Sita by Toru Dutt summary of class 12 Assam Board alternative English AHSEC ncert book with the sita by Toru Dutt questions and answers. If you like Toru Dutt's sita summary then don't forget to share it with your friends.
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Sita by Toru Dutt summary
In the poem "Sita" the poet Toru Dutt conjures up the mythic past and tries to infuse into it the past glory. She gives a picture of Sita in exile. What fascinates the reader is her description of nature in which flowers, lakes, peacocks, and a herd of deer find a place.
The narrator in the poem is the mother who is telling the story of Sita in exile to her three children- Toru, her sister Aru, and their brother, Abju. In the darkened room the three children gaze, through the eyes of their mind, on a dense forest i.e., the Ashram of Valmiki where Sita was in exile. They see gigantic flowers blooming on creepers that embrace tall trees; a quiet clear lake where white swans are swimming smoothly; the peacock springing the herds of wild deer racing; the small areas gleaming with yellow waving grain. And among all these, they see Sita weeping because she has been put in exile in Valmiki Ashram.
The sorrow of Sita's life has deeply touched the children. They can see the Valmiki Ashram where Sita was in exile through the eyes of their mind. They feel sorry for Sita, and tears roll down their eyes. The children are so affected by the story of Sita that they dreamt of it the whole night after the mother has finished telling the story.
Sita by Toru Dutt questions and answers.
A. Answer the following questions in one or two words.
1. Who is the poem about? (2019)
Ans: The poem 'Sita' is about the mythological character Sita the wife of Lord Ram.
2. How many children listen to the story? (2020, 22)
Ans: There children are listening to the story - the poet, her brother, and her sister.
3. Who dwells in peace in the forest? (2018)
Ans: Valmiki, the poet anchorite dwells in peace in the forest
4. What is the color of the swans which are seen gliding in the lake?
Ans: The color of the swans which are seen gliding in the lake is white.
5. Who is the narrator of the story?
Ans: The poet's mother is the narrator of the story.
B. Answer the following questions in a few words.
1. What prevents the sunlight from entering the place?
Ans: The dense forest prevents sunlight from entering the place.
2. Name the birds and animals mentioned in the poem. (2017)
Ans: The birds and animals mentioned in the poem are white swans, peacocks, and deer.
3. Where are the children sitting? (2017, 18)
Ans: The children are sitting in a darkened room.
4. Whose heads are bowed in sorrow?
Ans: On listening to the sad story of Sita the heads of the poet, her brother, and her sister are bowed in sorrow.
5. What does the poet remember when she listens to the story?
Ans: When the poet listens to the story of Sita, she remembers the past happy days of her children when she along with her brother and sister would listen to the story from her mother.
C. Answer the following question briefly in your own words.
1. Why are the children weeping? (2020, 22)
Ans: The children are being told a bedtime story by their mother. The story is that of Sita, in exile, after being abandoned by her husband. Sita is unhappy and weeping. The children are moved by her sorrow and they too start weeping.
2. Describe the hermitage where Sita is living.
Ans: Sita is living in the hermitage of Valmiki when the mother narrates the story of Sita the three children can see the hermitage through the eyes of their minds. The hermitage is in a dense forest where sunbeam cannot enter.
3 What does the poet long for?
Ans: The poet longs for those past happy days of her childhood when she along with her brother and sister would listen to her mother telling them the story to Sita.
D. Give suitable answers to the following.
1. How does the poem reflect the poet's deep love for nature? (2020, 22)
Ans: The poem reflects the poet's deep love for nature when she presents a pen picture of Valmiki's hermitage, where Sita is living in exile. The place is densely covered with creepers, flowers, and trees. It is so dense that sunlight cannot pass through it. There are white swans gliding on a placid lake rotating their wings. The peacocks are seen dancing and the wild deer running amidst yellow grain. Blue smoke rivals the sacred altar.
This pictorial presentation of the natural world stresses the poet's deep love for nature.
2. Write a critical summary of the poem ‘Sita’.
Ans: See the summary of the poem at the top.
Previous Years Paper Notes
1. Who is recounting the tale of Sita in Toru Dutt's poem? (2016)
Ans: The mother of the three children is narrating the tale of Sita.
2. Who is the 'poet-anchorite' referred to in the poem 'Sita'? (2016)
Ans: Valmiki is referred to as the poet anchorite.
3. Describe the dwelling of the poet-anchorite in 'Sita'. (2016)
Ans: The Place is densely covered with tall trees, creepers, and gigantic flowers. It is difficult for sunlight to enter the quiet place where white swans glide on a placid lake. Peacocks dance a sprightly dance, and the wild deer run happily amidst gleaming yellow grain that can be seen from a distance. Blue smoke rises from the sacred altars near the dwelling of the poet's anchorite.
4. 'Tis hushed at last
And melts the picture from their sight away,
Yet shall they dream of it until the day! (2016, 18)
Ans: These lines have been taken from the poem 'Sita' composed by Toru Dutt.
The poet reflects on her childhood days when she, along with her brother and sister, would listen to the sad story of Sita. As the mother narrates the story, the children are so moved that they start crying. The poet is then brought back to her present state where she is all alone as her brother and sister are no longer alive. Although the tale is melancholic, she remembers the happy time when all three sat together under the protection of their mother and listened to bedtime stories. The poet becomes nostalgic and longs for those happy days to come back so that she can re-live those moments of happiness spent with her family members.
5. Who is the fair lady the narrator speaks of in Toru Dutt's poem? (2017)
Ans: The fair lady is Sita.
6. Where are the three happy children? (2017, 18)
Ans: The three children are sitting in a darkened room.
7. Name the birds and animals mentioned in Toru Dutt's poem. (2017)
Ans: The birds and animals mentioned in the poem are white swans, peacocks, and deer.
8. How are the children affected by the mother's song? (2017)
Ans: As the mother narrates the sad story of Sita, the children are so moved that they start crying. The poet is brought back to her present state where she is all alone as her brother and sister are no longer alive. Although the story is melancholic, she remembers the happy time when all three sat together under the protection of their mother and listened to bedtime stories. The poet longs for those happy days to come back.
9. From where does the blue smoke rise in 'Sita'? (2018)
Ans: Blue smoke rises from the sacred altars near the dwelling of the poet's anchorite.
10. In Toru Dutt's poem, who are the people dwelling in the forest? (2018)
Ans: Valmiki, the poet anchorite dwells in peace in the forest.
11. Attempt a description of the forest in Toru Dutt's poem. (2018)
Ans: The narrator in the poem is the mother who is telling the story of Sita in exile to her three children- Toru, her sister Aru, and their brother, Abju. In the darkened room the three children gaze, through the eyes of their mind, on a dense forest i.e., the Ashram of Valmiki where Sita was in exile. They see gigantic flowers blooming on creepers that embrace tall trees; a quiet clear lake where white swans are swimming smoothly; the peacock springing the herds of wild deer racing; the small areas gleaming with yellow waving grain. And among all these, they see Sita weeping because she has been put in exile in Valmiki Ashram.
12. To whom does the narrator tell the story of Sita? (2019)
Ans: The narrator told the story of Sita to her three children named Abju, Aru, and Toru.
13. Who is the poem 'Sita' about? (2019)
Ans: The poem 'Sita' is about the mythological character Sita the wife of Lord Ram.
14. What 'mystic paste' does the poet try to bring out in the poem 'Sita'? (2019)
Ans: In the poem, Toru Dutt successfully conjured up the mythic past and attempted to infuse into it the past glory. The poem centers around the agonies of Sita while she was in her second exile.
15. How does Toru Dutt relate the past and the present in her poem? (2019)
Ans: The poem 'Sita' by Toru Dutt is a beautiful expression of the storytelling method. The way the mother narrated Sita's story to her children helped to capture their imagination and transported them back in time. The imaginative description helped the three children conjure up the past in their very midst. Thus using the children's imagination Dutt successfully conjured up the mystic past and infused into it the past glory. The poem is an interplay of the past and the present and ends with a poignant elegy on the early deaths of Dutt's siblings. Thus Dutt successfully co-related the past and present in her poem.
16. How many children were listening to the story of Sita? (2020, 22)
Ans: There children are listening to the story - the poet, her brother, and her sister.
17. Who is the poet of the poem Sita? (2020, 22)
Ans: Toru Dutt.
18. Explain how does the poem 'Sita' reflect the poet's deep love of nature. (2020, 22)
Ans: See above Qno. 1 (D. Give suitable answers to the following.)
19. But who is this fair lady? Not in vain
She weeps, - for lo ! at every tear she sheds
Tears from three pairs of young eyes fall amain
And bowed in sorrow are the three young heads (2020)
Ans: The above-quoted lines have been extracted from the poem 'Sita' written by Toru Dutt.
The lines refer to Sita, the protagonist of Dutt's poem. She was the fair lady whose tale of misfortune and anguish was related to the three children by their mother. The children, lost in their mother's lay, could visualize Sita sitting in Valmiki's hermitage; as she silently mourned her plight. So engrossed were the children in the tale that they could feel their emotions becoming one with that of Sita. So as Sita wept and lamented her misfortune, the eyes of the listeners brimmed over. The children shed tears along with Sita because they felt her pain in their hearts.
20. Why are the children weeping in Toru Dutt's poem "Sita"? (2020, 22)
Ans: See above Qno. 1 (C. Answer the following question briefly in your own words.)
21. It is an old, old story, and the lay
Which has evoked sad Sita from the past
Is by a mother sung.. Tis hushed at last
And melts the picture from their sight away. (2022)
Ans: The above-quoted lines have been extracted from the poem 'Sita' by Toru Dutt.
The lines essentially describe how the mother's imaginative description seemed to evoke Sita and bring alive the imagery for her children as they listened to her narration. But Sita's plight makes the three children gloomy and their eyes well up. They bow their heads in sorrow and immerse themselves in Sita's grief until finally, their mother finishes the poem, and the picture of a sorrowful Sita vanishes from before their eyes.
Extra Questions Answers
1. Who is the fair lady? How does her situation affect the children?
Ans: The fair lady is Sita who has been put in exile in the Valmiki Ashram.
Her tears and sorrow in life in exile have deeply moved the children and they also start weeping.
2. What song does the mother sing? Describe its effect on the children.
Ans: The mother sings the song describing Sita's life of pain and sorrow during the period of her exile in a dense forest.
The sorrow of Sita's life has deeply touched the children. They can see the Valmiki Ashram where Sita was in exile through the eyes of their mind. They feel sorry for Sita, and tears roll down their eyes. The children are so affected by the story of Sita that they dreamt of it the whole night after the mother has finished telling the story.
3. Who is the 'poet anchorite' referred to in the poem 'Sita'?
Ans: "Poet anchorite" refers to Valmiki.
4. Do you think the children will ever gather by their mother's side again?
Ans: No, the children can never gather by their mother's side again. The mother as well as the two siblings of the poet is no more.
5. What 'mythic past' does Dutt try to bring out in her poem?
Ans: The ‘mythic past’ that Toru Dutt tries to bring out in the poem is the story of Sita's life of grief and sorrow during her exile in Valmiki's ashram. Sita suffers a lot in exile to bring spurned by her husband Lord Rama.
