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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. When Begam Waheed first arrives and asks her mother why Asghar looks thin and pale, what does her mother tell her is bothering him?
(a) Missing his sister.
(b) The heat.
(c) His father's criticism.
(d) His love life.

2. What point does the narrator make in Part II, Chapter 7 about the living descendants of Bahadur Shah?
(a) They are the rightful rulers of India.
(b) They are considered enemies by the British occupiers.
(c) There are very few left alive.
(d) They have fallen far down in the social order.

3. Which Nihal family member is said to be everyone's favorite?
(a) Begam Waheed.
(b) Asghar.
(c) Mehro.
(d) Habibuddin.

4. In Part I, Chapter 4, who asks Asghar, "When are we going to hear the good news of your marriage?" (20)?
(a) Bundoo.
(b) His sister-in-law.
(c) Bilqeece.
(d) Mir Nihal.

5. What is implied by the snippet of poetry that Mir Nihal thinks about at the end of Part II, Chapter 1?
(a) He understands that his love for Babban Jan is impious.
(b) His mental state is much more precarious than others realize.
(c) He wishes that he felt about Begam Nihal the way he feels about Babban Jan.
(d) He is unlikely to recover well from any further disappointments.

6. By what year does the Introduction say the British East India Company had established control of India?
(a) 1852.
(b) 1757.
(c) 1818.
(d) 1835.

7. Who is Nisar Ahmad?
(a) Mir Nihal's partner in the lace business.
(b) The muezzin at Mir Nihal's mosque.
(c) Mir Nihal's son-in-law.
(d) A former lover of Babban Jan's.

8. What caused Ahmed Ali to be unable to return to India?
(a) The partition of India and Pakistan.
(b) The Indian government's anger over his writings.
(c) The outbreak of World War I.
(d) His decision to renounce his Indian citizenship.

9. What news does Shams bring two days before the Coronation?
(a) The British will hold a feast for their Indian subjects.
(b) The new King will make a speech.
(c) The pavilion has been burnt down.
(d) A British soldier has been killed.

10. What advice does Bari give Asghar about his love life?
(a) He should marry Mushtari Bai.
(b) He should contact his sister in Bhopal for her help.
(c) Loving is not as satisfying as is being loved.
(d) He should buy charms to help him persuade his father.

11. During the dust storm, who eavesdrops on Begam Waheed and Begam Nihal's conversation about Asghar?
(a) Anjum Zamani.
(b) Dilchain.
(c) Begam Jamal.
(d) Mehro.

12. During the discussion of alchemy, what does Kambal Shah say would happen if everyone had equal wealth?
(a) People would have the leisure to draw closer to God.
(b) People would learn to love one another more sincerely.
(c) People would find another kind of hierarchy to follow.
(d) People would become vain and forget God.

13. Who has been urging Mir Nihal to retire?
(a) His wife.
(b) His mistress.
(c) His sons.
(d) His doctor.

14. What does the narrator say prevents the world from being "a barren desert in which no oasis exists" (91)?
(a) Hope.
(b) Charity.
(c) Love.
(d) Faith.

15. What creature does Mir Nihal kill in Part I, Chapter 1?
(a) A binturong.
(b) A snake.
(c) A wild dog.
(d) A civet.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why did Mir Nihal forbid Asghar to study at Aligarh?

2. What event are workers being forced to work in the extreme heat in preparation for?

3. In Part I, Chapter 3, what does the narrator point out there are "ever so many" of, "young ones and old ones" (14)?

4. Who is the poet who wrote the words to the song that Gul Bano sings?

5. What question does Mehro asks the beggar Gul Bano?

(see the answer keys)

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