift of all
Is the thirst that the creator showered on
you.
(b) That can’t be
That can’t be
She had died many years ago
She cannot live any longer
(c) Cooking and serving, cooking and serving,
Scrubbing and washing
There’s a kitchen in my dreams,
The smell of spices even in the jasmine
Damn the kitchen
(d) “Yesterday—or the day before—I met
Whitman : met Whitman talking
aloud in solitude about the populace.”
(e) I then collected
all half-formed desires,
joined them together,
rushed towards you like a gale
and entwined my fingers
in your fingers.
(f) Last year
Summer covered it with
The green
of mango blossoms;
It tempted a calf
Which fell in and drowned.
2. Comment on the distinctive feature of Amrit Rai’s biography of Premchand. 20
Or
How does Manimahesh combine history, legend, reality and myth ? Discuss.
3. How has Girish Karnad treated the theme of power in Tughlaq ? 20
Or
Describe the characteristics of the protagonist in Indira Goswami’s The Empty Chest.
4. Write short notes on any two of the following :
2×10=20
(a) Folk element in Compromise
(b) Elements of optimism in Birthday
(c) Salt as metaphor for exploitation in Salt
(d) The role of memory in Birds
5. After Nathu, Bakshiji is the most socially sensitive character in Tamas. Do you agree ? Discuss. 20
Or
Discuss the contemporary relevance of Sanskara.
June, 2023
Note : Answer all questions. All questions carry equal marks.
1. Discuss with reference to the context any four of the following passages : 4×5=20
(a) Love broke into loud lamentation
The mother cried for divine explanations
Mourners swarmed her death-bed.
(b) Beauty is neither in flower
nor in the eye,
It is in desire of flower for the eye.
It is in the desire of the eye
yearning the embrace the flower.
(c) We’ll strive to untie the narcissus with you,
And she’ll be able to satiate her longings.
O bumble-bee the black bumble bee !
Wherefore are you so sad and forelorn ?
(d) The morning today
tells me it shall away all
consciousness from this life
and all the other lives I have yet to live
and all other lives I have yet to live
in words different from all the words I’ve
known.
(e) Piles of wood were burning in the crematorium
I love, I do love to burn,
I want to burn alongside a river !
(f) The blood that flows in the veins
Drop by drop
Swims like tears in the eyes
It knows you though it sees you not.
2. Discuss the importance of Putta’s role as a focalizer in Sam skara. 20
Or
What part does religion play in Tamas ?
3. Discuss the salient features of the writer’s style in Manimahesh. 20
Or
What was Premchand’s vision of truth and beauty ? Discuss.
4. Write short notes on any two of the following :
(a) Use of symbols in The Empty Chest
(b) The first person narration in The Compromise
(c) The character of Latika in Birds
(d) The theme of loneliness in Very Lonely, She 5. Comment on Bama’s reflections on Caste and Gender politics in India. 20
Or
Can the price on Ismat be regarded as a social document recording the values and conventions of the contemporary society ? Discuss.
December, 2022
1. Discuss with reference to the context, any four of the following passages : 4´5=20
(a) The moans that floated into the still autumn nights were borne by the cold winds onto the season of carols.
(b) The morning today tells me it shall take away all consciousness from this life and all the other lives I have yet to live.
(c) Laugh, laugh be quick to laugh Laugh before the master leaves Shaking hands with him
(d) The wide forehead of the village Sleeping they cannot change positions In the early hours of daytime Up and down the village
(e) The garden has withered in autumn : It might be deserted soon. O bumble-bee, the black bumble-bee ! Wherefore are you so sad and forlorn ?
(f) Strange were the questions Stranger still was my quest I felt like an exile Without foothold in sight
2. “Interte xtuality appears to be a special feature of the narrative texture of the novel Samskara.” Discuss. (500 words) 20
OR “The novel Tamas is a severe criticism of British imperialism in India.” Discuss. (500 words)
3. In what sense is Tughlaq a well-structured play ? Discuss. (500 words) 20
OR Write a note on the contemporary relevance of Tughlaq. (500 words) MEG-14 3 P.T.O. 4. Attempt one question each from section
4(a) and 4(b) : 10+10=20
(a) In what way is the story ‘The Compromise’ relevant to our times ? Comment. (225 words)
(b) OR “Exploitation is the major theme of the story “Salt.” Discuss. (225 words)
(c) (b) The story ‘Birthday’ is typical of the early Basheer who was at odds with a society full of vested interests and selfishness. Substantiate. (225 words)
(d) OR Do you think ‘Birds’ is an apt title for the story ? Give reasons for your answer. (225 words)
5. Can the piece On Ismat be regarded as a social document recording the values and conventions of the contemporary society ? Discuss. (500 words) 20
OR What are the aims of Dalit writing and how well does Karukku achieve them ? (500 words)
December, 2022
1. Discuss with reference to the context, any four of the following passages : 4´5=20
(a) The moans that floated into the still autumn nights were borne by the cold winds onto the season of carols.
(b) The morning today tells me it shall take away all consciousness from this life and all the other lives I have yet to live.
(c) Laugh, laugh be quick to laugh Laugh before the master leaves Shaking hands with him
(d) The wide forehead of the village Sleeping they cannot change positions In the early hours of daytime Up and down the village
(e) The garden has withered in autumn : It might be deserted soon. O bumble-bee, the black bumble-bee ! Wherefore are you so sad and forlorn ?
(f) Strange were the questions Stranger still was my quest I felt like an exile Without foothold in sight
2. “Intertextuality appears to be a special feature of the narrative texture of the novel Samskara.” Discuss. (500 words) 20
OR “The novel Tamas is a severe criticism of British imperialism in India.” Discuss. (500 words)
3. In what sense is Tughlaq a well-structured play ? Discuss. (500 words) 20
OR Write a note on the contemporary relevance of Tughlaq. (500 words) MEG-14 3 P.T.O. 4. Attempt one question each from section
4(a) and 4(b) : 10+10=20
(a) In what way is the story ‘The Compromise’ relevant to our times ? Comment. (225 words)
(b) OR “Exploitation is the major theme of the story “Salt.” Discuss. (225 words)
(c) (b) The story ‘Birthday’ is typical of the early Basheer who was at odds with a society full of vested interests and selfishness. Substantiate. (225 words)
(d) OR Do you think ‘Birds’ is an apt title for the story ? Give reasons for your answer. (225 words)
5. Can the piece On Ismat be regarded as a social document recording the values and conventions of the contemporary society ? Discuss. (500 words) 20
OR What are the aims of Dalit writing and how well does Karukku achieve them ? (500 words)
December, 2021
any four of the following passages : 4´5=20
(a) The moon looked like a pancake and The hills looked hungry; and the clouds put out The fire in western skies. But in the east The wood nymphs lit the moon’s cooking stove
(b) I then collected all half-formed desires, joined them together, rushed towards you like a gale and entwined my fingers in your fingers
(c) He stood with his foot Pressing the forehead of the stone And looking to find which way His prey was on the run
(d) Thus was cremated the old woman Darkness of the night embraces The wide forehead of the village Sleeping they cannot change positions
(e) Kabir is standing in the bazaar, wishing well to everyone ! He had friendship with none, And enmity with none !
(f) What were the words on my lips when I died. You seem to know them better than I. You wrote : I had said ‘Help’ May be I had said ‘Liberty’
2. Discuss the text Samskara as an Allegory. 20 OR Comment on the narrative structure of Tamas.
3. Examine Tughlaq as a political satire. 20 OR Discuss the theme of power in the play Tughlaq
4. Write short notes on any two of the following : 2´10=20
(a) Narrative voice in Tiny’s Granny
(b) Significance of the title Birds
(c) Symbolism in The Empty Chest
(d) Exploitation as the major theme in Salt
5. Discuss the problems raised by Bama in Karukku. Give examples. 20
OR Bring out the distinctive features of Amrit Rai’s biography of Premchand.
June, 2011
Note : Answer all questions. All questions carry equal marks.
1. Discuss with reference to the content any four of
the following passages :
(a) All of her flesh and bones
They had consigned to the flames
But how she continued living
No one can understand.
(b) A man with a broken heart came today
Accompanied by his lady love
Sprayed dreams and tears on the stone
And went away rowing upstream.
(c) Thirst is to plunge headlong
Without learning to swim
Without a barge and a pole
Into the roaring whirlpools
(d) My ears like twin boats
Carry the weight of
your words ? Remember ?
(e) The eagles crying out in sharp shrill notes;
The eagles of the under - world burst into
the sky.
(f) How can I write the alphabets of
constellations on the old paper ?
2. Discuss Praneshacharya's quest for identity in Sanskara. How do you view the ending of the
novel ?
OR
What part does religion play in Tamas ?
3. 'There are opposing extremes in the character of Sultan Mohammad Tughlaq'. Comment.
OR
Discuss the relevance of Azy- Aazam in Tughlaq.
4. Discuss the following : 2x10=20
(a) (i) Salt as a metaphor for exploitation in
salt (225 words)
OR
(ii) The role of memory in Birds
(225 words)
(b) (i) Role of madness in Headmaster,
Prawn, Chanachur (225 words)
OR
(ii) 'The compromise' as an allegory
(225 words)
5. What exactly was Premchand's vision of truth 20
and beauty ? (450 words).
OR
In what way is Manimahesh a personal memoir
rather than an objective traveller's guide to the
land and its people ? (450 words)
Dec 2011
1. Discuss with reference to the content any four of
the following passages : 4x5=20
(a) Her very name calls upon God to protect
but there she was moaning
as naturally as a sleeper snoring
No doctor came....
(b) That weak old woman looking at us
Across the wide of water
Yes she was the ancient goddess of the
village.
(c) What were the words on my lips when I
died.
You seem to know them better than I
You wrote : I had said 'Help'.
May be I had said 'Liberty'.
now that I am dead I cannot remember.
(d) I whispered
Hope to my hungry belly, and gazed and
gazed
With hungry looks at the moon-flooded sky.
(e) Why do your people
get away when they meet your people
as if they are not your people ?
Do you prefer whites to blacks ?
(f) We need everything. We shall build houses
and home
shall raise a lasting pillar of civilization.
When the silvery fish is gone scattering
stones in water
Just once try to love.
2. Do you think Samskara is a complete repudiation of Brahminism ? Discuss (450 words)
OR
'After Nathu, Bakshiji is the most socially sensitive
character in Tamas'. Do you agree ? Discuss.
3. How has Girish Karnad treated the theme of 20
power ? (450 words)
OR
In what way is Tughlaq a well-structured play Or In what way is Tughlaq a well-structured play ?
4. (a) Discuss the following : 20
(i) The narrative technique in 'salt'
(225 words)
OR
(ii) Comment on the ending of the story
'Tiny's Granny' (225 words)
(b) (i) The role of the police in 'Headmaster,
Prawn, Chanachur (225 words)
OR
(ii) The Theme of familial love in 'Very
Lonely, She'. (225 words)
5. Discuss Premchand's effort to bridge the 20
Urdu-Hindi ,divide. (450 words)
OR
Discuss the salient features of the writer's is style
in 'Manimahesh'.
June 2012
1. Discuss with reference to the context any four of
the following passages : 4x5=20
(a) The body is the residue of struggle
incorporating in itself one battered
eating bowl,
One soiled hair comb and the breakage
within
The only element to escape is a cry
Which in essence, is an undetermined
internal matter
still under study.
(b) I whispered
Hope to my hungry belly, and
gazed and gazed
With hungry looks at the
moon - flooded sky
(c) Our children are about to enter
These lonely kitchens,
Come, for their sake,
Let's demolish
These kitchens now.
(d) The morning today
Tells me it shall take away
all consciousness
From this life
And all the other lives I have yet
to live.
It says all this in a strange language
In words different from all the
words I've known.
(e) The eagles crying out in sharp, shrill notes,
The eagles, confused, are looking
for their lost beloved.
(f) In the early hours of daytime
Up and down the village
They are all having nightmares
The old woman looks on wet - eyed.
2. (a) The narrative in Samskara charts the evolution of Praneshacharya, culminating
in his decision to go back to his people and
confess. Discuss (450 words)
OR
(b) The subject of partition in Tamas
concentrates on the destruction that is
caused by communal violence. Discuss
(450 words).
3. (a) Discuss the significance of the prayer motif in Tughlak. (450 words)
OR
(b) Discuss the contemporary relevance of
Tughlak. Discuss (450 words)
4. Discuss the following : 2x10 = 20
(a) (i) Element of optimism in 'Birthday'.
OR
(ii) The Arupda - Pramita relationship in
'Head master, prawn, chanachur'.
(200 words).
(b) (i) The character of Latika in 'Birds'.
(200 words)
OR
(ii) The theme of loneliness in 'very lonely,
she'. (200 words)
5. (a) Discuss how Premchand tried to work out a balance between Hindi and Urdu.
(450 words)
OR
(b) How does Uma Prasad Mukhopadhyay
elicit the reader's interest in 'Manimahesh'
, not only as an inaccessible destination that
involves adventure, but a site that has a
factual and legendary past ? (450 words).
Dec 2012 page 10
Discuss with reference to the context any four of
the following passages : 4x5=20
(a) Yesterday or the day before - I met
Whitman : I met Whitman talking aloud in
solitude about the populace.
(b) Fruits make me bow And then I crave to be
sweet And linger on a palate
(c) The moon looked like a pancake and The
hills looked hungry; and the clouds put out
The fire in western skies.
(d) And finally, only two titanic tarantulas
One black, the other with a crimson chest,
Crept with slow hairy step, like skulkers
of the night, and hauled her off to their
invisible lair.
(e) I have handed over, my notebook of poems
Long back to Kabir.
There is no Kabir in this market.
(f) The Dark of the wall
Louge for that moment of courage,
When, in full sight of all,
My hands
Will stretch out
For a drink.
2. (a) Samskara is at the interface of tradition and modernity, and explores a traditional
society's potential to question itself and
move ahead, incorporating necessary
changes. Discuss. (450 words)
OR
(b) Explain the title of the novel 'Tamas'.
(450 words)
3. (a) Discuss the metaphor of chess in 'Tughlak' 20
(450 words)
OR
(b) Trace the relationship between the Sultan
and Barani in Tughlak. (450 words)
4. Discuss the following : 2x10=20
(a) (i) The plight of a poor woman in
'Tinny's Granny.' (200 words)
OR
(ii) The first person narration in 'The
Compromise'. (200 words)
(b) (i) Issues of ecology and environment Vs
the human problems of survival and
sustenance in 'Salt'. (200 words)
OR
(ii) The title of the story 'The Empty chest'
(200 words)
5. (a) Comment on Bama's reflections on caste and gender politics in India. (450 words)
OR
(b) Despite being a very brief sketch of a single
person, 'On Ismat' is a significant
commentary on the society in which
chughtai lives. Discuss. (450 words)
JUNE 2013
1. Discuss with reference to the context any four of
the following passages in 150 words each : 4x5=20
(a) A man with a broken heart came today
Accompanied by his lady love
Sprayed dreams and tears on the stone
And went away rowing upstream.
They will build their home in the deep forest.
(b) And now with my spring bloom
I wish to go somewhere else
"It has been too long a stay here
Now is the time to move on."
(c) The dark of the well
Longs for that moment of courage
When in full sight of all
My hands will stretch out
For a drink.
(d) May be the darkness of
the last night
fought a bloody battle in
the ultimate moments
of its empire of silence
or meaningless words.
The small residues of its existence
are already crumbling.
(e) The blind eagles, quite
incapable of looking behind;
Grieving eagles who never
ever had any loved one;
The eagles who never ever
had any loved one;
The eagles crying out in
sharp shrill notes;
The eagles of the underworld burst into the sky.
(f) You do not open the door
Though I have arrived at
the destination
How can I write the
alphabets of constellations.
on the old paper ?
2. Are you satisfied with the way the ending of 20
Samskara ? Illustrate your answer with concrete
arguments (500 words)
OR
'The novel Tamas is a severe criticism of British
imperialism in India. Discuss (500 words)
3. "People did not understand Sultan Muhammad 20
as his ideas were in advance of his times."
Do you agree with the statement ? (500 words)
OR
What use does Karnard make of the motif of chess
in Tughlaq ? ( 500 words)
4. (a) Answer the following : 10+10=20
(i) Memory plays an important role in
Birds. Bring out its full significance.
(225 words)
OR
(ii) Birthday is typical of the stark realism
the early Basheer practiced.
Substantiate. (225 words)
(b) Describe the characterization of the
protagonist in Indira Goswami's The Empty
Chest. (225 words)
OR
"The compromise is a comment on the
absence of moral restraints in modern life."
Elaborate. (225 words)
5. Write a short note on Bama's views about the life, 20
of Dalits. Does she consider their lives to have
become better or worse ? Why ? (500 words)
OR
Discuss how Manto compares his own
temperament and artistic disposition with those
of Ismat Chughtai. (500 words)
December 2013
1. Discuss with reference to the content any four of
the following passages : 4x5=20
(a) The moans that floated into the still autumn
nights were borne by the cold onto the
season of winds carols.
(b) What were the words
on my lips when I died.
You seem to know them better than I.
You wrote : I had said 'Help'
May be I had said 'Liberty'
now that I am dead I cannot remember.
(c) The moon looked like a
pancake as she rose
Behind the hills. She looked dull
as a robe.
of pampore tweed worn off
thread bare and torn
at the collar-band out of
which peep the scars
on a marble breast, and pale
as a counterfeit
silver coin which robs a
coolie of her mite.
(d) Inhuman, it sucks our blood,
robs us
of hopes and dreams.
a demon, a vulture
eating into us bit by bit
all our lives.
Kitchen culture, Kitchen talk,
Reduced to kitchen maids and cooks.
(e) Grasses, rivers, hills, clouds,
woods, clouds
woods, hills, rivers, grasses,
hills, clouds and rivers,
woods, bridges, rails, airports
and cars,
factories and telephones
come, let's walk up to the
pacific coast.
(f) This chill touch of water
snaps the rope of desire.
Don't blow the water.
The face of my autobiography
will be lost.
2. What is the importance of the sexual union 20
between the Acharya and Chandri ? (500 words)
OR
'It seems kites and vultures will hover over the
town, for a along time.' Do you think this sentence
conveys the overall mood of the novel, Tamas ?
(500 words)
3. Write a note on the contemporary relevance of 20
Tughlaq. (500 words)
OR
Comment on Karnad's stagecraft in Tughlaq
4. (a) Discuss the following : 10+10=20
Salt combines stringent political comment
with sophisticated literary technique.
(225 words)
OR
Comment on the merits of Ismat Chughta;
as a short story writer with special reference
to Tiny's Granny. (225 words)
(b) Compare and contrast the two characters
of Pooram Mansi and Manohar in the story
very lonely. (225 words)
OR
The compromise is an allegory. Discuss.
(225 words)
5. Amrit Rai has presented Premchand as a 20
'commoner extraordinary.' Discuss. (500 words)
OR
Can the piece On Ismat be regarded as a social
document recording the values and conventions
of the contemporary society ? (500 words)
JUNE 2014
(a) A funeral feast was hosted.
Church elders were invited.
The cortege assembled.
Prayers were offered.
(b) And now with my spring bloom
I wish to go somewhere else
"It has been too long a stay here
Now is the time to move on"
(c) The dark of the well
Longs for that moment of courage
When in full sight of all
My hands will stretch out
For a drink.
(d) The earth here speaks of the same things to us
Those who have cars do not listen.
(e) This tradition does accept
The promise of liberation,
The wings of desire are just growing
in the empire of darkness!
2. (a) Discuss the contemporary relevance of 20
Samskara. (450 words).
OR
(b) In Tamas the author enables us to hear some 20
of those voices which we would otherwise
never have heard. Comment. (450 words).
3. (a) Discuss the following: 2x20 = 20
Salt as a scathing critique Of social
irresponsibility. (200 words).
OR
(ii) Character of Granny in Tiny's Granny.
(200 ivords)
(b) Discuss the following:
(i) The role of memory in Birds. (200 words).
OR
(ii) Folk element in The Compromise.
(200 words).
4. What according to you are the important themes 20
and motifs in Tughlaq? (450 words).
OR
Comment on the growth of contemporary Indian
theatre. (450 words)
5. Comment on the distinctive features of Rai's 20
biography of Premchand. (450 words).
OR
In what way is Manimahesh a personal memoir
rather than an objective travellers' guide to the
land and its people?
December 2014
(a) At night like a thief
I bathe in it.
I cup my hands and drink,
But love is not quenched
Nor thirst.
(b) My mother is empress of this kitchen
empire,
But the name on pots and pans is my
father's.
(c) The river, and the forest across the river
no longer look the same.
How long can my sickly firmament
remain immutable ?
(d) It's good to have some stones in
your heart — the cry is then echoed back.
(e) The shaky image in the mirror of
water is my own.
The pure, white mass of foam on the
top of the waves
Touchingly pass through space and time.
(f) Such a young girl
such a sweet girl
such promise ...
2. Discuss the title of the novel Samskara and its
relevance to the plot. (450 words) 20
OR
Write a detailed note on the subalterns in the
novel Tamas. (450 words) 20
3. Can you say that Tughlaq is a well-structured
play ? Give a reasoned answer.
4. Discuss any two of the following : (250 words
each) 2x10=20
(a) Birthday as a typical example of stark
realism.
(b) Context and setting in Nirmal Verma's
Birds.
(c) Use of symbols in The Empty Chest.
(d) Arupda's insanity in Headmaster, Prawn,
Chanachur.
5. What aspects of Dalit life are highlighted by
Bama in Karukku ? (450 words) 20
OR
Write your impression of Ismat Chughtai after
reading the pen-sketch On Ismat. (450 words)
June 2015
(a) such a young girl
such a sweet girl
such promise —
But the eschatologists offered some comfort
They were happy she went so peacefully.
(b) The pages of scriptures fluttering in the air
Would perch on my leaves
The songs of the sparrows
Weaving into my tresses
Became my way of life.
(c) At night like a thief
I bathe in it.
I cup my hands and drink
But love is not quenched
Nor thirst.
(d) My ears like twin boats
carry the weight of
your words ?
Remember ?
You were a small boy
and I breasted you
even in your sleep.
(e) Why do your people
get away when they meet your people
as if they are not your people ?
Do you prefer whites to blacks ?
(f) You do not open the door
Though I have arrived at the destination.
How can I write the alphabet of constellations
On the old paper ?
2. Discuss the role of Chandri and Putta in the
Acharya's efforts to redefine himself as an
individual in Samskara. (450 words) 20
OR
How does the writer discuss the theme of
communalism in Tamas ? What are your
personal views on the subject ? (450 words)
3. What are the causes for the failure of Sultan
Muhammad ? (450 words) 20
OR
Discuss the contemporary relevance of the play
Tughlaq. (450 words)
4. Discuss the following in 250 words each : 2x10=20
(a) The use of Salt as a metaphor in Mahasweta
Devi's story of the same name.
OR
Bashir's stark realism in the story Birthday.
(b) The ending of the story The Empty Chest.
OR
Humour in the story Headmaster, Prawn,
Chanachur.
5. Comment on Bama's stylistic techniques from
Karukku chapters 4 & 8. (450 words) 20
OR
What qualities of Ismat Chugtai's writings appeal
to Manto the most ? How do you like Manto's
presentation on Ismat ? (450 words)
December 2015
(a) Then
They had pressed her down
Piling up log after log on her
A hundred tongues of all consuming flames
Have sprung into life
Villagers watch in a circle
(b) No, I would continue to stare
at the one hundred bald pates in silence.
The fixed stare of my dead machine-gun.
(c) The moon looked like a pancake and
The hills looked hungry; and the clouds put out
The fires in western skies. But in the east
The wood nymphs lit the moon's cooking stove
'
(d) My life – flow
rolling down my eye —
"She may not go now
Shh ! She will hear ! Be silent !"
(e) Do you have in your land still
those sages, who,
eating only their silences,
counsel their rulers ?
(f) It's good to have some stones in your heart
— the cry is then echoed back.
Since all roads are slippery the stones may
be spread on them one after another.
2. Which character(s) do you like the most in
Samskara ? Why ? (450 words) 20
OR
In what specific ways does the title of Bhisham
Sahni's novel Tamas express the writer's
thematic concern ?
3. "Muhammad Tughlaq was a synthesis of
opposing extremes in his character." Do you
agree ? Discuss with concrete examples from the
text. (450 words) 20
OR
Discuss the motifs of chess and disguise in
Tughlaq. (450 words)
4. Discuss the following in 250 words each : 2x10=20
(a) Point of view in the story `Tadpa'
OR
The part that memory plays in Nirmal
Verma's Birds
(b) Title of the story The Empty Chest'
OR
`The Compromise' as an allegory
5. What qualities of Ismat Chughtai appeal to
Manto the most ? (450 words) 20
OR
In what way is Manimahesh a personal memoir
rather than an objective traveller's guide to the
land and its people ?
June 2016
(a) Sermons were shouted.
Gossips were floated.
Palms were read.
Tea and biscuits were distributed.
Then, her sudden demise was sadly lamented :
(b) What makes one hundred fat heads hang --
The load of wisdom ?
The weight of reverence ?
The burden of shame ?
(c) But in the east
The wood nymphs lit the moon's cooking stove
In whose soft glow shoots of the steaming rice
Seemed to spring upon the hills.
(d) Our children are about to enter
these lonely kitchens.
Come, for their sake,
let's demolish
these kitchens now !
(e) Such tumult in the heart
is altogether new.
I do not know if
on a bend of my life
or of the path to the river
a discomfiture lies in ambush,
(f) I have handed over, my notebook of poems
long back to Kabir.
There is no Kabir in this market.
Only I stand here.
2. The protagonist of Samskara is caught between
tradition and modernity. Discuss. (450 words) 20
OR
Tamas captures the historical consequences of
the partition in human terms. Discuss.
(450 words)
3. Discuss how Tughlak dramatizes the
protagonist's love of power and its subsequent
collapse, (450 words) 20
OR
Tughlak is "a split personality representing the
deep-rooted dualities of human nature". Discuss.
(450 words)
4. Discuss the following : (450 words) 2x10=20
(a) (i) The depiction of poverty and hunger in
Birthday. (225 words)
OR
(ii) Granny as a tragic character in Tiny's
Granny. (225 words)
(b) (i) Toradoi's relationship with the empty
chest. (225 words)
OR
Manohar's interaction with his aunt
and what it teaches him.
5. Is the title of Amrit Rai's biography of
Premchand, Kalam ka Sipahi (The Soldier of the
Pen) appropriate ? Discuss. (450 words) 20
OR
How does Manimahesh combine history and
legend, reality and myth ?
DEC 2016
(a) Useless old woman this is
Very wicked old woman this is
The village was laid waste by her
Hunting ghosts she had sent
(b) I regret no season
Because over and over again
Have I resurged
Never did I know
When the fall hit me
And when I regained the green
Anew, afresh
(c) The dark of the well
Longs for that moment of courage
When in full sight of all
My hands will stretch out
For a drink.
(d) Hey, Whitman !
I call out.
My friend — the voice had drawn near —
look, he said,
Columbus' geographical error,
history's gain.
(e) It's good to have some stones in your heart
there is no letter box — messages can
be left between stones
besides, one sometimes feels like
making a home.
(f) The blind eagles, quite incapable of
looking behind;
Grieving eagles who never ever had
any loved one;
The eagles who never ever had any
loved one;
2. The novel Samskara charts Pranesacharya's
quest for and questioning of his own identity.
Discuss. (450 words)
OR
To what extent is the novel Tamas
autobiographical ? Discuss. (450 words)
3. Do you agree that the downfall of Tughlak was
the result of his being a visionary and an
idealist ? Discuss. (450 words)
OR
Discuss the repeated use of the idea of acting,
performance and theatricality in the play
Tughlak. (450 words)
I
4. Discuss the following : 2x10=20
(a) Tadpa's portrayal as a tribal. (225 words)
OR
The significance of the title 'Birds' . (225 words)
(b) Insanity as portrayed by the first person
narrator of 'Headmaster, Prawn,
Chanachur' . (225 words)
OR
20
20
The function of the mirror and the
significance of its destruction in 'The
Compromise'
5. Bama's Warukku' is an important social
document on caste and gender apart from being
a memoir. Discuss. (450 words) 20
OR
What aspects of Ismat Chughtai's writings and
creativity appeal to Manto ? Discuss.
June 2017
(a) I have handed over, my notebook of poems
long back to Kabir.
There is no Kabir in this market.
Only I stand here.
(b) The pages of scriptures fluttering in the air
Would perch on my leaves
The songs of the sparrows
Weaving into my tresses
Became my way of life.
(c) Our kitchen now is a graveyard
with corpses of all kinds
tins, dishes, sacks.
It hangs there in the smoke,
clouds from damp firewood.
(d) Sermons were shouted.
Gossips were floated.
Palms were read.
Tea and biscuits were distributed.
Then, her sudden demise was sadly lamented :
(e) Like the dot
in a question-mark
I am slipping down memory lane
And you give me
a brain-teaser !
(f) A man with a broken heart came today
Accompanied by his lady love
Sprayed dreams and tears on the stone
And went away rowing upstream.
They will build their home in the deep forest.
2. Discuss the importance of Putta's role as a
focalizer in Samskara. (500 words) 20
OR
In what sense can Nathu be called the
conscience of the novel Tamas ? (500 words)
3. Discuss Tughlaq as a political allegory.
(500 words) 20
OR
Tughlaq is a case study of split personality.
Discuss. (500 words)
4. Attempt one question each from sections 4 (a)
and 4 (b) : 10+10=20
(a) Write a note on the major themes in
Mahasweta Devi's story Salt. (225 words)
OR
Comment on the title of Nirmal Verma's
Birds. (225 words)
(b) Comment on the style in Indira Goswami's
The Empty Chest. (225 words)
OR
What are the reasons that provoke the
narrator to take recourse to seemingly mad
behaviour in the Headmaster, Prawn,
Chanachur ? (225 words)
5. What is Premchand's vision of social change ?
What is the role of literature and language in
social change ? (500 words) 20
OR
What are the nuances that make Maninzahesh an
interesting piece of travel writing ? (500 words)
DEC 2018
(a) Thirst is to plunge headlong
Without learning to swim
Without a barge and a pole
Into the roaring whirlpools.
(b) The dark of the well
Longs for that moment of courage
When in full sight of all
My hands will stretch out
For a drink
(c) Death does not come to all of us in
the same manner
nor do the dead become equal in death
for they were not so before.
The body is the residue of struggle ...
(d) It's good to have some stones in your heart
There is no letter-box — messages can
be left between stones —
besides, one sometimes feels like making
a home.
(e) I then collected
all half-formed desires,
joined them together,
rushed towards you like a gale
and entwined my fingers
in your fingers.
(f) Atom or Atman —
Which of these do your scientists
strive after ?
2. Discuss the role of Chandri in the novel
Samskara. (500 words) 20
OR
Discuss Sahni's treatment of the theme of
communalism in Tamas.
3. Discuss the theme of power in the play
Tughlaq. (500 words) 20
OR
Write a note on the contemporary relevance of
Tughlaq. (500 words)
4. Attempt one question each from 4(a) and 4(b) :
10+10=20
(a) Discuss the character of Pooran Mausi in
Motilal Jotwani's 'Very Lonely, She'.
(225 words)
OR
In what way is the story 'The Compromise'
relevant to our times ? (225 words)
(b) Write a note on humour, irony and contrast
in the 'Birthday'. (225 words)
OR
Can Tiny's Granny' be read as a social
document ? Comment. (225 words)
5. Explain critically Bama's views about the life of
Dalit Christians. (500 words) 20
OR
Critically underline the salient features of
Manto's pen-sketch of Ismat Chughtai.
(500
June 2018
(a) My friend — the voice had drawn near —
look, he said,
Columbus' geographical error, history's gain.
(b) Who could be a Rishi greater than the tree
A stoic meditating in sun and frost
Undaunted and unshaken
In rain or draught
(c) My mother is empress of this kitchen empire,
But the name on pots and pans is my father's.
(d) The day people said
I was an unfaithful wife I became
Radha, the first and the best
among women in love.
(e) One day the king arrived, lights played,
He stood, with his foot
Pressing the forehead of the stone
And looking — to which way
His prey was on the run
(f) I have no wish to live
any longer, dear son !
with hollow words of
empty concern
with loveless strokes
2. Discuss the ways in which Samskara offers a
critique of Brahminical Hinduism. 20
OR
Which scene in the novel Tamas has left an
indelible impression on your mind ? Bring out its
significance.
3. Discuss the various symbols and motifs used in
Tughlaq. (450 words) 20
OR
Discuss how the play Tughlaq brings out the
conflicting strands in the character of the
protagonist.
4. Discuss any two of the following : 2x10=20
(a) Narrative technique of Very Lonely, She
(b) Trope of madness in Headmaster, Prawn,
Chanachur
(c) Significance of the title of the story
The Compromise
(d) Metaphor of salt in Salt
5. Comment on the oppression and discrimination
as reflected in Bama's Karukku. 20
OR
Discuss how Manto compares his own
temperament, artistic disposition and writings
with those of Ismat Chughtai.
December 2018
(a) Do you have in your land still
those sages, who
eating only their silences,
counsel their rulers ?
(b) I do not know if a love
annulling all other loves
will suddenly arrive
and command my destiny of old age,
disease and death
(c) The blind eagles, quite incapable of
looking behind;
Grieving eagles who never ever had any
loved one;
(d) I have handed over, my notebook of poems
long back to Kabir.
There is no Kabir in this market.
Only I stand here.
(e) It's good to have some stones in your heart
there is no letter box - messages can be
left between stones -
besides, one sometimes feels like making
a home.
(f) Turning their backs to the sun, they
journeyed through centuries
Now, now, we must refuse to be pilgrims of
darkness, ...
2. Discuss how Samskara charts India's transition
from tradition to modernity. 20
OR
Discuss the issue of communal conflict in Tamas
with reference to incidents of communal tension
in India's history after the Partition.
3. Would you consider Karnad's representation of
Tughlaq to be that of a secular king ? What are
the chinks in the King's secular policy ? 20
OR
Discuss the complexity of the relationship
between Tughlaq and his stepmother.
Discuss any two of the following : 2x10=20
(a) Significance of the title in The Empty Chest
(b) The character sketch of Granny in Tiny's
Granny
(c) The importance of Hubert and Mukherjee in
Birds
(d) Idealism and optimism in Birthday
.
5.Describe the admirable qualities in Premchand's
fictional characters as highlighted by Amrit Rai. 20
OR
Outline some of the historical legends and myths
about the valley surrounding Manimahesh.
June 2019
(a) Stones and stones and the waters of the river
and the sea
blue stones turn red, red stones blue
just once try to love.
(b) Layers of rock slide on each-other, lava liquid
flows cascading down,
Cave roofs are pushed and splintered. mistakes
and fine follies howl,
Every eye begets its many dreams, And no King's ordinance is here honoured.
(c) Now I feel
my life,
even if eased like the
cotton that touches the naval blood
of an infant,
under the weight of my ears,
will break down.
(d) In the deep dark of the well
There are wistful shadows waiting
For the maidens who hung
A rope on its nail
But never came back to draw water.
(e) Lifeless fields stretch scorched and dry
Like death in silence
The thick smoke of cowdung-cakes envelope
the hollow souled village.
(f) My kitchen wakes
to the whirr and hisses of the grinder,
the hiss of the pressure cooker. I move like my modern kitchen;
a wind up toy.
My kitchen is like a workshop,
'-' It's like butcher's shop with its babble.
2. Compare and contrast the character of Pranesacharya
with that of Naranappa in the novel Samskara.
(500 words.) [20]
OR
Discuss two scenes of your choice from the novel Tamas.
Why are these scenes important in the structural
framework of the novel ? (500 words)
3. Discuss Tughlaq as an allegory of politics.(500 words.)
[20]
OR
Discuss critically the role of Zia-ud-din Barani in the play
Tughlaq.(500 words.)
4. Attempt one question each from sections 4(a) and
4(b) : (a) Discuss critically the role of Ekoya in the story
"Salt" by Mahasweta Devi. (225 words)
OR
•
Discuss the use of images of light and sound in the story
"Birds" by Nirmal Verma. (225 words)
(b) Why does the protagonist of the
story"Headmaster, Prawn, Chanachur" pretend
madness ? Discuss critically. (225 words)
OR
The story "Very Lonely, She" by Motilal Jotwani is bifocal
in its effect. Discuss. (225 words)
5.How does Umaprasad Mukhopadhyaya blend myth with
history in his travel account of Manimahesh ? (500 words)
[20]
OR
Though Manto's "On Ismat" is a pen-sketch of an
individual, yet it is fundamentally a social document.
Discuss. (500 words)
December 2019
(a) What impudence in the sunlight!
The wind's thoughts are wandering
as though it has seen the long-banished lover;
living in disguise
in the neighbourhood.
(b) Turning their backs to the sun, they
journeyed through centuries
Now, now, we must refuse to be pilgrims of
darkness.
(c) And finally, only two titanic tarantulas,
one black, the other with a crimson chest,
crept with slow hairy steps, like skulkers
of the night, and hauled her off
to their invisible lair.
(d) And now with my spring bloom
I wish to go somewhere else
"It has been too long a stay here
Now is the time to move on."
(e) Death does not come to all of us in the same
manner
nor do the dead become equal in death
for they were not so before
(f) Do you have in your land still
those sages, who,
eating only their silences,
counsel their rulers ?
2. What is the importance of the sexual encounter of
Acharya with Chandri in the novel Samskara ? (500
words)
OR
Discuss the narrative structure of Bhisham Sahni's
Tawas. (500 words) [20]
3. Tughlaq offers a critique of Nehruvian politics of
secularism and socialism. Illustrate. (500 words) [20]
OR
Discuss critically the role of Aziz in the play Tughlaq. (500
words) [20]
4. Attempt one question each from sections 4 (a) and
4 (b) : [10+10=20]
(a) Gopinath Mohanty's story "Tadpa" offers a strong
critique of the civilizing mission. (225 words)
OR
What is the role of 'memory' in the story "Birds"
by Nirmal Verma ? (225 words)
(b) How does Detha exploit the elements of folk storytelling in his story "The Compromise" ? Explain.
or Discuss the symbolic significance of the title in
the story "The Empty Chest" by Indira Goswamy.
(225 words)
5. Discuss the salient features of Bama's Karukku as an
example of alternative form of autobiographical writing.
(500 words) [20]
OR
Discuss the features of the art of pen-sketches with
special reference to Manto's On lsmat..
Jan 2020
Discuss with reference to the context any four of
the following passages: 4x5=20
(a) The blind eagles, quite incapable of looking
behind;
Grieving eagles who never ever had any
loved one;
The eagles who never ever had any loved
one;
Eagles crying out in sharp shrill notes;
The eagles of the under-world burst into the
sky
(b) Lifeless fields stretch scorched and dry
Like death in silence.
(c) What impudence in the sunlight!
The wind's thoughts are wandering,
as though it has seen the long-banished lover
living in disguise
in the neighbourhood.
(d) Death does not come to all of us in the same
manner
nor do the dead become equal in death
for they were not so before.
(e) Atom or Atman
Which of these do your scientists
Strive after?
(f) The dark of the wall
Longs for that moment of courage
When, in full sight of all,
My hands
Will stretch out
For a drink
2. Samskara is a modern novel of existential
dilemma. Discuss. 20
OR
Tamas is not merely a graphic description of
violence and drama. Discuss with examples.
3. Comment on the elements of modernity in the
character of Tughlaq. 20
OR
Compare the roles of Aziz and Aazam in the play
Tughlaq.
4. Write short notes on any two of the following:
2x10=20
(a) The depiction of jungle in "Tadpa"
(b) Significance of the title "Tiny's Granny".
(c) The art of story-telling in "The Compromise"
(d) The symbolic meaning of the title in "The
Empty Chest"?
5. Manimahesh is more a personal memoir than an
objective travellers' guide to the land and its
people. Do you agree? Give a reasoned answer
20
OR
Do you think Manto's pen-portrait of Ismat lacks
objectivity? Illustrate.
December 2020
(a) And finally, only two titanic tarantulas,
one black, the other with a crimson chest
crept with slow, hairy step, like skulkers
of the night, and hauled her off
to their invisible lair.
(b) Thirst is to plunge headlong
Without learning to swim
Without a barge and pole
Into the roaring whirlpools.
(c) Like the dot
in a question-mark.
I am slipping down memory lane
And you give me
a brain-teaser !
(d) My mother is impress of this
kitchen empire,
But the name on pots and
pans is my father’s.
(e) She looked dull as a robe
Not of pampore tweed worn off
threadbare and torn
at the collar-band out of which
peep the scars
On a marble breast.
(f) Mistakes and fine follies howl,
Every eye begets its many dreams,
And no king’s ordinance is here honoured.
2. How does Samskara depict the caste divisions
in Indian society ? 20
Or
How does Tamas deal with the reality of
Partition ?
3. Tughlaq is a play of existential struggle for
survival. Discuss. 20
Or
How do you think the stage directions in the
play Tughlaq contribute to its impact ?
4. Write short notes on any two of the following :
2×10=20
(a) Examine the theme of family bonds in
“Very Lonely, She”.
(b) How does the story “Headmaster, Prawn,
Chanachur” combine elements of different
genres ?
(c) In “Birthday”, Basheer draws upon the
form of the diary. Comment.
(d) Discuss the significance of the title “Birds”.
5. How does Amrit Rai employ anecdotes to enrich
the biography of Prem Chand ? 20
Or
On the basis of your reading of Bama’s
Karukku, critically examine the distinctness of
Dalit autobiography.
June 2021
(a)
Love broke into loud lamentation.
The mother cried for divine explanations.
Mourners swarmed her death-bed.
(b)
That can’t be
That can’t be
She had died many years ago
She cannot live any longer.
(c)
This kitchen : how wonderful !
Wafting aromas,
How it makes mouths water,
Like an open shop of sweets.
(d)
The blood that flows in the veins
Drop by drop
Swims like tears in the eyes
It knows you though it sees you not.
(e)
When a relationship is broken
and another is yet to be formed
the story of that period’s uncertainty
who would listen to it, if not myself.
(f)
The garden has withered in autumn,
It might be deserted soon,
O bumble bee, the black bumble bee ! Wherefore are you so sad and forlorn ?
2. ‘Samskara looks back at Indian tradition and at the same time looks forward to modern times. Discuss.
20
OR
Discuss the role of subalterns in the novel Tamas.
3.
Does the play Tughlaq have contemporary relevance ? Discuss.
20
OR
Elaborate upon the themes and issues in Girish Karnad’s Tughlaq.
4.
Discuss any two of the following :
210=20
(a)
Significance of music in Birds
(b)
Realism and point of view in Tadpa
(c)
Major incidents in Headmaster, Prawn,
Chanachur.
(d)
Significance of the title The Compromise.
5. ‘Bama given an account of the sufferings and indignities of a Christian Dalit woman in Karukku.’ Comment with examples.
20
OR
Comment on Manto’s portrayal of Ismat Chughtai in On Ismat.
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