Question

The fishermen are the friends of ___________.
Complete the sentence with the appropriate word as per the poem.
A) Sea
B) Clouds
C) Water animals
D) Waves

Answer 1

Hint: The extract given in this question is taken in accordance with a poem written by Miss Sarojini Naidu called ‘The Coromandel Fishers’. As the name suggests, the poem talks about Coromandel coast’s folk culture along with that she has praised nature’s beauty. The fishermen are portrayed to be closely connected to nature. She has also mentioned that the sea must be treated as their mother, with their brother being the clouds and God protects them from the storm and the waves that harm their boats

Complete answer:
When we read the question we know that we need to read the poem carefully to understand which word resembles the word ‘friend’ most accurately? If we are familiar with the poem, then in the second stanza of the poem we see that the sea, clouds and waves are considered as certain important personalities to the fishermen. From there we can see clearly that the sea will be their mother but the cloud is a brother to them, and waves are their comrades.

So now let us look into the given options:
If we take option A) sea: This is incorrect since the sea is already considered as their mother, so it can be omitted.
If we take option B) clouds: This is incorrect as clouds are considered to be the brothers of fishermen.
If we take option C) water animals: This is incorrect because they are not referred to as a companion to the fishermen in the poem.
If we take option D) waves: This is correct because they have directly given in the poem itself that waves are their comrades where the meaning of comrades itself is a trusted companion, in other words a friend. So ‘waves’ fit the blank perfectly. So here the correct sentence will be The fishermen are the friends of waves.

Thus the correct answer is option ‘D’.

Note: In the poem another important question that can be extracted is when the fishermen normally go fishing. In this poem, Sarojini Naidu has beautifully stated that the fishermen leave for the sea at sunrise, when the wind is already sleeping as peacefully as a child who has cried all night. All is peaceful and serene. It is the best time for the fishermen to begin their fishing expedition.