NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English (Kaleidoscope) Drama 2 Broken Images

NCERT
SOLUTIONS
CLASS - 12th

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Book : Kaliedoscope - Drama Ncert Solutions | Chapter - 2 English - Drama

Class : 12th

Subject : English

Chapter : 2

Chapter Name : Broken Images

Q1 How genuine is the love that Manjula expresses for her sister?

Answer. ‘Broken Images’ is a play that inherently deals with issues like parental neglect, sibling
rivalry, psychological manifestations of the self, etc. The play, at the very beginning, portrays an
entirely different image of the protagonist Manjula’s life. Manjula is a Kannada writer of short
stories, who has recently shot to fame with the publication of her first English novel. The play
stages the setting of a studio where she has come to address the audience about her novel
before a telefilm on the same is broadcasted. Through her speech to the audience, the play
provides an initial background to her family and personal life, where all seems good. However,
gradually with the play’s progression, the dark realities of her personal life come to the forefront.
The love that she portrays for her sister on-screen, to her audience, seems more of a farce with
the play’s progression. The sardonic questioning that she is subjected to by her image-self,
reveals the darker truths behind the happy facade of events she portrayed on-screen. Through
the play’s progression, it is revealed that Malini, her sister, was physically disabled and the
center of attention in her household as well as in her husband’s eyes. Her wit, intellect,
English-speaking abilities and liveliness somehow overshadowed Manjula and her life- a fact
that she clearly resents, so much so that after Malini’s death, she probably stole her ideas to
form the novel which has elevated her status presently. Despite the false affirmations of her love
for her sister, her guilt has been portrayed through her image-self who strips her naked of her
facade, forcing her to accept the reality. Thus, the playwright makes it evident through subtle
indications that even though she loves Malini in some ways but the love Manjula expresses for
her sister is not entirely genuine.

Q2 The sister does not appear in the play but is central to it. What picture of her is built in your
mind from references in the play?

Answer. Karnad beautifully deals with the psychological manifestation of Manjula, the
protagonist, giving her character such nuances and shades that by the end of the play, the

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Book : Kaliedoscope - Drama Ncert Solutions | Chapter - 2 English - Drama

audience is left to wonder if she metamorphoses into her sister Malini, because of her guilt.
Through the references in the play, Malini is initially depicted as a helpless girl with physical
disabilities, dependent entirely on her family, living in the shadow of Manjula. However, as the
play progresses, the intense questioning by the self-image of the protagonist brings out another
shade to the character through her references. It is understood that Malini was the lively and
strong character holding predominance over the mediocrity of her sister Manjula. Her intellect,
wit and lively nature held the attention of every family member even that of Manjula’s husband
who loved her and not Manjula. It slowly becomes clear that it is Manjula who lived most of her
life in the shadow of her sister’s brilliance, even stealing Malini’s ideas for publishing her English
novel which got her so much popularity which is evident when she remarks, “Why need I write
another novel? Surely one is more than enough?”, when asked whether she would be
publishing any more novels in English. Thus, the playwright develops the character of Malini
beautifully through the course of the play till the very end.

Q3 When the image says- “Her illness was unfortunate. But because of it, she got the best of
everything”.

(i) What is the nature of Manjula’s reply?

(ii) How can it be related to what follows in the play?

Answer.(i) Manjula’s resentment towards her sister is distinctly laced in the statement mentioned
above. Although she tries to convince the audience of her love for her sister and portrays her
sister as a helpless victim of her physical disabilities, yet her statement indicates that she
resents her sister’s wit and intellect and all the attention that she received. She is clearly jealous
of her sister.

(ii) The statement mentioned above creates a premise for the latter part of the play. Manjula
tries portraying her sister as the dependent one living in her shadows always securing the
attention of her family because of her disabilities, to her on-screen audience, but the reality is
quite the opposite. It was Manjula who had spent almost her entire life in her sister’s shadow,
delving deep in resentment. Her sister received all the attention for her wit and intellect and not
for her disabilities, a fact that is unfolded gradually and which she purposefully misrepresented
to her audience. Thus, the statement serves as foreshadowing to the events that would be
unfolded later in the play.

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Book : Kaliedoscope - Drama Ncert Solutions | Chapter - 2 English - Drama

Q4 What are the issues that the playwright satirizes through this TV monologue of a celebrity?

Answer. The playwright satirizes the conservative traits of Indian society where a writer is
supposedly required to uphold the tradition by discarding writing in English. Writing in English is
akin to betraying the entire community and the playwright satirizes this social trait. Infact,
stressing on the hypocrisy of the criticisms because the criticisms are done in English as well,
he mentions through his protagonist Manjula, “Speaking in English, as you know, gives you the
authority to make oracular pronouncements on Indian literatures and languages.” Yet another
issue satirized by the playwright is the truth behind media. The statements made by Manjula
on-screen presents a picture which is in stark contrast to the dark realities of her life. Thus, the
playwright hints at the false rosy pictures that the media presents, which are not entirely true, as
is revealed slowly through the unraveling of the play.

Q1 “broken Images” takes up a debate that has grown steadily since 1947- the politics of
language in Indian literary culture, specifically in relation to modern Indian languages and
English. Discuss.

Answer. With the Britishers parting away from India in 1947 the line of thinking of the Indians, in
general, was that the importance of English as a language would diminish. On the contrary,
English as a language has gained momentum and has by now even almost become the ‘Lingua
Franca’ of the common man. ‘Broken Images’ by Dr. Girish Karnad has raised the storm of
debate about ‘the politics of language in Indian literary culture’ once again.

Through the Protagonist, Manjula, Dr. Karnad has tried to portray the reality of the Indian
mindset. According to the playwright’s observations, English in India is felt to have been having
the free walking space of the higher echelons of society. His picturization of Malini who could
express herself in English fluently and had English speaking friends yet, Manjula lacking in such
skills brings forth the revolution that the language English is making in the society. Infact, this
one language, English is having such a strong and aggressive character that it has been even
able to make inroads into the family lives of Indian people creating jealousy amongst sisters and
bringing up class struggle almost like the haves and the have-nots. The masculinity of the
language, English has always scored over all Indian languages and as if willingly or unwillingly it
has played the role of being the patriarch of all literary languages in India. Dr. Girish Karnad’s
‘Broken Images’ vividly brings forth the perceived notions about English vis-a-vis other Indian
languages in the Indian literary cultural sphere.

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Book : Kaliedoscope - Drama Ncert Solutions | Chapter - 2 English - Drama

Page : 237, Block Name : Talking about the Play

Q2 The play deals with a Kannada woman writer who unexpectedly produces an international
bestseller in English.

(i) Can a writer be a truly bilingual practitioner?

(ii) Does writing in another language” amount to betrayal of the mother tongue?

Answer. (i) Writing does not depend on the language but the emotions of the writer. Karnad
clearly expresses this in the monologue of the celebrity at the beginning of the play. “I wrote the
novel in English because it burst out in English.”, Manjula says. Through the protagonist,
Karnad establishes his views on the criticisms that bilingual authors are subjected to in India.
Language is simply a medium through which the writer’s emotions are expressed. Therefore, a
writer can certainly be a bilingual practitioner.

(ii) Writing in ‘other tongue’ does not amount to a betrayal of the mother tongue. Karnad makes
it clear in the initial monologue of the play. A writer can provide an equal amount of attention to
writing in both the languages. It depends upon his target audience. Thus, it is not a crime to be
a bilingual practitioner.

Page : 237, Block Name : Talking about the Play

Q1 Why do you think the playwright has used the technique of the image in the play?

Answer. The technique of the image has been used in the play because the playwright uses that
as a psychological manifestation of Manjula’s repressed guilt over the years. The image serves
to create a strong confrontation of Manjula with the harsh realities of her life, the ones she has
repressed over the years with false affirmations. Her resentment towards Malini, parental
neglect, a loveless marriage and finally a career which was not truly hers, all seems to confront
her through her guilt manifested as the sardonic self-image on the screen. Thus, the playwright
uses this technique to create a strong impact on the audience and grab their attention at the
very first instance.

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Book : Kaliedoscope - Drama Ncert Solutions | Chapter - 2 English - Drama

Page : 238, Block Name : Appreciation

Q2 The play is called a monologue. Why is it made to turn dialogic?

Answer. The playwright makes the play turn dialogic in order to create a stronger impact on the
audience. A monologue expressed through expressions of one’s thoughts and
self-contemplation does not necessarily create an impact as strong as the one when a character
is confronted by another through dialogue. Hence, it was made dialogic.

Page : 238, Block Name : Appreciation

Q3 What is the posture the celebrity adopts when the camera is on and when it is off?

Answer. Karnad speaks a lot through the posture of his protagonist both on-screen and
off-screen. On-screen she holds a persona of a confident and successful writer, completely at
home with the concept of broadcasting and basking in the glory of her first English novel’s
success, standing tall in pride. As soon as the protagonist goes off-air, however, there is a stark
change in her behavior. She becomes the fumbling novice, aghast and fearful at the sight of
being confronted by her image-self in the screen. Karnad subtly hints at the hypocrisy of media
through this depiction while also clearly foreshadowing the events that are about to unfurl further
in the play.

Page : 238, Block Name : Appreciation

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