Poem: The Magical Earth by Gulzar - New Learning to Communicate - Literary Rader 7

Poem: The Magical Earth by Gulzar

There is something indeed in the earth of my garden

Is this earth magical?

The earth knows how to do magic!

If I sow a guava seed, it gives me guavas

If I put in a jamun kernel' it gives me jamuns

A bitter gourd for a bitter gourd, a lemon for a lemon!

If I ask for a flower, it gives me pink flowers

Whatever colour I give to it, it returns that to me

Has it hidden all these colours in the soil below?

I dug a lot but found nothing

The earth knows how to do magic!

The earth knows how to do magic

It shows so many tricks

When it balances these long coconut trees on its fingers

It does not even let them fall!

The wind does its best, but the earth does not let them fumble?!

A sherbet', or milk, or water

Anything may fall, it absorbs them all

How much water does it drink?!

It gulps down whatever you give

Be it from a jug or a bucket

Amazingly, its stomach never fills

I have heard that it can even hide a river inside!

The earth knows how to do magic!

Are there sugar godowns* under the earth?

Or rocks of lime"?

How does this earth put sweetness into fruits?

From where does it get all this?

Pomegranates, plums and mangoes—in all of them

Sweetness, but different kinds

The leaves tasteless but the fruits sweet

The musambi sweet, the lemon sour

Undoubtedly, it knows magic!

Otherwise, why is the bamboo tasteless,

and the sugarcane sweet? 

List of Difficult Words with Definitions

1. Magical - Having special, mysterious, or supernatural qualities.
2. Kernel - The inner, softer part of a seed, nut, or fruit stone.
3. Fumble - To handle something clumsily.
4. Sherbet - A sweet flavoured drink.
5. Absorb - To soak up or take in a liquid or substance.
6. Jug - A large container for liquids, typically with a handle and spout.
7. Bucket - A cylindrical container with a handle used for carrying liquids.
8. Godowns - Warehouses or storage places, especially in South Asia.
9. Lime - A white, caustic substance used in building and agriculture, derived from limestone.
10. Musambi - Sweet lime, a citrus fruit.
11. Undoubtedly - Without doubt; certainly.

Summary of "The Magical Earth" by Gulzar

In "The Magical Earth," Gulzar marvels at the mysterious and magical qualities of the earth in his garden. He observes how the earth seemingly performs magic by transforming seeds into plants, each true to its kind—guava seeds grow into guavas, jamun kernels into jamuns, and flowers bloom in the colours he plants. He wonders how the earth manages to do this and whether it hides colours within the soil.

The poem further explores the earth's abilities to balance tall coconut trees against strong winds, absorb various liquids without getting filled, and even hide rivers. Gulzar is fascinated by how the earth imparts different flavours to fruits, making some sweet and others sour. The contrast between tasteless leaves and sweet fruits, as well as between bamboo and sugarcane, leaves him convinced that the earth possesses magical powers.

Questions and Answers

1. This is a poem in praise of the magical powers of earth. Do you agree?

   • Yes.

2. The word earth in the poem refers to:

   • c. the substance that plants grow in.

3. Say whether the following statements are True (T) or False (F).

   a. If you plant a guava seed, you will get a guava later.

   • True.

   b. If you plant the seed of a particular vegetable, the earth will give you that vegetable later.

   • True.

   c. If you want a flower of a particular colour, the earth will give you flowers of different colours.

   • False.

   d. When the wind does its best to make a coconut tree fall down, the earth prevents it from happening.

   • True.

   e. The earth absorbs only sweet-tasting liquids like sherbet.

   • False.

   f. The earth has huge quantities of groundwater.

   • True.

   g. The earth stores large quantities of sugar.

   • False.

   h. The earth puts the same sweetness into all fruits.

   • False.

   i. Even though both the bamboo and the sugarcane are tropical plants, only the latter tastes sweet.

• True.
4. Personification is a literary device that poets use to represent an object as human. In this poem, the poet represents the earth as a magician who shows so many tricks. Pick out any two examples of the tricks that 'magician earth' performs.

ANSWER: 

Examples of Personification in "The Magical Earth"

1. Transformation of Seeds:

   • "If I sow a guava seed, it gives me guavas / If I put in a jamun kernel, it gives me jamuns."
   • This describes the earth's ability to magically transform seeds into plants bearing fruits.

2. Balancing Coconut Trees:

• "When it balances these long coconut trees on its fingers / It does not even let them fall!"
• This personifies the earth as a magician who skillfully balances tall trees, preventing them from falling even against strong winds.

Important Questions from The Magical Earth by Gulzar

1. What happens when the poet sows a guava seed in the earth?
   → The earth gives him guavas when he sows a guava seed.

2. Why does the poet call the earth ‘magical’?
   → The poet calls it magical because it gives back what we sow, and it never fills up even after drinking water.

3. What does the poet find when he digs the earth?
   → He finds nothing, no hidden colours, but still the earth gives colourful flowers and fruits.

4. How does the earth balance the tall coconut trees?
   → It holds them straight like balancing on its fingers and never lets them fall, even when the wind blows hard.

5. What things does the earth absorb easily?
   → The earth absorbs milk, water, sherbet—anything poured into it.

6. What does the poet say about the earth’s stomach?
   → He says the earth’s stomach never gets full; it drinks everything given to it.

7. What question does the poet ask about sweetness in fruits?
   → He wonders how the earth puts different kinds of sweetness in fruits like mangoes, plums, and pomegranates.

8. What does the poet compare bamboo and sugarcane for?
   → He compares them to show that bamboo is tasteless while sugarcane is sweet.

9. Why does the poet find the earth amazing?
   → Because it does many things like growing trees, fruits, flowers, and drinking water without showing where it keeps it all.

10. What message do you learn from this poem?
    → We learn to respect nature and understand the wonders and hard work of the earth.