Flamingo Prose Introduction

Ch-6 Poets And pancakes~ Asokamitran(tamil writer)

# The essay “Poets and pancakes’ is an extract from Asokamitran’s book “My years with boss”.
The boss was S.S Vasan who founded the Gemini Studios which produced a number of films
that influenced every aspect of Indian life.

Ch-5 Indigo ~ Louis Fischer(born in Philadelphia, volunteer in british army,

journalist in New York Times and The Saturday Review, Faculty at Princeton
University, biography on Gandhi-“The Life of Mahatma”)
# Indigo is an excerpt from his book- The life of Mahatma. This story is to glorify the struggle of
Mahatma Gandhi against the britishers for the peasants of Champaran, Bihar. This incident
lasted a whole year but didn’t come empty handed. Britishers agreed to meet the demands of
the peasants.

Ch-4 the Rattrap~ Selma Lagerlof(Swedish writer)

# ‘The Rattrap’ is a metaphor to highlights the human predicament. Just as a rat is fooled by a
bait and gets trapped, most human beings are likely to fall into the trap of material benefits. It
suggests that the world is rattrap. Riches, joys, shelter and food are all the lucrative baits to trap
mankind.

Ch-3 Deep Water` William Doughlas (born in Maine, Minnesota, bachelors of

Arts in Economics and English, 2 years of teaching high school in Yakima, legal
career, leading advocate of individual rights, retired in 1975 with longest
serving justice of 36 years. Excerpt from Of Men and Mountains)
# this chapter is an excerpt from his autobiography Of Men and Mountains. He talks about his
fear of water, how this terror strikes him everytime he visits a beach or a lake. He talks about an
incident when his fear turned into a phobia. And how he finally overcame it.
Ch-2 Lost Springs: Stories of stolen childhood~ Anees Jung (born in
Rourkela, childhood and education in Hyderabad)
#This chapter describes two stories of children from deprived background. In this stories it has
been described that their childhood is lost due to socio-economic condition prevailing in this
world in the name of poverty and tradition that results into exploitation.

Ch-1 The Last Lesson~ Alphonse Daudet(French novelist, short story

writer)
# Alphonse Daudet in the lesson ‘the Last Lesson’ describes the effect on local residents and
students when Alsace and Lorraine two French districts were passed into Prussian hands.

Flamingo Poem Introduction

P-1 My Mother at Sixty Six~ Kamala Das(born in Malabar, Kerala, novels and
short stories by name ‘Madhavikutty’ , 5 books of poetry, lyrical idiom)
# Kamala Das one of India’s foremost poet is a sensitive writer whocaptures the complex
subtleties of human relationship in lyrical idioms. Her words are known for their originality,
versatility and indigenous flavor of the soil.

P-3 Keeping Quiet~ Pablo Neruda(pen name id Neftali Richardo Reyes

Basalto, born in Paraal in Chile, Nobel price for literature in 1971)
# Its main theme is significance of mindfulness, introspection which lead to attention, unity and
brotherhood. It was an appeal to pause and really see that set in a mundane flurry of human
habit.

P-4 A Thing of Beauty~ John Keats( British Romantic Poet, excerpt from
‘Endymion; A poetic Romance’, based on Greek legend who lived on Mount
Latmos, Cynthia is the moon goddess)
# The poem tells us about how nature and its wonder mesmerize us and take away all the
sorrow that surrounds us from time to time. Central theme is that beauty is eternal and has a
timeless lifelong attraction.
P-6 Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers~ Andrienne Rich(born in Baltimore Maryland,
USA, involved in women’s movement as a poet and theorist, 19 volumes of
poetry, 3 collections of essays)
# This poem is about and old married lady who is trapped in a male dominated marriage and
how her art enables her to flee her unhappy union. Its divided into here stanzas which explain
about characteristics of tigers, problems of aunt and her expectations.

Supplementary Introduction
S-1 The Third Level~ Jack Finney
# This story is set after the world wars. It weaves together pyscological journey of the narrator
into the past, present and progresses towards the future.

S-2 the Tiger King~Kalki

# The story is a satire on the willingfulness of the people who kill innocent animals just to satisfy
their ego.

S-3 Journey to the End Of The Earth~ Tishani Doshi

# The author shares her experience when she went on an expedition with a group of teenagers
affiliated with ‘Students On Ice’ program to Antartica.

S-4 The Enemy~ Pearl S. buck

# It is the time of the world war. An American prisoner of war is washed ashore in a dying state
and is found at the doorstep of a Japanese doctor.

S-6 on The Face Of It~ Susan Hill

# this is a play featuring a old man and a small boy meeting in the old man’s garden. The old
man strikes friendship with the boy who is very withdrawn and defiant.