A. Answer the following questions :
1. What is an automobile according to the author ?
Ans- According to the author R.K. Narayan an automobile is only means to an end. He is satisfied if he is provided a seat and four wheels that can roll. He is blind to the other aspects of a car.
2. What causes ecstasy in every auto-pundit ?
Ans- The auto-pundit were highly ecstatic to see the car. They were full of appreciation for its easily manoeuvrable steering , push-button glass raiser, floating seats, multicoloured speedometer , concealed air-conditioner , Tape recorder - digital alarm with calculators . They would examine the dash-board panel admiringly . However , the author never understood the purpose of the most of the buttons, switches and gadgets .
3. In Narayan's opinion , what does he lack ?
Ans - Narayan is of the opinion that he lacks automobile sensibility . However , he does not regret it.
4. What are the things that the author value most ?
Ans- Privacy and anonymity are the things that the author value most.
5. What name did he propose for his most ambitious work ?
Ans- The author proposed the name " Testament of a Walker " for his most ambitious work .
B. Answer the following questions in a few words:
1. Why do you think the author is indifferent at the mention of any petrol 'hike' ?
Ans- The author is indifferent at the mention of any petrol 'hike' because he got a pair of legs like any body which do not require any petrol .
2. What made the author fear that he would soon become bankrupt ?
Ans- The author owned a very costly sophisticated imported car. The high cost of spare parts and maintenance if the car made him fear that he would soon become bankrupt .
3. Who fell on Narayan's car when it was parked in front of the hospital ?
Ans- Two cyclists who collided with each other fell on Narayan's car parked in front of the hospital .
4. Which part of the author's car could not ordinarily be replaced ?
Ans- The parking light to the author's car could not ordinarily be replaced .
5. How , according to the author , did his friend spend his leisure hours ?
Ans- According to the author , his friend generally spent his leisure hours under his imported car. He did not trust in any mechanic or workshop in the country . All this time he would try to collect spare parts from far and near . He had succeeded in piling up enough stock to assemble a couple of new cars if he so desired .
C. Answer the following question briefly in your own words:
1. Discuss Narayan's imported car ?
Ans- By a quirk of fate Narayan came to own an imported car . It was flashy and full of sophistication , which cause ecstasy in every auto pundit who saw it . It was a car full of features like recessed handle , steering maneuverability with a of the finger , push- button glass raiser , floating seats , multicoloured speedometer , concealed air-conditioner , tape recorder, digital alarm with calculator . It had also a beautiful dash- board panel which draw admiration from auto-pundits.
2. Why do you think the author regard himself a fanatic in the context of walking ?
Ans- The author is imprevious to the subtler values in a car. To him automobile is only the means to an end . He is satisfied if he is provided a seat and four wheels that can roll and he blind to all the other point in a car . He lacks automobile sensibility and he does not regret it.
The author has a strong belief that men's ultimate destiny is walking . He is endowed with a pair of legs which can operate without a petrol or gears. His most ambitious work is called " Testament of a Walker " . However , the book has not been written yet . Still the philosophy on walking is deep rooted in him . There had been time when the author would walk ten miles a day, and even now he continues the habit on a lesser scale , wherever he may be , and in any season . Even in bad weathers , when he cannot go out , he uses his verandah for walking , thought he may be presenting an odd spectacle pacing up and down like a bear in his cage . All these make us think that the author regards himself a 'fanatic' in the context of walking .
3. What is Narayan's opinion about his driver ?
Ans- Narayan's driver had the habit of showing right or left turn by trusting his arms out of the car's window . And when the glass was raised for running the air conditioner of the car , he constantly hit it with its fist . He was also in the habit of gesticulating at erring pedestrians and addressing them volubly in passing . Now in Narayan's sophisticated car , the driver felt constricted encapsulated and tongue tied , drove morosely . Narayan thinks that he was conditioned to driving to the true of a rattle and roar of other vehicles beside , behind and ahead . Without such accompaniments he could not proceed with any confidence .
D. Give suitable answers to the following :
1. Discuss the reason for the author's impervious attitude towards his car ?
Ans- The author is impervious to the subtler values in a car . To him automobile is only the means to an end . He is satisfied if he is provided a seat and four wheels that can roll and he is blind to all the other point in a car . He lack automobile sensibility and he does not regret it .
The author has a strong belief that men's ultimate destiny lies in walking . He endowed walking. He endowed with a pair of legs which can operate without petrol or gears . His most ambitious work is a book called " Testament of a Walker " . However , book has not been written yet . Still the philosophy on walking is deep rooted in him . There had been time when the author would walk ten miles a day , and even now he continues the habit on a lesser scale , wherever he may be , and in any season . Even in bad weathers, when he cannot go out , he uses his verandah for walking , though he may be presenting an odd spectacle pacing up and down like a bear in his cage .
2. Narrate the circumstances that led Narayan to decide to get rid of his car ?
Ans- Once two cyclists collided and fell on the author's car parked in front of the hospital , and smashed the parking light on the left side . The situation following the incident led the author to decide not use the car any more . The light smashed by the collision of the cyclists could not easily be replaced in India . The elite shop could produce one if the author was prepared to pay two thousand for it . The mechanic , after examining the broken light , declared that it could be repair. He could fabricate a cover in plastic . So , he unscrewed off the whole assembly of the light , and left . After that he was away from the workshop for ten weeks on sick leave . And later on when the author met him , he dined that the light was with him . And the author had no other way but to accept what the mechanic said.
All these made the author come to the conclusion that he had no use for a car. It seemed to him that the most thoughtless thing he had done in his life was to have acquired the car . He decided to get rid of it , lock it up in the shed as soon as possible and to turn his energies again to writing stories
