Check Your Understanding (NCERT Kaveri pages 174, 177-178, 181-182)

Last updated at July 14, 2026 by

I. Complete the table given below based on Act I of the play.
How to answer: Use Act I only. Fill facts from the setting, character list and dialogues.
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Item Completed Answer
Setting Where: Iqbal’s room.
Description: a small rack and a wooden table stacked with books.
On the wall: posters of Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia and Shashank Subramanyam.
Children and instruments 1. Iqbal: flute
2. Avinash: tabla
3. Peter: keyboard
4. Shruti: violin
Speaker 1 Avinash. Reason: He is teasing and praising Shruti after the newspaper review.
Speaker 2 Shruti. Reason: She is afraid of telling her strict father about the fusion concert.
Speaker 3 Peter. Reason: Shruti has decided to tell her father about the concert.
II. Do you think Shruti will gather the courage to speak to her father? Give a reason.
How to answer: State yes/no and support it with a specific line from Act I.
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Yes, Shruti will gather the courage because her friends encourage her and she herself says that it is time to “bite the bullet”. This means she has decided to face the difficult conversation.

III. What might be Shruti’s father’s reaction? Why?
How to answer: Base the prediction on Shruti’s description of Nabin in Act I.
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Shruti’s father might react angrily or refuse permission because he is strict about music and believes that classical Hindustani music is the only kind of music an artist of worth should play. Since the concert is Indo-Western fusion, Shruti expects him to disapprove.

Act II. Complete the summary by choosing the correct words from the box.
How to answer: Read each sentence grammatically: noun blanks need nouns, adjective blanks need adjectives.
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  1. absent-minded
  2. courage
  3. disapproval
  4. plea
  5. firm
  6. scolded
  7. clash
  8. setback

The two extra words are surprised and relief .

II. Will Shruti’s father go for the rehearsal? Support your answer with a reason.
How to answer: Answer according to the point in the play. You may mention that Act III later reverses the expectation.
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At the end of Act II, it seems unlikely that Shruti’s father will go because he rejects the idea firmly and even mocks fusion music as “phoo music”. However, the later action shows that Leela succeeds in bringing him to the rehearsal.

III. Do you think Shruti and her parents would understand one another?
How to answer: Explain the emotional movement from conflict to understanding.
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Yes, they eventually understand one another because the conflict comes from fear and concern, not hatred. Shruti respects her father’s opinion, Leela understands both sides, and Nabin changes after hearing the performance and remembering his own past.

Act III. Identify the true statements.
How to answer: Check each statement against Act III. Do not answer from memory only; use the dialogue and stage directions.
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Statement Answer Reason
1 True The parents enter, enjoy the performance and clap with pride.
2 True Shruti’s aside says she may practise one last time and then tell the group she cannot join.
3 False Nabin praises her and says she did not lose sight of the raga.
4 False Nabin came from a family of vocalists and went against their wishes to play the violin.
5 True Leela reminds Nabin of his own past and opens his eyes.
6 True Nabin says he underestimated the power of their own music.
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