India Through Traveller’s Eyes – Summary
India Through Traveller’s Eyes is an extract from ‘My Several Worlds‘ written by Pearl S. Buck. Here, the writer presents the personal records of her life. In this essay, she has expressed her deep love and affection for Indian people.
The writer says about her visit to India. She says that the purpose of her visit to India was not to see the Taj Mahal or Fatehpur Sikri or any other historical places. Although she saw all these things. She visited India to see and listen to two groups of people, the young intellectuals in cities and the peasants in villages.
She met the young intellectuals in a small room in cities. She heard their plans for freedom. And found them angry and disappointed, because England had broken the promise to restore India after the first world war.
So, the intellectuals are restless. They had planned to rebel against England during the second world war.
The writer visited rural India and she was shocked to see the miserable condition of the peasants. She found that the condition of Indian peasants was worse than the Chinese. Only Russian peasants under the rules of Czar could be compared with them.
The writer was very much impressed by Indian culture. She was fascinated by the joint family life of Indians living in villages. She saw that the people were basically cultured and deeply religious. The master of the house was respected by everyone, whether he is physically fit or not.
The writer says that selfless men could be the real leaders of Indian people. Indians had great respect for their leaders. In the opinion, a man could be their leader, who was honest, high-minded, and trustworthy.
Thus, the writer presents a picture of India as she saw her and understood her. Her expression about India shows her deep love and affection for Indian people.
Objectives
1. India Through Traveller’s Eye is written by ………….
- H.E. Bates
- Pearl S. Buck
- Anton P Chekhov
- Shiga Naoya
Answer:- Pearl S. Buck
2. Pearl S. Buck is an ………… writer.
- Indian
- British
- American
- European
Answer:- American
3. India Through Traveller’s Eye is inspiring …………
- essay
- story
- novel
- drama
Answer:- essay
4. The life span in India was only …………..
- 25 Yrs.
- 26 Yrs.
- 27 Yrs.
- 28 Yrs.
Answer:- 27 Yrs.
5. Pearl S. Buck visited India to see the young intellectuals and the …………..
- leaders
- saints
- peasants
- students
Answer:- peasants
6. ………… has praised India people and their life.
- Shiga Naoya
- Pearl S. Buck
- Martin Luther King Jr.
- Kamala Das
Answer:- Pearl S. Buck
7. Pearl S. Buck come to know about India through …………..
- Buddhism
- Hinduism
- Islam
- Christianity
Answer:- Buddhism
8. Who played a vital role in the exchange of Korean prisoners?
- American General
- Indian General
- British General
- Korean General
Answer:- Indian general
9. Who prophesied blood both in Asia?
Nehru
Winston Churchill
Atlee
None of these
Answer:- Winston Churchill
10. The people of …………. must be reckoned as belonging to the Caucasian race.
- China
- Bhutan
- Pakistan
- India
Answer:- India
11. The president of the General Assembly of the UNO is a woman of ……………
- China
- Canada
- Germany
- India
Answer:- India
12. Kashmir was invaded by …………… barbarian invaders.
- white
- black
- blue
- green
Answer:- white
13. According to Pearl S. Buck, the main quality of a leader is …………..
- selflessness
- selfishness
- communalism
- dishonesty
Answer:- selflessness
14. India had to teach the west was …………
- humanity
- cruelty
- sickness
- None of these
Answer:- humanity
15. Who wrote come, My beloved?
- Pearl S. Buck
- H.E. Bates
- Dr. Zakir Hussain
- Mahatma Gandhi
Answer:- Pearl S. Buck
The Earth – H.E. Bates
16. Who was the real master of the house which Buck visited?
- The elder brother
- The younger brother
- Father
- Mother
Answer:- The younger brother
17. A young Indian friend of the writer was married to …………
- An American
- A Kashmiri man
- A Chinese
- A Greek
Answer:- A Kashmiri man
18. According to the writer, the skin color of the Kashmiri is a lovely cream and the features are as classic as the ………..
- Indian
- British
- German
- Greek
Answer:- Greek
19. The intellectuals in India were restless and embittered because of …………
- Knowledge
- Starvation
- Slavery
- Unemployment
Answer:- Slavery
20. The plan was that India would rebel against England just after ………….
- First World War
- Second World War
- Gandhiji’s revolt
- Subhash’s revolt
Answer:- Second World War
21. When was Pearl S. Buck born?
- 1872
- 1882
- 1892
- 1862
Answer:- 1892
22. Pearl S. Buck died in the year ………….
- 1933
- 1963
- 1973
- 1943
Answer:- 1973
23. Pearl S. Buck won the Nobel Prize for literature in the year …………
- 1931
- 1918
- 1928
- 1938
Answer:- 1938
24. The family doctor of Pearl S. Buck belonged to ………….
- China
- America
- India
- Germany
Answer:- India
25. Who let Pearl S. Buck know about Buddism and the life history of Lord Buddha?
- Doctor
- Mother
- Father
- Teacher
Answer:- Father
26. The Mongolian from Europen invaded …………….
- Bengal
- Delhi
- Punjab
- Kashmir
Answer:- Kashmir
27. Our food was served on fresh green ………….. leaves instead of plates.
- peepal
- banana
- mango
- banyan
Answer:- banana
28. From boyhood, the Indian ………….. are taught that the right hand is for clean services.
- young
- boys
- people
- children
Answer:- children
29. The land between Bombay and ……….. famished.
- Kolkata
- Madras
- Delhi
- Bangaluru
Answer:- Madras
30. …………. is ever-present in Indian Life.
- luxury
- secular
- religion
- materialistic
Answer:- religion
Subjective
1. After gaining independence, what did the Indian people teach the world in general?
Ans:- The Indian people conveyed a message to the entire world with patience and perseverance. We can achieve whatever we desire. Non-violence is the way to success.
2. Why is Pearl S. Buck impressed by the Indian family?
Ans:- Pearl S. Buck is impressed by the simplicity, respect for elders, and their religious-mindedness.
3. Why was the land between Bombay and Madras famished?
Ans:- The land was famished for want of irrigation facilities. There were not even artesian or shallow wells. The people did nothing to find water to irrigate their land.
4. Why did the writer not mind her host eating in the opposite corner of the room?
Ans:- She did not mind that because it was simply a private devotion to a religious feeling and not in hospitality.
5. What does she say about Indian peasants and their children?
Ans:- She says that Indian peasants are poorer than their Chinese counterparts. They are poverty-stricken and their children are big-bellied with sunken eyes, more skeletons.
6. What tendency on part Indians has she criticized?
Ans:- She does not like the tendency of Indians of blaming the British for their every ill and suffering. She reminds them that when the heart of a people is gone, their spirit dies with it. Indians should be active.
Explanation
1. “Religion is ever-present in Indian life …………. the soul”.
>>> In India Through Traveller’s Eye, the writer Pearl S. Buck shows her love and affection for Indian people particularly belonging to the villages. To her mind, religion is an integral part of Indian life.
However, she is against too much religious rigidity. She appreciates their hospitability and cleanliness.
2. “Another cleanliness was that our food was served on fresh green banana’s leaves instead of plates.
>>> These lines have been taken from India Through Traveller’s Eye which is written by Pearl S. Buck. She was impressed to see the cleanliness of India. She found that Indians were very attentive about it.
She was served food on fresh banana leaves instead of plates keeping in mind the cleanliness of banana leaves. Plates might be unclean even after washing. Banana leaves are not reused. They are thrown after use.
3. “India had always been part of the background of my life, but I had never seen it whole and for myself until now”.
>>> These lines have been taken from ‘India Through Traveller’s Eye‘, written by Pearl S. Buck. She says that she knows about India since her childhood.
But she wants to know more and more about India. So she comes to India to know more about it. She wants to see India wholly herself physically.