Advertisements
Advertisements
प्रश्न
Narrate 'The Tale of Melon City' in your own words.
Advertisements
उत्तर
A model answer has been provided for students' reference.
It is strongly recommended that students prepare the answer on their own.
The Tale of Melon city is a narrative poem by Vikram Seth written in the couplet form. The poem is an account of an incident involving the monarch and citizens that took place in a city long ago. The tale is humorous with a very sharp focus on the thematic aspect. Structurally, the story has three parts-the first part mentions about a king's wish to build an arch. The second part relates his complaints regarding the faulty construction of the arch and the last part narrates how his decree ultimately falls on him leading to his hanging. The poem in a high tone of humour narrates the transition of power from the king to a melon which became a symbolic head.
In the beginning the poet narrates that there was a king in a city long ago. One day the king expressed his desire to construct an arch spanning the main thoroughfare to improve the onlookers morally and mentally. The king was just and peace loving. The construction work was soon undertaken by employing large number of labourers.
After the completion of the arch, the king went to inspect the newly constructed arch. The arch was very low. His crown struck against the arch and fell off. Feeling dishonoured, the king decided to hang the chief of builders. All arrangements were made for the hanging. The Chief of builders defended himself by shifting the responsibility to the labourers. Convinced by the argument, the king then ordered to hang all the labourers. The labourers shifted the responsibility to the size of the bricks. The king accordingly ordered the hanging of the masons. The masons in turn defended themselves and put all blame on the architect. The king ordered to hang the architect. The architect reminded the king that he (King) had made some amendments to the plan when it was shown to him. The architect indirectly put the blame on the king. The king was confused to hear the architect's argument. The king solicited the advice of the wisest man in his kingdom. Accordingly, the wisest man was found and brought to the court. He was so old that he could neither walk nor see. He gave the verdict that the arch was the real culprit. It was the arch that hit the crown violently and it fell off. So, the arch must be hanged. Accordingly, the arch was led to the scaffold. In the meantime, a councillor pointed out that it would be very shameful act to hang the arch that touched the king's crown.
The crowd which gathered there to witness the hanging of the culprit was getting restless. Sensing their mood, the king said that someone must be hanged since the nation wanted a hanging. The noose was set up. It was somewhat high. Each man was measured turn by turn. But there was only one man who was tall enough to fit in the noose, and it was the King. Interestingly, the king was hanged.
The poet then narrates the third part of the poem. In the concluding part the ministers heaved a sigh of relief that they were able to find someone, otherwise, the unruly crowd might have risen in revolt. After the death of the King, it was required to choose another king. As per the convention, the ministers sent out the herald to proclaim that the next to pass the City Gate would choose a king. An idiot happened to pass the City Gate. The guards asked him who was to be the King. The idiot answered that a melon should be chosen to be the next king. Actually that was his pet answer to all questions as he liked melons. The ministers crowned a melon and placed their Melon King reverently at the throne.
The poet narrates that the citizens were least bothered about their symbolic head. They enjoyed the principles of Laissez faire. They were very respectful to their new monarch as the new monarch did not interfere in their lives.
APPEARS IN
संबंधित प्रश्न
Answer the following question in 200-250 words:
How did Kitty help Anne overcome her loneliness?
Answer the following question in 150-200 words:
How did Miss Sullivan help Helen Keller when she was studying at Cambridge School?
Notice the following uses of the word ‘tell’ in the text.
1. Her fingers were busy telling the beads of her rosary.
2. I would tell her English words and little things about Western science and learning.
3. At her age, one could never tell.
4. She told us that her end was near.
Given below are four different senses of the word ‘tell’. Match the meanings to the uses listed above.
1. make something known to someone in spoken or written words
2. count while reciting
3. be sure
4. give information to somebody
'The Address' is a story of human predicament that follows war. Comment
What do you think are the reasons for the references made to the English people and the British monarchy?
Discuss in pairs or in small groups
The description of novels as organisms.
The significance of reading an autobiography lies in drawing lessons from another life. What is the significance of Kumudini's account for us as readers?
Discuss in groups, reasons/ consequences/ effects:
The life of the cherry tree was threatened.
For preparing questions based on the poem, an overall understanding of the poem is a must. Discuss with your partner and prepare a set of five questions.
For example:
- What is the name of the bridge?
- ________________________________
- ________________________________
- ________________________________
- ________________________________
- ________________________________
Pick out dialogue of Tenali Raman that proves that he had the following quality.
Wit and wisdom
Answer the following question in short.
Explain the significance of the title.
Imagine you are the Crane. What actions and words of the Peacock would you not like? Write about it in short.
The description of the character is given below. Identify the character from the play. Find some sentences which support your choice.
He is the centre of the play.
Explain the following statement with reference to the context.
From now on The Herald shall be my artillery.
Have you seen non-commercial advertisements - those that are not ‘selling’ anything but are only giving people useful information?
Discuss and write 1-2 lines about the following.
How Bushi defeated Yonamine in the wrestling match.
Write a conversation between a donkey and a horse.
Bassanio was very rich.
Visit a library:
Read stories about Gautama Buddha. Relate one story in the class.
Gather more information about the following from your Science textbook, the internet, and other sources.
Gravitational force
A parody is a playful, comic imitation of a writer’s style. A parody is like a verbal cartoon. Compare the original poem and its parody given on page 35 using the following points:
|
How doth the little busy bee |
How doth the little crocodile (parody) |
| Choice of a subject (an animal) | __________________ |
| __________________ | __________________ |
| Number of lines and stanzas | __________________ |
| __________________ | __________________ |
| Same or similar constructions | __________________ |
| __________________ | __________________ |
| Tone of the poem | __________________ |
| __________________ | __________________ |
Write your own impressions about the news items given in (a), (b), (c), and (d) in the table below.
| News item | Good news Bad news | Reliable Unreliable | Interesting Uninteresting Boring | Others |
| (a) | ||||
| (b) | ||||
| (c) | ||||
| (d) |
Write in your own words.
Who does the poet invite to join him?
Find from the Internet and write down.
Which character from the play sings this song?
Put the following events in proper order.
- Holmes and others go to the bank.
- Clay digs a tunnel.
- Ross closes the office of the 'Red-headed League'.
- Holmes catches the criminal Clay.
- Clay and Ross enter the cellar to steal the gold.
- The bank received a lot of gold from the Bank of France.
- Holmes visits the area around Mr. Wilson’s shop.
Read: ‘The Open Window’ by H. H. Munro (Saki).
Read the word. Write the words that combine to make it.
anywhere
Guess the meaning of the following word in the poem.
lined
What is a password?
Guess the meaning of the following word.
fragrant
Read the following lines from the poem and answer the question that follow.
Let me but live my life from year to year,
With forward face and unreluctant soul;
- Whom does the word ‘me’ refer to?
- What kind of life does the poet want to lead?
Identify the character or speaker.
Now pray tell me, sir, your reason for raising this sea-storm?
Read the following line from the poem and answer the question given below.
Nothing goes right with the folks you meet
Down on that gloomy Complaining Street.
- What is the opinion about the folks you meet down the street?
- What does the word ‘gloomy’ mean here?
Pick out the other examples for alliteration from the poem.
Write the name of the toys against each picture.
What do the people do when the festival of Music is celebrated?
Read the lines and answer the questions.
Deep inside the mountain
the adventures hide themselves.
Where do adventures hide?
Identify the speaker/character.
A man fell into the sea. Please save him.
Sea turtles come to rest on land.
Rearrange the following jumbled sentences in the correct order.
- Payal’s house was a home for abandoned animals.
- It was a small ball of brown and grey.
- She found an owlet in one corner.
- Payal’s mother picked her up gently.
- Payal’s mother opened the carton.
- One day they got a carton.
The boy was so inspired by Mithali that he was happy for his sister to play cricket.
Vicky decided to______ the robot at the end.
Robot asked Vicky to sell him to an ______ master.
A robot advised her to______.
Recite the poem 'My Robot' with correct intonation.
What does a DIY kid refer to?
A man in ______ clothes stopped near him.
What was his master’s advice?
Fill in the blank
Do you like apple______ orange?
Why did Meena call the official 'Appa'? Do you think we need to be a family to care for others?
What was the reason behind Nandhini’s dullness?
Leafcutter ants can carry leaves that weigh ______ times of their body weight.
Ani grew the seeds well.
Choose the correct one.
Elephant
Write the word with same meaning.
chips- ______
Recite the poem The Painter with correct intonation.
How many marks did he score in his 12th board exam?
What did he claim to know?
Read the passage and write the summary of it. Suggest a suitable title to your summary.
|
King Krishnadeva Raya would perform heavy exercises every morning. He regularly applied oil on his body and thereafter worked out till all the oil came out with the sweat. This was followed by a long ride on his horse. Once the king started leading a sedentary lifestyle, and he stopped exercising. He no longer went horse-riding either. The king overate and as a result grew fat and heavy. The king‟s temperament also underwent a sea change. Noticing this, the royal physicians cautioned the king against the ill effects of overeating and explained to him the risks posed by obesity. They advised the king to regulate his diet, exercise, and take care of his health. The repeated advice he got from the physicians to eat less made him so angry that one day he announced a reward for anyone who could find him an easy cure. But there was one condition: those who failed would have their heads off. None dared to advise the king in this regard. The situation became precarious and as usual Tenali Raman was approached by the courtiers for a remedy. Tenali heard the problem and assured the courtiers of a viable solution. The next day, an astrologer predicted that the king had only a month left to live. When the king came to know of this, he was furious. The astrologer was ordered by the king to be imprisoned for a month so that his prediction could be put to test and so the hapless forecaster was sent to prison. |
