THE POWER OF MUSIC - Sukumar Ray

Answer the following questions by choosing the most appropriate options:

1. And Bhisma Lochan grants the world the golden/gift of silence'. What does this line convey?

(a) fear

(b) joy

(c) sense of relief

(d) indifference

2. Which poetic device used repeatedly in the poem creates humour?

(a) simile

(b) hyperbole

(c) metaphor

(d) alliteration

3. Select the option that shows the most funny event in the poem.

(a) collapsing of the trees

(b) turning turtle of the flies

(c) whining of the horses

(d) diving down of the fishes

4. What kind of poem is 'The Power of Music'?

(a) serious

(b) light-hearted

(c) ironical

(d) elegiac

5. What kind of person was Bhisma Lochan Sharma?

(a) pleasant

(b) stubborn

(c) gentle

(d) arrogant
6. Which of these statements is NOT true?

(a) Human listeners cannot tolerate Bhisma's noisy singing.

(b) Animals too protest against Bhisma's noisy singing.

(c) Only the sky remains watching carelessly.

(d) Big trees and buildings collapse under the impact of Bhisma's loud vote

7. Which of these animals are pitied?

(a) horses

(b) goats

(c) fishes

(d) flies

8. In what state of mind are the human listeners?

(a) cheerful

(b) dazed

(c) indifferent

(d) sullen

9. Which of these collapse on hearing Bhisma's voice?

(a) roads

(b) building and trees

(c) bridges

(d) none of the above

10. The satire in the poem is directed against ..........

(a) bad, loud singing

(b) human listeners

(c) fishes

(d) horses
I. Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.

When summer comes, we hear the hums

Bhisma Lochan Sharma

You catch his strain on hill and plain from Delhi

down to Burma

He sings as though he's staked his life, he sings

as though he's hell-bent;

i. Who is Bhisma Lochan Sharma? How does he sing?

Bhisma Lochan Sharma is a singer. His songs are unpleasant and irritating.

ii. In Lines 3-4 the poet uses a hyperbole. What is its purpose?

The poet in lines 3-4 uses hyperbole and says that the songs of Bhisma Lochan Sharma

can be heard from Delhi to Goa. Its purpose is to amuse the readers and also to indicate how the

songs of this person spread far and wide.

iii. What kind of person is Bhisma?

Bhisma is a stubborn and irritating person.

iv. How are people affected by his song, as revealed later in the context?

People are adversely affected by his songs. They feel dazed and have turned pale.

v.What do they plead with Bhisma? Does he listen to them? If not, why not?

They plead him to stop singing. No, he does not listen to them because he is stubborn and

is fully involved in his singing.

II. Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.

The people, dazed, retire amazed although they

know it's well-meant.

They're trampled in the panic rout or languish

pale and sickly,

And plead, 'My friend, we're near our end, oh

stop your singing quickly!'

i. What has confounded the people?

People are confounded by the shril and unpleasant song of Bhisma Lochan Sharma.

ii.What do they plead to Bhisma ?

They plead to Bhisma to stop singing as his song is causing much trouble to them.

iii.How does Bhisma's music affect them?

Bhisma's music has turned them sick. They feel dazed and confounded.

iv.What do they want?

They want Bhisma to stop singing immediately.

v.Who else besides humans are affected by Bhisma's singing? How?

Besides humans the others affected by Bhisma's singing are animals, fish and birds. Their

behaviour has undergone a change because of Bhisma's singing.

III. Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.

The bullock-carts are overturned, and horses

line the roadside;

But Bhisma Lochan, unconcerned, goes

booming out his broadside.

The wretched brutes resent the blare the hour

they hear it sounded,

They whine and stare with feet in air or wonder

quite confounded.

i. How are people affected by Bhisma's singing?

People are dazed by Bhisma's singing. They feel sick and confounded because of his

songs.

ii. What happens to bullock-carts and horses ?

The bullock-carts are turned upside down. The horses line up the roadside in surprise.

iii. Who are wretched brutes? Why do they behave abnormally?

The 'wretched brutes' are the animals affected by the song of Bhisma Sharma. They

behave abnormally because of the impact of the singing by Bhisma.

iv. Explain the last two lines.

The last two lines present an amusing scene created because of the impact of Bhisma's

singing on the animals. The horses whine and look confounded. Their feet are turned upwards in

air and they look wonderstruck.

v. Even fishes in the lake are affected by Bhisma's singing? What do they do?

The fishes are so affected by Bhisma's singing that they dived into the deep waters of the

lake in search for silence.

IV. Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.

The fishes dived below the lake in frantic search

for silence,

The very trees collapse and shake you hear the

crash a mile hence -

And in the sky the feathered fly turn turtle while

they're winging.

i. What exaggerated situations has the poet depicted earlier in the context ? What affect do they

create ?

The exaggerated situations depicted by the poet are of the animals turning their feet

upwards in air, fishes diving into the lake in search for silence. They create a comic

and amusing effect.

ii. Why do the fishes dive below the lake ?

The fishes dive below the lake in search for silence as the singing of Bhisma has troubled

them also.

iii. What happens to trees ?

The trees fall down on the ground or shake violently because of the effect of the

unpleasant singing by Bhisma Lochan Sharma.

iv. What is amusing about the image of the flying birds in Lines 5-6 here?

It is something amusing that the birds turn turtle in the air while flying. It happens

because of the irritating singing of Bhisma.

V. Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.

But now there comes a billy goat, a most

sagacious fellow,

He downs his horns and charges straight, with

bellow answ'ring bellow.

The strains of song are tossed and whirled by

blast of brutal violence,

And Bhisma Lochan grants the world the golden

gift of silence.

i. Who have failed to stop Bhisma's song? Why are they unhappy?

The people suffering due to the screeching and shrill singing of Bhisma try to make him

stop singing. But they do not succeed. They are unhappy as Bhisma does not relent and continues

troubling them with his unpleasant singing.

ii. How is the billy goat presented here?

The billy goat is presented here like a welcome power that forcibly stops Bhisma's

irritating and shrill singing. The goat has been called 'sagacious'.

iii. In what way does the goat hit the singer, and to what effect?

The goat hit the singer with his strong horns and brutal force. The result of thishitting was

that Bhisma Lochan's singing stopped altogether.

iv. What do you mean by the 'golden gift of silence'?

The golden gift of silence here implies release from Bhisma's singing that was causing

havoc to the people. The silence here is highly valuable for the poor victims of Bhisma's

incessant singing.

v. What is meant by, 'bellow answering bellow'.

Bellow answering bellow means that the goat responded to Bhisma's loud singing by

producing equally raucous and loud sound.