English Notes

SUMMARY In the story ‘The Adventures of Toto’, Toto is a monkey. The story is written by Ruskin Bond. He has described how his grandfather was fond of animals and one day he bought a monkey from a Tonga-driver for a sum of five rupees. The grandfather saw Toto tied up to a feeding-trough and he looked very ill and ugly. As the grandfather had his own private zoo he decided to keep the little monkey in it. Toto was kept in a little closet which opened into the narrator’s room. Toto’s presence was kept top secret as grandmother abhorred animals. Gradually grandmother accepted Toto in the house. Toto used his tail as a third hand. He used it to hang from a branch and for scooping up any delicacy that might be out of reach of his hands. Once,when grandfather was going out of station, he decided to take Toto along with him. A big black canvas kit bag was used for Toto so that he could not escape from it but the ticket collector saw him and grandfather had to pay the fare for To

Summary 1st stanza In this stanza, the poet describes a rainy night. He says that all the stars of the sky have become invisible because they have been covered by clouds. Darkness usually has a negative connotation, and the poet makes no exception to this rule. He says that the darkness is making him sad and reflective, and the rain also seems to mirror his emotions as it looks like tears falling softly from human eyes. At this point, the only thing that can bring joy to the poet is to curl up with a pillow in the bed of a country cottage and listen to the sound of raindrops falling overhead 2nd Stanza: In this stanza, the poet describes how the raindrops make the loudest sound as they fall on the shingles of the roof. Each sound that is made by the rain in this way is repeated the next instant by the beating of his heart. He begins to dream about many things. As he is listening to the soft and continuous falling of the raindrops on his roof, all his memories come back

SUMMARY The poetry piece ‘Wind’ has been composed by "Subramania-Bharti". The poet describes the raw force of the wind in this poem. When the wind blows it breaks the shutters of the windows. It throws down the books on the shelf. It tears the pages of the books. The poet has drawn a living picture of wind which makes fun of weak and crumbling houses, doors, forests and hearts. It not only makes fun of these things but he wind god winnows them and crushes them. The wind is thus a symbol of power or force. The poet draws out a fine moral from the force of wind. He says that the wind will not do any harm to the strong homes, doors or the bodies. It means that if we are strong, even the strong enemy will not harm us in any way. So he suggests us to be strong physically and mentally. Actually the wind is the symbol of difficulties or obstacles humans have to face for their survival. Comprehension Questions 1. Whom does the poet address in the poem? The poet address