Poem 7 Vocation
Text Book Questions and Answers
Working with the poem (NCERT Page 110)
Question 1.
Your partner and you may now be able to answer these questions.
(i) Who is the speaker in the poem? Who are the people the speaker meets?What are they doing?
Answer:
The speaker in this poem is a school-going child. Every day he happens to meet the hawker selling bangles, the gardener digging away at the garden, and the watchman walking the street all night.
(ii) What wishes does the child in the poem make? Why does the child want to be a hawker, a gardener, or a watchman? Pick out the lines in each stanza which tell us this.
Answer:
The little child is innocent. He watches the people keenly around him. He is sick of checks on his movement. He wants to enjoy the same freedom as do the hawker, the gardener, and the watchman. They do what they like. The child says:
- I wish I were a hawker, spending my day in the road.
- I wish I were a gardener, digging away at the garden.
- I wish I were a watchman walking the street all night.
(iii) From the way the child envies the hawker, the gardener and the watchman, we can guess that there are many things the child has to do, or must not do. Make a list of the do’s and don’ts that the child doesn’t like. The first line is done for you.
The child must
get his clothes dirty in the dust.
………………….
…………………..
The child must not
come home at a fixed time.
……………………….
………………………..
Now add to the list your own complaints about the things you have to do, or must not do.
Answer:
DO’s Donʼts
(i) Obey his elders Be late for school.
(ii) Do his homework regularly. Eat junk food.
(iii) Be truthful and honest. Be rude or ill-mannered.
(iv) Like the child in the poem, you perhaps have your own, wishes for yourself. Talk to your friend, using “I wish I were…”
Answer:
For self-attempt
Question 2.
Find out the different kinds of work done by the people in your neighbourhood. Make different cards for different kinds of work. You can make the card colourful with pictures of the persons doing the work.
Answer:
Do yourself.
Vocation Extra Questions and Answers
Very Short Answer Type
Question 1.
Where did the child meet a hawker?
Answer:
The child met a hawker on the road when he was going to his school in the morning.
Question 2.
When did the child see a gardener?
Answer:
The poet saw the gardener outside his house in the afternoon after returning from his school.
Question 3.
Why did the child want to be a gardener?
Answer:
The child wanted to become a gardener so that he could dig the ground and nobody could stop him.
Question 4.
How did the child see a watchman?
Answer:
The child was told to sleep when he saw the watchman through an open window.
Short Answer Type
Question 1.
What did the child mention about the hawker?
Answer:
The poet said that the hawker was not in a hurry. There was no specific road which he must take. There was no fixed time for him to return his home.
Question 2.
Describe the activity of the watchman.
Answer:
The watchman was walking on the dark and lonely lane with his lantern. He was following his shadow at one side. He never went to bed in his life, according to the child.
Question 3.
What kind of life is led by the hawker, watchman and gardener?
Answer:
The hawker, watchman and gardener are performing vocational tasks. They are leading their life the way they wants to. There is no restrictions on them.
Question 4.
What activities are dear to little children? Who does the child envy and why in the poem Vocation?
Аnswer:
Children by nature love freedom and fun. They are too young to foresee the consequences of their hasty action. They are adventure loving also. Tagore in his poem “Vocation’ gives voice to the natural desires of a child. The child first sees a hawker, selling bangles. He goes by his whim and enjoys freedom of movement. The child too wishes to become a hawker. In the afternoon he saw a gardener working with his spade and soiling his clothes. There is nobody to check or chide him. Lastly the child feels like becoming a watchman who walks the street all night. The child envies them all.
Value Based Type
Question 1.
Why did the child find others’ life interesting?
Answer:The child found others’ life more interesting because he was under strict control of his family. He was not allowed to move anywhere and return home anytime. He was fed up with his life due to restrictions imposed on him. He thought that the hawker, gardener and watchman were very happy as they could do things at their own wish. They can go anywhere at any time. Nobody restricts them and they are free to enjoy their life. So, the child wants to exchange his life with that of a hawker, a gardener and a watchman.
Extract Based Type
Extract 1
Directions (Q. Nos. 1-6) Read the extract given below and answer the following questions.
When the gong sounds ten in the morning and
I walk to school by our lane,
Every day I meet the hawker crying, “Bangles,
crystal bangles!”
There is nothing to hurry him on, there is no
road he must take, no place he must go to, no
time when he must come home.
I wish I were a hawker, spending my day in
the road, crying, “Bangles, crystal bangles!”
Question 1.
Who used to cry “bangles, crystal bangles”?
Answer:
A hawker used to cry “bangles, crystal bangles” every morning on the road.
Question 2.
What was the routine of the hawker?
Answer:
The hawker was seen in the morning and was never in a hurry. He can take any road, go anywhere and return his home anytime.
Question 3.
Why did the child want to be a hawker?
Answer:
The child wanted to become a hawker, so that he could spend his entire day on the road.
Question 4.
Write synonym for the word ‘hurry.’
(a) Hawker
(b) Rush
(c) Walk
(d) Child
Answer:
(b) Rush
Question 5.
Give one word substitute for a person who sells goods by moving on roads.
(a) Teacher
(b) Cobbler
(c) Gardener
(d) Hawker
Answer:
(d) Hawker
Question 6.
The hawker passes time
(a) tensely
(b) quarrling
(c) happily
(d) bored
Answer:
(c) happily
Extract 2
Directions (Q. Nos. 1 -6) Read the extract given below and answer the following questions.
When at four in the afternoon
I come back from the school,
I can see through the gate of that house
the gardener digging the ground.
He does what he likes with his spade,
he soils his clothes with dust,
nobody takes him to task,
if he gets baked in the sun or gets wet.
I wish I were a gardener digging away at the
garden with nobody to stop me from digging.
Question 1.
Who was digging the ground?
Answer:
The gardener was digging the ground with his spade outside the house.
Question 2.
What did the child notice about the gardener?
Answer:
The child noticed that the gardener has spread soil all over his clothes and nobody punished him for getting baked under the Sun.
Question 3.
Name the poet of the above lines.
Answer:
The poet of the above lines is Rabindranath Tagore.
Question 4.
Give synonym for the word ‘bake.’
(a) Burn roast
(b) Garden
(c) Sun
(d) Stop
Ans.
(a) Burn roast
Question 5.
Write antonym for the word ‘ wet.’
(a) Move
(b) Continue
(c) Soaked
(d)Dry
Answer:
(d) Dry
Question 6.
Who is the speaker of the above lines?
(a) A small boy
(b) An adult man
(c) A hawker
(d) An old man
Answer:
(a) A small boy
Summary in English
The child walks to his school at ten in the morning, Everyday he meets a bangle-seller. The man goes about at ease all day long. The child is tempted to adopt the vocation of that happy hawker.In the afternoon the child comes back from the school. He sees a gardener working with spade in a kothi. The gardener is his own master. He soils his clothes and gets wet in the rain. But nobody scolds or punishes him. The child wishes he too were a gardener, free to do what he liked. At night the child sees the watchman on duty. The lone man carries a lantern and keeps walking in the lane all night. The child envies the watchman. He too wants to go about freely and do what he likes.
Summary in Hindi
बच्चा प्रात: दस बजे स्कूल के लिये निकल पड़ता है। हर दिन वह एक चूड़ी विक्रता को देखता है। वह व्यक्ति सारा दिन मौज से घूमताफिरता है। बच्चे की भी इच्छा होती है कि उस सुखी फेरी वाले का धंधा अपना ले। दोपहर बाद बच्चा स्कूल से घर लौटता है। वह एक कोठी में किसी माली को फावड़ा चलाते देखता है। माली अपनी मर्जी का मालिक स्वयं होता है। वह अपने वस्त्र भी गंदे कर लेता है और वर्षा में गीले कर लेता है। पर कोई भी व्यक्ति उसे न डाँटता है, न दण्ड देता है। बच्चे की तमन्ना होती है कि काश वह भी माली बन जाये और अपनी इच्छानुसार काम स्वतंत्र रूप से किया करे।
रात को बच्चा चौकीदार को ड्यूटी देते देखता है। वह अकेला व्यक्ति हाथ में लालटेन लिये सारी रात गली में घूमता रहता है। बच्चे को चौकीदार से भी ईष्य होने लगती है। वह कामना करता है कि वह स्वच्छन्द विचरण करे और अपनी इच्छानुसार काम करे।
Hindi version of the poem with comprehension
1. When the gong Sounds ten in the morning and I walk to School by Our lane,
Every day I meet the hawker Crying, “Bangles, crystal bangles!”
There is nothing to hurry him on, there is no road he must
take, no place he must go to, no time when he must comehome.
I wish I were a hawker, spending my day in
the road, crying, “Bangles, crystal bangles!”
प्रात: दस बजे जब घंटा बजता है और मैं अपनी गली से गुजरकर स्कूल जाता हूँ तो हर दिन मैं एक फेरी वाले को देखता हूँ जो ऊँची आवाज में चिल्लाता रहता है, ‘चूड़ियाँ, काँच की चूड़ियाँ।’ उसे कोई जल्दी नहीं होती, वह किसी भी सड़क पर जा सकता है, उसे किसी निश्चित स्थान पर नहीं पहुँचना है, उसके घर लौटने का समय भी कोई निश्चित नहीं है। काश, मैं भी एक फेरी वाला होता। अपना दिन मैं सड़क पर घूमते बिताता और आवाज करता, ‘चूड़ियाँ, पारदर्शी काँच की चूड़ियाँ !”
Read the following questions and choose the most appropriate option from the ones given below:
Question 1.
What is the hawker selling here?
(a) Toys
(b) Bangles
(c) Watches
(d) Glasses.
Answer:
(b) Bangles
Question 2.
The hawker passes time…..
(a) leisurely
(b) tensely
(c) with great difficulty
(d) happily.
Answer:
(a) leisurely
Question 3.
The child wants to become……..
(a) a bangle-seller
(b) a green grocer
(c) a hawker
(d) a shopkeeper.
Answer:
(c) a hawker
Question 4.
The child wishes so because……….
(a) It will make him a sensible man
(b) It will give him opportunity to work hard
(c) It will give him enough money
(d) It will give him full freedom of action.
Answer:
(d) It will give him full freedom of action.
Question 5.
What does the word ‘gong in the passage mean?
(a) A type of cage
(b) A metal object which makes a loud sound when one hits it
(c) A large boat
(d) None of the above.
Answer:
(b) A metal object which makes a loud sound when one hits it
2. When at four in the afternoon I come back from the school,
I can see through the gate of that house the gardener
digging the ground.
He does what he likes with his spade, he soils his
clothes with dust, nobody takes him to task, if he gets
baked in the Sun or gets wet.
I wish I were a gardener digging away at the
garden with nobody to stop me from digging.
शाम चार बजे जब मैं स्कूल से लौटता हूँ मैं उस घर के गेट के अन्दर एक माली को जमीन खोदते देखता हूँ।
वह अपना फावड़ा चलाकर जो मर्जी होती है करता है, वह अपने वस्त्र धूल में गंदे कर लेता है, यदि वह धूप में तप जाता है अथवा वर्षा में भीग जाता है तो भी उसे कोई डाँटता नहीं। मेरी भी तमन्ना है कि मैं कोई माली होता, बगीचे में मिट्टी खोदता और मुझे इस काम से रोकने वाला कोई नहीं होता।
Read the following questions and choose the most appropriate option from the ones given below:
Question 1.
Who is the speaker?
(a) An adult man
(b) A hawker
(c) A small boy
(d) An old man.
Answer:
(c) A small boy
Question 2.
What does he see the gardener doing?
(a) Cutting the trees
(b) Cleaning the garden
(c) Digging the earth with his spade and soiling his clothes
(d) None of the above.
Answer:
(c) Digging the earth with his spade and soiling his clothes
Question 3.
What does the phrase “take to task in the above passage mean?
(a) Order
(b) Rebuke
(c) Praise
(d) Honour.
Answer:
(b) Rebuke
Question 4.
Here the child wants to become…….
(a) a hawker
(b) a gardener
(c) a grown-up man
(d) a shopkeeper.
Answer:
(b) a gardener
Question 5.
What does the word ‘bake’ in the above passage mean?
(a) Feel comfortable
(b) Feel guilty
(c) Feel proud
(d) Feel very hot.
Answer:
(d) Feel very hot
3.Just as it gets dark in the evening and my mother sends me to bed,
I can see through my open window the watchman walking up and down.
The lane is dark and lonely, and the street-lamp stands
like a giant with one red eye in its head.
The watchman swings his lantern and walks with his
shadow at his side, and never once goes to bed in his life.
I wish I were a watchman walking the street all
night, chasing the shadows with my lantern.
जैसे ही शाम को अँधेरा होने लगता है, मेरी माँ मुझे बिस्तर पर जाने को कहती है। मैं खुली खिड़की से पहरेदार को गली में गश्त लगाते देखता हूँ। गली अंधेरी और सुनसान है और सड़क का लैंप किसी दैत्य की भाँति दिखता है जिसके सिर पर एक ही लाल आँख हो। पहरेदार अपनी लालटेन झुलाता रहता है, उसका साया एक ओर उसके साथ-साथ रहता है, वह कभी भी सोता नहीं। काश, मैं भी पहरेदार होता, सड़क पर सारी रात घूमता, अपने साये का लालटेन की रोशनी में पीछा करता रहता।
Read the following questions and choose the most appropriate option from the ones given below:
Question 1.
What is the job of a watchman?
(a) To walk up and down the street all night for the safety of the people
(b) To supervise the people’s activities during nights
(c) To whistle during nights
(d) To save people from criminals during nights.
Answer:
(a) To walk up and down the street all night for the safety of the people
Question 2.
What does he carry in his hand?
(a) A whistle
(b) A torch
(c) A lantern
(d) A big stick.
Answer:
(c) A lantern
Question 3.
The Street lamp has been compared to a ………
(a) ship
(b) giant
(c) witch
(d) magician.
Answer:
(b) giant
Question 4.
The lane is dark and lonely because ………
(a) there is no street lamp there
(b) it is a holiday
(c) it is very cold
(d) it is night.
Answer:
(d) it is night.
Question 5.
What does the word ‘chasing in the extract mean?
(a) Running fast
(b) Moving backward
(c) Going after
(d) Staring at someone.
Answer:
(c) Going after