Unit 1

In the bazaars of Hyderabad

Sarojini Naidu (1879 - 1949) was born in Hyderabad, into a highly educated
Bengali family. She was an active participant in India’s freedom movement. An
outstanding public speaker, she was elected president of the Indian National
Congress in 1925. She worked for women’s education and franchise, and
campaigned against purdah. She became the Governor of Uttar Pradesh in
Independent India. Naidu anchored her poetry in the culture of India. Gandhi
hailed her as Bharat Kokila (‘The Nightingale of India’).

The poem commences with the poet enquiring about the product offered in the old
bazaars of Hyderabad. In the first stanza of the poem, the poet questions the
merchants in the bazaar about what they are selling, to which the merchants answered
that they are selling crimson, silver colored turbans, mirrors with panels of amber [an
expensive Indian stone] and daggers with handles made of jade.
In the second stanza, the poet moves to another stall and asks the vendor about what
they are weighing to sell. Saffron, lentils, and rice replied the vendors. The poet
enquires the same to maidens about what they are grinding and she gets a reply that
they are grinding henna, sandalwood, and spices. At the end of the stanza, the poet
questions the peddlers about what they are selling and they reply, dice made from
ivory and chessmen.
The poet progresses to a jewelry shop in the third stanza and asks the goldsmith what
ornaments they manufacture. They reply; necklace, bracelets, anklets, rings, and
continued to say that, they also make bells for blue pigeons that are tied to their feet.
The bells are as delicate as a dragonfly's wing. Simultaneously they make gold girdles
for dancers and scabbards for the kings to keep their swords.
In the fourth stanza, the poet visits a fruit shop. There she inquires about what they are
selling. They reply that they sell lemon, pomegranate, and plum. Then the musicians
were asked what they play and they say sitar, sarangi, and drums. The poet even
comes across magicians and asks them what they are chanting and they say that they
are chanting magical spells to charm a thousand ages to come.
The final stanza is about the flower girls who are asked what they are weaving with
strands of colorful flowers. The flower girls answer that they are making garlands for
the bride and groom to be decorated during the wedding night. Alternatively they also
weave sheets of white flowers that are placed on graves for fragrance purposes. It is a
beautiful last line as it ends (although not ominous) on the note of death, rather like
life itself.

The Eyes are Not Here

Ruskin Bond (born 1934) completed his first novel, The Room on the Roof, when
he was seventeen, and was awarded the John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize for
it. Since then, he has published more than a hundred books that include novellas,
short story collections, poetry, essays, and anthologies of selected writing. A
recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award, he was also awarded the Padma Shri for
his contribution to children’s literature, and later, the Padma Bhushan.

The narrator is alone in the compartment. A girl enters the compartment at that
station. Her parents bid her farewell and counsel her on her safety, directing her
on where to store her possessions, not to lean out the window, and to avoid
strangers. In this passage, the narrator unexpectedly discloses that he is blind.
Once the train departs from the platform, the narrator approaches the girl and
inquires about her trip to Dehradun. She is taken aback by the voice, as she had
assumed she was alone in the cabin. The girl informed him that she would be
travelling to Saharanpur to meet her aunt. The narrator speaks about Mussoorie,
the destination he was on his way to, describing the area’s beauty in October (the
month in which the story takes place).

Throughout the conversation, the narrator maintains the conscious pretence of

having an excellent vision. Though he is generally circumspect in his word
choice, he recalls at one point that he came dangerously close to giving up due to
some sloppy remarks. Following some more fascinating conversation, the
narrator boldly informs her that she has a fascinating face. She cheerfully
responds that it was a wonderful diversion from the frequently repeated
comment, “You have a pretty face.” Soon, the girl’s train arrives at her destination,
and she bids farewell. The author then overhears a disturbance near the
carriage’s door and an apology from a man.

The man then enters and apologises to the narrator for not being as beautiful as
the last travel companion. When the narrator asks how the girl’s hair was worn,
the other person says that he only saw her eyes, which were beautiful but useless
to her because she was blind. The man asks the narrator if he had noticed it too.
The story wraps up with the narrator resuming his game of posing as a person
with sight.

Unit 2

If-

Rudyard Kipling,was an English poet and novelist. He is remembered for his many
stories and poems written about the British in India during the Raj. He is notably known
for his works ‘The Jungle Book’ and ‘Kim’. Kipling was awarded the Nobel Prize in
Literature in 1907. The poem "If—" was published in his 1910 book Rewards and
Fairies. It is an inspirational poem that provides advice on how one should live one’s life.

The poem “If” by Rudyard Kipling is a poem of wisdom and guidance given from a
father to his son. Though this poem was originally written by Kipling for his son it can
also be seen as a list of advice from the poet to his readers. The poem is made of four
stanzas with eight lines each. In each stanza the poet highlights a few situations that we
all may encounter in life and tells us how to cope with it. He begins the poem by talking
on issues of doubt, lies and hatred and how to deal with them. He also guides to trust and
remain calm and patient when others fail and try to blame. In such moments one should
trust oneself while also making room for people's doubts to try to understand their reason.

He moves on to talk about Dreams, Triumphs and Disasters and how one must not let
either of them dwell on us for long as they are momentary and not permanent and by
treating them alike we would be able to face them with the same determination. He asks
us to strengthen ourselves to witness and endure lies, hurt and loss as they cannot be
avoided. Another important aspect he highlights is Will power and its importance.
Towards the end the poet mentions the qualities one must have while being surrounded
by people of different social standings. He continues his advice on the unforgiving nature
of time and how valuable each minute is, he encourages us to spend each minute wisely,
and make each minute count. After enumerating all the qualities one must possess while
facing different challenges in life, he finally ends the poem on a high note saying that if
one follows everything diligently, he or she would finally become an accomplished
person in the real sense.

The poem is a motivational one. The frequent use of the pronoun “you” makes the poem
a direct address to the reader which creates an interest in the reader’s mind to act upon the
listed advice. The guidance provided in the poem is in a polite way so the reader takes it
as a list of friendly advice directly made to him.

Through different poetic techniques, the poet has made this long list of advice, an
interesting piece of literature. The tone of the poem is advisory, didactic and fatherly.
Since the poem is a long list of advices its tone remains the same throughout the poem. It
guides the reader to live a life full of faith and dignity. The reader is advised to have faith
in himself and lead an honorable life.Every point is beautifully explained in the form of
“if” and “then” conditional clauses in order to make it clear that if the reader adopts a
positive trait or avoids a negative thing, what will happen in return. After reading this
poem, the reader gets motivated to do good and avoid bad things.

On Saying Please-

‘On Saying Please’ is an essay written by A.G. Gardiner who was one of the most
distinguished English essayists of the twentieth century. He wrote under the pen-name
‘Alpha of the Plough’, drawing ideas for his essays from real life situations. His essays
are delightful, humorous and thought provoking, dealing skilfully with simple as well as
serious subjects. The essay talks about socially important issues that we come across in
our daily life. The essay shows how using polite words and phrases like ‘please’ and
‘thank you’ can change the course of our day. Such words help us in making our passage
through life smooth.

Gardiner begins his essay with the example of a lift-man who threw a passenger out of
the lift for not saying ‘please.’ While agreeing that courtesy is a desirable
characteristic,Gardiner points out that the action of the liftman cannot be condoned. He
thinks so because impoliteness is not considered to be a legally punishable offence. At
the most, we may brand the impolite person ill-mannered. But in the case of physical
brutality the law gives us the right to self defence. The truth also remains that quite often
impoliteness is more hurtful than physical abuse. What is worse, it has a cyclical effect.
The one who is at the receiving end of rudeness from his superiors, takes it out on his
subordinates as he cannot retaliate against his superiors. That is why we should know the
importance and value of social practices that promote civility.
Gardiner offers the example of a good-natured conductor to show how such people can
bring about positivity.The conductor was a friendly and cheerful person. Most of the time
we are under the assumption that conductors are by and large ill-tempered. Moreover,
Gardiner makes it clear that if here and there we have rude conductors, it is the outcome
of their demanding job. However, the friendly conductor made the author feel pleasantly
surprised by buying a ticket for him as the author had forgotten his purse at home.
Though the author later found a shilling in his pocket to pay the conductor, the cheerful
behaviour of the conductor left him with a pleasant feeling. On another occasion, it was
the conductor who had trodden on the toe of the author. But he was so genuine in his
apology that the author forgave him easily. It also became the habit of the author to
notice the well mannered conductor who took on different roles in helping his passengers.
He was like a son to the old, father to the children, friend to the young and helper to the
handicapped. The author is especially impressed by the fact that the conductor would get
out of the bus, asking the driver to wait for him so as to take the blind across the road or
round the comer. Gardiner adds that just as good weather uplifts our spirit, good-natured
people too bring about positivity. Their charm cannot be resisted by even unfriendly
people. Gardiner concludes the essay by observing that rudeness seemed to be the
aftermath of war. He earnestly appeals to his readers to bring back civility to social
behaviour.

Thus we see that the essay clearly shows the distinction between what is punishable by
law and what is desirable though not punishable by law. While the law is very definite
about how individuals should act, it does not have much to say about the issues of
courtesy and kindness/politeness to others. The law speaks to individuals who have been
wronged, whose rights have been taken away at the hands of another. Yet, it cannot
legislate manners or civility in acting towards one another. The reality is that while it is
not a perfect state, this state of law is a reasonable one because it does not enter the realm
of emotions. If the law gave in to this level of emotional subjectivity, then individuals
would be carrying out acts of violence each time someone demonstrated rudeness to
them.

Unit 3: Poem – “Ulysses”

Introduction:
"Ulysses" was written in 1833 by Alfred Lord Tennyson, the future Poet Laureate of Great
Britain. The poem takes the form of a dramatic monologue spoken by Ulysses, a character
who also appears in Homer's Greek epic The Odyssey and Dante's Italian epic the Inferno
(Ulysses is the Latinized name of Odysseus). In The Odyssey, Ulysses/Odysseus struggles to
return home, but in Tennyson's "Ulysses," an aged Ulysses is frustrated with domestic life
and yearns to set sail again and continue exploring the world. Dante seems to condemn
Ulysses's recklessness as an explorer, but in Tennyson's poem, there is nobility and heroism
in Ulysses' boundless curiosity and undaunted spirit
Summary
Ulysses expresses frustration at how dull and pointless his life now seems as king of
Ithaca, trapped at home on the rocky island of Ithaca. His wife is old, and he must spend
his time enforcing imperfect laws as he attempts to govern people he considers stupid
and uncivilized. In Ulysses's eyes, all his people do is try to store up wealth, sleep, and
eat. They have no conception of who Ulysses really is or what his life has been like.
Ulysses still yearns to travel the world like he used to do. As long as he's alive, he
doesn't want to stop doing the things that, in his eyes, make life worth living. He found
joy, he claims, in every moment he spent traveling, even at the times when he was
suffering. He found joy both when he was with his faithful crew members and when he
was by himself; both when he was on land and when he was sailing the sea through
rainstorms. He has become famous throughout the world as an explorer who was
continually traveling and yearning to know more. Ulysses reflects that he has seen and
learned a great deal about all the places where people live, about their lifestyles,
cultures, and ways of governing themselves. Everywhere he went, he was shown honor
and respect. Ulysses also found joy fighting alongside his fellow soldiers, men he
honored and respected, when he fought in battles far from home in the Trojan War.
Ulysses feels that each person and place he has encountered has been changed by the
encounter, as has he himself. But all these experiences have not satisfied his desire for
travel; rather, each encounter has only whetted his appetite to see more of the world. No
matter how much of the world he sees, there is always still more to see, and it is these
unseen regions that he always tries to pursue. Ulysses exclaims that it is boring and
unsatisfying to stay in one place and stop doing the activities that defined your life,
comparing himself to a sword that has been allowed to rust uselessly away rather than
being used gloriously in battle. Merely being alive doesn't mean you are truly living.
Ulysses feels that multiple lifetimes would still have been too little time to do all he
wishes to do, and he is almost at the end of the one lifetime he has. Still, every hour that
he has left to live before he dies has the potential to bring new opportunities for action.
It would be disgraceful, he feels, to sit tight at home and just try to eat and stay alive for
a few more years, when, even as an old man, his greatest desire is still to explore the
world and keep learning more. He wants to go beyond the limits of what humans have
seen and known, the way a shooting star seems to go beyond the horizon when it falls
and disappears from sight.

Ulysses then starts to describe his son, Telemachus, who will inherit Ulysses's role as
ruler of the island when Ulysses dies. Ulysses affirms that he loves his son, who is
conscientious and thoughtful about how he will best carry out his responsibilities as
ruler. With patience and judgement, Telemachus will work to civilize the fierce, wild
people of Ithaca and make them more gentle, and gradually teach them to devote their
lives to productive civic activities. Ulysses cannot find any faults in Telemachus; he
devotes his life to the responsibilities of his role, he pays proper respect to his people
and his parents, and after his father dies, he will continue offering appropriate sacrifices
to the gods that Ulysses most honored. Telemachus is well suited for the role of ruler—
just as Ulysses is well suited for a different role, the role of explorer.

Ulysses looks out towards the port, where the wind is blowing in the sails of his ship and
where he can see the wide, dark sea. He now addresses his former crew, the men who
worked alongside him and explored the world and gained new knowledge with him. He
reminds them that they always accepted joyfully whatever their travels would bring,
whether trouble or good luck, and proudly faced every obstacle with resolution and
bravery. Ulysses then acknowledges that both he and they have grown older, but insists
that even as old men, they can still work do hard work and earn respect. Soon they will die
and their chance to do great deeds will be over; but before they die, they can still
accomplish something heroic, something fitting for men that once battled the gods. The
people of Ithaca are beginning to light lamps in their homes; night is falling; the moon is
rising in the sky; the waves of the sea are murmuring almost as if they are speaking to
Ulysses. Ulysses urges his crew, as his friends, to join him on one last voyage—even now,
they're not too old to explore some unknown region of the world. He invites them to board
a ship, push away from shore, and man the oars so they can beat the waves; because
Ulysses still has the goal of sailing past the horizon, as far as he can go, before he ultimately
dies. He acknowledges that the waves may sink their ship; but they may also find their way
to the place where the souls of the blessed go after death. There, they might even see their
old companion, the accomplished warrior Achilles. Many of their heroic qualities have
been diminished by old age, but they haven't been lost completely. They don't have the
same strength or physical prowess they possessed as younger men fighting epic, world-
changing battles; but inside, Ulysses declares, they are ultimately the same men they always
were. Their minds and hearts are still brave and composed in the face of danger and
obstacles. Their bodies have been weakened by old age, something all human beings are
destined to face, but their spirits are as strong as ever. They remain determined to work
hard, to pursue their goals and accomplish them, and to never give up.

Conclusion:

In this poem, written in 1833 and revised for publication in 1842, Tennyson reworks
the figure of Ulysses by drawing on the ancient hero of Homer’s Odyssey (“Ulysses” is
the Roman form of the Greek “Odysseus”) and the medieval hero of Dante’s Inferno.
Homer’s Ulysses, as described in Scroll XI of the Odyssey, learns from a prophecy that
he will take a final sea voyage after killing the suitors of his wife Penelope. The details
of this sea voyage are described by Dante in Canto XXVI of the Inferno: Ulysses finds
himself restless in Ithaca and driven by “the longing I had to gain experience of the
world.” Dante’s Ulysses is a tragic figure who dies while sailing too far in an insatiable
thirst for knowledge. Tennyson combines these two accounts by having Ulysses make
his speech shortly after returning to Ithaca and resuming his administrative
responsibilities, and shortly before embarking on his final voyage.
However, this poem also concerns the poet’s own personal journey, for it was
composed in the first few weeks after Tennyson learned of the death of his dear
college friend Arthur Henry Hallam in 1833. Like In Memoriam, then, this poem is also
an elegy for a deeply cherished friend. Ulysses, who symbolizes the grieving poet,
proclaims his resolution to push onward in spite of the awareness that “death closes
all” (line 51). As Tennyson himself stated, the poem expresses his own “need of going
forward and braving the struggle of life” after the loss of his beloved Hallam.

The poem’s final line, “to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield,” came to serve as a
motto for the poet’s Victorian contemporaries: the poem’s hero longs to flee the
tedium of daily life “among these barren crags” (line 2) and to enter a mythical
dimension “beyond the sunset, and the baths of all the western stars” (lines 60–61); as
such, he was a model of individual self-assertion and the Romantic rebellion against
bourgeois conformity. Thus for Tennyson’s immediate audience, the figure of Ulysses
held not only mythological meaning, but stood as an important contemporary cultural
icon as well.

Unit 3: Prose – “Seeing People off”

Introduction:
Sir Henry Maximilian Beerbohm (1872-1956) was an English writer and caricaturist,
popular for his witty essays and amusing caricatures (cartoons of people with simplified
and exaggerated features). He also worked as a drama critic, and a radio broadcaster.
People were attracted to Beerbohm for his charming conversation and amusing anecdotes.
His parodies of famous people—both written and drawn-brilliantly captured the
absurdities and affectations of his subjects with a gentle humour free of malice.

In the essay Seeing People Off,Max Beerbohm depicts an ordinary daily scene to reveal the
social absurdity with humor,elegancy and wit.The vanity out of saving face resulted in the
exchange between affection and money, and also the reification of the nice interpersonal
relationship.The analysis of the phenomenon of reification is conductive to a better
understanding of the essay's strong awareness of social criticism,and to circumvention of
the negative effect of the age of reification.

Summary
This story is about a professional deputed to offer his paid services to wish the
English culture loving Americans off when they leave their British friends on
a long journey it was a cold grey morning of last week when the author
reached at Eutson to see off his friends who was leaving for America author
and his friends their old friend gave a farewell dinner who was leaving they
were all sad thinking that they might never get a change to meet their friend
again which is reality of life all the funds accompany him to the railway
station to see him off the sadness and stress was very clear on their faces
suddenly author saw a partly middle aged man who was talking from the
platform to young lady at next window he was not clear so author assumed
him to be her father the author kept on finding some clues about that man. In
a flash he remembers his name Hurbet Le Ros!! But now he completely
changed in past seven or eight years since the author saw him last in the
strand he was an excellent actor but was not successful on the London stage.
Hubert Le Ross looked prosperous and solid now he was now looking like a
banker in his clothes they were certainly tears in the eyes of both while
parting when he turned round he seemed delighted to see the author and
repaid the half crown he had borrowed and continued talking then regarding
the pleasure he gains on reading the dramatic criticisms given by author on
every Saturday. In response to the author mentioned that he missed him on
stage as the actor as conversation continued Hubert Le Ross said he no longer
acts on stage instead he has started acting on railway platform he then told
about the Anglo- American social Bureau and further explained the working
of it. He told that Americans are sociable people and most of them have plenty
of money to spend the Anglo-American social Bureau supplies them with
English friends 50% of the fees charged is paid over to friends and other 50%
is retained by the bureau and he was an employee who was just one of the
seers off Americans who have no friend in England they hire seers off from
the Bureau against the fee they could afford they send money to the Bureau
along with the date of departure and description by which seers could.
Inventively them on the platform and then they are seen off then Hurbet Le
Ross explained worth of it he said that it earns them from being despired by
their fellow passengers it even gives them a footing for the whole voyage
besides it is a great pleasure. Then he further mentions that one can’t act
without feeling and tears in the eyes we are not forced rather he was moved
when the train started but one can’t express their feelings after listening to
Hurbert Le Ross the author also showed interest to learn seeing people off and
proposed Hubert Lee Ross to teach him too.
Unit 4

On His Having Arrived at the Age of Twenty-Three

John Milton (1608-74) is widely considered as one of the greatest writers of

English verse. In addition to being a versatile poet, he was an adept linguist and
translator , proficient in Latin, Greek and Italian. His epic poem Paradise Lost is
considered a masterpiece of world literature. Milton also wrote a number of
political and theological essays, including an famous defence of free expression
and freedom of the press, which is cited by thinkers and jurists even today.

This poem shows the worries that Milton had about his career when he was young
and still hadn’t chosen his own way in life, Milton characterizes Time as a winged
“thief of youth,” that has stolen his adolescence before he could make anything of
himself. Calling Time a “thief” suggests that Milton does not blame himself for not
achieving anything in his twenty-three years of life and holds time accountable for it.

In the following lines Milton emphasizes the speed with which he feels time has passed
by describing his days as “hasting” and “full.” Hasting certainly implies speed, although
it also implies purpose. Similarly, “full” may imply that his days are busy, leaving little
empty time between tasks. It seems that the time he felt pass has not been passed idly,
but rather with hard work and toil.Perhaps he felt that many years had been wasted
studying and learning about other people’s works rather than making his own.

The poet then introduces a metaphor in which he uses the seasonal cycle to symbolize
the various stages in life. Within this metaphor, spring symbolizes youth, summer is the
prime of life, autumn is middle age, and winter is old age or death. He characterizes his
own stage in life as “late spring.” Milton states that “no bud or blossom” has grown in his
late spring. In other words, he believes he has nothing to show for it thus far, and
furthermore implies that he does not see good prospects for the summer of his life. After
all, if there are no buds or blossoms in spring, then how can there be beautiful full
flowers in the summer?

The poet also recognizes that his “semblance” may make him seem very young to
others, although he inwardly feels that he is leaving the time of his youth. “I to manhood
am arrived so near.” Whether he wishes for others to recognize his maturity seems
unclear, however he clearly feels there is a discrepancy between his inner maturity or
“ripeness” and his outward appearance. At the time this poem was written Milton was
still a student at Christ’s College, Cambridge and perhaps he felt that his role as a
student or inferior to his teachers did not reflect the artistic maturity he felt he
possessed.
In lines eight through ten Milton begins to change his attitude toward the passage of
time by surrendering his “lot” or fate to the will of God, a power he considers to be
higher than that of Time. He also seems to relent some of his worry about the degree of
his success by implying that whether it is “less or more,” “soon or slow” doesn’t matter.
These lines mark a clear shift in the speaker’s thinking.

In the last three lines of the poem, Milton completely surrenders his worry about
success to the “will of Heaven." Interestingly, although this outlook is more positive in
some aspects than his opening attitude, he is still using a scapegoat to avoid taking
responsibility for his station in life. In the beginning, he blames Time for stealing away
his youth, displacing responsibility, and in the end, he displaces responsibility again by
surrendering his fate and the “great Task-master’s eye,” which is to say he believes he
has no say in what task God will assign him. So, although the poet feels that he has
gone through a self-discovery of sorts, he is back where he started.

SHYNESS MY SHIELD

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi(1869 - 1948) popularly known as ‘Mahatma Gandhi’

and ‘Bapuji’, was a key figure of the Indian national freedom struggle. Apart from being
a political leader, Gandhi also became well known for his strict adherence to truth, his
campaigns for human rights, and for championing the philosophy of non-violence.
Gandhi’s life and teachings inspire many leaders and socio-political movements, not just
in India but around the world.

This extract from Gandhi’s auto-biography ‘My Experiment With’ talks about how
Gandhi was not successful in expressing his opinion. There were many occasions
where he would prepare his speech on a paper,but would fail to speak. The first
instance was at the meeting of the vegetarian society. He was elected to the executive
committee of the vegetarian society. He could not speak in the meetings of the society.
He failed to make an impression on his audience however hard he tried. Mr. Hills, the
president and financier of the committee, was a puritan. Dr.Allison, another member of
the society, was anti puritan. He was also an advocate of the new birth control
movement. He preached its methods as cutting at the root of the morals. Therefore a
motion was brought forward for his removal. This interested Mr.Gandhi, he thought it
was quite improper to remove a man from a vegetarian society. He thought that any
vegetarian could be a member of the society, irrespective of his views on other morals.
Gandhi wanted to support Mr.Allison but he was not successful in expressing his
opinion. So, Gandhi resigned from society. The second instance was when Gandhi went
to Ventnor with Sjt.Mazumdar. They stayed there with a vegetarian family. They met
Mr.Howard. He invited them to speak at a meeting for the promotion of vegetarianism.
Gandhi had written down his speech. He stood up to read it. But he could not read. His
vision became blurred and he trembled, in the end Mazumdar had to read it for him. The
third instance was that before leaving London. He organized a party and invited his
vegetarian friends to the Holborn Restaurant. All made speeches. When it was Gandhi’s
turn to speak, he stood up to make a humorous speech but he could not proceed
beyond the first sentence. He made himself seem ridiculous. Gandhi then comments
that his constitutional shyness has been of no disadvantage. It was only after leaving
London and in South Africa that he got over his shyness though he never completely
overcame it. He explains that his hesitancy in speech taught him the economy of words.
It helped him in restraining his thoughts. He never uttered anything wrong and never
regretted anything he spoke or wrote. He concludes that his shyness helped him to
grow. It is his shield and buckler.