Class 10 English Chapter 15 A Baker from Goa

 

TEXTUAL QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Multiple Choice Questions & Answers

1. Which is known as coffee country- 

(i) China 

(ii) Coorg

(iii) Delhi 

(iv) Assam

Ans. (ii) Coorg.

2. Coorg is a district of- 

(i) Assam

(ii) Bihar 

(iii) Karnataka

(iv) None of these

Ans. (iii) Karnataka.

3. The distance from Bangalore to coorg is by road-

(i) 250 km

(ii) 260 km

(iii) 270 km

(iv) 290 km

Ans. (ii) 260 km.

4. Kuppia is worn by-

(i) Assamese  

(ii) Coorgies

(iii) Chines

(iv) Philippines

Ans. (ii) Coorgies.

5. General Cariappa was ______ chief of Indian army.

(i) First

(ii) Second

(iii) Third

(iv) Fourth

Ans. (i) First.

6. Mahout operates-

(i) Tiger

(ii) Lion

(iii) Elephant 

(iv) All of these

Ans. (iii) Elephant.

7. The Joy of coorg commence from

(i) March to September

(ii) September to March

(iii) August to October 

(iv) October to August

Ans. (ii) September to March.

8. Coorg is compared to haven for- 

(i) Coffee 

(ii) Kadavus 

(iii) Natural beauty 

(iv) Spices 

Ans. (iii) Natural beauty.

9. Corgis are expart in-

(i) Martial art 

(ii) Boxing 

(iii) Running 

(iv) Firing

Ans. (i) Martial art.

Oral comprehension check – I

1. What are the elders in Goa nostalgic about? 

Ans: The elders in Goa are nostalgic about the good old Portuguese days and their famous loaves of bread. 

2. Is bread-making still popular in Goa? How do you know? 

Ans: Yes, bread-making is still popular in Goa. Because the writer says, ‘The fire in the finances has not yet been extinguished.’

3. What is the baker called? 

Ans: In Goa the baker is called a pader. 

4. When would the baker come everyday? Why did the children run to meet him? 

Ans: The baker would come in the morning every day. The children ran to meet him to have ‘bread-bangles’. 

Oral comprehension check – ll

1. Match the following. What is a must

(i) As marriage gifts? -cakes and bolinhas

(ii) For a party or a feast? -sweet bread called bol

(iii) For a daughter’s engagement? -bread

(iv) For Christmas? -sandwiches

Ans: (i) as marriage gifts – sweet bread called bol. 

(2) for party or feast – bread. 

(3) for a daughter’s engagement – sandwiches. 

(4) for Christmas – cakes and bolinhas. 

2. What did the bakers wear : 

(i) in the Portuguese 

days? 

(ii) When the author was young? 

Ans: (i) In the Portuguese days the bakers wore the ‘kabai’ , a single-pice long frock that reached the knees. 

(ii) When the author was young they wore a shirt and trousers, shorter than full-length but longer than half pants. 

3. Who invites the comment – ‘he is dressed like a pader? Why? 

Ans: A person who wears longer half-pant that goes down the knees invites such a comment. Because the dress is similar to the dress of a baker. 

4. Where were the monthly accounts of the baker recorded? 

Ans: The monthly accounts of the baker were recorded on the wall in pencil. 

5. What does a ‘Jack-fruit-like appearance’ mean? 

Ans: A ‘jackfruit-like appearance’ means a fat body. 

Thinking about the Text

1. Which of these statements are correct? 

i) The pader was an important person in the village in old times. 

Ans: Correct.

ii) Padres still exist in Goan villages. 

Ans: Correct.

iii) The paders went away with the Portuguese. 

Ans: Correct.

iv) The paders continue to wear a single-piece long frock. 

Ans: incorrect.

v) Bread and cakes were an integral part of Goan life in the old days. 

Ans: incorrect.

vi) Traditional bread-making is still a very profitable business. 

Ans: incorrect.

vii) Padres  and their families starve in the present times. 

Ans: incorrect.

2. Is bread an important part of Gaon life? How do you know this? 

Ans: Yes, bread is an important part of Goan life. Different kinds of breads are must in different occasions like engagement parties, Christmas, feast or any other festival. 

3. Tick the right answer : What is the tone of the author when he says the following? 

i) The thud and the jingle of the traditional baker’s bamboo can still be heard in some places. (nostalgic, hopeful, sad) 

Ans: Hopeful.

ii) May be the father is not alive but the son still carries on the family profession. (nostalgic, hopeful, sad) 

Ans: Hopeful.

iii) I still recall the typical fragrance of those loaves. (nostalgic, hopeful, sad) 

Ans: Nostalgic.

iv) The tiger never brushed his teeth. Hot tea could wash and clean up everything so nicely, after all. (naughty, angry, funny) 

Ans: Funny.

v) Cakes and bolinhas are a must for Christmas as well as other festivals. (sad, hopeful, matter-of-fact) 

Ans: Matter-of-fact.

vi) The baker and his family never starved. They always looked happy and prosperous (matter-of-fact, hopeful, sad) 

Ans: Matter-of-fact.

Writing

1. In this extract, the author talks about traditional bread baking during his childhood days. Complete the following table with the help of the clues on the left. Then write a paragraph about the author’s childhood day

Clues	Another’s childhood days
the way bread was baked
the way the pader sold bread
What the pader wore
When the pader was paid
how the pader looked

Ans: 

Clues	Another’s childhood days
the way bread was baked	The fire has not yet been extinguished in the age-old, time-tested furnaces.
the way the pader sold bread	He wished ‘Good Morning’ as he entered with jhang-jhang sound with his bamboo stick. Then he sold his bread.
What the pader wore	The pader wore kabai, a singkep icec long frock that reached down to the knees.
When the pader was paid	He was paid at the end of the month.
how the pader looked	The pader looked fat and plumpy.

1. Compare the piece from the text (on the left below) with the other piece on Goan bakers (on the right) what makes the two texts so different? Are the facts same? Do both writers give you a picture of the baker? 

Our elders are often heard reminiscing nostal gically about those good old Portuguese days, the Portuguese and their famous loaves of bread. Those eaters of loves might have vanished but the makers are still there. We still have amongst us the mixers, the molder’s and those who bake the loaves. Those age-old, tine-tested furnaces had not yet been extinguished. The thud and the jingle of the traditional bakers bamboo, heralding his arrival in the morning, can still be heated in some places.       May be the father is not alive but the son still carries on the family profession.

After Goa’s liberation, people used to say nostalgically that the Portuguese bread vanished with the padres. But the padres have managed to survive because they have perfected the art of door-to-door delivery service. The padres pick up the knowledge of bread making from traditions in the family. The leavened, oven-baked bread is a gift of the Portuguese to India.  [Adapted from Nanadakumar Kamat’s ‘The unsung Lives of Goan Padres’]

Ans: The two texts are about Portuguese bread but in a different manner. They express that the Portuguese have left but their bread still exists here in India. Of course, the second text says that the Portuguese bread vanished with padres. 

2. Now find a travel brochure about a place you have visited. Look at the description in the brochure. Then write your own account, adding details from your own experience, to give the reader a picture of the place, rather than an impersonal, factual description. 

Ans: Do yourself. 

Group Discussion

1. In groups, collect information on how bakers bake bread now and how the process has changed over time. 

2. There are a number of craft-based professions which are dying out. Pick one of the crafts below make a group presentation to the class about skills required and the possible reasons for the decline of the craft. Can you think of ways to revive these crafts? 

i) Pottery	v) Carpentry
ii) Batik work	vi)Bamboo weaving
iii) Dhuri (rug) weaving	vii) making jute products
iv) Embroidery	viii) Handloom.

Ans: Do yourself. 

Comprehension Questions and Answers

Q:- Read the passages carefully and answers the questions choosing appropriate options given below :-

1. During our childhood in Goa, the baker used to be our friend, companion and guide. He used to come at least twice a day. Once, when he set out in the morning on his selling round, and then again, when he returned after emptying his huge basket. The jingling thud of his bamboo wake us up from sleep and we ran to meet and great him. Why was it so? Was it for the love of the loaf? Not at all. The loaves were bought by some paskine or Bastine, the maid servant of the house! What we longed for were those bread-bangles which we chose carefully. Sometimes it was sweet bread of special make. 

Question :-

1. What was the baker to the speaker in his childhood? 

a) A friend.

b) A companion. 

c) A guide.

d) All of these. 

Ans: d) All of these.

2. What was it that woke the narrator up? 

a) The cry of the baker. 

b) The jingling thud of the baker’s bamboo. 

c) His mother. 

d) His father. 

Ans: b) The jingling thud of the baker’s bamboo.

3. What did the boys long for? 

a) Bread.      

b) Looves.

c) Bread-bangles.    

d) Biscuits.

Ans: c) Bread-bangles. 

4. What does the speaker mean by ‘Paskine’ and ‘Bastine’? 

a) The bread-seller.  

b) The buyers.

c) Servants.     

d) The maid-servants. 

Ans: d) The maid-servants. 

2. The baker usually collected his bills at the end of the month. Monthly accounts used to be recorded on some wall in pencil. Baking was indeed a profitable profession in the old days. The baker and his family never starved. He, his family and his servants always looked happy and prosperous. Their plump physique was an open testimony to this. Even today any person with a jackfruit-like physical appearance is easily compared to a baker. 

Question :-

1. When did the baker collect his bills? 

a) At the end of the day.  

b) At the end of the week.    

c) At the end of the month.  

d) At the end of the year.

Ans: c) At the end of the month. 

2. Where were the accounts recorded? 

a) On notebooks.   

b) In drawing-room. 

c) On the table.  

d) On some wall. 

Ans: d) On some wall. 

3. Who never starved? 

a) The baker.  

b) The baker’s family. 

c) The bread-seller.

d) The baker and his family. 

Ans: d) The baker and his family.

4. What proved that they looked happy and prosperous? 

a) Their visit to the house.

b) Their sale. 

c) Their plump physique.   

d) Their bread. 

Ans: c) Their plump physique. 

Short Answer Type Questions

1. What was the baker known as? 

Ans: The baker was known as pader. He visited twice a day once in the morning and again in the evening. 

2. How did the baker make his musical entry? 

Ans: The baker made his musical entry with the ‘jhang, jhang’ sound of his stick of bamboo. His one hand 

supported his basket on his head and the other banged the stick on the ground. 

3. What is bol? What is its importance? 

Ans: Bol is a kind of sweet bread. It is an integral part of marriage gift and a party. Without bol party loses its charm. Cakes and bolinhas are a must for Christmas and other festivals. 

4. What is the Kabai? Who wore it? 

Ans: The Kabai is a traditional dress worn by the bakers in ancient Goa. It was a single piece long frock that reached down to the knees. Anyone who wears a half-pant that reaches just below the knees is called to be dressed as a pader. 

Long Answer Type Questions

1. How did the baker dress in those days? How did he look? 

Ans: The baker, was known as pader used to dress in a peculiar way in those days in Goa. The dress was known as kabai. It was a single-piece long frock that reached down to the knees. In the childhood the author saw bakers wearing a shirt and trousers which were shorter than full-length ones but longer than half pants. Even today if anyone wears a half-pant that reaches down the knees is called to be dressed like a pader.