Telangana SCERT 8th Class English Guide Telangana State Unit 1B My Mother (Poem) Textbook Questions and Answers.
TS 8th Class English Guide Unit 1B My Mother (Poem)
I cannot remember my mother,
only sometime in the midst of my play
a tune seems to hover over my playthings,
the tune of some song that she used
to hum while rocking my cradle.
I cannot remember my mother,
but when in the early autumn morning
the smell of the shiuli flowers floats in the air,
the scent of the morning service in the temple
comes to me as the scent of my mother.
I cannot remember my mother,
only when from my bedroom window I send my
eyes into the blue of the distant sky,
I feel that the stillness of my mother’s gaze
on my face has spread all over the sky.
Questions and Answers:
Answer the following questions.
Question 1.
How does the poet feel the presence of his mother?
Answer:
The poet feels the presence of his mother in his playthings when he touches them. He feels her presence in his humming of a song and in the smell of the shiuli flowers offered to god in the morning puja in the temple. He feels the stillness of his mother’s gaze when he looks at the sky on a clear day.
Question 2.
What do you understand from the statement – 7 cannot remember my mother’ ?
Answer:
The poet says that he cannot remember his mother. This means that he expresses his inability to actually recall the face or the features of his mother.
Question 3.
Does the poem express sadness? If yes, pick out the suggestive expressions.
Answer:
The poem expresses a note of sadness and nostalgia as the poet cannot recall the face or the features of his mother. The first line in every stanza ‘I cannot remember my mother’ suggests this.
Question 4.
What imagery do you find in each stanza? To which sense does it appeal to you?
Answer:
| Stanza | Images |
Sense it appeals to |
| 1 | Mother rocking the cradle and singing a song | ears |
| 2 | The smell of shiuli flowers The scent of morning service in the temple The scent of his mother |
nose |
| 3 | The blue of the distant sky | eyes |
Question 5.
Read the poem ‘My Mother’ again to complete the table.
Answer:
| Questions | Stanza – 1 | Stanza – 2 |
Stanza – 3 |
| Who are the persons involved? | The poet and his mother | The poet and his mother | The poe and his mother |
| Where does the action take place? | At play | In the temple | In the poet’s bedroom |
| What is the mother associated with? | The tune of a song hummed by his mother | The scent of the shiuli flowers in the temple | The blue of the distant sky |
| What is the theme? | The poet feels the presence of his mother in the tune of a song. | The poet feels the presence of his mother in the fragrance of the shiuli flowers in the temple. | The poet feels the presence of his mother in the blue of the sky. |
Question 6.
We all love our mother, don’t we? We love her because of certain qualities. Think and write about her qualities.
Answer:
The definition of a mother is a woman who takes on the selfless and unconditional responsibility to nurture the emotional and physical well-being of her kids. We all love our mothers because of their great qualities. She offers unlimited love and affection. She sees things from the kids point of view. She is generous and caring. She shows patience and has empathy. She is unselfish.
Question 7.
How would you choreograph the first stanza? (Group work)
a) What settings do you arrange ?
b) What are the characters and their actions ?
c) What is the sequence of actions ?
Answer:
a) Play time, puja time and bed time are the three main settings.
b) The poet and his mother are the main characters.
c) Feeling the presence of the mother at play time, at puja time and bed time are the sequence of actions.
| Stanza | Action of the main character (s) | Action of the supporting characters |
| 1 | The poet feels the presence of his mother while he was playing. | The supporting team/characters sing a tune rocking the cradle. |
| 2 | The poet feels the presence of his mother when he smells the scent of the shiuli flowers. | The supporting team/characters offer the shiuli flowers to God. |
| 3 | The poet stands at the window of his bed room and looks into the blue of the distant sky. | The mother character appears as she is looking down at him lovingly. |
Each group may choreograph different stanzas of the poem.
My Mother (Poem) Summary in English
‘I Cannot Remember My Mother’ is a gentle nostalgic poem written by Rabindranath Tagore.
Tagore’s mother passed away when he was young. In this poem, he expresses his inability to actually recall the face or the features of his mother. The sight of his playthings reminds the j poet of a tune hummed by his mother. This tune reminds him of her. But often a smell or a tune triggered off in him reminds him the happy moments that he shared with his mother. Memory and nostalgia become the best elements of his imagery.
When he looks at his playthings he seems to be able to hear a tune, a lullaby that would be sung perhaps as she rocked her baby to sleep. Tagore also recalls this tune as he touches his old toys.
In autumn, the shiuli trees in Bengal blossom into fragrant tiny flowers which are used for worship. His mother would string the flowers for the morning puja at the temple. So powerful was the fragrance of the shiuli flowers that they would trigger off happy memories of his mother.
Tagore also recalls the quiet serene gaze of his mother when he looks at the vast expanse of the clear blue sky :
Simplicity and eloquence reveal the deep rooted emotional bonding that the poet had j with his mother. It makes us realise the great impact her quiet dignity had on the poet even at that tender age. This poem also has a very’ soft and evocative feminine mystique. Nothing loud, nothing stark, only soothing suggestions of a mother’s memory hinged on fragrance and the morning puja or the old melody.
About the Poet:
Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) is popularly known as Vishwa Kavi and Gurudev. He was the founder of Shantiniketan, an experimental school. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature for his ‘Gitanjali’, the Song of Offerings. Each of his poems reflects Indian vision and love towards his Mother Land. He is considered the Voice of Indian Heritage and Spiritualism.
Glossary:
midst (n) : the middle part of something/ while something is happening
hover (v) : remain in the air
hum (v) : sing a tune with lips closed
rocking (v) : moving gently backward and forward
cradle (n) : a small bed for a baby which can be pushed gently from side to side
shiuli (n) : small, white or orange flowers that bloom in autumn (chamomile in English)
float (v) : move slowly
scent (n) : pleasant smell / perfume / good smell
distant (adj) : far away in space or time
stillness (n) : the quality of being quiet and not moving
gaze (n) : look steadily at something or somebody