NCERT Book Class 11 English (Woven Words) Short Stories 2 A Pair of Mustachios

10 Woven Words

2 A Pair of Mustachios
Mulk Raj Anand

F Guess the meaning of these expressions from the context

nouveau riche commercial bourgeoise
blue blood the bluff of a rascal
asked sourly goods and chattels

There are various kinds of mustachios worn in my country
to mark the boundaries between the various classes of
people. Outsiders may think it stupid to lay down, or rather
to raise, lines of demarcation of this kind, but we are
notorious in the whole world for sticking to our queer old
conventions, prides and prejudices, even as the Chinese or
the Americans or, for that matter, the English… And, at
any rate, some people may think it easier and more
convenient to wear permanent boundary-lines, like
mustachios, which only need a smear of grease to keep
them bright and shiny, rather than to wear frock coats,
striped trousers and top hats, which constantly need to be
laundered and dry-cleaned, and the maintenance of which
is already leading to the bankruptcy of the European ruling
classes. With them clothes make the man but, to us,
mustachios make the man. So we prefer the various styles
of mustachios to mark the differences between the classes.
And very unique and poetical symbols they are too.
For instance, there is the famous lion moustache, the
fearsome upstanding symbol of that great order of
resplendent rajas, maharajas, nawabs and English army
generals who are so well known for their devotion to the
King Emperor. Then there is the tiger moustache, the
uncanny, several-pointed moustache worn by the
unbending, unchanging survivals from the ranks of the