In this article, we have provided CBSE Class 12 NCERT Solutions for Chapter 6 of the English Flamingo Textbook. The NCERT solutions have been provided by the subject expert after a detailed analysis of the marking scheme and model answer sheet issued by CBSE. Chapter 6 of Prose from the Flamingo textbook is is an excerpt from the book My Years with Boss written by Asokamitran who worked in the famous Gemini Studios of Chennai as someone who had to cut out newspaper clippings on a wide variety of subjects and store them in files... Class 12th students can study the answers provided here to score well in school as well as Class 12th board exams.
NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English: Flamingo (Prose) - Chapter 6: Poets & Pancakes
Ques: What does the writer mean by ‘the fiery misery’ of those subjected to make-up’?
Answer: The make-up room of Gemini Studios looked like a hair cutting salon. It had around half a dozen mirrors with incandescent lights at all angles around them. The artists would feel the heat emanating from these lights. Thus, the writer uses the term ‘fiery misery’ to denote the uncomfortable situation of those subjected to make-up.
Ques: What is the example of national integration that the author refers to?
Answer: The make-up division of Gemini Studios was an example of national integration. According to the author, this is so because people from different regions and religious groups worked together in the same department. The department was headed by a Bengali who was succeeded by a Maharashtrian. The other helpers included a Dharwar Kannadiga, an Andhra, a Madras Indian Christian, an Anglo-Burmese, and the local Tamils.
Ques: What work did the ‘office boy’ do in the Gemini Studios? Why did he join the studio? Why was he disappointed?
Answer: The ‘office boy’ was responsible for the make-up of the people who formed part of the crowd in the films. He used to mix his paint in a giant vessel and slapped the paint on the faces of the players.
He had joined the Gemini Studios years ago, aspiring to become an actor, or a scriptwriter, or a director, or a lyricist. He was disappointed with the studio that failed to recognise his talent. He called it a “department fit only for barbers and perverts”
Ques: Why did the author appear to be doing nothing at the studios?
Answer: The job of the author was to cut newspaper clippings and file them. For the other employees, all he seemed to be doing is tearing newspapers, which according to them did not qualify as work.
Ques: Why was the office boy frustrated? Who did he show his anger on?
Answer: The office boy had joined the studio years ago in the hope of becoming an actor or a screenwriter, or a director, or a lyricist. The fact that he ended up becoming none of these left him frustrated. According to him, “great literary talent was being allowed to go waste in a department fit only for barbers and perverts”. He used to direct his anger at the author even though it was meant for Kothamangalam Subbu.
Ques: Who was Subbu’s principal?
Answer: The Boss, who was also the founder of Gemini Studios, was Subbu’s principal.
Ques: Subbu is described as a many-sided genius. List four of his special abilities.
Answer: Subbu was a multi-disciplinarian. He was could provide solutions to problems, could remain cheerful all the time and was an actor, a poet, and a novelist.
Ques: Why was the legal adviser referred to as the opposite by others?
Answer: A lawyer used to be a part of the story department at Gemini Studios. Though a legal adviser was supposed to be involved in legal matters, his cagey yet stupid idea led to the end of an actress’s career. Due to this, he was referred to as the opposite of a legal advisor, by the people.
Ques: What made the lawyer stand out from the others at Gemini Studios?
Answer: The lawyer wore pants and a tie and sometimes a coat whereas everyone else in the Story Department wore similar khadi dhoti with a slightly oversized and clumsily tailored white khadi shirt. Thus, the lawyer stood out from others at Gemini Studios as if he is a dispassionate man who did not take sides. Moreover, he was a logical man with no emotional attachment whatsoever.
Ques: Did the people at Gemini Studios have any particular political affiliations?
Answer: The people at Gemini Studios did not have any particular political affiliations. The common political notions of the day managed to influence them but that was limited to wearing khadi and admiring the Gandhian philosophy. They were averse to the term ‘Communism’ but had only an erroneous understanding of the concept.
Ques: Why was the Moral Re-Armament army welcomed at the studio?
Answer: Frank Buchman’s Moral Re-Armament army was welcomed at the studio mainly because of their political association. The people at the Gemini Studios were averse to Communism, and hence, were ready to play host to the MRA.
Apart from that, the studio people hardly had any occupation and suffered from boredom. The MRA came as a welcome change to their monotonous days at the studio.
Ques: Name one example to show that Gemini Studios was influenced by the plays staged by MRA.
Answer: Madras and Tamil drama community included scenes of ‘sunset and sunrise in the manner of Jotham Valley’ in almost all of their plays. This shows how the plays, staged by MRA, influenced Gemini Studios.
Ques: Who was The Boss of Gemini Studios?
Answer: Mr. S.S. Vasan was The Boss of Gemini Studios.
Ques: What caused the lack of communication between the Englishman and the people at Gemini Studios?
Answer: The accent of Stephen Spender, the Englishman, was the main cause of the lack of communication between him and the people at Gemini Studios. Apart from that, the people did not have any idea about what he was talking about.
Ques: Why is the Englishman’s visit referred to as an unexplained mystery?
Answer: The Englishman’s visit to the Gemini Studios is referred to as an unexplained mystery because no one could decipher his identity, whether he was a poet or an editor. Besides, when he spoke no one at the studio understood what he intended to say as his accent was beyond their comprehension.
Ques: Who was the English visitor to the studio?
Answer: The English visitor to the Gemini Studios was Stephen Spender. He was the editor of The Encounter, a British Periodical, and a famous English poet, essayist and novelist of the twentieth century.
Ques: How did the author discover who the English visitor to the studios was?
Answer: Before investing money in participating in a short story contest organised by an English periodical The Encounter, the author did research on the magazine. He went to the British Council Library where, while going through an issue of that periodical, he discovered that its editor was Stephen Spender, the poet that had once visited the studio.
Ques: What does The God that Failed refer to?
Answer: The God That Failed was a compilation of six essays written by six eminent writers, namely, Andre Gide, Richard Wright, Ignazio Silone, Arthur Koestler, Louis Fischer and Stephen Spender. In each of the essays, the respective writers described “their journeys into Communism and their disillusioned return”.
