CALICUT UNIVERSITY

3RD SEM BA / BSC

READINGS ON INDIAN
LITERATURE’S

NB
The study material provided here are short notes
and only referring them won’t help you score the
desired marks. So please make sure to watch the
videos for better preparation.
 Small Towns and the River
Mamang Dai

 Published in 2004
 Small Towns and The River' by Mamang Dai is a poem that talks about
life, death, and nature.
 This poem is taken from a collection of poems called 'The River Poems'.
 The poem tries to spread awareness about the importance of nature.
 The need to preserve nature irrespective of all the developments is
emphasized.
 The poet says that the town reminds her of death.
 The poet also laments the loss of her lovely native place, Arunachal
Pradesh.
 She thinks birth and death are the only permanent things in life; all
others are impermanent.
 She uses the childhood memories at the end of the poem.
 Childhood was a happy period without any anxieties. But as she began
to grow anxiety and grief arose in her.
 She compares it with the growth of small towns with anxiety for the
future.

Structure of the poem

The poem consists of seven stanzas, each having an irregular line-count.

The poem is written in free verse since it doesn't have any specific
rhyme scheme. The poet used extremely simple language to compose
this poem.
Figure of speech- Stanza 1
1. Paradox
A paradox is used in literature when a writer brings together
contrasting and contradictory elements that reveal a deeper truth.
“Small towns always remind me of death”

2. Personification
Personification is a literary device that refers to the projection of
human characteristics onto inanimate objects in order to create
imagery.
“My hometown lies calmly amidst the trees”
“With the dust flying”
“Wind howling down the gorge”

Figure of speech- Stanza 2

1. Metaphor
It is used to make a comparison, but in a way different from a simile.
“In the dreadful silence”
2. Repetition
Repetition is used to emphasize a feeling or idea,
“Life and death, Life and death “
Figure of speech- Stanza 3
1. Personification
“The river has a soul “
2. Refrain
The line “The river has a soul” has been used as a sort of refrain for
the stanzas 3 and 4.
“The river has a soul “
3. Simile
Simile is a comparison between two unlike things that uses the
words "like” or "as”.
“Like a torrent grief “
 Figure of speech- Stanza 4
1. Alliteration
It is a technique that makes use of repeated sound at the
beginning of multiple words, grouped together.
“Mist on the mountaintops”

Question Answers

1. What does the poet mean by "dreadful silence"?

The gap and the sadness that reminds us of the imminent death after the
death of a person is meant by the expression dreadful silence. It also refers to
the sufferings and deaths due to insurgency in the North-Eastern region.

2. The river has a soul." What does the poet mean by this expression?

The river is described as a person who acts and thinks like us. Here, the poet
highlights the permanence of the river.

3. Why 'the dead are placed pointing west"?

The poet describes a ritual of placing the dead with their head pointing
westwards. Thus, when their soul rises, they would go toward the golden East,
which is heaven.

4. Comment on the expression "torrent of grief".

The metaphor of "torrent of grief" portrays the river's course in the dry season.
This course is compared to the outpouring of sorrow when people get
emotional.

5. Do you think the poem ends with an optimistic note? If yes, give
reasons.

Yes, the poem ends with an optimistic tone. The poem begins by discussing
death, but the poet concludes that there is hope that all the inhabitants of the
town wish to possess an afterlife.
6. Why do "the small towns grow with anxiety for the future"?'

The worries about the future and the fear of death grow with adulthood.
People in the town live with this anxiety and grief.

7. Explain the expression "sad wreath of tuberoses"

The sight of a wreath made of tuberose lying on a dead person's body

reminds the poet of mortality and her own death. The figure of speech used in
this expression is a transferred epithet.

Discuss the literary devices used in the poem.

The poet used different figures of speech throughout the poem. The wind in
the first stanza is personified by giving the quality of howling. The howling
wind passing through the valley is also a symbol of the valley of death. The
sight of a wreath made of tuberose lying on a dead person's body reminds the
poet of mortality and her own death. 'Sad wreath of tuberoses' is an example
of a transferred epithet. For effect, the flowers have been given the feeling of
melancholy. The expression 'Life and death' is repeated in the poem. The
figure of speech used here is the antithesis since it places opposite ideas
parallel to each other. The expression "The river has a soul' is an example of
personification. The river has given certain human qualities. It has a soul, and it
acts and thinks like us. The poet uses the "torrent of grief" metaphor to
describe the river's course in the dry season.
 "Dream: Midnight"

 The poem "Dream: Midnight" is included in her poetry collection 'Run for
the Shadows' (2021).
 The poem "Dream: Midnight" portrays a mother's desperate attempts to
save her son from an illegal execution by drowning.
 She is aware that the people know her son is with her. Thus, she is
expecting that they would come to catch him anytime.
 She does not know what her son did. But like every mother she also
believes that her son is innocent.
 She thinks about the different possibilities of execution. She is unable to
think about execution by drowning.
Structure
 The poem has four stanzas.
 These stanzas have irregular line-count. It is a reader's poem since it is an
open-ended poem.
Speaker
 Mother

1. Who is the speaker of the poem Dream: Midnight?

Ans: The speaker is a mother. She has a twelve-year-old son who is going to be
executed by drowning.
2. "I have no time to hold him or release the grief that held me" Why does
the speaker say so?
Ans: The mother had to hide her son from the outside world since his
punishers would be searching for him.
3. “It is not civilised. It is not how we live where we live.” What is the
uncivilised act that frightens the speaker?
Ans: The mother is unable to think about execution by drowning. Such a way of
execution is an uncivilized act that frightens the speaker.
4. What are the doubts that rule the speaker’s psyche about the ordeals that
her son is going to face while being captured?
Ans: She doubts her son’s punishers might be pirates. They might have forced
him to walk on a plank when his head touches the cloud.
5. Do you think the poem ends with an optimistic note? I yes, give reasons.
Ans: The poem ends with an optimistic note pointing to the power of human
imagination. The hope of resurrection in the concluding lines of the poem
relates to the hope of humanity toward a new world that is free from power
and fear.
6. Discuss how the speaker in the poem voices out the fear of getting
captured.
Ans: The son came to his mother after escaping the punishment. The mother is
sad and shocked. She knew that she had no time to waste. The mother had to
hide her son from the outside world since his punishers would be searching for
him. The people know he is in his house and greet him as usual. The mother
doubts that too. She is aware that they might pass on the information about
her son. The mother builds a cardboard wall in the house to hide her son. She
does not know what her son did. But like every mother, she also thinks that
her son is innocent. And the punishers are hunting an innocent child.
 What would you do?

 The poem "What Would You Do “written by Omprakash Valmiki

 And translated from Hindi by Pratik Kanjilal is pitted against the
dehumanizing laws that are imposed upon Dalits by the upper caste.
 By challenging the self. proclaimed 'descendant of the Gods' (Brahmins) to
live the life of a Dalit, he revolts against the age-old injustices that Dalits
experience in the society
 Omprakash Valmiki asks to live the life of a Dalit to the upper caste, who
constantly exploits them. He asks them what they would do if forced to live
a life that the Dalits undergo.

Refrain
A refrain is the line or lines
that are repeated in music
or in poetry
“What would you do?”

1. Why Dalits are denied their own land, according to the writer?
Ans. The writer believes that the Dalits have been denied land to make them
slaves. If they did not have land, they would always work under the upper
caste people.

2. Who is called 'descendant of the gods' by Valmiki? Why? "

Ans. They are the upper caste people who believe they are superior to the
Dalits.
3. How Dalit women are tamed in the name of religion, according to the poet?
Ans. The religion forces the Dalit woman to become devadasis. They are
forcing the women to be prostitutes.

4. "And at every step reminded of how insignificant your race is." Explain.
Ans. Democracy, which offers equal opportunities to all, denies the Dalits their
right to vote. The approach towards them proves that the nation does not
consider their race as an integral part.

5. Why are Dalits kept away from the 'threshold of the Temple of learning'? "
Ans. The upper caste does not allow Dalit children to go to school. They fear
that once the Dalits have attained education, they will stand against the
atrocities.
 Munda & Kondh songs

A Note on the Munda Tribe

 Mundas, who are also known as Horohon or Mura, meaning headman
of the village, are aboriginals who live in Jharkhand, West Bengal,
Assam, Tripura, Madhya Pradesh, and Orissa.
 Their language is Mundari which belongs to the Austro-Asiatic language
family.
 It does not have a script of its own.
 As they are one of the most studied tribal communities of India, they
have an encyclopaedia written on them, Encyclopaedia Mundarica (16
Volumes) by Reverend John Baptist Hoffman (1857-1928) and other
Jesuit scholars.

About the Munda Song

 The author Ganesh N Devy in his essay 'Tribal Verse' delineates the
importance of preserving the oral literature of the tribes.
 Claiming those literatures as the root of India's literary tradition, he
argues for a new method that creates space for oral literature.
 He has included three songs in the essay: a Munda song, a Kondh song,
and a chanting in the ritualistic religious language of the Adi tribe.
 Originally written in the native language of the tribals, these songs make
the readers aware of the rich oral literary heritage of the tribes and their
close association with nature A Munda song is sung on the birth of a
son or daughter in a Munda family.
 Mundas' preference for a girl child is visible in the song as the birth of a
daughter is associated with a cowshed full of cows, while the birth of a
boy is associated with the depletion of the cowshed.
 A Munda Song
My mother, the sun rose
A son was born.
My mother, the moon rose
A daughter was born.
A son was born
The cowshed was depleted;
A daughter was born
The cowshed filled up.

A Note on Kondhs

 Kondhs are indigenous Adivasi tribal people who live in Andhra Pradesh,
Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Odisha.
 They speak the Kondh language, and their religion is a mixture of the
traditional faith of Adivasis and Hinduism.
About A Kondh Song

 Kondhs, who believe in the existence of Gods and spirits, observe rituals
in connection with birth, puberty, marriage, and death, with specific folk
dances and songs for each occasion.
 A Kondh song is sung usually after the death of a person.
 As per their belief, the soul of a dead person, who is so intimate to his
home, will be reluctant to leave earth even after death.
 After eight to ten days of the death of a person, Kondhs perform some
rituals to appease the spirit.
 The song is a request to the dead spirit, not to trouble those who are
alive in the family by its visits.

A Kondh Song

This we offer to you

We can,
Because we are still alive if not,
How could we offer at all, And what?
We give a small baby fowl Take this
and go away
Whichever way you came. Go back,
return.
Don't inflict pain on us
After your departure.
1. Why is the birth of a girl child associated with a cowshed filled up' in 'A
Munda song'?
Ans. In Munda society, women have a dominant role in various economic,
social, and ritual activities. So, they prefer a daughter since her birth is
received as a blessing.
2. Why the symbol of ‘a cowshed depleted’ is associated with the birth of a
boy??
Ans. The Munda community prefer the birth of a daughter to that of a
son. They believe that a son may drain their fortune, while the daughter
increases it.
3. What is the request of Kondhs to the dead spirits?
Ans. The Kondhs request the spirit to take the offerings and go away. They
ask the spirit to stop troubling them by staying with them.
4. Don't inflict pain on us/After your departure." Comment on these lines.
Ans. The Kondhs plead with the spirit to leave them. They request the
spirit to stop harming them.
5. "We give a small baby fowl", Why do Kondhs give offerings to their dead
ancestors?
Ans. They believe that the souls of the dead people will stay in their
houses because of their attachment to the house. They offer the spirit a
baby fowl to please it so that it would stop hurting people.
 (Other) Worldly Folk Tale
 The poem "(Other) Worldly Folk Tale" is based on the Buddha Darshan
called Lankavatara Sutra.
 In this sutra, Buddha asserts that all objects of the world, and the names
and forms of experience, are manifestations to feel of the mind.
 Apart from throwing light into the doctrines of Buddha, that highlight mind
as the only reality, the poem also discusses the relationship between the
earth and the seed.
 This relationship is metaphorically depicts the bond between a mother and
a child.
 The tree's desire to return to her mother earth's security as a seed can be
read as a human's eternal quest to go back to childhood.
 Through the poem, the poet advises the readers not to be intoxicated by
the victories that we achieve in our life.

1. Why was the seed reluctant to grow?

Ans. The seed was living in the comfort zone prepared by the earth. It doesn't
want to break this safety offered by the earth.
2. Why couldn't the seed defer its sprouting?
Ans. The rain came and the Earth had to accept it since it is thirsty. When the
water touches the ground, the Seed could not defer its sprouting.
3. Why does the tree wish to go back as a seed and what obstructs it from
doing so?
Ans. The seed wants to go back to the safety it once enjoyed. However, the
seed is sprouted and grown and became a big tree, which prevents it from
going back as a seed.
4. "You are merely Earth's imagination." Why the tree is called the
imagination of the earth? And how is this connected to Buddhist doctrine?
Ans. But the earth wants the seed to sprout and grow, and his imagination
portrays the seed as a tree. According to the Buddhist doctrine, only
consciousness exists. Thus, what we see through our naked eyes might not be
the reality. It might be the imagination of our mind.
 Scorn
 Scorn' is translated from the Tamil story 'Ellakaaram'by Sarsa
Rajagopal and Antara Dev Sen.
 Bama, in the story addresses the social evil of caste discrimination.
 The story leaves a psychological imprint in the minds of the
readers.
 Not only adults but children are also victims of this social malice.
 The larger part of the story happens inside a school and the
population inside the campus is divided based on the streets they
live in.
 She portrayed the discrimination and casteism existing in Indian
society.
Characters
Chinnaponnu – Central character
Paripoornam – Her mother
 Her classmates
Kittanammal
Jyotilakshmi
Muniamma
Komalavalli
Kattari
Aravind

1. What stops Chinnaponnu from going to school?

Chinnaponnu was beaten by the children from the temple street
since she asked an upper caste girl for her lunch- box.
2. How does Paripoornam try to convince her daughter to go to
school?
Paripoornam tried to convince her daughter that Chinnaponnu
would suffer like a dog without education. To console her daughter
Paripoornam offers her daughter some coins so that she could get
some candy and go to school.
3. How did the teacher at school react to Chinnaponnu's
complaint?
The headmaster said that the fault was with Chinnaponnu, since she
asked for the plate of an upper caste child. He added that if
Chinnaponnu touched the plate of the upper caste, it would be
polluted.
4. Who cleans the school campus?
The children who belong to the lower caste were always given the
duty to clean the school campus, while the other group were always
free.
5. What happened to Komalavalli's Pongal festival bonus?
Komalavalli's Pongal festival bonus of three thousand rupees was
stolen by Aravind, a student from a high caste. But the teachers
accused a student from the slum had taken the money.
Explain the dialogue between Paripoornam and the schoolteacher.

Paripoornam complained about the discrimination that her child

faced. The headmaster's reply shocked her. He said that the fault
was with Chinnaponnu, since she asked for the plate of an upper
caste child. He added that a donkey should not dream of sleeping in
a mansion. If Chinnaponnu had touched things of the upper caste,
they would have been polluted. The teachers add that they never
want to admit children from the lower caste. The headmaster asked
Paripoornam to get some piglets for Chinnaponnu, meaning they
were supposed to look after them, not study. She realized that even
the teachers are blinded by the caste system.

Racial segregation is a social evil. Explain with reference to the

dialogue between Vellukannan and the head man.

Aravind, a student from a high caste, stole Komalavalli's Pongal

festival bonus of three thousand rupees. The authorities decided that
Kattari, Vellukannan's son, had taken the money. It was because of
the stigma on the lower caste people that led to this accusation.
Velukkan asked about the injustice of accusing his son without
questioning the other students. For the headman, only the 'wretched
boys of the slum' would steal money. He was angry for accusing the
upper caste children of stealing. He got up and started hitting
Vellukannan. They were not ready to apologize even after realizing
that Kattari did not steal it. For them, the students from the slum
area who belong to a lower caste are criminals.
 Two in the next world
 The story 'The Two in the Next World' was originally written in Hindi but
was later translated into English by Pratik Kanjilal.
 Racial discrimination is a reality in the Indian context. Rajendra Yadav
strongly talks about the discrimination a person faces just because he/she
belongs to a marginalized community.
 The story also talks about the corrupted social systems and dowry deaths.
 The narrator of the story is a dead soul belonging to the upper class. There
is also another soul, a woman who is also from the upper class.
 The narrator says he is in the other world, which means he is dead. He does
not know whether it was hell or heaven but says he has found ease in the
next world.
 It is clear that it was a mistake by the doctors which killed him.
 The title of the story is 'The Two in the Next World'. The writer portrays
two dead souls in the story. The story's narrator is a soul who died on the
operating table during surgery. The second one is a woman who
committed suicide. The term' next world' mentions the afterlife. The story
begins in a place that would be either heaven or hell.

1. What happened to the narrator?

The narrator died on the operating table during a surgery. The surgery was
done by a fake doctor.
2. Why did the narrator and the family decide to replace the doctor?
The government surgeon was from the reserved quota. He doesn't want a Dalit
doctor to treat him.
3. Whom did the narrator choose to replace the first doctor?
The narrator chose a young, presentable and clever doctor from a famous
nursing home. But he was a fake doctor.
4. What happened to the young doctor's wife?
The doctor's wife committed suicide because she could not get more money
from her family for her husband.
5. Who are the two of the title 'The Two in the Next World'?
The first one was a soul that died on the operating table during surgery. The
second one was a woman who committed suicide.
 The Bride's Pyjamas
 The Bride's Pyjamas deals with a love story between an older man
Nabir Shalla and his wife Khotan Didi.
 The story reveals the hypocrisies of society in its treatment of old
people.
 1990s was a period of turmoil for Kashmiri people. Despite the
war-torn climate, the story takes a break from the serious issues
of the time and deals with a love story between an old man
NabirShalla and his wife Khotan Didi.
 The story reduces age into just numbers

Main characters
1. Nabirshalla
2. Khotan Didi

1. What did Nabir Shalla do for a living?

Nabir Shalla was a shawl-maker. Even though he was old, customers came to
him since he was an expert at the job.
2. What did Khotan Didi go in search of?
Khotan Didi went to find a pair of scissors. It was her husband's tool.
3. What made Khotan Didi sad all of a sudden?
Khotan Didi found a bag full of children's garments and old clothes. She
remembered all her dead children and became sad.
4. What did Khotan Didi chance upon in the middle of her old clothes?
While searching for her husband's tool, Khotan Didi saw a pair of rose-red
pyjamas. These were the pyjamas she had worn on her marriage day.
5. Who had come to visit them at the end of the story?
The newcomer who came to visit them was their elder son in-law.
 The Night Train at Deoli'
 The Night Train at Deoli' appeared as part of his collection The Night Train
at Deoli and Other Stories (1988).
 The story has at its heart, the meeting between a young, college going
Ruskin Bond and a girl who sells baskets at the Deoli train station.
 Cashing in on the element of nostalgia, the story crosses beyond the
borders of temporality in such a way that the image of the girl and the train
station at Deoli continues to live in the minds of the readers for long.

Main characters
 Ruskin Bond
 A girl who sells baskets at the Deoli train station.

1. How does the author spend his summer vacation?

The author used to spend his summer vacation with his grandmother in Dehra.
2. What happened during one of his journeys to Dehra?
In one of his journeys, he saw a girl at the platform of Deoli. She was selling
baskets.
3. What does the girl at the Deoli train station sell?
The girl at the deoli train station was selling baskets
4. What happened between the author and the girl?
They were attracted to each other from their first meeting itself
5. Does the author succeed in finding the whereabouts of the girl?
The author could not find the girl's whereabouts since he never enquired
beyond the station.
Character sketch of the girl who sells baskets.

On his journey to his grandmother's house, the author saw a girl at the
platform of Deoli. She was selling baskets. Since it was a cold morning, the girl
had a shawl across her shoulders. She was barefooted, and her clothes were
old. She was a young girl. Even though poor, she walked gracefully with dignity.
They were attracted to each other from their first meeting itself. She was the
first to speak to him. She was happy to see him a second time. She was
nowhere to be found when he returned after a couple of months. The author
believed that sometimes she was married or had fallen ill. She was an ordinary
young girl. The station master or other vendors did not notice her absence.

Character sketch of young Bond.

Ruskin Bond, in the story, is a young college student. The author used to spend
his two-month summer vacation with his grandmother in Dehra. He has
presented the character as a curious young man. He used to wonder what
happens behind the station walls of Deoli. He is curious about the train's stop
at the station since he had not spotted anyone on the platform at any time.
When he was eighteen, he met a girl at Deoli station while visiting his
grandmother. He is curious about the girl. But apart from being curious, he
never steps to find the answers. He always wanted to spend a day in Deoli to
learn more about the station. But he never stayed. He has decided to spend a
day enquiring about the girl to discover what happened to her. He was
reluctant to do that. He preferred to keep hoping and dreaming rather than
doing anything.
 The Future of the Past
 The Future of the Past' is written against the backdrop of the death of Boa
Senior, aged 85, who belonged to the Andamans.
 With her passing away, the tribe's language, Bo, passed into the history and
linguistics books. Boa Senior happened to be the last speaker of the
language.
 What happens when a language dies? The timely editorial focuses on the
fate of the Andaman archipelago.

1. What does the death of a language suggest?

The death of a language suggests the death of many things, such as a way of
life, a cultural identity, and a storehouse of indigenous knowledge.
2. What is the important observation that Wittgenstein made about
language?
The Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein observed the limits of one's
language are the limits of one's world. For him, it is the language that enables
us to expand the limits of our world.
3. What is Bo and who is Boa Sr?
Bo was an indigenous Andaman language. Boa Senior was its last speaker. With
her death, the Bo language had also ended.
4. What does the passing of Boa Sr represent?
The passing of Boa Sr represents the death of an indigenous Andaman
language called Bo. Boa Senior was its last speaker.
5. What caused the dwindling number of indigenous people in Andaman?
Most indigenous people in Andaman were either killed by British colonizers or
died through diseases imported by settlers.
 On university education
 M.C.Chagla, the education minister (1 Sep 1965), introduced a bill with
the initial concept of the Jawaharlal University. Gupta, in his speech,
described the bill as a pedestrian. He wanted the new university to be
different from traditional universities. When JNU finally came into
existence, it reflected the idea shared by Bhupesh Gupta. Gupta, in his
speech, described the bill as a pedestrian. He wanted the new university
to be different from traditional universities.
 He finds it a waste of time to discuss the biographical sketch of Nehru
when the focus should be on perfecting be the proposal for the
university.
 Bhupesh Gupta opens his speech by criticizing the speakers from the
Congress party.
 He emphasizes that a university in the name of Jawaharlal Nehru is not
necessary to immortalize him.
 For him, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru will be immortal in Indian history. But
now they have an opportunity to discuss about a university.
 The proposed university will be established in Delhi. Delhi's
requirements for higher education are not exactly met, and Delhi
certainly deserves to be given a university by the Central Government.
 India has many universities, but unfortunately, they follow the same
pattern.
 He wanted the new university to be different from traditional
universities granting degrees annually.
 The very first thing that came to his mind was as follows: For whom are
we arranging this education? In India, income disparities are clearly
evident. The young boys and girls coming from the poorer classes do not
have the opportunity to study at our university. He asks a fundamental
question of whether this university will be open for them.

 Can those who do not have enough money or whose families do not
have enough money enter and study at this university, or will it be just
another one accessible only to the sons and daughters of the rich? The
country should take care of the poorest.
 The requirements for this university should not be taken from foreign
universities. The requirements for our universities must be considered
from the standpoint of the needs of our country.
 If it does not offer that it would open its gates to the poor people, there
is no point in giving so much money to this university.
He urges to create universities and colleges that our people need, that
our development needs, to remake our material and cultural being.
 First, the sons of the working people, the worker, the peasants, and the
middle classes should be admitted into this university. For him,
education must be subsidized.
 Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had some socialist ideas and a socialist way of
looking at things, so the government should shift its focus from the
upper classes to the classes that are economically at the bottom layers
of society. This was his first suggestion.
 As his second suggestion, he said the university should be granted
autonomy. It should not be run by bureaucracy.
 He also wanted a new faculty to impart learning and education in the
spirit of the worldwide struggle for peace.
 The younger generation should learn about the struggle for peace. He
also wanted this university to educate students in various matters
connected with the development of democratic institutions and
democracy in the country.
 This should be a special subject. To make the students enlightened
citizens, they should be taught world affairs and the affairs of the state.
 He criticized the discussion about student indiscipline. There will be bad
people everywhere.
 He adds that we will find a much higher percentage of bad people in the
Treasury Benches than in any college or university in the country. So,
such a discussion is unnecessary.
 He raised another need that it should teach scientific socialism.
Everyone in India talks about socialism, but no one knows about it.
1. What was M.C. Chagla's vision of JNU?
Bhupesh Gupta says that M.C. Chagla's vision of JNU has nothing
particularly new in it. It doesn't create any excitement since it follows
the picture of the universities that we have in our country.
2. According to Bhupesh Gupta, how are the problems of our universities
must be addressed?
For Bhupesh Gupta, the requirements for our university should not be
taken from foreign universities. The requirements for our universities
must be considered from the standpoint of the needs of our country.
3. Why was Bhupesh Gupta against allocating more money to the new
university without getting assurance from the government?
The newly proposed university should admit poor students. If it doesn't
offer that it will open its gates to the poor people; for Bhupesh Gupta,
there is no point in giving so much money to this university.
4. According to Bhupesh Gupta, what kind of universities need to be
set up?
Bhupesh Gupta asks to set up universities and colleges that our people
need, that our development needs, to remake our material and cultural
being.
5. What is the first thing to be ensured before setting up the new
university?
The first suggestion given by Gupta was that the sons of the working
people, workers, peasants, and middle classes should be admitted into
this proposed university.
6. Why should the students be trained in world affairs and the affairs
of the state?
When the students are educated in world affairs and the affairs of the
state, they will become useful and enlightened citizens.
7. What is Bhupesh Gupta's opinion on the student community of India
then?
Bhupesh Gupta views that the student community is well- behaved. For
him, everyone should appreciate them for the manner in which they
conduct themselves.
 Meghnad Saha

 Meghnad Saha was an eminent astrophysicist from India who was

nominated for the Nobel Prize.
 His presidential address at the Indian Science Congress in 1934 reflects his
vision.
 He begins his address by saying that the world is fast becoming one
economic unit.
 A crash in Wall Street leads to a strike in Bombay Mills, and unemployment
in Lancashire leads to a fall in the price of jute in Bengal and ultimately to
Hindu- Muslim riots.
 He observes that a prosperous year in India leads to increased consumption
of foreign goods. We can no longer consider other nations as our enemies
in a competition.
 We need to adopt a wider outlook. Unfortunately, we are still following the
medieval way of education.
 It is bringing only a few people under the influence of science. As a result,
our political leaders are mostly men with a rigid outlook, quite unfit to
measure the depths of present-day troubles or analyse the details of
political and economic issues, and unable to hold out any program of
reconstruction.
 Thus, our country has created a kind of competitive communalism.
 As per the economic and scientific studies, it is clear that the world has
enough resources for the whole population.
 What we need is a rational program of production and a program of
judicious and equitable distribution.
 Once we follow these steps, no one will have to suffer from poverty and
hunger. Everyone will have better amenities of life.
 In order to achieve this target, there should be cooperative construction in
the community, and the politicians should hand over many of their
functions to an international board of trained scientific industrialists,
economists, and eugenics.
 These professional teams will consider the whole world as a unit and take
measures to improve it. Scientific industrialists should control the whole
production, and economists should supervise.
 The distribution. The eugenists should control the required population in
each geographical area.
 He says it might feel like a dream, but it is possible to achieve if we revise
the educational program.
 To remove the old ideas from the minds of the students and enable them
to appreciate the beauty and powers of Science, a new educational scheme
should be devised by great thinkers like Bergson, Einstein, Bertrand Russel,
Smuts, and Spengler...

1. What are the examples given by Meghnad Saha to suggest that the world
is fast becoming one economic unit?
To say that the world is becoming one economic unit, he serves certain
examples like a crash in Wall Street leads to a strike in Bombay Mills,
unemployment in Lancashire leads to a fall in the price of jute in Bengal, and
ultimately to Hindu- Muslim riots.

2. Why did Saha call the present system of education faulty?

For Saha, the present system of education is faulty because it still follows the
medieval outlook. It is bringing only a few people under the influence of
science
3. According to Saha what is the result of the present faulty system of
education?
As a result of the faulty system of education, our political leaders become
mostly men with a rigid outlook. They are unfit to measure the depths of
present-day troubles or analyse the details of political and economic issues and
cannot hold out any reconstruction program.
4. What is the role of eugenists in nation-building?
The eugenists should control the required population in each geographical
area. They should not allow the numbers to be exceeded.
5. How the joy of life will be provided for grown-up men?
Grown-up men will be provided the joy of life by managing the needs of their
fellow-men and by displaying finer faculties of the mind.
 Beyond the land of Hattamala
About the Play
 The play Beyond the Land of Hattamala, originally Hattamala Oparey (1977)
was written for the Third Theatre by Badal Sarkar.
 It is a satirical play that questions the ideals of the materialistic world
 The protagonists of the play the thieves Kenaram and Becharam jump into
a river to escape from their pursuers and reach a strange society
 Kenaram and Becharam are representatives of the materialistic world,
where everything can be bought and sold
 (Kena in Bengali means buy and Becha means sell).
 Their entry to the new land where there is no individual sense of ownership
and their assimilation into the new land insert new perspectives on life and
culture into the minds of audience.

Characters
 K: Older thief (Kenaram)
 B: Younger thief (Becharam)
 U: Utopia. Characters of the new land
 D: Doctor

1. What forces Kenaram and Becharam to jump into the river?

Two thieves, Kenaram and Becharam, jump into a river to escape being
caught.
2. What was the response of the character from Utopia while he listened to
the words, pay and cash from Kenaram?
He was surprised upon hearing these words because they never use
cash.
3. How did the character from Utopia respond to the words 'police station',
'prison' and 'dungeon'?
He has not heard of a place called a police station. Instead of a dungeon,
he heard luncheon and showed them an eatery.
4. What was the response of the character from Utopia for Kenaram's
confession that they are thieves?
 The character had no idea what a thief is.
5. Why did the people of Utopia misunderstand Kenaram and Becharam as
architects?
Kenaram and Becharam created a hole in the wall to steal. Since the
character of utopia never steals, they thought that the two persons were
architects and testing the wall.
6. What was the attitude of the people of Utopia towards gold and silver?
They are not interested in gold and silver. They prefer fresh flower
ornaments, which are so lovely, beautiful, and fragrant.
7. Why did the characters of Utopia feel strange when they listened to
Kenaram's comment about eating 'doctor's jackfruit'?
Because in the utopia, there is no private property. Thus, the jackfruit
belongs to everyone.
 Burning
Cast:
Ketaki Narayan as Pritha
Rukshana Tabassum as Shakuntala Mishra
Abhinay Shukla as Pritha's well-wisher
Director: V.S. Sanoj
Producer: Ajayya Kumar, Sarvamangala
Story and Screenplay: Jinoy Jose. P
Music and Background Score: Bijibal
Cinematography: Manesh Madhavan
Editing: Praveen Mangalath

Summary
 Burning by V. S. Sanoj is a 2018 award winning short film
 17.34 duration film
 Burning discusses the problems of patriarchy, caste, and class.
 It also presents a view that irrespective of all the dissimilarities,
survivors can bond together.
 The film portrays two women belonging to two different social
strata.
 They are also mothers mourning for their dead sons.
 Now they have to negotiate over the mortal remains of one's
son.
 The short film never discloses the reason behind the
negotiation.
 But in their conversation, we learn about the role of patriarchy,
caste, and income disparity that is running rampant in Indian
society and how their lives are shattered by traditional society.
 Prita is a resident of Varanasi, belongs to a marginalized section
of society, and lives in poverty.
 Shakuntala Misra is an upper-class woman from a wealthy
family.
 They meet at the funeral ghats of Varanasi to negotiate a
strange arrangement.
 They negotiate over the rights of Chand, Prita's son's dead
body.
 Shakuntala opens the conversation by apologizing for being
late.
 Prita, knowing the intention of Shakuntala, shows her dislike in
their meeting.
 Prita makes it clear that she will never give her son's body.
 She wants to give a proper burial to him. She is angry that the
rich people are even encroaching on their sorrows.
 Shakuntala says she never has any other option but to rely on
Prita.
 Their conversation immediately shifts from negotiation to
personal discussions.
 They realize that despite their differences, they share similar
life experiences as a woman.
 They share their experiences of being a lover, wife, and mother.
The patriarchy extends its clutches everywhere.
 They both suffered the same issues. They both had to leave
their dreams for others.
 Their conversation is limited to short sentences and words, yet
they are filled with pain and despair.
 Shakuntala begins to share the dreams she had when she was
young. She was a hockey player in college. She wanted to play
for the nation. She then got married. She started to lose her
dreams one by one. She was unable to realize it.
 Prita's story was also not a happy one. She fell in love with a
man, who was the village washer man. He was also a poet.
They tried to elope and marry. But they were from different
castes. The people of his community killed Prita's parents and
set the entire village afire. They left the village and settled in
Kashi. For her, it was the poetry that killed him. He saw that
people were stealing valuable materials from dead bodies. He
wrote poetry, and the rich people slit his throat.
 Shakuntala says that people from their class believe money can
buy anything, be it love, friendship, or relationship.
 Prita finally allows Shakuntala to take her son so that she can
give a better life for her daughter.
 Prita feels that they might have friends or sisters in the
previous life. They feel that there is some inner connection
between them.
 Shakuntala does not want to take Prita's son anymore since
that would sink Prita into sorrow.
 For her, Rich people have many ways to deal with their
sorrows. They show sisterly concern for each other.
1. What happened to the dreams of Shakuntala Mishra?
Shakuntala dreamed of playing hockey for the nation. But an
early marriage ruined all her dreams.
2. What happened to Prita's parents?
Prita's parents were burned to death along with their village as
she tried to marry a man from a different caste.
3. What happened to Chand's father?
Chand's father saw people stealing valuable materials from
dead bodies. He wrote poetry, and the rich people slit his
throat.
4. What happens to the moral remains of Chand at the end of
the short film?
Shakuntala goes back without Chand's dead body allowing Prita
to cremate her son.
5. What happened to Puran?
Puran was the son of Shakuntala. He drowned to death.
How are Pritha and Shakuntala similar? At the beginning of the
film, we feel that both women are entirely different, and they
don't have anything in common. Prita is a resident of Varanasi,
belongs to a marginalized section of society, and lives in
poverty. Shakuntala Misra is an upper-class woman from a
wealthy family. They both have lost their sons in a similar way.
Even though rich, Shakuntala's dreams are shattered by an
early marriage. Prita has lost her parents and her village due to
her marriage. Rich people killed Prtia's husband, and we
understand by the end of the film that Shakuntala's husband
has lost his mind. They are both living under the command of
patriarchy. They have to fight alone for survival. In the end,
they understand that they have many things in common.
2) Justify the title burning.
The basic story of the short film' Burning' is the negotiation
between two mothers who belong to two different strata of
society over the mortal remains of one's son. The plot is set in
Kashi, where the dead bodies are burnt as per the religious
rites. It is seen as a way to attain salvation. The burning pyres
and firewood constantly remind the viewers of death. It also
symbolises the burning minds of the mothers. They have lost
their sons. Their lives are burnt by this accident. They came to
this land together and mourned their losses. Their burning
minds destroy all kinds of barriers between different classes
and castes. They forget their differences and remember only
their losses and hence generate a strong bond of solidarity.
Thus, burning is an apt title for this film.
 That Day after Everyday
 That Day after Every day is a Hindi short film directed by Anurag Kashyap
and written by Nitin Bhardwaj.
 It was released on 29 October, 2013.
 Duration 21.34
 It is a women centric film that addresses the difficulties experienced by
women in their everyday lives.
 The short film shows how the women in the movie are rising to the
demands of the time and eventually take charge of their life.
 The script revolves around three women, who decide to leave the
imagined protection of the roof above their head, which one calls home.
 The deep-rooted misogyny takes the form of overprotective husbands
and mother- in- laws inside the houses.
 Once women are out of their homes, misogyny takes the shape of
violence that are both physical and mental in nature.
 In the beginning, silence and pretended negligence are their weapons.
 But in the due course of time, they realise their need to fight back and
claim their space and voice.
 In desperate attempt to survive, they decide to take it by themselves to
act and fight back not just against the bullying but against patriarchy in
general.
 And life comes full circle in the end when the place occupied by a
woman in the first scene, the kitchen, is replaced by a man in the last
scene.
 Three women from different households battle the barriers inside their
house and decide to stand tall as independent figures with jobs.
 But the journey is not easy as they live in a society that is infected to the
veins with patriarchy.
 If the attacks inside the houses are fought with struggling silences, it
becomes impossible for them to survive from the attacks that lie outside
their houses.
 Starting from malignant stares from men around them, the struggles get
very real and intimate as there are attempts to physically molest them
on the road.
 Boundaries are long forgotten for the women in the movie as they are
continuously stalked through real and virtual eyes.
 Independence comes at a cost, and they are not free from the clutches
of patriarchy even inside their working space.
 They are stared at and judged for their choice to move outside their
houses and to earn money on their own.
 The struggles get to the zenith that the women decide to brave against
the odds as a sisterhood. With the help of one whom they call Didi, they
muster courage and strength to hit evil in the eye.
 They take basic lessons of martial arts and in an act of survival charge
against the men who intrude into their spaces.
 The men succumb to the sisterhood. This sends a message, far and wide,
to the men in their houses and shows them their places.

1. How does the husband advise the wife to handle the bullying she faces
from the men?
The husband tells her to go straight. And when they come to tease her,
just keep their head down and keep walking. The more she speaks, the
more they will tease her.
2. What happens to the women on their way to work?
They are bullied by some goons from their neighbourhood. Initially, they
stalk and abuse them verbally, but later the women are assaulted
physically.
3. How do the women react to bullying in the beginning?
The woman tried to run away from the goons as they were scared of
them, and no one supported them.
4. What happens in the bus to the woman?
An unknown man consciously touches the body of a woman on the bus.
He pretended to fall over her in a rush.
5. How does she react to the mistreatment inside the bus?
The woman hit the man who assaulted her, making him stop his act.
6. How do they react to the bullying at the end?
The women take basic lessons in martial arts, and in the act of survival,
they face the men physically and defeat them.
 An excerpt from Abhijnanasakuntalam
 Abhijnanasakuntalam, supposed to be composed between 1 BC and 4th
AD is generally treated to be the greatest Indian literary work.
 The story of Sakuntala and King Duhyanta is taken from the epic
Mahabharata.
 In the verses selected for study, Sakuntala is bidding farewell to the
flora and fauna of the hermitage.
 Sakuntala is leaving the hermitage for her husband's home. Her father,
Kanva, her friends, and all the people living in the hermitage are
extremely sad to see her leave.
 It is not just the people, but the entire nature; all living- creatures in the
Holy Grove came to send her off.
 Sakuntala treated animals as her brothers and declared that she had
sisterly affection for the trees and vines.
 She would not drink a drop of water if the trees themselves did not have
their fill.

1. Why did Gautami tell Sakuntala to bow to the divinities of holy grove?
Gautami says that the divinities of the Holy Grove are bidding farewell to Sakuntala
as her relatives. She has to respect them by bowing to them.
2. Write some of the examples of the Holy grove grieving?
The doe threw out grass from its mouth, the peacocks stopped dancing, and the
leaves of the tree started to fall as they were shedding their limbs. These acts are
seen as the Holy Grove's grieving.
3. How does Kanva plan to take care of Madhavi?
Kanva gave his word that he would protect Madhavi, the jasmine. He said that he
would place the Mango by her side as the loving bridegroom of Madhavi.
4. Why did Kanva say that it shameful that Priyamvada and Anasuya are weeping at
the time of parting with Sakuntala?
Sakuntala is leaving for her husband's home. Thus, Uakuntalâ needs the support of
Priyamvada and Anasuya to be firm. Kanva asks them not to cry as it might increase
the sadness of Sakuntala.
5. Who was tugging again and again at the hem of Sakuntalas garment and why?
It was the little fawn who was the adopted son of Sakuntala. The fawn, fed and
treated by Sakuntala, stood before her and tried to block her from leaving him.