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Where There Is A Wheel 2nd PU Summary|Notes

Where There Is A Wheel - P Sainath Introduction The essay “Where There Is A Wheel” is taken from the book ‘Everybody loves a good drought’ written by P. Sainath, a noted Indian journalist who writes columns regularly in leading journals on social, rural problems, poverty and the after effects of globalization. Summary This essay is about a social movement through cycling in Pudukkottai district of Tamilnadu where over 100,000 rural women have taken to bicycling. Most of them are neo-literates who use bicycling as a symbol of independence, freedom and mobility. Cycling has given new meaning and social identity to women as diverse as agricultural workers, quarry labourers and village health nurses. Even balwadi and anganwadi (babysitter) workers, gem cutters and school teachers have joined the bandwagon. There are also gram sevikas and mid-day meal workers who have joined the new movement. The Arivoli Iyakkam ( Light of Knowledge Movement ) that led the community literacy movement su...

The Voter 2nd PU Summary|Notes

Introduction Chinua Achebe is a renowned Nigerian novelist, poet, professor, and critic. His works highlight the clash of Western and traditional African values. His style reflects Igbo oral tradition. The narration is peppered with folk stories, proverbs and oratory. Among his many works, ‘Things Fall Apart’, ‘Arrow of God’ are very popular. Summary “The Voter ''is a beautiful story symbolic of the entry of a new system of governance into the innocent settlements of native people in Africa. It shows how Igbo people fall prey to the lures of the western systems. The story also depicts how democratic exercise of the west introduced in Africa corrupts the innocent lgbo folks. Rufus Okeke, the protagonist is very popular in the village, Umuofia, for he chose to stay back in his village instead of a bright future to guide his people in difficult times. Thus, he had won their confidence. When the story opens, it is election time to choose the new government. Rufus Okeke worked fo...

Japan and Brazil Through A Traveler's Eye 2nd PU Summary|Notes

Introduction George Mikes is a Hungarian artist, author, publisher, illustrator and journalist. These excerpts are from ‘The Land of the Rising Yen'’ and ‘How To Tango’. Here he writes about his travelling experiences from two different places of the world, Japan and Brazil. Travel writing is about writing one’s experiences of travelling and visiting alien places. Travel writing has become very popular as more people have begun to explore new places on the globe. Though much of the earth has been explored, and almost everything has been written about, the popularity of travel writing is still growing. There are exclusive channels on travel and the influence of new media has further increased its popularity. The travel narratives are telling comments on how a culture gets represented by another. Theme / Summary Japanese Manners / Courtesy - substitute privacy The writer observes that Japanese are well-mannered people. They respect one another’s privacy immensely. Courtesy has a ...

Heaven, If You Are Not Here on Earth 2nd PU Summary|Notes

Heaven, If You Are Not Here on Earth Introduction Heaven, If You Are Not Here On Earth is written by K.V. Puttappa popularly known by his pen name Kuvempu. He is considered to be the greatest poet of 20th Century Kannada Literature. He is immortalized particularly for his contribution to Universal Humanism - Vishwa Maanavataa Vaada. Theme / Summary The poet here attempts to demystify the notion of heaven. It is the blissful state that makes the poet realise the heavenly experience in the company of Nature on earth. He shares his emotions with readers. He finds divine creation all pervasive that he can’t stop glorifying the beauties on earth. So, Kuvempu wonders in this state, if Heaven is not on earth, where else it can be! According to the poet, the experience of God is within us - just an extension of good qualities. If we fail to cultivate these virtues, there can be no Gods. The most beautiful heavenly maids are amidst us. If we can see such nymphs right around us, then they are ...

I Believe That Books Will Never Disappear 2nd PU Summary|Notes

Introduction Jorge Luis Borges was an Argentine short story writer, essayist, poet and translator. In this interview conducted by Roberto Alifano a poet, storyteller, essayist and journalist from the city of General Pinto, province of Buenos Aires Borges talks about his early years of reading, his family, his blindness, books, poetry, metaphors and literature. Summary First Reading / On his mother Asked about his first reading, Borges proudly says that he was educated at his father’s library where he first read Grimm’s Fairy Tales. His mother, according to him, was an extraordinary person but he regrets having not been understanding of her. He didn't give her happiness which makes him guilty. He says that all of us take our mother for granted. Accordingly, we should treat our mother better. He remembers his mother as an intelligent and gracious woman. On blindness Blindness to Borges is a way of life. He calls whatever happens to anyone is a resource and that all things have been ...

To the Foot from its Child 2nd PU Summary|Notes

To the Foot from its Child - Summary Introduction Pablo Neruda is a Chilean poet, diplomat and politician. He has written in a variety of styles. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971. His poem To the Foot from its Child is a translation in English by Alastair Reid who is one of Scotland's foremost literary figures well-known for his poetry, prose and translation. Theme / Summary To the Foot from Its Child is rich and deep in its meaning and message. The poem portrays the journey of a child or child's foot from its birth to death. Neruda begins the poem stating that the child's foot is not aware of the reality but dreams to be a butterfly or an apple. Then the passage of time exposes the foot to such hardships of life that they teach the foot that it cannot become a butterfly or an apple. It then loses the battle and remains condemned to live in the shoe. Here, the poet shows how an individual is controlled by society. The foot then starts to understand its limits a...