A WRONG MAN IN WORKER’S PARADISE.

---Rabindranath Tagore.

I. Answer the following in a sentence :

1.Why is the torrent in the worker’s paradise silent?

Ans. In the worker’s paradise, even a torrent would not waste its energy in singing and hence it
flows silently.

2. Why did “The girl of the silent torrent feel sorry for the man”?

Ans. The girl of the silent torrent felt sorry for the man as he was only idling and not bustling about
doing any work.

3. What does the lines, “the man never believed in mere utility” means?

Ans. The lines means that “ the man did not feel that entire work one did, need not to be purposeful
or utility based. Sometimes work can be done for happiness.

4. Why were the girl’s hair was carelessly done?

Ans. The girl’s were carelessly done as she was interested only in her work and did not get enough
time to dress up herself.

5. “The man indulged in mad whims”. Who considered the man’s work as mad whims?

Ans. The writer Rabindranath Tagore considered the man’s work as mad whims.

6. What does it mean when the man says “ We haven’t a moment to spare?

Ans. It means that the worker’s are happy and proud to be so busy.

7.”The girl scanned the printed pot at home secretly”. What does this line indicates?

Ans. The girl was afraid of the elders rebuke for wasting her time.
 8. Why did the idler ask the girl of the silent torrent for one her pitcher?

Ans. The idler asked the girl of the silent torrent to give one of her pitcher to draw pictures it.

9.Why didn’t the man fit in with the scheme of the worker’s paradise?

Ans. It is because the man had passed all his life on Earth without doing a scrap of useful thing.

10.Why did the girl followed the man out of the worker’s paradise?

The girl followed the wrong man out of the worker’s paradise as she saw new possibilities opened
up before her.

II. Answer the following in 2-3 sentences :

1. Why did the elders of the worker’s paradise become anxious?

Ans: The elders of the worker’s paradise became anxious because work had become late and
began to suffer. Many people who had been active before were now idle and wasting their
precious time on useless things like painting and sculpting.

2. How did the man live his life on Earth?

Ans: The man was busy in mad whims as he had no useful work. He made little pieces of statues,
earthen pots decorated with sea shells and also painted them. He spent his time in useless and
needless activities. People made fun of him but it didn’t affect him.

3. Describe the girl in worker’s paradise.

Ans: A bustling girl went everyday to the torrent to fill her pitcher, her movement on the road
was very fast, her hair were scattered and carelessly done through which her eyes peeped
sometimes. She was so busy with her work that she had no time to dress carefully.

4. How did the man behave in worker’s Paradise?

Ans: In the worker’s paradise, the wrong man lounged in streets of the hurrying men. He laid
down in the green meadows close to the torrent and was taken to task by busy farmers.

5.What changes occur in the girl’s behavior/attitude at the following stages in the story?
a. Before she agreed to give her pitcher to the wrong man:
Ans. Till then the girl was very firm in her decision of not yielding to the man’s request to give her
pitcher to him. But finally she changed her mind and gave the pitcher.
b. After she gave her pitcher to the wrong man

Ans. After she gave her pitcher to the wrong man, she wondered, whether those lines drawn on the
pitcher and the painting might have some meaning. She herself had asked the man, earlier whether they
had any meaning or purpose.
c. When the wrong man offered to make ribbons for her

Ans. When the wrong man offered to make ribbons for her, the girl was eager to know what he would
make a ribbon for her hair. But once he offered the coloured ribbons, she started spending a lot of time,
tying the ribbon around her hair and a new joy had awakened in her mind.
d. When she followed the wrong man out of the worker’s paradise?

Ans. The girl who only know and believed in mere work and utility, became a completely transformed
person under the influence of the man who was an artist. She was ready to leave her work and place
just to follow the man, who had such an influence on her.

6.Why was the meeting called in worker’s Paradise?

Ans: In the worker’s paradise, work had begun to suffer. Many people who are active before,
had become idle wasting their precious time on useless things such as painting and sculpture.
The elder’s became anxious and therefore called a meeting to know the reason.

7.How did the elders know that the artist was a wrong man in their Paradise?

Ans: The elders saw that the man was attired in a fantastic dress and he had brushes and paints
with him. They immediately knew that he was not the right sort for Workers Paradise.

III. Read the following extracts and answer the questions given below:

1. “But the Moving Finger writes even in heaven”.

a. What does ‘Moving finger’ mean here?
Ans. ‘Moving finger’ here means that ‘fate’ or ‘destiny’.

b. What figure of speech is used in “Moving Finger”?

Ans. Personification

c. What does the sentence mean in the context?

Ans. The man who was not supposed to be brought to the ‘workers paradise’, if the records of his
lifetime were properly liked into, was brought there by the mistake committed by the aerial messenger.
This is only because of fate.
2. “As a princess sees a lonely beggar and is filled with pity, so the busy girl of heaven was filled with
pity”.
a. Who is compared to a lonely beggar?
Ans. the man, artist.

b. Why was the girl filled with pity?

Ans. The girl found the man standing by the stream, without being engaged in the work of carrying
water from the stream. So she thought that he was sad as he had no work in hand.

c. How did the girl offer to help him?

Ans. By sparing some work for him to do.

3. “Where she set out for the torrent the next day, her hurrying feet were a little less hurried than
before”.
a. What had happened the previous night?
Ans. the girl examined the painted picture the previous night and scanned it again and again until she
had seen something special in it.

b. What does ‘hurrying feet’ suggest?

Ans. “Hurrying feet’ suggests the girl who was always busy in her work.

c. Why did become less hurried?

Ans. They became less hurried now because the girl started enjoying not only in her work but also in the
artistic things.

IV. Annotate :

1. “Let’s move on, time’s a flying”

Ans: This sentence is taken from the lesson ‘A wrong man in Workers Paradise written by
Rabindranath Tagore. This is uttered by the women in the Workers Paradise.

There was Workers Paradise in Heaven where people spent all their time doing only useful
work.They never had any time for leisure. They enjoyed hard work though they overly
commented that they had no time.

2. “Nothing, A picture may have no meaning and serve no purpose”

Ans: This sentence is taken from the lesson. “A Wrong man in Workers Paradise written by
Rabindranath Tagore. This was said by the artist to the bustling girl.

After repeated requests by the artist, the girl gave him her pitcher for him to draw pictures
on it. He drew colourful pictures on it and returned it to her. She looked at the pictures and
asked him what this purpose was. The man said the above words then.
 3. “I brought a wrong man into this Paradise.”

Ans: This sentence is taken from the lesson ‘A wrong man in Workers Paradise written by
Rabindranath Tagore. This was spoken by the aerial messenger, to the elders in the Workers
Paradise.

While sending the artist to some place in the Heaven, the aerial Messenger sent him to
Workers Paradise by mistake. That man turned the busy, bustling people there into idlers
and painters. The elders did not know the reason and called for a meeting. Then the aerial
messenger came there and said these words.

V. Answer the following questions in a paragraph:

1. Men in Worker’s Paradise say “God! We haven’t a moment to spare”. (para 6)

The man says, “I haven’t a moment to spare for work” (para 11)
Keeping in mind the above statements, contrast the attitude of the men in the paradise with that of the
man (artist).

Ans. Initially , before the artist had his impact on the men in worker’s paradise, the attitudes of the men
and the artist towards duty were quite different to each other. The men believed that one has to do any
work, which should be useful to him and one should not waste his time on any other activities. So they
commented that they hadn’t a moment to spare.
But the man, who was artist was also engaged in some kind of work which was quite different from the
work the men were engaged. According to him, any work which gives joy to our mind and makes this
world appear beautiful is quite
significant. As he was busy in such works, he told that, he hadn’t a moment to spare for work.

2. There are two worlds in the story: the world of the idler – artist and the world of the inhabitants of
the worker’s paradise. Which world is better? Why?

Ans. Both the worlds are equally important. The world of the idler – artist is important because, it makes
our mind happy. It is the world, where all of us forget our sorrows and take delight in the activities of
our life. That world - the aesthetic one makes our life colourful, though it appears like having no
meaning or purpose at all superficially. Similarly, the world of the inhabitants of the workers’ paradise is
also equally significant. This is the world, which helps us to survive. The physical work, undertaken in this
world, can only feed our mouths, if not we will be starved to death. In this way both these worlds are
complimentary to each other, one takes care of the mind and the other our body.