The Best Investment I Ever Made(paragraphs 3 to 7)

 

Click on the words to know the meanings

voyager

obviously

intrigue

steward

suburb

breathlessly

awkwardness

Read the passage given below and answer the following questions.

3) On the following forenoon, I again observed my fellow voyager watching me earnestly from his deck chair. Now a lady was with him, obviously his wife. The situation by this time had begun to intrigue me. I discovered from my steward that they were Mr and Mrs John S_ from a small suburb of London. When another day passed without event, I began to feel certain that Mr S_ would remain too shy to carry out his obvious desire to approach me. However, on our final evening at sea Mrs S_ decided the matter. With a firm pressure on his hand and a whispered word in his ear, she urged her husband towards me as I passed along the deck.

‘Excuse me, Doctor, I wonder if I might introduce myself.’ He spoke almost breathlessly, offering me the visiting card he held in his hand and studying my face to see if the name meant anything to me. Then, as it plainly did not, he went on with the same awkwardness. ‘If you could spare a few minutes... my wife and I would like to have a word with you.’

1)"The situation by this time had begun to intrigue me".Why did A J Cronin say so?

2)why  was MR S_  not ready to approach A J Cronin at first?

3)Pick out the word from the passage that means"to make a person very interested to know about something". 

haltingly

settlement house

maladjusted

delinquent

genuine

disarming

instinctively

solicitor

derelict

adolescent

redemption

5 A moment later I was occupying the vacant chair beside them. Haltingly he told me that this had been

their first visit to America. It was not entirely a holiday trip. They had been making a tour of the New England states, inspecting many of the summer recreational camps for young people there. Afterwards, they had visited settlement houses in New York and other cities to study the methods employed in dealing with cases of backward, maladjusted and delinquent youth.

There was in his voice and manner, indeed in his whole personality, a genuine enthusiasm that was disarming  I found myself liking him instinctively.Questioning him further, I learnt that he and his wife had been active for the past 15 years in the field of youth welfare. He was by profession, a solicitor but in addition to his practice at the courts, found time to act as director of a charitable organisation devoted to the care of boys and girls, mostly from city slums, who had fallen under the ban of the law.As he spoke with real feeling, I got a vivid picture of the work these two people were doing. I learned how they took derelict adolescents from the juvenile courts and, placing them in a healthy environment, healed them in mind and body and sent them back into the world. They were given training in a useful handicraft which made them fit to take their place as worthy members of the community. It was a work of redemption that stirred the heart, and I asked what had directed his life into this channel.

1)What was the purpose of their visit to America?

2)“I found liking him instinctively.” Why?

3)How did the couple help derelict adolescents to lead normal lives?

Prepare a newspaper report about Mr and Mrs John and the work they are doing.

SELFLESS SERVICE

New York: The world of selfishness is bowing before Mr and Mrs John, a couple who have chosen to live for others. They have been offering selfless service for 15 years in the field of youth welfare.Mr John is devoted to the welfare of boys and girls from the slums. They not only rescue them but also give training in handicraft ,rehabilitate them and bring them back to life. They visit settlement houses to study the methods to deal with backward maladjusted youth. Hearing about this noble work many eminent persons have offered their support to the mission.

The Best Investment I Ever Made(paragraphs 1 &2)

 

Click on the words to know meanings.

promenade

gaze

tedium

casual

importunate

diffidence

recede

disposition

Read the passage given below and answer the following questions.

1 On the second day, out from New York, while

making the round of the promenade deck, I

suddenly became aware that one of the passengers

was watching me closely, following me with his gaze

every time I passed. I wanted to rest, to avoid the

tedium of casual and importunate ship-board

contacts. I gave no sign of having noticed the man.

2 Yet there was nothing importunate about him. On

the contrary, he seemed affected by a troubled,

rather touching diffidence. He was in his early 40s,

rather short in build, with a fair complexion and

clear blue eyes. His thin hair had begun to recede

from his forehead. His dark suit, sober tie and

rimless spectacles gave evidence of a serious and

reserved disposition. At this point the bugle

sounded for dinner, and I went below.

1) What was A J Cronin aware of on the second day?

2)Why did not he give any sign of having noticed the man?

3)How old was the stranger?

4)How does Cronin describe the general appearance of the stranger?

5)What are the words which the author uses to describe the hair, eyes and

complexion of Mr John?

5)why did Cronin go below?

6) pick out the word from the passage that means"lack of confidence'.

Do the activity 3 in page number 82 

Blowin’ in the Wind

 

Watch the Video about freedom

Click here to Watch Video  https://youtu.be/XrlFwvVwSBg

How many roads must a man walk down

Before you call him a man?

How many seas must a white dove sail

Before she sleeps in the sand?

Yes, and how many times must the cannon balls fly

Before they're forever banned?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind

The answer is blowin' in the wind.

Yes, and how many years can a mountain exist

Before it is washed to the sea?

Yes, and how many years can some people exist

Before they're allowed to be free?

Yes, and how many times can a man turn his head

And pretend that he just doesn't see?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind

The answer is blowin' in the wind.

Yes, and how many times must a man look up

Before he can see the sky?

Yes, and how many ears must one man have

Before he can hear people cry?

Yes, and how many deaths will it take till he knows

That too many people have died?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind

The answer is blowin' in the wind.

 Watch  the Video  Blowin’ in the Wind

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ad5Kh-Ei1tQ

Watch  the Video to know  about images used in poems

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SloIqsIVlDM

Appreciation of the poem. 

Bob Dylan’s song Blowin’ in the Wind’ is considered as an anthem of the civil rights movement in America. It is a song of protest, self-expression, and reality.Each stanza poses three rhetorical questions and the concluding two lines of each stanza bear the title as a refrain. The refrain is the solution Man can find himself. The wind is an important symbol with respect to the over all idea of the poem.

The speaker in the song asks when humanity will recognise humanitarian concepts and when nations will think it is time to put an end to war. The road represents long journey to freedom. The White dove stands for peace while the cannonball symbolizes war. The speaker expresses the hope that no one can suppress the oppressed people for a long time. Dylan uses the symbol of mountain to describe the mighty power of the rulers. But he hopes that the struggles of oppressed people will wash away the rulers. He warns that no one can turn his head or ear away from the plights and fights of the poor. No one can ignore the deaths of innocent people.

The song is embellished with visual images like ‘man walk down’,’white dove sail’ and ‘mountain exist’.Road and sky are the apt metaphors used by the writer to create the recurring effect of the theme ,life and freedom. The brilliant use of alliteration is exemplified in the lines ‘Many roads must a man’, ‘sleeps in the sand’ and ‘many years can a mountain’ . This song touches our heart deeply and ignites the brain with the harsh realities of life.

My Sister’s Shoes

 

 

 

 

 

                              page-no.54--film-terminology_videos.mp4

 

My Sister’s Shoes

(From Children of Heaven (Bacheha-ye Aseman), directed by Majid Majidi)

Scene 1
Cobbler's Shop

Close up of a cobbler stitching a girls' shoe. Only the pink shoe and the cobbler's hands are in the frame. The camera moves back to middle distance to show Ali sitting on a low chair next to the cobbler and watching him work. The cobbler finishes stitching the shoe, picks up the other one of the pair and hands them both to Ali.

 Cobbler :That'll be thirty Toumans
Ali: Thank you (gives money to the cobbler).
Cobbler: Here is your change (picks up coins from the money box to give to Ali).

 Cut to the street outside

 Seen from across the street. The cobbler’s shop where Ali and the cobbler are sitting can be seen. To the right of the cobbler's shop is a door with a curtain hanging on it which appears to open into a row house. Ali is leaving the shop.

 Ali's voice: Thank you.

 The cobbler's  voice: You are welcome. Goodbye.

 A man with a parcel under his arm walks up to the curtained door, lifts the curtain and goes in, as Ali comes out of the cobbler's shop, putting the shoes into a small black bag in his hand, walks down the street and moves out of the frame on the left.

 

                                        Scene 1

 

Scene 2
Bakery

Inside the bakery, shots of bread being baked- Close up of a hand putting into the stove kneaded flour spread on a baking board and taking out the baked nan. The camera pans slightly to the right to show Ali picking up the nan dropped by the cook and stacking them on a cloth spread on a wooden plank. The camera moves back to show Ali and three cooks sitting around the stove, kneading, and putting it inside the stove. Ali finishes stacking the nan and ties up the cloth into a bundle.

                                            Scene2                                                           

Scene 3
The  Footpath Outside the Bakery

A small group of men are waiting in a queue outside the bakery to buy nan. The outline of buildings in the street is seen in the distance. Ali is seen coming out from the bakery into the footpath, the parcel of nan in his right hand and the parcel of shoes in his left. He crosses the pavement and walks into a vegetable store. He places the bundle of nan on top of a pile of boxes of vegetables stacked in front of the shop and the bag of shoes in the small gap between two boxes.

On the soundtrack a hawker's voice is heard: ‘Salt, salt for trade.’ The shopkeeper is seen standing behind the counter.

 Ali (to the shopkeeper): Assalamu Alaikkum, Akbar Aqa I need some potatoes.

 Akbar, the shopkeeper gives Ali a small black bag to put potatoes in. Ali starts picking the large, wholesome potatoes in a box at the top of the heap.

Akbar: Not those, kid. Pick some down there. 

Ali moves to his right, squats down and fills the bag with smaller potatoes from a box on the floor. Close up of Ali picking the potatoes.

 Cut to view of the shop from the pavement.

 A man pushing a handcart filled with junk enters the frame from the right and stops in front of the shop.

 The junk collector (loudly, to the shopkeeper):Assalamu Alaikkkum. With your permission.

The junk collector picks up bundles of used polythene bags lying scattered on the floor near the boxes of vegetables and throws them into the cart. He sees Ali's parcel of shoes. Taking it for junk, he picks it up and puts it in the cart.

The junk collector: Goodbye.

The junk collector leaves.

 Cut to view from inside the shop.

Akbar is on the left edge of the frame counting money.

 Cut to Ali  filling his bag with potatoes.

 Ali finishes filling the bag and hands it to Akbar for weighing. Akbar holds the bag in his hand to feel the weight for a moment and hands it back to Ali.

Akbar: Sixty Five Toumans.

Ali: My mom said to put it on our tab tab.

Akbar: Tell her your account has reached its limit. She should pay at least part of it.

Ali: All right

(Ali turns to go.)

Cut to view from outside the shop.

He goes to the pile of boxes in front of the shop and
picks the bundle of nan and then looks for the bag of
shoes. Unable to find it, he places the bag of nan atop
the vegetable boxes and begins to search underneath.
First he puts his hand and then his head in the gap
between the boxes of vegetables, which upsets them all.The vegetable boxes tumble and vegetables scatter on the ground. On hearing the sound, Akbar comes running from inside the shop and sees the vegetables strewn on the ground.

Akbar: (annoyed) What the hell are you doing? Why did
you spill these? Are you crazy?

Ali: (looking at him with guilt) My sister's shoes have
disappeared.

Akbar: Get lost. Beat it.

Ali: I left my sister's shoes here.

Akbar: I said get lost! (bangs his fist on the pile of boxes.)

Ali runs away, scared.

    Scene 4

 Ali's house

Middle distance shot of Ali and his sister Zahra reading their textbooks kneeling on the mattress. A baby's cry is heard faintly on the soundtrack. The camera closes in on Zahra who is writing in a notebook (mumbling the words
as she writes): ‘Ali, how am I going to school without shoes’. The camera moves back to middle distance. Now both Zahra and Ali are in the frame. Their parents' conversation on the other end of the room is heard on the soundtrack, interspersed with the sound of a hammer banging.

 Mother (offscreen): Go to your company store, tomorrow.We don't have any formula left.

Zahra passes her notebook to Ali.

 Father (offscreen): Don't worry.

Father (offscreen): Rahim Aqa's wife had a slipped disc. Surgery made it worse.

 Alternate close ups of Ali and Zahra listening to their parents' conversation and looking at each other.

Cut to

 Middle distance shot of Mother lying on a bed, towards the left of the frame, leaning back against two propped up pillows. Father is sitting on a chair beyond the bed near the wall, chopping wooden flints with a hammer on a block. Behind him are two ledges on which are seen some vessels and clothes.

 Father: You should learn to live with it.

 Cut to

Close up of Ali reading from the book Zahra has passed on to him.

Mother (offscreen): What do you want me to do? Do nothing all day?

 Ali starts writing in the notebook.

Father (offscreen) : Well, the doctor has forbidden work. 

 Ali writes ‘you can go to school with slippers’ (mumbling the words as he writes) and passes the notebook to Zahra. Close up of the notebook.

 Mother (offscreen): Kokab Khanom's sister had surgery, and she's fine.

 Cut to close up of Zahra taking the notebook and reading what Ali has written in it.

 Father (offscreen): Don't ever think about surgery.  Alternate close ups of Zahra and Ali looking at each other.

 Father (offscreen): I don't want you to become crippled.

 Cut to close up of Zahra writing in the notebook.

 (mumbling as she writes): Ali, you have some nerve. You lost my shoes. I'll tell Dad. Quick close up of Ali looking at Zahra. She passes the notebook to Ali. Close
up of the notebook.

 The conversation of their parents continues on the soundtrack, now less audible, interspersed by the beat of the hammer on the block. Close up of Ali writing in
the notebook.

 Two close ups of Father working on the other end of the room looking at the camera, interspersed with close ups of Ali and Zahra and a middle range shot showing them.

 Ali writes in the notebook and passes it to Zahra.

 Zahra reads what Ali has written in the notebook in a whisper: ‘Zahra, if you tell Dad, he'll beat both of us. Because he doesn't have money to buy you a pair of
shoes’

 Zahra writes 'Then what should I do?' in the notebook and passes it to Ali. Ali writes 'You can wear my sneakers' and passes the notebook back.

Zahra writes 'I'll wear them when you are back from school' .

During the passing of the notebook back and forth, only the notebook in close up and hands are visible in the frame.

 Close up of Zahra writing. The stub of her pencil breaks. Ali puts his pencil on the notebook for her to write. Zahra does not take the pencil. Close up of pencil lying
on the notebook.

My sister‟s shoe depicts four scenes of a family drama of the film "Children of heaven‟ by Majid Majidi. Prepare a review of the screen play.

 

Children of Heaven is a 1997 Iranian family drama film written and directed by Majid Majidi. It deals with a brother and sister and their adventures over a lost pair of shoes. My sister’s shoe is an extract taken from the screen play ‘Children of Heaven'.

The film starts with the close up shot of a cobbler stitching a girls' shoe. From the very beginning of the film, the camera is catching up the life of the people from the lowest strata of the society. Ali is the protagonist of the film. He is a school boy. He receives his sisters' shoe from the cobbler and turns to a bakery . The visuals from the bakery project the unhygienic conditions exist there.

Holding a bundle of Nan and his sisters' shoe ,Ali crosses the street to enter into a vegetable store .He places the bundle of nan on top of a pile of boxes of vegetables stacked in front of the shop and the bag of shoes in the small gap between two boxes.

When Ali picks up some big tomatoes,the shop keeper asks him to pick up smaller ones .At this time through a cut to view of the shop from the pavement, we see a junk collector appears in front of the shop and takes away the sister’s shoe as junk. Ali hands over the tomatoes to the shop keeper but he does not put the tomatoes in the balance. Instead he weighs it by his hand and says the price. The shop keeper responds harshly as Ali requests him to put it on their tab.

Finding that the shoe has been missed,he frantically searches it and the vegetable boxes are tumbled down . The angry shop keeper abuses and frightens the boy. Ali has no other way but to flee from the scene.

In the fourth scene we see Ali and Zahra communicate each other through their notebooks, Zahra want to inform her father that her shoe has been lost. Ali tells her that their father will beat both of them as he has no money to buy a new one. She was fully aware that buying shoes was beyond their means. She agreed to go to school by wearing his sneakers. When Ali and Zahra communicates by passing their note book ,the conversation of their parents and the sound of a hammer banging are played in the sound track.

The pathetic condition of poverty stricken life of the family is portrayed through appropriate sound tracks , marvelous shots and brilliant camera angles.

Read the conversation between Ali and the junk collector and complete it suitably.

Ali : Uncle, you collect junk from the town every day, .........(a).............?

Junk collector: Yes, I do it every day.

Ali : ................(b).........................?

Junk collector: Yes, I collected some things from Akbar’s shop.

Ali : Was there a parcel of shoes in the junk? I lost my sister’s shoes at Akbar’s
shop yesterday.

Junk collector: I can’t say it exactly. I just dumped the entire junk in the company site. 

If I get it, ...............(c)...................... .

Ali : ............(d)......................?

Junk collector: It’s very near.

Ali : Ok, uncle. Thank you. Bye.

Junk collector: Bye.

Answers:

 a) don’t you? b) Did you collect anything from Akbar’s shop? c) I will inform you. /
I will give it back to Akbar. d) Where is your company site?

You have read the screenplay ‘My Sister’s Shoes’. Retell this as a story to one of your friends. Prepare the narrative.

Children of Heaven is a 1997 Iranian family drama film written and directed by Majid Majidi. It deals with a brother and sister and their adventures over a lost pair of shoes. 

Ali and Zahra were living in a very poor family with their parents. Their father was a labourer without much work and money. Their mother was sick and bed-ridden due to a slipped disc. One day Ali took his sister’s shoes to a cobbler to get them repaired. While returning home with them he entered a vegetable shop. He kept the bag of shoes in a small gap between two vegetable boxes. He wanted to buy some vegetable and he started collecting potatoes. Meanwhile a junk-collector came and took some garbage from the shop. Thinking the bag of shoes as junk he took it and went away. When Ali finished buying potatoes he searched for the bag of shoes. But he could find it nowhere there. In his frantic efforts to find them, he tumbled the boxes and vegetables scattered on the ground. Seeing this, the shop
owner Akbar frenzied with anger shouted at Ali to flee from there. In utmost disappointment the boy returned home. . He was afraid that if Zahra told his father about it, he would beat both of them. He suggested Zahra to wear his sneakers to school in the morning and return them to him at midday so that he could attend afternoon classes. She agreed and thus saved both of them from their father's anger.

Assignment

Imagine that you are the convener of the school

English club. The club has decided to conduct a

one day Movie fest in your school. Prepare a

notice to invite everyone to watch the movies.

                                             ABC SCHOOL

                                                Notice

                                            FILM FESTIVAL

 

Dear friends.

The English club of ABC school is organising  a film

festival on Monday, 12th march 2021 from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm

in the school auditorium The films ‘Children of heaven’,’Birds’,

‘The Kid’,’Pather Panchali will be screened. The famous film

director Sri. Shaji N Karun will inaugurate the film festival. 

    All are welcome,

Place                                                                                        sd/

Date                                                                                        The Secretary

                                                                                          English club, ABC School

                                                                Programme

Welcome speech                              :                     School leader         

Presidential address                         :                    Head master

Inaugural address                             :                    Shaji N Karun

Felicitations                                       :                    Staff secretary

                                                          :                      Senior Assistant

Vote of thanks                                     :                Club Secretary

Project Tiger(Memoir) paragraphs 13-16

 

 

 

 

 Click on the highlighted words to know meanings.

       

13 In a village called Notun Gram we found a suitable bamboo grove to film the first meeting between Goopy and Bagha and the appearance of the tiger. Mr Thorat reached the shooting location with the tiger. There were about twenty five people in the location. A few local people took our permission to go with us to watch how we tackled the tiger

14 The cage on the lorry was covered.When the cover was removed we were surprised to see not one, but two well-fed and robust tigers.

I decided to play it safe,' Mr Thorat explained.' If one doesn't get it right, we can use the other.'

15 We mounted the camera on its tripod and placed it so that it faced the bamboo grove. The audience was instructed to get behind the camera and to stand as far back as possible. We had to stay relatively close to the bamboo grove, and Goopy and Bagha too, had to be within yards of the camera, for it was necessary to have at least one shot that showed them together with the tiger.

 16 Mr Thorat's men had fixed a five foot iron rod to the ground, about thirty feet from the area where the tiger was supposed to take a walk. They took a thin, long wire and fixed one end to the collar made of tiger-skin that the tiger was already wearing. The other end was tied firmly to the visible portion of the iron rod. The door of one of the cages was unfastened and Mr Thorat called out to the tiger. It responded almost at once and sprang out of its cage to land on the open space outside. What followed was totally unexpected. One look at Mr Thorat's startled and helpless face told us that he was as taken aback as the rest of us. Instead of walking sedately in a dignified manner, the tiger started  prancing around with tremendous enthusiasm. It leapt, it jumped, it rolled about, dragging its poor trainer who was desperately clutching the wire tied to the tiger's collar in a futile  attempt to bring it under control. We stood around foolishly, watching a new and strange kind of circus which we were getting to see for free! The camera was still standing on its three legs, staring into the wood, but the tiger was showing no sign of making its way there.

Answer the following questions

 1. Why did Ray and team select Notun Gram village for the shooting?
 2. How many people were present in the location totally?
 3. Why were they surprised when the covering of the lorry was removed?
 4. “I decided to play it safe”. What was Mr.Thorat’s safe play?.
 5. Why should the actors and the tiger be close to the bamboo grove and within  yards of the camera
 6. What were the arrangements made by Mr. Thorat’s men before releasing the tiger?
7. How was the tiger expected to behave and how did it actually behave?
8. What did Mr.Thorat’s startled and helpless face reveal?
9. How did Ray comment humorously on all these unexpected and fearful incidents?

 

 

 

17 Once the tiger had calmed down, we managed to take the few shots we  needed. This should have been the end of the story. But, when we returned to Calcutta and looked at the scenes with the tiger, we realised that the camera had failed to work properly. The shots were too dark, so much so that the tiger was merging almost completely with the background of the trees and leaves. We had to shoot the scenes all over again. We spoke to Mr Thorat and he agreed to give it another go. We found another bamboo grove closer to Calcutta in a village called Boral. The lorry arrived once more, with Mr Thorat, the tiger, the steel wire, the special collar and the iron rod. And with the lorry came the whole village. We told the villagers that they should stand at a distance of seventy feet. No one paid any attention to what they were told. The entire crowd moved as close to the camera as they  could. We could not afford  to waste any more time explaining and arguing. So we got the camera ready and signalled to Mr Thorat.

18 He  opened the door of the cage. The instant the door opened with a  clang, our tiger emerged with a loud roar, and charged straight at the villagers gathered behind the camera. The crowd, consisting of about a hundred and fifty people, melted away as if by magic. After that great burst of energy, the tiger calmed down very quickly. Like an obedient child, it walked over to the spot we had chosen, paced about quietly as it was led back to its trainer. required to, and then ambled back to its trainer. Even the camera behaved this time, which we realised two days later, when we returned to Calcutta and saw the scenes we had shot.

 

 

 Answer the following questions

1. What did Ray mean when he said, 'This should have been the end of the story'?

2. Why was Mr Thorat asked to 'give it another go'? 

3. What was the 'magic' performed by the tiger?

4. What was really required of the tiger in that scene?

5." Even the camera behaved this time"what does Ray mean by this statement?

6. What did Ray and his team realise two days later

 

 

 

 

 

 Activity 1

 

Satyajit Ray and his friends had to shoot the scenes involving the tiger, twice at Notun Gram and Boral. Write the events that took place in both the places in a sequential order and then describe the shooting.
Shooting at Notun Gram Shooting at Boral Found a suitable bamboo grove in Notun Gram. Found bamboo grove near Calcutta in Boral. A lorry arrived with two well-fed tigers. The lorry arrived with Thorat, the tiger, the steel wire, the special collar and the iron rod. Arranged the camera and placed it facing the bamboo groove The whole village came to watch the shooting. The audience was instructed to get behind the camera. The villagers were told to keep at 70 feet away from the scene of the shot. The cage of the tiger was opened. Mr.Thorat opened the cage and the tiger charged at the villagers. The tiger sprang out and started prancing around with tremendous enthusiasm The audience melted away as if by magic. The trainer Mr.Thorat was startled and made futile efforts to bring it under control After a while the tiger calmed down and behaved like an obedient child. When the tiger calmed itself some The required shots were taken When checked later, found that the camera failed to work and the shots were too dark. After two days when checked, found this time the camera also worked good and the shots were perfect   Shooting at Notun Gram    Satyajith Ray and his team first found asuitable bamboo grove in Notun Gram. Thetrainer of Bharat Circus Mr.Thorat broughtthere two well-fed tigers in a lorry. Then theyarranged the camera and placed it facing thebamboo grove. Before opening the cage ofthe tiger, the audience were instructed to stayaway. They fixed an iron rod to the groundand tied one end of a thin steel wire to the rodand fixed the other end to the tiger-skin collarwhich the tiger was already wearing around its neck. Mr.Thorat opened the cage and the tiger sprang out and started prancing around with tremendous enthusiasm. They were shocked to see this unexpected behavior of the tiger and even Mr.Thorat was taken aback. He was helpless to bring it under control. After a while the tiger  calmed down and they immediately took a few shots they needed. But when they returned to Calcutta and checked the scenes, they realized that the camera had failed to work and the scenes were too dark. They had to shoot the scenes all over again. Shooting at Boral   They found another bamboo grove near Calcutta in Boral. Once again Mr.Thorat brought the tiger, the iron rod, the steel wire, the tiger-skin collar etc in a lorry.There were more villagers there, and they were instructed to stay behind the camera at least seventy feet away. But nobody was ready to accept the instructions. They had no time to argue with the audience. They made all the arrangements and set the camera ready. Mr.Thorat opened the cage and the tiger fiercely charged at the crowd of about hundred and fifty people gathered there. But all of them melted away as if by magic when the tiger turned to them. In a short while, the tiger behaved gently and walked as they required like an obedient child. They soon shot all the scenes they needed. After two days when they returned to Calcutta, they realized that this time not only the tiger had behaved well but also the camera had worked in a good way. All the shots were in perfect order   Assignment   Prepare Thorat's diary entry on the day in which the shooting was held in Notun Gram.   Prepare Thorat's diary entry on the day in which the shooting was held in Boral.

Project Tiger(Memoir) pargraphs 7-12

 

Click on the highlighted links to watch video 

7 Needless to say, in our own country, it is not at all easy to find trained animals, although some films have been made in Bombay and Madras that involved working with elephants, horses and tigers. Their performance did suggest that they were used to obeying commands. In Bengal, it is sometimes possible to find clever dogs, particularly police dogs which are quite intelligent. If one is prepared to be patient, it is not altogether impossible to get good performances out of them as we managed to do with Bhulo in Pather Panchali.

8 Yet, a dog might be difficult, not impossible to handle. What was one supposed to do if there was need for a tiger in a film? We had to deal with this problem, too, when we were shooting Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne . In the film Goopy who is banished by the king wanders in the forest, meets Bagha who is also been banished  They see a tiger and freeze. But the tiger simply walks about in the forest, without paying them the slightest attention.

Answer the following questions

1) What is required to get good performance out of animals?
2) How did Goopy and Bagha reach in the forest?. 
3)What happens when they see a tiger in the forest?

 Paragraphs 9 to 12(Click on the highlighted word to get the meaning and pronunciation)

 9 Having thought of the scene, I simply had to shoot it.But where were we going to find a tiger? The  obvious thing to do was to look in a circus since they were likely to have trained animals. As a matter of fact, one called Bharat Circus was visiting Calcutta at the time, holding shows in Marcus Square. We sent someone to make an appointment with its Tamil manager and then went to meet him one morning. He greeted us warmly and ordered South Indian coffee for us. The  manager heard the reason for our visit, then sent for one Mr Thorat. He turned out to be the ringmaster. He, too, was a South Indian, very well built, with  features somewhat like those of a Nepali. He was perhaps no more than forty. He  showed us an old scar on his forearm, which had been caused by a tiger.

 10 We told him what we wanted. The shooting was taking place near Shiuri in Birbhoom. We wanted to show a tiger in a thick bamboo grove. All the animal was required to do was come out of the bamboo grove into an open space, pace gently for a while, look at the camera if possible, and then go back. Could a tiger from Bharat Circus do this job? Mr Thorat nodded. 'How long will you need it for?' asked the manager. 'Perhaps a couple of hours for the shooting,' I replied. 'But that would be in addition to the time it'll take to travel to and from Shiuri.' On being told that the travel itself should take no more than two days, the  manager agreed to put the tiger in its cage and send it in a lorry. He invited us to take a look at the tiger.

'Do you think it's going to be easy to set the animal free in the bamboo grove?' I couldn't help asking.
 

11 Mr Thorat frowned  'I'm not sure', he replied. 'I have never let him out of his   cage on his own, so really I don't  know.'

What! Were all our plans going to go down the drain? How could we let the tiger's trainer be seen with the animal? How could Goopy and Bagha be petrified with fear if the supposedly ferocious animal was accompanied by a man? No, we could not allow that to happen.

 

12 Mr. Thorat found a solution. 'I'll tie a wire round the tiger's neck. It will be thin, but strong.' If the wire was thin enough, perhaps it would remain invisible to the camera. But it was likely that the hair on the tiger's neck would be  flattened by the wire, which would give the whole thing away. 'What if we found a collar made of tiger skin, fixed the wire to this collar and then tied it round the tiger's neck?' I said.

 

Answer the following questions

1. How did Ray manage to get a tiger?
2. Who was Thorat and how did he look like?

3. According to Ray, what was the tiger required to do in the shooting? 

4. Why did Ray think that all their plans would go down the drain?

5. What was the solution suggested by Thorat to set the tiger free?

6. Why did Ray suggest a collar made of tiger-skin be used?

 

 

Project Tiger(Memoir) paragraphs 5-6

 5 Every animal in a Hollywood film is well-trained. It is not difficult to train a horse or a dog. But have you ever heard of trained  ravens? Not just one or two, but nearly a hundred of them? Even this was made possible in Hollywood, when the creator of some of the best suspense films in the history of cinema, Alfred Hitchcock, decided to make a film called Birds. In the story, birds from all over the world start attacking humans. Hitchcock needed a variety of birds, but what was required in the largest number was ravens. Notices were placed in the press all over the United States, asking people to contact the filmmaker if they knew how to get hold of trained ravens.

 6 Someone replied within a few days. He was asked to bring his birds, and he arrived with almost a hundred trained ravens. Admittedly, their training had not gone very bad. That is to say, they could not do anything that might be seen as extraordinary. But if as many as fifty ravens are told to perch quietly in a row on a specified spot, and if they obey this command instantly, isn't that pretty impressive?

Answer the fallowing questions.

1.“Even this was made possible in Hollywood”. What was that difficult thing    made possible in Hollywood?  

 2. What do you understand about Alfred Hitchcock from the passage?

3.. What is the main thread of the story of the film “Birds”?

4. How could Hitchcock manage to find out enough trained birds?

 

 

                                    Alfred Hitchcock's film Birds. 

                                 

Assignment

Prepare a notice advertising that Alfred Hitchcock wants a large number of ravens for his film ‘Birds'.

 From http://studentsindiajournalenglish.blogspot.com/2019/06/project-tiger.html

Project Tiger(Memoir) paragraphs1-4

If you are an ardent fan of movies, they must have certainly influenced you in formulating your decisions, thoughts, feelings, views, etc. Films are produced on genres such as action, suspense-thriller, history, romance, mystery, biography, animations and so on. We should know how to watch movies from a critical perspective.Now, answer the following questions to find out more about how you watch movies.
1.How many movies do you watch approximately a month (on DVD, TV or
in a theatre)?
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
2.What are your favourite types of movies? Explain.
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
3.Rank the five best movies you have seen.
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
4.What kind of movies do your parents or guardians like to watch? How
often do you watch movies with them?
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
5.What are the differences between watching a movie at home and
watching it in a theatre?
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
6.What kind of movies do you watch at school?
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

      


1 No one can beat Hollywood when it comes to making films with animals in them. I remember films in my childhood - and there were quite a few of them - that had an Alsatian called Rin-tin-tin. This dog's acting was more impressive than a human's. Later, we got to see three or four other films with a collie called Lassie. It seemed that the director could make Lassie do just about anything. These trained dogs were famous stars in their own rights, and the money they earned was no less than what a real film star got. Their owners could easily make as much as a hundred thousand rupees from just one film.

2 I realised how reverently these animal-actors were treated when I happened to see the shooting of a film twenty years ago in Disney Studio in Hollywood. The main character in this film was a large dog. I reached the studio to find that the shooting had not yet started;the camera man was getting the lights ready. It is customary for actors to be present when the lights are  arranged, for they have to show the cameraman how they'll walk, or where they'll stand, in a particular shot. In the case of very famous stars, this job is done by their stand-ins. A stand-in is usually a person who is physically similar to the real star. The stars themselves arrive only when the lights are ready and it is time to take a shot.

3 Here, in Disney Studio, I noticed that a few actors were moving about in the set, and on one side, standing quietly, was the protagonist - the same large dog. The cameraman shouted to everyone to take their positions but the dog remained where it was. This puzzled me. Could it be that it was not required in the next shot?

4 Before I could ask someone, a strange thing happened. From nowhere appeared a little dwarf, followed by another man carrying a hairy dog-skin. Then, to my perfect amazement, the dwarf went down on all the fours on a chalk mark on the floor, just like an animal, and the dog skin was draped over him. Then he crawled and the dog-skin was draped from one mark to another, and the cameraman got busy with the lights. It finally dawned upon me that this dwarf was paid to be the dog's stand-in!

Answer the following questions

1)How does Hollywood excel others in making films?
2)How does Ray remember Rin-tin-tin?
3)“The trained dogs were famous stars in their own rights.Why does Ray say so?
4)Pick out the word which is opposite in meaning to the word ‘notorious’.
6)What did Ray realise when he saw a film shooting twenty years ago in Disney  studio in Hollywood? 
7) Why is it customary for the actors to be present when the lights are arranged?
8) Who is a stand-in?
9) What puzzled Ray when he was watching the film shooting?
10). What was the strange thing Ray witnessed in the Disney studio?
11) What was the role of the dwarf in the shooting?

Assignment 

 

Prepare a short profile of Satyajit Ray using the hints given below.

Born : May 2 1921, Kolkata 

Known as : Indian film Maker
Famous : Writer producer, Screenwriter, lyricist, composer.
Awards : Academy Honorary Award, Dadasaheb Phalke Award,Bharat Ratna
Education : Viswa Bharati university, Presidency university,
                    Bally gunge Government High School
Died    : April 23 1992, Kolkata

 Satyajit Ray

Satyajit Ray was an Indian filmmaker, screenwriter,lyricist and composer , widely regarded  as one of the greatest filmmakers of the 20th century. He
was born on 2 May 1921 in Kolkata.  Ray won many prestigious awards including Academy Honorary Award and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India’s highest award in the field of cinema.He was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1992. The great Indian legend Ray left this world on 23 April 1992 in Kolkata.

Ray begins his article with the topic sentence, ‘No one can beat Hollywood when it comes to making films with animals in them’. How does Ray substantiate his arguments?(Taken from the study material prepared by englisheduspot.blogspot.com)

Ray substantiates his arguments that no one can beat Hollywood in making films with animals by citing examples from his personal experiences. He remembers certain films in which the main characters were dogs. He says that there was an Alsatian dog named Rin-tin- tin whose acting was more impressive than a human actor’s. He also remembers another collie dog called Lassie. The directors could make Lassie play whatever role in a film. These animal actors were famous stars and had human stand-ins. The money they earned was not less than what a real film star got. In Hollywood what we think impossible has been made
possible - making trained ravens act in films – as in the film ‘Birds’ by Alfred Hitchcock.

 Satyajit Ray saw a dwarf was paid to be a stand in at Disney Studio in Hollywood .He jotted down this incident in his dairy.Prepare the diary entry.

20th June 1978

Monday

It was really a strange experience that I witnessed in Disney studio today morning.The camera man was shouting  to every one to take their position.The protagonist was a large dog.I was really confused when the dog remained where it was.To my perfect amazement,a dwarf went down on all the fours on the floor ,just like an animal and the dog skin was draped over him.Oh my God!A dwarf was paid to be the dog's stand-in! It would  happen in Hollywood only.It is a great fact that animal-actors are treated reverently in Hollywood.

Lines Written in Early Spring

 

I heard a thousand blended notes,
While in a grove I sate reclined,
In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts
Bring sad thoughts to the mind.

Rhyming words     notes - thoughts  reclined- mind

 Rhyme scheme     abab

Visual image         grove

Auditory image   I heard a thousand blended thoughts

 

hyperbole        I heard a thousand blended thoughts

Answer the following questions.

1. Who is the I referred to in the poem?
2. What does the poet mean by the expression ‘a thousand blended notes’?
3. What expression does the poet use to describe the sounds of nature?
4. Where was the poet sitting?
5. What does the expression ‘I sate reclined’ indicate about the poet’s state of mind?
6. Pick out pairs of rhyming words from the given lines and Write the rhyme scheme .
7. Pick out an example of auditory image from the given line.

 

Answers

1. The poet (William Wordsworth) is referred to as I in the poem.
2. The sounds of Nature are indicated through this expression.‘
3. A thousand blended notes’ is the expression used by the poet.
4. The poet was sitting in a grove.
5. It indicates that the poet sits in a relaxed manner.
6. Notes – thoughts, reclined- mind. Rhyme scheme- ab ab.
7. A thousand blended notes.

To her fair works did Nature link
The human soul that through me ran;
And much it grieved my heart to think
What man has made of man.

Rhyming words        link  - think     ran -  man
 

 Rhyme scheme         abab

Alliteration               much    my    

                                 man      made  

Personification          To her fair works did Nature link

 

 

 1. Identify the lines that tell us Nature is linked to the soul of human beings?
2. What makes the poet happy?
3. What worries the poet?
4. What does nature do?
5. Pick out an expression which tells us about the feeling of the poet?
6. ‘And much it grieved my heart to think
What man has made of man.’ What do these lines tell us?
7. Pick out an instance of alliteration from the given lines.

 

 

Answers

1. ‘ To her fair works did Nature link
The human soul that through me ran;
2. ‘The harmony , beauty and love in nature make the poet happy.
3. The cruelties of man towards nature and his fellow beings make the poet sad.
( what man has made of man.)
4. Nature has linked the human soul to her fair works.
5. The expression ‘ And much it grieved my heart to think’ tells us about the
feelings of the poet.
6. Man’s cruelties towards nature and to his fellow beings destroy the harmony of
nature. This thought makes the poet sad.
7. What man has made of man.

 

 

Through primrose tufts, in that green bower, 

 The periwinkle trailed its wreaths;

And 'tis my faith that every flower

Enjoys the air it breathes.

 Rhyming words   bower- flower    wreaths- breathes

Rhyme scheme      abab 

Assonance           The periwinkle trailed its wreaths;

bower

 Visual  images       

 

primrose

The birds around me hopped and played,
Their thoughts I cannot measure:-
But the least motion which they made

It seemed a thrill of pleasure.

 Rhyming words     played - made      sure - pleasure.

 Rhyme scheme       abab       

                                     

  Alliteration           motion which they made  

1. What does the poet say about each flower?
2. Why does the poet feel that the flowers enjoy the air they breathe?
3. Mention the names of some flowers mentioned in these lines.
4. What do the birds do?
5. Pick out the lines which state that even the smallest movement in nature gives the poet happiness?
6. What does ‘the periwinkle trailed its wreaths’ imply?
7. Give an example of personification from these lines.

 

Answers

 1. The poet says that the flowers enjoy the fresh air they breathe.
2. The gentle movement of the flowers, in the breeze makes the poet think so.
3. Periwinkle and primrose are the flowers mentioned here.
4. The birds hop and play around the poet.
5. But the least motion which they made
It seemed a thrill of pleasure.
6. It implies that the petals of the periwinkle blow in the wind.
7. Every flower enjoys the air it breathes, is an example of personification.

The budding twigs spread out their fan,
To catch the breezy air;
And I must think, do all I can,
That there was pleasure there.   

  Rhyming words           fan - can,    air - there

Rhyme scheme          abab 

Visual image              

budding twigs

 Tactile image                breezy air



If this belief from heaven be sent,
If such be Nature's holy plan,
Have I not reason to lament
What man has made of man?

  Rhyming words           sent - lament     plan - man


  Rhyme scheme             abab  


   Alliteration                  belief from heaven be sent,          

 Visual image                 heaven  ,   man

Auditory image              lament
em.

 Appreciation of the poem 

(From the study material prepared  by DIET KOTTAYAM).

 Lines Written in Early Spring’ is a beautiful poem written by William Wordsworth. The poem celebrates the relation between man and nature. The poet becomes happy in the sights and sounds of nature and at the same time laments on what man has made of man.

The poet once sits in a grove in a very calm and relaxed mood. He hears lots of various sounds and songs. The poet rejoices in those things At the same time, some woeful thoughts come into his mind, and he becomes pensive.

He sees the primrose and periwinkle make wreaths in the bower there. He believes that every flower enjoys the air it breathes. The birds around him express their thrill of pleasure by hopping and playing in the grove. He also notices the budding twigs spread out their tender leaves to catch the breezy air. In short, the
poet sees thrilling sights, hears pleasant songs in everything he looks at in the grove, and he experiences the utmost pleasure in the world of nature

But when he thinks of the human world, he becomes sad. What man has done to mankind as well as to nature makes him uneasy and unpleasant. The coexistence in perfect harmony is the holy plan of nature. If the divine plan of nature is pleasurable and peaceful coexistence, he wonders why man has alone moved away from this holy plan.

The poem becomes much appealing because of the simplicity of its theme and beauty of lines and the abundant use of various poetic devices. The poem follows the rhyme scheme abab. The poet uses hyperbole when he says that he heard a thousand blended notes. He addresses Nature as a person and calls it ‘her’. He
makes the flowers breathe the air, and makes the tender leaves of budding twigs catch the breezy air. All these are perfect examples of Personification. A beautiful instance of Alliteration can be seen in the line ‘What man has made of man.’

Visual Images used in the poem add more beauty to it.“ The birds around me hopped and played”, The grove, the green bower, the flowers – primrose and periwinkle ,Budding twigs.....are perfect examples of visual images.
“I heard a thousand blended notes” is an instance of auditory image.

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For more questions and answers from © English Eduspot   (englisheduspot.blogspot.com)prepared by Mahmud K Pukayoor click here