NCERT Chapter Summary: Vocation

The child was walking to his school in the morning. He saw a hawker, selling bangles in his lane. The hawker was not in a hurry and moved from one place to another at his own will. The hawker could take any road and return home when he wants. There was no restriction on him. The child wanted to be a hawker in order to be free and happy.

The child returned from his school in the afternoon. He saw a gardener outside the house. He was digging the ground with his spade. His clothes were dirty with soil and he was working under the Sun. Nobody tried to stop him and he continued working at his own will. The child wanted to be like him, so that nobody can punish him for digging the ground. He wanted to pay with soil.

When it gets dark in the evening, the child’s mother sends him to bed. She orders him to sleep. The child saw a watchman through his window. He was walking up and down. The road was dark and lonely, but nobody stopped the watchman. The watchman took his lantern and walked along with his shadow. He did not sleep. The child wanted to be a watchman, walking the street all night without any restriction.

Stanza 1

When the gong should ten in the morning and

I walk to school by our lane,

Every day I meet the hawker crying, “Bangles,

Crystal bangles!”

There is nothing to hurry him on, there is no

road he must take, no place he must go to, no

time when he must come home.

I wish I were a hawker, spending my day in the

road, crying, ”Bangles, crystal bangles!”

Explanation: The child was walking to his school in the morning. In his way, he saw a hawker, selling bangles in his lane. The hawker was not in a hurry and moved from one place to another at his own will. The hawker could take any road and return home when he wants. The child thought there was no restriction on him. Therefore, he wanted to be a hawker in order to be free and happy. He wanted to sell bangles like the hawker.

Stanza 2

When at four in the afternoon I come back from

the school, I can see through the gate of that house

the gardener digging the ground.

He does what he likes with his spade, he soils

his clothes with dust, nobody takes him to

task, if he gets baked in the sun or gets wet.

I wish I were a gardener digging away at

the garden with nobody to stop me from digging.

Explanation: The child returned from his school in the afternoon. He saw a gardener outside the house. He was digging the ground continuously with his spade. His clothes were dirty with soil and he was working under the Sun. Nobody tried to stop him and he continued working at his own will. He was free to dig the ground. The child wanted to be like him so that nobody can punish him for digging the ground under scorching heat.

Stanza 3

Just as it gets dark in the evening and my

mother sends me to bed,

I can see through my open window the

Watchman walking up and down.

The lane is dark and lonely, and the street-

lamp stands like a giant with one red eye in its head.

The watchman swings his lantern and walks with his

Shadow at his side, and never once

Goes to bed in his life.

I wish I were a watchman walking the street

all night, chasing the shadows with my lantern.

Explanation: The child’s mother sends him to bed during the night. She ordered him to sleep. The child saw a watchman through his window, walking up and down. The road was dark and lonely, but nobody stopped the watchman. The lamp post looked like a giant with one red eye.

The watchman took his lantern and walked along with his shadow. He was free to move wherever he wants. It seemed that the watchman to be a watchman, walking the street all night without any restriction, chasing his shadows.

Class 06 English