The pilgrim poem- summary 8th std maharashtra board
Answers
Summary/ Paraphrasing:
1st Stanza
The poem begins by telling us about a pilgrim who was travelling alone on a highway. Soon it was evening and the weather was cold. The poet also describes the evening as ‘gray’ which could mean cloudy or late evening time when the sun has just set. At that time, he came to a chasm (a gap in the earth’s surface) which was deep, vast and wide. Now, the old man was able to cross it even though it was twilight time, as he was an experienced traveller who may have also passed this chasm many times. But even though he had crossed it, he stopped and built a bridge across it.
2nd Stanza
As he was busy with his work, a fellow pilgrim reached there. He asked the old man, why he was wasting his time building the bridge when he had already crossed the chasm. He also tells the old man that he is very old and he may not live to pass this way again and so why build the bridge anyway.
3rd Stanza
The pilgrim stopped his work and lifted his old gray head to answer the fellow pilgrim. He said that while he was travelling, he saw a young person follow the same path. That youth will soon reach this chasm and in the dim twilight may not be able to judge the depth of the chasm and being inexperienced may fall to his death. And therefore, he was building the bridge for him.