Maharashtra State Board Class 9 English Kumarbharati Solutions Chapter 4.5 Tansen
English Kumarbharati 9th Solutions Chapter 4.5 Tansen Textbook Questions and Answers
Warming Up:
Question (a)
Indian Classical Music consists of many Ragas. Find out from an expert or from the internet, the names of at least 10 Ragas and the time they are sung to produce greater effect.
Answer:

Name of Raga | Effective when |
1. Pahadi | evening |
2. Bhairav | sung in the morning |
3. Deepak | evening |
4. Malkous | small hours of the morning |
5. Yaman | sunset to late evening |
6. Bhimpalasi | late afternoon to sunset |
7. Kedar | late evening to midnight |
8. Jog | small hours of the morning |
9. Bhairavi | often at the end of a long musical performance. |
10. Gaud Malhar | monsoon |
(Students can find more information from the Internet.)
Question (b)
Archaic words are those that are no longer used in a language, but sometimes their usage adds a historical or old-times flavour to a piece of writing.
Examples:
Now find out some archaic words from your mother tongue or another language that you are proficient in and write down at least ten of them, and against each, their modern equivalent and meaning in English.
Answer:

Archaic word | Modem equivalent | Meaning in English |
1. | ||
2. |
(Students can find out from their parents or other elders, and attempt this in their own mother tongue.)
Question (c)
There are many legends about the ‘nine gems’ in Akbar’s Court. Can you name some of the nine gems and the stories associated with them?
Answer:
The nine gems of Akbar’s court were:
There Eire plenty of Akbar-Birbal stories and those of Akbar and Tansen that are famous.
(Students can read these stories either from the library or from the internet.)
English Workshop:
1. Pick out the archaic words from the poem and give their modern equivalents:

Archaic Words | Modem Equivalents |
1. thy | your |
2. thine | yours |
3. ’twere | it were |
4. o’er | over |
5. thee | you |
2. Write who said the following words, to whom, and when:
The expression/sentences | Who said it | To whom | When |
1. “Ah, no, to thee I sing: he sings to God.” | Tansen | Akbar | When Akbar asks him to sing the same musical composition that Ostad had sung, in the same way. |
2. ‘What theme this is that holds the soul enchanted.’ | Akbar | Tansen | When Akbar hears the beautiful musical composition that Ostad had sung. |
3. Rearrange the following in their proper order as in the poem. Write the serial number against each line:
4. Write the reason in your own words:
Question (a)
Akbar strongly desired to hear Ostad (the teacher) sing.
Answer:
Akbar was enraptured with Tansen’s singing. He said that Tansen’s teacher must be and divine for Tansen to have learnt to sing so magically under his coaching. Akbar then felt that Ostad’s singing would be even better, and so he strongly desired to hear Ostad sing.
Question (b)
Akbar had to dress like a slave.
Answer:
Akbar badly wanted to meet Tansen’s teacher and hear him sing. However, the teacher did not think it worthy to sing to kings, and hence Tansen suggested that it would be better for Akbar to meet him as a poor slave. Therefore Akbar changed his kingly attire and wore the robes of a poor man.
Question (c)
After the song, Ostad had vanished.
Answer:
Ostad vanished because he probably did not; want to hear any praise or any demands for more songs.
Question (d)
Ostad’s song was more elating than Tansen’s songs.
Answer:
Ostad’s song was more elating than Tansen’s songs because Tansen sang to Akbar, a human being, while Ostad sang to God.
5. What message does the poet wish to convey through this narrative poem, ‘Tansen’?
6. Summarise the poem in your own words in 8-10 lines, highlighting only the main points.
Tansen
Tansen was a singer in Akbar’s court. One day, he sang the Deepak Raga so well that Akbar was enraptured. He wished to meet the teacher at whose feet Tansen had learnt to sing so magically. However, the teacher lived in a remote cave in the Himalayas. He shunned wealth and disdained to sing to earthly kings. Akbar donned the clothes of a slave and went with Tansen to meet him. On their request, Ostad sang the Malkous Raga. It was so enchanting that Akbar felt as if he had been transported to Heaven. Soon after this, Ostad vanished. Akbar asked Tansen whether he could sing the same musical composition that Ostad had sung. Tansen replied that he could not, for he, Tansen, sang to earthly kings, while his Ostad sang to God.
English Kumarbharati 9th Digest Chapter 4.5 Tansen Additional Important Questions and Answers
Simple Factual Activity:
Utterance | Who said it | To whom | When |
“Mighty thy teacher must be and divine.” | Akbar | Tansen | After hearing the wonderful Deepak Raga. |
“He dwells within a cave of Himalay.” | Tansen | Akbar | When Akbar praised Tansen and asked him about his teacher. |
“As you desire, Huzoor.” | Tansen | Akbar | When Akbar told Tansen that he wanted to see the teacher and hear him sing. |
“O Holy Master, bless us with thy song!” | Akbar and Tansen | The teacher | When they met the teacher in the mountains. |
Complex Factual Activity:
Activities based on Poetic Devices:
Point Format (for understanding)
Paragraph Format:
‘Tansen’ by Hazrat Inayat Khan is a narrative poem depicting Akbar’s appreciation of Tansen’s singing, his meeting with Tansen’s teacher, and what he felt during this meeting. The final lines lead to the climax of the narration.
The poem is in rhyming couplets. So the Rhyme Scheme is aa. A Figure of Speech : Alliteration: ‘Tell me, Tansen, what theme this is that holds’ – Repetition of the sound of the letter ‘t’. The other figures of speech are Simile and Inversion.
The poet wishes to convey that one can reach great heights in one’s field if one becomes unworldly and devotes one’s talents to someone or something higher than mere human beings. The story is told systematically and logically and can be easily understood.
Maharashtra State Board Class 9 English Solutions