NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English (Kaleidoscope) Poetry 8 Blood

NCERT
SOLUTIONS
CLASS - 12th

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Class : 12th

Subject : English

Chapter : 8

Chapter Name : Blood

Q1 What makes the depiction of a crumbling village house so authentic in the poem? Is this a
common feature of most village houses in the context of rapid urbanisation? Is the poet
speaking from actual experience?

Answer. The poet Kamala Das weaves the poem beautifully with deeply connective words. The
poem connects its readers with itself. The poem is about a little girl and her heart, the poem tells
how the world around her transforms her into a butterfly and separates her from the cocoon.
Kamala Das is considered as a great confessional poet. She believes in sharing her own
experiences through her poems that connect the reader to her more.

Modernization is the unsaid demand of today's civilization. The villages are filled with old
constructions that portray old heritage along with its sentiments are attached. But to survive in
today's world one has to accept urbanization as the need of the hour.

Q2 What aspects of Indian society and history get highlighted in the poem?

Answer. Kamala Das is a great confessional poet of the age. She knows the technique of
depicting society, history and female position. This poem purely highlights the feminine point of
view and the different stages a female faces in her life. Kamala Das has again and again
depicted through her writings that one woman can understand unsaid words of another woman.
The great grandmother of Kamala Das who once was decorated with jewels - sandals (for
perfume) - oils -elephant rides symbolic of marriage to a prince and her youthful days are
suddenly lost after the death of her husband. The status of a woman is reduced after her
husband's soul departs. Their 300-year-old house has got eternal connect with the great
grandmother.

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Q3 Does the poem bring out the contrast between tradition and modernity? Illustrate your
answer with examples from the poem.

Answer. There is a stark contrast between tradition and modernity. Tradition refers to the
age-old culture that is being transferred to us through our ancestors. Modernity refers to
contemporary behavior.

In the poem, the poet tells how her great grandmother is attached to her husband and dies with
her husband, lines from the poem which shows are - “God is her only feast; worldly pleasures
become mere condiments to her afterward.” This shows that women in ancient times were
deeply connected to their better halves and believed their life to end after their death. The
connection of the 300-year-old house with grandmother is very pure and old.

Q4 While the poet respected her grandmother’s sentiments of royal grandeur, we can also see
that she revolts against it. Identify the lines which bring this out.

Answer. Poet’s grandmother was her inspiration, she was the one taught her love and give
substance to live. She taught her to serve those who were less fortunate than herself. She
understood and empathized with the silent struggle which every woman went through. Poet
could feel the connection her grandmother had with the 300-year-old house, she made a firm
promise to herself that no matter what she would save this ancestral home. Soon reality hits her
and she realizes that it is impossible for her to save the decaying property which was of great
importance to her grandmother, as earning money is not easy in this time she decides to sell the
property as it would benefit her, but at the same time she feels guilty for not keeping her
promise.

Q5 Which lines reveal the poet’s criticism of class distinctions?

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Answer. A blood thin and clear and fine

While in the veins of the always poor

And in the veins

Of the new-rich men

Flowed a blood thick as gruel

And muddy as a ditch.

Here the distinction is made rich and poor. The poet says that the blood of the rich is more clear
and filled with a genuine love for others without selfish motives. But on the other hand, the blood
in the rich is filled with self-ruling motives.

Q6 Is it ‘selfishness’ and ‘callousness’ that makes the poet break her childhood promise to her
grandmother of renovating the house? Why does she do nothing about rebuilding the house?

Answer. Poet could feel the pain and defeat in her grandmother so she decides to buy the
ancestral property on her own as sentiments of were attached to it. But, soon reality hits her
hard and she realizes saving dead property would be considered foolish as earning money is
not easy in today's time. She feels guilty for her rational thoughts and breaking her promise to
her grandmother.

Q7 What do you understand of the conflict in the poet’s conscience?

Answer. The poet gives a sneak peek in the girl's heart and how she is modified with the
passing time. She is changed into cocoon becoming a butterfly ready to take off in the modern
world. Where in a young age she plays with her brother at the same time she feels connected
to her 86 year old grandmother. The promises she made as a child have to be broken in order

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Book : Kaliedoscope - Poetry Ncert Solutions | Chapter - 8 English - Poetry

to earn money. Life is led by practicality. Fantasies cannot be fulfilled as life needs to be dealt
with a practical approach.

Page : 117 , Block Name : Responding To The Poem

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