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THE KITE MAKER, Q. Why did many people stop buying kites in the modern days?, Ans: Time had changed. People had no time for kite flying. Grown-up people were busy at their business and had no time for flying kites. They had lost their interest in kite flying. Children preferred to spend their money at the movies. Moreover, there were few open spaces left for flying kites. The city had swallowed up the green field which had stretched from the old fort walls to the river-bank., Q. How did the grown-up people enjoy their time in the field when Mahmood was young?, Ans: The grown-ups enjoyed their leisure times by flying kites in the open green field. They flew their kites swerving and swooping in the sky. There were kite battles too. The defeated but liberated kite would float away in the sky unknown. There was a good deal of betting between the kite flyers, so people were often seen exchanging money between their hands., Q. How was kite flying a sport of kings when Mahmood was young?, Ans: Kite-flying was the sport of kings when Mahmood was young. The Nawab himself would come down to the river-bank with his attendants to join in his noble pastime. In those days there was time to spend an idle hour with a lively and cheerful dancing strip of paper. Now everyone was hurried, hurried in a heat of hope, and delicate things like kites and daydreams were crushed underfoot., Q. Why was Mahmood, the kite maker well known throughout the city in the prime of his life?, Ans: Mahmood was well known throughout the city in the prime of his life because he made some extraordinary kites and even presented them to the Nawab. His dragon kite consisted of a series of small, very light paper discs, trailing on a bamboo frame. To the extremity of each disc, he tied a sprig of grass for balance. The surface of the foremost disc was slightly convex and a fantastic face was painted on it, with the two eyes made of small mirrors. The discs, decreasing in size from head to tail, gave the kite the appearance of a crawling serpent. It required great skill to raise this awkward and bulky device from the ground, and only Mahmood could manage it. Mahmood also presented the Nawab with a musical kite, one that made a sound like the veena., Q. Describe the ‘Dragon Kite’ of Mahmood., Ans: The dragon kite possessed supernatural powers. It consisted of a series of small, very light paper discs, trailing on a bamboo frame. To the extremity of each disc, he tied a sprig of grass for balance. The surface of the foremost disc was slightly convex and a fantastic face was painted on it, with the two eyes made of small mirrors. The discs, decreasing in size from head to tail, gave the kite the appearance of a crawling serpent. When it flew the disc made a mournful and protesting sound. The sun was trapped in the little mirrors, making the kite a living, complaining creature., Q. What happened to Mahmood’s dragon kite when he flew it?, Ans: At first, the dragon kite did not move from the ground. The disc made a plaintive and protesting sound, and the sun was trapped in the little mirrors, making the kite a living, complaining creature. When the wind came from the right direction the kite soared into the sky. It wriggled its way higher and higher, with the sun still sparkling and shining in its devil-eyes. When it went very high, it pulled fiercely on the twine. Mahmood’s young sons had to help him with the reel. But still the kite pulled, determined to be free, to live a life of its own. At last, the twine snapped and the kite leapt away towards the sun and it was never found again., Q. Why had Mahmood no patrons in his old age?, Ans: Time had changed completely when Mahmood became old. Children preferred spending their money on movies rather than on buying kites. The adults who used to buy kites from Mahmood ten years ago were now busy struggling for a living. The Nawab had died years ago, and his descendants were now almost as poor as Mahmood himself. People were struggling for their livelihood in a swift-changing competitive world. Nobody had time to care for the old man like Mahmood. So, he had no patrons in his old age., Q. Where were the two sons of Mahmood staying?, Ans: One of Mahmood’s sons was working in a local garage and the other son had stayed in Pakistan where he was at the time of partition., Q. ‘Both were taken for granted as permanent fixtures that were of no concern to the mass of humanity that surrounded them.’ What does the author mean by this line?, Ans: The author compares Mahmood with the ancient banyan tree. Both have become old and obsolete and have no importance to the masses of people around them. Both of them have lost their values in the society only because they have become old and the Time has changed., Q. How was Ali the only source of happiness and comfort for Mahmood in his old age?, Ans: It was a privilege for Mahmood that one of his sons and his daughter-in law could live with him in his house in his old age. Because in his old age, the only source of happiness for Mahmood is his grandson, Ali. Mahmood was extremely happy to watch Ali playing in the winter sunshine and growing up day by day under his eyes like a young and well-nourished sapling, putting forth new leaves each day., Q. ‘There is a great affinity between trees and men.’ Bring out the similarities between trees and men., Ans: Trees and men grow at the same pace if they are not cut down, hurt or starved. Both of them are bright and resplendent creatures in their youth and they stoop a little in their declining years. In their old age, both of them remember and stretch their brittle limps in the sun. They sigh and shed their last leaves in their declining age., Q. ‘And in the banyan tree, a sudden gust of wind caught the torn kite and lifted it into the air, carrying it far above the struggling and sweating city, into the blue sky.’, Give the significance of this line or explain the metaphor., Ans: In the given line, the old banyan tree is compared with/to the old age of Mahmood. The kite here symbolizes the soul of Mahmood. The dying moment of Mahmood is presented here in the line. Mahmood is dead now, his soul flies away from his body like the kite flies away from the banyan tree. The soul of Mahmood has flown away far above the struggling and sweating city, into the blue sky.