Two Stories About Flying

Short Answer Type Questions (Part 1)

1. How did the young seagull’s family celebrate his first flight?
Answer: The young seagull was afraid to fly. Even the encouragement and coaxing didn’t work.
But when the seagull had his first flight, he as well as his family was happy, relieved and proud of
him to have completed his first flight.

2. Flying is a natural act in birds. Then why was the young seagull ‘exhausted by the
strange exercise’?
Answer: The seagull didn’t have the courage to fly. Hence, he used to make excuses for not
flying. He felt certain that his wings were too weak to support him. He had no courage to flap his
wings and failed to muster up the courage to take the plunge.

3.‘The sight of the food maddened him.’ Who is ‘he’ in these lines? Why was he angry?
What does this suggest?
Answer: (i) The young seagull is the ‘he’ in these lines.
(ii) He had not eaten anything for the last 24 hours. He was very hungry, hence was angry.
(iii) His mother went near him with a piece of fish but did not feed him. Maddened by hunger, the
young seagull dove to snatch it but the mother flew away. This shows the weakness of the young
seagull.

4. What was the young seagull’s experience during his first flight?
Answer: Falling from the ledge, the seagull was terrified, but soon he started soaring and then
flying. He forgot that he didn’t always know how to fly. His fear soon turned into confidence, and
then into amusement. As he was landing, he was again afraid, but, soon became at ease. It was a
memorable first flight.

5. How did the young seagull’s parents treat him initially when he did not fly?
Answer: First, his parents encouraged him, coaxed him then scolded and taunted him for his
cowardice. They even threatened to let him starve if he did not fly. But the young seagull could not
muster up the courage to fly.

Long Answer Type Questions

1. Describe the methods used by the seagull family to help the young seagull overcome his
fear and fly.
Answer: This story is about a young seagull. The time had come when he should fly like his
parents and brothers and sister. But he was afraid to fly. His parents tried their best to teach him
how to fly. But he refused to fly. They left him alone on his ledge. They threatened him that he
would starve. Even then he was too afraid to fly. His brothers and sister made fun of him. They
laughed at his cowardice.
At last, his mother thought of a plan. She took a piece of fish in her beak and flew towards him.
She came near him but did not land on the ledge. The young seagull was very hungry. He came to
the brink of the ledge. In order to get food, he dived at the fish. But he fell from the rock. He
became terrified. But it was only for a moment. The next moment, he flapped his wings and started
flying. In this way, his mother was able to make him fly.
Short Answer Type Questions (Part 2)

1. Explain the statement: ‘I was very happy to go behind the strange aeroplane like an
obedient child.
Answer: The pilot came across huge storm clouds. He could neither go above them nor go
around them due to lack of fuel. Then, he saw a black plane without lights on wings, flying near his
plane. Its pilot waved and signalled him to follow him. The author did not have much choice but to
follow him.
2. “I’ll take the risk.” What is the risk? Why does the pilot of the old Dakota take it?
Answer: The risk is that of going through the storm in the narrator’s old Dakota aeroplane. He flew
through as he did not have fuel to fly around them, and couldn’t fly over them. Also, he wanted to
get home for a big English breakfast.

3. Why did the pilot think of going back to Paris?

Answer: The pilot came across huge storm clouds that seemed to him like black mountains. He
could neither go above them nor go around them due to lack of fuel. That was when he thought of
returning to Paris.

4. Describe the black clouds from the point of view of the pilot.
Answer: The writer was going from France to England. He was flying his Dakota aeroplane. When
he had gone 150 kilometres from France, he saw storm clouds. They were huge. They looked like
black mountains standing in front of him across the sky.
Long Answer Type Questions

1. The narrator knew that he could not fly up due to storm and lack of fuel but still, he
continued. What kind of person was he? Was it not in his nature to accept defeat? Discuss
the values one should possess to accept failures to be able to move ahead in life in 100-120
words.
Answer: The author’s plane did not have enough fuel. He knew that because of the paucity of
fuel, he could not fly up and over the clouds nor he could fly around them to the north or south. But
then he decided to take the risk to enter his plane in the clouds because he wanted to go home
and wanted to join his family at breakfast. This shows that he was a family-loving person. He was
courageous as he knew that it would be risky to enter the clouds, but he did so in order to save his
fuel.

From the Diary of Anne Frank

Short Answer Type Questions

1. What does Anne write in her first essay?

Answer: In her first essay, titled ‘A Chatterbox’, Anne wanted to come up with convincing
arguments to prove the necessity of talking. She wrote three pages and argued that talking was a
student’s trait and she would do her best to keep it under control.

2. Mr. Keesing is a kind, but strict teacher. Explain.

Answer: Mr. Keesing is a kind but strict teacher. He was annoyed with Anne as she was a very
talkative girl. He warned her several times but she didn’t change. So, he punished her by giving an
essay to write.

3. How did Sanne help Anne Frank in writing the third essay?
Answer: Senile was Anne’s close friend, and good at poetry. She helped Anne write the third
essay in verse. It turned out to be a good poem, and even the teacher, Mr. Keesing, took it in the
right way.

4. Why did Anne prefer confiding in her diary?

Or
Why does Anne want to keep a diary? Why does she feel she can trust a diary more than
the people?
Answer: Anne did not have a true friend to whom she could confide, hence she started writing a
diary. Moreover, she knew that paper had more patience than people and her secrets would be
safe in a diary. She could trust a diary more than people.

5. How does Anne feel about her father, grandmother, Mrs. Kuperus and Mr. Keesing?
Answer: Her father was the most adorable father, she loved him very much. She also loved her
grandmother and often thought of her with reverence after her death. She was deeply attached to
her teacher, Mrs. Kuperus and was in tears when she left her. Anne did not have a good
impression of Mr. Keesing, her maths teacher and often called him ‘old fogey’.
6. ‘Paper has more patience than people.’ Do you agree/disagree? Give reason.
Answer: I do agree with the above statement. People sometimes get bored, tired or have no
mood or time to listen to you. They can get irritated, grudge or complaint about forcing them to
listen to you but paper never grudges. It definitely has more patience than people.

Long Answer Type Questions

1. “Paper has more patience than people.” Elucidate.

Answer: Anne Frank felt lonely in the world. She had loving parents, an elder sister and a number
of friends. But she was not intimate with anyone. She could talk to them about common everyday
matters. But she could not express her inner feelings to them. She wanted a patient listener with a
sympathetic heart. But she found that people had no patience to listen to her. She could not
relieve the feelings of her heart to anyone. Anne wanted to lighten the burden of ideas in her heart.
So she decided to maintain a diary. A diary is not a human being. It has a lot more patience than
man. One can express one’s thoughts freely. The diary does not get bored. It is a true friend. It
never rejects the offer of friendship. That is why Anne Frank says that paper has more patience
than people.

2. Give a brief sketch of Anne’s life.

Answer: Anne Frank was a young Jewish girl. She lived with her parents in Germany. But Hitler’s
Nazi party was against the Jews. The Nazis were killing the Jews or forcing them to work in the
concentration camps. The Frank family fled from Germany in 1933 and took shelters in the
Netherlands. But in 1940, Germany attacked the Netherlands and captured it. Now the Nazis
started arresting the Jews and sending them to the concentration camps. The Frank family went
into hiding. They lived secretly in the upper floors of their business premises. They hid there for 25
months. Their non-Jewish friends gave them food.
Anne had started writing her diary before going into hiding. In August 1944, the Germans came to
know of their hiding. They were arrested and sent to Germany. Anne, her sister, Margot, and her
mother soon died in a concentration camp. Her father survived and published part of Anne’s diary.
In this diary, Anne gives a moving and tragic account of the difficulties faced by her family and the
other Jews.
The part of the diary reproduced in this chapter is about the days when Anne was a schoolgirl and
she, and her family had not yet moved to the secret quarters.

A Tiger in the Zoo

Short Answer Type Questions

1. What do you understand by `His strength behind bars’? What kind of a cage is he locked
in?
Answer: The tiger is wretched in its cage. His power is confined behind the bars. He was locked
in a small cage where he is devoid of freedom. He feels unhappy, frustrated, restless and angry.

2. Is it safe to allow tigers to live in their natural habitat these days?

Answer: Although it is ideal for tigers to live in the wild, today, it will mean certain death for them.
Fast diminishing jungles and danger posed by poachers have pushed tigers to the brink of
extinction, making their natural home unsafe.

3. The tiger in the poem ‘A Tiger in the Zoo’ has some obvious limitations, describe them in
contrast to its natural habitat.
Answer: The tiger in the zoo was confined to a small space. He was angry that he couldn’t be free
to move, hunt and do what he pleased forced to be a showpiece; and the cage’s bars obstructed
his view of the starry night. This was all unlike his natural habitat where he hunted fiercely and
slept fitfully.
4. What is the theme of the poem?
Or
What message does the poet want to convey through the poem—Tiger in the Zoo’?
Answer: The poet wants to convey that it is cruel to keep wild animals in small enclosures of the
zoo, away from their natural habitat. They feel angry, helpless and unhappy and remember their
life and environment in the forest.

5. Why do you think the tiger was stalking in the cage? What does it show?
Answer: I think the tiger was feeling restless and uneasy in that small cage. He seems to be
frustrated and helpless as he could not come out of the cage in the open and enjoy his freedom.
He did not want to be a mere showpiece and a source of entertainment for human beings.

Long Answer Type Questions

1. Animals, big and small, is being used by humans for their selfish ends? What is your
opinion regarding the exploitation of animals? Mention some examples that you can see a
possible solution to this problem.
Answer: It is true that animals, big and small are being used by humans for their selfish ends. We
use them for our own benefits. Animals are killed, poached and captured for commercial benefits.
Humans have encroached on their space and sheltered them in zoos which is truly inhuman. In
the poem, the poet has shown the plight of a tiger. He is captured and confined in a small cage.
He is frustrated, angry and restless. It longs for freedom. Confinement brings bondage and
bondage is cruel.
Every day we see many animals suffering due to humans. Monkeys bear captured and made to
dance on roads, Elephants are chained and forced to lift heavy loads. Many animals are sheltered
in zoos for the entertainment of human beings. They are kept in poor conditions. They are treated
inhumanely. We should learn to respect nature and its inhabitants. After all, these animals to share
the earth with us.
How to Tell Wild Animals
Short Answer Type Questions

1. How does one identify a chameleon?

Answer: A chameleon resembles a lizard and is a small, wingless, fearless creature. The poet
says that when there is nothing visible on the tree, there is the chameleon camouflaged with the
tree.

2. What is the famous saying associated with crocodiles and what does it mean?
Answer: The famous saying associated with crocodiles is that of ‘shedding crocodile tears’. It
actually means tears or expressions of sorrow that are insincere, and are said to be so named
from a belief that crocodiles wept while devouring their prey.

3. What is the theme of the poem — ‘How to Tell Wild Animals’?

Answer: The theme of the poem is to create humour. The poet creates humour by suggesting
dangerous ways of identifying wild animals. You can identify most of the beasts while they are
attacking you. Instead of shouting for help or trying to protect yourself, you are busy identifying the
attacker—the idea creates humour.

4. What does the poet say about the Asian Lion in this poem?
Answer: The poet says that the Asian Lion is a large beast. He is brownish-yellow in colour. He is
found in forests of the eastern countries of the world. His roar is very loud and terrifying.

5. How does the Bengal Tiger look? What is so distinct about a hint?
Answer: The poet says that the Bengal Tiger roams in the forest and look noble. His skin is yellow
and there are black stripes on it. As soon as the Bengal Tiger notices someone he tries to eat him.

Long Answer Type Questions

1.’Many animals can be identified according to the poets’ suggestion. Name the animals.
Which ones would you like to identify? Are there any lessons for us from this poem?
Answer: The poet has listed down the ways of identifying seven animals in the poem, viz., and the
lion, the Bengal Tiger, the leopard, the bear, the hyena, crocodiles and chameleons. As for me, I
would like to identify the bear, the Bengal Tiger and the leopard. However, putting my life on the
line just to identify the tiger and the leopard doesn’t seem worth the risk! So if I see a noble beast
with black stripes on yellow, I’II knows the tiger, and the peppered spots will reveal the leopard.
The bear hug, I wouldn’t mind! The poetess, using humour, seems to warn readers against
venturing too close to these animals.
The Midnight Visitor
Short Answer Type Questions

1. What made the story of the balcony so convincing?

Answer: Ausable showed his annoyance for the nuisance created by the balcony. He said that
this was the second time that someone had got into his room through it. He also said that the
balcony was not his but belongs to the next apartment and earlier his room used to be a part of a
large unit.

2. How did Max go out of Ausable’s room to save himself from the police?
Answer: Max was very nervous to find the police at the door. He went out of the window saying
that he would wait in the balcony. He warned Ausable to send them away or he would shoot him.
Max did not confirm the balcony and stepped out of the window and died.
3. How did Ausable kill Max without using a weapon?
Answer: Ausable was an intelligent spy. When he found Max waiting for him in his room, he made
a story of a balcony under his window. He convinced Max about the balcony. And thus, when
someone knocked at the door, Max fearing it to be the police, jumped out of the window and died.

4. How and why did Max come inside Ausable’s room?

Answer: Max had come into the room using a passkey. He had come to get the secret report
about some new missiles which, he was sure, was with Ausable.

5. How was Ausable different from the other secret agents?

Answer: Ausable, unlike other secret agents, was very fat with an accent of German. Fowler was
expecting a smart and active agent having messages slipped into his hand by a dark beauty.
Whereas, Ausable received a telephone call making an appointment in his room.

Long Answer Type Questions

1. With reference to `The Midnight Visitor’, do you think the presence of mind should be
developed and to what advantage? Elaborate highlighting the values possessed by
Ausable.
Answer: Max lay in wait for Ausable to steal the important paper from him. As Fowler observed,
apart from the pointed gun he didn’t look very menacing. Even this proved useless for him as
Ausable outwitted him with his presence of mind and intelligence. Ausable cleverly found out how
Max had entered the room and created an extremely believable story about a non-existent
balcony. He kept calm, and, hearing the waiter knock, declared it to be the police. Max, in an
attempt to hide, fell to his death. Thus, Ausable got rid of Max without moving a muscle.

A Question of Trust
Short Answer Type Questions

1. How did Horace know all the details of the house?

Answer: Horace had been studying the house for the past two weeks. Moreover, a magazine
article had described this house, giving a plan of all the rooms and a picture of the room. There
were also the details of the safe hidden behind the safe.

2. How did Horace fulfill his desire of reading books after he was arrested?
Answer: After Horace was arrested, he became the assistant librarian in the prison and fulfilled
his desire for reading books.

3. Though Horace planned everything meticulously, why did he fail?

Answer: Though Horace planned everything meticulously; he failed led because of the smart lady.
She posed herself to be the owner of the house and convinced him to open the shelf as she had
“not the password of the shelf. Horace got trapped in her plot.

4. How did the flowers cause him trouble?

Answer: Horace Danby had an allergy for flowers, especially during the pollen season. Who
flowers are nearby, he got sneezing. The only cure for it was to stay away from those path flowers.

5. What was Horace Danby’s hobby? How did he manage to fulfill his hobby?
Answer: Horace’s only hobby was to read expensive and rare books. He used to rob a safe every
year in order to arrange money for his hobby. He used to get those books from an agent.

6. How did the lady spoil his plan?

Answer: The lady posed as the owner of the house in front of Horace. Horace got scared and
believed her. She ask him to open the safe as she had forgotten the password. Horace opened
the safe and handed over the jewels to her. Hence, Horace’s plan of robbing the safe was spoiled.

Long Answer Type Questions

1. Horace Danby represents such people who adopt the wrong ways to fulfill their wishes.
What values would you like such people to imbibe to reform themselves? Write in about
100-120 words.
Answer: Horace Danby was a successful businessman. He was about fifty years respectable
citizen but had a habit that led him to do robberies. Danby loved rare, expensive books and to get
them he used to rob a safe every year. Every year he planned carefully just to get what he wanted.
Danby adopted wrong ways to fulfill his wishes and hence, later got trapped in a plot by a thief like
him. People should imbibe good values. They should learn that hard work is the only key to
success One should work hard to fulfill his desires. I think such people should imbibe the values of
honesty, responsibility, hard work, dedication, self-confidence in order to reform themselves.

1. Why were the two boys surprised and fascinated?

Answer: The two boys were highly surprised. They saw fresh muddy imprints of a pair of bare
feet. They wondered what a barefooted man doing on the steps of a house in the middle of
London. They saw only the footsteps but didn’t see the man whose marks they were. As they
gazed, a fresh foot mark appeared from nowhere. The boys followed them fascinated. The marks
became fainter and disappeared altogether.

2. What was the explanation of the mystery of the footmarks? Who was responsible for
them?
Answer: The explanation of the mystery of the footmarks was really simple enough. Those
footmarks were of a scientist. He was Griffin. Griffin carried out many experiments. He succeeded
in proving that the human body could become invisible. Those were the footmarks of the invisible
scientist Griffin.

3. How did Griffin succeed in becoming invisible? What was the result of his experiments?
Answer: Griffin was a brilliant scientist. He had carried out an experiment after experiment. He
wanted to prove that the human body could become invisible. His experiments succeeded. He
swallowed certain rare drugs. His body became as transparent as a sheet of glass. Its status didn’t
undergo any change. It remained solid as glass.

4. How did Griffin become a homeless wanderer without clothes and money?
Or
Who set his landlord’s house on fire and why?
Answer: Invisibility made Griffin a lawless person. He was living in a rented house in London. His
landlord disliked him. He tried to eject Griffin. The scientist was determined to take revenge. In
revenge, Griffin set fire to the house. Now he became a homeless wanderer without money. To
become invisible, he had to remove his clothes completely.

5. What made Griffin enter a big store in London?

Or
What did the clothless and homeless wanderer Griffin decided to get warmth in mid-winter?
Answer: Griffin was a homeless wanderer without money. He had to be without clothes to remain
invisible. It was a bad time of the year for such a person in London. It was mid-winter. The air was
bitterly cold. He couldn’t do without clothes. So, he decided to slip into a big London store for
warmth.

6. How and why did a brilliant scientist like Griffin degenerate into a lawless and homeless
wanderer?
Answer: There can’t be any doubt that Griffin was a brilliant scientist. After all, the man who
discovered invisibility of the human body couldn’t be an ordinary person. But he misused the
discovery. He utilised it for his petty interests. He indulged in petty thefts, burglaries and beatings
of innocent persons. He made illegal and unlawful entries in stores and shops only to feed and
dress without paying anything. All these illegal activities made him a lawless person and an
anarchist.

Long Answer Type Questions

1. How would you assess Griffin as a scientist and a human being? What qualities or
values would you suggest will make him a better person?
Answer: Griffin was an eccentric scientist who had discovered a rare drug which could make him
invisible. Griffin became invisible not for. The welfare of the society but to satisfy his own ego and
carry out satanic deeds. He was a brilliant scientist but not a law-abiding person. He was a
criminal scientist who had no respect for humanity. He stole money from the clergyman’s house,
set the landlord’s house on fire and even killed his father for his own benefit. He was also not a
good human being. He was rude to everyone. When everyone asked about his secret, he hit them
and escaped becoming invisible. I would like to suggest him to imbibe empathy, kindness,
helpfulness, honesty, generosity, social responsibility, etc. These values will make him a better
person. He should have used his discovery for the benefit of society and his country.

Glipmses of India
Short Answer Type Questions
A Baker from Goa

1. What did the baker mean to the narrator during his childhood? How many times did he
pay a visit?
Answer: The baker or pader was an important person in the author’s life. He was treated like a
friend. He used to come twice a day, once in the morning to sell bread and then while returning
after emptying his basket. The author used to run to meet him in order to take the bread-bangles.
He chatted and gossiped with him.

2. What were the bakers called? Describe their peculiar dress.

Answer: The bakers were known as pader. These bakers wore a peculiar dress known as
the ‘kabai’. It was a single piece long frock reaching down to the knees.
3. What was Kabai ? Give a brief description.
Or
What did the bakers wear — (i) in the Portuguese days? (ii) When the author was young?
Answer: Kabai wants a particular dress — a single-piece long frock reaching down the knees
which the bakers used to wear in the old days. Later it was replaced by a shirt and trousers which
were longer than the shorts and shorter than the full length.
4. What are the elders in Goa nostalgic about?
Answer: In Goa, the elders are nostalgic about the good Old Portuguese days as well as the
Portuguese and their famous loaves of bread.

5. How can you say, ‘bread-baking is still popular in Goa’?

Answer: Bread making is still very popular in Goa. Still, we can see the mixers, molders and those
who bake the loaves. Most of their festivals and other occasions are meaningless without the
loaves of bread.
Long Answer Type Questions

1. Why was it absolutely essential to have a “baker’s furnace” in a Goan village?

Answer: The Portuguese and their famous loaves of bread had made a permanent impact on
Goan soil. The eaters of those loaves might have vanished but the makers of the loaves — the
bakers still have an important place in the society. The Goan village still has the mixers, moulders
and those who bake the loaves. There are also the age-old time-tested furnaces which exist till
date. The bakers are still important in the village. The lady of the house must Prepare sandwiches
on the occasion of her daughter’s engagement. Cakes and bolinhas are a must for Christmas as
well as other festivals. Thus, the presence of the baker’s furnace in the village is still essential.

Tea from Assam

Short Answer Type Questions

1. How does Rajvir describe the tea-garden at Dhekiajuli?

Answer: On both sides of the gravel road were acres and acres of neatly pruned tea bushes. It
was the second sprouting period. Women wearing plastic aprons were plucking new tea leaves
and putting them in the bamboo baskets.

2. Describe the scenery that Rajvir saw as soon as the train pulled out of the station.
Answer: When the train moved ahead, there were huge fields full of green plantations. Rajvir had
never seen so much greenery. He called it a ‘magnificent view’. The bushes were spread like a
sea against the backdrop of densely wooded hills.

3. How are tea pluckers different from other farm labourers?

Answer: The tea pluckers are different from other farm labourers. The women plucking tea leaves
in the tea gardens look like dolls. They wear plastic aprons and carry baskets on their backs to put
tea leaves in them.

4. How can you say that tea was first drunk in China?
Answer: There is an ancient legend about the discovery of tea. A Chinese emperor had the habit
of drinking boiling water. One day a twig from the fire fell into the pot in which water was being
boiled. It gave a delicious flavour to the water. It is said that those were tea leaves and that was
the first tea. It is thus thought that tea was first taken in China.

Long Answer Type Questions

1. What are the legends related to the discovery of tea?

Answer: There are many popular legends about the discovery of tea. Two of them are as follows :
A Chinse emperor was used to drinking boiled water. One day a twig from the fire fell into the pot
in which water was being boiled. It gave a delicious flavour to the drink. It is said that those were
tea leaves. An Indian legend goes like this. Once there was a Buddhist ascetic who used to feel
sleepy during meditations. So he cut off his eyelids. Ten tea plants grew out of the eyelids. When
the leaves from these plants were put in hot water and drunk they banished sleep.

Coorg
Short Answer Type Questions
1. Why are the people of Coorg known as descendants of the Arabs?
Answer: The theory of the people of Coorg as descendants of the Arabs draws support from the
long, black coat with an embroidered waist-belt worn by the Kodavus known as kuppia. It
resembles the kuffia worn by the Arabs and the Kurds.

2. Describe the natural beauty of Coorg.

Answer: Coorg is situated midway between Mysore and the coastal town of Mangalore in
Karnataka state. It is a beautiful region of ‘rolling hills and lush green rainforests. It is famous for
coffee, spices and wildlife.

3. Describe the wildlife of Coorg.

Answer: A large freshwater fish abound in these waters. Kingfishers dive for their catch. Squirrels
and langurs drop partially eaten fruit W enjoy the splash and ripple effect. Elephants enjoy bathing
in the river.

4. The people of Coorg have a tradition of courage and bravery. How has it been recognized
in modern India?
Answer: Coorgis are a proud race of martial men and beautiful women. They are very hospitable
and entertain their guests by relating stories of bravery of their sons and fathers. Coorg soldiers
are brave. Coorg regiment is one of the most decorated ones in the Indian army. Corgis are the
only people who are permitted to carry firearms without a licence.

5. What is Coorg famous for? What is the best season to visit Coorg?
Answer: Coorg is famous for its coffee plantations, evergreen rainforests and spices Thirty
percent of its area is covered with the evergreen rainforests The best season to visit this place is
from September to March. The air is full of coffee flavor.

Long Answer Type Questions

1. Where is Coorg situated? What is it famous for?

Answer: Coorg is the smallest district of Karnataka. It is known as Kodagu also. Coorg lies
between the coastal town of Mangalore and Mysore. It is a very beautiful place. The writer says
that it must have come from the kingdom of God. Coorg is famous for its coffee plantations,
evergreen rainforests and spices. Thirty percent of its area is covered with the evergreen
rainforests. The best season to visit this place is from September to March. The air is full of coffee
flavour.

2. What does the author say about the people of Coorg?

Answer: The writer says that the people of Coorg are independent and brave. They are of Greek
or Arabic descent. According to a story, a part of Alexander’s army did not return and was settled
here. They married among the locals. This culture can be seen in the martial traditions, marriage
and religious customs.
According to another theory Coorg people originated from the Arabs. It is evident from the long,
black coat worn by the people. It is like the kuffia worn by the Arabs and the Kurds. Coorgi homes
have tradition of hospitality. They are brave people. Their tales of bravery are famous. The Coorg
Regiment is one of the most decorated in the Indian Army. The first Chief of the Indian Army,
General Cariappa, was a Coorgi. Even today, the Kodavus are the only people in India who are
allowed to carry firearms without a licence.