Title: The title ‘The Planners’ gives hint about the work of the persons who are involved in planning and development department.
Ice Breakers
(i) You have heard the proverb ‘Plan your work, work your plan’. It means-
(a) Planning of the work is important.
(b) Without planning work cannot be acomplished.
(c) Make planning and work according to that plan.
(d) Planning and work are two sides of same coin.
Answer-
(c) Make planning and work according to that plan.
(ii) Choose the proper alternatives from the statements given below which would explain why town planning is essential-
(a) To develop the city according to the guidelines.
(b) To get the ‘Best City Award’.
(c) To attract the tourists.
(d) To use and develop the land available in the city for the interest of the citizens.
Answer-
(a) To develop the city according to the guidelines.
(d) To use and develop the land available in the city for the interest of the citizens.
(iii) Given below are various professions in column A and in column B, the nature of work in respective professions. Match the columns.
| A | B |
| (i) Anaesthetist | (a) Specialist in the treatment of problems concerning the position of teeth and jaws. |
| (ii) Pharmacist | (b) A person who designs buildings and supervises the process of constructing them. |
| (iii) Orthodontist | (c) A person who is in charge of a newspaper or of a part of a newspaper. |
| (iv) Dermatologist | (d) The medical study of the skin and its diseases |
| (v) Architect | (e) A person who has been trained to prepare medicines and sell them to public. |
| (vi) Chartered Accountant | (f) A person whose job is to give drugs which make the person not to feel pain especially in preparation for a medical operation. |
| (vii) Editor | (g) A person who is engaged in the profession of accounting and examining the statements and records of accounts. |
Answer-
| A | B |
| (i) Anaesthetist | (f) A person whose job is to give drugs which make the person not to feel pain especially in preparation for a medical operation. |
| (ii) Pharmacist | (e) A person who has been trained to prepare medicines and sell them to public. |
| (iii) Orthodontist | (a) Specialist in the treatment of problems concerning the position of teeth and jaws. |
| (iv) Dermitologist | (d) The medical study of the skin and its diseases |
| (v) Architect | (b) A person who designs buildings and supervises the process of constructing them. |
| (vi) Chartered Accountant | (g) A person who is engaged in the profession of accounting and examining the statements and records of accounts. |
| (vii) Editor | (c) A person who is in charge of a newspaper or of a part of a newspaper. |
The poet: Boey Kim Cheng:
He is a Singapore – born Australian poet. He is of Chinese descent. He is widely regarded as one of the most promising Singapore poets to emerge in the 1990s. Boey has published four collections of poetry. For his artistic achievements, he received the ‘National Arts Council Young Artist Award’ in 1996. He is the co – editor of the anthology ‘Contemporary Asian Australian Poets’ published in 2014.
The Planners – By Boey Kim Cheng
| They plan. They build. All spaces are gridded Filled with permutations of possibilities. The buildings are in alignment with the roads which meet at desired points linked by bridges all hang in the grace of mathematics. They build and will not stop. Even the sea draws back and the skies surrender. They erase the flaws, the blemishes of the past, knock off useless blocks with dental dexterity. All gaps are plugged with gleaming gold. The country wears perfect rows of shining teeth. Anaesthesia, amnesia, hypnosis. They have the means. They have it all so it will not hurt. so history is new again. The piling will not stop. The drilling goes right through the fossils of last century. But my heart would not bleed poetry. Not a single drop to stain the blueprint of our past’s tomorrow. |
The poem – The Planners:
The poet begins the poem by stating what the planners do. As the poem proceeds, we come to know how the planners achieve what they aim for. Towards the end of the poem the poet depicts how the planning has affected the poet. Boey Kim Cheng is talking about fast – developing modern Singapore. He laments on the disturbing and loss of humane element in his surroundings. He becomes nostalgic about his bonding with the old city. The free verse form of the poem is suitable to the free expressions of the poet’s feelings.
New words:
anaesthesia: a state of controlled, temporary loss at sensation or awareness.
amnesia: inability to remember events for a period of time.
hypnosis: a trance like state with heightened focus and concentration
fossil: the remains of an animal or a plant which have hardened into rock.
blueprint: a photographic print of building plans with white lines on a blue background a detailed plan or scheme.
alignment: placement of two or more things in a straight line.
blemishes: a mark or fault spoiling something that is otherwise beautiful.
dexterity: skill in using one’s hand
gridded: a pattern of evenly spaced horizontal and vertical lines
permutations: a variation in the order of a set of things; combination; arrangement
plugged: filled
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Drama-
| Activity Sheet No. 1 |
A1. True or False (2)
State whether the following statements are true or false.
1) Planners spoiled the past
2) Planners are concerned about the environment of the area.
3) Planners deliberately find drawbacks in the old city planning.
4) Planners make tactful changes so that citizens do not recognize the familiar landmarks.
Answer-
1) Planners spoiled the past- True
2) Planners are concerned about the environment of the area. – False
3) Planners deliberately find drawbacks in the old city planning. – True
4) Planners make tactful changes so that citizens do not recognize the familiar landmarks. – True
A2. Explain (2)
Explain the terms:
a) Amnesia
b) Hypnosis
Answer-
1) Amnesia: – It is the partial or total loss of memory. The planners offered the new glorified work that makes the people forget the sentimental attachment to the past things.
2) Hypnosis: It is the state of mind when a person’s thoughts can be manipulated by someone. The planners hypnotize the people and make them agree with the need of new development work.
A3. Personal Response (2)
Give suggestions to protect our national monuments.
Answer-
Our national heritage monuments are valuable. They should be cared properly. They should be preserved as the assets of the nation. Common people should make aware of its value and they must participate in its protection. These monuments should be repaired regularly keeping its original beauty as it is.
A4. Poetic device (2)
Name and explain the two figures of speech used in the following sentence.
‘The country wears perfect rows of shining teeth.’
Answer-
Personification: – The country is given the human quality having teeth.
Metaphor: – The shining buildings of the country are indirectly compared with row of shining teeth.
A5. Poetic creativity (2)
The piling will not stop.
(Add your two poetic lines that continues the theme)
Answer-
The piling will not stop.
We are helpless about it.
We need the development.
So we can’t make any complaint.
Poetic Appreciation
Q. Write the poetic appreciation of the poem- ‘The Planners’.
Answer-
Poem / Poet:
The poem ‘The Planners’ is written by the poet Boey Kim Cheng. In the poem he depicts the harsh reality of modernization at the cost of the country’s history, monuments, and tradition.
Title:
The title ‘The Planners’ itself shows their planning to destroy something to create new things. There is ruthless control of the influential persons who in the name of development destroys the age-old heritage.
Poetic Device:
The major figures of speech used here include- Personification, Alliteration, Irony, Antithesis, paradox and Inversion. It is written in free verse. In the poem the poet uses Enjambment. Enjambment is the continuation of a sentence or clause across a line break. Such lines used in the poem are also called run on lines. Enjambment is also one of the figures of speech.
Special Feature:
The special feature of this poem is to show the destruction of past and heritage in the name of development. The poet uses simple words and presents the reality of modernization. He laments due the destruction of past heritage. He wishes to aware readers to control such destruction.
Message of the poem:
The message of this poem is to understand the reality of modernization and protect our heritage. The emotional bond to nature and heritage makes the poet anxious. He wants to aware the readers to know the huge loss of nature and heritage in the name of modern construction.
My opinion about the poem:
I like the idea of the writer protecting our nature and heritage. This idea is universal. So, I like the poem very much.
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