IT'S FUN TIME AGAIN !!

Eventually we are done with Chapter-11 entitled: The Full Moon Night. I sincerely believe that we have done a wonderful job so far, despite the pressure of the past couple of weeks.

We finished chapter-11 last Friday. On Thursday I asked them impulsively to make their own questions at home/hostel. It was a pleasant surprise therefore, when I found out that they had not let me down. As I had two consecutive periods with them on Friday, I decided to make the most of it and requested them to discuss their own questions in the sixth period. At the end, I also asked them to write down the main points of the chapter summarized by me in the previous period, in their own words along with the answers to four questions during the weekend.

Now let me share the students own questions along with the main points of the answers here. The questions are mainly objective type in nature.

1)      Where did Dawa find his shelter?

              Ans:  Dawa found his shelter on the outcrop of a rock.

2)      What promise did Dawa make to Moley?

       Ans:  Dawa promised to share the details of his travels with Moley on his return.

3)      Who was instrumental behind Dawa reaching the cave of Gelong Ma Pelmo?

Ans:  The one mainly responsible for Dawa reaching the cave of Gelong Ma Pelmo’s cave in Thowadrak was the grey dog in Mongar.

4)      What does Thowadrak mean?

Ans:  Thowadrak means the Big Rock.

5)      Who were the women? What did they bring for the care-taker?

Ans:  The three elderly women were pilgrims. They brought a lot of things for the caretaker including eggs, fried biscuits and rolls of incense sticks.

6)      Why did Dawa feel like barking one day?

Ans:  Dawa felt like barking/howling one day as it was a full moon day.

7)      What happened to Dawa’s body as he got cured?

Ans:  As Dawa was beginning to get cured, he found new fur, yellow-brown in colour, his original colour, spouting in place of his crusted and open wounds.

8)      Why did the care-taker not chase Dawa away from the cave?

Ans:  The care-taker did not chase Dawa away from the cave as he had been staying there for long and harmed no one during his stay.

9)      What did the care-taker tell the women about Dawa?

Ans:  the care-taker of the temple asked the women not to worry about Dawa as he was a harmless dog and never stole or bit anyone. He also went on to tell them that though Dawa looked ragged, he had a sensitive mind.

10)  Why did Dawa keep postponing his departure for Thimphu?

11)  Ans:  Dawa kept postponing his departure for Thimphu as he wanted to be cured completely of his disease. He was also very content and tranquil staying there.

12)  Who was Markhang? Why did he attack Dawa?

Ans:  Markhang was the old guard dog of the big house on top of the hillock. Markhang attacked Dawa as Dawa was a stranger there and had taken the liberty of entering into the courtyard of the big house, uninvited and unnoticed by others.

13)  How many houses were there in the village east of the big house?

Ans:  There were 20 houses in the village east of the big house.

14)  What was Dawa warned about?

Ans: Dawa was warned that each household in the village had a dog. So he was expecting a dog attack.

15)  Where were all the dogs gone? Why?

Ans:  All the dogs were gone to the big house as some people were busy chopping meat and bones off the carcass of a yak.

16)  Where were all the dogs assembled and why?

17)  Ans:  All the dogs of the village east of the big house were assembled in the courtyard of the house in the hope of stealing some meat and bones from the pile on the bamboo mat.

18)  What was the name of the gawky female dog? Describe her.

Ans:  The name of the gawky female dog was Nomala. She was very beautiful with big joints and paws.

19)  Why was Nomola treated very well by the men of the house?

Ans:  Nomola was treated very well as she was going to be the next guard dog of the house. She was also a very beautiful and intelligent dog.

20)  Why was Dawa impressed with Nomala?

Ans:  Dawa was impressed with her as she was beautiful and intelligent. Dawa felt she had good breeding and parentage. He was equally impressed with her big joints and paws and thought that she would make an impressive guard dog in the near future.

21)  Briefly give a physical description of Markhang?

Ans: Markhang was the old guard dog of the big house. He was very big, bigger than most of the big dogs in that locality. He was black in colour with red-brown markings around his neck. At one time he must have been an imposing dog with his teeth and fangs. He had long fur that felted at some places due to lack of grooming. The area under his piercing eyes was wet as his eyes watered frequently. The bristles on his face were coarse and unkempt. He had a booming voice.

22)  How did Dawa feel about the pilgrims?

Ans:  Dawa felt absolutely delighted with the pilgrims as the only people he would see at Thowadrak were the lama, the young monks, the caretaker and the hermit. Besides, he was happy with their arrival as he himself was a pilgrim there.

23)  Why was Dawa still alive after being severely bitten by Markhang?

Ans: As Markhang was a very old dog, he had lost all his teeth and fangs. So when he grabbed Dawa’s neck in his mouth, he was chewing up and salivating the furry area around his neck and thereby trying to frighten him uselessly.

24)  What was the significance of the full moon night in Dawa’s life?

Ans: [The question has been discussed in the earlier blog.]

25)  Why did Dawa decide to spend the night at Kikila on the way to Thimphu?

26)  Ans:  Dawa decided to spend the night at Kikila as it was a historic and holy place. By sleeping there he was expecting to have an auspicious dream that would have an impact on a believer like him.

In addition to the above questions, the students were also asked to answer the following questions as home-work:

Ø  How was Dawa cured from mange?

Ø  If you were Dawa, how would you feel leaving Thowadrak?

Ø  How do you feel about Dawa after going through this chapter?

Ø  Briefly write about what Dawa experienced during his night stay at Kikila.