Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow: Ashamanja Babu lived in a small flat in Bhowanipore. A clerk in the registry department of Lajpat Rai Post Office, Ashamanja Babu was fortunate as he could walk to his office in seven minutes flat without having to fight his way into the buses and trains of Calcutta. He lived a rather carefree life as he was not the kind of person to sit and brood about what might have been had fate been kinder to him. On the whole, he was quite content with his lot. Two Hindi films and fish twice a week — these were enough to keep him happy. The only thing that perturbed him at times was his lack of companionship. A bachelor with few friends and relatives, he often wished he had a dog to keep him company. It need not be a huge Alsatian like the one owned by the Talukdars, who lived two houses down the lane; it could be any ordinary little dog which would follow him. On a cloudy day marked by a steady drizzle, Ashamanja Babu went to the market in Hashimara to buy some oranges. At one end of the market, beside a stunted kul tree, sat a man. As their eyes met, the man smiled. Was he a beggar? His clothes made him look like one. Ashamanja Babu noticed at least five sewn-on patches on his trousers and jacket. But the man didn’t have a begging bowl. Instead, by his side was a shoe-box with a little pup sticking its head out of it. ‘Good morning!’ said the man in English. Ashamanja Babu was obliged to return the greeting. "Buy dog? Dog buy? Very good dog." The man had taken the pup out of the box and had put it down on the ground. ‘Very cheap. Very good. Happy dog.’ The pup shook the raindrops off its coat, looked at Ashamanja Babu and wagged its minuscule two-inch tail. Ashamanja Babu moved closer to the pup, crouched on the ground and stretched out his hand. The pup gave his ring finger a lick with its pink tongue. Nice, friendly dog. ‘How much? What price?’ ‘Ten rupees.’ A little haggling and the price came down to seven rupees. Ashamanja Babu paid the money, put the pup back in the shoe-box, closed the lid to save it from the drizzle, and turned homewards, forgetting all about the oranges. — Ashamanja Babu’s Dog by Satyajit Ray
In not more than 50 words, narrate the series of events from the time the puppy was taken out of the box till it was paid for.
Topic: Summary writing
Answer
MODEL ANSWER (50 words)
The man lifted the pup from the box and set it down, praising it. It shook off the raindrops, looked at Ashamanja Babu and wagged its tiny tail. He crouched and stretched out his hand, and the pup licked his finger. After brief haggling he bought it for seven rupees.
THE POINTS THE CONTENT MARKS ARE COUNTED AGAINST
- the man took the pup out of the box and put it on the ground
- he praised it — very cheap, very good, happy dog
- the pup shook the raindrops off its coat
- it looked at Ashamanja Babu
- it wagged its two-inch tail
- he moved closer and crouched down
- he stretched out his hand
- the pup licked his ring finger
- he asked the price; the man said ten rupees
- after haggling the price fell to seven rupees
- he paid
READ THE BOUNDARIES OF THE QUESTION CAREFULLY. It asks for events from the pup being TAKEN OUT OF THE BOX until it was PAID FOR. Everything earlier — Bhowanipore, the post office, the films and fish — and everything later — the lid closed, the forgotten oranges — falls outside and wastes words you cannot spare. Defining the boundaries before you write is half the marks in a summary question.
COUNT YOUR WORDS. Anything past fifty is not read. MARKS DIVISION AND METHOD: see "Summary writing" in the Writing Formats & Marking (Reference) chapter.