Very Short Answer Questions
Q1: Who is Khetaram in the story?
Ans: Khetaram is a Gramin Dak Sewak and the sole postman of Somarad Branch Post Office.
Q2: What does a Gramin Dak Sewak do in remote areas?
Ans: Gramin Dak Sewaks deliver mail and connect remote areas with families across distant regions.
Q3: How long has Khetaram been working as a trusted link?
Ans: Khetaram has been a trusted link between villagers and families for the last fifteen years.
Q4: Where does Khetaram deliver mail?
Ans: Khetaram delivers mail to far-flung hamlets near the Indo-Pakistan border in desert regions.
Q5: What physical change happened to Khetaram due to his work?
Ans: Khetaram’s left shoulder slumped from years of carrying a heavy mailbag continuously.
Q6: How far is Khetaram’s delivery area from the last railhead?
Ans: Khetaram works about 120 kilometres beyond the last railhead at Barmer in Rajasthan.
Q7: What difficulty does Khetaram face during summers?
Ans: Khetaram faces scorching heat where temperatures cross fifty degrees while delivering mail.
Q8: What is the maximum load Khetaram is allowed to carry?
Ans: Regulations specify that Khetaram’s mailbag load cannot exceed twenty-eight kilograms during deliveries.
Q9: How far does Khetaram walk for a single delivery?
Ans: Khetaram sometimes covers twenty kilometres on foot for delivering even a single mail.
Q10: What protection does Khetaram use against harsh desert conditions?
Ans: Khetaram’s khaki turban and uniform protect him from scorching winds and swirling sandstorms.
Q11: Why does Khetaram not use water for washing regularly?
Ans: Water is too precious in the desert, so Khetaram only wipes his body.
Q12: What was Khetaram called before 2001?
Ans: Before 2001, Khetaram was known as a delivery agent working in rural areas.
Q13: What percentage of workforce do Gramin Dak Sewaks form?
Ans: Gramin Dak Sewaks constitute more than fifty percent of the total postal workforce.
Q14: Why is the role of GDS considered invaluable?
Ans: GDS deliver mail in interior areas that are inaccessible by any means besides foot.
Q15: What was the purpose of India Post after independence?
Ans: India Post aimed to bring the entire population within the mailing ambit across country.
Q16: How many post offices were there in India in 1947?
Ans: There were about twenty-five thousand post offices in India at the time of independence.
Q17: How many post offices exist in India today?
Ans: Today, India has more than one and a half lakh post offices across country.
Q18: How do rural people use post offices for savings?
Ans: Rural depositors entrust their monthly savings to the post office in their local area.
Q19: What is required for GDS selection?
Ans: Access to another means of livelihood is the essential criterion for GDS selection.
Q20: How many hours do GDS work daily?
Ans: Gramin Dak Sewaks are required to work only five hours in a day.
Q21: Why did Khetaram take up this job?
Ans: Khetaram took the job because one crop of bajra could not feed his family.
Q22: How do villagers depend on the post office?
Ans: Villagers depend on post offices for receiving money orders sent by relatives.
Q23: What help does Khetaram provide to villagers besides delivering mail?
Ans: Khetaram reads letters and writes replies for villagers who feel comfortable asking him.
Q24: What kind of letter does Khetaram dread?
Ans: Khetaram dreads letters with torn corners that signify news of death for families.
Q25: What future role might Khetaram take with new phone lines?
Ans: Khetaram may become Gramin Sanchar Sewak carrying a cell phone along with post.