Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo come face-to-face in a retired corner of a park in Madrid on a Sunday morning. The strangers soon become friends without knowing that they were lovers once. Then Gonzalo happens to tell her that he had spent his youth in Valencia city. Laura’s curiosity having been provoked, she tells Gonzalo that she also had spent several seasons in Maricela, a villa near the sea in Valencia. When Gonzalo is startled to hear the name ‘Maricela Dona Laura asks him whether the name is familiar to him. Don Gonzalo tells her that he had seen a beautiful woman Laura Llorente living there. On hearing the name Laura Llorente mentioned, Dona Laura shows her surprise. From that moment onwards, it becomes clear that both of them know who they are and intentionally conceal their identity.
When Dona Laura tells him that Laura Llorente was her best friend and she was called the ‘Silver Maiden Don Gonzalo endorses it and tells her that ‘Silver Maiden’ was her popular name in the locality. Further, he tells her that she used to stand at a particular window. Then Dona Laura endorses his statement. Inadvertently, when Don Gonzalo tells her that he spent many hours there during his youthful days, Dona Laura gives a sigh and endorses his statement and says “And in mine, too:’ Then Don Gonzalo gives a description of her beauty and expresses his admiration calling her a dream.
Then Dona Laura makes an aside remark and tells Gonzalo that if he but knew that Laura was by his side he would realize what dreams come to. This way, their conversation goes on until the end, each speaking to the other in disguise. Though they appear to be concealing their identity, they know tacitly that they arc the true lovers Laura and Gonzalo of their youthful days. In the end, before leaving the park, Laura drops the violets, and when Gonzalo stoops to pick up the flowers, Laura looks at him. Thus they come to recognize each other.
OR
The Earth houses millions of eco-systems and nurtures biodiversity. Bio-diversity ensures abundance, freedom, co-operation and mutual giving. Tagore argues that the forests have served as sources of material and intellectual regeneration since time immemorial and the culture of the forest has fueled the culture of Indian society. The culture that has arisen from the forest is nurtured by the unifying principle of life in diversity and of democratic pluralism. It is this unity in diversity that is the basis of both ecological sustainability and democracy. This is true of both nature and culture. We are united with nature through our relationship with the forest. The forest teaches us union, compassion and enoughness. No species in a forest appropriates the share of another species and every species sustains itself in co-operation with others. This unity in diversity seen in the forest should serve as a model for human society, otherwise it will lead to conflict, greed, exploitation and finally to impoverishment of our culture. Therefore, conservation of diversity ¡s crucial for the sustenance of both nature and human society.
OR
In the poem ‘Water the speaker recalls several Instances taken from the life of the dalits to highlight the disparity between the dalits and the upper caste people in their life styles. The speaker states that water is witness to the Panchama’s plight when he goes to the pond or tank to collect water. Since he does not have the right to draw a pot of water directly from a well, he waits all day near the well until a shudra arrives there and fills his pot. Next, the speaker mentions the humiliation of the wada girl, when she receives water poured from a distance. Some water falls on her body and she feels humiliated. Later, the speaker articulates the righteous indignation shown by Karamchedu Suvartamma, when she raised her vessel to ward off an attack by the Kamma youths against the dalit boy who asked them not to pollute their drinking water. These instances illustrate how the dalits were discriminated against using water from a public well.
The speaker recalls how people in the wada would thirst all day for a glass of water while the villagers had a lot of water to drink and bathe as and when they wanted. On the other hand, the people in the village enjoyed bath twice a day, because they had plenty of water, and the dalits were made to forego water on the pretext of untouchability. Next, the speaker narrates how in her childhood they walked miles and miles to collect water from the big canal and walked back carrying heavy pots of water on their heads, with the veins in their neck straining and bursting.
Finally, the speaker recalls how several thatched huts in Malapalle were reduced to ashes for want of a pot of water to douse the fire.
