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The Ghat of the Only World Extra Questions and Answers Class 11 English Snapshots
The Ghat of the Only World Extra Questions and Answers Short Answer Type
Question 1.
Why has the narrator mentioned 25th April 2001?
Answer:
Shahid first spoke about his approaching death to the author on 25th April, 2001. It was in a routine conversation when he mentioned he could not see anything and whether it meant he was dying.
Question 2.
Why did Agha Shahid Ali want Ghosh to write about him?
Answer:
Agha Shahid Ali wanted Ghosh to write about him after his death because he wanted to be known and remembered through the written word not merely but through spoken memories of friendship and time shared together.
Question 3.
What did Shahid ask the narrator to do for him? Why did he make this request?
Answer:
Shahid asked the narrator to write about him when he was dead. The narrator was shocked and tried to say usual comforting things. Shahid laughed and ignored his words, the narrator understood he was serious. Shahid wanted to be remembered through the written word. Shahid knew the narrator would avoid writing and therefore wanted a promise while there was still time. The narrator promised.
Question 4.
Write about any two interests that the narrator and Shahid shared.
Answer:
There was an atmosphere of festivity in the gatherings at Shahid’s house, it has been said that he was the centre of a perpetual carnival. The narrator and Shahid had several common interests. They both liked poetry, had common friends, were fond of good food and music. They both disliked cricket. All these interests became very poignant because Shahid’s condition was already serious when they became friends.
Question 5.
What was the plan for an ‘adda’ hatched by the narrator and his friends?
Answer:
‘Adda’ is a gathering with no fixed agenda other than a friendly interaction. The narrator, Shahid and their friends decided that they should get together often. They used to enjoy poetry, good food and music. He was usually the host, many poets and writers joined him. Once a television crew came with a camera and was welcome. Addas were synonymous with good times and warm intellectual get-together. They took place because of Shahid’s gregariousness.
Question 6.
In spite of having lived in the United States for many years, show how Kashmir was still alive in Shahid’s heart.
Answer:
In spite of having lived in the United States for many years. Shahid had immense love for Kashmir. He used to visit Kashmir often in order to see his parents. He also wrote about Kashmir. He would get Kashmiri food cooked at home. He also wanted to die in Kashmir.
Question 7.
What kind of music did Shahid like?
Answer:
Shahid liked the music of Roshnara Begum and Kishore Kumar. He loved the gazals of Begum Akhtar. He had met her when he was in his teens. She was a great influence on his life.
Question 8.
What were Shahid’s views on religion?
Answer:
Shahid respected religion and believed that religion and politics should not be mingled. He was broadminded and wished to include all religions. He had a broadminded upbringing. When he was a child, his mother had helped him set up a temple in their house.
Question 9.
Give an example to show that Shahid was broad-minded in religious matters.
Answer:
Shahid was broadminded and wished to include all religions. He had a broadminded upbringing. When-he was a child, his mother had helped him set up a temple in their house.
Question 10.
What do you know of Shahid as a teacher?
Answer:
Shahid taught at several colleges in the United States. He taught at Penn University, where he ‘grew’ as a poet and a reader. Later Shahid taught at Arizona where he met James Merill. He also took a degree in creative writing, then taught at Hamilton College, University of Massachusetts at Amherst and at University of Utah as Professor and briefly at New York University. He also taught at Manhattan’s Baruch College in the Spring Semester of 2000. The students adored him. They dedicated a magazine to him.
Question 11.
What is the ‘ghat’ described in this essay?
Answer:
Shahid’s apartment overlooked the East River showcasing a view of Manhattan skyline. Brooklyn waterfront slipped into the East River like the steps of a ‘Ghat’ leading to a river. This view he called a ‘ghat’. His farewell poem contained the line ‘I dream I am the Ghat of the Only World’. ‘Being at the Ghat’ meant that he was slipping away towards death.
Question 12.
How did James Merrill influence Shahid’s work?
Answer:
Shahid met Merill while at Arizona where Shahid took a degree in creative writing. Merill influenced him greatly and changed the direction of his poetry. He started writing in strict metrical forms and patterns.
Question 13.
What was the style of the writing of The Country Without a Post Office?
Answer:
The Country Without a Post Office is a collection of Shahid’s poems published in 1997. It is quite impressive. The voice of the poet was disciplined but lyrical, engaged and yet deeply inward. It is not prose like as modern poetry is. The style and words are deeply poetic.
Question 14.
What do the words ‘Shahid’ and ‘Shahid’ mean? How did the narrator’s friend live both these meanings in his life?
Answer:
Shahid (pronounced Shahid) means a witness. Shahid (pronounced Shaheed) means a martyr. The poet Shahid was both. As a witness, he saw and was pained at the destiny of Kashmir. In his poetic images, death, Kashmir and Shahid/Shaheed are interwoven.
Question 15.
Why did Shahid say for himself, “A National poet may be, but not a nationalist poet”?
Answer:
National poet means a representative poet of his native land, expressing its culture and spirit. Shahid was a poet of this type. ‘Nationalist’ poet has a political meaning. His vision was never political.
Question 16.
“Shahid had a sorcerer’s ability to transmute the mundane into the magical.” Bring out the truth of this statement.
Answer:
Shahid had gone to the hospital to undergo a surgical procedure to relieve the pressure on his brain. After the procedure, he insisted he would walk out of the ward but couldn’t. He collapsed but when the wheelchair came he became jovial. He told the Eucadorian hospital attendant that he wanted to learn Spanish. His jovial remark changed that tense moment to a jovial one.
Question 17.
‘The Ghat of the Only World’ is a befitting tribute paid by Amitav Ghosh to Agha Shahid Ali. Validate with reference to the lesson.
Answer:
Ghosh has given a comprehensive picture of the personality of Agha Shahid Ali as well as a warm account of their relationship. In the story Amitav Ghosh has highlighted Shahid, his career, his likes and dislikes, his gregariousness and hospitality. Amitav Ghosh also shares his relationship with Shahid. They shared interests in literature, music and food.
Question 18.
“Shahid was legendary in his prowess in the kitchen.” Write about this aspect of his personality with suitable examples.
Answer:
Shahid was extremely fond of good food. He made it a point to serve choice dishes to his friends. He would spend days planning meals. He himself gave instructions about the preparation in the kitchen.
The Ghat of the Only World Extra Questions and Answers Long Answer Type
Question 1.
The journey from the foyer of Shahid’s building to his door was a voyage between continents. Show how this is true.
Answer:
For the narrator, the journey from the foyer of Shahid’s building to his door was a voyage between continents. The narrator made this remark in the context to the fragrance of good food that invaded the elevator and transformed the United States into India. The aroma of rogan josh and haak would invade the door, grey interior of the elevator. The foyer was the United States, but by the time one reached Shahid’s door, fragrance of food, tea, songs in the background and endless mela of talk, laughter, food and poetry would transform it into India (Kashmir). Shahid would personally take care of the meal being cooked and used to give his instructions and directions to the cooks.
Question 2.
Trace Shahid’s career as a teacher in the United States.
Answer:
Shahid taught at several colleges in the United States. He taught at Penn University — where he ‘grew’ as a poet and a reader. This was the happiest time of his life. He became associated with a vibrant group of students — many Indians among them. Later Shahid taught at Arizona where he met James Merill. He also took a degree in creative writing, then he taught at Hamilton College, University of Massachusetts at Amherst and at University of Utah as Professor and briefly at New York University. He also taught at Manhattan’s Baruch College in the Spring Semester of 2000. The students adored him. They dedicated a magazine to him.
Question 3.
Comment on the title ‘The Ghat of the Only World’.
Answer:
The title ‘The Ghat of the Only World’ is the most appropriate one for this story. It is connected to the protagonist Shahid—an Indian Kashmiri poet living in the United States. Shahid’s apartment overlooked the East River showcasing the view of Manhattan skyline. Shahid loved the view of the Brooklyn waterfront slipping, like a ghat, into the East River, under the glittering lights of Manhattan. The journey from the foyer of Shahid’s building to his door was a voyage between continents.
In his farewell poem, Shahid most explicitly prefigured his own death. One of the lines of this poem contained, ‘I Dream I Am At the Ghat of the Only World’. In this line, ‘Being At the Ghat’ meant that time was slipping by and with each passing day, he was getting closer to death. So, throughout, the story emphasizes and stress has been laid on the word ‘Ghat’. There could not have been a better title than this.
Question 4.
Shahid, was ‘the centre of a perpetual carnival’. Explain.
Answer:
There was an atmosphere of festivity in the gatherings at Shahid’s house. It has been said that he was the centre of a perpetual carnival; the narrator and Shahid had several common interests. Some of them were poetry, common friends, good food and music. They both disliked cricket. All these interests became very poignant because Shahid’s condition was already serious when they became friends.
Adda is a gathering with no fixed agenda other than a friendly interaction. The narrator, Shahid and their friends, decided they should get together often. They used to enjoy poetry, good food and music. He was usually the host and would invite many poets and writers. Once a television crew came with a’ camera and was welcome. Addas were synonymous with good times and warm intellectual get-together. They took place because of Shahid’s gregariousness.