Poets and Pancake

Poets and Pancakes - Summary

In this lesson, Asokamitran talks about Gemini Studios and all that helps in
keeping it in the spotlight. He starts by making a mention about ‘Pancakes’, the
famous make-up brand which Gemini Studios ordered in truckloads. He then
talks about the plight of actors and actresses who have to bear too many lights
on their face while getting ready in the make-up room. The make-up department,
according to him, used heaps of make-up to turn them into ugly-looking
creatures. Shockingly, he talks about the office boy of the make-up department
whose task is to slap paint onto the faces of players at the time of crowd-
shooting. He was a poet and had joined the Studio in the hope of becoming an
actor, screenwriter, director or a lyricst. In those days, the author used to work
inside a cubicle and had the task of collecting newspaper cuttings which,
according to others was insignificant. Thus, office boy would come in time again,
to bother him with his complaints. He was well-convinced that the reason behind
his misery was Subbu. He thought Subbu had an advantage because he was
born a Brahmin. Subbu was a resourceful man whose loyalty made him stand
out. He was tailor-made for films and it was difficult to imagine film-making
without him. He was very welcoming and was known for his hospitality. Just like
many others at the Gemini Studios, he also did poetry. He worked for the story
department which also consisted of a lawyer. People generally called him the
opposite of a legal practitioner. He was a logical and neutral man amidst a room
full of dreamers. Asokamitran then describes how Gemini Studios got a chance
to host a group of international performers called Moral Rearmament Army.
Though the plots and messages were not complex, their sets and costumes were
near to perfection so much so that for many years, Tamil plays displayed sunset
and sunrise in a way inherited from ‘Jotham Valley’. Then another guest,
Stephen Spender comes to visit Gemini Studios. People had hardly heard of him
and they couldn’t even connect with him due to linguistic barriers. It was not until
a few years later that Asokamitran saw his name in a book and realised who he
actually was.

NCERT Questions (Think as you read)

Q 1 What does the writer mean by the fiery misery of those subjected to make-up?

The ‘fiery misery’ of those in the makeup room suggests the discomfort caused by incandescent
lights fitted at all angles. All of them when lit emitted so much heat and light that it was torturous for
those who were subjected to make up.

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Q.2.What is the example of national integration that the author refers to in the Gemini Studios?
Ans: In the studio the people from different regions and religions working together presented a
glimpse of national integration. The make-up department was first headed by a Bengali. He was
succeeded by a Maharashtrian. He was assisted by a Kannadiga from Dharwar and Andhra, Madras
Indian Christian, an Anglo-Burmese and usual local Tamils. All this shows that there was a great
deal of national integration in the makeup room of the Gemini Studios
Q3. What work did the ‘Office Boy’ do in the Gemini Studio?

ANS.It was the duty of the ‘office boy’ to do the make up of the crowd players at Gemini studio. He
mixed his paint in a big container and slapped it on the crowd players.
Q4 Why was the office boy frustrated?

Ans. The office boy had joined Gemini Studios in the hope of becoming a star actor, a top
screenwriter, a director or a lyricist. He was frustrated as his dreams remained unfulfilled as he
remained merely an office boy.
Q5 Why did the author appear to be doing nothing at Gemini Studios?

Ans. The author appeared to be doing nothing as his job was to gather relevant newspaper
clippings. Throughout the day he could be seen tearing up newspapers sitting at his desk. This
made others feel that he had very little to do.
Q6 Why was the legal adviser referred to as the opposite by others?

The legal advisor recorded the tirade of a temperamental actress bringing her career to an end.
That’s why he was referred to as the opposite by others.
Q7 What made the lawyer stand out from the others at Gemini Studios?

(While every other member of the Department wore a kind of uniform — khadi dhoti
with a slightly oversized and clumsily tailored white khadi shirt — the legal adviser wore
pants and a tie and sometimes a coat that looked like a coat of mail. Often he looked alone and
helpless — a man of cold logic in a crowd of dreamers — a neutral man in an assembly of
Gandhiites
and khadiites.)
Q8Did the people at Gemini Studios have any particular political affiliations?

Most of the people at Gemini Studios were followers of Gandhiji and wore khadi. Beyond that they
did not have any particular political affiliations. However, they were all against communism.
Q9 Why was the Moral Re-Armament army welcomed at the
Gemini Studios? (Poets and Pancakes)

Q10.Name one example to show that Gemini studio was influenced by plays staged by MRA.

Q11. What caused the lack of communication between the Englishman and the people at
Gemini Studio?
ANS.The people at Gemini Studios could not understand what the Englishman was saying. His
accent was also different. It was very strange thing that an English poet was addressing the
audience who were making Tamil films. This caused a lack of communication between the
Englishman and the people at Gemini Studios.
Q12 Why is the Englishman’s visit referred to as unexplained mystery?

None of the employees of the studio knew the identity of the visitor and his purpose of visiting the
studio.Even the speech of the poet was beyond comprehension. They did not know what an English
poet was doing in a film studio which made Tamil films for simplest sort of people who had no taste
for English poetry.

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 Q13How did the author discover who the English poet was?

Ans. The author wanted to participate in a short story contest organized by a British periodical
named ‘The Encounter’. Being unfamiliar with the periodical he went to the British Council Library to
find out about the same and discovered that the editor was none other than Stephen Spender
Q14..What does ‘The God That Failed’ refer to?

A. ‘The God That Failed’ is a book of six essays by six eminent men of letters that describe their
journey to communism and disillusioned return. Stephen Spender was one of the authors.

NCERT Questions (Understanding the text)

Ans1. Author has used gentle and subtle humour to point out human foibles and idiosyncrasies.
• Exposes Robert Clive’s ambitions and his restless nature
• Office boy’s boasting and bragging about his talent is brought out
• Legal adviser is known as the opposite
• -use of pancake –ostensibly to cover the pores
• Team of make up artists is referred to as ‘gang of nationally integrated make up men ‘ who could
turn any decent looking person into a hideous crimson hued monster
• -Strict hierarchy.
• Commenting on Subbu’s exposure to affluent situations ,he ridicules his virtue- the virtue of being a
Brahmin.His inefficiency is pointed out subtly with a comment “he always had work for somebody” .
The rapidity with which Subbu offered his Boss alternatives when he got stuck up is very amusing.
• pokes fun at the ignorance of all the people . did not know who was Stephen Spenders and why did
he arrive

Q2Why was Kothamangalam Subbu considered No. 2 in Gemini Studios?

.Kothamangalam Subbu was considered as No. 2 in Gemini Studio because he was next in a
position to the Boss. Apart from the fact that he was a Brahmin ,which was considered a head start
by many ,he was a many sided genius. He had a creative mind as he could provide various
alternatives as how a scene could be emoted. He was tailor made for films and had a separate
identity as a poet. He was also an amazing actor. His sense of loyalty made him identify with the
principal. For all these virtues he stood apart from others and enjoyed a higher rank.

Ans 3.There is incongruity of the English poet addressing the audience at Gemini Studio as he
talked about thrills and travails of an English poet in front of Tamil knowing audience who hardly had
any taste for English poetry. So the audience could not understand what he was talking about .
Moreover his English accent was incomprehensible.

Ans 4 The author’s job at Gemini Studio was to cut and file paper clippings. Although he performed
an insignificant task , he was the most well informed of all the members of the Studio. His literary
interest is evident from the fact that he participated in a story writing competition organized by the
periodical ‘Encounter’ and he purchased the books to read even when he was short of money.

EXTRA QUESTIONS (SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS)

Q1 Through the mention of Robert Clive, how does the narrator bring out the extravaganza of
those in power?
Ans: 1. The make up department of Gemini studio was in a building that was believed to have been
Rober Clive’s stable. So the place which was worth to become a studio had been misused by the
Britishers. Extravaganza of the Britishers has also been brought out when the author mentions that
Robert Clive used to own several buildings
Q2. Describe the make-up room of the Gemini Studios as described by the author.

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 Ans. It looked like a hair cutting salon, with incandescent lights that made the room very hot, placed
at all angles around half a dozen mirrors. It was so hot that the ones whose make-up was done there
were subjected to ‘fiery misery’
Q3 A strict hierarchy was maintained in the make-up department . Explain.
Ans. It was so as each make-up man was allotted his task according to his designation. The chief make-up
man attended the chief actors and actresses, his senior assistant the second hero and heroine, the
junior assistant the main comedian, the office boy the actors who played the crowd and so forth.
Q4 why did the office boy come to the author? Why was the author praying for crowd
shooting?
Since the author was wrongly believed to have no work to do , the office boy often came to his
cubicle to give went to his frustration and impress upon him that a great talent remained untapped
and was being wasted. Since the author was bored with the office –boy’s never ending babble , he
prayed for crowd shooting so that the boy would be busy in painting the crowd and would not pester
him.
Q5 What advantage did the office boy think Subbu had?
d) Subbu, in no way was superior to the office boy in talent or education. It was by the dint of his
birth in a Brahmin family that he got a lead over him. His ‘birth” helped him get better openings,
opportunities and exposure. Thus he had an edge over the office boy.
Q6 Who was Subbu’s enemy? Why?
• office boy
• convinced that all his woes, ignominy and neglect were due to Subbu / who only by virtue of being
born a Brahmin had exposure to more affluent situations and people
Q7. Subbu was charitable and improvident, yet he had enemies. Why?
Ans. Subbu’s good qualities were overlooked as his desire to please the boss, the key to his
success, made him seem like a sycophant. His non critical attitude was misconstrued as cleverness.
So he had enemies, as the office boy, who blamed him for their failures
Q8 How did the lawyer lose his job ? p-62 ,1st para)
Q9.What role did the canteen play at the Gemini studio? (p-62 ,2nd para)
Q10 What was the opinion of the khadi clad poets of Gemini Studios about Communism?
Ans. They were against Communism as that was the prevailing political notion in South India. A
Communist to them was a Godless man, had no filial or conjugal love, could unhesitatingly kill his
parents or children and was always out to cause and spread violence and unrest.
Q11 What shows that the boss knew very little about the poet who was visiting Gemini
studio?(p-64 , 1st seven lines)
Q12Why was the English poet who visited the Gemini Studios as baffled as his audience?
Ans. The poet Stephen Spender was baffled, as he could comprehend that his audience was unable
to understand him. The audience was also baffled as the poet’s accent defeated comprehension and
they had no idea as to why the English poet had been invited to address an audience that had
nothing to do with English poetry.
Q13. Why did Stephen Spender visit Gemini Studios?
Ans. Stephen Spender was an anti Communist like the people at Gemini Studios. He had been
invited to talk about his journey into Communism and his disillusioned return
Q14.The boss of Gemini studio had nothing to do with Spender’s poetry but not with his 'God
that failed`. Bring out the significance of this line?

LONG QUESTIONS:
Q1 Describe the Moral Re-Armament Army’s visit to Gemini Studios?
• Frank Buchman’s MRA comprising of two hundred members visited Chennai in 1952.
• MRA- counter movement to Communism
• People thought it was an international circus
• Two plays ‘The Forgotten Factor’ and ‘Jotham Valley’ ran several shows in Madras
• Good sets and costumes
• Tamil drama community was extremely impressed

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• For some years almost all Tamil plays had a scene of sunrise and sunset as in ‘Jotham Valley’-bare
stage, white background curtain and a tune played on the flute.

Q2 Analyse the character of Kothamangalam Subbu.

• Many sided genius
• Didn’t have much formal education but had learnt from his exposure to prosperous people
• Sense of loyalty made him to identify completely with his boss. Turned all his creativity to his boss’s
advantage.
• Had a solution for any problem encountered by Mr. Vasan.
• Gave direction and definition to Gemini Studios
• A poet capable of writing complex poems but chose deliberately to address the masses
• Composed several truly original story poems in folk refrain and diction
• Wrote a sprawling novel- Thilana Mohanambal with dozens of deftly etched characters-recreated
manner of Devdasis of the early 20th century
• Powerful actor- never aspired for lead roles- better in subsidiary roles than lead actors

Q3. Asokamitran has used humor and satire effectively in Poets and Pancakes.
Discuss
Author uses gentle human and mild satire.
• He has a chatty style which quickly changes from one thought to the other.
• Makes fun of the make-up applied to the artists which changes a decent person into
a monster.
• Sets required the actors to look ugly so that they look presentable in the movie.
• Characters of the office boy, Subbu No. 2 and the legal adviser has many subtle
touches of humor.
• Purpose of the visits of Moral Re-Armament Army and the English Poet baffles
everyone.
• Baffled reaction of the staff Gemini studio arouses humor.
• Satire is also directed towards people who are against communism and would do
anything to oppose it

Q.4. What does Asokamitran’s lesson ‘Poet and Pancakes’ deal with?
Ans: The author, Asokamitran recounts his years spent at the Gemini studios. Gemini Studios was
set up in the year 1940 in Chennai and grew into one of the most influential film producing
organizations of India in the early years of the Indian film making industry. The studios of film
production has never confined its activities within the four walls of the studios but it also gives a fine
glimpse of outside world as well.
The production department has two prominent divisions – the make up department and the story
department. In the make up room there had a team of workers from chief make-up man to the office
boy who stopped the crowd players with lotions and pancakes. Pancakes were used by the actors
and actress. Pancake was the popular brand name there. There was a strict hierarchy of make up
man.
The story department had its significant contribution. There was a legal advisor duly accompanied
with an assembly of poets and writers. They were engaged in creating story, songs, social and other
work. In those days, it was mainly indoor shooting. The Boss had a strict vigil at every aspect. He
was assisted by Kothamanglam Subbu, who was an indispensable person for the studios. Beside
this, the Gemini Studios had become the favourite haunt of the poet and other visitors because of its
decent mess that served coffee till the late at night. The studios hosted the visit of Moral Re-
Armament Army and a poet-cum-editor Stephen Spender. The MRA was a counter movement to
international communism but the people at the studios were averse in this ideology. The visit of
Spender also became an unexplained mystery for all.

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