Chapter 7 A Baker from Goa | class 10th | english important questions Glimpses of India

Class 10 English Chapter 7 A Baker from Goa Important Questions

A Baker from Goa
Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1. Why is the baker essential for the Goan people?

Answer: Most of the celebrations and festivals need supply of bread so the baker’s furnace is essential for the Goan people.

Question 2. What did the baker do first once he reached a house?

Answer: The baker would first greet the lady of the house by saying “Good Morning”. He would then place the basket on the vertical bamboo and deliver the loaves to the servant.

Question 3. How did the baker make his entry?

Answer: The baker used to enter with the Jingling sound of his specially made bamboo staff. His one hand supported the basket on his head and the other banged the bamboo on the ground.

Question 4. How do we get to know that the makers of bread still exist?

Answer: The narrator states that the eaters of loaves might have vanished but the makers are still there. He further says that those age old, time tested furnaces still exist and the fire in the furnaces had not yet been extinguished.

Question 5. What is the importance of breads for the Goans?
or
Why was the Baker’s furnace essential in a traditional Goan village?

Answer: Different kinds of breads are important during the different occasions. Bolinhas had to be prepared during Christmas and other festivals. The mothers used to prepare sandwiches on the occasion of their daughter’s engagement. So, the baker’s furnace was essential.

Question 6. Describe the dress of the bakers.

Answer: The bakers had a peculiar dress earlier known as the kabai. It was a one piece long frock reaching down to the knees.

Question 7. Why did the baker and his family always look happy and prosperous?

Answer: The baker used to collect his bills at the end of the month. Baking was indeed a profitable business in the old days. The baker and his family never starved. Their plump physique was an open testimony that they were happy and prosperous.

Question 8. Why would the children run to meet and greet the baker?

Answer: The jingling thud of the baker’s bamboo would wake up the children from their sleep. They would run to meet and greet him to get bread bangles or sometimes sweet bread of special make.

Question 9. What indicates the presence of the ‘patters’ still in Goa?

Answer: The presence of the ‘paders’ in Goa even today is indicated by the fact that still there are mixers, the moulders and those who bake the loaves. Moreover, those age-old time-tested furnaces still exist.

Question 10. What would the baker do after his musical entry?

Answer: The baker would greet the lady of the house with ‘good morning’ and then place his basket on the bamboo after his musical entry.

Question 11. How did the pader treat the kids who surrounded him?

Answer: The pader treated the kids who surrounded him, very kindly he would push them aside with a mild rebuke.

Question 12. Was baking a profitable profession?

Answer: Yes, baking was really a profitable profession as the bread was an important part of the food of the Goan people. The bakers earned well and kept servants. Their families looked happy and prosperous. They never starved.

Question 13. What are the elders in Goa nostalgic about?

Answer: The elders in Goa are much fond of loaves of bread. Those were the Portuguese days and the people liked the breads of different types very much.

Question 14. Is bread-making still popular in Goa? How do you know?

Answer: Bread-making is still popular in Goa. We can see the mixers, the moulders and those who bake the loaves. Most of their festivals and other occasions will become meaningless without the loaves of the bread. The ladies of the house prepare sandwiches on the occasion of their daughter’s engagement.

Question 15. When would the baker come everyday? Why did the children run to meet him?

Answer: The baker would come at least twice a day. The morning was his selling round and he returned after selling them. Children ran to meet and greet him because they needed bread bangles from him. They also got sweet bread of special make.

Long Answer Type Questions

Question 1. Instead of enjoying their childhood, the children today are keen to enter adulthood. After reading about all the joys that the author Lucio Rodrigues had in his childhood do you think such a keenness on the part of children is desirable?

Answer: I don’t think that the keenness of the children these days to enter adulthood is desirable. Children these days are in a hurry to enter adulthood and have access to technology. Due to this they are learning things earlier than usual and getting matured beyond their age.

Hence, they are losing out their childhood and missing the joys that it brings with it. As per my thinking, they should grow at a slow pace and enjoy their childhood to the fullest. Children who miss out on their childhood cannot be a complete adult. So, they should not hurry up to be an adult and grow at nature’s pace.

Question 2. After reading the story ‘A Baker from Goa”, do you think our traditions, heritage, values and practices are the roots that nourish us? Why/why not? 

Answer: ‘A Baker from Goa’ highlights the importance of the traditional practice of making breads for every occasion and festival of the Goan people. This tradition continues even today. This shows how our traditional practices can keep us to our past and heritage.

Traditional values shape our personality and also provide us emotional support. They enable us to face difficult situations and makes us mentally strong. Traditional practices also have an impact on our behavioural pattern towards the other people in society.

Question 3. ‘During our childhood in Goa, the baker used to be our friend, companion and guide.’ What does this statement imply in relation tofhe character of the baker?

Answer: This statement tells us that the baker was a very respected person in the Goan society because he would guide the children about good behaviour (when he mildly rebuked them for peeping into his basket and giving respect to the elders (when he wished “Good morning” to the lady of the house) etc. He was very informal with the children and so the author considered him as a friend and companion. He was not simply a vendor interested in selling what he made. Thus, he was an important character in the Goan society of those days.