Chapter 4 – Bepin Choudhury’s Lapse of Memory Solutions
Question - 1 : - Why did the man stare at Bepin Babu in disbelief?
Answer - 1 : -
The man stared at Bepin Babu in disbelief because Bepin Babu did not recognise him even though he was sure that he knew him and had met him in Ranchi.
Question - 2 : - Where did Bepin Babu say he went in October’ 58?
Answer - 2 : -
Bepin Babu said that he spent the Puja holidays in ’58 with a friend in Kanpur.
Question - 3 : - Mention any three (or more) things that Parimal Ghose knew about Bepin Babu.
Answer - 3 : -
Parimal Ghose knew the following about Bepin Babu:
- He had no children.
- He had lost his wife ten years ago.
- His only brother had died insane, which was why he did not want to visit the mental hospital in Ranchi.
Question - 4 : - Why did Bepin Babu worry about what Parimal Ghose had said?
Answer - 4 : -
Bepin Babu continuously worried about what Parimal Ghose had said because he had shown that he knew many intimate facts about him. He knew about the bag of books, his wife’s death and his brother’s insanity. Considering that Parimal Ghose knew so much about him, Bepin Babu couldn’t say with conviction that he was making a mistake about the Ranchi trip.
Question - 5 : - How did he try to decide who was right—his memory or Parimal Ghose?
Answer - 5 : -
He tried to decide whether his memory was right or Parimal Ghose by looking at his right knee where Parimal had claimed that there would be a cut. There was certainly a mark of an old cut. However, he could not decide if the cut was the result of his fall in Ranchi or due to some incident in his childhood. Then, he decided to ask Dinesh Mukherjee, who according to Parimal Ghose was with him in Ranchi. He felt that asking him would put an end to his confusion.
Question - 6 : - Why did Bepin Babu hesitate to visit Mr Mukerji? Why did he finally decide to phone him?
Answer - 6 : -
Bepin Babu hesitated to visit Mr Dinesh Mukerji because he was afraid of the ruthless sarcasm he would have to face. He felt that if the whole story about Ranchi was false, then Mr Mukerji would think that he had gone insane.
Being constantly troubled by the incident at the bookshop and having no other means for verifying the claims of Primal Ghose, Bepin Babu finally decided to ask Mr Mukerji. However, he decided to phone him because that way his embarrassment wouldn’t be visible to the latter.
Question - 7 : - What did Mr Mukerji say? Did it comfort Bepin Babu, or add to his worries?
Answer - 7 : -
Mr Mukerji said that they had indeed gone to Ranchi in ’58. This added to Bepin Babu’s worries as he could not figure out how he could possibly have forgotten about the trip.
Question - 8 : - Who was Chunilal? What did he want from Bepin Babu?
Answer - 8 : -
Chunilal was an old schoolmate of Bepin Babu. He had been having a rough time lately and had been coming to see Bepin Babu for a job.
Question - 9 : - Why was Dr Chanda puzzled? What was unusual about Bepin Babu’s loss of memory?
Answer - 9 : -
Dr Chanda was puzzled because he had never dealt with a case such as Bepin Babu’s. It was outside his field of experience. The unusual thing about Bepin Babu’s case was that he remembered everything in his past except for one particular incident. Dr Chanda said that Bepin Babu must have been to Ranchi. However, due to some unknown reason, the entire episode had slipped out of his mind.
Question - 10 : - Had Bepin Babu really lost his memory and forgotten all about a trip to Ranchi?
Answer - 10 : -
No, Bepin Babu had not really lost his memory and forgotten all about a trip to Ranchi. It was a trick played by Chunilal.