Dawn at Puri poem's Questions Answers BA 1st sem

Dawn at Puri poem's Questions Answers BA 1st sem: Dawn at Puri is a poem composed by poet Jayanta Mahapatra. The poem "Dawn at Puri" was published in 1971. Here in this post you can read Dawn at Puri poem's Questions Answers BA 1st sem.

Dawn at Puri Questions Answers

The poem Dawn at Puri has six stanzas and has an evenness in its structure. It has three visually descriptive lines imitating the waves of seawater on the sandy shore. In ‘Dawn at Puri’ poet Jayanta Mahapatra uses the imagery of the sea beach to portray its proximity to life. In this post we will discuss about,

Dawn at Puri short questions answers.
Dawn at Puri important questions answers.
Dawn at puri long questions answers.

Dawn at Puri short questions answers

Q1. Which sea beach is mentioned in the poem Dawn at Puri ?

Ans: Puri sea beach is mentioned here in the poem Dawn at Puri.

Q2. Why is Puri sea beach famous for ?

Ans: The Puri sea beach is famous for Temple Lord Jagannath.

Q3. What does the poet see on the sea beach ?

Ans: The poet sees a human skull on the sand of Puri sea beach.

Q4. What indicates the human skull on the sea beach ?

Ans: The skull on the beach indicates the poor condition of Indian economy and shows the pathetic condition of hungry Indian.

Q5. “tilts its empty country towards hunger”—What tilts its empty country towards hunger ?

Ans: A human skull of a unburnt dead body on the Puri sea beach tilts India’s empty economy towards hunger.

Q6. “Endless crow noises”—Where does the poet observe this scene ? What was the time ?

Ans: The poet hears the crows’ endless noises at Puri sea beach and the time was dawn.

Q7. Why were the widows waiting on the sea beach ?

Ans: The widows are waiting on the Puri sea beach to enter great Jagannath temple and they are bound to religious custom.

Q8. How were the widows dressed ? How old were they ?

Ans: The widows were dressed in white sari and they crossed half of their lives.

Q9. Who were waiting to enter the Great Jagannath Temple of Puri at dawn ?

Ans: A group of widows who crossed their half of lives were waiting to enter the great Jagannath Temple of Puri at dawn.

10. How were the eyes of the widow women ?

“their austere eyes……….”- Explain.

Ans: The eyes of the widow women were austere like the eyes of the fish caught in a net.

Q11. Why are the eyes of widow women compared to the eyes of fishes caught in the net ?

Ans: When a fish gets caught in a net, it has nothing to do. Similarly, being widow, those women are bound to obey social, religious norms whether they want or not. They cannot break the system.

Q12. What was poet’s mother’s last wish ?

Ans: Poet Jayanta Mahapatra’s mother wanted to be cremated on the holy sea beach of Puri because it was believed to be the Swargadwar to get rid of earthly bound.

Dawn at Puri important questions answers

Q1. “Past the centres of their lives” - Explain the line.

Ans: This line refers the widows waiting to enter Jagannath Temple of Puri at dawn. This lines indicate that those widows have crossed half of their lives i.e. important part of their lives.

Q2. “a mass of crouched faces without names” - About whom was this remark made ? Why are they without names ?

Ans: This remark was made about the group of widows who were waiting on the Puri sea beach to enter Great Jagannath temple.

Being widow, those women have no name because the society gave them only one identity that they are "widow."

Q3. What is the central idea of the poem dawn at Puri ?

Ans: As the title of the poem suggests, it is set in the town of Puri in India. It consists of six short stanzas, which only contain three lines each and which don't rhyme. The main theme of the poem is traditions. Through the poem, the poet questions the point of traditions, which are deeply rooted in Indian life.

Q4. “Twisting uncertainly like light”—Explain.

Ans: The poet did not believe in spirituality of Puri because under this spirituality there were poverty, division of caste, creed and torments. But his mother wished to be cremated on the sea beach of Puri being sacred. So, in spite of being rational, he had to change her thought uncertainly like light on the shifting sand.

Q5. What is the significance of the title Dawn at Puri ?

State the significance of the title of the poem "Dawn at Puri".

Ans: It refers to a new beginning in nature and thereby, to a new start in mankind and civilization. The tone of quiet acceptance, with a latent awareness of suffering, perhaps indicates a very Indian sensibility.

With the title of the poem, the poet suggests that all the dawns in Puri are more or less similar with dead mothers being cremated every day and not just one particular dawn which might have been particularly unpleasant.

Q6. What is the poet trying to convey about the rituals connected with Puri through the poem “Dawn at Puri” ?

Ans: The poet tries to convey a scathing attack on tradition and traditional practices which are mostly ruthless and biased, the indifference of the society and the fossilized Hindu culture.

Q7. Why is Puri considered the holy city as described by Jayanta Mahapatra ?

Ans: The word Holy is ironical because during cremation nothing is left except the ashes. However, the presence of the skull symbolizes the hollowness of rites and rituals of his community and also the poverty which dominates the poet's country i.e. India.

Q8. What was the last wish of the poet's mother in dawn at Puri ?

Ans: Most of the Hindus wished to be cremated in the land of Lord Vishnu. The poet's mother also had such a last wish, the wish to be cremated in Puri. This is fulfilled by the effort of her son in the blazing funeral pyre which is seen as “sullen” and “solitary” .

Q9. Explain “Ruined, leprous” ?

Ans: The meaning suggests the mass of broken remnants of shells which is compared symbolically to death and sickness.

Q10. Comment on the poetic techniques used by the poet ?

Ans: Poet Jayanra Mahapatra uses visualization and images through words drawn from the external world of phenomena and the surrealistic world. Also, the title of the poem is itself very suggestive.

Dawn at Puri long questions answers

Q1. Evaluate the title of Jayanta Mahapatra's poem " Dawn at Puri ".

Ans: "Dawn at Puri" is a poem that considers the actual meaning of traditional rites and rituals. At first we're introduced to the location. Puri is a city in Orissa, a state on the eastern coast of India.

Puri is famous as a religious center thanks to an annual festival there in honor of the Hindu god Jagannath, an incarnation of Vishnu. Though the city is superficially reverent, it also seems forlorn, its citizens hungry and joyless.

It describes a homogeneous group of women. They've gathered to worship, but their eyes are hollow and they all appear to be "past the centers," or primes, "of their lives."Like an establishing shot in a movie widens to show a much larger, still downtrodden, assembly of worshipers.

The poet is suddenly reminded, as if the visual burst from inside his own "hide" or skin, of the image of his deceased mother's body burning on a funeral pyre. She has in fact died, and we learn in the final stanza that it was her wish to be cremated in Puri.

The significance of where poet's mother will actually be cremated is lost on him. Its significance seems to shimmer uncertainly "like light on the shifting sands." There's nothing concrete about it. It would've only mattered to her, and in every way that matters to Mahapatra, she's gone.

In poetic language, the poet seems to be questioning the value of anything about the ritual. The worshipers are still starving and miserable, the mother the poet loved has already passed on and the spirituality and reverence of her co-religionists grows ever more stagnant.

We now have a deeper understanding of and appreciation for the title "Dawn at Puri." It refers to the time of day, of course, but also to an important concept "dawning on" the poet himself. So the title is well thought and appropriate.