Very Short Answer Questions
Q1: When does the poet faintly recall his mother during play?
Ans: The poet recalls his mother when a familiar tune seems to hover over his playthings.
Q2: What creates the memory of the mother in the first stanza?
Ans: A soft tune associated with his mother creates the memory.
Q3: How did the poet’s mother soothe him as a child?
Ans: She soothed him by humming a song while rocking his cradle.
Q4: In which season does the poet recall his mother through fragrance?
Ans: He recalls her in the early autumn season.
Q5: What natural element carries the memory of the mother in the second stanza?
Ans: The fragrance of shiuli flowers carries the memory.
Q6: What makes the scent of shiuli flowers significant to the poet?
Ans: It reminds him of his mother’s presence.
Q7: What religious element is connected with the mother’s memory?
Ans: The scent of morning temple service is connected with her memory.
Q8: From where does the poet observe the sky?
Ans: He observes the sky from his bedroom window.
Q9: What does the poet do while looking at the sky?
Ans: He sends his eyes into the blue distance of the sky.
Q10: What emotion does the sky evoke in the poet?
Ans: It evokes the calm presence of his mother.
Q11: What does the stillness in the sky remind the poet of?
Ans: It reminds him of his mother’s gentle gaze.
Q12: Why can the poet not clearly remember his mother?
Ans: Because he lost her early and only has faint sensory memories.
Q13: What role does sound play in the poem?
Ans: Sound triggers the poet’s memory of his mother.
Q14: Which sense is activated by the shiuli flowers?
Ans: The sense of smell is activated.
Q15: What type of imagery is used in the first stanza?
Ans: Auditory imagery is used.
Q16: What type of imagery is used in the second stanza?
Ans: Olfactory imagery is used.
Q17: What type of imagery is used in the third stanza?
Ans: Visual imagery is used.
Q18: What does the repeated line emphasise in the poem?
Ans: It emphasises the poet’s incomplete memory of his mother.
Q19: What does the hovering tune symbolise?
Ans: It symbolises the lingering memory of the mother.
Q20: What does the fragrance in the poem represent?
Ans: It represents emotional connection and remembrance.
Q21: What does the wide sky symbolise in the poem?
Ans: It symbolises the vast and ever-present memory of the mother.
Q22: What floats in the air during autumn mornings?
Ans: The smell of shiuli flowers floats in the air.
Q23: What feeling is associated with the mother’s gaze?
Ans: A feeling of calmness and affection.
Q24: What kind of flower is shiuli?
Ans: Shiuli is a fragrant night-blooming flower.
Q25: What is another name for shiuli flower?
Ans: It is also known as Parijat or Harsingar.