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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. Who is Mehro Zamani?
(a) A dancing girl.
(b) The Nihals' daughter.
(c) Asghar's love interest.
(d) The Nihals' servant.

3. 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.

4. What does Khwaja Ashraf Ali see in the cage that Nazir is carrying through the Chowk?
(a) Two of his own pigeons.
(b) Several of Hakim Bashir's Kabuli pigeons.
(c) The bodies of the pigeons that died of heat.
(d) Rare pigeons that Mir Nihal has bought at the Chowk.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. When Begam Waheed tells her mother that Asghar is in love with Bilqeece, what does Begam Nihal accuse Bilqeece's mother of?

2. What principle does Saeed Hasan say a man should put first when he is looking for a wife?

3. How old is Mir Nihal?

4. What point does the narrator make in Part II, Chapter 7 about the living descendants of Bahadur Shah?

5. In Part II, Chapter 4, what thought makes Mir Nihal suddenly feel guilty and stop eating?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Mir Nihal find happening when he returns home at the beginning of Chapter 2, and what finally causes him to become angry?

2. At the end of Chapter 6, what ironic contrast does the narrator describe between what is happening in the Nihal house and the music they can hear coming from outside the house?

3. What does Begam Nihal tease her husband about when she calls him in to talk with him about Asghar and Bilqeece?

4. What does Asghar dream about in Chapter 2?

5. How does the cat end up getting into Mir Nihal's pigeon loft?

6. What did the ironsmith teach Mir Nihal to find, and how did he teach him to find it?

7. How did Asghar come to be raised in Bhopal?

8. How is Babban Jan's mother affected by her death, and what does Mir Nihal tell the woman about her concerns?

9. What does Kambal Shah say caused the loss of the Mugal Empire?

10. Describe the family's celebration of Eed (Eid).

(see the answer keys)

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