My Native Land
Unit: 2 ‘My Native Land’
Activity 1: Read the poem and answer the following questions
(a) What does the old man ask the poet?
Ans:- The old man asks the poet to tell him what his land is like.
(b) Why does the old man ask the question to the poet?
Ans:- The old man is blind and wants the poet to describe the land to him.
(c) How does the poet address the old man? What does that form of address mean?
Ans:- The poet addresses the old man as “Koka”. The text states that “Koka” means “grandfather”.
(d) Why does the poet ask the old man to breathe deep?
Ans:- The poet asks the old man to breathe deep so he can feel and experience the “warm air that reminds you of your childhood friends”, which is one way the land is described. The poet uses the senses (like touch/feeling the air) to describe the land to the blind man.
(e) With what does the poet compare the cool breeze on the old man’s face?
Ans:- The poet compares the cool breeze on the old man’s face to the “peaceful breath of your land”.
(f) With what does the poet compare the contented gurgling of the little baby?
Ans:- The poet compares the contented gurgling of the little baby to the “soil of which your land is made”.
(g) What does the chorus of the cuckoo and the sparrows do?
Ans:- The chorus of the cuckoo and sparrows is “what shapes your native land”.
(h) What are the things that create the soul of the poet’s beloved country?
Ans:- The things that create the soul of the poet’s beloved country are:
a) The distant roll of the bihu dhol.
b) The pepa and gogona the neighbours play.
c) The heady aroma of the pitha and laroo.
d) The chant of the evening prayer in the namghor, masjid, and church.
Activity 2: Match the stanzas with the given summaries
a) Stanza 3 : My native land makes me feel as safe and secure as a baby carried on a mother’s back.
b) Stanza 5 : The spirit of my native land can be understood in terms of its unity in diversity. Like different family members who have similarities and differences, yet belong to the same family and have the same home, in our native land, our family members practise different religions and traditions.
c) Stanza 1 : The lonely, blind old man in the street asked me to describe our native land.
d) Stanza 4: Our native land is rich in its gift of nature and is brought to life by the birds and animals that playfully roam its rich green forests.
e) Stanza 2 : The touch of our native land is as peaceful as the cool, fresh breeze blowing after a night of thunder and rain. |
Activity 3: Note that the poem is a series of information to a blind man on what his land is like…
(i) Find out the examples that the poet uses to make the old man feel/touch what his land is like. Here is an example: the warm air.
* The warm air that reminds him of his childhood friends.
* The cool breeze on his face.
* The sturdy back of the mother (to which the baby is tied).
(ii) Find out the examples that the poet uses to make the old man hear the sounds to understand what his land is like.
* The contented gurgling of that little baby.
* The chorus of the cuckoo and sparrows.
* The distant roll of the bihu dhol.
* The pepa and gogona my neighbours play.
* The chant of the evening prayer in the namghor, masjid, church.
(iii) Find out the examples that the poet uses to make the old man smell what his land is like.
* The heady aroma of the pitha and laroo.
(iv) Was the old man able to guess the season when the poet described what his land was like?
The poet describes a “cool breeze on your face this morn / After last night’s endless thunder and rain”. The presence of thunder and rain, followed by a cool breeze, and the mentions of the Bihu musical instruments, suggest the season of change or a moderate time like spring or early summer (around Bihu festival), so the man might be able to guess the general time of year.
Activity 4: Match the words in column A with their meanings in column B
Column A (Word) Column B (Meaning)
thunder The loud explosive sound that follows lightning in the clouds
gurgling The happy sound made by babies
chorus. Singing or speaking at the same time
aroma. A strong pleasant smell
sturdy Strong and firm
morn Morning
Activity 9: Match the onomatopoeic words with the pictures of the birds and animals
The onomatopoeic words from the box match the animals shown in the pictures as follows:
Bird/Animal Onomatopoeic Word (Sound)
Cow moo
Owl hoot
Hen. cluck
Lamb bleat
Parrot screech
Pigeon (The common sound for a pigeon is ‘coo’, but from the given list: cluck is already used for the hen, screech for parrot, and caw for crow. There is no direct match, but in the absence of ‘coo’, it’s best to leave it unassigned from the list.) |
Crow caw
Snake hiss
Activity 10: Rewrite the sentences below in indirect speech
These are imperative sentences changed into indirect narration, typically using ‘to’ or ‘not to’ as an infinitive marker, and changing pronouns and time references as needed.
(a) The poet said to the old man, “Feel the cool breeze on your face.”
Ans:- The poet told the old man to feel the cool breeze on his face.
(b) The man said to me, “Listen to the gurgling of that little baby.”
Ans:- The man asked me to listen to the gurgling of that little baby.
(c) The teacher said to us, “Enjoy your holidays.”
Ans:- The teacher told us to enjoy our holidays.
(d) She said to me, “Tell me your mobile phone number.”
Ans:- She asked me to tell her my mobile phone number.
(e) My mother tells me, “Always obey your teachers.”
Ans:- My mother tells me always to obey my teachers. (Note: tells is present tense, so the verb obey remains as an infinitive to obey.)
(f) I said to him, “Come to our house tomorrow.”
Ans:- I asked him to come to my house the next day. (Note: tomorrow changes to the next day.)
(g) She said to me, “Get me a glass of water, please.”
Ans:- She requested me to get her a glass of water. (Note: please indicates a request, changing ‘said’ to ‘requested’.)
(h) The man said to me, “Please close the gate.”
Ans:- The man requested me to close the gate.