Previous Year Questions: Poets and Pancakes

CBSE Previous Year Questions 2025

Short Answer Questions

Q.1. What was the link between the makeup department and national integration? (2 Marks)

Answer: The make-up department was a prime example of national integration because it was composed of people from diverse parts of India. It was initially headed by a Bengali, succeeded by a Maharashtrian, who was assisted by a Dharwar Kannadiga, an Andhra, a Madras Indian Christian, an Anglo-Burmese, and local Tamils. This cooperation existed long before national integration became a common theme on AIR or Doordarshan.

Q.2. Why was Kothamangalam Subbu considered No. 2 in Gemini Studios? (2 Marks)

Answer: Subbu was considered No. 2 because of his extreme loyalty and multi-faceted talent that he dedicated entirely to his principal, The Boss. He was "tailor-made for films," possessing the ability to offer countless creative solutions for any scene and maintaining a cheerful demeanor even after a film flopped,.

Q.3. What caused the lack of communication between the Englishman and the people at Gemini Studios? (2 Marks)

Answer: The lack of communication was caused by the Englishman's heavy accent, which defeated any attempt by the audience to understand him, and the incongruity of his topic,. He spoke about the "thrills and travails of an English poet" to an audience of simple people involved in making Tamil films, who had no interest or background in English poetry.

Extract-Based Questions

Q.4. Read the following extract and answer:  (6 Marks)
At last, around four in the afternoon, the poet (or the editor) arrived. He was a tall man, very English, very serious and of course very unknown to all of us. Battling with half a dozen pedestal fans on the shooting stage, The Boss read out a long speech. It was obvious that he too knew precious little about the poet (or the editor). The speech was all in the most general terms but here and there it was peppered with words like 'freedom' and 'democracy'. Then the poet spoke. He couldn't have addressed a more dazed and silent audience - no one knew what  he was talking about and his accent defeated any attempt to understand what he was saying. 

Answer: Editor (later identified as Stephen Spender) was a tall man who appeared very English and maintained a very serious demeanour. To the staff at Gemini Studios, he remained a complete mystery as he was "very unknown" to everyone there.

Answer: ...the total lack of connection and mutual knowledge between the host and the guest. 
Solution: The Boss's speech was in "most general terms" because he "knew precious little" about the visitor, and the visitor's serious nature contrasted sharply with a dazed audience that had no idea why an English poet was at a Tamil film studio.

Answer: puzzled 
Solution: The audience as "dazed and silent" because "no one knew what he was talking about". This lack of comprehension clearly indicates a state of bafflement or being puzzled rather than enthusiasm.

 Answer: The "last straw" that made the speech incomprehensible was the poet's British accent. 

Solution: While the topic itself (the thrills and travails of an English poet) was already alien to the audience, his accent "defeated any attempt to understand what he was saying," leaving the listeners in utter bafflement.

Answer: (C) 
Solution: This option explicitly uses the phrase "very unknown to all of us," which directly states the lack of familiarity the Gemini Studios staff had with the visitor. The other options describe his physical appearance or the environmental conditions of the shooting stage rather than the staff's knowledge of him

(vi) Why was the speech by The Boss in 'most general terms'?

Answer: The Boss's speech was in general terms because he too knew precious little about the visiting poet (Stephen Spender),. The speech was merely "peppered" with vague words like 'freedom' and 'democracy' to fill the void of specific information,.

Q.5. Read the following extract and answer the questions: (6 Marks)
"Those were the days of mainly indoor shooting, and only five percent of the film was shot outdoors. I suppose the sets and studio lights needed the girls and boys to be made to look ugly in order to look presentable in the movie. A strict hierarchy was maintained in the make-up department. The chief make-up man made the chief actors and actresses ugly, his senior assistant 'second' hero and heroine, the junior assistant the main comedian and so forth. The players who played the crowd were the responsibility of the office boy. (Even the make-up department of the Gemini Studio had an 'office boy')
On the days when there was crowd-shooting, you could see him mixing his paint in a giant vessel and slapping it on the crowd players. The idea was to close every pore on the surface of the face in the process of applying make-up.,

(i) What does the writer mean by the phrase 'indoor shooting' in the first line of the extract?

Answer: By 'indoor shooting', the writer refers to the practice of filming scenes inside specially designed sets within the studio premises rather than at real-world outdoor locations,. During that era at Gemini Studios, 95% of films were shot in this controlled environment.

(ii) Pick up one sentence from the extract that reflects the sarcastic tone of the writer.

Answer: "I suppose the sets and studio lights needed the girls and boys to be made to look ugly in order to look presentable in the movie."

(iii) The hierarchy in the make-up department puts the 'office boy' in the (lowest / top) rung of the ladder.

Answer: lowest
Solution: A strict hierarchy was maintained; while the chief make-up man handled the lead actors, the players who played the crowd-at the bottom of the acting scale-were the responsibility of the office boy,.

(iv) Complete the following suitably: On the days when there was a 'crowd-shooting'. By the phrase crowd-shooting, the author refers to ________.

Answer: ...the filming of scenes that required a large number of background actors or "crowd players",.

(v) Choose the correct option:
"mix his paint in a giant vessel and slapping it on the crowd players."
The choice of words like 'paint' and 'slapping' by the author reflects:
(A) author's intention to degrade the office boy's role in the make-up department. 
(B) the office boy's lack of seriousness. 
(C) author's sarcastic and humorous writing style. 
(D) author's dislike of the office boy.

Answer: (C)
Solution: The author, Asokamitran, uses a humorous and chatty style throughout the text to point out human foibles,. Referring to makeup as 'paint' and the application as 'slapping' is a satirical way to describe the heavy-handed, crude process of preparing crowd actors for the camera.

Q.6. Read the following extract and answer the questions: (6 Marks)
"The make-up department of the Gemini Studios was in the upstairs of a building that was believed to have been Robert Clive s stables .... The make-up room had the look of a hair-cutting salon with lights at all angles around half a dozen large mirrors. They were all incandescent lights, so you can imagine the fiery misery of those subjected to make-up. The make-up department was first headed by a Bengali who became too big for the studio and left."

(i) The phrase 'fiery misery' in the given text refers to the ________ of the actors.
(A) realization 
(B) confusion 
(C) expectation 
(D) discomfort

Answer: (D)
Solution: The 'misery' was 'fiery' because the actors had to sit under half a dozen large mirrors surrounded by incandescent lights at all angles, which generated intense heat and light, leading to physical discomfort,.

(ii) Select the correct option: The description of the make-up room is a/an ______ (criticism/admiration) of the make-up department in Gemini Studios.Answer: criticism.

Answer: The author uses words like 'misery' and describes the makeup process as turning decent people into 'hideous crimson hued monsters', indicating a critical and satirical view of the department,.

(iii) Complete the following suitably: The historical significance of the make-up room was ________.

Answer: ...that it was located in a building believed to have formerly served as Robert Clive's stables,.

(iv) With reference to the given extract, what does the reference to 'half a dozen large mirrors' suggest?

Answer: It suggests that the room was designed to look like a hair-cutting salon and emphasizes the overwhelming brightness and heat caused by the lights reflecting in so many mirrors,.

(v) Select the textual option that is closest to indicating a sense of discomfort.
(A) The make-up room had the look of a hair-cutting salon. 
(B) The make-up department was first headed by a gang of nationally integrated make-up men.
(C) They were all incandescent lights, so you can imagine the fiery misery. 
(D) The make-up department head was at first a Bengali, who soon quit.

Answer: (C)
Solution: This sentence directly links the technical environment (incandescent lights) to the physical suffering ('fiery misery') of the actors,.

CBSE Previous Year Questions 2024

Short Answer Type Questions 

Q.1. How was there a great deal of national integration in the make-up department?  (2 Marks)

Answer: The make-up department of Gemini Studios exhibited significant national integration because it was staffed by people from various parts of India, long before such concepts were promoted by national broadcasters. It was initially headed by a Bengali, followed by a Maharashtrian, who was assisted by a Dharwar Kannadiga, an Andhra, a Madras Indian Christian, an Anglo-Burmese, and the local Tamils. This hierarchy of diverse regional and religious backgrounds working together made it a microcosm of a united India.

Q.2. What does 'The God That Failed' refer to? (2 Marks)

Answer: 'The God That Failed' refers to a book containing six separate essays written by six eminent men of letters, including Stephen Spender. These essays describe the authors' initial journeys into Communism and their subsequent disillusioned return from the ideology. The "god" in the title symbolises the political ideology of Communism, which failed to meet their expectations or provide the utopia it promised.

Q.3. Stephen Spender's visit to the Gemini Studios was viewed as an unexplained mystery by the Gemini family. How did Asokamitran solve this mystery years later?  (2 Marks)

Answer: Years after leaving Gemini Studios, Asokamitran saw a copy of the book The God That Failed at a bookstall. Upon seeing Stephen Spender's name among the contributors, he immediately made the connection to the English visitor. He realized the mystery of the visit was tied to the Boss's anti-Communist sentiments, as Spender had written about his disillusionment with Communism, explaining why an English poet was invited to a Tamil film studio.

Extract-Based Questions 

Q.4. (b) Read the extract and answer the questions that follow: (6 Marks)

​"Then the poet spoke. He couldn't have addressed a more dazed and silent audience - no one knew what he was talking about and his accent defeated any attempt to understand what he was saying. The whole thing lasted about an hour; then the poet left and we all dispersed in utter bafflement - What are we doing? What is an English poet doing in a film studio which makes Tamil films for the simplest sort of people? People whose lives least afforded them the possibility of cultivating a taste for English poetry. The poet looked pretty baffled too, for he must have felt the sheer incongruity of his talk about the thrills and travails of an English poet. His visit remained an unexplained mystery."

(i) Choose the correct option: The reason for the bewilderment of the audience is
(A) unknown identity of the visitor. 
(B) that the speaker had not been introduced to them. 
(C) the visit of an English poet to a Tamil film studio. 
(D) that they did not understand English.

Answer: (C) the visit of an English poet to a Tamil film studio.

Solution: The audience was bewildered because of the sheer incongruity of an English poet addressing a studio that produced Tamil films for simple people. While their lack of understanding of English contributed, the fundamental cause of their bafflement was why such a person was there in the first place.

(ii) By 'thrills and travails" the author refers to(A) joy and happiness (B) interest and aspiration (C) excitement and pain (D) shocks and surprises

Answer: (C) excitement and pain.
Solution: In the context of a poet's journey, "thrills" refers to the excitement or pleasure of creative success, while "travails" refers to the painful efforts, hardships, and struggles experienced along the way.

(iii) Explain one inference that can be drawn from the line, "He could not have addressed a more dazed and silent audience".

Answer: This line implies a complete lack of communication and a total disconnect between the speaker and his listeners. It suggests that the audience found the poet's content and accent entirely alien, rendering them unable to respond or even process what was being said, leading to a state of passive confusion.

(iv) The failure of the speaker to connect with the audience with reference to the extract is his _______ .

Answer: accent (or sheer incongruity).
Solution: The extract specifically mentions that the poet's "accent defeated any attempt to understand what he was saying," which was the primary barrier to communication.

(v) What information in the extract reveals the fact that the people have no exposure other than to their own circle?

Answer: The extract describes the audience as the "simplest sort of people" whose lives provided no opportunity for "cultivating a taste for English poetry". This indicates that their cultural and intellectual exposure was limited to their immediate environment of Tamil film-making and local interests.

(vi) State whether the following statement is TRUE or FALSE.
​The audience were enthralled by the poet's impressive speech.

Answer: FALSE.
Solution: According to the text, the audience was "dazed," "silent," and left in "utter bafflement," which is the opposite of being enthralled.