Rain on the Roof (Poem)

Rain on the Roof (Poem) Question and Answer
 NCERT Class 9  Beehive Text Book

Thinking about the Poem

Question 1 What do the following phrases mean to you? Discuss in class.
(i) humid shadows
(ii) starry spheres
(iii) what a bliss
(iv) a thousand dreamy fancies into busy being start
(v) a thousand recollections weave their air-threads into woof

Answer

(i) Black clouds full of humidity

(ii) Sky full of stars

(iii) It is the highest happiness

(iv) So many imaginations start working in the mind.

(v) So many memories start recalling into the mind like preparation of cloth from threads on loom.

Question 2 What does the poet like to do when it rains?

Answer When it rains the poet wants to lie on bed with a pillow. At this moment, the poet likes to enjoy the joy and pleasure of sleep. He enjoys and listens to the pitter-patter sound of the rain.

Question 3 What is the single major memory that comes to the poet? Who are the “darling dreamers” he refers to?

Answer The poet’s single most vivid recollection is of his mother and her loving expression. The “darling dreamers” are the poet and his siblings as children when their mother gently puts them to sleep.

Question 4 Is the poet now a child? Is his mother still alive?

Answer No, the poet is not a child. He has reached adulthood. His mother is no more.

Question II

Question 1 When you were a young child, did your mother tuck you in, as the poet’s did?

Answer Yes, much like the poet’s mother, my mother used to tuck me in when I was a small child.

Question 2 Do you like rain? What do you do when it rains steadily or heavily as described in the poem?

Answer Yes, I like rain and prefer to take a bath in the rain for some time. I like to drink tea and fritters. But when it rains heavily, I stay inside and enjoy the beauty of nature. I listen to its patter and crack of lightning.

Question 3 Does everybody have a cosy bed to lie in when it rains? Look around you and describe how different kinds of people or animals spend time, seek shelter etc. during rain.

Answer No, everybody is not so fortunate to have a cosy bed to lie in when it rains. There are people who have to work in offices, fields, factories, farms, shops etc. Animals have been seen seeking shelter beneath trees and the tin roofs or roadside tea stalls. They can only feel the soft falling rain. Many birds , animals or people who are around us , feel rain and pass their time. Visitors who are waiting for the rain to stop usually purchase tea and snacks.