Question Bank — Poets and Pancakes

NCERT Class 12 English · Chapter 12 · CBSE Board Pattern

Class 12 English Chapter 12 Question Bank CBSE Board Pattern

QUESTION BANK

Poets and Pancakes (Asokamitran)

Section A — MCQs (10 questions, 1 mark each)

  1. The make-up department of Gemini Studios was located in a building once believed to have been
    (a) Robert Clive’s residence (b) Robert Clive’s stables (c) a British church (d) an army barrack

  2. The ‘office boy’ in the make-up department was actually
    (a) a teenager (b) in his early forties (c) the chief make-up man (d) a recent recruit

  3. Subbu’s most notable quality that made him indispensable at Gemini Studios was
    (a) his formal education (b) his ability to generate multiple alternatives for any scene (c) his skill as a lead actor (d) his political connections

  4. The legal adviser earned the nickname “the opposite” because
    (a) he always opposed the producer (b) he was a lawyer but everyone called him the opposite of a legal adviser (c) he wore Western clothes (d) he supported Communism

  5. The MRA group presented two plays in Madras. Their titles were
    (a) Jotham Valley and The Forgotten Factor (b) The Rat and the Tigress and Devadasi (c) Freedom and Democracy (d) Thillana Mohanambal and Jotham Valley

  6. The English visitor to Gemini Studios was later identified by the narrator as
    (a) T.S. Eliot (b) Stephen Spender (c) Wordsworth (d) Harindranath Chattopadhyaya

Assertion-Reason Questions

  1. Assertion (A): The make-up department of Gemini Studios reflected national integration long before AIR and Doordarshan.
    Reason (R): It employed a Bengali, a Maharashtrian, a Kannadiga, an Andhra, a Madras Indian Christian, an Anglo-Burmese and local Tamils.
    (a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A
    (b) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A
    (c) A is true but R is false
    (d) A is false but R is true

  2. Assertion (A): The visit of the English poet remained an unexplained mystery for the staff of Gemini Studios.
    Reason (R): The staff knew only Wordsworth, Tennyson, Keats, Shelley and Byron, and the visitor’s accent made his speech incomprehensible.
    (a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A
    (b) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A
    (c) A is true but R is false
    (d) A is false but R is true

  3. The phrase “played into their hands” in the context of the MRA visit means
    (a) the bosses supported Communism (b) the bosses unwittingly helped the anti-Communist cause (c) the bosses staged the plays themselves (d) the bosses refused entry to the MRA

  4. The author concludes that prose-writing is suited to
    (a) geniuses (b) patient and persevering drudges (c) poets (d) film directors

Section B — Reference to Context (3 extracts, 4 marks each)

Extract 1

“He wasn’t exactly a ‘boy’; he was in his early forties, having entered the studios years ago in the hope of becoming a star actor or a top screen writer, director or lyrics writer. He was a bit of a poet.”

  1. Who is the person described here?
  2. What was his actual job in the make-up department?
  3. Identify the literary device used in the phrase “a bit of a poet”.
  4. Why did the author begin to pray for crowd-shooting days?

Extract 2

“Film-making must have been and was so easy with a man like Subbu around and if ever there was a man who gave direction and definition to Gemini Studios during its golden years, it was Subbu.”

  1. Who is Subbu? What position did he hold at Gemini Studios?
  2. How did Subbu help producers who were stuck with a scene?
  3. Pick out one example of hyperbole or exaggeration from the extract.
  4. What does the phrase “gave direction and definition” suggest about Subbu’s role?

Extract 3

“When I read the editor’s name, I heard a bell ringing in my shrunken heart… Stephen Spender! Stephen — that was his name.”

  1. Where was the narrator when he read the editor’s name?
  2. What book did the narrator later buy that confirmed the identity of the visitor?
  3. What literary device is used in “I heard a bell ringing in my shrunken heart”?
  4. How did this discovery solve the mystery of the English visitor?

Section C — Short Answer (5 questions, 3 marks each)

  1. Why did the office boy in the make-up department feel frustrated and direct his anger at Kothamangalam Subbu?
  2. How does the author show that national integration existed in the make-up department long before government broadcasts?
  3. What impression do you form of Subbu’s character from his relationship with the Boss and his literary pursuits?
  4. Why did the visit of the English poet remain an “unexplained mystery” for the staff of Gemini Studios?
  5. What does the narrator’s discovery of The God That Failed reveal about his own literary inclinations?

Section D — Long Answer (2 questions, 6 marks each)

  1. Draw a character sketch of Kothamangalam Subbu in 100–120 words, highlighting his talents, loyalty and the reasons for the envy he aroused.
  2. “The author uses gentle humour to expose human foibles.” Discuss with reference to at least three characters or incidents from “Poets and Pancakes”.

Section E — Language and Writing (2 questions, 4 marks each)

  1. Vocabulary/Grammar task
    From the unit, substitute the following expressions with one word or phrase used in the text:
    (i) was struck dumb (ii) catapulted into (iii) a coat of mail (iv) played into their hands

  2. Short Writing Task
    Imagine you are the ‘office boy’ in the make-up department. Write a diary entry (80–100 words) expressing your disappointment at not becoming a star and your feelings about Subbu.

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Section A

  1. (b) 2. (b) 3. (b) 4. (b) 5. (a) 6. (b)
  2. (a) 8. (a) 9. (b) 10. (b)

Section B (model points)
Extract 1: 1. The office boy 2. Mixing paint and applying make-up to crowd players 3. Understatement 4. To escape his long lectures.
Extract 2: 1. No. 2 at Gemini Studios 2. He instantly offered 4 + 14 alternatives 3. “gave direction and definition” (hyperbole) 4. He shaped the creative output of the studio.
Extract 3: 1. British Council Library 2. The God That Failed 3. Onomatopoeia / metaphor 4. It revealed the visitor was Stephen Spender, editor of The Encounter.

Section C (key points – 40–50 words)
1. Office boy blamed Subbu for his own failure; Subbu’s closeness to the Boss symbolised everything the office boy lacked.
2. The department had employees from Bengal, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra, Madras Christian, Anglo-Burmese and Tamil communities.
3. Loyal, cheerful, multi-talented (poet, actor, novelist), generous yet envied for proximity to the Boss.
4. Staff knew only classical English poets; visitor’s accent and topic were incomprehensible in a Tamil film studio.
5. Shows his persistent interest in writing and eventual recognition of literary figures.

Section D (key content points)
1. Subbu: No. 2, Brahmin background, cheerful, loyal, fertile imagination (18 alternatives), poet of the masses, actor, novelist; envied for intimacy with Boss and sycophantic image.
2. Gentle humour: office boy’s poetic lectures, legal adviser’s recording trick, baffled reaction to Spender, Subbu’s instant solutions – all expose vanity, insecurity and pretension.

Section E

  1. (i) struck dumb (ii) catapulted into (iii) coat of mail (iv) played into their hands – accept contextual synonyms with explanation.
  2. Diary: Format (date, Dear Diary), content (frustration, envy of Subbu, longing for recognition), language (informal, first person) – 2 marks format & expression, 2 marks content.
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All questions are answerable from the NCERT chapter text. Reviewed by GFIS faculty.