Read the poem and answer the questions given below it.
At ten we said, “One game, and then we sleep.”
Kabir in Jaipur, Meher two lanes down,
Dev on his hostel bunk, and me at home,
my headphones on, my books pushed to the ground.
We lost the first. We lost the second, too.
Dev blamed the lag and nearly went to bed.
Kabir went quiet. Meher only laughed.
“Again. This time we play as one,” she said.
By two we spoke in half-words: “Left.” “Reload.”
“I’m low.” “Hang on, I’m coming.” “Got him. Go!”
No one played star. Each watched another’s back,
and round by round our score began to grow.
At five, the final round: twelve all. And Dev,
who blamed the lag, was last of us alive.
He held, and won. I jumped up in my room
and gave a silent cheer at ten past five.
By six the sky had turned from black to grey,
then pink above the water tanks, then gold.
“GG,” typed Meher. “Friday, same time?” “Done.”
And Ma would soon be up, and she would scold.
Who is the speaker of the poem, and what is the situation?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → a student at home playing an online game with three friends through the night
The speaker tells us where each player is, and how long the game goes on.
- The four players are in four places: Kabir “in Jaipur”, Meher “two lanes down”, Dev “on his hostel bunk”, and the speaker “at home”. So the game is played online.
- The speaker has “my books pushed to the ground”, and “Ma would soon be up, and she would scold”. So the speaker is a student living with a parent.
- They start “At ten” and the sky turns gold “By six”. So they play through the night.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: a hostel student playing a game with his roommates late at night — Incorrect. Misread: Only Dev is in a hostel. The speaker is “at home”, and the friends are in other places.
Option 3: a mother watching her child play a game on the phone till morning — Incorrect. Contradicted: The speaker plays the game and jumps up at the win. Ma is someone else, who is still asleep.
Option 4: a player at a gaming event who competes with strangers until dawn — Incorrect. Contradicted: The speaker is “in my room”, and the team-mates are friends known by name.