The Non-Stop Question-Answer Session.

Afterwards, I also read out and explained the difficult parts of the concluding part of the chapter. I asked Rajesh to read out the questions, I had already modified them. Reminding them of the Board Exam, I briefed them about the question pattern. That the paper would consist of 4 sections and each section will have two sets of questions. If they want to attempt set-I questions from any of these sections, they will have a maximum of 45 minutes to do so. So I asked them to try to answer the 4 questions I had in the meantime written on the board, in 40 minutes. We would discuss the answers in the last 10 minutes of the block periods.

The questions written on the board were:

1.      Describe Dawa in your own words.

2.      Why was Dawa called ‘Koto’?

3.      Why did he name himself as Dawa?

4.      State how Dawa lost his family.

I had answered all the questions before asking them not to forget to include the main points in their answers. Things were going on as per my plan, when Damcho stood up to ask me:

Do you think Dawa would have had the same voice, if he hadn’t lost his family? I told him that this being an open-ended question, it can be answered differently. That if I had to share my opinion, then probably Dawa would not have the same kind of voice. After realizing that his family members were not going to wake up from their sleep, he missed them and mourned for them. Sometime later, each time he cried for them, a different tone of voice came out of him. The slow-pitched bark for his mother, who was a slow mover and so on. His voice was the parting gift of his dead family to him.

Sitting near the wall, Karma Yeshey was the next the pick up: Sir, Is Dawa intelligent because of his previous birth? Is that the reason why he has such a big head?

May be you are right in thinking like that, I responded. He has inherited all the linguistic skills of the Translator in his present birth and that may be the reason why he has a big head. But let me tell you in this context that all big-headed people are not intelligent. The class let out a throaty laugh.

Kado from the back then pitched in: When all his siblings and mother could feast on the chunk of port, why could Dawa not do so?

I told him that Dawa was the youngest and the smallest of the lot. So when he tried to get past his siblings to the meat, he got pushed around. I further added that there is a lesson here for all of us. In today’s cut-throat world of competition, one has to be physically fit and strong. Survival of the fittest.

Ugyen Tenzin caught me off guard by asking: If the dogs are right, like it is written in the chapter, in discriminating against us.

I tried my level best to answer by replying that if one loses six members of the family within a matter of minutes on a day, due to a cruel act of whim and fancy of a fellow human, it would be very difficult for the one, be it a human or a dog, not to lose faith and trust in humans in general.

Pema Om queried about the reason why Dawa was unhappy when he heard the other dogs barking, yelping improperly?

I replied to the question to the best of my ability before taking on another from Jharna: Sir, After reading this novel how do you feel about dogs?

I told her about my childhood days. I was very fond of all kinds of pets. I had parrots, cats, guinea pigs and even one puppy that I found lost loitering  on the lane. I picked it up and brought home, to the utter discomfort of my mother. As I grew up, I understood more of their captivity and my heart bled for their freedom. I stopped buying them from the mela (fair) and torturing my ma. But even to this day, I have not lost a shred of my fondness for dogs.

Finally someone asked me: Why do you like this novel, Sir?

I was absolutely honest when I said, in response to the question, that there are many reasons. First of all, I am extremely passionate about Bhutan or anything Bhutanese for the matter.  I feel very proud of the fact that this novel is written by a Bhutanese. I want Bhutan to come up day by day and take her rightful place in the world. Secondly, I personally know Madam Kunzang Choden. I met her thrice and every time I found her to be a very kind, soft-spoken and intelligent lady. Finally, I like the novel as the central character happens to be a dog. The novel is about animals and the animal world. Not about human cruelties and atrocities.

I brought an end to the discussions by writing the home assignments on the board.

v  To note down the important points of the chapter.

v  To answer the two questions on the board, and

v  To go through chapter-2 very carefully, sorting out the difficult words, noting down the questions marking the difficult parts and expressions of the story.

As the bell rang, I felt tired no doubt, but I was a very proud teacher.