A Photograph by Shirley Toulson

1. What does the word ‘cardboard’ denote in the poem? Why has this word been used?
Ans:-
The word cardboard denotes the old-fashioned photograph pasted on a
hard paper. This word has been used to refer to the age-old procedure
of  pasting photograph on  cardboard with a glass on it.

2. What has the camera captured? Marks-2 [HS-2012]
Ans:-
The camera has captured the photograph of  three girls— the pretty face
of the poet’s mother and the smiling faces of her two cousins, Betty and
Dolly. They were photographed during a memorable moment of spending
playful time on a sea beach. The poet’s mother is seen in the middle of
two girls, each holding the hands of the poet’s mother.

 3. What has not changed over the years? Does this suggest something to you?
Ans:-
The sea has not changed over the years. The unchanging nature of sea
presents a contrast between its permanence and the transitoriness of
human life. The advancement of time leads to change and decay in human
beings.

4. The poetess’s mother laughed at the snapshot? What did this laugh indicate? Marks-2 [HS-2017]
(OR) Why would the poet’s mother laugh at the snapshot? [HS-2016]
Ans:-
The laugh of the poet’s mother indicated her joy and happiness in
living with the nostalgic memories of her childhood. She was very happy
with the carefree moments spent on the seashore.

5. What is the meaning of the line “Both wry with the laboured ease of loss”? HS-2024
Ans:-
The vacation spent on the beach and the laughter of the poet’s mother
are nothing but memories of the past. The absence of these two has
generated a feeling of loss and despair. The poet finds it difficult to
miss those persons with whom he has a deep emotional attachment.

6. What does ‘this circumstance’ refer to?
Ans:- This circumstance refers to the death of the poet’s mother.

7. The three stanzas depict three different phases. Name them.
Ans:-
The first stanza describes the poet’s mother as a child with a pretty
face enjoying a holiday on the beach and pausing for a photograph with
her cousins. In the second stanza she is depicted as a middle-aged woman
laughing at her own snapshot. In the third stanza she is shown as
embracing death.

8. Whose transient feet the poet is talking about? Why are they transient? Marks-2 [HS 2016]
Ans:-
The poet is talking about the transient feet of the poet’s mother and
her two cousins. The sea waves constantly washed their footprints while
they were playing on the beach.
They are transient because human life is short and nobody is spared by time. However the sea remains unchanged.

9. word meaning:-
Cardboard: ফটো উঠোৱা ডাঠ কাগজ
cousins: সম্বন্ধীয় ভাই বা ভনী (Relative brother and sister)
paddling: সুধা ভৰিৰে পানীত খোজ কঢ়া
the big girl: কবিৰ মাক
still fixed: নিচ্চল হৈ থকা
smile: হাঁহি
sweet face: সুন্দৰ মুখ
terrible: অতি বেছি, ভয়ানক
transient: ক্ষণভঙ্গুৰ

1. The Portrait of a Lady by Khushwant Singh

2. Landscape of the soul

3. The Ailing Planet

4. My impression of Assam

 Poem

5.  A Photograph by Shirley Toulson

6. The Voice of the Rain by Walt Whitman

7. Childhood

8. Father to son

Supplimentary – Short Stories

9. Ranga Marraige