A Pinch of Snuff Subjective Question

1. Do guest visit your house frequently? How do you respond to them?

Ans. Yes, guests visit our house frequently. We welcome them and entertain them.

2. Do you like all of them equally? How often do you entertain your guests gladly ?

Ans. No, I do not like all of them. Only some of them are my favourite. I don’t entertain all guests gladly.

3. At times you may have to welcome a guest whom you don’t like much. How do you do this?

Ans. I ask some other family member to entertain such a guest whom I don’t like much.

4. The news that made the mother happy disturbed her son. Why were their responses so different?

Ans. The news of arriving of Nanukaka made the mother happy as he was her brother whom she loved very much. On the other hand that news made her son sad because he thought that Nanukaka might stay for long time.

5. Do you have a similar experience? Has your response to the news of arrival of any guest ever been different from that of other members of the family?

Ans. No, I have not any such experience. My response to the news of arrival of any guest has never been different from that of other members of the family.

6. Had to travel second on a third class ticket? But it was all arranged quite amicably? What arrangement’ Nanukaka is referring to? How can such arrangement be ‘amicable’?

Ans. Nanukaka was a very clever man. He travelled in second class on a third class ticket by bribing the ticket collector. Such arrangement can be ‘amicable’ when there is gain on both sides.

7. The Under Secretary always obeyed Nanukaka, although he was never willing to do so. Why?

Ans. The Under-Secretary always obeyed Nanukaka because he was his mother’s affectionate brother.

8. This tie and collar business is no good these days.” What did Nanukaka mean to say?

Ans. Nanukaka meant that tie and collar was a common mode of dress and was least impressive when we meet someone with some specific objective in mind. The traditional dress was more impressive under such circumstances.

9. How did the Under-Secretary change his appearance to accompany Nanukaka ?

Ans. The under secretary put on Jodhpuri style coat and tied a huge orange turban on his head to change his appearance.

10. Who is a Zamindar? Do you know any Zamindar in your locality? What do the people in your locality think about him?

Ans. Zamindar is a person who owns lot of land in a village or town. Zamindars are wealthy people and command lot of respect from the villagers. There is no Zamindar in my locality but people have different opinions about them.

11. How did Nanukaka impress Sohanlal Ratiram?

Ans. Nanukaka started describing his links with highly influential person in a loud tone so that Sohanlal could hear him. Then he started talking about Hazarat Barkat Ali, the ambassador, in such a way as if they were the best friends. Sohanlal was greatly impressed by that talk.

12. What important information did he collect at Ratiram’s Place?

Ans. Important information which he gathered at Ratiram’s place was that the minister had got his daughter married to Prince of Ninnore after Sohanlal had turned down the proposal of marriage with his son.

13. Who is a Prince? Do we have any prince now? If yes, do they enjoy the same privileges which they used to enjoy?

Ans. A prince is the son of the king of a country. No, we do not have any prince now, as all the kingdoms have been abolished.

14. Who was the second important person Nanukaka had planned to meet?

Ans. The second important person Nanukaka had planned to meet was the Welfare Minister.

15. What preparation did he make to meet him?

Ans. Firstly, he managed to get a luxurious car to be driven to the minister’s house. Secondly, he made the under secretary a liveried chauffeur. Lastly, he dressed up like a hereditary pundit from a princely state.

16. What new role did Nanukaka give the Under Secretary to play?

Ans. Nanukaka gave the Under Secretary to play a role of a car driver and made him dress like a liveried chanffer.

17. How did he manage to impress the Sikka Auto Dealers?

Ans. He wanted to impress the Sikka Auto Dealers by demonstrating his wealth. So he made a plan with the dhobi. He went to the Sikka Auto Dealers, just then dhobi came to him with an old coat of his and showed him a cheque of 1,000 in one of its pocket Seeing all that, the manager was impressed.

18. What did he do at the minister’s residence ?

Ans. When Nanukaka reached minister’s house, he humbly submitted that he had just come on a courtesy visit and did not wish to disturb the minister at that stage. Thereafter, he asked for the visitor’s book and in that he entered his name and added “Hereditary Astrologer to the Maharaja of Ninnore”. At the end he wrote his Delhi address for the purpose of contacting and that was infact the address of the narrator. Without speaking anything more he directed the narrator to take him to Maharaja Sutkatta’s place leaving a deep impression upon the secretary and orderly.

19. How did he impress the minister?

Ans. He scribbled, “Hereditary Astrologer to Maharaja of Ninnore” in the visitor’s book and as a result of that minister called upon him at his Delhi address on the very next day.

20. Is the Under-Secretary impressed with Nanukaka at any point? When and why? Find out the evidence from the story.

Ans. Nanukaka has been portrayed as an accomplished and habitual liar with lot of confidence and convincing ability. He always presents himself in an exaggerated form and is invariably able to accomplish his objective. The Under Secreatry goes along with Nanukaka to various places and carefully observes his behaviour and dealings. Initially, Under Secretary has a poor impression about Nanukaka but as he observes him carefully he realises that Nanukaka can successfully deal with any situation without losing his self confidence. He also realises that Nanukaka has uncommon presence of mind which is reflected in his dealings with Lala Sohanlal Ratiram and with the minister.

21. Nanukaka tells lots of lies. Why does he do so? Does he succeed in his pursuit ?

Ans. Nanukaka is in the habit of telling lies at every stage to present an exaggerated view of himself. He is very confident and convincing in his approach. Narrator is fully aware of that habit of his uncle and detests him for the same. Basic objective of Nanukaka in telling lies is to create a favourable impression and to develop acquaintance and links with high officials and ministers and to get his work done somehow or the other. Nanukaka always succeeds in his pursuits on the strength of his convincing. While leaving minister’s house he writes in the visitor’s book, “Hereditary Astrologer to the Maharaja of Ninnore.” This compels the minister to visit him on the next day. It appeared that undue pomp and show, self-styled importance and impressionist style to exhibit relations with high profile people are all at the back of Nanukaka’s behaviour.

22. What impression does Nanukaka create on you? Do you like him? Attempt a character sketch of Nanukaka.

Ans. Nanukaka is a clever and manipulative person with an impressive personality. He is an expert at telling lies in a highly impressive manner. He is a quick thinker and can take decisions on the spot. He has the ability to adopt himself to changing circumtances and act according to the need of the hour. He wears an old fashioned knee length black coat and red silk pugree. He carries a white angocha on his shoulder. All these are typical style of an old and orthodox dress sense. He is a habitual liar and is not scared of humililation. He is intelligent, smart and highly impressive. He is quick thinker and can easily or judge the situation and change his approach accordingly. It is interesting to watch him behaving cleverly and intelligently. I like for his witty nature, intelligence, quick decisions and for his clever manipulations without any harmful intentions.

23. Suppose you have Nanukaka as your uncle. How would you behave with him? Explain in detail.

Ans. Nanukaka is the most important character of the story, ‘A Pinch of Snuff”. He is a clever and manipulative person with an impressive personality. He has an extraordinary presence of mind and craves for the recognition and a position in the society. He is capable of taking quick and on the spot decisions. The narrator of the story is his sister’s son and is an officer of the rank of Under Secretary. Nanukaka is a habitual liar and resorts to telling lies at every stage to accomplish his mission. His interest lies in developing acquaintance with rich and influential people of the society and with high ranking government officials and ministers. He has the capability to get his work done somehow or the other through his manipulative skills and clever talks. I would like him to be as my uncle and would behave with him considerately and in a respectful manner.

24. Nanukaka made a big promise to Sohanlal Ratiram. Did he ever fulfil his promise?

Ans. Nanukaka had promised Sohanlal that he would speak to the Ambassador Hazarat Barkat Ali Khan for his son’s suitable foreign posting. Sohaila informed Nanukaka that somebody had poisoned the mind of the ambassador about his son. He, therefore, requested Nanukaka to do the needful and clear the misunderstanding. Nanukaka told Sohanlal that it was a trivial matter. He further told Sohanlal that Hazarat Barkat Ali was his schoolmate and would speak to him as they normally remain in touch with each other to get the matter resolred. Everything was said in a very casual manner to reflect close intimacy with Hazrat Barkat Ali. No, there was hardly any possibility of his fulfilling that promise because he had absolutely no links with Hazarat Barkat Ali. Nanukaka spoke all that without realising the consequences of that fake talk.

25. Can a person like Nanukaka be more successful in the present society? Give reasons.

Ans. Nanukaka is depicted in the story as a habitual liar, a manipulator and a glib talker who is always keen to develop close relations with rich and influential persons, high ranking government officials and the politicians. He has the passion for achieving his goals and objectives through cunning talk and by befooling others. Such persons are able to create initial good impression and make some temporary gains. Under the present circumstances these type of people are more successful and are becoming prosperous day by day. They rise to a great height and gain temporary positions in the society. On the other hand, honest and righteous persons who stand for values seldom attain such great heights in the short period. However, their success, even though slow, is more enduring and satisfying and they command high respect in the society.

26 ‘I wonder what is going to happen when the Minister discovers that he has never been within hundred miles of a place called Ninnore……. Only, when it happens I want to be far out of range.’ What light does this throw on the motive of the writer in the story? Does he want to glorify manipulation? Warn us of the consequences which its discovery leads to ? Does it expose the reality we are living in?

Ans. These are the views expressed by the narrator who is an officer of the Under Secretary rank in the Government. Narrator of the story wonders about the consequences when the minister comes to know about the reality. At the same time he realises that it would never have become possible to meet the minister if Nanukaka had not resorted to the tactics of false representation. Nanukaka is fully aware of the prevalent practices in high society, strength and the weaknesses of high ranking officials and politicians and is an expert in befooling them through glib talks. What he does is not exactly manipulation; but moulding and adjusting oneself according to the circumstances and the need of the hour. Yes, the narrator is somewhat worried and perturbed about the repurcussions which might result when the truth is finally discovered. But he is also convinced that this is the fact about the present day situation and the reality of life to which the people in the modern society have got used to. Yes, this story certainly exposes the reality we are living in. This is confirmed by the fact that Nanukaka is unable to meet the minister when he speaks the truth, but, when he resorts to these tactics minister personally come to meet him at his residence.

27. What is linguistic emergency? Do we all face it? How does it affect our speech?

Ans. Generally whenever people want to impress others they speak in English. It gives them a feeling of greater confidence and they feel elevated to meet people from all walks of life. However, some times a situation arises when they are unable to express themselves due to poor command on the language or on account of anxiety, fear or excitement. At that time they revert to their mothertongue and often start using swear words or abusive language, such a situation is termed as linguistic emergency. Yes, we face it and it affects our speech awfully.

28. Discuss the significance of the title. How is it related to the theme of the story?

Ans. A Pinch of Snuff is a witty story written by Manohar Malgaonkar. It is full of humour and adventure. Story revolves around Nanukaka who is the maternal uncle of narrator. Nanukaka is depicted as a witty person who in pursuit of his desire to develop close relationship with rich and affluent people, high ranking officials and politicians gets caught in very embarrassing situations. He is habituated in taking tobacco in the form of snuff whenever situations of this kind arise.