1) Read the poem and answer the questions that follow :

(a) What does the old man ask the poet ?

Ans: The old man ask the poet what his land is like.

(b) Why does the old man ask the question to the poet ?

Ans: The old man ask the question to the poet Because the old man wants to know about his native land.

(c) How does the poet address the old man ? What does that form of address mean ?

Ans: The poet address the old man as kaka. It means grandfather.

(d) Why does the poet ask the old man to breathe deep ?

Ans: The poet asks the old man to breathe deep, so that he can feel the warm air that will remind him of his childhood. 

(e) With what does the poet compare the cool breeze on the old man’s face ?

Ans: The poet compares the cool breeze on the old man’s face with the peaceful breath of his land.

(f) With what does the poet compare the content gurgling of the little baby ?

Ans: The poet compares the contented gurgling of the little baby with the soil of the land.

(g) What does the chorus of the cuckoo and the sparrows do ?

Ans: The chorus of the cuckoo and the sparrows shapes the old man’s native land.

(h) What are the things that create the soul of the poet’s beloved country ?

Ans: The things that create the soul of the poet’s beloved country are the roll of the bihu dhol, the pepa and gogona, the heady aroma of the Pitha and Laroo and the chant of the evening prayer in the namghar, masjid and church. 

2) A brief summary of each of the stanzas of the poem has been given below. Match the stanzas with the given summaries. Mention the stanza number alongside the correct summary.

a) My native land makes me feel as safe and secure as a baby carried on a mother’s back.

Ans: Stanza 4

b) The spirit of my native land can be understood in terms of its unity in diversity. Like different family member, who have similarities and differences.

Ans: Stanza 6 

c) The lonely, blind old man in the street asked me to describe our native land.

Ans: Stanza 1

d) Our native land is rich in its gift of nature and is brought to life by the birds and animals that playfully roam its rich green forests.

Ans: Stanza 5

e) The touch of our native land is as peaceful as the cool, fresh breeze blowing after a night of thunder and rain.

Ans: Stanza 3

3) Note that the poem is a series of information to a blind man on what his land is like. The girl provides the information by making use of the senses that are very strong in blind persons. These senses are :

a) touch 

b) hearing

c) smell

(i) Find out the examples that the poet uses to make the old man feel what his land is like. Here is an example : the warm air.

Ans: The cool breeze.

(ii) Find out the examples that the poet uses to make the old man hear the sounds to understand what his land is like.

(iii) Find out the examples that the poet uses to make the old man smell what his land is like.

(iv) Was the old man able to guess the season when the poet described what his land was like ?

4) Here are some words from the poem. Match the words in column A with their meanings in column B:

A	B
Thunder	satisfied
morn	The happy sound made by babies
contented	strong  pleasant smell
gurgling	The loud explosive sound that follows lightning in the clouds
chorus	Strong and firm
aroma	Singing or speaking at the same time
sturdy	morning

Ans:

A	B
Thunder	the loud explosive sound that follows lightning in the clouds
morn	morning
contented	satisfied
gurgling	the happy sound made by babies
chorus	singing or speaking at the same time
aroma	strong pleasant smell
sturdy	strong and firm

Now make sentences of your own using the words.

Ans: Thunder: The loud thunder scared the little puppy hiding under the bed.

Morn: On a peaceful morn, the birds sang sweetly outside my window.

Contented: After finishing her homework, Maya felt contented and relaxed with a book.

Gurgling: We heard the gurgling sound of water as it flowed down the mountain stream.

Chorus: The chorus of frogs and crickets filled the air on a rainy evening.

Aroma: The delicious aroma of freshly baked bread made everyone’s mouth water.

Sturdy: The sturdy table did not shake even when we leaned on it.