Comprehension
Q1]Who was Bayaji? Where did he work?
A]Bayaji belonged to Mahar, a dalit community of Maharashtra. He worked honestly for
thirty-five years in a dockyard in Bombay. He worked as a porter for about 33 years and
then he got an extension. During that period he had become a supervisor.
Q2]Why did Bayaji return home?
A]Bayaji retired from his service after he had crossed sixty. He wanted to spend the rest
of his life peacefully and comfortably with his family. He wished to build a storeyed
house in his village. So, he returned to his native village.
Q3]”Greetings to you, sir, how are things with you?” Bayaji greeted Bhujaba. Why
did Bhujaba become furious? Do you think this is unusual ? Explain.
A]As Bayaji reached Kadam’s house, he saw Bhujaba, a known rascal of the village. He
greeted Bhujaba saying, “Greetings to you, sir, how are things with you ?” On hearing
this, Bhujaba became furious because Bayaji was a Mahar by caste and according to
age-old custom, Bayaji should have greeted Bhujaba with “My humble salutations to
you, sir, who are my father and mother.” So, when Bayaji merely said, “Greetings”,
Bhujaba angrily asked him if he thought he could become a Brahmin merely by saying
“Greetings”. He also asked him if he could forget his position simply because he had
turned Buddhist.
Yes, I think this is unusual “Bayaji said,” ‘Greetings’. in an informal way as Bhujaba
was also a fellow villager. But he was polite to Bhujaba. There is nothing wrong on his
side. Bhujaba could not tolerate Bayaji’s greetings as he was a Mahar. According to
him, a Brahmin can say only “Greetings”. Here, he showed caste discrimination towards
Bayaji. People should not be discriminated on the basis of their religion, region, caste,
gender, etc. Hence, I think that Bhujaba’s response is unusual.
Q4]Why was Bayaji tempted to knock down Bhujaba with his box?
A]When Bayaji merely said “Greetings”, Bhujaba became furious and asked him if he
thought he could become a Brahmin merely by saying “Greetings” and if he could
forget his position simply because he had turned Buddhist. Bayaji was nonplussed to
face those questions from Bhujaba and for a moment, he was tempted to knock Bhujaba
down with his box.
Q5]Why do you think Bhujaba insisted on knowing the exact amount received by
Bayaji on his retirement?
A]When Bhujaba came to know that Bayaji was retired from his service and came to the
village to spend the rest of his life there, Bhujaba knew that Bayaji would get some
amount of money towards retirement benefits. Actually, he was greedy about Bayaji’s
money. He wanted to swindle at least four or five hundred rupees from Bayaji’s fund amount. So, I thought Bhujaba insisted on knowing the exact amount received by Bayaji
on his retirement. In fact, Bhujaba respected him when he came to know that Bayaji
had collected the fund amount some two and a half thousand rupees.
Q6]What was Bayaji’s dream?
A]Bayaji’s dream was to build a storeyed house out of his earnings. As the usual three-
portioned house would not be adequate for them, he decided to build the storeyed house.
