NCERT Solutions Poorvi Chapter 5 My Dear Soldiers — Let us think and reflect
Book page 202 Updated on2026-09-05
Q1.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow. “When we are all asleep / You still hold on to your deed / Windy season or snowy days / Or scorching sun’s sweltering rays / You are there guarding all the time awake / Treading the lonely expanses as yogis” — 1. Identify a set of opposite words from the extract.
Answer
asleep and awake.
“When we are all asleep… You are there guarding all the time awake.” The poet places the two words at opposite ends of the same picture so that the contrast between citizens and soldiers cannot be missed.
Q2.
2. Complete the sentence appropriately. The phrase ‘still hold on to your deed’ refers to the soldier’s attitude of ______________.
Answer
The phrase ‘still hold on to your deed' refers to the soldier's attitude of unwavering devotion to duty — staying at his post and doing his work faithfully however tired he is and whatever the hour.
Read the word ‘still': it means ‘even then, even now'. Even when the whole country has gone to sleep, the soldier has not let go of his task. Words like steadfastness, dedication and commitment would all complete the sentence correctly.
Q3.
3. Identify whether the following statement is true or false. The soldiers walk across the deserted stretches of land.
Answer
True.
The line “Treading the lonely expanses as yogis” says exactly this — treading is walking, and lonely expanses are wide, empty, deserted stretches of land.
Q4.
4. Give evidence from the extract to show that soldiers face harsh weather conditions.
Answer
Two lines name three kinds of harsh weather, one after another:
“Windy season or snowy days Or scorching sun's sweltering rays”
Wind, snow and blazing heat — and the word ‘or' repeated between them shows that it makes no difference which one comes; the soldier is “there guarding all the time awake” through every one of them.
Q5.
5. Which quality of the soldiers is highlighted in this extract? (i) modesty (ii) optimism (iii) simplicity (iv) dedication
Answer
(iv) dedication
Why: everything in the extract is about staying at the task — awake while others sleep, on duty in wind, snow and heat, walking lonely stretches without company. That single-minded sticking to duty is dedication. Modesty, optimism and simplicity are not what these six lines are about.
Q6.
Answer the following questions. 1. Who is the speaker of this poem? How can you say so?
Answer
The speaker is a grateful citizen of India speaking on behalf of the whole country — that is, the poet A.P.J. Abdul Kalam himself, in the voice of ‘we', the people the soldiers protect.
Three clues in the poem show it:
The speaker calls the country “my land” — twice — so he is an Indian speaking about India.
He speaks as part of a group: “When we are all asleep”, “We pray for you brave men!!” — he is one of the protected, not one of the soldiers.
He addresses the soldiers as “you” from outside their world — “Oh! Defenders of borders / You are great sons of my land”.
Remember the footnote on page 200: when the poet says ‘great sons', he means all the soldiers, women as well as men.
Q7.
2. How is the theme of the poem conveyed through imagery? Support your answer with examples from the poem.
Answer
The theme — patriotism and sacrifice — is never stated; it is shown, picture by picture, until the reader arrives at it himself.
Image
What it makes us feel about the theme
“When we are all asleep / You still hold on to your deed”
Our safe sleep is being paid for by someone's sleepless night.
“Windy season or snowy days / Or scorching sun's sweltering rays”
The duty does not pause for weather — sacrifice is daily, not occasional.
“Treading the lonely expanses as yogis”
Loneliness and self-denial, borne like a spiritual discipline.
“Climbing the heights or striding the valleys / Defending the deserts or guarding the marshes / Surveillance in seas and by securing the air”
The whole map of India — land, sea and sky — is being held by these few. The scale of the service becomes visible.
“Prime of your youth given to the nation!!”
The sharpest image of all: the best years of a life, handed over.
“Wind chimes of my land vibrate your feat”
The land itself rings with gratitude — patriotism answered by patriotism.
Q8.
3. How does the poet highlight the commitment of the soldiers? Provide examples from the poem to support your answer.
Answer
The poet highlights it by showing that the soldiers' duty has no gaps — no gap in time, in weather, or in place.
No gap in time: “You are there guarding all the time awake”, while “we are all asleep”.
No gap in weather: wind, snow or “scorching sun's sweltering rays” — the soldier is at his post through all of them.
No gap in place: heights, valleys, deserts, marshes, seas and air are all covered in three lines.
No gap in the life given: not a few years but the “Prime of your youth given to the nation!!”
Without complaint: the comparison to yogis suggests men who accept hardship as discipline rather than suffering.
Notice the punctuation: the double exclamation marks (“Prime of your youth given to the nation!!”, “We pray for you brave men!!”) are the poet raising his voice — the only place in this quiet poem where he does.
Q9.
4. What is the significance of the line ‘Prime of your youth given to the nation!!’ with reference to sacrifice and service?
Answer
The ‘prime of youth' is the strongest, freest and most hopeful stretch of a person's life — the years in which most people build a career, marry, watch their children grow and enjoy their own health. The line says that soldiers hand over exactly those years to the country.
Its significance is that it enlarges what we mean by sacrifice:
Sacrifice is not only death in battle. It is also birthdays missed, festivals spent at a post, a family raised over a telephone line.
It is given, not taken. The word is “given” — freely, as a gift to the nation.
Service is measured in years, not moments. A medal marks one day; this line marks a whole youth.
Why the poet ends this way: after the line comes the land's answer — “Wind chimes of my land vibrate your feat” — and then the prayer. Youth is given; remembrance and blessing are what can be given back.
Q10.
5. The poem ends with a prayer for the soldiers’ well-being and blessings. Why is it important for each one of us to pray for the well-being of soldiers?
Answer
Because the prayer is the one thing every citizen can offer, and because it keeps us honestly connected to people whose danger we do not share.
It admits a debt. To pray for someone is first to remember that he is out there. “We pray for you brave men!!” is the poem's way of saying: we know what you are doing for us tonight.
It includes everyone. A child, an old person, someone with no money and no influence — all of them can pray. Nobody is left with nothing to give.
It is a wish for their return, not for victory. “May the Lord bless you all!!” asks that they be kept safe, which is what their families are asking too. That is a prayer for peace as much as for courage.
It keeps gratitude alive between wars, when the news has moved on and the soldiers are still at the border.
Beyond praying: respect for their families in our neighbourhood, care of public property they defend, and honest citizenship are the everyday forms the same prayer can take.