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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is the address printed on the mailbox where Saddam left a calling card in Chapter 5?
(a) Dr. Azad Bhartiya. Second Floor.
(b) Nimmo Gorakhpuri. Second Floor.
(c) "S. Tilottaama. Second Floor."
(d) "Ahmedabad Singh. Second Floor."

2. Why does the narrator say that "Not many noticed the passing of the friendly old birds" (5) in the Prologue?
(a) "There was too much to worry about."
(b) "There was so much else to look forward to."
(c) "There were so many atrocities to face."
(d) "There was so much death around."

3. What is the name of the mare described following the rickshaw in Chapter 5?
(a) Payal.
(b) Aru.
(c) Pria.
(d) Annu.

4. How is the narrative style in the beginning of Chapter 7 different from the narrative perspective in the majority of the novel?
(a) This chapter begins narrated from the second-person perspective.
(b) This chapter begins narrated from a third-person perspective.
(c) This chapter begins narrated from a first-person perspective.
(d) This chapter begins narrated from the future-tense.

5. With what architecture student does the narrator describe Tilo being close with in Chapter 7?
(a) Nimmo Gorakhpuri.
(b) Biplab Dasgupta.
(c) Comrade Maase Revathy.
(d) Musa Yeswi.

6. The narrator compares the neighborhood surrounding his rental home to Kabul in Chapter 7, describing it as "... like a small corner of" (151) what?
(a) "Hell."
(b) "Forest."
(c) "The slums."
(d) "Paradise."

7. Who is the self-described sexologist that Mulaqat Ali took his son to see first?
(a) Amrik Singh.
(b) Saddam Hussein.
(c) Musa Yeswi.
(d) Dr. Ghulum Nabi.

8. What did Anjum name the little three-year-old girl she found on the steps of Jama Masjid?
(a) Zainab.
(b) Musa.
(c) Arifa.
(d) Amrik.

9. What did the filmmaker ask Anjum and her friends to recite in Chapter 3?
(a) "Hands Around the World."
(b) "I'd buy the world a Coke."
(c) "Peace on Earth."
(d) "Another World is Possible."

10. How has Dr. Azad Bhartiya been protesting in Chapter 4?
(a) By chaining himself to a building.
(b) By playing protest music.
(c) By marching.
(d) By fasting.

11. What word in Chapter 1 refers to an evening of entertainment poetry or concert of Indian classical music?
(a) Naga.
(b) Mahfil.
(c) Yeswi.
(d) Arifa.

12. What prompted Saddam Hussein to change his name?
(a) His embracing of Judaism.
(b) His mother's death.
(c) His love of Italy.
(d) His father's death.

13. When did the narrator of Chapter 7 meet the woman who had left his upstairs apartment in Chapter 7?
(a) 1987.
(b) 1982.
(c) 1984.
(d) 1996.

14. To what does the narrator describe Tilottama's skin in Chapter 7?
(a) Melted bronze.
(b) Powdered milk.
(c) Café au lait.
(d) Black coffee.

15. What name refers to Aftab later in life?
(a) Anjun.
(b) Comrade Maase Revathy.
(c) Arifa.
(d) Zainab.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the word "chamar" translate to in English?

2. Whose ghosts does the protagonist in Chapter 1 confer with daily?

3. From where did the woman in the window above the lavendar gate recognize Saddam and Ishrat in Chapter 5?

4. Where was Saddam Hussein fired from when he came to the cemetery?

5. To what story does the English man compare the story of Laila and Manju in Chapter 1?

(see the answer keys)

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