Poets and Pancakes
A. Very Short Answer Questions
1. Who is the author of “Poets and Pancakes”?
Answer: “Poets and Pancakes” was written by Asokamitran.
2. From which book is “Poets and Pancakes” taken?
Answer: It is taken from Asokamitran’s book My Years with Boss.
3. What was “Pancake”?
Answer: “Pancake” was a popular brand of make-up material used in Gemini Studios.
4. Where did the events of the chapter take place?
Answer: At Gemini Studios in Madras.
5. Who was the Boss of Gemini Studios?
Answer: S. S. Vasan.
6. What does “fiery misery” refer to?
Answer: It refers to the intense discomfort caused by the hot incandescent lights in the make-up room.
7. What did the make-up room resemble?
Answer: It resembled a hair-cutting salon.
8. Why was the make-up department an example of national integration?
Answer: People belonging to different regions, religions and linguistic backgrounds worked together there.
9. What was the office boy’s job?
Answer: He applied make-up to the actors who appeared in crowd scenes.
10. Why was the office boy frustrated?
Answer: He had joined the studio with artistic ambitions but remained stuck doing make-up work.
11. Whom did the office boy blame for his failures?
Answer: Kothamangalam Subbu.
12. Who was Kothamangalam Subbu?
Answer: He was the No. 2 person at Gemini Studios and a highly talented, versatile employee.
13. Who was Subbu’s principal or boss?
Answer: S. S. Vasan.
14. Why was Subbu considered No. 2 at Gemini Studios?
Answer: Because of his loyalty, creativity and ability to solve filmmaking problems quickly.
15. What kind of person was Subbu?
Answer: Cheerful, loyal, creative, charitable and versatile.
16. What literary work did Subbu write?
Answer: He wrote poetry and a novel.
17. Was Subbu a good actor?
Answer: Yes, he was also a very capable actor.
18. Who was the legal adviser at Gemini Studios?
Answer: A lawyer who worked in the Story Department.
19. Why was the legal adviser called “the opposite”?
Answer: Because instead of helping, one of his actions ruined the career of an actress.
20. How did the lawyer dress differently from others?
Answer: He wore trousers, a tie and sometimes a coat.
21. What did most people at Gemini Studios wear?
Answer: Khadi dhotis and loose khadi shirts.
22. What political ideology did the people at Gemini Studios strongly dislike?
Answer: Communism.
23. What was the MRA?
Answer: The Moral Re-Armament movement.
24. Why was the MRA welcomed at Gemini Studios?
Answer: Because it was strongly anti-Communist and the studio management shared similar views.
25. Name the two plays staged by the MRA.
Answer: Jotham Valley and The Forgotten Factor.
26. Who was the English visitor to Gemini Studios?
Answer: Stephen Spender.
27. Why could the audience not understand Stephen Spender’s speech?
Answer: His subject and accent were unfamiliar to the largely Tamil-speaking audience.
28. How did the author later identify Stephen Spender?
Answer: He recognised his name while reading about the magazine The Encounter and the book The God That Failed.
29. What was The Encounter?
Answer: An English literary periodical.
30. What is The God That Failed?
Answer: A collection of essays by writers who described their attraction to Communism and later disillusionment with it.
B. Short Answer Questions
1. What does the writer mean by “the fiery misery” of those subjected to make-up?
Answer:
The make-up room at Gemini Studios had several large mirrors surrounded by powerful incandescent lights. These lights produced intense heat. Actors had to sit under them for long periods while thick layers of make-up were applied. The resulting discomfort and heat are humorously described by the author as “fiery misery.”
2. What example of national integration does the author give?
Answer:
The make-up department of Gemini Studios represented national integration because people from many different regions and communities worked together there. At different times, it was headed by a Bengali and a Maharashtrian, while the staff included a Kannadiga, an Andhra, a Christian, an Anglo-Burmese and local Tamils.
3. What work did the office boy do at Gemini Studios?
Answer:
The office boy worked in the make-up department. On days when crowd scenes were shot, he mixed make-up in a large vessel and applied it quickly to the faces of the crowd players.
4. Why did the office boy join Gemini Studios and why was he disappointed?
Answer:
He joined Gemini Studios hoping to become an actor, scriptwriter, director or lyricist. However, instead of getting an artistic opportunity, he remained in the make-up department. He felt that his talent was being wasted and gradually became frustrated and bitter.
5. Why did the author appear to be doing nothing at the studio?
Answer:
The author’s job was to cut newspaper clippings on different topics and file them for reference. Since others often saw him sitting at his desk reading newspapers, they believed that he had very little work to do.
6. Why was the office boy frustrated? On whom did he direct his anger?
Answer:
The office boy believed that he had literary and artistic talent, but Gemini Studios had never given him the opportunity he deserved. He felt that his ambitions had been wasted. He directed much of his frustration towards the author, though the person he really resented was Kothamangalam Subbu.
7. Why was Kothamangalam Subbu considered No. 2 at Gemini Studios?
Answer:
Subbu was extremely loyal to S. S. Vasan and could quickly provide several practical solutions whenever the producer faced a difficulty. His creativity, optimism and versatility made filmmaking easier. For these reasons, he became the second most influential person in the studio.
8. Why is Subbu described as a many-sided genius?
Answer:
Subbu possessed many talents. He was a creative problem-solver in films, a poet, a novelist and a very capable actor. He was also generous and charitable. His ability to perform well in many fields made him a many-sided genius.
9. Why was the legal adviser referred to as “the opposite”?
Answer:
The legal adviser was supposed to protect people from legal problems, but one of his most memorable actions had the opposite effect. He secretly recorded an angry actress’s outburst and later played it back to her. The humiliation damaged her confidence and virtually ended her career. Hence, people jokingly referred to him as “the opposite.”
10. What made the lawyer stand out from the others at Gemini Studios?
Answer:
The lawyer stood out mainly because of his dress and personality. While most employees wore khadi dhotis and loose shirts, he wore trousers, a tie and sometimes a coat. He also represented cold logic in a studio filled with artists and dreamers.
11. Did the people at Gemini Studios have any strong political affiliations?
Answer:
They did not have a clear or deep political ideology. They generally wore khadi and admired Gandhian ideas, but they strongly disliked Communism, often without fully understanding it.
12. Why was the Moral Re-Armament Army welcomed at Gemini Studios?
Answer:
The MRA was associated with anti-Communist ideas. Since S. S. Vasan and many people at Gemini Studios were suspicious of Communism, the group was warmly welcomed.
13. How did the MRA plays influence Tamil drama?
Answer:
The MRA productions impressed local theatre groups with their simple but effective stage design. For years afterward, Tamil plays copied effects such as sunrise and sunset scenes, a bare stage, a white backdrop and flute music similar to those used in Jotham Valley.
14. Why was there a communication gap between the English visitor and the audience?
Answer:
The English visitor spoke about poetry in an unfamiliar accent to an audience that was mostly Tamil-speaking and had little connection with English poetry. As a result, the audience could neither fully understand his words nor appreciate the purpose of his visit.
15. Why was Stephen Spender’s visit called an “unexplained mystery”?
Answer:
No one at Gemini Studios knew exactly who he was or why an English poet had been invited to address a Tamil film studio. His speech was also difficult for the audience to understand. Only years later did the author discover the ideological connection behind the visit.
16. How did the author discover the identity of the English visitor?
Answer:
Years later, the author came across the literary magazine The Encounter and discovered that its editor was Stephen Spender. He also saw Spender’s name among the contributors to The God That Failed. He then realised that Spender was the English visitor who had once addressed Gemini Studios.
17. What does The God That Failed refer to?
Answer:
It is a book containing essays by six writers who described how they had once been attracted to Communism and later became disillusioned with it. In the title, “God” symbolically refers to Communism as an ideology in which they had once placed great faith.
C. Understanding the Text
1. How does the author use gentle humour to point out human weaknesses?
Answer:
Asokamitran uses gentle humour throughout the chapter to expose vanity, frustration, misunderstanding and eccentric behaviour without sounding harsh.
He humorously describes the make-up department, where actors are covered with thick “Pancake” make-up and subjected to hot lights. The office boy’s belief that his great talent is being wasted is also presented amusingly.
The legal adviser’s strange role, Subbu’s extraordinary usefulness, the studio’s vague hatred of Communism and the mysterious visit of Stephen Spender are all narrated with mild irony.
This gentle humour makes the chapter entertaining while also allowing the author to criticise the film world and human nature.
2. Why was Kothamangalam Subbu considered No. 2 at Gemini Studios?
Answer:
Subbu earned his position through loyalty, usefulness and creativity. Whenever S. S. Vasan faced a filmmaking problem, Subbu could instantly suggest several alternatives.
He was cheerful, dependable and completely devoted to the Boss. He was also a poet, novelist, actor and generous human being. His wide range of talents and his ability to make film production easier made him indispensable to Gemini Studios.
3. How does the author describe the incongruity of an English poet addressing Gemini Studios?
Answer:
The situation was completely mismatched. Stephen Spender, an English poet, spoke about the pleasures and difficulties of being a poet before an audience connected mainly with Tamil films.
Most members of the audience had little knowledge of English poetry, and Spender’s accent made matters worse. The listeners sat silently without understanding much of what he said.
The contrast between the sophisticated English poet and the confused studio audience makes the scene humorous and highlights the absurdity of the visit.
4. What do you understand about the author’s literary inclinations?
Answer:
The author clearly had a deep interest in literature. His work with newspaper clippings made him widely informed, and he later considered sending a short story to The Encounter.
He visited the British Council Library to learn more about the magazine. His sharp observations, humour and interest in writers such as Stephen Spender also reveal that he was a serious literary-minded person.
D. Long Answer Questions
1. Give a detailed account of the make-up department of Gemini Studios.
Answer:
The make-up department was one of the most colourful parts of Gemini Studios. The make-up room was situated in a building that was believed to have once been Robert Clive’s stables.
The room resembled a hair-cutting salon. Large mirrors were surrounded by numerous incandescent lights that produced intense heat. Actors sitting there suffered what the author humorously calls “fiery misery.”
Gemini Studios used large quantities of a make-up material called “Pancake.” The author jokingly remarks that the make-up artists often transformed reasonably good-looking people into strange-looking figures before they appeared on camera.
A strict hierarchy existed in the department. The chief make-up man attended to the main actors, senior assistants worked on secondary stars, junior workers handled comedians, and the office boy applied make-up to crowd players.
The department also reflected national integration. Its members came from different regions and communities of India and worked together.
Thus, through humour, the author presents both the professional structure and the strange working atmosphere of the make-up department.
2. Describe Kothamangalam Subbu as a many-sided genius.
Answer:
Kothamangalam Subbu was one of the most remarkable personalities at Gemini Studios. He was considered second only to S. S. Vasan.
His greatest strength was his ability to solve problems. If a producer was dissatisfied with a scene, Subbu could immediately suggest several alternative ways of shooting it. His cheerful nature and quick imagination made filmmaking easier.
Subbu was also a literary man. He wrote poetry and fiction and was capable of expressing complicated ideas in a simple form. He was also a talented actor who could perform small roles with great effectiveness.
Beyond professional talent, he had a generous nature. He helped relatives and needy people and showed genuine warmth towards others.
Thus, Subbu combined creativity, loyalty, acting talent, literary ability and kindness, making him truly a many-sided genius.
3. Why was Stephen Spender’s visit an unexplained mystery, and how was it finally solved?
Answer:
When Stephen Spender visited Gemini Studios, most employees had no idea who he was. The studio produced Tamil films mainly for ordinary audiences, and the connection between such a place and an English poet was difficult to understand.
Spender delivered a speech about poetry, but his accent and subject were unfamiliar to the audience. As a result, the entire event seemed pointless and mysterious.
Years later, after leaving Gemini Studios, Asokamitran came across The Encounter, an English literary magazine. He discovered that Stephen Spender was associated with it. Later, he saw Spender’s name among the contributors to The God That Failed, a collection of essays by writers who had become disillusioned with Communism.
The author then realised that the Boss of Gemini Studios, who strongly disliked Communism, had probably invited Spender because of his anti-Communist connection rather than merely because he was a poet.
Thus, the mystery surrounding Spender’s visit was finally explained.
4. Explain the significance of the title “Poets and Pancakes.”
Answer:
The title brings together two very different worlds found inside Gemini Studios.
“Pancakes” refers to the make-up material used in large quantities in the commercial world of cinema. It represents glamour, artificial appearance and the practical business of filmmaking.
“Poets” refers to the literary personalities and ambitions that existed within and around the studio—the office boy who dreamed of literary success, Subbu the poet and novelist, the author himself and Stephen Spender.
The title therefore reflects the unusual mixture of cinema and literature, glamour and intellect, commerce and creativity that characterised Gemini Studios. Its contrast is also humorous and perfectly suits the tone of the chapter.
5. Describe the office boy and explain the reason for his frustration.
Answer:
The office boy was actually a man in his forties who worked in the make-up department. His job was to apply make-up to crowd actors.
However, he had not joined Gemini Studios with such a modest ambition. He had hoped to become an actor, screenwriter, director or lyricist. He believed that he possessed considerable literary talent.
As years passed without any real opportunity, he became bitter and frustrated. He felt that the studio had failed to recognise his ability. He particularly resented Kothamangalam Subbu, who had risen to a powerful position.
The office boy thus represents disappointed ambition and the tendency to blame others for personal failure.
6. What picture of Gemini Studios emerges from “Poets and Pancakes”?
Answer:
Gemini Studios appears as a lively but strange world filled with artists, technicians, writers, actors, dreamers and ambitious employees.
There is a clear hierarchy in departments such as make-up. People of different backgrounds work together, creating a kind of national integration. At the same time, rivalry, frustration and jealousy exist beneath the surface.
Figures such as Subbu represent creativity and loyalty, while the office boy represents frustrated ambition. The legal adviser brings cold logic into an artistic environment. The MRA and Stephen Spender episodes reveal the studio’s confused political and intellectual interests.
Through humour and irony, Asokamitran portrays Gemini Studios as a miniature world full of creativity, eccentricity, ambition and human weakness.
E. Important Additional Questions
1. What was the purpose of “Pancake” make-up?
Answer:
It was used to prepare actors’ faces for studio lighting and camera work.
2. Why did the office boy dislike Subbu?
Answer:
He believed Subbu had achieved the success and recognition that he himself deserved.
3. What quality made Subbu particularly useful to the Boss?
Answer:
His ability to produce quick and practical solutions to filmmaking problems.
4. Why did Subbu have enemies despite being generous?
Answer:
His closeness to the Boss and his important position probably created jealousy among other employees.
5. What did the legal adviser do to the actress?
Answer:
He recorded her angry outburst and played it back to her, humiliating her and damaging her confidence.
6. What attitude did Gemini Studios have towards Communism?
Answer:
The staff generally disliked Communism, although many of them did not understand it deeply.
7. What was unusual about the MRA’s visit?
Answer:
A foreign anti-Communist cultural group was welcomed warmly into a Tamil film studio and ended up influencing local theatre styles.
8. What does the Stephen Spender episode reveal about Gemini Studios?
Answer:
It reveals the studio’s limited understanding of English literary culture and its stronger interest in political symbolism than in poetry itself.
9. Why was the author considered well-informed?
Answer:
His work involved reading newspapers and collecting clippings on a wide range of topics.
10. What is the central theme of “Poets and Pancakes”?
Answer:
The chapter humorously explores the world of early Indian cinema, human eccentricities, artistic ambition, institutional hierarchy and the strange meeting of literature, politics and film.
F. Talking About the Text
1. How has film production changed since the days of Gemini Studios?
Answer:
Modern film production has become far more advanced and specialised. Digital cameras, computer-generated effects, sophisticated lighting and professional make-up have replaced many older techniques.
Outdoor shooting has also become much easier. Today, departments such as direction, cinematography, sound, editing and visual effects are highly specialised.
Compared with Gemini Studios, modern filmmaking is more technologically advanced and globally connected.
2. How are poetry and films connected?
Answer:
Both poetry and films communicate emotions, ideas and human experiences. Films often depend on poetic language, songs, imagery and rhythm, while poetry can inspire visual storytelling.
In Gemini Studios, many employees had literary ambitions, showing that cinema and literature often overlap.
3. Why is humour effective in criticism?
Answer:
Humour allows a writer to expose weaknesses without becoming harsh or offensive. It keeps readers interested while making criticism easier to accept.
Asokamitran uses gentle humour to criticise vanity, jealousy, political ignorance and absurd situations at Gemini Studios.
G. Working with Words
1. Meaning of some important expressions
Pancake — A brand of studio make-up.
Fiery misery — Extreme discomfort caused by hot make-up lights.
Office boy — The lowest-ranking make-up worker responsible for crowd players.
Many-sided genius — A person talented in several different fields.
Legal adviser — A lawyer giving legal advice.
Moral Re-Armament — An international movement with strong anti-Communist leanings.
H. Summary of “Poets and Pancakes”
“Poets and Pancakes” is Asokamitran’s humorous recollection of his years at Gemini Studios in Madras.
The chapter begins with the make-up department, where large amounts of “Pancake” make-up were used. The room was filled with hot incandescent lights, making the actors suffer “fiery misery.” The department also represented national integration because people from different parts of India worked together.
The author then introduces the office boy, a frustrated man who had hoped to become an actor, director or writer but remained a make-up assistant. He blamed Kothamangalam Subbu for his failure.
Subbu, the No. 2 at Gemini Studios, was highly creative, loyal and versatile. He was a poet, novelist, actor and problem-solver. Another memorable figure was the legal adviser, whose actions accidentally damaged an actress’s career.
The chapter also discusses the studio’s vague anti-Communist attitude. The Moral Re-Armament group was warmly welcomed and its plays influenced Tamil theatre.
Later, an English poet visited the studio and delivered a speech no one properly understood. Years afterward, the author discovered that the visitor was Stephen Spender. His connection with The God That Failed, an anti-Communist collection of essays, finally explained why he had been invited.
Through gentle humour and irony, the chapter presents the strange, colourful and often absurd world of early Indian cinema.
I. MCQs — 20
1. Who wrote “Poets and Pancakes”?
A) Asokamitran
B) Stephen Spender
C) S. S. Vasan
D) Kothamangalam Subbu
Answer: A) Asokamitran
2. “Pancake” was—
A) a film
B) a make-up material
C) a magazine
D) a play
Answer: B) a make-up material
3. Who was the Boss of Gemini Studios?
A) Stephen Spender
B) Subbu
C) S. S. Vasan
D) Asokamitran
Answer: C) S. S. Vasan
4. Who was the English visitor to Gemini Studios?
A) Louis Fischer
B) Robert Clive
C) Malkani
D) Stephen Spender
Answer: D) Stephen Spender
5. What caused the “fiery misery” in the make-up room?
A) Hot incandescent lights
B) Heavy costumes
C) Outdoor shooting
D) Chemical fumes
Answer: A) Hot incandescent lights
6. The office boy mainly applied make-up to—
A) heroes
B) crowd players
C) directors
D) singers
Answer: B) crowd players
7. Who was regarded as No. 2 at Gemini Studios?
A) The legal adviser
B) The office boy
C) Kothamangalam Subbu
D) Stephen Spender
Answer: C) Kothamangalam Subbu
8. Which ideology did Gemini Studios strongly dislike?
A) Gandhism
B) Social reform
C) Democracy
D) Communism
Answer: D) Communism
9. What was the author’s main job at Gemini Studios?
A) Collecting and filing newspaper clippings
B) Directing films
C) Writing songs
D) Applying make-up
Answer: A) Collecting and filing newspaper clippings
10. Why was the office boy frustrated?
A) He had no salary
B) His artistic ambitions remained unfulfilled
C) He disliked films
D) He wanted to leave Madras
Answer: B) His artistic ambitions remained unfulfilled
11. Which movement visited Gemini Studios?
A) Quit India
B) Non-Cooperation
C) Moral Re-Armament
D) Swadeshi
Answer: C) Moral Re-Armament
12. Why was the legal adviser called “the opposite”?
A) He was not a lawyer
B) He wrote poetry
C) He wore khadi
D) His actions produced the opposite of helpful results
Answer: D) His actions produced the opposite of helpful results
13. Which quality made Subbu extremely valuable?
A) His creativity and problem-solving ability
B) His physical strength
C) His wealth
D) His political influence
Answer: A) His creativity and problem-solving ability
14. What was The Encounter?
A) A film
B) A literary magazine
C) A political party
D) A drama group
Answer: B) A literary magazine
15. Which book helped explain Stephen Spender’s visit?
A) My Years with Boss
B) Jotham Valley
C) The God That Failed
D) The Forgotten Factor
Answer: C) The God That Failed
16. Why did the audience fail to understand Spender?
A) He refused to speak
B) The microphone failed
C) He spoke Tamil badly
D) His accent and subject were unfamiliar
Answer: D) His accent and subject were unfamiliar
17. What does “Pancake” represent in the title?
A) The commercial make-up world of cinema
B) English poetry
C) Politics
D) Theatre
Answer: A) The commercial make-up world of cinema
18. What was one of Subbu’s literary abilities?
A) Journalism
B) Poetry and fiction writing
C) Translation only
D) Legal writing
Answer: B) Poetry and fiction writing
19. Which play influenced Tamil stage design?
A) Hamlet
B) Macbeth
C) Jotham Valley
D) Othello
Answer: C) Jotham Valley
20. The overall tone of “Poets and Pancakes” is mainly—
A) tragic
B) romantic
C) frightening
D) humorous and satirical
Answer: D) humorous and satirical
Teacher Generate Question Answer
Poets and Pancakes
TEXTBOOK EXERCISE
1. Strike out what is not true
(a) Rajkumar Shukla was —
i) A sharecropper
ii) A politician
iii) A delegate
iv) A landlord
Answer: iv) A landlord
(b) Rajkumar Shukla was —
i) Poor
ii) Physically strong
iii) Illiterate
Answer: ii) Physically strong
2. Why is Rajkumar Shukla described as “resolute”?
Ans: Rajkumar Shukla was determined to make Gandhi help the poor peasants of Champaran. He met Gandhi at the Lucknow Congress session and repeatedly requested him to visit Champaran. Although Gandhi had many engagements, Shukla followed him everywhere and waited patiently until Gandhi agreed. His strong determination shows why he is called “resolute”.
3. Why did the servants think Gandhi was another peasant?
Ans: When Gandhi reached Patna, Rajkumar Shukla took him to the house of Rajendra Prasad. The servants already knew Shukla as a poor farmer who often came to complain about the problems of indigo farmers. Seeing Gandhi with him, they assumed that Gandhi was also another poor peasant like Shukla.
4. List the places Gandhi visited before reaching Champaran.
Ans: After meeting Rajkumar Shukla at Lucknow, Gandhi went to his ashram near Ahmedabad. Later he travelled to Calcutta. From there he took a train to Patna. Then he went to Muzaffarpur and Motihari, and finally reached Champaran.
5. What did peasants pay as rent and what did the British want later?
Ans: The peasants were forced to grow indigo on 15% of their land and give the entire crop to the British landlords as rent. Later, when synthetic indigo was developed in Germany, natural indigo became less profitable. The British landlords then demanded compensation from the peasants for freeing them from this arrangement.
6. How do the events illustrate Gandhi’s method of working?
Ans: Gandhi respected the law but opposed injustice. When he was ordered to leave Champaran, he refused because his conscience told him to help the peasants. His peaceful resistance and dedication to truth reflected his principles of Satyagraha and non-violence.
7. Why did Gandhi agree to a 25% refund?
Ans: The landlords feared that Gandhi might demand a full refund. Gandhi first asked for 50%, but the landlords offered 25%. Gandhi accepted it because the important thing was that the landlords had admitted their wrongdoing and returned part of the money. This reduced their power and prestige.
8. How did the episode change the condition of the peasants?
Ans: The Champaran settlement improved the condition of the peasants. The oppressive system of indigo cultivation ended. The peasants realised that they had rights and gained confidence. Within a few years the British planters left their estates and the land was returned to the peasants.
UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT
1. Why was the Champaran episode a turning point in Gandhi’s life?
Ans: The Champaran movement was the first major success of Gandhi’s method of civil disobedience in India. He fought for the rights of poor peasants who were exploited by British landlords. The movement showed the power of non-violent resistance and inspired people across the country. It also freed the peasants from their fear of the British and marked the beginning of mass participation in the freedom struggle.
2. How did Gandhi influence the lawyers?
Ans: When Gandhi came to Champaran, many lawyers arrived to support him. Gandhi criticised them for charging high fees from poor farmers and asked what they would do if he was jailed. Initially they said they would return home. Gandhi was disappointed and asked who would then help the peasants. Feeling ashamed, the lawyers decided to support Gandhi and were ready to go to jail with him.
3. What was the attitude of average Indians toward “Home Rule”?
Ans: Before Gandhi’s leadership, most ordinary Indians in small towns were indifferent and afraid to support movements like Home Rule. They avoided political involvement because they feared the British authorities. Only a few courageous individuals openly supported such movements.
4. How did ordinary people contribute to the freedom movement?
Ans: The freedom movement became strong because ordinary people participated in it. Gandhi encouraged common people to join the struggle for independence. Men and women across the country took part in protests, boycotts of British goods and movements like Quit India (1942). Their participation weakened British rule and helped India achieve independence..
THINK AS YOU READ
1. What does “the fiery misery” mean?
Ans: The phrase refers to the discomfort actors experienced during make-up because of the heat from the lights in the make-up room.
2. Example of national integration in the text?
Ans: The make-up department of Gemini Studios had people from different regions and religions of India working together, such as Bengalis, Maharashtrians, Kannadigas, Andhras, Christians and Tamils.
3. What work did the office boy do?
Answer:
The office boy applied make-up to the junior actors who appeared in crowd scenes. He mixed paint in a large vessel and quickly applied it on their faces.
4. Why did the author appear to be doing nothing?
Answer:
The author’s job was to collect newspaper clippings and file them for reference. Since he was often seen reading newspapers, people thought he was doing very little work.
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