CHAPTER: - 7
TOPIC: - THE GARDENER
P. LANKESH
TOPIC: - THE GARDENER
P. LANKESH
SUMMARY
This is very clearly shown in the way in which the two main characters -Tammanna and Basavaiah appear envious of each other to such a great extent that they are ready to survive at the cost of the other person. An old man walks miles together in search of a job, not that he couldn't get one, but he wanted to be far away from known people. Added to it, this acted as an ambulatory exercise for him.
He reached a garden and noticed that many things were not well organized. So, he felt that it was necessary to bring in a lot of reforms. He met the owner and with just a few words exchanged, he was provided with the job. One he became the gardener, all the petty thefts came to an end and the owner was able to make a lot of profit and he felt that the gardener had been doing his job perfectly. But with his, there was an additional danger, and that was the way in which the owner started misusing the profit he made.
He took up all bad practices, and this worried his wife quite a lot. So, she felt that the old man could provide a solution to all her problems, and went to him. He then realized that the woman had come for the same specific reason and he told her that whatever is done, the owner will never mind himself unless his wife teaches him a lesson and thus happened as a continuation of the similar situation he and his rival Basavaiah had been in. It so happened that Tammanna and Basavaiah, who were in a particular village had started acquiring land to such a great extent that almost the entire village belonged to either of them.
When Basavaiah learned that Tammanna had 1000 acres of land and he had 800, he sent a word to Tammanna asking him to sell the 200 acres. One day Tammanna realized that it was very difficult to continue in the same way and thought that it would be good to destroy his viral completely. So, he decided to humiliate him in such a way that he could never counteract. He started composing ballads and all these ballads described how Basavaiah had started taking revenge against Tammanna. When Basavaiah could not try to be on par with his rival, he nearly confiscated all of the property that belonged to Tammanna. Even then, nothing great happened. So, he organized small functions and where great poets from nearby lands would be called and asked to recite the poems that they had written.
This was to show that he acted as a patron of arts and somewhere this was deliberately done as he could not have the books of Tammanna at his house. When the news spread that Tammanna was ill, Basavaiah rejoiced. But later on, Basavaiah dies, and this comes as a great death blow to Tammanna. Instead of being happy now, he is terribly disturbed because he doesn't know what to do, as the very purpose of his life had been defeated. So, he felt that in the process of taking revenge against his rival, he has avenged himself.
In order to get away from all these problems, he decided to leave that place and settle down in some other place where he could help people in one way or the other, and it is basically due to this reason that he lands himself in the owner's garden trying to act as a gardener. His rich experience is bound to help people around him, provided they are ready to listen to his advice.
I. Answer the following questions in a word, a phrase or a sentence each: -
1. What was stuck under the arm of the old man in the lesson The Gardner?
Ans: Newspaper
2. The owner's life was particularly upset about which vice of the owner?
Ans: The owner's wife was worried about his adultery.
3. Mention one of the means suggested to Tammanna through which he would get back his land from Basavaiah?
Ans: To go to the court of law/ take recourse to the police/ attack on Basavaiah.
4. What was the most important possession of Tammanna?
Ans: His rival Sangojiwas the most important possession of Tammanna.
5. What was the healthy competition between Basavaiah and Tammanna?
Ans: The healthy competition between Basavaiah and Tammanna was in buying lands of the village.
6. How many acres did Basavaiah acquire forcibly from Tammanna?
Ans: Basavaiah acquired two hundred acresforcibly fromTammanna.
7. What idea did Tammanna get to annihilate (defeat)Basavaiah completely?
Ans: Tammanna gets an idea to compose his experiences in the form of songs and ballads.
8. What were the themes of Tammanna's songs and ballads?
Ans: Tammanna's songs and ballads made a mention of Basavaiah’s cruelty and meanness.
9. What become raison-d'etre of Tammanna's life?
Ans: Art became the raison-d'etre of Tammanna's life.
10. Whom did Basavaiah invite to his palace?
Ans: Basavaiah invited scholars, poets and musicians to his place.
11. How much of Tammanna's land did Basavaiah acquire forcibly?
How much of Tammanna’s land did Basavaiah forcibly acquire at first?
Ans: Basavaiah acquired 200 acres of Tammanna's land forcibly.
12. What was Tammanna's idea to compete against Basavaiah?
Ans: The idea of composing ballads and singing them.
13. In the lesson 'The Gardener', the old man changed the name of Tammanna's rival from …………. to Basavaiah.
Ans: Sangoji.
14. When did Tammanna forget all his songs and ballads?
Ans: After Basavaiah’s death, Tammanna forgot all his songs and ballads.
15. Whom did Basavaiah consider as his most important possession in ‘The Gardener’?
Ans: Tammanna
16. How was Basavaiah’s rival in ‘The Gardener’?
Ans: Tammanna
17. How many acres of land did Basavaiah encroach?
Ans: 200 acres of land.
18. Who was felicitated as the best poet of his times ‘The Gradener’?
Ans: Tammanna II. Answer the following questions in a paragraph of 80 – 100 words each:
III. Answer the following questions in about 200 words:
1. Give an account of the things done by Basavaiah, to prove himself better than Tammanna.
Ans. As Tammanna had started proving himself better than Basavaiah through his ballads, Basavaiah started encroaching more and more into Tammanna's land which he did not even notice or give importance to. Basavaiah, thus, shrank in humiliation. He started filling his life with all kinds of material wealth. He got a palatial mansion built for himself. He appointed a number of persons just to praise him. He bedecked himself with gold, diamonds and other precious stones. But yet, he was told by the people that his palace was dull without Tammanna's books. Hence, he started inviting scholars, poets and musicians to his palace. This was his way of investing his home with some meaning and, thus, tried to prove himself better than Tammanna.
2. Why was Tammanna in search of a method that could annihilate Basavaiah completely in 'The Gardener'?
Ans. Tammanna had one thousand acres of land and Basavaiah had eight hundred. Basavaiah could not tolerate this. He sent word to Tammanna asking him to sell two hundred acres. As expected, Tammanna did not agree. He was ready to buy all the land belonging to Basavaiah. Basavaiah went along with his people and acquired two hundred acres of Tammanna's land forcibly. Tammanna could not tolerate this invasion. When Tammanna could not fight him back virtually, he thought of another method to annihilate Basavaiah completely using his intellect.
3. How was Basavaiah humiliated by Tammanna and what were the measures taken by him to overcome this?
Ans. Tammanna tried to avenge Basavaiah by composing ballads that spoke of Basavaiah's cruelty and manners and singing them. Basavaiah tried to do the same and was not successful. He built a palatial mansion for himself. He bedecked himself with precious stones and appointed many people just to praise him. He invited scholars, poets and musicians to his house. But nothing helped him to overcome this humiliation. Finally, he came to know thatTammanna was ill and consoled himself that he had at least surpassed Tammanna in having good health.
4. When does human life become boring and reasonless, according to P. Lankesh?
Ans.According to the writer, though man has wealth, education, art and many more things, he lives for some kind of unbearable vengefulness. Humans have become so wired to revenge and competition that without it life becomes boring and reasonless. In the story "The Gardener', the writer described the life of Basavaiah and Tammanna to justify his argument. In the story, these two persons were dead enemies. Both were in extreme competition to defeat one another. At the end of the story, Basavaiah passed away. At that time his rival Tammanna felt that he had no more reasons to live, and finally he left the village forever and felt that he had become non- existent.
5. How does Tammanna take revenge on Basavaiah through invisible means?
Ans.When his supporters advised him to either go to the court or seek the help of the police or ask some persons to attack Basavaiah and take back his land forcibly, Tammanna hit upon a unique idea of annihilating Basavaiah through invisible means. He thought of getting all his experiences composed in the form of ballads and singing them before the public. When Tammanna started singing ballads through which he told the people about Basavaiah's cruelty and his meanness, he became very popular. Many scholars of folklore and literary critics translated his songs and earned their share of fame. All this made Basavaiah shrink in shame. This way, Tammanna took revenge on Basavaiah through invisible means.
6. How did Basavaiah try to surpass his rival in ‘The Gardener’?
Ans.When Tammanna came to know that the rivalry between him and Basavaiah had reached its peak he hit ona plan of annihilating Basavaiah completely. He got all his bitter experiences with Basavaiah composed in the form of ballads and started singing them before the people, announcing to everyone Basavaiah's cruelty and his meanness. This way his reputation as an artist started spreading fast. Basavaiah tried to surpass Tammanna's fame by filling his life with all kinds of material wealth. He got a palatial mansion built for himself, wore gold, diamond and jewellery and other precious stones. He invited a host of admirers in order to overshadow Tammanna, his rival. But he was not successful.
7. ‘Without vengefulness, there would be no reason for man’s existence’. How does ‘The Gardener’ bring this out?
Ans.In the beginning of the story 'The Gardener', there appeared to be a healthy competition between Tammanna and Basavaiah. Tammanna did not take Basavaiah as his rival at all. Therefore, when Basavaiah acquired fifteen admirers to outdo Tammanna's ten friends, it did not come to Tammanna's notice at all. Tammanna did whatever he wanted without bothering about Basavaiah. But Basavaiah did not keep quiet. When he came to know that Tammanna possessed one thousand acres of land. and he had only eight hundred, he could not tolerate that. He sent words to Tammanna, asking him to sell two hundred acres to him. Tammanna did not agree. On the contrary he offered to buy all the land that belonged to Basavaiah. Therefore, he went along with his people and acquired two hundred acres of Tammanna's land forcibly and got a fence built around it. Tammanna could not tolerate that invasion. Later, when his supporters suggested him that he could go to the court of law or the police or use his Own people to attack him and forcibly wrest his land from him, Tammanna did not accept their suggestion. He probably thought that competing with Basavaiah by physical means had no end to it. So, he thought of putting an end to the unhealthy rivalry of Basavaiah by taking recourse to something invisible. He took recourse to singing ballads and telling the people through them about the cruelty and the meanness of Basavaiah.
8. How did the owner’s life style change after the arrival of the old man in ‘The Gardener’?
Or How did the Owner’s life style change after the arrival of the old man?
Ans.The old man was very useful, well-versed in agriculture and could understand the problems of the workers. Afterhis arrival, the petty thefts in the garden came to an end and the income from the garden improved substantially.The farm which was originally ten acres, soon expanded beyond the owner's expectations and this soon resultedin a visible change in the life-style of the owner who now kept away from hard work. He became lazy as the oldman did all the work for him. The farm expanded but the owner was happily spending his time and money onwrong things. The owner's wife was worried about her husband's adultery and vices. It was indeed, a matter ofanxiety because life gradually got out of hand.
9. How did Basavaiah start filling his life with all kinds of material wealth?
Ans.When Basavaiah saw how Tammanna was bringing discredit to his reputation through his ballads and songs, he became humiliated. To overcome his humiliation, he decided to work more diligently on his agricultural land. So he purchased more land. Then he built a palatial mansion for himself and wore more gold and diamond jewellery and filled his life with material possessions and a host of admirers in order to overshadow. Tammanna and overcome his feelings of humiliation. He also started inviting scholars, poets and musicians to his home to invest it with meaning but it was a futile attempt.
10. Write a note on the rivalry between Tammanna and Basavaiah as explained in ‘The Gardener’?
Ans. In the beginning, there appeared to be a healthy competition between Tammanna and Basavaiah Tammanna did not take Basavaiah as his rival at all. Therefore, when Basavaiah acquired fifteen admirersto outdo Tammanna's ten friends, it did not come to Tammanna's notice at all. Tammanna did whatever he wanted without bothering about Basavaiah. But Basavaiah did not keep quiet. When he came to know that Tammanna possessed one thousand acres of land, and he had only eight hundred, he could not tolerate this. He sent word to Tammanna asking him to sell two hundred acres to him. Tammanna did not agree. On the contrary, he offered to buy all the land that belonged to Basavaiah. Therefore,Basavaiah went along with his people and acquired two hundred acres of Tammanna's land forcibly and got a fence built around it. Tammanna could not tolerate this invasion. Later, when his supporters suggested to him that he could goto the court of law or the police or use his own people to attack him and forcibly wrest his land from him, Tammanna did not accept their suggestion. Tammanna probably thought that competing with Basavaiah by physical means has no end to it because it depends on who is able to muster more muscle power. Muscle power has its own limitations. Secondly, muscle power needs the involvement of many more people apart from Tammanna. Moreover, as long as both of them were fighting by visible means people will not know who was trying to compete with whom. Until then, Basavaiah was the first one to show to the people he had more land, more friends, more wealth, etc. Tammanna never did anything to spite Basavaiah. Whatever Tammanna did, was on his natural inclination and not to spite Basavaiah. Therefore, Tammanna realized the limitations of competing with Basavaiah by physical means. That is why he thought of putting an end to the unhealthy rivalry of Basavaiah by taking recourse to something invisible. He took recourse to singing ballads and telling the people through them about the cruelty and the meanness of Basavaiah.
11. A manipulator like Tammanna turns reflective towards the end of his life what does this tell us about human nature?
Ans. When Tammanna fell ill, Tammanna heard this and felt happy. He found the means of surpassing him. He considered health as wealth and his disease was Basavaiah’s health. On contrary Tammanna decides to out beat his enemy so he renounces everything and settled in Chennarayapatana and contemplated his death. As long as Tammanna was alive Basavaiah had a reason to live. Basavaiah died because he had no reason to live. Until then both Basavaiah and Tammanna indulged in rivalry to satisfy their ego. Tammanna lost his identity and he became a non-entity. This made Tammanna to reflect over human nature and gave a reference to Russia's declaration to America that America was not their enemy and would not wage a war against America; it was only a strategy by the writer to suggest that Tammanna and Basavaiah belong to a postmodern society. A nation could withstand the strains. But a human being could not.Tammanna lost all his enthusiasm for life. Basavaiah's death that was pricking his conscience transformed him to be a virtuous person and motivated him to relate his own story to the owner's wife and tried to caution her about her husband.
12. What advice did the supporters of Tammanna give for getting his land back?
Ans. Tammanna gained the more land and he had one thousand acres but Basavaiah could own eight hundred only. So Basavaiah could not tolerate this. He sent word to Tammanna asking him to sell two hundred acres. Tammanna did not agree. He was prepared to buy all the land that belonged to Basavaiah. Basavaiah was mad with rage. He went along with his people and acquired two hundred acres of Tammanna's land forcibly. A fence was built around that land. Tammanna could not tolerate this invasion. By now, the quarrel between these two had sucked in all their supporters. Tammanna was advised by his supporters about the various means to get back his land. There was the court of law. One could also take recourse to the police. If he did not want that, there were many numbers of persons ready to attack Basavaiah. Such a war had become virtually inevitable. But Tammanna was in search of a method that could annihilate Basavaiah completely. He hit upon the idea of composing all his experiences in the form of ballads and singing them. Now the rivalry between Tammanna and Basavaiah started moving away from things that were visible, towards an invisible, abstract domain.
13. How did Basavaiah try to overcome his humiliation?
Ans.Tammanna was in search of a method that could annihilate Basavaiah completely. He hit upon the idea of composing all his experiences in the form of ballads and singing them. It brought him immense name and fame which humiliated Basavaiah tremendously. This was not tolerated by Basavaiah. He shrunk in humiliation. Nevertheless, he started filling his life with all kinds of material wealth. He got a palatial mansion built for himself. He appointed a number of persons just to praise him. He bedecked himself with gold, diamonds and other precious stones and started living in a palatial mansion. But the visitors to his house insisted him to buy Tammanna's books. Therefore, he started inviting scholar's poet and musicians to his place to investing his home with meaning.
KEY POINTS TO REMEMBER:
Tammanna came to the garden one day He was well-versed in agriculture.
The income improved.
The life-style of the owner was completely changed
He became lethargic
His wife felt fear for his adultery.
His ten acre farm grew.
His life was also gradually getting out of hand.
He told a story to the wife of the owner.
Tammanna was Basavaiah's rival.
Tammanna had 1000 acres and Basavaiah had 800 acres.
Basavaiah acquired two hundred acres forcibly.
So Tammanna wanted to put an end to the rivalry.
He started composing poems and singing them.
The rivalry moved from the visible domain to the health.
He thought of death to punish Basavaiah.
After a few days he left, Basavaiah died.
He had no more reason to live
Man lives for unbearable vengefulness.
He is so complicated until his death.
RECAPITULATION:
It is about mystery of human relations
Rivalry and its consequences
Gardener- well versed in agriculture/intelligent
Owner becoming lazy/wife worried
Tammanna and Basavaiah’s rivalry
Basavaiah encroaching Tammanna’s land
Tammanna started composing and singing ballads
Basavaiah amassed wealth
Tammanna’s decision to die
Tammanna’s repentece
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