I was born in Pandari, around 30 kilometers from Motihari in Bihar. My education started in my village madrasa and then in an Urdu-medium government school. I did not have any English medium then.
When I discovered, at age 20 or 21, that Eric Arthur Blair aka George Orwell was born in Motihari, it made me wonder if I could be a writer too. That day, it became my dream.
My Abba was the one who opened up the world of books for me. I must have been seven or eight, when he first gifted me a Hindi storybook. He was posted in a small town near Patna and visited our village home. Looking at the book I asked Abba if it was for my next class. I did not know then that books existed beyond the classroom. When Abba explained I was fascinated to hear about storybooks. I couldn’t believe I would not have to pester my mother or grandmother for my daily dose of bedtime stories. That was the beginning of my love affair with books.
By the time I was in class 10, I had finished reading hundreds of novels-literary as well as pulp fiction. Some of my favourite writers were Ibn-e-Safi, Devaki Nandan Khatri, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, Prem Chand, etc. Nanaji (my maternal grandfather), who ran a Unani and Ayurvedic medicine shop in a small kasba (town) called Bairangania, used to be the only person from the area who knew English. My father cited him to motivate me to improve my English. Also, my private tutor, Janak Babu, made me believe that it was possible for a Bhojpuri-speaking Hindi Urdu-medium student like me to learn the language. After 10 months with Janaki Babu, I started reading comics in English. Two years later, in 1988, I read my first English novel, Khushwant Singh’s Train to Pakistan. The first book I actually bought myself was A Strange and Sublime Address by Amit Chaudhuri for the princely sum of Rs. 30 from a roadside bookseller.
What is common between George Orwell and the narrator ?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Both were born in or near Motihari, Bihar
The passage links the two through Motihari. George Orwell "was born in Motihari", and the narrator was born in Pandari, around 30 kilometres from Motihari, in the same part of Bihar. So one was born in Motihari and the other near it. Learning that a famous writer was born in his own area made him dream of becoming a writer too.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 2: Both were classmates — Incorrect. Not mentioned: Orwell is a writer the narrator read about at 20 or 21; they were never at school together.
Option 3: Both started their education in an Urdu medium government school — Incorrect. Not mentioned: only the narrator studied in a madrasa and an Urdu-medium school; nothing is said about Orwell's schooling.
Option 4: Both started writing at the age of 21 — Incorrect. Not mentioned: at 20 or 21 the narrator only began to dream of being a writer; nothing is said about when Orwell began to write.