1) What is the significance(importance) of the number ‘twelve’?
Answer : The significance of the number ‘twelve’ is that there are 12 hours in a day & night .Keeping quiet doesn’t mean just not speaking. It means that we should avoid all activities which hurt nature or in return hurt us.
2) What is always alive, even when everything seems to be dead?
Answer : The Earth is always alive, even when everything else seems to be dead because there is always some activity going on in nature.
3) Why does the poet want us to keep quiet?
Answer : The poet wants us to keep quiet in the hope that a moment of tranquility might help us in finding the answers to our problems.
4) What does he want us to do for one second?
Answer : The poet wants us to be silent and motionless for one second.
5) What does he mean by “not move our arms”?
Answer : By “not moving our arms” the poet means that we should be in a state of total stillness with no physical activity at all.
6) How can this moment of stillness help us?
Answer : This moment of stillness can provide us physical and mental rest, during which our mind will be at peace. We can analyse our actions and their consequences and avoid rash or thoughtless behaviour.
7) What will happen if there is no rush or running of engines?
Answer : It will be an ecstatic moment of tranquility when there is no rush or running of engines.
8) Why would it be called an exotic moment?
Answer : It would be called an exotic moment because it will be a moment of universal peace and brotherhood. In that moment, all of us will introspect.The whole world will be covered with silence.
9) How would we feel at the moment?
Answer : We would feel very strange at that moment, because at that time everyone will have a feeling of oneness.All will realise the feeling of universal brotherhood.It will be a new feeling altogether.
10) What does the poet mean by ‘not move our arms so much’?
Answer : He means that we should not make any physical movement, as physical activity will interrupt our introspection.
11) Why does the poet suggest us not to speak in any language?
Answer : The poet wants us to simply be silent for a moment and utilise that time to understand ourselves as well as others. Besides, speaking can also lead to quarrels, which the poet, perhaps, wants to avoid.
12) What does the poet expect of the fishermen and why?
Answer : In the exotic moment of silence and introspection, fishermen will become conscious of the fact that they are causing harm to the whales and would stop killing them.
13) While gathering salt, what will the man do?
Answer : The man gathering salt will stop for a while at the quiet moment and look at his hurt hands.
14) What do the hurt hands imply?
Answer : ‘Hurt hands’ means the physical pain a person gets while collecting salt .People are running after money. They forget how much pain they are giving to their body just to get more money.
15) How would man and nature benefit in this moment of silence?
Answer : In this moment of silence, man will not harm nature, and both human beings and nature will get some time to attend to their wounds and recover.
Q16- What will counting upto twelve and keeping still help us achieve?
Ans-If we count upto twelve and keep still, it will give us some time to analyze our deeds. It will allow us some moments to think about the result of our activities. People in the world are involved in wars and are also damaging the environment in order to achieve their aims. Unfortunately this is taking all of us toward our own end. So, we need to think in order to achieve peace and harmony.
17- Do you think the poet advocates total inactivity and death?
Ans- No, the poet does not advocate total inactivity and death. He clarifies this in his poem that he wants all the people to just stop for a while in order to analyze their activities. He wants human not to support war and bring damage to the environment.
