Burnt Sugar

by Avni Doshi

Mock exam
SOURCE A

This extract is taken from section 3 of the novel, Burnt Sugar by Avni Doshi. In this extract, three
characters are having a conversation, Ma (the mother), Antara (the daughter) and Dilip (the
husband of Antara). The characters are discussing the fact Ma was recently diagnosed with
Alzheimers.

My mother sets an eggplant alight on the stove, and we watch the flames feed on its purple skin.
The beige flesh inside is smoking. She separates the seeds and throws them in the bin. It’s a
marvel her fingers don’t burn. On a white plastic board, she chops chilies and young green onions.
The board is stained with turmeric, and there is still a little earth stuck in the rounds of onion stalk,
but she tells me not to nitpick about small things. She fries cumin seeds in oil and pours them on
top of the steaming eggplant, followed by torn leaves of coriander. Oil splatters on the side of the
stove. I cough while mixing the contents of the bowl. My maid, Ila, straightens her sari and sighs.
She begins the works of cleaning our mess while we bring out the dishes to where Dilip sits at the
dining tables.
Ma doesn’ come to our house often. She says the main hall disturbs her, especially the mirrors
that cover each wall, reflecting everything in multiple directions. For Dilip, the mirrors were a
selling point when he was house hunting, a sign that he’d made it, and he culmination of every
fanasy he had about mirrors and pornographic films. For my mother, the room is too alive, with
each object and body replicated four times, with each replication repeated further in reflection. She
sits down at the table and her feet jump nervously, climbing on one another like mice escaping the
midday heat. For myself, I’ve got used to the mirrors, have even started relying on them when
Dilip and I fight because seeing a reflection shout is similar to watching television.
‘So Mom,’ Dilip says, ‘how are you feeling?’
He calls my mother Mom like he calls his own. I struggled in the beginning, but it was easy for him,
calling two women Mom and calling two places home.
My mother tries to speak in an American accent when Dilip is around. She thinks he won’t
understand her otherwise and if he tries to speak in Hindi, she replies in English. Ma attempts his
Midwestern vowels and confident pauses which assume the rest of the world will wait for him to
finish a sentence.
‘Honestly, beta, when the doctor gave me the news, I started to fear the worst. I even tarted
making plans to take my own life – you can ask her, isn’t it true? Sorry, I’m not trying to upset your
meal, eat first, eat first, we will talk later. How is the aamti? Not too spicy, I hope? Yes, to answer
your question, I was scared at first but now I don’t think I’m really sick. I feel very fine.”
Dilip nods and looks into the mirror ahead of him. ‘I’m so happy to hear that.’
‘Ma, the doctor says you’re forgetting.’
‘My scans were normal.’
‘Yes, scans can be normal even though –‘
‘Why are you going on insisting I’m ill?’ She is holding a slice of raw onion in her hand. It drops
back to her plate as she speaks. ‘You’re forgetting things. You’re forgetting how to do things,
basic things, like using your mobile phone and paying the electricity bill.’
‘Oh, I never really knew how to pay the bill. These online things are too confusing.’

I put my hands down. She hadn’t said this to the doctor.

‘And what about calling Kali Mata? You asked me to dial the number of a person who’s been dead
for ten years.’
‘Seven years,’ Ma says, and turns to Dilip. ‘She how she lies?’
Dilip looks between us. When he frowns, a scar from an old lacrosse injury glimmers on his
temple.
‘I’m not lying.’
‘You are. That’s what you do. You’re a professional liar.’
We drop Ma home after dinner and Dilip hums to himself quietly. I can’t make out the tune, so I
interrupt him.
‘Can you believe what she was saying?’
He pauses and then answers. ‘Maybe she doesn’t believe she’s sick.’
‘She has to believe it.’
‘You aren’t an authority.’
It stings that my lack is so visible. ‘I didn’t say I was an authority. The doctor said she’s sick.’
‘I thought the doctor said she had the brain of a young woman.’
‘But she’s forgetting things – important things.’
‘Important to whom? She may want to forget – maybe she doesn’t want to remember her friend is
dead.’
‘Either way, she’s forgetting.’ I hear my tone has turned shrill
‘Voluntarily forgetting is not the same as dementia, Antara.’
‘That doesn’t make any sense. Why would she want to forget me?’
Dilip takes a break and shakes his head. ‘You’re the artist, be open to possibilities.’
‘She called me a liar.’
‘Well, isn’t that what you make art about? About how people can’t be trusted?’
His face has dropped. He looks disappointed. I try to match his look but don’t feel it, so I bite the
nail on my middle finger or, more accurately, the cuticle area. Dilip reaches out his hand and
brings my arm down.

END OF SOURCE
 Section A

1. Read again the first part of the source, from lines 1 to 12.
List four things about Antara and her surroundings from this part of the source.
[4 marks]

2. Look in detail at lines 28 to 57 of the source.

How does the writer use language here to convey Antara’s feelings of frustration?
OR
How does the writer use language here to convey Ma’s defensive attitude?

You could include the writer’s choice of:

• words and phrases
• language features and techniques
• sentence forms.

[8 marks]

3. You now need to think about the whole of the source. The text is from the third chapter of a
novel.

How has the writer structured the text to interest you as a reader?

You could write about:

• what the writer focuses your attention on at the beginning of the source
• how and why the writer changes this focus as the source develops
• any other structural features that interest you
[8 marks]

4. Focus this part of your answer on the second part of the source, from line 28 to the end.
Avni Doshi said, ‘Motherhood is often idealised…We put mothers on a pedestal…We imagine
motherhood to be an experience of love.’ To what extent do you agree?

In your response you could:

• consider your impressions of the conversation and how the characters interact
• evaluate how the writer creates a sense of tension
• support your response with references to the text
[20 marks]
 Section B

5. Your local newspaper is running a creative writing competition and the best entries will be
published.

Either

Describe a relationship between people, as suggested by this picture:

Or

Write a story with the title, ‘Memory’ or ‘Reflection’

(24 marks for content and organisation

16 marks for technical accuracy)
[40 marks]