SAHYA ARTS AND SCIENCE COLLEGE,PALAMADAM

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH

READINGS ON KERALA

(ENG2A04)

1. What was the name of Gama's Ship?

2. In which present-day districts were the weapons of the Neolithic age

found?

3. What is Duryodhana's allegation against the messenger?

4. What is the refuge of Pandavas?

5. What is the meaning of the title of the poem Atmopadesasatakam .

6. What is Parvathiamma's opinion regarding Shinnan's education?

7. Why couldn't Dalits enter the public sphere?

8. Why does the poet Poykayil Appachan scrutinize the histories of the

world?

9. What were the connotations given to Thommi's visit by Basheer in

"Christian Heritage"?

10. What makes the narrator feel proud as he stands on the newly built

bridge?
11. "poverty is a terrible thing." Who said this?

12. What is the myth that Thakazhi adapted for his novel Chemmeen?

13. How does the rain at night behave as a mad young woman?

14. What was Ravi's threat to Priya on the morning after he raped her?

15. Which Palindrome is repeatedly used at the end of each couplet?

SECTION B

Answer upto 35 marks. Each question carries 5 Marks

16. Write a paragraph about the Rituals of Tribes of Kerala.

17. What does Duryodhana ask the messenger to do?

18. Attempt a character sketch of Madhavan

19. Why were Ayyankali's objectives for SJPS more material than

spiritual?

20. What happened to Govindan Kutty when he identified the person is

his old Kunhathol Amma?

21. What are author's childhood memories about the river in

"Kuttipuram Bridge"?

22. What does the narrator say to the rain at night?

23. What are the memories of the slush gathered in the house?

SECTION C

Answer any two Question(s). Each question carries 10 Marks

24. Write an essay on the attempt made by Portuguese to establish trade

with India.

25. How can one realize ultimate reality according to Guru?

26. How does Jeet Thayyil perceive Malayalam?

27. How is Priya successful in her small triumphs and revenge?

ANSWER KEY
READINGS ON KERALA

(ENG2A04)

SECTION A

1. San Raphael

2. Kozhikode and Eranamkulam

3. He blames the messenger who has switched his allegiance to

Pandavas and dares to preach to enemies without any shame.

4. Pandavas are under the protection of the supreme god, the

benevolent enemy of hell, Vishnu/ Sreekrishnan.

5. One Hundred Verses of Self Instruction.

6. She thinks the education of Shinnan is a matter that should be decided

by valiammaman.

7.Only the English-knowing educated people could enter into the domain

of the public sphere. Dalits only possessed knowledge about agricultural

production. With this limited knowledge they could not enter the public

sphere.

8. To see if anything is written about the race of the poet.

9. Basheer assumed that Kochu Thommi was a poor man.

10. Narrator feels proud as he stands on the bridge which was built at a

cost of 23 lakhs and it is a symbol of human achievement

11.Kunhathol Amma

12. The myth is about chastity.

13. The rain at-night behaves like a young mad woman who, for nothing,

weeps, laughs, whimpers and mutters without a stop.

14. Ravi asked Priya to keep quiet about the rape, in the morning after

he raped her. If she talked to anyone about it, they would kill her; not

only her, but all her family members.

15. Malayalam

SECTION B

16. Tribes lead a nomadic life in the forest and their main source of

livelihood is hunting and collecting forest resources. After the day's work,

they come together to celebrate, sing, dance, and dine together. Such

get-togethers were common during marriages, harvests, feasts of the hill

gods, and other special occasions. They performed Pulikkali, (leopard

dance) Kaduvakkali (tiger dance), and Kummattikkali during these

occasions. In such rituals, they play the roles of both the prey and hunter

reminded of their past hunting-based living.

They usually buried the dead bodies along with the materials used by
the deceased. Memory stones are left at the burial site by the tribes like

Malayarayar as widely seen among the Australoids.

17. Duryodhana lashes out at the messenger and tells him that he should

consider joining the Pandavas because enemies are better than friends

who are kind to the enemies. He is irritated by the good words about the

Pandavas and questions the loyalty of the messenger. He blames the

messenger who has switched his allegiance to Pandavas and dares to

preach to enemies without any shame. He tells him that he should go

join Pandavas and have fruits and berries collected from the forest for

enemies proving more useful than friends who are generous to enemies.

18. He is a brilliant and extraordinary good-looking young man. He is

well-educated in both English and Sanskrit. He had passed both FA and

BA in first class. He had also acquired a BL degree. He had never failed to

clear exams in the very first attempt. He also acquired first class in his BL

degree. In addition, he won prizes in various competitions at school and

received several awards and scholarships for higher studies. Every one of

Madhavan's teachers was convinced that there had never been a student

more accomplished than him. He had a good physique also. He was a

man of wit, intelligence, learning, courage and courtesy.

His body was the colour of pure gold. He had nurtured his body with

daily exercise. His limbs and chest were neither too stocky nor too lean
and seemed cast in coppery gold. His height was above average. His

kuduma could reach up to his ankle. He had a glowing face. Overall he

had a charming figure. All the Europeans who met him were charmed by

his appearance and they quickly became his friends. He was never

unethical in his behaviour.

He was very skilled in usingEnglish. He also excelled at English games like

lawn tennis and cricket. He had tried hunting at such a young age

inspired by his father. In conclusion, Madhavan portrayed by O.

Chandumenon emerges as a character of substance and complexity.

19. Ayyankali's objectives for SJPS were more material than spiritual. He

was more concerned about the economic development of the Dalits. The

living conditions of the Dalits were very miserable. They were treated as

Adiyalars. They had no land of their own. Dalits had no place in the

liberal space created by colonial modernity. They were deprived of the

fruits of modern education. Dalits were denied entry into the public

sphere because they weren't English educated. They just had knowledge

about agricultural production.

20. He felt shattered. Kunhathol amma stood before him and requested

him to admit her grandson to a school, so that the seven-year-old boy

can get at least a meal every day, All along his school days,

Govindankutty was supported and encouraged by Kunhathol amma.

Today he is a big leader and a minister just because of the material and

moral help rendered to him by her. After his school education he left his

village and had gone away, forgetting all about Kunhathol amma and her

generosity. It is a shame that he did not even bother to say good-bye to

his benefactor when he left the village after his schooling. Even when he

became a leader and a minister, he did not think it necessary to thank

her or even find out about her.

The 1959 Land ceiling laws ruined the Illam of Kunhathol amma and now

she was struggling even for a meal. It was when all these facts were

revealed to him that he felt guilty and said that he was a sinner who had

been cruel and indifferent to kind people like Kunhathol.

21. The narrator describes the beauty of the village by addressing the

village as

"Gramalakshmi". He states that the village is his playmate from

childhood. Acknowledging the quickly receding features of the village

and its nearing collapse, the poet goes on invoking the beauty of the

rural countryside. The wide expanse of the paddy fields helps green and

yellow of nature mix with each other in a playful manner. Groves and

houses with their fruit-bearing trees stand witness to the slops blanketed

with flowers of many colours. Elegant lamps light the premises of kavus,

where people gather around the peepal tree with a stone-circled base,
signifying socialization and intermingling. The night of this village is

fearsome with its silence and the daytime is filled with the melodies of

the farmers ploughing their fields.

22. The narrator is telling the rain-at-night that she too is like her. We see

that the rain-at-night is weeping, laughing and whimpering like some

young madwoman for nothing. She is muttering without a stop. and

sitting huddled up, tossing her long hair. The narrator who is in a sick bed

at the sanatorium is also just like the rain-at-night. Night rain is the

pensive daughter of the dusky dark. She is gliding slowly like a long wail

into this hospital, extending her cold fingers through the window, and

touching the narrator because the rain-at-night knows that the narrator

is also lonely like her and is suffering. She tells the rain-at-night that she

knows her kind, sad music. The narrator understands her pity and

suppressed rage, her coming in the night, her sobbing and weeping

when she is all alone. But when it is dawn she wipes her face and forces

a smile. She hurries and puts on an act. The narrator knows all this

because the narrator is also like her. Both are lonely and in pain. The

narrator calls her the pensive daughter of the dusky dark. The narrator is

also a pensive daughter as we see nobody around her sick bed to serve

her or to console her. Night rain has been a witness to the narrator's love.

It lulled her to sleep on those auspicious nights long ago. giving more joy

than the white moonlight which made her thrill with joy and laughter.
She wants the night rain to be a witness to her grief as well, when she

reels with pain alone.

23. The slush gathered In the house is full of obscure memories. It has

now become solid. We can see fields, paddy, pond and lily and blue

flowers in the harvested fields. We can see children racing to gather

flowers. They have small flower baskets hanging from their necks.

Parrots look like flying green coral leaves. Yellow butterflies fly about as if

on fire. The high noon is tranquil and we can see that cows are grazing.

In the dawn we see men and bulls ploughing the fields and dark hands

sowing seeds. Then we see the lean hands of the rain.

The first fertile clay of the earth was burnt out in the hot sun. But when

it rained the soil

SECTION C

24. The Muhammadans in Malabar were displeased with the arrival of

the Portuguese due to their influence in Red Sea and Persian Gulf trade.

They conspired to thwart Vasco da Gama's expedition.Zamorins, local

authorities, held significant power. The treasury overseer and the king's

Justice were bribed to oppose the Portuguese.Da Gama sought

permission from the Zamorin for trade, sending Nicholas Coelho with a

message. Bribed authorities initially hindered Coelho's audience with the

king.Eventually, Coelho met the king and obtained trade sanction written
on a palm leaf.Zamorin allowed Da Gama to establish a trading factory

on the shore. The Chief officer invited him to meet the King, escorting

him in a palanquin to the palace. They traveled until nightfall, staying in a

house where they had boiled rice, fish, and water. The next day, they

journeyed by Indian boats, and at night, Gama and his men stayed in

another house on a different shore.

25. Core Reality is the Ultimate Truth (God), that supposes all ordinary

knowledge. It can be found in and out of a person. Attaining core Reality

is a difficult task. One must turn their five senses inward to attain it. One

should do prostrations before the Guru (God), read, chant and master

the scriptures too to attain this.

26. The poet perceives Malayalam as a language rich in cultural nuances

and expressive possibilities, capable of conveying emotions and

experiences that may not be easily articulated in other languages.

Malayalam is portrayed as a source of inspiration and connection to

heritage, offering a unique perspective on life, art, and human

expression.

Through its phonetic beauty and linguistic depth, Malayalam becomes a

medium for exploring themes of resilience, identity, and belonging,

inviting individuals to embrace and celebrate their linguistic roots.

All the best wishes………