Hey Everyone! Welcome to another important article “Memories of a Chota Sahib Question Answer” from the Assamese Medium website for the student of Class 12. Here in this article, we are going to discuss the important question answer from Class 12 English Chapter 2 “Memories of a Chota Sahib”. So, without delay, let’s get started.
Memories of a Chota Sahib Question Answer
Here in this article, we have added all the Very short answer type questions, short answer type questions, and all the important question answers for the upcoming HS Final exam 2024. If you are a student of class 12 then this article will solve your lots of problems.
Summary of Memoirs of a Chota Sahib
Memoirs of a Chota Sahib, written by John Rowntree, is a description of his experiences while residing in Gauhati. He begins the narrative work by telling us that, after a tiresome journey across India, he had arrived in Gauhati. He and his family were given access to a bungalow on the banks of the great Brahmaputra by the Public Works Department. The Brahmaputra’s beautiful grandeur, including Peacock Island’s Hindu temple dome, fascinated him from the bungalow. People had to travel via Gauhati to reach other districts higher up the valley at the time since it served as the entrance to Assam.
When he was staying at the bungalow in Gauhati, he occasionally had some strange visits. One of them was probably a big cat, as evidenced by the traces left by its feet. Both riverbanks were added to the Kamrup district. Its main office was in Gauhati. According to the author, the Brahmaputra sandbanks and the Himalayan foothills are separated by a long, isolated length of flat, ageless terrain on the north bank. In the hot heat, the river totally dried up and vanished underground, causing a peculiar occurrence to be observed on this land.
He recounts his encounter with unclean water that they had to dig for. There were many bheels filled to the brim with peafowl and wildfowl. There are two rhinos in the Manas Sanctuary. Mahseer, a type of fish, was common in the rivers. Rowntree was also instructed to construct the Governor’s Christmas camps along the river, for which the Governor occasionally wrote a thank-you note. He once witnessed a charming sight of a sloth bear carrying her cub on her back. During the wet season, malaria was rife on the North Bank.
The area had flood damage, bridges made of bamboo were destroyed, etc. The author once had a terrible time trying to ride his horse through a flooded river. He used the horse’s tail as a rudder by slipping over its croup and hanging on to it. They eventually achieved a safe landing on the other side of the river when the horse adjusted its course when he nudged it to the right or the left. Mar boats were used as a form of transportation at that time. The mar boats crossed the river either by paddling them or by running cables from one to another. The force of the current pushed them from one side to the other.
The author had an unpleasant encounter as part of a family visit to the North Bank. When they arrived, it was late and the road was so slippery that accidents could happen at any time. They slithered six feet below the road, into a rice field. They finally managed to re-enter the highway.
The South Bank seems cozier to the author. It had shorter distances and more compact terrain. There were many small hills and valleys in the area. They were provided with two cozy bungalows, one in Kulsi and the other at Rajapara. In the guesthouse at Rajapara, the author had a terrifying experience with bats. Their foul body odor and droppings served as continual reminders of their presence. Near the bungalows, there was a sizable quake-induced crater that served as a reminder that the area was formerly dry land.
At Kulsi, teak plantations encircled the bungalow. Additionally, there was a Ficus elastica rubber plantation, but there had not been any tapping for a number of years because Indian rubber was no longer able to commercially compete with para rubber.
Very short answer type questions
1. Who was John Rowntree? Or, What position did John Rowntree hold before leaving Shillong a few days after independence?
Ans: John Rowntree was the last British senior conservation of the forest of Assam till the date of independence of India.
2. How did John Rowntree find the weather when he arrived at Guwahati?
Ans: On arriving at Guwahati John Rowntree found the weather cool and pleasant.
3. Where did Rowntree go a few days after the independence of India and what did he do there for his livelihood?
Ans: A few days after the independence of India, John Rowntree returned to England and there he took up work as a journalist and media commentator for his livelihood.
4. Where is the lesson ‘memories of a chota sahib’ extracted?
Ans: The lesson ‘memories of a chota sahib’ is extracted from John Rowntree’s famous book’ A Chota Sahib: memories of a Forest Officer’.
5. Where was the first home of John Rowntree in Assam? Or, Where did John Rowntree and his family make their first home at Guwahati?
Ans: John Rowntree‘s first home in Assam was in Guwahati, on the bank of the river Brahmaputra.
6. What do you guess is the name of the dome of a Hindu Temple as mentioned in the lesson?
Ans: The dome of the Hindu Temple is situated on an island in the middle of the Brahmaputra; so, we can guess it to be the Umananda Temple.
7. Which place is called the gateway into the North-East region?
Ans: Guwahati is called the gateway into North – East region.
8. Find out a few words from the lesson ‘Memories of a Chota Sahib’ that are borrowed from Assamese. Give three of the words in English.
Ans: Words that are borrowed from Assamese are Mar, bheel, and cheetal. Mar: It is one kind of boat made by the Assamese people. Either a host of bamboo or wood planks are tied up with strong cable and are used for crossing a river paddling or connecting by a running cable to another stretched across the river, are propelled from one side to the other by the force of the current.
Bheel: This is a vast pond that is naturally built and full of various fishes.
Cheetal: Cheetal is one kind of flat fish. It is very costly and a favorite for the Assamese people.
9. Find out the option that best explains the meaning of the underlined words:
(a) The pug marks of the large cat were clearly traceable.
1)Stripes on the body.
2) dots or spots
3) footprints.
4) scratch marks left on the body.
Ans : (3) footprints.
(b) The rivers were full of mahseer.
1)sand banks.
2) large reptiles like crocodiles.
3) tortoise.
4) freshwater fish.
Ans : (4) freshwater fish.
(c) I once forded one of these rivers on horseback.
1) jumped across.
2) crossed the river without using a bridge.
3) swan across.
4) crossed the river by using a bamboo bridge.
Ans : (2) crossed the river without using a bridge.
(d) It was an eerie spot where tree skeletons still rose out of the water.
1) very charming.
2) causing a strange fear.
3) noisy.
4) very quiet.
Ans : (2) causing a strange fear.
Short answer type question
1. Where is the plot of ‘memories of a chota sahib’ based?
Ans: The plot of ‘memories of a chota sahib’ is based on Guwahati and its neighboring areas on the eve of the independence of India. It is a light-hearted account of the contemporary period as sent through the eyes of a British forest officer making the account not only local, and specific but also relevant to the present time.
2. What was the belief of the people regarding a channel in the river Brahmaputra?
Ans: During winter the Brahmaputra shrank and the distance between peacock island and the mainland grew less until, by the end of the hot weather only a narrow dividing channel remains. There was a belief among the people that if that channel ever dried up completely it would mean the end of the British Raj in India.
3. What did a European couple do for their private profit?
Ans: A European couple had leased a piece of land from the forest department with a view to growing simul trees for the nearby match factory so that they can earn some money. For this purpose, they managed fraudulently miles of electric fencing in an attempt to remain the deer outside, but all their efforts went in veins as the deer’s jumped over it. Hence, their enterprise was in no sense a very profitable one.
4. What happened to the author when once he forded a flooded river on horseback?
Ans: Once, when the author forded a flooded river on horseback, it fell him onto much difficulty. He slipped over the but lock of the horse and hung on to his tail, which he was able to use as a rudder. When the author pushed the horse to the right it changed its direction to the left and the other way around, and somehow, ultimately they made a safe landing on the other side of the river.
5. What is a Mar? How are these made and used for crossing a river? Or, what is a mar boat, and is it operated?
Ans: Mar is also one kind of boat. These are made of a host of long bamboo or wood planks tied these tight that can’t move or go out floating in the river water. These are either paddled across the river or connected by a running cable to another stretched across the river, we’re propelled from one side to the other by the force of the current.
6. Why was a journey on the North Bank hazardous?
Ans: Really driving on the roads on the North Bank was distinctly dicey. Most of the main roads were built on top of embankments to raise them well above the normal flood level, they were narrow, single-tracked, and dusty in dry winter. As a result, the roads were greasy and became risky for driving because the surface of the roads was almost invisible under a could of dust at one place, road work had been in progress, and a ramp lay concealed from sight under the dust could. Since, driving on the North Bank became very risky and difficult, and one’s destination became uncertain.
7. In what sense the South Bank of Assam was more homely to the author?
Ans: The South Bank of Assam is a country of low hills and valleys, the sal trees and others scattered with villages and cultivated fields, and the forest itself bore the characteristics of English woodland. On the south Bank, the reserve forest was mostly in one block, since, the distance was less and the stretch of land was smaller. Besides these two comfortable forest bungalows served the author’s needs there.
On the above grounds, the South Bank became more homely to the author.
8. Who is the ‘ Chota Sahib’ in the ‘Memories of a Chota Sahib’?
Ans: John Rowntree himself is the ‘Chota Sahib’ in the Memories of a Chota Sahib.
9. What does Rowntree say about Rajapara?
Ans: Although Rajapara was a Historic place, it was a pleasant place to work for the poet; because at Rsjapara the jungle fowl gleaned the grain of the paddy fields after harvest, and sometimes found their way into the pot, our cheerful, sunny, and open spaces.
10. What does Rowntree say about the river banks in the manas Sanctuary?
Ans: Rowntree says that the banks of river manas were full of dense forest and wild animals including rhinos and many birds.
11. Give an account of the bungalow in which the author used to stay.
Ans: After John Rowntree arrived at Guwahati, they made their home on the bank of the Brahmaputra. He used to stay in a bungalow with his family. This bungalow was situated at the bank of the Brahmaputra and its walls had a coat of fresh lime wash and the public works department had painted its woodwork with earth oil. In front of the bungalow, there was a raised portico that served as a carport. From the bungalow, peacock island was visible with the dome of a Hindu temple, situated at it.
12. Give a brief description of peacock island?
Ans: The peacock island is situated in the midstream of the Brahmaputra. There is a Hindu temple visible through the trees. There are monkeys on the island. During winter the Brahmaputra shrinks and only a narrow dividing channel remains between the island and the mainland.
13. What happened with the river Brahmaputra during cold weather?
Ans: As the cold weather advanced, the river shrank and the distance between peacock island, ( which was visible from the author’s bungalow) and the mainland grew less. By the end of the hot weather. Only a narrow dividing channel remained between the island and the mainland.
14. Describe, in your own words the north bank of the Brahmaputra.
Ans: The north bank of the Brahmaputra had a character of its own-a vast, remote stretch of flat, ageless land between the sandbanks of the river and the Himalayan foothills. During the cold weather, this bank of the river was delightful. In the rainy season, on the other hand, it is because of a hotbed of malaria. Traveling during this season was really tedious and the travelers had to take risks during these days and the tracks became unusable for normal cars.
15. What happened to the author when he touched his family on the north bank of the river?
Ans: When the author was touring with his family on the north bank, they left their return rather late. Although the roads could be still used by motors, driving became distinctly dicy. The road, they used became greasy in which one skid would definitely lend to the other one. Finally, they slithered over the edge into a paddy field some six feet below the road before finding a way back onto the road, this journey was full of bumpy rides.
16. “It was a strange place, where the rivers dried up in the hot weather or suddenly disappeared in the ground.” In what context does the author say so? Discuss.
Ans: The author narrates the characteristics and features of the North and the South Bank of the Brahmaputra. While describing the South Bank, he presents the characters of it by saying that this bank was really a strange place where the rivers dried up in the hot weather and suddenly disappeared underground.
17. How did the author describe the South Bank?
Ans: The author remarks that the South Bank was more homely with its reserve forests which were mostly in one block. It was a country of low hills and valleys. In it, the trees are interspersed with villages and cultivation. The forest which had sal trees had the character of British woodland. In this way, the South Bank appeared homely whenever the author went to it.
18. Describe, in your own words, the activities of bats in and around the Rajapara forest bungalow. Or, What unusual visitor did Rowntree have in his Bungalow one night?
Ans: The bats used to stay on the roof of the Rajapara forest bungalow. There were dropping from their dwelling place and these droppings reminded their presence constantly. If someone stayed in this bungalow, he smelt the fusty smell of the bats. Apart from them, there were some huge bats that used to stay in a tree outside the bungalow. They went out at dusk in search of food.
19. What does Rowntree state about the large ‘Bheel’ close to the bungalow at Rajapara?
Ans: Rowntree says that the ‘Bheel’ close to the Bungalow at Rajapara was caused by the earthquake that once lowered the surface. As a result of lowering the lands were inundated with water. Tree skeletons still rising out of water reminds one that once it was dry land.
