1. THE LOST CHILD
Mulk Raj Anand (1905-2004)
It was a town celebrating the festival of spring. The people wore bright coloured clothes and flocked to the fair grounds outside the town limits. Some walked and the rich rode on horses. Among this throng of people, there was a small boy who ran with his parents. He began looking at the toys in the shops and his parents had to call him out whenever he stayed behind. A particular toy caught his fancy but his parents, being poor, had to deny the child’s request.
The small group passed through a footpath in the field where the mustard plant was in full bloom. The yellow flowers spread as far as the eye could travel.
It was spring and the plants and trees were in full bloom. An old banyan tree towered over other trees. Jack, jamun, neem, champak and crimson gulmohur spread the perfume in the wind. A koel began singing happily. A vendor of sweets hawked his mouth-watering items. The child looked longingly at the ‘burfi’, a favourite. There was also a seller of multi-coloured flowers and the boy looked at a garland with wonder. Next to him there was a balloon-seller who sold superbly coloured balloons. A snake charmer was playing a flute to a cobra which swayed its head to the music.
A merry-go-round was spinning at dizzying speed with children shrieking with joy. When it came to a halt, the child begged his father and mother to allow him to go in the merry-go-round. But the child received no reply. Turning round, the child discovered that he had parted from his parents and a deep sob of fear broke out of his mouth. He suddenly felt abandoned and, looking for his parents in the sea of humanity, he ran here and there. Someone who saw the child running, crying out occasionally, “Father! Mother!” picked up the child and tried to console him. The child could not reply to the question, “Whose baby are you?”
He took the child to the merry-go-round to make him forget his worry. But the child would have none of it. He wanted the child to listen to the music of the snake-charmer and forget his woes. Again the child rejected the offer and sobbed, “Father! Mother!” The offer to buy balloons was also similarly rejected by the child. When the man offered to buy flowers and the burfi to make the child calm, the child only began crying more and more, demanding his parents. The author demonstrates that the very things the child wanted to buy earlier had lost all attraction with the parents’ disappearance. To the child, who depends on his parents for everything, it is almost the end of the world.
2. MY EARLY DAYS
Abdul Kalam
Taken from Kalam’s autobiography, Wings of Fire, this essay gives us an introduction to Kalam’s boyhood, spent in the famed coastal town of
Kalam’s mother was Ashiamma, whose cooking Kalam recalls with fondness. She was an ideal helpmate to his father. Kalam remembers the days he went with his father to the local mosque. When they returned after prayers, there were people who carried bowls filled with water. The father used to dip his fingers and the water was supposed to have cured a number of illnesses.
In spite of his simple education, Kalam’s father had a wisdom that comes of age and experience. He understood the inner meaning of prayer. He thought that prayers are a means to communicate with other human beings. Difficulties are not things to run away from: Adversity always presents opportunities for introspection. When people came to him for spiritual advice and help, he was always there for them. That was the way he was able to maintain friendships across religions. The high priest of Rameswaram temple, Lakshmana Sastry was a close friend. Kalam’s father had a daily routine from which he did not deviate: he got up at 4.00 AM in the morning, offered Namaz and went to his coconut grove and came home on foot with a dozen coconuts on his shoulders.
Kalam tried to maintain the same spirit in his own world also. He understood the power of the spirit animating all things and the way to secure one’s freedom and happiness.
Kalam’s father built a boat with the help of a young man called Ahmed Jallaludin. The boat took pilgrims from Rameswaram to Dhanuskodi. But in the great cyclone, the boat was swept away. Kalam understood the angry mood of the sea.
Jallaludin became a close friend of Kalam in spite of the difference in years. He was fifteen years older than Kalam. Both of them went for long walks in the evenings discussing spiritual matters. Though Jallaludin was not well-educated, he was instrumental in the success of Kalam. Jallaludin was capable of writing English. The people of that area went to him to have their letters or applications written. He was the one who introduced Kalam to a number of new things happening in the world.
STR Manickam, a former ‘revolutionary’ had a sizeable collection of books. He invited Kalam to read the books.
Samsuddin, a cousin, was a distributor of newspapers. Politics, astrology, rates of gold and the war going on were discussed. Kalam recalls the sudden spurt in demand for tamarind seeds. He used to sell a day’s collection for the princely sum of one anna. During the Second World War, train halts at Rameswaram were suspended and Kalam made money by helping Jallaludin in unloading bundles of newspapers.
Kalam attributes his honesty and self discipline to his father. To his mother, goodness and kindness. To Jallaludin and Samsuddin, his creativity in later life. Though they were unschooled, they had an innate wisdom.
Kalam’s boyhood was unmarked by any religious discrimination except on one occasion. A new teacher made Kalam go to the back benches as he could not stomach the idea of Kalam sitting close to a Brahmin boy. When the high priest of Rameswaram temple came to know about it, he made the teacher change his ways.
Sivasubramania Iyer, the science teacher of Abdul Kalam, was something of a rebel. Religious groups were rigidly stratified, and at such times, he took Kalam to his home and served him food. He wanted Kalam to become one of the “highly educated people of the big cities”.
Kalam had to leave Rameswaram to continue his studies at Ramanathapuram, the district headquarters. His mother was very reluctant to see his parting, but his father convinced her of the necessity of having higher goals.
Ramanathapuram made Kalam homesick. He wanted to eat the different polis his mother made. But he recalled the advice of his friend Jallaludin and exercised control over his thoughts of homesickness. The success he met with carried him farther away from home.
In this excerpt Abdul Kalam gives us an excellent picture of his boyhood and the various people who shaped his thoughts and moulded his personality.
3. THE AFFLICTION OF MARGARET (1807)
William Wordsworth
The son has disappeared from home for seven years. His mother, not knowing his fate, mourns his absence. She is more worried because there is uncertainty about her son. This is the story of a widow known to Wordsworth.
The son is worse than dead to the mother. Whether poor or rich now, she wants him to come home. If he were dead, she is prepared to accept the news, though it causes her much grief. Seven years is too long a period for a mother to be uncertain about her child. The cycle of despair and hope has weakened her. He was brought up well by her. He was a handsome young man; innocent about the ways of the world. He was never a reason for her to blush in shame.
The young do not understand the distress felt by the old. Even the childhood screams of the children at play alarm the mother. But the young are not in a position to understand all this. In spite of these things, the parents do not love the children less. The mother admits that when no one noticed her, she has shed plenty of tears for him. Even if he were poor, humbled, not sure of winning any honour, she wants him to return to her door without any feeling of inhibition. The mother does not attach any importance to worldly success. If her son’s return home is delayed on account of his failure to make wealth, the mother wants him to understand that she prefers his return over anything else.
We are earth-bound and sea-bound. Only our wishes have the power to fly to heaven. The mother wants her good wishes for her son to be borne aloft by the “fowls of heaven” Every gust of wind helps the birds to move forward, and so may speedily convey her good wishes to the son.
The mother’s imagination pictures her son kept in some “dungeon” tortured by cruel men. Perhaps he was trapped in a “lion’s den” or drowned in the sea. He is sleeping the sleep of the dead: “an incommunicable sleep”. The mother would like to see at least “the ghost” of her son. But nothing of that kind appears. She believes that all stories which say that the living can talk with the dead are false.
A host of fears have started coming to her. The rustling of the grass, the shadow of the clouds, have the power to frighten her. The world of nature does not bring her any relief. Her troubles cannot be shared; the people who come to console her pity her, but do not understand the nature of her grief. Because of the immense suffering caused by his absence, the mother wants her son to return and put an end to her suffering. She also wants him to know that besides her son, she does not have anyone else to call as her kin.
Through this poem, Wordsworth not only gives us the depth of maternal love but also how unselfish it is.
4. THE MODEL MILLIONAIRE
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)
Hughie Erskine, a handsome young man, was without a job. He lived on the two hundred pounds his aunt had left behind for him. His father had not left him much except an old sword and a few volumes of history books. Though Hughie tried a number of jobs, he was not successful in any of them. He was a stock broker, a tea and wine merchant for a while. He was simply incapable of making money.
Hughie was in love with a woman named Laura Merton. She was beautiful and loved Hughie back. But the Colonel, Laura’s father, wanted Hughie to make at least ten thousand pounds before getting married to Laura. But ten thousand pounds was a great sum and Hughie became sad at the thought that it was beyond his means to make that money.
Hughie had a friend called Alan Trevor, a painter, who liked Hughie’s good looks and lively spirits. He also knew Hughie’s love for Laura and how everything depended on Hughie making ten thousand pounds. One day, when Hughie came to Trevor’s studio, he saw Trevor painting the picture of a beggar, with a real beggar as his model. The beggar was an old man, he wore clothes which were rags and he had a pathetic expression. He held a stick in one hand and a begging bowl on the other.
Hughie was very much touched by the sight of the beggar. When Alan Trevor was called away by a visitor, Hughie pressed a sovereign in his hand. The beggar was startled by this sudden gesture of kindness and thanked him. When Hughie met Trevor in a club that night Trevor told him of the good impression that Hughie had created on the old beggar. He was very curious to know everything about Hughie. Trevor had told him of Hughie’s love for Laura and how their marriage depended on Hughie making ten thousand pounds. Hughie was angry with Trevor for telling all these things to a beggar. But Trevor told him that the old beggar was Baron Hausberg, a very rich man who had a whim to be painted as a beggar. Hughie cursed his stupidity for mistaking a millionaire for a beggar. He prepared to offer his apologies if the millionaire pressed charges. But this was not to be so.
The next morning an emissary of the rich man greeted Hughie. He offered an envelope inside which was a cheque for ten thousand pounds as wedding present from a beggar. When Hughie and Laura were married, Baron Hausberg made a speech. Alan Trevor praised the Baron calling him, ‘a model millionaire”
5. TWO GENTLEMEN OF
A.J. Cronin
When the narrator and his friend were travelling in
Though the boys were like other children of their age, they also appeared quite serious. They were able to do a variety of jobs, like getting a packet of cigarettes or seats for an opera. They showed a lot of willingness for work. On a late night, the narrator found them waiting for the last bus to
When the narrator went to them to have his shoes shined, Nicola was waiting for him. The narrator asked Nicola why they were working so hard but spent very little of the money. He wanted to know whether it was to go to the
The next day, they set out to the hillside
The boys were talking with spirit to a young woman of about 20. She had the resemblance of the boys and the narrator guessed she must be their sister.
The narrator requested the nurse to tell him about the life of the youngsters.. The nurse said they were brothers and sister. The sister’s name was Lucia. Their father was killed in the War and their home was destroyed in the bombing. The two boys joined the resistance movement and helped the patriots. They carried messages and if they had been discovered, they would have been shot. After the war, their sister developed an infection of the spine which confined her to a bed. Her two brothers admitted her in the nursing home and paid the fees promptly every week. It was their love for their beloved sister which made them work so hard. In the return trip all of them sat quietly. Though war was cruel, it also brought out the nobility of some people, like that of the two boys, Nicola and Jacopo.
6. PUNISHMENT IN KINDERGARTEN
Kamala Das
The memories of childhood, pleasant or unpleasant, stay with us for a long time. Recollection of those memories can be as painful as reopening an old wound. Kamala Das narrates one such experience which she is unable to erase from her mind.
Being an adult, the poet thinks that she has better acceptance now. There was a time when she had to go through a painful experience. A uniformed nun or teacher scolded the child throwing the words like “pots and pans”. Because of the abuse the child felt that the whole day was ruined for her. The fault of the child was not great. She liked to be alone, without joining other kids.
The schoolmates were sipping sugarcane juice. One child’s misery was another’s delight. They laughed at her getting scolded by the teacher. Unable to bear the pain and shame, the poet buried her face in the hedge and cried.
The episode had left behind a permanent but dull pain in the heart of the poet. The pain has become dulled with the passage of time. Though the poet assures herself that she need not feel any pain of that event, now that she had found. “An adult peace,” it is clear that so long as she lives, this event will stay with her. She will carry it to her grave. The poet has a clear recollection of the day it happened as she stood close to the hedge, watching,
The steel-white sun
standing lonely in the sky.
7. THE SECOND CRUCIFIXION
Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre
Extracted from Freedom at Midnight, this essay narrates the happenings immediately after Gandhi’s assassination. If Gandhi had been killed by a Moslem, then there would be violent communal clashes resulting in the death of many. Lord Mountbatten, presiding over the final transfer of power, was to handle this most significant event in history.
When Lord Mountbatten mounted the steps of Birla House, a big crowd had gathered. As it turned out, Gandhi’s assassin was a Hindu of Brahmin caste, Nathu Ram Godse. A big bloodbath was avoided. Mountbatten requested Nehru to make a farewell speech as the people were expecting a lead from him. Nehru was too emotional but the Viceroy assured him he would find the words when the occasion arrived. He also tried to bridge the gap that seemed to be growing between Nehru and Patel by telling them that the last wish of Gandhi was to bring about unity between these two great leaders. On hearing that, Nehru and Patel embraced each other, forgetting their differences.
How the last rites of the Mahatma had to be performed gave some moments of anxiety. Mountbatten wanted the body to the embalmed and every Indian given a chance to see his beloved leader. But Pyare Lal, the secretary of Gandhiji told that the great leader wanted his body to be cremated within twenty four hours according to Hindu custom. Nehru and Patel had reservations about the Army playing a role in conducting the funeral but Mountbatten assured them of the need for a strong disciplinary force for crowd control. The whole of
Gandhiji’s body was taken to Birla House for the people to pay homage. Five oil lamps representing the five basic elements were lit. People swarmed into the garden where he was shot and picked up even blades of grass to preserve as memorabilia.
Nehru made an inspiring speech on that day, in spite of his grief. The light that he earlier said had gone out is indeed there to illuminate the world for thousand years. The whole world was shocked at the news of Gandhiji’s death. Even his enemies like Winston Churchill came forward to pay his tributes to a great soul. Bernard Shaw observed how dangerous it was to be a good man. From
The Hindustan Standard called Gandhi’s death “a second crucifixion” and also observed that both Gandhi and Jesus were killed on a Friday.
This excerpt gives a vivid account of a time most significant in the annals of Indian history. It is a defining moment.
8. MIRROR
Sylvia Plath (1937-1963)
This poem gives the mirror a voice. It has a story to tell. It is the story of a young girl who grows into an older woman. Some people accept the approach of old age as something unavoidable; some others try to disguise it. There are yet others who feel terribly unhappy and anxiety-ridden. Using a common, everyday object like a mirror, the poet portrays the reaction of an unhappy woman who keeps growing older.
The mirror is personified, given a human voice. It says it is made of silver which helps it to reflect the objects. It does not distort or change the image. It is ‘exact’. It does not have any prejudices. What it sees, it reflects faithfully. As it says,
Whatever I see I swallow immediately
Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike.
But truth is not to the liking of all. They may not like what they see in the mirror. It describes itself as “the eye of a little god”. Much of its time is spent on reflecting the wall opposite which is pink in colour. Sometimes the mirror thinks the wall is its heart because it sees it all the time. But there are times when other images come between the mirror and the wall.
Metaphorically calling itself a lake, the mirror has a recollection of a woman peering at her own image, trying to see the changes. Unhappy with what she sees, she turns to the candles or the moon to disguise her wrinkles and other signs of aging. The poet calls them “liars”. She is alarmed at the sight of the creeping age and she greets it with tears and an agitation of hands. Each morning she visits the mirror which has now become “important” to her. She was once upon a time a young girl who has now been swallowed by the lake. And what rises from the depth of the lake, is “a terrible fish” of old age from which she cannot escape.
In this simple and evocative poem, Sylvia Plath presents a particular facet of life common to all. Some accept it, there are many who cannot digest it.
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