Fire-Hymn // Keki N. Daruwalla // Rainbow Poetry Chapter-8

 

Fire-Hymn

-Keki N. Daruwalla

Keki N. Daruwalla’s Biography

    1.       Keki N. Daruwalla was born in 1937.

    2.       He won Sahitya Akademi Award (1984) and Commonwealth Poetry Award.

    3.       His major works include Under Orion, Apparition in April, and Crossing of Rivers.

FIRE-HYMN EXPLANATION

The burning ghat erupted phosphorescence:
and wandering ghost lights frightened passers-by
as moonlight scuttled among the bones.
Once strolling at dawn past river-bank and ghat
we saw embers losing their cruel redness
to the grey ash that swallows all, half-cooked limbs

bore witness to the fire's debauchery.
My father said, "You see those half-burnt fingers
And bone-stubs? The fire at times forgets its dead!"
A Zoroastrian I, my child -fingers clenched
Into a little knot of pain,
I swore to save fire
From the sin of forgetfulness.

It never forgot, and twenty years since
As I consigned my first-born to the flames -
The nearest Tower of Silence was a thousand miles -
The firm-hymn said to me, “You stand forgiven,”
Broken, yet rebellious, I swore this time
To save it from the sin of forgiving.

FIRE-HYMN SUMMARY

This poem is written by Keki. N. daruwala. In this poem the poet describes the scene of a burring Ghat.
One day, when the speaker was a child, he and his father passed by a burning ghat near the river bank. The fire had died out. The embers had lost their hot redness, and were now covered with grey ash.
There were half-burnt limbs and fingers of a body. The narrator’s father pointed out that sometimes fire was negligent. It forgets to burn the dead completely. The speaker was pained. He decided to save the fire from the sin of forgetfulness.
Twenty years later, the narrator’s eldest child died. He consigned his body to fire and saw that the fire burnt it completely. The Fire-Hymn forgave his non-Parsi act because it appeared that he had done so under compulsion and not willingly. The Tower of Peace was thousand miles from there. The narrator felt his purpose was defeated. He took a vow to save the fire next time from the sin of forgiveness.

FIRE-HYMN OBJECTIVE QUESTION

``    1.       Daruwalla was born in ___________.
a)1940
b)1941
c)1937
d)1955

        2.       The term ‘Zoroastrian’ in ‘Fire-Hymn’ stands for ___________.
a)Hindu
b)Muslims
c)Parsi
d)Christian

        3.       The nearest ‘Tower of Silence’ According to the poem, ‘Fire-Hymn’ was ___________ away.
a)a thousand miles
b)two thousand miles
c)three thousand miles
d)four thousand miles

        4.       The speaker in the poem, ‘Fire-Hymn’ swears ___________.
a)once
b)twice               
c)thrice
d) none

        5.       Daruwalla has been a well known poet as well as ___________. 
a)dramatist
b)novelist
c)short story writer
d)essayist

          6.       ‘Fire-Hymn’ deals with ___________ ghat.
a)burning
b)bathing
c)drinking
d)swimming

        7.       The term ‘debauchery’ in ‘Fire-Hymn’ stands for ___________.
a)moral behavior
b)disgusting behavior
c)immoral behavior
d)good behavior

        8.       Daruwalla got Sahitya Akademi Award in ___________.
a)1985
b)1984
c)1986
d)1989

        9.       Who got Commonwealth Poetry Award ___________.
a)Donne
b)Keats
c)Daruwalla
d)Kamala Das

        10.    Under Orion is written by ___________.
a)Kamala Das
b)Daruwalla
c)Auden
d)Whitman

        11.    Under Orion was published in ___________.
a)1970
b)1975
c)1980
d)1990

        12.    Apparition in April is written by ___________.
a)Daruwalla
b)Keats
c)Auden
d)Whitman

        13.    Apparition in April was in ___________.
a)1971
b)1976
c)1981
d)1990

        14.    Crossing of Rivers is written by ___________.
a)Kamala Das
b)Daruwalla
c)Auden
d)Keats

        15.    Crossing of Rivers was published in ___________.
a)1976
b)1981
c)1986
d)1990

        16.    Keki N. Daruwala was a ___________ by religion.
a)Hindu
b)Parsi
c)Muslim
d)Christian

        17.    Keki N Daruwala is an ___________ poet.
a)Australian
b)French
c)Indian
d)Pakistani

        18.    It was the ___________ of the poet along with him, passing by the ghat.
a)father
b)mother                                           
c)brother
d)grandfather

        19.    The ___________ forgets its dead because sometimes it leaves the dead body half burnt.
a)wind
b)fire
c)soil
d)water

        20.    The poet sees the red hot ___________.
a)embers
b)furnace                                          
c)furnes
d)none

        21.    The ___________ child was consigned to fire under compulsion.
a)first born
b)third born                                     
c)fourth born
d)fifth born

        22.    Keki N Daruwala belongs to ___________ religion.
a)Christian
b)Islam
c)Zoroastrian
d)Hindus

        23.    ___________ belongs to Zoroastrian religion.
a)John Donne
b)Keki N Daruwalla
c)T. S. Eliot
d)John Keats

        24.    Consingning his new born son to flames took place ___________ years ago.
a)10
b)20
c)30
d)50

        25.    Keki N Daruwalla consigned has new born ___________ to flames.
a)niece
b)son
c)nephew
d)brother

        26.    ___________ swears to save fire from the sin of forgetfulness.
a)Keki N Daruwalla
b)Kamala Das
c)D.H. Lawrence
d)John Keats

FIRE-HYMN LINE EXPLANATION

1.       It never forgot, and twenty years since as I consigned my first born to the flames the nearest tower of silence was a thousand miles. The fire hymn said to me, “You stand forgiven.”
Ans. The poet says that he will never forget this fire. He further adds that he had not seen this fire in last twenty years i.e., when he consigned his first born child to flames because the tower of silence was thousand miles away. He says that he might have committed so me mistakes for which he apologises.