Bridges — Kumudini Lakhia (Class 11, Woven Words)
Summary, Explanation, Difficult Words, Textbook Q&A, Extract-Based MCQs, 15 Practice MCQs, Extra Questions, SEO.
Table of Contents
Summary of the Chapter
For quick revisionIn this autobiographical essay, Kathak choreographer Kumudini Lakhia traces the links between her life and her art. As a child she was pushed into lessons by a determined mother, travelling across Bombay for classes with Guru Sunder Prasad. Schooling in Lahore, strict British discipline, and a personal loss at fourteen shaped her mind and body. Later, ideas turned into works like Duvidha (conflict within a middle-class woman), Atah Kim (“Where now?” after reaching a goal), and Panch Paras (the five senses). A stint with Ram Gopal’s company, global touring, marriage, and teaching refined her approach: master technique, then let it go and dance. She shows how home, politics, gender expectations, and stage practice connect like bridges, forming the base of her choreography.
Explanation of the Chapter
5–7 key ideas1) “Born to dance” vs real beginnings
Lakhia questions claims of being “born to dance”. For her, discipline felt hard and progress slow. Yet her mother’s faith kept lessons going despite long commutes and an unwilling child. This sets up the theme: art grows through steady work, not destiny alone.
2) Early training, school life, and discipline
At Queen Mary’s School, Lahore, a dance tutor was arranged again. British-style routines taught order in daily life and thought. She craved reasons behind movements, hinting at a future choreographer who seeks clarity, not blind imitation.
3) Loss and inner hunger
Her mother’s sudden death brought confusion and a bodily memory of “dangling arms”. This physical image later shaped stage craft. The idea of different “hungers” became a driving motif in her pieces.
4) Works as mirrors of life — Duvidha, Atah Kim, Panch Paras
Duvidha shows a woman torn between convention and a new image of freedom. Atah Kim asks what follows success or power. Panch Paras celebrates the senses, separating sensitivity from sentimentality. Each work rises from lived episodes.
5) College, gender codes, and body dignity
Agriculture college placed her among boys and exposed social codes around dress and posture. She argues for dignity in movement and rejects shame taught to women about their bodies. This informs how dancers carry themselves.
6) Touring with Ram Gopal — technique and context
With Ram Gopal she learnt folk forms and Bharatanatyam lines with strict precision. His core lesson: perfect the craft, then “throw it overboard and dance”. Touring also showed how context changes perception—on stage as in life.
7) Home, family, and ensemble thinking
Marriage, children, and running a home demanded balance. She likens family life to ensemble performance where space, relations, and timing matter. These “bridges” guide her choreography and teaching.
Difficult Words and Meanings
Quick glossary| Word/Expression | Meaning (simple) |
|---|---|
| Incredulous | Unable to believe; doubtful |
| Dubious | Questionable; not fully reliable |
| Assertion | A strong statement or claim |
| Discipline | Training that brings order and control |
| Ante-room | Small waiting room before a main room |
| Matriculation | Final school exam of that time |
| Infraction | Breaking a rule |
| Demeanour | Outward manner and behaviour |
| Duvidha | “Conflict” (title of her piece) |
| Synergy | When parts work together to create extra force |
| Repertoire | Set of pieces a group can perform |
| Disciplinarian | One who insists on strict order |
| Fetish (for perfection) | Strong, fixed attention to a detail |
| Context | Surroundings or setting that change meaning |
| Emancipation | Becoming free from control or limits |
Textbook Questions & Answers
From NCERT “Understanding the Text”1) How did the author feel about her mother’s passion to make her a dancer?
Type: Very Short Answer (1–2 sentences)
Answer: As a child she felt unwilling and found classes tiring and slow. She saw dance as hard discipline pushed by her mother, not as a calling at first.
2) What were the lessons of life learnt in her younger days that Kumudini carried into her adult life?
Type: Short Answer (30–40 words)
Answer: British-style order, asking “why” behind actions, dignity in movement, inner strength after loss, and awareness of context. These ideas shaped her practice and later appeared in works like Duvidha and Panch Paras.
3) How did Kumudini react to her mother’s death?
Type: Short Answer (30–40 words)
Answer: She met a still, silent home and felt confused, empty, and hungry after days without food. The memory of her “dangling arms” and mixed hungers later informed her choreography and stage images.
4) What were the concepts that Kumudini Lakhia represent through Duvidha, Atah Kim and Panch Paras?
Type: Long Answer (60–70 words)
Answer: Duvidha portrays a middle-class woman divided between convention and a bold new image. Atah Kim asks where one goes after achieving power or a goal. Panch Paras honours the five senses and separates clear feeling from sentimentality. Each piece rises from lived moments—loss, curiosity, and discipline—showing life and art joined like bridges.
5) How does Kumudini Lakhia describe her guru Ramgopal’s influence on her?
Type: Short Answer (30–40 words)
Answer: She learnt precision, line, and range—from folk forms to Bharatanatyam. Ram Gopal insisted on mastery first, then freedom: once technique is secure, “throw it overboard and dance.” This became her teaching mantra.
Extract-Based MCQs (5 × 3)
Each extract followed by 3 MCQsExtract Set 1
“To dance means to struggle—I believe it is the same in any discipline because discipline itself is a struggle.”
Q1. The line chiefly challenges which idea?
Answer: a) Talent makes effort unnecessary
Q2. Here, “discipline” is presented as:
Answer: b) A constant effort
Q3. The tone best matches:
Answer: b) Realistic
Extract Set 2
“I was always a curious child and I wanted to know and understand what I was doing. Why was I gyrating in this way?”
Q1. The speaker’s question shows a need for:
Answer: b) Theoretical clarity
Q2. This trait later supports her role as:
Answer: b) Choreographer
Q3. The word “gyrating” most nearly means:
Answer: a) Turning or moving in circles
Extract Set 3
“Mother was already dead when I arrived… The dangling arms find expression in my choreography.”
Q1. The image of “dangling arms” becomes:
Answer: c) A movement motif
Q2. The mood of the extract is chiefly:
Answer: b) Somber
Q3. Which theme is reinforced?
Answer: a) Art from personal experience
Extract Set 4
“However, in the end he would say, ‘You’ve perfected the technique, now throw it overboard and dance’.”
Q1. The advice suggests that creativity comes:
Answer: b) After mastery
Q2. The speaker credited with this view is:
Answer: b) Ram Gopal
Q3. “Throw it overboard” implies:
Answer: c) Let technique support, not stiffen, the dance
Extract Set 5
“One changes the placement of a choreographic piece on stage and it looks quite different. I myself was a changed person when placed in different surroundings.”
Q1. The key idea is that meaning is shaped by:
Answer: b) Context and placement
Q2. The comparison links stage craft with:
Answer: c) Life in new cultures
Q3. Which term best captures this idea?
Answer: b) Context
Practice MCQs (15 Challenging Questions)
Conceptual & application-based1. The essay’s title “Bridges” mainly points to:
Answer: b) Links between life and dance
2. Which event first set her on the dance path?
Answer: b) A film dance by Mumtaz Ali
3. The commute for early classes shows:
Answer: b) The mother’s resolve
4. British-style schooling chiefly gave her:
Answer: b) Order in routine and thought
5. Which work treats the question, “Where now?” after success?
Answer: c) Atah Kim
6. The gardener episode near Liaquat Ali’s house taught her:
Answer: b) Tricks of politics
7. Her response to gender codes at agriculture college was to:
Answer: c) Argue for body dignity
8. Who connected her to Ram Gopal’s company?
Answer: b) Komlata Dutt
9. Touring taught her that a changed placement on stage:
Answer: c) Alters how it looks and feels
10. The line that best sums up her method is:
Answer: b) “Perfect the technique, then dance freely.”
11. Which piece celebrates the five senses?
Answer: a) Panch Paras
12. Her husband’s main gift to her was a love for:
Answer: b) Music
13. The essay links family life to ensemble dance to stress:
Answer: b) Space, timing, relations
14. The film industry’s role appears when:
Answer: b) A film dance sparked her mother’s plan
15. Which pair is correctly matched?
Answer: b) Ram Gopal — strict precision and freedom
Extra Questions (Q&A)
25–35 words each-
How does the title “Bridges” frame her story?
It signals links between memory, body, training, and stage craft. Each episode connects to a later piece, showing life and art meeting across time. -
Why is the questioning habit central to her growth?
It moves her from imitation to understanding. Asking “why” helps her design movement vocabulary and turn personal events into stage motifs. -
What does the Lahore school experience add?
Orderly routines train her mind. A firm yet fair principal models leadership she later uses when teaching and directing groups. -
In what way does grief reshape her art?
Bodily memories of shock become images in choreography. The “dangling arms” and mixed hunger become movement themes that carry feeling without speech. -
How do her pieces reflect lived questions?
Duvidha asks about social limits, Atah Kim asks about direction after success, and Panch Paras celebrates sense-experience. Each grows from real dilemmas. -
What stage lesson does touring teach?
Placement changes meaning. A shift in space alters how a piece reads, just as countries and cultures altered how she saw herself. -
How is dignity in movement linked to gender norms?
She rejects shame taught to girls and argues for poised carriage. Dance should show grace and strength without hiding the body. -
Why compare family life to ensemble work?
Both need awareness of space, timing, and relations. You adjust to others and shape a larger picture rather than shine alone. -
What is the role of teachers in her journey?
From Sunder Prasad to Ram Gopal, teachers provide structure and standards. Their guidance becomes the base from which she finds her own voice. -
How does context relate to audience response?
The same movement can read differently in a new setting. Shifts in space, culture, or order change audience focus and feeling.
