Read the given passage and answer the four questions that follow:-
An old beggar cried for alms at the gate. They told her not to pester them when they were engaged in a snake-hunt. On hearing it, the old woman became happy. "You are fortunate. It is God Subramanya who has come to visit you. Don't kill the snake." Mother was in hearty agreement: "You are right. I forgot all about the promised abhishekam. This is a reminder." She gave a coin to the beggar, who promised to send down a snake-charmer as she went. Presently an old man appeared at the gate and announced himself as a snake-charmer. They gathered around him. He spoke to them about his life and activities and his power over snakes. They asked admiringly:- "How do you catch them?" "Thus," he said, pouncing upon a hypothetical snake on the ground. They pointed to the direction in which the cobra had gone and asked him to go ahead. He looked helplessly about and said: "If you show me the snake, I'll at once catch it. Otherwise, what can I do?" He gave his name and address and departed. At five in the evening, they threw away their sticks and implements and retired to the veranda to rest. They had turned up every stone in the garden and cut down every grass-blade and shrub so that the tiniest insect coming into the garden should have no cover.
Mother gave a coin to the beggar as a reward because _____.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → the beggar had done her a great favour by reminding her about the abhishekam
When the beggar said the snake was God Subramanya, Mother replied that she had forgotten all about the promised abhishekam and that this was "a reminder". She then gave the beggar a coin, a reward for reminding her of her promise.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: she was moved by a deep sense of pity for the poor beggar — Incorrect. Not mentioned: the passage says nothing about pity. The coin follows her words about the reminder.
Option 3: she wanted to avoid an argument with the beggar — Incorrect. Contradicted: there was no argument. Mother was in hearty agreement with the beggar.
Option 4: the beggar was destitute and really in need of immediate help — Incorrect. Wrong reason: the beggar was asking for alms, but the passage gives the reminder, not her need, as the reason for the coin. (Destitute means extremely poor.)
Note: In the original NTA paper, Option 3 read "she was pleased to hear the views of the beggar about the snake". NTA accepted this option as a correct answer as well. To leave only one correct answer and avoid confusion for students, it has been changed here to "she wanted to avoid an argument with the beggar".
Advice for the exam: In the real exam, mark the answer that is grammatically or factually correct. If NTA’s provisional answer key marks a different option, challenge it during the answer-key challenge window and give the reason in one or two lines.