3. Gillu -Mahadevi Verma

Q.1. What is the life-span of squirrels ?

Ans. Squirrels have a life-span of barely two years,

Q. 2. Who started calling the tiny baby Squirrel as Gillu? 

Ans. The writer and his family members started calling him ‘Gillu’.

Q. 3. What was Gillu’s favourite food ? How would Gillu inform that he was hungry?

Ans. Kaju was Gillu’s favourite food. Gillu would inform that he was hungry by twiterring ‘chik-chik’.

Q. 4. Which ointment was applied on the wounds of the tiny baby squirrel?

Ans. Penicilin ointment was applied on the wounds of the tiny baby squirrel.

Q.5. What prompted the narrator to set Gillu free?

Ans. Seeing Gillu sitting near the window and affectionately, peering at the world outside, made narrater to set Gillu free.

Q.6. When was the Gillu’s swing taken off ?

Ans. His (Gillu) swing was taken off after his death.

Q. 7. How would Gillu. inform the narrator that he was hungry?

Ans. When Gillu was hungry, he would inform the narrator by twittering ‘chik-chik’.

Q.8. What does the transformation from the common to proper noun imply? What difference does a name make?

Ans. It implies that now the squirrel got a proper distinction. A name gives one a personal identity and brings ‘close to others.

Q. 9. How did Mahadevi Verma treat the wounded squirrel ?

Ans. Mahadevi Verma gently lifted the wounded squirrel and brought him to her room. She w I the blood from his wound’s with cotton wool and applied Penicillin ointment. She treated him kindly.

Q. 10. How did Gillu make himself cool in summer?

Ans. To tackle the summer beat; Gillu had discovered a totally new method. He would lie prostrate on the surahi kept near the author and thus remain both close to the author as well as be cool.

Q. 11. How did Gillu nurse the narrator during her! indisposition?

Ans. When the narrator was indisposed owing to a motor car accident, Gillu nursed her like an attendant. He would sit near her, head on her pillow and gently stroke her forehead and hair.

Q.12. How did Gillu sustain wounds?

Ans. Gillu was a tiny baby squirrel. One day, he fell down from a nest near a flowerpot on the verandah of Mahadevi Verma. Two crows saw him. He sustained wounds when they poked their beaks at him.

Q.13. What did the narrator do with the wounded squirrel?

Ans. The narrator gently lifted the wounded squirrel up and brought him to her room. After wiping blood from his wounds with cotton wool, she applied Penicillin ointment. After serveral hours, the narrator managed to pour one drop of water in his mouth.

Q. 14. Do you have any pet bird? How does it show concern for you?

Ans. Yes, I have a parrot. He is very close to me. I call him Sonu. He makes sounds of excitment when he sees me and when he does not find me arround him he becomes dull and inactive. When I come from outside it tells one to take rest and also arranges nuts for me from his share.

Q. 15. What did the narrator feel at the death of Gillu? Describe his feelings in your own words.

Ans.’Gillu’ had become a part of the writer’s life. She felt very sorrowful at his death. She felt loosing something very special. He was not able to forget it. She did all the ceremonies so that his soul could get peace after death. To it was like loosing a family member and so she did all what a family member does at one’s death.

Q. 16. Gillu took little food during the indisposition of the narrator. What does this suggest?,

Ans. When the narrator was injured in a motor car accident, she had to spend some days in a hospital. Though Kaju was Gillu’s favourite food, he would not eat Kaju offered to him by others.
His behaviour shows that he was so deeply attached to the narrator that he felt sad during her absence.

Q. 17. In what condition did the narrator find Gillu? What did she do with it?

Ans. The narrator found Gillu, tiny baby squirrel, in a miserable condition. He had been wounded by crows. She carried him to his room and wiped the blood from his wounds with cotton wool. Then she applied Penicillin ointment to his wounds. After trying for several hours she managed to put one drop of water into his tiny mouth.

‘Q. 18. How did the narrator make the tiny baby squirrel hale and hearty?

Ans. Mahadevi Verma, found the wounded baby squirrel on her verandah, she nursed him carefully. She applied Penicillin ointment to his wounds. It was difficult to feed him. After several hours she succeded in pouring one drop of water in his mouth. On the third day he became much better.

Class 10th English Subjective 2022