Very Short Answer Questions
Q1: What did Sentila dream of becoming from a young age?
Ans: Sentila dreamed of becoming a pot maker like her mother and grandmother.
Q2: What did Arenla want Sentila to become instead of a pot maker?
Ans: Arenla wanted Sentila to become a weaver to earn more money.
Q3: Why did Sentila secretly visit expert potters?
Ans: Sentila secretly visited expert potters to learn the skill of pot making.
Q4: What did Sentila overhear about her mother’s opinion on pot making?
Ans: Sentila overheard her mother saying pot making brought no joy and only a small amount of money.
Q5: How far was the riverbank where clay was found?
Ans: The riverbank where clay was found was sixteen kilometres away from the village.
Q6: Why did Arenla find pot making difficult?
Ans: Arenla found pot making difficult because it was tiring and involved heavy labour.
Q7: What advantage did weaving have over pot making?
Ans: Weaving could be done indoors in all seasons and earned more money.
Q8: What did Sentila enjoy while watching potters work?
Ans: Sentila enjoyed watching the clay being shaped into pots with careful movements.
Q9: What tool did potters use to shape the clay?
Ans: Potters used a spatula to shape the rotating clay into proper forms.
Q10: What happened to pots after shaping and finishing?
Ans: After shaping, pots were dried in the sun before being placed in the kiln.
Q11: Why was careful firing of the kiln important?
Ans: Careful firing was important because over firing or under firing ruined the entire batch.
Q12: Why did villagers worry about Arenla not teaching Sentila?
Ans: Villagers worried there would be no expert potters if skills were not passed.
Q13: What did the village council tell Mesoba?
Ans: The council said it was Arenla’s duty to teach her daughter pot making.
Q14: What did the elders say about skills like pot making?
Ans: Elders said such skills symbolised tradition and did not belong to individuals.
Q15: How did Sentila initially perform when learning pot making?
Ans: Sentila struggled and could not even hold the lump of clay properly.
Q16: How long did Sentila try learning from her mother unsuccessfully?
Ans: Sentila tried learning pot making from her mother for almost one year unsuccessfully.
Q17: Who was Onula and how did she help Sentila?
Ans: Onula was a kind widow who supervised the girls’ dormitory guided and taught Sentila pot making.
Q18: Why did Sentila’s early attempts at pot making fail?
Ans: Sentila’s attempts failed because she was too tense and lacked confidence.
Q19: What did Onula advise Sentila to observe carefully?
Ans: Onula advised Sentila to observe her mother carefully while shaping the pot mouth.
Q20: What special technique did Sentila learn for shaping the pot’s mouth?
Ans: Sentila learnt to slacken rhythm and add dough strip to form rim.
Q21: What happened when Sentila practised pot making alone in the shed?
Ans: Sentila made many pots quickly with the same speed and skill as her mother.
Q22: How did Sentila’s number of pots compare with her mother’s?
Ans: Sentila made just one pot less than her mother.
Q23: What tragic event occurred when Sentila went to call her mother?
Ans: Sentila found her mother lying on the floor and not breathing.
Q24: What did Onula observe in the work shed after Arenla’s death?
Ans: Onula saw two identical rows of pots that seemed made by two people.
Q25: What does the line “A new pot maker was born” signify?
Ans: The line signifies that Sentila had finally mastered pot making skill successfully.