Answer any two of the following questions in 80 – 100 words each :
(a) Who was Raizel, and how was she connected to Dr. Margolin? Where did she meet Dr. Margolin and in what form?
(b) What are the ways in which individual freedom gets restricted?
(c) What aspects of Indian society and history get highlighted in the poem ‘‘Blood’’ by Kamala Das?
(a) Raizel was the daughter of the watchmaker, Melekh. Dr. Margolin loved her and wanted to marry her, but he couldn’t fulfill this dream because of war and were drifted apart. Raizel was married to someone else and later shot by the Nazis. Dr, Margolin was informed that Raizel died in the course of the war, but details of her death weren’t confirmed. Dr. Margolin went to attend Mekheles’ daughter’s wedding and imagined Raizel’s presence there. He also thought of a long conversation with her in his imagination. His longing for Raizel had made him hallucinate as a result of which he imagined her presence. Dr. Margolin was a part of illusionary carousing at the wedding.
(b) Individual freedom is the ability to be able to do anything without being enslaved. Freedom means the power of liberty, but it always gets restricted. Self-centred approach hampers freedom. Not expecting too much is the ultimate way to individual freedom. But human wants and desires are unlimited, and they cannot be fully satisfied. In an attempt to fulfil desires, one finds himself caught in the rat-race which often curbs freedom. These include doing jobs for others, working overtime, leaving no time for your own etc., i.e. undertaken in pursuit of money. Also, there are restrictions by the Government that restrict freedom. Laws of the land need to be followed wherever you are. There are certain fines and punishments on violation of laws which, in a way, restrict freedom for many. Freedom has its own meaning for each person, and often it refers to something which he/she is not capable of doing at that point. For instance, freedom for a child would be not going to school and playing with friends in a park, but he has to obey his parents, who feel that it is important to go to school.
(c) The poem “Blood” by Kamala Das is an illustration of a woman in a different aspect. It pictures aristocracy in Malabar during that period. In this poem, Kamala Das expresses how a girl child is mould to be a butterfly by the world. The poem describes Kamala as a child who observes nature and creates her fantasies on the sand while playing with her brother. This poem highlights the aspect of unity among joint families in Indian society during those days. As the poet grows up, she sees how the bond between families have been weakening, and gradually, traditions were being ignored. She writes that this was the possible reason for the decline of royal families. She witnesses the agony of her aged grandmother, who was suffering from physical ailments. She was married to a prince whose death had made her lonely. Her 300-year-old house was on the verge of destruction, but Kamala Das had promised to herself that she would save it.
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