English Literature Notes

  STRONG ROOTS            APJ Abdul Kalam 1. "We lived in our ancestral house."- Who is the speaker? When was the house built? What kind of house was it? How did the inmates(বাসিন্দা) of the house lead their lives in the house? Dr. Kalam talks about his childhood in ' Strong Roots ' which is taken from Kalam's autobiography ' Wings of Fire' . The house was built in the 19th century. The house consisted of a fairly large terraced(পাকা বাড়ি) house built of limestone and brick and was located on Mosque Street in Rameswaram.The house was a 10 minute walk from the famous Shiva temple. Kalam was born in a middle class Tamil family and lived with his parents and siblings(নিজের ভাই বোন) in their ancestral home. Kalam remembers that his mother Ashiamma used to feed the family members and many outsiders every day. The residents of the house lived a simple and peaceful life. They avoided all unnecessary comforts and luxuries. However Jainulabdeen and Ashiamma never

                                                -------  GIEVE PATEL 1. "It takes  much time to kill a tree"- Why does it take much time to kil a tree? According to the poet how is the tree finally killed? How does a tree offer resistance to its destruction? How does its resistance fail?  Why does "it takes much time to a kill" a tree? How is the tree finally killed? The poem uses the word 'killed' instead of ' cutting down' a tree to indicate( দেখানো) the importance of the destruction and mutilation(অঙ্গহীনত্ব) of this tragic act.For this the murderer ie man has to follow a perfect procedure (পদ্ধতি). A simple pruning( ছাঁটা) will not be enough as the plant will heal its wounds very quickly.The small branches will regrow (পুনরায় বেড়ে উঠা) and gradually assume( শুরু করা) their original shape and thus resist its destruction(ধ্বংস).To stop this, the plant must be completely uprooted from the ground. A strong rope must be tied to it and with that hel