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Question
This play, written in the 1950s, is a humorous and satirical depiction of the status of the mother in the family.
What are the issues it raises?
Solution
Mother's Day is a comical satire. The story is a simple one, yet it strongly condemns the position of women in society. Our mothers and wives work hard daily, turning our houses into homes. They receive no wages and have no weekends off and work all day long, round the clock. Little do we realise the hard work they put in to make it all perfect. We take them for granted and never appreciate them or stop by to drop a word of 'thanks'. The story very clearly states that our mothers and wives have equal right to relax, enjoy their lives and deserve acknowledgement and appreciation. They sacrifice their whole lives building ours'. Husbands stay busy at work and kids are occupied in their own lives. Amidst all this women lose their self trying to contain our world.
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RELATED QUESTIONS
A1. (i) Two activities that mother was free to do:
(a)...........................................
(b)............................................
(ii)Two activities that children avoided doing because of television:
(a) .....................................
(b) ...................................
Oh yes, we know it keeps them still,
They don't climb out the window sill,
They never fight or kick or punch,
They leave you free to cook the lunch
And wash thedishes in the sink
But did you ever stop to think,
To wonder just exactly what
This does to your beloved tot?
It rots the sense in the head!
It kills imagination dead!
It clogs and clutters up the mind!
It makes a child so dull and blind
He can no longer understand
A fantasy, a fairyland!
His brain becomes as soft as cheese!
His power of thinking rust and freeze!
He cannot think - He only sees!
'All right!' you'll cry. 'All right!' you'll say,
'But if we take the set away,
What shall-we do to entertain
Our darling children? Please explain!'
We'll answer this by asking you,
'What used the darling ones to do?'
'How used they keep themselves contented
Before this monster was invented?'
Have you forgotten? Don't you know?
A2. According to the poem, why is excessive watching of TV harmful?
A3. His brain became as soft as cheese. The figure of speech is ..........because............
Read the following passage and complete the activities given below :
A1 Find out :
Find from the passage the related words to the sea and write them.
ON FIERCE monsoon nights, about one and a quarter-mile off the Mumbai harbor, there have been occasions when 52-year-old Bikaji Ramchandra Dhuri is the only man on the sea. From the watchtower of the Prongs Reef Lighthouse, which is surrounded on all sides by the Arabian Sea, he has heard the sea rage like a possessed spirit – the darkness dispelled only by the beam of light flung across the waters from the tower he mans.
Dhuri is one of the last breeds of lighthouse keepers on the Indian coast, as a majority of the 182 lighthouses in the country are now unmanned. Built-in 1871, the Prongs Reef lighthouse was modeled on Scotland’s Skerryvore Rocks Lighthouse and is located at a strategic spot on the western coast, marking the entrance to the busy Mumbai Harbour. It was meant to stem the number of shipwrecks off the harbor, which the lone Colaba lighthouse could not illumine on its own. “Even now, during nights, for fishing vessels without any gadgets, it’s the soft light from this tower which directs us to Mumbai,” says Vinayak Koli, a boatsman who helps ferry people and also goes on fishing expeditions.
Throughout the year, Dhuri lives in the lighthouse for 15 days at a stretch, when he is relieved by another keeper. In the monsoon, it becomes his home for three months. “We call it the Kalapana as we are alone in the middle of the sea for days, with basic supplies – and the revolving light that keeps the sea awake,” he says.
A2 Fill in the following information using words from the passage :
(i) The Prongs Reef lighthouse was modeled on _______.
(ii) Dhuri lives in the lighthouse for _______ at a stretch.
(iii) _______ is one of the last breeds of lighthouse keepers on the Indian coast.
(iv) The majority of the _______ lighthouses in the country are now unmanned.
| Violent | Scattered | Place of shelter for ships | Shine light |
A4
A5 Personal Response
Imagine you have to spend a night in a lighthouse. Narrate your experience.
Does the poem have a consistent rhyme scheme?
Briefly explain the following statement from the text.
“You neither travelled to the past nor the future. You were in the present experiencing a different world.”
Is drama a good medium for conveying a social message? Discuss.
How do Shahid and the writer react to the knowledge that Shahid is going to die?
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?
Make a list of the preparations made for an assault on Tiger Hill.
After confirming the multidirectional assault as the best strategy the commanding officer ________________.
List all the words specially used in the game of Kabaddi.
Divide the story into different sections to show the different events and time periods in it. Give a suitable title to each section.
Choose any one of the seven States. Find more information about it and prepare a leaflet or brochure to invite people to visit it.
Say whether you agree or disagree.
The youngest child was most irritating.
Fill in the blank choosing the appropriate word/idiom from the lesson.
He was dizzy and he ______ the room.
What did he try to take the milk from?
Find a word that has a similar meaning.
happily
Mahatma Gandhi, Che Guevera, Guru Nanak, and Gauthama Buddha are some of the famous personalities and thinkers who made extensive journeys to understand life. Do you think journeys can be life-changing?
Identify the character or speaker.
He imprisoned the spirits in the bodies of large trees.
Why do you think Mrs. Bodwell wanted to sell the house?
Mention the things that the grandfather imagined.
Underline the words or phrases that tell you what the wind does to the village.
Why did Muthu and his friends step out of the train?
Which planet has rings around it?
How did the old man disguise himself?
Pick out the rhyming words from the poem and write.
| Mars | |
| time | |
| be |
Write the rhyming word.
Tree - ______.
Read the advertisement and answer the question given below.
What is the name of the dealer?
Fill in the blank with rhyming word.
tunnels- ______
Match the following rhyming words.
| 1. | earn | glow |
| 2. | fend | day |
| 3. | slow | learn |
| 4. | play | end |
Are these sentence TRUE or FALSE
The poet tells the child to be afraid when it is dark.
What was the most important thing that Helen finally understood?
