Creative Writing – 144
Comprehension exercise
Writing in your words
Read the following paragraphs and answer the short questions the follow
Last month, as bombs rained down on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, Anna Horodetska locked up her rented apartment and fled to India, carrying just a couple of T-shirts and a coffee machine – a wedding present from her grandmother.
When the 30-year-old, who worked in an IT company, arrived at the Delhi airport on 17 March, she was welcomed by Anubhav Bhasin, the 33-year-old lawyer she’d been dating for just over a year.
As drummers beat out celebratory tunes, Anubhav went down on one knee and proposed to her and placed a ring on her finger when she said yes.
On Sunday, the couple were married in an intimate ceremony in the Indian capital. Later this month, they will register their wedding in court to make it legally valid. Anna’s one-year visa states the purpose of her India visit is to “marry Anubhav Bhasin”.
[Read this BBC article for the full story – https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-61034754]
Questions
1. What does ‘bombs rained down on Ukraine’s capital Kiev mean? [In your answer, try to use some of the following words. .. Pound, Relentless, Battered]
2. Did Anna Horodetska leave Kiev very hastily? What is mentioned in the above paragraph that makes you to draw your conclusion?
3. Why did the drummers beat the celebratory tune? [In your answer, try to use some of the following words. .. Festive, Euphoric, Ecstatic]
4. Why did Anubhav go down on his knee? Is it according to Indian tradition?
5. Why will the couple register their marriage? [In your answer, try to use some of the following words. .. cloak]
6. What did Anna declare the purpose of her visit to India in her visa?
Answers
1. It means Kiev was being pounded by bombs.
OR
It means Kiev was being battered by bombs relentlessly.
2. Anna Horodetska left Kiev in tearing hurry because she had little time in hand. She just picked up a few T shirts, and a coffee machine and left. She had no time to pack other essentials. This shows her hurry in catching the flight.
3. Anna’s would-be husband had arranged for the drummer band to convey to Anna and all others that she was really welcome in the new land, and a life of love, and joy awaited her. The beating of drums accentuates the jubilant mood of the occasion.
4. Anubhav was just following the usual way in western societies in which a lover proposes to his would-be wife. Anubhav’s gesture was meant to amuse Anna and make her feel ecstatic.
5. Registration of a marriage gives the bond a legal status that can’t be severed so easily. Anubhav and Anna must have decided to go for this official procedure to cement their marriage.
6. Anna candidly stated that she was going to India to marry Anubhav, her lover.