SITA

–Toru Dutt (1856-1877), Indian(Bengali) poet

Three happy children in a darkened room!
What do they gaze on with wide-open eyes?
A dense, dense forest, where no sunbeam pries,
And in its centre a cleared spot.—There bloom
Gigantic flowers on creepers that embrace
Tall trees: there, in a quiet lucid lake
The while swans glide; there, “whirring from the brake,”
The peacock springs; there, herds of wild deer race;
There, patches gleam with yellow waving grain;
There, blue smoke from strange altars rises light.
There, dwells in peace, the poet-anchorite.
But who is this fair lady? Not in vain
She weeps,—for lo! at every tear she sheds
Tears from three pairs of young eyes fall amain,
And bowed in sorrow are the three young heads.
It is an old, old story, and the lay
Which has evoked sad Sîta from the past
Is by a mother sung.… ‘Tis hushed at last
And melts the picture from their sight away,
Yet shall they dream of it until the day!
When shall those children by their mother’s side
Gather, ah me! as erst at eventide?

About the Poet – SITA by Toru Dutt

Toru Dutt was a pioneer in the history of Indian literature. She came from a family known for its aristocracy, progressive Western outlook and literary leanings. On the death of her brother at the age of 14, the family left to settle in Europe where they spent four years, before the failing health of Toru and her sister Aru, compelled the Dutts to return to Calcutta. Perhaps a premonition of her approaching end, made Toru take up a lot of intense literary activities, writing in both English and French. She died, at the age of 21, in 1877, after suffering from tuberculosis. In her writing, she retained her persona and communicated her emotions effectively without being melodramatic. One of the poems is Sita by Toru Dutt

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Brief Summary of the poem

In this poem Sita By Toru Dutt Summary, Toru Dutt narrates the story of Sita from Indian mythology. The poem is set amid a beautiful and serene dense forest. A mother tells her children the story of Sita, as she puts them to bed. Sita has been abandoned by her husband and takes shelter in Valmiki’s hermitage. She is in deep anguish and as the children listen to the story, they are so moved by her sorrow that they weep at her troubles. After finishing the tale, the mother hugs her children and pacifies them.

Line wise Analysis Sita By Toru Dutt Summary

Lines 1 and 2

The poem begins with the image of three children in a darkened room. It’s bedtime and the children are being told a story by their mother.

The story comes alive with the mother’s narration and the children are all attention. ‘Wide open eyes’ means they are awake. The poet wonders what is it that they listening to with much interest and involvement.

Lines 3 and 4

There is a dense forest, so filled with trees that no sunbeams can penetrate the thick canopy of vegetation and enter the forest. The word ‘dense’ is used twice to emphasize the density of the forest.

In the centre of the forest, there is a cleared area. Here there are blooms. This line implies that a certain area in the centre of the forest has been cleared.

Lines 5 and 6

There are blooming flowers on creepers twining around tall trees. There is also a lake, the waters of which are clear. A beautiful picture of nature has been painted in these lines.

Lines 7 and 8

Swans glide in the waters of the lake. “whirring from the brake “ is a reference from Alexander Pope’s poem ’Windsor Forest’. There are springing peacocks and racing deer. We find life and activity depicted on the lines.

Lines 9 and 10

Crops have been grown on patches of land, indicating a settlement. Smoke and altars is a reference to the hermitage of Valmiki where Sita sought shelter after being abandoned by her husband Ram.

Lines 11 and 12

The forest is a pleasant and peaceful place to live and the port feels it is like a haven for poets, to spend time in tranquillity.

After dwelling on the forest, the poem moves on to describe a beautiful lady. The poet wonders who “is this fair lady “.

Lines 13 and 14

The lady is in pain and weeping. The three children listening to the tale, also weep at the sorrow of Sita, the lady in the story. They are troubled by her troubles and their tender hearts ache at her suffering. The anguish of Sita is juxtaposed against the serenity of the atmosphere.

Lines 15 and 16

The young children bow their heads in sorrow at the sad plight of Sita. The story is an old one, handed down from generation to generation.

Lines 17 and 18

This legendary story of Sita has been told by a mother to her three children. There is a long pause between the two lines. The narration of the story gets over.

Lines 19 and 20

The picture of a sorrowful and grieving Sita fades from their sight. Yet, during the night the children dream of Sita. The story has made a lasting impact on them and will stay with them.

Lines 21 and 22

The mother draws her children near and hugs them. Having lost both her beloved siblings at a young age, the lines express Toru’s deep wish of possible reunion with them.

Poem Highlights: 

1. In ‘Sita’, a poem of 22 lines, a mother while putting her children to bed and relates the story of Sita to them.
2. The children are so absorbed by the story that they weep at Sita’s troubles.
3. The beauty of the forest is described in the initial lines.
4. Sita was abandoned by her husband and she sought refuge in the forest in Valmiki’s hermitage.
5. The mother pacifies her children on conclusion of the narration.
6. The story has made a deep impact on the children and would continue to remain with them.
7. There are is some resemblance between the poem and the poet’s life. Toru adored Sita and thought of her as a touching and lovable heroine. The three children in the poem could be Toru, her brother Abju and sister Aru. She derived her interest in Indian mythology from her mother.
8. Sita’s inner turmoil is juxtaposed against the serenity of nature.
9. In the beginning of the poem, the children are happy. In the end, we see three sorrowful children.
10. The poem presents a story within a story.

Sita By Toru Dutt Questions-Answers

Answer the following Questions 1 Marks

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1. Who is the poem about? 2019

Ans. The poem is about Sita, who was abandoned by her husband and sought shelter in the hermitage of Valmiki.

2. How many children listen to the story?

Ans. Three children listen to the story.

3. Who dwells in peace in the forest? 2018

Ans. The poet anchorite dwells in peace in the forest.

4. What is the colour of the swans which are seen gliding in the lake?

Ans. The swans gliding on the lake are white in colour.

5. Who is the narrator of the story?

Ans. The narrator of the story is the mother of the three children, who are listening to the story.

6. What prevents the sunlight from entering the place?

Ans. The forest is dense, full of thick vegetation which prevents sunbeams from penetrating the canopy of leaves and branches and entering the place.

7. Name the birds and animals mentioned in the poem. 2017

Ans. The birds and animals mentioned in the poem are swans, peacocks and deer.

8. Where are the three happy children sitting? 2017 2018

Ans. The three happy children are sitting in a darkened room, ready to hear a bedtime story.

9. Whose heads are bowed in sorrow? 2016

Ans. The heads of the three children are bowed in sorrow as they listen to the story of Sita and her sorrows.

10. What does the poet remember when she listens to the story?

Ans. When the poet listens to the story, she is reminded of her brother Abju and sister Aru, who passed away at a very young age in life.

11. Who was Toru Dutt?

Ans. Toru Dutt was an Indian poet who produced some outstanding work before her untimely death at the age of 21. She wrote in English and French.

12. Name any one of the great works of Toru Dutt’s.

Ans. ‘Our Casuarina Tree’ published in 1881, is one of the most popular poems in modern Indian literature.

13. What is the base of the poem “Sita”?

Ans. The base of the poem “Sita” , is taken from the epic ‘Ramayana’ by Valmiki. A pregnant Sita is abandoned by her husband and takes refuge in the hermitage of Valmiki. In the poem, the mother narrates the story of Sita in the hermitage to her children.

14. What is it about the poem that fascinates the readers most?

Ans. The description of nature in all its pristine glory holds the attention of the readers and fascinates them.

15. Who are the listeners of the story of Sita?

Ans. The three children are the listeners of the story of Sita.

16. Who are the three children?

Ans. The three children are Toru, her brother Abju and her sister Aru.

17. Who was telling them the story of Sita? 2016

Or

Who is recounting the tale of Sita in Toru Dutt’s poem?

Ans. The mother of the three children is recounting the tale of Sita in Toru Dutt’s poem.

18. What does the storyteller tell?

Ans. The storyteller narrates the story of Sita in exile, at the hermitage of Valmiki.

19. Who is the fair lady mentioned in the poem? 2017

Or

Identify ‘this fair lady’ mentioned by the narrator.

Ans. Sita is the fair lady mentioned in the poem.

20. Where did the children see Sita?

Ans. The children saw Sita in a dense forest, in the hermitage.

21. “Three pairs of young eyes”. Whose eyes are referred here?

Ans. The eyes referred to here are those of the three children listening to the story being told by their mother.

22. Why were they weeping?

Ans. They were weeping as they were moved by Sita’s tears and her suffering.

23. What was gliding in the lake?

Ans. The white swans were gliding in the lake.

24. What was racing in the forest?

Ans. Herds of wild deer were racing in the forest.

25. What were the peacocks doing there in the forest?

Ans. The peacocks were springing in the forest.

26. Who are the companions of Sita there in the forest?

Ans. In the poem, Sita is depicted as alone and without companions.

27. Where was Sita residing?

Ans. Sita was residing in the hermitage of Valmiki.

28. What does the poet long for?

Ans. The poet longs for her childhood days and the companionship of her brother and sister, who are dead.

29. Who is the ‘poet-anchorite’ referred to in the poem ‘Sita’? 2016

Ans. The ‘poet-anchorite’ refers to Valmiki.

30. From where does the blue smoke rise in ‘Sita’? 2018

Ans. The blue smoke rises from the altars in Valmiki’s hermitage.

31. What ‘mythic past’ does Dutt try to conjure in her poem?

Ans. The ‘mythic past’ that Dutt tries to conjure in her poem is the age old story of Sita in her second exile, after being abandoned by her husband.

32. Do the children actually see a dense forest?

Ans. The children are in a darkened room, listening to a bedtime story, narrated by their mother. They do not actually see a forest but her story telling is so good that they are able to visualize the dense forest.

33. What emotion is noted in the ‘lady’?

Ans. The emotion noted in the ‘lady’ is grief. She is weeping and sorrowful.

34. Give another word for ’lay’.

Ans. A ‘lay’ is a poem that was written to be sung, and usually narrated a story. Ballad can be another word for lay.

35. Give contemporary English words for ‘erst’ and ’eventide’.

Ans. Erst means formerly or a long time ago. Eventide means evening or end of the day.

Answer the following Questions 2 Marks

1. Why are the children weeping?

Ans. The children are being told a bedtime story by their mother. The story is that of Sita, in exile, after being abandoned by her husband. Sita is unhappy and is weeping. The children are moved by her sorrow and they too start weeping.

2. What do the children gaze on in the darkened room?

Ans. The children are listening to a bedtime story being narrated by their mother. She does it so well that it makes the story come alive. She describes a dense dark forest, and the children are able to visualize it and thus gaze on the forest in the darkened room.

3. Why was the forest so dark and dense?

Ans. The forest was dense, because there were a lot of tall trees growing there. Their branches and leaves formed a canopy through which sunlight could not filter through. Since the sun’s rays could not penetrate inside, it was dark in the forest.

4. ‘The fair lady does not weep in vain’. Why is it so?

Ans. The beautiful lady described here is Sita, who has been abandoned by her husband. She takes refuge in Valmiki’s hermitage. She is very unhappy and is weeping. She is not weeping for the sake of it, but there is a good reason for her tears.

Answer the following Questions 3 Marks

1. Describe the hermitage where Sita is living.

Ans. The hermitage where Sita lives is a beautiful one, in the lap of nature. There are blooming flowers and tall trees. There is a lake with clear waters. The place is filled with birds and animals which include gliding swans, springing peacocks and racing deer. There are some fields with grain cultivated on it and altars with blue smoke rising from it. The atmosphere in the hermitage is one of peace and serenity.

2. What does the poet long for?

Ans. The poet longs for the days of her childhood when she had the companionship of her brother and sister. She is alone now and has lost both her siblings. Her brother Abju died at 14 and her sister Aru died at 23. She misses the old days when they were together. She yearns for her siblings, for the time when they were young and gathered by their mother’s side listening to bedtime stories.

3. What song does the mother sing? Describe the effect on the children.

Ans. The mother sings a song from Indian mythology, the song of Sita, in her second exile. Sita was abandoned by her husband and takes refuge in the hermitage of Valmiki. Sita was very sad, and wept under the burden of her troubles. The young children are so moved by Sita’s grief that they too start weeping and their heads are bowed in sorrow. Even though the story ends, her thoughts remain with them.

4. How are the children affected by the mother’s song? 2017

Ans. The mother sings a song from Indian mythology, the song of Sita, in her second exile. Sita was abandoned by her husband and takes refuge in the hermitage of Valmiki. Sita was very sad, and wept under the burden of her troubles. The young children are so moved by Sita’s grief that they too start weeping and their heads are bowed in sorrow. Even though the story ends, her thoughts remain with them.

5. How does Dutt relate the past and the present in her poem? 2019

Ans. The poem begins with three happy children anticipating a story. As it progresses we see the children with their heads bowed in sorrow. Toru and her siblings were happy in their childhood but now she is alone and misses them. The story of Sita is an old one in Indian mythology and handed down from generation to generation. The children hear this story from their mother. The poet becomes nostalgic towards the end and misses her siblings and their childhood days spent together. In these subtle ways, the poet relates the past and present in her poem.

6. Describe the dwelling of the ‘poet-anchorite’. 2016

Ans. The dwelling of the ‘poet-anchorite’ is a beautiful one, in the midst of nature. There are gigantic blooming flowers and tall trees. There is a placid lake with clear waters. The place is filled with birds and animals that include gliding swans, springing peacocks and racing deer. There are some fields with grain cultivated on it and altars with blue smoke rising from it. The atmosphere in the place is one of serenity, where a poet can retreat to spend time in peace and tranquility.

7. Describe the scene of the forest as seen by the children. 2018

Ans. The children are listening to their mother narrating a bedtime tale. Her narration makes the story come alive and they are able to visualize the scene as she speaks to them. They see a dark dense forest. It is dark and dense as there is a lot of vegetation with tall trees growing, the branches of which do not allow the sun’s rays to penetrate. However, in the centre of the forest a certain space has been cleared. Here flowers bloom on creepers embracing tall trees. There is a lake with crystal clear water. The place is filled with birds and animals which include gliding swans, springing peacocks and racing deer. There are some fields with grain cultivated on it and altars with blue smoke rising from it.

8. Why were the children bowing their heads in sorrow?

Ans. The children are being told a bedtime story by their mother. The story is that of Sita, in exile, after being abandoned by her husband. Sita is unhappy and is weeping. The children listening to the story are filled with compassion for her. They are so moved by her sorrow that they too start weeping at her misery and their heads are bowed in sorrow.

9. Describe the pastoral beauty of the dense forest in which the ‘poet anchorite’ dwells in peace.

Ans. The dwelling of the ‘poet-anchorite’ is a beautiful one, in the lap of nature. There are gigantic blooming flowers embracing tall trees. There is a placid lake with crystal clear water. The place is teeming with birds and animals that include gliding swans, springing peacocks and racing deer. There are some fields with grain cultivated on it and altars with blue smoke rising from it. The atmosphere in the place is one of serenity, where a poet can retreat to spend time in peace and tranquility.

Answer the following Questions 5 Marks

1. There, patches gleam with yellow waving grain

There, blue smoke from strange altars rises light.

There, dwells in peace, the poet-anchorite.

Ans. These lines are from Toru Dutt’s poem ‘Sita’. The poem sees a mother telling her three young children the age-old story of Sita in her second exile. The above lines are part of the description of Valmiki’s hermitage where Sita takes refuge after being abandoned by her husband. There are fields cultivated with grains, indicating the presence of hermitage inmates, for whom the grain is cultivated. There are also altars with blue smoke rising from them. Altars indicate an air of solemnity. The poet anchorite is a reference to Valmiki.

2. But who is this fair lady? Not in vain

She weeps, for lo, at every tear she sheds

Tears from three pairs of young eyes fall amain.

Ans. These lines are from Toru Dutt’s poem ‘Sita’. The poem sees a mother telling her three young children the age old story of Sita in her second exile. The beautiful lady described here is Sita, who has been abandoned by her husband. She takes refuge in Valmiki’s hermitage. She is very unhappy and is weeping. She is not weeping for the sake of it, but there is a good reason for her tears. The children listening to the story are filled with compassion for her. They are so moved by her sorrow that they too start weeping at her misery.

3. It is an old, old story, and the lay

Which have to evoke sad Sita from the past

Is by a mother sung

……….. This hushed at last.

Ans. These lines are from Toru Dutt’s poem ‘Sita’. The poem sees a mother telling her three young children the age old story of Sita in her second exile. The children are so filled with compassion on hearing the story of Sita and her troubles that they weep along with her. In these lines we get to know that it is the mother who is narrating the story to her children. Even though the story gets over, it remains with them.

4. And melts the picture from their sight away,

Yet shall they dream of it until the day!

Ans. These lines are from Toru Dutt’s poem ‘Sita’. The poem sees a mother telling her three young children the age old story of Sita in her second exile. The child are so moved by the story of Sita that even after the narration is over, they are not able to forget it. It has made a strong impression on them and they would continue to think and dream about it till the break of day.

5. What shall those children by the mother’s side

Gather, ah me! as erst at eventide?

Ans. These are the concluding lines from Toru Dutt’s poem ‘Sita’. The poem sees a mother telling her three young children the age old story of Sita in her second exile. The poet longs for her childhood days. Her brother Abju died at 14 and her sister Aru died at 23. She misses the old days when they were together. She yearns for the time when they were young and used to gather by their mother’s side in the evening.

6. How does the poem reflect the poet’s deep love of nature?

Ans. The poet’s deep love for nature can be seen by the word picture she paints of the forest and the hermitage. The description is captivating and holds our attention. There is perfect harmony in nature as she depicts it in ‘Sita’. Her use of the word ‘poet-anchorite’ also shows that this beautiful place is one where a poet can retreat to and seek peace and solitude.

7. What do the children gaze on with wide open eyes?

Ans. The children are listening to a bedtime story being narrated by their mother. She does it so well that it makes the story come alive. She describes a dense dark forest, and the children are able to visualize it and gaze on the forest with wide-open eyes. They see a dark dense forest with tall trees growing, the branches of which do not allow the sun’s rays to penetrate. However, in the center of the forest a certain space has been cleared. Here flowers bloom on creepers twining around tall trees. There is a lake with crystal clear water. The forest is filled with birds and animals which include gliding swans, springing peacocks, and racing deer. There are some fields with grain cultivated on it and altars with blue smoke rising from it.

8. Bring out the essence of Toru Dutt’s poem ‘Sita’.

Ans. As we read Toru Dutt’s poem ‘Sita’, we are transported to the sylvan setting of nature in all its beauty and pristine glory. In these beautiful surroundings, the reader is exposed to Sita’s pain on being abandoned by her husband and separation from him. The children listening to Sita’s story are so moved by her sorrow that they too weep along with her. The picture of Sita’s suffering quietly stays with us and in effect brings out the essence of the poem.