NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English Woven Words Short Story Chapter 2:A Pair of Mustachios

Written by Mulk Raj Anand, the lesson depicts the story of a proud man named Khan and Ramanand. The story deals with the themes of pride, arrogance, and the prejudices of society. An unnamed narrator narrates the story.

The story revolves around the characters of Khan and Ramanand. Khan is described as a man belonging to a rich heritage family, but he is not wealthy. Khan considers Ramanand to be someone who belongs to a lower class compared to him. Thus Ramanand's moustache becomes the point of Khan's objection as he believes only people like him can rightfully wear a grand moustache like him.

Ramanand is an affluent moneylender who has a moustache that Khan considers a goat moustache. Khan often verbally abuses Ramanand due to his habit of upturning his goat moustache, making it look like Khan's "tiger moustache". Khan forces him to turn down the tips of his moustache, which he does amicably. Ramanand, on Khan's demand, turns down only one tip of his "goat moustache". Khan, who has no wealth, is filled with pride and arrogance due to his ancestral heritage. Khan's social view is not uncommon and can be observed in society throughout the years in the form of class prejudice.

The higher class look down upon those they deem to be lower than them, just as seen in this story. At the end of the story, Khan's pride and arrogance do not serve him any good, and it forces him into ruination. Khan ends up selling all of his lands and assets to Ramanand to prove his higher social status. His foolish attempt to appease his pride turned him into a laughing stock in society. His pride was intact; he was no more than a pauper now.