Date: 24-6-2021 Wind

Subramanayam Bharathi
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1. What are the things the wind does in the first stanza?
A. When the wind blows violently, it destroys everything. It breaks the shutters of
windows, scatters the papers, throws the books down from the shelves, tears their
pages and brings along a lot of rain.
 
2. What does the poet say the wind god winnows?
A. The wind God winnows means that nature sifts the weak things from the strong
ones. Everything that is weak is tossed by the powerful wind and gets destroyed.
Just like the winnower separates the grains of wheat from the chaff, similarly, the
wind god separates the weak from the strong.
 
3. What should we do to make friends with the wind?
A. We must make ourselves strong to face the violent wind. When we will be strong,
the wind will not harm us, instead it will become a friend and help us to grow and
flourish.
4. What do the last four lines of the poem mean to you?
A. The last four lines of the poem carry an important message that the strong people
emerge stronger and victorious in the face of adversities. We must make ourselves
strong like a burning fire which grows and flourishes in the violent wind, we also
prosper in the face of challenges.

1. What are the things the wind does in the first stanza?

Answer
In the first stanza, the wind shutters breaks the shutters of the windows, scatters the
papers, throws down the books from the shelf, tears the pages of the books and brings
showers of rain.

3. What does the poet say the wind god winnows?

Answer
The poet says that the wind god winnows the weak crumbling houses, doors, rafters, wood,
bodies, lives and hearts, and then crushes them all.
5. What do the last four lines of the poem mean to you?
Answer
In the last four lines, the poet inspires us to face the wind, which symbolises the hardships
of our lives, courageously. He tells us that the wind can only extinguish the weak fires; it
intensifies the stronger ones. Similarly, adversities deter the weak-hearted but make
stronger those who have unfaltering will. In such a case, befriending the wind or the
hardships of life makes it easier for us to face them.

6. How does the poet speak to the wind — in anger or with humour? You must also have
seen or heard of the wind “crumbling lives”. What is your response to this? Is it like the
poet’s?
Answer
The poet speaks to the wind with anger. Yes, strong winds are known to cause plenty of
damage and destruction
to both life and property. Storms, cyclones, gales and strong winds cause havoc on land.
They uproot trees, bring down houses, tear down electric posts and claim lives. They also
cause damage to boats and frighten the poor sailors and fishermen out at sea. Yet, I do not
agree with the poet that the wind only 'crumbles lives'. The wind is responsible for bringing
rain; it cools the land and makes the climate pleasant. Today, wind energy is harnessed for
several useful purposes including turning windmills, wind turbines and generating
electricity.
WIND
SUMMARY
The present poetry piece "Wind" has been composed by Subramania Bharti. This poem
consists of a total of 23 lines. These lines are not separated into stanzas. Here they are
divided into meaningful segments for ease of comprehension.
Subramania Bharati has drawn the living picture of wind which makes fun of the weak
people or things. The poet teaches us how we should stand against our oppressors. In the
poem he presents the wind-God who destroys everything weak. He wonders why the
mighty God is fond of poking fun only with the weak. The poet therefore advises the weak
(like him) to make them strong. He suggests them to be strong physically and mentally.
Actually the wind is the symbol of difficulties or obstacles that humans have to face for
their survival.
The poem can be summarized in following ways to prove the fact represented by
Subramania Bharti: -
◘ Violence and destruction - Although the poet requests the wind to blow gently but it does
not accept the plea. The wind blows violently and causes destruction.
◘ Result of storm - The wind breaks the shutters of weak windows. It scatters the papers
and throws down books on the shelves.
◘ Fun of almighty wind God - The poet has regarded wind as God. He says that he makes
fun of the weak persons and things. The fast blowing wind destructs weak houses, weak
doors and weak bodies.
◘ Suggestion - Subramania Bharti suggests us to build strong houses and strong doors. We
must be healthy physically and mentally. It will help the wind to be friend.
To sum up the poem, people with strong physique and mind are able to stand and face
odds or obstacles of life.
DETAILED SUMMARY (FOR READING ONLY)
Lines 1-4:
Wind, come softly.
Don’t break the shutters of the windows.
Don’t scatter the papers.
Don’t throw down the books on the shelf.
In these lines, the poet directly talks to the wind. In fact, he makes an entreaty to the wind.
He asks the wind not to break down the shutters of the windows. The shutters are the only
thing that separate man from the stormy environment outside, so in a way the poet is
asking the wind for protection. He also asks the wind not to scatter the papers in his room,
or to throw down the books from his bookshelves. It is pertinent for him to care about
papers and books, and for them to be the first things in his room that he doesn’t want
disorganized, because he is a writer. Perhaps some of these papers also contain drafts of
poems like this one, hence they are very important to him, and he cannot afford to lose
them.
Lines 5-7:
There, look what you did – you threw them all down.
You tore the pages of the books.
You brought rain again.
In these lines, the poet continues speaking to the wind. However, the tone he now uses to
address the wind has changed from the tone he had been using in the first four lines of the
poem. Here he takes on an accusatory tone. He gestures towards the mess in his room, and
tells the wind that it is he who is responsible for it. He shows the wind how he has thrown
all the books down from the bookshelves with his force, and torn pages out of those books
as well. However, the pet does not restrict his vision only to the inside of his house. Casting
his gaze outside, he also accuses the wing of having brought a bout of rainfall with himself
while approaching the poet’s house.
Lines 8-12:
You’re very clever at poking fun at weaklings.
Frail crumbling houses, crumbling doors, crumbling rafters,
crumbling wood, crumbling bodies, crumbling lives,
2
crumbling hearts –
the wind god winnows and crushes them all.
In these lines, the poet keeps speaking to the wind. Now his tone has once again undergone
a change. While it is still accusatory, it has also become somber to some extent. The poet
tells the wind that he makes mischief whenever he comes face to face with anyone who is
too meek and mild to protest against his actions. The wind can tear down the doors, the
rafters, or entire wooden houses altogether. This is the wind’s overt action – leaving people
without a roof over their heads, or walls to keep them sheltered from the harsh world
outside. However, the wind also has a covert action. To understand what the poet is talking
about at this point you can think back to how many Indian vernacular languages have a
phrase about the wind blowing over someone’s life and leaving a trail of disasters behind.
What such an idiom implies is that the troubles we face in life come as suddenly as the
wind, and also leave in the same sudden way. Hinting at this, the poet says that the wind
can tear down weak bodies, and fragile hearts. That is, difficulties in life can lead to a loss of
hope, as well as a loss of life. Whether such things will happen or not is all up to the wind
god, says the poet.
Lines 13-15:
He won’t do what you tell him.
So, come, let’s build strong homes,
Let’s join the doors firmly.
In these lines, the poet stops speaking to the wind, and starts speaking to his readers. He
tells his readers that the wind does not listen to anybody, and that his actions are governed
by him alone. Therefore, we cannot escape the ill effects of the wind by appealing to the
wind like he has been doing. Instead, we should build our homes on a strong foundation,
and ensure that our doors cannot be easily penetrated in order to save ourselves from the
wind.
Lines 16-18:
Practise to firm the body.
Make the heart steadfast.
Do this, and the wind will be friends with us.
In these lines, the poet outlines some other ways in which his readers can save themselves
from the wind. He says that we must make ourselves strong, both physically and mentally.
We must train our bodies and our hearts to combat against and resist the ill effects of the
wind. If we are able to do this, then the poet thinks that we will no longer consider the wind
an enemy. Instead the wind will invite us to become his friend, and we will be able to
fearlessly accept his invitation.
Lines 19-20:
The wind blows out weak fires.
He makes strong fires roar and flourish.
In these lines, the poet describes how the wind has both bad effects and good effects. In
order to elucidate on the bad effects of the wind, he shows how the wind can blow out a
fire if it is glowing with a weak force. However, if the fire is burning strongly, then the wind
will not blow it out, but make it fiercer. Thus the wind can nurture that which is already
strong.
Lines 21-23:
His friendship is good.
We praise him every day.
Wind, come softly.
In these lines, the poet comes to a conclusion after weighing both the bad effects and the
good effects of the wind. He says that if we are strong, then the wind is a good friend for us
to have, for he will increase our strength. He also says that we should sing our devotion to
the wind god on a daily basis. Finally, he asks for the wind to come to him softly. This may
seem a bit cautious of him, but shows that he has thought out his address to the wind very
well. He knows how the wind can strengthen him, but also knows that he must not
overestimate his own strength or disrespect the wind god. To prevent himself from doing
either, he asks the wind to come to him in a gentle manner.
Read the extracts and answer the following questions
Stanza 1
Wind, come softly.
Don’t break the shutters of the windows.
Don’t scatter the papers.
Don’t throw down the books on the shelf.
There, look what you did – you threw them all down.
You tore the pages of the books.
You brought rain again.
(a) How does the poet want the wind to behave?
The poet wants the wind to behave softly and peacefully, without breaking his shutters,
without
scattering the papers and without throwing down the books on the shelf.
(b) What is the poet’s tone?
The poet’s tone is authoritative. He is not pleading to the wind. He commands the wind to
come swiftly.
(c) What has the wind done to the poet?
The wind has broken the shutters of the poet’s windows, scattered the pages on which he
writes and
threw down the books on his shelf.
(d) What do you know about the poet’s areas of interest from the stanza?
He is a writer. Perhaps some of these papers also contain drafts of poems like this one,
hence they
are very important to him, and he cannot afford to lose them.
Stanza 2
You’re very clever at poking fun at weaklings.
Frail crumbling houses, crumbling doors,
Crumbling rafters, crumbling wood, crumbling bodies,
Crumbling lives, crumbling hearts.
(a) Is the poet praising the wind in the second stanza? Why do you think so?
No, the poet is not praising the wind by enumerating its activities. On the contrary, he is
poking fun of
the wind by asserting that it is too weak and afraid to fight with the strong ones. He blames
that the wind
overpowers only the weaklings.
(b) The poet is presenting the India during the British rule. Comment.
During the British rule from 1600 to 1947, Indians were much similar to the weakling the
poet is presenting in the poem. Indians felt inferior in front of the mighty British. The
mighty British ruled the weak Indians because the latter were weak and unorganized. When
Indians requested the British to have pity, the British grew more dominating until the weak
began its struggle against the strong.
(c) What does ‘crumbling hearts’ refer to?
‘Crumbling hearts’ refer to fragile hearts. The poet is talking about the wind blowing over
someone’s life and leaving a trail of disasters behind. What such an idiom implies is that the
troubles we face in life come as suddenly as the wind, and also leave in the same sudden
way.
Hinting at this, the poet says that the wind can tear down weak bodies, and fragile hearts.
Stanza 4
Do this, and the wind will be friends with us.
The wind blows out weak fires.
He makes strong fires roar and flourish.
His friendship is good.
We praise him every day. wind, come softly.
(a) With whom does wind become friendly?
Wind becomes friendly with fires that are not ready to give up.
(b) What happens to strong fires when wind blows into them?
Strong fires become stronger every time wind blow into them.
(c) In what sense is the friendship of wind good?
Wind and its friendship is good because wind is able to make us strong. The more the wind
blows on us, we
try to resist and every time we resist, we become stronger.
(d) What does this poem teach you personally?
The poem teaches us a great lesson. In the society or in schools we meet people who are
more powerful than
us. If we are too weak in front of them, they tend to overpower us some way.