63. Sita (18)

1. What is the poem about?

Ans:- The poem is about Sita who was abandoned by her husband. She had sought shelter in the hermitage of Valmiki.

2. How many children listen to the story? Who were them?

Ans:- Three children listen to the story of Sita. They were Toru (the poet), her brother Abju and her sister Aru.

3. Who was telling them the story?

Ans:- The mother of the three children was telling them the story of Sita in Toru Dutt's poem.

4. Why were they weeping?

Ans:- They were weeping as they were moved by Sita's tears and her suffering.

5. Who was the fair lady mentioned by the narrator?

Ans:- Sita is the fair lady mentioned in the poem.

6. Who is the 'poet-anchorite' referred to in the poem 'Sita'?

Ans:- The 'poet-anchorite' refers to Valmiki.

7. From where does the blue smoke rise in 'Sita'?

Ans:- The blue smoke mentioned in the poem 'Sita' rises from the altars in Valmiki's hermitage.

8. How does Dutt relate the past and the present in her poem?

Ans:- The poem begins three happy children waiting for a story from their mother. As the story progresses we find the children getting filled with sorrow. Toru and her siblings were happy in their childhood but now she is alone. She becomes nostalgic and misses them and their childhood days which were spent together. Our personal past remains in our memory. The story of Sita has too been of the past and handed down to future generations. Sita's story still triggers feelings in us. It is in this subtle ways the poet relates the past and present in her poem.

9. Describe the dwelling of the 'poet-anchorite'.

Ans:- The dwelling of the 'poet-anchorite' is a beautiful one, in the middle of nature. There are huge blooming flowers and tall trees. There is a placid lake with clear waters. The place is filled with birds and animals. There were the swans, peacocks and deers. There are some fields with grain cultivated and altars with rising blue smoke. It was a serene atmosphere which a poet can use to spend for peace, tranquility, thinking and writing.

10. Why was the forest so dark and dense?

Ans:- The forest was dense because there were too many trees. The branches and leaves formed a canopy through which little sunlight could penetrate in. Since sunrays could hardly enter the forest looked dark.

11. Is it a poem of memory?

Ans:- Yes, the poem is about memory too.

12. To which period of Indian literature does this poem belong?

Ans:- The poem by Toru Dutt belongs to the Early Indian English Poetry period.

13. How was the literature or poetry during the early Indian English period?

Ans:- The period was a nationalist period. The poets during the Indian freedom movement wrote about the spirit of India to break away from the clutches of the British. They poets and writers then also invoked the spiritual tradition as seen in the poem 'Sita'.

14. Name two writings of Toru Dutt.

Ans:- 'Our Casurina Tree' and 'Savitri' are other writings by Toru Dutt.

15. Who were the important poets of the Early Indian English Poetry or colonial period?

Ans:- Henry Derozio, Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Kasiprasad Ghosh, Sarojini Naidu and Toru Dutt were the important poets during Early Indian English Period.

16. Describe the condition of Indian poetry during the colonial period.

Ans:- Indian poetry in English in pre-Independence time was a colonial legacy. It started with the Poet's corner page of Hicky's Bengal Gazette kn 1780. Poets and writings by both the British and Indians who wrote in English focussed on various themes relating to England and India. There were translations, transcreations, appropriations and socio-political issues affecting individuals and society.

17. What were the features of Indian poetry in English during colonial times?

Ans:- The features of Indian poetry in English during colonial times were- imitation and originality. There was a search for form and tradition. The themes were of self and society, alienation and belonging. The question of women (as observed in 'Sita') and environment were present too. There were also poems related to death, disease, poverty, apathy, violence and marginality.

18. Was Toru Dutt a translator too?

A:- Yes, Toru Dutt translated French poems and Sanskrit works too.

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