[ From The Discovery of India]
Tagore and Gandhi have undoubtedly been the two outstanding and dominating figures of India in the first half of the twentieth century. It is instructive to compare and contrast them. No two persons could be so different from each other in their make-up or temperaments. Tagore, the aristocratic artist, turned democrat with proletarian sympathies, represented essentially the cultural tradition of India, the tradition of accepting life in the fullness thereof and going through it with song and dance. Gandhi, more a man of the people, almost the embodiment of the Indian peasant, represented the other ancient tradition of India, that of renunciation and asceticism. And yet Tagore was primarily the man of thought, Gandhi of concentrated and ceaseless activity. Both, in their different ways, had a world outlook, and both were at the same time wholly Indian. They seemed to present different but harmonious aspects of India and to complement each other.
1) How is it useful to compare and contrast Gandhiji and Tagore?
2) What is common to both-Tagore and Gandhiji?
3) Tagore was primarily the man of thought. As opposed to Tagore in this respect, how was
Gandhiji?
4) What did Tagore essentially represent?
5) Gandhiji represented ancient tradition. Which aspect of it did Gandhiji represent?
6) Did the differences in their make-up or temperaments (of Gandhiji and Tagore) lead to any friction between their relations?
7) “… … and to complement each other……..” complement means.
a
) congratulations b) appreciation c) complete
d) appreciate
Fill in the blank.
8) Write from the passage the antonym of the word dictator.
ANSWERS
1) It is instructive to compare and contrast Gandhiji and Tagore.
2) Both of them were two outstanding and dominating figures of India and both had a world
outlook and both were wholly Indian
3) Gandhiji was a man of concentrated and ceaseless activity.
4) the cultural tradition of India
5) of renunciation and asceticism
6) No, they didn’t lead to any friction
7) (c) complete
8) democrat