Prose (Gadya) - prescribed textbook selections
गद्य (Prose): what is tested
The Prose section of the Maharashtra HSC Hindi Applied paper checks whether you can read a prescribed gadya lesson closely and answer in your own Hindi. Question types repeat: short answers on a given extract (प्रसंग/तथ्य), 'कथन के अनुसार' items, character sketch (चरित्र-चित्रण), title justification (शीर्षक की सार्थकता), the writer's purpose (लेखक का उद्देश्य), and the meaning of a quoted sentence (वाक्य का भावार्थ).
Core rules
- Answer in Hindi, in complete sentences, using the tense the question uses.
- Anchor every opinion to a detail from the lesson: name the incident, not just the quality.
- For a 4-mark character question, give two traits plus one textual proof each.
- For title questions, argue three links: the title to the central incident, to the main character, and to the lesson's message.
- 'अपने शब्दों में' means paraphrase; a copied textbook sentence earns partial credit only.
Worked example
Question: 'शीर्षक की सार्थकता सिद्ध कीजिए' (4 marks). Reasoning: (1) State the title and its literal sense in one line. (2) Show the incident where the title's idea actually occurs, paraphrased. (3) Link it to the protagonist's change of behaviour. (4) Close with the lesson's message. A full answer is four short moves, not a plot summary.
Traps
Retelling the whole story; giving adjectives with no evidence; answering a 'why' question with 'because it is so'; ignoring the marks split (2+2); writing in English or mixed script; confusing the writer with the narrator in autobiographical pieces.