A ROADSIDE STAND
Think it out
1. The city folk who drove through the countryside hardly paid
any heed to the roadside stand or to the people who ran it. If at
all they did, it was to complain. Which lines bring this out? What
was their complaint about?
Answer:
2. What was the plea of the folk who had put up the roadside stand?
Answer:
3. The government and other social service agencies appear to help
the poor rural people, but actually do them no good. Pick out the
words and phrases that the poet uses to show their double
standards.
Answer:
4. What is the ‘childish longing’ that the poet refers to? Why is it
‘vain’?
Answer:
5. Which lines tell us about the insufferable pain that the poet
feels at the thought of the plight of the rural poor?
Answer:
Talk about it
Discuss in small groups.
The economic well-being of a country depends on a balanced
development of the villages and the cities.
Try this out
You could stop at a dhaba or a roadside eatery on the outskirts of
your town or city to see
1. how many travellers stop there to eat?
2. how many travellers stop for other reasons?
3. how the shopkeepers are treated?
4. the kind of business the shopkeepers do.
5. the kind of life they lead.
DABP006896
