NCERT Solutions for Poets and Pancakes Class 12 Flamingo
Book Solutions1
Notice these words and expressions in the text. Infer their meaning from the context.
blew over:
was struck dumb:
catapulted into:
a coat of mail:
played into their hands:
the favourite haunt:
heard a bell ringing:
Answer
blew over: give a long, angry speech of criticism or accusation
was struck dumb: render speechless, as by surprise or shock
catapulted into: to shoot forth or launch
a coat of mail: an armoured coat made of chain mail, interlinked rings, or overlapping metal plates
played into their hands: to act or behave so as to give an advantage to (an opponent).
the favourite haunt: a frequently visited place
heard a bell ringing: stirring an often indistinct memory
1
What does the writer mean by ‘the fiery misery’ of those subjected to make-up’?
Answer
The heat produced by the lights in the make-up room brought about a lot of discomfort to the actors in the make-up room. Hence the writer refers to this pain and trouble as ‘fiery misery’.2
Answer
The make-up division of the Gemini Studios was an example of national integration. According to the author, this is so because people from different regions and religious groups worked together in the same department. The department was headed by a Bengali who was succeeded by a Maharashtrian. The other helpers included a Dharwar Kannadiga, an Andhra, a Madras Indian Christian, an Anglo-Burmese and the local Tamils.3
Answer
The office boy applies make-up on the players who played the crowd. On the days of crowd shooting, he would mix his paint in a big vessel and apply it quickly and noisily on the faces of the players. He had joined the studios with the hope of becoming a star actor or a screen writer, director or lyrics writer. He was disappointed because he failed and remained only a ‘boy’.4
Answer
The author's duty was to cut out newspaper clippings on a wide variety of subjects and store them in files. Many of these had to be written out in hand. The onlookers noticed him merely tearing up newspapers. Hence to them he seemed to be doing next to nothing.5
Answer
The office boy was frustrated because despite getting a good opening, he remained only an office boy. He had had a good formal education and would write poetry also. But his great literary talent was being allowed to go waste. He showed his anger on Kothamangalam Subbu, the No. 2 at Gemini Studios.6
Answer
Mr. S.S Vasan, the founder of the Gemini Studios, was Subbu’s principal.7
Answer
Four Special abilities of Subbu:
i) Subbu had the ability to look cheerful at all times.
(ii) His sense of loyalty made him turn his entire creativity to his principal's advantage: Film-making was quite easy with Subbu around
(iii) He was literary inclined too-a poet and novelist. He was an amazing actor.
(iv) He had a charitable and loving nature.
8
Answer
The lawyer was in the Story Department. He was officially known as the legal adviser. However, his actions did nobody any good. He had unwittingly brought to an end the career of a promising young actress. Hence he was referred to as the opposite by others.9
Answer
The lawyer’s dress that he wore made him stand out from the others. He wore a pant, a tie and sometimes a coat also. Others put on a khadi dhoti with a slightly oversized and clumsily tailored white khadi shirt, which looked like everyone’s uniform.
10
Answer
Most of the people at Gemini Studios were followers of Gandhiji and wore khadi. Beyond khadi and wearing of khadi they did not have any particular political affiliations. However, they were all against communism.
11
Answer
The Moral Rearmament Army was a kind of counter movement to international communism.
The Big Bosses of Madras like Mr. Vasan simply played into their hands. So the Moral Rearmament Army was welcomed at the Gemini Studios.
12
Answer
The plays staged by the MRA greatly influenced Madras and Tamil drama community. For some years almost all Tamil plays had a scene of sunrise and sunset in the manner of ‘Jotham Valley’ with a bare stage, a white background curtain and a tune played on the flute.
13
Answer
Mr. S.S Vasan was the Boss of Gemini Studios.14
Answer
Most of the 600 odd people at Gemini Studios were Tamil speakers. The Englishman was addressing them in his own language-English. He had a peculiar accent. Hence, there was a lack of communication between the Englishman and the people at who could not follow what he was saying.15
Answer
The Englishman’s visit to the Gemini Studios is referred to as an unexplained mystery because no one could decipher his identity, whether he was a poet or an editor. Besides, when he spoke no one at the studio understood what he intended to say as his accent was beyond their comprehension.
16
Answer
The English visitor to the Gemini Studios was Stephen Spender. He was the editor of The Encounter, a British Periodical, and a famous English poet, essayist and novelist of the twentieth century.17
Answer
Before investing money in participating in a short story contest organised by an English periodical The Encounter, the author did a research on the magazine. He went to the British Council Library where, while going through an issue of that periodical, he discovered that its editor was Stephen Spender, the poet that had once visited the studio.18
Answer
'The God That Failed' was a compilation of six essays written by six eminent writers, namely, Andre Gide, Richard Wright, Ignazio Silone, Arthur Koestler, Louis Fischer and Stephen Spender. In each of the essays, the respective writers described “their journeys into Communism and their disillusioned return”.1
The author has used gentle humour to point out human foibles. Pick out instances of this to show how this serves to make the piece interesting.
Answer
2
Answer
Kothamangalam Subbu succeeded in securing the place closest to The Boss by means of flattery. He was not brilliant but a rather cheerful person and exceedingly loyal to The Boss. He offered solutions whenever The Boss was in a fix. Thus, the other employees considered him No.2 in Gemini Studios.3
Answer
The English poet was addressing the Tamil audience at Gemini Studios in English with a typical provincial accent. He was talking about the thrills and travails of an English poet to a dazed and silent audience. This was the incongruity because his audience could not understand him at all.4
Answer
The writer was a prose-writer. He wanted to send a short story for the short story contest organised by a British periodical by the name 'The Encounter'.