Do you think it is important to preserve languages?

Three ways in which the author’s grandmother spent her days after he grew up.

How does the story suggest that optimism helps to endure “the direst stress”?

Would you agree that the author’s grandmother was a person strong in character? If yes, give instances that show this.

The odd way in which the author’s grandmother behaved just before she died.

The way in which the sparrows expressed their sorrow when the author’s grandmother died.

Why do you think people undertake such adventurous expeditions in spite of the risks involved?

Can you think of a song or a poem in your language that talks of homecoming?

The three phases of the author’s relationship with his grandmother before he left the country to study abroad.

Describe the shifts in the narration of the events as indicated in the three sections of the text. Give a subtitle to each section.

(i) List the deeds that led Ray Johnson to describe Akhenaten as “wacky”.
(ii) What were the results of the CT scan?
(iii) List the advances in technology that have improved forensic analysis.
(iv) Explain the statement, “King Tut is one of the first mummies to be scanned — in death, as in life...”

Why do you think people undertake such adventurous expeditions in spite of the risks involved?

Discuss the following in groups of two pairs, each pair in a group taking opposite points of view.
1. Scientific intervention is necessary to unearth buried mysteries.
2. Advanced technology gives us conclusive evidence of past events.
3. Traditions, rituals and funerary practices must be respected.
4. Knowledge about the past is useful to complete our knowledge of the world we live in.

Can you think of a song or a poem in your language that talks of homecoming?

Three ways in which the author’s grandmother spent her days after he grew up.

How does the story suggest that optimism helps to endure “the direst stress”?

Would you agree that the author’s grandmother was a person strong in character? If yes, give instances that show this.

Describe the shifts in the narration of the events as indicated in the three sections of the text. Give a subtitle to each section.

The way in which the sparrows expressed their sorrow when the author’s grandmother died.

(i) List the deeds that led Ray Johnson to describe Akhenaten as “wacky”.
(ii) What were the results of the CT scan?
(iii) List the advances in technology that have improved forensic analysis.
(iv) Explain the statement, “King Tut is one of the first mummies to be scanned — in death, as in life...”

What lessons do we learn from such hazardous experiences when we are face-to-face with death?