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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Mir Nihal tell his wife will happen if Asghar insists on marrying Bilqeece?
(a) He will divorce Begam Nihal.
(b) He will disown Asghar.
(c) He will cut off financial support to Begam Nihal.
(d) He will kill Asghar.

2. What hobbies does Mir Nihal pursue in Chapter 5?
(a) Medicine and alchemy.
(b) Kite fighting and poetry.
(c) Alchemy and kite fighting.
(d) Poetry and medicine.

3. What event are workers being forced to work in the extreme heat in preparation for?
(a) A rumored attack by the Provisional Government of India.
(b) The move of the British Raj's capitol to Delhi.
(c) The hosting of a World's Fair in Delhi.
(d) The coronation of George V and his wife, Mary.

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

5. What is the Jama Masjid?
(a) A mosque built by Shah Jahan.
(b) A marketplace next to a former Mughal palace.
(c) A military fort taken over by the English.
(d) A public square in the center of Delhi.

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

7. In Part II, Chapter 4, what thought makes Mir Nihal suddenly feel guilty and stop eating?
(a) Babban Jan is dead and he should not be enjoying himself.
(b) The deaths of the pigeons were a result of his distraction over a mistress.
(c) He has neglected his responsibilities to his wife and children.
(d) He was not present at Babban Jan's death because he was busy with his birds.

8. Who are the Mughals?
(a) An Afghan dynasty who ruled parts of India for about 16 years during the 1500's.
(b) A dynasty originating in Northern India that ruled for the first half of the 1800's.
(c) A dynasty originating in Southern India that ruled from the 1400's to the early 1600's.
(d) A Turco-Mongolian dynasty who ruled India from the late 1500's to the early 1700's.

9. What causes Mir Nihal to be so depressed that he does not fly his pigeons one afternoon in Chapter 2?
(a) His worries over Babban Jan.
(b) His concern over the illness of Begam Jamal and Masroor.
(c) The diminishing role he plays in his own household.
(d) The heat-related deaths of some of his birds.

10. What do Begam Nihal and Begam Waheed decided to do to celebrate Asghar's engagement?
(a) Buy Asghar some charms and amulets.
(b) Invite the qawwali singers to the house.
(c) Have a meelad read.
(d) Donate money to the mosque.

11. When Asghar arrives at Bari's house, what is his friend doing?
(a) Smoking a hookah.
(b) Kite fighting.
(c) Reading a book of poetry.
(d) Flying pigeons.

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

13. In the story about Mir Jamal's pigeons, what does Mir Jamal refuse to do?
(a) Fly his pigeons with amateurs and hobbyists.
(b) Take part in any matches held at the Durbar.
(c) Keep the pigeons that his flock captured.
(d) Train his pigeons to fly from a carriage roof.

14. On page 53, what does Mushtari Bai compare herself to?
(a) A "new flower in bloom."
(b) An "evil-smelling flower."
(c) A "candle which tempts the moths."
(d) An "oasis in the desert."

15. What does the group of merchants talk about just before the Coronation, in Part II, Chapter 7?
(a) The higher prices they are able to charge the visiting English.
(b) Their hopes that the prosperity of this time will continue after the Coronation is over.
(c) Their worries about whether their grandchildren will be Muslims or Christians.
(d) Their disgust that the English are building their own capitol outside Delhi.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does Asghar go to see Mushtari Bai in Chapter 11?

2. What does Asghar's strategy seem to be in bringing up the death of Begam Waheed's husband?

3. What news does Shams bring two days before the Coronation?

4. What quality does the narrator claim is "peculiar to Delhi-ites alone of all the peoples of India" (99)?

5. After Begam Waheed gives Asghar the good news about his mother deciding he can marry Bilqeece, what advice does she give Asghar?

(see the answer keys)

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