Upper Division Love & Others

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ENGLISH INTERNAL ASSESSMENT

UPPER DIVISION LOVE – Manohar Malgaonkar The author was a big fan of actress Sunderbala. He recollects how once he gave up his place in a bus queue to look at a huge poster of her outside Bolero theatre. He once bumped into her at a stationery store named ‘Buchumjee’s’. She had entered the store after two bodyguards and her perfume was enchanting. Sunderbala enquires from the author whether he had certain pens with jewel–encrusted tops mistaking him to be the shopkeeper. The shop assistant interrupts. When the author notices Sunderbala’s glasses in front of him, he bothers returning them to her and she thanks with a smile that vanishes abruptly. The author here reveals that he was a lower division clerk and hence must not have upper division aspirations. Yet, ho does fall in love with her. He used to wait outside the Super Gajraj Film Company so that he could catch a glimpse of her, which he successfully did a number of times, just that this time she wouldn’t smile. One day, as he stood outside waiting for Sunderbala’s arrival, a director walked out and enquired if the author could speak hindi and drive a car. After getting a positive reply the man hired him as an extra for a movie in which Sunderbala was to act too. The author would be paid ten rupees per day. He was overjoyed and informed his office superintendent that he was down with fever and stomach pain. He even added that the doctor had advised him ten days’ rest. The author was to act as a ruffian with a moustache in the film “Fulwali”. He was supposed to tug a heavy bead necklace Sunderbala was wearing. Even though he had rehearsed the scene in his room at least a 100 times, to his horror, as he reached out to tug the necklace, it dint break off. Sunderbala was hurt and outraged by this attack on her. Ramakant, the film’s male lead came to her rescue and was about to smack the author. The director interrupted after realizing that the necklace had not been doctored to break. The shot was retaken, this time, all went on smoothly. Ramakant was supposed to punch the author in the 2

ENGLISH INTERNAL ASSESSMENT scene. The author had earlier been assured that it wouldn’t hurt even a bit. But to vent his anger, Ramakant hit the author hard. Sunderbala and Ramakant laughed over the incident which left the author pained. Another scene where the author was to act was to be filmed outdoors after four days. The author in the guise of a police inspector was to arrest Ramakant and take him away in a van. The author the previous day, with the help of his friend Santokh Singh devised a plan to take revenge from Ramakant. The first scene to be shot was a love scene where the two friends had planned to disturb the filming using Santokh Singh’s six h-p noisy motorcycle. They did succeed in doing that. Before the last scene was about to be filmed where the author would enter, Ramakant and Sunderbala spoke about how they were to go to a party together later in the evening. The author’s scene was shot. He drove the van with Ramakant lying down in it. The director shouted ‘khut,khut!’ but the author paid no heed and drove away knocking off one of the reflector boards. He drove for an hour deep into the countryside. Then just lay near by the grass for another two hours. The author drove back to the city and parked the car near the parking space for V.I.P.s. at Bolero Theatre where the charity function was to be held. He then hung the sign at the back of the van which he earlier wrote on a piece of cardboard “DANGEROUS LUNATIC–KEEP AWAY”. He entered the venue and was given salutes. People soon began to gather around the van. The author felt satisfied with his revenge.

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ENGLISH INTERNAL ASSESSMENT

THE DOLL’S HOUSE – Katherine Mansfield A contributing factor to the story "The Doll's House" by Katherine Mansfield is the characterization of Kezia as she travels in her innocence through the symbolic world of experience. Kezia is essential to the plot because she represents a taboo, offering opposition to common ways of thinking. Through out the story, during the portrayal of Kezia, the author emphasizes the powers and blind justification of conformity within a society. The story commences with the arrival of the doll's house sent to the Burnell children. The Burnell’s take a great liking to this new acquisition. As the two older children admire the red carpet, red plush chairs, and gold frames of this highly ornamented house, Kezia, the youngest of the girls, takes an interest in the rather simple lamp. In fact, "what she liked more than anything, what she liked frightfully, was the lamp." This infatuation shows her perfection in comparison to the others as she is drawn to the ordinary lamp.

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ENGLISH INTERNAL ASSESSMENT Kezia proceeds to find fault with the state and proportions of the doll's house and perfection with the lamp in its simplicity. As others take interest in the gaudy nature of the house, Kezia argues saying, "But the lamp was perfect. She felt it smiled at her, to say `I live here.' The lamp was so real." The disagreement intensifies as Kezia remains the odd one among the Burnell’s. Kezia likes the lamp. Thus, she decides to make friends with the Kelveys because she doesn't see anything wrong in doing so. The Kelveys is a family that is avoided because of their economic status. Throughout the town, "Many of the children, including the Burnnels, were not allowed even to speak to them." Without a second thought, school children and their families followed the tradition of looking down upon these underprivileged people. Kezia opposes this path of thinking and questions such a blind following. She asks her mother, "Can't I ask the Kelveys just once?" To which, the response is, "Run away, Kezia; you know quite well why not." The author successfully expresses Kezia's innocence to the views of the pontificators who live in the world of experience. While others try to push Kezia's qualities down, she makes contact with the Kelvey girls. She shows through her actions that she is strong enough to engage in a war against orthodoxy when she invites the Kelveys to see the doll's house despite her mother's refusal. When the Kelveys came to visit, they hardly got to properly see the doll's house and they were sent out as if they were chickens by aunt Beryl. However, they fail to see the extraordinary details of the house. Instead, like Kezia, they were drawn to the simplistic lamp. Thus, Kezia and the Kelveys are drawn together in the purity of heart of the light to battle and ignore things based upon blind faith.

MARRIAGE IS A PRIVATE AFFAIR – Chinua Achebe This story is Chinua Achebe’s beautiful take on how the opinions of the young and old, as well as between the people living in urban and rural areas differ significantly but most times driven by orthodox superstitious beliefs. 5

ENGLISH INTERNAL ASSESSMENT The story begins with the main protagonist Nnaemeka of the Ibo tribe. He is in love with and secretly engaged to Nene Atang from another tribe. She lives in Lagos and is a teacher by profession. She believes any father would be happy with the news of his son’s wedding but Nnaemeka informs how his father would find objectionable his marriage to a girl outside their tribe. She insists that Nnaemeka writes to his father, Okeke, about their engagement. He informs he would prefer talking it out when he goes to his village after 6 weeks. Nnaemeka does not inform Nene about a letter his father had sent him earlier about a marriage proposal for Ugoye Nweke’s daughter. Once back home, Nnaemeka, on the second evening begs forgiveness & informs his father about his impossibility to marry anyone other than Nene. The father instead of reacting with anger simply walked out. This unexpected reply perplexed Nnaemeka. Okeke tried all possible ways to dissuade him but finally gave up. He said that he believed this was all “Satan’s work.” He made it clear that he would never want to meet her ever. Soon Nnaemeka & Nene were married and they expressed desire to visit Nnaemeka’s village during their vacations. But the father simply refused. As news about the unruly behavior of Nnaemeka spread in the village, people started to comment that he was sick and needed to consult a native doctor. Nnaemeka’s father ignored this remark and made it clear that his son wasn’t sick but just wanted to spell his own doom. When Nnaemeka had sent his father his wedding picture, his father was rude enough to reply that he was mutilating the picture to cut out Nene and sending it back. Eight years passed, neither Nene nor Nnaemeka had visited the village. Over the years Nene had made many friends of the Ibo tribe and the entire country believed that Nnaemeka & Nene were the happiest couple in Lagos. Okeke, with utmost difficulty had overcome the thought of his son from bothering him. But then one day, he received a letter from Nene which said that his two grandchildren were insisting to meet him and she was unable to let them know that their grandfather would not see them. So she requested the father to allow Nnaemeka visit him along with his two sons during his leave the following month. 6

ENGLISH INTERNAL ASSESSMENT The old father, with sheer will, tried to keep the thoughts of his son and grandchildren away from haunting him, but he soon realized that he was fighting a lost battle and he knew he could never shut the kids out from his house. That night, he tried hard to sleep but the vague fear that he might never be able to make up to them filled him with remorse.

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ENGLISH INTERNAL ASSESSMENT

THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH – C. Alexander Barron This story provides the readers Alexander Barron’s take on a gist of army life. The author talks about how, in the first week of army training, a man is liable to acquire apart from the rest – a nickname. The author met Private Quelch at the training depot and learnt soon, why he was also called as the Professor, who resembled one & was therefore nicknamed Professor. The author recollects his first lesson in musketry where a sergeant, described the mechanism of a Service rifle. He was explaining about the velocity at which the bullet leaves the rifle & how it is well over two thousand feet per second. The Professor immediately corrected the value, to Two thousand, four hundred and forty feet per second. The sergeant agreed uninterestedly, and continued lecturing. Once he finished lecturing, he asked questions aiming at revenge from the Professor, but the professor answered each with ease. The sergeant enquired whether the Professor had undergone training earlier to which Quelch answered with his favorite phrase – “It's all a matter of intelligent reading.” Everyone believed that he would get a commission before them & in pursuit of his ambition he worked hard by borrowing training manuals and stayed up late at nights reading them. He pestered the instructors with questions. The author takes this opportunity to talk about the other routine habits of Quelch and how he lectured them too. They had a certain respect for him initially which died down later. Each time one of the rest made a mistake the Professor would publicly correct him. He always used to teach everyone else how something needed to be done. Once while everyone was out for a walk, they heard the drone of a plane flying high overhead which no one could identify but without even looking upward the Professor unmistakably identified it.

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ENGLISH INTERNAL ASSESSMENT Then on one drowsy summer afternoon which was such a turningpoint in the Professor's life, all were listening to Corporal Turnbull’s lesson on the hand grenade. The corporal was considered so tough that one could hammer nails into him without his noticing it. As he continued explaining, the Professor corrected him. The Corporal said nothing. Quelch continued speaking again on how the corporal should you have started off with the topic. The corporal got irritated and asked the Professor to give the lecture, to which Quelch obliged. Once done, the corporal announced that the platoon officer has asked him to nominate one of them for permanent cookhouse duties. He paused and looked at Private Quelch, who stood in attention expecting a commission. The author & his companions remembered it as a joke forever & once had noticed the Professor talking about the unhygienic way of peeling potatoes. They fled in horror.

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