Where Have I Kept The Poem? | Jayant Parmar | M.C.Q.

About The Poet

Jayant Parmar (1954) is an Indian poet who writes in Urdu. He is known for raising Dalit issues in his poem. He developed love for Urdu while living with Muslim neighbours in Ahmedabad. He learnt Urdu himself using a language learning guide at the age of 30. He is also a painter. Aur (1998) and Pencil Aur Dusari Nazmein (2006) are his well-known poetry collections.

About The Poem

Where have I kept the poem?, translated by Baidar Bakht, talks about the process of writing a poem. A poem can neither be created with the help of reference books or textbooks nor by following someone's instructions. The moment of creation cannot be created.

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Where have I Kept the Poem?

I've been looking for it

In the drawers of my desk,

On the table,

In the cupboard,

In the mad pages

Of old and new books,

In the worn pockets,

Of my coarse-cloth shirt,

In the camel-leather briefcase;

Where have I kept the poem?

Then I ask

Neruda, Amichai and Rilke.

I kept it somewhere just now.

Searching for the poem,

I come across the pen and paper,

But the poem

Is absent from the notebook of the heart.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. The poet looks for his poem in many places. Two of them are ….. .

a. Drawers and cupboards

b. Table and bookshelf

c. Worn pockets and briefcase

d. All the above

Ans. (d) All the above

2. The poet looks for the poem in the old and new books because … .

a. He thought he had read it there

b. He thought he had put the paper there

c. He hoped it to be there

d. He had missed his poem

Ans. (c) He hoped it to be there

3. The poet asked some people about the poem. They were ….. .

a. Neruda

b. Amichai

c. Rilke

d. All the above

Ans. (d) All the above

4. Neruda, Amichai and Rilke are …. .

a. Friends

b. Writers

c. Poets

d. Actors

Ans. (c) Poets

5. The poet cannot write the poem because ….. .

a. He has no pen and paper

b. He cannot find the original poem

c. He has misplaced it

d. He finds it absent from the notebook of the heart

Ans. (d) He finds it absent from the notebook of the heart

6. The poet searches the poem in shirt made from … cloth.

a. Textured

b. Coarse

c. Woven

d. Fibrous

Ans. (b) Coarse

7. The poet's briefcase is made from ….. .

a. Tiger hide

b. Crocodile skin

c. Elephant pelt

d. Camel leather

Ans. (d) Camel leather