Chapter 6: Poet and Pancakes

English
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Chapter 6: Poet and Pancakes

Class: XII

Exercise number – 1

 

Question 1

Notice these words and expressions in the text. Infer their meaning from the context.

Expression	Meaning
Blew over	Give a long, angry speech of criticism or accusation
Was struck dumb	Render speechless, as by surprise or shock
Catapulted into	To shoot forth or launch
A coat of mail	An armoured coat made of chain mail, interlinked rings, or overlapping metal plates
Played into their hands	To act or behave so as to give an advantage to (an opponent).
The favourite haunt	A frequently visited place
Heard a bell ringing	Stirring an often indistinct memory

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Think As you Read

Question 1

What does the writer mean by ‘the fiery misery’ of those subjected to make-up’?

Answer1

The heat created by the lights within the make-up room led to lots of
discomfort to the actors within the make-up room. Therefore the author refers to this pain and trouble as ‘fiery misery’.

Question 2

What is the example of national integration that the author refers to?

Answer 2

The make-up division of the Gemini Studios was an example of national integration.
According to the author, this is so as a result of individuals from completely different regions and spiritual teams worked along within the same department. The department was headed by a Bengali who was succeeded by a Maharashtrian. The other helpers enclosed a Dharwar Kannadiga, an Andhra, a Madras Indian Christian, an Anglo-Burmese and the native Tamils.

Question 3

What work did the ‘office boy’ do in the Gemini Studios? Why did he join the studios?

Why was he disappointed?

Answer 3

The office boy applies make-up on the players who played the crowd. On the times
of crowd shooting, he would combine his paint in an exceedingly huge vessel and apply it quickly and noisily on the faces of the players. He had joined the studios with the hope of changing into a star actor or a screen writer, director or lyrics writer. He was unsuccessful because he failing and remained only a ‘boy’.

 

Question 4

Why did the author appear to be doing nothing at the studios?

Answer 4

The author's duty was to chop out newspaper clippings on a wide type of subjects
and store them in files. Many of these had to be written out in hand. The onlookers noticed him just tearing up newspapers. Therefore to them he perceived to be doing next to nothing.

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Think as you read

Question 1

Why was the office boy frustrated? Who did he show his anger on?

Answer 1

The office boy was pissed off because despite getting a good opening, he remained
only an office boy. He had had a good formal education and would write poetry additionally. However his great literary talent was being allowed to go waste. He showed his anger on Kothamangalam Subbu, the No. two at Gemini Studios.

Question 2

Who was Subbu’s principal?

Answer 2

Mr. S.S Vasan, the founder of the Gemini Studios, was Subbu’s principal.

Question 3

Subbu is described as a many-sided genius. List four of his special abilities.

Answer 3

Four Special abilities of Subbu:

(i) Subbu had the ability to look cheerful at all times.

(ii) His sense of loyalty made him turn his entire creativity to his principal's  advantage: Filmmaking was quite easy with Subbu around

(iii) He was literary inclined too-a poet and novelist. He was an amazing actor.

(iv) He had a charitable and loving nature.

Question 4

Why was the legal adviser referred to as the opposite by others?

Answer 4

The lawyer was in the Story Department. He was officially referred to as the legal
adviser. However, his actions did no one any sensible. He had unknowingly dropped at an end the career of a promising young actress. Thus he was brought up as the opposite by others.

Question 5

What made the lawyer stand out from the others at Gemini Studios?

Answer 5

The lawyer’s dress that he wore made him stand out from the others. He wore a
pant, a tie and typically a coat additionally. Others put on a khadi dhoti with a slightly outsized and clumsily tailored white khadi shirt, which appeared like everyone’s uniform.

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Think as you read

Question 1

Did the people at Gemini Studios have any particular political affiliations?

Answer 1

Most of the people at Gemini Studios were followers of Gandhiji and wore khadi.

Beyond khadi and wearing of khadi they didn’t have any particular political affiliations.

However, they were all against communism.

Question 2

Why was the Moral Rearmament Army welcomed at the Studios?

Answer 2

The ethical rearmament Army was a sort of counter movement to international
communism. The big Bosses of Madras like Mr. Vasan merely played into their hands. That the ethical rearmament Army was welcome at the Gemini Studios.

Question 3

Name one example to show that Gemini Studios was influenced by the plays staged by MRA.

Answer 3

The plays staged by the MRA greatly influenced Madras and Tamil drama

Community. For some years almost 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.

 

Question 4

Who was the Boss of Gemini Studios?

Answer 4

Mr. S.S Vasan was the Boss of Gemini Studios.

Question 5

What caused the lack of communication between the Englishman and the people at Gemini Studios?

Answer 5

Most of the 600 odd people at Gemini Studios were Tamil speakers. The Englishman
was addressing them in his own language-English. He had a peculiar accent. Hence, there was an absence of communication between the Englishman and also the people at who couldn't follow what he was saying.

Question 6

Why is the Englishman’s visit referred to as unexplained mystery?

Answer 6

No one in the Gemini Studios could reveal Englishman’s identity, whether he was a poet or an editor. Besides, when he spoke no one at the studio understood what he try to say as his accent was beyond their understanding.

Hence, The Englishman’s visit to the Gemini Studios is referred to as an unexplained

Mystery.

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Think as you read

Question 1

Who was the English visitor to the studios?

Answer 1

The English visitor to the Gemini Studios was Stephen Spender. He was the editor of

The Encounter, a British Periodical, and a famous English poet, essayist and novelist of the twentieth century.

Question 2

How did the author discover who the English visitor to the studios was?

Answer 2

Before investing cash in participating in a short story contest organised by an
English periodical The Encounter, the author did an enquiry on the magazine. He visited British Council Library wherever, whereas researching a problem of that periodical, he discovered that its editor was Stephen Spender, the poet that had once visited the studio.

 

 

Question 3

What does ‘The God that Failed’ refer to?

Answer 3

'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".

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Understanding the Text

Question 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.

Answer 1

The instances of humour, used by the author, mark the eccentricities and
idiosyncrasies without creating any direct and rude comment on anybody. As an example, the author portrays the make-up artists and therefore the usage of the pancakes in a motivating manner.
Even the caricature of Subbu is humorous. The way he tries to assist his principal by providing fast solutions to his issues is kind of amusing. The episode of the legal authority that inadvertently causes the end of an actress’s career is one more example. The frustration of the office boy, the superficial praiseful of Gandhi, hatred of Communism and therefore the ‘mystery’ surrounding Stephen Spender are a number of the instances wherever the author has incorporated gentle humour.

 

Question 2

Why was Kothamangalam Subbu considered No. 2 in Gemini Studios?

Answer 2

Kothamangalam Subbu was not brilliant but a rather cheerful person and exceedingly loyal to The Boss. Subbu provides solutions whenever The Boss was in a problem. Thus, Kothamangalam Subbu succeeded in securing the place closest to The Boss by means of flattery.

Question 3

How does the author describe the incongruity of an English poet addressing the audience at Gemini Studios?

Answer 3

The English poet was addressing the Tamil audience at Gemini Studios in English
with a typical provincial accent. He was talking concerning the thrills and travails of an English poet to a dazed and silent audience. This was the incompatibility as a result of his audience couldn't understand him in any respect.

Question 4

What do you understand about the author’s literary inclinations from the account?

Answer 4

The writer was a prose-writer. He wanted to send a short story for the short story

contest organized by a British periodical by the name 'The Encounter'.

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Talking about the Text

Discuss in small groups taking off from points in the text.

Question 1

Film-production today has come a long way from the early days of the Gemini

Studios.

2. Poetry and films.
3. Humour and criticism.

Answer

1. Film production is a lot oftechnical these days. Whereasearlier only 5 per cent of
   the shooting was done outdoors, nowadays out of doors shooting isn't any more restricted to such a negligible proportion. The cameras and alternative equipments are additional advanced allowing more varied and correct presentation.
   The quality of make-up has improved several folds from the times of the Gemini Studios wherever only pancake was used. The people concerned in numerous departments are specialists in their specialised work, be it the director, producer, scriptwriter, lyricist or the actors. The general quality of the films is more striking and spirited.
   
   2. In India poetry and films are in an elaborate way linked. The people at Gemini Studios, all claimed to possess the abilities of a poet. The most reason behind it had been their monotonous and leisurely life at the studios. However, these people weren't knowledgeable or educated enough to be poets. Not like poetry, films is enjoyed by people with little resources who cannot afford to cultivate style for poetry and literature.
   
   3. The story is interspersed with instances dipped in delicate humour. The humorous 
   instances, however, build fascinating and relevant comments on the behaviour of general people. A humorous story has additional readers, a humorous film more viewers. This can be as a result of the supply recreation and a respite from the tedious existence. Criticism by suggests that of humour is more practical, thus writers and film-makers usually use humorous components in their works and build sarcastic comments and criticism.