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The Elephant and the Tragopan
Vikram Seth
About Vikram Seth
Vikram Seth is a leading Indian writer in English and the author of well-known novels such as 'A Suitable Boy' and 'An Equal Music'. He is also a poet and this poem is a part of a much longer poem he wrote voicing strong criticism of the destruction of animals and their habitats by the the human race.
Available Answers
- 1.
I speak to you as one of whose clan/Has served and therefore studied man says the elephant and it goes on to list a series of different qualities found in man.
What strikes you about that list? Are the reasons consistent or contradictory? Give two examples.
What, according to the elephant, is in the middle of all such contradictions? Do you agree with this opinion of human nature?
- 2.
He sees the planet as his fief..... What kind of thinking follows from it? What is the consequence for the rest of the planet?
- 3.
When the road comes, the forest goes. (stanza 8). Explain what this means in the context. (Why are roads made to a forest? )
- 4.
A reservoir is being built by destroying a lot of bamboo, which is eaten by the elephant and the tragopan-the trout thinks happily that the reservoir will provide it with 'endless space.' How does the elephant correct the trout's notion? Which line in that stanza means 'we will all die together'?
- 5.
You will all be homeless, like us all. Who is saying this to whom? What will make the listeners homeless?