𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗮 𝘀𝗮𝗵𝗲𝗯
𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐀𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬
1.What does Rowntree state, about the dividing channel between Peacock Island and the main land.
Answer:- John Rowntree mentioned that, in the time advanced of cold weather, the Brahmaputra was growing shrank. And the Peacock Island and the mainland’s distance grew less at the end of hot weather. Finally, only a narrow dividing channel remained. On the other hand, Rowntree informed a belief that if this channel ever dried up entirely then it would mean the end of the British Raj.
2.What unusual visitor did Rowntree have in his bungalow one night?
Answer: John Rowntree mentioned that the unusual visitor was a tiger which was perhaps washed up by a flood. He also informed that he got the pug marks of the large cat which were traceable/seen in their compound.
3.How is Rowntree’s account relevant to the present time?
Answer: Like John Rowntree’s time, Guwahati is the gateway into Assam and into the entire North-East till now. Most of the travelers pass through on their way between Calcutta and Shillong or other places through Guwahati. Often, they stay overnight there.
4.What happened do the Brahmaputra at the end of the hot weather?
Answer:- John Rowntree mentioned that, in the time advanced of cold weather, the Brahmaputra was growing shrank. And the Peacock Island and the mainland’s distance grew less at the end of hot weather. Finally, only a narrow dividing channel remained.
5.What ‘delightful sight’ did the author once witness?
Answer: Once John Rowntree witnessed a delightful sight in Manas Sanctuary that a she sloth-bear carrying her cuddlesome cub on her back. This was more interesting for Rowntree and he mentioned as a delightful sight this incident.
6. What does Rowntree say about the river banks in the Manas Santuary?
Answer- Rowntree described the Manas Sanctuary that the rivers were full of mahseer and their banks a favourite site for the Governor’s Christmas camps.
7. What is a marboat and how is it operated?
Answer: A marboat is a ferry and consisted of a plank platform which is covered by two open boats placed alongside one another.
The marboat was operated by two system, firstly it was paddled across the river, and the other system was, the mar boat was connected by a running cable to another stretched and propelled from one side to other side by force of the current.
8.Give a description of the forest bungalow at Kulsi?
Answer: The forest bungalow at Kulsi was delightfully situated on a wooded spur above the river and it was surrounded by teak plantations. It was more much comfortable and charming.
9.Why did Rowntree dislike the forest bungalow at Rajpara?
Answer: The reason of dislike the forest bungalow at Rajpara was that in the roof of the bungalow there were bat and their dropping as well as fusty smells were not bearable for Rowntree.
10.Why had no tapping taken place for some years in the rubber plantation near Kulsi?
Answer: There were a rubber plantation of ficus elastic near Kulsi, but no tapping had taken place some years. The reason was that Indian rubber acres no longer able to complete with para rubber commercially.
11. How important was Gauhati at the time of Rowntree’s stay there?
Answer: At the time of Rowntree, Guwahati was the port of entry into Assam and North-East. It was also easy for passed to Kolkata and Shillong through Guwahati. Most travelers stayed overnight without any difficult there. So, Guwahati was so important at that time.
12. What did they have to do to get clean water in the camp?
Answer: John Rowntree and his dignities sometimes dig for water which was so dirty. They used to cleaned by dropping alum into the bucket to precipitate the mud.
13.What was the incident concerning Rowntree and the electric fencing?
Answer: During the time of John Rowntree, a European and his wife leased a piece of land to growing Simul tree for the nearest match factory. For this, they had rigged up miles of electric fencing for keep out the deer but they got little success. John Rowntree was afraid of it and mentioned as no sense of very profitable to do that work.
14.How did the author regard the South bank?
Answer: The author, John Rowntree described the South Bank was more homely; distances were less and the terrain smaller. The reserved forests of South Bank were mostly in one block. It was also a part of low hills and valleys. The forests had more character of English woodland.
15.What according to Rowntree, was the difficult inherent in traveling anywhere in Assam during the rains?
Answer: By the experiences of John Rowntree, he mentioned that during the rainy season malaria outbreak was common and the rivers were in flood. And also the bamboo bridges erected at the start of the cold weather were soon washed away and another one problem was the roads became muddy. And the other difficult was the fact that the dirt tracks soon became unusable by normal cars and the jeep had not invented in those days. These were the most difficult for traveling anywhere in Assam during the rains.
16.What was a ‘mar’?
Answer: A mar(boat) is a ferry and consisted of a plank platform which is covered by two open boats placed alongside one another.
The marboat was operated by two systems, firstly it was paddled across the river, and the other system was, the mar boat was connected by a running cable to another stretched and propelled from one side to other side by force of the current.
17. What does Rowntree state about the large ‘Bheel’ close to the bungalow at Rajpara?
Answer: Close to the bungalow at Rajpara was a large bheel where an earthquake had once lowered the surface and the land became in undated with water. It was an eerie spot where tree skeletons still raised out of the water- a reminder that it had once been dry land.
18.Why were constant(Aporibartania) adjustments necessary for the device of a mar boat?
Answer: The marboat was used for crossing a river in those days before the independent. A marboat consisted of a plank platform covering two open boats placed alongside one another. These were used either paddled or connected by a running cable to another side across a river, were propelled from one side to other by the force of the current. This process was not a simple process to do anytime, that was why it was necessary for constant adjustment.
19.Why did Rowntree not see the ramp(adholia road) on the road?
Answer: One day Rowntree was travelling on the North Bank. At that time, the roads had been so dry and the surface was almost invisible under a cloud of dust. And also, at one place, road work had been in progress. So, these reason Rowntree had not seen the ramp on the road.
20.What was Rowntree’s comment regarding the accident that occurred on the road in the North Bank as the car in which he was travelling with his family, hit the ramp?
Answer: One day Rowntree was travelling on the North Bank. At that time, the roads had been so dry and the surface was almost invisible under a cloud of dust. And also, at one place, road work had been in progress. The workers had not used any warning signs there and only about six inches high punny ramps were used. So, Rowntree commented these reason for the accident.
21.What was the south Bank considered to be more homely?
Answer: The South Bank was considered more homely because of the distances were less and the terrain smaller. And the reserve forests were mostly in one block. Another important matter was filled up low hills and valleys; the trees interspersed with villages and cultivation and the forest itself. These were made more comfortable that Rowntree comment as homely for the South Bank.
22. What lived in a tree outside the bunglow at Rajpara?
Answer: At Rajpara bunglow, there were huge fruit-eating bats with a wing span of five feet. These were lived in a tree outside the bunglow.
23.What is the ‘Ficus elastica’?
Answer: Ficus elastica belongs to the fig family and grows to an immense size. It starts life as climbing epiphytes on the other trees. Eventually (Porinamsarupe) the host tree becomes completely encased by the focus and the host dies and finally epiphyte takes over.