Hi Everyone!! This article will share Nightfall in the City of Hyderabad Questions & Answers.
Written by Sarojini Naidu, this poem is a fascinating picture gallery of the Hyderabad city’s festive night life around the famous Charminar. In my previous posts, I have shared the questions and answers of Frankenstein’s Monster, The Spider And The Fly and A Christmas Carol so, you can check these posts as well.
Nightfall in the City of Hyderabad Questions & Answers
Word Galaxy
- Speckled – dotted (with stars)
- Embers – burning remainders of coal
- Opal – semi-transparent gemstone
- Peridote – yellow-gold gemstone
- River – (here) Musi river in Hyderabad
- Scintillates – sparkles
- Mouth – (here) opening
- Hark – (archaic) listen
- Minaret – a tall tower, attached to a mosque
- Muezzin – a man who calls people to pray
- Trellised – supported with wooden or metal bars
- Cavalcades – processions
- Cymbals – large, round metal plates used as a musical instrument
- Serenades – musical performances to honour someone
- Sumptuous – grand and very expensive
Question 1: Fill in the blanks:
1. The comparison(s),__________, show(s) that the city becomes an extension of nature for the poet.
(a) the Night borne like a queen to a sumptuous festival.
(b) the speckled sky burns like a pigeon’s throat.
(c) the white river that flashes and scintillates, curved like a tusk from the mouth of the city-gates.
(d) All of the above
2. The muezzin calls from the minaret of the mosque________
(a) to make a battle cry.
(b) to call worshippers to pray.
(c) to announce the festivities around the Charminar.
(d) to scare away the pigeons.
3. The faces have been called languid because________
(a) they are glowing despite their veils.
(b) the trellised balconies are overgrown with flowers and decked with lights.
(c) they seem lazy, just standing atop walls and watching the procession go by.
(d) the women who stand on the balconies do not participate in the festivities.
4. The elephants seem to be moving leisurely because________
(a) they are lazy animals.
(b) they are in no hurry.
(c) they are huge animals and thus move slowly along the narrow, winding lanes.
(d) they are huge animals and find it difficult to move in the narrow lanes of the city.
5. The faces in the balcony are veiled because________
(a) every face is covered with thin cloth.
(b) they are mostly women whose faces are covered with thin cloth.
(c) they were fearful of being seen.
(d) they were hiding something.
6. The procession was centralized around the famous________
(a) Char Chinar.
(b) Charminar.
(c) Char Minaret.
(d) City Bridge.
7. The gaiety has been described as a sumptuous festival________
(a) because it was a splendid morning of celebrations.
(b) because it served tasty meals at the festival.
(c) because of the flawless beauty of the night of celebration.
(d) None of the above.
Question 2: What has the poet used the similes of the pigeon’s throat and the tusk for?
Answer: The poet’s use of the simile comparing the night sky to the pigeon’s throat reflects the different hues in the dark sky dotted with stars aglow with flecks of yellow, green and crimson like that seen around a pigeon’s throat.
In the simile of the gigantic city gates opening its elephantine mouth and the tusk-like river flowing from it, the poet links the city with nature.
Question 3: Find all the instances of alliteration in the poem.
Answer: The instances of alliteration in the poem are:
- Speckled sky
- Floats like a battle-flag
- Veiled in a splendour voluminous
- Swinging their silver bells.
- From the minaret, how the muezzin’s call
- Languid and luminous
- Wind through the winding lanes
- Cymbals and serenade
Question 4: How has the Musi River been described in the night?
Answer: The Musi River in the night has been described in the most romantic manner. It portrays the Indian landscape vividly and captures the spirit of the Indian river which is a source of drinking water and considered holy. As the river meanders its way through the city, the water catches the moonlight and sparkles brilliantly. Its serpentine curve has been compared to the curve of a majestic tusk as it flows out of the mouth of the city gates.
Question 5: What does the poet want us to listen to?
Answer: The poet wants us to listen to the muezzin’s call for prayer, from the minaret that invites all the people to come together to pay their respect and obeisance to the creator, the almighty. It captures the spirit of gratitude even in the times of festivities and celebration.
Question 6: What has the floating battle-flag been compared to?
Answer: The floating battle-flag has been compared to the muezzin’s call. Just as the flag is atop a high building announcing a victorious battle cry, the call for prayer from the minaret’s height seems to hover in the air, urging the devotees to worship.
Question 7: How has the splendour become voluminous?
Answer: The splendour of the night-time festivities is unmatched. The magnitude of the grand celebrations become ‘voluminous’ as more people look out from the balconies of their homes, overjoyed with the grandeur of the procession and festive delights.
Question 8: Find four prominent structures built in the city mentioned in poem.
Answer: The four prominent structures built in the city mentioned in poem are:
- City-gates
- Minaret
- Charminar
- Trellised balconies
So, these were Nightfall in the City of Hyderabad Questions & Answers.