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Kerala State Board New Syllabus Plus Two English Textbook Answers Unit 2 Chapter 1 Mending Wall Text Book Questions and Answers, Summary, Notes.

Kerala Plus Two English Textbook Mending Wall Questions and Answers Unit 2 Chapter 1 (Poem)

♦ Think and Write (Textbook Page No. 39)

Think And Write

Plus Two English Textbook Solutions Question 1.
Why does the poet say that there is something that doesn’t love, a wall?
Answer:
The poet says that there is something that does not love the wall because nobody sees or hears anybody breaking the wall. But every spring season, the poet finds the wall is broken. So it is obvious that there is something that does not love a wall and wants to see it broken. It is this ‘something’ that makes the ground under the wall swell causing the stones of the wall to fall down on to either side.

Question 2.
Why does the poet meet his neighbour beyond the hill at spring?
Answer:
The poet meets his neighbour beyond the hill at spring so that they can fix one day and walk along the wall to mend it by picking up the fallen stones and fixing them back.

Question 3.
How does the poet and his neighbour mend the gaps in the wall?
Answer:
The poet and his neighbour mend the gaps in the wall by walking along the wall on either side and picking up the fallen stones and placing them back on the wall in an effort to mend it.

Question 4.
Why does the poet argue that there is no need of a wall in between his estate and that of his neighbour?
Answer:
The poet argues that there is no need of a wall in between his estate and that of his neighbour because his area is covered with pine trees and the poet’s area is full of apple trees. The poet’s apple trees will never go to his area to eat the cones of his pines.

Question 5.
How does the neighbour justify the need for waits or fences?
Answer:
The neighbour justifies the need forwalls offences by saying that good fences make good neighbours.

Question 6.
Why does the poet consider the spring season mischievous?
Answer:
The poet considers the spring season mischievous because it is in that season gaps are found in the walls. He thinks that Spring Season makes the frozen ground under the wall expand. Because of this expansion, the wall gets cracks, making the upper stones of the wall fall down on to the sides.

Question 7.
What are the contrasting views presented in the poem?
Answer:
The poet has one view but his neighbour has a different view. The poet thinks there is no need for a fence orwall between neighbours, especially when the author’s area has apple trees and the neighbour’s area has pine trees. There is no way that the apple trees will trespass into the neighbours estate and eat the cones of the pines. But the neighbour thinks that good fences make good neighbours.

Activity I: Paragraph Writing:

Elaborate The Idea In The Following Line In A Paragraph Question 1.
Elaborate the idea in the following line in a paragraph:
“Good fences make good neighbours.”
Answer:
Good fences make good neighbours means it is good to have some limits between neighbours so that their relations will remain healthy at all times. If there is unlimited freedom between neighbours, trouble will soon start. Suppose you grow goats in your house. Your neighbour has a vegetable garden. If there is no fence your goats will go and eat up the vegetables of your neighbour. Will he like it?

Suppose your neighbour’s children come and open your fridge and eat up all the good food you have kept there. Will you like it? So there must be some boundaries between-neighbours and only then there will be good relations.

Activity II (Appreciation)

Question 2.
Discuss the following:
Answer:
→ The central idea of the poem:
The central idea of the poem is that nature does not
like separation and that is why it tends to destroy the walls. But for healthy relations walls or fences are necessary. If there are no boundaries between neighbours, their relation will not last long. Good fences make good neighbours.

→ Symbolic significance of wall in the poem:
The ‘wall’ symbolizes the restrictions between neighbours. Even if you love your neighbour dearly, you can’t give him unlimited freedom in your house. Wall symbolizes such boundaries.

→ Poetic devices employed by the poet:
The poet has employed many devices to make his poem effective. The poem has fine rhythm. He has used a fine metaphor in calling the boulders as loaves and balls. He has used a lot of humour: the hunters finding rabbits for their dogs, his command to the stones to stay in place till his back is turned, and calling his neighbour as a stone age man with stones as weapons in his hands.

His logic of his apple trees not going to eat the pine cones in his neighbour’s estate is very funny. He has used a simile when he says that the two neighbours keeping the stones back was like an outdoor game. There is personification when he tells the boulders ‘Stay where you are.’ Here he thinks the boulders to be some kind of mischievous children who would run away the moment their parents’ eyes are off. There is parallelism in the use of ‘Good fences make good neighbours’.

There is excellent imagery in the poem. We see how Spring Season causes the ground to swell and loosen the boulders. We can see the hunters trespassing with their barking dogs. They are trying to shoot rabbits. We can see the apple trees and the fine trees. We can see the neighbours walking on either side of the wall, fixing the fallen stones and the stones falling down as soon as they turn their backs.

→ Language:
Robert Frost has used very simple but vivid language to write his poem. There are not many words which are unknown to us. The sentences are simple and there are no complexities in the construction. Anybody who knows some English can get the meaning clearly. Essentially Frost is a Romantic poet who loved simplicity in language. Although it is a fine poem, it is very close to the structure of prose and so understanding it is very easy. Only a great poet can do such a thing – make a fine poem using simple words.

→ Structure:
The poem has a simple structure. The poem proceeds with the ease of a story told by a master. There are no twists and turns and everything is clear without any mystification or complication. Frost’s structure is always easy pleasing to the eye and pleasing to the mind.

Question 3.
Now, prepare a note of appreciation of the poem ‘Mending Wall’:
Answer:
Frost once said, “A poem begins in delight and ends in wisdom.” The poem ‘Mending Wall’ proves his theory. He starts his poem in a delightful way saying that there is something that does not like a wall. He does not say what that ‘something’ is. That ‘something’ makes the ground under the wall swell which results in cracks in the wall. Gradually the stones that make the wall fall to either side.

The fallen stones have lost their shapes. Some look like loaves of bread and others look like balls. It will need some spell or magic to keep the stones balanced on the wall even for a short time. The poet has to command the stones to stay in place at least till he and his neighbour have turned their backs on them. He knows very well that they won’t stay there for long.

The gaps in the walls are so big that even two people can pass through them walking side by side. It is funny that nobody ever sees and hears anybody breaking the wall. But every spring time the walls are broken and the people have to repair them. Frost feels there is no need for a wall between him and his neighbour. His neighbour grows pine and he grows apple trees. Will apple tress go and eat the cones of the pine? Why should there be a wall?

A wall was fine if they had cows. Cows could get mixed up. Frost tells his neighbour there is no need fora wall. But the neighbour insists that good fences make good neighbours.

Frost has used many poetic devises to make is poem a fine one. He has used metaphor, simile, personification

II. Read And Reflect

Question 1.
The presence of a wall between orchards ensures good relationship between neighbours. Is K the act of building the wall or acknowledging the neighbour’s request that really establishes the relationship? Do we really need walls? Shouldn’t we dare to go beyond the boundaries?

Mending Wall (Poem) Edumate Questions and Answers

Question 1.
‘Something there is that doesn’t love a wall, That sends a frozen-ground-swell under it And spills the upper boulders in the sun, And makes gaps even two can pass abreast.’

Keeping in view the socio-cultural scenario of our nation write a paragraph elaborating the idea conveyed by Robert Frost in ‘Mending Wall’.
Answer:
ln “Mending Walls”, Robert Frost says that there is something that does not like walls. It makes the frozen ground under the wall expand. Because of this expansion, the wall gets cracks, making the upper stones of the wall fall down to the sides, thus making gaps. Sometimes the gaps are big enough to let even two people pass, walking side by side.

This means there should be no walls between people. But here in India people divide themselves by buildings walls. These walls come in the form of gender, religion, various ‘isms’, castes, position and wealth. These walls are artificially made by us and they should be cracked or even destroyed. As the citizens of the same nation and as children of the same God, we must not build walls and separate people into different compartments. We should be one happy family.

Plus Two English Textbook Answers Unit 2 Question 2.
“What I was walling in orwalling out” is a line from ‘Mending Wall’ by Robert Frost. Bring out the contrasting pictures presented in this line. How do these expressions match with the central theme of ‘Mending Wall’?
Answer:
This is a really beautiful line by Frost. When somebody makes a wall, he wants to keep some things inside the wall and he wants to keep some things outside the wall. The things he likes he keeps. inside and the things he does not like he wants to keep outside. Frost starts the poem by saying there is a natural tendency to break walls.

That is why walls break by themselves. But towards the end of the poem, Robert Frost seems to think that walls are a necessary evil. We may not like walls but they are necessary for keeping peace between neighbours. Imagine our neighbour’s goats coming and eating the beautiful plants in our garden. We will definitely riot fike it. Similarly if our dog catches the chicken of the neighbour will he like it? So walls are needed. That is why Frost says “Good fences make good neighbours”.

Question 3.
‘My apple trees will never get across And eat the cones under his pines’ In the light of your reading of the poem ‘Mending Wall’, prepare a write- up expressing your views on the above quoted lines.
Answer:
In “Mending Wall”, Robert Frost has beautifully presented two seemingly different ideas. First he says that there is something that does not like walls. It makes the frozen ground under the wall expand. Because of this expansion, the wall gets cracks, making the upper stones of the wall fall down to the sides, thus making gaps. Sometimes the gaps are big enough to let even two people pass, walking side by side. This means there should be no walls between people. But people divide themselves by buildings walls. These walls come in the form of gender, religion, isms, races, position and wealth. These walls are artificially made by people and they should be demolished.

Frost further says that “Good fences make good neighbours”. We may not like walls but they are necessary for keeping peace between neighbours. Imagine our neighbour’s goats coming and eating the beautiful plants in our garden. We will definitely not like it. Similarly if our dog catches the chicken of the neighbour will he like it? So walls are needed. But such walls are not always necessary as in the case of Frost and his neighbour. Frost cultivates apple. His neighbour cultivates pine. There is no possibility of his apple trees getting across and eating his neighbour’s pine cones. Nor do the neighbour’s pines get across to eat the apples of Frost. In such cases, Frost feels, walls are quite unnecessary.

Question 4.
Read the following lines from the poem and answer the questions given below.
The work of hunters is another thing:
I have come after them and made repair Where they would have left not one stone on a stone, But they would have the rabbit out of hiding, To please the yelping dogs.
a) How do the hunters damage the walls?
b) Why do they drive the rabbits out?
c) What does the poet do after the hunters leave?
Answer:
a) The hunters sometimes damage the wall in their effort to drive the hiding rabbits out.
b) They drive the rabbits out to please the yelping dogs.
c) The poet repairs the gaps after they leave.

Question 5.
Read the following lines from the poem ‘Mending Wall by Robert Frost and bring out the difference in attitude between the poet and his neighbour.
‘He is all pine and I am apple orchard.
My apple trees will never get across And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him.’
He only says, “Good fences make good neighbours”
Answer:
The poet is not at all in favour of having a wall between him and his neighbour. He tries to convince his neighbour by quite logical arguments. He tells him that he is growing apple. His neighbour is growing pines. There is no possibility that his apple trees will go and eat the pine cones of his neighbour. Neither will the pines of the neighbour will come to eat the apples of the poet. So what is the need for a wall, the poet asks. But the neighbour insists on having a wall and he says. “Good fences make good neighbours”. The poet is quite liberal and he wants to be open. But the neighbour is very possessive and he wants to keep his things in his wall. He wants to keep his things in and he wants to keep out the things of others. I think the attitude of the poet is better especially in this context as there is no danger of apple trees attacking pine trees or vice versa.

Plus Two English Textbook Questions And Answers Question 6.
Bring out symbolic significance of the ‘wall in the poem ‘Mending Wall.
Answer:
Wall in the poem “Mending the Wall” symbolizes the restrictions between neighbours. Even if you love your neighbour dearly, it is necessary to keep some limits. Otherwise your love will turn into hate.

It is true that there is something in nature that dislikes walls. It makes the frozen ground under the wall expand. Because of this expansion, the wall gets cracks, making the upper stones of the wall fall down to the sides, thus making gaps. This process goes on and the entire wall may crumble if it is not mended in time. By making a wall people want to keep some things in and some things out. The question is “Is it good to have a wall between neighbours?”

The answer seems to be yes. We may not like walls but they are necessary for keeping peace between neighbours. Imagine our neighbour’s goats coming and eating the beautiful plants in our garden. We will definitely not like it. Similarly if our dog catches the chicken of the neighbour will he like it? So walls are needed. Thus wall is symbolic of the restrictions or limitations between neighbours. These limitations are necessary to have permanent and healthy relations.

Mending Wall (Poem) About The Author

– Robert Frost

Robert Frost (1874-1963) is an American poet. He is well-known for his poems which are in a colloquial style. His poems begin in delight and end in wisdom. He has received the Pulitzer Prize a number of times. “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowing Evening” and ‘Road Not Taken” are two of his most famous poems. Our Jawaharlal Nehru had these lines inscribed and kept on his table: “The woods are lovely dark and deep, And I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.” These lines are from ‘Stopping the Woods….” by Robert Frost.

Mending Wall (Poem) Summary in English

Lines 1 … 11 (Something we find them there.)
There is something that does not like walls. It makes the frozen ground under the wall expand. Because of this expansion, the wall gets cracks, making the upper stones of the wall fall down on to the sides. Gaps are made as the stones fall off the wall. Sometimes gaps are big enough to let even two people pass, walking side by side. Hunters also encroach through the gaps. I come after them and repair the broken walls. Sometimes the wall is so damaged that even two stones, one on top of the other, are not found. Somehow the hunters would bring into the open the hiding rabbits to make the barking dogs happy. (There is some fun in the statement here. It is actually the dogs that bark and scare the rabbits out of their hiding places. But the poet says the hunters bring out the rabbits by destroying the wall to please their hunting dogs.) No one ever sees or hears anybody making gaps in the wall by making the stones fall down. But in the Spring Season, which is the repair time for walls, the gaps would be found. Nobody knows how these gaps come or who makes them.

Lines 12-20 (I let my neighbour…. with handling them.)
I inform my neighbour, who lives on the side of the hill, about the gaps in the wall. We decide to meet one day and walk along the wall so that once again we can set it up. Then stones have fallen to both sides of the wall. He would pick up the stones fallen on his side and I would pick up that ori my side and set them up again on the wall. The fallen stones have lost their original shape. Some of them look like loaves of bread whereas others look like balls. To balance them on the wall, we need some kind of magic. We command them: “Stay there till we turn our back on you!” (There is also some fun here. They know the stones will not stay on the wall for long. They simply want them to stay there at least till their backs are turned on them.)

Lines 21 -34: (Oh, just to give offence.)
By lifting the stones and placing them on the wall our fingers become rough and painful. Consider it an outdoor game between us, one player standing on one side of the wall and the other standing on the other side. It means nothing more than that. There are also places where we do not actually need a wall. His area is covered with pine trees and my area is full of apple trees. My apple trees will never go to his area to eat the cones of his pines. I tell him that. But then he tells me that it is good fences that make god neighbours. Mischief grows in me and I want to put some better idea into his mind. So I ask him how good fences can make good neighbours. Good fences are okay if we were growing cows to prevent them from getting mixed up. But here we do not rear cows. So what is the need for a fence? Before I built a wall I would try to find out what I was keeping in and what I was keeping out and whom I would offend by making the wall.

Lines 35-45 (Something there is ….make good neighbours.)
It seems there is something that does not like a wall. It wants the wall pulled down. I would say it was elves that wanted the wall to be broken. But I know it is not elves that did it. I wanted him to tell me what it is that did not like the wall. As I contemplate like this I can see him carrying two stones holding them firmly in each hand. To me he looked like an uncivilized man from the Old Stone Age Era, whose weapon was stone. He is moving in the darkness of trees and their shade. He is not yet ready to give up his father’s saying although he has thought about it so well. Once again he repeats that good fences make good neighbours. (Reft also there is great fun. Frost pictures the neighbour with the stones as a Stone Age man using stones as his weapon. He is not ready to become civilized as he still wants to live in the darkness of the Stone Age.)

Mending Wall (Poem) Summary in Malayalam

Mending Wall (Poem) Glossary

Kerala State Board New Syllabus Plus Two English Textbook Answers Unit 2 Heights of Harmony Text Book Questions and Answers, Summary, Notes.

Kerala Plus Two English Textbook Heights of Harmony Questions and Answers Unit 2

Little deed of kindness, little words of love, Make our earth an Eden, like the heaven above.

– Julia F. Carney

About The Unit

There are certain qualities and principles that are necessary to maintain the social fabric of human relations. Like the grains of sand on the seashore, each person must learn to coexist with others. That is how we reach the heights to harmony. This unit has a poem, a story and a one-act play.

The activities presented are to ensure smooth reading and to improve the language proficiency. They will also help the learners to improve their skills in literary appreciation. The play helps the learners to get acquainted with plot construction and characterization, and dramatics like acting, stage setting, stage management, etc.

Let’s Begin

“Compassionate people are genius in the art of living, more necessary to the dignity, security, and joy of humanity than the discoverers of knowledge. Large parts of the world are faced with starvation, while others are living in abundance.

A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”

– Albert Einstein

Compassionate people are geniuses in the art of living. They are more necessary to the dignity, security and joy of people than the discoverers of knowledge. Large parts of the world suffer hunger while others live in luxury.

A human being is a part of the whole we call the universe. He is a part limited in time and space. He experiences in himself, his thoughts and feelings as something different from others. This feeling is a kind of delusion. It imprisons us. It restricts us to our personal desires and to the love for a few persons close to us. Our task must be to free us from this prison. We must widen our circle of compassion to include all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.

Question 1.
What are the roles of the following in protecting and ensuring the rights of people?
a) Individuals
b) Political parties
c) Non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
d) Governments
Answer:
a) Individuals: Individuals feel that their thoughts and feeling are different from others. This feeling is a kind of delusion. It imprisons them. It restricts them to their personal desires and to the love for a few persons dose to them. Their task must be to free themselves from this prison. They must widen their circle of compassion to include all living creatures and the whole nature in its beauty.

b) Political Parties : They should ensure that the rights of everyone are protected. Political parties should not limit themselves to any religion or region. They must work for the common good of all citizens in the country. Unfortunately, in India, there are religious and regional political parties which work forthe welfare of only their members.

c) Non-Governmental Organizations: A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an organization that is neither a part of a government nor an organization for making any profit. They are usually set up by ordinary dtizens. They are commonly funded by governments, foundations, businesses, or private persons. The NGOs must ensure that all the people, even small minorities, get their rights. Sometimes in a democracy there is the danger of the majority trampling on the rights of minorities. NGOs ensure that such things don’t happen.

d) Governments: Government must ensure that that all citizens are given equality before the law. The government may be by a political party or a coalition of parties. But once a government is formed, it should ensure the welfare of all the citizens irrespective of caste, creed, region, religion, or gender.

Question 2.
Imagine that your school has decided to form an organization to extend assistance to the society. In its first meeting, you present your opinions about the functioning of the organization. Suggest a few dos and don ’ts for the benefit of the organization, and for the betterment of the society.
Answer:
Dos:

• All students must be eligible to be members.
• Each member should contribute a certain amount every month.
• With the help of the teachers, find out in which ways students can help people near their school.
• The help can be financial help to the poor, cleaning the place up, making a common place where people can come and spend some time, etc.
• Meet once in a month to evaluate the progress.
• Develop a brotherly attitude.

Don’ts:

• Don’t discriminate against anybody.
• Don’t get involved in any kind of politics.
• Don’t let any religious feelings come into the organization.
• Don’t waste the money on unnecessary things.
• Don’t unnecessarily criticize people.
• Don’t be intolerant.

I. Read And Enjoy

Question 1.
Fraternity and tolerance are the two qualities that help in harmonious living. Do we maintain these qualities in our daily life? What should be our attitude to our neighbours? Should we accept their ideas to maintain good relations with them? Robert Frost gives some suggestions.

Kerala State Board New Syllabus Plus Two English Textbook Answers Unit 1 Chapter 4 Horegallu Text Book Questions and Answers, Summary, Notes.

Kerala Plus Two English Textbook Horegallu Questions and Answers Unit 1 Chapter 4 (Anecdote)

♦ Read and Respond (Textbook Page No. 26)

Question 1.
What is a‘horegallu’? What is its purpose?
Answer:
A horegallu is a stone bench. It helps tired persons to sit down and rest for sometime so that they can regain their energy.

Question 2.
What are the special memories the author associates with ‘horegallu’?
Answer:
The special memories the author associates with ‘horegallu’ are about her grandfather sitting on the horegallu talking with villagers who work in the nearby fields. Her grandfather was a retired school teacher and he would sit on the horegallu under the banyan tree in the village. The tired villagers would come and sit on the stone bench and talk to her grandfather. When she felt tired after playing she would also sit near her grandfather listening to the conversations he was having with the villagers resting there.

Question 3.
How does the grandfather refresh the travellers?
Answer:
The grandfather refreshed the travellers just by listening to them. The villagers would talk of their troubles to him and he would listen. This seemed to refresh them.

Question 4.
Is ‘horegallu’ essential in a journey? Why?
Answer:
‘Horegallu’ is essential in a journey. Any journey involves some distance. Life itself is supposed to be a journey. Every now and then we need to sit down, and refresh ourselves. There is nobody in this world that does not have problems of some sort. A sympathetic listener will help the person with troubles to relieve himself of his burden at least temporarily.

Question 5.
‘Horegallu ’ gives everyone the opportunity to regain their strength. What does the author try to indicate her?
Answer:
It is true that horegallu gives everyone the opportunity to regain their strength. Life is a journey and we all need horegallus every now and then to regain our energy. The author is trying to tell us that we too must be like the horegallu. We may not be in a position to help everybody’ to solve his problems, but at least we can give people a sympathetic hearing and it will help them.

Question 6.
Bring out the symbolic significance of the word ‘burden’.
Answer:
‘Burden’ symbolically means our troubles and tribulations. There is nobody in the world that has no problems at all. Each problem is a burden. When we share our problem, our burden, with others, it will definitely relieve us.

Question 7.
Comment on the expression, ‘infectious cheerfulness’.
Answer:
Infectious means ‘contagious’, something that spread fast. Like certain diseases, emotions are also infectious in the sense that they spread fast. When you attend a funeral, everyone wears a sad look. But when you attend a wedding, you have a happy look. A smiling person brings smile to your face. A cheerful person makes you also cheerful and this it is infectious.

Question 8.
What does Ratna do during lunch hours?
Answer:
During lunch hours, Ratna would sit with some person in one of the rooms and they would be chatting.

Question 9.
What is Ratna’s simplistic outlook?
Answer:
Her simplistic outlook is God has given her two ears to listen to others. She is not a trained counsellor or an intellectual and she can’t solve people’s problems. They have to do it themselves. She simply listens to the people with sympathy and without any judgment. She believes that when a person in stress finds an outlet for is worries, it relieves him a lot.

Question 10.
The author wishes there were many more of ‘horegallus’ in the world. Comment.
Answer:
A horegallu is a stone bench on which tired people can rest and regain their energy. Such stones are usually under shady trees. Tired travellers unburden themselves, sit, and talk to some sympathetic listener. Life is a journey and we all are travellers. Each one of us carries burdens of various sorts. If there is some patient and sympathetic listener, we can unburden ourselves and feel relieved. The horegallu will not solve your problem but it gives you a temporary relief. The author expects each of us to be a horegallu.

Think And Write

Question 1.
Do you think that the grandfather and Ratna were doing some tremendous social service? Explain.
Answer:
I do think that the grandfather and Ratna were doing tremendous social service. They used to sit down and calmly listen to the problems people have. They listened to people with sympathy and no judgment. By opening theirmind, people feel relieved. The grandfather and Ratna might not have solved people’s problems. But they were simply horegallus giving the people temporary relief from their inner burdens.

Question 2.
Can we relate grandfather and Ratna to a horegallu? Why?
Answer:
We can definitely relate grandfather and Ratna to a horegallu because they helped people in unburdening themselves. A horegallu under a shady tree, sometimes with cool drinking water nearby, lets the people carrying burdens sit for a while and relax, getting back their energy. By talking to the grandfather and Ratna, people also felt relieved, Burdens are lightened when they are shared. In this sense they both are horegallus.

Activity I (Narration)

Question 1.
Ratna in ‘Horegallu’ says, “God has given me two ears to listen to others. I hear them out with sympathy and without any judgment. When a person in trouble or under a lot of strain finds an outlet for his worries, it relieves half of his burden. ”

a) Do you think mere listening can solve a problem? Identify the qualities of a good listener.
Answer
Mere listening can’t solve a problem. The qualities of a god listener include: attention, interest, sympathy, making agreements, giving suggestions and being non- judgmental.

b) Imagine Nomita gets a chance to talk to Ratna. How would she present her worries?
Begin as follows: I am Nomita. Yesterday I had a quarrel with my husband.
Answer
Nomita: I am Nomita. Yesterday I had a quarrel with my husband.
Ratna: What happened, Nomita?
Nomita: He received a letter written to me by my mother. He read and left it in his pocket. After 3 days when I checked his pockets before giving the dirty clothes to the washer¬man I found it there, crumpled and torn. When I asked him why he opened my letter and even refused give it to me later, he rudely told me he would do what he wants.
Ratna: He said that!
Nomita: He did. He further asked me what I could do. I was enraged. I saw a matchbox lying near, lit a match and put it to my sari which caught fire.
Ratna: Goodness! How could you do that?
Nomita: I was mad with anger. I wanted to tell him that l ean also do things.
Ratna: And then?
Nomita: Ajit was shocked and he came running and put out the fire. I could see remorse in his face. I am sure he will not challenge me again in the future.
Ratna: But Nomita, you had gone too far in setting fire to yourself.
Nomita: Well, men sometimes need shock treatments to bring them to their senses!

Activity II: (Language practice)

Question 2.
Read the passage on page 29 and pick out the adjectives and categorize them based on the nature of their description.
Adjectives: large, flat, vertical, stone, fellow, cool, earthen, their, similar, simple, sure
Categories:
Adjectives of Quality: flat, two, vertical, stone, fellow, cool, earthen, simple, sure
Adjective of Quantity: large
Adjective of number: two
Adjective of Comparison: similar
Possessive adjective – their

Now rewrite the passage substituting the adjectives without any change in meaning:
Answer:
It was a big, level stone placed horizontally over a couple of upright ones, thus making a hard bench on which anyone could sit and rest a while, chat with a co-traveler and exchange news of the road. Cold water would be kept in clay pots near the bench and people could quench thejr thirst before starting their journeys again. I am certain the same, easy arrangements can be found in the villages all over the country.

Activity III (Comparison)

Question 3.
In this unit, you have got acquainted with several women characters, both real and fictitious. The following excerpts present their ideas on empowerment.
“I always compare women to match boxes.” Ashapuma Debi
Tm the heat that warms the earth, which else were colder than a stone.” Katherine Tynan
“I don’t think there is a greater sin that betraying someone’s confidence.” Ratna
“For what reason should you open my letters? I told you a thousand times not to.” Nomita to Ajit
“I wish there were some horegallus on the world.” Sudha Murty
It’s time to create a world where women can meet their potential… and the world will reap the benefits.” Christine Lagarde

Now attempt a comparison of these women with regard to their ideas on being empowered.
Answer:
There are six women in the above quotations giving their own views on empowerment. Ashapuma Debi thinks that women have a lot of power but they don’t utilise it properly. She feels women are like matchboxes which people keep in their kitchen, pantry, bedrooms, or even in their pockets. Katherine Tynan is sympathetic and kind. She is the epitome of a good mother, who gives her children unconditional love. SW thinks that only women have the power to give such love and warmth to the family members. Ratna is also sympathetic and she listens to the problems of others.

She never tells the secrets of those who trust her and tell her of their problems. Nomita wants to be independent, but her husband does not allow her to be so. She is severe and resentful of her husband’s behaviour but she can hardly change him. Sudha Murty wants people to be horegallus so that they can share the burden of others. Christine Lagarde wants women to work for meeting their potential. She feels women are denied opportunities in education, jobs and also leadership positions. She is very domineering and she wants women to assert themselves against all kinds of discrimination against them.

Activity IV (Comprehension)

→ Read the advertisement
Reading shapes you.
Kind attention passionate book nerds…
Books which take you to another world help you escape daily
problems. Books are beyond imagination. A good book is always
a reliable companion. Children in their care are always happy.
But today we are getting distracted by the digital world. The
best way to get focused again is to disconnect and read an
excellent book.
Here, you have the wonderland of sparkling letters.
A bookstore that has a spacious and air-conditioned reading
hall is at your service.
Our new bookstore
PEACOCK PLUMES
Come, drink to the lees…

Question 4.
1. Whatisthetheme of the advertisement?
Answer:
The theme is the importance of reading.

2. According to the advertisement, what is the threat faced by readers today?
Answer:
According to the advertisement, the threat faced by readers today is the digital world which takes people away from reading books.

3. What are the advantages of reading:
Answer:
Reading has many advantages: It helps you to reach another world and thus you can escape from your problems. Books are beyond imagination. A book is always a reliable companion. In sorrow and joy, in disease and health books make good companions. Children who read books will be happy.

4. With books, you enjoy more than with a computer. OR
5. Pick out from the advertisement the words, phrases and clauses used for the purpose of description.
Take you to another world, escape daily problems, beyond imagination, reliable companion, happy, distracted by the digital world, wonderland of sparkling letters, spacious and air-conditioned reading hall.

Study the tips about clause, adjective clause, phrase and adjective phrase given on p. 31

Activity V: (Language practice)

Question 5
What makes our speech ornamental, vivid and picturesque?
Have a look at the conventional similes given below:
As black as coal
As good as gold
As loud a thunder
As slow as a snail

a. Are these similes attractive? Why?
Answer:
They are attractive because the pictures we get in those similes are vivid. We easily understand them. Similes are powerful ways of describing things.

b. Can you coin similar similes using appropriate adjectives?
Answer:
Here are some adjectives: as black as hell, as blind as a bat, as bold as brass, as brave as a lion, as busy as a bee, as cheap as dirt, as clean as a whistle, as clear as day, as clumsy as an elephant, as cold as marble, as cold as steel/stone, as cool as a cucumber, as cunning as a fox, as dark as death

c. Given on p. 32 is the brochure of a female film festival. Go through it and fill in the blank spaces appropriately:
Answers:
Hello and Welcome: as fresh as daisies; as gay as a peacock
Films at a Glance: as pure as a lily MITR, My Friend: as sharp as an arrow; as empty as a drum
English Vinglish: as sweet as a candy Makalkku: as heavy as lead; as soothing as a lullaby

Activity VI (Review)

Question 6.
Prepare a review of the films which influenced you the most.
(Hints: theme, screenplay, cast and credit, music, cinematography, etc.)
Answer:

Bhargavinilayam

An enthusiastic and talented novelist (Madhu) comes to stay in a desolate mansion named Bhargavi Nilayam. The novelist and his servant Cheriya Pareekkanni (Adoor Bhasi) experience the presence of a strange entity here. They come to know from the local people that it is a haunted house. The story is that it is haunted by the ghost of the daughter of the previous owner. The novelist and his servant encounter strange happenings here – the gramophone plays on its own, objects move around. The novelist finds some old letters written to Bhargavi (Vijaya Nirmala) by her lover Sasikumar (Prem Nazir). It is believed that the ghost of Bhargavi now haupts this house.

The letters give some indication about their love affair and their tragic deaths. The novelist decides to probe the matter. He starts writing the story of Bhargavi. The information gathered from the local people and the hints in the letters help him in his writing. The story develops. Bhargavi falls in love with her neighbour Sasikumar who is a talented poet and singer. Bharagavi’s father’s nephew, Nanukuttan (P. J. Antony) is also in love with Bhargavi. But Bhargavi hates Nanukuttan who is a bad man. Nanukuttan tries all nasty tricks to separate the lovers. He kills Sasikumar. Bharagavi becomes furious when she comes to know of her lover’s murder. In a scuffle Nanukuttan pushes Bhargavi into a well, killing her. Nanukuttan spreads the news that Bhargavi had committed suicide.

The novelist reads out the story to the ghost who by now has become quite compassionate with him. Nanukuttan overhears the story. He fears that once the story is published the truth behind the death of Bhargavi and Sasikumar will be out. He attacks the novelist and a fight ensues. During the fight both Nanukuttan and the novelist reach the well in which Bharagavi was drowned. While trying to push the novelist into the well, Nanukuttan loses his balance. He falls into the well and is killed, while the novelist escapes. The novelist then prays for the peace of Bhargavi’s soul and the movie ends with the laugh of Bhargavi.

Bhargavinilayam means The House of Bhargavi’. It is a 1964 Malayalam horror-romance film written by Vaikom Muhammed Basheer and directed by A. Vincent. The film stars Prem Nazir, Madhu and Viiava Nirmala in the lead roles. Its story, screenplay and dialogues are written by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer. It was the directorial debut of noted cinematographer A. Vincent. The film is especially noted for its music by M. S. Baburaj. It was the first horror film in Malayalam and was one of the biggest hit films of all time.

Activity VII (Let’s edit)

Question 7.
Given below is the opening paragraph of a review prepared by a student of Class XII. There are a few errors in it Identify them and refine the paragraph.
Answer:

Gone With The Wind

One of the classic films that define American cinema, Gone with the Wind, is a rare example of a collaboration involving hundreds of talents and the film turned out great. For millions of people, Gone with the Wind, has helped to define the myth and reality of the country’s most tragic period in history – the Civil War and Reconstruction. The popularity oflVIargaret Mitchell’s bestselling novel allowed the filmmaker to be confident of its success. Of course, proper attention to costumes and sets was paid. The film’s visual effects – especially the burning of Atlanta – are indeed effective and memorable.

Gone with the Wind deserves the label epic. It presents enough detail to be a facsimile of reality.

Activity VIII (Project)

Question 8.
Prepare a class magazine including stories, poems, anecdotes, reviews of prose and poems, etc.
OR
Organize a Film Festival on women. Include films with strong women characters and films by women film makers.
Prepare a report on the Film Festival for your school magazine.
Answer:

Our School Film Festival

The School’s Arts Club organized a Film Festival on women. We chose three films with strong women characters and films by women directors. The three films were: Daughters of the Dust, Down in the Delta, and City of Angels. The Festival lasted 3 days, 15-17 January 2015. The Festival was concluded with a ceremony presided overby Revathy, an actor and film maker from South India.

The first film shown was Daughters of Dust, released in 1991. It is the story of a family living in America whose ancestors were brought as slaves from Nigeria. The matriarch of the film summarises the issues presented in the story by saying, “We are two people in one body.” There is the African in them and then there is the Western. It talks of the generational split. The Direction and Screenplay is by Julie March. Music is by John Barnes. Barbara Jones, Alva Rogers, Cora Lee Day, Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor and Bahni Peazant play important roles. It is a good film that vividly portrays both Africa and American life.

The second film shown was Down in the Delta, released in 1998. In this film a family matriarch sends her two grandchildren and her drug-addicted daughter, Loretta, to small Mississippi town to save them from the dangers of the big city Chicago. There Loretta gets work in a chicken joint. There she and her children prosper. The film is directed by Maya Angelou. The main actors are Alfre Woodard, Wesley Snipes and Will Sinclair. It is a good film that tells us that even drug addicts can be reformed and brought back to’ gdod life.

The 3rd film shown was City of Angels, released in 1998. This is the story of Seth, an angel who wanders the Los Angeles area invisible to humans. As persons are about to die, he becomes visible to them and becomes their travelling companion during their trip to the other world. Soon angel falls in love with Maggie, a beautiful heart surgeon. She becomes interested in Seth, but his condition as an angel becomes a barrier than a gift. A choice must be made between celestial duty and earthly love. Although this is an impossible story, it is told in a nice way and thus it becomes an interesting film. The director is Brad Silberling, Music is by Gabriel Yared and the Screenplay is by Dana Stevens. Nicolas Cage, Meg Ryan Andre Braugher, Dennis Franz and Colm Feorare in the lead roles.

The Film Festival concluded by a closing ceremony presided over by the famous actor and director Revathy. She said that Indian women are not coming forward to make films because they think film direction is mainly meant for man. In Kerala we have so many famous film directors but they all are men. Not even a single female director with any name. This has to change. There are famous women directors like Meera Nair. She hoped that the new generation in girls will venture into film direction that they can tell the story the way they want. After a Vote of Thanks by the Secretary the Ceremony came to a close.

Liz Job

Secretary, Arts Club

Horegallu Edumate Questions and Answers

Question 1.
Ratna was Sudha Murty’s colleague in the early phase of her career. Now Sudha Murty is a successful business woman. Imagine that Sudha Murty invites Ratna to her office and felicitates her for her selfless services to mankind. How would Sudha Murty introduce her and appreciate herwork? Draft her speech.
Answer:
Dear Friends,
I have great pleasure in introducing Ratna to you. She and I were colleagues a few years ago. I have learned a lot from Ratna and probably that is why I am now able to run this big business. It is from Ratna I learned what a “horegallu” really means. A horegallu is a stone bench. It helps tired persons to sit down and rest for some time so that they can regain their energy. Ratna was a horegallu in the sense she helped tired and miserable people to regain their energy, patiently listening to their problems.
Every day during lunch hour, she would sit with some person in one of the rooms, chatting with him/her.

I often wondered what they talked about. One day I asked her and Ratna told me that they shared their troubles with her. I then asked Ratna how she could help in solving their problems. Did she have an answer for them? She told me she only listened to them. I was young then and I wondered how merely by listening to somebody’s problem, it gets solved. She then told me she was not a’trained counsellor or an intellectual. Nobody can solve your problem. You have to solve it yourself.

Ratna explained things to me further. God has given her two ears to listen. She hears people with sympathy and no judgment. When somebody talks about his worries, it relieves him a lot. Ratna never revealed to others what people told her. This way Ratna helped people to be relieved and to go on with their journey of life. This way she was serving people in her own way.

I thank Ratna for what she did to all and to me.

Let us take a leaf from Ratna and become horegallus in our own way.

Question 2.
“I hear them out with sympathy and without any judgement”, says Ratna in Horegallu.
As part of the World Mental Health Day, the Souhrida Club co-ordinator of your school asks you to prepare a chart on the topic ‘Listen to Others – Broaden your Mind’. Write a paragraph in about 80 words.
Answer:
Listen to Others – Broaden Your Mind ” God has given us two ears but only one mouth. We have two ears so that we can listen more than we speak. There is a difference between listening and hearing. Listening is a voluntary activity but hearing is something that happens automatically. It is like the difference between looking and seeing. By listening to the people’s problem we help them to get some relief. A person feels happy and relieved when he tells his problems to a sympathetic listener. So we should learn to listen sympathetically to people without making judgments. By listening to others we broaden our minds as we learn newthings. By listening we can also be ‘horegallus’ to others. Some people say that only if we listen to others, God will listen to us!

Question 3.
Given above is a pie diagram that tells about the psychological assistance received by students of various age groups in the present-day world. It shows the percentage of students who seek assistance from various groups. Analyse the pie diagram and prepare a write-up.

(Hints: increasing number of counselling centres- students depending more on counsellors and friends – parents do not support)
Answer:
Growing Significance Of Counsellors To Students
Teenage and adolescent students are the ones that need counselling most. Adolescence is considered to be a period of stress and strain and therefore adolescent students need counselling most. The modern students are baffled at the different ideas that are propagated by the various groups in the society. Some of these ideas are quite conflicting. The influx of mobile phones and the wide use of the internet have given the students a lot of choices, both for doing good and also for evil.

There are religious fundamentalist groups and terrorist groups that want to get the youths into their clutches. Students do not know what is right and what is wrong, whom to believe and whom not to believe. They are bombarded with information and they don’t know what to choose and what to reject. Hence comes the necessity to have counselling and counsellors. The pie diagram shows that 35% of the students approach counsellors with their problems. Friends come next in importance with 30%. The role of teachers is only 20% whereas the least in the group is parents with a mere 15%.

Students do not often go to their parents and teachers for counselling because of their sense of shame and fear. They want to appear good boys and girls before their parents and teachers. But the fact is their mind is not at ease because of the problems they face. So, for solutions they approach counsellors and to a lesser extent their friends. When children go to their parents with doubts about sex and sexuality, the usual answer is: “Don’t ask me these things!” or “Don’t you have shame to ask me such things?”

Question 4
Imagine that a film festival was conducted in your school. The following points were jotted down by a journalist fordrafting a report. Prepare the likely report by him.
• Inauguration by Parvathi Menon
• Parvathi: “Films reflect the society”.
• Felicitation speech by Pramod Kumar, Staff Secretary
• Pramod: “Films should inspire and motivate students.”
• Films: ‘A Beautiful Mind’, ‘Dhoni: The Untold Story’, ‘Ottaal’
Answer:
Film Festivalat Don Bosco Hss Thrissur
Thrissur: A one-day film festival was conducted on Friday, 5 June 2017 at the Don Bosco HSS Thrissur.

The Inaugural function began at 9.00 a.m. The welcome speech was done by the Secretary, Arts Club of the School. The Inauguration was by the popular actress Paravathi Menon. Parvathi said that films reflect the society. The film producers, directors, actors and all others connected with the film are members of the society and therefore naturally what they do and say in the film reflect the ideas of the society. Films have a big role to play in shaping the society.

The felicitation speech was done by Mr. Pramod Kumar, the Staff Secretary. He said that such film festivals increase the awareness of the students to the problems in the society. Films are not merely for entertainment but also for education. Seeing things on the screen will have a greater impact on the minds of the students. All good films will have something positive to teach. Films should inspire and motivate students to reach greater heights – to have high dreams and to work hard to realize them. Three films were shown after the inaugural function. The first film shown was “A Beautiful Mind”.

It is a 2001 American biographical drama Film based on the life of John Nash, a Nobel Laureate in Economics. The film was directed by Ron Howard. Then the film ‘‘M.S.Dhoni: The Untold Story” was screened. It is a 2016 Indian biographical sports film written and directed by Neeraj Pandey. It is based on the life of Indian cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni. It stars Sushant Singh Rajput as Dhoni. It chronicles the life of Dhoni from a young age and the series of life events that finally culminates in his stardom in the realm of cricket. The 3rd film was Ottal. It is a 2015 Malayalam film directed by Jayaraj. It is an adaptation of the short story “Vanka” by the Russian author Anton Chekhov. It tells the story of a young boy and his relationship with his grandfather, his only living relative in the world.

Of the three films, all were impressed by the film on MS Dhoni. The film festival ended at 6.00 p.m.

Question 5.
Imagine that Sudha Murty sends an e-mail to Ratna, thanking her for changing her outlook towards life. Draft the e-mail for Sudha Murty.
Answer:
[email protected]
Dearest Ratna,
I want to thank you for all the valuable suggestions and advice you gave me. As a young girl, I did not know much about the importance of listening to others. When I saw you listening to people every day after lunch, I used to wonder why you were wasting yourtime listening to the trouble of others. Do you remember me asking you that question?

And then you told me “We are given two ears to listen.” It was a great answer. You further told me that even by listening to the problems of people you are helping them because they feel relieved by telling what they feel in their mind to some sympathetic listener.

Now I am running a big business and I have seen how helpful your suggestions had been. I too now practise what you taught me – to listen to people without prejudice or judgment. I have found it a good thing, both for me as well as the person to whom I listen.

Thank you, Ratna. Thank you very much.
Please do keep in touch!
Sudha Murty

Question 6.
Fill in the blanks with appropriate similes or adjectives from the brackets.
With technology at our fingertips, it is now as ….. (a) ….. (easy, complex, tough) as abc to scan across the world and explore the unexplored. The boundaries that are as thick as ….. (b) ….. (brick, iron, glass) crumble down to help us experience a unified existence. Now, man is as busy as a ….. (c) ….. (snail, bee, sloth), joyously defeating the conventions and customs of yesteryears. His vision is as ….. (d) ….. (clear, vague, dim) as crystal and his attitude is as stubborn as that of a mule.
Answer:
a) easy, b) brick, c) bee, d) clear

Question 7.
Modern world offers us so many material comforts and we can easily satisfy all our desires. But Sudha Murthy says, ‘If ever now I happen to pass a horegallu in the village, I rememberthem and wish there were many more of them in this world’. What makes her say so? Give reasons. Answer in a paragraph.
Answer:
When Sudha Murthy passes a horegallu in the village she remembers especially two people. One is her grandfather and the other is her colleague Ratna. A horegallu is a stone bench. It helps tired persons to sit down and rest for sometime so that they can regain their energy. Sudha’s grandfather was a retired school teacher. He would spend hours sitting under the banyan tree, on the horegallu there, talking to those resting there. Most of them told him their troubles and pains. He could hardly have done anything to solve their problems. But by patiently listening to them he was relieving them to a great extent. He was a horegallu on which the tired people unburdened their burdens.

Sudha met Ratna when she went to work in Mumbai. Ratna was her colleague. She was a middle aged senior clerk and she always smiled. Every day during lunch hour she would sit with some person in a room and chat with him/her. Sudha often wondered what they talked about. One day she asked Ratna what they discussed. Ratna told her that the persons with whom she talked shared their troubles with her. Sudha then asked Ratna how by listening to one person, she could solve his problems. Ratna said God has given us two years to listen. Even if we can’t solve problems for people, we can help them by listening to them. A troubled person feels relieved when he tells a sympathetic listener about his troubles. Sudha knew Ratna was right. So she wishes there were more horegallus like her grandfather and Ratna. It would make the world a better place to live in.

Question 8.
Imagine that your teacher asks you to narrate a situation in which a person acted as a horegallu or Ratna in your life and helped you to relieve you off your sorrows. How would you narrate that experience?
Answer:
I had a sisterwhom I loved very much. She too loved me deeply. One day as she was going to school in the school bus, the bus collided with a truck and my sisterwas seriously injured. She was rushed to the hospital. She had a serious head injury and a surgery was done. We all prayed for her but the doctors could do nothing to save her. She died a couple of days later. I could not accept her death and my mind was always thinking about her. I was quite depressed and I lost interest even in my studies.

Then a distant relative of mine came to my house. He asked me why I always looked so morose and melancholic. I told him the reason for my sorrow. He asked me to tell him the incident in detail. I told him everything in complete details. He did not ask me any question but he listened to my story very sympathetically. At last he told me, “Son, you are not the only one who has suffered losses in this world. I had three children. They all died in an accident when the car in which they were travelling hit the railing of a bridge and fell into the river.”

I felt my sorrow was much less compared to his.

Question 9.
Childhood is a storehouse of memories and varied experiences. Sudha Murthy recollects her childhood experiences in the anecdote ‘Horegallu’. Write an anecdote on the basis of your own childhood experience.
Answer:
I have many memories of my childhood but one incident stands out. It was a Sunday and I was in the church. A wedding was taking place that day. The bride, obvi’ojjftly from a rich family, was covered with different types of gold ornaments. She had many chains, necklaces, bangles, bracelets and rings. The reception was in the parish hall nearby. After the wedding, in the church, the people began to rush to the parish hall for the reception and the sumptuous meal awaiting them.

The bridegroom, a handsome youth, was holding the hand of his bride and together they were walking towards the hall. Suddenly a poor woman, carrying a pale, sickly child appeared before them. The bride suddenly stopped and looked at the woman. The people around were trying to drive away the woman but the bride told them not to do that. She gave a sign to the poor woman to come closer. Then suddenly she removed one of her golden chains and gave it to the poor woman. To the wonderstruck bridegroom the smiling bride said, “Dear, I can manage with one chain less. Let the poor woman and her child have an enjoyable day today. I’m sure we’llbe more happy.”

I will never forget the smile on the face of the poor woman.

Question 10.
Sudha Murthy is a social activist and a teacher by profession. Imagine that she happens to address a noisy class in one of her sessions. She starts narrating the story of Ratna. How will she narrate it? Prepare the narration for her.
Answer:
Dear students,
As you talk so eagerly and make so much of noise, l am reminded of my young days. Before I became a teacher, I worked for sometime in a business office in Mumbai. In the office there were many workers. One of them was Ratna. a middle-aged senior clerk. She has been working there for 25 years. She had a smiling face. It was a pleasure talking to her.

I used to see her talking with someone everyday during lunchtime. I often wondered what they were talking about. One day I asked Ratna what they discussed. Ratna told me that the persons with whom she talked shared their troubles with her. I then asked Ratna how by listening to one person, she could solve his problems. Ratna said God has given us two years to listen. Even if we can’t solve problems for people, we can help them by listening to them. A troubled person feels relieved when he tells a sympathetic listener about his troubles. I know Ratna was right.

So children, stop talking and start listening. Only by listening, you will know more things. By knowing more things you will be empowered and you can become what you want to become.

Question 11.
Most of our historical monuments and structures like horegallus are damaged by tourists and locals with drawings and other graffitti. With the consent of your teacher you decide to give awareness to students on the necessity of preserving them, in the school assembly. What would you say? Draft an awareness speech to be made in the school assembly.
Answer:
My dear students,
Today I am going to talk to you about the necessity to preserve historical monuments and structures like horegullus. We hear a lot about building new things and making statues of great men and women. But we hardly hear of the importance of preserving our historical monuments and other ancient structures. Tourists and locals have the habit of writing things on such monuments. Sometimes they even break away small pieces to carry as mementoes of their visits to such monuments. This is.very bad as they disfigure them and spoil them.

Monuments cultivate pride of our past and heritage making us unique in the world. Paris is known for the Eiffel tower, London forthe Big Ben, China forthe Great Wall, Egypt forthe Pyramids and India for its Taj Mahal. If people go on disfiguring them, they lose their value. Historical monuments are great attractors of tourists. Everyone likes to experience the “spirit” of the place, which is most often represented through the monuments. Tourists can provide locals with jobs and extra income.

Historical monuments and structures like horegallus are environmental friendly. They add charm to our place without in any way harming the environment. So let us take a firm decision not to litter any monument or historical structure with graffiti or such unwanted things. Let us preserve them for posterity.

Thank you all!

Question 12.
Imagine that while going on a tour to a famous historical place some of your classmates try to write their names and comments on the walls. You decide to dissuade them from that activity. What advice would you give them? Write three sentences using the expressions. ‘You had better…, Why don’t you …, If I were you ’
Answer:
You had better write what you want to write in the visitors’diary.

Why don’t you think this place as a national treasure and by writing your names and other things you are spoiling the beauty of this place?

If I were you, I would not write or draw on these walls.

Question 13.
After studying the anecdote ‘Horegallu’you realize that your parents and grandparents are a treasure house of knowledge. You start a bloggers’ group named ‘Unacknowledged Legacy’ to appreciate their contributions and to popularize their knowledge. What would be your blog entry to mark the beginning of the group?
Answer:
Unacknowledged Legacy
6 June 2017
We all know the old adage “Old is Gold”. How many of us are really prepared to acknowledge that our parents and grandparents were a treasure house of knowledge and wisdom? Knowledge and wisdom come from experience. Many things are learned from experience and not merely from books. Our parents and grandparents have been imparting us their wisdom not only through their words but also their deeds. We are starting this Bloggers’ Group titled Unacknowledged Legacy to pay tribute to our older generations. Today we are what we are just because of our parents and grandparents.

They are the one who brought us up, taught us to dream high and work hard to achieve our dreams. Often, as young and inexperienced people, we may have resented their interference in our lives. We may have then thought that they are autocrats who want to keep us under their tight control. If they hadn’t exercised their authority and restrained us, many of us would have been abject failures. Thanks to their wisdom, we are today somebody and we should e ver remain grateful to them.

This blog invites members to contribute their stories of how they were assisted by their parents and grandparents to reach their present position. Make your contributions short and sweet. Brevity, they say, is the soul of wit.

Lilly Jacob

Question 14.
You got inspired by the anecdote of ‘Horegallu’ and decide to visit an old age home. You are enthusiastic to know more about the old customs and traditions of our forefathers .You seek information regarding that from the inmates of the old age home. How would you seek information from them? Write three sentences using the expressions I would like to know…, Do you
mind telling me about…, Can I ask you …..
Answer:
I would like to know how you happened to come to this Old Age Home.
Do you mind telling me about your family members and what they do.
Can I ask you to describe to me how marriages took place in your young days?

Horegallu About The Author

– Sudha Murty

Sudha Murty was born in 1950. She is an M.Tech in Computer Science and teaches Computer Science. She writes a lot both in English and Kannada. ‘Horegallu’ is taken from The Old Man and His God: Discovering the Spirit of India.

Horegallu Summary in English

Page 26: Hot summer days remind me of my childhood in a small village. There was a large banyan tree right in the middle of the village. During holidays I spent many hours playing under it. The tree was like a big umbrella. It gave much needed shade and comfort. Travellers spent some time sitting under it, taking some rest, before they continued their journey. To make them comfortable there was a ‘horegallu’ under the tree. ‘Horegallu’ means ‘a stone that can bear weight’.

It was a large flat stone placed horizontally overtwo vertical stones. It was a stone bench. People could sit on it, chat with a fellow traveller and exchange news of the road. Cool water was kept in earthen pots and travellers could drink the water. I am sure such simple arrangements are found all over the country.

The horegallu in our village brings special memories for me because it is connected with my grandfather. He was a retired school teacher. He would spend hours sitting under the banyan tree, talking to those resting there. When I got tired of playing I would sit next to him listening to their conversations and observing the people.

Page 27: Most of the villagers were taking a break from their work in the nearby fields. They had to walk long distances each day. They had to carry heavy burdens on their heads. Tired by the heat, they would drink the cold water, wash their faces and chat with my grandfather. They often talked about their lives and worries.

One man would say, “Masterji, this summer has been so hot. I have never seen such a dry weather.” Another would say, “Masterji, it is getting difficult for me to carry heavy loads on my head. Thank God for this horegallu. I want my son to help me but he simply wants to go to the city.” My grandfather listened to their talk and they felt refreshed. They would soon go away with their burdens. The horegallu was an important feature in their lives and I wondered why they blessed it so often.

It was just a stone bench. Then my grandfather told me that a horegallu is essential in any journey. We all carry burdens in our different ways. Once in a while we need to stop, put down that burden and rest. Only then we will be refreshed to carry the load again. The horegallu helps the people to regain their strength.

Later in life I happened to see something that reminded me of that horegallu. I was working in Mumbai. One of my colleagues was Ratna. She was a senior clerk, middle-aged and always smiling. She had been working in the company for nearly 25 years, after her graduation. She continued working with a cheerful face.

Every day during lunch hour, she would sit with some person in one of the rooms, chatting with him/her. I often wondered what they talked about. One day I asked what they discussed during the lunch hour. Ratna told me that they shared their troubles with her.

Page 28: I asked her how she could help in solving their problems. Did she have an answer for them? She told me she only listened to them. I was young and I wondered how merely by listening to somebody’s problem, it gets solved. She then told me that she was not a trained counsellor or an intellectual. Nobody can solve your problem. You have to solve it yourself. I then wondered what the point was of listening to somebody’s problem if no help can be given.

Ratna answered me patiently. She told me that God had given her two ears to listen to others. She hears people with sympathy and no judgment. When somebody talks about his worries, it relieves him a lot. I then wanted to know if she ever told other the secrets she heard. Ratna told me that not even in her dreams she would do that. Revealing somebody’s secret is the worst kind of betrayal. People told her of their worries because they were certain that she would never tell others about them. They relieve themselves by talking about their burdens and they continue with their life’s journey.

Ratna’s words reminded me of my grandfather sitting on the bench stone listening to people. Neither my grandfather nor Ratna were rich. But in their small ways they were doing great social service. No one thought of acknowledging their work or giving them any rewards. But they continue doing their service and it gives them joy. Whenever I pass by a horegallu anywhere, I think of my grandfather and Ratna. I wish there were more such ‘bench stones’ in this world.

Horegallu Summary in Malayalam

Horegallu Glossary

Kerala State Board New Syllabus Plus Two English Textbook Answers Unit 1 Chapter 3 Matchbox Text Book Questions and Answers, Summary, Notes.

Kerala Plus Two English Textbook Matchbox Questions and Answers Unit 1 Chapter 3 (Story)

♦ Read and Respond (Textbook Page No. 17)

Matchbox Previous Year Questions And Answers Question 1.
Why are women compared to matchboxes?
Answer:
They are compared to matchboxes because like matchboxes they too contain enough gun powder to make a hundred Lankas burn. But they sit around meek and innocent in the kitchen, in the pantry, in the bedroom, in fact in any place.

Question 2.
What makes Nomita furious?
Answer:
Ajit’s habit of reading letters addressed to her makes her furious. Sometimes he does not even show her the letters. She tried many things to stop him from that habit. She showed anger, took offence, tried to shame him and used sarcasm. Nothing worked. He just laughs it away.

Question 3.
What is the suspicion in Nomita’s mind?
Answer:
The suspicion in Nomita’s mid is that Ajit does not give her all the letters that are addressed to her.

What Is Called An Ugly Habit Why Question 4.
What is called an ‘ugly habit’? Why?
Answer:
The habit of Ajit opening and reading the letters addressed to Nomita is called the ugly habit. He says that he does it because he wanted to make sure that someone does not send her love letters. She tried many things to stop him from this habit. But nothing worked.

Question 5.
How does Ajit react when Nomita mentions about his ugly habit?
Answer:
When Nomita mentions about his ugly habit he tries to laugh it away and if the laughter does not get him out of trouble, he scolds her.

Question 6.
What are the expectations of Nomita’s mother?
Answer:
Nomita’s mother needs money from Nomita and Ajit. In her letters she complains of the problems in her house. In the last letter she wrote that the ceiling of her room is cracked and the rainwater falls in. If this is not remedied she may die as the roof comes crashing down. She does not mind death. Herdaughter is a queen and her son-in-law is high minded and large-hearted. In short she wanted money to get the ceiling repaired.

Question 7.
Comment on Ajit’s attitude towards his mother-in-law.
Answer:
He has only contempt for her. How can a woman go on asking for help from her son-in-law? She always asks for money and then says her daughter is a queen. Ajit says Nomita’s mothen^a dung-picker. He says whenever letters come from her, there is no need to read them, but just go to the post office and fill in the money-order form!

Question 8.
What makes Nomita call Ajit a liar? Is her action justifiable?
Answer:
When Nomita asked Ajit why her letter was not given to her, he says he had just forgotten it. This makes Nomita call him a liar. Her action is justifiable. Nobody has a right to read the letter addressed to another person without his/her knowledge. Here Ajit not only reads the letters addressed to Nomita, he does not even give her the letters.

Question 9.
Comment on the simile in ‘Nomita hisses like a snake’.
Answer:
It is a fine simile. Nomita is very angry with Ajit for not showing her letter to her. She calls him a liar when he says he was planning to give it to her later. A snake hisses when it is very angry and when it is about to strike. Here Nomita hisses the word ‘liar’ as if a snake was hissing.

Question 10.
How do you think Ajit would react if Nomita reads the letters addressed to him?
Answer:
Ajit would be angry. If there is perfect love and understanding between the husband and wife, there is no harm in one reading the letters addressed to the other. However, etiquette forbids it. Moreover such perfect love can be found only in books!

Question 11.
What is the ‘poisonedknife’?
Answer:
The poisoned knife is the anger Nomita has shown. She calls him a common, vulgar man.

Question 12.
How does Nomita frighten Ajit?
Answer:
Nomita frightens Ajit by picking up a matchbox lying near and lighting a matchstick and touching it to her sari. The sari flares up.

Question 13.
What is the plight of Nomita in the family?
Answer:
Her plight is bad. He often fights with her husband Ajit. Her other sisters-in-laws tease her for spending too much time with her husband, instead of helping them in the household chores.

Question 14.
Comment on the expression ‘forest of people’. What does it tell us about the structure of Indian joint families?
Answer:
The author has used a very good metaphor in calling the joint family where Nomita and Ajit live as a forest of people. There are 26 members in that family. The writer has said Ajit gets the key to the letter box through the gaps among 52 hands! In a forest, some trees grow very tall but some get choked! There is no sufficient space for everyone to grow properly.

Think And Write

Question 1.
Sketch the character of Nomita. You may analyze the sentences given below:
Why, why does she keep on begging like this?
“Stop it! What a common, vulgar man you are!”
Nomita laughs a laugh that can bring an attractive flush to a white face.
Answer:
Nomita is the wife of Ajit. They live in a joint family. Altogether there are 26 members in that family. Nomita comes from a very poor family. But she is very beautiful and that is how she gets married into a rich family. Her mother, who is a widow, was the one who managed to find a rich boy for her daughter. Nomita has no brothers or sisters. She is referred to as ‘queen’ by her mother.

Her mother frequently writes to Nomita requesting her for money. She used to write in postcards which could be read by anyone. Nomita is ashamed that her mother is always begging for money. To prevent others from reading, Nomita asks her mother to write letters in an envelope. The requests are so frequent that Ajit says that there is no need for reading the letter, but send some money to her. Nomita also secretly helps her mother. It seems her mother is very demanding and shameless as she goes on begging.

One day while collecting the soiled clothes forgiving to the washer-man, Nomita sees a letter in the pocket of Ajit. It is torn and crumpled. It is addressed to her and from the postmark, it is obvious that Ajit got it some 3 days earlier. But he had not told anything about it. Nomita is unhappy because Ajit reads the letters addressed to her. She had told him many times not to do it. He says he is checking to see if any love letter is sent to her by somebody. At this point Nomita gets angry and tells him that he is a common, vulgar man. This enrages Ajit and he says she is a dung-picker’s daughter. He will do what he wants to do and what can she about it?

Nomita, flaming with anger, picks a matchbox and lights a stick and puts it on her sari which instantly catches fire. Ajit rushes and with his bare hands he puts out the fire telling her that she loses her common sense when she is angry. Nomita can be very sarcastic and can make faces effectively. She can easily tell lies as she calmly says her sari got burned as she was taking down a hot pot from the stove.

Nomita is good at making retorts. When her sister-in¬law accuses her of rushing to Ajit at every small opportunity, she asks herto come and peek into her room to see what is happening there. Nomita can forget things fast. Soon after the burning of the sari, she is ready to peel potatoes. Even while peeling potatoes she is thinking how she can help her mother by sending her some money.

Nomita seems to be a snob. She has forgotten that she came from a poor family. She calls Ajit a ‘common’ and vulgar man, forgetting that she is a common girl gifted with some beauty. People who forget their past are not good people. She seems to have forgotten her roots.

Question 2.
Do you think there is a set pattern for exhibiting a woman’s emotions? Is she always emotionally under stress? Justify your answer.
Answer:
I don’t think there is a set pattern for exhibiting a woman’s emotions. They express their emotions in different patterns. I don’t think she is always emotionally under stress. We wee how Nomita tries to burn herself one moment; the next moment we see her teasing her sister-in-law and soon we find her settling down to peel potatoes. She even tells lies about the burning of her sari.

Match Box Question Answer Question 3.
Prepare a write-up discussing the space of women in a family.
Answer:
The women are the lamps of the family. It is impossible to imagine a family without a woman. Although we say the man is the lord of the family, in most homes things are decided by the women. They decide what to cook and what the members of the family should eat. They not only deliver children but look after them and bring them up in the right way. They do all the household chores. They also give a lot of love to their husbands and their children. Men are often rash but women are compassionate and generous. People are so attached to their mothers that often when facing troubles the word comes to their lips is ‘mother’. It is said that God created mothers because he could not be everywhere at the same time.

Question 4.
How does the author substantiate the comparison between a woman and a matchbox?
Answer:
The author compares women to matchboxes. Matchboxes contain enough gun powder to make a hundred Lankas burn. But they sit around meek and innocent in the kitchen, in the pantry, in the bedroom, in fact in any place. Women are the same. We see Nomita getting inflamed when Ajit insults her. She takes out the matchbox and lights a stick and puts it to her sari which catches fire. Fortunately Ajit is able to put the fire out. Soon she becomes a normal person and starts peeling potatoes. That is why the author says that even when they have material within themselves to burn many things, they never flare up to burn away the mask of men’s high-mindedness and their large¬heartedness. They don’t burn even their own colourful shells. The men know that. That is why they leave them scattered carelessly in the kitchen, in the pantry, in the bedroom, here, there and everywhere. Without fear, they also put them in their pockets.

Activity I: (Review)

Question 1.
It is often said that an empowered woman is the one who can ‘find her own voice’, ‘speak up’, and ‘be seen and heard’. In the present world, what we need is to foster a man-woman relationship which contributes to healthy, mutual development. Man and woman should move forward together, supporting and respecting each other, and being open to different opinions and situations.

How far is the above statement relevant to Nomita in Ashapurna Debi’s “Matchbox”? Prepare a review of the story, emphasizing the role of its women characters.
Answer:
The story is very simple. Nomita is married to Ajit. They live in a joint family. Nomita’s mother is a poor widow. Nomita has no brothers and so her mother always demands money from Nomita for her needs. She writes letters to her always telling misfortunes of various kinds with the intention of getting financial help from her son-in-law. Nomita is ashamed of the beggarly nature of her mother, but she continues helping her.

Ajit has the habit of opening and reading all the letters that are addressed to Nomita. Once she sees a crumpled letter addressed to her in one of his trousers’ pockets. The letter was written by her mother. He had received the letter some 3 days ago but he never told Nomita about it. Nomita had asked him many times not to open and read her letters. When she questions him about his bad habit, he says he will always do as he likes and what could she do stop him. There is a heated exchange and Nomita picks up a matchbox and sets fire to her sari. Ajit is able to put out the fire. All this drama takes place as the washer-man was waiting for the dirty clothes.

Soon Nomita gives the dirty clothes to the washer¬man and gets busy with household work. There is some teasing by a sister-in-law who accuses Nomita of spending too much time in the company of her husband, neglecting her duties in the joint family.

The two most important women characters in the story are Nomita and her mother. Nomita is a beautiful young girl who wants to assert her freedom but her husband Ajit does not allow it. He insists on reading the letters addressed to her. Nomita’s mother is a typical widow who wants to get as much help as

possible from her rich son-in-law. Her begging behaviour makes Nomita lose her face before her husband and other family members.

It is true that an empowered woman is the one who can ‘find her own voice’, ‘speak up’, and ‘be seen and heard’. We need gender equality and then only we can have a healthy world. Dominance by any sex will ruin the equilibrium of the family and the society.

Activity II (Panel Discussion)

Panel Discussion Plus Two English Question 2.
Panel means a group of experts. A discussion held among these experts in front of an audience is a panel discussion. It helps to clarify the difficult aspects of a topic in a systematic and objective manner. There are three sets of participants in a panel discussion: Panellists, moderator and audience.

Now conduct a panel discussion on the topic ‘Indian women – finding a space in the socio cultural milieu’.

Points to be considered:

• The effect of the media on a woman’s self-image.
• Healthy women, healthy nation
• The need for cultivating mental strength and mental toughness
• The need for a productive and harmonious work environment
• Acting as a mentor and guide to other women and girls
• Other marginalized sections of the society
• The pivotal role of women from the past to the present

Answer:
Panellists are experts in the field concerned. Decide upon the panellists (panel members) and list them.

Question 3.
Prepare the script of a speech welcoming the panellists and introducing them to the audience.
Answer:

Good morning,

It gives me immense pleasure to welcome you all to this panel discussion on “Indian women – finding a space in the socio cultural milieu”. We all know that everything is not rosy for the women in India. Although we got our freedom in 1947, the Indian women are still not free to live their lives the way they want. They have to face so many problems because of our male-dominated society. Our women too need freedom to live their lives the way they want.

The panellists in this discussion are Dr. Ammini Jacob, a Senior Lecturer in St. Joseph’s College Irinjalakuda, Dr. Ranbir Kaur, the HOD of English, at St. John’s College, Kochi, and Dr. Geeta Agarwal, the Vice Principal of Hamidia College, Mancheri. We are sure their discussion will throw light on some of the vexing problems that women face in our country. The moderator is Simi Ibrahim, the well- known activist for women rights.

Question 4.
After the panel presentation and discussion, the moderator synthesizes and summarizes the key points.
Prepare a script of a speech summarizing the panel discussion.
Answer:
Let’s review what we have discussed today. On the whole, it has turned out to be a fruitful venture. We saw how Indian women are not given their rightful places in the society. There are 1.2 billion Indians, nearly half of which are women. India had only one woman President and one woman PM so far. Look at our Parliament. How many women MPs are there? Look at the Kerala Government. How many women Ministers are there? Is it not shame that although we got our independence in 1947, ourwomen are still left behind when it comes to education, employment and leadership?

Dr. Ammini Jacob had some good suggestions regarding the effect of the media on a woman’s self-image. She showed that how healthy women make a healthy nation. Dr. Ranbir Kaur emphasized the need for cultivating mental strength and mental toughness in women. She spoke of the need for a productive and harmonious work environment for women. She said that educated women should act as mentors and guides to other women and girls. Dr. Geeta Agarwal was greatly concerned with the other marginalized sections of the society. She showed how women played a pivotal role in the past, quoting the examples of Rani Laxmi Bai and Sarojini Naidu. Women should come forward to take up leadership positions. She asked the women not to wait patiently for their rights but grab them.

I would like to thank the panellists for giving us great ideas. I also thank the audience for being so disciplined and well-behaved. I am sure they have benefited immensely from the discussion. Together, let’s make a better tomorrow!

Thank you all!

Activity III: (Blurb writing)

Question 5.
A blurb is a description of a book on its back cover. It is brief summary of the book designed for marketing. It does not have any uniform pattern.
Look at the sample blurb.

Now prepare a blurb of’Pratham Pratishruti’ making use of the hints given on page 25.
Answer:
Pratam Pratishruti is a novel about an uncommon woman, Satyavatie, who dared to breakthe so-called rules made to control the lives of the Bengali women in her days. The novel depicts the endless suffering and the liberation of women in Bengal. In fact it is the story of women everywhere in India.

Ashapurna Debi, the novelist, created a space of her own in the world of creative literature, and Gender Studies. She once said, “Slowly and steadily a completely new world was getting created within my mind. It was a world of comprehension, of feeling. It was a world with a never- ending flow of feelings.” Most of her writings marked a firm protest against the inequality and injustice rooted in gender discrimination.

Pratama Pratishruti inspires young minds to create an enlightened world free of segregation. It was published by Ananda Publishers, first in 1964. Other notable works of the writer are Subarnolata and Bakui Katha.

A good book blurb should have the following qualities:

• An opening with a catchy statement.
• It appeals to the interest of the readers.
• It urges the reader to buy/read the book.
• It gives some information about the author, publisher and year of publication.
• It should be short and dramatic.
• It describes in a simple direct language where the story begins, what the circumstances are, its socio-cultural relevance and its message.

IV. Read And Reflect

Question 1.
“Backward, turn backward, OTime, in your flight,

Question 2.
Make me a child again just for tonight.”

Question 3.
Remembering the good old childhood days often fills our mind with freshness and vigour and revitalizes us enough to go forward with confidence.

Matchbox Edumate Questions and Answers

Question 1
In the story’ Matchbox’, the rift between Nomita and Ajit occurred when Ajit hid her mother’s letter and read the content secretly. Nomita could notwin the quarrel and had to return to her normal routines without a second thought. If the same situation arises in the life of a modern couple, how would it affect their relationship? What would be the woman’s response to such an issue? Prepare an essay on ‘Modem Woman – her dreams, aspirations and role in society’.
Answer:
Modem Woman – her Dreams, Aspirations and Role in Society In the story ‘Matchbox’ by Ashapurna Debi, there is a rift between Nomita and Ajit. It was caused when Ajit read Nomita’s mother’s letter secretly. Nomita is angry and in the argument that ensues, Nomita goes to the extent of attempting to burn herself. Somehow the quarrel is patched up and Nomita returns to her normal duties.

Things would have been different if this happened to a modem woman. In the past women were considered the lamps of the family. Most of the time, they stayed at home and did the household chores and looked after the children. The men were the lords of the family. Important things were decided by the men and women had hardly any say in such matters. Girls married the men who were chosen by their fathers. But all this is past hjstory. Today’s woman is more assertive and she will not tolerate a husband like Ajit.

Modem women think they are equal to men and they have a role to play even outside their homes. In the modern world, women are educated and they also want to work and earn money. They don’t want to depend on the goodwill of their husbands to get certain things they want.

In the home, modern wives expect their husbands to share household chores. In the past the wives would be busy in the kitchen, but the husbands would be reading newspapers or listening to the news.

Now, the wives also want to read the newspapers and listen to the news. They also want to be entertained and taken out for meals outside and also an occasional trip to attractive places.

Modern women also want their share in politics. They are no more satisfied to be led by men. They think they too have the capacity for leadership. Women like Golda Meir (Israel), Mrs. Bandaranaike (Sri Lanka), Margaret Thatcher (England) and Indira Gandhi of India have shown that women can be even better leaders than men. Today we have Theresa May as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Angela Merkel as the President of Germany. It was only because of some bad luck Hillary Clinton lost to Donald Trump in the USA. Otherwise we would have a woman at the helm of affairs in the richest and most powerful nation in the world.

Question 2.
Imagine that a debate was held in your class on the topic ‘Nuclear Family. An Ideal Place for Women Empowerment.’ The following points were presented by one group against the topic.
a) Nuclear family provides unlimited freedom to women.
b) Nuclear family is not safe for women.
c) Nuclear family makes women irresponsible.
d) In a nuclear family, woman tends to neglect her children. Write four points supporting the topic.
Answer:
a) In a nuclear family, a woman gets enough time to do the things she likes – to cook the things she likes, to read, to write, to paint, to watch movies of her choice, etc.
b) Nuclearfamily makeswomen highly responsible because she realizes that any lapse on her part can cause calamities.
c) In a nuclearfamily, the woman can give greater attention to her own children. But in an extended family, she has to think of all the children there.
d) In a nuclear family, the woman can notice how the family progresses with her hard work. She feels important there and she knows that the welfare of the family depends on her also.

Question 3.
A panel discussion is conducted in your school on the topic ‘Role of Media in Women Empowerment. You are asked to initiate the discussion. How would you introduce the topic? Draft an introductory speech. Hints: (media-wide publicity-reach millions of viewers- require careful handling of details-wrong messages conveyed by advertisements and serials – responsibility of media)
Answer:
Respected Teachers and my dear friends, Good Morning!
It gives me immense pleasure to welcome you all to this panel discussion on “Role of Media in Women Empowerment”. If women empowerment has to be a reality, the media, both print and electronic, have to play a big role in it. Media can give wide publicity as they reach the nook and corner of the country. The majority of homes in India have television and many homes get daily newspapers. So by using these media, women empowerment can be given the boost it needs.

When using the media for women empowerment the details must be handled carefully. Women empowerment does not mean that women are given the right to do what they like and say whatever they feel. Many people consider women empowerment means a woman’s ability to smoke publicly, to drink in open bars or wear the kind of clothes she likes. This is not the meaning of empowerment. Its aims are more serious and graceful where women can contribute to the welfare prosperity of their community and humanity at large.

We are often misguided by advertisements and serials. There is a tendency to show women’s bodies to sell anything – from salt to satellites! The concept is that men get hooked to the curvaceous bodies and comely faces of women. This should be stopped. Women should not be used as promoters of merchandise! Some of the serials are grossly immodest and present women in bad light. Women should be bold and courageous but not unnecessarily aggressive and bloodthirsty, consumed by vengeance.

Media have a big and positive role to play in Women Empowerment in India.

We shall now listen to various views by our panellists.

Have a nice and fruitful day!

Matchbox Question Answers Question 4.
Given below is the blurb of a famous book. There are a few errors in it. Edit the passage.
Hints: (subject-verb concond-spelling-punctuation) 1984
The year.1984 has come and gone, but George Orwell’s prophetic, nightmarish vision in 1949 of the world we was becoming is timelier than ever. 1984 is still the great modern classic of ‘negative utopia’ – a startlingly orginal and haunting novel that create an imaginary world that is completely convincing, from the first sentence to the last four words. No one can deny that novels hold the imagination of whole generations.
Answer:
Wrong – Right
george oiwell’s – George Orwell’s
was – were
orginal – originals
create – creates

Conversation Between Nomita And Ratna Question 5.
Read the following excerpts from ‘Matchbox’ and ‘Horegallu’.
‘I can’t? I can’t do anything? You want to see if I can do anything?’, says Nomita ‘God has given me two ears to listen to others. I hear them out with sympathy and without any judgement’, says Ratna. What do you understand about the character of Nomita and Ratna? Compare and contrast the characters of Nomita and Ratna.
Answer:
From the talk of Nomita one can easily guess that she is a hot-tempered woman. Here she is challenging her husband saying that if he thinks she can’t do certain things, he is mistaken. She can do some things which he thinks she can’t. She is challenging him and telling him whether he is prepared to see what she is capable of doing. It is by talking like this, she puts a burning match stick to her sari which catches fire. The conversation shows Nomita is not a dependable woman and she can act quite rashly in an unthinking manner.

But Ratna is quite a different woman. She is a middle- aged senior clerk and she is always smiling. Every day after lunch she sits with some person and listens to her/him. She is listening to people’s problems. Even by listening to them, she can help them. A big problem the modem world faces is that people have no time to listen to the problems of others! God has given us two ears to listen. A person with a problem feels relieved even when somebody sympathetically listens to him or her. Between the two women, Ratna is by far the better one.

Question 6.
A person can react against injustice in different ways. Nomita reacted by quarrelling with her husband and setting fire to the anchol of her sari. Whaf are the other possible ways in which Nomita could have reacted against her husband’s dirty habit? Suggest three other possible methods of response that could have been adopted by Nomita.
Answer:
People can react in different ways when they face problems. Nomita reacted by quarrelling with her husband and even setting fire to her sari. She could have used some other ways to show her displeasure and to mend the ways of her husband.

Tell him how impolite and rude the habit of reading letters addressed to others is. Reading letters addressed to othei^ is uncivilized behaviour.

She could have explained to him the helpless condition of her mother and the need to help her without complaining.

She could have stopped talking to him for some time so that he can realize that she is offended and this might help him in changing his bad habit.

Nomita’s Letter To Her Mother Question 7
Imagine that Nomita’s mother visits Ajit’s household a few days after the quarrel between Nomita and Ajit. Nomita narrates the entire incident to her mother. She tries to console her daughter and promises that she won’t write letters to her. What would be the conversation between the mother and daughter? Draft the conversation.
Answer:
Nomita’s
Mother : I’m sorry Nomita that this happened because of my letter. How was I to know that he opens your letters?
Nomita : At least now you know. So please do not write such letters again.
Mother : What shall I do then? There is nobody to help me.
Nomita : If you need money so badly, phone me. This is my number.
Mother : From now on, I will do that. I know it is hard on you to help your mother as you do not earn any money. But you must consider my helplessness.
Nomita : It’s okay, Mom. I will do what I can. But call me only when you are in real need of money. You know it is not easy to get money from Ajit. When I get the call from you I shall find some way of sending you help.
Mother : Thank you, Nomita! You are a sweet girl. Glad that you have not forgotten your poor mother!
Nomita : It is okay, Mom.

Question 8
Read the following passage and answer the questions given below:
Nomita speaks her mind so no one attacks her outright to her face; they only pinch her with sharp words.
a) What is the meaning of the expression ‘pinch with sharp words’?
(a. make someone happy, b. make someone angry, c. irritate, d. speak rudely and cause pain)
b) What quality of Nomita is evident here?
c) Who does’ they’ refer to?
d) What is the plight of Nomita in the family?
Answer:
a) speak rudely and cause pain
b) Nomita speaks frankly without caring how others take it. Others are afraid of her because she can speak her mind openly. >
c) The word ‘They’ refers to the members of Ajit’s family.
d) She is not much liked by the other sisters-in-law. They are fond of laughing at her. They are united against Nomita and Nomita has to fight alone.

Question 9.
Nomita is angry with Ajit for reading the letter sent by her mother. She found the letter in Ajit’s pocket. What could have been the contents of the letter? Attempt it.
Answer:
Vaishno Devi
13/IVM.G. Road
Calcutta
6 June 2015

Dearest daughter,
It’s been quite a long time since I heard anything from you. How are you there? How is Ajit? How are the other members of the family?

I can’t say I am quite fine. Since Last week I have been suffering from some cough and cold. I tried some local medicines, but the cough is persisting. Our neighbours told me I must visit the doctor. But the fact is I have no money to pay the doctor’s fee or to buy the medicine. My clothes have become very old and I need a new sari also. So I have to ask you to send me some money. I know I am bothering you. But what can I do?

Your immediate response will help me.
Yours lovingly,

Sd/-
Vaishno Devi

Question 10.
Nomita is a housewife. Is she an empowered woman? Write your opinion in a paragraph of about 100 words.
Answer:
Nomita is not an empowered woman. For every little thing she has to ask her husband. She has no money of her own and therefore she has to beg her husband to send some money to her mother. Nomita is not empowered in the sense that she does not think rationally. How can she set fire to her sari just because her husband Ajit did not give her the letter addressed to her? An empowered person would be able to take rational decisions. Nomita can talk cheaply. When her sister-in-law accuses her of rushing to Ajit at every small opportunity, she asks her to come and peek into her room to see what is happening there, ‘fhis is a cheap retort. Nomita is a snob. She has forgotten that she came from a poor family. She calls Ajit a common and vulgar man forgetting that she comes a very poor family and she is vulgar herself. She had forgotten her roots. An empowered woman will not forget her roots.

Question 11
Ajit’s elder brother notices the rift between Ajit and Nomita. He makes the couple meet a counselor. If you were the counselor what advice would you give Ajit? Write three pieces of advice, using expressions like ‘You should … , You ought to … , You had better…………..
Answer:
You should not read the letters addressed to others unless they permit you to do so.

You ought to show more respect to your wife Nomita and give her all the letters addressed to her without opening them.

You had better take a resolution not to open Nomita’s letters. If she wants you to read them, she will give them to you after she reads them. Letters are private affairs and no one has a right to read the letters addressed to others.

Plus Two English Matchbox Questions And Answers Question 12.
Nomita after gaining control of her anger speaks to Ajit about his insulting behaviour. Edit the errors in the dialogue given below.
Nomita : Ajit, you hurted me today. Why do you read my mother’s letters? Do you know how much she loves we? She is proud for her son-in-law. Still you don’t like her.
Ajit : Nomita, I didn’t do it deliberately. I’m sorry.
Answer:
Wrong – Right
hurted hurt
we – us
for – of
delibaretely – deliberately

Question 13.
Imagine that Ajit feels guilty over his brashness towards Nomita. He requests Nomita to forgive him. How will he ask for forgiveness? Write three sentences. You may use the following expressions like ‘Please forgive…., I regret , I am extremely
Answer:
a) Please forgive my fault of reading your letters.
b) I regret that I called you a dung-picker’s daughter.
c) I am extremely sorry for speaking rudely to you.

Question 14.
‘Nomita keeps thinking about how she might be able secretly to send her mother a few rupees’.
Imagine that Nomita stealthily geos to a post office to send a money order to her mother. She seeks the help of the postmaster to send the money order. How will she ask for help? Draft two request statements for her.
Begin the answer like this:
Sir, Would you please help me……………
Answer:
Sir, would you please help me to send Rs. 50/- to my mother? Here is the money. Her address is Vaishno Debi, 13/IVM.G. Road, Calcutta.
Sir, I want to send Rs. 50/- to my mother by money order. Please help me. Her address is Vaishno Debi, 13/IVM.G. Road, Calcutta.

Question 15.
Read the following conversation between Nomita and Ajit.
He said “What letter? Mndeed, there was a letter from your mother. I just hadn’t got around to giving it to you
“Why hadn’t you got around to it?
“What a nuisance! Ajit said,Td forgotten -why else? Imagine that Rini, Ajit’s niece overhears the conversation and reports it to her mother. Draft the report for Rini.
Answer:
Ajit at first pretended that he didn’t understand her and later agreed that there had been a letter from her mother and that he hadn’t got around to giving it to her.

She asked him why he hadn’t got around to it.

Ajit exclaimed saying that she was becoming a nuisance and he had just forgotten to give her the letter.

Question 16.
Given below are a few newspaper headlines on ‘Domestic Violence’ displayed in a classroom. The teacher asks the students to respond to these headlines. A student writes a note of protest against increasing violence towards women.

Woman hangs self, father alleges in-laws demanded dwry.
Meerut man pours acid on wife, in-laws.
Man kills 8 month old daughter, in a fit of rage surrenders to police
Brother attacks sleeping sister, gouges her eyes.
She/He starts the note like this.
I am really shocked by these newspaper headlines.

I can’t believe that I am living in the twenty first century. These headlines ……………………………………………
……………………………………………
…………………………………………… Complete the note for her/him.
Answer:
l am really shocked by these newspaper headlines. I can’t believe that I am living in the 21st century. These headlines show how terrible the life of a woman is in India. In the first case a woman hangs herself because she was not able to give adequate dowry to her husband and his family. She was grossly mistreated in the husband’s home and she could not take it any longer. In the second case, a cruel man pours acid on his wife and the in-laws. In the third case a man kills his 8-month old daughter in a fit of rage. In India girls are considered a burden on the family. There used to be female infanticides. Now we have female foeticides. By ultrasound scanning the sex of the foetus is determined and if it is a female, abortion is done. The last one is horrible. Imagine a brother attacking her sleeping sister and gouging her eyes. Where is brotherly love? Atrocities against women are rampant in our society. We speak of equality of women with men. That equality is only on paper. Women are discriminated against socially, economically and culturally. One really wonders if one is living in the 2151 century! When indeed when, will these atrocities end!

Matchbox About The Author

– Ashapurna Debi

Ashapurna Debi (1909-1995) is a prominent Bengali novelist and poet. She has received many awards including Jnanpith and Padma Shri.

Matchbox Summary in English

Page 1: I always compare women to matchboxes. Matchboxes contain enough gun powder to make a hundred Lankas burn. But they sit around meek and innocent in the kitchen, in the pantry, in the bedroom, in fact in any place. Women are the same. Here is an example.

Look at that enormous 3-story house in front. It is Sunday morning. The washer-man has come to collect the soiled clothes. Nomita is the wife and Ajit is the husband. Before handing over Ajit’s dirty clothes, Nomita checks his pockets. She discovers a letter. It was a twisted, crumpled and torn envelope with Nomita’s name on it. Suddenly Nomita is tensed up. She drops the clothes and sits on the bed to read the letter. It had come at least 3 days earlier, as is evident from the postmark.

Ajit had opened and read it. Then he crumpled and twisted it and dropped’if into his pocket. He did not even think it necessary to speak about it to Nomita. She is angry. This is not a casual oversight, but a deliberate action on Ajit’s part.

Page 18: Ajit’s nature is like that. Ajit and Nomita live in a joint family. There are 26 people there. Ajit somehow got the key to the letter box. Whenever he finds a letter addressed to Nomita, he opens it and reads it first. Sometimes he gives the letter to her but sometimes he does not. That is what Nomita thinks. So far Ajit has not discovered any letter that is even slightly suspicious. But his ugly habit will not go. She tried many things to make him stop reading her letter. She showed anger, took offense, tried to shame him and used sarcasm. Nothing worked. He just laughs it away. Sometimes he scolds her.

Nomita now reads the letter. It is from her mother. She goes on complaining about things – the ceiling of her room is cracked and the rainwater falls in. If this is not remedied she may die as the roof comes crashing down. She does not mind death. Her daughter is a queen and her son-in-law is high minded and large-hearted, etc. etc.

Nomita’s mother is a widow. She has no son. She was successful in getting Nomita married into a wealthy family because of Nomita’s looks. The old lady always boasts of her achievement. She always requests for help from Nomita. Whenever Ajit sees a new letter he knows it is for requesting money and so he says, “Why read the letter? I’ll go and fill out a money-order form.”

Nomita feels ashamed. Out of anger and grief, Nomita wrote to her mother not to write on postcards because then everybody would read it. She would send her some money in secret whenever she could manage.

Suddenly Nomita gets angry at her mother. Why does she go on begging like this? Why doesn’t she allow Nomita to keep her self-respect and dignity? She decides to write a letter to her mother telling her that she won’t help her any more:

Ajit comes into the room after having his leisurely Sunday bath. Nomita, terribly angry, asks him when the letter had come. Ajit knows he has made a mistake. He had planned to send some money to Nomita’s mother and throw away the letter. He made a mistake in leaving it in his pocket. As though trying to remember hard, Ajit asks, “Letter? What letter?” Then as if remembering suddenly he says that he was planning to give it to her. But he had forgotten.

Nomita calls him a liar and hisses like a snake. She wanted to know why he had opened her letter. Ajit says he has a right to open his wife’s letter. She says she had repeatedly told him not to open her letters. Ajit tries to laugh the matter away. Jokingly he says, “Shouldn’t I make sure that no one is passing you love letters in secret?”

Nomita explodes in anger. “Stop it! What a common, vulgar man you are!” Ajit can’t continue with his fake smile. He too is enraged.

Page 20: He asks her how could her mother go on begging for money from him and still think they are high-class people. How can a dung-picker’s daughter be a queen? Nomita asks him to shut up. She spoke so loudly that everybody nearby would hear her if she was speaking from the ground floor. But they were on the 3rd floor. Ajit says he won’t shut up and will do what he wants. What can she do about it? She says she can do something. She now does something quite astonishing. She picks up a matchbox lying near and lights a matchstick and touches it to her sari. The sari flares up. Asking if she has gone mad, Ajit comes rushing and puts out the fire using his hands. Now he is a little afraid. He looks at her and he sees fire burning, blazing on her face. He can’t easily put out that fire. He tells her that she loses all common sense when she is angry. How could a woman be so angry!

Nomita was about to say something. But her niece Rini steps into the room. Rini asks her how long the washer-man should wait. If Nomita does not want to give him any clothes, tell him. Fora moment Nomita does not say anything. Then she picks up the dirty clothes and sorts them. She asks Rini to go down and tell the washer¬man to wait for her.

Nomita speaks her mind. No one attacks her outright. But they pinch her with sharp words. Her second sister- in-law is tired with work this morning. When she sees Nomita, she puts a twisted smile and says sarcastically that.it was good that finally she decided to come down. She accuses her of always running to Ajit for her comfort whether there is work at home or not. She asks her if their love-talk will never end.

Nomita looks around. She sees many there. She does not want her voice to tremble. She also puts on a smile and tells the sister-in-law to come to their room and peek. It is not always love-talk, there is also angry talk.

The sister-in-law laughs and says that she should not try to pretend that they are not always talking love. She says she is not foolish. There is no need to peek. Even without peeking, they all know what is happening in the room. Nomita laughs at her and says she is fond of saying naughty things.

The eldest sister-in-law suddenly comes running and asks if she has finished cutting the vegetables. She asks them if they are spending time chitchatting. Suddenly she notices the burned sari of Nomita and asks her how it happened. Nomita is silent for a moment. Then she says she used that part of the sari to lift a hot pot from the stove and that is how it got burned.

Nomita starts peeling potatoes. Secretly she is thinking how she could send some money to her mother. She can’t write and tell her mother that she can’t do anything. The entire village knows Nomita is a queen, and Ajit is large-hearted.

This is why I compare women with matchboxes. Even when they have material within themselves to burn many things, they never flare up to burn away the mask of men’s high-mindedness and their large-heartedness. They don’t burn even their own colourful shells. The men know that. That is why they leave them scattered carelessly in the kitchen, in the pantry, in the bedroom, here, there and everywhere. Without fear, they also put them in their pockets.

Matchbox Summary in Malayalam

Matchbox Glossary

Kerala State Board New Syllabus Plus Two English Textbook Answers Unit 1 Chapter 2 Any Woman Text Book Questions and Answers, Summary, Notes.

Kerala Plus Two English Textbook Any Woman Questions and Answers Unit 1 Chapter 2 (Poem)

♦ Read and Respond (Textbook Page No.14)

Question 1.
Mention the underlying ideas in the expression ‘pillars of the house’.
Answer:
The pillars are the main supports of the house. It is not possible to have a house without pillars. The pillars support the weight of the house and make it stand without crumbling.

Question 2.
How does the poet portray the bond between a mother and her children?
Answer:
According to the poet, children get their love from their mother. She is their light of love. Without her, the children can’t thrive. She is the twist that holds the children together in the sacred ring of the family. The children do not want to leave her and go away. The bond between a mother and her children can be compared to a stem and its branches.

Question 3.
Comment on the expression from ‘floor to roof. Attempt to coin another expression without changing the meaning.
Answer:
Floor to roof means from the start to the finish, from the beginning to the end. All aspects of the home are connected with the woman, the mother of the house. Nothing in the home is away from her or unknown to her. Another expression with the same meaning would be ‘from top to toe’ or ‘head to foot’.

Question 4.
What is the symbolic significance of ‘wind and snow’?
Answer:
The symbolic significance of ‘wind and snow’ is the troubles and tribulations that come to life. Life is affected by problems of various sorts. They can be diseases, financial problems, emotional problems or some other tragedies. The mother tries to prevent all these things from entering the family and bothering its members.

Question 5.
Explain, in your own words, the concluding line of the poem.
Answer:
It is a prayer that the woman makes to Jesus Christ. Jesus is the person whom a woman (Mary) laid in the manger. The woman is praying to Jesus not to take away her life until her children have grown. She knows without her, her children won’t be able to live and thrive in the world.

Let’S Discuss

Question 1.
Woman: the focal point of the family.
Answer:
The woman is the focal point of the family. She is the pillar of the house. She is the keystone of the arch. Without her, the roof and wall will collapse. She is the heat upon the hearth. She is the heat that warms the home. Without her the home will be colder than a stone.

The children get their warmth from her. She is the light of their love. Without her, her children will not thrive. She holds the children together in the love ring of the home. They are tied together with the knots of love. The children would not like to break the thread and go away wandering.

The woman is everything in the house. She is the one filling the bed of the children with down (soft hair of animals) and covering them with leather. She is the wall that protects the members of the family against all kinds of dangers. She prevents dangerous winds and snow from harming the members. Without her a family is unimaginable.

Question 2.
The qualities a woman needs to face the challenges of life.
Answer:
A woman should have many qualities to face the challenges of life. First of all she should be educated. Education tells a woman her rights and duties. Secondly, she should have some employment which brings her some income. Income empowers her. Then she should have leadership qualities. These include wisdom, understanding, courage, determination, compassion, sympathy and empathy. Women should not remain the weaker sex. There is nothing ‘weak’ about them. They should dare the difference and come into leadership roles acquiring equality with men in all walks of life.

Think and Write
Question 1.
Analyse the theme of the poem keeping in view the plight of women in the Indian social scenario.
Answer:
The theme of the poem is the importance of the woman in the family. Without a woman, a family is simply unimaginable. This is more so in the case of Indian women. Women take care of the children, cook, wash and do all other household chores. Nothing at home happens without her knowledge or without her participation. She is the pillars, roof, walls and doors of the house. She is the one who gives love to all. It is the woman who makes home a sweet place.

Question 2.
Identify the major figure of speech used in the poem and describe its significance.
Answer:
The major figure of speech used in the poem is a metaphor. A metaphor is a comparison where one thing is seen as another. The entire poem is a metaphor because the woman thinks she is the pillars, walls, roof and doors of the house. She is the heat and light of the house. In fact she is the house!

Question 3.
What is the quantum of work done by a woman in the household? Can it be reduced? How?
Answer:
The quantum of work done by a woman is tremendous. She cooks for everyone in the family. She washes the plates, pots and pans. She washes the clothes and irons them and keeps them in the cupboard. She has to clean the house and the yard. She has also to take care of the children’s discipline as well as their education. Indeed, she has a lot to do.

Her work can be reduced in two ways. One way is taking mechanical help by using some modern labour¬saving machines. But, more importantly, her work can be reduced by an understanding husband and loving children. They can lend a helping hand in the various jobs she is doing at home.

Activity I: (Composing lines)

Question 1.
Try writing a few lines on any one of the following topics/themes.
Answer:

Mother’s Love

There is a saying that since God could not be everywhere at the same time, he created mothers. It shows the importance of mothers. Mother is a synonym for love. Their love is unconditional. They expect nothing in return for the love they give you. That is the most important thing about a mother’s love.

Right from a child is formed in the womb, the mother starts loving her baby. Once the baby is born, its entire care is done by the mother. Feeding it, cleaning it, nursing it, making it sleep, making it comfortable – all this is done by the mother. When her child is sick, the mother keeps awake the whole night nursing her child. She knows without her the child will not live and grow comfortably. That is why we see her praying, “God don’t take my life away until my children grow up!” Mother’s love is unique and there is nothing that can be compared to it. What we are today is the result of our mothers’ love.

Activity II (Appreciation)

Question 2.
Keeping in viewthe ideas discussed above, prepare an appreciation of the poem “Any Woman”.
Answer:

Appreciation of the poem

The poem ‘Any Woman’ by Katharine Tynan speaks of the importance of the woman in the family. She is the pillars of the house. She is the keystone of the arch. She is the roof and walls. She is the fire upon the hearth. Without her, the home would be colder than a stone.

The children come to her for love and affection. She is the light of their love. The children could hardly thrive without her support. She is the one who holds the family together. No child wants to get away from the close-knit family group. She is all overthe house, from thefloorto the roof. Nothing happens without her knowledge. She decorates the house and makes the children’s bed cosy and warm.

She also protects the children from all dangers. She is the door that guards against all kinds of troubles and tribulations that come to pester the inmates. At the end of the poem, the woman prays to Jesus to spare her life till her children are properly grown up.

The poem has simple language. The entire poem is an exquisite metaphor. The imagery is great. The woman doing all kinds of jobs and standing guard at the same time make us admire her capabilities. Her love is superb and there is utter unselfishness in her activities. At last we also see the birth of Jesus in the manger. We see the woman standing before Jesus praying to him to let her live till her children grow up. Katharine has painted a fine picture of a devoted mother with words.

The poem is in rhyme. Except in the first stanza, the rhyme scheme is abab.

Activity III (Comparison)

Question 3.
You are aware of the pivotal role of a woman, especially the mother at home. There are occasions when her self-effacing love is painfully missing, when the prayer Take me not till the children’ has not been realized.
Answer:
Now, read the poem ‘The Toys’ by Coventry Patmore :

Meaning of The Poem :
In the poem a father is talking :

Lines 1 – 6: My little Son …. being dead.

My little son looked at me with thoughtful eyes. He moved and spoke as if he had grown up. He had disobeyed my instructions 7 times and so I beat him. I sent him away with hard words. I did not kiss him when he went to bed. His mother was a patient woman, but she is dead.

Lines 7 – 11: Then sobbing wet.

Thinking that his sorrow at my beating him and scolding him might prevent him from sleeping, I went to his bed. I found him in a deep sleep. But his eyelids were dark and his lashes were wet because of his earlier crying.

Lines 12 – 22: And I, …. sad heart.

I felt very sad at his condition and I too wept. I kissed away his tears but left my tears on his cheek. On a table near his head he had kept within his reach a box of counters (metal or plastic pieces), a stone with red lines, a piece of glass abraded (worn or rubbed by the sand on the beach) and six or seven shells, a bottle with bluebells (flowers) and two French copper coins which were arranged in an artistic manner. He had kept all these to comfort his sad heart.

Lines 23 – 34: When I prayed to God that night, I wept. I spoke to God something like this. When we lie with silent breath, not annoying you as we are dead, you may remember what toys made us happy when we were alive. We did not properly understand the good things you commanded us to do. But you are a much greater and more merciful father than I am, as I am made of clay. You will be not so angry like me when I beat and scolded my son. When you see our disobedience, you will only say, like a kind father, that how sorry you are for our childishness and not punish us harshly.

Answer the following questions. They will add to your comprehension of the poem.

Question 1.
What is the theme of the poem?
Answer:
The theme of the poem is Toys’. But in a deeper way the poem talks about mistakes and their punishments. We human beings tend to punish children when they make some mistakes; when they disobey us. But the poet believes that God will not punish us harshly for our disobedience.

Question 2.
Do you justify th£ father’s action? Why?
Answer:
The father is a human being and it is natural that he gets angry when his orders are disobeyed by his son. The son had disobeyed him seven times. In the circumstances, I justify the father’s action. The father is a loving father and that is why he goes to check if his son is sleeping. A loving father has to punish his son for disobedience, especially when it is repeated.

Question 3.
What is the symbolic significance of the toys?
Answer:
The symbolic significance of the toys is that they represent our pleasures. While children find pleasure in simple toys, grownups find pleasure in some undesirable and sinful acts.

Question 4.
Comment on these lines citing the importance of the mother in the family:
Answer:

• “Take me not till the children grow” (Any Woman)
• “His mother, who was patient, being dead.” (The Toys)

Both the lines signify the.importance of a mother in the house. Mother is the synonym of love. A child without a mother does not develop properly and that is why the mother in ‘Any Woman’ prays to God to spare her life till her children grow up. In the second example, we see how the son is beaten and scolded by the angry father. The boy’s mother would not have done it because she was patient. Both poems stress the importance of a mother in the family, especially for the welfare of the children. She is the backbone which keeps everything tidy and neat and makes everybody comfortable and happy.

Question 5.
Now, compare the poem with ‘Any Woman’ and prepare a review focusing on the themes and their significance.
Answer:
The poem ‘Any Woman’ by Katharine Tynan speaks of the importance of the woman in the family. She is the pillars of the house. She is the keystone of the arch. She is the roof and walls. She is the fire upon the hearth. Without her, the home would be colder than a stone. The children come to her for love and affection. She is the light of their love. The children could hardly thrive without her support. She is the one who holds the family together. No child wants to get away from the close-knit family group. She is all overthe house, from the floor to the roof. Nothing happens without her knowledge. She decorates the house and makes the children’s bed cosy and warm. She also protects the children from all dangers. She is the door that guards against all kinds of troubles and tribulations that come to pester the inmates. At the end of the poem, the woman prays to Jesus to spare her life till her children are properly grown up.

The poem has simple language. The entire poem is an exquisite metaphor. The imagery is great. The poem is in rhyme. Except in the first stanza, the rhyme scheme is abab.

The poem ’The Toys’ is different from ‘Any Woman’. Here the plight of a boy, whose mother is dead is depicted. The boy disobeys the father and he loses patience and beats up his won. He sent him away with hard words. He did not kiss him when the boy went to bed. The boy’s mother was a patient woman, but she is no more. Thinking that the sorrow at his beating his son and scolding him might prevent him from sleeping, the father goes to the boy’s bed. He found him in a deep sleep. But the eyelids were dark and his lashes were wet because of his earlier crying.

The father feels very sad at his condition and he too weeps. He kissed away the tears from the boy’s cheeks but left his tears there instead. On a table nearthe boy’s head he had kept within his reach a box of counters, a stone with red lines, a piece of glass worn by the sand on the beach and six or seven shells, a bottle with bluebells and two French copper coins. He had kept all these to comfort his sad heart. When the man prayed to God that night, he wept. He requested God to forgive his disobedience and not to punish him forthe sins he had committed in his life. He punished the boy for disobedience because he is made of clay. But God can forgive because God is love and not made of clay.

The poem uses simple language. It has fine imagery. The boy sleeping with dark eyelids and wet lashes, surrounded by toys, is an exquisite picture. The poem is in rhyme. In the first 6 lines the rhyme is aabbbb.

Between the two poems, I prefer ‘Any Woman’ as it has made a greater impression on me.

III. Read And Reflect

Question 1.
“There are two ways of spreading light…

Question 2.
To be the candle, or the mirror that reflects it.”

Question 3.
Women should choose between being a candle or a mirror, and work for their own emancipation as well as that of the generations to come.

Any Woman (Poem) Edumate Questions and Answers

Question 1.
The poem ‘Any Woman’ ends with the prayer Take me not till the children grow!’ Analyse this line in the Indian context where women sacrifice their lives for their children. Write a paragraph on the unfailing love of mothers, in about 100 words.
Answer:
It is often said that since God could not be everywhere at the same time, he created mothers. This is more so in the case of an Indian mother. In the Indian context, a mother lives and dies for her child. ‘Any Woman’ ends with the prayer “Take me not till the children grow!”. The mother is praying like that not because she is afraid of death or because she wants to live long but to ensure that her children are grown up and they can stand up and face the world. The Indian woman will go to any extent to ensure the safety and welfare of her child.

Question 2.
Read the poem given below and write a note of appreciation comparing it with ‘Any Woman’ with reference to its theme, tone, rhyme scheme etc.

What Women Wanted
Long before your grandma was young
Women’s freedom was a song not yet sung
Men mostly said that women didn’t get it
If you gave them a job they just forget it
They said a woman’s job was cleaning house
And staying quiet as a nurse
But many women said we want more
We like our homes, but we want more than chores
We want the right to earn real pay
We work just as hard as men each day
And more than anything, please note
We want to have the right to vote
And after the matches and protests were done
All of that is just what they won
– (Anonymous)
Answer:
The anonymous poem ‘What Women Wanted” speaks about the needs of women and what they were able to achieve after all the marches and protests. Long ago there was no freedom for women. The men said that a woman’s job is cleaning the house and looking after the children. But women wanted more. They wanted to get pay and they wanted to vote. They were able to get these things after a lot of struggle.

The poem ‘Any Woman’ by Katharine Tynan speaks of the importance of the woman in the family. She is the pillar of the house. She is the keystone of the arch. She is the roof and walls. She is the fire upon the hearth. The children come to her for love and affection. She holds the family together. She is everywhere in the house – from floor to roof. She protects the children from all dangers. At the end, the woman prays to Jesus to spare her life till the children are grown up.

Both poems are in simple language. “What Women Wanted” stresses their rights whereas ‘Any Woman’ emphasizes the duties of a woman. The tone of “What Women Wanted” is playful and humorous whereas the other poem has a serious and sincere tone. The imagery in both the poems is good. Both poems have made use of metaphors. Both poems are in rhyme. The rhyming scheme in ‘Any Woman’ is abab except in the first stanza. In the other poem the rhyming scheme is aabb. Between the two poems, I prefer ‘Any Woman’ as it talks of the real feelings of a devoted mother.

Question 3
Read the poem ‘Sad Women’ by Daria Domitrovic and write a note of appreciation comparing and contrasting itwith’the poem ‘Any Woman’.

Sad Women
Sad women always get up
To make breakfast for their children,
To tell him, “have a nice day”
And women go to work and always do their best,
They make lunch and always sit last,
Sad women buy groceries on the way home,
Make phone calls to hear someone’s voice,
They are faithful to their promises.
Sad women take upon other’s grief
Sad women comfort others and say “everything will be okay”,
They don’t let their sadness to come out,
Sad women don’t have time to be sad,
Sad women cry when lights go out.
Answer:
Daria Domitrovic’s ‘Sad Women’ gives a beautiful portrayal of sad women who do not show their sadness in the open. They are destined for a hard life. They get up early in the morning to prepare breakfast for their children and to wish their husbands a happy day ahead. They then go to work and do their best. They make lunch but they are the ones who eat last. They make the purchases for home. They make phone calls and keep their promises. They empathise with others in their grief and comfort them. They never show their pain as they have no time to show it. But they cry in the nights when the lights are out and nobody sees them.

The poem ‘Any Woman’ by Katharine Tynan speaks of the importance of the woman in the family. She is the pillars of the house. She is the keystone of the arch. She is the roof and walls. She is the fire upon the hearth. The children come to her for love and affection. She holds the family together. She is everywhere in the house – from floor to roof. She protects the children from all dangers. At the end, the woman prays to Jesus to spare her life till the children are grown up.

Both poems are easy to understand. ‘Sad Women’ emphasizes the chores of a woman and how she suffers. But “Any Woman” is happy to do her duties and she does not complain. The imagery in both the poems is very powerful. The tone of “Sad Women” is that of sadness and complaint. But the tone in Any Woman is that of love and sincerity. ‘Any Woman’ is in rhyme and the rhyming scheme is abab except in the first stanza. The rhyming scheme in the other poems is erratic, although we can trace some rhyme in the last stanza of the poem. There the scheme is abbcdc. Between the two poems, I prefer ‘Any Woman’ as it talks of the real feelings of a devoted, non-complaining mother.

Question 4.
The speaker in ‘Any Woman’ is proud as a homemaker. Do you think the present day women are as proud as the mother in ‘Any Woman’? Write your opinion in a paragraph of about 150 words.
Answer:
The speaker in ‘Any Woman’ is proud as a homemaker. But I do not think the present day women are as proud as the mother in ‘Any Woman’. The present day mothers are not so sincere as the mother in the poem. I have often heard mothers complaining about their chores in their homes. Many of them do the work at home because they have no other way! They complain of disobedient and careless children and their unhelpful and domineering husbands who do not help them in their household chores. The sincerity shown by the mother in ‘Any Woman’ cannot be seen, in my opinion, in the modem women who would like to spend a lot of their time watching serials or spending time in their Women’s Clubs. Generally speaking, the attitude of women has changed!

Question 5.
Read the following lines and answer the questions given below:
‘Thou whom a woman laid in a manger, Take me not till the children grow!’
(a) Who is the ‘thou’ referred to here?
(b) What is the incident referred to?
(c) What is the mother’s prayer?
Answer:
(a) Jesus Christ.
(b) The birth of Jesus.
(c) The mother’s prayer is that she shouldn’t die until her children grow.

Question 6.
Read the following lines from the poem ‘Any Woman’ and answer the questions given below.
‘I am the fire upon the hearth I am the light of the good sun,
I am the heat that warms the earth …
(a) Identify the figure of speech employed in the above lines.
(b) Comment on the effectiveness of the figure of speech in conveying the idea.
Answer:
(a) The figure of speech employed here is a metaphor,
(b) A metaphor is a figure of speech like a simile where two things are compared. In a simile, we say one thing is like the other. But in a metaphor, we may one thing is the other. Thus “Chitra sings like a cuckoo” is a simile. But when we say “Chitra is a cuckoo in singing”, it is a metaphor. In the poemih§ mother speaks of herself as the fire of the hearth, the tight of the good sun, and the heat that warms the earth. They are beautiful metaphors and show the importance of the mother in a house.

Any Woman About The Author

– Katherine Tynan

Katherine Tynan (1859-1931) is an Irish poet and novelist. She has written more than 20 novels and 7 books of poetry. Her human sympathy is keen, tender, warm and constant. The poem ‘Any Woman’ shows that the woman is the soul and heart of the home.

Any Woman Summary in English

Stanza 1: I am the pillars of the house. I am the keystone of the arch. If you take me away, the roof and wall will fall down and ruin me completely.

Stanza 2: I am the fire upon the hearth. I am the light of the sun. I am the heat that warms the earth. Without me the earth will be colder than a stone.

Stanza 3: The children get their warmth from me. I am the light of their love. Without me the hearthstone will be cold and the children will not thrive.

Stanza 4: I hold the children together in the love ring of the home. We are tied together with the knots of love. They would not like to break the thread and go away wandering.

Stanza 5: I am the bouse from floor to roof. I am the walls and the board. I am the one who opens and closes the curtains. I am the one filling the bed of the children with down (soft hair of animals) and cover them with leather.

Stanza 6: I am the wall that protects them against all kinds of dangers. I prevent dangerous winds and snow from harming my children. Lord Jesus, whom Mary delivered in the manger, please keep me alive till my children are grown up.

Any Woman Summary in Malayalam

Any Woman Glossary

Kerala State Board New Syllabus Plus Two English Textbook Answers Unit 1 Flights of Freedom Text Book Questions and Answers, Summary, Notes.

Kerala Plus Two English Textbook Flights of Freedom Questions and Answers Unit 1

“I am no bird and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being with an independent will”.

– Charlotte Bronte

About The Unit

There is an increasing realization and recognition that empowering women is an urgent need of the hour. In most countries, including India, social reformers and leaders have been doing a lot towards empowering women. Still, we have a lot more to do. In this unit, we see how education, determination, and courage help women break the chains of socio-cultural limitations. The Unit has a speech by Christine Lagarde, the first woman Finance Minister of France, a poem by Katharine Tynan, a story by Ashapurna Debi, and an anecdote by Sudha Murty.

Let’s Begin

• Look at the collage given below.
• Identify the personalities and the fields they are related to.
• What are they famous for?

Think And Discuss

Question 1.
Have you ever thought about the various roles taken by women in their homes and outside?
Answer:
Yes, I have. Women play major roles in their homes and also outside. India had a woman Prime Minister and a woman President. Currently, the President of the Indian National Congress is a woman. Women are working in the army, in the air force, and in the navy. They are piloting planes and making space flights. We will never forget Kalpana Chawla, the darling daughter of India who died in the Apollo 13 crash. Nowadays we don’t call women who do not go for outside jobs as housewives but as homemakers. In fact, they are not only homemakers but nation makers.

Question 2.
What are the challenges faced by women today?
Answer:
Women face many challenges today. They have less freedom than men. They are often discriminated against in education, job opportunities, and some other rights. Our society is male-dominated where women are considered second-class citizens. They don’t get equal pay with men even when they do similar jobs. To get married they have to pay dowries.

Question 3.
Are women equipped to meet those challenges?
Answer:
They are getting equipped as they get a better education and better job opportunities. Many measures are taken by the government to empower women. Things like dowries and female foeticide are forbidden by law. Hopefully, women will get their rightful places in the society in the very near future.

Read And Reflect

Emancipation and the empowerment of women is of prime importance in every society. In our country, we have achieved a partial success. But we have a long way to go. What should we do to achieve this goal? The speech below gives the requisites of women empowerment.