Question

Answer the following questions in about 40 words each :
a) What did Robert Clive do during his brief stay at Madras ?
OR
What were the states of affairs in France during the period, as described in 'The Last Lesson'?
b) From where did the peddler get the idea of world being a rattrap ?
OR
Name the studio described in 'Poets and Pancakes' and a famous star who used its make-up room.

Hint:

For literature questions with a word limit, focus on directly answering the question with key details from the text. Avoid long introductions and stick to the main points to stay within the 40-word count.

Answer 1

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
The question asks about Robert Clive's activities in Madras, as mentioned in the context of the prose piece 'Poets and Pancakes'.
Step 2: Key Points for the Answer:

The text mentions a building in Gemini Studios that was believed to be Robert Clive's stables.
Clive is said to have lived in this building.
He won several battles and married a maiden in St. Mary's Church in Fort St. George, Madras.
Step 3: Model Answer:
In 'Poets and Pancakes', it is mentioned that Robert Clive had lived in a building which was later part of Gemini Studios. The author notes that Clive seemed to have done a lot of moving, besides fighting battles and marrying a maiden in Madras.
Solution (for a, Option 2 - OR):
Step 1: Understanding the Question:
The question asks about the political situation in France, specifically in the districts of Alsace and Lorraine, during the time of the story 'The Last Lesson'.
Step 2: Key Points for the Answer:

France was at war with Prussia (the Franco-Prussian War).
France had been defeated.
Prussia had taken over the French districts of Alsace and Lorraine.
An order had come from Berlin to teach only German in the schools of these districts.
Step 3: Model Answer:
During the period described in 'The Last Lesson', France was in the midst of the Franco-Prussian War. France had lost the war, and its districts of Alsace and Lorraine had come under Prussian rule. An order from Berlin had been issued, banning the teaching of French and making German the only language taught in schools.
Solution (for b, Option 1):
Step 1: Understanding the Question:
This question asks for the origin of the peddler's philosophical idea that the world is a rattrap.
Step 2: Key Points for the Answer:

The idea was not from a book or another person.
It came to him suddenly during one of his lonely walks.
He was musing on his rattraps when the idea struck him.
He saw the world's riches as bait, similar to the cheese and pork in a rattrap.
Step 3: Model Answer:
The idea of the world being a rattrap was the peddler's own creation, born out of his lonely and monotonous life. While plodding along the road, lost in his thoughts, it suddenly struck him that the whole world was a big rattrap, offering riches and joys as bait to trap people.
% Solution for 7(b) - Option 2 Solution (for b, Option 2 - OR):
Step 1: Understanding the Question:
The question asks to name the studio from 'Poets and Pancakes' and a famous star associated with its make-up room.
Step 2: Key Points for the Answer:

The studio described is Gemini Studios in Madras (now Chennai).
The make-up room was a fiery, miserable place with many mirrors and incandescent lights.
While the text mentions many actors, it doesn't link one specific "famous star" to the room but rather describes a hierarchy. Subbu was number two at the studio.
Step 3: Model Answer:
The studio described in 'Poets and Pancakes' is Gemini Studios. Its make-up room was a place of fiery misery due to the heat from incandescent lights. The chapter mentions many actors, but Kothamangalam Subbu was a prominent figure, considered number two at the studio, who would have been a part of this environment.