The First Step
Now answer the following :
1. Who are the characters in this part of the story?
Ans: There are three characters in this part of the story. Ammu, a ten-year-old girl, her father and her younger brother.
2. Describe Ammu’s house and family.
Ans: Ammu’s house was just a room in the servant’s quarters of the big house.There were 3 people in Ammu’s family including her. She had father and younger brother in her family. Her father made Ammu work and didn’t let her take education.
3. Who was Chelleppa? What did he tell Ammu?
Ans: Chelleppa was Ammu’s father. He wanted Ammu to work as maid at new owner of the big house. He wanted her to earn money for the family and for the education of his younger brother, Chinni.
4. Did Ammu want to go to school? How did her father react to Ammu’s wish to go to school?
Ans: Yes, Ammu was keen on going to school. His father didn’t want Ammu to send to school because he thought that education didn’t serve any meaning to her one day she would get married and it would not be useful for her.
5. Do you think Ammu’s father would send her to school?
Ans: No, I don’t think Ammu’s father would send her to school.
[ II ]
Now answer the following :
1. Who was the new owner of the house? What was she like?
Ans: The new owner of the house was a lady named Mrs.Mohan. She was a slim, grey-haired lady, who was a widow.
2. What did Ammu do at Mrs. Mohan’s house the next morning?
Ans: Ammu went to Mrs.Mohan’s house next morning and washed few vessels in the sink.
3. What drew Ammu like a magnet ? What did she do then? Why?
Ans: When Ammu went to the drawing room, the bookcase drew her attention. She then fingered the books lovingly and gazed at the pictures in a book. She was interested in reading.
4. Mrs. Mohan asked Ammu if she wanted to go to school. Did she say anything about her brother?
Ans: Ammu told Mrs.Mohan that she would love to go to school but her father wanted her younger to send to school. She didn’t say anything about her brother she just told what her father wished for her brother.
5. What did Amu say to Mrs. Mohan?
Ans: Ammu told Mrs. Mohan that her father didn’t allow her to go to school and he wanted her younger brother to take education instead of her.
6. Will Mrs. Mohan help her to go to school?
Ans: Yes, Mrs.Mohan seems to be a nice and kind lady, so she may help Ammu to go to school.
[ III ]
Answer the following questions :
1. What important event took place in the last part of the story?
Ans: Mrs. Mohan was a kind and good human being. She felt sad when she came to know about Ammu’s desperation for education. In the last part we see that Mrs.Mohan who was a headmistress, decided to teach Ammu every day at her home. The last part shows that how Mrs.Mohan is taking efforts to make Ammu’s dream of learning complete.
2. What did Mrs. Mohan plan to help Ammu?
Ans: Mrs. Mohan came up with a plan that Ammu would visit Mrs.Mohan after completing her household chores and Mrs.Mohan would teach her as long as Ammu wanted.
3. Why was Ammu not ready to accept Mrs. Mohan’s help to begin with?
Ans: Mrs. Mohan asked to stop working and start going to school and told her that she would pay her fees. But Ammu asked who would cook for her father and brother and who would work for Mrs.Mohan. Ammu was worried because if she staretd to going to school then there was no one to do the work that was assigned to her.
4. What was the next plan that Mrs. Mohan had?
Ans: When Ammu told Mrs. Mohan that there was no one to cook for her father and brother and also she had to complete the work given at Mrs.Mohan’s house, then Mrs. Mohan came with another plan. Mrs. Mohan planned that after completing her chores, Ammu would visit Mrs. Mohan and learn as long as Ammu wanted.
5. What made Ammu happy at the end?
Ans: Mrs. Mohan’s second plan made Ammu happy. Ammu requested Mrs.Mohan to start teaching on that day itself, and Mrs.Mohan began teaching with the alphabet. Ammu learnt for an hour and that made her happy.
6. What was Ammu’s first step towards her goal?
Ans: Ammu’s learning at Mrs.Mohan’s was her first step towards her goal.
ACTIVITY
1 Read the following jumbled sentences and arrange them in proper order to get the story.
Ans:
Correct Order-
3) Ammu, a ten-year-old motherless girl, lived with her father and little brother, Chini.
6) Ammu was very eager to go to school like her brother.
7) Chellappa, her father wanted her to work as a maid in the new owner’s house to get money for Chini’s study.
1) Mrs Mohan, the new owner knew about Ammu’s desire to study.
2) Mrs Mohan realized the cause of Ammu’s unhappiness and thought of starting a small school for unfortunate girls.
4) Mrs Mohan told Ammu that she will help Ammu go to school.
5) In the end Mrs. Mohan taught her the alphabet and Ammu went home happily.
1 Arrange the statements in Column A in order as they aappear in the story. Next match those with the charcers in coloumn B.
III. Read the following main ideas of the story, “The first step” and put them, in the appropriate boxes of the ‘Flow Chart’.
1. Chellapa’s decision to send Chinnu to school and Ammu to be a maid.
2. Ammu’s wish to go to school like his brother, Chinni.
3. Mrs Mohan’s realisation about Ammu’s interest for study.
4. Mrs Mohan’s interest and thought to open a school for unfortunate girls like Ammu.
5. Mrs Mohan’s final decision to teach Ammu and beginning of Amu’s ‘Alphabet learning’.
6. A man’s help to life the child in the crowd and to make the child happy.
1 Column ‘A’ below names the important characters in the story. And column ‘B’ lists some words and phrases which describe them. Will you match each character with the words/phrases that describe it. One is done for you.
| A | B |
| 1. Chellappa | Poor, watchman, uncaring, illiterate, servant |
| 2. Ammu | Polite, motherless girl, maid, love for books, a young girl |
| 3. Mrs. Mohan | Widow, old, helping, kind, slim, educated, grey haired |
WRITING
Answer the following questions in about fifty words each.
1) Who was Chellepa ? What did he want Ammu to do?
Ans: Chellepa was a watchman at a big house. He had two children elder daughter and younger son. He was a selfish and uncaring father. He wanted his elder daughter to work as a maid for the new owner and earn money. He didn’t approve his daughter wish of taking up education, instead he wanted her to work and wished to send his son to school.
2) Why was Ammu unhappy? Who made her happy?
Ans: Ammu was unhappy because her desire of studying was shattered by her father. She wanted to go to school and learn but her father didn’t allow her. When she was sent to Mrs.Mohan’s house as a maid, there she sees bookcase and fingers it gently. Mrs.Mohan realized that Ammu had strong desire to study so she decided to help her. Mrs.Mohan planned and told Ammu to visit her after completing her chores and study as long as Ammu wanted. And on that day itself, Mrs.Mohan taught her alphabets. Mrs.Mohan’s efforts in making Ammu learn made Ammu happy.
3) Collect information about Mrs. Mohan from the story and write a paragraph about her.
Ans: Mrs. Mohan was an old widow who was the new owner of the house. She was slim grey-haired lady. She had a daughter who was married and lived in Bombay. She was a retired headmistress. She was an educated woman who was kind. When she realized Ammu’s passion for study, she thought of opening school for the unprivileged girls like Ammu. She wanted Ammu to go to school and was even ready to pay her fees. She was generous. She came with a plan that made Ammu happy and complete her desire to study. Mrs. Mohan was a lady who made Ammu happy and this shows how good natured she was.
4) Which character do you like the most? Why?
Ans: I liked Ammu’s character the most. Ammu is an obedient and hard working girl. She obeys everything that her father tells. She accepts the situation the way it is. She has a deep passion for learning and wishes to take education. She readily accepts her father’s wish of working as a maid and at Mrs.Mohan’s house, she completes her given work. When Mrs. Mohan asks her to go to school then Ammu gets worried about the work that has been assigned her to do. She is an honest girl who does her work. When Mrs.Mohan tells her about the second plan, she becomes happy for she is taking the first step towards her goals.
5) Write a paragraph on Ammu’s future.
Ans: With the help and efforts of Mrs.Mohan, Ammu will surely achieve her goals. Ammu is girl who has deep passion for learning and she will take every possible effort to make her dream come true. Ammu will go to a good school and take pursue her education. Ammu will score good marks and become successful in life. She will have good career where she will not only earn money but also earn respect.
6) How did the writer indicate the serious social problem and suggest solution to it?
Ans: The writer has indicated the serious problem of girls’ education. In India, still there are many people who believe that making girls educated is waste of money and time, so they prefer them to marry off early. Still there are many girls in India who don’t have primary education and this become problem as the rate of illiteracy also increases. There are many ways we can find solutions to the above problem. Firstly it is important to create awareness among the people, especially in the rural areas. By creating awareness, people would understand the importance of girls’ education. Then we can also take the help educated women from the society to come together and put their example in front of the society. Women are no longer behind men these days and one should make their daughters equally capable.