Father Returning Home Summary and Explanation
PSEB Class 12 English Poem 5- Father Returning Home Summary, Explanation along with Difficult Word Meanings from A Rainbow of English Book
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PSEB Class 12 English Poem 5 – Father Returning Home
Dilip Chitre
The poem “Father Returning Home” by Dilip Chitre highlights man’s distance from the urban world. In the present day life, which is fast-paced and busy, people often do not have the time to care for others, including their elderly. This poem is taken from Chitre’s collection called “Travelling in a Cage”, and shows us the life of an old man who travels to work daily and silently on a local train in Mumbai. He feels uncomfortable and out of place in his surroundings. Even when in a crowd, he feels lonely and finds it difficult to communicate with his family or friends. To escape his uneasy and lonely present, he drifts into memories of the past and his own dreams, showing the distance created by modern life.
- Father Returning Home Summary
- Father Returning Home Summary in Hindi
- Father Returning Home Theme
- Father Returning Home Explanation
- Father Returning Home Poetic Devices
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Father Returning Home Summary
The poem “Father Returning Home” by Dilip Chitre talks about the lonely and difficult life of an old man living and working in a busy city. The father travels daily through a local train in Mumbai to his workplace. Even though he is surrounded by people, he still feels unnoticed, lonely and isolated. His clothes are wet and muddy, his bag is worn out, and his eyes are tired, possibly dimmed by age. This shows how hard his daily journey is and how little care he receives, causing physical and emotional strain.
Life does not become easier for him when he reaches home. He drinks weak tea, eats leftover stale chapati, and reads a book quietly. His children are grumpy and do not talk or share jokes or secrets with him, which makes him feel even more lonely. The father is disconnected and alienated from both the outside world and his family. To escape his lonely present, he retreats into his thoughts and dreams. He remembers his ancestors, imagines his grandchildren, and thinks of nomads entering the subcontinent a long time ago. These dreams give him comfort and allow him to connect with the past and the future, even though his present life is full of loneliness and isolation.
Summary of the Poem Father Returning Home in Hindi
दिलीप चित्रे की कविता “पिता घर लौटते हुए” एक व्यस्त शहर में रहने और काम करने वाले एक वृद्ध व्यक्ति के एकाकी और कठिन जीवन का वर्णन करती है। पिता रोज़ाना मुंबई की लोकल ट्रेन से अपने कार्यस्थल तक जाता है। लोगों से घिरे होने के बावजूद, वह खुद को अनदेखा, अकेला और अलग-थलग महसूस करता है। उसके कपड़े गीले और कीचड़ से सने हैं, उसका बैग घिसा हुआ है, और उसकी आँखें थकी हुई हैं, शायद उम्र के कारण धुंधली हो गई हैं। यह दर्शाता है कि उसकी रोज़ाना की यात्रा कितनी कठिन है और उसे कितनी कम देखभाल मिलती है, जिससे उसे शारीरिक और भावनात्मक तनाव होता है।
घर पहुँचने पर भी उसका जीवन आसान नहीं होता। वह फीकी चाय पीता है, बची हुई बासी रोटी खाता है, और चुपचाप किताब पढ़ता है। उसके बच्चे चिड़चिड़े हैं और उससे बात नहीं करते, चुटकुले या राज़ साझा नहीं करते, जिससे वह और भी अकेला महसूस करता है। पिता बाहरी दुनिया और अपने परिवार, दोनों से कटा हुआ और अलग-थलग है। अपने एकाकी वर्तमान से बचने के लिए, वह अपने विचारों और सपनों में खो जाता है। वह अपने पूर्वजों को याद करता है, अपने पोते-पोतियों की कल्पना करता है, और बहुत समय पहले उपमहाद्वीप में आए खानाबदोशों के बारे में सोचता है। ये सपने उसे सुकून देते हैं और उसे अतीत और भविष्य से जुड़ने का मौका देते हैं, भले ही उसका वर्तमान जीवन अकेलेपन और अलगाव से भरा हो।
Theme of the Poem Father Returning Home
The poem “Father Returning Home” by Dilip Chitre revolves around the following themes:-
Loneliness and Isolation
The poem portrays the father as a lonely, old man who is emotionally isolated both in society and at home. Even in a crowded train, he remains unnoticed, and at home, his children refuse to share jokes or secrets with him. His solitude highlights the emotional gap between the elderly and the modern urban world.
Alienation in Modern Urban Life
The father’s life reflects the alienation of modern man in a fast-paced, man-made environment. His daily commute in the train, the monotonous routine, and his inability to connect with others show how urban life creates physical and emotional estrangement.
Passage of Time and Aging
The poem also explores the effects of aging on the father. His dimmed eyes, trembling hands, and weary body reflect the physical and emotional changes brought by old age.
Father Returning Home Explanation
Poem:
My father travels on the late evening train
Standing among silent commuters in the yellow light
Suburbs slide past his unseeing eyes
His shirt and pants are soggy and his black raincoat
Stained with mud and his bag stuffed with books
Is falling apart. His eyes dimmed by age
fade homeward through the humid monsoon night.
Now I can see him getting off the train
Like a word dropped from a long sentence.
He hurries across the length of the grey platform,
Crosses the railway line, enters the lane,
His chappals are sticky with mud, but he hurries onward.
Word Meanings:
commuter (n): a person who travels into a city to work each day, usually from quite far away
suburb (n): an area where people live that is outside the centre of a city
soggy (adj.): wet and soft
homeward (adv): towards home
humid (adj.): containing extremely small drops of water in the air
chappals (n): one of a pair of sandals, usually of leather, worn in India
Explanation of the stanza: The poet begins the poem by describing his father’s journey home on a late evening train. The father stands quietly among other passengers, who are also silent, under the yellow light of the train. The passing areas are not noticed because his father is lost in thought, showing that he is disconnected from the world around him. His clothes are wet and dirty, and his black raincoat is stained with mud. His bag, full of books, is old and falling apart. His eyes are dimmed with age and he seems tired as he slowly makes his way home through the rainy and damp night. When getting off the train, the poet compares the father to “a word dropped from a long sentence,” meaning that he is not noticed by anyone and isolated, even in a crowd. Despite his tiredness, he hurries across the platform, crosses the railway line, and walks along the lane. His slippers are sticky with mud, but he moves forward, showing his determination to reach home.
Poem:
Home again, I see him drinking weak tea,|
Eating a stale chapati, reading a book.
He goes into the toilet to contemplate
Man’s estrangement from a man-made world.
Coming out he trembles at the sink,
The cold water running over his brown hands,
A few droplets cling to the greying hairs on his wrists.
His sullen children have often refused to share
Jokes and secrets with him. He will now go to sleep
Word Meanings:
tea (n): a drink made by pouring hot water onto dried and cut leaves and sometimes flowers, especially the leaves of the tea plant
stale (adj.): no longer new or fresh, usually as a result of being kept for too long
chapati (n): A type of flat round, South Asian bread
contemplate (v): to spend time considering a possible future action, or to consider one particular thing for a long time in a serious and quiet way
estrangement (n): a period when you are no longer friendly with someone, or the fact of no longer being friendly
tremble (v): to shake in a way that you cannot control, especially because of fear or nervousness
sullen (adj.): angry and unwilling to smile or be pleasant to people
Explanation of the stanza: Once the father reaches home, the poet describes his quiet and lonely life. He drinks tea and eats a leftover chapati while reading a book, showing that he lives a simple and unexciting life. He then goes into the toilet to think about man’s separation from the modern world, showcasing that he reflects on how people, including himself, feel disconnected in a busy and man-made environment. When he comes out, he shakes as cold water runs over his hands. A few droplets stick to the grey hairs on his wrists, showing his old age, physical weakness, and tiredness. His children are unfriendly and they do not share jokes or secrets with him, which makes him feel even more lonely. Finally, after a long day of work and travel, feeling tired, weak, and ignored, he goes to sleep.
Poem:
Listening to the static on the radio, dreaming
Of his ancestors and grandchildren, thinking
Of nomads entering a subcontinent through a narrow pass.
Word Meanings:
static (adj.): noise and other effects that disturb the radio or television signals
ancestors (n): a person related to you who lived a long time ago
nomads (n): a member of a community that moves with its animals from place to place
subcontinent (n): a large area of land that is part of a continent, often referring to South Asia
narrow pass (n): a restricted, narrow route or passage that offers limited space for people or vehicles to move through
Explanation of the stanza: The poet shows how the father escapes from his lonely and tiring life through his thoughts and dreams. While listening to the static on the radio, he begins to daydream. He thinks about his ancestors, remembering his family and past generations, and also imagines his grandchildren, showing his care for the future. He even thinks about nomads entering the continent through a passage. These dreams help him forget his present loneliness and tiredness for a while. Even though he is ignored by his children and feels isolated in the modern world, his imagination allows him to connect with the past and future.
Father Returning Home Poetic Devices
The poem “Father Returning Home ” by Dilip Chitre consists of the following poetic devices:-
Imagery
Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses.
- His shirt and pants are soggy and his black raincoat, Stained with mud
The poet creates a vivid visual image of the father’s tired and neglected physical condition.
Simile
It is a figure of speech that compares two unlike or different things.
- “Like a word dropped from a long sentence”
The father is compared to a word separated from a sentence, symbolizing his alienation and lack of belonging.
Metaphor
It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects that are different in nature.
- “His eyes dimmed by age fade homeward through the humid monsoon night.”
The fading of the father’s eyes is a metaphor for his weakening vision, vitality, and spirit due to old age.
Symbolism
It is the use of an object, person, situation or word to represent something else, like an idea, in literature.
- “He eats stale chapati and drinks weak tea.”
The poet symbolizes the father’s neglect and the lack of care he receives at home.
Conclusion
This post provides the students with a comprehensive understanding of the Poem 5 – Father Returning Home By Dilip Chitre from the PSEB Class 12 English A Rainbow of English Book. It provides the students with the introduction, theme, summary, poem explanation with word meanings, ensuring that the students comprehend the chapter effectively.