geography lesson

this is lesson explanation

1. The idea to write this poem occurred to the poet when he travelled in an aircraft.

2. Have you seen Earth from different altitudes? How does it appear to you, when you see it from a height of 10,000 ft?

3. The ground looks unplanned, haphazard and without style... Let’s look at the poet’s view...

4. But, when he looked closely, his questions were answered... The city is scaled six inches to the mile, and its valleys were populated where rivers run through because water is essential.

5. Further, when the aircraft went higher About 6 miles...

6. The poet witnessed a few things that we have studied, but not seen. There is more water than land. Earth is round.

7. But a few questions arose in his mind. He wondered... What people are fighting for? Why does men hate each other? What are they trying to protect and from whom?

8. Why should we build borders? Isn’t Earth common for all? Aren’t the resources meant for everyone?

9. Though he pondered over these questions, he couldn’t get an answer.

10. THE POEM

11. Geography Lesson When the jet sprang into the sky, it was clear why the city had developed the way it had, seeing it scaled six inches to the mile. There seemed an inevitability about what on ground had looked haphazard, unplanned and without style when the jet sprang into the sky. When the jet reached ten thousand feet, it was clear why the country had cities where rivers ran and why the valleys were populated. The logic of geography – that land and water attracted man was clearly delineated when the jet reached ten thousand feet. When the jet rose six miles high, it was clear that the earth was round and that it had more sea than land. But it was difficult to understand that the men on earth found causes to hate each other, to build walls across cities and to kill. From that height, it was not clear why. - Zulfikar Ghose

12. ABOUT THE POET

13. ZULFIKAR GHOSE He was born in Sialkot, India on 13 March 1935. He is a novelist, poet and essayist. His writing is a blend of fantasy and harsh realism. His poems have been published in magazines and journals

14. LET US SEE THE STRIKING IDEAS EXPRESSED IN THE POEM

15. THE CITY HAD DEVELOPED BUT LOOKED NARROW AND CONGESTED - ITS GROUND VIEW WAS HAPHAZARD, UNPLANNED & UNSTYLISH

16. VALLEYS ARE POPULATED

17. BUT THERE’S A REASON BEHIND HUMAN SETTLEMENT NEAR WATER BODIES

18. IT WAS MORE POPULATED NEAR THE WATER BODIES - TO CULTIVATE - TO MAKE OUR LIVING - WATER IS ESSENTIAL

19. SO, THERE’S LOGIC BEHIND CHOICE MADE BY HUMAN

20. LAND & WATER ALWAYS HAVE ATTRACTED MEN

21. THE JET GOES HIGHER

22. IT WAS CLEAR THAT THE EARTH IS ROUND AND THERE IS MORE WATER THAN LAND WE HAVE ENOUGH FACILITIES AND COMFORTS TO LEAD A HAPPY LIFE

23. BUT…… IT WAS DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND … WHY PEOPLE FIND CAUSES TO HATE AND FIGHT?

24. WHY DO THEY BUILD WALLS AND LIVE APART?

25. WHY DO THEY KILL ONE ANOTHER

26. HERE THE POEM ENDS LET US PUT OUR HANDS TOGETHER TO MAKE THIS WORLD A BETTER PLACE !

27. PRESERVE NATURE HELP THE NEEDY

28. LET US NOT FIGHT OVER SILLY MATTERS

29. WE CAN MAKE THE WORLD MORE BEAUTIFUL WE CAN BRING MORE JOY, IF WE REALLY CARE