NCERT Solutions Class 12, English, Flamingo, Poetry, Chapter "An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum"
Before You Read
Have you ever visited or seen an elementary school in a slum? What does it look like?
Solution:
Yes, I have visited an elementary school in a slum. The school was in a pitiful state. Its dingy and neglected classrooms were devoid of even basic amenities like fan and lights. Every single window was broken and bore marks of rust. How the students in the classroom dealt with the outside noise or the winters was anybody’s guess. The ceilings too were full of cobwebs. The furniture was broken and almost unusable. The walls of the classrooms were as shabby, malnourished and disinterested as the students sitting in their enclosures. Even the teachers seemed to have lost their concern both for the students and their education. Moreover, I was shocked to know that the usage of toilets was restricted to the school staff.
Think it Out
1. Tick the item which best answers the following.
(a) The tall girl with her head weighed down means the girl _________.
(i) is ill and exhausted
(ii) has her head bent with shame
(iii) has untidy hair
The correct option is : (i) is ill and exhausted
(b) The paper-seeming boy with rat's eyes means the boy is _________.
(i) sly and secretive
(ii) thin, hungry and weak
(iii) unpleasant looking
The correct option is : (ii) thin, hungry and weak
(c) The stunted, unlucky heir of twisted bones means the boy ________.
(i) has an inherited disability
(ii) was short and bony
The correct option is : (i) has an inherited disability
(d) His eyes live in a dream. A squirrel's game, in the tree room other than this. This means the boy is _________.
(i) full of hope in the future
(ii) mentally ill
(iii) distracted from the lesson
The correct option is : (iii) distracted from the lesson
(e) The children's faces are compared to 'rootless weeds'. This means they _________.
(i) are insecure
(ii) are ill-fed
(iii) are wasters
The correct option is : (iii) are wasters
2. What do you think is the colour of 'sour cream'? Why do you think the poet has used this expression to describe the classroom walls?
Solution:
Sour cream indicates the colour cream or dirty white. The poet has used this expression to describe the poor dull and ill-equipped environment of the classroom. The walls were painted long ago by donations and since then no attention has been given to them. We see the neglect these children face. It adds to the dull ambiance.
3. The walls of the classroom are decorated with the pictures of 'Shakespeare', 'buildings with domes', 'world maps' and beautiful valleys. How do these contrast with the world of these children?
Solution:
The pictures of ‘Shakespeare’, ‘buildings with domes’, ‘world maps’ and beautiful valley represent honor, education, civility, beauty and vastness. While, the poverty stricken and neglected kids in the classroom are an embodiment of the lack: they lack beauty, proper education, development and freedom to explore the world. Even their future does not hold any promise. In fact, there are chances these pictures may tempt them to pursue wrong path in order to find ways to attain the things indicated by them.
Thus, the contrast is highlighted by juxtaposing the world as represented by the pictures and the reality of these kids confined in a “narrow street sealed in with a lead sky”, both made present in the same classroom.
4. What does the poet want for the children of the slums? How can their lives be made to change?
Solution:
The poet wants the people in authority to realise their responsibility towards the children of the slums. All sort of social injustice and class inequalities be ended by eliminating the obstacles that confine the slum children to their ugly and filthy surroundings. Let them study and learn to express themselves freely. Then they will share the fruit of progress and prosperity and their fives will change for the better.
