A Room 10x 8 by K. S. Duggal, Question - Answers/ Rainbow

Chapter - 2

A ROOM 10 *8                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             K. S. Duggal

Short Questions

Question 1. Who were engaged in the discussion of the draft plan of the new house?

Answer –  At first, Mrs. Malik and the architect were engaged. But after some time, Mr. Malik also joined them.

Question 2. What did Mrs. Malik insist upon?

Answer – Mrs. Malik insists upon increasing the size of the storeroom to be 10’ by 8’ for the present use of her old mother in law and after when she dies then as a store.

Question 3. What were Mr. Malik’s views regarding a storeroom?

Answer – Mrs. Malik’s views regarding a storeroom are following –

• The store should be a little bigger.
• Trunks can be moved freely.
• Convenient to keep it tidy.

Question 4. Why did Mrs. Malik decide to settle down in Delhi permanently?

Answer – Mrs. Malik decides to settle down in Delhi because they were posted back to Delhi and their children were growing up. It was not desirable to shift them from school to school. They had a plot in the most fashionable colony of Delhi.

Question 5. What was the attitude of Mrs. Malik towards her mother in law?

 Answer – The attitude of Mrs. Malik towards her mother in law was very bad and unfeeling. She didn't love her at all.She wanted her mother-in-law only to provide her company in the absence of her husband and not to care her in her old age. She wanted to turn her room into a storeroom after her death.

Question 6. What were Mrs. Malik’s plans regarding the furniture for the new house?

Answer – Mrs. Malik said that she would have new furniture made for the house. She would not allow a single piece of old furniture in the new house.

Question 7. “Everything had to be forgotten”. What does the word ‘everything’ here refer to?

Answer – The word ‘everything’ here refers to the various plans Mrs. Malik thought of for doing up the house and the pains of supervising the construction.

Question 8. What reasons does Mrs. Malik have to be happy and consoled on being transferred from Delhi after the acquisition of their new house by the government?

Answer – There are two reasons following-

• Substantial rent by the government regularly every month in their bank account.
• No renting to private tenants.

Question 9. Who suggested the room size 10’by 8’ and to whom?

Answer – Mrs. Malik suggested the room size 10’ by 8’ to the architect.

Question 10. Why was the architect perplexed?

Answer – Mrs. Malik wanted a storeroom of the size 10’ by 8’ for her old mother- in- law so the architect was perplexed.

Question 11. In what manner was Mrs. Malik’s daughter in law similar to the figure in the sketch?

Answer – Mrs. Malik’s daughter in law was wearing a maroon-colored saree that the figure in the sketch had.

Question 12. Why could the Malik not shift to their new house on Monday morning? When they do so and why?

 Answer – Malik does not shift to their new house on Monday morning because of heavy rain. They do so in the evening because Monday was an auspicious day and they wanted to shift.

Question 13. What did Mrs. Malik not like about her daughter in law?

Answer – Mrs. Malik did not like the repainting of her lips and her talking in English with her husband.

Long Questions

Question 14. What memories of the construction period of the house come crowding to Mrs. Malik’s mind while sitting in the back seat of the car?

Answer – Mrs. Malik taken had much pain while their house is under construction. She missed her meals & stood in the heat of the sun supervising the progress. She was drenched in heavy rain. Architect prepared a sketch of the house in color, the way it would look when completed.

Question 15. Explain how Mrs. Malik took a keen interest in getting her house built and furnished?

Answer – Mrs. Malik took a keen interest in getting her house built and furnished. When their house is under construction then she stood in rain and sun. she helped the mason with mortar and bricks many times. She sprayed water on the plaster wall. She didn’t use a single piece of furniture in a new house.

Question 16. Why does Mrs. Malik consider the government as a better tenant then the private one?

Answer – Mrs. Malik considers the government as a better tenant then the private one because she thought private tenants are a headache. They have complaints & demands always. Not paying rent of the house on time. The other side government was paying a good amount of money directly in the bank as rent. 

Question 17. What changes had come about in the Malik family by the time Mr. Malik retired?

Answer – A lot of changes had come in the Malik family by the time Mr. Malik retired are following-

• Mother in law was passed away.
• Their son & daughter are married.
• Mrs. Malik became old.
• They were living in a rented house.
• Mrs. Malik, daughter in law was a modern girl. She is careless to her sentiments.

Question 18. What important details were highlighted in the sketch map of the house.

Answer – Important details were highlighted in the sketch map of the house following-

• The storeroom was touched to the kitchen.
• Storeroom size should be 10’ by 8’.
• In the map shown there is a Poarch and verandah.
• The colored sketch showed how the house would look after completion.
• It has the figure of the lady of the house standing on the verandah her back towards the marble pillar.

 Question 19. Why did Mrs. Malik think of showing that sketch to her daughter in law sometime in the future?

Answer – Mrs. Malik thinks of showing that sketch to her daughter in law sometime in the future because her daughter in law would know how beautiful was Mrs. Malik in her youth. Mrs. Malik was the owner of the house and she had the authority of the house. In short, the sketch was an image of satisfaction.

Question 20. What did Mrs. Malik think about the figure of the lady in the draft plan of the house?

Answer – Mrs. Malik thought about how it looks when completed. It would be a beautiful & image of satisfaction. Mrs. Malik decided to show that sketch to her daughter-in-law sometime in the future. She thought the architect had wrongly painted it in maroon Saree. 

Question 21. How does Mrs. Malik view her daughter in law?

Answer – According to Mrs. Malik, daughter in law was a modern girl in strange ways. The daughter in law sits on the front seat of the car with her husband and Mrs. Malik sits in the back seat. She was talking in English with her husband despite knowing that Mrs. Malik does not have English knowledge.

Question 22. What does the end of ‘ A room 10’ by 8’ suggest to you?

Answer – The end of the lesson suggests to care & respect for elder people. Mrs. Malik did not respect her mother in law. She gave a storeroom for living. Mr. Malik was Mrs. Malik’s ‘yes’ man. She realized these mistakes when she became a mother-in-law.

Question 23. Give an assessment of Mrs. Malik as a person and a mother in law?

Answer – Mrs. Malik as a person she is hard-working, greedy & jealous. She is jealous of her daughter-in-law’s strange ways. Mrs. Malik as a mother in law  dislikes her daughter-in-law especially when she repaints her lips or talks in English with her husband.

Question 24. Why could not Mr. and Mrs. Malik move into their new house during Mr. Malik’s lifetime?

Answer – Mr. and Mrs. Malik could not move into their new house during Mr. Malik’s lifetime because their newly built house had been requisitioned by the government. Mr. Malik was transferred out of Delhi. After retirement, the house was not released by the government. House was derequisitioned only after Mr. Malik’s death.