ART AND CULTURE

Chapter.1 - ART ROCKS

-Rakahanda Jalil (from the Hindu)
INTRODUCTION
This travelogue about Bhimbetka, the pre-historic rock shelters in Madhya
Pradesh where early humans painted scenes from their life and their world.
Bhimbetka, as the author realizes, is an awe-inspiring gallery displaying art
that dates from the Palaeolithic (the early Stone Age) to the Medieval (the
middle ages), all on one stony canvas.

WORDS- MEANINGS
1 Sublime Uplifting, inspiring
2 Chanced upon Found by chance, quite, unexpectedly
3 Vicinity Neighborhood
4 Buddhist lore Traditional stories from Buddhism
5 Serendipitous By a happy coincidence
6 Hominids Early humans
7 Insignia A badge or emblem showing membership or rank in an
organization
8 Massed figure Many people
9 Tableaux Figures representing scenes from a story or history
10 Chronologically In the order in which they happened

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

C. Complete the …………………………….. in Bhimbetka.
Location 45 km from Bhopal at the southern edge of the low lying
Vindhyachal hills
Date of discovery 1957
Discovered by Vishnu Shridhar Wakankar
Name derived from Seat of Bhima
No of rock shelters 700
found
Type of art found Crude line paintings drawn by hands of human beings

Description of art The earliest traces of human life in India

found
Scenes depicted Scenes depicting hunting, fishing and food gathering as
well as communal dances, the use of musical
instruments, birth, funerals and burials. Boars,
elephants, rhinoceros, barasingha, spotted deer, cattle
and snakes. A gaily decorated horse, a man carrying a
plumed hand-held insignia similar to the ones still used
by Adivasi dancers, horse borne riders carrying blunt
stone instruments and then, progressively, bows and
arrows and massed figures engaged.
Period/Age of art Paleolithic age/30,000 years ago

Surrounding Sal trees, mustard and wheat

vegetation
Significance today It tells us about the pre-historic people, their activities,
clothing, animals they had. Besides throwing light on
their life styles. These inputs facilitate the study of
evolution of men.

D1. Which …………………………………………………….. society?

A1. All the scenes in the paintings show the images of humans and animals
individually as well as in groups. This shows that humans had started
organizing themselves into a primitive form of society already in the
Paleolithic period.

D2. Which …………………………………………………….. follow?

A2. The paintings show horse born-riders carrying blunt stone instruments.
Paintings high up on the rocks show later stages depicting bows and arrows.
The chief occupation followed by early humans included-hunting, fishing
and food gathering.
 Chapter-2
THE LAST STONEMASON
-Sigrun Shrivastav
Introduction- What will happen to a dying art. Will it
survive the last Stonemason?

WORDS- MEANINGS
1 Stained by many monsoon The paint was peeling after being exposed to
many monsoons
2 The lines around the old The old man showed displeasure.
man‟s mouth tightened
3 Working for a pittance Working for very little money
4 His face was ashen He looked pale
5 My strength is waning I am becoming weaker.
6 Eternally beautiful Always beautiful
7 To set it free with his chisel To carve it out
8 Felt his strength ebb Felt weak
9 His vision blurred He could not see clearly
10 Shock had He was so shocked that he could not move.
immobilized him
11 Quarry A place where stones are cut.

12 Fought the felling Did not give in to the urge.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

C1. Who was Salim? How ……………………………….him?
Ans. Salim was Masterjee‟s servant. He had been with him for five years.
Salim came to Masterjee as an orphan, in a furious monsoon storm, drenched
to the skin, dressed in tatters, begging for shelter. Since then, he had stayed
with Masterjee and had looked after him.

C2. Who was ………………. on? Why…………………… work?

Ans. Masterjee was working on a large statue of Lord Krishna. He was finding
it difficult to finish the work for various reasons. First of all, it was the biggest
statue he had ever carved so there was too much work which required
stamina and strength. He would have been able to manage it if his son, Gopal,
had not left him. Gopal was strong and very good at chipping off stone. The
old man was growing weak and because of the amount of work before him,
he had stopped eating well. This was only making it more difficult for him to
complete the job.

D1. “I know…………………………………………this?
Ans. Masterjee could see the art in Salim‟s heart and hands. Salim had
secretly practiced sculpting in the quarry because he wanted to become a
sculptor. Although he was already good at it, he was humble enough to ask
Masterjee to teach him. The fact that Salim had finally come to realize that
sculpting was his calling and that there was nothing in the world he wanted
to do more, also made Masterjee see the promise in him.
D2. Give instances………………………………………………… man.
Ans. When Gopal left, Salim comforted Masterjee with kind words. He was
constantly worried about the old man‟s health because he was not eating
well. He used to ensure that Masterjee had nutritious food to eat and would
bring him his tea. He constantly encouraged Masterjee by saying that he
would surely be able to finish the statue. When Masterjee fainted, Salim
carried him and put him in bed. Then he took it upon himself to try to finish
the statue, showing that he also cared about the fact that this work was very
important to Masterjee.
E. 1. a. The old man loved his work.
Ans. The following sentences show that the old man loved his work:
“it‟s not only the money that matters, son. It‟s the service, our service to
God.”
“We have kept up this tradition for hundreds of years . . . and I hoped you
would continue our work.”
b. the old man‟s strength was failing him.
In the early hours of the morning, the chisel fell from his hand, and the
hammer dropped to the ground. His shoulders began to ache, his arms felt
heavy and his eyes grew tired.
E2. Masterjee and Gopal………………………………………generations?
Ans. The generation gap was perhaps not the only reason for the big
difference between the ideas of Masterjee and Gopal about life and work. I
think the difference came from the ability to value and respect tradition, art
and skills. So, in my opinion, the difference between Gopal and Masterjee
stems from the ability or inability to connect with one‟s culture, traditions
and one‟s past, and from the ability or inability to respect and value one‟s
skills as an artist.

Chapter-3(Poem)
Percy Bysshe Shelley
OZYMANDIAS
INTRODUCTION
Ozymandias was the name by which Ramses II was known. He was a
pharaoh famous for the architectural structures he erected during his rule.
Shelly here uses Ozymandias to show that nothing lasts in the face of time
and nature, however proud or great a person maybe. Perhaps it is only art
that has the power to last and move generations.

WORDS- MEANINGS
1 Shattered visage Broken face
 2 Sneer of cold An expression of contempt and authority
command
3 Colossal wreck Huge, tremendous ruin.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

B. Explain the following phrases.

1. Trunkless legs – Only the legs remain on the pedestal which the trunk
and the face are lying beside the legs on the vast stretch of sandy land.
2. Wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command - The broken head of the
statue is described in this way – the lips are wrinkled the face has an
expression of contempt and authority, suggesting that the king was
proud and contempt somewhat unfeeling too.
3. Hand that mocked them – The hand is that of the sculptor who carved
out the statue. „Them‟ stands for the expression on the face of the
broken statue. The sculptor was highly skilled artist and therefore, he
carved the expression on the face of the statue which tells us the kind
of human being the king was.

EXTRA QUESTION
Q. Write the central idea of the poem.

Ans. The poem beautifully explains the power of art and word is greater
than the power of kings. Kings die and the sculptor who carves their life –
like images in the stone also dies, but art remains forever. It can defeat time
and it can defeat death. It can survive for centuries and tell the story of
distant past so art is greater and more powerful than these artists. Also a
work of art, whether a sculpture or a poem, even though it seems to be an
inanimate object, is greater and more powerful than the living human
being.