Bihar Board Class 9Th English chapter 1 The Grandmother Solutions | Bseb class 9Th Chapter 1 The Grandmother Notes

1. If I ………… to see her……… from a mile away.

2. I’d know so …….. that it …….. be her.

3. If I ………… hands on my ……….

4. I’d know that those ……….. her…….

5. If I .…………… a voice coming …….. a rock.

6. I’d know and her words ………… flow.

Ans.— 1. were, shape 2. quickly, would 3. felt, head   4. were, hands .  5. heard, from  6. would

Ans.— The poet recognises his grandmother from a mile.

Ans.— The colour of grandmother’s scarf is purple.

Ans.— The shopping-bag is made of plastic.

Ans.— The poet has mentioned two identifying marks that helps the speaker to recognise his grandmother from a mile. These marks are her purple scarf and her plastic shopping bag.

Ans.— In the poem, the poet feels the tender touch of his grandmother. Her hands are warm and damp with the smell of roots. This suggests the homeliness and the care that the speaker feels with his grandmother.

Ans.— The voice was coming from a rock.

Ans.— The words of grandmother flow inside the poet.

Ans.— The purple scarf and ‘the plastic shopping bag’ suggest the social position of the speaker. That the grandmother carries the plastic shoping bag is suggestive of her belongingness to the middle class. Similary, the purple scarf refers to her religion, i.e. Christianity. Thus we can say that the grandmother belongs to the middle class Christian society.

Ans.— The poet expresses the close and emotional relationship with his grandmother through a number of image. The first image is that of his grandmother wearing a purple scarf and carrying a plastic shopping bag. The fact that the poet could recognise her from a mile away is suggestive of the deep emotional bond between the two. The fact that the voice of his grandmother coming from a rock would flow inside the . speaker also suggests the deep emotional bond.

Ans.— The ‘sleeping fire! in the poem suggests that even after the death of his grandmother, the speaker’s feelings and emotions for her remain alive. He may outwardly appear to have forgotten her, but at the core of his heart he still has his grandmother alive. He remembers everything about her as if they all happened only yesterday.

Ans.— The ‘stirring ashes’ in the poem suggests the deep emotions in the heart of the speaker. He may appear calm outwardly as if he had forgotten his grandmother but inwardly the image of his grandmother is always alive. He still remembers whatever she used to do and the love and care she bestowed on him.

Ans.— He has used images which appeal to all the five senses. The images and their appeal to different senses are as follows:

Images :                                                            Sense Organs

(a) the purple scarf & the plastic shopping bag — Eye

(b) a voice coming from a rock                          — Ear

(c) smell of roots                                               — Nose

(d) roots                                                            — Tongue

(e) hand on my head/hand warm and damp   — Skin (touch)