Practice Time : 5.1 My Mother

When the stars go off
Tall chimney-sirens sound
Daily with fast steps
Marching to the mill
Who looked backwards
And told us so lovingly
"Do not fight with anyone"
Gave us two paise
On the day before Dasara
She went with five of us
To see the festival
We bantered in the lanes
What a great pleasure
Beyond words
We returned with balloons
And whistles and pipes
We became birds

What happened on one day
They brought her in a cart
Her eyes were open
Blood gushed from her mouth
Her partner saluted
Came near, caressed us and said 'Balu'
We saw mutely everything
We searched our umbrella
Our roof, our mother.


A1. Complete the statements by choosing the correct options.
1. The chimney sirens sound at noon/in the evening/in the early morning.
2. The speaker of the poem is mother/ the child/bird.
3. The mother advised children not to argue/ not to fight/not to come to the mill.
4. She gave them two rupees/three paise/two paise .
A1 State whether the following statements are true or false.
1. The mother was a worker in the mill.
2. The mother went to see the festival of Diwali with her children.
3. The mother had five children.
4. The children had a great pleasure in the festival.
A1 Complete the web chart.

A2 ‘Tall chimney sirens sound’ .Name and explain the figures of speech. Give one more example of it.
Alliteration: The consonantal sound ‘s’ is repeated pleasingly. Another example is : ‘ Marching to the mill.’
A2 ‘We returned with balloons
And whistles and pipes’. Identify the figures of speech and explain. Give one more example of similar kind from the extract.
Climax: Ideas are arranged in an ascending order of importance.
Similar examples : i) We searched for our umbrella
Our roof, our mother.
ii) Came near, caressed us and said ‘Balu’.


A2 ‘We searched for our umbrella’. Identify the figures of speech and explain. Give one more example of similar kind from the extract.
Metonymy : ‘Umbrella’ represents protection and love of mother.
Similar example: ‘Our roof’
A3. Write a piece of advice to your younger brother/sister when you leave him/her alone at home.
1. You should not leave the home unlocked.
2. You should not argue with anyone.
3. You should not fight with anyone.
4. You should take meal at proper time.
A3. Describe the fun you had in the festival or fair.

A3. Describe the tragic event in the life of the mother and children that occurred in the extract.
A4. Rewrite the following lines by changing the background of mill to farm.
When the stars go off
Tall chimney sirens sound
Daily with fast steps
Marching to the mill

Ans:
When the stars disappear
Cock sounds cock a doodle do
Daily with long steps
Walking to the farm.