Reading

Corona Says

Understanding the Text

Answer the following questions.

a. Who is the speaker in the poem?
Ans: Corona is the speaker in the poem.

b. Who claim that they are superior to all?
Ans: Human claim that they are superior to all.

c. Why has the speaker come to the Earth?
Ans: The speaker has come to the Earth because of humna’s ill treatment of nature.

d. What positive changes have occurred on Earth after the speaker’s visit?
Ans: During the pandemic the sky has been clean without dust and smoke. Peopople have felt like caged animals do in a zoo. The disease has allowed the earth to have a little rest.

Reference to the Context

a. What does the speaker mean when he says:

But have you ever counted

How many have died so far

Because of you and your wars?

Ans: In these lines, it is sadi that war has had a much greater impact on human life and property than the consequences of the virus. Wars and fatallities caused by humans are millions in count still people are counting the death caused by corona. Human misery is ignored by governments and other warring parties. Because of wars, millions of people have been killed or their property has been destroyed, which is still being neglected and corona is being blamed for the sole cause of humanity’s casualties.

b. Explain the following lines from the poem “Corona Says”:

I will depart one day

But remember

There’re many others like me 

They’ll come too

If you don’t get rid of your inflated ego

You’ll be back to your cave time

That you endured

Long, l o n g, l o n g ago ….

Ans: These beautiful lines have been taken from Vishny S. Rai’s wonerful poem “Corona Says”. Here, we find corona as the main speaker who is talking to a man of the present world. Here, the speaker is warning the human about future circumstances. He is informing him about his fellows who are similat to him. He says that one day he will depart from the planet but if humans don’t get rid of their inflated egos, fellows will come too. In that critical situation, humans will be back to the caves as before. That will be the worst situation for humans.

c. What does speaker mean in the following lines? Explain.

The earth is not your property alone-

It’s as much ours as yours

Ans: Here, Corona as a speaker is making the human realise that the Earth belongs to all the creatures not only the humans. He reminds humans saying that the Earth isn’t their property alone. He claims that the earth belongs to other creatures also apart from humans.

Reference beyond the text

a. What human behaviors are responsible for the suffering in people’s lives?
Ans: Many people’s suffering and loss of lives are the result of the wars and conflict between people’s “self importance” and “power”. Humans selfishly exploited nature and interfered with natural systems even. The planet and its inhabitants have had to deal with many health issues as a result of human selfishness. The current state of the planet is precarious due to the actions of human egos and evil acts. All the blame goes to the selfish deeds of humans.

b. How does an epidemic differ from pandemic? Briefly explain the impact of the Corona Virus on human life and the environment.
Ans: An epidemic is a widespread disease that affects many people in a population whereas pandemic is a disease that affects a wide geographical area and a large proportion of the population. Corona virus is considered as one of the unforgettable threats of the twenty-first century. This disease has snatched the lives of people at a very high level. People in the world are panic-stricken and living their life in mental fear. Covid 19 has created devastating results in humans’ history. Due to this pandemic, people are seen sanitizing the environment every time.