SCHOOL SECTION 171

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SUMMARY

This poem written by the poet Dwijendra Lal Roy, is in praise of ourmotherland. The entire poem is an address to Mother India, so, the figure of speechextended throughout the poem is Apostrophe. The poet remembers the splendiddays of gold and does not want anybody to look at his Motherland indisgrace or pity. He considers her to be the mother of wisdom, worship, works andnurturing the inner soul of every individual.

PRE-LISTENING ACTIVITY

1. What is the country of one’s birth called?Ans. The country of one’s birth is called as motherland.

2. Why is it considered so?Ans. The country of one’s birth is called motherland because it not only gives us

birth but also nurtures us like a mother.

STANZA I (Lines 1 - 10)

India, my India ................................................................................................................ .......................................................................................................... spirits inward ray !

The poet starts off the poem on a possessive note and saysthat his country is viewed by people all over the world as a holy and sacred place.India is considered as a place of pilgrimage as four different religions were born here.

She has also displayed a lot of strength and courage in desperate times. Shehas given a lot of knowledge to the entire world in the form of philosophy, works ofart, legends, epics and she has also encouraged secularism. Inspite of all thesegood things that India has given, she also faced losses, due to the British Rule.India was stripped of her wealth and many people died while fighting for her freedom.But the poet says that we the children of India cannot cry over the past injuries. Heurges the readers to work towards restructuring or moulding the country.

The poet is hopeful and says that we have to forget the past and invest in thefuture so that we can bring back the past glory of our country.

[I] SIMPLE FACTUAL QUESTIONS (SFQ). (1 Mark)

*1. What is India’s standing in Asia?Ans. India is known as the holy place of pilgrimage and a great motherland of might.*2. What question does the poet ask mother India?

Ans. The poet asks mother India how they should mourn for her children and boastabout her mighty name.

*3. What memories of India does the poet indulge in?Ans. The poet indulges in the memories of the splendid golden days of prosperity.

4. The poem is a ............. (March ’11)(a) praise (b) story in the form of a poem(c) prayer (d) song of condolence

Ans. The poem is a praise.

PARAPHRASE

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[II] COMPLEX FACTUAL QUESTIONS (CFQ). (1 Mark)

*1. What have we received from Mother India?Ans. We have received philosophy and sacred lore, knowledge, love of God, works,

art and secularism from Mother India.2. What has India given to the world? (March ’11)

Ans. India has given philosophy and sacred lore, knowledge, love of God, works,art and it kept its door open for all religions to the world.

*3. Why does the poet call India world mother?Ans. The poet calls India world mother as it has contributed to the world culture by

giving philosophy, sacred lore, knowledge, love of God, works, art and secularism.

[III] INTERPRETATIVE/EVALUATIVE QUESTIONS (IQ/EQ). (1 Mark)

*1. Does the poet hold mother India in high esteem? Why?Ans. Yes, the poet holds mother India in high esteem because it is a holy land and

has contributed a lot to the entire world.*2. What does the poet say about the grandeur of India? Why?

Ans. The poet says that the grandeur of India has been reduced and turned tobitter loss and maimed because of the various problems India was confrontedwith during the British Rule.

3. How does the poet visualize New India? (March ’11)Ans. The poet visualizes New India as a Mother of wisdom, worship, works, nurse of

the spirit’s inward ray!

[IV] VOCABULARY QUESTIONS (VQ). (1 Mark)

1. Write a pair of rhyming words.Ans. gold–mould, light–might (any one).

2. What is the rhyme scheme? (March ’11)Ans. The ryhme scheme is – aabb. These are rhyming couplets.

3. Give another word for disabled or injured.Ans. maimed.

4. Write two archaic words and give their meanings.Ans. thou (you), thee (you), thy (your) gav’st (gave).5. Explain : ‘spirit’s’ inward ray’

Ans. The inner being or the soul of a person.

[V] POETIC DEVICE QUESTIONS (PDQ). (1 Mark)

1. Name and explain the figure of speech that dominates the poem.Ans. Apostrophe : The poet directly addresses ‘ India’ - which is an abstract idea.

2. What is the purpose of the rhyme scheme?Ans. The purpose of the rhyme scheme is to make it rhythmic or musical.

3. What is the tone of the poem?Ans. The poet expresses patriotism, possessiveness, pride and praise for the country.

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TEXTUAL QUESTIONS

[I] WRITING SKILLS.‘INDIA’S POSITION IN THE WORLD’

India has been struggling to reach its rightful position since time immemorial.The dream of having a benchmark in this world has remained a dream. There havebeen efforts to break India’s shackles and take her to the top pinnacle by making hera Global IT superpower and a front-runner in the age of Information Revolution.

India’s greatest weakness is the large population. The growing population hascreated a lot of problems in the country. The unity in diversity in India is no doubtvery appealing but it is in no way adding to the growth except enhancing our culture.It is due to our growing population we still see India as a developing nation. Therehave been quite a few advancement in the field of medical and health services andeducation. India is at par in the arena of education and health with some developedcountries.

India has a hard-working population which can help the nation reach the zenith.It’s the determination to achieve all round development in all aspects that can helpIndia to reach its peak.

In the field of science and technology as well there has been a considerableamount of progress. It is internet access which has transformed computers from merecomputing machines to drivers of the information age. The Indian Institutes ofTechnology and other deemed Institutes are providing good training to the Indians.Inspite of efforts by the Department of Telecommunications and others over the last15 years, the info-infrastructure in India is considered by most to be grosslyinadequate. The aim is to make India the “number one provider of all products” in theworld.

FIGURES OF SPEECH

1. India, my India, where first human eyes awoke to heavenly light!Ans. Repetition - The word ‘India’ is repeated.

Apostrophe - The poet directly addresses ‘ India’ - an abstract idea.2. All Asia’s holy place of pilgrimage, great Motherland of might!

Ans. Metaphor - India is indirectly compared to a holy placeAlliteration - The sound ‘m’ is repeated.

3. World-mother, first giver to humankind of philosophy and sacred lore,Ans. Metaphor - India has been indirectly compared to a mother

4. Knowledge thou gav’st to man, God-love, works art, religion’s opened door.Ans. Climax - Ideas are arranged in ascending order.

Inversion - The correct prose order is ‘thou gav’st knowledge to man’5. How shall we mourn who are thy children and can vaunt thy mighty name?

Ans. Interrogation - Rhetorical question is asked for poetic effect.6. A new world in our vision wakes,

Ans. Personification - The world, has been - given the human attribute of waking.

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7. Love’s India we shall rise to mould, India, my India, who dare call thee athing for pity’s grace today?

Ans. Repetition - The word ‘India’ is repeated.Interrogation - Rhetorical question is asked for poetic effect.

8. Mother of wisdom, worship, works, nurse of the spirit’s inward ray!Ans. Climax - Ideas are arranged in a asending order of importance.

Alliteration - The sound ‘w’ is repeated.9. O even with all that grandeur dwarfed or turned to bitter loss and maim.

Ans. Paradox – two contrasting ideas ‘grandeur and dwarfed’ which are true are puttogether.

Q.I SIMPLE FACTUAL QUESTIONS (SFQ). (3)

1. What question does the poet ask mother India ? 12. What memories of India does the poet indulge in ? 13. What happerned to India’s grandeur ? 1

Q.II COMPLEX FACTUAL QUESTIONS (CFQ). (4)

1. What have we received from mother India ? 12. Write from the poem phrases used by the poet to describe India’s past as

well as future ? 13. Why does the poet call India world mother ? 14. What caused damage to the grandeur of motherland ? 1

Q.III INTERPRETATIVE QUESTIONS (IQ). (6)

1. Does the poet hold mother India in high esteem ? Why ? 12. What warning does the poet give to the other coumtries ? 13. What does the poet urge the readers to do ? 14. What do ‘philosophy’ and ‘sacred lore’ mean ? 15. In the line ‘How shall we mourn’, who will mourn and why ? 16. How does Mother India nurse the spirits inward ray ? 1

Q.IV VOCABULARY QUESTIONS (VQ). (5)

1. Write from the passage words of old English usage. Also write what theymean ? 1

2. Write full form of the word ‘gav’st’. 13. Write a pair of rhyming words. 14. What is the rhyme scheme ? 15. Explain : ‘Spirits inward ray’. 1

Q.V POETIC DEVICE QUESTIONS (PDQ). (2)

1. The entire poem is an address to Mother India. The country India ispersonified and addressed. Which figure of speech is this ? 1

2. What is the tone of the poem ? 1

Best of Luck

UNIT 6.1 BHARAT AMAR

SSC

ENGLISH

Marks : 20

Duration : 1 hr.