This resource provides a concise summary of the poem “The Banyan Tree,” which explores a child’s nostalgic memories of a banyan tree and its surrounding nature. It includes detailed answers to questions about the poem, focusing on themes, imagery, and vocabulary, making it a helpful guide for Class 6 students to understand and appreciate the poem.
The Banyan Tree Summary and Wordnotes
O you shaggy-headed banyan tree standing on the bank of the pond,
have you forgotten the little child, like the birds
that have nested in your branches and left you?
Do you not remember how he sat at the window
and wondered at the tangle of your roots that plunged underground?
The women would come to fill their jars in the pond,
and your huge black shadow would wriggle on the water
like sleep struggling to wake up.
Sunlight danced on the ripples
like restless tiny shuttles weaving golden tapestry.
Two ducks swam by the weedy margin above their shadows,
and the child would sit still and think.
He longed to be the wind and blow through your rustling branches,
to be your shadow and lengthen with the day on the water,
to be a bird and perch on your topmost twig,
and to float like those ducks among the weeds and shadows.
Translate 1
ऐ तालाब के किनारे खड़े झमेले वाले बरगद के पेड़, क्या तुम उस छोटे बच्चे को भूल गए हो, उन पक्षियों की तरह जिन्होंने तुम्हारी शाखाओं में घोंसला बनाया और तुम्हें छोड़ दिया?
क्या आपको याद नहीं है कि कैसे वह खिड़की पर बैठे थे और आपकी जड़ों की उलझन को देखकर आश्चर्यचकित थे जो जमीन के नीचे गिर गई थी?
महिलाएँ तालाब में अपने जार भरने आती थीं, और आपकी बड़ी काली छाया पानी पर जागने के लिए संघर्ष कर रही नींद की तरह हिलती रहती थी।
सूरज की रोशनी लहरों पर सोने की टेपेस्ट्री बुनने वाले बेचैन छोटे शटल की तरह नाचती थी।
दो बत्तख अपनी छाया के ऊपर सूखे किनारे पर तैरती थीं, और बच्चा चुप बैठा सोचता था।
वह हवा बनने और आपकी सरसराती शाखाओं के माध्यम से उड़ने के लिए तरस रहा था, पानी पर आपकी छाया और दिन के साथ लंबा होना, आपकी सबसे ऊपरी टहनी पर एक पक्षी और पर्च बनना, और खरपतवार और छाया के बीच उन बत्तखों की तरह तैरना।
Translate 2
ওঃ, পুকুরের তীরে দাঁড়িয়ে থাকা মাথা কুঁচকে থাকা বটগাছ, তুমি কি সেই ছোট বাচ্চাটাকে ভুলে গিয়েছিলে, পাখিদের মতো যারা তোমার শাখায় বাসা বেঁধে তোমাকে ছেড়ে চলে গেছে?
আপনার কি মনে নেই, কীভাবে তিনি জানালার কাছে বসে আপনার শিকড়ের জট যা মাটির নিচে পড়ে গেছে তা দেখে বিস্মিত হয়েছিলেন?
মহিলারা তাদের পাত্রগুলি পুকুরে ভরাট করতে আসতেন, এবং আপনার বিশাল কালো ছায়া ঘুম থেকে জেগে ওঠার মতো জলের উপর ঝাঁপিয়ে পড়ত।
সূর্যালোক তরঙ্গের উপর নাচছিল যেমন অস্থির ছোট ছোট শাটল সোনার টেপেস্ট্রি বুনছিল।
দুটি হাঁস তাদের ছায়ার উপরের আগাছা সীমানায় সাঁতার কাটতে থাকে এবং শিশুটি চুপ করে বসে চিন্তা করতে থাকে।
তিনি বাতাস হতে চেয়েছিলেন এবং আপনার ঝাঁকুনিতে থাকা শাখাগুলির মধ্য দিয়ে প্রবাহিত হতে চেয়েছিলেন, আপনার ছায়া হতে চেয়েছিলেন এবং জলের উপর দিনের সাথে দীর্ঘায়িত হতে চেয়েছিলেন, আপনার উপরের ডালের উপর পাখি এবং পার্চ হতে চেয়েছিলেন এবং আগাছা এবং ছায়ার মধ্যে সেই হাঁসের মতো ভাসতে চেয়েছিলেন।
Summary:
The poem describes a child’s memories associated with a banyan tree near a pond. The speaker reflects on how the child used to wonder at the tree’s roots, observe the play of light and shadow on the water, and dream of being part of the natural world around him, like the wind, the tree’s shadow, or a bird perched on its branches.
Translate 1
यह कविता एक तालाब के पास बरगद के पेड़ से जुड़ी एक बच्चे की यादों का वर्णन करती है। वक्ता इस बात पर विचार करता है कि बच्चा कैसे पेड़ की जड़ों पर आश्चर्य करता था, पानी पर प्रकाश और छाया का खेल देखता था, और अपने आसपास की प्राकृतिक दुनिया का हिस्सा बनने का सपना देखता था, जैसे हवा, पेड़ की छाया, या उसकी शाखाओं पर बैठा पक्षी।
Translate 2
কবিতাটিতে একটি পুকুরের কাছে একটি বটগাছের সঙ্গে যুক্ত একটি শিশুর স্মৃতি বর্ণনা করা হয়েছে। শিশু কীভাবে গাছের শিকড় দেখে বিস্মিত হত, জলের উপর আলো ও ছায়ার খেলা পর্যবেক্ষণ করত এবং তার চারপাশের প্রাকৃতিক জগতের অংশ হওয়ার স্বপ্ন দেখে, যেমন বাতাস, গাছের ছায়া বা তার শাখায় বসে থাকা কোনও পাখি।
Word Notes:
- shaggy-headed: unkempt, bushy : जटिल, झड़बल्ली
- nestled: settled, perched: बसना, बसे होना
- plunged: dived, immersed: डुबोना, गोताखोरी करना
- wriggle: squirm, twist: झूलना, मुड़ना
- restless: uneasy, agitated: बेचैन, अशांत
- tapestry: fabric, weaving: गोबलिन, वस्त्रकला
- rustling: whispering, swishing: रुसलाना, शोर
- perch: roost, settle: ठिकाना, बसे होना
- float: drift, glide: तैरना, तैरते होना
- longed: yearned, desired strongly: ताड़ना, वांछित
- pond: lake, pool: तालाब, कुंड
- tangle: knot, twist: उलझन, जटिलता
- weedy: overgrown, wild: जंगली, गंदा-फूला हुआ
- shadow: silhouette, shade: छाया, परछाई
- child: kid, youngster: बच्चा, बालक
- wind: breeze, gust: हवा, पवन
- branches: limbs, boughs: शाखाएँ, किशोर
- water: liquid, aqua: पानी, जल
- black: dark, ebony: काला, नीला
- topmost: highest, uppermost: सबसे ऊपर, शीर्ष
- sunlight: sunshine, daylight: सूरजकिरण, प्रकाश
- ripples: waves, undulations: लहरें, छपछपाहट
- window: aperture, opening: खिड़की, झरोखा
- dance: sway, jig: नृत्य, नाच
- tiny: small, minute: छोटा, सूक्ष्म
- struggling: striving, battling: संघर्ष, लड़ाई
- wake up: awaken, rouse: जागना, उठना
- margin: edge, border: किनारा, सीमा
- women: ladies, females: महिलाएँ, स्त्रियाँ
- shadows: silhouettes, darkness: परछाई, छाया
Answer these questions.
1. Who do you think is the speaker of the poem? Who is the poem addressed to?
Ans: The speaker is likely an adult reminiscing about their childhood. The poem is addressed to the banyan tree, as if the speaker is directly communicating with it.
2. In what way does the speaker compare himself with the birds that used to live in the banyan tree?
Ans: The speaker compares himself to the birds by suggesting that, like them, he too spent time with the tree during his childhood and has since moved on. The birds nested and left, much like the child who grew up and left the memories behind.
3. Do you not remember… plunged underground? Underline three things that the speaker describes in these lines.
a. where the boy sat
b. what the boy thought
c. what the tree saw
d. how the tree’s roots appeared
e. what the tree remembers
Ans:
c. what the tree saw
d. how the tree’s roots appeared
e. what the tree remembers
4 “….your huge black shadow would wriggle on the water…”
a. When and why would the tree’s shadow move in this manner?
Ans: he tree’s shadow would move in this manner when the women came to fill their jars at the pond, causing ripples in the water. The movement of the water made the shadow appear to wriggle.
b. What has the shadow been compared to? Why?
Ans: The shadow has been compared to “sleep struggling to wake up” because the rippling water causes the shadow to move in a slow, languid manner, much like the gentle, unsteady movements of someone waking from sleep.
5. What are the different ways in which the child wished to be near the tree? Did he want to simply sit near it?
Ans: The child wished to be near the tree in various imaginative ways. He longed to be the wind blowing through its branches, its shadow lengthening on the water, a bird perched on its topmost twig, and to float like ducks among the weeds and shadows. He didn’t just want to sit near it; he wanted to be integrally part of the tree and its surroundings.
6. This poem is called ‘The Banyan Tree’, but it also describes another thing in nature. What is that? What does the poem say about it?
Ans: The poem also describes the pond. It talks about the sunlight dancing on the ripples, the weedy margins where ducks swim, and the shadow of the banyan tree moving on the water. The pond is depicted as a dynamic, reflective surface that interacts with the tree and other elements of nature, creating a vivid, living scene.
Appreciating the Poem
1. This poem includes many comparisons, using the word ‘like’. Complete this table to explain those comparisons.
Ans:
| line from the poem | What does it compare? | What imagery does it create? | |
| a. | i. like the birds that havenested in your branches | ii. the child to the birds and the time spent with the tree to the birds nesting and then leaving | iii. Birds building nests and living in the tree.The image of birds flying away after nesting.A sense of temporary presence and departure.Evokes nostalgia and a sense of passage of time |
| b. | i.like sleep struggling towake up | ii. The tree’s shadow moving on the water to sleep struggling to wake up | iii. Gentle, slow movements.Rippling water with a wriggling shadow.A sense of drowsiness and gradual awakening.The peaceful and serene atmosphere |
| c. | i. Sunlight danced on the ripples like restless tiny shuttles weaving golden tapestry. | ii. sunlight on the waterto tiny moving shuttlesweaving golden threads | iii. Sparkling sunlight on water.Quick, intricate movementsGolden threads are woven into the fabric.A shimmering, lively surface.A sense of delicate beauty and craftsmanship |
| d. | i. He longed to be the wind and blow through your rustling branches, to be your shadow and lengthen with the day on the water, to be a bird and perch on your topmost twig, and to float like those ducks among the weeds and shadows. | ii. the child’s imagination of floating on the water tothe ducks | iii. the ducks floating calmlyon the water among weedsand the shade of the tree |
2. Think about the scene the poem creates in the reader’s mind, similar to the one in the illustration.
a. Which sounds do you think would be heard near the banyan tree?
Ans:
- Rustling of leaves
- Gentle breeze through branches
- Birds chirping
- Water rippling
- Ducks quacking
- Distant murmurs of women filling jars
b. Which of these words would you use to describe the scene? You can add your own words.
[bright, busy, colorful, green, peaceful, quiet]
Ans:
- peaceful
- Quiet
- Serene
- Green
- Tranquil
- Reflective
3. In the last stanza, the poet uses the phrase longed to be. What does this phrase tell you about how much the speaker enjoyed spending time in nature? Would this stanza have had the same effect if the poet had used the words ‘wanted’ or ‘wished’, instead?
Ans:
- The phrase “longed to be” suggests a deep and intense desire on the part of the speaker to immerse themselves in nature, to become one with the elements around them. It implies a yearning that goes beyond mere wishing or wanting; it conveys a strong emotional connection and a sense of longing.
- If the poet had used the words ‘wanted’ or ‘wished’ instead of ‘longed to be’, the stanza would have conveyed a different tone. ‘Wanted’ or ‘wished’ might suggest a more casual desire or a simple longing without the depth of emotional attachment that ‘longed to be’ conveys. Therefore, ‘longed to be’ enhances the poem’s effect by emphasizing the speaker’s profound connection to nature and their intense yearning to be part of it.