Flamingo - Chapter 6 Poets and pancakes - Asokamitran Summary, Glossary, Questions, and Answers - Summary - The lesson," Poets and P...
Flamingo - Chapter 6
Poets and pancakes - Asokamitran
Summary, Glossary, Questions, and Answers -
Summary -
The lesson," Poets and Pancakes" is written by Asokamitran, a Tamil writer and this lesson is an extract from his book," My Years With Boss" he shared his experience of working at Gemini Studios and he tried to portray different personalities working in studios and their human behaviour in a great sense of humour also described personalities, who visited the studios. He joined studios because he wanted to become a star actor, a top screenwriter, a lyrics writer, or a director. This shows his interest in the art of filmmaking, but later he turned out to be an" office boy". During that time, " pancake" was the brand name for make-up material used extensively at the studios.
In the first part of the lesson, he very well described the design and happenings of the make-up room. Later he threw light on the versatile personality called," Kothamanglam Subbu" and how the filmmaking was very easy in his presence, and in a very humorous way, he narrated the personality of the legal advisor, a lonely person with his awkward behaviour. Then he also picturized fantastic scenes and costumes of the Moral Rearmament Army and lastly mysterious visit of an English poet Stephen Spender and how he came to know about him. Even though all the personalities were different he managed to keep everything around the premises of Gemini Studios.
Glossary -
1. pancake - the name of a make-up brand material
2. fiery - burning strongly
3. hideous - extremely ugly or unpleasant
4. crimson - rich deep red colour
5. hued - coloured
6. potions - a liquid with healing properties
7. covertly - secretly
8. ignominy - public shame or disgrace
9. affluent - wealthy
10. dwarfed - to cause to appear smaller
11. sprawling - spreading out over a large area in an irregular way
12. deftly - quick and skillful in action
13. demeanour - a person's appearance and behaviour
14. sycophant - a self-seeking flatterer
15. direst - great stress
16. incriminating - making someone appear guilty of a crime
17. tirade - long, angry speech of criticism
18. catapulted - suddenly put someone into an important position
19. filial - devoted, dutiful
20. conjugal - relating to marriage/ marital
21. compunction - a feeling of guilt
22. trapeze - a horizontal bar hanging by two ropes and free to swing
23. homilies - a religious discourse
24. incongruity - disqualification, incapacity
25. drudge - a person made to do hard menial work
26. sneaking - move in a stealthy way
27. hazy - smoke or light vapour in the air
Think as you read -
1. What does the author mean by," the fiery misery" of those subjected to make-up?
Ans - By," the fiery misery" the writer means, the make-up room was like a hair-cutting salon with half a dozen large mirrors and incandescent lights at all angles. So one can imagine what heat it could have generated and what could have happened to those artists, who were doing make-up in such a condition.
2. What is the example of national integration that the author refers to?
Ans - The make-up room of the Gemini Studios was headed by different people like Bengali, Maharashtrian, Andhra, Madras Indian Christian, and Anglo-Burmese, so it was an example of national integration.
3. What work did the"office boy" do in the Gemini studios? why did he join the studios? why was he disappointed?
Ans - The office boy was supposed to make up the artists who were part of the crowd players and he used to do that by pouring the paint mixed in the giant vessel on the artists. The office boy joined the studios to become a star actor, a top screenwriter, director, and lyrics writer. He was disappointed because he could not succeed in becoming any one of the above and his literary talent was being wasted.
4. Why did the author appear to be nothing at the studios?
Ans - The author's duty was to cut different clippings from the newspaper on a variety of subjects and arrange it properly in the file. but according to many others, he was doing nothing as he was simply tearing up the newspapers.
5. Why was the office boy frustrated? who did he show his anger on?
Ans - The office boy was frustrated because many years back, he had joined the studios hoping to become any well-known film fraternity but unfortunately he became none except to work as an office boy which he always considered as a job of barber and also being a poet too, he always thought that his literary talent was being wasted. He showed his anger toward Subbu, the very next person to the boss of the studios, and always believed that all of his problems were only because of Subbu.
6. Who was Subbu's principal?
Ans - Subbu's principal was his boss, Mr S.S. Vasan, the owner of the Gemini Studios.
7. Subbu is described as a many-sided genius. List four of his special abilities?
Ans - Subbu was a versatile personality and had many unique qualities.
1. He could look cheerful at all times, even in a very difficult situation.
2. He was tailor-made for films, he could solve any problem that came across at any particular time while shooting a film.
3. He always had many solutions for one particular problem.
4. He was a poet too.
7. Why was the legal advisor referred to as the opposite by others?
Ans - The legal advisor was completely opposite in nature to others. He used to wear pants, a coat, and a tie whereas others used to wear khadi dhoti like Gandhiji. He was a member of the story department but never gave any legal solutions, moreover, he used to create problems for others.
8. Did the people at Gemini Studios have any particular political affiliations?
Ans - Even though the people at Gemini Studios worshipped Gandhiji and wore khadi like him but they had no appreciation for political thought of any kind.
9. Why was the Moral Rearmament Army welcomed at the studios?
Ans - The Moral Rearmament Army was welcomed at the studios because they had two excellent plays called," Jotham Valley", and," The Forgotten Factor" and these shows were extremely popular in Madras during that time in 1952. Their sets and costumes were excellent.
10. Name one example to show that Gemini Studios was influenced by the plays staged by MRA?
Ans - Gemini studios were terribly impressed by the plays staged by MRA, so Gemini studios had a scene of sunrise and sunset in the manner of Jotham Valley with a bare stage, a white background curtain, and a tune played on the flute.
11. Who was the Boss of Gemini Studios?
Ans - The Boss of Gemini Studios was Mr S.S.Vasan.
12. What caused the lack of communication between the Englishman and the people at Gemini Studios?
Ans - The people at Gemini Studios were lesser known to English poetry and for them, it was difficult to understand the accent of the Englishman, poet, or editor, so they could not understand what he talked about in his speech given in front of them.
13. Why is the Englishman's visit referred to as an unexplained mystery?
Ans - The Englishman's visit was referred to as an unexplained mystery because nobody could understand his accent of English. The owner too knew very little about him. Gemini Studios were known for making simple Tamil films and people of it could not relate to English poetry.
14. Who was the English visitor to the studios?
Ans - Stephen Spender, an English poet, and the editor was the English visitor to the studios.
15. How did the author discover who the English visitor to the studios was?
Ans - When the author was trying to write some piece of prose and wanted to get it published, he saw a short story contest was organized by a British periodical," The Encounter", but as he was not having any idea of the periodical, he went to the British Council Library and there he saw the name of the editor and it was Stephen Spender.
16. What does," The God that failed" refer to?
Ans - " The God that Failed", refers to the book, containing six essays by six eminent men of letters describing," their journeys into communism and their disillusioned return".
UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT -
1. The author has used gentle humour to point out human foibles. Pick out instances of this to show how this serves to make the piece interesting?
Ans - The author has narrated many incidences that created a great sense of humour indicating human nature. He portrayed the design of a make-up room, and its look, headed by different people of different regions in a very humorous way. Also, to show the versatility of Subbu, that he could do anything," The rat fights the tigress underwater and kills her but takes pity on the cubs and tends them lovingly, I don't know, how to do the scene", the producer would say, and Subbu would come out with four ways of the rat pouring affection on its victim's offspring. To show, how different the legal advisor was, he said," often he looked alone and hopeless, a man of cold logic in a crowd of dreamers- a neutral man in an assembly of Gandhiites and Khadiites", and lastly when the author found out, who was the poet visited the studios," long lost brothers of Indian films discover each other by singing the same song in the first reel and in the final reel of the film".
2. Why was Kothamanglam Subbu considered No. 2 in Gemini Studios?
Ans - Kothamanglam Subbu was considered No.2, next to the Boss in Gemini Studios because of his versatility and problem-solving capabilities. He was a Brahmin, with a multi-talented personality. He could look cheerful at all times, even in an odd situation. He could solve any problem he came across while shooting any particular scene and had always many options to do anything. He always remained inspirational to others. He was a poet too and could direct and because of the many qualities the author had said about him," Filmmaking must have been and was so easy with a man like Subbu around".
3. How does the author describe the incongruity of an English poet addressing the audience at Gemini Studios?
Ans - When the first time, the people of the studios came to know the English poet was supposed to visit the studios, they were confused about the purpose of his visit. They were known for making simple Tamil films and therefore they could not relate to his purpose. Moreover, when the poet started his speech, they could not understand anything because of his accent. They were not having any taste in English Poetry. So the English poet must have felt the sheer incongruity in his address.
4. What do you understand about the author's literary inclinations from the account?
Ans - The author, Asokamitran was a Tamil writer and in this lesson, which is an extract from his book," My Years With Boss", recounted his years at Gemini studios, and his duty was to cut out newspaper clippings on a wide variety of subjects and store them in files. Many of these had to be written out by hand. He was the most well-informed of all the members of the Gemini family, his literary inclinations can be observed in the incident when he was able to find the English poet and how he became excited to know that. In the lesson, he also used a great sense of humour and picturization of different emotions of human beings. All these incidents show us that he had a great literary inclination.
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