NOTES PREPARED BY
ASHAQ HUSSAIN BHAT
GL TEACHER SCHOOL EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT JAMMU AND KASHMIR
Poem 4
VOCATION
TEXT-BASED EXERCISES
SUMMARY
The morning comes. The gong strikes ten o'clock. The child goes to school. He meets a bangle-seller crying, "Bangles, crystal bangles!" The child likes his free way of life. He can follow any road. He can go to any place. He has no fixed time for doing anything. In fact, the bangle-seller is not at all in a hurry. The child wishes that he were a hawker crying. "Bangles, crystal bangles !"
It is four p.m. The child comes back from school. He sees a gardener. The gardener is digging the ground. He is also a free man. He can do anything with his spade. He can soil his clothes with dust. No one beats him if he gets wet. None can stop him from digging. So the child wishes to be a gardener digging the ground with freedom.
Night comes. The child's mother sends him to bed. He sees through the open window. There is a watchman walking up and down. The lane is lonely and dark. The street lamp stands like a giant with one red eye in its head. The watchman swings his lantern. He never goes to bed. The child wishes that he were a watchman walking the streets all night and chasing the shadows.
Q. 1. Your partner and you may now be able to answer these questions.
(i) Who is the speaker in the poem? Who are the people the speaker meets? What are they doing?
Ans. The poet himself is the speaker in the poem. The poet meets a street hawker. He is selling bangles. Then he meets a gardener. He is digging the ground. Last of all he meets a watchman. He is walking up and down the street watching the houses.
(ii) What wishes does the child in the poem make? Why does the child want to be a hawker, a gardener, or a watchman? Pick out the lines in each stanza, which tell us this.
Ans. The child wishes to be a hawker, a gardener, or a watchman because all these are free to do whatever they like.
Lines from each stanza-
(a) I wish I were a hawker, spending my day on road, crying "Bangles, crystal bangles
(b) I wish I were a gardener, digging away at the garden with nobody to stop me from digging.
(c) I wish I were a watchman walking the street all night, chasing the shadows with my lantern. shadows with my lantern.
(iii) From the way the child envies the hawker, the gardener and the watchman, we can guess that there are many things the child has to do, or must not do, Make a list of the do's and don'ts that the child doesn't like. The first line is done for you.
The child must The child must not
-come home at a fixed time. -get his clothes dirty in the dust.
Ans:-
The child must The child must not
come home at fixed time. get his clothes dirty in dust.
hurry to school. get baked in the sun or get
go to bed at fixed time. go out in the dark
Now add to the list your own complaints about the things you have to do, or must not do.
Ans. The child must do the following things :
-He must take the same road to school everyday.
-He must be ready for school before time.
-He must complete his homework.
-He must not wander about aimlessly.
-He must not waste his time.
-He must not disobey his parents.
-He must not watch T.V. for long hours.
(iv) Like the child in the poem, you perhaps have your own wishes for youself. Talk to your friend, using "I wish I were....'
Ans.
(a) I wish I were a teacher taking children to task.
(b) I wish I were a bird flying in the sky.
(c) I wish I were an ice-cream seller.
(d) I wish I were a kite-maker making beautiful kites.
Q. 2. Find out the different kinds of work done by the people in your neighbourhood. Make different cards for different kinds of work. You can make the card colourful with pictures of the persons doing the work.
Do it yourself
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