ENGLISH

CHAPTER 2: WIND
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WIND
~Summary~

-by Subramania Bharati

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.

Explanation: The poet makes request to the wind, asking it not to blow so strongly that it
breaks down the shutters of the windows, as they separate man from the stormy
environment outside. So he 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 with its
force.

Stanza- 2

There, look what you did - you threw them all down.
You tore the pages of the books.
You brought rain again.

Explanation: Here the poet accuses the wind of blowing too strongly and creating the
mess in his room with the books thrown down from the shelves and their pages torn. He
sees outside and tells the wind that it has brought rain with it again.

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Stanza- 3

You're very clever at poking fun at weaklings.

Frail crumbling houses, crumbling doors, crumbling rafters,
crumbling wood, crumbling bodies, crumbling lives,
crumbling hearts –
the wind god winnows and crushes them all.

Explanation: Now the poet speaks in a subdued tone to the wind, saying that it makes
mischief whenever it encounters anyone who is too meek humble and mild to protest
against its actions. It tears down doors, rafters and even entire wooden houses altogether
leaving people without shelter from the harsh world outside. This is an idiom implying that
the troubles we face in life come as suddenly as the wind, and also leave suddenly. As the
poet says, the wind can ear 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. Thus, it is all up to the wind god, says the
poet.

Stanza- 4

He won't do what you tell him.

So, come, let's build strong homes,
Let's join the doors firmly.
Practice to firm the body.
Make the heart steadfast.
Do this, and the wind will be friends with us.

Explanation: The poet now speaks to the readers, saying that the wind does not listen to
anybody and its actions are governed by it alone. To escape its harmful effects, we should
build our homes on a strong foundation and ensure that their doors cannot be easily
penetrated get access to) by the wind. Also, we must train our bodies and our hearts to
combat and resist face the ill-effects of the wind. If we are able to do this, then we will no
longer consider the wind an enemy. Instead the wind will invite us to become its friend.

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This is an idiom meaning that if we make our character strong, we will be able to combat
any troubles easily. However, if our character is weak, the troubles will create problems
for us.

Stanza- 5

The wind blows out weak fires.

He makes strong fires roar and flourish.
His friendship is good.
We praise him everyday.

Explanation: Here the poet describes how the wind has both bad effects and good effects.
The bad effect is that it can blow out a weak fire. However, if the fire is burning strongly,
then the wind will make it burn fiercer, thus nurturing what is already strong. The poet
comes to the conclusion that if we are strong, then the wind is a good friend for us to have,
as it will increase our strength. This is an idiom meaning that all troubles that we face in
life will strengthen us further if our characters are strong However, we will be seriously
affected by troubles if our characters are weak. He also says that we should sing our
devotion to the wind god on a daily basis meaning that we should happily face any troubles
in our lives.

Conclusion of the Wind

The poem gives us a very important message that we should not feel bad that we are facing
so many challenges and hardships in life. Instead, we should make ourselves mentally and
physically strong to face challenges.

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NCERT SOLUTIONS
Questions (Page No. 31)
(Thinking about the Poem)
I. Question 1. What are the things the wind does in the first stanza?

Answer: The wind breaks the shutters of the windows, scatters the papers, throws down the
books on the shelf, tears the pages of the books and brings the rain.

Question 2. Have you seen anybody winnow grain at home or in a paddy field? What is the word
in your language for winnowing? What do people use for winnowing? (Give the words in your
language, if you know them.)

Answer: Yes, I have seen my grandmother winnowing grain at home. “Fatakna” is the word in my
language Hindi for ‘winnowing’. Winnowing basket is used for winnowing.

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

Answer: The poet says that the wind god winnows crumbling houses, doors, rafters, wood,
bodies, lives and hearts and then crushes them all.

Question 4. What should we do to make friends with the wind?

Answer: To make friends with the wind, we should build strong homes and doors. We should
strengthen our bodies and make the heart steadfast.

Question 5. What do the last four lines of the poem mean to you?

Answer: The last four lines give a very powerful message. They say that the wind that blows weak
fires is the same wind that makes strong fires flourish.

This implies that the weak people are broken by forces but the people who are strong are
strengthened by those forces. So, the friendship with the wind or a strong force is good. We have
to just stay strong mentally as well as physically.

Question 6. How does the poet speak to the wind — in anger or with humor? You must also have
seen or heard of the wind “crumbling lives”. What is your response to this? Is it like the poet’s?

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Answer: The poet speaks to the wind with humor. He says that the wind crashes houses, doors,
rafters, wood, bodies and lives. He says that it breaks the shutters of the windows and scatters
the papers. But at the same time he also points out that the wind brings rain. He tells the readers
that we must become powerful and build strong houses because the wind only damages weak
things.

Yes, I too have seen the wind crumbling lives on the news channels. Winds bring massive
destruction sometimes. It uproots weak trees and even claims lives of people. But as the poet
says, we must try to be more powerful and build powerful structures.

II. Question 1. The poem you have just read is originally in Tamil. Do you know any such poems
in your language?

Answer: Yes, I have read such a poem in my language Hindi by the name “Toofan”.

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