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प्रश्न
‘The Tale of Melon City’ has been narrated in a verse form. This is a unique style which lends extra charm to an ancient tale. Find similar examples in your language. Share them in the class.
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उत्तर
‘The Tale of Melon City’ is a narrative poem. It is an ancient tale told in verse. Vikram Seth uses all poetic devices to create special effects. The whole poem runs in rhyming couplets. The last word of each line rhymes with the second. The poet adopts a narrative style of story-telling. But it is the use of humour and irony that creates a special effect in the poem.
The poem introduces us to a ‘just’ and ‘placid’ king. Both the adjectives are ironical. The irony is that the king is neither of the two. He is neither ‘just’ nor ‘placid’. His exaggerated sense of justice is the reflection of his personality. He is whimsical. The arch is too low and bangs his crown off when he rides under it. The king takes it as a ‘disgrace’. Then starts the summoning of the people to be hanged. But he is easily influenced and convinced and lets every one go scot-free. He falls in his own trap. His exaggerated sense of justice leads him to his own death.
Again it is quite humorous that an idiot chooses the next king. He names a melon. The crowning of a melon with respect and ceremony sounds quite humorous. But it is ironical as well. The irony is that the people care little if they are ruled by a man or a melon. Even when the king was alive he was no better than a melon. A melon was the right substitute for such a whimsical and idiotic king.
APPEARS IN
संबंधित प्रश्न
Read the following passage and do the activities:
A1 True or False:
Rewrite the following statements and state whether they are ‘true’ or ‘false’.
(i) Mashelkar’s mother did menial work to bring him up.
(ii) Mashelkar’s father died when he was twelve.
(iii) Mashelkar was born in a very rich family.
(iv) Tatas added much value to Mashelkar’s life.
I start with my greatest guru-my mother. I was born in a very poor family and my father died when I was six. We moved to Mumbai and my mother did menial work to bring me up. Two meals a day was a tough challenge. I studied under street lights and I walked barefoot until, I think, I was twelve. I remember when I passed the seventh standard and I wanted to go into the eighth standard, our poverty was such that even to secure 21 rupees for secondary school admission became a big challenge. We had to borrow from a lady, who was a housemaid in Chaupati in Mumbai. That was the tough life I had.
In fact, I remember, my passing the SSC Examination-i.e. 11th standard. Those days it used to be not 10th standard or 12th standard but 11th standard. I stood 11th among 1,35,000 but I was about to leave higher education and find a job. What helped me was the scholarship by Sir Dorab Tata Trust. It was just 60 rupees per month and would you believe that 60 rupees per month from Tatas added so much value to my life that I have been able to stand here today before you to speak to you.
I am on the Board of Tatas now and it is very interesting that the same Bombay House where I used to go to collect that 60 rupees per month now one goes and sits there like a Director on the Board of Tata Motors. The turn that these 40 years have taken is very interesting. It has all been possible because of the chance I got to do higher studies at the insistence of my mother. She gave me the values of my life. She was one of the noblest parents I have met in my life.
So, my greatest guru was my mother. My second guru was Principal Bhave, about whom I made a mention earlier. He taught us Physics. Because it was a poor school, I remember, it had to innovate to convey to the young students the message of Science.
A2 Complete:
Complete the following sentences and write:
(i) Mashelkar was inspired by his greatest guru _______
(ii) Mashelkar studied under _______
(iii) Principal Bhave taught _______
(iv) The scholarship by _______ Trust helped him in higher education.
A3 Find the meaning:
Choose the appropriate meaning of the underlined words from the given alternatives:
(i) We moved to Mumbai and my mother did menial work.
(a) skilled
(b) hard
(c) unskilled
(d) of low status
(ii) Because it was a poor school, it had to innovate to convey to the young students the message of science.
(a) do a cheap experiment
(b) introduce new things
(c) avoid
(d) try hard
(iii) I got to do higher studies at the insistence of my mother.
(a) firm saying
(b) being inspired
(c) being inspected
(d) being instigated
(iv) That was the tough life I had.
(a) difficult
(b) soft
(c) cheap
(d) simple
A4 Match:
Match the following sentences with their tags:
| 'A' | 'B' | ||
| (i) | I stood 11th among 1,35,000 |
(a) | aren’t I? |
| (ii) | I am on the Board of Tatas | (b) | didn’t we? |
| (iii) | It was a poor school | (c) | didn’t I? |
| (iv) | We moved to Mumbai | (d) | wasn’t it? |
A5 Personal Response:
“Mother is the greatest Guru.” Discuss.
What does “this circumstance” refer to?
You will probably agree that this story does not have breathless adventure and exciting action. Then what in your opinion makes it interesting?
What, according to Russell, is the importance of love in life?
How do the patterns of creativity displayed by scientists differ from those displayed by poets?
The power of poetry lies in suggestion and understatement. Discuss this with reference to the poem.
How did the author feel about her mother's passion to make her a dancer?
How does the nightingale's song plunge the poet into a state of ecstasy?
Read the extract and state whether the following statement is true or false. Correct the false statement.
Growing in abundance is more important than the quality of the crop.
The word 'report' means -
(a) Give a spoken or written account of something.
(b) Cover an event or subject as a journalist or reporter.
Find evidence from the lesson and write in your own words.
Indians respect the freedom of others.
Find proof from the poem for the following.
The colour imagery in the poem.
Answer the given question in your own words.
Why was the Prince sad?
Read the poem below and fill in the gaps, choosing appropriate pairs of rhyming words, to make them meaningful.
|
Little things Little drops of water, Thus the little minutes, Little deeds of kindness, |
(love - above / sand - land / be - eternity)
Correct the following statement.
Behrman was a very heartless person.
Discuss in your class.
How can we take help of robots in our daily life?
A past student of your school has cleared his UPSC examination and being an IAS officer has been appointed as a Collector of your district. Write a formal letter to invite him to your school to share the story of his success, at a special function.
Form groups and discuss the following question:
The events described in the poem take place at a certain place, at a certain period of the year, under specific weather conditions. Describe the place, the time, and the weather conditions.
Discuss in groups and think about it.
List a few occasions on which you had become angry. What do you do when you are angry?
Comment on the versatility and the aptness of the stage settings, as per the requirement of the play “A Midsummer-Night’s Dream!”
Present the information in the box ‘My Teacher says’. Translate the box ‘My Teacher says’ into your mother tongue.
Form pairs. Complete the following table through discussions.
| Occupation | Necessary Qualities | Reasons |
| Student | ||
| Teacher | ||
| Housewife | ||
| Sportsman | ||
| Artist | ||
| Singer | ||
| Author | ||
| Umpire | ||
| Actor | ||
| Scientist |
This story takes an unexpected turn when the lion decides to spare the camel’s life. Choose any fable, a story that you like, and rewrite it giving it an unexpected turn.
Write about how you take care of your books.
Answer in your own words.
What did Neel realise from his encounter with his ancestors?
Make groups. One person in the group chooses an announcement. Everyone in the group reads that announcement silently but carefully and closes their books. Then that person presents the announcement, changing one of the details in the announcement. Others spot the change. For example, you might say ‘red’ key chain instead of ‘blue’ in the last announcement.
Note that we say 'its appetite', 'its manners' and not 'it’s appetite' or 'it’s manners’. It’s means 'It is' and its means 'belonging to it'.
List and say whether the following statement agrees with the passage or not.
You should look at the person you are talking to.
Find a picture of a computer with the help of your teacher and label the different parts you see.
For example, monitor, screen, speakers, processor, mouse, mousepad, keyboard, etc.
Why did Herman and the author slam the doors?
Mention at least two expressions which shows that Mrs. Krishnan was not willing to have Zigzag at home?
Read the lines and answer the questions.
And in fighting for their country, faith and king
noble impressions on people’s minds would ring
- What does ‘noble impression’ mean?
- Who can leave a noble impression?
drenched – thoroughly wet
He is drenched to the skin. ______
Describe the elephant driver in your own words.
Identify the speaker/character.
Don't worry, Madam, it's only a warning.
Identify the speaker/character.
He'll have to be given artificial respiration and kept warm.
Turtles are different from tortoises.
How did Grandfather’s dream come true?
Where did the boys and girls go?
Complete the sentence given below with word/phrase.
The hole in the ground was filled______.
Try your own.
Read scene I of the play carefully and answer the question below.
Who is about to go on a hunt? Do the wolves panic on his arrival? Explain.
Match their hobbies.
 |
swimming |
 |
cycling |
 |
gardening |
Choose the correct option from the given homophones.
I saw a ______ on the flower.
Identify the character or the speaker.
“I hope he is safe.”
Who is the guest?
Read the passage three times and colour a spacesuit for each time.
A spacesuit is like a spaceship built for one. A spacesuit lets us work and live in space. It protects us from the heat and the cold. It gives us air to breathe. The suit is made of many parts and has water to drink. It even has a built-in toilet, if you need to use it.
At the end of the festival , Kamali and Senthil saved______.
Did the seeds given to Ani sprout? why?
Write the word with same meaning.
queue- ______
What incident made Mugund make a wooden drum?
Why was Chris worried?
What would you have done if your grandmother would have slipped?
What did the boy make with the branches of the tree?
The passage given below is on Kabbadi. Read the passage and complete the activities that follow.
Kabbadi (கபடி - in Tamil) is a contact team sport that originated in Tamil Nadu, India. It is the national sport of Bangladesh. It is also popular in South Asia and is the state game of the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Punjab, and Telangana.
Kabbadi is played between two teams of seven players: the objective of the game is for a single player on offence referred to as a 'raider', to run in to the opposing teams half of a court, tag out as many of their defenders as possible, and return to their own half of the court–all without being tackled by the defenders. Points are scored for each player tagged by the raider, while the opposing team earns a point for stopping the raider. Players are taken out of the game if they are tagged or tackled, but can be 'revived' for each point scored by their team from a tag or tackle. The raider should hold his breath and utter the words like 'kabbadi kabbadi, hututu hututu, chadu kudu' etc. while the opponents try to catch him. If he stops uttering these words, he is considered out.
The game is known by its regional names in different parts of the subcontinent, such as Kabbadi or Chedugudu in Andhra Pradesh, Kabbadi in Kerala and Telangana, Hadudu in Bangladesh, Bhavatik in Maldives, Kauddi or Kabbadi in the Punjab Region, Hu-Tu-Tu in Western India and Hu-Do-Do in Eastern India and Chadakudu in South India. The highest governing body of Kabbadi is the International Kabbadi Federation.
Given below is the visual presentation of the first paragraph.
i) Represent the other paragraphs in a visual form of your choice(flow chart, mind-map, pie-chart, etc.).
ii) Choose the correct option.
1. A contact sport usually involves a ______contact between players.
- violent
- gentle
- physical
2. Kabbadi is a game played between ______.
- seven teams of two players
- two teams of seven players
- four teams of seven players
3. A single ______.
- player on offence is referred to as a raider
- offence is referred to as a raider
- raider is an offence by the player
iii) Answer the following.
- How does a raider score points for his team?
- When does a raider concede a point to the opponent team?
- Can a player be revived when he/she is out of the game? Explain your answer.
- Kabbadi is called by different names in different parts of India. Do you know how Pallankuzhi is called in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala?
Now, read the following biographical extract on Sujatha Rangarajan, a Sciencefiction writer, and answer the questions that follow.
- Sujatha is the allonym of the Tamil author S. Rangarajan and it is this name that is recognised at once by the Tamil SciFi reading community. You might have seen the Tamil movie ‘Endiran’ where the robot Chitti exhibits extraordinary talents in an incredible manner. The robot could excel a human being in any act, beyond one’s imagination. Jeeno, a robotic dog which appeared in Sujatha’s science fiction novel “En Iniya Iyandhira” (My Dear Robot) formed the basis of Chitti’s character. Like Chitti, Jeeno was an allrounder who could cook, clean and fight. High-tech computer technology terms are used in the story. Jeeno, a pet robot, plays an important role throughout the story. As the story proceeds, it behaves and starts to think on its own like a human and instructs Nila, a human being, on how to proceed further in her crises.
- In the preface of ‘En Iniya Iyandhira’, the writer states the reason for his attraction to the genre: “Science gives us the wonderful freedom to analyse thousands and thousands of alternative possibilities. While using it, and while playing with its new games, a writer needs to be cautious only about one thing. The story should draw some parallels or association from the emotions and desires of the present humankind. Only then it becomes interesting. Jeeno, the robot dog, was intelligent. But the character became popular only because of the robot’s frequently displayed human tendencies.” It is no wonder that all his works echo these words and will remain etched in the minds of the readers who enjoy reading his novels to have a wonderful lifetime experience.
- It was Sujatha, who set the trend for sci-fi stories. He had tracked the origin from Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein to his short stories. He has written 50 sci-fi short stories and these were published in various Tamil magazines. His stories have inspired many readers to extend their reading to English sci-fi writers like Isaac Asimov. The themes were bold, even if there was a dependence on a very well-established characterization of English fiction. Sujatha opened up a new world to us with his writings on holograms, computers and works like ‘En Iniya Iyanthira’ inspire many to study computer science.
- He has been one of the greatest writers for more than four decades. He combined reasoning and science in his writings. Being a multifaceted hi-fi and sci-fi humanistic author, he expressed his views distinctively. He was the one who took Tamil novels to the next level. As an MIT alumnus and an engineer at BHEL, he was very good at technology. He could narrate sci-fi stories impressively. His readers always enjoyed reading all his detective and sci-fi novels which featured the most famous duo ‘Ganesh’ and ‘Vasanth’.
- Sujatha has played a crucial role as a playwright for various Tamil movies which have fascinated movie lovers. Hence, it is fathomable that the writer’s perspective of future India enthuses every reader and paves a new way to reading sci-fi stories in English.
A. Answer the following questions in a sentence or two.
- How was Jeeno different from other robots?
- What precaution should one take while writing Science fiction stories?
- What inspired Sujatha’s themes?
- Why were Sujatha’s sci-fi stories impressive?
B. Find words from the passage which mean the same as the following.
- difficult to believe (para 1)
- a style or category of art, music or literature (para 2)
- having many sides (para 4)
- capable of being understood (para 5)
Who according to Gandhi, can fight against evil and how?
Read the following information given in the table below and answer the questions.
| A nice choice from Chennai to the National capital | |||
| RAJADHANI EXPRESS TIMETABLE | |||
| Shortest Route between Chennai and Hazrat Nizamuddin 8 Halts & 324 intermediate stations in between | |||
| Station Name | Departs | Day | Speed |
| Chennai Central | 06.05 | 1 | 75 |
| Vijayawada | 11.55 | 1 | 76 |
| Warangal | 14.40 | 1 | 77 |
| Balharshah | 18.00 | 1 | 78 |
| Nagpur | 20.45 | 1 | 74 |
| Bhopal | 02.10 | 2 | 89 |
| Jhansi | 05.31 | 2 | 99 |
| Gwalior | 06.32 | 2 | 85 |
| Agra Cantt | 07.57 | 2 | 76 |
| Hazrat Nizamudin | 10.25 | 2 | - |
a) The number of stations between Chennai Central and Hazrat Nizamudin is______.
- five
- ten
- eight
- eleven
b) The train is expected to reach ______ around 8.45 PM
- Warangal
- Vijayawada
- Bhopal
- Nagpur
c) Between ______ the train runs at its maximum speed.
- Bhopal and Gwalior
- Bhopal and Jhansi
- Bhopal and Hazarat Nizamudin
- Bhopal and Agra
d) Almost ______ the train reaches Vijayawada.
- the day after
- around early morning
- late night
- around noon
e) People prefer the Rajadhani Express to travel from Chennai to reach the capital because ______.
- it reaches the destination on the same day
- the charge is reasonable.
- the train halts at ten stations.
- it is the shortest route from Chennai to New Delhi.
f) The destination of Rajadhani express is______.
- Hazarat Nizamudin.
- New Delhi junction.
- Old Delhi.
- Rajkot.
Read the passage given below:
| 1. | Very often, we do not take the first step towards a good cause because we say to ourselves, "The task is so big. What can I do alone?" So nothing gets done. There is much talk about environmental protection, air pollution and saving our forests. Do we really care? If we do, here are a few things we can do to make our surroundings more pleasant. |
| 2. | It is good to adopt a two-uses-attitude! By putting an article to a second use, we are giving it a longer lease of life and using up less raw material from nature. One of the worst things we do is abuse of paper. The clean sides of envelopes can be used to write small notes, lists and reminders around the house. The more paper we use, the more trees will have to be cut down. For the same reason, we should avoid the use of paper napkins or paper plates. Cloth napkins are just as good, for they can be washed and used over and over again. |
| 3. | Another area which needs the most urgent attention is effective garbage disposal. People who are conscious about it follow rules and laws strictly. As a result, their neighbourhoods are clean and beautiful Similarly, each one of us can contribute to a cleaner environment. All kitchen waste should be collected separately. Those of you who have green fingers can turn this into valuable manure. Dig a pit and put the kitchen waste into it. When the pit is a little over half full, cover it up with mud. Let nature do the rest. Within three or six months, we will have a good garden manure. It can also be done as a community project by digging a large pit in the colony. Do take help of all the members, for nothing succeeds like co-operation |
| 4. | A lot of people don't care about the environment because they don't understand the adverse effect that society has on it. It is important to convince people to care about the environment. The first step would be to convince people to change by providing simple alternative solutions and ways of doing things. Theintemet is a powerful tool and a group on social media of like-minded people can be formed. People can share environmental stories and issues, as well as pool in solutions and alternatives to educate one another. With the current state that our planet is in, it is imperative that people actively care about the environment and most importantly to act now. |
Based on your understanding of the passage, answer any Eight questions from the nine given below:
- Why don't we take the first step towards a good cause?
- What is a two-uses-attitude?
- What can we do to avoid the abuse of paper? (any two points)
- What is the result of an effective way of a garbage disposal?
- What procedure can one adopt for kitchen waste?
- How can making of garden manure be done as community project?
- How long does it take to make good garden manure?
- Select a suitable word from the passage which means - being concerned or interested. (Paragraph 3)
- Pick out the word from the passage which means - completely necessary? (Paragraph 4)
