Chapter 10

                                                     BAMBOO CURRY


1. What is the main idea of the story?

Answer: The main idea of the story is to show the foolishness caused by misunderstanding. The bridegroom thought that the curry was made from a bamboo door, while actually it was made from bamboo shoots. The story teaches us the importance of correct knowledge.


2. What question is asked in the Warmer section?

Answer: The Warmer section asks whether we have ever eaten a dish made of bamboo and invites us to read the story to find out which part of the bamboo can be cooked and eaten.


3. Who cooked the special dish in the story?

Answer: The mother-in-law of the Santhal bridegroom cooked a special dish for him when he visited her house.


4. Why did the mother-in-law cook a special dish?

Answer: The mother-in-law cooked a special dish to welcome her son-in-law and show her affection and hospitality.


5. How did the bridegroom react after eating the curry?

Answer: The bridegroom found the curry very delicious and praised it, asking what it was made of.


6. What did the mother-in-law point at?

Answer: Instead of explaining properly, the mother-in-law pointed at the bamboo door, which confused the bridegroom.


7. What misunderstanding did the bridegroom have?

Answer: The bridegroom misunderstood that the curry was made from the bamboo door, not knowing that it was actually made from bamboo shoots.


8. Why did the bridegroom remove the bamboo door?

Answer: He removed the bamboo door because he thought he could make the same curry in his village, where bamboo was not available.


9. What did he tell his wife after reaching home?

Answer: He told his wife to make curry using the bamboo door he had brought with him.


10. How did his wife react to his request?

Answer: His wife was shocked and confused. She could not understand how a curry could be made from a bamboo door.


11. Why did the husband offer to chop the bamboo?

Answer: He offered to chop the bamboo to help his wife and believed that cutting it into pieces would make it suitable for cooking.


12. What did the wife do with the chopped bamboo?

Answer: The wife boiled the bamboo repeatedly, hoping it would become soft and edible.


13. What complaint did the husband make after tasting the curry?

Answer: After tasting it, the husband complained that the curry was too hard to eat and blamed his wife for not knowing how to cook.


14. How did the wife respond to his complaint?

Answer: She added more water and boiled the bamboo again and again, trying her best to make it edible.


15. Did the curry become soft after more boiling?

Answer: No, even after boiling it many times, the bamboo door remained too hard to eat.


16. What did the husband say after tasting it again?

Answer: He again complained that the curry was too hard and said he could not eat it.


17. Who visited the couple that evening?

Answer: The in-laws came to visit the young couple that evening.


18. How did the in-laws react to the situation?

Answer: They laughed at the foolishness of the bridegroom when they heard the story.


19. What did the mother-in-law explain at the end?

Answer: The mother-in-law explained that the curry was made from bamboo shoots, not from a bamboo door.


20. What are bamboo shoots?

Answer: Bamboo shoots are the soft, tender parts of the bamboo plant that can be cooked and eaten.


21. Why could the bamboo door not be eaten?

Answer: The bamboo door could not be eaten because it was hard and not meant for cooking.


22. What mistake did the bridegroom make?

Answer: The bridegroom made the mistake of not asking clearly and assuming that the bamboo door itself was used for cooking.


23. How does the story show foolishness?

Answer: The story shows foolishness through the bridegroom’s actions of carrying a bamboo door and trying to cook it.


24. What lesson does the story teach?

Answer: The story teaches us to understand things properly before acting and not to jump to conclusions.


25. Why is proper knowledge important according to the story?

Answer: Proper knowledge is important because without it, even simple things can lead to mistakes and embarrassment.


26. How did the wife show patience?

Answer: The wife showed patience by repeatedly boiling the bamboo and trying her best to satisfy her husband.


27. Was the wife at fault? Why or why not?

Answer: No, the wife was not at fault because she followed her husband’s instructions despite knowing it sounded unreasonable.


28. How does the story create humor?

Answer: The story creates humor through the misunderstanding and the image of cooking a bamboo door.


29. Why did the in-laws laugh?

Answer: They laughed because the bridegroom’s mistake was silly and amusing.


30. What cultural element is shown in the story?

Answer: The story shows traditional hospitality, family relationships, and food habits of the Santhal community.


31. What does the story say about asking questions?

Answer: The story shows that asking clear questions is important to avoid confusion and mistakes.


32. How could the misunderstanding have been avoided?

Answer: The misunderstanding could have been avoided if the bridegroom had asked clearly about the ingredient.


33. What role does food play in the story?

Answer: Food acts as the central element that leads to misunderstanding and teaches an important lesson.


34. Why did the bridegroom blame his wife?

Answer: He blamed his wife because he did not realize his own mistake and thought she had cooked wrongly.


35. How does the story end?

Answer: The story ends with the mother-in-law explaining the truth and everyone laughing at the bridegroom’s foolishness.


36. What part of bamboo is edible?

Answer: Only the bamboo shoots are edible, not the hard bamboo stem or door.


37. What emotion does the story mainly express?

Answer: The story mainly expresses humor along with a lesson about ignorance.


38. Why is the story suitable for children?


Answer: The story is simple, humorous, and teaches an important moral, making it suitable for children.


39. What moral value does the story promote?

Answer: The story promotes the value of knowledge, understanding, and careful thinking.


40. What can we learn from the bridegroom’s mistake?

Answer: We can learn that misunderstanding and lack of knowledge can lead to foolish actions and unnecessary trouble.

Answer by Mrinmoee