Class 10 English Chapter 1 Question Answers - First Flight

The seventh chapter of  Class 10 English textbook "First Flight", titled "Glimpses of India" is a compilation of personal accounts by various authors detailing their experiences and observations of different regions across India. The first part of this chapter is dedicated to Goa, a stunning state of India that was once very famous for its bakers and bakeries. Let's have a look at Long Answer Questions of the chapter in this document: 

Q1: Why is a "baker's furnace" necessary in a Goan village?

Ans: In Goa, the Portuguese legacy of bread-making has endured through time. Although the consumers of the famous loaves of bread may have disappeared, the bakers who make them still hold an important place in society. In the Goan village, the mixers, molders, and bakers still exist, along with their age-old furnaces that are time-tested and essential. The bakers play a crucial role in the village, as the lady of the house must prepare sandwiches for her daughter's engagement, and cakes and bolinhas are a must for Christmas and other festivals. Hence, the presence of a baker's furnace in the village is still essential.

Q2: Justify the opinion that the traditional baker and his bread play a significant role in the cultural and social fabric of Goan society. 

Ans: The traditional baker and his bread play a significant role in the cultural and social fabric of Goan society. The Portuguese introduced their famous loaves of bread to Goa - they left but the bread-makers remained, and their age-old, time-tested furnaces still exist.The baker's bread was not just a food item, but it was an essential part of Goan cuisine and culture - not just a staple food item but also served as a symbol of social and economic status The traditional baker and his bread played a vital role in local commerce. Baker would sell his bread by going from house to house Bread-making tradition is passed down from one generation to the next. Many bakers continuing the family profession to this day.Continued existence of these bakers and their furnaces represents a living connection to Goa's cultural and culinary heritage that continues to be cherished and celebrated by the local community.

Q3: Give a pen portrait of a baker in Goa.

Ans: The baker or pader in Goa holds a significant place in village life. In earlier times, they used to wear a unique dress called kabai, a single-piece long frock that reached down to their knees. Later, they switched to wearing shirts and trousers that were longer than shorts but shorter than full-length pants. Bakers were generally prosperous, and their plump physique was a testament to their good income. They, along with their families and servants, never starved. They were considered good friends, companions, and guides to the author, and they would come twice a day with their basket of bread. The children of the house would eagerly gather around to choose bread bangles, and the author reminisces that even today, baking and bakers are renowned in Goa. Traditional furnaces are still used to bake bread and cakes, and the bakers continue to be known as paders in Goa.

Goan Bread BanglesQ4: Describe the childhood memories of the author’s life in Goa and his fondness for bread and cakes.

Ans: The author’s childhood memories are full of fun. He remembers them and gets nostalgic. The pader or baker was an important person in the Goan village as well as in the author’s life. He used to mix, mold and bake loaves of bread in age-old, tested furnaces. He used to come twice a day, once in the morning to sell bread and then while returning after emptying his basket. He made his musical entry with the `jhang, jhang’ sound of his bamboo staff. The author with other children used to run to meet him in order to take the bread-bangles or sometimes the sweet bread of special make. He chatted and gossipped with him.

Q5: The narrator shares, “Baking was indeed a profitable profession in the old days.” (a) What do you feel has changed now? Why? (b) State any one way, you feel, the paders can regain their lost glory.

Ans: 
(a) The baker or the pader used to be an essential part of the Goans’ life. With the passage of time, the bakers continued their profession but with their reduced fortune and importance. The profession of baking loaves of bread has not died with the end of the Portuguese rule. Goa still has the mixer, the moulders and the baker of those loaves of bread. The furnaces still bake those unique loaves. Marriages, feasts, Christmas and other festivals are still meaningless without the sweet bread called ‘bol’. However, the tradition hasn’t died completely yet.

(b) The paders can regain their lost glory by consistent hard work. They need to be as traditional as they were earlier. As the family tradition is still carried on even today by the new generation of bakers. Soon, they will regain their lost glory.

Q6: How is the effect of the traditional bread bakers can still be seen in Goa of today?

Ans: The author remembers his old days in Goa when the village baker occupied an important place in life. Bread eating was very common in those days. Apart from eating bread daily, bread held an important place at the time of Christmas, marriages, and other functions. Although, with the passage of time, people do not eat so much bread today, yet the village bakers are still there. The Portuguese were famous for earning the loaves of bread. They left Goa long ago. But the traditional work of the bakers can still be seen in Goa. The furnaces in which the bread was baked still exist there. The sound of the traditional bakers’ bamboo can still be heard. These bakers are known as Pader in Goa even today.

Q7: Baking was a profitable profession in the old days in Goa. Prove it by giving examples from the text.

Ans: Baking was indeed a profitable profession in the old days in Goa. The people of Goa were used to the refreshing fragrance of loaves of bread. On all occasions and ceremonies, they needed them. Marriage gifts were meaningless without the sweet bread or the bol. No party was complete if bread was not served in it. The lady of the house must prepare sandwiches on the engagement ceremony of her daughter. Christmas and other festivals must have bolinhas during their celebrations. The presence of the baker’s furnace Was absolutely necessary for every, GNP village. The baker usually collected his bills at the end of the month. The baker and his family never starved. They always looked happy and prosperous. Their plump physique was an open testimony to their happiness and prosperity.

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