Part I
Evelyn Glennie Listens to Sound without Hearing It
THINKING
ABOUUT THE TEXT PAGE
4
I. Answer these questions in a few words
or a couple of sentences each.
1. How old was Evelyn when she went to
the Royal Academy of Music?
Answer:
Evelyn was sixteen years old when she went to the Royal Academy of Music.
2. When was her deafness first noticed?
When was it confirmed?
Answer:
Her deafness was first noticed when she was eleven years old.
II. Answer each of these questions in a
short paragraph (30–40 words).
1. Who helped her to continue with
music? What did he do and say?
Answer:
It was percussionist Ran Forbes who helped her continue with music. He tuned
two large drums to different tunes and told Evelyn not to listen through her
ears. ‘Try to sense it some other way,’ he would say.
2. Name the various places and causes for
which Evelyn performs.
Answer:
Evelyn performs for the Royal Academy of Music and Beethoven Fund for Deaf
Children besides giving free concerts in prisons and hospitals.
III. Answer the question in two or three
paragraphs (100–150 words).
1. How does Evelyn hear music?
Answer:
Evelyn does not really hear music. She feels it though. She senses it. In fact,
Evelyn herself says that music pours in through every part of her body, resulting
in a tingling sensation in her skin, cheekbones and even her hair.
Also, when she plays the xylophone, she can sense the sound passing up the stick into her fingertips. And when she leans against the drums, she feels the intensifications of sounds flowing into her body. And when she is on a wooden platform, she removes her shoes to allow the vibrations to pass through her bare feet and up her legs.
Part II
The Shehnai of Bismillah Khan
THINKING ABOUT THE TEXT PAGE
9
I. Tick the right answer.
1. The (shehnai,
pungi) was a ‘reeded noisemaker.’
2.
(Bismillah Khan, A barber, Ali Bux) transformed the pungi into a shehnai.
3.
Bismillah Khan’s paternal ancestors were (barbers, professional
musicians).
4.
Bismillah Khan learnt to play the shehnai from (Ali Bux, Paigambar Bux, Ustad
Faiyaaz Khan).
5.
Bismillah Khan’s first trip abroad was to (Afghanistan, U.S.A., Canada).
Answers:
1.
Pungi
2.
A
barber
3. professional musicians
4. Ali Bux
5. Afghanistan
II. Find the words in the text which show
Ustad Bismillah Khan’s feelings about the items listed below. Then mark a tick
(✔) in the correct
column. Discuss your answers in class.
|
Bismillah Khan’s feelings about |
Positive |
Negative |
Neutral |
|
1.
teaching children music |
|||
|
2.
the film world |
|||
|
3.
migrating to the U.S.A. |
|||
|
4.
playing at temples |
|||
|
5.
getting the Bharat Ratna |
|||
|
6.
the banks of the Ganga |
|||
|
7.
leaving Benaras and Dumraon |
Answer:
|
Bismillah Khan’s feelings about |
Positive |
Negative |
Neutral |
|
1. teaching children
music |
Yes |
||
|
2. the film world |
Yes |
||
|
3. migrating to the
U.S.A. |
Yes |
||
|
4. playing at temples |
Yes |
||
|
5. getting the Bharat
Ratna |
Yes |
||
|
6. the banks of the
Ganga |
Yes |
||
|
7. leaving Benaras and
Dumraon |
III. Answer these questions in 30–40
words.
1. Why did Aurangzeb
ban the playing of the pungi?
Answer: Aurangzeb banned the playing of the pungi
because it had a shrill unpleasant sound.
Eventually, the musical instrument became a generic name for reeded noisemakers
until an 'improvised' version of it was invented.
2. How is a shehnai
different from a pungi?
Answer: Unlike the pungi, the shehnai produces a
melodious sound. Furthermore, the shehnai, which has seven holes on the body of
the pipe, possesses a natural hollow stem that is longer and broader than the
pungi.
3.
Where was the shehnai played traditionally? How did Bismillah Khan change
this?
Answer: The shehnai was part of the traditional
ensemble of nine instruments found at royal courts. Until recently it was used
only in temples and weddings. Ustad Bismillah Khan, however, brought the
instrument onto the classical stage, thereby breaking the age-old norms.
4. When and how did
Bismillah Khan get his big break?
Answer: Bismillah Khan's big break came in 1938 with
the opening of the All India Radio in Lucknow, for as soon as All India Radio
was launched, the lover of music soon became an often-heard shehnai player on
the radio.
5.
Where did Bismillah Khan play the shehnai on 15 August 1947? Why was the event
historic?
Answer: Bismillah Khan played the shehnai on 15 August
1947 at the Red Fort. The event was historic because it was on this day and at
the event that Bismillah Khan became the first Indian to greet the nation with
his shehnai. Furthermore, the audience included Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who
later gave his famous ‘Tryst with Destiny’ speech.
6.
Why did Bismillah Khan refuse to start a shehnai school in the U.S.A.?
Answer: Bismillah Khan refused to start a shehnai
school in the U. S. A. because he knew that despite the attempts that would be
made to recreate the atmosphere of Benaras by recreating the temples there,
river Ganga could not be transported at any cost.
7.
Find at least two instances in the text which tell you that Bismillah Khan
loves India and Benaras.
Answer: Bismillah Khan’s stressing that he keeps
yearning to see Hindustan when he is in a foreign country and his refusing to
relocate to the USA because he would miss the holy Ganga that flows through
Benaras are two instances which tell us that Bismillah Khan loves India and
Benaras.
THINKING ABOUT LANGUAGE PAGE 11
I. Look at these sentences.
• Evelyn was determined to live a
normal life.
• Evelyn managed to conceal her
growing deafness from friends and teachers.
The
italicised parts answer the questions: “What was Evelyn determined to do?” and
“What did Evelyn manage to do?” They begin with a to-verb (to live, to conceal).
Complete the following sentences.
Beginning with a to-verb, try to answer the questions in brackets.
1.
The school sports team hopes _________________ (What does it hope to do?)
2.
We all want _______________________ (What do we all want to do?)
3.
They advised the hearing-impaired child’s mother ___________________(What did
they advise her to do?)
4.
The authorities permitted us to ___________________ (What did the authorities
permit us to do?)
5.
A musician decided to _____________________ (What did the musician decide to
do?)
Answers:
1. to win the football
contest
2. to live a fulfilling
life
3. to consult an
audiologist
4. to enter the building
5. to invent a new
musical instrument
II. From the text on Bismillah Khan, find
the words and phrases that match these definitions and write them down. The
number of the paragraph where you will find the words/phrases has been given for
you in brackets.
1.
the home of royal people (1) _______________________________
2.
the state of being alone (5) _________________________________
3.
a part which is necessary (2) _______________________________
4.
to do something not done before (5) _________________________
5.
without much effort (13) __________________________________
6.
quickly and in large quantities (9) _____________ and ___________
Answers:
1. palace
2. solitude
3. indispensable
4. invent
5. effortlessly
6. thick, fast
III. Tick the right answer.
1.
When something is revived, it
(remains dead/lives again).
2.
When a government bans something, it
wants it (stopped/started).
3.
When something is considered auspicious,
(welcome it/avoid it).
4.
When we take to something, we find it
(boring/interesting).
5. When you appreciate something, you (find it good and useful/find it of no
use).
6. When you replicate something, you do it (for the first time/for the second
time).
7. When we come to terms with something, it is (still upsetting/no longer
upsetting).
Answers:
1. lives again
2. stopped
3. welcome it
4. interesting
5. find it good and
useful
6. for the second time
7. no longer upsetting
IV. Consult your dictionary and complete
the following table. The first one has been done for you.
Consult
your dictionary and complete the following table. The first one has been done
for you.
|
adjective |
only before noun |
not before noun |
both before and after
the verb be |
|
indispensable |
|||
|
impressed |
|||
|
afraid |
|||
|
outdoor |
|||
|
paternal |
|||
|
countless |
|||
|
priceless |
Answer:
|
adjective |
only before noun |
not before noun |
both before and after the verb be |
|
indispensable |
Correct |
||
|
impressed |
Correct |
||
|
afraid |
Correct |
||
|
outdoor |
Correct |
||
|
paternal |
Correct |
||
|
countless |
Correct |
||
|
priceless |
Correct |
Use these words in phrases or sentences
of your own.
Indispensable: Learning to play the veena is an indispensable
part of this course.
Impressed: I am impressed with your answers.
Afraid: He was afraid to go to his uncle’s.
Outdoor: I like to play outdoor games.
Paternal: Their paternal grandparents live in London.
Countless: We have told him countless times to mend his
ways.
Priceless: Your pieces of advice are priceless.
Poem:
Wind by Subramania
Bharati
[
translated from the Tamil by A. K. Ramanujan ]
THINKING ABOUT
THE POEM PAGE
15
I. 1.
What are the things the wind does in the first stanza?
Answer:
In the first stanza, the wind wreaks havoc by breaking the windows, scattering
the papers, and throwing down the books on the shelf.
2. Have you seen anybody winnow grain at
home or in a paddy field? What is the word in your language for winnowing? What
do people use for winnowing? (Give the words in your language, if you know
them.)
Answer:
To be done by the students
3. What does the poet say the wind god
winnows?
Answer: The wind god winnows houses, doors, rafters, wood, bodies, lives,
and hearts.
4. What should we do to make friends with
the wind?
Answer:
We
should build strong homes, joint doors firmly, practise firming the body, and
make our hearts steadfast to make friends with the wind.
5. What do the last four lines of the
poem mean to you?
Answer:
The last four lines seem to convey that there's both good and bad that the wind
can do. It can, no doubt, wreak havoc, thereby resulting in widespread
destruction, but it can also help those that are strong. The phrases 'weak
fires' and 'strong fires' are metaphors, which seemingly convey that the wind
can destroy the weak ones but also benefit those that by being strong make
friends with it.
6. How does the poet speak to the wind —
in anger or with humour? You must also have seen or heard of the wind
“crumbling lives”. What is your response to this? Is it like the poet’s?
Answer:
The poet doesn't address the wind angrily. He has a sense of humour, no doubt,
but he is also very categorical. The phrase "crumbling lives", which
I have heard, is like the poet's because like the poet mentions, I too have
seen strong winds destroying many lives.
II. The poem you have just read is originally
in Tamil. Do you know any such poems in your language?
Answer: To be done by the student.
|
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