March
by Khushwant Singh
MAKING CONNECTIONS
1. Match the names of the months with the description of their origins.
=
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A |
B |
|---|---|
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a. January |
i. named after the Roman emperor, Julius Caesar. [g] |
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b. February |
ii. named after Juno, queen of the Roman gods. [f] |
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c. March |
iii. named after Junas, the two-headed Roman god of doorways and new
beginnings, depicted with two faces looking in opposite directions. [a] |
|
d. April |
iv. stands for ten – the tenth month of the older calendar. [l] |
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e. May |
v. named after the Roman emperor, Augustus Caesar. [h] |
|
f. June |
vi. named for Februa, the feast of purification. [b] |
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g. July |
vii. month of Mars, the Roman god of war. [c] |
|
h. August |
viii. stands for seven, the seventh month of the older calendar. [i] |
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i. September |
ix. stands for nine, the ninth month of the older calendar. [k] |
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j. October |
x. comes from the Latin Aprillis. [d] |
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k. November |
xi. month of Maia, a Roman Earth goddess. [e] |
|
l. December |
xii. stands for eight, the eighth month of the older calendar. [j] |
Quick answers
1. Complete the following sentences.
a. March is an unpredictable month because one day can be as cold as any in winter, the next as warm as any in spring.
b. A cricket's chirp can be a close substitute for a thermometer because the hotter it is, the faster the cricket chirps.
c. The softwood of the Ailanthus is used for making packing cases and matchsticks.
d. There are more birds calls in March than in other months because the days get warmer and nesting season draws nearer.
e. The shrike is also known as butcherbird because of its nasty habit of impaling live insects on thorns.
Reference to context
2. "Humans are not the only ones to be fooled by the weather. Insects, said to be endowed with an extra sense of forecasting the weather, suffer heavy losses."
a. How are humans fooled by the weather?
= Humans put away their woollens by the middle of the month and take out their summer clothes, only to put back the cottons and once again get out cardigans and warm socks.
b. How does the sun behave in this month?
= The sun comes up earlier by more minutes that it goes down in the evenings.
c. Which insects does this weather affect and how?
= Mosquitoes, flies and moths, which come out of hiding to pester humans, suddenly find the weather turn inclement and are frozen to death.
3. "In March, the Lodi Gardens and the Buddha Jayanti Park are much frequented by picnickers."
a. What is special about the Buddha Jayanti Park in March?
= The Buddha Jayanti Park is specialized in planting masses of the same flower for each bed.
b. Which is the best day to visit these parks?
= The best day to visit these parks is the afternoon of Holi after the coloured-water sports are over.
c. Which birds can be seen in the Lodi Gardens at this time of the year?
= Owlets and shrikes can be seen in the Lodi Gardens at this time of the year.
4. "In the last week of the month, spring vegetables and fruits flood the market."
a. Which vegetables and fruits are found in the market?
= Cucumbers, kakrees, melons, watermelons and mangoes are found in the market.
b. Which cities are famous for their muskmelons (kharbooza)?
= Tonk and Saharanpur are famous for their muskmelons (kharbooza).
c. What has happened in recent years to the quality of melons?
= In recent years, the quality of melons has improved.
Read, reflect and write
5. Make a table of the names of the birds, flowers and vegetables to be found in Delhi in March, as listed by the author.
=
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Birds |
Flowers |
Vegetables |
|---|---|---|
|
Vultures, Kites, Koel, Papeehas(hawk cuckoos), Coppersmiths, Magpie
Robin, Shrikes, |
Pansies, Phlox, Salvias, Violets, Purple Bougainvilleas, |
Cucumbers, Kakrees, Watermelons, Cantaloupes, Muskmelons, Melon,
Mangoes, |
6. Why do you think the narrator chose to describe the month of March and not any other month? Give reasons.
= I think the narrator chose to describe the month of March and not any other month because of its exceptional features. Its beguiling nature which confuses both human and the insects and birds. In March both birth and death are much in evidence. It is the nesting season for the birds. It is the season for the many fruits and vegetables. Nature gets its beautiful scenario in the month with all the trees, flowers and the sweet sounds of the birds.
7. The author seems to have an eye for human behaviour, and also for flowers, birds, insects, and even for fruits and vegetables. What does this say about the author?
= The author seems to have an eye for human behaviour, and also for flowers, birds, insects, and even for fruits and vegetables. This says that the author is a good observer and elite narrator. He has described how both the human and the insects beguiled by the whimsical mood of the weather in the month of March. He then describes the trees and the birds and the fruits and vegetables available in the market. He describes the beauty of the Lodi Gardens and the Buddha Jayanti Park. He is a close admirer of nature.
8. Extended writing: Now write about the technique of the author's descriptions with respect to the following:
a. imagery;
= At the beginning of the text the author has given a vivid image of the nature. He says about the fresh falls of snow in the mountains of Kashmir or Himachal bring chilly winds to the capital. Strong winds push clouds up to freezing heights, convert raindrops into ice, toss icelets up over and over again till they are too heavy to bear and let them descend on the Earth as hail. He give an elaborate description of the structure of hailstone as if he is showing and explaining it by holding it before us.
He describes the festival of Holi, the festival of colours. He describes the trees of March the flowers, the birds, the Lodi Gardens and the Buddha Jayanti Park such a way that we are beholding them from front. He gives the elaborate description of the fruits and vegetables of March with their producing places.
b. comparisons;
= First of all, the layers of ice of hailstone has been compared with the skins of an onion.
Then, a cricket's chirps have been compared to a thermometer. The hotter is the weather, the faster the crickets chirp. The author suggests us to count the number of chirps per minute, divide the total by four and add forty. The total will give the temperature of the room in Fahrenheit.
Then the author compares the fruits of the mulberry tree with caterpillars.
The author goes on comparing the leaves of the peepals and banyans as our bookmarks.
He compares the sound of coppersmiths with the short blasts by the diesel-operated flour mills in villages.
He compares the shrikes with the butcherbird due to its hunting habit.
c. colours;
= The author describes the colour of the hailstone as milky-white. He says about the white fruits of the Mulberry tree. He describes the leaves as pale-pink. The says about the white-backed vulture. He shows the crimson throat of the coppersmiths. The refers to the purple colour of bougainvilleas.
About the Author:
Khushwant Singh (1915-2014) was a novelist, journalist and historian. He was a widely read Indian columnist. He wrote three weekly columns that were reproduced by over fifty journals across the globe. He was most famous for his novel Train to Pakistan. He is also known for his translations of Urdu poetry as well as Sikh texts.