The Power of Music Poem Comprehension Questions Answers

Question 1.
Read the following verse paragraph and answer the questions that follow:
When summer comes, we hear the hums Bhisma Lochan Sharma. 
You catch his strain on hill and plain from Delhii down to Burma
He sings as though he’s staked his life, he sings as though he’s hell-bent;
The people, dazed, retire amazed although they know it’s well-meant.

i. Who is Bhisma Lochan Sharma? What happens when summer arrives?
ii. How far is Bhisma Lochan Sharma’s voice audible?
iii. Why does it seem as if Bhisma Lochan Sharma has staked his life?
iv. How does people react hearing Bhisma Lochan ‘s voice?
Answer:
i.Bhisma Lochan is a so called budding singer whose awful voice terrorizes everything under the sun. Bhisma Lochan however, begins practicing song with the advent of summer.

ii. The voice of Bhisma Lochan Sharma is audible far and wide. Whether be on hills or in valleys from Delhi to Burma, Bhishma Lochan is awfully audible everywhere.

iii. Since Bhishma Lochan Sharma sings terrifyingly loud, it seems as if he has staked his life. Normally people do not sing so inharmoniously loud. Hence, the poet says that Bhishma Lochan perhaps has” staked his life” because his thunderous voice might shock him to death.

iv. People are simply terrified when they hear Bhisma Lochan sing terrifyingly loud. They run away to avoid the dreadful voice of Bhisma Lochan who continues singing aloud without being moved.

Question 2.
Read the following verse paragraph and answer the questions that follow:
They’re trampled in the panic rout or languish pale and sickly,
And plead/My friend, we’re near our end,oh stop your singing quickly! 
The bullock-carts are overturn ed, and horses line the roadside;
But Bhisma Lochan, unconcerned, goes booming out his broadside.

i. What happens when people try to run away to avoid Bhisma Lochan’s voice?
ii. What do they say to Bhisma Lochan? How does Bhisma Lochan react hearing their plea?
iii. How does Bhisma Lochan’s song affect the bullock cart and the horses on the road?
iv. How do they react hearing the strange voice of Bhisma Lochan?
v. What effect is produced with the picture of overturned bullock-cart and their confounded look?
Answer:
i. When people try to run away to avoid Bhisma Lochan’s voice, they often collide with one another and are even 210 stomped under their feet. In a way, a total picture of chaos is established as people desperately seek for a safer zone when they hear Bhisma Lochan sing horribly.

ii. Feeling desperately miserable hearing thunderous voice of Bhisma Lochan, people pleads with him to stop singing. This however will help them to survive and live in peace.

iii. Not only humans, Bhisma Lochan’s song horribly affects even the animals and aquatic creatures. For example, bullock-carts are overturned when Bhisma Lochan sings aloud. The horses stand in a row, renouncing their work. They all protest and with confused eyes they continue staring at Bhisma Lochan with their feet in the air.

iv. Having never heard of such dreadful voice, animals like horses and bullock are terribly shocked. While horses abandon their work and stand in a row, the bullock carts are overturned and the poor animals continue staring at Bhisma Lochan with their feet in the air. In a way, these animals protest vehemently staring at Bhisma Lochan with confused eyes.

v. The picture of overturned bullock cart and the confused look of the “wretched brutes” evoke enough mirth. Sukumar Ray intends to ridicule Bhisma Lochan Sharma for his desperate attempt to be a maestro.

But, little does he realise that he has hardly the ability to reach into such platform. His rewaj simply terrorizes all near him including the animals. The poet thus, mocks the pseudo-maestro with such pictures which indicates how awfully does Bhisma Lochan sings.

Question 3.
Read the following verse paragraph and answer the questions that follow:
The fishes dived below the lake in frantic search for silence,
The very trees collapse and shake – you hear the crash a mile hence
And in the sky the feathered fly turn turtle while they’re winging,
Again we cry, ‘We’re going to die, oh won’t you stop your singing?’

i. How do fishes react hearing Bhisma Lochon’s song?
ii. How do birds react hearing Bhisma Lochon’s dreadful hum?
iii. What other thing are affected by the terrifying hum of Bhisma Lochan?
iv. How do people react observing the calamities around?
v. What impression of Bhisma Lochan do you form based on your reading the poem?
Answer:
i. Bhisma Lochan’s dreadful hum affects the aquatic world. Fishes dive deep into the lake in search of safer zone when they hear the terrifying hum of Bhisma Lochan.

ii. The hum of Bhisma Lochan affects the birds too. Birds start losing control over their wings. They turn upside down, while Bhisma Lochan continues singing horribly loud.

iii. Other things affected by the terrifying hum of Bhisma Lochan are trees and the sky. Trees continue collapsing on the ground and the sky falls into tear when Bhisma Lochan is busy with his hum.

iv. People feel scared observing the series of calamities around. Hence, they earnestly plead with Bhisma Lochan to stop singing, fearing that the furious noise might kill them. People in fact want to live in peace. Hence, they beg Bhisma Lochan to renounce his practice which terrifies all under the sun.

v. Bhisma Lochan Sharma is a powerful caricature of a pseudo intellectual, desperately striving to be the part of the enlightened world without testifying his ability.

His dreadful voice terrorizes all around him and scares them away. This is deeply insulting for a singer as he craves for public attention. But, Bhisma Lochan is such a weird creature that he remains unmoved and continues singing horribly despite public disapproval.

Question 4.
Read the following verse paragraph and answer the questions that follow:
But now there comes a billy goat, a most
sagacious fellow,
He downs his horns and charges straight, with
bellow answering bellow.
The strains of song are tossed and whirled by
blast of brutal violence,

i. What is a billy goat? Why is he called sagacious?
ii. What does the goat do while he hears Bhisma Lochan singing?
iii. How does it affect Bhisma Lochan?
iv. How does Bhisma Lochan grants the world the golden gift of silence?
Answer:
i. A billy goat is a male goat. He is called sagacious since he know the way to stop Bhisma Lochan’s song.

ii. Irked with Bhisma Lochan’s horrible voice, the ram lowers his horns and hits the singer from behind. The nudge however was so powerful indeed that Bhisma Lochan at once bounced high up in the air and finally falls down on the ground.

iii. When the ram hits Bhisma Lochan from behind, the awful singer at once bounced high up in the air and finally falls down on the ground.

iv. Deeply injured because of the sudden nudge of the ram, Bhisma Lochan finally renounces singing. Silence thus, pervades all around and the people are saved from being tortured by the dreadful hum of Bhisma Lochan.

The Power of Music Poem Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)

Question 1.
Bhismalochan Sharma was a …………..
a. painter
b. singer
c. playwright
d. writer
Answer:
b. singer

Question 2.
Bhismalochan begins his song with the advent of ………….
a. winter
b. monsoon
c. autumn
d. summer
Answer:
d. summer

Question 3.
People plead with Bhismalochan to …………….
a. continue singing
b. stop singing
c. sing with musical instruments
d. sing softly
Answer:
b. stop singing

Question 4.
What do people do when Bhismalochan sing?
a. They sit and enjoy his song
b. The applaud to encourage the singer
c. They dance
d. They run away
Answer:
d. They run away

Question 5.
What happens to bullock cart when Bhismalochan sings?
a. They stand in a row
b. The bullock try to free themselves from the cart
c. They are overturned
d. They blow horns
Answer:
c. They are overturned

Question 6.
How do animals react hearing Bhismalochan’s song?
a. They protest and with confused eyes continue staring at Bhisma Lochan
b. They start dancing
c. They hear the singer with deep interest
d. They cry out in fear
Answer:
a. They protest and with confused eyes continue staring at Bhisma Lochan

Question 7.
How do fishes react hearing Bhismalochan’s song?
a. They come out of the water
b. They swim merrily
c. They dive into water in search of safer zone
d. They dance in water
Answer:
c. They dive into water in search of safer zone

Question 8.
What happens to the trees when Bhismalochan sings?
a. They dance merrily
b. They remain sombre
c. They collapse to the ground
d. They become colourless
Answer:
c. They collapse to the ground

Question 9.
Birds loose control of their ……….. when Bhismalochan sings.
a. emotion
b. wings
c. feathers
d. none of the above
Answer:
b. wings

Question 10.
Who finally to stops Bhismalochan from singing?
a. a cat
b. a ram
c. a dog
d. an elephant
Answer:
b. a ram

Question 11.
Bhismalochan’s song finally comes to an end with ………….
a. people’s protest
b. the advent of monsoon
c. the nudge of a ram
d. the nudge of a cow
Answer:
c. the nudge of a ram

The Power of Music Poem Annotations with Comments

Lines 1 to 8:

Hums: song
Bhisma Lochan Sharma: a fictitious character
Strain: song
You catch…..Burma: the inharmonious holler of Bhisma Lochan Sharma audible far and wide: on the hills as well as in the valleys from Delhi to Burma
Staked: bet
He sings….life: Since Bhisma Lochan Sharma sings so furiously loud it seems as if he has staked his life.
Hell-bent: determined
Dazed: shocked
Retire: leave
Amazed: shocked

Lines 9 to 20:

Trampled: stamped
Rout: disorder
Languish: weaken
Pale: colourless
Sickly: ill
Plead: request
‘My friend: refers to Bhisma Lochan Sharma
near our end: almost to die soon
overturned: turned upside down
unconcerned: undisturbed
booming: deafening
broadside: (here)sing furiously loud
wretched: miserable
brutes: animals
resent: protest
blare: loud noise
whine: complain
stare with feet: the cacophonous song of Bhisma Lochan Sharma threw the animals on the ground, they now continue staring at this weird human with their feet in the air
confounded: confused

Lines 21 to 32:

Frantic: desperate
Collapse: fall to the ground
Crash: refers to the sound of trees falling to the ground
feathered fly: birds
turn turtle: turn upside down
we: refers to people around
soared: song reached to an
intolerable pitch
grumble: protest
welkin: sky
screech: scream
mansions: tall buildings

Lines 33 to 40:

billy goat: mate goat/ram
sagacious: wise
downs: lowers
charges: hits
bellow: loud bleating
bellow answering bellow: the loud bleat of the goat is similar to that of Bhisma Lochan’s cacophonous song
whirled: circled
brutal: fierce
brutal violence: refers to the nudge of the ram with his horn.
Bhisma Lochan grants …….. silence: Bhishma Lochan is finally stopped by the “nudge” of a ram which brings an end to his dreaming of a maestro.

The Power of Music Poem Paraphrase

With the advent of summer, Bhisma Lochan Sharma begins his clamorous song, audible far and wide. Whether be on hills or in valleys from Delhi to Burma, he is awfully audible. One feels as if Bhisma Lochan has staked his life as he sings thunderously loud. Scared ot his song, people always run away, leaving Bhisma Lochan completely unmoved.

In such agitation, people often collide with one another and are even stomped under their feet. As they feel miserable, they plead with the singer to stop singing. The bullock-carts are overturned and the horses stand in a row, renouncing their work. They all protest and with confused eyes, continue staring at Bhisma Lochan with their feet in the air.

Bhisma Lochan’s song even affects the aquatic world. Fishes dive deep into the lake in search of safer zone. Trees continue collapsing on the ground and the birds start losing control over their wings. They turn upside down, while Bhisma Lochan carries on with his rewaz. Scared of such disaster, people beg him to stop singing, fearing that the furious noise might kill them. But Bhisma Lochan’s song does not cease. Instead, his song goads the sky to cry and the houses fall down due to intolerable boom.

One day, a ram on its way hears Bhisma Lochan singing furiously aloud. Annoyed of the scream, he lowers his horns and hits the singer. The powerful nudge raises Bhisma Lochan into the air and casts him onto the ground. The wounded singer finally stops singing .and silence pervades all around. Bhisma Lochan’s dream of becoming a maestro finally ends.

The Power of Music Poem Summary by Sukumar Ray

Lines 1 to 8:

With the advent of summer, Bhisma Lochan Sharma begins his clamorous song, audible far and wide. Whether be on hills or in valleys from Delhi to Burma, Bhishmalochan is awfully audible. One feels as if the Bhisma Lochan has staked his life as he sings thunderously loud. People are deeply scared. They run away to avoid the dreadful song, leaving Bhisma Lochan unmoved.

Lines 9 to 20:

In such agitation, people often collide with one another and are even stomped under their feet. As they feel miserable, they plead with Bhisma Lochan to stop singing. The bullock-carts are overturned and the horses stand in a row, renouncing their work. They all protest and with confused eyes they continue staring at Bhisma Lochan with their feet in the air.

Lines 21 to 32:

Bhisma Lochan’s song even affects the aquatic world. Fishes dive deep into the lake in search of safer zone. Trees continue collapsing on the ground and the birds start losing control over their wings. They turn upside down, while Bhisma Lochan carries on with his rewaz. Scared of such disaster, people beg him to stop singing fearing that the furious noise might kill them. But Bhisma Lochan song does not cease. Instead, goads the sky to cry and houses to fall down.

Lines 33 to 40:

A ram on its way hears Bhisma Lochan’s song. Annoyed of the scream, he lowers his horns and hits the singer. The powerful nudge lifts up Bhisma Lochan and throws him on the ground. The wounded singer finally stops singing and silence pervades all around

The Power of Music Poem Introduction

A significant poem in The Weird and the Absurd (Abol Tabol), The Power of Music by Sukumar Ray is a typical “nonsense”, a genre which developed in the hands of Lewis Carol and Edward Lear. Bengali readers were exposed to this genre by the poems in Abol Tabol which deliberately attempt to ridicule the ‘state of society and administration of early 20th-century colonial India’.

The Power of Music (“Gaaner Guto”) explores the pretention of the modern man for his attempt to be the part of the enlightened world without testifying his ability. Bhishmalochan Sharma is a representative of such “weird” class whose awful rewaj terrorizes people all around.

Treasure Chest A Collection of ICSE Poems Workbook Answers