NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Flamingo - Prose Chapter 6 - Poets and Pancakes
NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Flamingo - Prose Chapter 6 Free PDF Download
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Text Book Questions :-
Notice these expressions in the text. Infer their meaning from the context.
(a) Blew over—Explode; loose temper and create a scene.
(b) Was struck dumb—Speechless with surprise and/or embarrassment.
(c) Catapulated into—A giant, sudden leap into the starry and glamorous world of Cinema.
(d) A coat of mail—An armoured coat made of chain mail or interlinked rings.
(e) Played into their hands—To act or behave so as to give an advantage to .
(f) The favourite haunt—A place frequently visited.
(g) Heard a bell ringing—Stirring an often instinct memory
Think as you Read :-
1. What does the writer mean by ‘the fiery misery’ of those subjected to make-up ?
Ans. The environment of the make-up room was an uncomfortable one. It had ‘lights’ at all angles around half a dozen large mirrors. The lights were ‘incandescent’, i.e., ‘glowing with heat’. With the mirrors reflecting it, this mix of ‘heat and light’ made the room temperatures uncomfortably high. Thus, the author uses the phrase ‘the fiery misery’ for those subjected to make up.
2. What is the example of national integration that the author refers to?
Ans.Here, the example that the author refers to, is that of the ‘make-up’ department within Gemini Studio. This department was a real example of national integration as it included staff from different states such as Bengal, Maharashtra, Madras, Andhra Pradesh, Anglo-Burmese and Tamils.
3. What work did the ‘office boy’ do in the Gemini Studios? Why did he join the studios? Why was he disappointed ?
Ans. The ‘office boy’ applied make-up for those people who played the role of ‘crowd’. He had joined the studio in the hope of becoming a star actor or a top screen writer. He was disappointed as he ended up being a mere ‘office boy’.
4. Why did the author appear to be doing nothing at the studios ?
Ans. Asokamitran, the author’s duty was to cut out newspaper clipping on a wide variety of subjects and store them in files. Many of these had to be written out by hand. To others, he appeared to be doing nothing because his work was insignificant as compared to that of the rest of the staff.
5. Why was the office boy frustrated? Who did he show his anger on ?
Ans. The office boy was frustrated at not being able to fulfill his dreams. He had shown his anger on Kothamangalam Subbu.
6. Who was Subbu’s principal ?
Ans. The producer was Subbu’s Principal.
7. Subbu is described as a many-sided genius. List four of his special abilities.
Ans. . Subbu’s four special abilities are :
(a) Ability to look cheerful all the time.
(b) His sense of loyalty.
(c) Being an amazing actor.
(d) Genuine love for anyone he came across.
8. Why was the legal adviser referred to as the opposite by the others ?
Ans. The legal adviser was referred to as the opposite by the others because he was a lawyer who was known as a legal adviser in the story department but his actions did no good to anybody. He also had unwittingly brought the career of a promising young actress to an end.
9. What made the lawyer stand out from the others at Gemini Studio ?
Ans. The lawyer was a man of cold logic in a crowd of dreamers; a neutral man in an assembly of Gandhiites and Khadiites.
For example : While every other member of the Department wore a kind of uniform – khadi dhoti with a slightly oversized and clumsily tailored white khadi shirt – the legal advisor wore pants and a tie, and sometimes a coat that looked like a coat of mail.
10. Did the people at Gemini Studios have any particular political affiliations ?
Ans. No. Most of them wore Khadi and worshipped Gandhiji, but beyond that they had not the faintest appreciation for ‘political thought’ of any kind.
11. Why was the Moral Rearmament Army welcomed at the Studios ?
Ans. ‘Communism’ was a term frowned upon by the Gemini Studios. Moral Rearmament army was a kind of counter movement to International Communism. In this context, Moral Rearmament Army was welcome to the Studio.
12. Name one example to show that Gemini studios was influenced by the plays staged by MRA?
Ans. All Tamil plays had a scene of ‘sunrise and sunset’ in the manner of ‘Jotham Valley’ with a bare stage, a white background curtain and a tune played on the flute as done in the plays staged by the MRA.
13. Who was The Boss of Gemini Studios ?
Ans. Mr. S. S. Vasan was the Boss of Gemini Studio.
14. What caused the lack of communication between the Englishman and the people at Gemini Studios?
Ans. The lack of communication between the Englishman and the people at Gemini studios is because of the lack of literacy among the majority of the staff who were simple and not so well-informed and their lack of interest in poetry.
15. Why is the Englishman’s visit referred to as unexplained mystery ?
Ans. Ans. The staff of the Studio couldn’t decipher his identity as they knew little about him. At first, they thought he was a poet and later they thought he was an editor. Thus, he was an unknown mystery to them. When he addressed them, the audience was dazed and silent as no one understood what he was talking about, and his accent added to the confusion.
16. Who was the English visitor to the studios ?
Ans. The English visitor was Stephen Spender, an English poet, essayist and a novelist who concentrated on themes of social injustice and class struggle.
17. How did the author discover who the English visitor to the studios was?
Ans. A short story writing contest was organised by ‘The Encounter’, a British periodical. To participate in it, the author wanted to find out about the periodical. At the British Council library, he found several copies of it.
On further examining, he found the ‘editor’s name’ the same as that of the poet who had visited the Gemini Studios.
18. What does ‘The God That Failed’ refer to ?
Ans. ‘The God That Failed’ was a compilation of six essays written by six eminent writers, namely, Andre Gide, Richard Wright, Ignazio Silone, Arthur Koestler, Louis Fischer and Stephen Spender. In each of the essays, the respective writers described ‘‘their journeys into Communism and their disillusioned return’’.
Understanding the Text :-
1. The author has used gentle humour to point out human foibles. Pick out instances of this to show how this
serves to make the piece interesting?
Ans. Some of the instances of humour in the chapter are :
Instance 1
(i) When describing the ‘Office boy’ - he wasn’t exactly a boy; he was in his early forties
(ii) his attempt to rope in the author as his assistant
Instance 2
The actress and the incident of her tirade against the producer.The subsequent recording of it and its after effects.
Instance 3
The regection slips of a prose writer doesn’t disappoint him. Despite a rejection, he doesn’t fail to make a fresh copy of the rejected long prose piece and send it to another editor enclosing postage for the return of the manuscript
2. Why was Kothamangalam Subbu considered No. 2 in Gemini Studios?
Ans. Ans. Kothamangalam Subbu succeeded in securing the place closest to the Boss by means of flattery. He was not brilliant but a rather cheerful person and exceedingly loyal to the Boss. He offered solutions whenever the Boss was in a fix. Thus, the other employees considered him No. 2 in Gemini Studios.
3.How does the author describe the incongruity of an English poet addressing the audience at Gemini Studios
Ans. The author described the incongruity of an English poet in the following ways :
- During his one hour speech, no one knew what he was talking about as his accent defeated any attempt to understand what he was saying.
- He had a dazed and silent audience, simplest sort of people, whose lives least afforded them the possibility of cultivating a taste for English poetry.
Thus, this was the incongruity of his talks about the thrills and travails of an English poet as his audience couldn’t understand him
4. What do you understand about the author’s literary inclinations from the account ?
Ans. Ans. He was the most well-informed of all the members of the Gemini family and a prose-writer who attempted to participate in the short story contest of the British periodical ‘The Encounter’. Lastly, despite being short of cash, he chose to buy books/magazines at reduced prize for e.g. he purchased a copy of ‘The God That Failed’ at 50p from the footpath in Madras.
Talking about the text :
Discuss in small groups taking off from points in the text:
1. Film-production today has come a long way from the early days of the Gemini Studios
Ans. During the early days, make-up studios had a group of various staff members from different region and cultures in the department but in contemporary times, each function is considered special and there is a qualified expert in the related area.
Right from the make-up studio to the marketing and the shooting of difficult scenes, everything requires expert advice.
Technology has also made inroads infilm-production, which is visible through the special effects that can make an imaginary scene come alive in an unbelievable manner.
2. Poetry and films
Ans. Poetry is an expression of ideas, thoughts and emotions whereas films are a visual representation of ideas, thoughts and emotions using moving pictures, graphics, videos, etc. Both are the mediums of expression in the field of Arts and entertainment. In this extract, the author shows the relation between the two – Poetry and films. He mentions the ‘Office Boy’ who had one of his ambition to be a lyric writer (Poetry) which is a form of poetry. He believed that his literary talents were getting wasted in his current role. Next, Subbu, the No.
2, who also had the qualities of film-making and poetry in him, had composed several truly original ‘story poems’ in folk refrain and diction. Further, poets made Gemini Studio their favourite haunt which indicated the close proximity of the two. Stephen Spender, the great poet, also visited the studio, i.e., an area of filmmaking.
3. Humour and criticism
Ans. Humour is an art of expressing an idea, situation or circumstances in an amusing way whereas criticism is an analysis that brings out the positive and negative qualities. An example of criticism is the analysis of Subu’s character. Humour is present in the chapter right from the start where ‘pancake’ is referred to as a make-up material used universally by actresses to look good on screen. For ex.– Vijayanthimala who was dusky, would have used ample of it to reflect a white smooth complexion. Whereas Rati Agnihotri was naturally very beautiful with a smooth, fair complexion and hence, may not have had a great use of it. Further, the description of the make-up department contains humour when it is used as an example of National Integration. An example of criticism is the analysis of Subu’s character.
Noticing transitions :
Q. 1.
This piece is an example of a chatty, rambling style. One thought leads to another which is then dwelt upon at length.
Read the text again and mark the transitions from one idea to another. The first one is indicated below
Ans.
Make-up department | Office boy | Subbu |
Lawyer | Gemini Studio haunt | Frank Buchman |
Stage–presentation of a plays | Stage–presentation of a poet | Make up-department |
Against Communism (Frank Buchman) | Stephen spender | Crowd not slapped with thick layers of make-up by the office boy |
Make-up department | To big for Gemini studio | succeeded by a |
Headed by a Bengali | Become a famous cinematographer & director | Maharashtrian |
Stage presentation of a poet | Short story contest | Author’s happiness to know the identity of |
Stephen Spender | British periodical ‘The Encounter' | Stepher Spender from the periodical ‘The Encounter’ as a leading essayists |
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