Vocation Poem: 6th Class Honeysuckle English Chapter 17

Vocation Poem: NCERT 6th CBSE Honeysuckle English Chapter 17

The child walks to his school at ten in the morning, Everyday he meets a bangle-seller. The man goes about at ease all day long. The child is tempted to adopt the vocation of that happy hawker.

In the afternoon the child comes back from the school. He sees a gardener working with spade in a kothi. The gardener is his own master. He soils his clothes and gets wet in the rain. But nobody scolds or punishes him. The child wishes he too were a gardener, free to do what he liked.

At night the child sees the watchman on duty. The lone man carries a lantern and keeps walking in the lane all night. The child envies the watchman. He too wants to go about freely and do what he likes.

1.

When the gong Sounds ten in the morning and I walk
to School by Our lane,
Every day I meet the hawker Crying, “Bangles, crystal
bangles!”
There is nothing to hurry him on, there is no road he must
take, no place he must go to, no time when he must come
home.
I wish I were a hawker, spending my day in
the road, crying, “Bangles, crystal bangles!”

Vocation Poem – Question: Read the following questions and choose the most appropriate option from the ones given below:

1. What is the hawker selling here?

1. Toys
2. Bangles
3. Watches
4. Glasses

2. The hawker passes time…

1. leisurely
2. tensely
3. with great difficulty
4. happily

3. The child wants to become…

1. a bangle-seller
2. a green grocer
3. a hawker
4. a shopkeeper

4. The child wishes so because…

1. It will make him a sensible man
2. It will give him opportunity to work hard
3. It will give him enough money
4. It will give him full freedom of action

5. What does the word ‘gong in the passage’ mean?

1. A type of cage
2. A metal object which makes a loud sound when one hits it
3. A large boat
4. None of the above

Аnswer:

1. (2)
2. (1)
3. (3)
4. (4)
5. (2)

2.

When at four in the afternoon I come back from the school,
I can see through the gate of that house the gardener
digging the ground.
He does what he likes with his spade, he soils his
clothes with dust, nobody takes him to task, if he gets
baked in the Sun or gets wet.
I wish I were a gardener digging away at the
garden with nobody to stop me from digging.

Question: Read the following questions and choose the most appropriate option from the ones given below:

1. Who is the speaker?

1. An adult man
2. A hawker
3. A small boy
4. An old man

2.What does he see the gardener doing?

1. Cutting the trees
2. Cleaning the garden
3. Digging the earth with his spade and soiling his clothes
4. None of the above

3. What does the phrase “take to task in the above passage mean?

1. Order
2. Rebuke
3. Praise
4. Honour

4. Here the child wants to become…

1. a hawker
2. a gardener
3. a grown-up man
4. a shopkeeper

5. What does the word ‘bake’ in the above passage mean?

1. Feel comfortable
2. Feel guilty
3. Feel proud
4. Feel very hot

Аnswer:

1. (3)
2. (3)
3. (2)
4. (2)
5. (4)

3.

Just as it gets dark in the evening and my mother sends
me to bed,
I can see through my open window the watchman walking
up and down.
The lane is dark and lonely, and the street-lamp stands
like a giant with one red eye in its head.
The watchman swings his lantern and walks with his
shadow at his side, and never once goes to bed in his
life.
I wish I were a watchman walking the street all
night, chasing the shadows with my lantern.

Vocation Poem – Question: Read the following questions and choose the most appropriate option from the ones given below:

1. What is the job of a watchman?

1. To walk up and down the street all night for the safety of the people
2. To supervise the people’s activities during nights
3. To whistle during nights
4. To save people from criminals during nights

2. What does he carry in his hand?

1. A whistle
2. A torch
3. A lantern
4. A big stick

3. The Street lamp has been compared to a …

1. ship
2. giant
3. witch
4. magician

4. The lane is dark and lonely because …

1. there is no street lamp there
2. it is a holiday
3. it is very cold
4. it is night

5. What does the word ‘chasing in the extract mean?

1. Running fast
2. Moving backward
3. Going after
4. Staring at someone

Аnswer:

1. (1)
2. (3)
3. (2)
4. (4)
5. (3)

Questions: Your partner and you may now be able to answer these questions.

(i) Who is the speaker in the poem? Who are the people the speaker meets? What are they doing?

Аnswer: The speaker in this poem is a school-going child. Every day he happens to meet the hawker selling bangles, the gardener digging away at the garden, and the watchman walking the street all night.

(ii) What wishes does the child in the poem make? Why does the child want to be a hawker, a gardener, or a watchman? Pick out the lines in each stanza which tell us this.

Аnswer: The little child is innocent. He watches the people keenly around him. He is sick of checks on his movement. He wants to enjoy the same freedom as do the hawker, the gardener, and the watchman. They do what they like.
The child says:

1. I wish I were a hawker, spending my day in the road
2. I wish I were a gardener, digging away at the garden
3. I wish I were a watchman walking the street all night

(iii) From the way the child envies the hawker, the gardener and the watchman, we can guess that there are many things the child has to do, or must not do. Make a list of the do’s and don’ts that the child doesn’t like. The first line is done for you.

The child must                                                      The child
must not
come home at a fixed time.                                 get his
clothes dirty in the dust.
_____________________________               _____________________________
_____________________________               _____________________________
_____________________________               _____________________________
_____________________________               _____________________________
_____________________________               _____________________________
_____________________________               _____________________________
_____________________________               _____________________________
_____________________________               _____________________________
_____________________________               _____________________________
Now add to the list your own complaints about the things you have to do, or must not do.

Аnswer:

(iv) Like the child in the poem, you perhaps have your own, wishes for yourself. Talk to your friend, using “I wish I were…”

Аnswer: For self-attempt

Vocation Poem – Questions: Find out the different kinds of work done by the people in your neighborhood. Make different cards for different kinds of work. You can make the card colorful with pictures of the persons doing the work.

Vocation Poem – Аnswer: Do yourself.

Vocation Poem – Questions: What activities are dear to little children? Who does the child envy and why in the poem Vocation?

Vocation Poem – Аnswer: Children by nature love freedom and fun. They are too young to foresee the consequences of their hasty action. They are adventure loving also. Tagore in his poem “Vocation” gives voice to the natural desires of a child. The child first sees a hawker, selling bangles. He goes by his whim and enjoys freedom of movement. The child too wishes to become a hawker. In the afternoon he saw a gardener working with his spade and soiling his clothes. There is nobody to check or chide him. Lastly the child feels like becoming a watchman who walks the street all night. The child envies them all.