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I. 1. What are the things the wind does in the first stanza?2.... - Beehive
I. 1. What are the things the wind does in the first stanza?
2. Have you seen anybody winnow grain at home or in a paddy field? What is the word in your language for winnowing? What do people use for winnowing? (Give the words in your language, if you know them.)
3. What does the poet say the wind god winnows?
4. What should we do to make friends with the wind?
5. What do the last four lines of the poem mean to you?
6. How does the poet speak to the wind — in anger or with humour? You must also have seen or heard of the wind “crumbling lives”. What is your response to this? Is it like the poet’s?
In the first stanza, the wind breaks the shutters of the windows, scatters the papers, throws down the books from the shelf, tears their pages, and brings rain.
Yes, I have seen people winnowing grain. In Hindi, it is called 'Pachhorna' or 'Osaana'. People use a 'Winnowing basket' (known as 'Soop') for this purpose.
The poet says that the wind god winnows weak houses, doors, rafters, wood, bodies, lives, and hearts, and then crushes them all.
To make friends with the wind, we should build strong homes, joint the doors firmly, strengthen our bodies, and make our hearts steadfast.
The last four lines mean that the wind extinguishes weak fires but makes strong fires roar and flourish. Similarly, hardships destroy the weak but make the strong even more powerful.
The poet speaks to the wind with a mix of serious observation and pragmatism. My response to the wind "crumbling lives" is similar to the poet’s—instead of being a victim, we must build inner and outer strength to face and survive challenges.