Telangana SCERT TS 10th Class English Guide Pdf Unit 3B Once Upon a Time (Poem) Textbook Questions and Answers.
TS 10th Class English Guide Unit 3B Once Upon a Time (Poem)
This morning she bought green ‘methi’
in the market, choosing the freshest bunch;
picked up a white radish,
imagined the crunch it would make
between her teeth, the sweet sharp taste,
then put it aside, thinking it
an extravagance, counted her coins
out carefully, tied them, a small bundle
into, her sari at the waist;
came home, faced her mother-in-law’s
dark looks, took
the leaves and chopped them,
her hands stained yellow from the juice;
cut an onion, fine and cooked
the whole thing in the pot
over the stove,
shielding her face from the heat.
The usual words came and beat
their wings against her: the money spent,
curses heaped upon her parents,
who had sent her out
to darken other people’s doors.
She crouched, as usual, on the floor
beside the stove,
When the man came home
she did not look into his face
nor raise her head; but bent
her back a little more.
Nothing gave her the right to speak.
She watched the flame hiss up
and beat against the cheap old pot,
a wing of brightness
against its blackened cheek.
This was the house she had been sent to,
the man she had been bound to,
the future she had been born into.
So when the kerosene was thrown
(just a moment of surprise,
A brilliant spark)
It was the only choice
that she had ever known.
Another torch, blazing in the dark.
Another woman.
We shield our faces from the heat.
Comprehension :
I. Answer the following Questions:
Question 1.
The woman thought of buying a white radish but later on decided against it thinking it an extravagance. Do you think it is an extravagance? Support your answer.
Answer:
It is not an extravagance for a normal woman. But it is an extravagance for the woman ¡n the poem. Her counting the coins carefully shows us the poverty of the woman. Not only that, when she reaches home, her mother-in-law curses her for spending money. Hence, I think, buying the radish is an extravagance for her.
Question 2.
What does the phrase ‘mother-in-law’s dark looks’ suggest?
Answer:
‘Mother-in-law’s dark looks’ suggests that she is angry with her daughter-in-law. The
daughter-in-law has to face the harsh behaviour and words of her mother-in-law. The
mother-in-law always curses her and her parents.
Question 3.
“The usual words came and beat ” (line 19). Where did the words come from? Why?
Answer:
The words came from the girl’s mother-in-law. Her mother-in-law used to curse her for spending money in the market. The mother-in-law also cursed her parents for sending her to their house as a bad women to spoil their fortune.
Question 4.
Why did the woman crouch on the floor ? (line 24)
Answer:
The woman listened to the harsh words crouching on the floor beside the stove. She didn’t have any right to raise her voice against the injustice insisted upon her. She bore all her sufferings silently. She didn’t want to resist her mother-in-law. Hence, she crouched on the floor.
Question 5.
Why do you think the woman bent her back a little more when her husband came home ? Was her husband helpful ? Support your answer quoting from the poem.
Answer:
When her husband came home, the woman bent her back a little more as he never paid attention to the sufferings of her. He was not helpful. The lines, “When the man came home she did not look into his face nor raise her head; but bent her back a little more”, suggest us that she didn’t have any faith in him. From her husband also, she would not get any care. Though he knew about his mother’s cursing her, he remained silently..
Question 6.
What does the phrase “as usual” suggest ?
Answer:
he phrase ‘as usual’ suggests that the mother-in-law’s cursing her is a common thing for her. She daily faces those harsh words from her mother-in-law. She bears them all silently. When she is being cursed, she crouches on the floor, beside the stove listening to the harsh words of her mother-in-law.
Question 7.
The last line of the first stanza talks about the woman shielding her face from heat whereas the last line of the poem talks about people shielding their face from the heat. How are they different ?
Answer:
In the first stanza, the woman tries to protect her face in order to protect herself from the heat. The last line of the poem suggest that the people are turning their faces from the harsh realities of our society. Though the people know about the sufferings being faced by the women, no one comes forward to act against it.
Question 8.
“So when the kerosene was thrown….” Who threw the kerosene ? Why ? Support your answer quoting from the poem.
Answer:
The woman herself threw at her and committed the suicide. The lines, “So when the kerosene was thrown” and “It was the only choice that she had ever known,” suggest this. She silently bore all her sufferings without even making a complaint against her mother-in-law and her husband. She didn’t have any right to speak anything in that house. She didn’t have patience to bear her sufferings any more. Hence, she decided to commit suicide.
Question 9.
What does the title suggest ?
Answer:
The title “Another Woman” suggests that domestic violence is not a case which could be applied to a single woman. The woman in the poem is a typical example of the woman who is imposed to the domestic violence. She is a representative of the whole women who are experiencing same condition. There are more women in our society who are struggling like her.
Question 10.
Words do not have wings, but the author used them as if they had wings (………….. the usual words came and beat their wings against ………..) This is a literary device called personification. Find out the other instances of personification in the poem.
Answer:
- Curses heaped upon her parents.
- She watched the flame hiss up and beat against the cheap old pot.
- A wing of brightness against its blackened cheek.
In the above instances
- ‘Curses’ are personified by using ‘heaped’.
- ‘Flame’ is personified by using ‘hiss up’.
- ‘Brightness is personified by using ‘wing’ and ‘pot’ is personified by using ‘blackened check’.
Question 11.
In the story ‘The Journey’, the author used the journey as a symbol of life. You will find such symbols in this poem too. Pick them out and talk about them.
Answer:
The title ‘Another Woman’ is the symbol of the number of women who are ending lives against domestic violence. The mother-in-law’s dark looks’ is the symbol of her angry. ‘Usual’ is the symbol of the woman’s facing the sufferings daily.
‘To darken’ is the symbol of bringing ill-luck.
‘Crouch’ is the symbol of modesty.
‘Another torch’ is the symbol of another woman who is going to end her life.
Question 12.
Write a critical appreciation of the poem, ‘Another woman’ highlighting the social issue it deals with.
Answer:
Basic themes on which the poem revolves around
Wife/Daughter-in-Law = Servant l DOWRY
Importance/Significance of the Male compared to the Female
Could relate to any ‘Indian’ Woman {rural areas of the Indian Sub-continent)
Domestic Violence
Imtiaz Dharker pictures the pathetic condition of a wife in her Poem,”
Another Woman.” The woman here lives for her family, but life is a constant struggle for her. She eats last & the least & so is poverty-stricken.
I liked the way the poetess presented the attitude of one woman to the other of the same family as she proclaims it through the dark looks of mother-in-laws.
The Poetess shows her protest towards the men who view women as silly reproductive commodities.
For her, the living & dying has not much difference. We can compare the attitude of Imtiaz Dharker with that of Kamala Das in’ Ghanashyam’ as the former sees no difference between life & death whereas the latter believes the death as the only salvation.
The Poetess reminds the submissiveness of a woman who takes in charge of a home as she had been repeatedly advised of her future life at husband’s home.
Still, when she burns herself for survival, the world has no problem in dealing with it.
Even though the poem is not rhythmical, the flaming agitation against the molestation of woman sets out a perfect platform for the poem to discuss with.
The title of the poem is very aptly chosen as it is a very prevalent and common thing, at least in the rural areas of the Indian Sub-continent, where these customs are followed. Mrs. Dharker, being a British citizen, has written a very effective and factual poem on the customs prevalent in her land of birth and the nations around it.
The title, in my opinion, is the most effective one because this treatment and this incident can happen to any woman. Any other woman. Maybe not in the western countries but here, the Indian Subcontinent, especially rural areas, any married woman can/could relate to this poem.
This poem is like the song which plays in every married woman’s head but she is scared to sing it out, due to the fear that it might just become a reality for her and in that way her very life would be at stake.
Once Upon a Time (Poem) Summary in English
Imtiaz Dharker’s “Another Woman” is about the domestic violence happening against women all over India. The title suggests that domestic violence is not a case which could be applied to a single woman. This poem tells us the ill-treatment of the women which leads to their ending the lives.
The woman in the poem goes to market to purchase vegetables. She buys green ‘methi’ and then wishes to have a white radish. She imagines about the crunch it makes when she puts it in between her teeth and its sharp taste. Thinking that it is an extravagance, she puts her thought aside.
She counts her coins carefully and ties them in the bundle at her waist. Then she returns home and faces the harsh behaviour of her mother-in-law. She takes methi leaves and cuts off them and the other vegetables with care and prepares curry. At this time she protects herself from the heat.
The mother-in-law curses her for spending money. She also curses her parents for sending her to bring ill-luck to them. The girl listens to all her cursing by crouching as usual on the floor beside the stove. She doesn’t face her husband who comes home. He simply keeps quiet though he listens to his mother’s harsh words. She bends a little more when he comes.
There is no right for her to speak about anything in that home. She sits watching the flame hisses up. This is the house where she has been sent to as a daughter-in-law. This is the man who she has wedded to. This ¡s the future she has been born into. She doesn’t have patience to bear her sufferings anymore. The only option left in front of her is to take her life. She submits herself to the hands of the flames.
Thus, she ends her life. She is the representative of all the women who are the victims of domestic violence. Though we know about it, we pay no attention towards it and turn our faces from the harsh realities of our society. We know that women are getting killed and oppressed in the name of birth (gender discrimination), dowry etc. But there is no one to act against it.
About the author:
Ms. Imtiaz Dharker was born in Lahore in Pakistan ¡n 1954 and brought up in Glasgow, Scotland. She is ranked on par with some of the famous women poets of India such as Kamala Das, Sujatha Bhatt and Tara Patel. She is not only a poet but also a painter and an accomplished documentary film maker. Her collections of poetry include Purciah, Postcards from God, and I Speak for the Devil. The Terrorist at My Table and Leaving Fingerprints.
Glossary :
methi(n) = fenugreek;
white radish (n) = white and round or finger-shaped vegetable;
extravagance (n) = spending more than necessary in an uncontrolled way ;
chop (v) = cut something into pieces ;
shield (v) = protect somebody or something from harm;
crouch (v) = lower the body by bending the knees in fear;
blaze (v) = burn brightly and fiercely;