"Wind,PoemSummary, Question&Answer,   NCERT Solutions, Class 9 English, Subramania Bharati,"

Wind, come softly.

Don’t break the shutters of the windows. 

Don’t scatter the papers. 

Don’t throw down the books on the shelf. 

There, look what you did — you threw them all down.

You tore the pages of the books. 

You brought rain again. 

You’re very clever at poking fun at weaklings. 

Frail crumbling houses, crumbling doors, crumbling rafters,

crumbling wood, crumbling bodies, crumbling lives,

crumbling hearts — 

the wind god winnows and crushes them all.

He won’t do what you tell him. 

So, come, let’s build strong homes, 

Let’s joint the doors firmly. 

Practise to firm the body.

Make the heart steadfast. 

Do this, and the wind will be friends with us. 

The wind blows out weak fires.

He makes strong fires roar and flourish.

His friendship is good.

We praise him every day.

👉Explanation 

The poem "Wind" talks about how strong and powerful the wind is. At the beginning, the poet requests the wind to come gently and not cause any destruction. But the wind ignores this and breaks windows, scatters paper, throws books, and even brings rain. The poet says that the wind only troubles weak things, like frail houses, doors, and even weak people’s hearts.

The poet gives a message: we should not complain about challenges in life but prepare ourselves to face them. We should build strong homes, secure doors, make our bodies fit, and strengthen our hearts. If we are strong, the wind (challenges) will not harm us; instead, it will help us grow.

The poet also compares the wind to fire. Weak fires get blown out by the wind, but strong fires become even brighter. This means that difficulties make strong people even stronger. The poet ends by saying we should respect the wind and learn from it to be strong and brave.

Hindi Translation:

कविता "पवन" में कवि ने हवा की ताकत और शक्ति के बारे में बताया है। शुरुआत में, कवि हवा से विनती करता है कि वह धीरे-धीरे आए और कुछ भी न तोड़े। लेकिन हवा खिड़कियों को तोड़ती है, कागजों को बिखेरती है, किताबों को गिरा देती है और बारिश भी लाती है। कवि कहता है कि हवा सिर्फ कमजोर चीजों को नुकसान पहुंचाती है, जैसे कमजोर घर, दरवाजे और यहां तक कि कमजोर दिल।

कवि एक संदेश देता है: हमें जीवन की कठिनाइयों की शिकायत नहीं करनी चाहिए, बल्कि उनके लिए खुद को तैयार करना चाहिए। हमें अपने घर मजबूत बनाने चाहिए, दरवाजे अच्छी तरह से बंद करने चाहिए, शरीर को ताकतवर बनाना चाहिए और दिल को मजबूत करना चाहिए। अगर हम मजबूत होंगे, तो हवा (चुनौतियाँ) हमें नुकसान नहीं पहुंचाएगी बल्कि हमारी मदद करेगी।

कवि हवा की तुलना आग से करता है। कमजोर आग हवा से बुझ जाती है, लेकिन मजबूत आग और भी तेज जलने लगती है। इसका मतलब है कि कठिनाइयाँ मजबूत लोगों को और भी मजबूत बनाती हैं। अंत में, कवि कहता है कि हमें हवा का सम्मान करना चाहिए और उससे मजबूत और साहसी बनना सीखना चाहिए।

Thinking about the Poem

(I). 1. What are the things the wind does in the first stanza?

Answer-In the first stanza, the wind does many destructive things. It breaks the shutters of the windows, scatters the papers, throws down the books from the shelves, and tears the pages of the books. It also brings rain and causes chaos all around.

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.) 

Answer-Yes, I have seen ladies winnowing grain at home or farmers in a paddy field. They toss the grain in the air using the winnowing basket so that the wind separates the lighter husk from the heavier grain. The word for winnowing in Hindi is 'अनाज फटकना' या 'पछोरना'. People use a सूपा (winnowing basket) for this purpose. 

3. What does the poet say the wind god winnows? 

Answer-The poet says that the wind god winnows everything that is weak. This includes weak houses, weak doors, weak rafters, weak bodies, weak lives, and weak hearts. The wind god separates the weak from the strong, just as grain is winnowed to separate it from the chaff.

4. What should we do to make friends with the wind? 

Answer-The poet suggests that to make friends with the wind, we should build strong houses and fix the doors firmly. Additionally, we should strengthen our bodies and hearts to face life's challenges with courage.

5. What do the last four lines of the poem mean to you?

Answer-The last four lines of the poem convey that the wind is a symbol of challenges and difficulties in life. Weakness cannot withstand these challenges, as the wind destroys weak things, just like it extinguishes small fires. However, it helps strong fires grow and thrive. This means that if we are strong, determined, and steadfast, challenges will not only fail to harm us but will also make us stronger and more successful. 

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?

Answer-The poet speaks to the wind with a mix of anger and humor. He describes its destructive power but also encourages us to learn from it. When the wind “crumbles lives,” it teaches us to be strong and resilient. My response is similar to the poet’s—facing challenges with strength and preparing to overcome them.

(II). The poem you have just read is originally in the Tamil. Do you know any such poems in your language?

Answer-Yes, I know many poems like the one given here. For example, in Hindi, poems by Maithili Sharan Gupt or Harivansh Rai Bachchan often carry deep messages about life, resilience, and self-improvement, similar to this poem.