Hi Everyone!! This article will share January Night Questions & Answers.
In my previous posts, I have shared the questions and answers of A Spark Neglected Burns the House, The Old Man at the Bridge and The Tempest so, you can check these posts as well.
January Night Questions & Answers
Question 1: Why did the landlord come in search of Halku?
Answer: The landlord came in search of Halku to get his rent because Halku was a tenant farmer so, he was supposed to pay rent to the landlord.
Question 2: Why did Munni want Halku to pay the landlord only after the harvest?
Answer: Munni wanted Halku to pay the landlord only after the harvest because they had only three rupees which Halku had saved up to buy a blanket for the cold January nights. If he gave that money to the landlord he would not have been able to buy a blanket therefore Munni wanted Halku to pay the landlord only after the harvest.
Question 3: Why did Halku need a blanket?
Answer: Halku was a poor tenant farmer. He had to sleep in the fields at night to protect it from animals. He needed a blanket immediately because he had to face the intense cold in the field at night.
Question 4: Read the line and answer the questions:
(a) Who is speaking and to whom?
Answer: Munni is speaking to Halku.
(b) Who is ‘him’ the speaker refers to?
Answer: The landlord is being referred to as ‘him’.
(c) What is the payment the speaker refers to?
Answer: The payment the speaker is referring to is the rent.
January Night Questions & Answers
Question 5: What was the other plan that Halku tried? Was that successful?
Answer: The other plan that Halku tried was to pass the January nights without having a blanket. No, it was not successful because Halku could not tolerate the coldness of the January Nights. Moreover, he lost his ripen crops.
Question 6: Why did Munni want Halku to give up tenant farming?
Answer: Munni wanted Halku to give up tenant farming because it meant working on someone’s land, doing all the work and getting very little reward for it. Halku’s harvest used to go to pay up the arrear and taxes and they had no money to feed themselves. So, Munni wanted Halku to give up tenant farming.
Question 7: What does Munni mean when she says “Fine work, farming someone else’s land’?
Answer: Munni gave a sarcastic comment to Halku. She wanted him to give up the tenant farming because Halku’s harvests used to go to pay up the arrears. If he works as a hired labourer then, at least some money will remain. So, according to Munni farming another person’s land is a bad choice.
Question 8: Why did Halku look as though ‘he were tearing his heart out and giving it away’?
Answer: Halku looked as if he was tearing his heart out and giving it away because he had to give all his money to the landlord that he had saved pice by pice. This was the money that he was saving to buy the blanket.
Question 9: How do we know that Halku loves his dog a great deal? Give two examples of how he shows his love?
Answer: The two examples are:
i. He had told Jabra to stay in the house and enjoy the comfort of the warm straw.
ii. He hugged his dog tightly and didn’t mind its smell.
January Night Questions & Answers
Question 10: Why did Jabra probably think he was in heaven?
Answer: Jabra’smaster held him in his lap and hugged him. He felt warm and comfortable and probably thought that he was in heaven.
Question 11: Read the line and answer the questions:
“This is the reward you get for farming”.
(a) Who says this and to whom?
Answer: Halku is speaking to Jabra.
(b) When does the speaker make this statement?
Answer: The speaker makes this statement when he and Jabra go to guard the field on a cold January night.
(c) What is the reward that the speaker mentions?
Answer: The speaker is making a sarcastic remark about having to guard the field on a cold night at the same time not being able to reap any income or savings as he looks after someone else’s field. There is actually no reward in his work apart from suffering the cold nights and making no money therefore he makes this statement.
Question 12: Why did Halku look up to the skies?
Answer: Halku looked up at the skies to see how much of the night was left. According to him, since the dipper had not yet climbed half the sky, it would last another three hours or so.
Question 13: Why did Halku feel proud when he lit the fire?
Answer: Halku felt proud when he lit the fire because it warmed his entire body and he felt as though he could challenge the cold.
Question 14: Read the lines and answer the questions:
“In the flickering light the immense trees of the grove looked as though they were carrying a vast darkness on their heads”.
(a) Where was the light coming from?
Answer: The light was coming from the fire that Halku lit.
(b) Where was the grove?
Answer: The grove was just beside Halku’s field.
(c) Who was in the grove at this time and what were they doing?
Answer: Only Halku and his dog Jabra were in the grove collecting leaves to build a fire.
January Night Questions & Answers
Question 15: How did Halku know that there were some animals in the field? How did he react?
Answer: Sitting by the side of the burning leaves, Halku was warming himself and became drowsy. Meanwhile, Jabra ran towards the field giving a loud bark. Halku heard the munching and crunching of the animals but because he felt so warm near the fire he found himself unable to get up to tend to his field. He also thought that with Jabra around no animal to harm the field.
Question 16: The whole field was ruined. How did Halku feel about it? How did Munni feel?
Answer: Since Halku had dozed off, the entire field was ruined. When Munni came in the morning, she saw that the entire field had been ruined and that Halku had gone off to sleep. Her face was shadowed with grief because she knew that they would not be able to pay off their debts and they would have no crop for the harvest. Halku on the other hand, was content because he knew that he could now work as a hired labourer, pay off his debts and save some money for them to eat.
Question 17: Fill in the Blanks:
(a) The landlord had come to collect money from Halku.
(b) Close to Halku’s field there was a mango grove.
(c) Munni wanted to pay the money after the harvest.
(d) Wild animals/ Nilgai were eating his field.
(e) Halku embraced Jabra with the same affection he would have felt for a brother.
(f) Munni’s face was shadowed with grief but Halku was content.
(g) Munni wanted Halku to work as a hired labourer.
Question 18: Answer the following in one word:
(a) Who is the writer of ‘January Night’?
Answer: Premchand
(b) Premchand is originally known as……….
Answer: Dhanpat Rai
(c) Premchand’s which book was banned by the British Govt.?
Answer: Soje Vatan
(d) Who was Halku?
Answer: A tenant farmer.
(e) Who was Munni?
Answer: Halku’s wife.
(f) Who was Jabra?
Answer: Halku’s pet dog.
(g) How much money did Halku have?
Answer: Three rupees.
(h) For what Halku was saving money?
Answer: For buying blanket.
(i) All the money that Halku saved was spent on……
Answer: Paying off debts.
(j) What did Halku do to survive in the cold?
Answer: Burnt mango leaves.
(k) Which animals were destroying the crop?
Answer: Nilgai
So, these were January Night Questions & Answers.