My Native Land is a nice poem. Read this article to get the summary of the poem and all the textual question answers.
My Native Land Summary
In
the poem “My Native land”, the poet tries to describe back a piece of native
land to an old man.
The
an old man stands helpless whom the poet meets by the street. The old
man is blind, lonely, and very poor. So he asks for a description of
his own place of birth that he can not see with his own eyes.
The
the poet then tries to explain the native land and pass on the
description to the old man through his sense organs. Firstly he asks
the old man to breathe deep in order to feel the warm air that will
remind of his childhood days.
Then
he asks him to feel the cool breeze on his face that is very peaceful
after the last night’s thunder and rain.
The poet then goes on to compare the satisfied gurgling of a baby tied on her mother’s back to the soil of his native land.
The a chorus of the cuckoos and the sparrows which the old man can hear shapes his land. Apart from the chippings of birds, the distant rolling sounds of Bihu Dhols, Pepa, and Gogona are tuneful enough to touch deep in one’s heart. The aroma of Bihu Recipes like Pitha, Ladoo makes the native land deliciously beautiful. The religious chants that can be heard from Namghar, Masjid, and Church feel the hearts with divine joy. And all these things are just like souls of the native land.
My Native Land All Question Answers
1. Read the poem and answer the following questions:
1.(a) What does the old man ask the poet?
Ans: The old man asks the poet what his native land looks like as he blind.
(b) Why does the old man ask the question to the poet?
Ans: The old man asks the question about his native village to the poet because he is blind and he cannot see it himself.
(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”. “Koka” is an Assamese word which 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 as to feel the warm air that will remind him of his childhood. That warm breeze will flash his old memory of his village.
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(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 his 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 the old man’s own land.
(g) What does the chorus of the cuckoo and the sparrows do?
Ans: The cuckoo and the sparrows chirrup in chorus while playing near the treetops and give shapes of the old man’s 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 the rolling sounds of bihu dhol, pepa and gogona, the aroma of pitha and laroo, and the chant of evening prayer in Namghor, Masjid and Church.
2. A brief summary of each of the poem has been given below. Meniton the stanza number alongside the correct summary:
(a) My native land makes me feel as safe and secure as a baby carried on a mother’s back.
(b) 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.
(c) The lonely, blind old man in the street asked me to describe our native land.
(d) 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)
The touch of our native land is as peaceful as the cool, fresh breeze
blowing after a night of thunder and rain.
Answers:
(a) Stanza 4
(b) Stanza 6
(c) Stanza 1
(d) Stanza 5
(e) Stanza 3
3. Note that the poem is a series of information to a blind man or what his land is like. The girl provides the information by making use of the senses that are very strong in blind persons. These senses are:
(a) touch
(b) hearing
(c) smell
(i) Find out the examples that the poet uses to make the old man feel what his land is like. Here is an example: the warm air
(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 voice of cuckoo and sparrows, sound of dhol and pepa, gogona.
(iii) Find out the examples that the poet uses to make the old man smell what his land is like. The aroma of pitha and laroo.
(iv)
Was the old man able to guess the season the poet described what his
land was like? Yes, the old man may guess spring and rainy season.
4. Match the words in column A with their meaning in column B
(A) | (B) |
Thunder | Satisfied |
Morn | The happy sound made by babies |
Contented | Strong pleasant smell |
Gurgling | The loud explosive sound that follows lightning in the cloud |
Chorus | Strong and firm |
Aroma | Singing or speaking at the same time |
Sturdy | Morning |
Answer:
(a) Thunder – The loud explosive sound that follows lightning in the cloud
(b) Morn – Morning
(c) Contented – Satisfied
(d) Gurgling – The happy sound made by babies
(e) Chorus – Singing or speaking at the same time
(f) Aroma – Strong pleasant smell
(g)Sturdy – Strong and firm
Now, make sentences of your own
Answer:
(a) Thunder – The thunder became louder and rain started soon.
(b) Morn – I wake up early in the morn
(c) Contended – I felt contended after hearing the news.
(d) Gurgling – I can hear baby gurgling
(e) Chorus – They sang in Chorus
(f) Aroma – The aroma of pitha and laroo create the soul of the poet’s beloved country.
(g) Sturdy – That chair looks very sturdy
5. (a) Practise pronouncing the following pairs of words. Then recite the poem with the correct pronunciation.
(i) Sturdy – Study
(ii) Breathe – Breed
(iii) Warm – Worm
(iv) Rain – Ran
(v) Than – Then
(vi) Church – Search
(vii)
Deep – Dip
(viii)
Land – Lend
5. (b) Here are a few more sentences for practice. Practise saying these sentences after your teacher.
i) The sturdy boys study hard.
ii) The worms come out when the weather is warm.
iii) Than and then do not mean the same.
iv) They lend me their plough to till the land.
v) People search for peace in the church.
vi) She ran in the rain, laughing in joy.
vii) The river is too deep to take a dip.
6. In the poem, you will find the poet referring to three musical instruments that are used in the humorist programmes of Bihu.
a) Dhul:- A drum made especially for the Bihu festival and hence called the Bihu dhol or Bihu drum.
b) Pepa:- A type of pipe made out of buffalo horn played during humorist.
c)
Gogona:- A type of stringed musical instrument belonging to the harp
family.
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7. Write a letter to your friend inviting him/her to your house during the Rongali Bihu holiday. Include in your letter what special food items will be made, what rituals will be followed, and so on.
My dear XYZ Tezpur
Date: 27/03/2021
At first you please take my cordial love, I am fine, I hope you are also well by the grace of God.
Today
I am writing to you to invite you and your family to our house on the
occasion of ensuing Rongali Bihu. As you know that the greatest
community of Assam is going to celebrate Rongali Bihu from the 13th
of April this year. We have several unique rituals to observe the
Rongali Bihu. Bihu is not on the stage in our village, but it is
celebrated on the open field. My mother is already busy preparing
special Bihu dishes like tilpitha, tekeli pitha, narikol pitha,
narikol Ladu, narikol sira, and many more delicious recipes.
If you come, you can enjoy the Bihu dance. My family will be glad to meet you. I hope you will join us this Bihu along with your family and double our joy of Rongali Bihu. Please pay my regards to your parents and love to brother. No more for today, more when we shall meet.
To
Address Your’s True friend
XYZ Your Name______
Address……
My Native Land more question answers
8. (a) i) Your teacher will read aloud a passage about an American tourist. Listen to it carefully. As you listen, fill in the gaps in the passage below:
The _____ Mela is a _____ day community fair held by the _____ community in _____ at Jonbeel in Morigaon district over the weekend of the _____ Bihu. It is a fair in Morigaon, Assam organized by the _____ Community. The American tourist _____ Gordon was delighted to know about Assam. He had heard of _____ and the rhinoceros. He wanted to visit the river island _____. He was in time to celebrate _____ Bihu.
Ans:
The Jonbeel Mela is a three-day community fair held by the Tiwa community in Dayang Belguri at Jonbeel in Morigaon district over the weekend of the Magh Bihu. It is a fair in Morigaon, Assam organized by the Tiwa community. The American tourist Jim
Gordon was delighted to know about Assam. He had heard of Kaziranga and the rhinoceros. He wanted to visit the river island Majuli. He was in time to celebrate Magh
Bihu.
My Native Land more question answers
ii) Answer the questions below by recalling the information from the passage read out by your teacher:
(a) What was the name of the American Tourist?
(b) Where did the author meet him?
(c) What was the name of the author’s travel agency?
(d) Which places in Assam was the tourist keen to visit?
(e) In which month was the tourist in Kolkata?
Ans:
(a) The name of the American tourist was Jim Gordon.
(b) The author met him at Park Hotel in Kolkata.
(c) The name of the author’s travel agency was Garuda Travel agency.
(d) The tourist was keen to visit Kaziranga in Assam.
(e) The tourist was in Kolkata in January.
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(b) Now read the first passage on page 112 individually and in groups and write a dialogue between the tourist and the author. Use the information and enact it in the form of a role-play before the class. You can add additional information to make the role play more interesting. The role played must begin with a proper introduction between the author and the tourist.
9. The poem ‘My Native Land’ refers to the “chorus of cuckoos and sparrows”. The English language has a variety of words to denote the sounds made by birds and animals. For example cuckoos ‘coo’ and sparrows ‘chirp’. These words are called onomatopoeic words because they sound similar to the actual sounds. Look at the onomatopoeic words in the box given below. Match them correctly with the pictures of the birds and animals given here.
(i) Cow – moo
(ii) Owl – hoot
(iii) Hen – cluck
(iv) Lamb – bleat
(v) Parrot – squawk
(vi) Pigeon – coo
(vii) Crow – caw
(viii) Snake – hiss
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10. Rewrite the sentences below in indirect speech in the same way as the sentence above.
(a)
The poet said to the old man, “feel the cool breeze on your
face.”
Answer: 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.”
Answer: The man requested me to listen to the gurgling of that little baby.
(c)
The teacher said to us, “Enjoy your holidays.”
Answer: The
teacher advised us to enjoy our holidays.
(d)
She said to me, “Tell me your mobile phone number.”
Answer: She
asked me to tell my mobile phone number.
(e)
My mother tells me, “Always obey your teachers.”
Answer: My
mother advised me to always obey my teachers.
(f)
I said to him, “Come to our house tomorrow.”
Answer: I
requested him to come to my house the next day.
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(g) She said to me, “Get me a glass of water, please.”
Answer: She
requested me to give her a glass of water.
(h)
The man said to me, “Please close the gate.”
Answer: The
man asked me to close the gate.
11. Work in pairs:
Share with your partner what inspires you the most about your native land. it could be the following:
(a) The gifts of nature that your native land has, like its rivers, forests, islands, wildlife, etc.
(b) The beautiful people of your land, who have different cultures and celebrate different traditions, festivals, etc.
In school class8