The Letter to God ~ G.N.

Fluentes
“They say faith can move mountains”
Lencho is a farmer who writes a letter to God when his crops are
ruined asking for a 100pesos. Lencho hoped for rains as that was only
the thing that his ripe corn field, which was ready for harvest
required. These raindrops would have helped him in getting a better
harvest resulting in more prosperity, so Lencho compared them with
new coins. But suddenly, a string wind began to blow, and very large
hailstone began to fall, along with the rain and Lencho’s crop was
destroyed. Soon, Lencho’s soul was filled with sadness and he could
see a bleak future for him and his family. He was worried for food
for coming year. But Lencho had faith in God*. He believed God’s eyes
see everything even what is deep in one’s consciousness and wrote a
letter to god for a 100pesos. The postmaster read the letter and
first laughed then became serious and deeply moved the writer’s
faith in god, not wanting to shake this faith, decided to collect the
money and send it to Lencho! But he collected only 70pesos, signed
the letter ‘God’ and it was a good ploy to convey a message that God
had himself written the letter. Lencho was not at all surprised to see
letter from God with money inside. His confidence and faith in God
were such that he expected reply from God. Also, he didn’t suspect
that it could be someone else who would send him the money. But
when he counted, found 70pesos but he demanded 100pesos and he
was confident God couldn’t make a mistake nor deny him what he had
requested, therefore he concluded that post office employees must
have taken the money, which is the irony of the situation and calls
them a bunch of crooks.

* The sentences in the lesson which show us Lencho’s faith in God :

 i. But in the hearts of all who lived in the solitary house in the
middle of the valley, there was a single hope: help from God.
ii. All through the night, Lencho though only of his only hope: the
help from God whose eyes as he had been instructed, see
everything even what is deep in one’s conscience.
iii. “God,” he wrote “if you don’t help me, my family and I will go
hungry this year.”
iv. He wrote ‘To God’ on the envelope, put the letter inside and still
troubled went to town.
v. God, could not have made such a mistake nor could have denied
Lencho what he had requested…
vi. It said:” God of the money that I asked for only 70pesos
reached me. Send me the rest since I need it very much!”
** Also, this lesson depicts the conflict b/w human and nature and
human and human.

Dust of Snow ~ Robert Frost

Signifies the feeling of the narrator when dust of snow falls on him
due to movement of crow from the hemlock tree.
Hemlock tree is usually linked with despair, sadness, darkness, symbol
of death; crow – bad omen, ambiguous symbol
Rhyme scheme – aaba aaba

Fire and Ice ~ Robert Frost

Refers to the 2 predictions of how the world will end.
According to the poet ‘fire’ stands for desire, lust, greed, avarice,
etc. There is no end to them. They engulf your life.
Ice – hatred, coldness, insensitivity, rigidity
Poet feels ice and snow are growing out at such rapid speed that
they could soon perish in either way!
Rhyme Scheme – abaabcbcb

Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom ~ Nelson

Rolihlahla Mandela
“Never, never again will this beautiful land experience the oppression
of one by another.”
10th May…. The inauguration would be the largest gathering ever of
international leaders on South African soil. Ceremonies took place in
the campus of the Union Buildings of Pretoria. 10th May is an autumn
day as there was largest gathering of int. leaders in soil of S.A. for
installation of S. A’s first democratic non-racial government, which he
considers as common victory for justice, peace, human dignity. Also,
Mandela by human disaster refers to suffering of colored people in
discrimination by whites. He considers it a great glorious human
achievement, black president where blacks aren’t considered as human
and treated badly. Mandela felt privileged to host the nations of the
world because not long-ago S. A’s were outlaws. Mandela set out with
ideas of poverty alleviation, removal of suffering of people. He also
set the ideal for a society where there would be no discrimination
based on gender or racial origins. Also, the highest military generals of
S.A. defense and police saluted Mandela as their attitude had changed
from arresting him to saluting him. To symbolize the equality b/w
blacks and whites both national anthems were sung. In the first
decade whites patched their differences and erected system of
racial discrimination against dark-skinned, Harshest and most
inhumane societies the world had ever known. Last decade, rights and
freedom recognized. For, Mandela courage doesn’t mean absence of
fear but victory over fear, also love comes more naturally to human
heart than hate. Mandela mentions that every man has twin
obligations. The first is to his family, parents, wife and children; the
second obligation is to his people, his community and his country.
“Like any other kid for Mandela also the freedom meant a freedom
to make merry and enjoy the blissful life. Once anybody becomes an
adult then antics of childhood looks like transitory because most of
the childish activity is wasteful from an adult’s perspective. Once you
are adult then someday you have to earn a livelihood to bring the
bacon home, then only you get an honorable existence in the family
and in the society.” Mandela does not feel that the oppressor is free
because according to him an oppressor is a prisoner of hatred, who is
locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness. Mandela
wants to pay his tribute to all the people who had sacrificed their
lives for the sake of freedom. he feels that he is the sum of all those
African patriots who had gone before him because those heroes of
yesterday years had paved the path of co-operation and unity for
him. Depths of oppression create heights of character. Mandela did
not have a hunger for freedom because he thought that he was born
free. He believed that if he obeyed his father and abided by the
customs of his tribe, he was free in every possible manner. He had
certain needs as a teenager and certain needs as a young man.
Gradually, he realized that he was selfish during his boyhood. He slowly
understands that it is not just his freedom that is being curtailed, but
the freedom of all blacks. It is after attaining this understanding that
he develops a hunger for the freedom of his people.

A Tiger In the Zoo ~ Leslie Norris

Summary - ‘The poem written by Leslie Norris explains the agony and
helplessness of a caged tiger that lives in a zoo. The poet explains
what his life could be if he had been a free animal. The poet has tried
to explain about the condition of animals that are caged by human
beings for their own fun’
He stalks in his vivid stripes
The few steps of his cage,
On pads of velvet quiet,
In his quiet rage
He should be snarling around houses
At the jungle’s edge,
Baring his white fangs, his claws,
Terrorising the village!
But he’s locked in a concrete cell,
His strength behind bars,
Stalking the length of his cage,
Ignoring visitors.
He hears the last voice at night,
The patrolling cars,
And stares with his brilliant eyes
At the brilliant stars.
Rhyme scheme – abcb

His First Flight ~ Liam ‘O’ Flaherty

The lesson ‘The First Flight’ is all about the young seagull who at the
beginning of the chapter couldn’t sum up courage required for him to
take his step forward the ridge to take his first flight as he as
scared due to the vast expanse of the water body below. His
brothers and sisters had already taken their first flight and had been
trained by their parents on how to swim across the water body just
above it, looking for fish and how to hunt and dive, But the long
seagull wouldn’t take it. His parents scolded him cried out to him
shriekly, but he couldn’t do it. Soon, his parents, brothers, sisters, had
gone out for hunting the previous day and hadn’t returned yet. The
young sea gull was hungry and soon enough he could see his mother on
the other ridge, and she was scraping scales of fish and later the
ridge. It was one thing which the seagull liked to do. He called out to
his mother to get him food, but his mother didn’t respond. Sometime
later she came forward along with fish. The young seagull was full of
joy and soon his mother stopped coming towards him. He didn’t
understand why! So, he went further till he could as he was hungry,
but he couldn’t go near his mother. He was close at once his hunger
overtook his fear and he let go the ridge and took a step forward
and soon was falling in the sky. Naturally, due to freight, he spread his
wings but due to his weakness he couldn’t fully upwards and soon he
reached the surface of the water. His feet completely sank but soon
he stopped and was floating in the water. It as his ‘first flight’ All of
his family members were praising him and feeding him bits of fish.
Thus, Family has a major role in one’s upbringing.

The Black Aeroplane ~ Frederick Forsyth

The story “Black Aeroplane” is about a pilot who feels happy and
contended to fly over a city that is sleeping (at the night time). He is
flying from Paris to London. While taking his flight, he dreams about
the long Christmas holiday with his family. He also fantasizes about
the scrumptious breakfast he would have upon landing. As soon as he
crosses Paris, he gets a look of the dark clouds that were a sign of
the upcoming storm. The right decision would have been to turn back
to Paris for the sake of safety. But he being overshadowed by his
dreams and not wanting to delay them, risks to fly through the black
storm clouds. As he flew into the storm, everything went black. It
was impossible to see anything outside the plane. It jumped and
twisted in the air. When he looked at his compass, he saw that it was
turning round and round. It was dead. Along with it, the other
instruments, including the radio, were also dead. Suddenly, he saw
another airplane. Its anonymous pilot waved at him, asking him to
follow. He was glad to find a helper. He was using his last fuel tank
and there was only enough fuel to fly five or ten minutes. Then, the
other pilot started to go down and he followed. He suddenly came out
of the clouds and saw the runway, on which he then landed his plane
safely. He was delighted to land safely out of dark stormy clouds,
therefore, he was not sorry to walk away for his plane. He felt bad,
when he was no able to thank his guide, his mentor who saved him
from frightening situations, but he was so happy after landing that
he didn’t feel sorry for not being able to thank the guide pilot. The
women in the control room was surprised when the narrator asked
about the other aeroplane and its pilot. She said that there was no
aeroplane seen on the radar. Probably, it was the narrator’s own self
that helped him through the storm as the woman at the control
centre could see only his plane on the radar because, no other plane
was flying that night. In his fear, he might have been hallucinating. He
was a good pilot, and it might have been his own self that came to his
help.

How to Tell Wild Animals ~ Carolyn Wells

Summary - In the poem, the poet has explained the characteristics
of various wild animals in a very funny way. She has used language in
a way that it generates humor. She is introducing the reader to
various kinds of wild animals like Asian lion, Bengal tiger, bear,
leopard, crocodiles, hyena, chameleon, explaining each of the animals
in a very humorous way.
If ever you should go by chance
To jungles in the east;
And if there should to you advance
A large and tawny beast,
If he roars at you as you’re dyin’
You’ll know it is the Asian Lion...
Or if some time when roaming round,
A noble wild beast greets you,
With black stripes on a yellow ground,
Just notice if he eats you.
This simple rule may help you learn
The Bengal Tiger to discern.
If strolling forth, a beast you view,
Whose hide with spots is peppered,
As soon as he has lept on you,
You’ll know it is the Leopard.
’Twill do no good to roar with pain,
He’ll only lep and lep again.
If when you’re walking round your yard
You meet a creature there,
Who hugs you very, very hard,
Be sure it is a Bear.
If you have any doubts, I guess
He’ll give you just one more caress.
Though to distinguish beasts of prey
A novice might nonplus,
The Crocodile you always may
Tell from the Hyena thus:
Hyenas come with merry smiles;
But if they weep they’re Crocodiles.
The true Chameleon is small,
A lizard sort of thing;
He hasn’t any ears at all,
And not a single wing.
If there is nothing on the tree,
’Tis the chameleon you see.
Rhyme Scheme – ababcc

The Ball Poem ~ John Berryman

Summary - The poet is talking about a little boy who has lost his ball.
He was playing with his ball. The ball skipped from his hand and went
into the nearby water body. The poet says that this sight of the boy
losing his favorite ball made him think about the boy and his reaction
to this situation. He further says that the boy was helplessly looking
into the water where his ball had gone. He was sad and was trembling
with fear. He got so immersed in his sorrow that he kept standing
near the harbour for a very long time and kept on looking for his ball.
The poet says that he could console him that he may get new balls or
he could also give him some money to buy another ball. But he stops
himself from doing so because he thinks that the money may bring a
new ball but will not bring the memories and feelings attached to the
lost ball. He further says that the time has come for the boy to
learn his responsibilities. Here the poet wants to say that now the
boy will learn the toughest lesson of life. The lesson of accepting the
harsh realities of life that one day we will lose our loved ones and our
loved things.

What is the boy now, who has lost his ball,

What, what is he to do? I saw it go
Merrily bouncing, down the street, and then
Merrily over — there it is in the water!
No use to say ‘O there are other balls’:
An ultimate shaking grief fixes the boy
As he stands rigid, trembling, staring down
All his young days into the harbour where
His ball went. I would not intrude on him;
A dime, another ball, is worthless. Now
He senses first responsibility
In a world of possessions. People will take
Balls, balls will be lost always, little boy.
And no one buys a ball back. Money is external.
He is learning, well behind his desperate eyes,
The epistemology of loss, how to stand up
Knowing what every man must one day know
And most know many days, how to stand up.

From the Diary of Anne Frank ~ Anne Frank

This lesson is an excerpt from “Diary of a Young Girl” or “The Diary
of Anne Frank”. It is an autobiography that was first published in
1947, originally written in Dutch.
First, she had never written anything like this before and secondly,
she thought that nobody is going to read or would be interested in
her diary so she gave a brief sketch of her life. She could confide in
her close friend, but she didn’t have one, the friends she had there
were to have more fun and good times rather than the ones on whom
she could confide. She also believes that a paper to have more
patience than people, so she decided to write and confide in a diary,
calls it “Kitty”. Started by “Dearest Kitty” and ended with “Yours,
Anne” Her statement, that no one could understand her intensity of
love for her grandma tells that she loved her grandmother. Moreover,
the touching gesture of lighting up one candle for grandmother during
Anne’s birthday is also a poignant reminder of the love for grandma.
Mr. Keesing was a strict teacher. However, he was not rigidly strict.
He expected discipline and silence in his class while he was teaching,
which is acceptable. He was annoyed with Anne because she talked
very much in the class. He assigned her extra homework, asking her to
write an essay on the subject, ‘A Chatterbox’ (3pages); ‘An
Incorrigible Chatterbox’; “Quack! Quack! Quack! Said Mistress
Chatterbox’. She gave two arguments to justify her ‘Chatterbox’, one
that chatting in student’s traits and other reason that nothing can be
done about the inherited traits. He was trying to play a joke on her.
However, she came up with a brilliant poem, and he read this poem in
the class, acknowledging its content. Therefore, in regard of these
events, Mr. Keesing cannot be entirely labelled as a strict teacher. He
was fun-loving too. Also, Anne is wrong when she says no one will be
interested in musings of a 13-year old girl. Anne Frank claims that
paper has more patience than people. She usually sits depressed and
all alone. She claims of having no real friend. This lends the reader the
perception that there isn’t anybody to take care of Anne Frank. To
clear the clouds of doubt, Anne Frank gives the sketch of her
adorable father, compassionate mother, kind grandmother, and loving
sister. She treated Kitty as an insider because she called it her best
friend and was ready to confide in it. In the sixth form at the
Montessori nursery school, her teacher was Mrs. Kuperus, who was
also the headmistress. At the end of the year, they were both in
tears as they said a heartbreaking farewell. All these incidents show
how lovable and smart Anne was. Everybody was attached to her, and
even Mr. Keesing could not help but laugh at her essays and
acknowledge her smart mind. Anne felt that a quarter of her class
was dumb and should be kept back and not promoted to the next
class. However, she also felt that teachers were the most
unpredictable creatures on earth. Anne knew a lot about writing. She
was given the task of writing an essay as a punishment. She took it on
with full vigor. She did not want to write it like others who merely
left big spaces between the words to make the essay look voluminous.

Amanda ~ Robin Klein

Summary - Robin Klein has expressed the views of a little girl,
Amanda who is constantly pointed out by her mother for making
mistakes. Mistakes which she considers so as they are not part of
the code of good conduct laid out by the society in which we live.
Don’t bite your nails, Amanda!
Don’t hunch your shoulders, Amanda!
Stop that slouching and sit up straight,
Amanda!
(There is a languid, emerald sea,
where the sole inhabitant is me—
a mermaid, drifting blissfully.)
Did you finish your homework, Amanda?
Did you tidy your room, Amanda?
I thought I told you to clean your shoes,
Amanda!
(I am an orphan, roaming the street.
I pattern soft dust with my hushed, bare feet.
The silence is golden, the freedom is sweet.)
Don’t eat that chocolate, Amanda!
Remember your acne, Amanda!
Will you please look at me when I’m speaking to you,
Amanda!
(I am Rapunzel, I have not a care;
life in a tower is tranquil and rare;
I’ll certainly never let down my bright hair!)
Stop that sulking at once, Amanda!
You’re always so moody, Amanda!
Anyone would think that I nagged at you,
Amanda!
Rhyme Scheme – aabaccc

The Hundred Dresses – I ~ El Bsor Ester

Wanda Petronski was a quiet and shy, and didn’t have any friends,
used to sit in the seat next to the last seat, in the last row, in Room
Thirteen. She sat there because her feet were normally caked with
dry mud and very dirty as Wanda came alone from Boggins Heights.
It seems that it was a place far away from the school thereby
indicating that it was not a very rich locality. So, in order to avoid
being laughed at by her classmates, she sat there to hide her dirty
feet. Peggie and Maddie noticed Wanda’s absence after three days,
i.e., on Wednesday because they wanted to be with her for a lot of
fun, which gave them a lot of pleasure. It could have been one of the
reasons why her family left the place and moved to the city. They
waited for her for a long time, but she didn’t turn up. She did not
have a hundred dresses because she was poor and wore the same
faded dress to school every day. She had an inferiority complex. In
order to hide the complex and impress the other girls, she always said
that she had a hundred dresses. Maddie was embarrassed by the
questions Peggy asked Wanda because she was poor herself. She
usually wore old clothes, which were handed down by someone else.
She did not feel sorry for Wanda. She was worried that perhaps
later, everyone would start teasing her too. Also, Maddie couldn’t ask
Peggie to stop teasing Wanda because Peggie was her best friend and
she had faith in Peggie, was in awe in her, that she would never do
anything wrong **. Maddie thought that Peggy would win the drawing
contest because Peggy drew better than anyone else. She could copy
a picture in a magazine, or some film star’s face so well that one
could tell who it was, but the winner was Wanda. Peggy was a rich
girl. This was also the reason why Maddie could think from Wanda’s
point of view, but Peggy could not.
Miss mason appreciated the paintings of Wanda. She was impressed
at the creativity of the girl because she had painted hundred
paintings which were in wide range of variety. Students burst into
applause, and even the boys were glad to have a chance to stamp on
the floor and whistle. Later, Maddie and Peggy recognized the designs
as those which Wanda had described to them. And in the end, Peggy
exclaimed, “…and I thought I could draw.” This shows that she also
realized how good Wanda’s drawings were.
** (i) Peggy, who had thought up this game, and Maddie, her
inseparable friend, were always the last to leave.
(ii) She was Peggy’s best friend, and Peggy was the best-liked
girl in the whole room.
(iii) Peggy could not possibly do anything that was wrong, she
thought.
(iv) Oh, Maddie was sure Peggy would win.

The Hundred Dress Part – II ~ El Bsor Ester

Mr. Pertronski’s letter said that Wanda would not come to school
anymore as they were shifting to another city. He also said that
there, nobody would ask them why they had funny names because
there were plenty of funny names in the city. Miss Mason was
unhappy and upset as she was disturbed by the ill treatment to
Wanda by the students of her class. She didn’t approve of the
humiliation of a child just because of her name, dresses and house.
After listening to the note from Wanda’s father, Maddie had a very
sick and guilty feeling in the bottom of her stomach. She could not
concentrate when she tried to prepare her lessons. She had not
enjoyed listening to Peggy ask Wanda how many dresses she had in
her closet. Maddie wanted to tell Wanda that she didn’t want to hurt
her feelings. Peggy thought that she was satisfied that she never
called Wanda a foreigner or made fun of her name. She also said that
she never thought Wanda had even the sense to know that they were
making fun of her. She realized her mistake of thinking that Wanda
was not bright enough to understand her insult. So, both rush to
Wanda’s house - Wanda’s blue dress was old, faded but used to be
neat and clean. Similarly, her house was small and makeshift but clean.
Therefore, it reminded Maddie of Wanda’s blue dress. Maddie thinks
about not letting injustice happen to anyone. She makes vow that she
will protest if anybody misbehaves with anybody. She won’t be a mute
spectator the way she did earlier. In a way the episode of Wanda’s
family leaving that city works as major change agent for Maddie’s
personality. The girls wrote a friendly letter to Wanda telling her
that she had won the contest. They also wrote how pretty her
drawings were. They asked her if she liked the place where she was
living and if she liked her new teacher. They wanted to say that they
were sorry. However, they ended up with just writing a friendly
letter. They signed it with lots of X’s for love. No, they did not get a
reply. Maddie was more anxious for a reply as she thought a lot about
it. She would put herself to sleep making speeches about Wanda and
defending her from great crowds of girls who were trying to tease
her. Peggy, on the other hand, had begun to forget about the whole
affair. The girls came to know that Wanda liked them even though
they had teased her as she had asked Miss Mason to give the green
dress with red trimming to Peggy and the blue one to Maddie. Later
when Maddie looked at the drawing very carefully, she realized that
the dress had a face and a head, which looked like her own self. The
head and face in the drawing given to Peggy looked just like Peggy.
That is why the girls knew that Wanda liked them even though they
had teased her. Peggy saw the drawings and was highly impressed by
their beauty. She realized that Wanda was a very good artist. Also,
Wanda knew that girls were teasing her She would have known that
the children intended to make fun of her poverty and would have
laughed at her whatever she might have said. This could have been the
reason for her exaggerating everything whenever she answered their
questions.

Animals ~ Walt Whitman

Summary - In the poem animals, the poet has described his will to
become an animal because he thinks animals are far better than
human beings. Human beings are complicated, false, greedy and full of
jealousy against each other. But animals are calm, and self-contained.
The animals are happy with what they have. They never complain
about miseries and sorrows. On the other hand, human beings
complain about their miseries. They give more importance to the rich
and strong people, stay restless because of their wrongdoings and
run behind the luxurious things of this world. Whereas animals are
honest about their relations and don’t give importance to a particular
class. They live a life which is full of honesty and less of greed and
jealousy.
I think I could turn and live with animals, they are
so placid and self-contain’d,
I stand and look at them long and long.
They do not sweat and whine about their condition,
They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins,
They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God,
Not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with
the mania of owning things,
Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that
lived thousands of years ago,
Not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole earth.
So they show their relations to me and I accept them,
They bring me tokens of myself, they evince
them plainly in their possession
I wonder where they get those tokens,
Did I pass that way huge times ago and negligently drop them?

Glimpses of India
I. A Baker from Goa ~ Lucio Rodrigues –
The lesson is about the elders being nostalgic about the good old
Portuguese days, the Portuguese and their famous loaves of bread.
They talk how the importance of bakers is still maintained in their
villages even after the Portuguese have left. They are known as
‘Paders’ in Goa. The mixers, moulders and their time-tested
furnaces continue to serve the people of Goa with their famous
bread loaves. It is possible that the original ones may not exist, but
their profession is being continued by their sons. The thud of their
bamboo stick can still be heard in some parts of the village. The
baker came twice every day, once when he set out in the morning
on his selling round, and then again, when he returned after
emptying his huge basket. The children ran to meet him not because
of their love of the loaf, which was bought by the maid-servant of
the house. They actually longed for the bread-bangles, which they
chose carefully. Sometimes, it was a sweet bread of special make.
Bol or sweet bread is a part of marriage gifts, cakes and Bolinhas
or coconut cookies are eaten at every festival and the lady of the
house prepares sandwiches at her daughter’s engagement. Earlier
bakers wore a unique frock of knee-length known as ‘kabai’ but
during the narrator’s childhood days, they wore shirt and 3/4th’s .
They generally collected their bills at the end of every month.
Bakery has continued to be a profitable profession, and had
‘jackfruit like appearance’ due to his plump physique managing to
keep their families joyous and prosperous.
II. Coorg ~ Lokesh Abrol –
Coorg is the smallest district of Karnataka, located midway
between Mysore and Mangalore. It is believed that Kodavu people
are of Arabic origin. It is said that some of Alexander’s armymen
moved to south and settled there. Their costume, martial practices
and marriage rituals also point to the fact that they are from
Arabic origin. The people of Coorg are fiercely independent. They
are of Greek or Arabic descent. They have a tradition of
hospitality. They enjoy recounting numerous tales of valour related
to their sons and fathers. Kodavus are the only people in India
permitted to carry firearms without a license. The author has
described the people of Coorg as a proud race of martial men and
beautiful women. The suitable time to visit Coorg is from
September to March. The place is famous for coffee plantations
and spices. There are abundant rainforests which cover 30
percent of the area. The animals that one is likely to see in Coorg
are birds, bees, butterflies, macaques, Malabar squirrels, langurs,
loris, and wild elephants. The major tourist attractions are
Brahmagiri hills, Nisargdham island and Bylakuppe Tibetan
settlements. Coorg gives visitors a feel of India’s diverse cultures.
*The distance between Coorg and Bangalore is around 260 km.
There are two routes to Coorg from Bangalore and both are of
the same distance. The most frequented route is the one via
Mysore. The other route is via Neelamangal, Kunigal, and
Chanrayanapatna.
III. Tea from Assam ~ Arup Kumar Datta –
The story revolves around the infamous beverage ‘tea’ telling us
more about its history and discovery. It begins from the scene
where two friends, Pranjol and Rajvir are set to go to Assam,
Pranjol’s hometown when a tea vendor asks them if they would like
to have some freshly made tea. They buy two cups. From there,
the journey begins and Pranjol starts reading his detective book
while Rajvir decides to enjoy the scenic beauty. There were soft
green paddy fields followed by tea bushes. Rajvir is very excited on
seeing such large plantations of tea but Pranjol is unable to match
the same level because he was born and brought up in Assam,
famously known as the ‘Tea country’. Visiting there for the first
time, Rajvir did a lot of study about how tea was discovered and
that it dates back to 2700 B.C. According to what he read, it was
first consumed in China and reached Europe in the 16th century,
where it was mostly popular for it’s medicinal properties. There
are numerous stories as to how it was discovered, one about a
Chinese Emperor and the other about a Buddhist monk. The former
liked the taste of it while the latter, used it to get rid of sleep. As
they were having this discussion, they reached their destination
where Pranjol’s parents had come to receive them and take them
to their tea garden. On their way, they passed a cattle bridge and
gave way to a truck filled with tea leaves which drew their
attention to the fact that it was the second sprouting season.
Rajvir, indeed did a lot of study before coming which impressed
Pranjol’s father and he intended to learn a lot more.

The Trees ~ Adrienne Rich

The poet talks about trees symbolically. They refer to women who
have been healed and are ready to move out of their houses to
fulfil their primary purpose - to renew the forest of mankind. As
women have remained indoors, the forest has become empty, the
birds and insects rendered shelterless. The Sun’s rays do not have
the tree trucks and leaves to fall upon and thus, reach the earth.
She says that the forest will be full of trees the next morning. The
roots of the trees are working hard to separate from the floor
of the veranda where they have remained fixed. The leaves and
branches are moving towards the glass windows. They are
desperate to move out just like a newly discharged patient who has
not recovered completely, moves to the exit door of the hospital in
a hurry. The poet is sitting in her house with the doors of the
veranda open. She is writing letters but does not mention this
movement of the trees. It is night time, the sky is clear and a
bright moon is visible. She can smell the leaves and lichen which
seem to be calling out desperately. She hears the glass of the
window pane breaking. The trees are moving out and the fast
blowing wind embraces them. As the trees have reached the
forest, the tall and strong oak tree overshadows the moon and it
seems that the moon has been broken into several pieces

Mijbil the Otter ~ Gavin Maxwell

The story begins with the author travelling to Basra along with his
friend. During their journey, the author expresses his desire to
domesticate an otter because after he had lost his pet dog, life
had become lonely for him. His friend suggested that he should get
one from the Marshes along river Tigris in Iraq. He went to Basra,
to the Consulate-General, to collect and answer his mail from
Europe. He had had to wait there for five days. To start with his
mail didn’t reach on time. Then he tried to make a telephone call.
This incident is of those days when one had to book an international
call 24 hrs. in advance. The telephone line was not working properly
on the first day. Next day it was some public holiday, so it was not
working. Finally, after a tortuous wait of five days his mail arrived.
When he received his mail, he carried it to his bedroom to read.
There, he saw two Arabs and beside them was a sack that twisted
from time to time. They handed him a note from his friend saying
that he had sent him an otter. Yes, he liked it. We know this
because he uses the term ‘otter fixation’ to refer to his feeling
towards the otter. He felt that this otter fixation or this strong
attachment towards otters was shared by most other people who
had ever owned one. The otter was of a race previously unknown
to science and was at length named by zoologists Lutrogale
perspicillata maxwelli or Maxwell’s otter. It took some time for Mij
to open up and get acquainted with his surroundings. He was
covered in mud to an extent that it took almost a month of
cleaning and washing to reveal his actual colour. Mij loved playing
with water so much so that he even learned to open the tap on his
own. He believed that each drop of water should be squished and
splashed till the bowl had been emptied. Everything was going
smoothly in Basra, but now it was time to fly back to London.
Maxwell booked a flight to Paris and from there he would go on to
London. The airline insisted that Mij should be packed in a box (not
more than eighteen inches square) that was to be placed on the
floor, near his feet. The box was lined with metal sheet. Mij didn’t
find it comfortable to be there so tried to escape. In its attempt
to escape Mij tore into the metal lining of the box. As a result, it
hurt itself and started bleeding. Maxwell said that the airhostess
was “the very queen of her kind” because she was extremely
friendly and helpful. He took her into his confidence about the
incident with the box. She suggested that he might prefer his pet
on his knee. Hearing this, he developed a profound admiration for
her, for she understood the pain of both the otter and its owner.
When the box was opened, Mij went out of the box. He disappeared
at a high speed down the aircraft. There were cries all around. A
woman stood up on her seat screaming that there was a rat. He
saw Mij’s tail disappearing beneath the legs of an Indian passenger.
He dived for it but missed. The airhostess suggested him to be
seated and that she would find the otter. After a while, Mij had
returned to him. It climbed on his knee and began to rub its nose on
his face and neck. Mij was an intelligent animal. It invented it own
game out of the ping-pong balls. It screwed the tap till water
began to flow and then it would play and splash in the water.
Though it was aloof and indifferent in the beginning, it soon
became very friendly. It formed a special attachment with
Maxwell. It responded when Maxwell called out his name. It grew
desperate when Maxwell left it in a box, and it got hurt while trying
to come out of it. After Maxwell took it out, it clung to his feet. It
was a fun-loving animal. It enjoyed playing all kinds of games. It
would play with a selection of toys, ping-pong balls, marbles,
rubber fruit, and a terrapin shell. It required love and affection
from Maxwell, and it got that readily.
Fog ~ Carl Sandburg
The poet says that the fog which is generally seen during the
winter season is coming towards the city and the harbor just like a
cat. This means that it is approaching the city in a very silent
manner so that no one can notice its arrival. He has compared its
arrival to that of a cat because a cat always enters a place
silently. Next, he says that the fog has covered the whole of the
city and harbour and it appears as if it is sitting by folding its legs
and looking around just the way a cat does when it sits on the
haunches and looks around. At the end, he describes the departure
of the fog which very silently and unpredictably, again, like the
departure of the cat, vanishes.
The fog comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbour and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.

Madam Rides the Bus ~ Vallikannan

Valli’s favourite pastime was to stand in the front doorway of her
house and watch what was happening in the street outside. A
source of unending joy for Valli was the sight of the bus that
travelled between her village and the nearest town, filled with a
new set of passengers each time it passed through her street. Her
strongest desire was to ride on that bus. Valli found out that the
town was six miles from her village. The fare was thirty paise one
way. The trip to the town took forty-five minutes. On reaching the
town, if she stayed in her seat and paid another thirty paise, she
could return home on the same bus. She found out these details by
listening carefully to the conversations between her neighbours and
the people who regularly used the bus. She also gained information
by asking them a few questions. Valli was planning to travel on that
bus. Valli is trying to behave more mature than her age. She is
trying to look overconfident and smart. The conductor is amused
at her behavior and to tease her calls her ‘madam’. Valli stood up
on her seat because her view was cut off by a canvas blind that
covered the lower part of her window. She stood up to look over
the blind. She saw that the road was very narrow, on one side of
which there was the canal and beyond it were palm trees,
grassland, distant mountains, and the blue sky. On the other side,
there was a deep ditch and many acres of green fields. Each time
someone would poke their nose in her business, Valli would get
annoyed as she did not consider herself a child. She did not want to
be friends with an elderly lady who was worried about her because
she thought she was not socially capable enough. She enjoyed seeing
what was going on outside and the sight of a running cow in the
middle of a road was abruptly a funny scenario for her. Upon
reaching the town, she refused to get down the bus because she
was too afraid to do so alone. While returning, she carried
extreme enthusiasm until she saw a cow lying lifeless on the road.
It was the same cow that was so joyous previously. Valli got
terrified at the fact that how a creature so full of life can
instantly turn into something horrible. She sat down silently for
rest of the journey. Upon reaching home, she found her mother
and aunt talking about the endless possibilities in the world outside.
Valli affirmed to what her mother was sayingleaving both of them
astonished. She then justified her reaction by mentioning that she
was casually agreeing to what her mother was saying. Her aunt
then referred to Valli as a nose-poking child who acts like a grown
up lady but only Valli knew what she was referring to because,
after all, no one knew about her bus journey.
The Tale of Custard the Dragon ~ Ogden Nash
The tale of custard the dragon is a ballad. It is a humorous poem
about a cowardly dragon named custard. Custard is a pet of
Belinda, a little girl who lives in a little white house with her pets.
She had a black kitten named ink, a grey mouse named blink, a
yellow dog mustard and a cowardly dragon custard. The poet says
that all of them are very brave except the dragon. Belinda, Ink and
Blink, Mustard were described as brave and are compared with
animals like barell full of bear, chased lions, tiger in a cage
respectively but the dragon is very timid. He always demands a
safe place for himself. All the other characters make fun of him.
But one night they are surprised by the entry of a pirate in the
house. All of them get frightened and start hiding here and there.
But to everyone’s surprise, the dragon not only tackles him but
also eats him up. As all of them are saved by custard, they thank
him. But at the end, they realize that they used to make fun of the
dragon because of his being timid. So, all of them suddenly start
saying that they are more brave and could have handled the
situation in a much better way. Here the poet has tried to say that
sometimes a timid person is the actual hero in the toughest
situations of life.
Custard had big sharp teeth, spikes on top and scales underneath,
mouth like fireplace and nose as chimney…..realio trulio….daggers on
toes….tickled by Belinda unmercifully and others called him
Percival…Blink says weeck!....Mustard asks for age…. Pirate comes
with pistol, teeth a cutlass bright, black beard, one leg
wood…Custard snorting like engine…fired 2bullets but no harm to
Custard…. everyone embraces him.
Rhyme scheme - aabb

The Sermon at Benares

Gautama Buddha was born to a North Indian royal family as a
prince and was named Siddhartha Gautama. When he was twelve
years old, he was sent to a faraway place to study Hindu sacred
scriptures and upon returning four years later, he got married to
a princess. Soon, they both had a son and they continued to live the
royal life for about ten years. The royals were shielded from all
the unpleasant experiences of the world until one day, on his way
to hunt, the Prince met a sick man, an aged man, a funeral
procession and a monk begging for alms. These experiences acted
as eye-openers for him and thus, he left all the royalty behind to
seek a higher sense of spiritual knowledge. Upon attaining salvation,
he began preaching. He gave his first sermon in the city of Benares.
There was a lady named Kisa Gotami whose son had died. When
Kisa Gotami’s son died, she went from house to house, asking if she
could get some medicine that would cure her child. She did not get
it because her child was dead and no medicine could have brought
him back to life. People started thinking that the lady had lost her
senses. One day, she met a man who directed her towards Lord
Buddha who could possibly have a solution for her problem. When
she met the Buddha, he asked her to get a handful of mustard
seeds from a house where no one had lost a child, husband, parent,
or friend. Reinstated with hope, Kisa Gotami once again went on a
search from house to house but to her dismay, she could not find
mustard seeds from a house that would fulfill Buddha’s condition.
Disheartened, she sat at the edge of the road thus realising how
selfish she had been. She became conscious to the fact that men
were mortal and no one could escape the cycle of life. This was
exactly what Buddha wanted her to understand. According to Lord
Buddha, feelings of grief and sorrow only increases man’s pain and
suffering thus, deteriorating his health. Therefore, a wise person
fully aware about nature’s functioning must not grieve at
something bound to happen and only then he can be happy and
blessed. Selfishness is preoccupation with I, me, and myself. Kisa
Gotami was not able to think about other people’s grief. It is
natural to feel sad over death of near and dear ones. But most
people carry on their next responsibility of performing proper last
rites of the dead. People seldom carry a dead body in the hope of
some miracle happening to that. The family and the society always
come to be with those in hours of grief. But later on, life goes on.
But Kisa Gotami was so engrossed in her sorrow that she forgot
to think about live members of her family and society.
For Anne Gregory ~ William Butler Yeats
The poem is basically a conversation between the poet, Yeats and a
young girl named Anne Gregory. The poet tells her that if she finds
a young boy who becomes sad because of her rejection, it doesn’t
mean that he was a true lover. He could have been in love with her
because of her beautiful yellow hair. This means that the boy might
be in love with her because of her attractive looks. He says that a
true lover will be the one who will love her for her inner qualities
and not her looks. To this, Anne says that she will change her looks
by dying her hair into some other colour. She will become less
attractive and then, maybe, she will find a true love for herself.
So, at last, he explains to her that the previous night, he had heard
some religious man saying that only God loves us for what we are.
This means that God never loves us for our looks but for our inner
beauty.
Rhyme Scheme - abcbdb

The Proposal ~ Anton Chekov

The curtain rises with Lomov entering his neighbour Chubukov’s
house fully dressed up in his evening attire. Chubukov is surprised to
see him well-dressed and asks him the occasion. Lomov reveals that
he had come to make a request. Chubukov anticipates that he must
have come to ask for money which he doesn’t intend on giving. On
being revealed that Lomov had come to ask for Chubulov’s
daughter, Natalya’s hand in marriage, Chubukov gets filled with
excitement and leaves to call Natalya. Lomov is a 35 year- old
gentleman who suffers from palpitations, gets upset very easily
and doesn’t sleep well. He thinks it is the best age for him to get
married and he is happy that he has his mind made-up about
Natalya. According to him, Natalya is average-looking and a good
housekeeper. When Natalya arrives, Lomov begins the conversation
about how grateful and glad he is that both their families are on
good terms since the very beginning. While continuing to talk about
his land, he somehow mentions about Oxen Meadows which earlier
was a disputed property but is now his. Natalya couldn’t believe a
word he was saying because she believes that Oxen Meadows
belong to her family. Both of them enter into a heated discussion
and act childishly when Chubukov enters just to get the
conversation more heated. They shout and scream while Lomov
suffers from extreme pounding of the heart, a side pull and a
numb foot. They throw Lomov out of the house and continue
cursing him. While speaking ill of him, Chubukov unintentionally
reveals that he had come with a marriage proposal for Natalya
which surprises Natalya and she immediately regrets sending him
out. She tells her father to bring him back immediately and
Chubukov curses himself on being a father of a grown-up
daughter. When Lomov returns, Natalya tries to deviate to
another topic and starts talking about shooting. Somehow they
enter into an argument involving their dogs. Natalya feels that her
Squeezer is better than Lomov’s Guess. They continue arguing
when Chubukov enters the scene only to make the situation worse,
once again. Everyone gets hyper and Lomov finally falls due to his
palpitations. Even then, the cursing continues when suddenly
Natalya notices that he is unconscious. They try to get water down
his throat but end up getting unsuccessful and declare him dead. It
is only when Lomov moves a little bit, they feed him some water
and Chubukov forcefully hands over Natalya’s hands to him, gives
his blessings and asks them to kiss. Lomov, still not fully conscious
doesn’t understand what is going on. When he finally comes to his
senses, he expresses his excitement and kisses Natalya’s hands.
Natalya, being childish as she is, manipulates him into accepting that
Squeezer is better than Guess but Lomov, being adamant as he is,
refuses to accept it. Thus, once again, the quarrelling continues.
Words and expressions have been used by the characters to
describe each other:
Chubukov: grabber; intriguer; old rat; Jesuit
Natalya: a lovesick cat; an excellent housekeeper; not bad-looking,
well-educated
Lomov: a good neighbour; a friend; impudent; pettifogger; a
malicious, double-faced intriguer; rascal; blind hen; turnip-ghost; a
villain; a scarecrow; monster; the stuffed sausage; the wizen-faced
frump; boy; pup; milksop; fool