Bell Rock Lighthouse Essay

5 WHERE THE MIND IS WITHOUT FEAR I. (i) The words ‘mind is without fear’ mean that one does not have any fear of oppression or compulsion. The poet is talking about the minds of the people of his country. He says so because his country was under the subjugation of the British, who perpetrated all sorts of oppression on his countrymen. (ii) The words ‘the head is held high’ mean to have self respect. The head is bowed down because of exploitation and oppression of the Indians by the British. It needs to be held high with pride and dignity which characterised the Indians before India was reduced to the status of a subjugated nation. (iii) By the words ‘Where knowledge is free’, the poet wants to say that in his country everyone should have the freedom to acquire knowledge without any restriction. The restrictions imposed on the spread of knowledge include the prejudices based on wealth, caste and religion. Further, the British imposed restrictions on the basis of the ruler (the British) and the ruled (the Indians). They curbed the freedom of speech and expression by putting restrictions on the Press. (iv) Due to the restrictions imposed on the spread of knowledge, people remained glued to their outdated customs and traditions and could not think rationally. (v) A sonnet is a poem of fourteen lines divided into an octave (the ?rst eight lines) and a sestet (the last six lines). The octave presents an idea, raises an argument, makes a proposition or poses a problem, whereas the sestet gives a solution to the problem posed by the octave. The poem ‘Where the Mind is Without Fear’ comprises an octave, in which the poet talks about the wonderful qualities his countrymen must achieve to make their country free and heaven-like. Since this poem is only a part of the complete song in his Nobel Prize winning work, Gitanjali, we can say that this poem is a part of the complete sonnet. II. (i) According to the poet, the narrow domestic walls or divisions based on caste, class, colour, religion, creed, region and superstitions break up the world into fragments or mutually exclusive compartments. (ii) The narrow domestic walls refer to narrow local divisions created 6TEACHERS’ HANDBOOK (ICSE POEMS) by prejudices like caste, colour, creed, region and religion. They are called ‘narrow’ by the poet because they are based on age- old customs and traditions and not on the basis of rational thinking. (iii) The narrow domestic walls can harm the nation by creating divisions among people and thereby, undermining the unity and  integrity of the nation. (iv) The poet wants to say that his countrymen should be able to express themselves truthfully without any fear. He feels so because his countrymen at that time did not have freedom of expression as various restrictions were imposed on the freedom of speech and the Press by the British. (v) Examples of alliteration are: (a) Where the world (b) Where words (vi) The poet shows that he has a religious outlook by praying to God to let his country awake to a blissful heaven of freedom. III. (i) ‘Tireless striving’ means to work hard without getting tired to achieve perfection. The poet wants his countrymen to achieve  the highest goals, i. e. , freedom at all levels — political, religious, spiritual, moral and intellectual. (ii) Reasoning allows a person to have clarity of thoughts without being restricted by narrow domestic walls such as caste, colour, creed, religion, region and superstitions. That is why it has been compared to a clear stream which is free of all impurities. (iii) ‘Dreary desert sand of dead habit’ is a metaphor. Through this metaphor the poet wants to say that his countrymen should work for perfection in everything and should not be led astray from their goal in the dry desert of dead habits, i.e. , in a place where outdated customs and traditions are followed. (iv) According to the poet, the hurdles in achieving perfection include the outdated customs and traditions based on irrational thinking rather than sound reasoning and scienti? c thought. (v) The ? gure of speech in the third line of the given extract is a ‘metaphor’. For explanation refer to answer (iii) above. (vi) This poem by Rabindranath Tagore is taken from his original volume called Naibedya, which bears the title ‘Prarthana’, i. e. , prayer. In this poem, the poet prays to a universal father-? gure, i. e.  , God to let his country awake to a blissful heaven of freedom. Thus, the poem is a song of prayer. 7 IV. (i) ‘Thee’ refers to God. (ii) The mind of the poet’s countrymen is to be led forward to the ‘heaven of freedom’, i. e. , to an ideal state where there is total freedom at all levels — political, religious, spiritual, moral and intellectual. (iii) The phrase ‘Heaven of freedom’ means an ideal state, where the poet wants the Almighty to lead his countrymen to. The three qualities required to be able to attain the heaven of freedom include: (a) there is no oppression and people can hold their heads high in self-respect. (b) there are no prejudices based on caste, colour, creed, religion, region and superstitions. (c) people should work tirelessly to attain perfection in everything by following scienti? c thought and rational thinking, without being led to follow obsolete traditions and customs. (iv) ‘Father’ in the above extract is a reference for God. He will awake the country by leading the poet’s countrymen to a heavenly state where there are all kinds of freedom and where they can hold their heads high in self-respect, without any fear of oppression or compulsion. (v) The poet prays for his country to attain all kinds of freedom —  political, religious, spiritual, moral and intellectual. And only then it will attain the blissful heaven of freedom, an ideal state where his countrymen would be able to hold their heads high in self-respect, will not have a blurred vision based on prejudices and work tirelessly to attain perfection in every sphere of life. I. (i) The Inchcape rock is referred to in the extract. The rock lay hidden in the sea off the east coast of Scotland. It sometimes remained hidden under sea water during the high tide. (ii) The words ‘surge’s swell’ mean the sea-waves moved up and down and rose high due to the in? uence of tides. The warning  bell refers to the bell placed on the Inchcape rock by the Abbot of Aberbrothok, to give a warning to the sailors about the danger from the rock. The warning bell was placed on a buoy and during high tides the movement of waves made the buoy to ? oat and in turn rang the bell and warned the sailors. THE INCHCAPE ROCK 8TEACHERS’ HANDBOOK (ICSE POEMS) (iii) The Rock was said to be perilous because many ships had been wrecked by it when it remained covered by sea water during a high tide. Sir Ralph’s ship struck against the Inchcape Rock and drowned in the sea. (iv) The Head monk of a monastery or church is known as an  Abbot. The mariners blessed the Abbot Aberbrothok because he placed a bell on the Inchcape Rock, which gave a warning to the mariners about the perilous rock and thus, saved them and their ships from drowning. (v) A ballad is a long narrative poem that tells a story. It is a heightened narration that uses narrative technique like rhyme and ? gures of speech. The two elements of ballad in the given extract are the following: (a) The rhyming pattern followed in this extract is aabb (Swell- Bell; Rock-Aberbrothok). (b) There is a repetition of consonant sound at the beginning of words (alliteration) to facilitate narration: 1. †¦.. surge’s swell 2. †¦.. then they II. (i) Sir Ralph was a rover or a sea pirate. He was a wicked and jealous man. (ii) The pleasant day in the spring season made the Rover sing. But the real reason was that in a such calm atmosphere he would be able to carry out his wicked plan of defaming the Abbot of Aberbrothok by cutting off the bell from the Inchcape Rock and thereby, loot the wealth from the shipwrecks. The given lines mean that the Rover’s heart was extremely joyful but his joy was due to his wicked plan. (iii) The Rover saw the buoy of the Inchcape Rock like a dark speck on the green ocean. He asked his sailors to lower the boat and row him to the Inchcape Rock. (iv) The Rover wanted to go near the Inchcape Rock to cut off the warning bell to spoil the fame and reputation of the Abbot of Aberbrothok, who has placed the bell there and to loot the wealth from the shipwrecks. (v) The Rover was in a joyful mood in the extract. His joyful mood is re? ected in the extract by his act of whistling and singing. At the end of the poem, the Rover was in a mood of despair and frustration. 9 III. (i) The boatmen rowed the boat to the Inchcape Rock. (ii) The Rover cut off the bell from the Inchcape Rock. He did so out of jealousy and self-interest. He wanted to spoil the fame and reputation of the Abbot of Aberbrothok, who has placed the bell there. It would also allow him to easily loot the wealth from the shipwrecks, caused by the Inchcape Rock. (iii) The Rover’s act of cutting the bell from the Inchcape Rock led to the collision of his ship with the rock and ? nally, the drowning of the ship with the Rover. (iv) After performing the wicked deed of cutting the bell from Inchcape Rock, the Rover said that from then onwards the mariners who used to thank the Abbot would no longer thank him. (v) The Abbot of Aberbrothok had kept the bell there. The bell was placed on the ? oat because the movement of the ? oat during the high tide would make the bell ring and warn the sailors of the danger from the rock. (vi) The sailors, passing by earlier, blessed the Abbot of Aberbrothok for placing the warning bell on the Inchcape Rock and thereby, saving them from the perilous rock. IV. (i) The Rover sailed away from the Inchcape Rock. He became rich by looting the wealth from the ships that struck against the Inchcape Rock. (ii) After amassing wealth, the Rover was sailing towards the shore  of Scotland. (iii) When the Rover was sailing, there was a thick haze over the atmosphere and no sun in the sky. There were strong winds and darkness all around. The weather conditions predicted that ?nally the Rover would meet his end in the sea. (iv) The Rover was a wicked man who was jealous of the fame and reputation of the Abbot of Aberbrothok. That is why he carried out his wicked plan of cutting off the warning bell on the Inchcape Rock, placed there by the Abbot. He was a robber who became rich by looting the wealth from the shipwrecks. (v) The Abbot was a kind and compassionate man, who placed a  warning bell on the Inchcape Rock to forewarn the sailors about the danger to their ships from the perilous rock. The Rover, on the other hand, was a jealous and wicked man, who cut off the warning bell on the Inchcape Rock to defame the Abbot and to loot the wealth from the shipwrecks. V. (i) When the Rover and his sailors were going towards the shore of Scotland, the weather was bad, with a thick haze over the atmosphere, no Sun in the sky and strong winds. THE INCHCAPE ROCK 10 TEACHERS’ HANDBOOK (ICSE POEMS) (ii) The words â€Å"the breakers roar† mean the roaring of the sea waves, i. e. , the sound made when the sea waves break on the  shore. The breakers roar normally signify a high tide when the sea waves surge up and down with a great force. (iii) The sailors wished that they could hear the Inchcape Rock. The ringing of the bell would have indicated the presence of the perilous rock and thus saved the ship from colliding with it. (iv) The sailors could not see any land on the way to Scotland’s shore because of bad weather. There was a thick haze in the atmosphere and total darkness in the absence of the Sun in the sky. Sir Ralph was optimistic that the weather would improve by night when the moon would rise in the sky. (v) In the absence of the Inchcape Bell, no warning sound was heard by the sailors and the vessel struck against the Inchcape Rock. VI. (i) They could not hear any sound due to the absence of the warning bell on the Inchcape Rock, which the Rover had cut off. If the sailors had heard the normal expected sound of the warning bell from the Inchcape Rock, they would have saved the ship from striking against the rock. (ii) (a) the swell is strong: there are strong waves in the sea. (b) They drifted along: They moved slowly towards the shore. (iii) The vessel struck against the Inchcape Rock. It was a shivering  shock because the ship collided with the rock and the waves from all sides began to engulf it. (iv) Sir Ralph was in a state of despair and shock when he realised that his ship had struck against the Inchcape Rock. In his frustration, he pulled his hair and cursed himself. Sir Ralph’s ship struck the very rock from which he had removed the warning bell and sank in the sea. (v) Sir Ralph was a sea pirate. He was a wicked and jealous man. He used to loot wealth from the ships that fatally crashed against the Inchcape Rock. But when the Abbot of Aberbrothok placed a warning bell, he cut off the bell to defame the good Abbot  and put the other helpless sailors into trouble. However, he got caught in his own trap of mischief when his ship struck against the Inchcape Rock and sank in the sea alongwith him. (vi) The moral conveyed through this poem is—As you sow, so shall you reap. The Rover cut off the bell from the Inchcape Rock, but his own ship struck against the very Rock because of the absence of any warning sound and sank in the sea. 11 VII. (i) The Rover could hear the sound of his sinking ship, which seemed to him like the sound made by the Inchcape Bell. The sound was dreadful because there was no chance of surviving  the shipwreck. (ii) The sound of the Inchcape Bell was a forewarning of the danger from the perilous rock to the sailors and was thus life-saving. The dreadful sound, on the other hand was that of the sinking ship that signalled the end of Sir Ralph. Therefore, it appeared to be like a funeral bell being run by the Devil himself. (iii) The Devil below was ringing his knell mean that the sound which Sir Ralph was hearing appeared to him like the sound of the Inchcape bell. But actually the sound was that of the sinking ship. (iv) Sir Ralph, the Rover cut off the warning bell, which the Abbot of  Aberbrothok had planted on the Inchcape Rock as a forewarning to the sailors. But Sir Ralph’s own ship struck against the very rock due to the absence of any forewarning sound and drowned in the sea with Sir Ralph. Thus, the evil that Sir Ralph plotted for the Abbot and the other sailors, recoiled on him. (v) The Inchcape Rock is a ballad comprising adventure, valour and jealousy. Sir Ralph, the pirate, went on an adventure trip on the sea with his sailors. He had the valour to take the risk of cutting off the bell from the Inchcape Rock, which the Abbot of Aberbrothok had placed there to warn the sailors. He did this wicked act out of jealousy as he could not accept the popularity of the good Abbot and wanted to defame him. He also did so because of sel? sh motive as he used to make wealth by looting money from the ships that crashed after striking against the Inchcape Rock. I. (i) The merchants are in the bazaars of Hyderabad. They are selling their goods in the market. The words ‘Richly displayed’ mean that the goods to be sold in the market have been beautifully displayed by the merchants to attract the buyers. (ii) The goods on sale in this market included crimson and silver  turbans, purple brocade tunics, mirrors framed in brownish yellow colour and daggers with handles of jade. (iii) The poet begins the stanza with a question to elicit an answer from the vendors about the goods they are selling. This pattern IN THE BAZAARS OF HYDERABAD 12 TEACHERS’ HANDBOOK (ICSE POEMS) of question-answer is used to bring out the splendour of the traditional bazaars of Hyderabad. The poet has used repetition as well as lyrics full of vibrant and colourful images to describe the scene. (iv) (a) Mirrors with panels of amber mean the mirrors having frames of brownish and yellow colour. (b) Scabbards of gold for the king mean sheaths of gold for the King to keep his swords in. (v) The King and his nobles are the likely customers of tunics of purple brocade and daggers with handles of jade. (vi) The visual imagery is stimulated by mentioning the various hues of colours in this stanza like silver, crimson, purple, amber and jade. II. (i) Chessmen are the pieces deployed on a chessboard for playing the game of chess. Ivory dice refers to small cubes made of ivory, having six sides numbered by dots from one to six. These are used to play games. (ii) Saffron, lentil, rice, sandalwood, henna and spices are sold by  weight, whereas chessmen and ivory dice are sold by numbers. (iii) The sellers of various goods in the bazaars of Hyderabad are referred to as vendors and merchants. The sellers, who go about from place to place with their goods for sale are called the pedlars. (iv) Food items included saffron, lentil and rice. Cosmetic items included sandalwood and henna and the recreational items included chessmen and ivory dice. (v) The senses of sight are stimulated in this extract by the various colours of the items like saffron, lentil, rice, sandalwood, henna and various spices. The sense of taste is produced by the mention  of staple Indian food like lentil and rice and spices. III. (i) The jeweller’s shop is referred to in the extract. ‘Girdles of gold’ mean ornamental belt made of gold worn round the waist by the dancers. ‘Scabbards of gold’ refer to the sheaths of gold for the king to keep his swords in. (ii) The items of gold on sale included ornaments like wristlets, anklets, rings, belts of gold worn by the dancers and sheaths for swords used by the kings. The gold jewellery reveals that both the owners and the buyers belonged to the wealthy sections of the society. 13 (iii) Bells were tied to the feet of blue pigeons as ornaments as well  as identity marks. Sheaths of gold were used by the kings, girdles (belts) were used by dancers and wristlets, anklets and rings were used by other people. (iv) â€Å"Frail as a dragon-? y’s wing† means as delicate as the wings of a dragon-? y. Frail is an apt description for describing the delicateness of the bells tied to the feet of blue pigeons. (v) The poet has described the Indian goods at the Indian bazaars for two reasons: (a) to depict the splendour of Indian bazaars which beckon the customers with their sounds, scents and goods. (b) to extoll the Indians to buy Swadeshi goods and boycott  foreign goods. IV. (i) The fruits included lemons, pomegranates and plums, whereas the musical instruments included sitar, sarangi and drum. (ii) The poet asks the musicians what musical instruments they are playing and asks the magicians what they are chanting. (iii) Spells for aeons to come mean the magical spells used by the magicians to charm everyone till eternity with their chanting. (iv) The whole poem is Indian in context and presentation as it depicts the beauty and vibrance of a traditional Indian bazaar. The landscape, the characters, the images and the background is typically Indian — such as: (a) the mention of dresses worn by Indians such as turbans and tunics. (b) the gold ornaments worn by Indians like wristlets, anklets, rings and girdles. (c) the musical instruments played by Indians like sitar, sarangi and drums. (d) the food items like lentil and rice and spices and fruits like lemons, pomegranates and plums. (e) the use of fresh ? owers on both happy and sad occasions. (v) The magicians are present in the bazaar for chanting magical spells to charm the customers. (vi) The panoramic view of the Indian bazaars presented in the poem with its hues of colour, sounds, smells and sights has appealed  to me the most because it gives a glimpse of the Indian culture, society and prosperity. IN THE BAZAARS OF HYDERABAD 14 TEACHERS’ HANDBOOK (ICSE POEMS) V. (i) The poet has highlighted the occupation of simple folks in India like the merchants, pedlars, vendors, fruit sellers, goldsmiths, musicians, magicians and ? ower girls. (ii) The ? owers are used on happy occasions like wedding for making garlands for the bridegroom and to decorate his nuptial bed. The ? owers are used on sad occasions such as death to pay the last respects by placing ? owers on the dead bodies or the graves. (iii) Crowns, chaplets and garlands were used for making garlands for the bridegroom and for decorating his nuptial bed. (iv) ‘Tassels of azure and red’ mean ornamental threads of sky-blue and red colour tied at one end to make garlands and nuptial beds for the bridegroom. (v) â€Å"To perfume the sleep of the dead† mean to place sheets of freshly gathered ? owers on the dead bodies or on the graves, which give pleasant smell. I. (i) The soldier boy was sitting underneath a tree during the war because he was fatally wounded and could not get up. (ii) The soldier was sitting calmly because he was fatally injured  during the war, was thirsty and could not get any help from anybody around. (iii) The soldier asked the narrator to come near him because he was thirsty and needed a sip of water. (iv) The battle had been long and hard can be discerned from the deep craters in the earth and the number of dead bodies of the soldiers, which the narrator could see lying all around. (v) In the above extract, the poet wants to convey the horrors of war and the agony of the soldiers, who ? ght it out on the battle? eld. II. (i) The narrator has been referred to by the soldier as ‘Sir’. He was on the battle? eld at that time. (ii) The soldier, according to the narrator, ‘smiled as best he could’ to hide his pain and suffering from him. It shows the spirit of a soldier, who gives up his life for his country, with a smile on his face. 15 (iii) The soldier wanted â€Å"A sip of water† because he was thirsty and fatigued for he had fought a long and tough battle throughout the night and was fatally wounded. (iv) The soldier could not take any rest because he had been ? ghting continuously day and night against the enemy. It tells us about the horrors of war and pain and suffering the soldiers had to endure on the battle? eld. (v) The soldier was having a pain in his chest because of the wound he had sustained during the ? ght on the battle? eld. Being a true soldier, who considers everything smaller than his duty for his country, the soldier called it as ‘small pain’. Further, in comparison to the soldiers, who had received larger wounds and had succumbed to their injuries on the battle? eld, his was a small pain. III. (i) The large stain on the soldier’s shirt was caused by a wound he received while ? ghting on the battle? eld. (ii) ‘warm blood mixed in with Asian dirt’ refers to the blood oozing  out from the wounds of the soldier and mixing with the dirt of the Asian soil as the war was being fought in Asia. (iii) By saying â€Å"Not much†, the soldier wanted to say that his wound was nothing in comparison to the wounds suffered by his fellow soldiers, who succumbed to their injuries. He said so because he was still alive. (iv) The soldier considered himself more lucky than his fellow soldiers because they died of the injuries sustained during the war, while he was still alive. IV. (i) The soldier was feeling weak and said that his weakness must be due to fatigue. His fatigue was caused by ? ghting day and  night on the battle? eld. (ii) The soldier smiled weakly because he had sustained fatal wounds and was in pain. It shows that though the soldier was in pain, he was trying to hide his suffering in the true spirit of a soldier. (iii) The soldier felt that he was getting old because he found himself weak and fatigued after battling it out on the warfront. (iv) The soldier felt cold despite the shining sun because the light of his life was fading, i. e. , he was about to die due to the fatal wounds that he had received on the battle? eld. (v) ‘The night exploded’ means that an explosion took place at night. As a result of the explosion the soldier got fatal wounds on his SMALL PAIN IN MY CHEST 16 TEACHERS’ HANDBOOK (ICSE POEMS) body, whereas a number of his fellow soldiers died because of the injuries sustained during the explosion. V. (i) The narrator described the soldier’s smile as the brightest that he has ever seen because the soldier wanted to express his gratitude to the narrator for providing water to him as well as to hide the pain he was enduring. (ii) The soldier was suffering from fatal physical injuries sustained during the explosion at night on the battle ? eld. Due to these injuries he was feeling physically weak and fatigued. (iii) The soldier considered it silly to be defeated by a small pain in his chest because he was a young, healthy man, full of energy and enthusiasm, who could have defeated even death. (iv) The soldier felt ashamed of himself to think about his wife’s reaction when she would see her husband, a strong and grown up man, sitting there defeated. He felt that his mother would never have imagined during his childhood that one day his son would be sitting on the battle? eld, defeated by a small pain in his chest. (v) ‘HERE’ refers to the battle? eld. The soldier was undergoing a mental pain at the thought of the reaction his wife and mother would have on seeing him sitting defeated on the battle? eld. VI. (i) The soldier felt that it was getting dark earlier than it used to be because the light of his life was fading, as he was slowly losing consciousness because of the fatal injuries sustained on the battle? eld and seeing the darkness all around him. (ii) ‘He’ refers to the soldier. He winced up at the sun with an expression of pain on his face to ? nd out why was it getting  dark so early despite the shining sun. (iii) (a) In the given line, the soldier told the narrator that before he would start his journey further, he would like to take a little rest. It signi? es the soldier’s spirit to continue his duty after taking little rest. It is also symbolic of the ? nal journey, i. e. , death, towards which the soldier was heading. (b) The narrator said â€Å"I think I must have cried†. He said so because he could not recall what was his reaction when the wounded soldier died in front of his eyes. It signi? es that the narrator was petri?  ed on seeing the horrifying death of the soldier. (iv) When the narrator pulled the soldier towards himself he felt the wound in his chest and the gravity of the pain the soldier was enduring. 17 (v) The narrator said that he had a large wound in his heart compared to the small one in the soldier’s heart because he was hurt by the suffering of the dead soldier, and felt the guilt on the part of humanity at not being able to give up war and thereby, end the suffering of the soldiers. VII. (i) The expression ‘Asian dirt’ means Asian soil and this indicates that the war was fought in Asia. The two hardships experienced by the soldier included: (a) The physical pain caused by the fatal wounds sustained on the battle? eld. (b) The emotional agony at being lonely and surrounded by dead bodies and the thought of his family’s reaction on seeing him defeated. (ii) Despite sustaining fatal injuries during the war, the soldier did not leave the battle? eld because he considered it at his duty to continue the ? ght till the end and die smiling while performing his duty in the true spirit of a soldier. (iii) The phrase â€Å"a small pain in my chest† is a refrain which is  repeated throughout the poem to emphasise the pain and suffering a soldier undergoes on the battle? eld. (iv) Yes, indeed the poem has a poignant ending. It makes the readers—(i) feel the agony a soldier endures on the battle? eld; and (ii) realise the horrors of war and the need to give up wars for the sake of humanity. (v) Small Pain in My Chest is an anti-war poem that describes the horrors of war and conveys the message to shun hatred and warfare. I. (i) The speaker wants to say that all his children, i. e. , his sons are economically well off and his two daughters are happily married. (ii) By saying, â€Å"Both have cars†, the speaker wants to convey that both his sons are well off and have a status in society. It conveys that in Indian society the worth of an individual is measured more by his ? nancial status than anything else. (iii) The â€Å"other† is a reference for the speaker’s third son. The speaker says that he is not doing â€Å"so well† because in comparison to his THE PROFESSOR 18 TEACHERS’ HANDBOOK (ICSE POEMS) other two sons, who have managerial jobs and are economically well off, he is not as successful as they are. (iv) By saying, â€Å"Every family must have black sheep†, the speaker  intends to say that in every family there is a person, who is different from the rest of the family and is an embarrassment to the family. The speaker considered his third son as the black sheep in his family because he was not as well off as his other two sons. (v) The extract shows that Indians value economic success more than academic success through the speaker’s attitude, who measures the success of his two sons by their managerial jobs and the cars they owned. II. (i) Sarala and Tarala are the speaker’s daughters. The practice of giving rhyming names to the siblings like ‘Sarala and Tarala’ is shown in this extract. (ii) The speaker says that his two daughters ‘Sarala and Tarala’ are happily married to nice boys. The speaker’s comment about the marriage of Sarala and Tarala hints at the gender bias prevalent in Indian society, which considers the success of a man by his economic status and a woman’s by getting married to a nice boy. (iii) By saying, â€Å"How many issues you have†, the speaker wants to enquire from his student about the number of children he has. He is directing this question to his former student. (iv) In reply to his former student’s remark that he has three children, the speaker says â€Å"That is good†. The speaker considers his student having three children as â€Å"good†. (v) The speaker is not against family planning. The irony in this statement is the fact that though the speaker says that he is not against family planning, yet he feels proud at having eleven grandchildren. (vi) The poem The Professor is a satire on the urban Indian way of life as it satirises: (a) the urban Indian society, which measures the success of a man by his economic success rather than his academic excellence. (b) gender bias present in Indian society which believes that woman should be happily married and con? ned within the.