Hi Everyone!! This article will share The Last Stonemason Questions & Answers.
In my previous posts, I have shared the questions and answers of Art Rocks, Flutters Of Thought and Advia so, you can check these posts as well.
The Last Stonemason Questions & Answers
Word Galaxy
- Stained by many monsoon – The paint was peeling after being exposed to many monsoons
- Working for a pittance – Working for very little money
- The lines around the old man’s mouth tightened – The old man showed displeasure
- His face was ashen – He looked pale
- Eternally beautiful – Always beautiful
- My strength is waning – I am becoming weaker
- To set it free with his chisel – To carve it out
- Shock had immobilized him – He was so shocked that he could not move
- Felt his strength ebb – Felt weak
- His vision blurred – He could not see clearly
- Fought the felling – Did not give in to the urge
- Quarry – A place where stones are cut
Question 1: Choose the correct option:
(a) “Look what it’s brought us,” said Gopal. ‘It’ refers to_______
i. their small house
ii. slabs of stone and marble
iii. the hammer and chisel
iv. the work of a stonemason
(b) Gopal wanted to leave his house and family because_______
i. his father scolded him
ii. he felt they did not earn enough
iii. he wanted to see Agra
iv. he was bored of making statues
(c) The old man felt the statue of Krishna was his last sculpture because_______
i. he was becoming weak
ii. he was too old
iii. he had no one to help him
iv. all of the above
(d) Salim had practiced the art of sculpting secretly_______
i. in the quarry
ii. at home
iii. in the backyard
iv. in the bazaar
Question 2: Who was Salim? How had Masterjee helped him?
Answer: Salim was Masterjee’s servant. He had been with him for five years. Salim came to Masterjee as an orphan, in a furious monsoon storm, drenched to the skin, dressed in tatters, begging for shelter. Since then, he had stayed with Masterjee and had looked after him.
Question 3: Who was the old man working on? Why was he finding it difficult to finish his work?
Answer: Masterjee was working on a large statue of Lord Krishna. He was finding it difficult to finish the work for various reasons. First of all, it was the biggest statue he had ever carved so there was too much work which required stamina and strength. He would have been able to manage it if his son, Gopal, had not left him. Gopal was strong and very good at chipping off stone. The old man was growing weak and because of the amount of work before him, he had stopped eating well. This was only making it more difficult for him to complete the job.
The Last Stonemason Questions & Answers
Question 4: “I know you will be one of the finest stonemasons.” What made Masterjee say this?
Answer: Masterjee could see the art in Salim’s heart and hands. Salim had secretly practiced sculpting in the quarry because he wanted to become a sculptor. Although he was already good at it, he was humble enough to ask Masterjee to teach him. The fact that Salim had finally come to realize that sculpting was his calling and that there was nothing in the world he wanted to do more, also made Masterjee see the promise in him.
Question 5: Give instances from the story to show that Salim cared deeply about the well-being of the old man.
Answer: When Gopal left, Salim comforted Masterjee with kind words. He was constantly worried about the old man’s health because he was not eating well. He used to ensure that Masterjee had nutritious food to eat and would bring him his tea. He constantly encouraged Masterjee by saying that he would surely be able to finish the statue. When Masterjee fainted, Salim carried him and put him in bed. Then he took it upon himself to try to finish the statue, showing that he also cared about the fact that this work was very important to Masterjee.
Question 6: Pick out sentences from the story that show
(a) The old man loved his work.
Answer: The following sentences show that the old man loved his work:
“it’s not only the money that matters, son. It’s the service, our service to God.”
“We have kept up this tradition for hundreds of years . . . and I hoped you would continue our work.”
(b) The old man’s strength was failing him.
Answer: In the early hours of the morning, the chisel fell from his hand, and the hammer dropped to the ground.
His shoulders began to ache, his arms felt heavy and his eyes grew tired.
Question 7: Masterjee and Gopal had different ideas about life and work. were their ideas different only because they belonged to different generations?
Answer: The generation gap was perhaps not the only reason for the big difference between the ideas of Masterjee and Gopal about life and work. I think the difference came from the ability to value and respect tradition, art and skills. So, in my opinion, the difference between Gopal and Masterjee stems from the ability or inability to connect with one’s culture, traditions and one’s past, and from the ability or inability to respect and value one’s skills as an artist.
So, these were The Last Stonemason Questions & Answers.