Responding to the Poem
1. What did you think the poem was about when you red the first few lines?
2. From which line does the import of the title strike the reader?
3. What makes for the differences between the timekeeping of the various clocks? What is the implicit comparison?
4. Why is the act of nature describe as ‘precise’?
5. Which of the following reflects the poet’s attitude towards communal disharmony
(i) Critical condemnation
(ii) Helpless acceptance
(iii) Wistful lament
6. Is the poet’s attitude a representation of how average Indian feels both towards human violence and nature’s fury?
Answer:
1. What did you think the poem was about when you read the first few lines?
Answer:
At first glance, the poem seems to be about timekeeping and the sound of clocktowers in a city — how they beat slightly out of sync. It gives an impression of urban rhythm and nostalgic charm, like the soul of a city told through its clocks.
2. From which line does the import of the title strike the reader?
Answer:
The shift happens around the lines:
“One day you look up and see one of them / eyeless, silent…”
Here, the peaceful tone breaks, and the deeper meaning of loss, destruction, and discord becomes clear. The title’s significance — likely something like Timepieces or Clocktowers — transforms from literal to symbolic.
3. What makes for the differences between the timekeeping of the various clocks? What is the implicit comparison?
Answer:
The differences arise from:
- Accidents of alloy
- Craftsmen’s hands
- Distances between towers
- Donors’ whims
These stand for human imperfections, diverse identities, and individual histories. The implicit comparison is to Indian society itself — diverse, dissonant, yet existing in a kind of complex harmony.
4. Why is the act of nature described as ‘precise’?
Answer:
Nature’s action (like lightning) is called “precise” because it seems targeted and sudden, despite being unpredictable. This also draws a contrast: human violence may be planned and political, but nature’s fury, though indifferent, is exacting — it doesn’t miss.
5. Which of the following reflects the poet’s attitude towards communal disharmony?
Answer:
(iii) Wistful lament
The poet does not angrily condemn or accept it passively. Instead, there is a mournful tone, filled with regret and longing for peace, reflecting sorrow over the loss of harmony in the city.
6. Is the poet’s attitude a representation of how the average Indian feels both towards human violence and nature’s fury?
Answer:
Yes, very much so. The average Indian may feel:
- Sadness and helplessness at communal violence
- A quiet endurance toward natural calamities
- A sense of being caught between beauty and destruction, just like the poem describes
The poem resonates with how many Indians view cities that once thrived in harmony but now bear the scars of both manmade and natural disasters.