A Walk through the Fire by A D Smith

 

A Walk through the Fire by A D Smith 

Answer the following questions in about 30-40 words each:

Q1.What was the narrator’s profession and where was he posted when he witnessed the entertainment show?

Answer: The narrator was a soldier in the British Army. When he witnessed the entertainment show at that time he was posted at a Sapper Camp at Begampet in Hyderabad State.

Q2. Where did the narrator eat a nice meal one evening and how did he feel after eating?

Answer: The narrator had a nice meal at a Chinese restaurant at Secunderabad. While driving back to the camp after eating the meal, he was at peace with the world.

Q3. Where and in what condition did the narrator meet the old man while driving back to the army camp in the evening?

Answer: While driving back to the army camp in the evening, the narrator met an elderly Indian at a point of the road where it was divided into a fork. The old man was lying quite still as if dead with his face covered with blood.

Q4. Whom did the narrator see dissolving in the darkness of the night? Why did they seem in a hurry?

Answer: The narrator saw some shadowy figures dissolving in the darkness of the night. They seemed to be in a hurry because they wanted to put as much distance as they could between them and the narrator in the shortest possible time.

Q5. What did the object lying on the fork road look like? What did it turn out to be on the narrator’s reaching there?

Answer: The object lying on the fork road looked like a bundle of white clothing. On the narrator’s reaching near the object, it turned out to be an elderly Indian lying quite still as if dead with his face covered with blood.

Q6. Who were the assailants, according to the wounded man?

Answer: According to the wounded man, the persons who had attacked him and had beaten him severely were two youths. They belonged to the Anglo-Indian community.

Q7. What did the writer do instantly to help the wounded old man? Was his condition as serious as the narrator had thought of?

Answer: The writer did not have a first aid box so he used a large handkerchief to clear the blood from the old man’s face. In fact, the conditions of the old man were not serious. He was conscious and had no internal injuries.

Q8. When and where was the entertainment show organized?

Answer: The entertainment show was organised at the Sapper Camp at Begumpet in Hyderabad state. It was organised on the night before the narrator was due to leave to the General Headquarters at New-Delhi, the place of his new posting.

Q9. Name three important feats performed in the show.

Answer: The first feat was the bending of an iron bar in a U-shape pressed against the neck of the troupe leader, Professor Rao. Next, a five-ton truck was driven across his chest. The last one was a walk through the fire by an elderly gentleman.

Q10. How was ‘the next meeting’ between the old man and the narrator a big surprise for the latter? Where was it?

Answer: The narrator was surprised to see the old man at the Sapper Camp performing the act of walking on the fire. The old man had predicted their next meeting while the narrator rescued him from an attack and gave him a ride in the truck. The man said that time that he would return the handkerchief when they met next time.

Answer the following question in about 60-80 words each:

Q1. Describe the narrator’s first meeting with the injured old man.

Answer: The first meeting between the narrator and the injured old man took place one evening when he was driving back from Secunderabad to his Sapper Camp at Begumpet in Hyderabad. At one place, he saw something lying on the road in the headlights. It turned out to be an elderly Indian lying still with his face covered with blood. Clearly, he was severely beaten. The narrator cleaned the blood with his pocket handkerchief. The injured man thanked him in perfect English for his timely intervention and told him about his assailants. The narrator gave him a lift in his truck and dropped him at his destination. The old man thanked him again. He promised to return his washed handkerchief on their next meeting and he disappeared into the darkness of the night.

Q2. Who was Prof. Rao and how did he perform two great feats of strength?

Answer: Professor Rao was the leader of a troupe of Indians. He visited the Sapper Camp at Begumpet to perform amazing feats of strength. In his first great feat, Prof. Rao pressed a twelve feet long iron bar horizontally against his throat. He arranged six volunteers each on either side of him. They pushed the bar with all their might and the iron-bar was bent into a U-shape around his neck. In his second and un-forgettable feat, of strength, he lay down under a five-ton army truck with men crowded into it. His chest was placed in line with one of the rear wheels. An old railway sleeper was placed alongside his chest to form a ramp. Then the truck was driven quickly on the sleeper and across the professor’s chest.

Q3. What did the narrator feel before, during and after the walk through the fire?

Answer: Before walking through the fire, the narrator felt ice-cold with fear even at the very thought of it. But during the walk with closed eyes, he concentrated hard on green fields in England. He felt that he was walking along the Rockfield Road just outside Monmouth near Hendre Park. There were green fields on either side of him. The scene was infinitely peaceful. It was a lovely summer day. He could feel the warmth of the sun-rays through his clothing. His mind was wonderfully and completely at rest. After the walk, he felt himself suddenly go cold as though the sun had disappeared behind the clouds. He opened his eyes and found himself standing with his back to the fire trench. In this act of fire walking, he felt a mysterious state of mind full of divine peace and joy.

Q4. Where and when does the next meeting of the author and old man take place? How does the author recognize him?

Answer: The next meeting of the author and the old man took place at the Sapper Camp at Begampet a few weeks after their first meeting. He was a member of the troupe of Indians visiting the camp for a show of amazing feats of strength. During the show, the author saw an elderly gentleman digging up a shallow trench. He then filled it with red-hot coals. He splashed water on his feet and walked over the coals along the whole length of the trench and back the same way. He squatted on the ground and invited others to inspect his feet. As the author knelt down beside him to check his feet, he felt something thrust into his hand. It was the same handkerchief which was used to clean the face of the wounded old man. It was then the author recognised him.

Q5. What does the old man meanwhile saying to the narrator “Some things are known to all Sahib, but others only to a few” and “How the body is covered is of no importance compared with how the mind behaves”?

Answer: When the narrator asked the old man how he had known that he would come to his rescue, he said, “Some things are known to all, Sahib, others to only a few.” The old man meant to say that everybody on the earth has ordinary sensory powers but only a few have extraordinary powers like prescience. When the author wanted to know about his excellent English, the old man said, “How the body is covered is of no importance compared with how the mind behaves.” He meant to say that probably the narrator was deceived by his outward appearance.

Q6. Why does the author go in search of the old Indian fire walker after the show? What efforts does he make to find him out? Does he succeed in finding out the old man and the secret of his powers?

Answer: The author goes in search of the Indian fire walker after the show as he has realized that the old man has certain mystical powers. He wants to know the secret of his powers. He wishes to know why the fire did not harm them and how they were able to walk on fire.  Above all he is surprised how he achieved that incredible state of the mind. But the author is unable to find him. He interrogates professor Rao about him but he does not tell him anything. The next day the author borrows a truck and goes across to Firozguda to see if he could find that elderly Indian, but he is not able to see him again. Thus the author comes back after his hopeless efforts. He does not succeed in finding out the old man and the secret of his powers.

Q7. Why does the author describe his experience of witnessing and then performing the walk through the fire as ‘incredible’?

Answer: The author describes his experience of witnessing and then performing the walk through the fire as incredible because there was nothing unreal about trench filled with red-hot coals. The heat from the coals was intense and the people around the trench could see low flames licking around the old man’s bare feet. He walked the whole length of the trench and back without a blister on neither his feet nor any burn mark left by the fire on his body. When the author himself walked through the fire with the old man, he experienced such a mysterious state of mind as he had never before nor since ever achieved. His mind was wonderfully and completely at rest. It was an ‘incredible’ experience.

Q8. What picture of the old fire-walker gradually emerges during the course of the narrative?

Answer: The old man seems to be a person who has denounced worldly pleasures and follows a very simple life. Seeing his physical appearance no one can predict about his intellectual as well as spiritual powers. The narrator also gets confused when he talks to him in a mysterious manner. Later on when he experiences a stage of meditation while walking with him on the fire he realizes his latent powers. Being Indian we can easily appreciate the old man’s demeanour and at once comprehends the true value of his powers. For the British army officers his walking may be a simple trick but we know he has achieved the ultimate stage of meditation. We believe the narrator also realizes the same and that’s why he begins to search him.