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I. Based on your understanding of the poem, state whether the following statements are true or false. Also, rectify the false statements.
- The poem highlights the skilled work of craftsperson.
- The poet shares that musicians express emotions through their instruments.
- The carpenters in the poem are admired for their logical work.
- The electricians in the poem are recognised for their crucial role in lighting up lives.
- The poem pays homage to shoemakers who manufacture quality footwear.
- The poem celebrates the patriotism of the people of Bharat.
- The poet feels that each vocation deserves to be respected.
Show the answers with the false statements rectified.
How to answer:
Check each statement against the exact words of the poem; if it is false, rewrite it using the poem’s own words.
View Answer
| Statement | True / False | Correct form / Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1. The poem highlights the skilled work of craftsperson. | True | The poem opens with craftspersons “each one celebrating their craft, woven with colours and myriad hues”. |
| 2. The poet shares that musicians express emotions through their instruments. | True | The “artisans with lutes” are shown “hailing varied emotions” through their music. |
| 3. The carpenters in the poem are admired for their logical work. | False | Correct form: The carpenters in the poem are admired for their mathematical precision — they “create anything out of wood with mathematical precision”. |
| 4. The electricians in the poem are recognised for their crucial role in lighting up lives. | True | They “work with cables and wires to brighten our lives ”. |
| 5. The poem pays homage to shoemakers who manufacture quality footwear. | True | The shoemakers are shown “ affirming the quality of their work” for the feet that walk, dance, run and jump. |
| 6. The poem celebrates the patriotism of the people of Bharat. | False | Correct form: The poem celebrates the varied vocations (the work and skills) of the people of Bharat, not their patriotism. |
| 7. The poet feels that each vocation deserves to be respected. | True | Every vocation is celebrated equally, and “the voice of their vocation is the voice of their identity”. |
II. Let us appreciate the poem.
1. Rhyme Scheme and Lineation
(i) Does the poem strictly adhere to a rhyme scheme, or is it in free verse?
(ii) What is the impact of the varying length of lines in the poem?
(iii) What is the pattern in the structure of most lines of the poem?
(ii) What is the impact of the varying length of lines in the poem?
(iii) What is the pattern in the structure of most lines of the poem?
How to answer:
For (i) check if the line-ends rhyme; for (iii) read how each long line begins — the same opening shape repeats.
View Answer
(i)
The poem does
not
follow a strict rhyme scheme — it is written in
free verse
. The lines do not rhyme at the end.
(ii) The varying length of lines makes the poem feel like natural speech — flowing and free, just like the many different sounds of work the poet hears. The long, rolling lines also mirror the variety of the vocations.
(iii) Most lines follow the same pattern : they begin by naming a vocation (“The carpenters…”, “The electricians…”, “The boatmen…”, “The shoemakers…”) and then describe that worker joyfully doing their work .
(ii) The varying length of lines makes the poem feel like natural speech — flowing and free, just like the many different sounds of work the poet hears. The long, rolling lines also mirror the variety of the vocations.
(iii) Most lines follow the same pattern : they begin by naming a vocation (“The carpenters…”, “The electricians…”, “The boatmen…”, “The shoemakers…”) and then describe that worker joyfully doing their work .
2. Speaker
(i) Who appears to be the speaker and what is her/his role here?
How to answer:
Look at the repeated words “I hear” — they tell you who is speaking and what the speaker is doing.
View Answer
The speaker is the
poet
— an
observer
who moves through Bharat
listening
to the sounds of work all around. The speaker’s role is to
notice and celebrate
the workers: he/she collects their humming, singing and rhythms and presents them as one big
celebration of the country’s vocations
.
3. Tone and Mood
(i) Fill in the blanks with suitable options from the box given below.
serious
celebratory
hostile
reverential
joyful
sympathetic
A. The tone is
celebratory
and
reverential
, depicting a sense of admiration and respect for the artisans and craftspersons.
How to answer:
The sentence itself gives the clue — “admiration and respect”. Pick the two box words that mean celebrating + respecting.
View Answer
Why:
The poet
celebrates
every worker (“celebrating their craft”) — that is the
celebratory
tone; and he treats their work with deep
respect
, almost like worship — that is the
reverential
tone.
B. There is a
joyful
mood throughout the poem, capturing the vibrancy and richness of cultural traditions and skills.
How to answer:
Mood = the feeling the READER gets. Singing, humming, celebrating — which box word fits that feeling?
View Answer
Why:
Everything in the poem is
happy
— humming electricians, singing boatmen, the “delicious singing” of the cook. The feeling the reader gets is
joy
.
4. Imagery
(i) Select any two descriptions from the poem that evoke visual images.
How to answer:
Visual imagery = something you can SEE. Hunt for colours, objects and actions, not sounds.
View Answer
Any two of these
visual images
(pictures we can see in the mind):
- “craft, woven with colours and myriad hues ” — colourful handmade craft.
- “The carpenters… create anything out of wood with mathematical precision” — a carpenter shaping wood.
- “The boatmen gathering their nets from the shore , sailing” — boatmen with nets by the sea.
(ii) Fill in the blanks with suitable phrases.
The poem includes auditory imagery through mentions of artisans with lutes,
the electricians humming
, and
the delicious singing of the cook
, emphasising the sounds associated with each vocation.
How to answer:
Auditory imagery = something you can HEAR. Find the humming and singing phrases in the poem.
View Answer
Why:
Auditory imagery = sound pictures. The poem’s sound phrases are the lutes of the artisans, “the
electricians humming
”, the boatmen “
singing
while at work”, and “the
delicious singing
of the cook”. (You may also write
“the boatmen singing while at work”
in either blank.)
5. Metaphor
(i) State whether the following sentence is true or false.
The mention of ‘delicious singing’ of the cook is a metaphor because it implies that the quality of the singing is so enjoyable or pleasing that it can be equated to the experience of tasting something delicious. See Line 8
The mention of ‘delicious singing’ of the cook is a metaphor because it implies that the quality of the singing is so enjoyable or pleasing that it can be equated to the experience of tasting something delicious. See Line 8
How to answer:
A metaphor equates two different things directly. Ask: is a taste word being used for a sound here?
View Answer
True
.
Why:
“Delicious” is a
taste
word, but here it describes a
sound
(singing). The singing is so pleasing that it is directly equated with tasting something delicious — one thing is called another without using “like” or “as”, so it is a
metaphor
.
6. Personification
(i) Select the line that tells us that the poet personifies vocations by attributing human-like qualities to them.
See Line 9
How to answer:
The question asks where VOCATIONS (not the country) get a human quality. Which line gives the vocation something only humans have?
View Answer
The line is:
“The voice of their vocation is the voice of their identity.”
Why:
A vocation is work — it cannot literally have a
voice
. By giving the vocation a human quality (a voice that speaks), the poet
personifies
it. (Note: “I hear Bharat celebrating” personifies
Bharat
, not the vocations — so it is not the answer here.)
7. Repetition
(i) Why might the poet have begun and ended with the same line—‘I hear Bharat celebrating, the varied vocations I hear!’?
See Line 1
How to answer:
Give two effects: what repetition does to the MESSAGE (fixes it) and what it does to the SOUND (chorus-like music).
View Answer
The repeated line works like a
refrain
(a chorus). It
frames
the poem — opening and closing it like a circle — and fixes the
central idea
in our minds: the whole of Bharat is alive with the joyful sounds of people at work. Repetition also gives the free-verse poem a
musical, song-like feel
and a sense of
completeness
.
8. Alliteration
(i) Identify two examples of alliteration from the poem.
How to answer:
Say the words ALOUD — alliteration is about repeated sounds, not letters. (“celebrating their craft” does NOT work: c sounds like /s/ in one and /k/ in the other.)
View Answer
Two sound-true examples:
- “ s ailing, and s inging” — the /s/ sound repeats at the start of both words.
- “the v oice of their v ocation” — the /v/ sound repeats.
Why:
Alliteration needs the same
starting sound
, not just the same letter. Say each pair aloud:
sailing–singing
(s-s) and
voice–vocation
(v-v) clearly repeat the sound.
9. Symbolism
(i) Each vocation in the poem symbolises something more than just a job. What does it symbolise?
How to answer:
Go beyond “earning money”. The last lines tell you what a vocation really stands for — identity.
View Answer
Each vocation symbolises the worker’s
identity, pride and dignity
. The work is not just a way to earn money — it is
who the person is
(“The voice of their vocation is the voice of their identity”). Together, the vocations also symbolise the
skill, joy and unity of Bharat
— a whole nation celebrating itself through honest work.
