Read the passage and answer the questions given below: (Sample Question Paper CBSE,

2018-19)

1. There is a clear dichotomy between Jayashankar Prasad’s daily life and the one that found
expression in his literature. In his literary formulations, Prasad advocated an escape- from
personality ideals and categorically stated: “An artist‟s art, and not his person, is the touchstone
to assess his work . . . it is only after losing his personality that he emerges in his art as an artist”.

2. In Prasad‟s works – his poems, short stories, novels, dramas etc. – what emerges is life as
shaped in the writer’s inner self by his emotions, fancies, dreams, reveries . . . His writings are a
record not of outer reality, but of the artist’s inner world. As such, of a proper appreciation and
understanding of his works more emphasis needs to be placed on the working of his mind, than
the events of his dayto-day life.

3. Prasad was born in a renowned family of Varanasi. His grand-father Shiv RatanSahu, a dealer
in high quality perfumed tobacco (snuff). Besides being an astute businessman, he was endowed
with a marked cultural taste. His home was the meeting place of the local poets, singers, artists,
scholars and men of religion. Prasad‟s father Devi Prasad Sahu carried forward this high
tradition of family. Prasad, therefore, had a chance to study the various phases of human nature
in the light of the business traditions, artistic taste and religious background of his family.

4. When the business had somewhat recovered, Prasad planned the publication of a literary
journal. Prasad started the “Indu”. The inaugural number appeared in July 1909. By this time
Prasad’s notions of literature had crystallized into a credo. In the first issue of Indu, he
proclaimed, “Literature has no fixed aim; it is not a slave to rules; it is a free and all-embracing
genius, gives birth to genuine literature which is subservient to none. Whatever in the world is
true and beautiful is its subject matter. By dealing with the True and Beautiful it establishes the
one and affects the full flowering of the others. Its force can be measured by the degree of
pleasure it gives to the reader‟s mind as also by the criticism which is free of all prejudice”. The
words sound like the manifesto of romanticism in literature.

5. Even while recognizing the social relevance of literature, Prasad insisted, “The poet is a
creator . . . he is not conditioned by his milieu; rather it is he who moulds it and gives it a new
shape; he conjures up a new world of beauty where the reader for the time being, becomes
oblivious of the outer world and passes his time in an eternal spring garden where golden lotuses
blossom and the air is thick and pollen”. Thus, the chief aim of literature according to Prasad is
to give joy to the reader and to create a state of bliss in him. Later under the impact of Shiv
Advaitism, this faith of Prasad got further strengthened.
(a) On the basis of your understanding of the above passage, make notes on it using
headings and subheadings. Use recognizable abbreviations (wherever necessary-minimum
four) and a format you consider suitable. Also supply an appropriate title to it. (5)
(b) Write a summary of the passage in about 80 words. (3)

Jayashankar Prasad- His life

1. His exprsn. in lit.
1.1 an escape
1.2 lose your personality
1.3 record of writer’s inner world
1.4 more emphsz. on mind than body
2. Personal life
2.1 renowned fam. of Varanasi
2.2 home- meeting place of the local poets, singers
2.3 grand-father- an astute businessman
2.4 had a chance to study phases of human nature

3. Started the “Indu”

3.1 in July 1909
3.2 proclaimed
a) lit. has no fixed aim
3.2.1
b) is free and all embracing genius
3.2.2.
c) gives birth to genuine lit.
3.2.3.

4. Social relevance of lit.

4.1 poet is a creator
4.2 moulds it
4.3 conjures up a new world of beauty
4.4 becomes oblivious of the outer world

5. Chief aim of lit.

5.1 give joy to the reader
5.2 create a state of bliss
Key to Abbreviations

Abbreviations Words

lit. literature

exprsn. expression

fam. family

Summary
Jayashankar Prasad- His life
Jayshankar Prasad found expression in literature and created an escape only after losing his
personality. His writings are a record of the writer’s inner world with more emphasis on mind
than body. He was from a renowned family of Varanasi where home-meetings of poets and
singers would take place. His grandfather was an astute businessman and therefore Prasad had a
chance to study phases of human nature. In July 1909, he started ‘Indu’, in which he proclaimed
that literature has no fixed aim, is free and all embracing genius and gives birth to genuine
literature. He recognised the social relevance of literature as the poet is the creator who mould it,
conjures up a new world and becomes oblivious to the outer world. The chief aim of literature is
to give joy to the reader and create a state of bliss.
2. Note Making: Read the following passage: (Question Paper CBSE, 2020)

1. How does television affect our lives? It can be very helpful to people who carefully choose the
shows that they watch. Television can increase our knowledge of the outside world; there are
high quality programmes that help us understand many fields of study, science, medicine, the
different arts and so on. Moreover, television benefits very old people, who can’t leave the house,
as well as patients in hospitals. It also offers non-native speakers the advantage of daily informal
language practice. They can increase their vocabulary and practise listening.

2. On the other hand, there are several serious disadvantages of television. Of course, it provides
us with a pleasant way to relax and spend our free time, but in some countries people watch
television for an average of six hours or more a day. Many children stare at the TV screen for
more hours a day than they spend on anything else, including studying and sleeping. It’s clear
that TV has a powerful influence on their lives and that its influence is often negative.

3. Recent studies show that after only thirty seconds of television viewing, a person’s brain
‘relaxes’ the same way that it does just before the person falls asleep. Another effect of television
on the human brain is that it seems to cause poor concentration. Children who view a lot of
television can often concentrate on a subject for only fifteen to twenty minutes. They can pay
attention only for the amount of time between commercials.

4. Another disadvantage is that television often causes people to become dissatisfied with their
own lives. Real life does not seem so exciting to these people. To many people, television
becomes more real than reality and their own lives seem boring. Also many people get upset or
depressed when they can’t solve problems in real life as quickly as television actors seem to.

5. Before a child is fourteen years old, he or she views eleven thousand murders on the TV. He or
she begins to believe that there is nothing strange about fights, killings and other kinds of
violence. Many studies show that people become more violent after viewing certain programmes.
They may even do the things that they see in a violent show.

(a) On the basis of your reading of the above passage, make notes on it using headings and
subheadings. Use recognizable abbreviations (minimum four) and a format you consider
suitable. Supply a suitable title to it. (5)
(b) Make a summary of the above passage in about 80 words. (3)