1. Identify the lines that reveal the critical tone of the poet towards
the felling of the tree.
2. Identify the words that help you understand the nature of the
poet’s father.
3. ‘Trees are sacred my grandmother used to say’— what does
the poet imply by this line?
4. ‘No trees except the one which grows and seethes in one’s
dreams’— why is the phrase ‘grows and seethes’ used?
5. How does the banyan tree stand out as different from other
trees? What details of the tree does the poet highlight in the
poem?
6. What does the reference to raw mythology imply?
7. ‘Whose roots lay deeper than our lives’— what aspect of human
behaviour does this line reflect?
8. Comment on the contemporary concern that the poem echoes.
1. Most of us have had this experience of seeing trees in our
neighbourhood being mercilessly cut down in order to build a
house or a public building or to widen a road. Describe any
such experience you have had of the felling of a tree you were
attached to, with reasons for your special attachment to the
tree.
2. Find out the equivalents for sheoga, oudumber and neem in your
language and English and the equivalent of banyan in your
language.
3. The adjective ‘scraggy’ is used to describe ‘roots’ in the poem.
Find out two other items which could be described as ‘scraggy’:
scraggy…………….
4. Use the following adjectives to describe suitable items
raw aerial sacred
SUGGESTED READING
1. ‘Death of Grandmother’ by Dilip Chitre.
Tuesday, July 26, 2016
Felling of the Banyan Tree by Dilip Chitre
Dilip Chitre (1938) was born in Baroda. He writes poetry both in Marathi and English. Travelling in a Cage, from which the poem selected here has been taken, was published in 1980. Apart from poetry, Chitre has also written short stories and critical essays. An Anthology of Marathi Poetry 1945–1965 is one of his most important works of translation. He sees poetry as an expression of the spirit. He lives and works in Mumbai.
The word POETRY originates from a Greek word meaning TO MAKE. A poet is thus a maker and the poem something that is made or created. No single definition of poetry is possible but some characteristic features of poetry may be mentioned. Poetry has a musical quality with rhythm, pitch, metre and it may use figures of speech such as simile and metaphor. While quite a few poems in this selection are in traditional forms, the unit also includes modern poems that are free from formal restrictions
My father told the tenants to leave
Who lived on the houses surrounding our house on the hill
One by one the structures were demolished
Only our own house remained and the trees
Trees are sacred my grandmother used to say
Felling them is a crime but he massacred them all
The sheoga, the oudumber, the neem were all cut down
But the huge banyan tree stood like a problem
Whose roots lay deeper than all our lives
My father ordered it to be removed
The banyan tree was three times as tall as our house
Its trunk had a circumference of fifty feet
Its scraggy aerial roots fell to the ground
From thirty feet or more so first they cut the branches
Sawing them off for seven days and the heap was huge
Insects and birds began to leave the tree
And then they came to its massive trunk
Fifty men with axes chopped and chopped
The great tree revealed its rings of two hundred years
We watched in terror and fascination this slaughter
As a raw mythology revealed to us its age
Soon afterwards we left Baroda for Bombay
Where there are no trees except the one
Which grows and seethes in one’s dreams, its aerial roots
Looking for the ground to strike.
Wednesday, July 6, 2016
QUESTIONS on Felling of the Banyan Tree by Dilip Chitre
Q1 :
Identify the lines that reveal the critical tone of the poet towards the felling of the tree.
Answer :
There are many expressions in the poem that reveal the critical tone of the poet towards the felling of the tree:
"Its scraggy aerial roots fell to the ground"
"Sawing them off for seven days and the heap was huge"
"Insects and birds began to leave the tree"
"Fifty men with axes chopped and chopped"
"We watched in terror and fascination this slaughter"
Answer needs Correction? Click Here
Q2 :
Identify the words that help you understand the nature of the poet's father.
Answer :
There are such words in the poem that help one understand the nature of the poet's father.
The father was a much practical man. Probably because the whole family was moving to Baroda, the father got all the trees removed and the surrounding property demolished. He was not an emotional man but a man of actions.
"the structures were demolished"
"but he massacred them all"
"My father ordered it to be removed"
Answer needs Correction? Click Here
Q3 :
'Trees are sacred my grandmother used to say'- what does the poet imply by this line?
Answer :
There are many legends surrounding the sheoga, the oudumber, the neem and most of all the banyan tree. These are considered mythologically relevant and holy in Hinduism. Old folk who are deeply religious consider it sin to cut down these trees as they are to be worshipped according to the holy scriptures. They even say that if one brings neem or peepal down by felling them they are cursed with ill fate. There are plenty of stories in our mythology that fear and plague our society with as many superstitions as possible. Thus, the poet is merely trying to convey the fears and religious beliefs of old folk like his granny.
Answer needs Correction? Click Here
Q4 :
No trees except the one which grows and seethes in one's dreams'- why is the phrase 'grows and seethes' used?
Answer :
Q5 :
How does the banyan tree stand out as different from other trees? What details of the tree does the poet highlight in the poem?
Answer :
Q6 :
What does the reference to raw mythology imply?
Answer :
Q7 :
'Whose roots lay deeper than our lives' - what aspect of human behaviour does this line reflect?
Answer :
Q8 :
Comment on the contemporary concern that the poem echoes.
Identify the lines that reveal the critical tone of the poet towards the felling of the tree.
Answer :
There are many expressions in the poem that reveal the critical tone of the poet towards the felling of the tree:
"Its scraggy aerial roots fell to the ground"
"Sawing them off for seven days and the heap was huge"
"Insects and birds began to leave the tree"
"Fifty men with axes chopped and chopped"
"We watched in terror and fascination this slaughter"
Answer needs Correction? Click Here
Q2 :
Identify the words that help you understand the nature of the poet's father.
Answer :
There are such words in the poem that help one understand the nature of the poet's father.
The father was a much practical man. Probably because the whole family was moving to Baroda, the father got all the trees removed and the surrounding property demolished. He was not an emotional man but a man of actions.
"the structures were demolished"
"but he massacred them all"
"My father ordered it to be removed"
Answer needs Correction? Click Here
Q3 :
'Trees are sacred my grandmother used to say'- what does the poet imply by this line?
Answer :
There are many legends surrounding the sheoga, the oudumber, the neem and most of all the banyan tree. These are considered mythologically relevant and holy in Hinduism. Old folk who are deeply religious consider it sin to cut down these trees as they are to be worshipped according to the holy scriptures. They even say that if one brings neem or peepal down by felling them they are cursed with ill fate. There are plenty of stories in our mythology that fear and plague our society with as many superstitions as possible. Thus, the poet is merely trying to convey the fears and religious beliefs of old folk like his granny.
Answer needs Correction? Click Here
Q4 :
No trees except the one which grows and seethes in one's dreams'- why is the phrase 'grows and seethes' used?
Answer :
Q5 :
How does the banyan tree stand out as different from other trees? What details of the tree does the poet highlight in the poem?
Answer :
Q6 :
What does the reference to raw mythology imply?
Answer :
Q7 :
'Whose roots lay deeper than our lives' - what aspect of human behaviour does this line reflect?
Answer :
Q8 :
Comment on the contemporary concern that the poem echoes.
Comprehension on Felling of the Banyan Tree by Dilip Chitre
My father told the tenants to leave
Who lived on the houses surrounding our house on the hill.
One by one the structures were demolished
Only our own house remained and the trees.
Meaning
Tenants – People who live on rent
The structures
Demolished
Questions
Why did the poet’s father ask the tenants to leave?
Who lived on the houses surrounding our house on the hill.
One by one the structures were demolished
Only our own house remained and the trees.
“Trees are sacred,” my grandmother used to say.
Felling them is a crime but he massacred them all.
The sheoga, the oudumber, the neem were all cut down
But the huge banyan tree stood like a problem
Whose roots lay deeper than all our lives.
My father ordered it to be removed.
Meaning
Sacred – Holy
Felling – Cutting
Massacred – Cut down
The sheoga
The oudumber
Neem
Questions
What had grandfather think of cutting trees?
“Trees are sacred,” my grandmother used to say.
Felling them is a crime.
Who massacred all the trees?
The sheoga, the oudumber, the neem were all cut down
But the huge banyan tree stood like a problem
Whose roots lay deeper than all our lives.
My father ordered it to be removed.
The banyan tree was three times as tall as our house.
Its trunk had a circumference of fifty feet;
Its scraggy aerial roots fell to the ground;
From thirty feet or more so first they cut the branches
Sawing them off for seven days and the heap was huge
Insects and birds began to leave the tree.
Meaning
Banyan tree
Lay deeper than all our lives
Circumference
Scraggy
Aerial roots
Sawing them off
The heap
And then they came to its massive trunk
Fifty men with axes chopped and chopped
The great tree revealed its rings of two hundred years
We watched in terror and fascination this slaughter
As a raw mythology revealed to us its age.
Meaning
Soon afterwards we left Baroda for Bombay
Where there are no trees except the one
Which grows and seethes in one’s dreams, its aerial roots
Looking for the ground to strike.
Questions
How was Bombay different from Baroda?
What kind of trees are there in Bombay?
Why are the areal roots not able to strike the ground?
Who lived on the houses surrounding our house on the hill.
One by one the structures were demolished
Only our own house remained and the trees.
Meaning
Tenants – People who live on rent
The structures
Demolished
Questions
Why did the poet’s father ask the tenants to leave?
Who lived on the houses surrounding our house on the hill.
One by one the structures were demolished
Only our own house remained and the trees.
“Trees are sacred,” my grandmother used to say.
Felling them is a crime but he massacred them all.
The sheoga, the oudumber, the neem were all cut down
But the huge banyan tree stood like a problem
Whose roots lay deeper than all our lives.
My father ordered it to be removed.
Meaning
Sacred – Holy
Felling – Cutting
Massacred – Cut down
The sheoga
The oudumber
Neem
Questions
What had grandfather think of cutting trees?
“Trees are sacred,” my grandmother used to say.
Felling them is a crime.
Who massacred all the trees?
The sheoga, the oudumber, the neem were all cut down
But the huge banyan tree stood like a problem
Whose roots lay deeper than all our lives.
My father ordered it to be removed.
The banyan tree was three times as tall as our house.
Its trunk had a circumference of fifty feet;
Its scraggy aerial roots fell to the ground;
From thirty feet or more so first they cut the branches
Sawing them off for seven days and the heap was huge
Insects and birds began to leave the tree.
Meaning
Banyan tree
Lay deeper than all our lives
Circumference
Scraggy
Aerial roots
Sawing them off
The heap
And then they came to its massive trunk
Fifty men with axes chopped and chopped
The great tree revealed its rings of two hundred years
We watched in terror and fascination this slaughter
As a raw mythology revealed to us its age.
Meaning
Soon afterwards we left Baroda for Bombay
Where there are no trees except the one
Which grows and seethes in one’s dreams, its aerial roots
Looking for the ground to strike.
Questions
How was Bombay different from Baroda?
What kind of trees are there in Bombay?
Why are the areal roots not able to strike the ground?
Old Women by K. Satchidanandan
(Translated from the Malayalam by the poet)
Old women do not fly on magic wands
or make obscure prophecies
from ominous forests.
They just sit on vacant park benches
in the quiet evenings
calling doves by their names
charming them with grains of maize.
Or, trembling like waves
they stand in endless queues in
government hospitals
or settle like sterile clouds
in post offices awaiting mail
from their sons abroad,
long ago dead.
They whisper like a drizzle
as they roam the streets
with a lost gaze as though
something they had thrown up
had never returned to earth.
They shiver like December nights
in their dreamless sleep
on shop verandahs.
There are swings still
in their half-blind eyes,
lilies and Christmases
in their failing memory.
There is one folktale
for each wrinkle on their skin.
Their drooping breasts
yet have milk enough to feed
three generations
who would never care for it.
All dawns pass
leaving them in the dark.
They do not fear death,
they died long ago.
Old women once
were continents.
They had deep woods in them,
lakes, mountains, volcanoes even,
even raging gulfs.
When the earth was in heat
they melted, shrank,
leaving only their maps.
You can fold them
and keep them handy :
who knows, they might help you find
your way home.
K. Satchidanandan (b. 1946) is
a major Indian poet, who writes
in Malayalam and English. He is
also a critic, editor and translator.
He was the Executive Head of the
Kendra Sahitya Akademi and
editor of Indian Literature, the
bimonthly journal of the Akademi.
He has translated the poems of
Bertolt Brecht, Garcia Lorca, Pablo
Neruda and Cesar Vallejo into
Malayalam.
.
Old women do not fly on magic wands
or make obscure prophecies
from ominous forests.
They just sit on vacant park benches
in the quiet evenings
calling doves by their names
charming them with grains of maize.
Or, trembling like waves
they stand in endless queues in
government hospitals
or settle like sterile clouds
in post offices awaiting mail
from their sons abroad,
long ago dead.
They whisper like a drizzle
as they roam the streets
with a lost gaze as though
something they had thrown up
had never returned to earth.
They shiver like December nights
in their dreamless sleep
on shop verandahs.
There are swings still
in their half-blind eyes,
lilies and Christmases
in their failing memory.
There is one folktale
for each wrinkle on their skin.
Their drooping breasts
yet have milk enough to feed
three generations
who would never care for it.
All dawns pass
leaving them in the dark.
They do not fear death,
they died long ago.
Old women once
were continents.
They had deep woods in them,
lakes, mountains, volcanoes even,
even raging gulfs.
When the earth was in heat
they melted, shrank,
leaving only their maps.
You can fold them
and keep them handy :
who knows, they might help you find
your way home.
K. Satchidanandan (b. 1946) is
in Malayalam and English. He is
also a critic, editor and translator.
He was the Executive Head of the
Kendra Sahitya Akademi and
editor of Indian Literature, the
bimonthly journal of the Akademi.
He has translated the poems of
Bertolt Brecht, Garcia Lorca, Pablo
Neruda and Cesar Vallejo into
Malayalam.
.
Suburbs
"I celebrate the virtues and vices
of suburban middle-class people
who overwhelm the refrigerator
and position colorful umbrellas
near the garden that longs for a pool:
for my middle-class brother
the principle of supreme luxury:
what are you and what am I, and we go on deciding
the real truth in this world.
questions on the poem Suburbs
Q. 1 What is a middle-class man's principle of luxury?
Ans:A middle-class man's principle of luxury is to have refrigerator, a big garden with swimming pool.
Q.2 What difference do you see between rich class and middle class?
Ans: The rich class can enjoy the luxuries of life easily. But middle class people have to just dream about it.
Q.3 Symbolic use of words makes the expression pointed. Give one example?
Ans: The poem has many symbolic words such as refrigerator, colourful umbrellas,granaries, shy hotels,endless track.Refrigerator, colourful umbrellas stand for luxuries of life.Granaries symbolize shaby workplaces.
Q.4 I celebrate the virtues and vices?( Identify the figure of speech)
Ans: Parodox: Celebrating virtues is contrasting.
Antithesis: Opposite ideas Virtues and vices are put together.
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