Mohammed Suleman

  THE GIFT OF THE MAGI BY O. HENRY O NE dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies. Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one’s cheeks burned with the silent imputation of parsimony that such close dealing implied. Three times Della counted it. One dollar and eighty-seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas. There was clearly nothing to do but flop down on the shabby little couch and howl. So Della did it. Which instigates the moral reflection that life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating. While the mistress of the home is gradually subsiding from the first stage to the second, take a look at the home. A furnished flat at $8 per week. It did not exactly beggar description, but it certainly had that word on the lookout for the mendicancy squad. In the vestibule below was a letter-box into which no letter would go, and an electric button f...

A Lecture upon the Shadow BY  JOHN DONNE Stand still, and I will read to thee A lecture, love, in love's philosophy.          These three hours that we have spent,          Walking here, two shadows went Along with us, which we ourselves produc'd. But, now the sun is just above our head,          We do those shadows tread,          And to brave clearness all things are reduc'd. So whilst our infant loves did grow, Disguises did, and shadows, flow From us, and our cares; but now 'tis not so. That love has not attain'd the high'st degree, Which is still diligent lest others see. Except our loves at this noon stay, We shall new shadows make the other way.          As the first were made to blind          Others, these w...

  Dead Men's Path Chinua Achebe Michael Obi's hopes were fulfilled much earlier than he had expected. He was appointed headmaster of Ndume Central School1 in January 1949. It had always been an unprogressive school, so the Mission authorities decided to send a young and energetic man to run it. Obi accepted this responsibility with enthusiasm. He had many wonderful ideas and this was an opportunity to put them into practice. He had had sound secondary school education which designated him a "pivotal teacher" in the official records and set him apart from the other headmasters in the mission field. He was outspoken in his condemnation of the narrow views of these older and often less-educated ones. "We shall make a good job of it, shan't we?" he asked his young wife when they first heard the joyful news of his promotion. "We shall do our best," she replied. "We shall have such beautiful gardens and everything will be just modern and delight...

  BROKEN IMAGES ‘Broken Images’ has one set – a TV studio – but a multi-layered theme. It weaves in issues as far apart as the hegemony of English over Indian languages and the hollowness of a media which bestows greatness on a work that lay unnoticed in its original language but when translated into English becomes the toast of the global literary world.   It also deals with psychological repression of an inverted kind.   The central character Manjula, the now successful, Kannada-turned-English writer has a handicapped, wheelchair bound sister, Malini.   But it is the disabled Malini who turns out to be the really healthy and whole person.   It is Malini who not only wins the love of Manjula’s husband, Pramod, but is far more centered and happy than her caretaker sister, Manjula.Not just that.   After her death, it is Manjula whose loveless married life ends by Pramod walking out and moving to Los Angeles and the phenomenal success that she has wrested f...

  To-Morrow Retired skipper Hagberd goes from Colchester to Coalbrook in search of his son Harry, who ran away to sea. Failing to find him, Hagberd settles there. He confides his hopes for his son’s return (which he endlessly hopes will be ‘to-morrow’) to Bessie, the daughter of his next door neighbour and tenant. Hagberd has been a reluctant sailor, rarely out of sight of land. He makes elaborate preparations for Harry`s return, and assumes he will be a suitable husband for Bessie. She looks after her cantankerous father, who mistreats her. Hagberd advertises in the newspapers for information about his son, and meanwhile furnishes the cottage for his arrival, letting nobody see the results. One day a man arrives at the cottage claiming to have news of Hagberd’s son – but the old skipper refuses to hear it, claiming that he has all the information he needs, as his son will be returning soon. The man turns out to be his son Harry, and Bessie explains how he has kept up his h...

 One Centimetre by Bi Shu-min Q1. Describe the things that reveal that Tao Ying was educated. Answer: Tao Ying measured her son at home and decided to have a communication with the administration of the temple. She wrote a letter to them; it shows that she was educated. Q2. Why was Tao Ying very careful about spending money? Answer: Tao Ying was very careful about spending money because it was difficult for her to make both ends meet. She worked as a cook in the canteen of a factory and her husband was also a blue collar worker.   Q3. Did Tao Ying truly mean to cheat at the temple? Answer: Tao Ying was damn sure that her son’s height was less than 1 metre 10 centimetres. She could not present a bad example in front of her son. She did not mean to cheat the at the temple at all. Q4. Why was Tao Ying not allowed to enter the temple without one more ticket? Answer: The guard insisted that Tao Ying’s son was taller than one metre and ten centimetres, so she had to ...

The Snare I hear a sudden cry of pain! There is a rabbit in a snare; Now I hear the cry again,   But I cannot tell from where. But I cannot tell from where He is calling out for aid. Crying on the frightened air, Making everything afraid Making everything afraid, Wrinkling up his little face, As he cries again for aid; And I cannot find the place! And I cannot find the place Where his paw is in the snare; Little one! Oh, little one! I am searching everywhere.  Answer the following questions in about 10-20 words each: 1. Lines and words are repeated time and again, what is the purpose of the poet? Answer: The poet repeats lines and phrases time and again to bring home the pain of the rabbit. 2. What purpose does the interjection ‘But’ serve in the poem? Answer: It shows the helplessness of the poet that he is desperately searching for the rabbit. 3. Find the words or phrases depicting the condition of the rabbit. Answer: Following words or phrases show the condition...