Question

8. Read the following poem Taj Mahal by R. Parthasarthy and answer questions that follow:
Children on their way to school
barely notice it as it squats
on the river like a humped bull
swishing its tail occasionally
at the swarms of barefoot
tourists. They have been gone now,
the emperor and his favourite queen,
for some three-hundred-odd
years. But this marble flame,
Earth’s other moon, how
it rubs expensive delicate salt
in the wound of un requited love!
i) What literary devices has the author used in the poem? (10)
ii) Does the poem make you sad? Give reasons for your answer. (250 words) (10)
(iii) Sum up the poem in your own words.(100 words) (4)

Answer 1

i)
1.Alliteration
2.Simile(On the river like a humped bull)
3.Personification(But the marble flame)
4.Metaphor(Earth's other moon)

ii) 
Yes the poem makes me sad.The poem conveys the fact that people are busy in their job and daily deeds.The river Yamuna gets filled with filthy things and the taj mahal is surrounded grimy regions.The children notices the presence of bull in the banks of yamuna.The bull is surrounded by swarm of flies that reside in the place near taj mahal.

Taj mahal being one of the seven world wonder indicates that even if the king,queeen and other emperors has dead,they keep spreading love through their exquisite structure.But the surrounding people don't have concern for it Taj mahal is a great beauty to our nation.

The poet denotes it as "other moon to earth" and "marble flame".But now taj mahal only gives pain and sorrows to one side love.It notifies one side lovers about the true love of Shajahan and Mumtaj.

iii)
The poem Taj mahal written by R.Parthasarthy expresses a a feeling of sorrow in the minds of unrequited lovers.Taj mahal is a symbol of love between Shajahan and Mumtaj.The extreme love of Shajahan took the a structure as Taj mahal.Children on their way to school casually notices the unclean environment near taj mahal.

The humped bull is so filthy,waving its tail to disturb and get rid off the swarm of flies.Even if taj mahal is empty now it remains as a symbol of love and affection between true hearts.It keeps haunting the people.People don't care about the filthy nature of their surroundings neither the tourists.

Answer 2

1.
a)Simile(On the river like a humped bull)
b)Personification( Taj has been thought of being a living thing)
c)Alliteration
d)Metaphor(Earth's other moon)
2. Yes, seeing the Taj's sufferings, how we are all blind to its cries, does make me sad. The so called development, we have made has polluted our environment. The Yamuna, which earlier was a holy river, is now the home to filth and dirt. The bulls are squatting, flies buzzing around, but we are simply carrying on with our own life, not caring about the Taj. One of the seven wonders of the world is laying ignored and uncared for, this is  really shameful and sad.
3.
The poem,gives us a sad feeling, as it stands as a reminiscence of the beautiful gone by days, of the royal aura.  But now 300 hundred years after the royal couple left, the hustle-bustle of life, the madness for money, for power and among all other worldly woes and worries, the royal tomb, earth's another moon, the Taj-mahal  lays forgotten. The rivers around it have gone filthy, polluted, still, who's there to care? The crown of India, our Taj is suffering, but we, the people can't even spare a few minutes from our life, to respond to its cries, and the Taj goes on suffering. The filthy bulls surround it, flies buzz, still everyone, even the tourists ignore. The Taj, till date showers us with its magical beauty and wonderful love, but do we return it? No we don't...and the Taj silently woes its wound of unrequited love. All we do, is to add more pain to that wound of unreturned love