The Newspaper Boy

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The speaker is Muniruddin Syed, who later joined the Indian Air Force. As a child, he delivered newspapers to support himself after losing his parents and staying back in Hyderabad for education.

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He lost his parents before turning ten. His siblings were adopted by relatives and moved away, but he stayed in Hyderabad to continue his education.

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He delivered 50 copies of an Urdu newspaper called 'Manzil' every morning before school. This job helped him earn money for his daily needs and education.

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He woke up at 5:00 a.m. every morning to walk five kilometres to the newspaper office in Troop's Bazaar.

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He walked more than six miles (about 10 km) every day — five kilometres to collect the papers and three kilometres to deliver them, plus walking back home.

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'Plight' means a difficult or distressing situation. In the story, the speaker’s plight was that he was orphaned, lived alone, and had to walk long distances daily to deliver newspapers.

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'Privilege' means a special right or advantage. The speaker had the privilege of living rent-free in a room because he was a good student.

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'Evasive' means avoiding giving a direct answer. Afzal said his father wanted to see the speaker but didn’t say why, which made the speaker curious and a little annoyed.