Answer any one of the following questions in 120-125 words:

(i) Mukesh is not like the others. His “dreams loom like a mirage amidst the dust of streets that fill his town Firozabad”. Justify the statement in the light of contrast in the mindsets of Mukesh and the people of Firozabad.

(ii) Unrealistic dreams often lead to a great deal of unhappiness. Justify the statement on the basis of the story “Going Places”.

(iii)The childhood experience of terror of Douglas made him stronger and more determined. Elucidate the above statement supporting it with evidences from the text.

(i) Mukesh belongs to a family of glass bangle makers in Firozabad. Even though the children of such families usually carry on their family profession, Mukesh wants to be a motor mechanic and drive a car. Unlike his family members, and others of his community, he has dared to dream. His grandmother’s words about the unbreakable lineage represent the attitude they have towards their situation in life. They believe that it is their destiny to toil as bangle makers. Mukesh was different from the others of his community. His dreams look like a mirage amidst the dust of street that fill his town Firozabad. By daring to dream, he has already taken the first step towards a big change. He wants to become a motor mechanic and drive a car. He can realise this dream with determination and hard work. There might be many obstacles on his way but a strong willpower will help him move towards the way of success. The resolute boy is willing to walk a long distance from home to learn to be a mechanic.

(ii) Unrealistic dreams often lead to a great deal of unhappiness. One must learn to maintain a healthy balance between fantasies and reality. Fantasising based on realistic goals or the world around, provides a means to reach higher ambitions and dreams. Sophie is a day dreamer who likes to live in an imaginary world. She escapes the harsh reality of the world and dreams of opening a boutique as a side business. She dreamt of becoming a successful actress. Sophie’s hero worship and fantasizing were in clash with her socio-economic background. She belonged to a family of meagre means and resources. However, her dreams and fantasizing were quite extreme. She could not afford to day dream and be lost in hr reveries. In order to make her dreams become realities, she needed to work very hard, which she did not do. Not only she suffered from day-dreaming but also became prone to telling lies. As a consequence, no body trusted her. She was expected to believe more sensibly by her father, Geoff and Jansie.

(iii) The childhood experience of terror of Douglas made him stronger and more determined. Douglas takes us through his near death experience at the YMCA pool by detailing every little aspect associated to it. He details minutes of his emotional, mental and physical struggle with the paralyzing fear of being drowned in the water. His desperation to save himself kept him struggling until he went down the third time and blacked out. At first, he tried to overcome his fear of water on his own. But when this failed, he got an instructor for himself who worked on Douglas’ fear very methodically. With his help, Douglas began by learning to be at ease in water. After this, he practiced exhaling-inhaling in water to eliminate the fear of putting his head inside the water. Then, he moved on to master individual steps of swimming which were, finally integrated into a complete experience of swimming, by his instructor. After about 6 months, Douglas could not only swim well but was also free of his fear to a great extent. At this stage, Douglas’ journey of truly overcoming his fear to its tiniest vestiges began. He swam alone in the pool. He went to Lake Wentworth to dive. He tried every possible stroke he learnt. Finally, in his diving expedition, in the Warm Lake, he conquered his fear completely.