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
See More-
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.
A2. Explain (2)
Explain the terms:
a) Amnesia
b) Hypnosis
A3. Personal Response (2)
Give suggestions to protect our national monuments.
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.’
A5. Poetic creativity (2)
The piling will not stop.
(Add your two poetic lines that continues the theme)
