2.1 Vocation
Complete textbook exercise solutions — Maharashtra State Board (Balbharati), Grade Eight English.
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Warming Up!
(profession / recreation / occupation / job / pastime / employment / hobby / career / entertainment / mission / trade / business / sports / retirement / placement)
- profession
- occupation
- job
- employment
- career
- trade
- business
- 'Profession' refers to: a paid occupation, especially one that involves prolonged training and a formal qualification.
- 'Vocation' refers to: a strong feeling of suitability for a particular career or occupation; a calling.
- 'Business' refers to: the practice of making one's living by engaging in commerce or trade.
- 'Occupation' refers to: any regular job, work or profession that a person does to earn a living.
- buzz
- hiss
- roar
- splash
- click
- pop
- beep
- squeak
- thud
- clatter
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English Workshop
| Phrases from the poem | Matching Meaning |
|---|---|
| (i) nobody takes him to task | (f) scolds and corrects |
| (ii) if he gets baked in the sun | (b) exposed to heat |
| (iii) chasing the shadows with my lantern | (e) following imaginary goals |
| (iv) The lane is dark and lonely | (a) deserted |
| (v) he soils his clothes with dust | (c) dirties the clothings |
| (vi) There is no road he must take | (d) no particular route |
| Time of the day | Location | Poet's Activity | Hawker's Activities | Gardener's Activities | Watchman's Activities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morning | Lane / Road to school | Walking to school | Crying "Bangles, crystal bangles!" | — | — |
| Afternoon | The gate / garden | Coming back from school | — | Digging the ground, doing what he likes with his spade | — |
| Night | Open window / bed | Going to bed / looking through window | — | — | Walking up and down the dark lane, swinging lantern, chasing shadows |
(a) What could be the age group of the speaker in the poem?
The speaker is a young school-going child, likely in the age group of 8 to 12 years.
(b) What is the difference between a hawker and a shopkeeper?
A hawker moves from place to place or street to street to sell his goods, whereas a shopkeeper sells goods from a fixed, permanent shop.
(c) How do parents react when they see children soil their clothes in dust and heat?
Parents usually get angry, scold their children (take them to task), and instruct them to stay clean and avoid playing in the dirt or hot sun.
(d) Why is the street light compared to a one-red-eyed-giant?
The street light is tall and huge like a mythical giant, and the single red bulb or light glowing at the top looks exactly like a single red eye on its head.
(e) What exactly does the speaker in the poem crave for?
The speaker craves for complete freedom and independence. He wants to do whatever he pleases, go wherever he wants, without any rules, strict routines, or adults scolding him.
(f) Does the poet really wish to become a hawker/gardener/watchman? Justify your response.
No, the poet does not genuinely wish to take up the hard manual labour of those jobs. He merely looks at their apparent freedom from the strict rules and routines of a schoolboy's life. He does not understand the actual hardships, struggles, and sleeplessness involved in their daily routines.
(a) hawker
The speaker wishes to be a hawker because the hawker is in no hurry, has no specific road he is forced to take, no strict destination, and no fixed time to return home.
(b) gardener
The speaker wishes to be a gardener because the gardener can do whatever he likes with his spade, soil his clothes with dust, get baked in the sun or get wet in the rain, and nobody will stop or scold him.
(c) watchman
The speaker wishes to be a watchman because the watchman can walk the streets all night with his lantern, chase shadows, and never has to go to bed early.
- Alliteration: "nobody takes him to task" (repetition of the 't' sound).
- Simile: "...the street lamp stands like a giant with one red eye in its head."
- Repetition: "crying, 'Bangles, crystal bangles!'" or "no road he must take, no place he must go to, no time when he must come home."
- Onomatopoeia: "When the gong sounds ten in the morning" (the word 'gong' represents the sound).
This is an observation activity for the students. Browse through the textbook to identify other poems that do not follow a strict rhyme scheme (like AABB or ABAB) and have lines of varying lengths.
(i) Name of the vocation / profession / business: Teacher
(ii) Educational qualifications required: A Bachelor's degree (B.A. / B.Sc.) followed by a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) degree.
(iii) Work profile / description: Teaching students, planning interactive lessons, conducting activities, assessing student progress, and guiding them in their overall personality development.
(iv) Opportunities for advancement: With experience and further studies (like M.Ed.), one can become a Senior Teacher, Vice-Principal, Principal, or an Education Officer.
(v) Your personal skills / talents for the choice: I have good communication skills, a lot of patience, a love for reading, and I enjoy explaining concepts to my friends.
Day after day, one after another, I sail paper boats on the stream of flowing water. I write my name and the name of my village in big black letters on the boats, hoping that someone in a faraway land will find them and know who I am.
I load my little boats with delicate shiuli flowers gathered from our garden, and I hope that these morning blooms will be carried safely to land by nighttime. As I launch my paper boats, I look up into the sky and see little clouds resembling white, bulging sails. I imagine that some unknown playmate of mine up in the sky is sending those clouds down the breeze to race with my boats.
When the night falls, I bury my face in my arms and dream that my paper boats are still floating on and on under the light of the midnight stars. In my dream, the fairies of sleep are sailing inside those boats, and their cargo consists of baskets completely full of dreams.