Short Questions
1. Who is the main character of the story?
Answer: Prashant is the main character of the story.
2.Where did Prashant go on 27 October 1999?
Answer: He went to the block headquarters of Ersama to visit a friend.
3.What natural disaster struck Orissa?
Answer: A super cyclone hit Orissa.
4.How long did the cyclone last?
Answer: It lasted for about thirty-six hours.
5.Where did Prashant and his friend’s family take shelter?
Answer: They took shelter on the roof of the house.
6.What saved them from starvation during the storm?
Answer: Tender coconuts from fallen trees saved them.
7. How far was Prashant’s village from Ersama?
Answer: It was about 18 kilometres away.
8. What did Prashant use to find his way through the floodwaters?
Answer: He used a long, sturdy stick.
9.What did Prashant see floating in the water?
Answer: He saw dead bodies of humans and animals.
10. Where did Prashant finally find his family?
Answer: He found them in a Red Cross shelter.
11. How many people were in the shelter?
Answer: About 2,500 people were there.
12. What did Prashant do to get food for the people?
Answer: He organised a group to collect rice from a merchant.
13. How did they signal helicopters for help?
Answer: Children lay with utensils on their stomachs to show they were hungry.
14. What did Prashant organise for children?
Answer: He organised sports and cricket matches for them.
15. What helped Prashant heal emotionally after the disaster?
Answer: Helping others made him forget his own pain.
Long Questions
1. Describe the cyclone that hit Orissa in 1999.
Answer: The cyclone was very strong, with winds blowing at 350 km per hour. It destroyed houses, uprooted trees, and killed thousands of people. The storm continued for over thirty-six hours and flooded entire villages.
2. What did Prashant see when he stepped out after the cyclone?
Answer: He saw a brown sheet of water everywhere. Dead bodies of people and animals were floating, and only a few broken houses were standing. It was a scene of total destruction.
3.Why did Prashant want to return to his village immediately?
Answer: He was very worried about his family and wanted to know if they had survived the cyclone.
4.What condition did Prashant find his village in?
Answer: His village was completely destroyed. All the houses were washed away, and only parts of roofs were visible. People were weak, hungry, and homeless.
5. How did Prashant become the leader of his village?
Answer: Seeing everyone hopeless and hungry, Prashant took the lead. He organised people to collect food, clean the shelter, and care for the sick and injured.
6. What steps did Prashant take to help the villagers?
Answer: He arranged food from a merchant, got helicopters to drop supplies, cleaned the shelter, and set up care for orphans and widows. He also motivated people to work and stay hopeful.
7. How did Prashant help the orphaned children and widows?
Answer: He built a small shelter for orphans, got women to look after them, and suggested that widows and orphans live together in new families instead of going to institutions.
8. What role did women play in the rebuilding process?
Answer: The women joined food-for-work programs started by NGOs and helped take care of orphans, showing great strength and courage.
9. Why did Prashant and others oppose government plans for orphans and widows?
Answer: They believed that orphans would grow up without love and widows would feel lonely in institutions. They wanted them to live within their community.
10. What lesson does this story teach us?
Answer: The story teaches us the value of courage, leadership, and community support in difficult times. It shows that even young people can make a big difference.
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