CBSE Class 12 English HOTs Poets And Pancakes Set 03

A girl from the countryside, she hadn’t gone through all the stages of worldly experience that generally precede a position of importance and sophistication that she had found herself catapulted into. She never quite recovered from the terror she felt that day. That was the end of a brief and brilliant acting career — the legal advisor, who was also a member of the Story Department, had unwittingly brought about that sad end. While every other member of the department wore a kind of uniform — khadi dhoti with a slightly oversized and clumsily tailored white khadi shirt — the legal advisor wore pants and a tie and sometimes a coat that looked like a coat of mail. Often, he looked alone and helpless ... 

Question. Why had the narrator mentioned the incident with the actress?
Answer: The narrator had mentioned the incident with the actress to highlight how the lawyer was an illegal advisor as he led to the end of the acting career of a young actress.

Question. Select the correct option from those given in brackets to fill in the blank. The harm done to the actress was a/an ___________ (well-planned act/unintentional act).
Answer: unintentional act

Question. Complete the sentence with an appropriate explanation, as per the extract. The writer uses the word ‘uniform’ to refer to the outfits of the department members because just like a uniform _________ .
Answer: which is a common dress code for all, the dress worn by the employees of the make-up studio was nearly the same - loose khadi shirt and khadi dhoti

Question. Identify the textual clue that allows the reader to infer that the writer is sympathetic towards the professional fate of the actress. (Clue: a phrase)
Answer: The phrase ‘sad end’ shows that the writer is sympathetic towards the professional fate of the actor.

Question. Select the option that completes the given sentence appropriately. ‘Stages of worldly experience’ in the given context would refer to _________ .
(a) good education to gain knowledge
(b) situations that require one to be street smart
(c) smaller, not so important roles in acting
(d) training in soft skills
Answer: (b) situations that require one to be street smart

Question. Based on the above extract, choose the statement that is true for the legal advisor.
(a) He disliked the actress from the countryside,
(b) He acted after thinking through things carefully,
(c) He did not get well with others in the department,
(d) He was always dressed smartly,
Answer: (c) He did not get well with others in the department.

Barring the office boys and a couple of clerks, everybody else at the Studios radiated leisure, a pre-requisite for poetry. Most of them wore khadi and worshipped Gandhiji but beyond that they had not the faintest appreciation for political thought of any kind. Naturally, they were all averse to the term ‘Communism’. A communist was a godless man—he had no filial or conjugal love; he had no compunction about killing his own parents or his children; he was always out to cause and spread unrest and violence among innocent and ignorant people. Such notions, which prevailed everywhere else in South India at that time also, naturally, floated about vaguely among the khadi-clad poets of Gemini Studios. Evidence of it was soon forthcoming. 

Question. The people at the Gemini Studios has not the faintest appreciation for political thought. Why does the narrator say so?
Answer: The narrator says so because he knows that the people at the Gemini Studios only believed what has been popular at the time. They did not have their own political thought.

Question. Select the correct option from those given in bracket to fill in the blank. The narrator mentions that the people at the Gemini Studios were ___________ (neutral/inclined) towards Gandhiji’s political ideology.
Answer: inclined

Question. Complete the sentence suitably. The narrator say leisure is a pre-requisite for poetry because _________ .
Answer: in order to write poetry, one needs free time

Question. What Evidence is being talked about in the extract?
Answer: The evidence talked of in the extract refers to the coming of Frank Buchman’s Moral Re-Armament army, a kind of counter argument to Communism to the Gemini Studios.

Question. Pick the option that uses the same figure of speech as ‘A communist is a Godless man.’
(a) She is as determined as Gandhi when it is a fight against injustice,
(b) She is a Gandhi when she raises her voice against ‘hinsa’ or violence,
(c) She, like Gandhi, feels that the Earth is crying for deliverance,
(d) She lives a life of opulence and calls herself a follower of Gandhi.
Answer: (b) She is a Gandhi when she raises her voice against ‘hinsa’ or violence.

Question. Based on the extract, choose the correct option with reference to the two statements given below.
Statement I At Gemini Studios, the poets had a profound knowledge about Communists.
Statement II Communists were responsible for anarchy and discontent in the country.
(a) Statement I is true but Statement II is false,
(b) Statement I is false but Statement II is true,
(c) Both Statement I and Statement II cannot be inferred,
(d) Both Statement I and Statement II can be inferred.
Answer: (d) Both Statement I and Statement II can be inferred.

Then the poet spoke. He couldn’t have addressed a more dazed and silent audience - no one knew what he was talking about and his accent defeated any attempt to understand what he was saying. The whole thing lasted about an hour; then the poet left and we all dispersed in utter bafflement - What are we doing? What is an English poet doing in a film studio which makes Tamil films for the simplest sort of people? People whose lives least afforded them the possibility of cultivating a taste for English poetry. The poet looked pretty baffled too, for he must have felt the sheer incongruity of his talk about the thrills and travails of an English poet. His visit remained an unexplained mystery. 

Question. Explain one inference that can be drawn from the line, “He could not have addressed a more dazed and silent audience”.
Answer: One inference that can be drawn from the given line is that the audience was overwhelmed by the unusual appearance of the poet as they could not understand what the poet was talking about.

Question. Select the correct option from those given in brackets to fill in the blank. The audience were ___________ (baffled/enthralled) by the poet’s impressive speech.
Answer: baffled

Question. Complete the sentence suitably. The failure of the speaker to connect with the audience with reference to the extract is his _________ .
Answer: complex language and inability to capture the attention of the audience.

Question. What information in the extract reveals the fact that the people have no exposure other than to their own circle?
Answer: The reaction of the audience on the unusual visit of the English poet in a Tamil film studio is an indication of their limited exposure. It implies that they are not much knowledgeable regarding English poetry and are focused only in their own cultural and linguistic space.

Question. Choose the correct option. The reason for the bewilderment of the audience is
(a) unknown identity of the visitor,
(b) that the speaker had not been introduced to them,
(c) the visit of an English poet to a Tamil film studio,
(d) that they did not understand English.
Answer: (c) the visit of an English poet to a Tamil film studio

Question. By ‘thrills and travails’ the author refers to
(a) joy and happiness
(b) interest and aspiration
(c) excitement and pain
(d) shocks and surprises
Answer: (c) excitement and pain

Short Answer Type Questions

Question. Through the mention of Robert Clive’s activities, how does the narrator bring out the spectacle of those in power?
Answer: The make-up department of Gemini Studios was in a building that was believed to have been Robert Clive’s stable. So, the place which was good to become a make-up room in a film studio had been misused by the Britishers. Further, the fact that Robert Clive used to own several buildings indicates how those in power live a life of extravagant luxury.

Question. Describe the make-up room of the Gemini Studios as described by the author.
Answer: The make-up room of the Gemini Studios looked like a hair cutting salon with incandescent lights. The lights, placed at all angles around half a dozen mirrors, made the room very hot.

Question. ‘A strict hierarchy was maintained in the make-up department.’ Explain.
Answer: Strict hierarchy was maintained in the make-up department so that each make-up man was allotted his task according to his designation. The chief make-up man attended the chief actors and actresses, his senior assistant attended the second hero and heroine, the junior assistant attended the main comedian and the office boy in the department did the make-up of the actors who played the crowd.

Question. What advantage did the office boy think Subbu had?
Answer: The office boy thought that Subbu was in no way superior to him in talent or education. It was due to Subbu’s birth in a Brahmin family that he had got a lead over him and helped him get better openings, opportunities and exposure. Thus, he had an advantage over the office boy.

Question. Subbu was charitable and improvident, yet he had enemies. Why?
Answer: Subbu’s good qualities were overlooked as his desire to please the Boss who was, the key to his success. This made him seem like a sycophant. His non-critical attitude was misconstrued as cleverness. So, he had enemies such as the office boy, all of whom blamed him for their failure in life.

Question. What made the lawyer lose his job? What was funny about it?
Answer: The closing down of the Story Department by the Boss made the lawyer lose his job. The writer found this situation funny because he thought that this was perhaps the only instance in all human history where a lawyer lost his job because the poets were asked to go home.

Question. What was the opinion of the khadi clad poets of Gemini Studios about Communism?
Answer: The khadi clad poets of Gemini Studios were against Communism as that was the prevailing political notion in South India. A Communist to them was a Godless man, had no filial or conjugal love, could unhesitatingly kill his parents or children and was always out to cause and spread violence and unrest.

Question. Why do you think Stephen Spender visited Gemini Studios?
Answer: Stephen Spender was an anti-Communist, similar to the people at Gemini Studios. He had been invited by the Boss to talk about his journey into Communism and his return after being disillusioned with Communism.

Question. What role did the canteen play at the Gemini Studios?
Answer: The canteen at the Gemini Studios played the role of giving leisure and entertainment to the employees as it supplied good coffee at all times of the day and for most part of the night. As Prohibition had been imposed by the government in Madras, meeting over a cup of coffee was rather a satisfying entertainment.

Question. The boss did not know anything about Stephen Spender yet invited him to speak at Gemini Studios. How will you characterise the Boss in this regard?
Answer: The fact that the boss did not know anything about Stephen Spender yet invited him to speak at Gemini Studios tells us that he was a vain man. He like erudite and scholarly people and so, supported them without knowing anything about them.

Question. The Boss of Gemini Studios had nothing to do with Spender’s poetry but not with his ‘God that failed’. Bring out the significance of this line.
Answer: This line is significant as the Boss had only invited Stephen Spender to Gemini Studios because he was a contributing author to the book ‘The God that failed’ which presented the failures of Communism. He himself did not have any knowledge of Spender’s background and so spoke about Spender only in general terms while introducing him to the employees of the Studios.

Question. What kind of effect does Asokamitran’s style of writing have on the reader? 
Answer: Asokamitran satirical style of writing has an underlying tone of humour which highlights the human foibles. The description of the events and the people at the Gemini Studio makes the reader identify the common foibles in people present not just in the story but also in real life.

Question. Discuss the significance of the make-up room in the chapter, ‘Poets and Pancakes’. 
Answer: The make-up room of the Gemini Studio is the central crux of the story. It is the setting which takes us towards the superficiality of the people in life and of the people in the studio. The people in the make-up studio only accept what is popular much like people in reality who accept popular things blindly.

Question. “In all instances of frustration, you will always find the anger directed towards a single person openly or covertly...”. Do you think it is right to direct our anger towards someone who is not responsible for the cause of anger? Justify. 
Answer: No, I feel that it is not justified to direct our anger towards someone who is not responsible for the cause of anger. It shows that the person who does so needs someone to blame for his/her failures. Such a individual comes out as vain and undetermined.

Question. The narrative presents how literature and cinema are deeply connected. Substantiate.
Answer: It is true to say that the narrative of Poets and Pancakes presents how literature and cinema are deeply connected. The title of the story itself, highlights this connection as poets are associated with literature and Pancake is the name of the make-up used in Gemini Studios. Further, many people working in the studios like the office boy, Subbu, the Boss and the narrator himself write prose or poetry. Moreover, the Boss is an editor of a popular Tamil weekly Ananda Vikatan. So, the cafe of his studio was a leisure place of many poets and the boss invites Stephen Spender for a speech.

Question. In the story ‘Poets and Pancakes’, why does the narrator say that film-making was very easy with a man like Subbu around? Answer in 20-30 words.
Answer: The narrator says that film-making was very easy with Subbu around because he was very creative and could come up with ideas in an instant. If the producer was not very happy with the original idea, Subbu would come up with many other suggestions for shooting the scene.

Question. “...prose writing is not and cannot be the true pursuit of a genius. It is for the patient, persistent, persevering drudge with a heart so shrunken that nothing can break it...” Elucidate. 
Answer: The given statement challenges the traditional romanticised view of prose writing as a genre of genius writers. It presents a realistic picture of prose writing to be an art of patience and perseverance and not merely talent. By using phrases such as ‘shrunken heart’, there is an emphasis on the hardships and rejections faced by prose writers. Excellence in prose writing can be achieved only through discipline and consistent efforts. Prose writing is a challenging field which requires immense patience.

Question. The narrator of ‘Poets and Pancakes’ writes the following line while describing the make-up department. (Even the make-up department of the Gemini Studio had an ‘office boy’!) What does the exclamation mark indicate? What can you infer about the narrator’s attitude towards make-up through this line? Answer in 40-50 words. 
Answer: The exclamation mark in the line indicates that the narrator was surprised to learn that the department had an office boy. I think this shows that the narrator looked down upon make-up and did not think it was as important as the other departments in cinema.

Long Answer Type Questions

Question. The ‘office boy’ in the Gemini Studios attributes his inability to rise up the ladder in work to Subbu and the strict hierarchy followed in the film company of SS Vasan. However strict the hierarchy, our ‘Action should speak more than words’. Hard work, honesty and sincerity of purpose should be the mantra to success. Justify. 
Answer: It is agreed that there is no shortcut to success. Only hard work, honesty and sincerity of purpose should be the key to success. However, instead of blaming others for our misfortunes, as the office boy was doing, we should face challenges head on. We should try to find solutions to our problems instead of evading them or brooding over our failures. In the story ‘Poets and Pancakes’, the office boy was not ready to accept his flaws or find out how to overcome hurdles in his path to success. He should have had passion for his job, whatever it may be. Work should be worship and we should not to be deterred by division of labour. Instead, we must have the tenacity and determination to prove oneself, just as Subbu has achieved over the years. He has developed the qualities required for success due to which he has risen to the position of No. 2 at Gemini Studios, over the years.

Question. There was a great deal of National Integration in the Gemini studios with the make-up department being headed by people from all parts of India in succession. The need of the hour in India is an idealistic situation where people are more tolerant towards each other to realise the dreams our founding fathers had dreamt of at the time of Independence. What role could the Youth of India play in this regard? 
Answer: The Youth of India can play an important role in this regard. For this, they need to become secular in spirit and more tolerant towards people pursuing other religions or faiths. They should be more spiritual than religious meaning that they should just not blindly follow the rituals of the religion they profess but also understand the principles underlying the rituals. If the Youth of India work together in social causes by rising above the pettiness of their minds, they can succeed in building the nation that our founding fathers had dreamt of at the time of Independence. All the Youth must be literate so as to become more tolerant and understanding. They can promote the values of compassion and love through street plays, music and dance (fine arts). For this, schools should promote national integration and patriotism in developing life skills. Then only will we produce the India that is personified by the make-up department at Gemini Studios whose successive heads were from all parts of the country.

Question. Identify any three literary devices used by the author in the line below from ‘Poets and Pancakes’ and analyse the effect each technique has on the reader. Answer in 120-150 words.
“This gang of nationally integrated make-up men could turn any decent-looking person into a hideous crimson hued monster with the help of truck-loads of pancake and a number of other locally made potions and lotions.” 
Answer: In the given line from the text ‘Poets and Pancakes’, the author is referring to the make-up department of the studio. The use of the ‘crimson hued monster’ to refer to the actors with the makeup is an example of an imagery and a hyperbole. The use of imagery helps the reader imagine how the actors would be looking while the hyperbole, adds humour and helps the author convey how ridiculous the situation was. Another writing technique used in the given line is rhyming words which can be seen in the words ‘potions and lotions’. This gives a certain rhythm to the lines while making the process of reading fun for the reader. The author also hyphenates some words in the lines (such as ‘decent-looking’), rather than using a phrase (such as ‘a person who looked decent’). This helps the author convey more information using fewer words. For a reader, this makes it easier to read through the information as it is concise.

Question. Contrast the character of Subbu and the lawyer from the story ‘Poets and Pancakes’ with any three points of differences. Do you think the qualities of both the characters are equally important on a movie set? Justify your opinion in 120-150 words. 
Answer: Subbu and the lawyer from the chapter ‘Poets and Pancakes’ are very different individuals. Subbu is depicted as a spontaneous and creative individual, always generating new ideas, while the lawyer is characterised by his logical thinking. Subbu is also social and generous, frequently hosting guests at his home, contrasting with the lawyer’s cold demeanour and tendency to be seen alone. Furthermore, Subbu is passionate and likely a follower of Gandhi, whereas the lawyer maintains a neutral stance. Both characters’ qualities are crucial: Subbu’s creativity addresses the artistic needs, while the lawyer’s logical and objective approach ensures the movie runs smoothly without legal issues. This balance between creativity and objectivity is essential for the successful production of the film.