Me at the Beginning of Life | Unit 15.1 | English

A. Vocabulary Meanings

a. Insipid — lacking taste

b. Inscribed — wrote words

c. Tangled — twisted together

d. Suffocating — causing difficulty in breathing

e. Offspring — a person’s child or children

B. Contextual Words

a. The word ‘calm’ is opposite in meaning to restless.

b. The phrase passed away means ‘died’.

c. The word invisible means incapable of being seen.

d. The word ‘wish’ and desire are synonyms.

e. The word soiling means making dirty.

C. True or False Statements

D. Questions and Answers

a. Why does Jhamak think of her life as a burdensome life?Jhamak thinks her life is burdensome because she feels robbed by fate and believes she lacks the sweetness and joy of life. She perceives her existence as being akin to an animal’s life, with no invisible sympathies or sensations of the human heart.

b. When does the fortune draw a line of fate?The fortune is believed to draw a line of fate on the night when a newborn child is bathed, washed, made clean, and put to sleep with an exercise book and a pen under her pillow. In Jhamak’s case, her mother performed this ritual on the sixth day after her birth.

c. How did people respond to her life? Was she happy with their behavior?People responded with displeasure and anger. They considered her cursed by the gods and blamed her for her physical disability. Their behavior lacked sympathy and love. Jhamak was not happy with their behavior.

d. Who does Jhamak compare herself with? What made them different?Jhamak compares herself to individuals like Homer, Nikolai Ostrovsky, and Helen Keller. The difference lies in the recognition they received; they were celebrated for their contributions, while Jhamak faced criticism and negative attitudes.

e. Did achieving awareness become a curse for her? Why?Yes, achieving awareness became a curse because it made her aware of her desires and dreams that she could not fulfill due to her physical limitations. The awareness of her limitations intensified her pain and suffering.

f. How does Jhamak picturise her family’s economic condition?Jhamak portrays it as challenging. It was difficult to manage two meals a day, and her parents often went hungry. Despite the hardships, her grandmother fed and cared for her, even sacrificing her own meals.

E. Story Narrative: Jivan Kadan Ki Phul

Jhamak’s life began with a sense of struggle and adversity. She reflects on life as a beautiful creation but questions whether her own life fits that definition. Despite facing hardships and pain, she managed to survive. Jhamak considers her life burdensome and filled with bitter truths and harsh realities… [Click to read more]

Throughout her life, Jhamak felt robbed by fate and experienced the absence of joy and sweetness. She acknowledges that she was born in a different world and lived a life that was unequal. Achieving awareness became a curse as she lacked a voice to speak and strength in her limbs to walk. Jhamak’s early life was marked by adversity, but she finds beauty in the love and support she received from her grandmother, continuing to navigate life with resilience and determination.

Grammar I: Relative Clauses

A. Underlining Relative Clauses

Swikriti: Abdul, look at this photo.
Abdul: Is this Sahara, the girl who plays the piano?
Swikriti: No, this is Reema, the girl who won the singing competition last year.
Abdul: I know her, She is the girl who has long brown hair.

B. Relative Pronouns Practice

a. I admired the player whose performance was fantastic.

b. We had some juice which was in the fridge.

c. She didn’t tell her teacher about her problem which was her mistake.

d. My mother, who is a farmer, grows a lot of vegetables.

e. You are my friend whom I want to sit with.

f. I want to help those children whose economic condition is very bad.

g. This is the road where the accident took place.

h. The mobile phone, which I bought six years ago, is still working.

i. It was in 2015 when the earthquake hit Nepal badly.

j. Marima is a wonderful lady whom everyone can trust.

C. Joined Sentences

• The letter, which my friend sent from abroad, reached me this morning.
• This is the palace that Bhimsen built.
• The boy who committed cyber crime was sent to jail by the judge.
• He is a liar whom you should not believe.
• I know an artist who moves with an artificial leg.
• Bring me the file which is about our new project.
• We met a girl who had lost her way.
• I saw a soldier whose bravery impressed everyone.
• Once upon a time, there lived a giant in a forest where nobody dared to go.