1.

ROMEO AND JULIET

SUMMARY: - WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

Both Romeo and Juliet use the images of ‘night-day’ and ‘black-white’ in their expressions of love for the other.
When Romeo sees Juliet for the first time in the ball, he is awestruck by her beauty which seems to have a glow
brighter than that of all the torches around! He feels that, amidst all the other ordinary girls that night, she
seems to stand out like ‘a rich jewel in an Ethiope’s ear’. He uses the phrase ‘snowy dove’ for Juliet as
contrasted with ‘crows’ used for the other women in the ball. He is stunned by Juliet’s beauty and believes that
he has never loved truly before because he had never seen true beauty before.

Waiting for Romeo, Juliet urges night to appear sooner than usual so that their meeting can take place soon.
Since they are to meet secretly, she asks the sun to set early and make way for night to come. She calls Romeo
‘day in night’, ie., a person whose fair looks can brighten up the darkest night. She uses the phrase ‘whiter than
new snow on a raven’s back’ to refer to Romeo handsomeness. Later, she asks the night to place Romeo in the
sky after her death so that the whole world will be in love with night and ignore the sun. Juliet’s use of words
like ‘when I shall die’, cut him out in little stars’ and ‘face of heaven’ all seem to point towards a premonition of
impending death on the part of Juliet. She has come to know that both of them belong to rival families and
their union might not be accepted kindly by either family. Hence, she is thinking of a time beyond death when
her lover will be worshipped by the whole world.

Then imagery used by both the characters highlight the fact that both think the other person is truly special in
every manner. The images are visually very successful in conveying the impression that both of them feel
intense love for each other.
2. TOO DEAR!
SUMMARY: - LEO TOLSTOY

The writer, Leo Tolstoy, looks comically at a situation where the administration, instead of punishing a
murderer, ends up paying for his upkeep throughout his life. This happens in the tiny kingdom of Monaco
which faces severe shortage of funds. In order to overcome this shortage, the Prince encourages gambling
which brings in revenue irrespective of whether people win or lose.

Once there is a murder in this kingdom, and the jury awards death sentence to the murderer. But a problem
arises due to this judgement because there is no guillotine for cutting heads off nor an executioner. When the
neighbouring French and Italian governments are contacted for help, they mention a hefty sum for supplying a
machine and an expert. When the Prince asks his own soldiers to do the job, they refuse to do so. The jury
decides that a huge amount of money cannot be spared, and converts the death sentence into one of life
imprisonments. They feel this would show the Prince in a kind light too. So the convict is housed in a small
place located with difficulty, and a guard is appointed to watch him and fetch his food from the palace kitchen.

After a year, it is noticed that this arrangement has resulted in a huge expenditure. This fact disturbs the Prince.
The jury advises him to dismiss the guard, at the risk of allowing the prisoner to escape. He agrees to it. But,
instead of escaping, the prisoner goes to the kitchen and after eating, goes promptly back to the prison. The
expenses of his food again disturbs the jury and the Prince. They confront the prisoner and ask the reason for
his not going away. The prisoner replies that he has no alternative but to stay at the prison because all his
chances of doing well in life have been spoilt by getting a bad name and staying idly in the prison. He refuses to
go away. The jury reconsiders the case and advises the Prince to give him a pension and send him away. The
prisoner agrees to this only on the condition that he would be paid regularly. The Prince agrees to it, and the
prisoner goes out of the kingdom, buys land and lives comfortably. He draws his pension regularly and gambles
for a short while. Then he goes back home, contented.
The title ‘Too Dear’ is deliberately vague; the phrases can mean ‘too expensive’ or ‘of great value’. Here it can
either refer to the expenses incurred in looking after the criminal or to the great value the people in authority
attach to money, thereby making a mockery of justice and propriety. Ironically, the Prince and his jury know the
price of everything but not the value of anything, not even of human life and liberty. Thus, the Prince who
made money through gambling, became a fool at the hands of a shrewd prisoner who succeeded in making the
Prince pay for his foolishness.
3. ON CHILDREN
SUMMARY: -KAHLIL GIBRAN

This is a poem by the Lebanese – American poet, Kahlil Gibran. It offers wise advice regarding parenting. The
Prohet, Almustafa which means ‘The Chosen One’, has lived in the foreign city of Orphalese for 12 years and is
about to board a ship which will carry him home. He is stopped by a group of people who stop him and discuss
various topics such as life and the human condition. The book is divided into various chapters dealing with love,
marriage, children, giving, eating and drinking, work, joy and sorrow, houses, clothes, buying and selling, crime
and punishment, laws, freedom, reason and passion, pain, self knowledge, teaching, friendship, talking, time,
good and evil, prayer, pleasure, beauty, religion and death.

A woman holds her child against her bosom and asks the Prophet to advise her about the child’s upbringing. In
reply to her question, Almustafa says the lines that are given for study here. The first few lines tell the parents
who their children are, and the remaining lines enlighten the parents about their duty towards their children.

The Prophet says something very surprising; he says that our children are not really our children, for us to claim
that we have control over them and they will listen to each and every word of ours. They are the result of Life’s
longing for itself, its desire to replicate itself. Children stay with us, but do not belong to us. Parents cannot
command children to do various things or treat them like their puppets. Their role is that of only a ‘Steward’
whose duty is to cater to the needs of the passengers during their journey through life. The Prophet says that
we have the right to only love our children but not shape their thoughts or conquer their souls. He says that
parents can be like children, but children should not be like their parents because life flows forward not
backward. The past of the parents can act as a barrier for innovation, and children belong to the future. Hence
parents cannot insist that children should follow what they have done, but give them freedom to build their
future according to their wishes.

The Prophet gives the metaphor of bow to parents and the metaphor of arrow to children, and says that the
bow has to be stable and stay behind in order to send the arrow ahead, far into the distance. He reminds the
woman and all parents that God loves the bow (the parents) and the arrow (the children) equally. He is the
Archer who bends the bows (parents) to send the arrows (children) to their respective destinations. Therefore,
He wants the bows to be strong and flexible, so that they can send the arrows to the farthest destinations. This
might have reference to the kind of discipline and firmness coupled with affection, concern and detachment
that a parent should show in the upbringing of the child. Over-protection or authoritarianism on the part of the
parents will result in weak or rebellious children. Thus, Kahlil Gibran educates parents on how to mingle love
with detachment to bring up confident, happy children.
4. EVERYTHING I NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN T HE FOREST

SUMMARY: - VANDANA SHIVA

This article is by the noted environmental activist, Vandana Shiva, who has been an advocate of bio-diversity.
Here she says that she learnt her lessons in biodiversity from the Himalayan forests and ecosystems. Her
father’s job as a forest conservator and her mother’s songs about the environment helped to develop a love for
nature which would only grow throughout her life.She first became involved in the ecology movement through
the ‘Chipko’ movement, a non-violent movement to stop large scale deforestation. Uneducated, peasant
women took initiative in the movement because they suffered more when logging took place, leading to
scarcity of water, fodder and fuel. Cutting down of trees meant they had to walk longer distance with heavier
burden. In later years, Vandana became a volunteer for the Chipko movement, going on padayatras and
documenting the deforestation and work of the forest activists.

From Chipko, she learnt about biodiversity and transferred those lessons to protection of biodiversity in farms.
At Navdanya Farm in Doon Valley in Uttarakhand Province, they collected innumerable varieties of rice, wheat
and other grains. Working with farmers, they set up more than 100 community seed banks, and saved more
than 3000 rice varieties. They promoted biodiversity intensive form of farming and organic farming in order to
produce more food and nutrition per acre.

Referring to the global thinking about nature, Vandana says that Ecuador has recognized the ‘rights of nature’
in its constitution, and inspired by this, the United Nations General Assembly organized a conference on
harmony with nature as part of Earth Day celebrations. The Conference stressed that mans has to recognize
that human beings are an inseparable part of nature and we damage ourselves by damaging it. Vandana says
that racial apartheid might have been overcome, but eco-apartheid, the illusion of separateness of humans
from nature in our minds and lives, has to be understood and overcome. She says this idea of separateness
began with the industrial revolution which transformed the living Earth into dead matter, and led to
monocultures that destroyed all diversity. This gradually gave way to capitalism and exploitation.

Referring to her Earth University which is located at Navdanya, and was inspired by Rabindranath Tagore’s
learning center at Shantiniketan in West Bengal, Vandana says that it teaches Earth Democracy, which is the
freedom for all species to evolve within the web of life, and the freedom and responsibility of humans, as
members of the Earth family, to recognize, protect and respect the rights of other species. Earth Democracy is a
shift from anthropocentrism to ecocentrism, leading to freedom from hunger and thirst.
Vandana quotes Tagore’s thoughts about harmony between man and nature, and how diversity in nature
teaches man to tolerate diversity in life. In his essay ‘Tapovan’ Tagore also wrote that the forest teaches us to
enjoy nature without exploitation or accumulation; it teaches us to be satisfied with the gifts of nature.
Vandana agrees with him and says that it is only the forest which can teach us compassion and co-operation.
Only when our lifestyle of consumerism and accumulation is changed, do we begin to enjoy life.

5. A SUNNY MORNING

SUMMARY: - SERAFIN AND JOAQUIN ALVAREZ QUINTER

This is a delightful one-act comedy consisting of four characters, two of them playing a minor role in the
proceedings. Two of them, Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo, are old lovers who were forced to separate due to
certain circumstances. They meet again after a gap of many years and now they are old. The play depicts their
feelings and behaviour when they get to know about each other’s identity. The action takes place on a sunny
morning on a bench in a park in Madrid, Spain.

Dona Laura is a handsome old lady, aged about 70 years. On that particular bright morning she comes to the
park with her maid Petra to feed the birds. The maid goes away to meet her friend and Laura watches the birds
eat the breadcrumbs she has thrown for them. Don Gonzalo and his servant Juanito come there at that time.
Not finding his usual bench or any other bench empty, Gonzalo comes and sits beside Laura. Both start
conversing with each other but it is not a pleasant conversation. It begins with Laura’s taunt in response to
Gonzalo’s reluctant greeting. Both get irritated and speak rather sharply to each other. Out of exasperation,
Gonzalo takes out a book and adjusts two pairs of glasses on his nose to read the book. Laura makes fun of his
poor eyesight. Gonzalo retorts angrily that his eyesight is good enough to hunt regularly. Laura again treats his
remark sarcastically. Then Gonzalo gets ready to take snuff and offers her some. She takes it, and both sneeze
three times alternately.
Then the atmosphere changes and they start talking in a polite, friendly manner. Gonzalo begins to read loudly,
and when Laura laughs at him for reading through two pairs of glasses, challenges her to read. Laura takes the
book but quotes from her memory. Ganzalo appreciates her good eye sight, and starts talking about his past
life. He mentions that he was a good friend of Campoamor whom he had met in his native city, Valencia. He
asks Laura whether she knew the place. She says that she knew it because she hailed from a villa named
Maricela near Valencia. Gonzalo is surprised to hear that name and says that he had seen the most beautiful
woman, Laura Llorente, there. Now it is Laura’s turn to be surprised, and after staring for a while at Gonzalo,
recognizes him as the man she had loved before. She also realizes that she is herself the woman being referred
to. But she doesn’t reveal that fact and talks about a friend who was named Laura, but was called ‘The Silver
Maiden’, and stood at the window daily. Gonzalo recalls the window at which the lady would stand, beautiful
and with a sweet expression on her face. Laura says to herself that she is the lady, but remarks that her friend
had a sad love affair. Again they stare at each other and Laura realizes that it is Gonzalo, her old lover. Gonzalo
doesn’t recognize her and continues to talk about a duel involving the friend’s lover and a merchant who was
supposed to marry Laura. Laura continues the story, and Gonzalo realizes that she is Laura but doesn’t reveal
the fact. When Laura asks the reason for her friend’s lover not presenting himself anymore to her friend,
Gonzalo says that his cousin had written many letters to Laura. But there was no reply and hence he joined the
army, went to Africa and died there, he also accuses Laura’s friend of having been indifferent to his cousin.
Laura refutes that and says that her friend, disappointed at not getting any letters from her lover, went to the
beach, sat, pining for her lover, on a rock and was washed away by a wave. Both express their sympathies for
the friend and the cousin. To themselves, they reveal that both are married. Laura gets ready to leave. Gonzalo
decides that he will not reveal himself because he has become grotesque and he wants her to remember the
gallant horseman who passed beneath her window long ago. While waiting for her maid. Laura also decides not
to reveal herself as even she wants him to remember the black-eyed girl tossing flowers as he passed beneath
the window. As each leave the park, both are sure that the other is the one he/she had loved before. They
smile sweetly at each other and finally leave with their servants.

6. WHEN YOU ARE OLD

SUMMARY: -W.B YEATS

The young poet is writing a book of poems which he wants his lady love to read when she is old, her hair gray
and her eyes tired and full of sleep. He wants her to take it up when she is weak and nodding by the fire. He
says that even then, at that age, she will be struck by the depth of his feelings for her. He was not like the usual
admirers, appreciating only her goodness and physical beauty. He had loved her for her ‘pilgrim soul’, i.e., her
imperishable soul, and not her perishable beauty. He had even loved the ‘sorrows of her changing face. He
want to emphasize that even as her face lost its beauty, he was devoted to her. As she read the book, he wants
her to recall the love she had in her eyes for him in her younger days. He is also certain that once she recalls
that time, she will also murmur sadly that that love has vanished; she had not reciprocated to his love and
hence Love itself had ‘fled and hidden his face amid a crowd of stars’. Whatever may be the case, the poet
wants to stress that he would love her till his death and he wants her to remember him when she is old.
 7. THE GARDENER

SUMMARY: P. LANKESH

This is a story within a story. A story is conceived by the narrator about an old man whom he met in a coconut
farm near Channarayapatna. In his turn, the old man tells a story to the owner’s wife. The old man had come to
the plantation walking hundreds of miles. He understood agriculture and labourers very well. The owner of the
plantation needed someone like him and immediately appointed him. Things improved dramatically, thefts
stopped, plantation expanded, the owner’s wealth and social prestige rose. But things were going out of
control due to the owner’s new extravagant habits. The wife was worried. The old man saw her and sitting
beside her, told her the story of Tammanna.
Tammanna was well-to-do in all respects. But he had a rival, Basavaiah, with whom he was in constant
competition with regard to acquisition of land and accumulation of admirers. Once, when Basavaiah
encroached upon tammanna’s land viciously, Tammanna through of a method to destroy him totally. He
started composing songs and ballads about his experiences, and he made a mention of Basavaiah’s cruelty and
meanness. This made Tammanna popular in all the surrounding villages, and very soon he was felicitated as the
best poet of the times. Basavaiah could not compete in this area. He began accumulating more and more
material wealth, and encroaching more and more into Tammanna’s land. But Tammanna was not affected by
this. Once Tammanna fell ill. Basavaiah felt victorious as he was hale and hearty. However, Tammanna thought
of punishing Basavaiah in the surest possible way. He decided to give up everthing and go away. A few days
after he left, Basavaiah died, as he had no more reason to live. Tammanna, on his part forgot all his songs and
ballads, and became a non-entity.
At the end, the old man consoles the owner’s wife that her husband is also being consumed by some feeling of
revenge, which is present in every human being’s life. She cannot do anything but wait for the day when he is
disillusioned by all this like Tammanna, or the old man himself, and retreat from it all.
In this manner, the writer gives us a wonderful story about the basic urges of human beings, which, as long as
we indulge them, go on pushing us towards more and more, and the moment we deny them, subside totally,
leaving us free, calm beings. Enmity or rivalry cannot survive without an adversary.

8. TO THE FOOD FROM ITS CHILD

SUMMARY: - PABLO NERUDA

The poem is about a child’s foot which has various dreams when it is small, but soon understands that it cannot
achieve any of them because it is condemned to live in a shoe like a prisoner. Separated from its fellow, it
slowly gets used to the dark world of the shoe, and moves around life like a blind man. Over a period of time,
the soft nails of the foot become hard and the tiny petaled toes of the child ‘take on the form of eyeless
reptiles with triangular heads, like worms’. They become coarse. As it grows and becomes big, the foot ‘this
blind thing’ gets involved in the mechanical act of walking without respite, hour after hour. The foot never rests
in love or sleep. It walks until ‘the whole man chooses to stop’, i.e., die and then descends into the grave with
the dead man. However, even then the foot is unaware that it is no longer a foot. In its innocence, or
ignorance, it wonders whether it is being buried so that it can fly like a butterfly or become an apple.

Here the foot symbolises a human being who has to move forward, reach many places in his lifetime. But when
the foot itself is confined to being a prisoner in a shoe and moving around like a blind thing, the human being
cannot achieve much. Very soon his life becomes mechanical, moving up and down, to and fro relentlessly. He
never stops even for love or sleep; he stops only when he dies. And even then, he will be wondering whether
he is dying so that he can realize his dreams in the next life. Basically, the poem talks about the loneliness of
man who cannot share his dreams or achieve them in his lifetime because, as he grows, he is expected to
perform many roles and duties that are totally different from his dreams. One’s whole life becomes mechanical
and meaningless without any opportunity to think about one’s dreams or share them with others.
 9. I BELIEVE THAT BOOKS WILL NEVER DISAPPEAR
SUMMARY: - INTERVIEW WITH JORGE LUIS BORGES
This is an excerpt from Twenty four Consversations with Borges by Roberto Alifano. The interviewer asks the
writer various questions about, poetry, books and literature to which the visually impaired writer answers with
great insight and eagerness.
Borges reveals that his early literary reading happened in his father’s library. Regarding his feelings towards his
mother he says that he feels very guilty for not having made his mother sufficiently happy, and for taking her
for granted. He feels he should have been more understanding. Regarding his blindness, he says that he
doesn’t feel unhappy about it because he takes it as a resource. He says that ‘all that happens to us, including
humiliations, our misfortunes, our embarrassments, all are given to us as raw material as clay, so that we may
shape our art’. Quoting Goethe, he says that ultimately, all things leave us. His vision left him but fortunately it
was replaced by other things. He mentions that in spite of being blind. He fills his house with books. Then the
interviewer asks him about books. Borges says that every book goes beyond its author’s intention. When we
read an ancient book, we are actually reading all time that has passed from the day it was written to our
present day. He maintains that no matter how many errors the book has, whether we accept or reject the
author’s opinions, the book always retains something sacred, mortal and magical which brings happiness.

When asked about poetry, Borges says that it cannot be defined without oversimplifying it because it is so
intimate and essential. He feels that the poem is not very significant because it may be nothing more than a
series of symbols, but it is the poetry that is the aesthetic act. Poetry is the poetic act that takes place when the
poet writes it, when the reader reads it, and it always happens in a slightly different manner. He says that
poetry is a magical, mysterious and unexplainable – though not incomprehensible event. If one doesn’t fell the
poetic event upon reading it, the poet has failed. He also stresses that it is very important to find precise words
in poetry because they elicit the emotion. He quotes a line from Emily Dickinson: “This quiet dust was
gentlemen and ladies”. He feels the word ‘dust’ is quite banal and commonplace, but the phrase ‘gentlemen
and ladies’ was exceptional and gave the line and magic and poetic quality. Talking about metaphors, he says
they have existed from the beginning, and can be reduced to five essential metaphors of time and a river; life
and dreams; death and sleep; stars and eyes; flowers and women. Going back to the topic of books, he
maintains that books will never disappear because, unlike the other inventions that are extensions of our
bodies, the book is an extension of our imagination and memory. About literature, he says that we owe
literature almost everything we are and what we have been, also what we will be. Books are the great memory
of all centuries. This function is irreplaceable. If books disappear, history and man would disappear.

10. HEAVEN, IF YOU ARE NOT HERE ON EARTH

SUMMARY: KUVEMPU
This poem is a translation of the Kannada poem Swargave, Bhoomiyoliradire Neenu. It reveals the rationalistic
outlook of the poet who sees God in Nature. There is no other god for him since he has not been able to see
any god nor has anyone else. Addressing heaven, the poet says that it cannot be far away in the sky or
elsewhere; it has to be on the earth because there is no other suitable place for it. We human beings have to
be gods and heavenly nymphs because there are no other gods or nymphs. Nobody has seen them. Nature is
God to him, and worship of Nature is worship of God. Nature is bountiful and generous towards man. All the
beautiful things of the earth – the rushing roaring stream with its sparkling water, the rolling surf at the edge of
waves, the tender sunshine falling upon lush green gardens the gentle sun warming the earth the splendour of
harvest and of moonlight – all these make the earth a heaven. He feels that, surely, there cannot be anything
more beautiful to constitute a heaven. As the proverb goes, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Poets, being
more sensitive, can see more than others. It is the poet, who, as the Kannada saying reveals, can see what the
sun cannot see, and, by expressing everything in wonderful language, points out the beauty of the earth to
everyone, by articulating his profound, noble thoughts, he creates heaven here itself.
 11. JAPAN AND BRAZIL THROUGH A TRAVELER’S EYE
SUMMARY: - GEORGE MIKES

This is a tongue-in-cheek account of the writer’s travels in Japan and Brazil. The excerpts talk about some
practices unique to these two countries. First, in the excerpt titled ‘Japanese Manners’, the writer talks about
his visit to Japan. Upon arriving there, he is impressed by the extremely well-mannered people. He also notices
that, since the country is a very small one in terms of area, the people there have no privacy, even to talk on
the phone. But people respect others’ privacy by not listening to their private talk. They compensate for their
lack of privacy by showing courtesy. Next, the writer comments on the habit of the Japanese to bow to
everyone. This act of bowing is very dignified but the writer finds it difficult to learn the right manner of
bowing. He bows either too low or does not bow at all. He learns that there is a hierarchy in bowing: who bows
to whom, how deeply and for how long. If two Japanese bow, neither is to straighten up before the other
stands erect in front of him. The Japanese manage this without difficulty and even the smallest difference in
rank, standing, age, social position will be subtly reflected in that split second one man’s bow is shorter than
the other’s. There are clear cut rules in the family too, as to who should bow to whom. There are bowing girls
who bow to all and sundry; coach conductors bow before they check the tickets; and the writer mentions that
even a deer bowed to him before it snatched the food-bag from his hand. Even at the bus-stops, people bowed
to each other in dignity, but the moment the bus arrived, all dignity was thrown to the winds and people
pushed one other in their hurry to board the bus.
With regard to eating soup, the writer says that noise has to be made while eating the soup in order to show
appreciation. However, when a foreigner does make noise, the Japanese hostess might look at him with
contempt.
In the next excerpt ‘Traffic in Brazil’, talking about footpaths in Brazil, the writer says that they are very
beautiful, well decorated places, reflecting the sense of beauty of the citizens. The Brazilians do not hurry
about at all, as along as they are walking. They amble around leisurely. But the same citizens, when they are
behind a steering wheel, are entirely different people. They drive murderously fast, and target pedestrians who
dare to step off the pavement. They compete bitterly with their fellow drivers, cutting in, overtaking from both
sides and forcing them to commit many crimes. But there is no hostility or illwill between the drivers or
between them and the pedestrians. They smile at one another, just like they smile at the pedestrian they have
forced to run for his life.
The writer says that the main roads in Brazil are so crowded with traffic that pedestrians find it impossible to
cross from one side of the road to the other. He narrates a humourous occasion where a person, on seeing his
friend on the other side of the road, asks with surprise how he managed to cross over, and the friend replies
that he could be there only because he was born on that side.
 12. THE VOTER

SUMMARY: -CHINUA ACHEBE

In this short story, Chinua Achebe throws light on how democracy works in a newly independent African state
in the post-colonial period. He gives a satirical picture of the workings of ‘democracy’ in the village of Umuofia.
Rufus Okeke, or Roof, was very popular in his village because he had come back to his village to guide the igbo
people even though he had a bright future in a big city as a bicycle repairer’s apprentice. Majority of the
villagers were illiterate and poor. He was in the service of the honourable minister, Marcus Ibe, for the coming
elections. He had become an expert at election campaigning at all levels - village, local government or national.
Right now he foresaw that the people of Umuofia were dissatisfied with Marcus because he had not got them
anything after being elected the previous time. Marcus himself had grown wealthy, acquired long cars and built
the biggest house in the area. There was a private plant to provide electricity to his house as there was no
running water or electricity. After people attended the grand feast he gave to everyone in his village, they
began asking questions and decided to be more careful in the coming elections. Marcus anticipated this and
gathered shining shillings and little jute bags which he sent with Roof and the others on their whispering
campaigns.
Roof first addressed a group of elders who were against Marcus. He spoke in favour of PAP, Marcus party, and
placed 2 silver shillings in front of every elder. The leader protested that the money was too less. Roof placed
one more on the ground in front of each. The elders did not try to pick up the money. Finally, Roof got up, gave
each one more shilling and got ready to go, saying that he didn’t care who they voted for, as he was sure
Marcus would win anyway. The elder yielded.
Roof had planned his campaign for himself very shrewdly. When the going was good, he had taken advantage
of it. He had got one of his rich robes from Marcus, availed special privileges in Marcus’ house like free bottles
of beer, and also won a land case only because he was close to Marcus.
One night, Roof was visited by the leader of the POP campaign team. That party was the new one formed by
the tribes down the coast, and was supposed to have lot of money. The leader came in, and without saying
anything, kept five red pounds on the floor. Roof, who had been looking at shillings till then, was mesmerized
by the pounds. On the assurance that news wouldn’t leak, he agreed to support their candidate. The leader
made him swear on an iyi.
Very soon election-day came, and Roof became busy, advising and urging voters to vote for his leader. When it
was his turn to vote, Roof was in a fix. Through it was secret ballot and no one would have known, he
experienced pangs of guilt. He could throw out neither Marcus nor the five pounds from his mind. Finally, he
tore the ballot paper into two along the crease and put one half in each box. He came out feeling light.
Thus, the smooth operator Roof, who was well-versed at electioneering, cast an invalid vote and made a
mockery of democracy. He wasted his vote.
 13. WHERE THERE IS A WHEEL

SUMMARY: - P. SAINATH

The book ‘Everybody loves a good drought’ chronicles the innumerable failures of the government in bringing
about positive change in the country in spite of good intentions. Most of them have failed because proper
thinking had not been done before framing of the policy or the implementation of it. Some failed due to apathy
on the part of government and the people. The book has seen many reprints and has been translated in to all
the major Indian languages, where again it has been reprinted many times.
This article is about the ‘cycle revolution’ that swept across Pudukottai in Tamil Nadu in 1992. Pudukottai is one
of India’s poorest districts, and hence the cycle came as a boon to the women who saw it as a metaphor for
confidence, freedom, self-sufficiency and economic progress. Even when women could not afford to buy the
cycle, they hired it for short periods and enjoyed the independence it gave. Women working in varied jobs –
agricultural workers, quarry labourers, health nurses, balwadi and anganwadi workers, gem-cutters, school
teachers, gramsevikas, mid-day meal workers – saw a direct link between cycling and their personal freedom.
The revolution was enabled by Arivoli Iyakkam which also led the district’s literacy drive. The organisation also
conducted ‘cycling training camps’ and arranged ‘exhibition-cum-contests to build awareness about cycling.
The whole project was started by the former district collector, Sheela Rani Chunkath, who desired to train
female activists so that literacy wuld reach women in the interior areas. She also included mobility as a part of
the literary drive, and forced banks to provide loans to women to buy cycles. Rural women were enthralled by
the cycle because it mainly gave them confidence, self-respect and freedom. They no longer needed to wait for
buses or the male members of their families to reach them to the bus stop. When they had to sell agricultural
produce, they could do that in shorter time, and with wider reach. This could be done, catering to the
children’s needs too, because many women carried their children on the bar of the cycle while their produce or
water pots hung at the back, on the carrier. Besides, it gave them leisure time. Thus, though the women had to
suffer dirty remarks from the men, they did not care about it and experienced freedom by cycling.

14. WATER

SUMMARY:

The Telugu poet, Challapalli Swaroopa Rani (b.1968) obtained her doctorate at the University of Hyderabad and
is, at present, the Head of the Centre of Buddhist Studies, Nagarjuna University, Guntur. She is a popular
literary critic and writer, and has received several awards for her literary contributions. Among other posts that
she holds, she is the chief editor of the monthly journal on Dalit issues called ‘Bahujanakeratalu’ and also a
member of the editorial board of the monthly journal ‘Samantara Voice’. The present poem is taken from the
anthology The Exercise of Freedom: An Introduction to Dalit Writing, consisting of poems, articles, and essays
by Dalit writers.

The caste system has been the bane of Indian society. The system which was evolved in order to enable
smooth functioning of society by entrusting certain tasks to certain groups of people, has lost its meaning
today. In the older times, varnashrama or the caste system helped people to know and perform their duties
well. A Brahmin, at the top of the caste ladder, was supposed to accumulate knowledge and disseminate it to
the rest; a Kshatriya was supposed to engage in warfare and protect his land; a Vaishya was expected to
engage in agriculture, trade and commerce; a Shudra was expected to engage in manual work. However, over a
period of time, interaction between the castes became stilted and each caste became a tight compartment by
itself. Only the name of the caste retained significance but not the duties attached to it. Thus, concepts of high
caste and low caste evolved, and people of low castes were looked down upon. They were ill-treated and
oppressed in every manner. This led to lot of inequality in society with some castes, i.e., the lower ones, not
being allowed to get educated or prosper in life. Further, there emerged a group of people who did not belong
to any of the four castes and were below all of them. They were the most deprived and the most suppressed of
the lot. This situation continued for many centuries till the British arrived and tried to put an end to it. Gandhiji,
along with many other national leaders, fought against the caste system. He called the last group ‘Harijans’.
They are also called dalits or untouchables. After independence, with India declaring itself a democratic
country, even dalits are provided all the rights that an upper caste person enjoys. However, social mindset
changes very slowly, and thus, even after 65 years of independence, the lower castes do not enjoy many rights
in real life. They do get many opportunities to study, to work and carry on life as they wish, but in many
villages, the situation remains as it was before independence. There is still lot of discrimination and the lives of
many dalits are destroyed if they every dare to confront an upper caste person. Even today, water-sources and
places of worship are used to practice discrimination against the dalits. They are not allowed near them. They
are forced to live on the outskirts of town and villages.

The poet writes about water, and in the process, traces the whole of man’s civilization. She says that water has
been the lone witness to every kind of discrimination, beginning from the time of Jesus Christ who was denied
water from the Samaria woman to the modern times when states deny water to other states, though for
different reasons. She says that water known the difference of castes between the leather, i.e., cobblers who
work with leather (skin of animals) and spool, i.e., weavers, she means to say that though Nature has provided
water for all, man uses it in such a manner that it seems some castes are not fit to receive water at all.
She refers to her wada or locality of the dalits, which was always discriminated against by the villagers who
were conscious about caste and sub-castes. She refers to the agony of the panchama, those who are
considered so low that they are below the lowest in the caste system, i.e., the shudra. The panchama has to
wait all day near the well because he is an upper caste. She talks about the humiliation of a wada girl who is
given water from a distance because the giver does not want to touch her even accidentally, but the same giver
doesn’t hesitate to touch her lustfully.

She refers to the various protests against such discrimination carried out by Karamchedu Suvarthamma at
Madigapalle in Andhra Pradesh and Baba Ambedkar at the Chadar tank in Mahad in Maharashtra, and says that
in spite of such struggles, things have not improved much for the dalits. The poet recalls the time when in her
wada, they rejoiced for being able to bathe once a week whereas the ‘other’ bathed twice a day. She also
recalls how, as children, they had to walk miles to reach the big canal and carry back heavy pots of water with
great difficulty. Then she recalls how a dalit’s house burnt down to ashes in Malapalle because there was no
water to put out the fire.

The poet says that water can do both: give life and take it too. It can quench thirst and swallow whole villages
in the form of a tsunami. It can cause strife between villages and wadas, between states and make blood flow
in streams. But when it is the case of the filthily – rich multinational companies, it can ‘sit innocently in a Bisleri
bottle’ and ‘dance its way into the Pepsi man’s bottle’
In this way, the poet says, water contains the world and controls it.