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The Portrait of A LadySummary
by Khuswant Singh
In this story, the author draws a pen portrait of his grandmother. He
beautifully unfolds his relationship with her, while describing her
appearance and daily activities.
Appearance of the grandmother
The author recalls his grandmother as a very old lady with a
wrinkled face. She appeared so old that it was hard for him to
believe that she had once been young and pretty. She was short,
fat and a little stooped in appearance. The author remembers her
moving about the house in spotless white, counting the beads of
her rosary while her lips moved constantly in silent prayers. She
was not pretty in the traditional sense, yet her serenity made her
beautiful.
Initial years of togetherness: Life in the village
In the initial years of his life, the author lived with his grandmother
in the village, sharing a good friendship. His grandmother used to
wake him up in the morning and get him ready for the school. She
would hand over to him the things he reuired in the school. !fter
having thick, stale chappatis with butter and sugar for breakfast,
they used to leave for school. The author"s grandmother always
accompanied him to school as it was attached to the temple. It was
her habit to carry several stale chappatis for the village dogs, which
they used to feed while returning from the school. The grandmother
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used to sit inside the temple reading holy books while the narrator
learnt alphabets and prayers in the school.
Turning point of their friendship: Life in the city
The #turning$point% of their fr iendship came when they moved to the
city to stay with the author%s parents. Though they shared the same
room, his grandmother no longer accompanied him to the school
since the author started going in a bus. !s years rolled by, they
saw less of each other.
&eanwhile, as there were no dogs in the streets, she took to
feeding the sparrows.'nlike the village school, the author was not taught about (od and
the scriptures which troubled his grandmother. She did not believe
in what was being taught at his school and was unhappy as she
could not help him with his lessons. &oreover, she was disturbed at
the idea of music lessons being given at school as she considered
music to be unsuitable for gentlefolk. Her disapproval was
conspicuous in her silence.
The grandmother combat's her loneliness by feeding the
sparrows
)hen the author started going to the university he was given a
room of his own. It resulted in a further gap between them. She
accepted her loneliness and rarely spoke to anyone. !ll day long,she sat spinning the wheel and reciting her prayers. She rela*ed for
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a short time, only in the afternoon, to feed the sparrows who came
in large numbers. The bond and level of comfort they shared with
her is evident in the fact that they perched even on her legs and
head. She used to be at her happiest$self while feeding the
sparrows.
Author leaves for higher studies
The author decided to go abroad for further studies. He was sure
that his grandmother would be upset at his departure. +n the
contrary, she came to the railway station to see him o but did not
show any emotion. She was absorbed in her prayers, telling the
beads of her rosary. She silently kissed the author"s forehead, which
the author considered to be -supposedly the last sign of their
physical contact.
Authors homecoming
+n his return after /ve years, the author did not /nd any change inhis grandmother. She was as old as ever and remained absorbed in
her prayers. 0ven that day, the happiest moment for her was
feeding the sparrows.
In the evening, for the /rst time ever, she did not pray. She
collected several ladies of the neighbourhood and sang songs
related to the home$coming of the warriors. She had to bepersuaded to stop singing in order to avoid overstraining. However,
the ne*t day she was taken ill.
randmother's death
Though diagnosed with a mild fever by the doctor, grandmother
knew that her end was near. She decided to spend the last fewhours of her life reciting prayers and telling her beads. Soon, her
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lips stopped moving and she died.
A silent tribute by the sparrows
The family went to make arrangements for the grandmother%s
funeral. !s they came with a stretcher, they stopped mid$way to
/nd thousands of sparrows scattered around her dead body. The
sparrows mourned the death of the grandmother in utter silence.
They ignored the bread crumbs thrown at them by the author%s
mother and 1ew away silently after the body was carried away for
cremation. The bread$crumbs were swept away by the sweeper ne*t
morning.
A Photograph Shirley Toulson
2ostalgically recollecting fond memories, the poetlooks at a very
old photograph of her mother who has been dead for nearly twelve
years. The poet is consumed with grief but is left with no words to
e*press the loss.
The poem begins with the poet looking at a very old photograph of
her mother at twelve years of age. The photograph, on a cardboard
frame, shows the poet%s mother, with her two girl cousins each
holding one of her hand. She was eldest of the three and had a
#sweet face%. In the snapshot, all the three girls stand still, smiling
with their hair falling on their faces, to get clicked by the camera of
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their uncle, on an occasion when they went paddling. The sea,
which has apparently undergone no change, washed their
#transient% feet. This image of transience provides a sharp contrast
to the eternal sea.
Some twenty or thirty years later, the poet%s mother laughed at the
picture pointing how she, 3etty and 4olly -the two cousins were
made to dress for the beach holiday. That sea holiday was a thing
of past for her mother at that time, while her mother%s laughter is
the poet%s past now. 3oth signify their respective losses and the
pain involved in recollecting the past.
Her mother is dead for nearly twelve years now. !nd for the present
#circumstance% the poet has nothing left to say. She is absorbed in
the memories of her dead mother. The painful #silence% of the
situation leaves the poet silent, with no words to e*press her grief.
Thus, the #silence silences% her.
!"e're #ot Afraid to $ie%%%If "e&an All e Together( Summary
by Gordon Cook and Alan East
A dream to duplicate the round)the)world voyage
The narrator, a 56 year old businessman and his wife &ary have
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dreamt to voyage around the world like the famous 7aptain 8ames
7ook. 9or the voyage, they have been perfecting their seafaring
skills for the past :; years. They have got a professionally built, 6;, the narrator, together with his wife and kids -son
8onathan, ; and daughter Su?anne, 6 sets sail from @lymouth,
0ngland. The initial period of the three$year Aourney -from the west
coast of !frica to 7ape Town proves to be uite pleasant. 3efore
heading east, they employ two crewmen, namely, Barry Cigil and
Herb Seigler to help them tackle one of the world%s roughest seas,
the southern Indian +cean.
The second day they encounter strong winds and alarming waves.
3y 4ecember
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water now deviated to the side. However, their hand$pumps block
due to debris and the electric$pump gets short$circuited.
9ortunately, he /nds a spare electric pump and connects it to an
out$pipe in order to drain out the water.
They keep pumping and steering all night long. 0ven their &ayday
calls are not answered as they are in a remote corner of the world.
In,uries of Su-anne
Sue%s head swells, her eyes go black and has a deep cut on her
arm. +n being asked about her inAuries, she replies to her father
that she did not want to bother him when he was trying to save
them.
$esperation to reach the land
The family manages to survive for :D hours since the wave hit the
boat. The water levels are controlled to a considerable level but
they still have leaks below the waterline. They decide to rest and
work in rotations.
The wave had left Wavewalkerin a considerably bad state. Since it
is not in a condition to make them reach !ustralia, they decide and
hope to reach the nearest island, Ile !msterdam, a 9rench scienti/cbase. 'nfortunately, the chances to reach the island are very slim
unless the wind and seas subside. 3esides, their supporting engine
had also been damaged.
.anuary / and 0
!fter pumping out the water for 5; hours continuously, they take a
sigh of relief as Aust a few centimetres of water is left to be pumped
out. They decide to hoist the storm Aib as the main mast is
destroyed and head towards the supposed location of the islands.
Having found some corned beef and crackers, they eat their /rst
meal in two days.
However, their relief is short$lived. The weather starts changing for
the worse and by the morning of 8anuary D, they are again left
desperate.
&ourageous .onathan
!s the narrator goes to comfort the children, he is left spellbound to
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see the fearlessness of his son, 8onathan, who says that he does
not fear death as long as they all are together. This /lls the
narrator with determination and courage to /ght the sea.
The ongoing struggle
He tries his best to protect the weakened starboard side. That
evening, the narrator and his wife sit together holding hands,
feeling hopeless and thinking that their end is approaching. 3ut still
with all the moral support that he receives from his children, he
continues his eorts. 9ortunately, Wavewalkersails through the
storm. He works on the wind speeds in order to calculate their
e*act position. )hile he is thinking, Sue gives him a greeting card
e*pressing her love, gratitude and optimism.
Though he is not very convinced, he instructs Barry to steer a
course of :FD degrees saying that if they are lucky they can hope
to /nd the island by the evening. He then goes to sleep with a
heavy heart.
1ltimate victory
9ortunately, they sail on and manage to /nd Ile !msterdam by
evening. +n being informed about this, the narrator"s Aoy knows no
bound. 8onathan calls him the best captain and the best daddyin the whole world. Soon, they get o$shore and struggle to reach
the island with the help of its inhabitants.
Stepping on the land after such turmoil /lls the narrator%s thoughts
with cheerful and optimistic Barry and HerbieG supportive &aryG a
brave seven$year$old girl who did not want her parents to worry
about her head inAuries and a si*$year$old boy who is not afraid to
die.
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$iscovering Tut: the Saga&ontinues
by A.R. Williams
The mummy of 2ing Tut
!s the mummy of ing Tut was glided for performing a 7T scan,
angry winds stirred and dark clouds covered the stars. His scan was
being done to unearth the mysteries that had surrounded his death.
Tourists had lined to pay their respects to the #mummy% of thefamous 0gyptian king Tutankhamun and made speculations about
his untimely death.
!+unerary treasures(
The mummy was in a very bad state, according to ahi Hawass,
Secretary (eneral of 0gypt"s Supreme 7ouncil of !ntiuities. ing
Tut%s tomb was /rst discovered in :>
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7arter investigated the three nested coJns. In the /rst, a shroud
adorned with garlands of willow and olive leaves, wild celery, lotus
petals and corn1owers were found. This gave vague evidence that
the death might have taken place in the month of &arch or !pril.
7arter faced diJculty in e*tracting the mummy of the king out of
the coJn. The ritual resins had hardened resulting in cementing of
Tut to the bottom of the solid gold coJn. Though 7arter
unsuccessfully tried to use sun to loosen the resins, there was no
other way left to separate the mummy from the adornments than to
chisel it away. Its head had to be removed and the maAor Aoints had
to be detached.
The only ground for 7arter to defend himself for chiselling Tut was
that thieves would have ripped the body apart to rob the gold, if he
had not chiselled it.
Another revelation
!s the archaeology changed with the advent of time, it focused
more on details of life and mysteries of death than on treasures.
Some K= years after 7arter%s discovery, in :>;F a startling fact was
revealed, in the discovery of an anatomy professor who had L$rayed
the mummy. He claimed that the breast$bone and the front ribs of
the mummy were missing.
Tuts family history
!menhotep III -Tut%s father or grandfather ruled for almost four
decades during the :Fthdynasty golden age. He was succeeded by
his son !menhotep IC who pioneered one of the odd periods in the
history of ancient 0gypt. He made some drastic and unpleasant
changes. He promoted the worship of the !ten, the Sun disk, and
changed his name to !khenaten. He moved the religious capital to
the new city of !khetaten. He made some drastic unpleasantchanges. He destroyed the images and temples of !mun, a maAor
god. !fter his demise, a ruler named Smenkhkare reigned for a brief
time. 9inally, Tutankhaten-the name was later changed to
Tutankhamun took the throne and restored the old order destroyed
by his predecessors. He reigned for about nine years.
The death of 2ing Tut
Tutankhamun or ing Tut as he%s widely known today, died as a
teenage pharaoh -ancient 0gyptian king and buried laden withgold. He was the last heir of the family of rulers who had ruled
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0gypt for centuries. His une*pected demise was a big event and the
reasons for his death remained unclear. Two of the biggest
uestions are still unanswered about him M how did he die, and
how old was he at the time of his deathN
The &T scan
In the year
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form of clouds with various shapes. !lthough it changes in its form
and shape, its core e*istence remains the same.
It descends or falls on the surface of the earth to eliminate
droughts, wash away the tiny particles and settle down the dust$
layers. It reinvigorates the dry lands and gives life to the seeds
that, otherwise, would have remained dormant and unborn. Thus,
the rain drops rise in the form of vapours only to come back to its
origin in the form of rain. 4uring this cycle, it puri/es and
beauti/es -by nourishing the unborn seeds the planet.
The last two lines of the poem are the poet%s re1ection upon the
answer given by the rain. The poet observes that the life of rain is
similar to that of a song. ! song originates from the heart of the
poet, travels to reach others and after ful/lling its purpose
-whether acknowledged or not, it returns to the poet with all due
love. Similarly, the rain rises from the land and oceans, wanders,
ful/lls its purpose of nourishing life and purifying the planet, and
then returns to its birth$place.
T56 AILI# PLA#6T: T56 466#783676#TS 48L6
"y #ani $alkhivala
The chapter comments on the deteriorating condition of our planet.
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It speaks of the problems faced by our planet, reasons for its poor
condition and the changing view of the world for the planet.
The reen 7ovement
The author begins by commenting on the great attention received
by the (reen &ovement that began some 6< and the movement has been a great success since then.
A change in the human perception
! revolutionary change has come in the perception of the human
beings bringing in a holistic and ecological view of the world.
There has been a shift from the understanding developed by
7opernicus to the people%s belief that the earth is a living organism
whose needs must be respected and preserved by us. !ccording to
the writer, our earth is like a patient in declining health. Thus, we
have to realise our ethical responsibility of guarding the planet.
Sustainable $evelopment
The)orld 7ommission on 0nvironment and 4evelopment
propagated the concept of sustainable development in :>F6.
Sustainable development calls for a well$balanced development soas to meet the demands of the present and not to deprive our
future generations from the natural world of resources.
7an and the other living)species
&an has been considered as the most dangerous being on the
planet. However, due to the eorts of a number of agencies all over
the world, man is learning to live in harmony with the other living
species on the planet. &an%s e*istence is shifting from the system
of domination to that of partnership.
The depletion of the principal biological systems
There are stil l many mill ions of living species that have not beencatalogued. The author mentions the ecological concern pointed out
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by &r. Bester E. 3rown in his book The (olden 0conomic @rospect.
&r. 3rown points out four principal biological systems$ /sheries,
forests, grasslands and croplands. These form the foundation of the
global economic system as they supply food and provide raw
materials for industries e*cept minerals and petroleum$derived
synthetics.
The demand of the human beings on these systems is increasing to
such an #unsustainable% e*tent that the productivity of these
systems is being hampered. The e*cessive demand result in
deterioration and depletion of resources leading to the breakdown
of /sheries, disappearance of forests, deterioration of croplands
and turning of grasslands into barren lands.
$eforestation
The forests are being destroyed in large proportions to obtain
/rewood in poor countries. 4epletion of tropical forests has lead to
the e*tinction of several species. In fact, the tropical forests or the
powerhouse of evolution are eroding at the rate of forty to / fty
million acres per year. 3esides, the increasing use of dung for
burning deprives the soil of important natural fertilisers.
!ccording to our @arliament%s 0stimates 7ommittee, a near
catastrophic depletion has been marked in the number of theforests of India over the last four decades. Ironically, article KF! of
the Indian 7onstitution states that the state shall protect and
improve the environment and safeguard the forests and wildlife of
the country. However, India is losing its forests at the rate of 5.6
million acres a year.
The condition of the environment is #critical% as per a study
conducted by the 'nited 2ations.
The problem of over)population
+ne of the maAor factors adding to the deforming future of the
human society is the fast$growing world population. The present
world population is estimated at D.6 bill ion. )ith this ever$
increasing population, development seems a far$fetched dream.
!s per the author, the best contraceptive to control the population
is development. Coluntary family planning with an element of
coercion is the only alternative. Eise in income, spread of education
and improved health would lead to fall in ferti lity. @opulation andpoverty are directly proportional to each other. Thus, control of the
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population should be our top$most priority.
!6ra of 4esponsibility(
The author now re$mentions the holistic view of the basis of our
e*istence. He points that it is an 0ra of Eesponsibility that calls
for seeing the world as an integrated whole rather than a
dissociated collection of parts. Industry plays an important role in
this responsibility. 0*cellence in environmental performance is
reuired for the manufacturers to continue their e*istence. +ur
earth belongs as much to the future generation as much to us. )e
should soon realise our duty towards our planet and should not
treat it solely as our property.
The chapter concludes with the beautiful lines of &r. Bester 3rown,
)e have not inherited this earth from our forefathersG we have
borrowed it from our children.
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!lbert 0instein at School Summary
The father of modern physics, !lbert 0instein is famous to have
discovered the theory of relativity which marked a revolution in
physics. However, how many of us know the fact that in his early
school days he was a dull student and got e*pelled from his school.
2o teacher liked him and he too, in turn, disliked attending school.
This led to the school /nally taking a decision in chasing him away.
The narrative begins with !lbert being asked about a date by his
history teacher. This was when he was very abrupt and crude in
replying that he found it pointless to memorise dates when one
could 1ip through the necessary pages whenever one needed to. He
believed in education but didn"t consider learning facts as
education. He hated school because he hated the conventional form
of education and the teachers found him to be a "disgrace." 9inally,
the teacher, disgusted and fed up, asked him to be taken away by
his father. 0instein also hated going home, not for the obvious
reasons of bad food and lack of comfort, but because he hated the
atmosphere of "slum violence."
He was so against the idea of going to school and adopting to the
set educational pattern that he once con/ded in his friend that he
thought he would never pass the e*ams for the school diploma. He
once told his cousin 0lsa that he wanted to study science simply
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because he liked it. He didn"t need additional reasons to study the
subAect he was interested in. He was sent to &unich to study where
within si* months he grew disinterested and found it wrong to
waste his father"s money, especially when it was so unfruitful and
unproductive.
This was the moment of !lbert"s childhood epiphany when he
gleamed with a sudden bright idea of averting school forever. He
asked his friend Ouri to search for a friendly doctor who would write
him o as a lunatic at school. He wanted the doctor to certify him
as a person suering from nervous breakdown so that he could stay
away from school. To this doctor, !lbert revealed his love for
mathematics and his maths teacher. Bater, in school, he asked for a
reference letter from his maths teacher. This is when he heard the
most surprising comment from his maths teacher who saidP I knew
you were going to leave before you knew yourself.
9inally, the day when !lbert was called by the headmaster he was
not worried when this happened. However, he was taken aback
when the headmaster said that he couldn"t tolerate !lbert"s attitudetowards education and his behaviour in the classroom which
disturbed an ideal environment for studying. Thus, he wanted
!lbert to leave school. !lbert felt the medical report burning a hole
in his pocket.
He left the school where he had spent /ve miserable years, without
turning his head to give it a last look. He felt like seeing only Ouri
before he left &unich. 0lsa was back in 3erlin when he left. Ouribade him farewell and wished him good luck.
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Eanga"s &arriage Summary
Eanga%s &arriage, by &asti Cenkatesh Iyengar, is a story about a
boy who returns to his village after receiving education in 0nglish
medium from 3angalore. The boy is the son of the accountant of
the village. They live in the village Hoshali in &ysore. The boy when
returns, the whole village 1oods over him to see if there is anychange in his personality. However, to their dismay, he still has the
same eyes and mouth and everything else. He did the traditional
namaskar and all dispersed.
The story is a /rst person narrative and a maAor portion of the story
is in 1ash back. The speaker directly addresses the reader.The
narrator is a neighbour of the protagonist. He introduces the story
with a dierence by /rst giving a detailed description of theirvillage Hoshali. He praises the mangoes from his village. He asks
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the reader if heQshe has ever heard of the village. He replies to the
uestion himself, for the village was not located in any of the maps
for the 0nglish babus and the ones in our country forgot to put it
there. Then he introduces Eanga, the protagonist, in a time ten
years ago. Eanga had gone to 3angalore for studies and returned
home after si* months. It was the time when 0nglish was a
language not popular and a few people used it. !ll used to converse
in annada.
!ll the villagers arrived at Eanga%s place and began scrutinising
him. To their dismay, he was still the same old Eanga and they left
disappointed. However, the narrator stayed back and shared a few
Aokes with the boy and then left.Bater in the afternoon, Eanga
arrived at the narrator%s home with a few oranges. The narrator
Audged the boy and felt it appropriate to marry such a well
educated and humble boy. However, Eanga had no plans to settle
as a married man. He put his views on marriage in front of the
narrator that he wanted to get married to a girl who is mature and
someone Eangappa could admire.Eanga left after the discussion and the narrator decided then that
he would get the boy married. 4etermined, he began considering
Eama Eao%s niece Eatna as a suitable bride for Eanga. She was from
a big town and knew how to play veena and harmonium. He came
up with a plan. He asked Eama Eao%s wife to send Eatna to his
place to fetch some buttermilk. So she came on 9riday wearing a
grand saree. He reuested Eatna to sing and sent for Eanga. Eangareached the narrator%s place and stopped outside the room as he
did not want to disrupt the singing but was curious to see her face
so peeped in. Eatna noticed the stranger and stopped abruptly.
Eanga came in and the girl left.
7uriously he inuired about the girl and narrator cleverly played at
his words. He told Eanga that the girl was married o a year ago
and noticed the disappointment 1aring Eanga%s face. He wasinfatuated to the girl. The narrator was happy as his plan was
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working.!s his ne*t step, the ne*t day the narrator took Eanga to
an astrologer who he had already tutored what to say. It was the
meeting with the astrologer when the narrator%s name is disclosed.
Shyama, he was. The astrologer pretended to read the natal chart
of Eangappa and declared that the boy was in love with a girl who
had a name of something found in the ocean. Shyama said it could
be Eatna, Eama Eao%s niece. Eanga%s smile was not hidden from
Shyama. 3ut the girl was marriedR
The narrator took the boy to Eama Eao%s home and asked him to
wait outside. )hen he came outside he con/rmed that the girl was
not married, that there had been some confusion. !fter all, the
narrator had to come up with something. 0ven Eanga then admitted
that he had been attracted to the girl. Bater a conversation
between the astrologer and the narrator is described how the
astrologer says that though the narrator had given him clues, he
could have found it al l out by himself through astrology.
The story moves forward ten years, or to say, returns to the
present. Eangappa came one day to the narrator, inviting him at hisson Shyama%s third birthday. +bviously, ratna and Eanga had been
married. !nd now they have a three years old son whom Eanga
named after the narrator.
The !ddress Summary
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The story The !ddress is all about human predicament that follows
war. The story narrates how a daughter goes to her native place in
Holland in search of her mother"s belongings after the war.In the beginning of the story it is narrated how the protagonist was
given a cold reception when she went to her native place after the
war in search of her mother"s belongings. !fter ringing the bell of
House 2umber K; in &arconi Street, a woman opened the door. +n
being introduced,the woman kept staring at her in silence. There
was no sign of recognition on her face. The woman was wearing
her mother"s green knitted cardigan. The narrator could understandthat she had made no mistake. She asked the woman whether she
knew her mother. The woman could not deny this. The narrator
wanted to talk to her for sometime. 3ut the woman cautiously
closed the door. The narrator stopped there for sometime and then
left the place.
In the subseuent sections, the memories of the narrator"s bygone
days come to light. Her mother had provided the address years agoduring the war. She went to home for few days. She could /nd that
various things were missing. !t that time her mother told her about
&rs 4orling. She happened to be an old acuaintance of the
narrator"s mother. Bately she had renewed contact with her and had
been coming there regularly. 0very time she left their house she
took something home with her. She told that she wanted to save al l
their nice possessions. The ne*t day the narrator saw &rs 4orlinggoing out of their house with a heavy suitcase. She had a 1eeting
glimpse of &rs 4orling"s face. She asked her mother whether the
woman lived far away. !t that time the narrator"s mother told about
the addressP 2umber K;,&arconi Street. !fter many days the after
the war,the narrator was curious to take record of the possessions
that must still be at 2umber K;, &arconi Street. )ith this intention
she went to the given address.
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The concluding part of the story describes the second visit of the
narrator. !s the narrator"s /rst visit yielded no result so she
planned to go once again. Interestingly, a girl of /fteen opened the
door to her. Her mother was not at home. The narrator e*pressed
her wish to wait for her. The girl accompanied her to the passage.
The narrator saw an old fashioned iron candle holder hanging ne*t
to a mirror. The girl made her sit in the living room and went inside.
The narrator was horri/ed to /nd herself in a room she knew and
did not know. She found herself in the midst of familiar things which
she longed to see again but which troubled her in the strange
atmosphere. She had no courage to look around her. 3ut she no
longer had desire to possess them. She got up, walked to the door,
and left the room. She resolved to forget the address and moved
on.
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The Summer of the 3eautiful )hiteHorse Summary
This is a story of two tribal !rmenian boys who belonged to the
(aroghlanian tribe. 9or their family, even at times of e*treme
poverty nothing could match the importance of honesty. They never
did anything wrong and never lied or never even stole anything.
The story talks about an incident that revolves around two cousins
!ram who is nine years old and &ourad who is thirteen. The world,
for !ram, at that time, seemed to be a delightful and e*tremelyAoyous yet mysterious dream. @eople believed in every imaginable
kind of magni/cence. &ourad was considered to be cra?y by
everybody he knew.
The story opens with &ourad coming to !ram"s house at four in the
morning one /ne day. He tapped on the window to !ram"s room.
)hen !ram looked out of the window, he was taken aback and
startled to see &ourad riding a beautiful white horse. In fact, hewas so da?ed that &ourad had to say Oes, it"s a horse. Oou are not
dreaming. !ll this was too unbelievable because !ram knew that
they were too poor to be able to aord to buy a horse. The only way
&ourad could possess it could be by stealing. They were too honest
to lie and yet too cra?y to ride a horse.
Thus, they kept the horse for two weeks, enAoying its ride in cool air
and singing to their heart"s content on the country roads. They hid
it from the rest of the world by keeping it in a barn of the deserted
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vineyard. &eanwhile, !ram came to know that the horse was stolen
from 8ohn 3yro. They planned not to return it to him so soon
although it pricked their conscience to steal, which was completely
their ethics and tribal norms.
+ne /ne day they came across 8ohn, the farmer. Such was the boys"
family famous for their honesty that the thought of his horse being
stolen by the boys never crossed 8ohn"s mind. He was Aust ama?ed
at the resemblance and saidP I would swear it is my horse if I did
not know your parents.
This moving e*perience led the boys towards 8ohn"s vineyard the
very ne*t morning. They left the horse in the barn after patting it
aectionately. Bater that day, 8ohn seemed to be very pleased and
shared the news of the return of his horse with !ram"s mother. The
story teaches us the importance and necessity of honesty even in
the face of greed and passion.
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