MARKING SCHEME: SERMON AT BENARES AND TREES

REFERENCE TO CONTEXT:

1. (i) – b
(ii) b
(iii) – c
(iv) – women compared to newly discharged patients/straining their boughs….

2. (i) b
(ii) c
(iii) d
(iv) this statement is a response to kisa’s question to the people in the neighbourhood if they
had lost anyone. This indicates that every family has someone who has passed away the process
of life and death is an ongoing one, hence the living are few and the dead are many.
SHORT ANSWERS:
1. At the age of 25, while hunting, one day Buddha saw a sick man, then an aged man, then a
funeral procession and finally a monk begging for alms. These moved him so much that he
went out into the world to seek enlightenment.
2. It is true that change never comes easy. In the poem ‘The Trees’, the trees of the forest were
cut down by man for selfish purposes. The forest was turned into a barren land as the trees
were captivated inside the house. However, the trees struggled really hard to free
themselves from the confines of the house and return to their natural habitat, i.e., forest.
3. The poem trees presents a rebellion of the tree against the human oppression and
imprisonment within walls. The forest is the natural habitat of the trees. The trees feel
suffocated in houses. They rebel against it and move out.

LONG ANSWERS:
1.

2. If it were part of the story ‘Glimpses of India’ the spiritual teachings of Buddha can be
included to give mental clarity to the people. The experience of Kisa Gotami can be
added to impart a lesson to grieving people. Benares or Varanasi is one of the seven
sacred cities of Hinduism due to the presence of the river Ganges there. Besides Ganga,
Bodhgaya and Bodhi trees in Sarnath can be highlighted. Buddha delivered his first
sermon there.
The fact that Varanasi or Benares is popular for its traditional silk sarees known as
Benarasi saree worldwide is worth highlighting in the history of Benares. Varanasi is also
called the city of Lord Shiva. Rare crystal and stone shiva lingas are available here. At last,
Gulabi Minakari of Benares can’t be left behind in the lessons’ s highlights.

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