Jammu and Kashmir Board Class 9 English Tulip Book Poem 5 I Cannot Remember My Mother Question Answers
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Jammu and Kashmir Board Class 9 English Tulip Book Poem I Cannot Remember My Mother Textbook Questions
Understanding the Poem
1. What is the poet doing when he remembers his mother?
Ans. The poet remembers his mother while playing or observing his surroundings, when something like a tune, scent, or sight brings back her memory.
2. In what ways does the poet feel the presence of his mother?
Ans. He feels her presence through sounds (her song), smells (shiuli flowers and temple fragrance), and sights (blue sky) that remind him of her love and care.
3. What does the poet hear when he is at play?
Ans. When the poet is at play, he hears a soft tune or song that his mother used to hum while rocking his cradle. This lullaby brings back memories of her love and care, reminding him of her gentle presence even though he cannot remember her face clearly.
4. What word do we use for the cradle song?
Ans. The song that a mother sings while rocking her baby’s cradle is called a lullaby. In the poem, the poet remembers his mother through this gentle tune, which brings back feelings of her love, care, and warmth, even though he cannot clearly remember her face.
5. Is the poet’s mother dead or alive? How do you come to know about it?
Ans. The poet’s mother is dead. We know this because he recalls her through memories, songs, sights, and smells, not by seeing her physically. The poem describes her presence in the form of a lullaby, the fragrance of shiuli flowers, and the calm blue sky, showing he remembers her after her death.
6. What sights and smells remind the poet of his mother?
Ans. The poet remembers his mother through sights and smells. The blue sky reminds him of her calm and loving gaze. The fragrance of shiuli flowers and the scent of the morning temple service bring back memories of her care, love, and gentle presence in his life.
7. What are the feelings that this poem arouses in you?
Ans. The poem evokes feelings of love, warmth, nostalgia, and longing. It makes the reader feel the deep emotional bond between a child and his mother. Even though the mother is not physically present, her care, lullabies, and gentle presence remain alive in memories, creating a sense of tender remembrance.
Learning about the literary devices
1. Imagery: imagery gives sensory impressions and lends clarity to a poem. In this poem the poet creates beautiful images that relate to sight, sound and smell.
Pick out the visual and aural images related to smell which appeal to our senses directly.
Ans.
In this poem, Rabindranath Tagore uses imagery related to sight, sound, and smell to express the poet’s memories of his mother.
Aural (sound) imagery:
“a tune seems to hover over my playthings”
“the tune of some song that she used to hum while rocking my cradle”
These lines appeal to our sense of hearing and remind us of the mother’s soothing voice.
Olfactory (smell) imagery:
“the smell of shiuli flowers floats in the air”
“the scent of the morning service in the temple”
These lines appeal to our sense of smell and connect the mother’s presence with fragrance.
Visual (sight) imagery:
“the blue of the distant sky”
“the stillness of my mother’s gaze on my face”
These images appeal to our sense of sight and show how the poet feels his mother’s presence everywhere.
2. The poem does not have a rhyme scheme or a fixed length for each line. Did you enjoy the poem? If yes, why?
Ans. Yes, the poem is enjoyable because it expresses deep emotions in simple language. Free verse makes it natural and flowing. The vivid imagery beautifully shows a child’s love, memory, and emotional bond with his mother.
Discussion
1. Do you help your mother while she performs her house hold chores?
Ans. Yes, I help my mother in her household chores. I clean my room, arrange books, and help in the kitchen whenever possible. Helping her makes her happy and reduces her workload. It also teaches me responsibility, discipline, and respect for my mother’s hard work.
2. How does your mother inspire you?
Ans. My mother inspires me through her patience, kindness, and dedication. She works tirelessly for the family and always encourages me to study well and behave properly. Her positive attitude during difficulties motivates me to face challenges bravely and become a responsible and caring person in life.
3. How is your mother different from your father?
Ans. My mother is more emotional, caring, and gentle, while my father is more strict and practical. My mother looks after daily needs and emotional comfort, whereas my father focuses on discipline and guidance. Both play important but different roles in shaping my life and character.
4. Write an account of any memorable moment that you have shared with your mother.
Ans. On my last birthday, I felt disappointed when friends couldn’t attend due to exams. My mother surprised me by taking me to an orphanage where we celebrated with underprivileged children. Distributing sweets and seeing their genuine happiness taught me that true joy comes from giving, not receiving. This memorable experience changed my perspective on happiness and made me grateful for my mother’s wisdom.
5. When we are small kids our parents take care of us. When we grow older and our parents become old. Do you think we should care for them in the same way as they did when we were small babies? Why do you think we should do so?
Ans. Yes, absolutely. We should care for our elderly parents with the same love, patience, and dedication they showed us when we were helpless babies. There are several important reasons for this:
Moral Duty and Gratitude: Our parents sacrificed their comfort, time, sleep, and resources to raise us. They fed us, changed our clothes, bore our tantrums, and cared for us when we were completely dependent. It’s our moral duty to repay this debt of love and care when they need us.
Cycle of Life: Just as babies are dependent and need constant care, elderly parents also become dependent due to health issues and physical weakness. They need assistance with daily activities, medical care, and emotional support. It’s the natural cycle of life, and we must accept this responsibility.
Emotional Support: Our parents gave us unconditional love and emotional security. In their old age, they need the same emotional support, companionship, and assurance that they are valued and loved. Loneliness and feeling unwanted can be more painful than physical ailments.
Teaching Values to Next Generation: By caring for our parents, we set an example for our own children. They learn the values of respect, gratitude, and family responsibility by watching us. If we neglect our parents, our children will learn to do the same to us.
Cultural and Religious Values: In Indian culture and most religions, respecting and caring for parents is considered one of the highest virtues. Parents are often compared to God because they give us life and nurture us selflessly.
Their Wisdom and Experience: Elderly parents are repositories of wisdom, experience, and family values. By keeping them close and caring for them, we benefit from their guidance and preserve our family heritage and traditions.
Practical Benefits: Research shows that elderly people who receive family care and emotional support live longer, healthier, and happier lives. Similarly, families that care for their elders together develop stronger bonds and better values.
No Substitute for Family Love: No old age home or professional caretaker can replace the love, warmth, and emotional security that children can provide to their parents. Our presence, attention, and care mean everything to them.
Jammu and Kashmir Board Class 9 English Tulip Book Poem I Cannot Remember My Mother Extra Question and Answers
Extract-Based Questions
A
I cannot remember my mother
only sometimes in the midst of my play
a tune seems to hover over my playthings,
the tune of some song that she used to
hum while rocking my cradle.
Q1. Who is the speaker in the poem?
Ans. The speaker is a child who lost his mother when he was very young and cannot consciously remember her.
Q2. What does the child remember about his mother in this stanza?
Ans. The child remembers a tune that his mother used to hum while rocking his cradle. This tune sometimes hovers over his playthings during play.
Q3. What does “hover over my playthings” mean?
Ans. “Hover over my playthings” means the tune seems to float or linger in the air around his toys, creating an invisible presence during his play.
Q4. Why does the child say “I cannot remember my mother”?
Ans. The child says this because he was too young when his mother died, so he has no conscious visual memory of her face or physical appearance.
Q5. What does this extract reveal about the mother’s love?
Ans. This extract reveals that the mother lovingly cared for her child, singing lullabies and rocking his cradle. Her love remains alive through the melody that triggers emotional memories.
B
I cannot remember my mother
but when in the early autumn morning
the smell of shiuli flowers floats in the air,
the scent of the morning service in the temple
comes to me as the scent of my mother.
Q1. What triggers the child’s memory in this stanza?
Ans. The smell of shiuli flowers on an early autumn morning triggers the child’s memory of his mother.
Q2. What are shiuli flowers?
Ans. Shiuli flowers are small white flowers used in Bengali worship and temple services, known as chamomile in English.
Q3. What two scents are mentioned in this extract?
Ans. The two scents mentioned are the smell of shiuli flowers and the scent of morning service in the temple.
Q4. How does the temple service scent connect to the mother?
Ans. The scent of the morning temple service comes to the child as the scent of his mother, suggesting his mother was religious and the temple fragrance reminds him of her presence.
Q5. What does this extract tell us about sensory memory?
Ans. This extract shows that smell is a powerful trigger for memory and emotion. The fragrance creates a sensory bridge to the past, evoking the mother’s presence even when visual memory fails.
C
I cannot remember my mother
only when from my bedroom window I send
my eyes into the blue of the distant sky,
I feel that the stillness of my mother’s gaze on my face
has spread all over the sky.
Q1. What does the child do in this stanza?
Ans. The child looks at the blue distant sky from his bedroom window.
Q2. What does the child feel when looking at the sky?
Ans. The child feels that the stillness of his mother’s gaze on his face has spread all over the sky, suggesting her loving presence watching over him.
Q3. What does “the stillness of my mother’s gaze” suggest?
Ans. “The stillness of my mother’s gaze” suggests a calm, peaceful, protective way his mother used to look at him with love and care.
Q4. How is the sky connected to the mother?
Ans. The vastness and stillness of the blue sky remind the child of his mother’s calm, gentle gaze, suggesting her omnipresent love watching over him from above.
Q5. What does this extract reveal about the mother’s presence?
Ans. This extract reveals that the mother’s loving presence is eternal and omnipresent. Even after death, her protective gaze continues to watch over the child like the vast, all-encompassing sky.
D
a tune seems to hover over my playthings,
the tune of some song that she used to
hum while rocking my cradle.
Q1. What is the tune mentioned here?
Ans. The tune is a song that the child’s mother used to hum while rocking his cradle when he was a baby.
Q2. When does this tune come to the child?
Ans. This tune comes to the child sometimes in the midst of his play, hovering over his playthings.
Q3. What was the mother doing when she hummed this song?
Ans. The mother was rocking the child’s cradle, trying to put him to sleep or comfort him.
Q4. What does “rocking my cradle” mean?
Ans. “Rocking my cradle” means moving the baby’s bed gently back and forth to soothe and comfort the infant.
Q5. Why is this tune significant?
Ans. This tune is significant because it’s one of the few unconscious memories the child has of his mother. It represents her loving care and creates an emotional connection to her presence.
Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)
Q1. Who wrote the poem “I Cannot Remember My Mother”?
A. William Wordsworth
B. Rabindranath Tagore
C. John Keats
D. Robert Frost
Ans. B. Rabindranath Tagore
Q2. The word “gaze” means
A. quick look
B. long, steady look
C. angry look
D. shy look
Ans. B. long, steady look
Q3. The poem reflects Tagore’s love for?
A. war
B. science
C. emotions and nature
D. politics
Ans. C. emotions and nature
Q4. Identify the figure of speech used- “i cannot remember my mother.”
A. simile
B. metaphor
C. repetition
D. alliteration
Ans. C. repetition
Q5. “A tune seems to hover over my playthings” appeals to the sense of __________
A. smell
B. sight
C. sound
D. taste
Ans. C. sound
Q6. What does the child NOT remember about his mother?
A. Her physical appearance
B. The tune she hummed
C. Her loving care
D. Her presence
Ans. A. Her physical appearance
Q7. What hovers over the child’s playthings?
A. A butterfly
B. A bird C.
A tune D.
A cloud
Ans. C. A tune
Q8. What was the mother doing when she hummed the song?
A. Cooking food
B. Rocking the cradle
C. Walking in the garden
D. Praying in the temple
Ans. B. Rocking the cradle
Q9. What are shiuli flowers?
A. Large red flowers
B. Small white flowers used in Bengali worship
C. Yellow garden flowers
D. Blue mountain flowers
Ans. B. Small white flowers used in Bengali worship
Q10. When does the smell of shiuli flowers come?
A. Late summer evening
B. Early autumn morning
C. Winter afternoon
D. Spring night
Ans. B. Early autumn morning
Q11. What scent reminds the child of his mother?
A. Only shiuli flowers
B. Only temple incense
C. Both shiuli flowers and morning temple service
D. Garden roses
Ans. C. Both shiuli flowers and morning temple service
Q12. From where does the child look at the sky?
A. Garden
B. Temple
C. Bedroom window
D. Rooftop
Ans. C. Bedroom window
Q13. What color is the distant sky described as?
A. Red
B. Blue
C. Grey
D. White
Ans. B. Blue
Q14. What has spread all over the sky according to the child?
A. Clouds
B. Birds
C. The stillness of mother’s gaze
D. Morning light
Ans. C. The stillness of mother’s gaze
Q15. How many times does “I cannot remember my mother” appear in the poem?
A. Once
B. Twice
C. Three times
D. Four times
Ans. C. Three times
Q16. What does the repetition of “I cannot remember my mother” emphasize?
A. The child’s forgetfulness
B. The child’s inability to form conscious memories
C. The child’s sadness
D. The child’s anger
Ans. B. The child’s inability to form conscious memories
Q17. What triggers the child’s memory in the first stanza?
A. A photograph
B. A tune
C. A flower
D. The sky
Ans. B. A tune
Q18. What triggers the child’s memory in the second stanza?
A. Sound
B. Sight
C. Smell
D. Touch
Ans. C. Smell
Q19. What triggers the child’s memory in the third stanza?
A. Sound
B. Sight
C. Smell
D. Taste
Ans. B. Sight
Q20. What is the main theme of the poem?
A. Nature’s beauty
B. Childhood games
C. Mother’s eternal love and memory
D. Temple worship
Ans. C. Mother’s eternal love and memory
True or False
State whether the following are true or false-
1. Rabindranath Tagore won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913.
2. The child in the poem can clearly remember his mother’s face.
3. The mother used to hum a tune while rocking the child’s cradle.
4. Shiuli flowers are large red flowers.
5. The smell of shiuli flowers reminds the child of his mother.
6. The child looks at the sky from his garden.
7. The mother’s gaze is described as still and calm.
8. The poem has three stanzas.
9. Tagore renounced his knighthood in 1919.
10. The poem is about a child who never knew his mother.
ANSWER
1. True
2. False (He cannot remember her physical appearance)
3. True
4. False (Shiuli flowers are small white flowers)
5. True
6. False (He looks from his bedroom window)
7. True
8. True
9. True
10. False (He knew her but was too young to remember consciously)
Fill in the Blanks
1. Rabindranath Tagore was born in __________ in 1861.
2. Tagore won the Nobel Prize in Literature for his work __________.
3. The child cannot remember his __________.
4. A __________ seems to hover over the child’s playthings.
5. The mother used to hum while rocking the child’s __________.
6. __________ flowers are small white flowers used in Bengali worship.
7. The smell of shiuli flowers comes in the early __________ morning.
8. The scent of morning service in the __________ reminds the child of his mother.
9. The child looks at the __________ distant sky from his bedroom window.
10. The stillness of mother’s __________ has spread all over the sky.
ANSWERS:
1. Calcutta (or Kolkata)
2. Gitanjali
3. Mother
4. Tune
5. Cradle
6. Shiuli
7. Autumn
8. Temple
9. Blue
10. gaze
Extra Questions
Answer the following questions-
Q1. Who is the speaker in the poem “I Cannot Remember My Mother”?
Ans. The speaker is a child who lost his mother when he was very young and cannot consciously remember her face or physical appearance.
Q2. What does the child remember about his mother during play?
Ans. During play, the child remembers a tune that hovers over his playthings, the song his mother used to hum while rocking his cradle.
Q3. What does “a tune seems to hover over my playthings” mean?
Ans. It means the melody floats or lingers in the air around his toys, creating an invisible musical presence that reminds him of his mother’s love.
Q4. What triggers the child’s memory in the second stanza?
Ans. The smell of shiuli flowers floating in the air on an early autumn morning triggers the child’s memory of his mother.
Q5. What are shiuli flowers and when do they bloom?
Ans. Shiuli flowers are small white flowers used in Bengali worship (known as chamomile in English). They bloom in early autumn mornings.
Q6. How is the temple service connected to the mother’s memory?
Ans. The scent of the morning service in the temple comes to the child as the scent of his mother, suggesting she was religious and spiritual.
Q7. What does the child do in the third stanza?
Ans. In the third stanza, the child looks at the blue distant sky from his bedroom window and feels his mother’s presence.
Q8. What does the child feel when looking at the sky?
Ans. The child feels that the stillness of his mother’s gaze on his face has spread all over the sky, suggesting her eternal loving presence.
Q9. What does “the stillness of my mother’s gaze” suggest?
Ans. It suggests the calm, peaceful, protective, and loving way his mother used to look at him.
Q10. What is the main message of the poem?
Ans. The main message is that a mother’s love is eternal and transcends death. Though the child cannot consciously remember his mother, her presence lives on through sensory memories, sound, smell, and sight, showing that maternal love is immortal and omnipresent.