Give a Character Sketch of Narrator and Shahid from Class 11 English Snapshots Book Chapter 6 The Ghat of the Only World
Character Sketch of Narrator (Amitav Ghosh)
Amitav Ghosh was born in Calcutta on 11 July 1956 to a Bengali Hindu family. Ghosh lives in New York with his wife, Deborah Baker, author of the Laura Riding biography In Extremis. They have two children, Lila and Nayan. In 1999, Narrator joined the faculty at Queens College, City University of New York, as Distinguished Professor in Comparative literature. Amitav Ghosh has written the story, “The Ghat of the only world” in honour of his friend and great Kashmiri poet. The story is about their friendship and the fulfilment of the promise to a dying friend. Amitav knew Shahid from his college days as both were students from Delhi University but their friendship happened in Brooklyn, US through a common friend. Shahid had asked Amitav to write a story about him after his death. The narrator promised Shahid that he would try his best. From that day onwards, he started to note down all his conversations with Shahid because he knew that to be able to write about Shahid, he must have a record of the poet’s words and their conversations.
The Ghat of the Only World Overview – The Ghat of the Only World written by Amitav Ghosh is a promise fulfilled by a friend. Before cancer took its toll and consumed Shahid’s life, he made the author promise him to write about him after he died. The lesson revolves around Shahid, what he liked and how he lived his life as if it were a celebration even after he was diagnosed with the malignant disease.
Related: The Ghat of the Only World Summary, Explanation
Some Questions on Character Sketch of Narrator (Amitav Ghosh)
Q1. After reading the lesson ‘The Ghat of the only world’ what character traits of the writer can you see?
Q2. The story tells us about the bond of friendship. We also saw friendship between Aram and Mourad. What can you infer about the relation of friendship from these two stories.
Character Sketch of Shahid
Shahid Ali was a friend of the author. He was a poet by profession. His writing was lyrical, disciplined, engaged and yet deeply inward. Shahid was a talented poet who gave liberty to life to embrace death with his amazing choice of words. Shahid was immensely fond of life’s all beautiful things, including food. He loved cooking Kashmiri dishes and made them tasty by adding all the spices. He would often give directions to the cook in the kitchen to make the food tastier. Shahid had a sorcerer’s ability to transmute the mundane into magical. Shahid was a very strong man. He had found a way out to keep himself alive in spite of the physical and mental pain of his illness. He loved the spirit of festivity as it meant he did not have any time to be depressed.
Some Questions on Character Sketch of Shahid
Q1. Who is Shahid, and what are his major characteristics?
Q2. How does Shahid’s upbringing shape his character?
Q3. What role does Shahid play in the narrative of “The Ghat of the Only World”?
Q4. How does Shahid’s passion for literature and writing influence his perspective on life?
Q5. What are the key qualities that make Shahid an inspiring character?
Related: The Ghat of the Only World Question Answers
