1. Discuss with reference to the context any four of the following passages in about 150 words each:

Useless old woman this is
Very wicked old woman this is
The-village was laid waste by her
Hunting ghosts she had sent

I regret no season
Because over and over again
Have I resurged
Never did I know
When the fall hit me
And when I regained the green
Anew, afresh.

The dark of the well
Longs for that moment of courage
When in full sight of all
My hands will stretch
out For a drink

Hey, Whitman I call out.
My friend -the voice had drawn near
look, he said,
Columbus' geographical error,
history's gain.

It's good to have some stones in your heart
there is no letter box -messages can be left between stones
besides, one sometimes feels like making a home.

The blind eagles, quite incapable of looking behind;
Grieving eagles who never ever had any loved one;
The eagles who never ever had any loved one;

2. The novel Samskara charts Pranesacharya's quest for and questioning of his own identity. Discuss.
OR
To what extent is the novel Tamas autobiographical? Discuss.

3. Do you agree that the downfall of Tughlak was the result of his being a visionary and an idealist? Discuss.
OR
Discuss the repeated use of the idea of acting, performance and theatricality in the play Tughlak.

4. Discuss the following:

Tadpa's portrayal as a tribal.
OR
The significance of the title 'Birds'.

Insanity as portrayed by the first person narrator of 'Headmaster, Prawn, Chanachur'.
OR
The function of the mirror and the significance of its destruction in 'The Compromise'.

5. Barna's 'Karukku' is an important social document on caste and gender apart from being a memoir. Discuss.
OR
What aspects of Ismat Chughtai's writings and creativity appeal to Manto? Discuss.