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Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow. Saheb-e-Alam, whose name means 'lord of the universe', scrounges every morning for gold in the garbage dumps of Delhi's neighbourhoods. He came as a child from Dhaka, where storms had swept away his family's fields. He now lives in Seemapuri, a settlement on the periphery of Delhi but miles away from it metaphorically. Ten thousand ragpickers live in Seemapuri in mud structures with roofs of tin and tarpaulin, with no sewage or running water. They have ration cards but no permits. 'Food is more important for survival than an identity,' the author notes. To Saheb's parents garbage is a means of survival; to the children, the author observes, it is wrapped in wonder, for a stray rupee or a ten-rupee note can light up their eyes. One winter morning the author finds Saheb watching young men play tennis behind a club fence. He is wearing discarded tennis shoes — even shoes with a hole are 'a dream come true' for one who has walked barefoot. Later Saheb takes a job at a tea stall for Rs 800 a month and meals. His face, the author notes, has lost the carefree look; the steel canister he now carries belongs to the shop owner. Saheb is no longer his own master. Adapted from Anees Jung, 'Lost Spring: Stories of Stolen Childhood'. Q4. Saheb's name 'Saheb-e-Alam' means 'lord of the universe'. The author considers this name ironic because
ASaheb does not believe in God
BSaheb's grand name stands in painful contrast to his powerless, deprived life as a ragpicker
CSaheb cannot pronounce his own name
DSaheb refused his real name
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: B. Saheb's grand name stands in painful contrast to his powerless, deprived life as a ragpicker
Dramatic irony: the name 'lord of the universe' is everything Saheb is not — a barefoot, poor, displaced child. The author observes that 'if he knew its meaning, he would have a hard time believing it.'
Related questions
Read: 'A young boy of the new generation, in school uniform and shoes, threw his bag on a Read the short passage: 'For thirty years the ragpickers have lived in Seemapuri without iThe expression 'slog through the day' MOST nearly meansThe idiom 'roof over one's head' refers to'Perpetual' in 'perpetual state of poverty' MOST nearly means'A person who picks up rags or other waste for a living' is best described by the one wordChoose the correct active-to-passive transformation of: 'Saheb carries the steel canister.Choose the BEST rewrite of: 'Despite of his hard work, Saheb earns very less.'