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Father to Son Poem Extract Questions and Answers
(1)
Read the stanza carefully and answer the questions that follow :
I do not understand this child
Though we have lived together now
In the same house for years. I know
Nothing of him, so try to build
Up a relationship from how
He was when small.
Word-Notes
I do not understand the child—the father is unhappy and confused. He confesses frankly that his son has become defiant, and he can’t see any reason for it; so try to build up—the father decides to analyse the reason for the stand-off between him and his son. He is eager to normalise his relationship and make peace with him. The son wasn’t so as a child.
मैं अपने बच्चे की मनोस्थिति समझ नहीं पा रहा हूँ यद्यपि हम दोनों साथ-साथ इसी घर में वर्षों से रह रहे हैं I पर मैं उसके रुझान के बारे में कुछ नहीं जानता I इसलिए मैं अब उस पुराने संबंध को पुनः बनाना चाहता हूँ; मैं उसी स्थिति में पहुँचना चाहता हूँ जैसाकि वह अपनी बाल्यावस्था में था I
Questions
(i) What does the poet bemoan in the above stanza?
(ii) How does the poet plan to renew the old ties with his defiant son?
(iii) Do you think the poet’s problem is exclusively personal or is it universal? Explain.
Ans.
(i) The poet is deeply pained to note the widening gap between him and his grown-up son. They now live like strangers under the same roof.
(ii) The poet is keen to repair his relationship with his son. He wants to make an effort by remembering how sweet the son was in childhood or boyhood.
(iii) The poet’s problem or complaint is not personal or exclusive. Every father notes with shock and surprise that his grown-up son is drifting away from him. This alienation is perhaps natural and common in every society.
(2)
Yet have I killed
The seed I spent or sown it where
The land is his and none of mine?
We speak like strangers, there’s no sign
Of understanding in the air.
This child is built to my design
Yet what he loves I cannot share.
Word-Notes
Yet have I killed the seed—the father wonders where he had gone wrong. Maybe he made a mistake right from the start. He sowed the seed in soil or land not fit enough for it. The child has an identity of his own. So he refuses to accept the father’s orders; understanding—knowing each other’s point of view, dreams and aspirations. There is no doubt that the son has been fathered by him. There is some resemblance as well. But he thinks independently and differently and goes against his father’s wishes. They cannot agree on any issue.
कहीं ऐसा तो नहीं कि मैंने स्वयं ही उस बीज को रोपने से पूर्व मार दिया था अथवा उसे उस भूमि में बोया जो उसकी अपनी ही नहीं थी I हम दोनों अजनबियों की भाँति परस्पर बोलते चलते हैं हमारे बीच एक दूसरे को समझने जैसी बात नहीं है I बच्चा कद-काठी, शक्ल आदि में मेरी ही संतान है, फिर भी उसकी चाहत या माँगे ऐसी हैं जिनसे मैं सहमत नहीं हूँ I
Questions
(i) What is the poet’s fear of his broken relationship?
(ii) What is the poet’s problem?
(iii) How can the gap between father and son be narrowed or bridged?
Ans.
(i) The poet on self-analysis fears that he himself might have failed somewhere in the process of bringing up his son.
(ii) The poet’s problem is that his son is getting away from him both physically and emotionally. There is no understanding between them, no consensus on any issue.
(iii) The gap between the father and the son is commonly known as a generation gap. The grown-ups fail to compromise with their defiant children. This gap can be bridged to some extent if both keep their cool, discuss their problem and try to understand each other’s point of view.
(3)
Silence surrounds us. I would have
Him prodigal, returning to
His father’s house, the home he knew,
Rather than see him make and move
His world. I would forgive him too,
Shaping from sorrow a new love.
Word-Notes
silence surrounds us–there is no communication between the father and his son. They rarely talk to each other; I would have him prodigal–the father won’t mind if his son becomes wasteful or spendthrift provided he returns home and lives as he did in the past years; rather than … world-what is unacceptable and irritating to the father is that his son should live in a world created by him independently. The father is willing to forgive the child if the latter feels really sorry for his actions. He would overcome all his sorrow and love the wayward son again.
हम दोनों के बीच में मौन पसर गया है I मेरी तो इच्छा है कि मेरा बेटा चाहे जितना फिजूलखर्ची करें, कम से कम अपने पुराने घर में लौट आए I मैं नहीं चाहता कि वह अपना नया आशियाना बनाकर अपनी नई दुनिया में जाकर बस जाए I मैं उसे क्षमा करने को भी तैयार हूँ I मैं अपने दुख से उबरकर उसे नया प्यार दे दूँगा I
Questions
(i) What is the poet’s painful realisation?
(ii) What does he long for?
(iii) What compromise is the poet ready to make with his son?
Ans.
(i) The poet is very unhappy because he has no more interaction with his own son.
(ii) He longs for a compromise on the basis of ‘forget the past and start with a clean slate’. He wants to revive the old ties.
(iii) The poet disapproves of his son shifting to a new house. He is ready to forgive his erring son if he returns to his father’s house.
(4)
Father and son, we both must live
On the same globe and the same land,
He speaks: I cannot understand
Myself, why anger grows from grief.
We each put out an empty hand,
Longing for something to forgive.
Word-Notes
must live—ought to stay together; globe—world; anger grows from grief—the son’s indifference saddens the father but he is irritated at the same time; empty hand—both are anxious to make up somehow, to bridge the gap. Both are extending or spreading out an empty hand for compromise. They stand apart yet are ready to strike a deal. Both feel sorry for their past behaviour and are ready to forgive each other.
पिता और पुत्र—इन दोनों को एक ही संसार में एक ही भूमि पर रहना चाहिए I ऐसा वह कहता है I पर मुझे समझ में नहीं आता कि मेरा क्रोध मेरे दुख से पैदा हो जाता है I हम दोनों ही समझौते के लिए तैयार हैं I हम दोनों अपना एक-एक खाली हाथ आगे बढ़ाए हुए हैं, और इच्छा कर रहे हैं कि क्षमा करने के लिए कोई तो बहाना मिल जाए I
Questions
(i) How does the poet feel when his relationship with his son comes under strain?
(ii) What could be the cause of their distancing from each other?
(iii) What is the ideal situation in a family?
Ans.
(i) The poet is sad and somewhat irritated at the strained relationship with his son. He wants the son to return to his old house.
(ii) The cause of the growing gap between the father and his son is lack of understanding. Both need each other, yet they grow apart because of their ego-problem.
(iii) The ideal situation is a sort of joint family. The father should understand the aspirations and dreams of his young son. The son should not forget the emotional needs of his father.
Father to Son- Important Extra Questions Long Answer Type
