Question

Who wrote the following lines: “My mother only said Thank God the Scorpion picked on me and spared my children.”

• A. Jayant Mahapatra
• B. Nissim Ezekiel
• C. A.K. Ramanujan
• D. Kamala Das

Hint:

Night of the Scorpion is a famous poem by Nissim Ezekiel and ends with the mother's selfless statement.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Step 1 : Understanding the Question:
This question asks us to identify the author of the given lines, which express a mother's selfless gratitude after surviving a scorpion sting.

Step 2 : Key Formulas and Approach:
The approach involves identifying the poem from which the lines are taken and matching its stylistic elements, such as its ironic yet empathetic observation of Indian life, with the profile of the correct Indian English poet.

Step 3 : Detailed Explanation:

• The quoted lines are the concluding verses of the famous poem "Night of the Scorpion", written by the influential Indian Jewish poet Nissim Ezekiel.

• The poem captures a typical rural Indian scene where a mother is stung by a scorpion, prompting various superstitious and rational responses from villagers and the father.

• After hours of pain, when the sting loses its effect, the mother's simple, maternal reaction is to thank God that she suffered instead of her children.

• Ezekiel uses this ending to contrast the complex, analytical, and superstitious behaviors of the observers with the simple, selfless love of an Indian mother.

• This distinct poetic focus is characteristic of Ezekiel's ironic yet empathetic observation of Indian life, distinguishing him from Jayant Mahapatra, A.K. Ramanujan, and Kamala Das.

Step 4 : Final Answer:
The lines were written by Nissim Ezekiel.
The correct option is (B) Nissim Ezekiel.