A. Very Short Answer Questions: (1 Marks)
1. Word – Meaning from the given chapter.
i. Wobbly
Ans: Unsteady
ii. Puddles
Ans: A small pool of liquid
iii. Gulped down
Ans: To swallow immediately
iv. Trickle
Ans: Flow of liquid
2. Who is Velu?
Ans: Velu is an eleven-year-old boy.
3. What train does Velu board?
Ans: Velu boarded the Kanyakumari Express.
4. At what station did the train pulled in?
Ans: The train pulled in at Chennai Central.
5. How did Velu feel when he stood on the platform?
Ans: Velu felt wobbly as if the train was still moving.
B. Short Answer Questions: (2 Marks)
1. What did he do after getting off the train?
Ans: Velu got off the train and sat on a bench on the platform. He kept his small bundle down and was astonished to see a huge crowd.
2. How was Velu while sitting at the platform?
Ans: Velu felt miserable and so kept his head down on his knees. He felt exhausted as it had been nearly two days when he ran away from his village.
3. What did Velu eat since he had left from his house?
Ans: As Velu had less money, so he ate only peanuts and jaggery for two days.
4. How did Velu got on the train without a ticket?
Ans: Velu remained in the unreserved compartment, where the ticket collector had not yet arrived to check the tickets. Velu slept on the compartment’s floor near the door.
5. What does Velu see when he opens his eyes?
Ans: Velu heard a voice that asked him if he was new to town. He looked behind and saw a girl of his age standing behind him.
C. Short Answer Question: (3 Marks)
1. How did the girl look to Velu?
Ans: Velu sees the girl standing behind her in a long banian that reached her knees. Her hair was stiff and brownish and she was carrying a big sack on one shoulder. Velu noticed her picking up the plastic cups from the floor and stuffing them into her sack.
2. What does the girl give Velu to eat and how?
Ans: Velu pressed his stomach and so the girl understood that he was hungry. She then took him behind the hall where there was a big garbage bin overflowing with rubbish. The girl picked up a banana, a vada and gave them to Velu to eat.
3. What does the girl tell Velu about eating something more?
Ans: The girl told Velu that they arrived earlier as the people had eaten the only tiffin but if Velu felt hungry, they’ll have to wait for the people to finish.
4. What does the girl do later?
Ans: After telling Velu to wait, the girl started picking up bottles from the heap and threw them into the sack which she was carrying, and then walked off.
5. What did Velu do when he saw that the girl was walking off?
Ans: When Velu saw the girl walking off he felt helpless and so decided to stick to her as she knew the area. He then ran after her.
D. Long Answer Questions: (5 Marks)
Question 1. Velu was optimistic and had not become the victim of poverty. What could be his strength to survive?
Answer
Velu ran away from his village and came to Chennai. He worked in the farms and his earning were spent by his father on his drink. He left the village for a better place. But when he reached Chennai, he had to eat from garbage and had to walk bare feet on the road. Then he compared his village life with his present. The hutments and the job of rag picking was depressing to him. Yet he had not lost his heart. He decided to change for a better job once he get an opportunity. He did not like to compromise. It is evident that he would come out from such undignified life. His optimism is very obvious from his. statement.
Question 2. (i) What material are the ‘Strange’ huts made out of?
(ii) Why does Velu find them strange?
Answer
(i) The ‘Strange’ huts were made out of metal sheets, tyres, bricks, wood and plastic.
(ii) Velu found the huts strange because in his village. The houses were made of mud and palm leaves. The huts he saw were made up of all sorts of things and looked like as if they would fall any moment.
Question 3. Is Velu a smart boy? Which instances in the text shows that he is or isn’t.
Answer
Yes. Velu seems to be a smart boy. He ran away from his village because of bad circumstances. When he reached Chennai, the girl, who was a ragpicker, .tried to help him. Initially, he thought of not taking her help. However, he was smart enough to realize that he was very hungry and did not know where to go. Therefore, he followed the girl. He knew how to read Tamil. When the girl asked him to eat the banana that she found in the garbage, he refused at first. However, he quickly realised that the girl very strange, still he continued to walk along with her. He tried to understand why she collected rubbish. He knew that he had not come to the big city to collect rubbish; however, he adjusted to the circumstances and decided to do the same work till we found a better job.
Question 4. Under what circumstances did Velu become a ragpicker?
Answer
Velu was an eleven years old boy. He ran away from home because his father was addicted to drinking. He used to beat him and his sister and snatched whatever they earned. He came to Chennai where he met a girl of his own age. The girl was carrying a big sack on her back. She was picking up plastic cups and putting them into the sack. Seeing Velu in a miserable condition she took pity on him and got food for him. She brought Velu to her hut, which was built out of wood, plastic and sheets. She gave him a pair of old shoes, a sack and a stick. He wondered what work she wanted him to do. She told him that he was now a ragpicker like her. He too now had to collect things from waste materials. Velu was alone in that big city. He had no option and therefore accepted the job of a ragpicker.
Question 5. There are various laws for the betterment of children yet no noticeable change is evident. Do you agree?
Answer
The constitution provides free and compulsory education for every child until the age of fourteen years. Labour laws also suggest that it is an offence to put a child into child labour and there are strict rules for it. Yet they are widely violated. The conditions throughout the country are all the same. Circumstances sometimes lead children to work even at the age where they should go to school to study and play. But the hostile condition led them to surrender to their fate.
Society and government organization should co-ordinate for the betterment of such deprived children. They should be given support and shelter. Then only their future would be bright. They could pursue their dreams and aspirations and work for the betterment of the nation.
Question 6. Velu stood on the platform but he felt “as if he was still on a moving train.” Why?
Answer
Velu felt “as if he was still on a moving train” because he had wandered around for hours before getting on a train to Chennai, he was tired and hungry, his legs shook unsteadily. He had travelled so long that he felt the train was still moving.
Question 7. What problems do millions of poor children face in India? What basic issue does the story discuss?
Answer
This story gives us a picture of children who are bound to work to support not only themselves but also their parents. They can’t go to school, they can’t play like other children of their age. The story draws our attention to the evil of child labour.
Question 8. What one throws away as waste may be valuable to others. Do you find this sentence meaningful in the context of this story? How?
Answer
Yes, the rubbish can be wholesome food for others. This is depicted in this story. Jaya lives on the left overs of the garbage bins, same thing follows for Velu. Children don’t have money to buy food for themselves so they eat what is available until they earn their own. It sounds quite pathetic but it is true as is shown in the story.
Question 9. What made Velu feel miserable?
Answer
Velu felt miserable and exhausted as he had run away from his village two days ago. For two days he had eaten nothing but some peanuts and a piece of jaggery; even the noise at the platform seemed terrible and made him feel miserable.
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