Unit 2.5 Father Returning Home Dilip Chitre
My father travels on the late evening train
Standing among silent commuters in the yellow light
Suburbs slide past his unseeing eyes
His shirt and pants are soggy and his black raincoat
Stained with mud and his bag stuffed with books
Is falling apart. His eyes dimmed by age
Fade homeward through the humid monsoon night.
Now I can see him getting off the train
Like a word dropped from a long sentence.
He hurries across the length of the grey platform,
Crosses the railway line, enters the lane,
His chappals are sticky with mud, but he hurries onward.
Home again, I see him drinking weak tea,
Eating a stale chapatti, reading a book.
He goes into the toilet to contemplate
Man’s estrangement from a man-made world.
Coming out he trembles at the sink,
The cold water running over his brown hands,
A few droplets cling to the greying hair on his wrists.
His sullen children have often refused to share
Jokes and secrets with him.
He will now go to sleep
Listening to the static on the radio,dreaming
Of his ancestors and grandchildren, thinking
Of nomads entering a subcontinent through a narrow pass.
- Dilip Chitre.
Commuters = those who travel regularly to and fro.
Contemplate = think deeply
Estrangement= alienation
Sullen = bad tempered
PARAPHRASE OF THE POEM
Stanza one:
The first stanza of the poem,” Father returning from home” describes the train journey of his father while returning home one evening. Father stands among all commuters in the yellow light of a local compartment. The poet describes his father’s reaction against the sights of the suburbs that pass by. His father remains unmoved by the sights because they are too familiar to him .That is quite normal, isn’t it? We hardly pay attention to those places where we travel every day unless the place has something interesting to offer. Same was with the poet’s father.
The poet then describes his father’s pathetic condition, as he travels the rainy season. His clothes become damp and dirty. The black raincoat that he wears becomes stained with mud. His bag crumbles with the heavy load of the books. Due to the old age, the poet’s father’s eyesight has become poor and therefore he finds it difficult to move about in the dark.
The poet says that he can see his father getting down the train “like a word dropped from a long sentence” the sentence is highly unique and it provides an evocative image of an old man who gets down from the train as if he is no longer relevant to it.The post then sees his father hurrying through the long, grey platform. The man seems to be “as old as the platform “ who has been using it as a part of his routine. He crosses the railway track and hurries home through muddy lanes on a rainy day. This is indicated by his chappals which are sticky with mud. This stanza portrays the monotonousness of the old man, who sustains the vagaries of weather as well as the estrangement from the man-made.
Stanza two:
In The second stanza, the poet represents the alienation of his father that he experiences in his own dwelling. The poet tells us that his father drinks a weak tea and eats a stale chapatti when he comes back home. This shows that even his basic requirements are not properly carried out by his family. A sense of pity for the poet’s father arises in us.
The father is then seen going into a contemplative mood after reading some kind of a philosophical book. He goes to the toilet and contemplates over man’s alienation from the man-made world. This exhibits that the man is visibly upset with his predicament. He is terribly shaken when he comes out of the toilet and trembles while he washes his hands at the wash basin. It seems that he trembled not only because of the cold water but also due to the thoughts that came into his mind while he was thinking in the toilet.
Father find himself all alone in his room as he is written off by his children. The children do not interact with their father; they do not share their joys or sorrows with him. To compensate their company, father listens to the radio. Then he goes to sleep. In his sleep, he dreams about his ancestors and grandchildren.
It seems that he is trying to communicate with his ancestors who had entered the subcontinent through the Khyber Pass in the Himalayas in the past. The dream mirrors that the old man is either thinking about his past (his ancestors) or his future (his grandchildren).It is a kind of relief to him from his mundane routine, devoid of any human contact.
Extract No. 01
Page 116
(Lines, “My father…………
hurries onward”)
A1. Choose : (02)
Choose the correct alternatives and complete the sentences.
a) The season mentioned in the stanza is …………………………………..
1. Winter 2. summer
3. Monsoon 4. None of the above.
b) Father’s eye sight becomes very weak due to ……………………………………..
1. He doesn’t wear specs 2. Age
3. due to injury
4. due to crowd.
c) Father crosses the railway line because ……………………………………………..
1. He is so eager to meet his family members that even he doesn’t bother about his safety
2. He wants to go to meet his friend.
3. He does not follow rules and regulations
4. He wants to avoid people.
d) Father in this poem loves reading. The sentence which proves this fact is …………….
1. His shirt and pants are soggy.
2. His black raincoat
3. His chappals are sticky with mud
4. His bag stuffed with books.
A2. Find out : (02)
Find out the expressions that proves the fact that the season mentioned in the extract is Monsoon.
a) His shirt and pants are soggy.
b) His black raincoat.
c) His chappals are sticky with mud
d)stained with mud
e) through the humid monsoon night.
A2: Describe : (02)
Describe the “father” pictured by the poet with the help of the following points
a) Transportation
b) Pathetic condition
a)Transportation : Father mentioned in this poem travels regularly by train. The train is overcrowded as he has no place to sit. He is standing among all the commuters. He takes the risk by crossing railway tracks to reach his home.
b) Pathetic condition : father mentioned in the extract is living a pathetic life. “His shirt and pants are completely wet. His raincoat is stained with mud. His eyesight is very weak due to his old age. His chappals are sticky with mud still he is using the same.
A2. Find out : (02)
Find out the expressions that shows the plight/condition of the “Father” mentioned in the extract.
a) Standing among silent commuters in the yellow light.
b) Suburbs slide past his unseeing eyes.
c) His shirt and pants are soggy.
d) His black raincoat is stained with mud.
e) His eyes dimmed by age.
f) His chappals are sticky with mud, but he hurries onward.
A3. Personal Response (02)
"Old people are burden to society"Share your views with suitable examples in Fifty words.
A3. Personal Response: (02)
There should be law/legal provision to look after elderly people/senior citizens/parents.share your views in Fifty words.
A3. Personal Response: (02)
"Parents must be looked after by their children".
Justify your answer with suitable examples in Fifty words.
A3. Personal Response: (02)
"Grey population is the biggest concern".write down the measures Govt.should take for the welfare of senior citizens in Fifty words.
A4. Poetic Devices : (02)
Name and explain the figure of speech used in the line,
“Standing among silent commuters in the yellow light suburbs slide past his unseeing eyes.”
The figure of speech used in the above line is an example of ALLITERATION because the initial sound “s” is repeated in a pleasant manner.
A4. Poetic Devices : (02)
“Fade homeward through the humid monsoon night “identify the figure of speech used here.
The figure of speech used here is an example of Transferred Epithet because the epithet or adjective “humid “is for weather and not for night. It is the weather which is humid not the night.
A4. Poetic Devices : (02)
“Now I can see him getting off the train Like a word dropped from a long sentence’T
The figure of speech used in the above line is an example of Simile because there is a direct comparison between father getting down the train with word dropping down from his mouth. It is a direct comparison made with the word “like”
A5. Poetic creativity : (02)
Compose four lines of your own on the theme,” My father”.
A5. Poetic Creativity : (02)
My father travels on the late evening train.—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— His shirt and pants are soggy and his black raincoat.
Compose two lines of your own to make a meaningful composition.
Extract No. 02
Page No. 116/117
(Lines, “Home again…………..narrow pass.”)
A1. True or false : (02)
State whether the following statements are true or false.
a) Father lives a very luxurious life. (F)
b) Father thinks deeply about man’s alienation from this world. (T)
c) His children refused to share jokes and secrets with him. (T)
d) The children in this extract are well behaved. (F)
A1. Complete : (02)
Complete the following activity by using suitable words given in the bracket.
( weak, stale, sullen, estrangement)
a) Father’s deep thinking is about man ‘estrangement.
b) Father’s food is stale.
c) Father’s tea weak.
d) Children refused to share jokes and secrets with him because they are sullen.
A2. Find out : (02)
Find out the lines to prove the following facts.
a) Father is deprived of good food …………………………………………………
Eating a stale chapati and drinking weak tea.
b) Children did not have a healthy relation with father .............................................His sullen children have often refused to share jokes and secrets with him.
A3. Personal Response: (02)
Children should look after their aged parents as they {parents} looked after them(children) in their childhood.Share your views in about Fifty words.
A3. Personal Response : (02)
Those who are young today, will grow old, Do you think this thought will be useful for youngsters while living with old parents. Share your views on this in about Fifty words.
A3. Personal Response: (02)
“Elderly people should be sent to old age homes.” Share your views on this in about Fifty words.
A4. Poetic Devices : (02)
“Man’s estrangement from a man-made world’
Name and explain the figure of speech used in the above line.
The figure of speech used here is an example of ALLITERATION because the initial sound ,”M” is repeated.
A4. Poetic Devices : (02)
“I see him drinking weak tea, eating a stale chappati’
Name and explain the figure of speech used in the above line.
The figure of speech used in the above line is an example of SYNCHDOCHE
(part-whole)
Here ‘stale chappati’ stands for,” stale food/non- nourishing’ food or diet. The part symbolises the whole (food)
A5. Poetic creativity : (02)
Home again, I see him drinking weak tea
——————————————————————— —————————————————————————---------------------------------------
A5. Man’s estrangement from a man –made world.
Compose lines 2/3 of your own on this theme.
A5. Poetic creativity : (02)
His sullen children have often refused to share jokes and secrets with him. He will now go to Sleep.
Remove the underlined words and use another to create a meaningful expression.
A5. Poetic creativity : (02)
Compose four lines of your own on the Theme, ‘Old women”
Activities prepared by
TUSHAR J BAGWE
K J SOMAIYA COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND COMMERCE VIDYAVIHAR EAST MUMBAI 77
Mobile : 9820928141
E Mail ID:
tushar@somaiya.edu
