The Idiot Box

By

Arvind Gigoo

The Idiot Box

He plays with the remote control and watches the spider man,

He doesn’t know how to play football and shape a snowman.

He made his daddy and mummy buy an LED for him,

He shuts himself in his private room and doesn’t let anyone in

He hasn’t seen a mountain, a flower garden and a waterfall,

He laughs when he sees an untrue man fly over a hill.

He doesn’t turn the leaves of a picture book or comics,

He changes the channels to suit his shifting moods.

He doesn’t relish the food stuffed in his mouth,

He is excited seeing pirates eat fishes and fruits.

He wears thick glasses and contracts his eyes to see

Men, women and children walk in the drawing rooms.

Introduction: The poem ‘The Idiot Box’ by Arvind Gigoo emphasises that the TV set is like a malaise that prevents children from developing their minds and hampers their creativity.  The poem reveals how TV influences the eyes of the child. Next, the poet highlights the vitality of books and nature which are, however, ignored because of this television. Most importantly, how this passion for books and other important things that actually matter and help children to grow has been substituted with the addiction for television. Thus, this poem is an advice to the parents to not to expose their children to Television too much.

Summary: The poet starts the poem with a young child who is too much addicted to watching Television. These child watch spider man on Television. They do not play football and shape snowman. They force their parents to bring LED for them and shut themselves in separate rooms instead of enjoying the fresh air and nature outside. 

They have not seen mountains, flower gardens and waterfall. Instead, they enjoy the untrue man fly over a hill on Television. They do not read colourful books or comics instead they change channels of the TV to suit their shifting  moods.

Such type of children even do not enjoy their food. Instead they enjoy seeing pirates eat fishes and fruits. They are so much addicted to Television that they have to wear thick glasses to compensate for the eye problems.

Glossary

Word	Explanation	Urdu Meaning
Remote	Distant	دور
Control	To have power or influence over	کسی چیز کےاوپر قابوں ہونا
Remote control	A system for controlling machinery from distance by radio signals	ایک ایسا آلہ جس کی مدد سے دور سے سگنلوں کی مدد سے کی چیز کو قابو کیا جا سکے
Spider	An eight legged creature which makes threads into nets to catch insects to eat	مکڑی
Spider man	A movie/ film show on TV	ایک فلم
Shape	To make	بنانا
Snowman	Figure of a man made out of snow by children	برف کا آدمی بنانا
LED	It stands for Light Emitting Diode; a TV set with advanced technology	جدید ٹیکنالوجی کے ساتھ ایک ٹی وی سیٹ
Untrue	False, picture of men and women shown on TV	نقلی
Comics	A magazine for children containing comic strips	مزاحیہ کہانی اور تصاویر پر مشتمل بچوں کے لیے ایک رسالہ
Channel	A band of radio waves used for broadcasting television	ریڈیو لہروں کا ایک بینڈ جو ٹیلی ویژن نشر کرنے کے لیے استعمال ہوتا ہے۔
Shifting	Changing	تبدیل ہونا
Relish	Taste, enjoy	مزہ لینا
Stuffed	Filled	برا ہوا
Pirates	Person who sail the seas and rob other ships	وہ شخص جو سمندر میں سفر کرتا ہے اور دوسرے جہازوں کو لوٹتا ہے۔
Glasses	Spectacles	عینک
Contract	To make smaller	کم کرنا، چھوٹا بنانا

Reading is Fun

Q.1.What do you understand by the idiot Box?

Answer. The idiot box means the television set.

Q.2. Who is “He” in the poem?

Answer. “HE” is the boy who watches T.V all the time.

Q.3. Why can’t he the play football or shape a snowman?

Answer. He cannot play football or shape a snowman because he does not go out to play. He is obsessed with T.V watching.

Q.4. Why is he not interested in things around him?

Answer. He is not interested in things around him because all the time his mind is occupied with T.V channels and he shuts himself in his room.

Q.5. What is it that makes him laugh?

Answer. When he sees an untrue/animated man flying over a hill, he laughs.

Q.6. Why is he not interested in books? 

Answer. He is not interested in books because he does not give much time to them. He is more involved with T.V channels.

Q.7.Why does he have to wear thick glasses?

Answer. He has to wear thick glasses as the T.V screen’s glare has weakened his eyesight. He watches T.V for a long time which has made him wear thick spectacles.

LANGUAGE WORK

A. Use the clues to find the missing letter. Make sentence of the new words.

1) An officer of Law:  _ _d_e.

Answer: Judge

Sentence: A panel of judges is now selecting the finalists.

2) Children like it most: _c_ _ r _ _ _.

Answer: Icecream

Sentence: I like chocolate icecream.

3) A green/ yellow fruit: _ _ n _ o.

Answer: Mango

Sentence: Mango is the king of fruits in India.

4) Affectionate and loving: c_r _ _ g.

Answer: Caring.

Sentence: Aslam is a caring person.

5) A cow like animal: _ _ k

Answer: Yak

Sentence: Yak is found in Ladakh.

6)Another word for a clown: _o_e_.

Answer: Joker.

Sentence: Mohit is playing joker role in drama.

7) Curious to do something: _ _g_ _.

Answer: Eager

Sentence: We all are eagerly waiting for competition.

8) Not fat: _ _ _n.

Answer: Lean

Sentence: Rohit is fat but Raju is lean.

B. Use the clues to find the missing letters. Make sentence of the new words.

1)Doing no work: _d_ _.

Answer: Idle

Sentence: An idle man's brain is devil's workshop.

2) Not easy to do: _ _ _f_ _ _ _t.

Answer: Difficult

Sentence: I can do this difficult task.

3)Very wise: _n_ _ l_ _ _ _n_.

Answer: Intelligent

Sentence: Ahmad is very intelligent.

4) Single: _ _e.

Answer: One

Sentence: I have only one pencil.

5) 13-19 Years of age: _ _ _n_ _ e.

Answer: Teenage

Sentence: Teenage is regarded as the period of struss and storm.

6) People play cricket with it: _ _ t.

Answer: Bat

Sentence: He has a bat having Virat Kholi's autograph.

7) Opposite of close: _ p_ _.

Answer: Open

Sentence: The school is open today irrespective of holiday.

8) A musical instrument: _ _ l _ _ h _ _ _.

Answer: Xylophone

Sentence: He plays Xylophone very well.

Let’s Talk

Nowadays mobile phones are being used excessively like T.V. Share with your class the harmful effects of excessive mobile phone use.

Answer: It is well said ‘excess of everything is bad’. It is good to use a mobile phone in a constructive way to increase knowledge but at the same time, we should be aware of its harmful effects. Mobile phones not only affect the health of humans but indirectly also affects the health of other living organisms of the earth. When we use a mobile device, we get some harmful rays from signal towers that affect our health. The rays that come out from the screen of the mobile damages our eyes. Excessive use may result in the total loss of eyesight. It is the major reason for heart problems. Continuous usage may cause headaches, neck pains, depression, etc. It makes a person lazy and disinterested in other, day to day life processes. So, it is advised to use these kinds of devices carefully. Save your precious life. A mobile device can be repaired if damaged but your life has fewer chances of recovery. Prevention is better than cure.

Let’s Write

The poem teaches in a funny way that television should not be watched excessively. Now write a sentence on the following harmful effects of excessive T.V. watching:

1. Wastage of time

Sentence: Excessive usage of T.V. is a wastage of time.

2. Couch potatoes

Sentence: He has become a couch potato as he spends most of his time watching television.

3. Reduces concentration

Sentence: Watching T.V. continuously reduces concentration.

4. Addiction

Sentence: He has a T.V. addiction.

5. Affects reading habits

Sentence: Watching T.V. unnecessarily affects reading habits.

6. Harmful for eyes

Sentence: Excessive usage of T.V. is harmful to the eyes.

7. Loss of creativity

Sentence: Continuous usage of T.V. results in loss of creativity.