Small Towns and the River – Reasoning (20+ Questions)

Complete the following sentences by providing a brief reason. Do not write the question.

1. Small towns remind the poet of death because __________

2. The town remains "always the same" in all seasons because __________

3. The repetition of "Life and death" emphasizes __________

4. The "sad wreath of tuberoses" is significant because __________

5. The "dreadful silence" reveals __________

6. The river is personified as having a soul because __________

7. The river in summer cuts through the land "like a torrent of grief" because __________

8. The river "knows the immortality of water" because __________

9. Childhood is called "a shrine of happy pictures" because __________

10. Small towns grow with anxiety for the future because __________

11. The dead are placed "pointing west" because __________

12. When the soul rises, it will walk into "the golden east" because __________

13. Rituals are described as permanent while human life is transient because __________

14. The cool bamboo is restored by sunlight because __________

15. The river flows "past the town" and continues beyond because __________

16. The poem's tone shifts from sadness to hope because __________

17. Dust functions as synecdoche in the poem because __________

18. The Arunachal Pradesh setting enriches the poem because __________

19. Modernization creates anxiety in small towns because __________

20. The river serves as central metaphor in the poem because __________

21. The poet wants readers to find meaning despite mortality because __________

Answer Key

i) The towns are static, unchanging places where life moves slowly and inevitably ends in death and stagnation.

ii) Nothing changes in small towns—seasons change but the town remains fundamentally the same, creating monotony and lifelessness.

iii) The cyclical and continuous nature of existence where life and death occur repeatedly in communities.

iv) Tuberoses are associated with death and funeral rituals, symbolizing mourning and collective grief of the community.

v) The profound emotional pain and communal sorrow experienced by townspeople mourning the death of community members.

vi) The river possesses spiritual consciousness, wisdom, and eternal quality representing nature's living, knowing presence.

vii) The river experiences pain and grief similar to how humans mourn, embodying emotional and spiritual dimensions alongside physical flow.

viii) Water undergoes continuous cycles of rain, evaporation, and flow that never truly end, making the element eternal and immortal.

ix) Childhood is sacred time remembered as pure, joyful, free from adult anxieties and worries about mortality and future.

x) Modernization threatens traditional rituals and customs, creating fear about loss of cultural identity and spiritual practices.