NOTES OF LESSON 6

Poets and Pancakes- Question and Answers

1. What does the writer mean by ‘the fiery misery’ of those subjected to make-up’?

A. By ‘the fiery misery’ of those subjected to make-up, the writer shows the lot of heat generated in the makeup room due to bulbs and the discomfort felt by the artists there.

 2. What is the example of national integration that the author refers to?

A. The author refers to the people working in the make-up studio from all over India. They were Bengali, Maharastrian, Dharwar Kannadiga, an Anglo-Burmese and the usual local Tamils. These created the scene of national integration in the studio.   

3. What work did the ‘office boy’ do in the Gemini Studios? Why did he join the studios? Why was he disappointed?

A. The ‘office boy’ had the duty of slapping paints on the faces of players at the time of crowd-shooting. He joined Gemini Studios with a dream of becoming an actor, screen-writer or director.

 4. Why did the author appear to be doing nothing at the studios?

A. The author’s job was to cut and collect newspaper clippings or sometimes even writing them by hand. This was easier and lesser in comparison to what others were doing at the Studio.

 THINK AS YOU READ

1. Why was the office boy frustrated? Who did he show his anger on?

A. The office boy was frustrated because he thought his literary talent was going wasted in a room full of barbers and make-up artists. He somehow managed to deviate his anger on Subbu.

 2. Who was Subbu’s principal?

A. The Boss, SS Vasan, who was also the founder of Gemini Studios, was Subbu's principal

 3. Subbu is described as a many-sided genius. List four of his special abilities.

A. Subbu, as a man of many qualities, had the ability to look cheerful at all times, was an excellent actor who could portray his roles in several ways, was an accomplished poet, and loved anyone he met.

 4. Why was the legal adviser referred to as the opposite by others?

A. The legal adviser was referred to as the opposite by others because he once recorded the voice of an actress in her anger and played before her. That was the end of her brilliant career. 

5. What made the lawyer stand out from the others at Gemini Studios?

A. The lawyer used to wear pants and tie and sometimes a coat while others wore dhoti-kurta  in the studio. This made the  lawyer stand out from the others at Gemini Studios.

  THINK AS YOU READ

1. Did the people at Gemini Studios have any particular political affiliations?

A. No, although they dressed up in Khadi, they did not have the slightest political affiliations. 

 2. Why was the Moral Rearmament Army welcomed at the Studios?

A. Frank Buchman's Moral Re-Armament army was welcomed at the studio mainly because of their political association.

3. Name one example to show that Gemini studios was influenced by the plays staged by MRA.

A.  Frank Buchman's Moral Rearmament Army staged two plays“Jotham Valley” and The Forgotten Factor” in a most professional manner. After their play, for some years almost all Tamil plays had a scene of sunrise and sunset in the manner of ‘Jotham Valley’ with a bare stage, a white background and a tune played on the flute.

 4. Who was The Boss of Gemini Studios?

A. SS Vasan was The Boss of Gemini Studios.

 5. What caused the lack of communication between the Englishman and the people at Gemini Studios?

A. The British accent of the Englishman caused lack of communication between him and the people at Gemini Studios.

 6. Why is the Englishman’s visit referred to as unexplained mystery?

A. The Englishman's visit to the Gemini Studios is referred to as an unexplained mystery because no one could decipher his identity, whether he was a poet or an editor. Besides, when he spoke, no one at the studio understood what he intended to say.

   THINK AS YOU READ

 1. Who was the English visitor to the studios?

A. Stephen Spender

 2. How did the author discover who the English visitor to the studios was?

A. Once when author bought a copy of the, The God That Failed, he saw the name of the English visitor on it along with six others. From there he discovered who the English visitor to  the studios was.

3. What does The God that Failed refer to?

A. The God that Failed refers to a collection of essays by six authors who wrote about their journey into Communism, one of them being Stephen Spender.

 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.

A. The author portrays the make-up artists and the usage of the pancakes in an interesting way. Even the caricature of Subbu is hilarious. The way he tries to help his principal is quite amusing. The episode of the legal adviser that inadvertently causes the end of an actress’s career is yet another example. The frustration of the office boy, the superficial praising of Gandhi, hatred of Communism and the ‘mystery’ surrounding Stephen Spender are some of the instances where the author has incorporated gentle humour.

 2. Why was Kothamangalam Subbu considered No. 2 in Gemini Studios?

A. Kothamangalam Subbu was succesful in securing the place closest to The Boss by means of flattery. He was not brilliant but a rather cheerful person and loyal to The Boss. He offered solutions whenever The Boss was in a problem. Thus, the staff considered him No.2 in Gemini Studios.

 3. How does the author describe the incongruity of an English poet addressing the audience at Gemini Studios?

A. The English poet was addressing the Tamil audience at Gemini Studios in English with a typical provincial accent. He was talking about the thrills and travails of an English poet to a dazed and silent audience. This was the incongruity because his audience could not understand him at all.

 4. What do you understand about the author’s literary inclinations from the account?

A. The writer was a prose-writer. He wanted to send a short story for the short story contest organised by a British periodical by the name 'The Encounter'.