Stanza 1
In stanza 1, the poet says that he remembers well that night
when her mother was stung by a scorpion. The poet is of the opinion that the
heavy rain which lasted for 10 hours made the scorpion crawl beneath a sack of
rice.
Stanza 2
In stanza 2, the poet says that after biting his mother with
its diabolic tail, the scorpion went back to rain outside again. The poet here
shows sympathy as well as anger towards the scorpion. He is angry when he talks
about its biting and sympathetic when he talks about its going to rain again.
Stanza 3
Hearing about the incident, the villagers rush to the poet’s
home. He compares them with swarms of flies buzzing the name of God a hundred
times to paralyze the Evil One, the scorpion.
Stanza 4
The poet then explains how the villagers searched for the
scorpion. The villagers began searching for the scorpion and their shadows
themselves seemed to be like a giant scorpion on the mud-baked walls.
The villagers begin searching for the scorpion because they
believe that the poison spreads across the body with the movement of scorpion
so if the scorpion is stopped and paralyzed, the poison effect can also be
controlled.
Stanza 5
Having failed in finding the scorpion, they begin giving their
own opinions about the biting of the scorpion. Some of them said that his
mother’s sins which she committed in her previous birth have been forgiven.
Some others said that the pain that she is suffering from
will decrease the troubles in her next birth. Some others put forward that her
good deeds will be balanced against her bad deeds because of the suffering.
Stanza 6
Some others said that the poison will purify and refresh her
flesh of desire and her spirit of ambition. All of them seemed to be in peace as
they understood the pain and suffering of the poet’s mother
Stanza 7
More and more people come with candles and lanterns. His
mother is however crying and rolling on the mat with severe pain. His father
who is a sceptic, rationalist. He tries every possible cure for her pain.
His father uses powder, mixture, herb, and hybrid to help her
recover from the pain. He even poured a little paraffin upon the bitten toe and
then fires it up. The poet watches the flames of fire burning on the skin of
his mother.
He also watches the holy man perform his rites to tame the
poison with an incantation. His mother ultimately recovers from the poison
after 20 hours.
Stanza 8
The last line is quite emotional and heart touching. The
poet says that after recovering from the poison, his mother’s words were, ‘Thank
God the scorpion picked on me and spared my children’.
Even in such a condition, his mother remains concerned about
the safety and health of her children.
Answers to the textual questions:
2. Answer the following questions.
a. What did the villagers do to help the mother?
The villagers uttered prayers for the speaker’s mother. They
searched for the scorpion with candles and lanterns. They spoke consoling
words. They sat around her and tried to comfort her.
b. What were the steps taken by the father to save the
mother? What does the speaker think about it?
The speaker’s father tried every blessing and curse. He used
powders, mixtures and herbs. He even poured some paraffin over the wound and
fired it. The speaker watched everything in silence. The speaker was not sure
that the actions would make the mother comfortable.
c. Do you think it is odd that the speaker in the poem does
nothing but stand and watch his/her mother suffer from scorpion sting? Give
reasons for your answer.
No. It is no odd. The speaker may be too young at that time
to participate in any action. The speaker could only observe the things that
happened and hope that the mother would be well soon.
d. What kind of emotions do the last three lines of the poem
convey?
The last three lines of the poem are very emotional. Despite all her suffering, the mother thought of her children. She was thankful that
the scorpion had spared her children. We are moved by the motherly affection
and love.
e. What is the poet trying to communicate to the reader
through this poem?
The poet tells us about the innocence, superstitions, and
common practices of the society. The poet tells us about how the peasants tried
to help the mother. The poet communicated the love and affection of a mother at
the end of the poem.
