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Children at work Exercise 13

Solution 1

Velu could read Tamil but not English. When the girl showed him the big building with the wall around it Velu read the sign 'Central Jail' which was written in Tamil. But when the girl and Velu were walking along the side road under some huge signboards, he looked up at the pictures; the writing was in English so he did not know what it meant.

Solution 2

(i) She is referring to Central Jail.

(ii) A little later the girl again said to Velu “You don’t have to do anything. Just don’t get caught, that’s all.”

By these lines and the previous ones she means to warn Velu that if he was not careful he might get caught and be put into the jail.

Solution 3

The girl led Velu to a place where there was a big building, Sri Rajarajeshwari Prasanna Kalyana Mandapam where a marriage was taking place in a huge hall. She took him behind the hall where a big garbage bin was overflowing with rubbish. Two goats fought for a banana leaf and a cloud of flies buzzed around their legs.

Solution 4

Velu got a squashy banana and a vada to eat while the girl ate only a banana.

Solution 5

She was a rag  picker.

Chapter 2 - Children at work Exercise 15

Solution 1

(i) The ‘strange' huts are made out of all sorts of things-metal sheets, tyres, wood, bricks and plastic.

(ii) Velu finds them strange because in his village the houses are made of mud and palm leaves but here the huts are made of metal sheets, tyres, bricks, wood and plastic. They also stood crookedly and looked as if they would fall at any moment.

Solution 2

Jaya and children like her collected papers, plastics, glass and such things. They sold those things to Jam Bazaar Jaggu who in turn sells it to a factory.

Solution 3

Velu was unhappy to find work as a rag picker because he said that he hadn't run away and come to that new place to dig through garbage bins. The only work he had done was on the landowner’s farm weeding and taking the cows to graze. However he was willing to accept this work till he found a better job.

Chapter 2 - Children at work Exercise 9

Solution 1

Velu stood on the platform but he felt as if he was still on a moving train because he had travelled a long distance in the train. So when he got off at the station his legs still felt wobbly as the effect of the moving train usually remains for a while even after the journey has ended.

Solution 2

Velu felt miserable and exhausted because he had run away from his village two days ago and had eaten nothing but peanuts and a piece of jaggery. Besides he had walked a lot before getting on to the train, he had not been able to sleep on the train, the station was very crowded and the noise was terrible and unbearable.

Solution 3

(i) Velu travelled without a ticket because he had no money to buy it.

(ii) He escaped the ticket collector's attention because he was travelling in the unreserved compartment and slept on the floor near the door. He was just lucky that the ticket collector did not come to the unreserved compartment.

Solution 4

Velu had run away from home because he could not stand his father beating him for one more day. His father would snatch away all the money he and his sisters earned and spend it on drink.

Solution 5

He decided to follow the 'strange girl' because he was new to that place and had no idea where to go. He was also feeling hungry and she had said that she could help him find food if he wanted.