EICHER SCHOOL FARIDABAD

SESSION 2021-2022
CLASS IX
ENGLISH ASSIGNMENT – 4
May 15, 2021
P-2 The Wind (BEEHIVE) ; L-2 The Adventures of Toto (MOMENTS)
Dear Students
Today, we will study the poem- Wind by Subramania Bharati.

WIND –by SUBRAMANIA BHARATI

[Translated from Tamil by A.K. Ramanujan]

Introduction
We all know that wind is a natural phenomenon. In this poem, the poet talks to the wind. The power of
the wind has been described and the poet says that wind is destructive. He has linked the destructive
power of wind to the adversities of life and says that the weak people break down but stronger people
emerge out of adversities, stronger. The poem gives an important message that we should be mentally
tough and physically strong in order to survive the hardships of life. A weak person breaks down like a
weak building and crumbles. We must make these destructive forces our friends, with our strength and
determination.
Poem and Explanation
Lines 1-4
Wind, come softly.
Don’t break the shutters of the windows.
Don’t scatter the papers.
Don’t throw down the books on the shelf.

shutters: wooden or metal covers fitted on the outside of a window

scatter : throw in various random directions

CLASS IX/English Assignment 3/2021-22/Page 1/7

In this poem, wind has been personified. The poet is talking to the wind
and asks it to blow softly and not to cause destruction. He says that the
wind should not be very strong and loud rather it should be soft and
subtle. Then he describes the destructive nature of the wind. He says
that the wind blows so strongly that it breaks the shutters of the window
and scatters the papers. It is so powerful that the books which were kept
on the shelf have fallen. So here, the poet is describing the power of the
wind.
scatter
Lines 5-8
There, look what you did — you threw them all
down.
You tore the pages of the books.
You brought rain again.
You’re very clever at poking fun at weaklings.

poking fun: making fun of something

weaklings: a person who is weak

The poet asks the wind to look at the destruction that it had done. It has thrown everyone down and
disorganised everything. Owing to its force, the pages of the books have been torn down. It has brought
the rain. Further, the poet says that the wind is very clever in making fun of those people who are weak.
By this, the poet means that when a strong wind blows, all the things which are fragile, weak and feeble
break easily. Initially, when the poet has introduced the wind, then he has compared its power with a small
child, that’s why he asked the wind to come softly. But, later the wind has become destructive like a youth,
full of energy, violence and destruction.

Lines 9-12
Frail crumbling houses, crumbling doors, crumbling rafters,
crumbling wood, crumbling bodies, crumbling lives,
crumbling hearts —
the wind god winnows and crushes them all.

crumbling: falling or to cause something to break

rafter: sloping beam which support the roof of the building
winnows: to broke grain free of chaff, separate grain from
husk by blowing on it.

Here, the word ‘crumbling’ is repeated so many times to lay stress that everything crumbles in the face
of a strong wind. So, the writer is saying that when wind is very powerful and strong, it leads to breakage
of everything. So, he is saying that everything crumbles. Everything that is weak reacts by falling down

CLASS IX/English Assignment 4/2021-22/Page 2/10

and breaking in the face of adversity. Here, the poet says that the wind is so mighty that it is breaking
everything that comes in his way. He says that the weak houses are falling, the doors are breaking down,
the beam which was supporting the roof of the building is falling and all the things made of wood material
are falling. Further, he says that people are unable to stand properly due to the heavy wind and they are
falling. All the living things which are weak are either breaking down or falling. The people are scared of
the wind and their hearts are beating at a faster rate. So, the poet is saying that whenever a weak person
faces any adversity or challenge in life, he breaks down and falls.

The poet is addressing to wind as ‘wind god’, and he is saying that

the powerful god of wind winnows, that means he sifts all the people
and those people who are weak fall down and get crushed. So here,
a comparison is made between wheat and people. Just like we
winnow the wheat to separate the grain from chaff, the wind god
separates the strong people from the weak people. When there is a
strong wind, all the things that are weak fall and get crushed.

Lines 13-18
He won’t do what you tell him.
So, come, let’s build strong homes,
Let’s joint the doors firmly.
Practice to firm the body.
Make the heart steadfast.
Do this, and the wind will be friends with us.

steadfast – resolutely or dutifully firm and unwavering.

The poet goes on to say that the wind will not listen to us and do what we say. So, instead of instructing
the wind, we should prepare ourselves. We should build strong homes and close the door tightly so that
wind does not enter the home. We should make our body strong and our heart firm so that we can face
these difficulties and overcome all the challenges. He says that by doing all these things, the wind will
become friends with us. Here, the poet means that problems would come in our life; we should make
ourselves strong enough to overcome them. Every hurdle in our life makes us stronger and helps us explore
our inner strength.

Lines 19-22
The wind blows out weak fires.
He makes strong fires roar and flourish.
His friendship is good.
We praise him every day.
flourish: grow

CLASS IX/English Assignment 4/2021-22/Page 3/10

The poet elaborates that the wind blows all the things which are
weak. Only those things which are strong remain and flourish to
become stronger. He adds that everything that is weak gets finished
off in the face of the strong wind. Here, the poet conveys a strong
message that we should not cry or consider ourselves weak when
problems arise in our life. Instead, we should see them as an
opportunity to explore our ability and strength to face them with
courage. These problems make us mentally and physically strong and
through them, we learn to overcome the hardship of life. The
friendship of the wind is good and we should praise his friendship every day like a God.

Hope you have understood the message conveyed by the poet.

Now, let us do the recapitulation of the same by watching these links :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOIIIUG3M0M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9aiaSrinL8

Literary devices in the poem

Rhyme scheme - The entire poem is written in free verse. There is no rhyme scheme in the poem.

The literary devices used are as follows –

i. Anaphora - When a word is repeated at the start of two or more consecutive lines, it is the
device of Anaphora.
Lines 2, 3, 4 begin with ‘don’t’.
Lines 6, 7, 8 begin with ‘you’.

ii. Personification – ‘Wind’ has been personified. When the poet says ‘you are’, he is referring to
wind as ‘you’ that means he is treating wind as a person.

iii. Repetition - ‘crumbling’ is repeated many times to lay emphasis. The poet wants to say that the
wind crushes everything that is weak. That is why he repeats the word ‘crumbling’.

iv. Alliteration - the repetition of a consonant sound in close connection.

‘wind winnows’ ; ‘won’t want’

v. Symbolism - Symbolism means that the thing refers to some other thing. Wind is a symbol of
challenges in life. He is using wind as a symbol for the adversities in our life.

I. SAMPLE QUESTION ANSWERS

1. How does the wind become the cause of rain?
The wind sometimes becomes violent and appears to be a storm. It brings clouds with it
from distant lands. Those clouds bring rain from the blue sky.

CLASS IX/English Assignment 4/2021-22/Page 4/10

 2. Why should the earthly people build strong houses?
The earthly people should build strong houses so that they may not be damaged by the
wind. They should be strong enough to endure violent winds and become a challenge to
the potent wind.

3. Does the wind god do what we tell him?

The wind god is all powerful. He is not influenced by any external factors. He doesn’t
do what we tell him to do. Neither our requests nor our commands will influence him.
He is mighty and sweeps away all weaklings with him.

4. What does the wind symbolise?

The wind symbolises the raw and brutal power of nature. The wind god is a symbol of
might and strength. He befriends only the strong. He hates weaklings and pokes fun at
them and doesn’t spare them.

5. Why does the wind blow out weak fires?

The god of wind is against any and every shaky and weak thing. So. weak fires are
blown out by the wind which is a symbol of power and strength.

II. SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

1. What are the things the wind does in the first stanza?
2. What does the poet say the wind god winnows?
3. What should we do to make friends with the wind?
4. What do the last four lines of the poem mean to you?
5. How does the poet speak to the wind — in anger or with humour? Give reason.

III. EXTRACT TYPE QUESTIONS

1. The wind blows out weak fires
He makes strong fire roar and flourish
His friendship is good
We praise him everyday.

a. How does the wind affect the strong fires ?

b. ___________ friendship has been mentioned in the extract as ____________.
c. Trace a word from the extract that means ‘prosper’.
d. Identify the figure of speech used in line 4 of the extract.

CLASS IX/English Assignment 4/2021-22/Page 5/10

 Lesson 2 - The Adventures of Toto
By Ruskin Bond
About the Poet

Ruskin Bond is an Indian author of British descent. He lives with his adopted family in Landour,
Mussoorie, India. He is an Indian author of British descent. He is considered to be an icon among
Indian writers and children’s authors and a top novelist. He prolifically authored inspiring
children’s books and was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award to honour his work of literature.

Poet’s Name Ruskin Bond

Born 19 May 1934 (age 85 years), Kasauli
Education Bishop Cotton School, Shimla (1950)
Awards Sahitya Akademi Award(1992);
Padma Shri(1999), Padma Bhushan (2014)
Parents Aubrey Bond, Edith Clarke
Works Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra
The Room on the Roof
The Blue Umbrella
A Flight of Pigeons

The Adventures of Toto: Synopsis

The narrator’s grandfather was very fond of

animals. He had a nice collection of animals such
as a tortoise, a tame squirrel, a pair of rabbits and
a goat. But he didn’t have a monkey. So, one day,
he bought a baby monkey from a tonga-driver and
named it Toto. Toto’s arrival not only gladdened
him but also enriched his private zoo. horse-cart feeding-trough

Toto was an attractive monkey with sparkling eyes and pearl white teeth. He would take special delight
in scaring elderly Anglo-Indian ladies. His tail added to his good look, and also served as a third hand.
Since Grandmother did not have any interest in animals, she never welcomed grandfather with a new
bird or animal in the house. So, it was decided that Toto’s presence should be kept a secret until
Grandmother was in a good mood.

Toto was temporarily kept in a little closet opening into the narrator’s bedroom wall where he was tied
securely to a peg fastened into the wall. Being mischievous by nature, Toto began to create a nuisance

CLASS IX/English Assignment 4/2021-22/Page 6/10

from the very first day. He removed the ornamental wallpaper, pulled
out the peg and tore off the narrator’s blazer. Grandfather was quite
happy to see Toto’s performance.

Toto was now transferred to a big cage in the servants’ quarters where Grandfather’s other animals lived
together but Toto would create trouble for them. He did not
let them sleep peacefully. His pernicious activities were
increasing day by day.

So when Grandfather had to go to Saharanpur to collect his

pension, he carried Toto with him in a big black canvas kit-
bag. Since there was no opening in the bag to allow his
hands or face to come out, he would often jump inside the
bag, making the bag roll about on the floor of the Dehradun
railway platform. On reaching Saharanpur, Toto was
caught by the ticket-collector who classified him as a dog
and Grandfather had to pay for Toto’s fare.

Toto was finally accepted by the Grandmother. He was then shifted to the
stable, where Nana, the family donkey lived. But Toto continued teasing
her as a result of which they could never become friends.

Toto loved to take bath in hot water in winter. One day, he nearly
succeeded in boiling himself alive by jumping into a large kitchen kettle
that had been left on the fire to boil for tea. It was Grandmother who came
to his rescue and saved him.

Toto continued his antics by tearing clothes to shreds, breaking plated and other utensils. Everyone in
the family got fed up with his mischievous activities. Even Grandfather began to think seriously about
him. And finally he took a hard decision to get rid of the monkey. He found the tonga -driver and sold
Toto back to him for only three rupees.

Vocabulary words
feeding-trough a large container for feeding animals
tonga horse cart
anglo-indian a person relating to both britain and india
pickled here, dried
scooping up lifting
peg a hook

CLASS IX/English Assignment 4/2021-22/Page 7/10

ornamental decorative
naked uncovered
wrenched broke
socket attachment
shreds a long strip or fragment torn or cut off
vain an unsuccessful attempt
quadruped an animal which has four feet
fare ticket price
to get his own back (idiom): to take revenge
prodded pushed
stable building set apart and adapted for keeping horses
hauled him pulled him out
spite a desire to hurt, annoy or offend someone
chatter the sound made by a monkey

Hope you have understood the story. Let’s recapitulate by watching an animated version of the same.
Click on the link to enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8nKTEx7cdk

Message

The writer intends to convey the message that baby animals look cute and we are tempted to keep them as pets.
However, we should not get carried away by their prettiness because each animal has its own characteristics. Some
animals like monkeys are very mischievous. They can cause a lot of damage if one is not careful with them. So,
one should not keep animals as pets unless one has adequate information and skill to train and handle them.
However, animals thrive better in their natural habitat.

The story also conveys the message that we should love animals. We should treat them with respect. Grandfather
sees the monkey with a tonga-driver. He wants to keep the monkey in his zoo in comfort. So, he buys the monkey
and keeps it as his pet. But being a wild animal the monkey creates a lot of trouble and grandfather could not afford
the loses incurred due to him. Thu, he decided to return Toto to the tonga-driver. Grandfather treats Toto with love
and concern. So this lesson gives a message about animal rights and animal welfare.

I. TICK THE CORRECT OPTION.

1. Who is the author of this lesson?
a. Khushwant Singh
b. Ruskin Bond
c. Jane Austen
d. W.B.Yeats

CLASS IX/English Assignment 4/2021-22/Page 8/10

2. What is this story about?
a. humour and adventure of a naughty monkey Toto
b. love for animals
c. habitats of monkeys
d. None

3. From where did grandfather buy the monkey?

a. from the market
b. from a shop
c. from the jungle
d. from a tonga driver

4. What was the price that grandfather paid to buy the monkey?
a. Rs. 10/-
b. Rs. 7/-
c. Rs. 5/-
d. Rs. 6/-

5. Why did grandfather buy the monkey?

a. to have a companion
b. to help him
c. to add to the collection of animals in zoo at his home
d. to gift his wife

6. Why was Toto kept secretly?

a. to save him from other animals
b. because grandmother disliked animals
c. because he was naughty
d. to hide it from the tonga-driver

7. What kind of water did Toto like to take a bath in?

a. cold water
b. burning hot water
c. snow water
d. warm water

8. Why did grandfather sell Toto back to its first owner?

a. because he was missing him
b. they were not well-to-do and were unable to afford mischievous Toto
c. because he didn't like him
d. because he had to pay his fare in the train

CLASS IX/English Assignment 4/2021-22/Page 9/10

 9. At what price did grandfather sell Toto back to its first owner?
a. Rs. 10/-
b. Rs. 9/-
c. Rs. 7/-
d. Rs. 3/-

10. Who had taught Toto to take a bath?

a. the writer
b. the writer's friend
c. his first owner
d. grandmother

11. Name the things Toto destroyed at the writer's home.

a. wallpaper and clothes
b. curtains
c. dishes
d. all

12. Why was Toto called pretty?

a. because of his shining mischievous eyes
b. because of his red colour
c. because of his pearly white teeth
d. All of the above

II. SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

1. How does Toto come to grandfather’s private zoo?
2. “Toto was a pretty monkey.” In what sense is Toto pretty?
3. Why does grandfather take Toto to Saharanpur and how?
4. Why does the ticket collector insist on calling Toto a dog?
5. Cite an example each from Toto’s behaviour that reveals
a. his intelligence.
b. his mischievous nature
c. his restlessness

III. LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

1. How does Toto take a bath? Where has he learnt to do this? How does Toto almost boil himself
alive?
2. Why does the author say, “Toto was not the sort of pet we could keep for long”?

CLASS IX/English Assignment 4/2021-22/Page 10/10