A Roadside Stand
- The city folk who drove through the countryside hardly paid attention to the roadside stand. Which lines show this? What was their complaint?
Answer:
The lines that show this are:
“The polished traffic passed with a mind ahead,
Or if ever aside a moment, then out of sorts
At having the landscape marred with the artless paint
Of signs that with N turned wrong and S turned wrong.”
These lines show that the city people rarely noticed the roadside stand. If they did notice it, they complained that the poorly painted signboards spoiled the natural beauty of the countryside.
- What was the plea of the folk who had put up the roadside stand?
Answer:
The poor villagers had set up the roadside stand to attract customers from the passing city traffic. They hoped that travellers would stop and buy their farm products. Their request was simple—they wanted a small share of the money that city people spent so that they could improve their difficult lives.
- How does the poet show the double standards of the government and social service agencies?
Answer:
The poet criticizes the false promises made by government and social service organizations. They claim to help the poor villagers but actually do little for them. The poet uses phrases like “greedy good-doers” and “beneficent beasts of prey” to show their hypocrisy. These people pretend to help the poor but actually take advantage of them and disturb their peaceful way of life.
- What is the “childish longing” referred to by the poet? Why is it called vain?
Answer:
The “childish longing” refers to the simple hope of the villagers that someone will stop their car and buy their goods. They keep waiting for the sound of a car stopping near the stand. However, this hope is called vain because most travellers pass by without stopping, leaving the villagers disappointed.
- Which lines express the poet’s deep pain for the rural poor?
Answer:
The poet’s deep sympathy and pain for the suffering villagers are shown in these lines:
“Sometimes I feel myself I can hardly bear
The thought of so much childish longing in vain,
The sadness that lurks near the open window there,
That waits all day in almost open prayer.”
These lines reveal the poet’s emotional pain when he thinks about the helpless villagers who wait all day with hope that rarely comes true.