Responding to the Poem
Q1: What did you think the poem was about when you read the first few lines?
Ans: The poem started with the description of clocktowers in well-managed cities and how each city's time is different on a small scale. The poet explains how time affects cities and their people and how small changes occur over their course. Small changes result in big effects on the city. The time and the clocktowers are observers of these changes and movements around the city. But whatever these changes might be, they won't last long, and the time cycle would start again.
Q2: From which line does the import of the title strike the reader?
Ans: The following lines "through the knocked-out clockwork, after a riot, a peace-march time bomb, or a precise act of nature in a night of lightning," of the last stanza of the poem express how the nature of time is. In the poem, the poet points out how changes take place over the city over time, sometimes leading to anger between communities, leading to riots and disharmony. But in the end, the harmony and peace restore themselves in that city as the time cycle starts all over again.
Q3: What makes for the differences between the timekeeping of the various clocks? What is the implicit comparison?
Ans: The difference in the timekeeping between clocks can happen due to various reasons like the gongs of the clock swinging at a different frequency, the shaking hand of the maker of the clock in Switzerland, or simply some conditions caused due to the material of the clock. This is a poetic device used by the poet to compare how the situation in different cities varies from each other and how there is a minute difference between them that could've been due to communal or political issues. Hence pointing out how, for each city pace of change over time is different.
Q4: Why is the act of nature described as 'precise'?
Ans: Several religious riots have broken out in the city on several occasions. They generate discord and unbalance in our country, but as the poet has pointed out, time heals all wounds and all things must come to an end. When it's all over, it'll be a new day for everyone. The communal discords eventually fade away, and we emerge stronger as citizens of one country.
Q5: Which of the following reflects the poet's attitude towards communal disharmony?
Critical condemnation
Helpless acceptance
Wistful lament
Ans: (i) Critical condemnation poet critically condemns the riots caused due to religions and disharmony between communities. He believes that all these activities and mishappenings that disrupt the nation's balance eventually end, and we all wake up to a peaceful and grudge-less new day. He trusts nature's precision and says that these issues will resolve themselves over time.
Q6: Is the poet's attitude a representation of how the average Indian feels both towards human violence and nature's fury?
Ans: Yes, the poet perfectly depicts how the average Indian feels towards human violence and nature's fury. On the outside, one might get aggravated on religion, as nowadays, religion is one's identity. Still, inside, everyone wants peace of mind and soul and doesn't want to get involved in useless issues like these. We truly get affected when lives get lost, and nature faces harm due to these unnecessary riots. Time and again, nature reminds us how in the end, lives matter; these issues don't.
