WHERE THERE IS A WHEEL
Comprehension I
1) What does cycling as a symbol of social
mobility mean?
Ans: Cycling
through the word inspires minute significance; it is more extensive with
regards to society. Social mobility has two implications in a real sense. It
moves society starting with one spot then onto the next, which implies the
transportation of individuals, and it additionally means the progress of
society. At the point when women need to go for a market they would prefer not
want to wait for men they could go on themselves.
2) When Jameela Bibi says, “It is my right.
We can go anywhere”, she is
a) asserting her right to move freely.
b) suggesting mobility leading to liberation.
c) expressing her indifference to dirty remarks.
d) boasting about her cycling skill.
Ans: a) asserting her right to move freely.
3) What does bicycle represent for the rural
women?
Ans: Bicycle represents freedom
for the rural women.
4) What is common between neo-literates and
neo-cyclists?
Ans: These neo-literates are the ones who became neo-cyclists. Cycling
as a social movement was first promoted by the neo-literates.
5) ‘Enforced routine’ and ‘male imposed
barrier’ refer to
a) confining
women to the kitchen.
b) subjecting women to drudgery.
c) status of women in a patriarchal society.
d) lack of freedom of movement
Ans: c) status of women in a patriarchal society.
6) How did the men react to women taking to
cycling?
Ans: At first, women put up to endure horrible assaults on their
character. A portion of the men offered squalid comments. In any case, later,
when it got social approval from the Arivoli organization, a few men society
turned out to be less antagonistic and some of them even urged the women to
learn cycling.
7) What do the phrases ‘flags on the handlebar’ and ‘bells ringing’
suggest?
Ans: The phrases ‘flags on the handlebar’ and ‘bells ringing’ refer to
the women’s cycle rally organized on International Women’s Day in 1992.
8) Why did UNICEF sanction mopeds to Arivoli
women activists?
Ans: The UNICEF endorsed fifty mopeds to Arivoli women activists in
enthusiasm for their work of starting in excess of 70000 women to show their
cycling abilities at the public 'exhibition cum-challenges' in a solitary week
in 1992.
9) Why is the cycle called ‘the humble
vehicle’?
Ans: The author considers the cycle a humble vehicle since it is the
most well-known and pervasive vehicle seen even in the most far off of spots,
an everyday person's vehicle.
10) What is the literacy movement of Pudukkottai
called?
Ans: The literacy movement of Pudukkottai is called as Arivoli Iyakkam.
11) What does Arivoli Iyakkam mean?
Ans: Arivoli Iyakkam means Light of Knowledge movement.
12) What is Arivoli Iyakkam mentioned in
‘Where There is a Wheel’?
Ans: Light of Knowledge movement is Arivoli Iyakkam mentioned in “Where
There is a Wheel”, is the literacy movement of Pudukkottai.
13) Who was the brain behind the cycling
movement?
Ans: The brain behind the cycling movement was Sheela Rani Chunkath, a
former district collector.
14) When and why did Sheela Rani start the
cycling movement?
Ans: In 1991, Sheela Rani Chunkath started the cycling movement in the
Pudukkottai district with the intention of training female literacy activists
so that literacy would reach women in the interior.
15) What did Sheela Rani add as a part of the
literacy drive?
Ans: Sheela Rani added ‘mobility’ as a part of the literacy drive.
16) Why did Sheela Rani include mobility as a
part of the literacy drive?
Ans: Sheela Rani included mobility as a part of the literacy drive because
absence of mobility among women assumed a major part in subverting their
certainty.
17) Who was the male Arivoli activist who
encouraged the cycling movement?
Ans: Muthu Bhaskaran was the male Arivoli activist who encouraged the
cycling movement.
18) Who trains women in cycling in
Kudimianmalai?
Ans: Manormani trains women in cycling in Kudimianmalai.
19) Who is Manormani?
Ans: Manormani is a quarry worker and an Arivoli volunteer.
20) Name the quarry worker and Arivoli
volunteer who trains other women to learn cycling.
Ans: Manormani is the quarry worker and Arivoli volunteer who trains
other women to learn cycling.
21) What is meant by ‘neo-cyclists’ mentioned
in ‘Where There Is A Wheel’?
Ans: The term ‘neo-cyclists’ in the lesson ‘Where There is a Wheel’, alludes
to each one of those rural women in the Pudukkottai locale of Tamil Nadu, who
have taken to bicycling as a symbol of independence, freedom, and mobility.
22) Name one of the three women who trained
other women in cycling in ‘Where There Is A Wheel’.
Ans: Jameela is one of the three women who trained other women in
cycling, in the lesson ‘Where There is a Wheel’.
23) Who has benefited the most by cycling, according to P.
Sainath?
Ans: The neo-literate rural women in the Pudukkottai district have been
benefited the most by cycling, according to P. Sainath.
24) Who took to ‘cycling’ as a social
movement in ‘Where There Is A Wheel’?
Ans: Tens and thousands of neo-literate rural women in the Pudukkottai
district took to ‘cycling’ as a social movement, in ‘Where There is a Wheel’.
25) What, according to the speaker, has
brought a change in the lifestyle of the women of Pudukkottai?
Ans: Learning to ride a bicycle has brought a change in the lifestyle of
the women of Pudukkottai, according to the speaker.
Comprehension II
* How did cycling transform the lives of women in Pudukkottai district and help them change with times?
OR
* "A humble vehicle can work wonders in empowering rural women." Explain with reference to 'Where There Is a Wheel".
OR
* Justify the statement 'Wheel brings progress'- with reference to 'Where There Is A Wheel'.
OR
* Wheel brings Freedom and Progress". Explain this statement with reference to 'Where There Is A Wheel".
OR
* What benefits, according to P. Sainath, has cycling brought into the lives of rural women?
OR
* Comment on how cycling transforms women's life with reference to 'Where There Is A Wheel".
OR
* Bring out the role of Sheela Rani Chunkath in the empowerment of women in Pudukkottai.
OR
* How has bicycle brought a total change in the lives of rural women as in 'Where There Is A Wheel'?
OR
* How did Sheela Rani Chunkath, the District Collector, promote the empowerment of women in 'Where There Is A Wheel'?
OR
* How had cycle transformed the lives of many women in Pudukkottai?
OR
* What role did Sheela Rani play in the cycling movement?
Ans: The essay 'Where there is a Wheel' unravels the importance' of social mobility, freedom, economic independence and self-respect gained by the rural women of Pudukkotai district in Tamil Nadu. Cycling of the women is the brainchild of popular former district collector Sheela Rani Chunkath. It was her idea to train female activists so that literacy would reach women in the interior. She included mobility as a part of literacy drive. Lack of mobility among the women played a big role in undermining confidence. Chunkath pushed the banks to give to loans for the women to buy cycles. She also made each batch to accept specific duties in promoting the drive. She gave personal attention to the problem. When the first activist learnt cycling, all neo-literates wanted to learn. Every woman wanted to learn cycle. It led to the shortage of ladies bicycles. Some women preferred gents' cycles. Over 1,00,000 rural women, most of them neo-literates have taken to cycling as symbol of independence, freedom and mobility. Women agricultural workers quarry labourers and village health nurses, balwadi and anganwadi workers, gem cutters and school teachers have all embraced cycling. A majority of these have just become literate. The vigoring literacy drive led by Arivoli Iyakkam has tapped this source.
The cycling movement has given the women confidence and self-respect and reduced their dependence on men. They are able to collect water from sources a few kilometers away. Cycling has definite economic implications. Women are able to sell agricultural produce and other products within a group of villages. It has cut down the time waiting for a bus. It has become a metaphor for freedom for these women. Thus, the efforts of Sheela Rani Chunkath brought women the self respect and it lessened the dependency on men. This led to a path to women empowerment in rural areas in Pudukottai, Tamil Nadu.
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* Why was there a shortage for ladies' cycles in Pudukkottai? How did the women react to it?
Ans: Cycling of the women in Pudukkottai is the brain child of the then district collector Sheela Rani Chunkath. Her idea was to train female activists so that literacy would reach women in the interior. She also included mobility as a part of the literacy drive. Lack of mobility among women played a big role in undermining their confidence. Chunkath pushed the banks to give loans for the women to buy cycles. When the first activist learnt cycling then all neo literates and all other women wanted to learn cycling. This led to the shortage of ladies' bicycles. Some women preferred gents cycles as they had an additional bar, to take their children.
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1) What is the role of Arivoli Iyakkam in
liberating women?
Ans: In Pudukkottai
region there is an organization called Arivoli Iyakkam (Light of Knowledge
Movement) which initiated the area's enthusiastic proficiency drive. N.
Kannammal is the central coordinator of Arivoli. This literacy organization led
proficiency crusades among rustic women and made a decent number of
neo-literates. Afterward, the Arivoli proficiency activists, driven by N.
Kannammal spearheaded the cycling learning movement and accordingly gave
cycling a social assent. Afterward, at Kilakuruchi village, the Arivoli
activists led a cycling training camp for their neo-literates just as other
women enthusiasts. An enormous number of the individuals who learnt cycling
come to prepare new students, as expert mentors, and this way they assisted
almost 70000 rustic ladies with picking up cycling. Hence, by instructing them
to read and write alongside 'cycling', the Arivoli organization liberated a
vast majority of the rural woman in the Pudukkottai District.
2) In what different
ways has the cycle empowered rural women?
Ans: 'Cycling'
enables women from various perspectives. It gives them 'confidence' which comes
about because of acting naturally reliant and allowed to complete their
obligations and duties without relying upon the men people. For instance,
womenfolk can bring water from even the remotest source and truck arrangements
all alone. Thusly, cycling liberates womenfolk mentally. Cycling additionally
engages ladies financially and strategically. Cycling supports their pay. A
portion of the ones who sell agricultural or other products inside a gathering
of villages can save a lot of time by going to such puts on their bicycles.
Also, it gives them
considerably more an ideal opportunity to zero in on selling their produce. It
broadens the area they can expect to cover. At last, on the off chance that
they decide to make the most of their relaxation, cycling gives them a great
deal of recreation too. These ladies, other than playing out these positions,
can likewise perform different errands. At long last, to top everything, it
gives them confidence. They can likewise take an interest in political work.
3) Why does the author describe the Arivoli
‘cycling training camp’s unusual experience?
Ans: One of the
pioneers in empowering 'cycling' and giving it a social assent was the Arivoli
activists. These activists directed a 'cycling training camp' in Kilakuruchi
town. The writer, who visited the camp, considers it a strange encounter in
light of the fact that, on that Sunday, every one of the forthcoming students
had turned out in their Sunday best. The author comments that one couldn't
resist the urge to be struck by the sheer energy of the favorable to cycling
development. The learners radiated such a lot of eagerness and energy for
picking up cycling.
4) Do you think neo-literate women taking to cycling
contribute to the literacy movement?
Ans: Yes. Women taking up cycling is as significant as their taking up literacy because cycling gives
them mobility, opportunity, and freedom which together give the women certainty
to remain on their own legs. At first, Sheela Rani Chunkath, a locale gatherer,
in 1991 proposed to prepare female literacy activists to empower them to spread
education among women in the inside. Along these lines, she included mobility as
a piece of the literacy drive. Be that as it may, cycling assumed a
substantially more critical part than proficiency in the existences of the
womenfolk. It gave them certainty, opportunity, and autonomy to squeeze out an
autonomous presence. Cycling assisted them with remaining joined to their
youngsters and family but is financially independent. It additionally assisted
the ladies to impart family obligations to the men society.
5) How does Sheela Rani Chunkath, the
district collector, promote the empowerment of women?
Ans: Sheela Rani
Chunkath was the district collector of Pudukkottai. As a part of the female
literacy drive, she needed to prepare female literacy activists with the goal
that education would arrive at ladies in the inside. She had understood that
the absence of versatility among ladies assumed a major part in sabotaging their
certainty. Thusly, she notwithstanding 'mobility' as a part of the education
drive. Normally, proficiency activists picked up cycling first. This propelled
the neo-literates likewise to master cycling. This, thus, enlivened each lady
in the town to master cycling. The literates, having become neo-cyclists,
supported each lady in the locale to master cycling, by getting sorted out
'cycle instructional courses'. Consequently, Sheela Rani Chunkath got
instrumental in 'cycling' turning into a social movement in the Pudukkottai
region. This way Sheela Rani Chunkath ought to be praised for advancing
'freedom' of ladies by including 'cycling' in her literacy project.
6) How did the women react to the shortage of
ladies’ cycle?
Ans: Once 'cycling'
as symbol of women's liberation got the creative mind of the womenfolk in the
Pudukkottai region, every woman in the district volunteered to master cycling.
Of course, this prompted a deficiency of 'women' cycles. These women devotees
didn't spare a moment. They elected to purchase even 'gents' cycles and picked
up cycling. Later on, numerous ladies began favoring the 'gentlemen' cycle
since it has an extra bar from the seat to the handle and that way it empowered
them to go out alongside a child moreover. Indeed, even right up 'til the
present time a huge number of ladies in Pudukkottai region ride 'gents' cycles.
Comprehension III
1) How does P. Sainath show that cycling
brings about changes beyond economic gains?
Ans: P. Sainath presents an eye-witness report of 'cycling' turning into
a social movement. He discloses to us how tens of thousands of women in the
Pudukkottai district of Tamil Nadu got started to master cycling. The Arivoli
activists drove by N. Kannammal spearheaded the 'cycling' development. As a
part of their incredible literacy drive, these activists learned cycling.
Afterward, they coordinated 'cycling training camps' for different ladies.
Subsequently, it got social assent. When the movement turned into a major power,
each lady in Pudukkottai elected to learn cycling. Towards the finish of the
article, Sainath says, other than giving women opportunity, mobility, and
freedom, it likewise has distinct monetary implications. It supports their
family pay. Sainath reports that a segment of the ladies sells horticultural or
different items inside a gathering of towns. For them, cycling eliminates time
squandered in hanging tight for transports. Furthermore, it gives them
considerably more an ideal opportunity to zero in on selling their produce.
Thirdly, it grows the region they wish to cover. In conclusion, it can build
their recreation time. Taking everything into account, he says, cycling
achieves changes past monetary gains moreover. 'Cycling' gives them a self-appreciation
regard which is crucial to their feeling of prosperity. Consequently, Sainath
says that this modest vehicle has become a metaphor for opportunity for these
women.
2) ‘O sister come learn cycling, move with
the wheel of time…’ How does the song suggest that the cycle could be an
instrument of social change and progress?
Ans: In the article
named 'Where There is a Wheel', Sainath, the author, reports a significant
social movement that occurred during 1992-94 that dazed individuals of the
Pudukkottai district in Tamil Nadu. There was an organization named 'Arivoli
lyakkam' which drove the female literacy movement in Pudukkottai. These Arivoli
activists got the hang of 'cycling' to empower themselves to spread the message
of education among rustic women in the inside. When the activists mastered
cycling, they, thus, instructed their neo-literates cycling. These
neo-literates, neo-cyclists prepared ladies in cycling, everywhere on the
region. During this period Muthu Bhaskaran, an Arivoli lobbyist, composed a
popular melody to urge country ladies to get the hang of cycling. The tune is
planned to call upon the womenfolk to master cycling.
The song conveys on
a simple message and when it is sung in Tamil, the primary language of these
rural women, its importance is effortlessly perceived. It just calls upon the
lady to put into action her own wheel of life. Up to that point, the lady
couldn't move out of the house, since her 'mobility' relied upon her having the
option to discover cash to pass by transport. Passing by transport additionally
relied upon the authorization of the men society. The lady required the
assistance of her men society even to sell the farming produce which developed
on her territory. This way the woman couldn't break the male-forced hindrances.
When she picked up cycling she got the opportunity to move to any place she
needed and the opportunity to accomplish any work she wished to. This melody
welcomes the lady to pick up cycling and put into action the wheel of her life.
Here, the 'wheel' alludes to 'progress'. Thus, it advises the lady to pick up
cycling and be answerable for her own advancement.
