COSTLIER THAN MONEY
PLAYTHINGS
Ravindranath Tagore
Word Meaning
1. Twig – branch, stick
2. Glance – look
3. Absorbed – with full concentration, suck
4. Lumps – chunk, sum
5. Frail – weak, feeble
6. Canoe – small lightweight boat
C.2 From the text.
What are glad games?
Glad games are those types
of games that make one happy and glad. A child playing with a broken twig in
the yard and is happy with it, is a glad game for the child.
C.6 Answer the following questions.
a. What are the child
and the adult doing?
They both are playing games.
The child sitting in the dust, is playing with a broken twig all the morning
and the adult is busy with his accounts, adding up figures.
b. Why would the
child think that the adult’s game is stupid?
The child would think that
the adult’s game is stupid because the game does not make the adult happy and
smiling and yet he continues to play it. So, the child begins to wonder why the
adult wastes the efforts in such game.
c. What do adults
seek?
The adults seek material
gain and achievements, like gathering lumps of gold and silver. He can never
obtain them as he desires for more and more materialistic things and happiness.
d. What game does the
adult realise he’s playing?
The adult realises he’s
playing a game of life. As he seeks out costly possessions and spends his time
and energy on things he may never attain, he gets so caught up in the desires
and ambitions that he forgets to enjoy the present moment.
C.7 Answer the following questions.
a. Why does the adult
call the act of being absorbed in stick and mud-pies an ‘art’? Is it really an
art? Give reasons for your answer.
The adult calls the act of
being absorbed in stick and mud-pies an ‘art’ because the game has the ability
to make one happy despite having nothing other than dust and twig. In contrast
the adult in the midst of gold and silver and the materialistic goals, lacks
the art of simplicity of living. It looks like a child has mastered the art of finding
happiness in small things.
b. The poem compares
the anxieties of adulthood with the simple pleasures of childhood. What is the
poet trying to convey by drawing this comparison? Explain in detail.
The poem compares the anxieties of adulthood with the simple pleasure of childhood. Here, the poet is trying to convey that we make our lives more complicated as we run after materialistic needs. If we just remember that life is a game and take it easy, in the absence of complexities, life will be joyful. That is the art of living which we need to master, finding joy and happiness in small things.
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