1.What did the author expect to discover at Peacock Island?
Ans: Peacocks.
2. What are ghats?
Ans: Ghats are landing places on a river bank.
3.What are epiphytes?
Ans: The climate is not suitable.
4.At what time of the year was the North Bank ‘delightfu;’?
Ans: During the cold weather.
5.What are mahseers that Rowntree discovered in the river?
Ans: Mahseers are a kind of fresh water fish.
6. What is ‘ pug marks’?
Ans: ‘Pug marks’ are footprints of animals.
7. What did they have to do to get clean water in the camp?
Ans: In the camp, clean water could be had by using alum into water.
8.Who is the ‘Chota Sahib’ in the ‘Memoirs of Chota Sahib’?
Ans: John Rowntree is the ‘Chota Sahib’ in the ‘Memoirs of Chota Sahib’. He was the last British Senior Conservator of the Forests of Assam.
9.Who was John Rowntree?
Ans: John Rowntree was the last British senior conservator of Forests of Assam.
10. What is ‘Assam Cheetal’?
Ans Assam Cheetal is a kind deer locally known as ‘phutuki Harin’.
11.By what name is the Peacock Island popularly known?
Ans: The paecock Island is popularly known as Umananda.
12.What is the lesson ‘Memoirs of Chota Sahib’ all about?
Ans: The lesson ‘Memoirs of Shota Sahib’ is a brief but vivid account of Guwahati and its neighbouring areas on ther eve of independence of India as seen by the author John Rowntree.
13.Name the places where two bunglaows were situated?
Ans: The names of the places of the two bungalows are-Kulsi and Rajapara.
14.Name three plants mentioned in the essay?
Ans: The three plants mentioned in the essay are sal, teak and rubber.
15.How did John Rowntree find the weather when he arrived at Gauhati?
Ans: When John Rowntree arrived at Gauhati he founnd the weather cold bearable.
16.What is a ‘mar boat’?
Ans: ‘Mahseers are a kind of fresh water fish.
17.What unsual visitor did Rowntree have in his bungalow on night?
Ans: The unusual visitor that Rowntree had in his bungalow one night was a tiger. The footprint of the tiger was visible through the compound of the bungalow.
18.What information does the author give us about Manas Wild Life Sanctuary?
Ans: The author says that the Manas Wild Life Sanctuary was on boarder of Bhutan. There few rhinos were found but it was full of fishes.
19.What does the author say about the importance of Guwahati? Is the statement true in our time today also?
Ans: The author says that Guwahati was the port of entry into Assam. The most travel-lers passed through on their way between Kolkata and Shillong or to other places. This is true even today because Guwahati is the gate-way to the North-east India.
20.What did the author observe about the bheel at Rajapara?
Ans: Close to the Rajapara Forest Bunglow there was a large bheel. An earth-quake had once lowered the surface and the land became inundated with water. It was a strange spot rose out of water which was a reminder that it had once been dry land.
21.What is the belief about the dividing channel between peacock Island and the mainland of Guwahati that the author men-tions?
Ans: It was believed that if the channel between peacock Island the mainland of Guwahati ever dried up completely, it would indicate the end of the British Raj. In some years, it was about to dry up. the writer says that he was ignorant whether in the time of independence of India, the channel got dried up or not. Because he would be no longer in Guwahati at that time.
22.Why did Rowntree dislike the for-est bungalow at Rajapara?
Ans: No doubt, the Forest Bunglow at Rajapara was beautiful and charming: but the author disliked the bungalow because of the presence of a large number of bats which lived in the roof and lent their fusty smell to the bungalow and its surroundings.
23.What character of the North Bank of the Brahmaputra does the author refer to?
Ans: The North Bank of the Brahmaputra had its own characteristics. It was a vast remote stretch of flat, ageless land between the sandbanks of the Brahmaputra and the Himalayan foothills. It was a strange place where the rivers dried up in the hot weather and suddenly disappeared under ground.
24.Relate the author’s reminiscence of the forest bungalow at Kulsi?
Ans: There two comfortable bungalows in the forest. One was at Kulsi and the other was at Rajapara. The bungalow at Kulsi was very beautifully situated on a wooded spur above the river. The second was also beautiful but in the roof of the bunglaow there were bats. The bunglaow at Kulsi was favourite to the author. The bunglaow was surrounded by teak plantation, planted some sixty years before.
25.Briefly describe the scene observed by the author from the veranda of his bungalow on the bank of the Brahmaputra?
Ans: The bungalow of the author was situated on the bank of the Brahmaputra. In front of the bungalow was a raised portico from which the narrator and his companions had a splendid view of the river Brahmaputra and the Himalayas. In the centre was the dome of the temple was visible through the tress. But though the island was called Peacock Island, there he saw only monekys, not pea-cock
26.Describe the author’s experience of crossing a flooded river on horsedack on the North Bank of the Brahmaputra.
or
Q. Relate Rowntree’s experiences of floods in Assam.
Ans: Once the author crossed a flooded river on horse-back. He persuaded the horse to plung into the water, then slipped over his croup and hung on to its tail. Again when the author pushed the horse to the right, it veered to the left and when he pushed to the left the horse veered to the right. But eventully he could make a safe landing on the other side of the river.
27. Relate the author’s experiences of the road accibent during the monsoon on the North Bank?
Ans Once the author was touring with his family on the north bank of the Barahmaputra and was caught in the monsoon rain. Although the road was still motorable, driving became very risky. The roads were increasingly greaaaaaasy. Finally they slithered over the edge into a paddy field some six feet below the road paddy fields were divided into small enclosures by low banks so that flood water would not run away. However they found a way back to the road. The car was carrying the author, his wife, the child, ayah spring of the car was broken and the family was safe.
Tayp By: SUMAN BORA