The Ballad of father Gilligan

Recap Questions:

What was the name of the old priest? (Peter Gilligan)

Where were half of his folks? (In the bed)

What did he do sitting on his chair? (He nodded his head to summon men one by one to

solve their grievances.)

What was his own grief? (His grievance was that he did not have any rest, nor joy, nor

peace. He simple had to be worried to solve the grievances of others.)

What did he say after having said this? (He apologised and asked for forgiveness from god

for having said that. He also said that his body spoke that, he did not.)

How did he pray? (He prayed kneeling and leaning on the chair.)

What time of the day was it? How can you say that? (It was late evening as the sunlight

had faded and the stars had begun peeping.)

What did Peter Gilligan ask the lady? (Peter Gilligan asked the lady if the poor man

was dead.)

How did he react to this news? (He swayed to and fro in grief.)

When did the man die? (He died after Peter Gilligan had left.)

How did the man die? (He died like a merry bird.)

Who do you think had come to help Peter Gilligan? (An angel.)

How was he dressed? (He was wrapped in a purple robe.)

 (Textual question) Why was another man send for  Father Gilligan? Why is a dying man referred as "poor"? ( One day Father Gilligan was jolted from his sleep by the urging call of another dying parishioner. The man was said to be ‘poor’ because of his poverty and also because he deserved sympathy as he was about to die.)

Kalaripayattu

Recap Questions

? What images cross our mind when we think of Kerala? (Kathakali dancers, exotic

cuisine, rippling coconut trees, emerald backwaters, enchanting elephants,

magical monsoons and soothing ayurvedic treatments)

? How is Lord Parashuram related to Kerala? (Legend has it that Lord Parashuram,

the sixth avatar of Vishnu, flung his axe into the sea. The waters receded where

the axe landed, and ‘God’s own country’ emerged: beautiful, lush green and

dotted with coconut trees)

? In which places is Kalaripayattu practised? (Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka,

north-eastern Sri Lanka and among the Malayali community of Malaysia)

? Why is Kalaripayattu mainly practised? (Kalaripayattu was mostly practised to

protect the state and the king.)

? What are Kalaris?(Kalaris are schools where Gurukuls or masters teach the art.)

? What does Kalaripayattu include?(Kalaripayattu includes physical training,

armed and unarmed conflict, breath control, meditation and specific classes of

treatments. The art focuses on co-ordination between the mind and the body.)

? What happens to a warrior who has mastered verumkaithari?(A warrior who has

mastered verumkaithari need not carry any weapon, even against a group of

armed opponents. She/he has tremendous control over her/his mind. She/he

can literally paralyse anyone using the forefinger, which is called the Marmam

technique.)

? Which dance forms does Kalaripayattu influence?(Kathakali and Theyyam)

A tale of two cities

Recap:

1. Why did Mr. Lorry pray to God for strength?

(Mr. Lorry prayed to God as he had the troublesome task of informing Miss Lucie
Manette of her father’s mysterious disappearance)

     Who was Mr. Lorry?
(Lucie’s guardian and the confidential clerk of Tellson’s bank)

When did Miss Lucie lose her father?
(Miss Lucie lost her father even before she was old enough to have his memories.)

What was the situation in France in those times?
(France was experiencing a gruesome change. A revolt against the King
was silently brewing. The King’s army was hunting for tractors and spies.
Anyone who was suspected, even slightly, of being a spy, was put behind
bars or executed. )

 Why did the French authorities look upon Doctor Manette and his family
with distrust?
(Doctor Manette was a Frenchman and he married an English lady. Such
couples were considered to be traitors and disloyal to their country. Thus,
even though their love was pure, authorities looked at their family with
distrust.)

 Why did Mr. Lorry bring Lucie to London?
(Lucie had lost both her parents. Mr. Lorry thought it was in Lucie’s best
interest to leave France and make London her home. At least, in London
she would be safe from the unavoidable war.)

 What did Mr. Lorry tell Lucie about her father?
(Mr. Lorry told Lucie that her father is neither dead nor alive. He is alive only
physically. He was wrongfully and secretly taken into custody. An unknown
influential Frenchman accused her father of being a spy and used the
King’s name to imprison him for untold years. Although he was found, his soul was damaged with such prolonged captivity. They had to go and bring him back from the inn where he now rested.)

Who was Miss Pross?
(Miss Pross was Lucie’s loyal servant.)


Who were the inn owners?
(Mr. and Mrs. Dafarge were the inn owners.)

Why was Doctor Manette’s door locked?
(Doctor Manette had asked Mr. Dafarge to lock him as he was still not
used to freedom. The authorities had hammered out his sense of freedom.)

What was Doctor Manette’s reaction on seeing Mr. Lorry and Miss Lucie?
(Doctor Manette did not acknowledge their presence. He kept himself busy
working. He appeared deranged. He failed to recognise Mr. Lorry and Miss
Lucie.)

