India Through a Traveller’s Eyes Subjective Question

1. What does the word ‘colour’ remind the writer of?

Ans. The word ‘colour’ reminds the author of the variety of hues that exist in the Indian life which is parallel to the colourful life in America.

2. What were the benefits of English rule?

Ans. One of the major benefits of English rule was that the people in India understood the importance of English language. They learnt the language of English to gain more knowledge and to understand the western culture. Leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, Vijaya Laxmi Pandit became international figures because of their excellent command over English and their exquisite enunciation.

3. Why were the intellectuals in India restless and embittered?

Ans. Intellectuals in India had become restless and embittered because they were not happy to lead a life of slavery and further the Britishers kept on deferring the freedom to India on some or the other pretext.

4. What was the ‘great lesson’ that India had to teach the West?

Ans. India taught the world, that the noble ends can be achieved through noble means. Violence, war and killings gave nothing except hatred.

5. Where was the real indictment against colonisation to be found?

Ans. The real indictment against colonisation could be found in Indian villages. Most of the children, were undernounished and there was no scope for employment. Their existence was very painful and had short span of life.

6. Why was the writer moved at the sight of the children of the Indian villages?

Ans. The writer found that even after a period of 300 years of English occupation children of Indian villages were undernourished and lived in deplorable conditions.

7. Why was the land between Bombay and Madras famished?

Ans. The land between Bombay and Madras was a desert dry area but the underground water level was quite high. No attempts were made to dig artesian wells or shallow wells for the purpose of irrigation or supply of water to the meagre population living there.

8. Why did the Indian always blame the British for their suffering?

Ans. The Indians felt that they were grounded by the Britishers and it was their duty to feed them and cloth them. That was why they blamed the British for their sufferings.

9. Who was the real master of the house which Buck visited?

Ans. The younger brother was the real master of the house.

10. Why did the writer not mind her host eating in the opposite corner of the room?

Ans. The writer did not mind her host eating in the opposite corner of the house with his back towards her because she felt it was cultural difference.

11. What does she mean by saying ‘Religion is ever present in Indian life’?

Ans. The writer says that religion is always present in Indian life in its best as well as worst aspects. In its best form it is the simple acceptance of religious motives and in its worst form it is fanaticism.

12. What are her views on the Christian missionaries?

Ans. Mrs. Buck believes that Christian missionaries are the most dedicated and single hearted people who believe that God is one, the father of mankind and that all men are brothers.

13. How does Pearl S. Buck describe Kashmir?

Ans. According to Pearl S. Buck, Kashmir is a place with all its scenic beauty, where people are often fair and women have golden brown hair and beautiful shining blue eyes. She feels that life in India is as varied as life in America. She describes that skin colour of people in Kashmir is creamish and their features are classic. She says that white barbarion invaders from Europe came to Kashmir long age.

14. How has India influenced the world in the post-independence era?

Ans. India has influenced the world in post-independence era in multiple ways. First of all it has taught the world that the noble ends should be achieved only through noble means. Gandhian philosophy of Ahimsa and non-violence has demonstrated to the world that how victory over tyrants can be achieved through peaceful means and without bloodshed. India has shown the world the path of peaceful co-existence through non-alignment and non-interference in the affairs of the other countries. India has influenced the world though their universal brotherhood which can be seen from the Indians living in South Africa and her Indian family doctor in China rendering medical assistance to Chinese and American families. Indians have now migrated to every part of the world and several Indians have become famous throughout the world in the post-independence era.

15. Why had the Indian intellectuals decided not to support the British in the second World War?

Ans. The people of India were bitterly disappointed after the first World War because England failed to keep her promise made to India in context to the independence. The Britishers always evaded the issue of the independence on some or the other pretext. They could never believe that the Indians were capable to govern their own country. It was planned in the wake of the second world war that India would rebel against England and that might compel England to set India free. That was the reason the intellectuals decided not to support England in the second world war.

16. What lesson had India taught the humanity by gaining independence?

Ans. The author felt that the people of India had great reverence for the great men and women involved in the freedom struggle of India. She stated emphatically that leadership in India could be continued by only those whom the followers considered to be good and capable of renunciation. That person became an undisputed leader with massive followers. That was the reason Gandhiji was given high level of devotion by the people of India. Internationally. It was because of that devotion and massive following Gandhiji could attain freedom for India without any kind of bloodshed or war.

17. What was the psychological impact of colonisation on Indian people?

Ans. The real indictment against colonisation could be found in cities of India. Thousands of young intellectuals were trained in English schools for jobs that did not exist except in the limited civil service. The towns and cities abounded in cultured and well educated youth who could find no jobs because the old superstructure of empiredid not allow to create job opportunities for them. That had an adverse psychological impact on Indian people. They found themselves in a helpless situation. That was one of the psychological impact of colonisation on Indian people.

18. Who, according to Buck, could be the real leaders of Indian people?

Ans. According to Pearl S. Buck only a selfless person could become the real leader of the people of India which was evident from the devotion given to Gandhiji by the people not only in India but across the world. In that context, she realled her visit to a certain village, where she had been invited to visit the home of a family with some moderate education. The active master of the house was not the eldest member of the family but his younger brother. The younger brother explained her that his elder brother had a stroke of paralysis and had chosen to live out much against the wishes of the family that he could be ready to listen to the villagers when they came to meet him.

19. What are some of the features of Indian family life, as noticed by Buck?

Ans. Pearl S. Buck observed that families in India were by and large united. All the members of the family lived under one roof. Elder members of the family were given high respect and regard and their orders were always carried out. People ate their food together after offering their prayers and washed their hands properly before eating food. The author hesitated to eat food with the help of chopsticks but now she realised that eating food with a clean right hand was definitely better. Another thing about cleanlines that she observed was that the food was served on fresh green banana leaves instead of plates. Well cooked rice piled on broad green leaf was a pleasant sight and stimulated appetite.

20. Why did the writer believe that her book Come, My Beloved was not a puzzlement to the people of India?

Ans. The writer, Pearl, S. Buck, had written another book, “Come, My Beloved” with India as a background. She had expressed her idea about aforesaid book. She was fully assured that book was not a puzzlement to the people of India. The reason behind her belief was that the book had thrown light over Indian and their culture. People of India, therefore, knew the meaning of the book. They understood what was there in the book. As such it was not a puzzlement to the Indian people.